Afflicted?

 Psalm 119 has always been one of my favorite Psalms, a celebration of God's law, God's word.  This week as I read it again I saw a progression that I had first seen many years ago.  It seemed written for me today.

    I love words and one word was repeated over and over.  The word was "afflicted" or a derivation, "affliction."My children and my students often heard me say, "Look it up in the dictionary," and that is what I do, seeking a glimpse of meaning I did not know.

    "To afflict" means to distress with mental or bodily pain; to trouble greatly or grievously." There's an obsolete definition which means "to humble."  The word "affliction " means "a state of pain, distress or grief; misery."  It may also mean "a cause of mental or bodily pain, as sickness, loss, calamity, or persecution."

Right now I can identify with the bodily pain, since I'm still recovering from knee replacement surgery.  Of course the goal there has been to replace temporary pain for long term pain. But other physical pain will always be with me.

Then there is loss, the last year and a half three of my close friends, one a friend of fifty years, one a friend of thirty years, one a friend of just a few years--all three have gone to Heaven ahead of me, leaving gaping holes in my life.  I also feel a sense of loss since the only two of my children who lived in Chattanooga have both moved away.  There are all kinds of loss.

I have had my share of grief, so I can understand the word "affliction." So what does Psalm 119 say about affliction?

First, verse 67 says, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word."  Verse 11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."  So affliction can send me to His word which will keep me from sin.

Second, verse 71 says, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes."  I admit that I do not understand God's choice of afflictions for me.  I know that everyone has their own afflictions, unseen by others, but part of a plan.  I do know that I have been driven to the Word by affliction.  During a particularly hard time in my life I made a CD of selected Psalms.  Each night that CD was my sleeping pill.  I played it every night until the words were deep in my heart and I quoted them with the CD.

Verse 75 says, "I know, O Lord, that thy judgements are right and that Thou, in faithfulness, has afflicted me."  Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way."  If the Lord has ordered my steps, then He also has known and permitted my affliction.

Verse 92 says, "Unless thy law had been my delight, I should have then perished in my affliction."  How often I have clung to a Scripture as if it were my lifesaver, holding me just above the waves that threatened me.  I felt as if I would perish without that reminder.

Verse 107 says, "I am afflicted very much; quicken me, O Lord, according to your word."  Quicken means to make alive.  I wonder if affliction makes us more alive, more aware of the world and others' needs.  I think it should.

The last reference to affliction in Psalm 119 is verse 153, "Consider mine affliction and deliver me for I do not forget thy law."  I believe He can deliver us from our afflictions.  I know some of our physical afflictions, as well as our emotional and mental afflictions will never go away, but I am convinced that we can be delivered from the power of those afflictions.  Please understand that I am writing these words for myself, as well as for you to read.  Every single person has their own set of afflictions.  Maybe some of them are obvious like seeing a cane in someone's hand, but many more are hidden behind the careful smiles and nods.  

Afflictions have a purpose in our lives. God uses them to draw us to Himself.

                                                                    ~Faith Himes Lamb

How to be a Model

 Did you know that there are many types of models? Body part models (hand, feet, teeth, etc.), catalogue models, child models, senior models, swimwear models, and the list goes on. They inspire us by providing a visual of desirable possibilities, preferably in a way that makes the sponsor a lot of money. Because we find certain people attractive or see them benefitting in a way we want for ourselves, we are drawn to buying products that make it possible or we emulate the model in some way. 

Never underestimate the power of modeling. Models provide an object lesson that sticks. The object lesson grows stronger if a person uses words while modeling, but indirect words might be received better. For example, I sometimes leave my exercise bench and weights in plain view if I know my grandchildren will be visiting. I casually mention that I have been working out so my muscles will grow strong enough for me to play on the playground. As I eat my vegetables, I tell my grandbabies how much I love these foods and how they keep me from getting sick. It is an indirect way of teaching but very powerful. It’s fun when you hear a child explaining to someone else a concept you have been trying to teach them. Then you know learning has taken place!

We all follow models that seem to be taking a path to where we want to go. But sometimes I forget to ask why I want to go there. I need to consider if that destination pleases the Lord. If the answer is yes, then it makes sense for me to spend time with those I want to emulate, asking them questions. Learning, but always evaluating. There might be unintended consequences of following a person’s lead.

On the flipside, what example am I setting for others? Is it edifying? Will others benefit from my example? How? Am I modeling something beautiful and good? It’s helpful to be intentional in what I want to teach. Otherwise an opportunity might be lost. Sharing an inspirational story can be helpful. Being a stronger influence comes from being in a strong relationship with another. That requires time, commitment, and a sincere interest in others.

Of course, Jesus is the ultimate model. Humble, lovingly sacrificial, submissive to God’s will, Spirit-led, compassionate, unselfish, righteous, wise, unwavering, resolute, and much more. He is strong in prayer and fasting. And the cross is the greatest visual of God’s love for us! Now that’s powerful modeling!

joyce hague

A Call to Prayer

 

Before I even saw the GBC post about July being a special month of prayer, the Lord had impressed this subject on my heart to use for this blog. A few weeks ago, I checked out a book from the Library: 100 BIBLE VERSES THAT MADE AMERICA. It is a series of stories compiled by Robert J. Morgan about the importance God’s Word has had through the years in our country...Our dear USA celebrating our birthday on July 4th!! 

An amazing story begins on page 203, “September 23, 1857...Revival Sweeps the Country,” with the verse Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

An unknown tailor in New York City named Jeremiah Lanphier saw the throngs of business men and women on the streets, looking so weary and sad rushing through those days of financial stress (Sound familiar?). He was challenged to find a way to encourage them.

Lanphier closed his tailor shop and made fliers with the message to those people to meet with him at a certain room on September 23, 1875, at noon, to “lift their hearts and voices to the throne of grace.” That first meeting only six people came. Then as the weeks went by, it grew to forty...then hundreds all across the city...meeting in fire houses, police stations, churches...all pouring out their hearts to the Lord. Many people accepted Christ. 

The prayer meetings spread all across America and even to Europe. One twenty-one-year-old from Chicago was so changed by the prayer meetings, he surrendered to preach - D. L. Moody. Another person traveling from Nebraska said he felt as though he saw a “prayer meeting two thousand miles long.”

No evangelistic meetings, no famous preachers involved...just an unknown tailor who had a burden for people to take their burdens to “the throne of grace.” Even The New York Tribune published stories of the “revival that sweeps the country.”

As I read this, my heart was so touched to see the same results of seeking “the throne of grace.” God’s Word is the same; Jesus is on the throne just waiting to hear our requests to take them to the Father. 

As you do, I have my daily devotions and go through my prayer journal. I do pray for my country and our leaders. But how could a revival of prayer become so influential today in our nation as in 1857? I have discovered that as a Christian I can get so involved in our “circle of life” that sometimes I miss the glaring needs right outside that circle - if I would just outwardly focus away from my “comfort zone.”

On this weekend of celebration for America’s birthday, we give praise to our Heavenly Father for recent victories especially for the unborn. These came about through hard work and prayer!  Also we need a call to prayer for our national and local leaders. Our nation has huge elections coming and the outcome of these could change the direction even further away from the foundations built on the Bible so many years ago.    

As the founding fathers were debating and discussing the framing of our Constitution in 1787 (pgs. 114-115 of Morgan's book), Ben Franklin suggested: “How has it happened that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Light to illuminate our understanding. . .? We have been assured in Sacred Writings that “except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”

In a few days, July 4, 1787, General Washington led the delegates to a prayer service at a local Lutheran Church in Philadelphia where the pastor prayed specifically for their need of wisdom: 

“We fervently recommend to Thy Fatherly notice that august body assembled in this city. . .be Thou their wisdom. . . Enable them to devise such measures as may prove happily instrumental for healing all divisions. . .that the United States of America may furnish the world with one example of a free and permanent government. . .”

 In a matter of hours, the delegates had a document that began: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union.” 

 Specific prayer! Let’s go “boldly to the throne of grace.”

 --Maylou Holladay

 

Heart Monitor

 

My husband’s recent adventures have brought into our lives many marvels of technology – CT scans, ultrasounds, tiny cameras which can roam around inside a body and report to a large screen, pressure socks, automatic dispensing pumps, blood tests which can read levels of salt, sugar, platelets, white cells, iron. When those amazing tools were operated by a qualified doctor or technician, I was awed and thankful.

In the hospital, he had a heart monitor with wires all over his body, which reported to the nurses’ station. Occasionally, that report brought down a team of concerned individuals to his bedside. The cardiologist decided he needed to wear a heart monitor for 30 days. And I was the one designated to operate it. I was not awed and thankful; I was dismayed and apprehensive, but mostly terrified.

As it turns out, it is a small device, there are no wires and it’s simple to use. It came with directions in a written manual.  A tiny monitor on his chest reports to a cell phone on his belt which sends data to some unknown (to us) entity in Houston. We know only one detail which it reports; the monitor probably sends a great many details about his heart which we neither know nor understand. The cardiologist will figure out what all that means. We are expected to report to the cell phone menu any obvious external symptoms, such as shortness of breath, dizziness and the like.

 I’m not terribly imaginative; you really have to set things right in front of me and explain them, preferably in writing. Well, this experience has done so. Our spiritual hearts have a monitor, which, whether we like it or not, reports directly to God. He always knows the health of our hearts in detail. He told Jeremiah, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind.” The only way we could keep Houston from knowing certain details of Paul’s heart activity would be to turn off the monitor. That would be counter-productive to the goal of diagnosing and healing. However, we do not have that “off” switch to keep God from knowing the state of our spiritual heart. Unlike the physical heart monitor, fortunately, He has told us what details He is looking for, and we can control those details.

 Yes, control over our own hearts can be difficult. Paul the Apostle wrote a treatise agonizing over that difficulty. God expects a response from us, in the form of self-reporting. If the meditations of our heart are not acceptable to Him, He wants confession and repentance. All this because he wants to love us and care for us and He cannot do so if we turn away from Him.

So I ask myself, “What aspects of your thoughts and attitudes do you wish He could not ‘monitor?’ What do you want to do about that?”

 The first step is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart.” Blessedly, we don’t have to fix our malfunctioning hearts by ourselves; in fact, we cannot. He wants to cure us and He has the power to do so. But He requires our cooperation. He’s given us the instructions in the operating manual we call the Bible. We just need to follow it, as King David did, with our whole hearts.

 --Lynda Shenefield

A Few of My Favorite Things--redux

( Someone--that would be me, Sherry Poff--goofed and failed to assign anyone to write for this week's Cup. I have reached back into the archives and found this gem written by Lynda about four years ago. It speaks to me, as I have been in the midst of doing some cleaning out. I know it will bless you as well.)

In obedience to a recent suggestion from our insurance agent, I set about photographing and listing our possessions. I told him it didn’t seem important, as our things are few and old. But he wanted to talk about “replacement value.” So I dutifully laid out and cataloged all our worldly goods. If you haven’t done it, you should. Not for your insurance agent; for yourself. It’s an eye-opener.

To no one in American culture would we seem affluent, but this girl who grew up dirt-poor felt rich, rich, rich when thinking of replacement value. At the same time, I began to feel burdened with “stuff.” How many Phillips screwdrivers do we really need? (And with all these in the house, why can I not find the size I need when I want one?) Do I really want to give the storage space to these fabrics I have had for so long?

I thought about the photos our missionaries to Africa have shown us of families whose possessions are a one-room home with mud walls, sleeping mats, a water jug and a cooking pot, and the clothes on their backs. If the lady of the hut is a Christian, what, of value, do I have that she does not?

Luke 12:13-15 tells us, ^“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”

At that point, Jesus told the parable of the rich man and his new barns, concluding with, ^“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ESV

What difference does it make whether our items are many or few, valuable or worthless, if one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions?

Some items are irreplaceable, like my mother’s 1950 china cabinet and the yo-yo doll my grandmother made. But what difference does it make, if one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions?

Do I place undue value on my world treasures, compared to my God riches? Do I even recognize my God riches, or am I so absorbed in my world riches that I cannot see the valuable ones? Does “Count Your Blessings” turn into a recitation of “things”? Can I catalog my God riches? Probably not. Should I focus on things to which I cannot account definable value? Jesus thinks so.

Some ladies like to “shop ‘til you drop.” Not me; I hate shopping. Some delight in chasing after yard sales. I did formerly; now I feel I don’t have room for more stuff. Couponing is a favorite way of acquiring goods for many. I like the approach of a friend who said, years ago, “I just tell the Lord what I need and how much I can spend on it, and He brings it to me.” But, regardless of our methods of spending or saving or getting, these things do not have nearly the importance we assign them.

Jesus wants us to become rich. His riches are not in our bank accounts, living rooms, closets or storage sheds. The treasure is in His Word.

 --Lynda Shenefield

Those Who Mourn

 

I’ve been thinking about grief—deep sorrow. We can grieve so many things: people we miss, beloved pets, lost opportunities. Recently I was with a friend as she said goodbye to her canine companion of twelve years. I saw how hard it was for her to physically let go of her sweet little Maggie even after the dog grew still and unresponsive. Some of you understand the deep sorrow surrounding that loss.

Just a little over a year ago, during the first week of June, my family met on a mountaintop in West Virginia to say a formal goodbye to my dear brother. We lost him—or he went on before us to glory—in late 2020 during the height of the Covid epidemic. This June as I picked sweet peas from my backyard plants, I thought, The last time I picked these peas, we were on our way to Steven’s memorial. Last time these lilies bloomed, I was planning what to say at my brother’s service.

So many things remind us of our losses, and that is normal—even healthy, I think. The commonly acknowledged list of the stages of grief ends with acceptance.  Even though I feel I may never be able to accept some loss, I do learn to live with it, and perhaps that is a kind of acceptance.  We don’t “get over” our losses, but we do begin to see them as part of the formation of our lives.

In his book titled A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis notes that “the death of a beloved is an amputation.” He goes on to say that one learns to get on without the missing limb—a leg, say. One learns to get about with crutches or with an artificial leg. Of his own grief, Lewis says, “Perhaps I shall presently be given a wooden leg. But I shall never be a biped again.” He recognizes that life will never be the same.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I have heard this entire passage completely spiritualized and applied only to grieving over sin, and I’m sure that is a valid application. But I am convinced that Jesus was also talking about other kinds of grief. When we mourn, we experience the sweetness of a hug in a different way. We treasure the friend who sits by or who carries us a cup of tea, who brings a plate of sandwiches or feeds the cat. In the midst of grief, details of life feel overwhelming, and what a blessing to find that there are those who love us enough to take care of those details.

God’s presence can be sweeter during sorrow than at any other time. I know why people send flowers to funerals or to cheer one another during hard times. The beauty of a flower or the simplicity of birdsong can be a balm, a reminder that God has built hope into our world and a preview of a world to come.

I was privileged to speak to the graduates of GBA at the 2020 graduation ceremony, and I said to them what we all know: We will eventually have new buildings to enjoy on our campus, but it will never be the same. This is what we accept. And then we look forward to what is to come. We have a gratefulness for the sweet memories we shared, an appreciation for the life and time we have left, and a determination to live for as long as God gives us in a way that is pleasing to him.

--Sherry Poff

The Whisper of the Colors

Growing up, one of my favorite movies was The Sound of Music.  In the classic song “My Favorite Things,” Maria encourages the von Trapp children to remember things that bring them joy, and thus overcome their fears. Likewise, there are so many things in God’s world that point us back to our Father when we take the time to notice and enjoy them. They whisper to our hearts to look up and see His smile. What are your favorite things that He has made?

 

The Whisper of the Colors

“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,

And how small a whisper we hear of Him!

But the thunder of His power who can understand?”

Job 26:14

 

My Father,

Thank You for colors in this world You made!

Vibrantly beautiful in majestic parade,

They whisper of Your glories - unceasingly displayed.

I think of You.

 

My soul lingers,

Soaking in beauty from the work of Your fingers.

Longing for the day when I see the Artist’s face,

And walk and talk with the Giver of Grace.

I think of You.

 

Red

Cardinals - bright spots of red against the winter snow.

Geraniums - cheery blossoms hanging in the window.

Strawberries - mouthwatering juiciness You made easy to grow.

I think of You.

 

Orange

Fall leaves in their variegated hues and mixes.

Sunsets and sunrises - daily color surprises.

Goldfish and clownfish, whose antics delight us.

I think of You.

 

Yellow

Daffodils bring promise that winter will depart.

Sunshine in spring gives a hug to my heart.

Lemonade in the summer, thirst-quenching and tart.

I think of You.

 

Green

Rolling emerald hills with white fluffy sheep.

Hunter green forest pines that tranquility keep.

Grass that feels cool and refreshing to feet.

I think of You.

 

Blue

From blue-gray oceans to glaciers teal,

You paint a thousand shades that make my heart thrill,

And sing with the bluebird’s joyful trill.

I think of You.

 

Violet

Lilacs and lavender with aromas so charming.

Incredible space galaxies with luster amazing.

Butterflies that flit in and out of sight darting.

I think of You.

 

Brown

Wood grain - the story of a sturdy, strong tree.

Velvet coat of a horse or puppy, stroked fondly. 

Mud puddles made pretty by children’s ecstasy.

I think of You.

 

This is Your world.

Thank You for making me part of it.

Your glories have yet to be fully unfurled,

But the whisper I hear won’t let me forget.

I think of You.

-MaryBeth Hall

 

 

-MaryBeth Hall