Contemplating Compost

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The other day I cut some okra from the garden for frying and freezing. Some of the specimens didn’t look so good, so I cut them up and put them in the compost. Silly, I know, but I said to them, “It’s okay, you still have purpose even though you’re not fit to eat.” Those pieces were ugly, tough, and diseased, but later they will turn into a rich, black soil that will nourish next year’s garden. It will be a quiet process out there beside the shed with the weeds that grow up through the blocks and the fire ants that greet me with a sting when I visit. It will take a long time. They will be turned, heated, moistened, and broken down by bugs, worms, and bacteria. It won’t be pretty, but the outcome will be rich. 

Some people get a rough start in life. They might have a history of abuse or neglect or illness. If they are willing to be “processed” by the Master Gardener, they will become someone wise and full of knowledge. They will think profound thoughts and bring value to the lives of others (gardeners pay a lot of money for compost). It could take a long time. It could be painful. It might mean hard work. The success of the process depends on the humble, submissive attitude and willingness of the heart. But if a person is willing, then, he will be prepared to fulfill the purposes prepared specifically for him beforehand by God. Ultimately, all our God-ordained purposes result in the glory of God – no matter how humble our beginnings.  What are those purposes? Check this out.

 Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

What good works have you been prepared to do? 

 joyce hague

What Does Jesus Look Like?

 

How do you picture Jesus when you read the gospels or think of Christ? Do the flannel graph pictures you saw in Sunday School come to mind? Or perhaps the illustrations from a storybook bible you had as a child or read to your own kids? The gospels themselves don’t give much physical description of Christ. We know from the prophet Isaiah that nothing in His looks made Him stand out as exceptional or majestic (Is. 53:2). When we read the gospels therefore, we picture Him, rightly I think, as an average-looking Middle-Eastern man. But what about His resurrected body? What does He look like now as He sits at the right hand of the Father? We would do well to picture Him no longer as the average-looking thirty-something man who got hungry and tired.

In fact, the apostle John gives us a glimpse of what he saw when He was allowed a heavenly view of Christ. The description startles us, and perhaps even confuses and frightens us.

“I saw... one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined, in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength” (Rev. 1:13-16).

How are we meant to understand this? Should we really picture Jesus now with white hair and a sword coming out of His mouth? Here we must keep in mind the text of Revelation and its purpose. As apocalyptic writing, Revelation is filled with metaphors and figurative language. We are not meant to take everything literally – rather we understand that John is communicating truth through word pictures and images that meant something, especially to this first century audience. These references regarding Christ are actually found in the Old Testament in descriptions of God Himself or the coming Son of Man (Daniel 7 & 10). John mainly wants His readers to make this connection, realizing that Christ is both one with God and the promised Messiah now high and lifted up.

Let’s take a quick look at these images and what they may communicate about Christ.

-- The robe and golden sash remind of the priesthood as well as royalty. Jesus is our High Priest who intercedes for us (Heb.4:15). He is King over all.

-- His white hair connects Him to the Ancient of Days described in Daniel 7 and reminds us that He is eternal and all-wise.

-- The eyes like flames of fire are able to see right into humanity, to judge the hearts and motives of the people He created.

-- Christ’s feet are described as being like bronze that has been refined in a furnace. This could refer to Christ as a firm foundation for us to build our lives on. It could also refer to His ability to crush any enemy. Both are true.

-- Jesus’s voice is like the sound of many waters. It is loud, unavoidable, authoritative. It cannot be ignored, and we do well to listen.

-- John sees Jesus as holding seven stars. The seven stars, we are told, are the seven angels of the seven churches that John is writing to (Rev. 1:20). The sense may be that Jesus is holding His people close. He is not letting them go. In chapter 2, John sees Jesus walking in the midst of His people.

-- Not only is His voice authoritative, but His words are like a sword. We see in Hebrews as well that God’s Word is like a two-edged sword (4:12-13). He speaks words that expose and judge. He also speaks words of salvation and comfort.

-- Jesus’s face radiates. It seems to John that it is shining. John may have thought back to when he saw Christ at the Transfiguration where “his face shone like the sun” (Matt. 17:2).

            John’s view of Christ was of a divine Man, powerful, radiating, truth-speaking, wise, and with a penetrating glance right into the heart. And it brought John face-down before Him “like a dead man” (Rev. 1:17). It should do the same to us. Let us also picture Christ in this way and in response fall on our faces before Him in awe and humility. And then, may we too feel Christ reach out, place His hand on us, and say, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last” (1:18).

Sisters, I pray that as we dwell on this description of Christ, not the flannel graph one, that we would be transformed, not only in how we view Him but also in how we view this world. We need not fear the rulers of the world, the uncertain future, or the circumstances that seem out of our control. Jesus, high and lifted up, is sitting on His throne. And still He reaches out to us. He walks among us. And one day, all will hear His voice and all will be made right.

--Amy O'Rear

Contentment vs. Complacency

 

It’s a beautiful morning and I find myself toting a coffee cup in one hand and in the other hand, my Bible, Journal, and a favorite magazine. Where am I headed? The back porch of course! I can feel the calmness settle through me and as I get settled, I feel ever so content! I read my Bible and begin to contemplate what I just read and what I need to pray about. Which leads me to this question that I have been pondering for a few weeks now. Is contentment in every situation a good thing? Or can we confuse contentment with complacency?

Webster’s dictionary defines contentment as “the state of being satisfied.” The Oxford Dictionary defines contentment as “the act of satisfying; the process of being satisfied; satisfaction.”

I don’t know about you, but I have always thought that contentment in life really shows that we are dependent on God and I can find many scripture references supporting the need for contentment…

·       Philippians 4:11, Paul says “…for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

·        I Timothy 6, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”

·       Nehemiah 8:10, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

·       Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

But I really wonder if sometimes we confuse contentment with complacency. We are so focused on our own contentment in the Lord that we become complacent in our everyday lives. I found some scripture in the Old Testament that I believe supports this:

·       Isaiah 32:9, “Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Listen to my word, You complacent daughters. (This was a warning to the women of Jerusalem.)

·       Amos 6:1, “Woe to those who are carefree in Zion…”

·       Ezekiel 16:45, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, plenty of food, and carefree ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.”

Webster’s dictionary defines complacent as “self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction.” Perhaps there is a fine line between being content, trusting in God to take care of us in every facet of our lives, believing He will do it or being so complacent in our own self-satisfaction that we sort of go about our day forgetting to even acknowledge that God is providing for us each moment of each day.

Does our prayer life reflect contentment or complacency? In a sense can contentment lead to self-satisfaction which then leads to complacency? Should we not in our contentment still be motivated to cry out to the Lord for things that are most important to us? We are reminded in Luke 18, Jesus told a parable about a widow who continued to “bother” a judge to give her justice against her opponent. The judge finally gave in because he was tired of her bothering him. This woman was no doubt filled with passion for this ruling. I suppose she could have sat back and waited for him to eventually rule, but who knows how long that could have taken and what his ruling might have been?

So, is it possible to be content in the Lord, but still have major things we ought to be praying about? Should we be busy doing the work of the Lord or sitting back and letting it be done by someone else or not at all?

Is it possible that the Joy of the Lord which Nehemiah talks about gives us the strength to do the work of the Lord and yet still be content in Him?

I believe that it is! I believe we can be so content that we are complacent, and we don’t even know it. We love the Lord and know that He loves us. We have a relationship with Him and know as believers we have eternal life to look forward to. But are we really reaching our potential in our prayer life? Are we passionate in our requests to the Lord or do we simply say a prayer and check it off our list?

I hope you will ponder these questions, as I am. I believe God wants us to be passionate in our requests to Him and in our service to Him. After all, if we are to do everything to His glory, it must be with passion, and we cannot be complacent.

--Pam Dratnol

 

God's Not Finished With Us Yet!

 

Perhaps like some of you, I have been praying and waiting for the day we see renewed work on our campus at 7815 Shallowford Road. It can feel that we’ve been forgotten and that we will never again drive onto our own parking lot. I came across some thoughts in my recent reading that helped me with this long waiting game. I’m hoping it will help you too.

I’ve been reading a book by Stan Toler titled The Buzzards are Circling, but God’s Not Finished With Me Yet. Mr. Toler approaches profound truths in an often humorous way. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but someone I love gave me the book, so I determined to see it through, and I’m glad I did. In a chapter titled “I Know I’m Lost, but the Scenery’s Spectacular!” the author poses this question: How do you trust the Lord in the turmoil? He then offers six steps to moving forward even when the way seems uncertain. Here they are with my own thoughts about our particular situation added:

1.    1. Trust God’s Word. We are blessed at Grace to have faithful pastors and teachers who keep the truth before us week after week. We must not allow our doubts to rule but should keep turning to God’s word for daily instructions for living. This idea is basic.

2.    2. Keep walking in obedient faith. We cannot understand why our situation is as it is, why we can’t have the resources others have or walk an easy road. Our duty is not to understand but to obey the truth we know. So—we keep meeting together as Hebrews 10 tells us, we present the gospel as we are told in Matthew 28, we support missionaries all across the globe with our money and our prayers.

3.    3. Be committed for the duration. “For the duration”—there’s a phrase to give pause since we don’t know how long the duration might be. But the question is this: Are we committed to loving one another and serving God together even if we remain in limbo for—who knows how long?

4.   4.  Be willing to make adjustments. Well, we know about adjustments, don’t we? I am so encouraged by the upbeat attitude and good spirit I see in each of our leaders. Going from three large buildings at our disposal to one somewhat smaller one has required many adjustments. How long has it been since we celebrated July 4^th on our own campus, complete with food and fireworks? But didn’t we have fun this last July? I sure did. Everything is different, from choir practice to Children’s Church, but God has not changed.

5.    5. Be patient and trust God’s promises. And just what are God’s promises? Not buildings. Not physical comfort. How about “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22)? Or “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)? Patience is not easy, but we keep trusting God’s love and faithfulness and holding onto his promises.

6.  6.  Be obedient to God’s will. God’s will for our future is not always clear, but we can easily follow the day-by-day commands from his word—“Love one another,” “Pray without ceasing,” “In everything give thanks.” All these and more are within our power to obey, as we have the Holy Spirit to strengthen and direct us.

We don’t know how long we will remain in this holding pattern, but there are a few things we do know, and those are the things we need to focus on. One day we will look back and see this waiting time as a wonderful time of growth and experiencing  God’s goodness.

 --Sherry Poff

Redeeming the Crumbs

 

Some days there is just this internal rage at seeing another crumb. I mean, where do they all come from!? I know… my kids, my husband, and if I must admit it… myself. The worst are the days when I’ve JUST swept, vacuumed and mopped the floor, and everyone has the audacity to eat again. More crumbs.

There are other areas that incur the same defeat: Finishing all the laundry, even putting it away and once again, people are wearing clothes! Dishes done, but dinner just ended. Bed was made, but we have to sleep somewhere.

I often find myself living with this unrealistic goal of completely finishing my to-do list. As if there is going to be one golden day when there is nothing else to finish. I will sit back and bask in my easy life, having complete freedom over my time and choices.

Why am I like that? When have I ever even completed a “check-list” of items for one day? Focusing on this desperate desire to check all the boxes off and finally be “done” can bring about some unpleasant feelings and a need for a reality check.

The funny thing is that I’ve had this subject in my mind to write about all day, and the moment my husband got home today, I started complaining about feeling overwhelmed… too much to do… can’t get it all done… didn’t do what I wanted… me, me, me. What a fast downward spiral that becomes. So, hear me when I say, these reminders are directed first at this author.

Notice all of the negative things: being swept up in feelings, complaining, inward focus, frustration toward other people, bitterness. 

But I once heard something on the Risen Motherhood podcast that can completely change that internal perspective and point me toward God, who He created me to be, and how I can live my daily life, surrounded by crumbs. I want to share the concept with you.

This daily act of cleaning and making right fulfills two beautiful images of the gospel. The first is that we are redeeming the mess. We are putting back into order. Even though it will inevitably come around again while we live in this fallen world, we have the opportunity to express a picture of what God has done in our lives. He has taken the destruction of sin and our hopelessness and redeemed it all through His Son! He redeems, restores, makes new, fixes, perfects. He redeemed us once and has promised to restore creation to what He intended it to be. So when we are once again crawling under the kitchen table, restoring the floor to cleanliness, we are able to live out a simplified model of what the gospel is. And that brings hope to a weary heart.

Another way we are able to be daily images of the gospel is in that very word. We are image bearers and part of our bearing of God’s image is to work and create. Satan loves to take the opportunities we have to bring glory to God through work and creation and turn our hearts to focus on drudgery, stress, and failure. When instead, we see these things as our God-given opportunities, the perspective shifts, and with that comes joy and hope!

I’m sorry to tell you, I have no answers for the amount of crumbs you will have in your life. But I do hope this brings you some peace and patience in the daily grind. These are the moments God gives us to proclaim the gospel to our families and as we truly need, to ourselves.

 Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

Revelation 21:5 And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 

(Risen Motherhood Podcast Episode 7 “Dirt Dishes and Diapers: Dealing with the Never-Ending Mess”)

--Sandy Gromacki

The Potter and the Clay

 

A few weeks ago, I went with my daughter, her two boys and a friend from school to spend the day at Chester Frost Park.  The kids love building sandcastles in unique shapes, and they have found that in a certain part of the lake, they can find clay.  On this particular day, they decided they wanted to catch a fish and put it into a clay pot.  So, my oldest grandson, who happens to be very artistic, began to mold a small clay pot for the fish.  As I watched him very carefully mold just the right size pot with the clay they found, I was reminded of the Scripture passage in Isaiah 64:8.  It says, “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hands.” 

 As many of you know, I thoroughly enjoy crafts and love going to craft fairs.  I’ve never worked with pottery but have several little vases that my children made in art class in school.  I think of pottery much the same way I think about making bread.  It is an art to know when the clay is just right for molding and when the dough is perfect for kneading.  It takes practice to learn when everything is just right.  I love watching potters work with the clay, molding it and shaping it on the wheel.  It is truly an art.  As my grandson was molding his pot, he would continually splash a little water on it so that it would not crack.  At one point another child came along and took some of the clay and threw it in the water for no reason.  My grandson was upset, but he became more protective of his work.

In Jeremiah chapter 18, God gave the prophet Jeremiah a beautiful example of what He could to for Judah, if only they would repent.  God sent Jeremiah to the house of a potter.  While the potter was working, his project became spoiled.  He didn’t stop and throw the clay out;  he continued to work with it until he was able to use it again.  God shows Jeremiah through the potter that He can do for Judah what the potter was able to do with the remolded clay.  All they needed to do was repent.

 This example applies to us today.  We fail God daily in little things and sometimes in the big things.  Yet we need the reminder that God is in control of our every thought and deed.  He molds us and makes us for His glory.  If we fail and acknowledge our failure, He can mold us into something so beautiful and bring glory to Himself.  God continually promised to restore Israel to their land if they’d repent and turn back to Him.  He has promised us restoration and hope if we stay faithful to Him.

Allow God to mold you and shape you for His glory.  Romans 9:21 says, “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”  Which vessel will you be?

 

--Bonnie King

Life is Hard, and Then You Die

 This summer has not been an easy one for our church family. Along with the continual waiting
on the funds for rebuilding, we have experienced sudden, tragic loss. During my senior year of
college, I walked through losing a friend very unexpectedly. It was an incredibly difficult time in
my life, and I wrestled with guilt, anger, and overwhelming grief. My heart hurts for the family
and friends of Ryder who are grappling with sudden loss and trying to figure out how to move
forward with a weight of grief that hits at unexpected moments.

I keep coming back to a blog post I wrote several years ago that discusses the brokenness of life
and how God can handle our complex emotions. I share this post with you in the hope that you
will allow yourself to feel your hard emotions and begin to allow God to bring healing.

“Life is hard, and then you die.”

This is a statement commonly used by one of my English professors to encompass the topic of most
pieces of literature. And you know what? It’s true. Life is hard. We all will die.

As a Christian, I have a greater hope to look forward to. I know without a shadow of a doubt that
Christ will come again, wipe away every tear, and make everything right. Things are going to get
better, and that gives me something to cling to in the midst of difficult times. For me, "and then
you die" is the best part of the statement. Death means being reunited with God and worshipping
Him forever. This is not morbid. I don’t seek death. But I’m not afraid of it. Any fear I might
have is directed at the possibility of pain and sorrow that may lead up to it, though I know that
God has that handled too.

But having hope does not change the fact that life is hard. Knowing that it will someday get
better helps me cope, but I still feel deep heartache and pain. There’s no way to get away from it.
Because of the fall of mankind, pain will persist until Jesus comes again. Contrary to the
teaching of the prosperity gospel, Christians are not promised a life of ease for being faithful to
God. We are given the Holy Spirit as a guide and a comforter, but he is not a shield from the
troubles of the world.

Life is gut wrenchingly, agonizingly hard.

And you know what? It is ok to dwell on that fact for a little bit. It is healthy to let ourselves feel
the pain that life brings, as long as we do not let it lead us to despair. What is unhealthy is
attempting to suppress the heartache. This will only cause it to build up inside us until we just
can’t take it anymore. So accept the fact that life is hard. It is ok to feel completely and utterly
overwhelmed by everything that this world throws at us. It is ok to throw a fit and ask why. It is
ok to be broken.

God can handle it. Over and over again in the Psalms, David cries out to God in sorrow or anger.
And it is strong emotion:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the
words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find
no rest."- Psalm 22:1-2 ESV

"May his days be few; may another take his office! May his children be fatherless and his wife a
widow! … Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!" -
Psalm 109:8-9, 12 ESV

It is ok for us to do the same, and dwell on the fact that life is hard for a time. It does not mean
that we don’t trust in God. We do not like the idea of letting sorrow envelop us. Who would? We
resist it because we do not like others to see how broken we are. We want to appear like we have
it all together, that we are self-sufficient. Yet all of us are helplessly broken people who have no
control over the circumstances that life brings, and only by admitting this do we begin to
find healing. And just because we feel pain now, does not mean we will feel it forever. Dwelling
on the difficulty of life should eventually lead us to the greatness of God and the hope that
we have in Him. Though David started many of his Psalms with doubt and anger, he always
closed by going back to God:

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the
nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the
nations." - Psalm 22:27-28 ESV

"With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the
throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn
his soul to death." - Psalm 109:30-31 ESV

So when life hits you hard, it’s ok to not be ok. It is ok to cry. It is ok to not even be able to move
for a while. And this period of time could very well be a long while. It could take anywhere from
a few days to years. But eventually, at some point in the future, we must let our sorrow lead us to
a recognition of God’s immense power and unfathomable love for us. It is through our own
brokenness that we can more clearly understand our need for Jesus.

--Concetta Swann