My Beginning of Wisdom site
RSS icon Email icon
  • Precious

    Posted on September 11th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

    Job 2:10

    One of my friends died in the early morning of Tuesday, 9/11/12.  Over the past few years, she’s been in and out of the hospital, and endured multiple surgeries.  Yet, everyone knew that if she wasn’t in the hospital, she would be in church, praising God for bringing her out – one more time.

    Trouble is all around us; and she is just one of several friends that Satan had given several opportunities to curse God and die, but they didn’t.  She didn’t.   Her faith was so strong that I’m dumbstruck by it.  Thinking of the enormity of her faith renders me speechless and makes me cry.

    “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

    Psalm 116:15

  • Just Add Water: The Word Becomes Flesh

    Posted on September 10th, 2012 rhonda No comments

     

     “And Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore”

    Exodus 14:30

    In my last post, I said I heard a sermon founded on the Passover and Exodus stories.

    When I re-read chapter 13, I saw something I’d missed.  “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’  So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea” (Exodus 13:17-18).

    We are not to go back to Egypt.  God wants us to grow in our faith in Him.  Pastor said it is important for to stay in the church and “march” with fellow believers.  If you stay in the thick of the group while marching through the Red Sea, the people in front of you will urge you forward, and the people behind you will prevent you from turning back.  Remember those nature shows like Animal Kingdom?  The stray antelope that wanders away from the group is the one that the lion kills and destroys (1 Peter 5:8).

    When we immerse ourselves in the waters of life, the word becomes flesh (John 1:14); hence the title of his sermon, Just Add Water.  He said that all of us must come to a point in our faith where we believe that the promises of God are true for ourselves.  It is possible to believe God would honor these promises to other people, but not be sure if He’ll do it for you.  Pastor says that when we each go through our Red Sea, we will know we can depend on God for ourselves when we see how He brings us out.

    One of the ways that we can consistently add water to our faith is to consistently help other people.  One sign of a mature faith is to know that, no matter what happens today, we will continue to praise and worship God tomorrow.  We extend ourselves to help others.  We might be betrayed.  We may be talked about.  We may not even get a thank-you.  A person with an immature faith will go back to Egypt.  A mature person begins to recognize, and get comfortable with, the struggle.  That person is then able to stand firm in the faith (1 Peter 5:9).  I was reminded of a sermon I heard years ago.  The Pastor said that servants put themselves in a position to really see the miracles of Jesus.  At the wedding in Cana, it was the servants who saw Jesus turn water into wine (John 2:7).  The master of the banquet didn’t know anything.

     “And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant”

    Exodus 14:31

     

     

  • Just Add Water: Celebration as Commemoration

    Posted on September 8th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.”

    Exodus 12:47

    I attended a powerful mid-week service in which the pastor used the Passover & Exodus stories (Exodus 12 – 14) as the basis of his sermon.  The pastor entitled his message “Just Add Water”, because he wanted to describe the transformation we undergo in our relationship with God when we pass through the red seas of life.

    Pastor wanted us to understand the mindset of the Israelites at the time.  At the point where God gave His instructions and required that they celebrate Passover, the Israelites were still in bondage.  In fact, they’d gotten their hopes up several times.  Just at the point when it appeared that Pharaoh would relent and let the Israelites leave, God would harden Pharaoh’s heart again.

    Pastor used Egypt as a metaphor for persistent challenges.  Some troubles are not removed quickly & completely.  We’ve all felt the disappointment & discouragement that comes when we think we’ve overcome a problem – and then it comes back.  That’s how the Israelites must have felt.

    That’s why Pastor stressed the importance of celebrating the fact that God is with us.  It is also imperative that we celebrate every day.  Pastor said that, for every struggle we encounter, there’s also a secondary struggle that accompanies it.  The secondary struggle is the thought that God has abandoned us.  That thought is more dangerous than the original problem.  If we believe that God is with us, then we just take our troubles to Him.  If we believe that God has abandoned us, then we’re really in trouble.

    Ultimately, though, God has the victory.  In Him, we also have the victory.  At the time of the celebration, the Israelites may not have known it, but God was about to put Egypt behind them – forever.  So when we celebrate, this is what we are celebrating.

    1. God is with us.
    2. He will provide for us.  That’s what the Passover meal was about.
    3. We are redeemed.  We are no longer the property of sin.  The devil might want to mess with us, but he can only go “so far”.
    4. We have peace with God.

    In establishing Passover, God was instituting a celebration for future generations.  “On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt’.” (Ex. 13:8).

    Pastor explained that God is a God of covenant.  Covenant confession is our agreement with what God says.  Covenant strength is us depending on the Lord to do all the work (Ex. 14:19-20).  Covenant law is God giving us a heart of flesh so that His law would be in our hearts (Ezekiel 11:19)

    “The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.”

    Exodus 14:13

     

     

  • How I Got Over

    Posted on September 6th, 2012 rhonda No comments

       “ . . . the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.”

    Mark 5:18

    The healing described in Mark 5:1-20 always impresses me.  I get a clear before and after story.  It’s always amazing and humbling to me when a person endures a horrible event or circumstance, and they come out on the other end with gratitude and dignity.

    I just finished reading a graphic novel about Nelson Mandela.  I was in college during the height of the anti-apartheid movement in the United States.  My college, and many others, set up shanty-towns on campus to demonstrate solidarity with the Black South Africans.  I remember there being workshops, sit-ins and teach-ins.  People got arrested for political protests.  We donated money to the cause and we stopped doing business at companies that refused to divest in South Africa.  It was a great moment for all of us when Mandela got out of jail.  He was imprisoned for 27 years.  It was inconceivable to me that someone could be in jail longer than I had been alive.  I remember people commenting on how poised and dignified he was.  People admired his loyalty to the ANC.  We liked seeing he and Winnie walk together.  They were a good looking couple.

    The guy who was freed from legion demons was so grateful that he wanted to follow Jesus.  Instead, he was told to “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).  So my word of wisdom for today is that you tell your own story.  Now, if I had been demon-possessed, living in a graveyard, and cutting myself with stones, I would be ashamed and afraid to tell someone that story.  However, when people tell me their shameful stories, those are the stories that impress me the most.  I’m impressed because I get a clear picture of what God has really done for someone.  I get the before and after picture.  I’m also impressed when I hear the story of a person who could easily be embittered and broken by what they’ve been through; but instead they’re joyful and grateful to God.  I like to hear a person’s “how I got over” story.

    (http://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/nelson-mandela-comic-book-wins-award)

  • Lamentations

    Posted on August 24th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “They have forsaken the Lord:

    They have spurned the Holy One of Israel and

    have turned their backs on Him.

    Why should you be beaten anymore?

    Why do you persist in rebellion?

    Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.

    From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness –

    only wounds and welts and open sores,

    not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.”

    Isaiah 1:4-6

    God has shown me my own stubbornness (Hosea 4:16).  Pursuing my own path led me nowhere.  When I got to a dead-end, I just chose a different path instead of turning to God.  I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting with my behavior.  My hair was sprinkled with gray, and I didn’t notice (7:9).  Stubbornly doing my own thing is ultimately self-destructive.  It also pains God to see me acting this way.

    The book of Hosea is a marvel to me.  At first, I couldn’t get past the fact that God ordered one of his prophets to marry an unfaithful woman.  Finally, I was able to get deeper into the message.  The more I read, the sadder I got.  God talks a lot about His anger.  Beneath the anger, I also get a sense of hurt.  God is angry about Israel’s betrayal, but also hurt to see his child continuously hitting its own head against the wall; getting bloodied, but refusing to allow God to clean and bandage the wounds, and soothe them with oil.  He says that, “When Israel was a child, I loved him” and “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms” (11:1 & 3).  I also get that it hurts God to have to punish us.  “How can I give you up, Ephraim?  How can I hand you over, Israel?” (11:8).   It’s painful to parent a wayward child.

    Years ago, my pastor said that it was okay for us to tell God about our hurts and frustrations.  However, I’m also realizing that God is also lamenting to us about our own behavior.  My word of wisdom today is re-think.  My Bible study leader explained that to repent means to re-think.  If our own plans are not getting us anywhere, it’s time to turn to God.

     “… how often I have longed to gather your children together,

    as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

    but you were not willing!”

    Luke 13:34

     

  • Strength for the Journey: Part III

    Posted on August 22nd, 2012 rhonda No comments

    Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    For His compassions never fail.

    They are new every morning . . . .

    Lamentations 3:22-23

    “I forgive you, Rhonda.”  That’s what I said to myself at the end of the day.

    The text for the Sunday sermon (8/18) was Numbers 11:10-17 and Matthew 4:2-20.  The pastor spoke about the fact that each member of the body of Christ has work to do in God’s kingdom.  He said two things that made a big impression on me.  First, he said that if you get to a point in your spiritual life where you are disconnected from the sermons you hear in church, it means that you either have to start doing your work in the kingdom, or step up the work.  Then we’ll start to be refreshed.

    I’ve been writing for a while now about feeling spiritually tired & disconnected.  The sermon served as confirmation to me.  I had breakfast with a brother in Christ on the Friday before service; and he told me that, to the extent that he ministers to other people, his spiritual life is flourishing.  Second, Pastor said that listening to other people’s complaints tend to eat away at one’s spirit; and that there comes a point when we might have to tell people to stop sharing their complaints with us.

    Later on in the day, I was talking with a group of people.  Two themes emerged.  One theme was deciding that “enough is enough”.  The second was the idea of letting the past go and starting fresh.  By the end of the day, I’d had a revelation.

    Several years ago, my Pastor asked a group of us to take on a leadership role in the church.  We did.  We poured in a lot of time and effort.  Yet, several people were unhappy with the way we discharged our duties.  Some left the church.  Some hold resentments.  Some still complain.  Some still question how decisions were made and ask for details about who did what. Now I know it all took a toll on me.  It made me doubt my pastor, my co-laborers, and myself.  It also made me distrustful.  It also made me resent the congregation.

    It also felt guilty.  I’ve spent the last year re-playing the decisions we made and trying to figure out what I could have done differently – and I keep coming up empty.  I did the best I could with the information and knowledge I had at the time.  When I knew better, I did better.  I don’t know whether my (our) offenses are real or imagined, but I just decided to forgive myself, stop rehearsing the past, stop allowing people to vent their frustration on me, and move on.  That’s my phrase of wisdom for today.  Move on.

    “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards that which is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

    Philippians 3:13-14

     

     

  • Strength for the Journey: Part II

    Posted on August 19th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty . . . .”

    John 4:15

    Have you ever been really hungry or thirsty, but couldn’t have a meal right then?  Sometimes we have to work through the lunch hour, and are ravenous by 2:00-3:00pm.  When I get hungry, I become impatient.

    Someone told me that sometimes spiritual hunger will mimic physical hunger.  We look for Wonder bread when we actually need the Bread of Life.  I’ve been spiritually hungry for the last few weeks.  I mentioned this feeling a few weeks ago.  Going to Sunday service was not enough.  So I visited one mid-week service to have a spiritual meal.  The church I visited last Wednesday is a well-known church with many social programs.  My take-away from the evening was that the pastor used the sermon as a platform to promote the church’s social justice programs and leftist slant towards helping the poor; and he used the Bible to back up his position.  I actually agree with the church’s politics.  If I had come for a political rally or a workshop, I would have loved it. Yet, on that night, I had come for Jesus.  I left hungry and angry.

    When the sermon ended, it was the first time I’d ever seen a pastor get a standing ovation from (some) people.  I felt like the pastor was the star of the show, and Jesus was part of his supporting cast.  Years ago, my pastor related the story of Joshua’s encounter with an angel (Joshua 5:13-15).  Joshua asks, “are you for us or our enemies?”  The angel announces himself as the commander of the armies of the Lord who has “now come”.  My pastor said that if we think like Joshua, we got it wrong.  When Jesus comes, he’s not coming to join a side.  He’s taking over.

    My word of wisdom for today is first.  Be wary of anyone who gives anyone besides Jesus first place.  Our Lord describes himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelations 22:13).  He’s the whole story.  If anyone tries to satisfy your spiritual hunger by offering you something else as the main course, with a little Jesus on the side, it’s a problem.

    “I am the bread of life.  Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they have died.  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

    John 6:48-51

  • The Negative Witness

    Posted on August 17th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    Splendor and majesty are before him;

    Strength and glory are in his sanctuary

    Psalm 96:6

    Sometimes I am embarrassed by the behavior of other Christians.

    Recently, I went to a secular organization’s information session because I was considering doing some volunteer work with them.  During the course of the session, several people started talking about their experiences with Christians.  They were all negative experiences.  After each of their encounters, they were left with the belief that Christians were close-minded, judgmental, arrogant, and bullying.  I left the event wondering how people got such negative impression of Christians.  I started thinking about my past.

    Before I gave my life to Jesus, I used to work in a multi-faith office.  I worked in a secular institution, but came to realize my colleagues were Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and pagan.  The Christian in the group was the worst “ambassador” for their faith.  The employee stole time from work.  The worker used the company landline for their own personal business.  The person used the resources & information we discovered more for the benefit of the person’s children than for our clients.  There was also a certain air of arrogance around the person, who believed being a professed Christian made other people morally inferior to them.  Everyone felt it.  My co-worker was a negative witness for the Lord.  After I came to faith, I often thought to myself that I don’t want to be the type of Christian that drives people away from Christ.

    Consider Paul’s speech to the Athenians in Acts 17:22-34. He was direct and respectful.  Once we make our point, it’s the person’s decision.  If people reject the gospel, we can shake the dust off our feet as we leave (Matthew 10:14).  Yet, why would one reject the message of Jesus Christ?  Joseph Prince said that it makes him angry to hear Christians brow-beating or bullying people in an attempt to bring them to faith.  He says that Jesus Christ is beautiful and attractive; and if we would just present Jesus as he is, people would be receptive.

    My word of wisdom for today is reputation.  All of us are concerned about our own reputation.  We would be upset to hear that someone was gossiping about us.  We have two people campaigning and competing for the presidency of the United States, and there’s a lot of talking about the harsh & negative media campaigns being conducted.  People on both sides are even demanding apologies.

    What about the reputation of Jesus Christ?  Think about all the time and energy making sure that we have a good reputation.  We’re careful about what we say and how we look and where we go and who we associate with and how we behave.  We should invest the same amount of time and energy into making sure we represent Christ just as well.

    He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

    1 Timothy 3:7

     

  • Created for a Purpose

    Posted on August 16th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!”  And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

    1 Corinthians 12:21

    It really hurts to feel unappreciated.  It especially hurts to feel that you’ve done the best you could, and your best efforts are not enough, especially when you are looking for a job.  In today’s job market, there are a lot of “eyes” saying they don’t need “hands”.  I thank God that I have been gainfully employed consistently – and at times I’ve still felt unappreciated.  What about people who are unemployed?

    I have helped the unemployed get ready for work.  If you have been steadily employed during this recession – praise God.  For people who are looking – keep your head up.  Remember that finding a job is a job.  Looking for a job in this economy can be a lonely and discouraging process.  In fact, calculations of the unemployment rate do not take into consideration the “discouraged work force” – those people who can physically/mentally work, but have been looking for so long that they lost hope & gave up.  There aren’t enough jobs around for people who have no more than a high school diploma, or who maybe don’t have state-of-the-art technological skills, or who lack experience, or have too much(!) experience.  Unfortunately, rent & utilities must still be paid & people still have to eat. I feel we get so focused on what people cannot do, that we lose sight of what they can do.  Everyone wants the perfect employee, even though there is no such thing as perfection.

    About a year ago, I read a lovely book, Blessed Unrest, by Paul Hawken.  (See http://www.blessedunrest.com/ for more information.)  One small point, among many, that he made is that in the natural world, nothing goes to waste.  Trees, animals and people die and then fertilize the earth.  Mr. Hawken also said that in simpler times, everyone’s labor was needed.  There was always work available for every able-bodied person who wanted to work.  There’s something perverse about people being unable to find work.  It’s almost like saying they have no meaningful contribution to make, which is absurd.  God’s word says that He created us all with a purpose.

    My word for today is appreciate.  Webster’s says that “to appreciate is to exercise wise judgment, delicate perception, and keen insight in realizing the worth of something”.  According to the same dictionary, appreciate also means “to be grateful for”.  Again, God says that He created us all with a purpose.  I think one small step to finding a job is to appreciate your own gifts so that you can start to figure out what setting you fit in the best.

     

  • Wholeness = Integrity

    Posted on August 12th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “They were using this question as a trap,

    in order to have a basis for accusing him.”
    John 8:6

    The story of the woman caught in adultery is one of the more popular stories in the Bible.  Adultery is clearly wrong; but it irks me somewhat that I never really hear people mention the fact that she’s also a victim.  When I say “victim” I don’t mean that she’s innocent.  I mean that she was used poorly by wicked people.

    The Pharisees really didn’t care about her adultery.  She was being used as ammunition against Jesus Christ.  Even though she was made to stand in front of everyone, in some ways, she’s invisible.  She’s not a real human being, she’s become weapon that the Pharisees use against Jesus.  They needed an excuse to launch an attack against Jesus, and she was it.

    Beware of entrapment.  The person that encourages us to gossip with them will not only gossip about us, but they will also publicly accuse us of gossiping, if only to deflect attention away from themselves.  The person who encourages us to engage in illegal activity will also testify against us in court, if they can get a better deal for themselves.  Don’t listen to the person who encourages you to dress casually to work and violate the dress code.   They might be doing it so that, when the boss reprimands them about their dress, they can use you as an example and say, “Look at how she dresses!  You let her get away with it!”

    The people who encourage us to do wrong may tell us that they’ll be loyal to us.  They’ll say they’ve “got your back”.  People who have your back will tell you to do the right thing, even though it may be the harder thing to do at the time.  Also, no one should urge you to do wrong as a test of your loyalty to them.  Don’t listen to, “If you love me, you’d do it.”  Ignore, “If you were my real friend, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

    Integrity is my word of wisdom for today.  Integrity means being of high moral character, or upright.  Several years ago, my pastor gave a sermon and said that people of integrity are whole people, the way that an integer is a whole number.  I like that definition the most.  My thinking is that if feel lacking in anything, then we’re more likely to fall into temptation to do something wrong.  When we’re not whole, we’re more likely to use other people to accomplish your ends.  I always feel a lack whenever I forget that God promised he would never leave or forsake me; and that he knows and will supply all my needs.  Let’s all remember the promises of God, so that we can be people of integrity.

    “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.”

    1 John 1:7