If I knew then what I know now

My Beginning of Wisdom site
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  • Back to Normal?

    Posted on November 9th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,

    Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,

    saith the Lord of hosts.

    Zechariah 4:6

    My church is doing a series on “Rebuilding the Temple”, and the Sunday sermon was taken from Zechariah 4.

    Pastor prefaced the sermon by mentioning Sandy, saying that water (and light) is a revealing agent.  Water washes away dirt.  It also washes away the things we believe are important.  He said that Sandy was a baptism.  People in the states affected by Sandy have been longing for a return to normal.  Pastor challenged that desire by asking, “What if normal was a bad idea to begin with?”  During times of distress, people tend to come together and help one another.  Going back to normal, for some, can mean going back to being impatient and rushed and stressed and selfish and materialistic.

    The sermon triggered a memory.  Two or three years ago, I attended Passover Service at a Messianic Jewish Church.  (If you’ve never attended that type of service, I would highly encourage it!  You’ll be blessed.)  Rabbi spoke about the symbolism of passing through the Red Sea, saying that it was also a baptism.  He said, “If there are no tears, there’s no testimony”.

    My takeaway from both sermons is that we can rebuild and we can go home; but we cannot go back with the same heart and mind.  Another pastor said that a baptism is an outward sign of an inward change.  Once we’ve been baptized, there should be a change.

     

  • Sandy

    Posted on November 6th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    Others went out on the sea in ships;

    They were merchants on the mighty waters.

    They saw the works of the Lord,

    His wonderful deeds in the deep.

    For He spoke and stirred up a tempest

    That lifted high the waves

    They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

    In their peril their courage melted away.

    They reeled and staggered like drunken men;

    They were at their wits end.

    Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

    And he brought them out of their distress.

    He stilled the storm to a whisper;

    The waves of the sea were hushed.

    They were glad when it grew calm,

    And He guided them to their desired haven.

    Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

    And His wonderful deeds for men.

    Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people

    And praise Him in the council of the elders.

    Psalm 107:23-32

    I need to give God the glory again.

    I live in one of the areas that Sandy swept through.   She devastated a lot of people.  Some people died.  Some people survived only with their lives.  I don’t want to make light of their troubles.  It’s important that we pray for their comfort and restoration.  The Lord, however, showed himself to be my protector, my rock, and my shield.  The lights flickered around me for a few seconds; and I could hear and feel the wind, which was whistling around me.  Besides that, I was untouched.  Now, I hear that there is a Nor’easter heading our way.  I can only depend on the Lord to hide me again.

     You are my hiding place;

    You will protect me from trouble

    And surround me with songs of deliverance

    Psalm 32:7

  • The Joy of the Lord

    Posted on November 2nd, 2012 rhonda No comments

    Quick!

    Bring the best robe and put it on him.

    Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. 

    Let’s have a feast and celebrate

    Luke 15:22-23

    I heard a sermon entitled, “What is the Joy of the Lord, and how do I keep it?”  The pastor compared Nehemiah 8:2-10 with Luke 15, the story of the Prodigal Son.  My summary is that the Lord rejoices when we repent and turn to him; and that He is happy to cover our sin, which is symbolized by Him clothing us.

    Nehemiah is a book about rebuilding what was broken.  Pastor said that we were given a life that we messed up by doing things in our own strength.  When Nehemiah read the book of the law to people, they wept (8:9). Nehemiah comforted them and told them to eat, drink, celebrate, and send food & drink to people who didn’t have anything (8:12).  In other words, Pastor said that people could celebrate once they realize that God is happy to receive them back; and that the food represents the gospel (bread of life, living water), which the celebrants should share with people who don’t know about God’s forgiveness.

    Pastor used the Prodigal Son story to illustrate his point.  When the son returned home in rags, he met a Father who was happy to receive him back, not a Father who reluctantly or half-heartedly took him in.  Pastor explained the symbolism in the story.  The robe is to cover sin.  The ring represents God’s authority, power and name.  Shoes signify a journey.  When we allow God to give us shoes, He’s saying to us, “we’re journeying together, no longer are you walking alone.  No longer will you do things in your own strength.  I’ll give you the strength you need to do things My way.”  The house is the Kingdom of God.  When we come to Christ and become part of the family & household of God, God leads the whole kingdom in celebration.  It is the Father’s joy to cover our sins!  The former Pastor of my home church always marvels at God (the Father) running to meet His son.  How marvelous it is to see God dancing at the party!

    By contrast, Satan is always seeking to shame and strip us.  Clothing the naked is an act of mercy.  Clothing ourselves is an act of self-respect, signifying our acceptance of God’s mercy and His making us into a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).

     . . . she is clothed in fine linen and purple. . . .

    She is clothed in strength and dignity;

    She can laugh at the days to come.

    Proverbs 31:22 & 25

     

  • Whom Shall I Fear?

    Posted on October 29th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    The Lord is my light and my salvation –

    Whom shall I fear?

    The Lord is the stronghold of my life –

    Of whom shall I be afraid?

    Psalm 27:1

    I wanted to pause from my anti-slavery posts to give God praise.

    I said that human-traffickers prey on people who are desperate.  People are desperate because of the consequences of poverty, which include a lack of food, clothing, shelter, among other things.  The body of Christ is responsible for doing tangible acts of mercy and justice – and we are.  Last week, I visited Times Square Church (http://www.tscnyc.org/about_us.php), which is providing funding to 100 smaller churches so that those smaller churches can feed their small congregations (http://www.oncallnyc.org/2012/10/feed-new-york/).  It was exciting and encouraging to hear about the very first small church that was able to provide food to its congregation.  We were shown a video, in which the pastor of the smaller church described how she’d been praying about ways that she could feed the hungry & depending on God to give her an answer.  He did answer – just not in the way she expected.

    My own church works with an organization called Young Life (http://www.younglife.org/AboutYoungLife/) which shares the gospel with young people.  Through my church, I’m getting the opportunity to sponsor a young girl or boy going to camp.  So my point is that, you don’t have to be directly involved in the anti-human-trafficking movement to make a major difference.  Whenever you mentor a young person or send a child to camp, you are raising a hedge of protection around that young person.  Whenever you donate money to a local shelter, you’re protecting someone.  When you participate in your church’s efforts to feed & clothe people, you’re keeping someone safe.  You’re giving a person hope, and making it difficult for them to turn to prostitution, drug-dealing, a gang, or street life in order to survive.  God is glorified through the efforts of His people.

     Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,

    the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

     For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,

    I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

    I was a stranger and you invited me in,

    I needed clothes and you clothed me,

    I was sick and you looked after me,

    I was in prison and you came to visit me.

    Matthew 35:34-36

  • Train Up A Child

    Posted on October 22nd, 2012 rhonda No comments

    Train a child in the way he should go,

    And when he is old he will not turn from it.

    Proverbs 22:6

     The most riveting part of the anti-trafficking training I attended was hearing from survivors.  We heard testimonies from two young women who were trafficking survivors – both Americans.  Both were born in America.  One of them was actually prostituted out by her parents.  The other survivor, Ms. Holly Austin Smith (http://hollyaustinsmith.com/), now writes for the Washington Times.  During the training, she showed pictures of herself before she was enslaved.  They were all pictures of a young middle-class, average American girl engaged in everyday activities, like playing with the family dog.  While she showed the pictures, she spoke about all the things that could have been done to prevent her from being trafficked.  Essentially, she became vulnerable for a number of specific reasons.  If you go to her website, you can get her “10 Proactive Tips to Protect Your Child from Traffickers”.

     Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.  If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.  Exodus 22:22-23

     A speaker representing Convenant House (http://www.covenanthouse.org/) spoke about how many teens are becoming vulnerable to trafficking just because they have no safe haven to run to.  Covenant House prided itself on its ability to take in any young person who showed up at their agency; but, due to budget cutbacks, they are now turning teens away.  Older youth (18 & 19 year olds) can potentially go to an adult homeless shelter; but some, for good reason, choose not to.  Pimps are aware of that fact.

    I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  John 14:18

    In light of all the doom & gloom, it was entertaining & encouraging to hear from the middle school students who formed Project Stay Gold (http://www.projectstaygold.org/), which they bill as a “student movement to abolish modern day slavery”.  When the students learned about the Triangle Trade from their social studies teacher, and then realized that there was a modern-day slave trade going on, they were motivated to do something.  They showed us little videos they created to raise awareness.  They are available for speaking engagements (but not too many, because they are in school).  They sold little rubber bracelets & t-shirts with “abolitionist” printed on them.  They were poised and articulate and concerned and active.  God bless ‘em!

     Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

    for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 

    I tell you the truth,

    anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

    Luke 18:16-17

  • The Real Cost of Clothing

    Posted on October 20th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    One of those listening was a woman named Lydia,

    a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira,

    who was a worshipper of God. 

    The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

    Acts 16:14

    During the anti-human trafficking training I attended, we were shown a video illustrating the elements of trafficking.  The narrator said that the criminals are not the only ones who profit from slavery.  Certain industries benefit.  The owner of the motel used by sex slaves is making money, so he looks the other way.  The guy who rents out trailers on a seasonal basis to a trafficker (who needs to house the labor slaves he’s using to pick tomatoes) is getting his money.  So when he sees something a little strange – like the fact that no one ever leaves the trailer during their downtime – he doesn’t ask questions.

    Consumers also benefit.  Consumers of cheap labor, cheap products and cheap sex benefit financially.  At every stage in the chain of production, people try to lower costs so that there’s more profit at the final sale.  One way to cut costs is to pay people less & less – and then not pay them at all.  Slaves make a lot of clothing; and many of us are complicit in the slave trade just because of the clothes we wear.  I don’t know about men, but women like to brag about how little they paid for clothing.  When people compliment us about our clothing, we’ll say, “Thanks.  I got in on sale!”

    I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I’m always on the lookout for a bargain.  As much as I describe myself as an abolitionist, my complicity in the slave trade through the clothes I buy keeps me humble.  I talked to one of my peers at the training, who said that she tries to buy American.  Since people are trafficked inside the United States, it’s still possible to buy slave-made clothing, but she figures it lowers the possibility of something being slave-made.  I’ll also be careful of what I buy and who I buy it from.  As much as possible, I want a clean robe (Revelation 22:14).

    If you want to know more about human trafficking, log onto www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking

     

    She makes linen garments and sells them,

    and supplies the merchants with sashes . . . .

    Give her the reward she has earned,

    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

    Proverbs 31:24 & 31

  • Love Your Neighbor

    Posted on October 18th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

    Reform your ways and your actions,

    and I will let you live in this place.

    Jeremiah 7:3

    I remember reading slave narratives while I was in college.  One of the conversations we had in our English class was a thoughtful consideration of all the ways in which slavery dehumanized the slave-owner.

    I had the privilege of attending a two-day training that was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (Region II) and the Freedom Network Training Institute.  The training topic was human trafficking, a.k.a., modern day slavery.  I’ll write more about what I learned in a future blog.  For now, suffice it to say that (1) there is a slave trade, (2) it exists inside and outside the United States, (3) it’s the second largest form of organized crime in the world and (4) it does not discriminate.  (For more information, go to the website of the Polaris Project, http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview)

    Traffickers prey on vulnerable people.  Slave traders target people who are unprotected and desperate.  When we started talking about all the ways that a person could fall victim to slavers, I felt slightly overwhelmed and discouraged.  Then I thought that one form of prevention is to get traffickers to consider their ways.  My understanding of a mature Christian life is to love God, ourselves, and other people.  The way it looks is that we obey God, and allow Him to tell us how to take care of ourselves and other people.  That’s what it means to be fully human, and it leads to shalom.

    Whenever we decide to ignore God and depend on ourselves, we run the risk of using other people and not living up to our God-given potential as human beings.

    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and

    with all your mind and with all your strength. 

    The second is this:

    Love your neighbor as yourself. 

    There is no commandment greater than these.

    Mark 12:30-31

  • Rebuilding the Temple

    Posted on October 7th, 2012 rhonda No comments

     “Isn’t this the carpenter?”

    Mark 6:3

     Two or three years ago, Pastor taught us the importance of knowing what “season” we’re in.  He told us that if we took notes during church, we’d be able to read through them and discern a pattern, and know what God is saying to us.

    I believe God is rebuilding me to make me a more useful vessel for His Glory.  A week or two ago, I had a dream.  Since I rarely remember my dreams, I wrote about it:

    “ . . . I dreamed (or thought through) the importance of Jesus being a carpenter.  (“Isn’t this the carpenter?”, Mark 6:3; “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”, Matthew 13:55)  Carpenters make things out of wood, which comes from trees; and I’m aware that the people of God are sometimes referred to as trees.  (“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor”, Isaiah 61:3)  In the Old Testament, God referred to himself as a Potter who had the right to mold clay (people) in the way He saw fit.  King Solomon used the cedars of Lebanon to build a temple to God (I Kings 6).  In the New Testament, God’s people are His temple.  In the Old Testament, God plants; but a carpenter must chop down trees to have usable wood.

    So I’m thinking that God sent me that dream as a message to prepare me for the painful process of being “chopped down”.  In order for Jesus to sanctify me, or to make me into a vessel fit for his purposes, I have to go through the chopping process.  I have to let Him carve me with a sharp knife.  A tree that’s chopped down is a dead tree.  Is that me dying to myself so that I can “live” to be used for the Lord?”

    In May, I entered a new season.  I’m learning that in order to be a better temple, I have to get to a deeper level of surrender, service, and celebration.  The verbs sum up everything I have been hearing, or have been told, over the past 5 months.  I’ve been told to (1) surrender to God and stop trying to figure things out on my own, (2) serve in God’s church and be of service to other people and (3) celebrate God.

    “When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel.  With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

    ‘He is good; His love to Israel endures forever.’

    And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”

    Ezra 3:11

     

     

  • Book Review:Knowing God by His Names

    Posted on September 17th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

    Psalm 9:10

    Years ago, I was in church, and someone was about to lead the congregation in prayer.  Before praying, the brother said that we should address God by one of our favorite names for God.  That comment stayed with me, because I didn’t have different names for God.  I only knew “God”, “Jesus”, “Lord”, “Son” and “Holy Spirit”.  That’s a fairly limited vocabulary.  I felt embarrassed.

    God covered my shame by answering me.  A few days later, I was looking through the Christian books at CVS, and found a small volume called Knowing God by His Names: A 31 Day Experiment.  It’s written by Dick Purnell and published by Harvest House.  (ISBN #978-0-7369-1510-6)  It’s essentially a 31 day devotional which allows us to read and reflect on a different name for God each day.  I worked through it on my own, but it can also be used for small group study.

    I now have 3 favorite names for God; Jehovah-Rophe (Lord who Heals), Rock, and El-Roi (God who Sees).  Coming to understand God as my Rock is actually what brought me to faith in the first place.  A world without God is a scary and dangerous place to be.  As to El-Roi, Hagar used to puzzle me.  One of the last things she said before her story ended in the Bible was “I have now seen the One who sees me” (Gen. 16:13).  I get the sense that Hagar was comforted by knowing that God sees her, even though her circumstances did not change materially.  I used to think, “What’s the point of God seeing if He’s not going to change anything?!”  Now, as I grow in faith and maturity, I think I get it.  Last, the older I get, the more aches & pains I accumulate, the more I want and need a God who can and will heal me (Exodus 15:25-26).

     “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

    Psalm 18:2

  • Just Add Water: Wash and be Cleansed!

    Posted on September 12th, 2012 rhonda No comments

    “Wash and be Cleansed!”

      Kings 5:13

    One of the benefits of hearing an effective sermon is how it stirs our own thinking.  I listened to a sermon entitled, Just Add Water.  A few days later, the story of Naaman and Elisha popped into my mind (2 Kings 5).

    I’ve learned that sometimes water is used as a metaphor for the Word of God (John 1:1-2) and Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-12), so what does it mean that Elisha ordered Naaman to wash himself in the Jordan river to be cleansed of his leprosy?  To me, Naaman’s leprosy represents our sin, which we can only be cleansed of by coming to Christ (the Word who became flesh).  Once we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, giving us His encouragement, His comfort, His counsel.  The Holy Spirit will also remind us of what we’ve learned of God’s word (John 14-25-26).

    I see Naaman himself as a picture of our resistance to God and our determination to do things in our own strength.  Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram.  “He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded” (v. 1).  His leprosy was not his only flaw.  He also had pride.  When Elisha’s servant told him to wash himself in the Jordan, he was insulted, and almost walked away without a healing.  He said, “I thought he would sure come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hands over the spot and cure me of my leprosy” (v.11).  My thinking is that is Elisha had done all of that, Elisha would have gotten the glory instead of God.  Naaman would have left thinking that Elisha healed him, rather than God.  Naaman may have also thought that God and His prophets could be bought if Elisha accepted his gifts.

    Instead, Naaman left changed on the outside and the inside, saying “for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord” (v.17).  Interestingly, Naaman, a commander and great man in his own right, was now referring to himself as a servant.  Before he was healed he was mad that Elisha didn’t come out and greet him personally; now he’s calling himself Elisha’s servant.  God replaced his pride with humility.

    God promises to make us a new creation, and in the story of Naaman, we see that promised fulfilled instantly in his life.

     “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

    2 Corinthians 5:17