Life as a Christian Woman

The alarm went off. After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I got up. Time to get ready for church.

I stood in my closet for a few minutes, in the middle of all my clothes, and thought “I’ve got nothing to wear.” I rushed down the hall to start getting my little girl dressed for church. I wondered where my husband was… turns out he was downstairs immersed in SportsCenter on TV. I yelled… “Time to get ready, we need to leave in 10 minutes!” I was irritated. How come he had been up for two hours and still hadn’t started getting ready?

I grabbed an outfit for my daughter and hurriedly got her dressed, brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her hair. Where were her shoes? She didn’t know, which probably shot my blood pressure up about 50 points. “Find them!” I barked.

I pushed past my husband in the bathroom to get to the mirror, combed my hair and huffed that we needed to get moving. He said not to worry, we’d be on time. “Hmph,” I thought. On time for him is before the preacher starts the sermon. I want to be there for the music, too.

We got in the car. Dead battery. Figures. We jumped into our other car, but my husband had to go in to get his glasses. “Hurry!” I yelled angrily.

“Yeah, daddy, hurry up!” my five year old said.

“Don’t talk like that to your father,” I said.

“Why not? You do,” she answered.

The alarm went off. The young woman, in her early 20’s, jumped up. Time to go to church. She dressed quickly, then set out into the darkness. She looked over her shoulder a few times as she hurried down the streets. It was a couple of miles to her destination, and she quickened her step. She wanted to be on time.

We pulled into the church parking lot as it started to rain. “Great,” I thought. I grabbed my daughter and pulled her along. My husband went to get seats in the sanctuary as I took our little girl to Sunday School. I pulled her swiftly through the hallways and to her class, put a nametag on her and took off. I heard the guitars and drums playing, the choir singing.

“I knew we would be late,” I thought to myself. I snuck in the back and found my husband. He smiled, but I was too stressed to smile back.

The young woman arrived at a small, non-descript house. After checking over her shoulder one last time, she knocked on the door. It opened, she went in, and was greeted by nine others. All were smiling, welcoming. Hugs all around. She had arrived at church. After a few moments, the group began to sing. No piano, no guitar. Just 10 voices singing to God. Hands lifted to the Lord. Smiles. Praise.

Time for the offering. As the plate was passed, my husband and I realized in our rush we had forgotten our tithe. “Oh well, we’ll make it up next week,” I thought. Besides, with the economy the way it is, skipping a week is understandable. A soloist began singing. I’m sure it was a great song, but I was lost in my thoughts. Had I remembered a jacket for my daughter?

As soon as the preaching began, the woman in front of me pulled out her cell phone. I glanced over and noticed she was playing the game Pac Man. I couldn’t believe she was so obviously not paying attention. Of course, I wasn’t either, but nobody could tell.

The young woman and her friends began studying scripture. They read from the Bible, then discussed what they had read. There was only one Bible for the group. They took turns reading from it, passing it around the room gently, reverently.

Finally, the hymn of invitation. I noticed several people go to the altar to pray as we sang. Then it was over. We picked up our daughter, loaded up the car and went to lunch. Once we got home, we went in three different directions, my husband out to mow the yard, my daughter to play with the little girls next door, and I sat down to pay bills.

Another typical Sunday.

After several hours, the group had a snack. Then it was time for them all to go out into the world around them, the world that said that if they were caught praising God in their “House Church,” they would be sent to jail. They hugged, said a final prayer, and entered out into a land that was hostile to their faith. The young woman walked home, filled with the spirit of God. Full of His love.

Another typical Sunday.

The bold/italicized lines above are fiction, yet also very true. Throughout China, “House Churches” are the only way that Chinese Christians can meet to worship God. They are illegal. While Christianity, itself, is not considered illegal, it is only the official “state” version that is allowed, and it is far from scriptural.

The other story, sadly, is true. It is my story from this past Sunday. I am embarrassed and ashamed to admit it, but I need to admit it. I am far from perfect, but I take so much for granted. If I lived in a country where I had to sneak to worship, would I appreciate it more? Or would I even try?

It may be your story, too.

We can do better. We need to do better.

The “Romans Road” has been used by Christians for years to explain the concept of salvation to those who are living without Christ. It is so simple, so basic, and you don’t have to be a Biblical scholar to master it. In many denominations, the holiday season is a time to share the gospel with those outside the faith, those who are lost and in need.

In that spirit, I thought I was due for a a refresher course, and far be it from me to leave my readers out! So here goes:

The Romans Road walks us through four steps: Why we need to be saved, How God provided us that salvation, How we can receive that salvation, and What the results of salvation are.

WHY DO WE NEED TO BE SAVED?
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
We have all sinned. On this point there can be no argument. No one can “earn” their way into Heaven. It is beyond our reach, beyond all the good works that we could perform in our lifetime.

HOW DOES GOD PROVIDE US THAT SALVATION?
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
Our sin can only lead us to death, but God, in His infinite grace, has provided eternal life in Him through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.

HOW CAN WE RECEIVE THAT SALVATION?
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
The third verse along the Romans Road combines the first two points… we are sinners, but God sent Christ to die for us, to take our sins upon him and clean the slate.

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF SALVATION?
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
The results of confessing our sins and accepting Christ as our savior are immense. We will be saved, we will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior and with our God.

That’s it. That’s the Romans Road to Salvation. When you add your own testimony, your own personal walk to the mix, you have a wonderfully personal and yet powerful message of salvation.

So simple, yet so many in this world refuse to acknowledge Him and His path. And so many have never heard.

Look around you this holiday season. Not off in the distance, but right next to you. Look across your dinner table, or next door. Has everyone around you accepted Christ as his or her savior?

If not, why not begin a walk down the Romans Road?

When I had a baby, I thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Bright blue eyes, dark hair, my bundle of joy. I was so proud of my little girl. I was equally sure that the rest of the world thought my little girl was the most beautiful baby girl ever born.

One day we were out at the mall, when a woman came up to admire Emi as I pushed her in her stroller. I puffed up with mommy pride. Then the woman said, “What a handsome little boy!”

What?

I muttered “She’s a girl” and the woman remarked how beautiful she was, but the damage was done. I couldn’t believe that my precious, delicate little baby girl could be mistaken for a… BOY!

It seemed so obvious to me that I took for granted that it seemed obvious to everybody. When I looked at her, I saw Emilee. She looked dainty, cute, precious, pretty, all those adjectives that we give to little girls. But to the rest of the world, she was just a little baby, and unless I had her all decked out in pink, her gender was a guessing game to passers-by.

Sometimes what seems so obvious to us is difficult for others to comprehend. When a person becomes a Christian, it’s like a light bulb goes off. But their friends and family, if not already saved, may think the newborn Christian has gone off the deep end!

For that reason, it is so important to grow your faith and your testimony. I have commented before that we often think that once we are saved the hard part is over, but in reality the work has just begun. We must immerse ourselves in God’s word, and prepare ourselves to present the Gospel to others. We have to prepare ourselves to explain God’s love in it’s purest, easiest to understand way. We must be able to relate to non-Christians.

Tomorrow I am going to write on the tried and true method of sharing the Gospel, the path to salvation that is known as the Romans Road. For those who have never studied the Romans Road, it is an easy way to explain salvation to those who are lost.

See you tomorrow!

I will tell you up front that I am not a fan of so called “New Age” religion. I feel it is revisionist in its approach, much more concerned with making everyone happy as opposed to telling the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The scriptures are straightforward…

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.    John 14:6    New International Version (NIV)

The only way to Heaven, to God’s kingdom, is through Jesus Christ and his redemptive love. He came here, he took on our sins, he took those sins to the cross where he died in our place, he was buried and rose again on the third day. He ascended to the Father’s throne, and will return again. His intercession on our behalf is why we are saved, by his grace and grace alone.

There is no wiggle room. Christ did not say, “I am the way, the truth and the life, unless you find a better way. Oh yeah, and if you live a good life but don’t believe in me, that’s ok, my Father will overlook your unbelief and let you into Heaven anyway.”

Nope, folks, you gotta believe in one Savior, Jesus Christ. End of story.

So imagine my disbelief when I was directed to a video of Oprah Winfrey, who claims to be a Christian, saying emphatically that there are many paths to Heaven, that there isn’t just one way. And when an audience member stood her down and said, “What about Jesus?,” Winfrey’s response was an indignant, “What about Jesus!”

Oprah states her opinion that there are many ways to the “Truth”

The scary thing is that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, get their “theology” from watching Oprah. Her following is loyal and ardent. She is mesmerizing.

But she is wrong.

In the video, she repeatedly says that “there cannot possibly be one way” to Heaven. Yet the scripture says the opposite.

The danger in this type of theology is that many will follow it, will believe these lies that having a good heart matters more than believing in Christ as the Son of God.

A good heart should be a part of every Christian, but some rely on these good hearts to save them, which won’t happen. It’s like the old analogy: All beagles are dogs, but not all dogs are beagles. The message here would be: All Christians should have a good heart, but not all people with good hearts are Christians.

Numerous verses in scripture point out the fact that works cannot save us:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesian 2:8-9 NIV

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  Titus 3:5-7 NIV

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26 NIV

Frankly, to deny the scripture is to deny Christ.

If you want to know where to get your theology, you are in luck. As Christians, we can go straight to the source… God’s holy word, the Bible. When you immerse yourself in His word, there can be no misunderstanding.

His age is the New Age!

We are no longer a Christian nation. I consider us a post-Christian nation.
Rick Howerton

I heard those words tonight from pastor and small group specialist Rick Howerton. I have a great deal of respect for Howerton, as a former pastor at my church and the man who baptized my husband. Howerton travels the country teaching and leading small groups, and has written numerous books on the subject.

And I think he is right.

This past week we have seen thousands take to the streets in California to protest the passage of Proposition 8, which amended the California state constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to that between a man and a woman. The proposition passed with a majority of 52% of the vote, and went into effect the day after the election.

Crowds marched and protested in front of churches, particularly the denominations that had come out strongly in favor of Prop 8. There have been threats of burning churches down in retaliation. Just a few years ago, such statements would have been unthinkable; Thousands more would have taken to the streets in defense of our faith.

What can we do? We can’t afford to sit idly by and let our faith be commandeered by those who want to destroy it. We can’t allow ourselves the luxury of letting others fight the battle for us.

Each of us must take up the banner of Christ! We must defend our faith, we must grow in our faith and be prepared to stand up for our Christ. Silence is the same as denial. To sit in a crowd and hear others trash our beliefs, and not respond, is to deny God.

It isn’t easy. It never is. We are not the mainstream in many ways now. We are the “outsiders.” Our path is rocky and full of dangers… but it is the path of righteousness.

I don’t think it is too late; it is never too late for a revival within a church, city, nation or world. But we must be willing to fight for our faith, to raise our children to be strong in their faith. We must be prepared.

Press on!

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he was shackled and in chains. But through his pain and captivity, he wrote a compelling letter that is one of the lights of the New Testament.

The fourth chapter of Ephesians has a lesson that is so appropriate for Christians today. We are all part of one body, the body of Christ. We are the church… not the buildings and grounds, not the staff, us. And we have to find a way to get along, to work as one.

That doesn’t mean that we have to agree on everything, in fact we most assuredly won’t. But we can’t expect to bicker, gossip, demean and criticize each other, and still be within God’s will.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…

…It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it’s work.

Ephesians 4: 1-6, 11-16.

These verses speak to our calling as one body of Christ. In Heaven we will not be Catholic, Jew, Pentecostal, Baptist, whatever. We will be saved members of the body of Christ, bought with his blood.

Paul goes on to speak of the preparation that we must go through, to grow into the mature spiritual beings that he wants us to be. Once we reach that level of maturity within the Spirit, we will see through the charlatans, the snake oil salesmen who have a great pitch, but are void of the real message.

I especially love the final verses, where Paul draws the correlation between the body of Christ and the human body. Every part of the body has it’s job, reliant on others yet working independently.  Can you imagine if your arms fought over their role within you? Or your left leg wanted to go one way, while your right leg chose the opposite direction?

We must strive for unity. Without unity, we can’t advance Christ’s agenda, and that must remain our goal.

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support.
– Huntley Brown

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past, oh, four years, you know that we are in the final stages of a political campaign in the U.S. As we enter the last few days (yippee!), the mud is sailing, the rhetoric has gone into double-time.

And the out-and-out lies are flying. But not from the candidates…

From you and me.

The internet can be a wonderfully informing place to be. But it can also be a dangerous place. We all know about predators that lurk in chat rooms, scams trying to drain your bank accounts, and hackers who want to steal your identity.

But those seemingly innocuous emails that come in from friends, with challenges to “step up to the plate and let all your friends know how bad “Candidate A” or “Candidate B” is, well, in most cases they, too, are dangerous, and all lies.

Each time I get an email, I go straight to Snopes.com to verify. And in the past two weeks I have gotten over 20 emails, each one with more lies than the last. They are full of innuendo designed to scare the reader away from one candidate and straight to another.

These emails challenge me to pass them on, to help warn other voters about the dark past, or secret goals, of one candidate or the other.

First of all, I doubt that any email has ever changed someone’s vote. But if they are forwarded without thought to fact-checking, then the forwarder becomes complicit in the smokescreen.

This past week I got a forwarded email that I found out was true. Huntley Brown, a fabulous African-American pianist and strong Christian man, had been asked repeatedly by his friends who he was voting for and why. Mr. Brown has said it was never intended for mass publication, but one of his friends posted it and it has entered the internet, never to be stopped!

At any rate, there are several parts that jump out at me:

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support.

I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads, I follow. I can’t dictate the terms, He does because He is the leader.

I can’t vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that’s who I am. Christian first, black second.  Neither should anyone from other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won’t be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

All of this makes sense as a Christian. We have to put aside our personal biases, and look at this and any election as a Christian first. Which leader is more likely to continue an agenda that is faith-based?  Who is more likely to take our Christian beliefs and push them to the back, in the name of political correctness.

This isn’t about being Democrat or Republican, Blue State or Red State, Black or White, Liberal or Conservative. It is about following your Christian convictions. It is about breaking through your own biases and opinions, and seeking the opinion of the only One who matters.

And then following Him.

It also means that, as a Christian, you must get out and vote! No excuses. Christians cannot lead, cannot expect to hold onto this country, if we do not take the time to vote for the ones we feel God leads us to vote for.

Vote!

Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoy

When my husband and I were house hunting a few years ago, high on our list was a big yard. We bought a house with a nice-sized yard, perfect for gardening and landscaping. There was just one problem…

We both hate gardening and working in the yard.

Visions of beautiful flowers and ripe tomatoes had danced in our heads, but the reality was constant weeding in the hot southern sun, running up the water bill due to drought conditions, moles that ravaged our yard and jobs that kept us too busy. We were willing to start the process, but the upkeep held no interest for us.

Our dreams of a landscaped paradise was turned into the reality of overgrown weeds and dead grass!

Unfortunately, the same can often be said of the spiritual discipline in our lives. We become Christians, sit back and wait for the flowers to bloom. But unless we study, pray, and keep ourselves open to Him, the weeds take over and we become spiritually neglected.

In short, unless we change ourselves, how can we change the world?

Ask yourself two questions: First, what can you do that you are not currently doing, that would bring you into closer communion with God. Second, what can you stop doing that you currently are doing, that would bring you into closer communion with God.

Similar questions, yet opposing answers.

So often we dance around, unable or unwilling to commit to God beyond the minimum. Next week we will look at some of the disciplines that God requires of us… things such as stewardship, solitude and silence, service, prayer, and fellowship.

Have a great weekend!

Trust & Obey

Words by John H. Sammis, 1887

Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887

When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear,
Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do;
Where He sends. we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.

There is no greater feeling than knowing you are following the will of God. Nothing can compete with that, no job, no ballgame, no experience in life. We are called to “Trust and Obey.”

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. Psalm 84:11-12

We are blessed to have a God who recognizes our work on His behalf. And we have a God who will never send us on a task we cannot complete, and will not commission us for a job without first ensuring our success. He does not, however, assure victory. There is a difference between success and victory.

Think of the Olympics that just ended. Was the athlete who finished last any less successful than the athlete who took home the gold? No! While the athlete may not have attained victory, he or she was no less successful in achieving the goal of competing.

The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. Deuteronomy 28:7

As the song says, “But we never can prove the delights of His love, until all on the altar we lay.” God’s favor is for those who follow Him, who obey Him, who trust Him. God will never betray your trust in Him. Never. Our God is a faithful God.

Trust and obey, for there is truly no other way.

Beth Moore is a Bible teacher, a writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of two daughters. Her Bible studies are read worldwide. Recently, this email came to my inbox, and while I normally don’t post emails, this one was special. You may have read it before, but even if you have, it is worth another read.

April 20, 2005, at the airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I’d had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego.

I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I’d just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport . . . an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere?

There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him.

Let’s admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I’ve learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.

I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. ‘Oh, no, God, please, no.’ I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, ‘don’t make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please.. I’ll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don’t make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!’

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, ‘Please don’t make me witness to this man. Not now. I’ll do it on the plane.’ Then I heard it…’I don’t want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.’

The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, ‘God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I’m on this Lord. I’m your girl! You’ve never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man’ Again as clearly as I’ve ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind.

‘That is not what I said, Beth. I don’t want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.’

I looked up at God and quipped, I don’t have a hairbrush. It’s in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?’ God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God’s word: ‘I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works..’ (2 Timothy 3:17)

I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself.. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, ‘Sir, May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?’

He looked back at me and said, ‘What did you say?’

‘May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?’

To which he responded in volume ten, ‘Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you’re going to have to talk louder than that.’

At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, ‘SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?’ At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, ‘If you really want to.’

Are you kidding? Of course I didn’t want to. But God didn’t seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, ‘Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don’t have a hairbrush.’

‘I have one in my bag,’ he responded.

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger’s old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man’s hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don’t do many things well, but must admit I’ve had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I’d done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.

A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man’s hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I’ve never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God - that He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.

The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God’s. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant’s. I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said, ‘Sir, do you know my Jesus?’

He said, ‘Yes, I do’ Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, ‘I’ve known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn’t marry me until I got to know the Savior.’ He said, ‘You see, the problem is, I haven’t seen my bride in months. I’ve had open-heart surgery, and she’s been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.’

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we’re completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I’ll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I’d acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.

I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, ‘that old man is sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?’

I said, ‘Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!’ And we got to share.

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you’re exhausted, you’re hungry, you’re serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you’re hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you’re sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way. . All because I didn’t want people to think I was strange. God didn’t send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

As you go about your day, try to keep your eyes open for opportunities. Pray that God will use you, not in a way you imagine, but in a way only He can see.

A close game between bitter rivals. Suddenly, one of the players goes down injured. As he lays there, the announcers say, “This puts everything into perspective.”

Our perspective on life needs constant tweaking. One minute we are yelling at our team to hit harder, then a player is injured and we get a different “perspective” on the game.

God’s perspective is unlimited and eternal. Ours is temporal and limited by our humanness. While God’s vision is perfect and clear, ours tends to be distorted by our world. When Christ was in the desert facing temptation, Satan tempted him by appealing to his human side, telling him he could achieve greatness without the coming pain of the cross. Later, Peter tells Christ the same thing.

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s”
Matthew 16:23

Peter recognized the Jesus was Messiah, but he forsook God’s perspective and evaluated the situation based on his human-vision.

Satan is always trying to tempt us by taking our focus away from God, to look at life through worldly-eyes. But adjusting our perspective, looking at things as God would have us look at them, helps us stay true to His vision.

Moses begged God to take his mission away. He was a poor speaker, and was afraid he would embarrass God when he spoke to Pharaoh. He pleaded with God to send someone else. But God chose Moses, and spoke through him. If God asks us to do something, He will give us the tools to get the job done. If the job requires skills that we don’t have, He will provide them as needed.

We must put aside our world-view and trust God’s perspective. He will not fail.

Sometimes I just feel so darn inadequate.

Today I was speaking with a dear friend who is going through major upheaval in her life. Her faith remains strong, but her heart aches. For more than an hour I tried to find the right things to say, things that would lift her spirits. Instead I kept saying, “It will get better.”

Duh. Bet that helped a bunch!

When we got off the phone, I just sat there. Why couldn’t I come up with something, ANYTHING, that would help? Why did it seem that, when my friend needed me most, my brain decided to take a leave of absence?

I turned to my Bible. And I found great comfort in my inadequacy there.

One of the greatest leaders in the Bible, Moses, struggled with feelings of inadequacy.

“Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” “But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?” Moses asked God. “How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:1-22

Moses felt unprepared to take on the task that God had uniquely chosen for him. He was to speak in front of Pharaoh, yet was a poor speaker. He was to lead a nation out of captivity, yet he was overwhelmed by the task.

But God worked through Moses. He went before Pharaoh, he spoke as the leader he was, and he led the Israelites from slavery to the Promised Land. God worked through Moses inadequacy to rescue His people!

We don’t have to be perfectly prepared for every task. In fact, it goes against our humanness. But God does not ask us to be perfect, He only asks us to obey, to listen, to allow ourselves to be used by Him.

He will use our inadequacies to His strength. He will provide words where we have none, if we will only allow Him to work through us, to His glory.

I don’t know if my mumblings and ramblings helped my friend. But I pray that in my woefully lacking words, God spoke to her. After all, His words are the words of life!

We have all heard the phrase “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1). But what exactly does that mean? Does it mean that at no point do we pass our opinion, our judgement on someone? To break it down even further, if we had a world with no judgment, what would be the purpose of our courts? Can you imagine the Olympics without judges (ok, bad example. That might actually be a good thing!).

The reality of God’s word is that we are to judge within His parameters, by God’s standard of fairness. Some types of judgement are both appropriate and necessary. Matthew 7:1 does not stand alone:

Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. Matthew 7:1-2

Jesus’ statement is not a blanket rebuke of judging, but instead against the hypocritical attitude that we use to tear others down and build ourselves up. We are to be discerning in our judgements of others, not negative.

Jesus tells us to examine our motives for judging others. Often the things we like least about ourselves are the things we judge in those around us. We point fingers at others, yet make excuses for our own bad behavior. In fact, we as a society have become great at excuses. Too fat? Blame McDonald’s. Got a speeding ticket? The cop was just trying to make a quota. Didn’t get up for church? God will understand how hard I work.

Judgement is especially appropriate when we face sin. In Corinthians, Paul says:

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways. I Corinthians 5:12)

Throughout the Bible we are told not to criticize by gossiping or being quick to judge. However, we are charged with dealing with the sin of others that can hurt. We are not to take revenge.

So before passing judgement, examine your motives. Look inside your own heart, at your own failures and weaknesses. Proceed with caution and love.

As I told you yesterday, I am a big fan of the Olympics. Tonight I was watching the men’s gymnastics team event. The underdog U.S. team led midway through the event, and ended up with the bronze medal. The team was not expected to perform well, as they had lost two of their top performers just days before leaving for Beijing.

But perform they did. At one point the team was huddled up. Gymnast Jonathan Horton spoke up and said, “No fear, no regrets.”

That phrase has stuck with me the rest of the evening. What if we could live every single day of our lives with no fear and no regrets.

What would it feel like to be unafraid of what others thought about us and speak freely of the love of Christ? To be unafraid to express our devotion to Him? Even in the free society that we live in here in the United States, we are “afraid” to offend others by speaking of our faith. Somehow it is easier to imagine crossing the seas to spread the Good News than to cross the street and invite our neighbors to worship with us.

And what would it be like to live with no regrets? To look back at yesterday and beyond, and know that we had done all we could to bring others into the Kingdom of God? That we had left no stone unturned in our desire to spread His message of love?

How amazing that would be!

Daily we live with that fear of offending the unsaved, yet by ignoring them we are condemning them to a life eternity apart from God, in Hell. And when someone we know dies apart from God, we regret never having taken the time to speak. When someone passes away, we are so programmed to say, “They are in a better place now.” But are they really? How do we know? Did we ever speak to them about our faith? Share our Jesus with them.

As Christians, let’s make our motto No Fear, No Regrets.

We hear an awful lot about forgiveness, don’t we? We are well-versed in turning the other cheek, the parable that Christ told to demonstrate forgiving our brothers.

But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. Matthew 5:39

But there is another side to the business of forgiveness… the art of asking for forgiveness.

Recently I became aware of a situation where someone repeated something that wasn’t true, without checking it out first, despite the fact that there was a professional relationship between those concerned. It was put in writing and passed around. Serious damage was done to many people, and reputations were on the line. When the gossiper (and that is what he was) found out that his unchecked facts were wrong, he basically said, “Oops” and let it end there. He has not apologized to the many people that he wronged. It would be an act of contrition, one that is desperately needed. There are hurt feelings, damaged hearts, wounded relationships. When repeatedly approached about his need to go to those he wronged, he has claimed that he has already “moved on.” But those he hurt are left wondering “why?”

Admitting that you have done something wrong is hard. Admitting it to the person that you have wronged is even harder. Asking their forgiveness is darn near impossible! After all, it involves humbling yourself to someone. Humbling ourselves to God is easy, expected, understood. Doing it before a fellow servant of God is much, much harder. And yet, we are called to do just that. If we don’t we are out of favor with God, outside the parameters of His teachings.

We are vain individuals. We don’t like to embarrass ourselves, or look weak. And somehow in our world, admitting that you are wrong has become a symbol of weakness.

A few weeks ago I wrote about confronting someone Biblically, according to Matthew 18 (Life as a Christian Woman, May 30). Earlier in Matthew, we are told that that if we are in a quarrel with someone, if our brother or sister has something against us, we must go to them immediately and seek reconciliation.