Trust in God gives confidence

I have been reading a book by Francis Schaeffer titled, "How should we then Live?". For a history teacher who loves theology, it is fascinating! Today I read an idea that the author claims was supported by both Alfred North Whitehead and J. Robert Oppenheimer; scientists in the Medieval world benefited from their Christian foundation and trust in God, a God who created them in His image, because it gave them a sense of courage to believe that they could unravel the mysteries of the universe. Believing that God is a god of logic and truth that worked in a rational way, helped them to work with a sense of confidence that the world can be understood by mere man.
Granted, others, such as Muslims have shared the premise that their desire to understand the world might also help them to understand the God they believe in, but this desire to seek God in understanding the world of science was not shared by the Chinese in history and, since around the 1500s has also not been shared by Muslims.
I love the idea that God reveals himself to us in both the Bible and in Nature and it makes me want to study both areas more and more.

Love Your God With All Your Heart...and Your Neighbor Too

It has been a year since I last posted. A good year of work and growth. The kids are growing up and the first son graduated from high school and will soon move on to college.

This past year I have become much concerned about world events and pray daily that God will grant wisdom to leaders around the world and toleration for people.

Today I led devotions at our women's fellowship group at church and chose Matthew 22:37-39 as my passage.

To paraphrase, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself."

With so much hate and so little toleration in the world today an emphasis on this verse seems important today.

As Christians, our first concern is to love God totally. We must give our total love to God, a love that dominates our emotion, directs our thoughts, and motivates our actions. Our love for God starts with a total commitment of life to God. It is through our love for God that we are able to love Man. Man is loveable because he was created in God's image, remembering that is the only way we can love some people.

We all have loving people in our lives, people we would do most anything for, but there are also those that are very difficult to love. A man who runs down families who are out to enjoy the day is not easy to love. A person who abuses children is not easy to love. A person who is always negative and rude is not easy to love. I think Jesus knows we will have some enemies in our lives, and he still calls us to love them.

In the Sermon on the Mount we are even called to pray for those who persecute us. Again, Jesus knew it would be hard to love everyone, but still he commands us to pray for them. We may not be able to love someone so much that they become good, but the Holy Spirit can intercede on our behalf and sometimes the heart of an evil one can indeed change. We are called to pray, some are even called to become prayer warriors.

We need to pray for the Holy Spirit's intervention and we need to pray for those wounded in body and spirit and for those whose loved ones have been snatched away from them. Only God can give them true comfort, but some of us are called to reach out to sit with those in pain and those that are confused.

We need to remember that our neighbor can live next door, down the street or road, someone we pass during our day or someone we work with often. There are many hurting people in this world that need a kind or encouraging word. Let us not fear those that look different from us or that we don't understand. If we find ourselves fearful, remember that God's perfect love casts out fear.

Mysterious Growth: Rocks, Seeds, and Trees

Mysterious Growth: Rocks, Seeds, and Trees

A sermon preached on June 14th and 18th at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Longview, WA, USA

Psalms 20, Mark 4:26-34, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Mysterious Growth is our topic for today, but before we talk about growth, I would like to consider some symbols many of us grew up with: rocks, seeds and trees.
I think I was in junior high when the rock in front of the church was first brought to the compound and placed at the forefront of the church lot where it could become a focal point. It looked a lot bigger when I was younger!
The rock symbolizes God as a fortress. Seeds represent growth. To me, trees have always represented foundations and being firmly rooted in God's Word.
If we look more closely at each, starting with rocks. We find God is our fortress. The passage in Psalms mentions the encouragement and protection God offers us, His name alone has strength. I have a feeling that when the rock was first placed on the compound, it was done so with great thought. Perhaps some of you even remember the discussions that went on at that time and what the symbol meant to members then.
In this world today, we all need someone to lean on. As humans, we are often compared to swaying loosely like grass in the wind. Often we change with the times, get forgetful, and our attention is claimed by the topics in the news. We spend more time on the latest fashions or crisis that shake our world than we do on God. But rocks are firm and changeless. God's Word is in this world to give us guidance and strength, it becomes a refuge. It never changes and is always there. I think the church leaders a few decades ago wanted to remind everyone who passed by that God and the Church should be our foundation.
I don't know about you, but I need a firm foundation and a steady Rock in my life because I need hope and direction in this crazy world.
I am a history teacher and when I started teaching AP World History in Nigeria over eight years ago I discovered that the course is designed around five themes and it makes so much sense to me that the first two themes center on the physical world we are in and the belief systems we center our lives on. When man was first placed in this world, he had to figure out how to survive, but as soon as he figured that out, he began seeking the Creator and trying to understand what life or death is all about and after some time, religious systems began to form. Worshipping God and establishing a relationship with him was a priority to early man and also to ancient man that lived when our scripture texts were written.
I have come to understand and believe that God created us to crave Him and without Him in our lives there is a vacuum that demands to be filled. God wants to be our rock, our refuge to build our lives on. If we build our life on Him, our foundation can be strong. I think this is one of the main reasons why the Nigerian state has not collapsed; In spite of its many faults, the people still recognize the importance of God in their lives and depend on Him. When Ebola hit, people prayed; when bombs go off, people pray; when elections threaten to turn into riots, people pray. Simply put, Nigerians are praying people and God sustains them.
One of the first things God wants of us is to learn about Him. There must be a relationship, or fellowship with Him before we can fully commit ourselves to Him. God created us with minds to think. Seeking God starts with trying to understand Him. He provided us His Word and his world to teach us about Him. In simple terms, that means that if we want to learn about God, we have to spend time with Him, read His Word, and reflect on its meaning for us in the world today.
In this busy world it is so easy to spend time on what first claims our attention. I know for myself that is is too easy to wake up in the morning and first reach for the world news or social news on the Internet; if I am not careful, before I know it I am running late for work and start rushing into a new day without taking time to connect with God. If we want to be strong, we not only need to seek God and praise Him, we also need to understand His authority and the obedience He demands of us; being obedient can start with thinking about how we spend our time. At the end of a busy day I like to relax watching tv, but then I get absorbed in NCSI or the Food Channel and have to force myself to think about what I have to do to be ready for the next school day and to check in with how the kids are doing.
I think most of us want to be productive people and to grow in our faith. We want to seek God, we wouldn't be here if we weren't seeking to understand Him better and wanting to strengthen the role He plays in our lives. Once we choose to put Him first, we learn the constant challenge to be obedient and try to understand all He promises us. I could spend a great deal of time talking about the virtues of God, but for today it is enough to say that putting our lives in His Hands is so much easier when we claim His authority and place our trust in Him. The words of the psalmist understood this. God is there for us, but sometimes he demands sacrifices of us, that's part of what it means to be in a relationship, relationships often bring about change.
That's where seeds come in. If we claim God and want to be used by Him then we become seeds where He sends us. See the thing is, God not only created us to seek Him, He also created us to live in community with the rest of His creation. He didn't create us to live as hermits or only connect with Him through Internet devotions or TV churches, but to come face to face with others and find ways we can encourage and strengthen each other. Sites on the Internet can be great tools, but the church should provide our base.
God strengthens us in different ways, but we are not created to simply survive, but to thrive. We must interact with His Word and His people. God calls us all to plant seeds. We all have others in our lives: family, friends, colleagues, and other people he calls us to interact with. Many of us are parents. I believe God calls us to first be there for our children and other family members. Family should be a priority. Another thing I appreciate about Nigeria is the importance they place on both immediate and extended family. Taking time off from work or a busy day for weddings, thanksgiving celebrations, or funerals is a priority. Invitations are sent out, food is organized, many guests sew the uniform, and come ready to dance at the reception. The whole community comes together.
God also calls each of us to be a part of a community and to serve Him in the world. The receptions in Nigeria celebrate how God is blessing, or blessed, the celebrants. Likewise, God calls us to celebrate and serve Him every day of our lives. This could mean in our place of work, the community we grew up in, and for some of us He calls us to places far away. He calls us to both nurture others and be nurtured by those we meet.
Wherever God calls us, we are called to be trees. Trees and other plants provide nourishment and shade to others. We are nourished and refreshed by God's Word and the ways we interact with people. When God created this world and the people in it, He used great diversity in the races and ethnic groups. If we don't look beyond our own people, we lose so many blessings and opportunities to grow and be challenged in the way we think and act.
My question for you today is how do you use the Rock in your life? How do you plant God's hope and promises in your life and the life of others? And finally, how do you nourish and provide shade for others to become rested and refreshed? Most people assume God calls us to only serve, but God also calls us to be served. I have found that those who only focus on giving, end up drying out quickly and they can't effectively serve for long. That's why we have a day or two of rest each week, holidays, retreats, vacations, and for missionaries there are furloughs.
I remember years ago, when I was growing up here, leaders of Emmanuel recognized that for the church to grow, it must look beyond itself. Mission became a priority. Programs reaching into the world and community were developed and are still here. So as you ask yourself how you consider the symbols of rocks, seeds, and trees in your life, use the programs the church offers and make sure you challenge yourself to get involved because if we aren't growing, we are starting to die.
I remember when my dad retired from Safeway, the doctor's first advice to him was to stay active. Physical and mental growth, and connections to others is critical to claiming God's Kingdom today, tomorrow, and for eternity. Taking time for others should be a priority. A third area I have learned to appreciate in Nigeria is in the area of hospitality, but I mean more of a spontaneous hospitality. Americans can be great hosts and hostesses when plans are made and guests are expected, but in Nigerian culture it is perfectly acceptable to drop in for a visit. Friends may drop in a for a few hours, family members may come for a few days. All guests are received warmly and accommodated. It would be rude to turn a traveler away. I had to learn early on to welcome visitors warmly and abandon the more Western approach of worrying how my plans or household would have to adjust. To be honest, I am still more Western in this area and sometimes rely on my husband or sisters-in-law that live with us to help remind me how to be a gracious hostess in a Nigerian home.
Growth is not usually easy and I think real growth demands that we move out of our comfort zone and have our habits, ideas, or sometimes eve our values challenged. Often it means accepting a new role, considering new ideas, and meeting new people. Even after twenty-four years I am still considered a visitor in Nigeria and sometimes am still challenged. That's why my time in the US is necessary. Even though I am not the same person I was when I first left, this is still my first culture.
Like you, I must ask myself daily how God can use me anew. The writer in Corinthians points out how our time in this physical world is not our permanent home, but we are called to live a life where our purpose should be to point others to God. As you go out to do this, seek out the Rock, plant those seeds, and be trees in God's world wherever He calls you. Live for Him and He will strengthen and refresh you daily. It is a mystery how God calls, strengthens, and renews us but a little mystery in our life adds much needed spice to each day. I don't know about you, but I like an abundance of flavor and diversity in life.
I pray these words have been a source of encouragement to you and a reminder to reflect on how you can grow closer to God today. Amen.

Do Not Fear

I woke up in the night, around 3:30 AM, when my husband began receiving calls from concerned people in his home state to share the information that everyone is advised to take a bath with salt water to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.

While I wasn't too happy to have my sleep disturbed, I was relieved to hear my husbands laughing response. Apparently many are taking the advice seriously and a very fearful that Ebola is spreading quickly.

Fear of the unknown is very common. Fear of what we don't understand and cannot see is even more common. It's no surprise that the most common theme Jesus addressed during his ministry was fear. He understood how fearful humans can be and he tried to calm our fears by encouraging us to put our trust and confidence in him.

It's so easy to make careless mistakes in life or to be faced by tragedy in the form of abuse, loss of financial security, floods or fires, betrayal, etc. Jesus certainly faced the first and last and provides comfort to those in pain or suffering from depression.

In times of uncertainty, do not forget to turn to God and seek comfort from the Word and in prayer.

Summer's End; New Beginnings...

Here it is the end of my summer break, which of course isn't summer in Nigeria but rainy season! Anyway, I have two more days of my break, then the weekend and then I report with the other teachers on Monday.

I hardly went out of town during the break. It was hard on the kids, but at least they had soccer camp to attend and some friends were around. As for me, I enjoyed my usual "favorites": baking, reading, watching NCSI shows, Food Channel, and Travel Channel. I also spent some time doing a little organizing around the house.

Even though nothing grand happened, I do feel refreshed. It was good to have time to tickle Daniel, share some late-night chats with Annette, and drive Nat to soccer practice across town. I find it is during the summer breaks that I feel I have more time to do "Mom" types of things. The kids are at that age where I don't want them to depend as much on me, but it's good to have time to be there for them and allow them time to develop their own levels of independence.

Becoming independent is never easy and I think letting go is even harder. I remember being excited to travel alone for the first times, get a job, and go off to college...but now to anticipate some of those opportunities for my kids is even harder. Now I know what's out there and its hard to let them stretch their wings; with all the security and health issues going on today it is especially hard.

Nonetheless, I continue to rely on the same God for guidance, protection, and trust that whatever happens, he is still in control. Watching a TV show with my daughter the other night reminded me that since my kids are black (or brown as they say), they will face challenges and attitudes that I may not understand so trusting God in those areas is like trusting someone leading me with my eyes blindfolded.

That element of trust is nothing new since I've always enjoyed change and accepting new challenges I've learned how to trust God. Granted, that doesn't mean it's easy or doesn't involve additional prayer because it does! It just means that I feel safe knowing God is in control. There's a hymn we sing here that includes the line, "...in the hollow of your hand..." I like knowing that God holds me in the hollow of his had, but I don't see him squeezing tight. He holds me loosely, knowing that I will want to stretch my wings and flutter here and there. I guess that's what I try to do with my kids too.

With a new school year starting there are new beginnings; I like new beginnings too...you never know what new challenges and opportunities are just around the corner!

Not Righteous, but Redeemed: A Sermon

Our women at church celebrated Women's Day today and I was the preacher. I always get nervous, but this time I felt calmer than usual and it was well received.

Not Righteous, but Redeemed

Romans 3:10

There is no one righteous, not even one.

 

This chosen verse for Women’s Day is a short one, but it carries a punch. I don’t know about you, but I never like it when someone points out my flaws. I know as a child, I never liked getting in trouble or getting caught doing something wrong.

As the youngest of six, I realized at an early age that if I watched what my sisters and brother did to get in trouble and worked hard not to do the same things then I could become the “good child” and didn’t get into trouble much. Thinking back, I must have been at least nine years old when I thought I was doing a pretty good job of being good, and though I hadn’t planned it, I also began to judge others.

I remember one day after getting home from Children’s Choir, I was telling my mom and one sister about how disrespectful the other kids had been. At some point I said something like, “I wish they could be more like me!” I still remember vividly the look of shock and amusement they gave me. Finally my sister asked, “Do you think you’re so perfect?” Now by that age I knew of course that I wasn’t perfect, but somehow I thought I was doing a pretty good job of being a good little girl and hoped my parents loved me a little more because of my efforts.

In the first chapters of Romans Paul spent a fair amount of time talking to the Jews, trying to convince them that their special relationship with God their Father should not bring them to believe that they had a special privilege with God who had chosen them, but instead that their special position should be a special responsibility.

The Jews didn’t have a good reputation among other Romans, mostly because the Roman government gave them some privileges, such as not having to serve in the army. For that reason, and the fact that the Jews were often arrogant and rude the Gentiles didn’t like them very much. Paul tried to advise the Jews that they should see their relationship with God as a special responsibility to bring honor and glory to God, but instead their reputation gave God a bad name.

The Jews didn’t think a verse like our theme “no one is righteous, not even one” was talking about them. They thought it was referring to the Gentiles and were probably not very happy when Paul accused them of taking advantage of God’s kindness, patience, and willingness to forgive. They didn’t want to consider the fact that they too were sinners.

We may not be exactly like the Jews, at least I hope none of us take God’s love for granted, but I think sometimes we might take his forgiveness for granted.

I remember when I was a junior secondary student and one my teachers accused me of cheating on a test. I was so embarrassed that I lied and said I hadn’t cheated. But later, I went back to him and apologized and confessed that I he had been right. I was so surprised when he didn’t seem to grant me forgiveness. Sure, he heard my confession, but even though that was my first time, he still saw my guilt. I guess I expected him to say, “ok, just don’t do it again!” but that wasn’t the case. I still had to accept my punishment. Unlike God, he wasn’t willing to forgive easily.

When I compare how patient, kind and forgiving God is towards us, it’s quite amazing! Under the Old Testament law people had to make different sin offerings[A1]  to God; animals or grains to be burnt, but the offerings had to be repeated year in and year out. Yet when Jesus died for us he was the last sin offering made. Now, God -- through Jesus -- sees us as pure and our offerings are no longer because of our sin, but offerings of love, thankfulness, and praise.

Our verse says “no one is righteous”. Chapter three goes on to say that we can understand our sin because the law explains what we should and should not do. We can try to follow the law-much like I tried to do as a child- If my sister got in trouble for talking too long on the phone, then I didn’t do that. If my brother got yelled at for tracking dirt in the house with his muddy shoes, then I made sure my shoes were clean before entering the house. If my mom got mad when someone didn’t come quickly when she called them, then I made sure I went quickly when she called my name. Like me, the serious Jews could learn how to follow the laws, but as the Bible points out elsewhere, no one could keep all the Jewish laws, they were just too many.

That is why God, after staying silent for four hundred years, finally decided to break the silence in the most loving way he possibly could. He sent his own son Jesus to be that last sin offering.

In the last paragraphs of chapter three Paul explains that since we all fall short of being completely good, we can only be redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ. In the Living Bible, verse 24 reads, “God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty.” This is not the world’s justice, that only condemns the guilty sinner, like my teacher condemned me, but Jesus’ justice looks at us just through His love and sees not our guilt, like a child who keeps making mistakes, but He sees just us, his perfect child. By ourselves we can never be righteous enough to deserve God’s love, but through the cross we become like the unblemished sacrifice that the Jews made, but now we only have to turn to God and accept his love and forgiveness. It’s not what we do, but that we believe Jesus has already done it for us.

When I was younger and did something foolish or stupid I would often dwell on my mistakes and it was like I heard voices in my head that said, “How could you do something like that?” Or “What did you just say???” Finally I realized that those voices were Satan trying to shame me into feeling bad or stupid. Now, when I do something foolish or wrong I look to God and ask how I can make the situation right or how he can help me figure out what step I should take next so that I don’t just stay annoyed or frustrated, but with God’s help I can move on. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t keep trying to do good by carrying out God’s will, but it’s still not easy and it’s not what will save us.

Today I don’t have to worry so much about making myself look righteous or good, I just have to look for God’s loving and encouraging guidance because I want to honor Him with my life. Now I can rest assured and have faith that His redeeming love is all I need. It’s all any of us needs because left to our own efforts our actions will never be enough to earn our way to heaven, it is only through His redeeming love that we find the room he has prepared for us.

As Paul put it, we are justified by grace and redeemed through faith. Grace and faith, those are two words all Lutherans should be familiar with because it is this passage in the end of chapter three that made the distinction for Luther and shows us our good works will never be enough, but rather it is our faith in Christ’s sacrificial love that redeems each of us. In the end, it is not our own actions that make us right with God, rather it is the willingness to put Him before all else in our lives. With God first in our lives, redemption is a sure thing.

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Living a Western Life with an African Twist: Laundry

After noticing how little I have blogged this year, I decided to have a theme for my blogs this summer to share different aspects of my life here in Nigeria. I hope you enjoy reading!

Doing laundry is something I don't take for granted. For most of my years in Nigeria, I have not had a washing machine in my house. Then, when I finally got one a little over a year ago, I still had to time it right because there wasn't always adequate electricity to finish a load at one time.(Occasionally I would have to rewash a load if it sat for more than a day waiting for electricity.)

These past months, my challenge has been water. There is serious road construction going on in my neighborhood so a few months ago we stopped getting water pumped through the city pipes. Now it that happened in the US I would probably just call the city water management service desk and my complaint would be heard and corrected within hours. In Nigeria it's a little different. There probably is a place to file a complaint, but it's a whole lot easier to just get the phone number for the local water tanker guy and then keep his name and number on speed dial so a delivery can be made by the next morning. (Not long ago I though we were going to have a neighborhood battle when two men on the compound called the same water tanker guy and the driver had to confirm whose call he'd gotten first and who should get the first load of water.)

With the water challenges, my husband as not wanted me to use the washing machine because it uses too much water. First we were sending wash to the guest house; one of the manager's perks has been laundry services, but that too can be a challenge if the guest house doesn't have adequate light or water. It's also hard when my husband travels and we can't easily get the laundry across town, dirty or clean.

Then it happened that my  brother-in-law came back while his school is between sessions so he started washing our laundry by hand. That worked well until the guest house grass started growing faster during the rainy season and his help was needed to man the lawn mowers each day.

For a time we were back to sending our wash to the guest house, but those last weeks of school, during the height of the rainy season, it was awfully challenging  to keep school uniforms an PE clothes washed and dried before they were needed again. (The dryer at the guest house is rarely used so a sunny day is needed to dry everything, but they are not as frequent if the rains fall often.)

As the school year finished I remembered that I could have access to the washer and dryer for direct hire staff at school. The lone set of machines can be pretty busy when the other teachers are around, but once the first group left after school closed I jumped at the chance to use the machines.

I've developed a system of washing twice a week. I start about 7:00 am, put in the first load go walking/jogging for a few miles and then move it to the dryer and start another load in the washer. Then I go home, shower, get the kids off to soccer camp and maybe eat breakfast before the next load is ready to go in. I don't always stay to dry the last load, if it's a sunny day it can dry on the line at home. Usually I don't have more than three loads.

There can still be hitches, one day I came to find that the storm the night before had burned the plug-in and I had to call the school electrician who was still in staff morning devotions. There is a sign up list for both machines so if someone gets a late start it may  be hard to stick to the schedule. I had another hitch the other day when the electricity supply was cut off for a short time. When that happens, even for a few seconds, the wash cycle has to start over again. (Good thing I was washing a blanket that could use some extra wash time!) Usually it takes me about six hours to wash three big loads, sometimes over eight!

So next time you do your own laundry, appreciate the method you have and give thanks for the light (electricity), water, and your ability to leave the machine to wash without interruption. If you live like I do where you may not have easy access to all three then you can understand why I don't mind spending half my day on laundry when I have the time. I guess time is the other commodity one doesn't always have. For now, I enjoy washing with relative ease and folding warm clothes fresh out of the dryer.