To Be Filled

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 

Psalm 1:1-2

I read over these words, and my mind just reels with all that it contains. I like the NLT version of it that says:

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, 

or stand around with sinners, 

or join in with mockers, 

but they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

What this tells me is that we will always, at all points in time, be filled...with something. At all points in time, we are either falling into one of two categories:
(1) we are meditating on worldly issues and seeing circumstances from a worldly perspective, or
(2) we are meditating on the law of the Lord and delighting in its wisdom.

There is no in between on this one, but there is a constant battle for our attention. Which one will get it? The circumstances of the world, or the delight of the Lord?

Oh, mercy, I can say from personal experience of late, that this battle is ongoing, and requires constant attention throughout the day. That's one of the reasons that we are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Many times throughout scripture, we are told to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, all day long, all night long, every moment of every day, meditate on the law of the Lord.

In Joshua 1:8, it says, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it." See, when we listen to the advice of the wicked, or join in with mockers, we are allowing our minds to be filled with that which does not line up with the Word of God. It may even sound good, make sense, but it is important to remember that there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. If we are not meditating on the law of the Lord at every moment, we can be easily swayed by circumstances or people around us.

Psalm 119 is filled with exhortations to meditate on his word, over and over again.

Verses 97-103 says, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Then, take a look at Proverbs 27:7 (I love this!)
He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Follow me for just a moment. Imagine having gone all day without eating, for whatever reason. You were busy chasing the kids, running errands, working hard..somehow eating took a backseat to your priorities of the day...right up until about 3:30 in the afternoon, when your stomach is just screaming with hunger. You are hearing it, growling like a rabid dog, nonstop.

You open the pantry. Nothing, except maybe some stale crackers and canned soup. Nothing looks very appetizing at all, but you are reeeeaaaaalllllyy hungry. You waver a bit, thinking about the crackers, thinking that the dry staleness could be tolerated for the sake of putting something into the belly.

Just then the phone rings. Your husband has arranged for a babysitter and wants to take you out for a fancy dinner...the kind with candlelight and soft music, tender steak with mushrooms and veggies, fresh, hot bread, baked potato loaded with all the goodies, exquisite dessert that just melts on your tongue. Your mouth is salivating at the plan of it all, and you quickly close the pantry door, determined to hold out for the good stuff.

You have an amazing time out at dinner with your husband. Great company, great conversation, and outstanding food. You savor every bite of it, thinking about how it is just hitting that perfect spot of delicious love. Your stomach is so full, your mouth is so content, your mind is at total and complete ease.

When you arrive home, you begin to pick up the kitchen a bit from the remnants of the kids' dinnertime. You open the pantry and eye the box of old, stale crackers that were tempting you just hours before. You give a slight chuckle, as now, they hold absolutely no appeal whatsoever. You. are. already. FULL.

Our hearts are the same. Jesus said that He came that we might have life, and have it to the full. I love that He said to us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

When it is the teachings of Jesus, the love of Jesus, the ways of the Master that fill us, when we ponder His love and mercy rather than the ways of this world, nothing else seems worth the time or energy to ponder. When we are so filled with the love of Jesus, that is what comes out of us. Because the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. That which has filled him, will overflow into others.

When we are meditating on the Law of the Lord throughout the day and night, we are filled with His ways, His love, His peace, and His mercy. But when we are not allowing ourselves to be filled by Him daily, when we are neglecting the Word of the Lord, when we are not communing with Him, and often, then our souls are hungry, empty, craving anything at all. At that point, anything looks tasty. Counsel of the wicked, words of the mockers, ways of sinners. The ways of man that lead to death.

But when we are full, there is nothing that can entice us, nothing that can shake us, nothing that can lead us astray. We are already full.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God.

What about you? What are you filling yourself with these days?

Life of Service, Part 2

So what does a life of service look like?

This is what Jesus said about it:

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.

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

         You know what I really love about that passage? They had to ask the King when they had served him! They said, “Lord, when did we do those things??” Seriously? They didn’t know?? 

No, they didn’t know they were serving the King in their day-to-day acts of service. Service was such a part of their world, of their everyday life, it wasn’t a chore or extra errand for them to check off of a list; it was their passion of life.

What does a life of service look like? I think that in order to fully answer that, we must first understand what God has asked of us. When He calls us to serve, what does He mean?

Isaiah 58 is one of the most powerful passages on this. Starting in verse 7, this is what God has said,

“What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on…

Continuing in verse 9…

“If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, if you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

And then in verse 11, for anyone looking for hope, here’s a word for you…

“I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.

Seriously, yall! As they say in Texas, if that doesn’t light your fire with hope, your wood is wet!

Further Scripture says this about the topic:

James 1:14-17

         What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

2 Corinthians 8:13

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”

Proverbs 3:27

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

         I know that many have studied the Proverbs 31 woman, the lady who set the bar entirely too high for us. She frustrates me to no end, but when I went back to read about her again in light of Isaiah 58, one thing stood out to me. 

A wife of noble character who can find? 

       She is worth far more than rubies.

 ¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her 

       and lacks nothing of value.

 ¹² She brings him good, not harm, 

       all the days of her life.

 ¹³ She selects wool and flax 

       and works with eager hands.

 ¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, 

       bringing her food from afar.

 ¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark; 

       she provides food for her family 

       and portions for her servant girls.

 ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; 

       out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

 ¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously; 

       her arms are strong for her tasks.

 ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable, 

       and her lamp does not go out at night.

 ¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff 

       and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

 ²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor 

       and extends her hands to the needy.

 ²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household; 

       for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

 ²² She makes coverings for her bed; 

       she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

 ²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate, 

       where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

 ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them, 

       and supplies the merchants with sashes.

 ²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity; 

       she can laugh at the days to come.

 ²⁶ She speaks with wisdom, 

       and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

 ²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household 

       and does not eat the bread of idleness.

 ²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed; 

       her husband also, and he praises her:

 ²⁹ "Many women do noble things, 

       but you surpass them all."

 ³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; 

       but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

 ³¹ Give her the reward she has earned, 

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

Did you hear it? In the midst of all that she had going on in her life, while selecting wool and flax, while bringing food, while buying a field and planting a vineyard, while spinning clothes and making bed coverings, somehow in the midst of all of that, she did not forget God’s command:

Verse 20 says, She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. This excellent wife, this amazing mother whose children rise up to call her blessed, she did not forget the commands of the Lord. Amidst the whirlwinds of her busy life, she did not forget that first and foremost, she has been called a servant of the Most High God. She did not forget what He had called her to do. 

So if this great woman, this example to us all, should we not follow her lead in the area as well?

More to come...

Thoughts from an Apostle's Wife

So, I am the wife an apostle. Truly, a real, live, world-traveling, tongue speaking, persecution enduring, Christ following, obedient apostle. His calling is clear, and his heart is totally sold out. So proud of my husband.

I often think about Peter's wife. I wish I knew her name, other than Peter's wife. I imagine that she was an incredible, blessed, humble woman of God. I wish I could be like her. I wonder if she struggled when her man was away. He was gone for looooong stretches. I wonder if she ever asked him, "Peter, where ya been for the last three years, or so? Whatcha been doing? Don't you miss me?" I wonder if she ever wished Peter would return to the fishing boat and bring home the bacon. I wonder if she ever wished for a more "normal" life. But her husband was called, and he answered. He followed Jesus to his dying day, and became a great shepherd of the Church in the process.

I wish God had left more stories for us(me) about women such as Peter's wife. I love the stories of Peter and all that he did in obedience to Christ, but what about the ones supporting him?What about the ones who stayed behind? What were their lessons? How did they grow and move in faith? How did they avoid resentment and bitterness? Whom did their lives impact in their quiet obedience?

I remember a letter that I had sent to my husband when we were corresponding before we got married. It makes me laugh now to think of what I wrote then. I told him that I was not the sort of girl to stay behind taking care of the homefront. I was a goer too, just like him. That's to think about now, as I was getting letters from him at that point in time after being taken hostage by the LRA in northern Uganda, being robbed in Saudi Arabia, being caught in the war raids in Uganda. Although I could definitely do without the kidnapping, imprisonments, and torture, I was sure I was a goer. Just like him. And so he needed to know that once we got married, I was going to be traveling with him. It's all part of the adventure for Christ, right?

Silly, feminist. Turns out women can't do it all. We're not supposed to. I have a calling as well, and a place and seasons to live that out. Turns out for this season of my life, I'll be doing a little less traveling, and a whole lot more foundation laying in the lives of three gorgeous and vivacious girls. And it turns out that this is an incredible ministry too, teaching little ones what it looks like to be obedient in servanthood.

I wish I could talk to Peter's wife. I'm sure she would have some encouraging words for when I am feeling pent up, longing to dream under the expansive African sky, missing my man when he is away. I'm sure that she would remind me that it is, in fact, not about me, and it is all worth it in the end.

I am married to an apostle, and tonight he is home, asleep next to me. And so I will cherish the time before I proudly send him out again. Good night.