Seems like everywhere I turn lately I've noticed some of "the unsung heroes". Folks that serve us all without fanfare or even notice. Folks that we might even take for granted. Unless they quit. Folks that I've never heard complain but I wonder if they ever feel unappreciated.
Here's some of the folks that caught my attention.....
One day it was some church nursery workers that have been cheerfully singing lullabies to generations of babies. I'm sure some Mommies thank them when they retrieve their little cherubs but mostly this is an inconspicuous labor of love.
One day it was the guys that collect my garbage early every Tuesday morning. Occasionally I'm out at the end of my driveway when they come, sometimes with a treat but often not. And I've never overheard any complaining about their role - usually some friendly laughter and always a polite greeting. I hope lots of people tell them "thank you".
Another day it was an Army wife with a toddler. Her husband has been deployed most of the baby's life (for the third time since they've been married, I think she said) and their families are on the other side of the country. She was not inclined in the least to feel sorry for herself but she did say she was hoping the Moms in the preschool music class would turn out to be a good source of friends. When I thanked her for her sacrifice, she was genuinely surprised. Strong woman. I think I'd cry a lot if I were in her shoes.
I get to watch up close some longtime heroes. Some folks in their twilight times where it's easy to question one's "worth" and "contribution" and wonder how much they still matter. I think it'd be awfully hard to keep a great attitude when you feel worn out.
One really talented gal I know is sometimes tempted to feel washed up or overlooked or insignificant. She's experienced remarks that imply she's "past her prime" and that it's time for someone else to take that ministry role. Good thing those views have not been expressed in my presence - I have some awfully strong opinions about that. So far I've not read anything in Scripture that indicates God tells us to retire from serving Him at some certain age.....
There's a whole group of women I know that have to be some of the greatest of all unsung heroes - single Moms. I cannot fathom how they manage. I'm so glad my church intentionally celebrates them on Mother's Day. Most 6 year olds can't pull off flowers and candy on their own. And for the record, the single Moms I know do it with a smile and a brave spirit. I am so proud to know them. I just want them to know.
And then there's all the zillions of regular ole' ordinary folks that don't stand out. That don't get applauded or even noticed cause they're just living their lives, just serving and loving and doing things that don't bring any attention from the world. College students trying to live right and to grow up into responsible adults. Moms and Dads that so want to do everything just right and still make a living and pay taxes and enjoy dinner & a movie once in a while. Single adults that sometimes feel like they don't have a place but deeply longing to. Church staff that don't get the "perks" of attention but just the occasional headache of serving smelly sheep. Pastors' families that have to share their dad with all of us and also have to endure too many "perks" of attention.
These folks are dear to me. And even more so, to God. The world may rarely, if ever, take note of what they do. Of their service and their faithfulness and their courage. But He does. And He has a significant word for them:
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do (Hebrews 6:10)
And He not only notices, He applauds. To all the unsung heroes out there, listen.... I'm singing your praises to Him.
And the sun stood still
I've had this post on my heart for quite some time but I've been hesitant to share it. Not because I don't completely believe every word. Not at all. But I fear that some extrapolations of it might cause someone to feel condemnation or defeat. Where there is none. So, if you've made a different decision than the one urged in this post, please don't think I am judging you or denouncing you. This post is meant to encourage those still in the fight. To give hope and strength. Please know that.
Sometimes marriage doesn't turn out like the fairytales promise. (Make that "never" instead of "sometimes"...) Sometimes things get really bad and feelings of desperation set in. I've seen it happen hundreds of times. Then feelings of regretted decisions follow. As in "I never should have married him" etc. There may be times where those regrets are legitimate. But don't let the wrong action make it worse. The consequential decisions have critical repercussions and the fallout is forever. Good and bad. Forever.
If you're in a marriage that you think never should have happened, and if you are thinking about calling it quits, I ask that you wait. And read this passage from Joshua 10 -
But first a little background.....
The Israelites were under the leadership of Joshua. Moses was gone and Joshua was in charge. He was doing a great job, except for one mistake. He made a decision without asking God for input. The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. (Joshua 9:14,15)
Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal - Joshua making peace with these folks. In fact, it sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? Except that God had said not to. He repeatedly told Joshua to be careful to observe all that He had commanded Moses to do. And His instructions to Moses included making no covenant with the inhabitants of the land He was giving them (Exodus 23:31-33).
But Joshua was deceived by the group of Gibeonites that came asking for a covenant of peace. They said they were from far away when in fact, they were inhabitants of the land that God had promised to Israel. Making a peace treaty with them would be a direct violation of God's command.
Shouldn't we let Josh off the hook? I mean, seriously, he was a great leader and this error wasn't his fault. These Gibeonites lied to him! Not his fault at all!
Except that it was his fault. He acted without asking God what to do. Big mistake. Costly one.
OK, so we'll go with that. But then, once he found out the truth and realized his error, he could be released from this covenant, right?
In a word, NO. We see in this passage (and over and over throughout Scripture) how seriously God takes covenants. The covenant of marriage is His picture to the world of His commitment to us. Once God enters into a covenant, HE DOES NOT LEAVE. He commits Himself to us forever.
And when God's people made a covenant - even one with the deceitful Gibeonites - He would not allow them to leave. He required that His people live up to the promises made and not only live in peace with these people but also protect them from harm.
Wow. God expected a lot of His people, didn't He?
But look what He did on their behalf!!!! Let me warn you - this is so exciting you might need to sit down. This is positively awesome. And true.
The Gibeonites were being attacked by five other nations. It looked hopeless. They sent word to Joshua, informing him of their plight and reminding him that their covenant relationship bound him to fight for them, to protect them, to come to their aid.
I can't help but wonder if Cap'n Josh had a moment where he thought, "They deserve to be defeated after what they did to me". But Scripture doesn't tell us that. What it does say is that Joshua went to their aid.
More importantly, God came to Joshua's aid.
7So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
9After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself onb its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel
Notice that not only did the Israelites prevail, the Gibeonites were preserved and the true enemy was annihilated.
If you are in a covenant that's being attacked, even a covenant that you never should have made, I am praying that you will follow Joshua's example and ask God to rain down hailstones on the enemy and even to make the sun stand still while He defeats the one who desires your destruction. That enemy is not your covenant partner.
The cycle of giving
Luke 6:38 - Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.
I love this verse that Dr. Luke pens for us! It is such a beautiful expression of the generosity of God. “Pressed down, shaken together, running over” - not “whatever you give, you will get” . Instead it is a picture of uncontainable abundance.
The verse is usually thought of in terms of financial giving and certainly its application includes that. Other verses express the same exhortation for us to be lavish in giving back to God what He has given to us, and that God will not only notice but also reward that. Proverbs 22:9 - He who is generous will be blessed for he gives some of his food to the poor. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 - Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness abides forever. Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.
Indeed, we can understand the verse from Luke to apply to how we give our money and invest for Eternity. But we miss a great portion of its application if we don’t look at it in context. Verse 35 is smack dab in the middle of a passage where Jesus is majoring on how we treat others, particularly those who don’t treat us well or cannot do anything beneficial for us in return. Focusing in on just verses 35-38 gives us a broader idea of what this particular verse has for us: But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful and do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon and you will be pardoned. Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.
We see that the meaning goes far beyond our checkbook. Jesus is including how we treat people, how we view them, how we judge them. He calls us to be merciful - not condoning sin but rather not giving others the judgment they deserve. Extending grace and the benefit of the doubt, rather than condemnation. Making allowances for their failures and offering understanding for their shortcomings. “Pardon” - releasing them from our expectations of what we believe they owe us. I don’t think this calls us to pretend the wrong behavior isn’t there - rather it is just not insisting that others conform to how we think they should behave and instead letting them answer to God.
The consequences of our choices, the standard we use towards others - whether financial or otherwise - is more of the same towards ourselves. And I believe these results happen in this present life as well as in Eternity. The measure we use towards others is the same God will apply to us. Multiplied.
May this truth grip our hearts and encourage us towards great mercy and generosity. Because we all want that to come back to our own lives!
Celebrate Easter
This Sunday, we will head to church to celebrate Easter. New clothes, pretty flowers, yummy food. All good things but what are we celebrating? The arrival of spring? An obligatory religious observation? Let's take a few minutes to focus on what the day really means.
Jesus died. The One who healed folks who couldn't see or walk. He even brought some back to life. The One who fed the hungry. The One who loved people to wholeness, showed them how to live. The One who called people to repentance from sin. The One who said if we saw Him, then we had seen the Father.
This One, the Hope for all the world, died. And He said He had to. That it was why He came. To be the perfect sacrifice, required for the sin of the world. Can you imagine how His followers felt? Talk about grief and disappointment and confusion. I mean, really, they followed this Man and believed that He was going to change the world. They gave up their way of life to answer His call. They saw actual miracles and placed all their hope in Him.
Then He ups and dies. Certainly they must have had a few moments of doubt - if He were really who He claimed to be, wouldn't He have asserted a little Divine power and wiped out the bad guys?? Ponder for a moment what your feelings would have been – disappointment, confusion, disillusionment, fear, maybe even anger?
Then, to the amazement of them all....even though He had told them...His body isn't in the tomb. He appears! Living and breathing! NO WAY!!!
The initial response must have been shock. Then, I imagine that Jesus’s words and explanations from the preceding three years began to sink in. They finally grasped what He meant, why He came, why He died and that He had come back to life. I wonder how long it took for them to understand what His death on the cross accomplished.
He paid the debt we owe God . Sin is costly - it exacts death from those who commit it. And Jesus's voluntary death was the only means by which our debt could be paid. So He paid it. Mercy. Amazing mercy. Love beyond compare. I hope we never get over being amazed at such great love!
But then He did the impossible. He defeated Death! No longer would man have to fear Death because Jesus overcame it! Not only can our sin be paid for so that we can be acceptable to God, but we now don't have to fear Death. He conquered it! Because of His resurrecting Himself, He gives to us the promise of resurrection. To live forever, without sin or death. Oh hallelujah!
This year, as we celebrate Easter,let's focus on what His death AND His resurrection do for us. And ponder, just for a moment, that this same power that raised Jesus from the dead resides in us. NOW. Is there anything in your life that could use some resurrection power? A relationship? A dream? Finances? Self-control? Joy? Hope? Because of Easter, that power, that Glory, can be present in our lives through Jesus. Those of us who are Christ-followers have resurrection power that enables us to live supernatural lives. If that doesn't describe you, do you want it to?
Celebrate Easter. For real.
Have you heard....
When I was a little girl, a popular TV show had a segment where a group of girls sang a song that went something like this "You'll never catch one of us repeating gossip...so you'd better be sure and listen close the first time!" Hee-Haw. Made us laugh every time we saw it.
It's not so funny being the victim of gossip, though. Can you relate??
God makes it very clear that He hates gossip. He lists it among murder and pride and lying in Proverbs 6:16-19 --
There are six things the Lord hates – no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers.
The dictionary defines gossip as "idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others". OK, so what's "idle talk"? Since Scripture warns us about such, we should know what it is.
But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36
Gulp. This sounds serious indeed. And it is. Gossip, or idle talk, consists of things said about other people that are not profitable to the subject, the hearer, or the speaker.
Gossip is sometimes lies sprinkled with some truth. Words that cause the hearer to think less of the person being "discussed" . Words that destroy relationships. Murder reputations. Other times, the juicy morsels are all lies. And irreparable damage is done. But sometimes, gossip consists of things that are true but would have been better left unsaid. Words that are not profitable for the one being discussed. Secrets shared that should have never been disclosed.
Take a look at these verses with me:
Proverbs 16:28, A troublemaker stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret Proverbs 11:12-13.
I've done it. Maybe you have, too. Shared some information that was of no benefit to the hearer or the subject. It's almost comical how we do it. "Did you hear that..." or "I don't know if this is right but I heard..." My personal UNfavorite is the one thinly disguised as a prayer request - "I know you'll want to be praying about this....". Super spiritual for sure.
I don't know why we are tempted to do it. When we do, we have fallen prey to the deception that such "sharing" will be beneficial to US. That by tearing someone else down, we will look bigger. But that's the biggest lie of all. We not only do damage to others with our gossipy words, but we also destroy our own selves.
Maybe we will be motivated to curb our gossipy tongue when we remember the truth of Proverbs 18:21 -
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits
We will enjoy the fruit of life-giving words. Or we will reap the consequences of death-inducing words.
My Mama said it this way "What goes around, comes around."
Amen, Mama. Amen.