Monthly Archives: May 2020

“Mother’s Day for those Who Wish it Wasn’t”

On May 10, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

There are a lot of people who don’t like Mother’s Day. So, rest assured that you are not alone if you are one of those people.

There are many good reasons for this dislike, or even for this hatred of the holiday. Some moms are estranged from their own moms and/or their children. Some are not estranged, but the relationships are strained. Some women desperately wanted to have children, but couldn’t. Others had children, and wished they hadn’t. Some mothers have lost their children to death. The list goes on, but I will not.

Perhaps we need to transform and rename the holiday. Perhaps we could call it something like “Nurturer’s Day.” On “Nurturers Day,” we would send cards and gifts and warm greetings to all the women and men who have nurtured us over the years. We would also recognize the importance of our own role as nurturers.

No one is ever too old, too male, to female—too anything—to be a nurturer. Nurturing is an equal-opportunity employer.

Now, I don’t mean to devalue mothers. I had a really good one, and my wife is a really good one, even though she often thinks she’s not. For those of you who have wonderful relationships with your moms and your children, I say, “Excellent!”

But for those who struggle with this Hallmark Holiday, I say, “Happy Nurturer’s Day!” May your tribe increase! And may we celebrate your ability to nurture every day! May we also imitate it!

,

“Interrupted by God”

On May 9, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“He has the right to interrupt your life. He is Lord. When you accepted Him as Lord, you gave Him the right to help Himself to your life anytime He wants.” (Henry Blackaby)

The above us a quote in a fine little book that our church is using for a Bible study. That quote was a burning bush for me. “I must turn aside and see why this saying is blazing, but not consumed,” I said to myself.

But here is the problem: I don’t like being interrupted. Oh, I am perfectly willing to interrupt myself. I do it all the time, blaming it on attention deficit disorder. But to allow someone else to interrupt?? No, I can’t have that!

And yet, when I stop to think about it, being interrupted by God could be a very good thing. God might be interrupting something really stupid and wrong that I was about to say or do. Or God might be interrupting something not quite so good, in order to direct me to something that is better.

In any case, God is God and I am not. I forget this quite often. Why? Because I want to forget, that’s why!

Classic Christian theology holds that God interrupted His own self, in order to come on a rescue mission to this planet. Jesus was God’s interruption of God’s own self. The cross was the most radical aspect of this interruption, besides the resurrection.

If God could interrupt himself, perhaps I could be a little more understanding of his interruptions of me.

Help yourself to me, Lord!

, , , ,

“Tied to God with a Double ‘Not’”

On May 7, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37, English Standard Version)

I have always struggled with the idea that I can be saved. I am only too aware of how often I’ve thought, said, and done terrible things. This may not be quite as true for me now as it used to be, but I still mess up on a very regular basis. How can someone like me ever be saved?

So, Jesus’ statement in John 6:37 is a great problem for me, and at the same time, a great comfort to me.

I looked at the verse in the Greek, and noticed that Jesus uses two negatives in the verse. This is a no-no in English, but is very acceptable in many other languages. The English Standard Version translates these two “not” words with the word “never.”

Usually just one of these two words for “not” will be used, but when they are both used, it means that the speaker is being very emphatic. Apparently, Jesus is saying, quite emphatically, that neither he nor his heavenly father are in the rejection business. We are tied to God with a double not!

I often come to Jesus and the Father and say, “Well, here I am. I’ve messed up again.” But the point is that I do come to them.

Maybe that’s the point for you as well, my friend.

, , ,

“The Resurrection of Humor”

On May 6, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

After Jesus’ resurrection, most of his disciples were quite skeptical about the whole thing. They thought exactly what most of us would think: Somebody had robbed the grave—of course! Dead men tell no tales; they also don’t get undead.

So, two of Jesus’ disciples were leaving Jerusalem and going to the village of Emmaus (wherever that is), and they were talking about the strange things that happened over the past several days, including the disappearance of Jesus’ body.

As they were discussing these matters, the risen Jesus came up and joined them. But they didn’t recognize him. Maybe he looked different. But then again, it was getting toward dark, and maybe that explains their lack of recognition. My own suspicion is that they didn’t know who he was because they weren’t expecting to see him. I have a tendency to see only what I’m looking for. I suspect that I am not alone in this tendency.

When Jesus walked up and joined the conversation, his first words basically “Watcha talkin’ about, guys?”

“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what’s been goin’ on these past few days?” one of them replied.

And then, Jesus said one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard or read. “What things are those?” Talk about “playing dumb!” Apparently, one of the things that was raised from the dead was Jesus’ sense of humor.

And, of course, if you can make a joke after you’ve been arrested, tortured, tried, condemned to death, and slowly killed, well . . . then anything is a subject for humor.

Eventually, Jesus revealed to these two unsuspecting straight men who he was. Initially, after the big reveal, they were simply astonished. Hopefully, they eventually got the joke. In any case, Luke recorded the joke in his Gospel (chapter 24). One of the things that came out of the tomb with Jesus was humor.

Especially right now, when this killer virus and a failing economy are frightening us all, we need to laugh. Those who are taking the virus seriously need to laugh. Those who are convinced that this is all a hoax need to laugh. Those who are affected by the economic recession (and who of us is not?) need to laugh.

Like Jesus’ death, the things we are going through right now are ferociously serious. That is precisely why we need to remember that humor came out of the grave along with Jesus. It is only as we laugh—especially at our own selves—that we are able to solve problems, grieve when necessary, and eventually move on.

, , ,

“Winning the Moment”

On May 5, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 “Success is taking positive action, nothing more.” (From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey)

A friend of mine trains student athletes. He talks to them about “winning the moment.” His point is that you don’t have to wait until the end of the game to win. You can win three hundred times during the game by winning the moment.

What would winning the moment look like for me today?

  • Avoiding time wasters such as computer games, looking back on the past with either longing or regret, looking to the future with either fear or false hope.
  • Attending to my own recovery from my addiction.
  • Helping others with their recovery.
  • Writing.
  • Learning to write better.
  • Working on book reviews.
  • Taking good care of the house and our little corner of Eden.
  • Taking good care of our little dog.
  • Loving my wife.
  • Not talking too much.
  • Eating wisely.
  • Exercising.
  • Learning a bit more Spanish.

Well, there! My day lies before me. God, let’s win the moments! Let’s also help others to win their moments.

, , , ,

“The Priority of Being”

On May 2, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Jesus, according to Luke 6:45, English Standard Version)

A twelve-step reading this morning pointed out that being is prior to doing. What we do, if it is to have any real and lasting impact for good, must come from our being.

Joyce Meyer says, “We are human beings, not human doings.” I agree.

And yet, the doings are so much easier to do, than the being is to be. Besides, doings are expected by others. Many of them don’t care about our being. They can’t access that.

On the other hand, to expect good actions from a human being who is corrupt in his/her very core is like expecting to use a microwave to mow your lawn.

So, how do I pay attention to being the best version of myself today, and thus preparing to be an even better human being tomorrow? I wish I knew, but I don’t. But I do have some suspicions.

Suspicion # 1: I can generally improve at most things whenever I pay attention. A good question to ask throughout the day is, “What am I really being right now?” It is a difficult question to ask, and even harder to answer. Most of the good questions are difficult to ask or to answer. That is one way to know that they are good questions.

Suspicion # 2: My being is closely related to whether I realize that I have the right and the responsibility to be on this planet. I will act in accordance with what I believe at this point. If I don’t have the right to be here—something I’ve struggled with since I was knee-high to a grasshopper—I will regard all my doings as irrelevant. A good affirmation for me or for you is this: Today I am believing that I have the right to be here.

Suspicion # 3: The best way for me to monitor my being (and to become a better human being) is to ask what is my motivation in this situation? Whence does this thought, word, feeling, action, attitude come? Again, I’ve learned from Andy Stanley to use the word “really.” What is my motivation, really?

Suspicion # 4: While being is more important than doing, and while being precedes doing, the two are mutually reinforcing. My being affects my doing, but the converse is also true. If I am doing good things, that can positively reinforce my being-ness. And, of course, if I am doing bad things, that is going to harm my very being. Like any married couple, you must distinguish between being and doing, but they do in fact have an effect on one another, for good or ill.

I am tempted at this point to quote (entirely out of context), the words from Jesus, “What God has joined together, may humans not cut in two!”

I wonder if it would hurt my being if I yielded to the temptation? I’m going to go for it!

“What God has joined together, may humans not cut in two!”

, , , , , , ,
Follow on Feedly