HIGHLIGHTING...THE HIGHLIGHTER

Today's college student can “rent” an online book—unlike my “era” when long lines for textbook-buying snaked out of the college bookstore at the beginning of each term. The most prized copies—cheaper to buy—had the sticker “used” on them. They also typically had generous colored markings inside, thanks to “highlighter markers.” The more markings, the lower the resell value.

We of the Highlighter Generation can thank a chemist named Dr. Frank Honn, who in 1963 (my high school junior year) invented what became a ubiquitous study tool. However, early “highlighters” tended to bleed through thin paper, which included my Bible. In time, a waxy highlighter became available and my go-to for Bible-marking.

Today, those Bible-marking “highlights” re-tell something of my spiritual history. Once I broke away from the thinking that I shouldn't write in my Bible, it became a poignant record of my times with God and sermons that touched my heart. My first Bible (King James Version) was my dad's Bible from young adulthood, a gift from his Sunday school teacher. Its front-page inscription is dated Dec. 25, 1935, meaning my dad was 20 years old.

I know little of my dad's early history other than his mother died (probably of pneumonia in those pre-antibiotic days) when he was 12. His dad worked for the railroad, and desperately needed help caring for his small children. Thus his dad quickly married a single co-worker (a railroad cook) who practiced a ritualistic faith, not that of Dad's birth mother. After high school, Dad attended college in his hometown, finding a church home where Bible-reading mattered.

Years later, when I was 8 or 9, Dad gave me that Bible to take to church and Sunday school. It was, however, more a “prop” for “who-brought-their-Bible-today” checks. But Dad's old Bible was, well, old, with tiny type with lots of “ye,” “thee” and “thou.” 

Ninety years later after he acquired it, I still have it (along with a “New King James,” “Revised Standard Version,” “Living Bible,” “Amplified New Testament,” “New American Standard,” and my personal study Bible, New International Version. Sometimes, in reaching for my dad's King James version, I'll read the first-page inscription in red pencil by his long-ago Sunday school teacher. It says:

This marked copy of God's sure Word is given you as a prize for your faithful attendance at Sunday school. Another prize is promised you in this book for faithfulness to God wants you to find: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Romans 2:10).

With the same red pencil, his teacher had highlighted thirty key verses or sections of the Bible—one third in the Old Testament, two-thirds in the New. His Sunday school teacher did not sign the inscription. I sometimes wonder about him or her. But I'm grateful that this person took the time to emphasize the value of a Bible to a young adult in a Sunday school class—one who lost a loving parent and needed a spiritual mentor to highlight vital truths from God.

Readers...do you have a “personal Bible” story?

*Carter's Ink Company produced the first pens, trademarked Hi-Liter (c); In 1975 Avery Dennison Corporation acquired Carter's and took on highlighter production.

JUST LISTENING

 

I stepped out the front door that early morning, looked down the street, and just listened. The birds of early spring were whistling, chortling, cawing, tweeting, and more..... We get so used to our "natural surroundings" that I suspect we forget that they, too, can praise their Creator.

Among Biblical reminders:

*Meadows (“clothed with flocks of sheep”) and valleys (“carpeted with grain”) “all shout and sing for joy!” (Psalm 65:13 NLT)

*As we look “up”: “The heavens declare the glory of God' the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” (Psalm 19:1-2)

*Watching the heaving waves, hearing the thunder of the surf and the whispering retreating waves: “The seas have lifted up their voice” (Psalm 93:3)

*The whole landscape: “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy” (Psalm 96:11-12).

As a still-single young adult (age 31), six months apart I lost my parents to cancer and a heart attack. In that difficult “next year” of grief plus re-homing their belongings and selling their home, I had to make many trips across one of the passes of majestic Mount Rainier. Near the summit, there was a turnoff that I gladly took for a driver's break. As I got out of the car, there rearing above me, in glistening splendor, was the state's trademark mountain. As I paused, I listened to my heart in awe of this sight reminding me of the power and strength of its Creator.

I had memorized much of Psalm 139, and several verses revisited as I considered the mountain grandeur:

Verse 5: God knew the past and the future: “You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

Verses 8-10: Wherever I go—the heights, the depths, beyond the dawn, on the far side of the sea, “even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

Washington's tallest mountain (a “sleeping volcano”) was worshiped by Native Americans, who called it “Tahoma.” (Strangely, it was later named "Rainier" by a British naval officer who surveyed Washington's coast and decided to give the mountain his friend's name. The friend never saw it in person!) I can understand their awe for a magnificent structure of creation. It helped me “lift mine eyes unto the hills” (Psalm 121), past my earth-bound worries and concerns, to my Creator.

I suspect too often we slam off the alarm, rush through the morning hygiene tasks, grab a breakfast and run to start our days. But now, in early mornings, the earth beckons me to pause and listen to the distinct voices the Creator gave the different bird species.

Maybe it's just me, but the gentle sunrise stillness especially draws me to worship. The cool, the dew, the chirps and chortles of winged life--just listening prompts my heart to praise the Creator.

HIDDEN

 It's one of the most frequently memorized Bible verses:

Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11)

That verse sometimes came to mind as I look out the window and watch the local squirrels hurriedly dig a hole and drop in a just-acquired walnut. Often, when weeding, I find these “squirreled away” treasures. Some were quite dried out and dead, although a few had a tiny stem starting to poke out. A future walnut tree. But without the right conditions (good soil, water, light), most would never produce a tree.

When this psalm was written, the “Word” referred to the Torah or the “Law,” what we call the “Pentateuch.” That's the first section of today's Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the scriptures of the psalmist's time. Today it means the Bible's entirety: Old Testament history, poetry, prophecy and the “second half” (“New Testament”) with truths revealed through Jesus Christ's life and teachings. It's not a handbook given new employees! It's the ages-old counsel God provided for all humans.

The word translated “hid,” is from the Hebrew tsaphan, meaning to treasure, hoard, or cover. It's more than our English-language idea of “hiding” something from view. It's more like weaving golden strands of God's pure and loving standards into the fabric for everyday life. Those strands are heavenly truth to teach, reprove, correct and provide training in God's righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Back to squirrels. They're not the only ones who hoard. Add in: chipmunks, hamsters, rats, mice, woodpeckers, corvids (crow family), moles, fire ants and fiddle crabs! And yes, humans. I've been inside the living quarters of hoarders. It is utterly sad that they can't let go of “things.” As I say this, my finger is pointed back at myself as I pursue “paring down piles” in my own home.

This whole idea of “stuff” (or personal treasures) takes me to the biographies of godly people like Corrie ten Boom. When arrested by the Nazis in World War 2, she was able to hide under her clothing a small copy of the Bible. Miraculously, during her concentration camp imprisonment, she was able to keep it from being discovered. At night, she'd bring it out in the filthy prisoner dorm (see one at this site: corrie ten boom prison camp - Search Images) and share with these hopeless women about Jesus and her hope in Him.

I hope you looked at that picture. Consider your despair if you'd been one of the cold, starving prisoners crammed into lice-infested, stacked bunks—all victims of a dark life outlook based on greed and political power. Then, look to Jesus. And scriptures.

The book about Corrie ten Boom's nightmare Nazi imprisonment (later a movie of the same name) was called “The Hiding Place,” referring to a hidden room in her home where she sheltered refugees before her own arrest. It also alludes to the declaration of David, himself a refugee from King Saul's murderous hunt for him, referred in Psalm 32:7:

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

“Selah” is a Hebrew word loosely translated, “Stop and think about it.” Thus I'll end: Selah!

ABOUT ROY G. BIV....

When a burst of sunlight follows a rainstorm, I often go outside to search the sky for a rainbow. It reminds me of the Biblical reference to this phenomenon after the Great Flood of Noah's time. After this faithful surviving husband and father, and his family, departed the ark (along with the animals), he saw a bow of colors in the sky. Genesis 9 says God communicated that this band would be a “sign of the covenant between Me and earth” that He would never again flood the entire world to cleanse it from sin.

I don't understand all the science behind how light rays become a rainbow. But when I see a rainbow, I think both of Noah and of the color meanings that emerged from its spectrum. As a child I learned the acrostic “Roy G. Biv” as a way to remember the color order. Later, learning the meaning of colors expanded my awe of the rainbow.

RED: Sacrifice, blood in Old Testament worship system and the bloody death by crucifixion of Christ for humankind's salvation. A close cousin, scarlet, used for sin. If you've ever passed quickly over Isaiah 1:18 (“though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow”), go to this website be awed by details on the grub used in ancient times as a red dye: The 'Scarlet Worm'.

ORANGE: not mentioned in Bible, but a “sacred” color for some Eastern religions. As a “fiery” hue, it connects with purification, passion, divine glory, and harvest.

YELLOW: negative meaning, for sin and fallibility. Leviticus 13 mentions yellow hair as a sign of the dreaded disease leprosy.

GREEN: like living plants of creation: hope, renewal, life, abundance, God's blessings.

BLUE: heaven. Also: sacrifice, atonement, salvation, purity. As “heaven,” the gateway to God Himself. Exodus 24:10 describes a vision of God and the pavement under His feet as bright as the blue sky. Also: the Law and Ten Commandments, something dedicated to a holy purpose, royalty, sacrifice, atonement, salvation, purity. Used for items in the Tabernacle, it was meant to encourage people to look to the sky—and by implication, heaven—to remember the true God. The Bible connects the color to power, importance and wealth.

INDIGO: a blend of blue and purple or violet. The dye was derived from a marine snail called the “murex mollusk” (see next color).

VIOLET (or purple): A valuable dye in ancient cultures connected with royalty or wealth, purple was sourced from a tiny Mediterranean snail whose gland produced only a single drop of the dye. One pound of dye reportedly took four million mollusks. Because of the dye's rarity and value, it was reserved only for those who were very wealthy, or worthy of some special merit or favor by the people. The dye likely contributed to the wealth of Lydia of Thyatira, the first Christian convert in Europe and known as “a seller of purple” (Acts 16). (Centuries later, in Victorian England, laws reserved purple or violet garments for wardrobes of royalty or the wealthy!).

So why all this chatter about colors? Because it's fascinating...and also intriguing that creation glorifies its Creator with a mysterious arch of brilliant colors when rain gives way to sun. Genesis 9 calls this natural sign a “covenant,” a visible reminder of God's grace when we fail Him. And maybe, instead of the symbolism of each hue of the rainbow, that Promise needs to be what I remember.

SEARCH & FIND

When my three grandsons come to visit, I can count on #3 (in first grade) wanting to do one of two things (after the traditional snack time). It's typically either play checkers with me (he'd play chess, too, if I was willing and knew how—remember, he's only first grade!) or do the “word search” puzzle in the local newspaper. That's the brain-teaser feature that disguises words going up, down, backwards and diagonally. He's a pint-sized pro at that. Did I say he was only first grade? So we sit at the kitchen table and search for all the words.

His enthusiasm for this newspaper word puzzle feature astonishes and amuses me. And I also think of how the Bible pictures “searching” in Proverbs. Presumably written by Solomon (considered the “wise” king, although his marital and fatherly life wasn't necessarily wisdom-saturated), it's full of aphorisms that seem simple at first glance. Then they deepen.

In the case of my puzzle-loving grandson, I think of Proverbs 2, and its admonition to seek wisdom and understanding. Most memorable (and often memorized) are verses 1-5. Don't skim over these. Though they seem repetitive, they are like different perspectives on the whole theme of living according to God's plan:

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

I don't know how they mined silver in Solomon's day. It was probably labor-intensive and dangerous. Today's silver industry digs deep into the earth for silver laden rock, which then goes through extensive processing to produce the metal in demand for (besides jewelry) electrical contacts and circuit boards, solar panels, electric vehicles, and 5G devices. See more at: Visualized: The silver mining journey from ore to more - MINING.COM

How does one “mine” the spiritual silver? By the deliberate, ages-old “technique” of reading, understanding, and applying the warnings and commands of scripture. In her book My Heart's Cry: Longing for More of Jesus (W Publishing, 2002, p. 128) Anne Graham Lotz (daughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham) shared her “mining” tips. Every morning, before her “day” gets going, she goes to a place in her home where she keeps her Bible, notebooks, devotionals and writing supplies. For the next hour she reads scripture, jots insights, and prays, seeking to apply to her life the principles she “mined” from her scripture reading.

In short, she adds one word to the title of this blog: Search, Find, APPLY.

The “apply” task is what's sorely missing in the word puzzles my grandson loves to solve. They may be fun, but the words are randomly placed. God's hidden treasure is extracted by prayer and a heart desiring to be—as Mrs. Lotz phrased it in the subtitle of her book--”longing for more of Jesus.”

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The cement “aprons” to the driveways of two neighbors had eroded, sending cement debris and rocks onto the street blacktop. When the busy city repair crews finally got to our part of town, they dug out the aprons, lined them with forms, and then poured cement to “season” a few days. It was a long process, but worth it for my neighbors.

As I watched the project take place, I was reminded by a fun story about Ruth Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham. While out on a drive with someone, they came to road construction and the inevitable warning signs. As they got to the end of it and were greeted by the final sign, Ruth smiled and said, “That's what I want for my gravestone.” And that's what she got. Engraved on her burial stone is this: “End of construction, thanks for your patience.”

Couldn't any of us use that for our burial markers? But it took Ruth Graham, a devout but fun-loving spiritual “celebrity,” to think of it and order it to “happen.”

Years ago I wrote a book with the whimsical title, “When I Prayed for Patience, God Let Me Have It!” I had submitted it with a somewhat dull title (“The Power of Patience”). But I thank the joking editor who came up with one that brings a smile—and a curiosity about what's in that book. I recently thought (for maybe two seconds) that 10-word title of my book could be a good inscription for my final resting place. But considering the cost-per-letter, I'll be okay with a name and beginning/ending dates. Of course, it won't be up to me. Besides, that “ending date” (denoting physical death) for a Christian anticipates that new beginning in the presence of the Lord Jesus.

In the meantime, back here on the sunny side of the turf, I go in and out of my cement driveway apron (which didn't need re-poured), seeking to do what takes care of my family and lifts up the Lord. You know, things like going to the grocery store. (And encouraging the checker I know, whose husband has gone through some tough health stuff. Or maybe just being upbeat and offering a kind word or smile to the checker I don't even know at the Dollar Store. Or...or....)

Why bother with everyday stuff? Maybe because I'm aware that I'm still “under construction.” Day by day, as I read scripture and consider God's plan for my remaining earthly life, there need to be attitude changes that bring me closer to the character of my Savior. No doubt there are days when my presumed “halo” gets a little tarnished because I'm grumpy or in a hurry. But at the end of the day, when I think through it, I have agree with Ruth Graham that I'm still “under construction.”

If you're someone who knows me personally...well, thanks for your patience!

NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT....

Leave it to the mysteries of language development to name a kitchen tool after a music instrument associated with the Middle Ages. For years I had casually called my sturdy wired “egg slicer” a mandoline. Well, there are several spellings of the word (with its ending “e”) that denote both a more energetic kitchen slicing tool and a guitar-relative that dates back hundreds of years to Europe. Just envision a young man with his pear-shaped “guitar” serenading a young woman (usually in a coned hat) who is leaning out her tower bedroom window.

Let's settle with the simpler kitchen tool for this “blog.” Those who research idioms suggest several similar meanings for this seasoned saying: “No matter how you slice it, the outcome is the same.” To put it another way, there will always be two sides of the bread. Or, two sides to a viewpoint. (We can thank a 17^th century Dutch philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, for writing that.)

And there resides the common problem of human communication and conflict. We're not computers or robots who process bits of opinion and fact and respond with a totally correct answer. Our outlooks are influenced by life experiences, good or bad. I could slam my fist on a peeled, boiled egg and pieces would fly. Or I can slip it into my slicer (a cousin of the bigger kitchen mandoline) and have a pleasing result.

So where am I going with this? Our “slicer” or mandoline for Biblically processing life is...scripture. On our own, we're vulnerable to just chopping a life situation haphazardly, leaving quite a mess. Our “mandoline” (or “slice guider”) is a sensitive personalization of scripture and Biblical teaching.

Yes, it's hard to admit to two perspectives on the same issue, whether in business practices, life goals, or interpersonal relationships. Solomon observed that, too: “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him” (Proverbs 18:17). God has a better way, often when a deepening of faith through scripture or when adversity has “chopped us down to size.” And sometimes, if the stakes aren't that high, we have to let the other person continue to cling to his or her opinion (until they discover they're wrong!).

By the way, a related word, “Mandolyn,” is among baby name book choices for a girl, reported to have originated in Italy. Its inspiration was the music instrument, not the kitchen egg slicer!

Here's one site featuring a mandolin (and other instruments) with relaxing music selections: Bing Videos And in case you have never heard of a kitchen “mandolin” (with or without the final “e”): Best Kitchen Mandolin Slicers

LOVE DIVINE

How and when 18^th century hymn-writing “phenom” Charles Wesley wrote “Love Divine, All Loves, Excelling”--we'll never know. But the odds are that he was saddled up on his old, reliable horse, traveling between towns. That's how he reportedly wrote most of his thousands of hymn texts. Nobody knows the real number, but the best guess is 3,000-6,000. He kept a little card on his pocket to jot lyrics as they came to him along the road. When he didn't have a “jotting card” along, he'd slide off his horse at a home or inn at the next town and ask for pencil and paper--as soon as possible!

We don't know if “Love Divine” was actually  written on horseback. But we do know that Charles and his famous preaching brother John (together they rewrote spiritual history with the founding of “Methodism”) had life-changing conversions that altered the trajectory of their lives.

The men's father, Rev. Samuel Wesley, also wrote devotional poetry used for hymns like “Behold the Savior of Mankind.” (1) Reportedly, that manuscript was saved by a gust of wind that blew it out of the family home which had caught on fire. But father Samuel's fame didn't go far from the parishes he pastored. Besides, with nineteen children under his roof, life was busy. (His wife, Susanna, found a way to pray with so many little ones around. She'd sit down, throw her generous apron over her head, and that was the children's clue to leave mama alone for a while.)

Charles Wesley, despite his prodigious output, was not history's most prolific hymn-writer. The title has been given blind American lyricist Fanny Crosby (1920-1915), said to have written more than 9,000 hymn lyrics. But that number has been questioned as “low” as she often used one of her 200-plus pseudonyms.

Still, he had a remarkable gift for linking poetry to music—a gift many say was released in abundance when he and brother John (who became founder of Methodism), had a transforming spiritual experience through the influence of Moravian missionaries. Among his thousands of hymns, these are among the better known: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”(2) (3), “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?”, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” “Christ the Lord Is Ris'n Today,” “Soldiers of Christ, Arise,” “Rejoice, the Lord is King,” and “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.”

It's worth noting that “love” and “lover” appear in the titles/opening words of some of these well-known hymns. Our culture may have commercialized “love” with the hearts, candy, and flowers associated with “Valentine's Day.” But the love of God goes way and beyond all that. The apostle John, who in late life wrote the epistle that couldn't give enough praise to the love of God, exclaimed:

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)

What can I possibly add to that statement? Amen, and amen.

1. Hymns of the Faith: Behold the Savior of Mankind - Holy Sojourners

2. Bing Videos

3. This You-tube records “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” at Westminster Abbey, with the late Queen Elizabeth and her son now-King Charles singing in the congregation: Bing Videos

 

TEACH ME, SHOW ME

Teachers hang all over the branches of my family tree. My sister taught and was a school librarian. Her daughter (my niece) is a school superintendent. My mother's closest sister taught—in Panama! My husband was an elementary gym teacher. His sisters also taught, as did a brother-in-law and a nephew. My daughter is a violin teacher. And guess what: teachers have also written enduring hymns. One is “Teach Me Thy Will” and another “Teach Me Thy Way.”

“Teach Me Thy Way” came from the heart of an English organist and amateur composer, B. Mansell Ramsey (1849-1923). A music teacher at a grammar school in Bournemouth (a beach resort on the south coast of England, about 94 miles southwest of London), he conducted an amateur orchestra and was involved in the city music scene. His music output included a children's operetta for boys about Robinson Crusoe and another whimsical production titled “Clouds and Sunshine: A Fairy Play.”But it's his hymn, “Teach Me Thy Way,” that endured though decades of hymn publication.

The hymn is based on Psalm 27:11: “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.” It also alludes to other passages about keeping God's commandments:

“Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name.” (Psalm 86:11 KJV)

”Show me thy ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation; for they have been ever of old.” (Psalm 25:4-5 KJV)

More of Ramsey's story is at this site:

Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord - Hymn Story and Scripture Allusions - ScriptureWay

A vocalist sings the hymn with a stunning background of aerial landscape here:

Teach Me Thy Way O Lord - YouTube

Psalm 27:11 also inspired the similarly-named hymn. “Teach Me Thy Will,” by an early American writer-editor, Katherine Grimes (1877-1967). She had a varied resume: editor of an agriculture magazine, pianist and music teacher, explorer of Colorado Native American ruins, and—oh, yes—a self-employed copy editor. Of her 24 hymn texts, “Teach Me Thy Will” is probably the best known. Its verses describe how knowing and serving God require a daily walk of trust and self-examination.

Words and piano/organ accompaniment are here (skip the opening ad, if needed):

Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord (hymntime.com)

This video is a singalong version with a vocalist accompanying himself in a homey setting:

Teach Me Thy Will, O Lord (Weekly Hymn Project) (youtube.com)

DUSTY....

“Dusty”--the nickname for characters in decades-ago cowboy movies or shows--amuses me. Who'd name their kid after dirt? Then I checked a “baby name” book and learned it's related to the Old German for “Dustin,” meaning “valiant fighter.” I guess that would fit for cranky men-of-the-wild-west who had showdowns on Main street. But my relationship with this “dusty” picture had more to do with the angst of housework. If you noticed the picture, you already figured out the culprit.

Are you ready for the ingredients of so-called “dust bunnies”? Dust-researchers suggest they (the “bunnies,” of course) may contain (besides dust) hair, lint, flakes of dead skin, spider webs, pet dander, and pollen. Hmm, sounds like what might have gone in the potion that the wicked queen Grimhilde (in the 1937 Disney cartoon version) cooked up for the poisoned apple she offered (incognito) to pure-hearted Snow White.

“Dust” has lowly but significant symbolism in scripture. First, the Bible says we start and end as dust. God crafted the first man from “dust.” At death, we return to “dust” as our physical bodies deteriorate (1). Between the “born” and “die” dates, dust expressed emotions, as when an angry person threw it or shook it off (2). Placed on one's head, it expressed grief (3).

Another image: an old, abandoned house, full of junk, cobwebs and dust. Some Bibles get that way. They might get a dusting-off when grabbed for the trip to Sunday morning services. I remember Sunday school contests for Bible-bringing-faithfulness. But between Sundays, it was back to “dust.”

If that sounds familiar—if reading through the Bible (Genesis through Revelation) is something you've never done, and want to do, there's help. Some Christian publishers now offer Bibles “styled” with a one-year reading plan. The internet has downloadable Bible-reading plans: Free Downloadable Bible Reading Plans - Search Images Or you might do a simple division problem: divide its 1189 chapters by 365 days. That works out to about 4 chapters a day for a year's read-through.

Some parts of the Bible are slow-go, especially the prophets and Old Testament genealogies. (I just trudged through Leviticus. Besides the big lessons of “purity” and “sacrifice,” I wondered how the priests laundered their blood-stained garments!) Read for understanding, for blessing, for heart-stirring. “Study Bibles” help. So do time-honored survey books like Henrietta Mears' The Bible and What It's All About. Slow down if needed. But find the jewels, the things that “speak to me.” God-lessons.

Just don't let it gather dust.

(1) Genesis 2:7, 3:19; (2) Matt. 10:14, Acts 13:51; (3) Joshua 7:6, Job 2:12, Lamentations 2:10, Ezekiel 27:30, Revelation 18:19.

A YEAR-WORTHY WORD

Once again I have attached the word for a character quality to the bottom of my computer screen as a reminder of a personal, spiritual goal. While I have tried in past years (and decades) to focus on being gentle in times of stress and personal attacks, it just felt “right” to again have that reminder of a godly trait.

So, “gentle.” The verse I hang on it is Philippians 4:5 (NIV): “Let your gentleness be known to all.” In the original Greek, what's rendered “gentleness” in the NIV-English translation is epieikes. It has these shades of meaning: forbearance, moderation, sweet reasonableness, willingness to give up one's own way.

Knowing the circumstances under which Philippians was written helps deepen the impact of “gentleness.” The apostle Paul had founded this church (in a city located between today's Greece and the Black Sea) during his second missionary journey about AD 50. He baptized a few believers there, revisiting the congregation twice within the next few years. Then he was arrested and imprisoned in Rome. Despite his dire circumstances, he kept that church close to his pastor's heart. The letter remembered their love and help to him. But he was also worried about false teachers contaminating their faith with heresies. He probably knew how easily divisions reared their heads in young fellowships.

Putting the historical setting on Philippians helps me apply its truths to everyday life. Like the First Century believers, we're just as vulnerable to pride and stubbornness. That's true in church life as well as our private lives (which, of course, spill over into church life). Interestingly, Paul's admonition to seek “gentleness” (v. 5) came right after his plea to two church women, Euodia and Syntyche, to try to get along. We're not told what their rift was about, but it bothered Paul enough to add it to his letter of admonitions.

I've endured situations where people who claim the name of Christ could slip into the shoes of Euodia and Syntyche. Somehow, what we call “the flesh” (typically unbelief, pride and stubbornness) erode what could be healthy, nurturing relationships. My mental picture of this is a spoiled child (or adult), arms crossed, mouth pouty, declaring, “I'll do it my way and leave me alone!” Typically, “my way” is not “Christ's way.”

Unable to deal with this in person, Paul asked someone in the congregation to help these women return to a peaceful, Christ-focused relationship. I sometimes wonder what the end of that story was. Whatever it was, the lesson for me continues: practice gentleness. Even when criticized and demeaned unfairly, be gentle. Pray for that person. Let God be at work.

A 2-for-1 LIFE HINT

Take a life hint from a cook's hack.....

I used to buy a little bottle of dried onion flakes for my kitchen spice cabinet. Per ounce, it was unreasonably pricey. But why keep a half-sliced onion in the refrigerator for weeks at a time when you just need a shake or two (or five)? Then I hit on a solution as close as my blender, which had enjoyed an easy life whipping up milkshakes. Why not make “onion-shakes”? Just chop that tear-inducing onion a bit, drop into the blender, add some water, and push the button. Then, divvy the onion slurry into recipe-size chunks, frozen in cupcake papers.

Okay, cooking lesson over. (Do you plan to try that?)

But what about when life makes us cry—when we feel so wounded, so alone, so overwhelmed that our emotions pour out of our tear glands? I cried—a lot—when my parents died six months apart when I was 31 and still single. And when 45 years later my husband died. And...and...

Loss is hard. But loss shapes us in one of two ways. We become bitter. Or better.

One of my former pastors often addressed the truth that being a Christian didn't mean a free ticket to Happyland. Those who aspire to a godly life, to be significant instruments in God's hand, must learn to trust God in hard times. To be “cut down to size.” To back that up, my pastor often emphasized this memorable quote from A.W. Tozer: “It's doubtful that God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply” (from chapter 39 of Tozer's book, Root of the Righteous).

In other words, hardship under God's oversight teaches the humility and trust essential to be a useful instrument in God's hand. We can remain a big old onion, and eventually rot away. But to be used, we need to let life's “cutting” experiences—the tear-producers—re-purpose us in a good way. God's way. And then to let Him use us as “spiritual seasoning” to the world we live in.

WHITER THAN SNOW

 

A rain-snow mix has been pouring all day as I write this blog. Our landscape, recently dull brown and rust with fall and winter's chill, is now softly white-sculptured by millions of snowflakes. Pretty to look at, a chore to shovel—but I got out there and cleared the driveway and sidewalks. While doing so, the “snow event” got me thinking about the hymn with the line, “whiter than snow.”

Yes, it snows in the Holy Land. More on that later. The hymn connects with the adultery of King David. Though lauded as a warrior and leader, but he also had a sin problem. He lusted after the wife of one of his faithful soldiers. Their tryst resulted in a pregnancy. Seeking to cover it up, David had her soldier-husband placed at high risk in a battle to conveniently have him killed. Then he took the new widow home to add to his wife collection.

David's sin found him out, and he was chastised by one of the prophets. That's the back story of Psalm 51, where David comes off his throne of pride and confesses his sin. In repenting, he asked God to spiritually wash him and make him “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). On this side of Christ's bloody death on the cross, we understand the red-to-white analogy. The cross (red)—confessing our sins (black) and accepting God's forgiveness—is the only way to turn black to white, sin to “forgiven.”

As an aside, when David wrote, “Purge me with hyssop” (Psalm 51:7), he was referencing the Leviticus 14:1-8 ceremony using hyssop (a mint plant) and running water to cleanse a leper: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

The prophet Isaiah, in the same way, preached about sin and confession as he reached out to wayward Israelites: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

If your idea of Israel is a warm, arid land, visit this site with lots of Holy Land snow photos: snow in israel - Search Images .Then consider the snowiest cities in the U.S. snowiest place in usa - Search Images 

But this isn't a blog about snow. It's about a little-known man—occupation “postal clerk” in Philadelphia (and later in Washington D.C.) in the mid 1800s—who connected winter's white with scripture's memorable description of forgiven sin. James Nicholson (1828-1876) immigrated from Ireland and was active in Philadelphia's Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church for about twenty years. At church, he led singing and did evangelistic work.

His poem about sin and snow came to the attention of musician William J. Kirkpatrick, who attended the same church. Their combined efforts in matching words and tune would give us the enduring hymn that begins, “Lord Jesus I long to be perfectly whole” and includes the chorus, “Whiter than snow...”

That hymn, and another by Nicholson (“There's a Beautiful Land on High”) were included in Ira Sankey's 1878 “Sacred Songs and Solos.” Containing about 200 tunes written or arranged by Sankey, it was translated into many languages, with worldwide sales exceeding 50 million. Truly, God can accomplish extraordinary things through faithful, ordinary people. And no doubt Nicholson would have considered himself very “ordinary”--just an Irish immigrant, post office worker, who studied and wrote about birds and forensic (crime-scene) medicine--and wrote a memorable hymn.

Be reminded of the hymn's message through this You-tube video:

Bing Videos

ENDINGS

The cliched cartoons portraying December 31 through January 1st usually picture two figures. One's the bent-over, long-bearded old guy slumping off with his curved-blade scythe. The other: a pert, diapered infant toddling into the drawing. “All of life's a circle”--lyrics to a pop group's hit--come to my mind....until I'm reminded of how scripture pictures the transitions of life. It's not about an “old guy” going off life's stage. It's about the eternal One who formed us, purposed us, and has marked the day when “now” will become our “eternity”--“which” eternity being our choice.

I shake my head over how a midnight alcohol-fueled hoopla around a clock in New York City gets such big coverage. Instead of parties, a reconsideration of purpose should propel us into a new year. E.M. Bounds, author, attorney and minister (1835-1913) considered these issues, too. In Heaven: a Place, a City, a Home (Revell, 1921, p. 125) he wrote:

Heaven ought to draw and engage us. Heaven ought to so fill our hearts and hands, our manner, and our conversation, our character and our features, that all would see that we are foreigners, strangers to this world...Heaven is our native land and home to us, and death to us is not the dying hour, but the birth hour.

I rediscovered this Bounds quote in a book by a grieving father, Levi Lusko, Through the Eyes of a Lion (W Publishing Group, 2015, p. 171). Lusko, whose daughter died in childhood, wrote of life's brevity: “Far better than living in denial about the fact that our lives will end is facing up to it and living in light of it. The only people who are truly ready to live are those who are prepared to die.”

Lusko also reminded readers that Heaven isn't just about “getting through the gates” through faith in Jesus Christ. What happens in Heaven is connected to what happened on earth. He quoted 19^th century missionary-to-India and author Amy Carmichael: “We will have all of eternity to celebrate the victories, and only a few hours before sunset in which to win them.”

Half a century ago, “All of Life's a Circle” topped pop music charts. Perhaps that's true in why we call birth to death a “cycle of life.” But God's perspective is linear, not cyclical: birth to eternity—with two choices for the route. One ignores God or just gives Him lip service. The other is eternally purposed.