1 John 2:6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Each day, I renew my commitment to be more like Jesus, but each day, I am most like… Me. Flawed, human, me. And if my day concluded with a true/false test regarding the alignment of my words and deeds with Biblical teaching, I would usually fail (or at least get a C!).
But, failure isn’t an acceptable grade in my mind. As a child, I was always achievement- oriented, with a long history of being an honor student. Now, as an adult, I want an A in God-following behavior.
Each day is a lesson in how to do better and be better, but transformation doesn’t come easily. At least not in my own power. There are days I feel defeated by my lack of growth, but it is on those days, I have forgotten that I don’t have to strive for straight A’s based on my merit alone.
God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit as our teacher and coach. He has also given us examples to follow in the Bible. We don’t have to guess at “WWJD” (What would Jesus do). The scriptures are a rubric and guide.
And the good news…this is one time it is ok to look at your partner’s work.
If I copy off of Jesus’ examples, my life will, over time, look more and more like His. The more I look at Jesus’ work, the more time I spend with my teacher and coach, the easier it will be for me to know the answers when I am tested. I will learn to hear His voice above all others and follow His prompting.
I know this side of heaven, I’m not going to be the A- plus student I desire, but I know I will come closer to that goal when I draw closer to Jesus.
Almost 20 years ago, a close friend uttered the phrase “the Word before the world” which has served as my daily aspiration. Many mornings, I am reading and journaling before the early beams of sunlight have reached my bed. Previously, I kept my Bible along with a selection of daily devotionals and a spiral notebook next to my bed. But, several years ago, I switched to an online format for both reading and journaling, so a small Chromebook now sits by the nightstand.
As part of my journaling, I often include excerpts of the text I’ve found inspiring. Because I’m completing this process in relative darkness, I’ve memorized the placement of certain shortcut functions. One morning, I noticed that the Copy/paste (Ctrl C & V) shortcuts were right next to each other, while the print shortcut was at the opposite corner of the keyboard. I thought to myself, there is probably a life lesson hidden in this observation.
Scripture teaches us that:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
As we study God’s words, we are meant to immediately copy and paste them into our hearts and minds. Psalm 119:11 (I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you) is just one example of the Bible teaching us to utilize scripture in our lives. And while we are also commissioned to spread God’s word to others, I think we need some time to let scripture lessons resonate within us first.
We need to let the words saturate our own lives before we print them out for others to see. To know and understand God’s truth before our speech can be seasoned with that wisdom for others to hear. Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Frequent use causes certain keys on a keyboard to become a bit more faded when compared to other keys. I hope the same can be said of my life. That I have filled my head and heart with what truly matters! The Word before the world. Copy/paste, copy/paste, copy/paste….then print.
Genesis 6:22 “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”
This is my third topic today. Being transparent, I didn’t pray before I sat down to write. I came to this creative time with my own thoughts of which topic I would turn into a website worthy post. I wrote, edited, wrote again and then stopped. Each time, determining the words weren’t quite right.
During this timeframe, I also had several interruptions, which required me to take off my writer’s hat and put on my wife and/or mom hat. I became irritated that a closed door meant nothing to the others in my house. After each conversation, I returned to my laptop and expected Godly words to flow.
The problem was, I wasn’t connected to the source of the words that I expected to appear in print. I forgot the most important part of this process. God. So, I stopped and prayed. I asked for wisdom in what story to tell.
One day last week, while reading a daily devotional, I had the realization that my ministry is a bit like Noah’s ark building. Noah didn’t know all the reasons why he was doing what he was doing. He just showed up, followed God’s (very detailed) instructions, and then left the rest up to God.
Several times in Genesis, a phrase is repeated; “Noah did everything just as God commanded him”. Noah was already described as a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. A man that walked with God (Genesis 6:9). Yet, he still needed directions from God. How much more do I, a person who is not blameless, need to stay connected to the giver of instructions?
My website/blog is my ark. I’m building a vessel that will hopefully carry God’s words to the people that need to hear it. I want to be prayerful, not just about the initial building of my ark, but everything that will be put into it. Therefore, I can’t just say “Thanks, God, I’ve got it from here”. I will need to request instructions for each step and humbly follow those directions. Knowing that I am working for God, not for my own purpose.
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people. Colossians 3:23
I often commune with God while swimming laps in my neighborhood pool. I am alone in the early morning hours and the setting is peaceful. The sun is peeking through the surrounding pine trees, the sky is a beautiful blue with a few puffy clouds floating by, and the birds are engaging in conversations.
The constant left/right rhythm of my swim strokes is almost meditative, allowing my mind to wander and God to speak. Thoughts come to me as I reflect on a verse I studied or a devotion I have read. By quieting my own inner voice, I often hear words of comfort, teaching or life application.
After swimming laps one particular morning, I stopped at the end of the pool to stretch. As I leaned forward, I noticed that underwater, the skin on my knees looked different from other parts of my body. This lighter pink area was new skin, a result of scars that are still forming after a bad fall I took while walking the dog a couple of years ago.
At the time of the fall, I experienced a lot of superficial trauma and a LOT of bleeding (which my husband really enjoyed), but also some damage to the tissue and bone underneath. Immediately, my body reacted to the trauma, and my knees began to swell. Over the next few weeks, bruises formed, and I had a lot of pain and stiffness. I tried everything to lessen the pain and speed the healing – ointments, oral painkillers, special bandages, and even essential oils a thoughtful neighbor brought over.
It took time, more time than I would have liked, as I’m not a very patient patient. I wanted an immediate fix, and a return to normal activities and appearance. During that time, it was very obvious that I was injured and had healing wounds. I was embarrassed by my band-aids and scabs whenever I was out in public, as scrapped knees are a common accessory of children, not grown adults.
Now, two years later, during everyday life, no one would ever notice that anything looks different about my knees. But under those special underwater conditions, I could see my body was still healing. It made me realize, that we all walk around like this, with areas of our life that are still healing. Wounds that aren’t visible to the naked eye, yet are still there. But, God knows. He sees the wounds, he knows the hurt, the healing that has occurred and the healing still in process. He is ready and waiting to offer us comfort as we heal.
We should be ready to offer the same, to look for those people whose healing isn’t as evident as red scabs, a bandaged knee or a slight limp. We need to acknowledge that not all wounds leave a mark, but healing is still required. Not every wound heals the same and not every person’s path to healing follows the same timeline. Some wounds will leave a scar or tenderness that wasn’t there before.
Let us have underwater vision to see the tender new skin that everyone wears at some point in their life and give them the time and comfort as they heal.
2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. NKJV
In my neighborhood, homeowners take great pride in creating positive curb appeal. Yards are landscaped, flower beds are pruned, and front porches hold shabby chic decor, all creating an inviting exterior. Many homeowners also pay special attention to their foyer. The foyer is what the delivery person sees when putting a package on your porch, and where you visit with the neighbor who drops off the incorrectly delivered package.
Once you get past the foyer, that’s where the real living takes place. Dog toys are strewn across the floor, unopened mail is stacked on the kitchen island, there is a tote of things on the stairs that someone needs to take up the next time they pass by it (for the 10th time!). Living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms, that’s where we do real life, and real life is messy sometimes.
When we have company coming over to share a meal, or we are hosting our small group from church, what do we do? We scoop up all of our stuff, and we put it in the hall closet, pantry, or kitchen cabinets (where it will sit for a few weeks because we forgot where we put it). We want our home and our life to look presentable to others. But, what happens over time, if we’re lucky, is we develop relationships with people, in which we no longer feel the need to clean up before they come over. They accept our house and our lives just as they are – messy and lived in. These people become like family.
Unfortunately for me, years ago, I had a family-like friend stop coming into my living room. There were changed circumstances in both of our lives that made her think that boundaries were needed. I didn’t understand at the time and was deeply hurt. I took from that experience that being vulnerable and transparent with someone wasn’t worth the hurt that could come from possible rejection later.
Nowadays, I have lots of front porch friendships, some have come into my living room (but I’m still tidying up before they come over). A very few have been let into the mess that is my real life. Even those few, I still hold at arm’s length, because any closer, and they might actually wound my heart.
I know God is calling me to let people in, but when you’ve been hurt deeply and/or more than once, it is a very hard calling. For me, I think I need to find “my people”. People with similar kinds of “junk” that will understand why my “house” looks the way it does. Because, years later, I’m still wounded. I haven’t experienced the healing nor have the courage to make myself that vulnerable again. One could even reason that if you don’t let others close to you, they can’t hurt you. True, but you also don’t get to experience the joy, peace, and comfort that comes from family-like friendships. I’ve known those feelings, and I hope one day I will experience them again.
This isn’t one of those devotional posts where I’m going to quote a scripture or paraphrase a sermon that changed my heart and my life. The call to action from this post isn’t to look and learn from my transformation, because, I’m not there yet. I’m still in the midst of the mess and the hurt of it all. I share this story so anyone who has felt the same pain can feel less alone and maybe we can encourage one another to open our hearts to the possibilities of new friendships. To invite others in to our living rooms without picking up the mess.
