Blues Brothers

                                 Gilbert's "Blue Steel"!

                                             Patrick's beautiful blues!

Nana and Papa can't wait to see their little boys blue!

Life in the Fast Lane

"Life in the fast lane, Surely make you lose your mind,

Life in the fast lane, everything all the time...."  - The Eagles

It was announced at our church that we were going to have our first Women's Retreat.  Groan.....  Not being Madame Social Butterfly, and being turned off by the typical women's retreat - described by a like-minded friend as a slumber parties for grown-ups with fluff, warm fuzzies and lots of tears for spiritual sustenance (you can tell we hadn't been thrilled from past experience) - I unenthusiastically signed up.  After all, an Elder's wife ought to set the example, right?  Some example.  

The theme of the retreat was "Rest".  Sounds good, but how on earth do you do that?  SCHEDULE rest?  That sounded like an oxymoron.  Besides, I'm too busy to set aside time to just rest and do nothing.  Boy, was I wrong.  

"What keeps any of us from growing (spiritually) is not sin, but speed... We live life in the fast lane because we have no slow lanes anymore.  Every lane is fast and the only comfort our culture can offer is more lanes and increased speed limits.

Spiritual growth is not running faster, as in more meetings, more Bible studies, and more prayer meetings.  Spiritual growth happens when we slow our activity down.

"If we want to meet Jesus, we cannot do it on the run.  If we want to stay on the road of faith, we have to hit the brakes, pull over to a rest area and stop.  Christianity is not about inviting Jesus to speed through life with us; it's about noticing Jesus sitting at the rest stop.  While the church earnestly warns Christians to watch out for the devil, the devil is sitting in the congregation encouraging every one to keep busy doing "good things"... Jesus came to forgive us of all our sins, including the sin of busyness.  The problem with growth in the modern church is not the slowness of growth, but the rushing of growth.  Jesus came to give us rest."  -Mike Yaconnelli,  Messy Spirituality

If Jesus Himself went away regularly to be alone with the Father, why would I ever think that I shouldn't as well?  Doesn't daily Bible reading hack it?  Snatching prayer times throughout the day as I go about my business?  MY business.  Jesus told his parents that He came to be about His Father's business.  Hmmm.....  It sounds like that the first thing needed in gaining that rest promised by the Father is to lay down my own agenda.  

"Personal retreats are not about me and what I'm going to do to experience God.  Personal retreats are about the Lord and what He what to do in me when I'm willing to slow down and listen... Over time I noticed two specific gifts that regularly emerged from my private encounters with the Lord:  stillness and rest.  Together, these two gifts can replenish our souls, restore a sense of God's holiness and sovereignty, and strengthen our resolve to serve Him."  - Brenda Jank

"Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile."  - Mark 6:31-32

This was Jesus' direction, His invitation to His disciples after they had been out ministering to the people, and after they had suffered the loss of John the Baptist.  They were depleted and didn't realize it - but Jesus did - and He interrupted their agendas to call them aside to rest.

"For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:

'In repentance and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.'

But you were unwilling......'

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to be merciful to you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are those who wait for him."  - Isaiah 30: 15 and 18

"Come away, my Beloved!" He cries to His children.  Come away to a desolate place and I will be your rest.  Quietness and trust will be your strength."

Not my agenda.  Not my ideas.  But, His presence.    

I guess a Womens' Retreat really can be about Rest after all.  

   

Taste-testers

The Infant Redeemer

George MacDonald wrote a wonderful series of books centered around a parish minister, his family, and his parish.  It is full of the beauty of simple, ordinary life which is, in fact, the canvas of the Spirit's work in this world.  A year ago I read "Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood" which has become an all-time favorite book.  Last fall, I enjoyed "The Vicar's Daughter", and now I have begun "The Seaboard Parish."  It hold promise of being just as much of a jewel as the previous two books, as the following passage shows:

"There is one thing," said Wynnie, after a pause, "That I have often thought about-why it was necessary for Jesus to come as a baby: he could not do anything for so long."  

"First, I would answer, Wynnie, that if you would tell me why it is necessary for all of us to come as babies, it would be less necessary for me to tell you why he came so: whatever was human must be his.  But I would say next, Are you sure that he could not do anything for so long?  Does a baby do nothing?  Ask mamma there.  It is for nothing that the mother lifts up such heartfuls of thanks to God for the baby on her knee?  Is it nothing that the baby opens such fountains of love in almost all the hearts around?  Ah! you do not think how much every baby has to do with the saving of the world-the saving of it from selfishness, and folly, and greed."  

"And for Jesus, was he not going to establish the reign of love in the earth?  How could he do it better than begin from babyhood?  He had to lay hold of the heart of the world:  How could he do better than begin with his mother's-the best one in it."

"Through his mother's love at first, he grew into the world.  It was first by the door of all the holy relations of the family that he entered the human world, laying hold of mother, father, brothers, sisters, all his friends; then by the door of labour, for he took his share of his father's work; then, when he was thirty years of age, by the door of teaching-by kind deeds, and sufferings, and through all by obedience unto the death.  You must not think little of the grand thirty years wherein he got ready for the cheif work to follow.  You must not think that while he was thus preparing for his public ministrations, he was not all the time saving the world, even by that which he was in the midst of, ever laying hold of it more and more."

What insight G.McD. had of the first thirty years of our Lord's life.  I must confess that I had thought of those years as simply preparatory, but here we come to understand that the Lord began our redemption and sanctification even as an infant newly born.  Jesus sanctifies the life and work of babies, of family, of friends, and of co-workers, long before He begins his life of public ministry.  

I would have readily agreed that the Lord prepared the way, through all aspects of humanity, for us to become like him, but I just hadn't thought about it in this way.  The Scripture tells us not despise the day of small things.  Apparently, small things indeed pack a mighty punch.  

Non Nobis

Non nobis domine sed nominee tuo da gloriam.

"Not to us, O Lord, but to Your name be the glory."  

In the year 874 after the victorious battle of Etheldun, King Alfred led his men in "Non nobis..." the opening words of Psalm 115.  Likewise, after the battle of Agincourt in 1415, King Henry led his army in the singing of this same Psalm.  Again, in 1807, after 30 years of defeat, the gallery of the British Parliament rang out with "Non nobis...!" in praise and thanksgiving for the passage of William Wilburforce's bill to abolish slavery.  

Last Sunday, 2008, we sang this same phrase and listened to the exposition of this mighty Psalm.  Not to us, but to thy name be glory!  We are given to trusting in anything but God, but by His great grace and mercy He calls us to trust in Him; and better still, His own Spirit enables us to trust in Him.  For of ourselves, we are nothing.  In Him, the Resurrected Son, the first fruits of righteousness, we are the sons of God. Not to us, but to thy name be glory!  

The Psalmist again writes in 95:4, "In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also."  No matter the unknown places we go, the deep and dark corners of the heart and mind, God has plumbed those depths with His light and knowledge.  We cannot go where His hand does not hold.  Likewise, when all is glorious in our life and going wonderfully well, it is good to remember that the mountain top of the moment is not due to our making, but to the greatness and goodness of God.  "Not to us, O Lord, but to thy name be glory."  

Say What?!?!

The Stones Cry Out

God's Word tells us that the heavens and the earth show forth His glory.  

"The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Isaiah 6:3) and "...the whole earth is full of His glory." (Jer.6:3).  

The photo above is of a geode, a Celestial Geode, a stone from within the earth which reveals the heavens - a beautiful example of the heavens and the earth crying out in testimony of God's glory.  In his March 23rd entry of Morning and Evening, Spurgeon writes of the glory of God, and if the stones cry out and give testimony, why shouldn't we?  We who were once as dead as stone.

"I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."  -Luke 19:40

"But could the stones cry out?  They most certainly could if He who opens the mouth of the dumb commanded them to lift up their voice.  If they were able to speak, they would have much to testify in praise of Him who created them by the word of His power.  They could extol the wisdom and power of their Maker who called them into being.  Will we not speak well of Him who made us new creatures and out of stones raised up children of Abraham?  

The old rocks could tell of chaos and order and of the handiwork of God in successive stages of Creation's drama.  Cannot we talk of God's decrees, of God's great work in ancient times, and all that He did for His church in the days of old? 

If the stones were to speak, they could tell of their breaker who took them from the quarry and made them fit for the temple.  Cannot we tell of our glorious Breaker, who broke our hearts with the hammer of His Word so that He might build us into His temple?

If the stones could cry out, they would magnify their builder, who polished them and fashioned them into a palace.  Will we not talk of our Architect and Builder, who has put us in our places in the temple of the Living God?

                                                       

If the stones could cry out, they might have a long, long story to tell by way of a memorial.  A great stone has often been set up as a memorial before the Lord.  We, too, can testify of the great things God has done for us.  They are our Ebenezers, our stones of help and pillars of remembrance.  

The broken stones of the law cry out against us, but Christ Himself, who has rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb, speaks for us.  Stones might well cry out, but we will not let them. We will hush their noise with ours.  All our days, we will break forth into sacred song and bless the majesty of the Most High, glorifying Him who is called "the shepherd, the stone of Israel" (Gen.49:24).