Savoring the Moment

Time tumbles forward, 
water over the cliff, 
and my life raft  
is all too quickly 
swept downstream. 

January hurtles past,
April, May, August . . .
I cling to the edges
and try not to swallow 
days whole, untasted.

What is life worth
if not lived with purpose?
What if I stay
tuned to winter freeze
when the sun is out?

I say no to that,
missing it all
with eyes on my rights
instead of God’s goals;
what he wants matters!

I will taste each moment, 
savoring Creator’s spice,
following his
instruction manual,
sharing the feast.

I attended three funerals this past month. That is truly a wakeup call, a reminder that we never know how much time we have left on earth. Our reaction can vary from trying to check off all those points on our bucket list: famous places to see, friends to visit, leisure activities to enjoy.  Those are not bad in themselves, because enjoying  our world and various seasons of life is healthy.

But what if we also let God be iinvolved in planning how we use our time? Since he is walking with us, holding us by the hand, continually eager to increase our fruitfulness, what is he saying about his purpose in each moment he gives us? He truly does want every moment of our lives to be dedicated to him, in joy or pain, in solitude or fellowship or out in the world somewhere.

If we want to be “holy,” it means we must be set apart for our Lord, consecrated to serving him. It has “to do with moving beyond the ego with its narcistic concerns and hedonistic interests—a real ‘death to self’.”[1] Living out this holiness thus requires “a selfless openness and response to God’s call in this sacred moment.”[2] Yes, a response! We cannot only learn how we should obey; we must let our mouths, hands and feet live it out!

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col. 3:17 NIV)

Viewing every moment as dedicated to God is what makes a moment “sacred,” whether we are washing dishes, writing letters, doing homework, fixing a car, or just responding to the Spirit’s prompting to call someone or to help the person in front of us. It means being alert to the whispers of his voice or the nudge that incites an action. When we begin to notice and respond to this guidance it changes everything: we find joy in doing what he says, and we learn what it actually means to leave one’s self behind. We have a loving Father, so he does astonish us with moments of delight and great surprises. To be complete, he wants us to serve the Word, reaching out in love to others.

8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  (Jn. 15:8-12 NIV)

Walking through life nourished by our Rescuer’s love, sharing that nourishment with those he puts in our community, this is what gives us complete joy. To accomplish it we must let Jesus take over our lives and direct them, moment by moment. How can we develop that sensitivity to his guidance? It takes practice. Contemplation of the Word that he left us is a solid beginning. Conversation with him, not just once or twice in a day but throughout the day, builds a focus on each “sacred moment.” How is life being dedicated to him? There are many ways to develop awareness of whether one is putting such awareness into practice. Here are a few notes that are helping me become alert as I talk and listen to my Guide:

  • Am I fulfilling the responsibilities you have given me? (This could be doing laundry, or carrying out ministry I’ve been given, or caring for myself and caring for others, all day long.)
  • What should I do next?
  • What time do you want me to set aside, focused on you alone?
  • What time do you want me to set aside to reach out to ___________ ?
  • What gift do I notice that I want to thank you for?
  • Please show me your priority for this moment, and help me to fulfill it!

This is part of “sanctification,” the ongoing transformation to holiness that we experience by the work of the Spirit in us and our response to it. Giving him control of our time makes it possible for us to set apart each moment for him. And he will use this practice for his excellent purposes. Glenn and I asked that the song below be sung at our wedding[3] as an expression of our yearning to be devoted to our Lord. Those last lines say it all: “Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,.” It has been a long journey from that beginning in our early twenties to these years in our seventies, but we can look back and see how he has been the One carefully answering our prayers for this spiritual formation. I would love to hear your stories that testify to this too!

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
4
Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
5
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

[1] Haase, Albert, O.F.M. This Sacred Moment\: Becoming Holy Right Where You Are.  (IVP Books, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2010), p. 12

[2] Ibid., p. 15

[3]  “Take My Life and Let it Be”,Frances Ridley Havergal.

Pruned by the Wind

Leafless branches litter the wet earth 
in the aftermath of the storm. 
It came suddenly out of the north 
with a powerful wind 
that whipped through the trees 
and cleaned them out. 
Cobwebs are gone.
The dead weight of lifeless wood
was lifted away and the tree is free,
stretching up toward sky and sun.

Spirit-wind, breath of God,
sometimes gently whispering hope
and polishing my skin,
you also can come ripping through 
like a forceful hurricane.
I can tell what you’ve produced:
quiet moments that bring to life
blooms with rustling beauty,
or telltale signs of pruning
that those gales leave behind.
Of course I felt the wrenching
as dead limbs were torn off,
lashed by invisible force, blown away.

What is left is living, ready to thrive,
to bud and ripen good fruit.
I’ve been feeling that stash of love!
Thank you for freeing me,
lifting the grip of sins
and weight of false expectations.
I bask in the light of your smile
and the tender touch of your Breeze,
ready to keep on growing,
knowing that all you do is for my good:
to make me more like you,
bearing fruit to feed the world.

Nature truly speaks. Affter that wind whipped through our courtyard back in Ferkessédougou, any branch that was weak had been broken off and was waiting to be picked up and thrown away. The mango trees and lime trees, in particular, had been pruned. In the months to come, we would begin to see the beginnings of delicious fruit we longed for.

This imagery is what Jesus used when talking about the branches, we who are his disciples and are attached to  him (John 15). Those branches that stay firmly attached will be fruitful because he prunes them so that they are healthy, not weighed down with unproductive twigs.  Any weak, withered shoots are cut off and thrown away. He makes it clear that this is a kind of cleaning up! The branch is freed of excess weight that does no good,  or twigs that have been infected. Then it can produce lots of excellent fruit.

Applying the image to us means that we need to have him clean us up so that we are not dragged down by all that is not productive or is diseased.  The way that he does this is through his commands that show us how to live in a healthy way: his word. I used to wonder why he told his disciples that they were already “clean,” in the middle of his discourse  about cutting off branches:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  (Jn. 15:-1-3 NIV)

Then one day I read the footnote in my NIV 2011 Bible: “The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.”  So Jesus was taking the imagery of the vinekeepers’ work and making its interpretation clear when he applied it to the spiritual work he was doing in his disciples. He had spoken God’s words to them, and as they learned to practice what those words said was right in God’s eyes, they were being cleaned. Sin was being taken out of their lives and they were being made healthy spiritually. The NET note for the verse underlines this: “The phrase you are clean already occurs elsewhere in the Gospel of John only at the washing of the disciples’ feet in 13:10, where Jesus had used it of the disciples being cleansed from sin.”

Over and over he has repeated the prerequisite for being a healthy “branch” that remains attached to the Vine, himself:  they must “remain in” Him:

 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  (Jn. 15:1 NIV)

That emphasis refers to staying firmly committed to Jesus, living life for him and because of him. We must make him our source of spiritual life and empowerment in the same way that a branch draws all its sustenance from the trunk of the vine. But it also underlines a warning: to not ever turn away from him and become “unfruitful.” So how do we stay firmly attached, remaining in him? Continuing his teaching, Jesus said:

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (Jn. 15:10 NIV)

His words, his commands, show us what it means to be devoted to him. If we obey them, we are living out our commitment, staying attached. And there is one essential command that that we must obey to stay firmly attached to him:

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (Jn. 15:1 NIV)

This is a High Calling! Jesus suffered to the extreme, to the nth degree, and gave himself over to death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, all because of his love for humanity—his love for you, for me. Are we practicing this kind of love in our community? Are we pouring ourselves out for the good of others, doing it out of love that flows from our intimate loving relationship with Jesus, our God and Savior? We must turn our hearts and actions in this direction in order to “remain” in his love!

True, we are incapable of performing this through our own strength. We wither, because if we just try to do it ourselves we are not drinking in the life-giving “sap” that flows from the vine into us, the branches. But as we increase our intimate personal relationship with our Lord, opening ourselves constantly to his work in reshaping us and giving us spiritual strength, we will become increasingly aware of how he want us to love like he does. This is not just emotional attraction. It is agape love (ἀγάπη) that values the other person. I appreciate this explicit rendering in the Danker Greek NT Lexicon:   “think of God and you think of  agape” !  The Friberg Analytical Greek Lexicon defines agape this way: “love as based on evaluation and choice, a matter of will and action.”

When my Nyarafolo team and I were trying to figure out a way to express God’s love as the reason that he sent Jesus to us, it was a daunting challenge. The automatic way to express that you love someone in their language is “they please me.” We realized that it could not work in John 3:16. It would be incorrect to say that God was so pleased with the world that he gave his Son to die for us! No! He saw our wickedness, our ongoing brokenness. Abdoulaye Ouattara was a team member that we had sent to a seminary to get training for translation. So I urged him to  explore various expressions that would fit the concept of agape . He found this one which is now in the Nyarafolo Scriptures: “for the worth of humanity (their essence) was so very great to God that he gave his Son  . . .”   We meant so much to him that he gave us his life for us! This is true love indeed.

How should we apply that when it comes to “loving one another” in the community of Jesus followers? How about when that person is difficult to understand, or irritating? What if they are still beginners in their walk and we see them tripping? How would agape love choose to act toward them? In each case, we need to remember the measure of God’s love for us, shown by the very personal self-sacrifice he actually carried out for our sake. Let’s ask our Savior to cleanse us with his word, to remove our broken impulses and unloving words and actions. Pruned, we are made ready to grow. We must listen and follow his counsel in each situation, testing to see if we are listening attentively. We know that his counsel will be to choose to act with kindness and unselfishness for the good of those in our community, following his example!

Now grab this: the amazing result of obediently living out agape love is not fatigue, as one might think. It is joy!

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  (Jn. 15:1 NIV)

Cross

cross-eyed 
 I had no clear vision 
life was a cross 
I had to carry 
 and I was cross 
at the tangled criss-cross 
web of weariness 
and crass emptiness 
(clouded crock) 
case-hardened 

then 

cross my heart 
it came across brand new 
old and rugged time-tested
Christ’s cross 

his cross purposes
crossed over from heaven
to clean and fill me
tore across 
my star-crossed life
crossed out counterfeit
conclusions

I took up a new cross
supernatural
carrying it
through thick and thin
forward to joy
the crossbar holds me
yoked to him
light as freedom
never alone

Many of us love to wear crosses; they tell people we are Christian. They may be gold, silver, or beaded with many colors. They are in our churches, some of them tall and simple, others elaborately decorated; some have statues representing Jesus hanging on them. The cross is key. Yet we too often keep it reserved as a symbol rather than living out what Jesus taught about it.

Did you notice that I am contemplating three different crosses here? They symbolize the three critical phases of spiritual pilgrimage toward Home.

Before knowing Jesus Christ personally, we are all carrying the heavy load of life with no assurance of help or hope. Like the thieves who also carried their crosses to the place where they would die, the cross means a life span that is ending. Punishment.

However Jesus gave himself for us, carrying his cross and dying on it not because he had ever sinned, but to pay for our sins. So his cross gave us salvation, a new life hidden in God. Once we understand that, and grab that truth personally, we are freed from the old cross of condemnation.

But he told his disciples: “Take up your cross and follow me!” Hmmm!

“If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. 26 What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? (Mat 16:24-26)

This cross is also a personal one, like the first, but totally different in meaning. It denotes total individual devotion to follow Jesus Christ, even if it means to suffer or die because of that commitment. The world’s priorities and Jesus’ Way are totally incompatible. Jesus came to earth, God becoming incarnate, in order to bring us salvation through his death. He did not live to have success, entertainment, pleasure or material goods in order to be content. Instead he put up with antagonism from leaders while reaching out with compassion to the vulnerable, teaching God’s truth instead of popular interpretations of how to be “righteous.” And he did know that this would lead to his death as a young man. Nevertheless he followed God the Father’s plan, and died for us rather than capitulating to pressures of gaining respect or power other ways. His resistance to Satan’s temptations, when he was in the wilderness, made this clear, as did his entry to Jerusalem as Messiah, riding a donkey, when he knew what would happen to him in that city: he would be crucified.

When we take up our own “cross” we are throwing off our attachment to worldly must-haves and turning to Jesus. Where he leads, we follow. What he says to do, we do. If we stumble as we go forward, he provides strength to get up and keep going. His love surrounds us because he is always with us. Losing that other life means finding true life in him. It begins now and will go on forever, even if the earthly path we are on leads to persecution. For some it does lead to cruel death. For others it just means putting up with the inaccurate judgments and criticisms of people who do not understand this devotion to Jesus.

So, contemplating this, another teaching of Jesus comes to mind. Did it contradict this one about the heavy cross we carry in this world, obedient to God alone? He said that he would give us rest, and an easy load! A cross is heavy!

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.” (Matt. 11:28 NET)

Once again Jesus was using imagery that was easily understood by his audience. Many were farmers or knew farming, and the yoke was the harness put on oxen to lead them in the right directions while plowing a field. He made it clear: he would lead his devoted follower with gentleness, not overreach that would make it painful to do what he insisted they must do.

The “yoke” of religious leaders at that time was a mountain of detailed additions to the Law that God had given through Moses. Their restrictions made “right” living extremely complicated. “The Pharisees spoke of 613 commandments, and their hălākôt (“rulings”) involved a complicated casuistry. . . When Jesus invites people with the words . . . ‘take my yoke upon you,’ he invites them to follow his own teaching as the definitive interpretation of the law.”[1]

Jesus’ was invoking discipleship, commitment to the Teacher and his words, a complete devotion to him and his Way. Instead of rites or detailed restrictions that added on to God’s commands, his teaching was Truth. It was about self-denial, yes, because selfishness concentrates on earning temporary earthly pleasure or affirmation. That does not matter in the long run, the eternal one. But he underlined that walking in the yoke with him, he would bear the load with us and give us rest instead of added-on heaviness. A yoke holds together two oxen who are pulling a plow. He says he will never leave us but always be right beside us, and because of his strength working with us, the load is “easy” to carry forward.

As Randy Alcorn says, choosing to take up our cross and follow Jesus is the “best investment” ever:

“We’re to count the cost of discipleship, and also the cost of non-discipleship. The alternative to following Christ wholeheartedly and abiding in Him and obeying Him even when it’s uncomfortable is to not follow and obey Him. There is no third alternative. When we choose our own path, we forfeit joy, fulfillment, and eternal gain.”[2]

Amazing irony here: carrying this kind of heavy cross (you cannot take it lightly!) brings us peace and intimate fellowship with Jesus, the one who walks with us every  minute and understands our suffering because he walked this earth too. We are not free to just roam wherever we want to, with no understanding of the prize that is waiting for us if we don’t get lost but stay on the Way. His yoke directs us in the right paths, to plow whatever field he places us in—to be productive for him. This cross is not merely a decoration. It is life commitment, worth every breath we have!

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 NET)

When I wear my cross necklace, it should remind me what it declares: I am completely attached to Christ, the one who died to save me and who guides me constantly through life’s chaos to Home with him. It does not mean than I attend church or am a “good person.” It means that I know the truth it stands for: forgiveness, rescue and life, now and forever!

[1] Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1–13, vol. 33A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1993), 323–325.

[2] Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries, June 19, 2024   https://www.epm.org/resources/2024/Jun/19/cost-discipleship-comparison/

Call for Urgent Care

Your body, Lord, needs urgent care! 
Right hand fights against its own left hand. 
Ears hear different music, east and west. 
Eyes are bloodshot, crossed and blurred, 
seeing only what each wants to see. 
Lungs breathe in polluted air 
whose fumes push out the Spirit. 
Legs crossed, the veins bulge, blocked;
feet stay firmly rooted, passion lost.
The mouth spouts careless, cutting words
instead of truth in love, and the weak heart
is full of palpitations, missing beats.

Come Lord! Do surgery now!
Scrape out accumulated dirt,
untwist the tangled nerve connections!
Transplant organs that no longer function!
Purify the centers in the brain
that create speech and govern all the limbs!
Transfuse the blood of your good Son
into the circulation network, make it hum
instead with love and motivation –
so that limbs uncross and run,
so that arms coordinate and reach to hug!
Come do your surgery! Yes Lord, come!

I was talking with a friend and she mentioned that it often startles her that I use surgical vocabulary in some of my blogs—and we talked about the influence my dad  (Dr. Dwight M. Slater) the surgeon had on me. He would come home for lunch and tell us kids about the interesting surgery he had done that morning, sometimes grabbing a piece of paper to draw out the process he had had to go through to remove a tumor or repair a body part. I was used to that talk, even “blood and guts” stories while we were eating! Back then I thought that I would probably be a doctor some day too, so when I became a teen I began to assist Dad in surgery. Remember—we were in northern Côte d’Ivoire, and this was the ‘60s when he had to train all his assistants, whether they had ever attended school or not.

I was fascinated by the manoevers the surgical team made together, but most of all by Dad’s essential tool: the scalpel. He had shared many times, when giving his testimony in U.S. churches, that it was the tool in his hand to be used by God (like Moses’ staff, Exodus 4:2).

Then yesterday while spending a few more minutes sorting through files of sermon notes that Dad left behind, I found a series he had given at “Glory Week,” a week set aside at Ivory Coast Academy (MK boarding school) for spiritual emphasis. I can’t wait to share his insights; some of them truly apply to this week’s contemplation of the need for “urgent care” when the Christian community, the Body of Christ, is infected with serious dissensions. This is not the first time in history when we feel it. All we need to do is study the source of all the divisions that have produced separations, sometimes the closing of a church.  It’s true that we must stand firm for truth, but we must also be willing to admit our own failing to comply with our Lord’s commands and our sheltering of such sin in our hearts. Here are some gleanings from Dad’s words:

“If there is one tool or instrument that characterizes all of surgery, it is the knife. What if a person is wheeled into the OR, has anesthesia, the instruments are put out on the table, needles and sutures laid out, the OR light turned on. Later he is wheeled out of surgery and talks to his relatives and friends. But one thing was missing—no knife was used! No incision was made, no diseased tissue was removed. Here is why that person didn’t have surgery: the knife didn’t touch him. It was all just a big show. Nothing really happened. The disease is still there.

“Too often a Christian goes through all the show of confession and repentance without ever letting the Holy Spirit of God actually cut sin out of their life. They may admit that there is surgery needed, go to the altar and kneel, but the knife is not there. A knife must be used!”

Dad then went into Jesus’ teaching about the use of a knife to remove sin in Matthew 5:29,30. You know what shocking words he used: if your eye or hand offends you, cut it off! What Jesus was underlining is that sin must be removed for the rest of the body to be saved from the consequences of its rot.

It is true! If you have a cancerous tumor and you admit it is there, but refuse all surgery or chemical treatment, there is no hope for recovery.

When we leap to judgment and assign wicked motives to a Brother or Sister who understands Scripture’s application differently from us, and “shout” hurtful words at them without engaging in healthy discussion, we are not acting in line with the kind of spiritual fruit we are to be living out:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22 NET)

4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. 6 It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4-6 NET)

We must not just say we know all that, then walk away from the surgery table. Let’s dive into the Word of God and ask our Lord to use it to surgically remove all rotten fruit, all unloving characteristics from our inner being. His Word can do it: it is the sharpest scalpel ever! His Spirit already knows about any sin we are conveniently hiding, and he will apply the holy scalpel to bring us to health and fruitfulness! 

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. (Heb. 4:12-13 NET)

*Photo credit: Josh Wohlgemut

Unnamed but Chosen

She lived in a land of darkness 
oppressed by cruel foreigners. 
She carried deep personal shame: 
“barren” was her common name. 
No hope for a descendant! 
No sign she could conceive! 

Her husband had not spurned her,
his name must have consoled her:
“place of rest: Manoah.” 
So she was quick to tell him
that a God-sent messenger
had brought her stunning news!

What? She would birth a son,
a unique one, set apart 
even before he was born
to begin to rescue Israel
from the enemy Philistines!
He would be consecrated
to serve El, their fathers’ God!

She recognized awesomeness,
a supernatural quality, 
in this envoy  sent from God!
 She believed and so she hurried 
to pass on the message 
to Manoah—not all details,
but a child was coming,
a Nazirite, dedicated in her womb!

Manoah accepted her news,
but needed it signed, sealed,
delivered  straight to him.
So he prayed, and Yahweh
heard and sent his envoy
once again—to the woman!
She was unnamed, but chosen
to be herald of the news!

She was out there on their farm
when the “man of God” 
showed up again, to her.
This was true, she knew:
he was answered prayer,
confirmation that God heard.
Manoah rose from his rest,
followed his wife to the farm.
Yes! The envoy had returned!

To raise the coming child,
the messenger explained,
his wife must be a Nazirite
right now, her pregnancy
a preparation of their son.
She too was set apart,and known,
essential to  God Yahweh’s plan! 

The messenger insisted that 
he too must stay unnamed,
his name was unintelligible
to someone like Manoah. 
He also refused to dine;
instead, he said, burn the food
as sacrifice to Yahweh!

So the couple set on fire  
the goat and the grain, on a rock.
As flames rose to the sky
so did the envoy! Shock!
It was all clear: this showed
he was no ordinary man!
They fell face down in awe!
Manoah feared they’d die,
but his wise wife pointed out
the truth: their sacrifice 
had been accepted; the rest
was in Yahweh’s great hand.

She remained unnamed
but no longer shamed! 
She followed through
and gave birth to a son
named after the Sun,
then did what she could 
to teach him to not follow  
 gods worshiped by the others 
around them in those days.

It was now time for Yahweh
to stir up some trouble—the kind
that would remind his people 
he was still in charge.
It was a mysterious plan
they would not understand.

I find it hard to read through the Book of Judges; it is so full of despair and violence. But then there are those break-through moments when the God of infinite patience and love finds a way to shake things up and turn his people back to worship him, Yahweh.

This time the unnamed woman, “Manoah’s wife,” caught my attention (see Judges 13). Unlike Sarah and Hannah who also had unexpected pregnancies, she is kept in the background. No name! Just the wife of a man who is identified! Yet God sent his messenger to her, and knew that she would carry through. She did the right thing: she ran to tell her husband and involved him in the story. But it was harder for him to recognize the supernatural nature of the messenger, and that showed up when he offered to feed him, then asked him his name. Names are important, but this messenger was underlining his supernatural origin: no way would he reveal his name, since it was way beyond Manoah’s understanding. Finally Manoah “got it” when the man rose into the sky in the sacrificial flames.

So why does the woman remain nameless? She was important. She had been given the information that her son would “begin” the rescue of Israel from the Philistines—and that is what Samson, her son did. He never conquered them completely, to deliver his people. He slipped and fell in lustful ways and unwisely betrayed the secret to his divinely-endowed strength. His role was to begin to rattle boththe  enemy and the oppressed. Yahweh was reminding them of his role in their background and in hope for their future.

His mother, still with no name,  was a believer in the God of their ancestors.  She recognized  that the angel came from El, the generic name of their God, spontaneously while her husband did not. She knew about the rules for dedication to El’s service as a Nazirite, which was usually a temporary vow with dietary restrictions, and she was willing to commit to them. The angel spoke of Yahweh when he told the couple to sacrifice their food to Yahweh, but the only time one of the couple actually used the revealed name of God, “Yahweh,” was when Manoah’s wife said to him: “If Yahweh wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us.” (NET 13:14).[1] She was stepping into a new relationship with Yahweh, trusting his erasure of her sterility and his gift through her of a deliverer for his people.

She named her son “Samson,” a common name in that region which in Hebrew meant something like “sun-like.” I wonder if she hoped he would bring light into their darkness. So how did she feel when he fell in love with a Philistine woman, a daughter from the ungodly oppressers of her people? She must have wondered how God was going to use this strong son of hers, as faulty as he was. When God had sent other leaders, it had been in response to Israel “calling out to God.” In this case, his people were actually silent. How would he act? Then when God began to empower her son (14:6) it was not what she must have expected: he won a fight with a violent lion! And the story goes on.

What we do know is that this woman was a chosen vessel of Yahweh to begin restoring his people to freedom. Manoah is named, so the reader would think he was going to be a hero, but instead “this is an element of the narrator’s art in leading you to expect one thing only to discover another.”[i] What we learn is that God cares for people that society sees as insignificant, and he often chooses to use them for his big purpose.

Any of us who have read this far and feel like we are insignificant, even nameless, actors in God’s story can take inspiration from the role of Manoah’s wife. She stands out as a woman of faith and obedience to her Lord, Yahweh, the God that her people were no longer following with devotion. May we follow her example! We don’t need to be recognized, to have fame. We cannot know what God will do as a result of our daily commitment to him. But we do know that he uses his devoted people—even wives who find themselves in the background—for his purposes! And that is good.

[1] Robert B. Chisholm Jr., A Commentary on Judges and Ruth: Commentary, Kregel Exegetical Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2013), 401–402.

[i] Butler, (2009:323) cited by Mary J. Evans, Judges and Ruth: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth and Tremper III Longman, vol. 7, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2017), 146.

Tangible Intangibles

to grasp the love that 
	cannot be held 
to know the love that 
	cannot be known 
to be rooted in love that 
	sent God’ Chosen 
	to die by torture 

yes, even this is possible
	although incomprehensible
even this can be accomplished
	although never finished
even this will be my goal
	although it hangs on
	things yet unseen

I will dig deep into what is
	unfathomable
explore the territory that
	is unending
grow green and produce fruit
	unimaginable
	but God’s true plan

If I had been able to go back to my other home, Ferkessédougou, Côte d’Ivoire, this year, I would be once again searching the numerous mango trees for the tiny buds that can barely be seen. They are green, so small that they are hard to notice unless they are silhouetted against the sky. But they bring hope, because in a few weeks they will be large and turning orange and yellow, some of them ready to bring delight to the taste buds.

They appear in the dry season and you need to wait  for the “mango rains” to come in March so that fruit begins to ripen, soon dropping from the trees if it hasn’t been picked. Can you tell we miss the harvest?

It strikes me that even though the mangoes are not yet there as edible fruit, we know they are coming. We can imagine the juice running down our arms when we grab one off the tree, even if now we only see a minute beginning.

Our faith in the supernatural operates much the same way.  The entire reality of God’s being and character are beyond our human comprehension. We can see fingerprints of what God has been doing, even when we didn’t realize at the time what the effects would be. Looking back is easier—like when you bite into that ripe mango! You can see what was in process. Looking forward requires trust, and it keeps growing as we notice what he has done and is now doing. Digging into his Word, we learn more and more about him but also draw closer to him, understanding who he is and that he lives in us. We are growing.

Some things are like buds and still await full understanding. They can seem intangible because they far surpass our ability to wrap our minds around them—like the greatness of God who made and sustains the universe, like the limitless extent of his love that desires the intimacy of living inside us, like his rule over the world when we see evil continue to impact it. We are finite; he is infinite. We are created; he is the Creator. We are citizens of heaven but have not yet set foot there. We notice his promptings, sometimes even his clear direction, but we cannot yet know all of his purposes in and through us.

It takes faith and acknowledgement of what is now intangible, complete trust in the Sovereign Yahweh who is also loving Father to his sons and daughters. May we turn over our tiny green buds of hope and faith, putting them in his hands, to be ripened into the fruit he desires. He is ready to pour into us all that we need for growth! So let us keep on keeping on, pressing forward to understand more and more what is true and promotes our spiritual growth—especially to know God with greater understanding and intimacy, experiencing his love and faithfulness as we walk through life following his direction, nourished by his Word!

For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known. (1 Cor. 13:12 NET)

The LORD takes delight in his faithful followers, and in those who wait for his loyal love. (Ps. 147:11 NET)

See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children– and indeed we are!  (1 Jn. 3:1a NET)

And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. (1 Jn. 4:16 NET)

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life. (1 Jn. 5:20 NET)

The Cleansing

I stand in the wind 
while it whips along, 
plastering my body 
with fine dust, 
the powdered aftermath 
of life and death 
and thirsty earth.
Deadwood and seedpods
hit the roof, my legs. 
Birds of prey swoop overhead
looking for the innocent,
uncovered, to devour.

O Wind of God,
protect your own.
Hover over, cover us.
Breath of Life, strengthen us.
Heart of Sun, empower us:
your heat, our hope;
your air, our life;
your still small voice
our Word of choice,
while all around us
innuendo and 
assumptions swirl.

I brush dust from my face 
as His breeze flies by,
consoles my soul 
then shivers all the trees
with swoops of power.
The Spirit breathes
and lifts away debris.
The land is swept,
cleaned up and clarified.
I watch. I wait. I listen for
the Whisper of 
my heart’s desire.

Be still and know
that I am God,
and I still rule.
Wait patiently for me.
Let go of your concern
regarding those 
whose schemes succeed.
My strength is 
all you need.
I fight for you; 
and you, my child,
need only to be still.
 
In the region south of the Sahara where we lived in Côte d’Ivoire, December through February there is an intense dry season, harmattan. The night wind of the desert blows south, picking up other dirt and debris along the way, dropping some of it like rusty powdered sugar on whatever it passes over. It was a significant symbol of chaos all around. When I would spend time in my yard for quiet, early on Saturdays, I would be brushed and reddened by the dusty wind myself.

Yes, chaos was a reality in my life in 2010  when I wrote the poem, and it is all around today. So this word from the God who is King of the Universe quiets my anxiety once again. 

The Spirit is literally the “breath” of God in the Hebrew language, blowing over the waters (in Genesis 1:2), coming down on God’s servants to speak to them and through them (as in 2 Chron. 24.20). Picturing his work in the harmattan wind that was picking up the dirt of the nations, lifting the plastic bags dumped on the public spaces and sweeping them onto the roads and into the gutters, this brought me reminders that the wind of God is always at work—even when all we notice is the fractured world around us!

So we need to review what he told us we should do when we are frightened, like what he said to Israel when they were blocked in their flight from Egypt by the Red Sea, and Pharaoh was chasing them down:

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exod. 14:14 NIV)  

Ah! Just be still!  

He said this to David as well when he was distressed by evil actions around him:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! (Ps. 37:7 ESV)

That is the counsel of Yahweh, who rules:  do nothing, be quiet, wait! In his timing he will work out his plans for justice. The breath of God is at work: it lifts debris to sweep it away, and brings us fresh air to breathe. His breath, the Spirit, is in us, cleansing us too (pointing out what needs repentance and change). Listen to God’s word, Jesus’s words; they clean us up. He told his disciples:

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  (Jn. 15:1 CSB) 

We listen, digest what the Word has passed on to us, let it do its work. Then we can rest in the goodness of God, who knows way more than we do about how all of this will turn out and will guide us through it.

So how can we wait, when his actions seem to take a long time? 

Some of my friends who are legal immigrants are living in fear these days, knowing that others like them are being grabbed and taken away by government agents. They cannot speak out, for fear of being labeled a threat—even naturalized citizens are afraid as well. Where can they find comfort in the Scriptures?

I have suggested Psalm 73, which starts with anguish about the wickedness seen all around, then changes posture to one of repentance for not trusting God, who is always holding his follower by his right hand, guiding him with his counsel (vv. 23, 24). Today I add this Scriptural advice for us all: the place where our inner being is to rest is in knowing God and his character. 

Yes, there is a time for speaking out—the prophets definitely followed God’s promptings, spoke out against evil, and suffered for doing so. Even when the Lord leads us to speak out and we get backlash, the one place where we can find inner peace is in the recognition of God’s sovereignty and his desire for justice, which includes the protection of the foreigner and the poor. Action requires great wisdom, since definitions of justice and compassion differ greatly in this world. 

So while the wind blows dust all around, let the breath of the Spirit wipe you clean and reassure you that God is at work to accomplish his purposes. He will counsel you as to what action to take or not to take, when to speak or write or stay silent, and how to quiet your anxious thoughts:

 For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak. 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Eccl. 3:1 NET)

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! (Ps. 37:7 ESV)


Note: "The Cleansing" is a poem included in my book of poetry, When He Whispers: Learning to Listen on the Journey. WestBow Press, 2021.  Available on Amazon.

Love Letter in Response to Deuteronomy 33:12

The one Yahweh loves rests 
between his shoulders! 
Here I am, God, loved by you! 
I too often forget that 
you  came to us as Jesus—
you two are one!—who died 
on the cross, for everyone—
yes, for the whole world
but for me too! Insignificant me!

You love me! It sinks in, softly.
I rest on your chest, quiet, content,
held so close. I don’t want to forget
that I, too, am chosen, set apart.
You have guided me constantly
through a life of joys and grief,
and yes, times of stumbling,
but held close to your heart.

I am yours, now and forever!
You are mine, the Mighty One,
the only true God, Rescuer,
our Maker, King of the Universe:
loving Father, loving Son,
Holy Spirit, three in one!
You are my precious resting place,
my source of grace in your embrace.
You love me, God, and I love you!

I was reading the blessings on the twelve tribes of Israel, in Deuteronomy 33, when the one given to Benjamin grabbed my heart:

About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” (Deut. 33:12 NIV)

Who could want more than that? Then my soul was flooded with the realization that I, too, am loved by God. I am his beloved! So are you! It is easy to remember that he “loved the world” (John 3:16); that is why he sent Jesus to die and provide rescue. But sometimes that generalization can be sweepingly applied to all people without  remembering that his great love has been poured out even on little me, one person among billions. Ephesians is rich in contemplation of our need to delve into understanding this:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions– it is by grace you have been saved. (Eph. 3:16-19 NIV)

The Spirit is who empowers us to grasp this truth that we are loved!

Yes, that blessing in Deuteronomy was given to Benjamin, but we are also among the “chosen people” now, and loved by God:

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you (1 Thess. 1:4 NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Pet. 2:9 NIV)

We who have accepted Jesus’ loving sacrifice now belong to the LORD God, Yahweh! And there is purpose underlined for us: to praise the One who cares enough for us that he calls us out of the dark world to walk with him, and he is the light.

So rest in the wonder of this peace we have in our very unique privilege of being personally loved by God! Let him hold you “between his shoulders”, which can also be understood as “against his chest.” That is truly the position of Father and beloved child. Relish it, and praise his love to those around you!

The God Who Parts Waters

The river ahead is at flood stage, 
water spilling over the edges 
and onto the shore sand all around, 
no way to cross, full of sledge. 
The other side is out of sight. 
We’ve been stranded three days,  
waiting for word: what’s next?
Now Joshua tells us to break camp.
We priests must carry the ark ahead
and go stand in the Jordan!
We’re told that God says, 
“Trust me! Step into flood waters
and you’ll see what I will do!”

So those of us who carry the ark
(it holds our holy covenant,
precious legal agreement
made with our God Yahweh),
we move ahead with caution,
stepping into rushing waters
just as Joshua told us to.
The waters begin to recede,
the flow from the source upriver
turning into a tall wall! It stalled!
Our feet are standing on dry ground!
How can this be? But yes: it is!
So we stay there in the middle
as the people swarm on past us,
tribe by tribe, eyeing the wall,
thousands reaching the other side
carrying baggage and children.
Even the flocks make it across!

We see the last ones climb ashore
and think that now it’s time to move,
but no! Twelve men come hurrying
back to the middle where we wait,
still holding the ark of the covenant.
They each pick up a special rock,
carefully choosing a lovely one
to serve as a stone of remembrance—
monuments to the powerful truth
that the Living God is among us,
active! He transformed a raging river
into a highway for his people.

We make our way to the other side,
the ark lifted up on acacia rods, 
high and triumphant! Yes! Oh wow!
As we step onto footprinted sand
we hear the roar of the water wall
falling, spilling  down from the north,
filling the river behind us.
We have all crossed over!
We are safe! Yes, once again
the Mighty One has parted waters!
What our parents told us
about how they crossed the Red Sea,
fleeing from the enemy army,
that has now happened to us.
We are now marching ahead
into enemy territory. Scary, true!
A walk of faith indeed! But we
ourselves have seen his hand at work,
his Presence making a way again
where, indeed, there was no way!

We’ve heard the stories: God parted the Red Sea so that Israel could cross before Pharaoh’s army could kill them, he fought the battle of Jericho through the faith of his people circling the city—and more! Maybe your parents or pastor told you about times when they could not explain a certain answer to prayer, something that happened in their own lives.  Then you face a tough situation and you know only God could make a way through this one.

What do you—what do I—do next?

It’s easy to just pray and hope, or take action. But God’s Word is also clear that we must ask him about what to do before leaping in!

After the Israelites saw God part the Jordan River (Joshua 3), then bring down Jericho’s walls, then direct them in an ambush strategy that allowed them to conquer the major city of Ai, they thought they were set. They were a conquerers and could figure things out on their own. So when men came to them dressed in ragged clothes and with personal food supplies of moldy bread, they convinced them that they were from far away and wanted to make a treaty with this powerful invading nation. The Israelites checked the stale bread, decided these strangers really were from a distant country, and swore a treaty of peace with them. But they “did not inquire of Yahweh” (Joshua 9:14). So those people, from the key city of Gibeon, were never conquered. They did become servants of Israel. But when they were attacked, Joshua and his army had to defend them. This time they acted with Yahweh’s word of approval. It was a learning curve for them: ask God before deciding what to do!

This warning stuck out to me in the ongoing stories of warfare in the book of Joshua. Not asking Yahweh for direction meant that Joshua and his people were relying on their own discernment. And as a result they were deceived.

We each need to remember to ask for guidance when we are confronted with a problem rather than rushing ahead to do whatever comes to mind. It requires listening for that inner voice of the Spirit that lives in us. He may speak through a Scripture verse, via a palpable prompting or the words of a godly partner. But waiting for him to answer is always the right thing to do!

As we keep on stepping into this new year, let’s learn to ask AND listen for our God’s guidance! He is the living God, and he is with us.

The Acacia Speaks: I Was Made for This!

When I saw the old man pass us 
to climb the slope, I shivered as wind 
blew through our dense grove. 
He had passed this way not long ago,
then spent forty days on the summit
before angrily stumbling back down.
We wondered what was up, and why
he’d thrown away two stone tablets
filled with divine fingerprints of light.
Something really wasn’t right!

He climbed the mount again, tearful,
then came back with two stone tablets
like before. But this time he stopped, 
measured our trunks by his arm,
then raised his arm, axe in hand,
and chopped me, a simple acacia, down!
I was sliced in pieces, carefully sanded,
spliced together, the shape of a box,
made lovely in a way I never imagined.
True, my life was gone. I was no longer
a tall acacia with roots deep in soil,
I was remade. But I wondered: for what?

The next time that man came to me
he carried those new stone tablets
shimmering again with divine words.
He placed them inside me!
Oh, the wonder of this role:
I am a treasure chest made special,
the shelter for Yahweh’s words!
The chosen men lift me with reverence
and carry me carefully on rods
whenever the people move ahead,
this homeless crowd of wanderers
looking for their promised land.
I carry the Law and the promises,
the covenant between God and them.
I, the acacia, was chosen, made for this!

Thank you for following the ruminations of a very special acacia tree with me!

As another year begins, are you still wondering what purpose God has for you in this year, or even for your life path?  What are you made for? It is normal for us to think about possibilities. Or maybe certain doors have closed and you are in a waiting mode.

This is an ongoing theme. So when I was reading Deuteronomy 10 it occurred to me that a holy, crucial part of what God was preparing for his people’s entry into their Promised Land was a small box: the ark of the covenant. It contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments and symbolized God’s presence—this made it holy, truly set apart in a way that had to be revered.

What made the ark, the container, so important? It carried what represented the Israelite’s unique relationship to Yahweh. Here is a general definition of the weight of the word  “covenant” in the Bible:

“A solemn agreement or promise, sometimes confirmed by sacrifice or by sharing in a meal, by which two or more parties commit themselves to the rights and responsibilities demanded by their relationship and their agreed course of action, and accept the serious consequences of breaking faith.[1]”

I imagined an acacia tree near the slope of Mt. Sinai where the covenant was written, then broken by worship of an idol, then written again. It was a simple tree, but God designated it as the chosen wood for many parts of the tabernacle—and in particular the ark of the covenant. Even the poles that were for carrying it were acacia wood (Exodus 25:10-13; Deuteronomy 10:3). That tree had no idea what lay in store for it while it was growing up! It would become a “holy” instrument for God’s purpose!

We are simple human beings, often without knowledge of what God has in store for us. But those of us who are true followers of Jesus are definitely chosen for a purpose:

He has saved us and called us to a holy life– not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. (2 Tim. 1:9a NIV)

A “holy life” is one that is set apart for God’s purposes. We are now in the new covenant, sealed by Jesus’ blood, set apart to serve Yahweh who has brought us into his kingdom. He lives in us, so we are truly holy. And we are members of the community he has chosen:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Pet. 2:9 NIV)

We all are to spread the Good News, the praise of the one who has rescued us. We all are to live as citizens of his “holy nation”. We belong to God, and that truly sets us apart!

So whether we know the exact nature of the life ahead of us, when we follow him with all our hearts he will fulfill his purposes in us. He has purpose for each one of us—he will make it clear, step by step, because he promises to guide us.

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. (Ps. 32:8 NIV)

Just pray this way, like the psalmist:

 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. (Ps. 143:8 NIV)

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Ps. 25:5 NIV)

[1] Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).