I Don’t Like Stingy Roses

I love roses. I like to get them from the Grocery store or the florist. But mostly I like to grow them. I have a lot of rose bushes in my yard and they put on a grand first blush (that’s rosarian speak for the first blooms in the spring.)

If you asked a real rosarian (btw, I’m not one) they will tell you all the kinds of roses: climbing, shrub, tea, etc…. But as far as I’m concerned there are only two types: repeat bloomers and what I call stingy bloomers. The stingy ones have a great first blush and then a week later nothing but leaves. And this continues for the rest of the rose year. It’s such a letdown. Now the ones I have are repeat bloomers. You dead head them (rosarian speak for cut off the dead blooms) and they bloom again and again and again. All spring and all summer and into the fall if the weather cooperates.

This year has been great for roses. I told my neighbor she could cut all she wanted to give to her mom for Mother’s Day. At first she was hesitant. She said, “I can’t take away all of your roses!” To which I said, “Sure you can. The more you cut them the more they bloom.”

 That’s when I had an “AHA” moment.

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. John 15:5

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8

Yes, yes, I knew this story. Bear fruit. Bear much fruit. The Greek word is “polus” and is about quantity, more and more, repeating often. We are to be repeat bloomers! Aha.

I know the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (From Galatians 5:22) But I had mistakenly looked at these fruits from “I gotta have these things” instead of “I gotta give these things.”

If I just pat myself on the back and say, “I have the fruits of the Holy Spirit, “ I’m being stingy with the fruit. I think I’m supposed to give these fruits away to others and then repeat bloom, again and again. Give people what I know about Jesus so that they can know Him.

Give love.

Give joy

Give peace.

Give patience.

Give kindness.

Give goodness.

Give faithfulness.

Give gentleness.

Give self-control.

Give and produce more and give it again.

The more you give the more you will bloom. It sounds kind of hokey but it’s true.

Whatcha Doin There Philemon?

Well, I've finished my Bible study of Philemon and in record time for me. OK, I know it’s only 25 verses but let me have a moment to celebrate. 

Yay! 

Moment is over.

Give theologians a chance to have a controversial topic and they will jump on it. And it seems little Philemon falls in this category. Paul wrote it so it should be in the Bible. Right? But why is it relevant to me? And that is the debate.

1.       An antislavery proclamation especially when Christians are involved. (I agree. Our country would have had a different history if we had taken these 25 verses to heart.)

2.       A unity proclamation especially when Christians are involved. (I agree. Our churches would have a different history if we had taken these 25 verses to heart.)

3.       A restoration proclamation especially when Christians are involved. (I agree. Our relationships with others would have a different history if we had taken these 25 verses to heart.)

So which one of these does Paul and God want us to accept and major on? I think all three. I have never been and probably won’t ever be a great theological debater but I wouldn't take on theologians over this.

1.       We shouldn't treat anyone as subservient. We are equal in the family of God and in the sight of God and all deserve the same love and fellowship. That kind of convicts me because sometimes I treat people differently according to societal stations. I may give them more respect or more attention according to their wealth or power. But every brother and sister in Christ deserves loving equality.

2.       We should live in harmony as a church and fellowship of believers. When we have knock down drag out fights over stuff that doesn't matter to God or eternity it’s so wrong. That kind of convicts me because sometimes I just want my way in a group. But that destroys Jesus’ intention for His bride the church.

3.       We shouldn't kick a Christian when He flubs up. Hey, we’ll all be there at some point and will need to be lovingly restored. That kind of convicts me because, yes, my ears perk up when someone says, “Did you hear about so and so and that they did such and such? Can you believe that?” Our question should be, “How can we help them get back to where they should be with God?” Then help and lovingly graciously put them back as a friend and partner in Christ.

Then Paul ends his little letter with this closing:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Verse 25

Or I like to say:

May the very breath of God on your life bring blessing, joy, favor and grace because He looks at you through the work of our Master and Savior Jesus the one and only Christ. Amen!

Thanks Paul.

I’m glad you wrote that to help Philemon.

It has helped me too.

Level 5 Friend

They say:

There are five levels of friendship with 5 being the deepest level.

If you have as many real friends as you have fingers on one hand you are very fortunate.

You may have many acquaintances but only a few friends.

Some friendships are temporary but some stand the test of time.

A true friend accepts you unconditionally warts and all.

All these sayings are true. Paul said something like this to Philemon when describing their friendship.

Verse 4 – You’re a level 5 friend and I give thanks for you all the time and pray specifically for you.

Verse 5 – Even when we are not together I trust you to remain faithful to God and to the people around you.

Verse 6 – When we’re together I see how you treat others and it makes me closer to God.

Verse 7 – You make me happy when I’m down. You give me the “want to” when I don’t want to. You make me a better person because you are in my life.

Of course, I paraphrased and interpreted these verses and I hope with Paul’s feelings and intentions. Philemon was his good friend; good to him and good for him.

Then he described his friendship with Onesimus that he was sending to Philemon:

Verse 10 –He is like my child and I feel that type of relationship with him.

Verse 11 – He is so very attuned to needs around him and is ready to serve. He has changed from his old ways to become this new person.

Verse 12 – I beg you to accept the new him because this Onesimus is also my level 5 friend.

Verse 13 – I wanted to selfishly keep him here with me but I’m so excited about his progress and I think you need to see this change. You need to restore your broken relationship with him because he can be a level 5 friend with you.

Again, I paraphrased. Onesimus found his true ministry and Paul was very proud of him. Onesimus was his good friend; good to him and good for him.

 All this made me consider my close friends. Can I say these things about them? More importantly, can they say these things about me?

This is the definition of friendship to be used when you are counting your real friends. The on one hand kind of friend. The level 5 friend. The you can be you around them and it's OK friend.

It makes me want to work a little harder on my friendship skills. It makes me want to be closer to people who possess theses friendship skills.

Who can you bump level 5 with?

P.S. I miss my Gary, my love and friend.

Just Get Up

I’m at the beach. Now I love the beach. The worst day at the beach is better than the best day anywhere else. This particular beach is one I haven’t visited since I was a child. And to say there have been some changes since then would be an obvious observation.

I love to walk and or jog in the sand and I love to play in the water and jump the waves. It’s usually very relaxing to me. I found out the hard way that the erosion experts had pumped up sand after one of the hurricanes in 2001 at this beach. Not a bad plan except the sand was filled with fist up to pumpkin sized rocks. To this day the rocks are a nuisance and/or a hazard. 

I would say more of a hazard because I fell on them when I was in the water and couldn't see the bottom. These rocks are the igneous varieties which are very jagged and pointy. I couldn't get a place to stand up to get out of them without cutting my feet and couldn't put my hands on them to leverage up without cutting my hands So I sat there with water up to my neck on the rocks (which was uncomfortable too I might add) contemplating how best to remove myself. In the end I had to crawl on them until I reached a smooth spot on which to stand wishing the whole time someone had informed me of this major change since I was at the beach as a child. I emerged somewhat battered, cut, sore, and bruised. But I emerged and got out of there.

This was quite an object lesson. That morning I was reading 1 John 1:8-9, and 2:1-2

If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the atoning sacrifice, making amends for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

What does this have to do with falling on rocks? 

Well it’s like falling into a sin. We all do and we all will. But God the Father through Jesus Christ forgives us and restores our righteousness. We get up and get out and don’t go back to that old way. (I know where the rocks are now and you had better believe I won’t be going there again during this vacation.) We may come out battered but we can come out. All is forgiven and we don’t go there again. 

One author said that grace and mercy are not a one-time gift but that we go from grace (not getting the punishment we deserve) to grace to grace, on and on. And we go from mercy (getting forgiveness we don’t deserve) to mercy, to mercy, on and on.

When we fall into sin we get up and get out.

We just get up.

No matter how hard it is, we get up and get out

And get forgiven.

What is in a Name?

I love to hear what the new baby’s name will be. Sometimes new parents will name the baby as soon as they find out if it is a boy or a girl. This, now days, is long before the baby is actually born and we call it by name before the birth. And we monogram things with initials before the actual birth. The name is established at that point forever.

 

Your name is important and it’s how we know you. When someone says a name to me a picture of that person comes to my mind and all that I know about them if I've had any experience with them (I hope. As I get older it can be a little iffy.) If not, I ask questions about what they look like, who they are connected to in my realm, and other questions to place them in a category

For several weeks I've been thinking about all of the names of God too. So when I got to Philemon verse 3 I kind of camped out for a while.

Paul calls himself bound as a self-prisoner to God and uses theses names for Him to describe Him and all the experience he (Paul) has had with Him:

1.       God – the Creator and Owner of everything and everyone (He created me and therefore He has full rights to call the shots.)

2.       Father – the One who gave you life, the One from whom you are genetically descended (At the point of my salvation I was forever spiritually genetically connected to my God.)

3.       Lord – the One with absolute unquestionable authority over you, your protector, your Master who has license to expect your obedience (When I put myself under His authority and am obedient to Him I am protected and cared for by Him.)

4.       Jesus – The human name for God incarnate (His humanity assures me that He understands anything I may go through or get myself into.)

5.       The Christ – the anointed, appointed, foretold, and promised One from the Father, the Messiah, the King of all people (I am given confidence that this is exactly the One that humanity was waiting for to free them from the bondage of sin.)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus the Christ . Philemon 3

When Paul used those 5 words to name the Savior he was calling the names given to God before the creation of the world. He was calling the names of God established forever. He was bringing to mind all of the things he knew about God and all of his experiences with God.

Creator

Owner

Life giver

Authority

Master

Savior

Promised One

Messiah

King

Wow, just think about it.  All that is in His name!

When All You Can Say Is, “Jesus”

OK, just so you know, mercy is not one of my predominant Spiritual gifts. Yes, the friends that know me well are laughing now. I really work on it. I do. But I’m a get up and shake it off kind of person emotionally.

I might, OK I do, whine and complain over physical aches and pains and I can sympathize with others through their physical battles. But deep emotional hurts leave me wordless. Only my best and closest friends and family have seen me go through the deepest and darkest emotional times in my life. Most of the time, I just cry in the privacy of my home and prayer closet. I just put on a happy face and fake it or leave if emotions take me in a place I don’t want to go.

But I’m learning how to come along side people who are in emotional pain and show Jesus’ mercy. Even though I hop up and shake it off in front of folks, not everyone can. Where I prefer to be alone in my grief, others need to be surrounded by loving friends and family.

It was a dear friend who taught me how to come alongside those who are hurting. She came alongside me. She didn't tell me what I already knew, that Jesus would heal my broken heart, or that I would get through this pain, or that I would feel joy again. I knew all of that but that didn't make the pain go away any quicker. She was just there not saying anything.  She was just there. She prayed with me every day. Sometimes she just prayed, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” Just saying Jesus’ name over and over reminded me that in His name there is hope.

Bill and Gloria Gaither’s song words, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name.” would come to my mind.

In the New Testament:

At the name of Jesus people were healed.

At the name of Jesus demons fled.

At the name of Jesus people received Salvation.

The name of Jesus brings everything we know about His character, love, life, death, resurrection, power, and glory to our hearts and minds in a single moment.

To quote a women writer of the 1890's – “to pray in the name of Jesus is something more than a mere mention of that name at the beginning and the ending of a prayer. It is to pray in the mind and spirit of Jesus, while we believe His promises, rely upon His grace, and work His works.”

“Jesus,” sometimes that’s all you have to say.

“Jesus,” sometimes that’s all you have to pray.

“Jesus,” sometimes that’s all you have to give someone who is hurting.

When all you can say is, “Jesus,”

It is enough.

Looking at Love from the Other Side

No matter how long I have studied the Word of God I always find something new. I have recently gotten to Luke 15 in my Bible study. Now I feel like I know Luke 15 pretty well. I mean I've taught “The Lost Sheep,” “The Lost Coin,” and “The Lost Son” every year of 25 years to Christian school students in elementary grades during Bible time (not to mention in Children’s Sunday School classes, Vacation Bible School, or camp Bible classes.) So when I got to this chapter I gave a ho-hum yawn and thought I’d just skim it and go on. But, no, God took me to a new place, a new realization.

I had always looked at this passage as Jesus showing that He diligently looks for and loves the sinner. And that’s how it’s supposed to be looked at I suppose. I was saved as a child so this passage was for how much God seeks and loves the lost in my way of understanding.  But this study put me in the lost person or thing’s place. How would I feel? What would I be going through in life? What would God’s love look like to me?

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? Luke 15:4

That sheep was in an utterly helpless and hopeless situation. He had wandered from the safe haven of his protective shepherd and was looking at certain death unless he was rescued.  He had accidently fallen into a desperate deadly future. But the shepherd searched and rescued that sheep. I don’t know about the feelings of sheep but I would feel relieved, safe, comforted, and reassured. I would be forever thankful and indebted. I wouldn't take that salvation for granted. But isn't that what I do?  Every time I think I can do this thing called life all by myself I put myself in the ungrateful category. Yet God loved me when He searched for me, this lost sheep, and still loves me even when I forget how I felt without Him.

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? Luke 15:8

OK, I know inanimate objects such as coins have no feelings but this coin had absolutely no worth while it was lost. Its worth was only in the hands of the owner.  It didn’t even know it was lost. But the owner did. The lady who owned the lost coin took all of the responsibility of finding it. The coin did not and could not do anything for its recovery. That was me too. Even when I didn’t realize I had no relationship with God, He knew and sought me out. He did all the work for my salvation. He paid the ultimate price to find me. That’s ultimate love. When I try to show God how good I am I’m forgetting that I was lost and alone until I was found.

A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living… So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. But the father said…”for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” Luke 15:11-23

How many times have I rebelled against all that God has given me and is willing to give me to just go my own way? And God lets me figure it out and come back. He doesn't say, “I told you so.” He doesn't hold it as a record against my future with Him. He just continues to love me. How did that son feel? Did he ever feel His father wasn't being fair after the fiasco he made of his life? I don’t think so. Could he ever doubt his father’s love after that experience? I don’t think so.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That rescued a sinner like me.

I once was lost, helpless, dying, and rebellious.

But now I have been found.

I see Christ’s love from the other side, 

my side.