To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8: 31-36

When I was doing my student teaching at a high school in Michigan, the senior literature class was reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the classic novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that raised awareness of the horrors of slavery in 19th century America.

One day these AP students were sitting in their circle discussing the book with their teacher. I was sitting next to my mentor. When his eyes were elsewhere, I passed a note to the student next to me.

“At exactly 1:10, get up and leave the room. Meet me in the hall. Pass it on. – Mrs. A.”

The student gave me a quizzical look and passed it to the next person. At first each student looked confused and glanced at me, but seeing my subtle smile, obediently passed the note along.

At precisely 1:10, as the student next to the teacher – the only one who hadn’t read the note yet – was saying something, the rest of the students gathered their books, got up, and followed me out of the class.

Of course, the moment we were in the hallway, everyone wanted to know what was going on. This was fun, but what was I getting at? (They had known me long enough and heard enough of my stories to know that everything I did had a point.)

When the class regrouped, my surprised mentor and I had a good discussion with the students about the fact that slaves were forbidden to learn how to read, and the reasons for depriving them of an education. The kids had just experienced an example of what might have happened if slaves all over a plantation were able to have clandestine communications with one another, since slaves usually outnumbered their masters.

Slavery thrives on ignorance.

Time and again in the Bible we are admonished to read and hear God’s Word. Our spiritual lives, and often our physical lives, depend on knowing the truth. But what did Jesus mean by “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”?

The dialogue in John 8 makes it clear. If we sin, we are slaves to sin, and while the Jews took offense at the very idea that they were slaves, today we can see examples all around us – and maybe in ourselves – that sin enslaves. As Paul lamented in Romans 7, we do things we don’t want to do, and we can’t do what we really want to do.

For about twelve years I was a slave to an eating disorder. Paul’s lament fit me perfectly – I was always doing what I didn’t want to do, and I felt like “wretch,” indeed.

If you have ever struggled with an eating disorder, you know that the issue isn’t food, it’s self-worth and control. People who starve themselves frequently feel out of control, and they look at dieting as one thing they can control in their lives. People frustrated by dieting failures turn to vomiting or laxatives to purge themselves of their overindulgence and try to regain control. But in both instances these people end up more out of control than ever – slaves to their appetites and warped self-image.

At the time I was struggling with all of this, I was also leading a youth group. Ironically, I spent a lot of time and attention telling the teens how much God loves them, how precious they are to Him, and how He is gracious and forgiving when we mess up. And yet there was a disconnect when it came to my life, my actions, my view of myself. Yes, we’re saved by grace, but I have to do better. Yes, God forgives, but I have to “fix” what I’ve messed up so God will accept me.

I know, crazy. But that was the lie. Oddly, my self-condemnation was really a form of arrogance. I was placing standards on my life that I wasn’t putting on anyone else, standards that even God didn’t hold me to.

I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – PERIOD.

The turning point in my journey to normalcy was when I decided – as an act of my will – to take God at His Word and believe it, whether I felt it or not. In other words, if I had confessed my sin, I was forgiven, even if I still felt guilty. I didn’t have to wait until all the guilt feelings faded away to believe that I was forgiven. And I no longer found myself trying to eat the guilt feelings away, a form of “self-medication” which had only plunged me into deeper guilt.

This choosing Truth over feelings was huge for me, and it was the beginning of my deliverance.

God’s Truth is what sets us free. But Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching.” In other words, to be free, we need to know what that Truth is!

Do you want to be free? Read the Bible! You’ll find directions for a life of faith and promises you can choose to believe, not because of any emotion, but because God said so.

And God doesn’t lie.

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving us the truth of Your Word. Help to confess our sins the moment we’re aware of them and stand on Your promise that we are forgiven and free. In the name of Your Son, the Word made flesh, Amen.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. I John 4:1-3

People have a lot of words for Christians today, not all of them complimentary. When I hear various messages coming from the pulpit and over the internet, a word that comes to mind is “confused.” Many believe we’re in the “End Times,” and that certainly appears to be a possibility. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But if you profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you’d better be ready to back up that opinion with some Scripture – in context, please.

People claiming to be experts state their positions with such authority it’s easy to believe they know what they’re talking about. But truth isn’t a tone of voice.

Others make their declarations as though God Himself were talking through them; they begin with, “Thus says the Lord …” and continue with a first-person prediction of what God is going to do in the coming days. For all I can tell, the speaker is utterly convinced that what (s)he is saying is a direct message from God.

But should we be convinced?

Fellow Blogger Bruce Cooper recently posted an important reminder of the importance of “testing the spirits,” as the apostle John admonished in his letter to the churches.

https://bcooper.wordpress.com/2022/08/03/why-this-specific-spirit-test/

As Bruce explains, the test consists of simply asking this question:

“‘ Will you confess that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh and is from God?’
And given a choice, if the spirit is not representing God, the spirit will not confess this reality. There will be silence or some form of non-acknowledgement.”

When I first heard of this “test,” I wasn’t sure how to use it, but I had an opportunity to do so years ago during my songwriting phase, as I was about to leave on an extended trip.

First on the itinerary was the wedding of a friend, where I was to sing an original song I had written for the bride and groom. I was staying with friends and some of their family members, whom I didn’t know. Next, I was to fly to Nashville to spend about a week pitching my songs to people in the music business, singing at a “songwriters’ night” in a bar (!), and touching base with some relatives.

The night before I was to leave, I was almost asleep when a voice in my head said very clearly,

DON’T GO.

Suddenly my plans seemed to turn to chaos, as I wondered what sort of calamity awaited me if I ignored it and went anyway. – Car accident? Plane crash? or …!?

But remembering this test, I whispered into the darkness, “Will you confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and is from God?”

Part of me wondered if the response would be, Yes, of course. Then what?! How would I know the voice wasn’t my imagination?

As it turned out, the question was moot. My imagination didn’t kick in, and the response was dead silence.

I smiled and thought, Ha! I thought not and went to sleep.

I could see the Lord working in every step of that trip. At the first stop I had an extended “God conversation” with my friends and their relatives who were hosting me. I found my “second wind” after the long drive and launched into telling stories of what the Lord had been doing, while my friends, who had amused smiles on their faces, chimed in occasionally, and their relatives nodded and smiled. When the relatives left the room, my friends burst out laughing and hugged me. I learned that my assumptions about the family had been incorrect. The relatives weren’t saved, and in my ignorance, I had witnessed to them in a way my friends never could have done. The “witnessees” had been too polite to interrupt me and tell me we weren’t on the same page.

The wedding next day was a blessing to be a part of, and the song was well received. (The bride and groom had refused to hear it ahead of time. They trusted me and wanted to be surprised.)

When the wedding festivities were over and I was on my way to Nashville, I sensed the Lord’s presence in conversations (and prayers) with fellow passengers on the plane, and later my taxi driver and the people I met in the music industry. I even got to witness through one of my songs to the people in a bar. I don’t know everything the Lord was doing, but I had the distinct feeling I was scattering seeds.

Maybe the voice in my head telling me not to go was coming from my imagination, but if not – if it was a messenger of the enemy – I could see many things he might have been trying to prevent from happening. If I had believed those words, I would have either missed a great trip or spent the whole time in fear, instead of experiencing the thrill of resting in Jesus and being carried along according to His plan.

Prayer: Father, You know this world is full of lies and liars, and the best intentioned of Your children need guidance. Thank You so much for inspiring John to write a way to test the spirits that would serve believers down through the centuries. Help us to avail ourselves of Your truth and avoid deadly assumptions, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

How beautiful on the mountains
     are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
     who bring good tidings,
     who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
     “Your God reigns!” – Isaiah 52:7 NIV

One morning when our first-born, Joanna, was little, she woke up crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me about two dreams she’d had.

The first was about a man who was going to die. “He said he was willing to die, as long as the children would get to live.” I knew right away that this dream was about Jesus, who willingly gave up His life to give life to us.

As I was still processing what my small child had said, considering the depth of her understanding at such a tender age, she cheered up and went on.

“Then I dreamed I had beautiful new purple slippers.”

At the time I was taking a class at church in biblical dream interpretation, so my mind was processing the details. Slippers – footwear. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news … who proclaim salvation … ” Missionaries … Evangelists …

I hadn’t spoken these thoughts out loud, but just then Joanna grew thoughtful and said, “Mommy, all I really want to do is be a missionary.”

>Bingo!<

As if to give one more confirmation, the children’s Sunday school class that morning was learning about “Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6: 15)

Yes, I thought, she will have beautiful feet – in the purple slippers – the color of royalty. And I doubt she realized she was tying the two together when she said she wanted to be a missionary – an ambassador of the King of kings. Out of the mouths of little children … 

Since then, Joanna has been on just one mission trip, with a youth group that included a young man named Sean, who later became her husband. Sean served as an Army chaplain for several years and has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, while Joanna stayed home, “holding down the fort.” She is now a busy mother of three, who are being raised “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) For now, this is her “mission field,” and of her three little converts, she has at least one child with an impressive grasp of spiritual things and a constant hunger for more of God.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are called to be a missionary.

This may or may not involve traveling to the remotest parts of the world; our mission field is all around us. Many, many people still don’t know about the saving work of Christ, even with all our high-tech methods of communication. In fact, the more means of communication, the more numerous conflicting and confusing messages are. If you know Jesus, you are called to make Him known to others. Your mission field will be as unique as you are. Your experiences, your testimony, your perspective, your gifts, your contacts, your personality, your lifestyle, even your weaknesses and struggles will all be used to reach those people in your life that only you can reach. The message is the same, but the ways of telling it are as vast and varied as the people God has saved – and wants to save.

If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, let me be the first (or second, or twentieth, or hundredth) to tell you the Good News.

God, the Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe – loves you! He created you to be unique, and He has a unique place for you in His kingdom.

But first, some bad news. Even though I don’t know you personally, I know that you “have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” I can tell you that confidently, because we all have. (Romans 3:23) Since God is perfect and His kingdom is perfect, in order to be part of His kingdom we have to be perfect, too. Otherwise, as soon as we get there, it’s not perfect anymore! But since we are all sinners, the only way to be made clean and whole again is to have our sins wiped out – eliminated.

(Forgiven.)

The only way for that to happen is for someone to pay the price. And “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) But that verse goes on to say, “the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b) We will either pay the price for our sins with our own death – eternal death – or we can place our faith in Jesus and the price He paid when He allowed Himself to be crucified for us. His life was so pure, so holy, so selfless, that His death was enough to pay for the sins of all of us. And because His power is greater than death, He was raised to life afterwards!

When so much of the world is living in darkness, fear, grief, pain and despair, with no hope for anything better, this is Good News!

So, what do we do with this Good News? First, we take hold of it ourselves. We confess to God that we are sinners with no way to save ourselves. We ask Him to forgive us, save us through the death of His Son Jesus, and help us to become what He created us to be.

As soon as you’ve done this, meaning it with all your heart, then comes the fun part – watching what He’ll do with your life! We each have different callings, but one assignment we all have in common – tell others! Whether that means putting on your beautiful purple slippers or your indestructible combat boots, the world is waiting to hear and receive what you have. Jesus is the Man who died so the children – all of us – could live. Pass it on!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, how can we ever thank You enough for paying the penalty for our sins? Our eternal destiny is forever changed. We not only thank and praise you for it, but we also yield ourselves to You. Send us where You want us to go. Let us encounter those You want us to encounter, and speak the words You give us to speak, in Your name. Amen.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. – James 4:3

Last week my son and grandsons were visiting us at the family summer house near Lake Michigan. We really wanted to get all the cousins together, even if just for an afternoon, but our daughter Joanna and her family and friends were vacationing on the other side of the state, close to where two of the girls were at camp.

My resourceful husband found a “waterfall” in a location we could all get to in a few hours, and we made plans to meet up there for a day of fun and frolic in the falls and the natural pools.

The five of us got there shortly after the seven of them did, and we gathered for a picnic lunch. After everyone had eaten, Joanna and I lingered at the table, catching up on one another’s lives, while the kids ran off to play in the water.

It wasn’t long before our visit was interrupted by a very unhappy child. Joanna’s oldest was near hysteria, because she had given her “special bracelet” to her dad for safekeeping, and he had accidentally dropped it somewhere in the water. The inconsolable daughter was sobbing, “I wanna go home!” Of course, Joanna tried to explain that the seven of them were not going to turn around and take the long drive back after less than an hour there, even if “going home” could solve the problem, which of course it couldn’t.

This girl’s distress may seem a bit out of proportion, especially if I were to tell you her age, but this is the same child who as a toddler would be apoplectic if two different foods on her plate were touching one another. (Yes, she has “issues,” and yes, she’s being treated.)

Meanwhile, I hated to see her so unhappy, and I confess I also didn’t want her distress to ruin everyone else’s fun.

Looking out over the falls and multiple pools, I decided to exercise my faith and ask the Lord to help me find the bracelet. The very next thought was that it would increase my granddaughter’s faith if I told her I was praying and then found it! But another part of me wanted to wait until after I had found the treasure … just in case I didn’t.

But if I had faith and asked God for help, why wouldn’t I find it?

Many of you know that one of my books is entitled BARRIERS (So if prayers are so powerful, how come mine don’t get answered?) That book is the result of my spending two years going through the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, gleaning every verse I could find about why some of our prayers don’t get answered the way we want them to. (Truth is, every prayer gets answered, we just don’t like it when the answer is “No,” or “Wait.”) The results of my research were a list of fourteen “barriers” to effective prayer, which I have since used as a sort of checklist when I’m asking for something specific.

That day it didn’t take long for me to pinpoint what was likely to be the flaw in my prayer. The Still, Small Voice whispered, Why do you ask?

Motive.

Of course. One of my reasons for wanting the bracelet found was to make my granddaughter’s day happier – and everyone else’s. I did want her faith to grow, but not enough to risk telling her ahead of time that I was praying. Another motivation, I admit, was to spare her mother (and me) a lot of whining and putting a damper on our day.

But probably the most selfish motive of all that was lurking in the darker corners of my heart was the desire to be the Hero. Sure, I wanted the treasure found, but I mostly wanted it found by (drumroll…) ❤ “NANA!“<3

Bingo.

I sighed and reworded my prayer, while still looking into the water, which was clear, but only where it wasn’t being stirred up by multiple swimmers, especially children with their “floaties” and goggles.

->GOGGLES!<

Of course! There was a team of searchers already at our disposal, just waiting for something specific to look for to turn their random paddling into a treasure hunt!

A trio of boys with goggles were diving enthusiastically down to the rocks and back. They were about the age of my granddaughter and looked very approachable, probably because they were the age of kids I used to teach and love.

“Hey, guys,” I said in my teacher voice, and they respectfully gave me their attention. “There’s a red and white bracelet missing somewhere in the water, and someone is very upset that it’s missing! And oh,” I added, “if you find it, there’s a reward.”

Off they swam, and not five minutes later they approached us, holding up the bracelet in triumph.

I was thrilled. At the same time I couldn’t believe this beat-up string of plastic beads was what my granddaughter had been so hysterical about losing. Still, a promise was a promise. I hadn’t specified what the “reward” was, but I figured cash was the surest prize guaranteed to please, and a five was all I had. I gave it to the boys with high fives all around for their work. They seemed happy to get their reward, but even more, getting to be the heroes of the day.

Joanna was surprised and wondered how in the world it had been found. I was happy to give credit to three young men who took the challenge and came through in record time.

Prayer: Father, forgive us for the times we pray to You with wrong motives. We know You want us to be mature and complete more than you want us to have “stuff,” fame, or thanks. Keep molding us and purifying our prayers until we seek Your will and Your glory always, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

I had returned to Kentucky for a few days to celebrate our daughter Joanna’s birthday and get in as much quality family time as possible before returning to Michigan. One day the schedule was especially tight, as Joanna had to take her oldest daughter Caroline to tutoring from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M., then to the orthodontist at 10:30. The tutoring and the orthodontist were right next to each other, however, and there was also a coffee shop close by. So, we arranged to meet for coffee and at least get in a half hour visit. I got the name of the coffee shop from Joanna and directions from my GPS, and I was good to go… I thought.

Knowing today I could not be my usual five-or-ten-minutes-late self and still make the most of our visit, I got to the coffee shop fifteen minutes early. If you know me, you know what an amazing accomplishment that is. I got us a table and waited.

And waited.

About 10:10 Joanna called. I was at the wrong coffee shop, which was ten minutes away from the one she wanted me to go to. She suggested I order our drinks and bring them to the orthodontist’s office, and we could visit there.

At 10:29, I arrived with the drinks, but wonder of wonders, the orthodontist was running right on schedule, and a minute later Caroline was called back, as was Joanna.

So much for our visit, I thought, thinking of all the driving around for nothing.

Or maybe not for nothing ...

This was, in all honesty, the most awesome waiting room I had ever seen; consequently, I was in no hurry to leave. Besides the large flatscreen TV, there were four – count them, four – large massage chairs, the kind that cost thousands of dollars each, which I had only experienced by “trying them out” in the store and dreaming of having one of my own. In the next room were video games right out of the 80’s and a soft-serve ice cream machine. Yep, orthodontist’s waiting rooms had definitely come a long way since old magazines and an aquarium.

I sat in one of the luxury chairs, finding the perfect position and trying all the buttons to get the ideal blend of kneading and vibrating. Feeling like a kid on Christmas Day, I concluded that the outcome of that morning could definitely have been worse.

After a few heavenly minutes of bliss and prayers of thanks, I noticed another woman was coming in whose daughter had just been called back. As we exchanged small talk, reveling in living like royalty, however briefly, our personalities “clicked.” As we talked about where we were from, our families, our parents, aging, dementia, death, and relating to each other our dreams of our departed loved ones, the subject transitioned seamlessly toward the afterlife. Although I hadn’t asked specifically for a “gospel conversation,” here it was. As we shared some more, I asked her if she was a reader, and she said yes. When I asked what kinds of books she liked, spirituality was at the top of the list. I offered her a copy of my latest book, which I always “happen” to have in my car, and she accepted the offer. When I came back with it, she was smiling.

“It’s funny,” she mused as I was signing it, “I was just telling my husband this morning that I needed to get a book today. Tomorrow we’re leaving for Hawaii, and I didn’t have anything to read on the plane.”

“Well now you do,” I laughed, handing her the book. A few minutes later, she and her daughter were gone.

I’m glad I hadn’t wasted any energy that day griping about my thwarted plans for a visit with my daughter and granddaughter. Clearly God had other plans, and I’ve learned His plans are always better than mine.

I still let myself get frustrated way more often than I should. But this story is one more reminder, next time I feel I’ve lost control of my day, that Somebody is perfectly in control.

Prayer: LORD, You rule over everything that happens on this earth, whether You make it happen or allow it to happen. Help us to remember that as Your children we don’t need to be upset when our plans go awry. We only need to look to You, knowing You will never leave us, and You want only the best for us and those around us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A merry heart is good medicine … Proverbs 17:22

About five years ago, my husband Marty and I uprooted ourselves from our Michigan home of 30+ years and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. (If you missed that story, here it is:)

How Do You Like My New House?

How Do You Like My New House? (Cont’d)

As the realtor was giving us the final tour of the house that was to be our new home, I realized the generous number of walk-in closets upstairs. I suspect that with the lack of a third-story attic, off-season items are kept upstairs in these storage areas with sloping ceilings just under the roof. As I stepped into one, I realized that while it was awkward standing in this closet, one could kneel quite easily. I immediately knew that I wanted this space for my “war room!”

“Can I have this closet?!” I begged Marty. Seeming somewhat amused, he said magnanimously, “You may have it.”

In case you’ve never seen the movie “War Room,” the concept is that a place where one goes to pray (a.k.a. “prayer closet”) is comparable to the room where the commanders of the armed forces gather to plan their battle strategies. We are in a spiritual war, and the enemy (Satan) is attacking us – overtly or subtly – every day. The only way to battle this powerful, unseen enemy is on our knees. Prayer connects us to God – our Commanding Officer – and gives us the knowledge, wisdom, and discernment to deal with whatever the forces of evil may throw at us on any given day. I’ve seen evidence that prayer impacts people and events in other parts of the world, as well. So, prayer is serious business, and I have plenty of stories of dramatic answers to my prayers. But today I’m keeping it light.

Our enemy will do anything and everything to keep us from engaging in the battle. In my case, the opposition I face on a daily basis is a distractable mind. (Can you say, “Adult ADD“?) I need a place to get my mind away from the world occasionally and do battle.

I don’t go to the War Room every day. I don’t want to get to the point where I think of prayer as limited to a certain location. I can and do pray walking, sitting by the fireplace, driving, riding a bike, or kayaking. But this prayer closet is one sure place to get away from the distractions downstairs. I can close the door, light a candle, quiet my mind (as much as I can quiet this mind), focus my eyes on the cross hanging on the wall, and pray softly but out loud, so I hear myself and stay on track. Sometimes my focus is on the maps on the wall, showing areas of persecution and need, with specific prayer requests. (I have written posts about some of these global answers to prayer, which have been nothing short of miraculous.)

Recently I was having a hard time focusing, and I had no one to blame but myself. No one was home to distract me, but still there were plenty of things to get my mind off track, namely, things in my own mind!

I noticed I was out of Kleenex, so I ran to get a refill, in case I was going to get emotional.

I then heard the radio on downstairs and ran down to turn it off.

While I was there, I turned off the ringer on my phone and made sure it was recharging.

I figured I’d better turn off the coffee pot, too …

(I was starting to get annoyed.)

FINALLY! I was settling in, candle lit, ready to approach the Throne of God … And my mind came up with one more thought …

The front door isn’t locked.

In Michigan this wouldn’t be a big deal, as our place is in the “boonies.” But the crime rate here had been climbing, and I was a helpless (haha) elderly woman alone with nothing to defend myself with except a couple of brass candelabras and a menorah.

Oh Lord, I prayed. Please help me to focus. You know how easily I’m distracted by things like that ...

I was interrupted by the scurry of little feet overhead.

… And THAT! I added, utterly frustrated.

Another scurry of feet. And another. There was a game of tag going on just a few feet over my head!

Suddenly I got the joke. I began to laugh. And laugh. And LAUGH, feeling the stress and frustration with myself melting away. I’m pretty sure God was laughing with me.

Yes, my Creator gets me. He knows all about my distractions. And just as I was confessing and complaining to Him – probably taking myself way too seriously – He sends me a punchline:

“SQUIRRELS!!!“

He was reminding me that, no, I’m not perfect, never will be in this life, and I don’t have to be. Jesus has this. Yes, prayer is serious business, but God will somehow handle it, even with my flaws and struggles. And there are times it’s OK to laugh, especially at myself. It keeps me humble. And happy.

So, I pray when I can, focus as much (->SQUIRREL!<-) as I can. I try my best to follow the path the Lord has laid out for me, keeping short accounts with Him and others. I aim to forgive anyone and everyone – including myself. Jesus gave His life so we can be forgiven and free people, and as such, we are free to be happy, and yes, to enjoy a good laugh now and then.

Prayer: Lord, Your Word says You rejoice over us with singing, with a shout of joy. Thank You for all the ways we can express joy, too, including laughter. You know we need it. You get us. Help us not to take ourselves too seriously. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“You will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free.” John 8:32

Here in the U. S., we just celebrated our freedom and independence.

I understand what that means, traditionally. At the same time, I realize none of us is either truly free or completely independent.

Many people, when they think of “freedom,” think it means doing whatever they feel like doing. But in “divine perspective,” that isn’t freedom at all. Letting our feelings rule us is, in fact, bondage. Scripture says, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28)

As for “independence,” if I’ve learned anything in my Christian walk, it’s that I can never make it on my own. I am 100% dependent on the Lord. And that’s OK, because I also have learned that He is 100% dependable.

Jesus said He came to bring freedom. He also said He had not come to abolish the Law and the commandments, and when the average person thinks “commandments,” they think “rules,” “restrictions,” the opposite of freedom.

So, how can we have commandments and freedom at the same time?

When Jesus began His ministry, He didn’t excuse us from the requirements of the Law; in fact, He made keeping them even more difficult – impossible, really. It’s not enough not to commit murder; even being angry with a brother without cause is considered murder to God. It’s not enough not to commit adultery; a man who looks at a woman lustfully is an adulterer in God’s eyes. With so much evil residing in our very hearts, we are all guilty of sin, and sin needs to be paid for with a blood sacrifice. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:26)

But the rest of God’s plan of redemption is for His Son Jesus, to pay the penalty Himself. As the ancient animal sacrifices were required to be “without blemish,” this Sacrifice had to be perfect. sinless. Jesus alone was sinless, undeserving of the death penalty, and yet He submitted to it for our sakes. If we accept Hin as our Savior, the price has been paid, and we are forgiven – free from guilt and fear of punishment!

What’s more, after dying in our place on the Cross, Jesus was resurrected, promising that as He was raised, we who believe in Him will also be raised to eternal life! Believers are free from the fear of death.

Finally, He comes to live in us through the Holy Spirit, giving us the ability to live as we couldn’t before, free from the tyranny of sin.

To see what this freedom in Christ looks like, let’s revisit the Ten Commandments:

I. You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) Some religions worship many deities. Christianity has One. He is sufficient. We don’t have to worry about which god or goddess is going to meet a certain need, whether another will get jealous, which god we should pray to, and what’s to become of us if that god is insufficient.

II. You shall not make for yourself an idol. (Exodus 20: 4a) Since God is Spirit and worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), we don’t have to worship dead idols. God is alive and always with us.

III. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. (Exodus 20:7a) God’s name is sacred and precious, and in a relationship with our heavenly Father, we can speak His name and experience His power and peace. We don’t have to use God’s name to express rage or frustration, we can use it to call on Him for help.

IV. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (Exodus 20:8) God instituted the Sabbath as a day of rest, but the religious leaders, were using this commandment to keep people in bondage. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) In other words, the purpose of the Sabbath was to make life easier, not harder. We get to have a day of rest each week. God has provided this gift, knowing our limitations.

V. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12) Children who trust Jesus to guide them and meet their needs don’t have to live in conflict with their parents. They get to follow their lead, honor them, and live in a harmonious household.

VI. You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13) We don’t have to resort to violence. We can trust the LORD to help us solve our conflicts and get along with others, even our enemies.

VII. You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14) Jesus gives contentment to couples that trust Him. He helps them through conflict and establishes happy (not perfect) homes. We don’t have to look elsewhere for fulfillment.

VIII. You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15) Scripture says, Since God will meet all our needs, (Philippians 4:19) He can keep us content. We don’t have to take someone else’s possessions.

IX. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16) With the Holy Spirit’s help, we don’t have to tell lies, complicating our lives and bringing trouble on ourselves and others.

X. You shall not covet. (Exodus 20:17) This freedom is like Commandment VIII. We don’t have to yearn for what someone else has. The more we trust the LORD, the more content we will be.

Notice with Jesus “shall not” becomes “don’t have to.” “Shall” becomes “get to.“ I realize how simplistic this seems. We live in a fallen, broken world that is in bondage to sin, and bad things happen. But with Jesus we don’t have to be lost or without hope. When we have given our lives to Him, as we draw closer to Him, trusting Him more, His laws become less burdensome, more freeing. Having His Law is like finding the path through a dense forest; He is the Way.

Prayer: Father, Thank You for giving Your Only Begotten Son to purchase our souls, setting us free from the power of sin and death. May we live in that freedom now and always, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“I will fill this house with glory,” says the LORD Almighty. “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, ” says the LORD Almighty. – Haggai 2:7c, 9a

Last week I shared a bittersweet season in our lives, when we said “goodbye” to the house on the lake that had been our home for 30+ years and prepared to move to Louisville, Kentucky, where our oldest daughter Joanna and her family lived, and where she had persuaded us we needed to be!

How Do You Like My New House?

Ever since Joanna was a toddler, we’ve observed how her prayers got answered. I would be frantically searching for a lost item, Joanna would fold her chubby little hands and pray, and the next thing I knew, there it was.

So, when grown-up Joanna said (or threatened) that she was going to pray we’d find a house where she wanted us to be, I was encouraged. But even I didn’t expect the call that came nine hours later as we were eating breakfast in her kitchen.

“Good morning,” said our realtor. “Would you like to look at a house in the Highlands that’s not due to go on the market for six weeks?”

(I’ll let you guess the answer to that one.)

The couple selling the house should have had their own reality show. The husband was a contractor, the wife a real estate agent, and together they flipped houses. This little house, almost a hundred years old, had all new plumbing and electrical wiring, and was in the process of getting new cabinets, cupboards, hardware, flooring, and more.

When we first arrived, the little bit of house that we could see peeked out from under at least a foot of snow that blanketed the neighborhood. The brown brick wasn’t exactly dazzling, and whatever hard work the contractor’s wife had done on landscaping the tiny yard was buried in snowdrifts.

But something caught my eye that gave me a good feeling about the place. There was an old-fashioned lamppost at the curb, wearing a little mound of snow like a winter cap. It seemed to whisper “Narnia!” I could almost picture Mr. Tumnus standing in the snow.

The moment we walked through the front door, a man on a ladder in the living room, gestured with his brush to the patch of wall he’d just painted.

“Do you like this color?” he asked. “If not, tell me now.”

Um, can we look at the house first? I thought. His presumption was a bit odd, but also a little exciting. Was the painter prophetic? Was this our house?!

Long story short, yes, it was.

Compared with what we had been living in, it seemed as small as a wardrobe, but I loved the idea of the simplicity and convenience. The fact that they weren’t finished with the remodeling meant we got to choose the countertops and the kitchen hardware. And when they were about to carpet the upstairs, we were just in time to say we wanted to keep the hardwood floors.

This house was less than a mile from Joanna’s, so she was ecstatic. I texted Ben and Kelly to tell them we’d found our house.

“Send a picture!” came the immediate reply from Ben. I hesitantly took a picture of our little brown brick house in the snow, being sure to show the Narnia lamppost in the foreground, and texted it to Ben.

For the next day and a half, I didn’t hear back.

The night before we returned to Michigan, I found myself wide awake around 3:00 A.M., my mind racing.

Why haven’t I heard from Ben? Was he unimpressed? Have we made a terrible mistake?! Sure, this isn’t our big, beautiful house on the lake, but it isn’t that bad … is it??

And the worst thought of all:

Have we missed God’s will???

I said a prayer and tried to put the matter in the Lord’s hands.

The next morning, I was reading my Bible in the car. I was in the book of Haggai, the minor prophet who lived at the time when the Jews were returning to Jerusalem from years of exile in Babylon. They had been rebuilding their own houses, but Haggai had persuaded them to get their priorities straight and set about rebuilding God’s house – the Temple.

Ezra 3 describes the celebration when the foundation was laid for the new Temple. The people gave a shout of praise … well, most of the people. The older men, who remembered the past glory of Solomon’s Temple, wept aloud, because this was not Solomon’s Temple! I think it was for these discouraged people that the LORD spoke through Haggai:

“Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? (Haggai 2:3)

The LORD went on, speaking to individuals by name and encouraging them, promising that His Spirit remained and that He would fill the new “house” with His glory. I didn’t see my name there, but it still felt personal to me. As I got to verse 9, I got a chill.

“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:9a)

It might seem like a strange hope to take hold of – God’s glory in that humble house?

But isn’t that the way He does things – like saving ancient Egypt and the rest of the world from starvation through a Hebrew slave? Defeating a giant through an unimpressive shepherd boy?

And coming to earth in human form, being born in an obscure stable?

As I pondered the fact that God can do whatever He wants with whatever/whomever He wants to use, I had a feeling the adventures weren’t over just yet…

Prayer: Lord, help us to see Your purpose in unlikely people and places – even in ourselves, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

P.S. Wherever you are – temple, mansion, or in your prayer closet, know that if you have placed your faith in Jesus, He lives in you – you are the Temple. Enjoy His presence, “seek divine perspective,” and see what He’ll do with your life.

Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong … my spirit remains among you. Do not fear. – Haggai 2:3, 4a, 5b

We had clearly entered a new season of life. Our two oldest had married, and both had moved a few times, settling in the South – Joanna to Louisville, Kentucky, Ben to Nashville, Tennessee. I had retired from teaching. Kelly, our youngest, had graduated and left the nest to attend college. Two years later she transferred from a Michigan college to one in Kentucky, at Joanna’s “suggestion.”

And now Marty was retired, leaving us with the question,

Why are we still in Michigan?

It made sense that we should move south to be closer to the children and the grandchildren that were starting to arrive on the scene. It also made sense that without a houseful of kids and their friends, we should be selling our large home. I for one did not want to spend my golden years taking care of a place that big!

The house had served us well for over thirty years, with plenty of room for birthday parties, sleepovers, s’mores and storybooks by the fireplace, Christmases and Thanksgivings with extended family, and Joanna and Ben’s friends from church gathering around the piano to sing worship songs. We’d had two weddings there, but they were not our own children’s, so it was a special place for a couple of other families, as well.

The large back yard seamlessly connected with the yards around us, where our children and the neighbors’ children would play for hours, jumping into piles of leave in the fall, building snow forts, and running down to the beach with their “boogie boards” the moment school was out for the summer. Summer afternoons would find me lying in the hammock with little Kelly, finding shapes in the clouds, smelling the “cotton candy dandelions” (peonies) we had picked, and singing our favorite songs together. We invented our own games, such as trampoline dodgeball with water balloons, or “Buddy baseball,” where I was the pitcher, Kelly was the batter, and our dog Buddy would cover the yard, playing every other position.

The beach on Lake Huron had provided thousands of sunrises. I had always told the children that sunrises were God’s saying, “Good morning! I love you! Have a wonderful day!” Some days He’d whisper it in the morning fog, others He announced it with beams of gold, and occasionally He would splash colors all over the sky, and it felt as though our heavenly Daddy had picked us up and was swinging us around! Countless memories of these ordinary mornings run together like watercolors in a beautiful blur.

Some of my favorite times were spent sitting by the lake with my guitar, singing to the Lord and sometimes hearing Him answer with a soft breeze or a dove that would sit on a branch overhead, listening for what seemed like hours.

Perhaps best of all, there were dozens of people baptized in the lake in front of our house. To hear these “baby Christians” tell how they had come to believe in Jesus and then to see them publicly seal their commitment – this to me was the greatest privilege of living on the lake.

But now it was time to downsize and move south. It was obvious where we were moving. Joanna had been by far the biggest hinter, persuader, and nagger about wanting us to be close to her…

“It was so good seeing you,” I would say at the end of each visit.

“Well, Mom,” Joanna would say, “if you lived here, you’d see us any time you wanted.”

Joanna lived in the part of Louisville called the Highlands, apparently the most desirable part of town when it came to buying a house. Marty and I would search the real estate sites for houses in that area, but when one went on the market, by the time we had packed up to go see it, the house would be snatched up.

At one point we found ourselves in a bidding war over a house we hadn’t even seen yet! We looked at each other and asked simultaneously, “What are we doing?!“

Finally, we went to Louisville, camped out in Joanna’s guest room, and hired a realtor to find us a house in the Highlands. We looked at houses, apartments, and condos. A few were “close,” but the fact that they were a fifteen-minute drive from Joanna’s was unacceptable. She wanted us close enough that her children could walk to their grandparents’ house! So, the search continued. The house across the street from Joanna and Sean was up for sale, and Joanna strongly suggested we look at it. But the fact that there was no bathroom on the first floor was a deal breaker. That and the image of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and my popping in several times a day, saying, “Don’t mind me, dear, just pretend I’m not here.” (I am not going to be that mother-in-law!)

One night I was sitting in our room with my laptop open to a map of Louisville. A thousand red dots showed where houses were for sale, and they covered the map, except for one blank spot in the middle … yep, the Highlands. When Joanna walked in, I told her, “Honey, I’ve been praying, and I’m willing to live wherever God wants us – house, condo, trailer, cardboard box – but I’m looking at this map, and there’s nothing in the Highlands.”

Joanna got that tone in her voice that told me she was both defiant and close to tears. “Well,” she said, “I’m going to start praying, too! And I’m going to pray you get a house right here!” With her finger she circled the small blank spot in the middle of the map.

We should have had her pray when we started all this, because early the next morning …

(To be continued …)

Prayer: Lord, take charge of our lives. Send us where You want us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? – I Corinthians 5:12

Recently a fellow blogger a blog post about a believer’s dilemma when seeing someone in church dressed in an inappropriate way.

On the one hand, inappropriate dress is a distraction from worship. On the other hand, we’re admonished to “judge not.”

I was thankful the blogger specified addressing the problem if it’s someone you know. In such a case it might be fitting to take that person aside and gently admonish.

If, on the other hand, the distracting person is a visitor to the church, especially a first-time visitor, I would prefer to extend a welcome and talk to the Lord about that person’s appearance instead, considering the unknown situation and possible reason for being in church.

The post reminded me of a (true) story a pastor once told that has stayed with me for many years. A woman had visited his church one Sunday, dressed in a way that was what some might deem inappropriate, others might call downright “slutty.” The women of the church warmly welcomed her, while the men treated her cordially, albeit maintaining a respectable distance.

The next week she returned, dressed a little more appropriately. Again, she received a warm welcome – respect at arm’s length from the men, and this time hugs from the women.

A few weeks later she went forward to receive Christ.

Shortly after making that commitment, the woman gave her testimony at her baptism. She confessed that when she first came to the church she had been determined to dress as she always did. She had also determined that the moment anyone said one word about the way she was dressed, she was going to walk out and never come back. But that had never happened. Instead, she had been won over by the unconditional love of Christians. At this point she may have been open to receive correction from her spiritual sisters, but by now that correction was unnecessary. The Holy Spirit Himself had been speaking to her heart and had given her, among other things, the desire to present herself “in a manner worthy of the gospel.”

How I wish this story reflected the norm, but sadly most churches lean either in the direction of judging visitors and driving them away, or tolerating, even covering up sin in their own congregation, for fear of “offending” a brother or sister – especially one who is a major donor. Some churches do both.

The best teaching on this topic comes directly from Jesus, beginning with the words that have recently replaced John 3:16 as the favorite Bible verse, especially among non-believers:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there’s a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. – Matthew 7:1-5

Notice two things about this passage: first, Jesus is addressing hypocrisy. He warns that if we want to correct others, we’d better be doing it from a position of humility and purity, having already corrected ourselves, because we will be judged by our own standards.

Secondly, Jesus, does not say we are never to judge anyone. In this context of a fellow believer, He is saying that we must first “take the plank out of our own eye” (correct ourselves), “and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” We’re to help one another live godly lives, but prayerfully and with an awareness of God’s grace toward all of us.

In the context of unbelievers, we should recognize that without Christ we are capable of every kind of evil we see in them – and worse. Being saved doesn’t mean we are better than they are, just better off. We should seek the same grace for the lost that we have received, and being self-righteous is not the way to win them over.

Paul gives a clear guideline for discerning when to judge and when not to judge:

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. – I Corinthians 5: 9-11

Once a person is saved, we should start to see the actions and attitudes of a changed life. Belonging to Christ transforms us, and although we will never be perfect this side of heaven, true believers have a desire to live for Him. One who calls himself a believer and yet willfully continues an ungodly lifestyle clearly doesn’t understand the purpose of grace. As Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.”

The woman in the pastor’s story clearly had the fruit of repentance. What about you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we acknowledge that without You we are helpless sinners, bound for death and hell. But You extended Your grace when You died to pay for our sins. May we never take our salvation for granted. Give us wisdom to examine our own lives before judging others. Give Your Church the grace to help one another live as You have called us to, in Your name. Amen.