FOLLOWING JESUS

I've always believed that just hearing a sermon or just reading my Bible was not enough. If I didn't put the new principle I was leaning about into action or into my experience in some way it forever remained a theory or concept rather than a truth for me. In other words, it didn't change my attitudes or behavior. As I see it, the whole point of learning about Jesus is not to increase my knowledge but to gain the ability to act and think more like Him. For those reasons, I was especially happy to hear about the children's class my daughter, Connie, taught last Sunday.

Preparing to Follow

Connie is our pastor's wife and she filled in to teach the first-fifth grade class Sunday school. She shared the same passage of scripture with the children that our pastor was using in his sermon but from a little different perspective. She chose to give one verse special emphasis. After washing the disciples' feet Jesus told them, "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you." (John 13:15 NLT)

Connie explained how dirty the disciples' feet must have been because they always walked dusty trails while making the point that Jesus also meant we should try to follow His example in everything we do, not just washing each others feet, even though that is part of it. When she was through talking she rolled out a length of paper and laid it down to cover the enter aisle of the room and told the children to take off their shoes and socks.

Austin and Chloe

A young man, Austin, helped the eighteen children to choose one of six paint colors to cover their feet before 'following Jesus' done the paper road. Connie waited at the other end to wash the feet of the first child. Once washed, that child washed the feet of the next class member and so on before each child signed his foot prints. Connie said she couldn't get over how excited and happy the children were to wash their classmate's feet and help each other.

Once everyone had walked down the road all of the children wanted to wash Connie's feet so she took her turn. Then, they turned to Austin. "No," he protested shyly, but the children began to chant his name until he relented. When he reached the end of the road, Chloe, a first grader, couldn't wait to wash his feet as she had been the last child to walk and hadn't had a special pair of feet to wash!

The Road to Following Jesus

Connie said that she's going to laminate the 'road' and hang it on the wall outside the children's room. Hopefully they will never forget the joy they felt in serving and helping each other that morning!

As I listened I couldn't help wondering again, "Why is it so hard for us adults to step out and experience the truths we listen to week after week. It certainly isn't because we don't believe. Is it as simple as: I will feel silly or what will others think? Or do we wonder: what will this cost me or how is it going to impact my life? Whatever the reason, if we continue to live our lives in the same old ruts we are missing the joy that comes from acting upon Biblical principles and seeking God's wisdom for imaginative ways of reaching out to the people around us!

This is a new year, should or could we make a resolution to break out of our behavioral ruts? We might experience miraculous signs and wonders we didn't know were possible. We might see God's healing power poured out in mighty dimensions. We might even find we have become bold in sharing our faith. In short, we might find ourselves thinking, feeling, and acting more like Jesus.

Accepting Responsibility: A Choice for Personal Liberty

I was 27 years old when my mentor, Barbara, blew my mind with the pronouncement, "You cannot blame your rotten weekend on your mother-in-law's behavior. Your weekend was your fault. You had a choice."

"Oh, no," I hastened to explain, "I didn't have a choice. She said or did such and such so I had to do or say this or that."

"No, you chose to do and say what you did. You always have a choice. The truth is: you're never a victim of someone else's behavior."

If that was true, I wanted to know it! So, I began to examine my situation that very night. If I could actually choose how I reacted in any given situation (a radical thought) then I needed to plan ahead. I was sick of being a victim wounded, put down, and defeated by the words and behavior of others. I didn't like always defending myself and yet looking petty and childish in the eyes of my family. If I had to take responsibility for my behavior I wanted to act in ways that made me, at least, feel good about myself!

I found the principles I was looking for in the Bible. (I often wish I could show them to our national leaders today.)

The first on I concentrated on was freely you have received, freely give (Matt. 10:8). I knew Jesus had given me everything when I deserved nothing. So, to make it personal: I had been given forgiveness so instead of continuing to defend myself as a wife or parent I could agree with my adversary quickly (Matt. 5:25). That is, I could admit a possible mistake when accused and then silently forgive my mother-in-law's attack. To my shock the conversation was usually over!

Later, when I determined to love my adversary it was a little more difficult. However, I had learned to ask God in the Serenity Prayer to grant me the ability to accept the things I could not change by adding that means other people, places, and things. Acceptance is another word for love! Applied to my mother-in-law, I stopped trying to convince her to change her attitudes or behavior. I didn't have to agree with her but once I voiced my position I could refuse to respond any further and refuse to judge her. It truly does take two to argue.

At those times when I felt my temper rising so that I had to swallow down the desire to fight, I'd pick up a book or magazine and force myself to move into an empty bedroom where I could focus on something else until I cooled off. He that is slow to anger appeases strife (Prov. 15:18).  After years of making that choice I heard my mother-in-law complain to others as I left the room one day, "You never know when she's going to leave the room. Without any warning, she just picks up a book and without a word she's gone!" I thought that was high praise!

I was raised to fight for what I believed was the truth. That meant in an unjust world I was fighting something or someone all the time. I found a better way and it came with promises of success. Luke 6:38 (NLT), "If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving---large or small--- it will be used to measure what is given back to you." What I didn't realized when I began on this journey was that it was the pathway to ultimate personal freedom but that is why I'm no longer the victim of any person, place, or thing!

A Word of Encouragement

I received a word of exhortation from the Lord the other day.

He said,

"Storm clouds of adversity are gathering and rising across your land.
Do not be afraid of them. Do not drop your head, for I am the Lord over every storm.
They obey My voice and My command.
I say, 'Cease!' and 'Be still!'
Let Me prove Myself to you.
My promises are true for I am faithful.
You can trust in Me."

I hope this word brings some encouragement to be strong and courageous through any trial that comes your way. God will surely bring you through.

Be Shrewd

There is a story in the Bible that begins in Luke 16:1. I haven't been able to relate that story to my life for more than forty years. However, last week to my great joy I got a revealing understanding of the point Jesus was making.

The story is about a cheating manager who was caught stealing. When his boss fired him the man didn't know what he was going to do. He reasoned that he wasn't capable of manual labor and yet he didn't know anyone who would help him out. Then he had a bright idea. He would look for some people who were weighed down with heavy burdens and offer to share them and lighten their loads. Jesus said the man was shrewd and that we, who follow Him, should be, too. Because using our worldly resources to help others will make friends for us; and at the same time our generosity will store up rewards for us in heaven.

Who are these people carrying heavy burdens and where could I find them? It just so happened that I heard of several different situations last week which eventually led to my revelation. First, there was a young wife who desperately wanted her husband's love and recognition and yet at every opportunity he either rejected or ignored her. Then there was the young son who yearned for his father's attention and guidance as he grew up but his father couldn't see beyond his own need for booze to meet his son's needs. I thought about the elderly neighbor who was being mistreated and threatened by her caregiver. She was suffering because she didn't know a single soul who could help her. Finally, there was a new widow whose husband had always taken care of the finances and now she had no idea how to make good decisions for herself.

It was easy to see that the people carrying heavy burdens were all around me. I couldn't miss them if I determined to listen to what they were saying. My struggle is the same one I've always had: am I willing to get involved, to share their burden and try to lighten it or just blow them off with platitudes? I've found it always requires more of a sacrifice than I first anticipate when I choose to enter in. So, I always leave some room for the unknown when I 'count the cost.'   I make a promise to God and myself that once I begin I won't quit just because the going gets tough.

The other thing I've learned about this principle is that I have to help when a person's burden is heavy. Friendship goes to the one who helps share the load. All of the good intentions or promises in the world will not make a friend once the burden is lifted. The young son who grew up with a Big Brother he could lean on does not switch his loyalty to a sober father once he's grown. No matter how much the father might lavish on him the same bond does not develop.

However, if someone comes across my path and I share her burdens and hopefully lighten them I make a new friend for life, a true friend that I can trust and depend on. As a bonus God sets aside a reward for me in heaven. There are not many endeavors that reap such lasting benefits!

Principles of Forgiveness

I happened across this verse this week. Ephesians 4:32 (NLT) "Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." Since I'm convinced that people as a whole do not grow past their leadership, I believe that anyone who wants to live as a Christ follower is going to be greatly tempted during this presidential election season and to come through spiritually victorious in Novermber we need to be prepared.

As I've asked God about how I should proceed He's given me direction that I want to share. First, don't ignore the conflict. He has given each of us a point of view that is important to share with the world. For most of us that means we speak with our vote.

However, if we're not going to ignore what is being said and done by our leaders then we find ourselves mired in the mud of lies, half-truths, slanders and underhanded tricks. As Christians, many of us have struggled out of that lifestyle and the only way we know to confront it again is with fear, anger, or tit-for-tat. I think God has been showing me a better way.

Forgiveness! For every person whose rhetoric offends me, for everyone I think is misguided or worse, for all those who seek to deceive me for their own gain, I must choose to forgive. And by that I mean I must choose to give up the right to resent and fight them in like manner and give that right to God! Since He cares about what happens to me, He will fight for me as I call on Him to bring justice and truth to our leadership.

Don't be confused by what I'm saying. I'm not advocating a position of passivity or weakness. I know that when I forgive it does not mean that I forget and become an emotional zombie. However, my emotions are just that, feelings that remain in the realm of temptation if I deal with them quckly. Anger, disappointment, or outrage that is not dealt with builds into prejudice, resentent or bitterness. As they fester and grow my nature is changed into 'the old man' again and if I act on them I fall into sin. When I choose forgiveness God can heal my feelings and line them up with His Word.

Join me! Choose to become a 'Prayer Warrior' in the old fashioned sense of the term. Together we can experience a victory we cannot achieve alone.

NOTICE:  Carolyn Maze and I will be meeting in the Lobby of Generations Church 3838 50th Street. Monday-Friday at 8:30 am. starting tomorrow, August 7, until election day in November. If you would like to join us to pray for our country and the campaigns we welcome you!

As God Sees Us

My pastor preached on the principle that we should see ourselves as God says He sees us if we are going to improve our self-image. I have seen and experienced how much we can help each other with that new vision. As Ed preached the memory that came to my mind was not about me but starred my ex-husband.

When my husband chose to sober up God began to deal with the wreckage alcoholism had made in our family members' personalities and characters. Naturally our values and beliefs had to change. However, we were not left alone in our quest to merely grasp wisdom from books, even the Bible, though we did read and meditate. We were surrounded by people who stuck so close to us they could see in the debris of our self-centered thinking that sought after attitudes and characteristics were taking shape. It was those qualities they made sure to point out.

That was a complete change for me. I was used to being confronted only if I was being corrected or reprimanded. I assumed I was doing everything right if nothing was said at all. I lived by the motto, no news is good news, you might say. But now we were in the midst of people who addressed our virtues as they saw them and it was reinforcing our positive behavior as we reached for the higher values of a sane and sober life.

One of the most dramatic changes I ever saw was in my husband. Not long after he joined the organization that was helping us he told me on the way home from a meeting, "Don't get to thinking we have some extra money since I'm sober. I have to give a dollar in every meeting when they pass the basket and you have to give a dollar in your meeting, too."

What? Do you think I didn't pass math, I wondered? Like I couldn't tell the difference between the costs of a case of beer every night and a dollar at a meeting! To say the least, my drinking husband was not generous. After several months of being sober I asked him if I could invite some friends over to our house after the meeting. He agreed, so, I told him we needed to go by Duncan Donuts and get a dozen donuts to have for refreshments.

We had so much fun we continued to invite friends over after the meetings. Each week our guest list grew and so did our donut purchases. Before long we extended our invitation to everyone who wanted to come and we provided the donuts and coffee. Almost every room of our house was filled with the babble of people with a common problem who were seeking a common solution and becoming friends on their journey.

One night, after everone had gone my husbnad and I were discussing our 'party' while he washed coffee cups. Suddenly a thought raced through my mind and without thinking I blurted it out. "Thank you for being so generous. It's your generosity that makes this work."

Actually, I had never thought of my husband as generous before, but his reaction told me I had hit the mark and that he wanted to be known as a generous man. Without a word, he stood up a little straighter, squaring his shoulders and lifting his head just a touch even though his hands were still in dish water.

From that moment to this, one of his greatest assets has been his generosity. It's one of the first things you think of when you hear his name.

God's Kind of Economy

"In those days when you pray I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes." Jeremiah 29:12-14

Everyday last week there seemed to be a depressing report of the work force in America. Over and over I heard the stats of how hard hit women have been. The plight of the number of people receiving food stamps, of those who are underemployed, seeking jobs or unemployed but no longer seeking jobs, and the many more that will soon be among their number were well covered. The inference was, this country is on the skids and there is very little hope and President Obama says the only answer is to trust in the government to take care of us. However, on Sunday I was ready to pray and put this enormous problem in God's hands. In reply He seemed to say, "Maybe if those who are stuggling in this financial recession knew a small part of your mother's story it would lift their spirits. Because the truth is that even when men and women have lost the plan for their futures, God hasn't."

On the day my mother, Marian, met Jesus in a little West Texas church and made a decision to live her life His way everything changed for her. In Jesus' presence she agreed to finally become responsible for her life and only trust Him to help her. The days of leaning on other people or things were over. All had failed her but Jesus promised  that she would not be alone. When His vision disappeared she realized He had filled her with the peace and courage she had needed for so many years. She made a decision right then to resist the overwhelming terrors and fears that sought to control her as well as her violently abusive husband before she left the church.*

She returned home with new resolve to find her husband sitting in the living room. She grabbed a pillowcase and began to scoop all of the can goods into it. When she had gathered everything she needed from the apartment she went to where he sat and stood before him, she extended her hand to him palm up, and said, "The girls and I are leaving. We're going back to Dallas. I need the keys to the car." "Can I go , too?" he asked meekly now that he was sober. "Yes," she replied, "but only so far as your mother's house. I'll never live with you again."

Marian had been married since she was sixteen. And though she had owned a children's day care for a time, she had never trained for a job. She couldn't imagine how she was going to support and provide for her girls. But things began to fall into place. She found an apartment in a government housing complex as soon as she arrived in town. Then, looking through the Want Ads she saw the Bus Station needed help in the coffee shop. She was willing to learn the job and she was hired. My older stepsister, Susie, looked after her sister who was five years younger. There were only a few assets that Marian took to that job. She showed up on time with a smile, listened, and learned. "I didn't make hardly any money," she said later, "but I got a few tips and I could eat during my shift so the food money went to the girls."

Before long an actual restaurant downtown had an opening for a waitress. "I applied for it as soon as I heard about it," she smiled. "It only paid a little better but most importantly, I was allowed to take leftover food home so that was like a big raise to me and I learned more skills. Things were improving. I never figured to stay a long time anywhere. I was always looking for the next step up so I did the best I could everwhere just so I could get a good recommendation. But I always thought it was ironic that I would never have heard about the second restaurant if I hadn't taken the awful job working nights at the Bus Station.

"From there I got a job at a variety store. The trouble with it was it was so far away. I had to ride the bus to the end of the line then I still had to walk a couple of miles to the store," she related. However, she got a good raise and the sacrifice was worth it since she had some money for her children's needs. "I was working there at Easter and because of my boss the girls had the best Easter of their lives." When the holiday was over she asked if she could take some of the left over candy to her kids. Her boss replied, "You can have anything you want." She laughed as she related the story to me many years later, "You should have seen me getting on the bus with huge stuffed animals and big baskets full of candy, eggs, and grass. I still don't know how I carried it all until I reached the bus!"

The next job was only a few blocks from home at a high-end restaurant. There as one of the wait staff she was trained in table service and actually began to make enough money to cover the family's needs. That was when she realized her confidence in herself had changed. To her surprise, she actually believed that she could learn, she could grow, and she could succeed. After a little time she began to wonder if she could achieve the dream she had always carried.

One thing led to another and she was accepted into the local nursing program. The restaurant was only open in the evenings so she continued to work most of her way through school where she graduated at the top of her class.

For years Marian had believed she was a looser who couldn't succeed. She had been so beat up and beat down by life and her husband that her hope had run out. Once she started on her new path the problems didn't just magically disappear. Her husband continued to get drunk, intimidate, and terrorize her along with other trials, but she confronted each one with a new resolve and the knowledge that she was no longer alone. Once she put her faith in Jesus, knowing that she needed His directions and plan, in two short years she rose from a pit of despair and helplessness to achieve more than she had ever thought she could.

*See: Available Grace: True Short Stories of the Rewards of Intentional Living, "My Comforter In Trouble", pg.123. To order click on: http://sbpra.com/mariannecassell or www.amazon.com
     I'm telling my mother's story with her permission.