paravanes:meditations

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood..." -Ephesians 6:12 A long time ago, I came across a little phrase I have never forgotten: "You don't own anything unless you can defend it, because if something has value, someone will try to take it from you." In an online forum, I shared this comment with a reader who was struggling with breaking away from a negative situation : "You must make your decision and defend it every day. The good news is that with every successful defense, you become stronger, smarter, and happier." When St. Paul wrote about our struggles, he made it clear these struggles are not against flesh and blood (not against people). Our struggles to be positive, obedient to God's will, loving, creative, generous, joyful, and energetically influential in the world will be opposed by the spiritual forces of evil. Throughout Scripture, we see the conflict of the ages between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. This is not ...

Too many years ago, a TV show called Highlander told the story of Duncan MacLeod, an "Immortal" with a nearly endless life span. We are all immortals, and will live somewhere forever . Everything we do is a part of our permanent history, a history that doesn't end with Earthly death. We continue. Death was never the original intention of God for us. We die a physical death because of sin. We live eternally because that is God's ultimate purpose for us. We were created in His image, and His life never ends. The spiritual death often spoken of is a separation from God's love and His purposes, but spiritual death does not represent an ending to existence. There is no peaceful, empty oblivion for those who do not wish to know God. I believe and Scripture tells us there is a real Hell, a literal place and state of being no informed human would choose. Thankfully, no one arrives there without an intentional choice. My intentional choice for 2010 is to remind myself eac...

Forgive and forget. Oh really? Is that a good a idea, or is it even possible? Yes, if someone cuts you off in traffic, or answers you rudely when you ask a question, go ahead and forgive and forget. You may well forget the incident by the end of the day. When we are struggling with life altering events, forgetting is not always an option. A local minister was attacked in his home a few months ago. He was stabbed over thirty times. Recently, he returned to church and was able to step into the pulpit and speak to the congregation. His commitment to forgive the attacker (who has been arrested and charged) was announced. Do you think this minister has "forgetten" the attack on his life? For too many years, I have read devotional or spiritual writings which passed a message implying if you have not forgetten the wrong someone has done, you have not forgiven them. How dishonest can one be? Why make forgiveness more challenging than it needs to be by suggesting no forgiveness has ha...

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling place of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" - Revelation 21:3 and 4 ...for the old order of things has passed away. This is the ultimate end of salvation and redemption. The story begins with creation, and is punctuated by sin, failure, hope, disappointment, and frustration. God, as Jesus Christ, breaks through into our human place and time at Christmas, and begins the story again. John the Revelator gives us a glimpse of the final sale: we are restored to what we were originally created for: love and fellowship with God. This Christmas may be a time of happiness for you. If it is, rejoice even more knowing the happiness you experience now is small compared to what G...

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." -- 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4 How closely and deeply am I able to receive the comfort of God? Christmas, the tangible, personal and up-front breaking through of God into the human timeline and experience, means I am able to receive the comfort of God in my personal life. I may use that comfort to see things in a new and different way. I am empowered to share that comfort, without regard for what someone may think. Pride does not stop me from telling my story of God's comfort. I am personally and permanently obligated to share how God's comfort has changed, healed, and restored me. If I remain silent on this issue, it is too easy for someone to look at my life and believe I've just got it all pulled together by my own means. ...

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." -- Isaiah 9:2 With less than a week before Christmas, news reports are offering projections on how much money shoppers will spend during this season. With the spending projections are warnings about paying careful attention to store gift return policies. Many retailers are tightening their policies to avoid fraud. I have (fortunately and gratefully) had enough quiet time during this week to reflect on the happiness of what Christmas represents: because Jesus Christ came to the Earth and served as my "sin offering", I am no longer "stuck with" my purchases. I may return them. Also, I am freed from "re-gifting" those bad purchases! I may return the boredom of wasted, useless hours spent in meaningless activities--and replace them with peaceful, God-ordained, eternally meaningful work and pleasures. I may return unnatural ...

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." -- Reinhold Niebuhr How can I know with certainty when I should accept serenely, or make a courageous change? On my own, I can never be certain. God grant me...the wisdom to know the difference. Only God can grant this wisdom, and will do so in His time. There are so many instances in which right seems to give way to might. There are so many things wrong with the world. Aren't we called to be peacemakers, facilitators of love and justice, witnesses of God's power? As I look around, I see this world needing a lot of care and a lot of change. Only God can properly direct my choices and actions. I must regularly remind myself: I am a witness of God's power, not my own power . That means I have to seek and listen for His direction in knowing when to act--even when seemingly clear and obvious facts are screaming in my face--an...

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." -- Reinhold Niebuhr "An ending is just a beginning in disguise." -- "Grim Lupine", Fan Fiction writer As I embrace God-ordained changes, I am not only seeking to change specific actions, but to change my character: my preferences, my habits, my perspective. This deep change requires deep courage. I can't muster and maintain this courage on my own. I need God's energy, expressed in my daily activities, in order to make this "courageous change." I am arriving at the end of a year, and the end of a decade. This ending is also a beginning and my challenge is to consistently seek God's preferences and make those preferences my own. At times, these changes will feel comfortable. At other times, these changes will be painful, seemingly impossible, and full of uncertainty. Of course, there is no unce...

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." -- Reinhold Niebuhr A group of saleswomen met weekly to pray for success in their businesses. They said they were "turning their businesses over to God." I was not a part of this group, but I observed something in the room where the ladies met. One feature of the meeting room was a posted sign with the phrase, "P.U.S.H. = P ray U ntil S omething H appens." At the time, I was impressed with this phrase. The phrase seemed to exemplify powerful faith, a belief that God could and would do anything requested. The phrase seemed to represent an unlimited commitment to the power of prayer, a type of persistence in prayer that would settle for nothing less than a full manifestation of what was sought. I look back on it all now, and I wonder what it really meant. Prayer can never be rightfully used as a tool to control and ...