paravanes:meditations

  (c) Deborah Evans Trust in God. In John 14:1, Jesus said "Trust in God, trust also in me." This has also been translated as "Keep trusting in God, keep trusting in me." Jesus, knowing what was about to happen, did not want his followers to become discouraged or turn away when things seemed to take a bad turn. When you "trust" someone, your confidence must be limited by what that person is capable of. No matter how much that person loves you, their ability to act is limited because humans are limited. Or, as some say, "we're only human." Even those who love us deeply and have proven their love may become ill, die, or be removed from our lives by circumstances beyond their control. When you "trust in" (rely completely upon) God, you are always secure because God's ability to act is unlimited. The power of unlimited ability combined with the grace of unlimited love create a force that cannot be denied or overcome. In God, you fin...

  (c) Deborah Evans On this Veteran's Day weekend in the U.S., many of us are remembering those who "fought for freedom." Most of us would say veterans fought for those at home and elsewhere to have the option of making and carrying out choices, choosing new and better paths, naming and acting upon their own priorities, etc. These options are a big part of what most of us call freedom. What does it mean to "be free in Christ"? Freedom in Christ is made of at least two things: preferences and power The person who is free in Christ choses and prefers what Christ wants for them: purpose. joy, humility, true and godly love, compassion, disciplined power, peace, and honest relationships.. Freedom in Christ includes the power to create, experience, and maintain these things in our lives. As we become more free in Christ, we may experience fewer dire emergencies and life extremes on a daily basis. This is true because we create the foundations that allow us to experien...

  (c) Deborah Evans When you think of church, or the church, do you think of a building? A multi-location campus with many buildings seating hundreds of people? A Gothic type historical structure in a central business district? A school gym? A small or large neighborhood building that hosts food distribution, back-to-school rallies for the neighborhood children, and Vacation Bible School during the summer? All Saints Day, or All Saints Sunday, is a time to remember the true church can't be defined by a building's location or a physical address. What do we remember on All Saints Day? Throughout all time and in all places, God has called people into fellowship and discipleship. No single church organization or denomination can truthfully say they are "the only church" :because no human person completely knows the full mind, full heart, and total actions of God. God has always called people, and has done this independent of human action. Remember the story of Abram's...

(c) Deborah Evans I've spent some holidays alone. I don't always spend holidays alone, but I've spent a few alone and I will share what helped me enjoy and remember those holidays as positive landmarks in my life. I hope these ideas are helpful to you. You need a plan . You need a plan because so much of the advertising, marketing, and messaging of the culture is based on happy "family and friends" gatherings during the holidays (Thanksgiving through the New Year). Of course, all of these gatherings are not happy, joyful, or peaceful. No matter. Given all of this messaging, you need to create a space to enjoy the holiday based on your life, your priorities, and your circumstances. Your plan begins now . Allow yourself to quietly consider why you are alone during the holidays. I am not referring to psychoanalysis or deep self-therapy. Just sit quietly for a time and review the circumstances or events or your life. Perhaps you have chosen to be alone during the holi...

  Photo (c) Deborah Evans  How open are you to change? How open are you to new ways of seeing the world? How open are you to leaving something (or someone) behind and taking on something (or someone) new? How open are you to learning and practicing new habits, new priorities, and new perspectives? Salvation in Jesus Christ is about transformation. When you examine Jesus' relationship with his disciples, you see him leading and guiding and protecting them through a series of challenging, authentic, transformational experiences. You see Jesus working miracles, reaching out to the marginalized and rejected and showing God's care and concern, conflicts with the traditional religious leaders, political arrest and execution, resurrection, and ascension (moving beyond physical limitations). Almost none of this happens when Jesus is alone. What he does, he does with his disciples. Why didn't Jesus just speak to and lecture his disciples instead of leading them through these events?...

Image: Window in the kitchen of the Daggett Farm House at  Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan Photo by Deborah Evans If you are seeking to hear from God, you must rest.  What does this mean? This means you must intentionally move yourself out of emergency panic mode. This means you must determine to align your emotions with the serenity and power of God.  This means you cannot live on a wavelength of stress, uncertainty, and frustration. This means you must know beforehand God will answer your prayer for guidance. This means you will align yourself with the purpose, power, and peace of God.  You will rest your mind, body, and emotions in preparation for hearing, understanding, and believing in the guidance of God. If you want to be guided by God,  first   you must rest .  

  c) Deborah Evans "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."--Proverbs 27:1. Seek God's will, but insist upon nothing.  Leave the details to God.  Trust opportunities God creates for you as you walk in faith and minute by minute obedience. As a Christ follower, your purpose is to obey God and love God's will and God's way. Few people declare and decree a painful challenge or an unwanted life change. Usually, the decree or declaration-- -when it's specific --involves getting what we think we want.  God uses all types of circumstances and events to conform us to the image of Christ. Jesus said "the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (John 15:16) What does it mean to ask in Jesus's name? In the ancient language Jesus spoke and the gospel writer used to record Jesus's words, "in my name" meant "in my way", "in my manner", and "as representing my identity, purp...

  (c) Deborah Evans Nehemiah 8:10: "Do not grieve...the joy of the Lord is your strength." What does this mean? Read the book of Nehemiah, not a long book, if you want to understand the historical context of this statement. What can it mean for us in 2023? We were created for joy and happiness. The joy and happiness experienced in our creation was based on our close, uninterrupted connection to God. We cut that connection in the early days of humanity (see Genesis, the book of beginnings) and God restored to us the option of that connection through Jesus Christ.  As Christ followers, we can now honestly say "the joy of the Lord is my strength." What does this joy look like in our life experiences? We have the security of knowing in this life we walk a road prepared for us and will have a safe, final arrival in God's kingdom in a place made specifically for us. See John 14:2. We have the certainty of knowing we don't exist through a random process of chance, ...

  (c) Deborah Evans If you are unfamiliar with the term "Black femicide", read the article referenced below to understand what it is and why it is a public health crisis: Black Femicide: A Silent Public Health Crisis  -- from advancingkids.org Femicide is defined as an intentional killing with a gender related motivation. Why is this a crisis in the Black community? In 2022, The Guardian (UK)  reported the rate of death by homicide for Black women increased by 33% in 2020 over the previous year.. In 2020, an average of five Black women per day were murdered in the United States.(FBI statistics) Recent reports do not show a reversal of this trend. Read this Washington Post article about the lack of traction this issue has received. Most of these murders were connected to domestic, family related violence. Victims included spouses, partners, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, co-parents, ex-wives, former girlfriends, women who rejected unwanted suitors. The vast major...

  (c) Deborah Evans This quote, "what punishments of God are not gifts?" from author J.R.R. Tolkien, gives us insight into how to understand God's connection with us. The nature of God's relationship is a progressive interaction.  Even punishments that bring us closer to God's heart and closer to the image (character, submission, and obedience) of Christ are gifts of God. See Romans 8:29, I Corinthians 15:49. When we are punished by humans (parents, teachers, etc.), that punishment cannot be separated from the frustrations, irritations, unchecked anger, and shortcomings of those parents, teachers, or others. None of those appear in any punishment (corrective or directive action) taken by God because none of those shortcomings or emotional imbalances are part of God's character. They cannot be displayed or imposed by God. When we understand God's entire purpose in redemption and salvation is to make us like Jesus, to conform us to Jesus' image (personal...

  (c) Deborah Evans Sometimes, the past must be put aside before you can look upward and look forward. The past cannot be erased. The past is part of your history and your identity. Just as the histories of nations and organizations cannot be erased, your personal history cannot be erased. Our histories and past decisions have created our current life experiences. If we don't like where we are, we can choose regret or repentance. That decision is yours to make. That decision determines if your past becomes a curse or a blessed lesson. Regret is a useless pursuit, one that blocks you from seeing present or future options and opportunities. Regret is a backward looking action, one that doesn't give you room to learn from mistakes or help and guide others on a forward path. Repentance, on the other hand, allows you to see what is true, what actually happened, find or give or accept forgiveness, and examine why things are the way they are. Repentance is the acceptance of mistakes m...

  Image from wikipedia.com article on "Tableland" This is the final Summer Break Encore post of 2023. The  lyrics to the hymn "Higher Ground" were composed by Johnson Oatman, Jr. You can read all verses of this hymn at  https://hymnary.org/text/im_pressing_on_the_upward_way    There are no connections to the well known Stevie Wonder song of the same name. --d. ******************************************** A hymn I grew up with--one  I seldom hear anymore--was titled "Higher Ground." In the chorus of the hymn, we sang these words: "Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith, on heaven's tableland, A higher plane than I have found, Lord plant my feet on higher ground." What is a tableland? A tableland is a plateau, a mesa, or an elevated flat ground. Often sheep would graze on tableland. What is heaven's tableland?  Many commentators have said it is the afterlife, when we all live in the heavenly kingdom of God's goodness. Not so fast....

  (c) Deborah Evans While I take a short summer break from the blog, I'm re-posting some of the most popular (based on views) posts. I hope you'll enjoy this one. I'll be back in early September.  --DE Originally published in November of 2012. ******* I used to speak regularly with someone who often declared herself to be "blessed and highly favored." When I telephoned her and would ask "how are you doing"? or "how is it going with you"?, the instant answer was always "I am blessed and highly favored!" Her answer came too quickly, almost as if no thought went into the response. I understand what many people teach about speaking only those words that reflect the reality you wish to experience. I think I have a least a little bit of understanding regarding why this type of thinking is so popular. I am not sure it's a good idea, or even biblical, but it is popular. I suppose we all like to think we are blessed of the Lord, but what d...

(c) Deborah Evans If you feel your prayers for someone are not effective because you're not seeing the results you want, consider this: the deepest purpose of prayer is to align your will to the will of God. Prayer cannot be used to align someone else's will to your will. Prayer cannot be used as a tool to control, direct, manipulate, or redirect another person's life or personality. If you see a clear need for change in someone's life, pray they will be open to following God. Trust God for the timing of this change. This is different from praying that person will be open to doing what you want them to do when you want them to do it.. Praying "harder" and more often will not move God to do something out of God's plan, will, or timing. Prayer is a privilege, not a hammer. God is perfectly capable of speaking clearly to everyone, including those who don't currently know or follow him.  Pray in peace, act as directed by God, and trust God for the outcome....

  (c) Deborah Evans According to a 2022 CBS News report, the average person tells four lies each day . This survey report suggests lying has become a natural  and habitual way of life for many people. Rather than simply condemning this habit -- a habit most people acknowledge as "wrong", or "less than best"--I thought it would be more useful to list the rules of lying. Rule 1: Deny actions and experiences that may require the telling of a lie at a later point in time. Rule 2: Remind yourself of Rule 1 each day. Rule 3:  Remember the average person tells four lies each day and take this into account during your conversations and contacts. It is likely you are being lied to regularly. Rule 4:  Self-examine on why lies often appear an easier "out" than telling the truth. Rule 5:  Self-examine on what type of relationship you have with a person you regularly lies to or tell lies about. Habits are hard to break, but the breaking begins when you refuse to lie t...

(c) Deborah Evans If you haven't reviewed it, read the July 22 post for the first part of this story. There are two summary lessons from Hagar's story. Let's take a look at them. As you read, consider how these lessons may apply to you. Lesson 1: Although none of the "power players" in Hagar's environment cared about her, God cared and God acted. This caring and this acting made all of the difference. If you read the previous post, you know the power players in Hagar's life were Abraham and Sarah, her owners. Both Abraham and Sarah used Hagar without concern for her well-being or safety. When Sarah felt Hagar was no longer useful, Sarah ordered her husband to throw Hagar and Hagar's son out of the house. Sarah's husband obeyed. In fact, God directed Abraham to obey his wife Sarah regarding throwing Hagar out of the house. If God cared about Hagar, why did he allow Hagar and Ishmael (her son) to be put out of the house and into the wilderness? God w...

(c) Deborah Evans Hagar's story (beginning in Genesis 16 and ending in Genesis 21) is a story about injustice to and enslavement of women in the ancient world. Hagar's story also tells us how God loves those considered disposable and unimportant. Hagar's story is complex.. Read Genesis 16 through 21. As you read the story, you will learn how Sarah, Hagar's owner and mistress, manipulated and misused Hagar. Early in the story, Hagar runs away and God tells Hagar to go back. Was God endorsing slavery? In this case, God had a plan, a timed plan, that delayed (but not denied) Hagar's departure. Sarah urges her husband Abraham to have intercourse with Hagar. Sarah is hoping to "take and own" any male child resulting from this interaction. Abraham follows Sarah's urging and a child, Ishmael, is born by Hagar. Eventually, in light of God's promise, Sarah and Abraham have a son of their own named Isaac. As time passes, Sarah is offended by the actions and ...

  The Great Divorce , by C.S. Lewis. Harper One, 2000. 146 pages. (Originally published in 1946.) From the preface : "Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound, bit by bit, 'with backward mutters of disserving power'--or else not. If we insist on keeping Hell, (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven; if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell." This book is not about the legal process of ending a marriage contract, Nor is it theology. Instead, Lewis' fable is about an imaginary trip from between Hell and Heaven. The book features imaginary characters who engage in a pursuit and a discussion of the deepest, most important realities: how do my choices bring me close to God, or away from God? What is the nature of Heaven? What is the nature of Hell? Lewis, an Episcopalian, draws a deeper meaning of these places than will be found in po...