Photo Transparencies

So, I finished Isaiah. 

Not an easy book. And made slightly more difficult because Isaiah doesn't do us the kindness of making himself clear with the details -- like who is speaking? What does this prophecy refer to? Where does this prophecy end and the next one begin. I have friends who read Isaiah and consider the whole book mush -- a little like something you'd get if you put your whole dinner into a blender. Hard to tell what was steak and what was apple crisp.

But remember, Isaiah didn't really have the details either. He just tells us what God says, in no particular order, with little or no understanding of the events he portrays.

So, when I read, it helps me to think of Isaiah as a pile of transparency sheets. (remember those from the days of overhead projectors?) On each sheet is a complete, or nearly complete photograph. However, when you layer all the photos on top of one another, the result would appear as a composite of all the photos -- because you could see through the empty space on photo A all the way to the details on photo C. 

It would be a little like a photo created in a blender!

Not easy to figure out, right? 

Still, rather than throw the whole thing out, choose to focus on the events you do recognize. For instance, I found this in the last chapter...

"Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son. Who has ever seen or heard of anything as strange as this? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem's birth pains begin, the baby will be born; the nation will come forth. "Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?" asks the LORD. "No I would never keep this nation from being born," says your God."

Anyone who has studied the history of present-day Israel knows that the nation did indeed come forth on a single day. After WW I, the League of Nations granted the British a mandate in Palestine, which was populated largely by Arab muslims (outside Jerusalem) and Jews in the city. The mandate included the purpose of providing a safe haven  for Jewish emigration.  After WW II, displaced Jews from all over Europe fled their old lives to begin again in the region of Jerusalem. As the population swelled, the Palestinians worried about the new emigrants. Tension increased. The Arabs wanted to drive the Jews out. The Jews saw independence as the only route to safety. The demand for an independent Jewish nation rose to a mighty roar. 

Knowing that the Palestinians were armed, the British set a date to withdraw. They had NOT allowed the Jews to arm themselves. The scene was set for a bloodbath between the Jews and the Palestinians. On May 14, 1948, the day before the British Mandate was set to end, the Jewish Agency declared their independence.

Within 24 hours the Jewish state was born. When the British withdrew, the war between the Arabs and Jews became a fight for survival which has erupted in various forms over the intervening years.

A nation in a single day. It happened. Against all odds, the unarmed (officially), untrained, unorganized emigrants declared themselves a nation, and when the ensuing war began, they proved Isaiah correct. 

Interesting, yes?

Bette

2009

Most folks make a stab at resolutions; instead, I think about projects. 

So, I thought I'd share with you one that I'm working on. While at a service in Gig Harbor, at my in-law's church, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to work on this: An outline of the gospels.

Here is what I was thinking about. I'd like to propose a Gospel book as a Bible Study to the publisher responsible for Jeremiah. (my study) And as I was pondering that with the Lord (while I ought to have been listening to the sermon), I got the thought that to do ANY gospel, I need to have a firm hold on ALL the gospels. 

So, here is what I did: I went to an office supply store and bought a GIANT post-it like pad. I've divided the page into four columns, and I've labeled each with a Gospel. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 

Then, I started in. Matthew chapter one. Mark chapter one. Now, as one of my close friends says, "It's a slow way to serve the Lord." 

In this case she's right! At the same time, I've been amazed at what I've been discovering. Repetitive phrases. Key words. Intriguing ideas. 

Surprising insight.

So, I'm letting you know that this will be my day project for a while. At the same time, I'm working through Isaiah.  

I'll leave you with this quote from the 47th chapter of Isaiah: God speaking.

"You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure, bragging as if you were the greatest in the world! You say, 'I'm self sufficient and not accountable to anyone! I will never be a widow or lose my children.' Well those two things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children . . . "

Doesn't that sound familiar? Can you think of a pleasure crazy kingdom nearby? 

Me too. 

Bette

All Gods the Same?

I'm reading through Isaiah. And, as I read about Sennacharib who was determined to take Jerusalem at the time of King Hezekiah, I realized that Sennacherib made the same mistake that many people make today. 

"All Gods are essentially the same aren't they?"

"Aren't all people praying to the same God -- no matter what they call him?"

"God doesn't care what you call Him, does He?"

"Buddha, Allah, Jehovah, Jesus, Mother Earth, they're really all the same thing, yes?"

Here is how Sennecherib said it, "Don't let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, 'the Lord will rescue us!' Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria?"

The Assyrian King was making a huge mistake. He assumed that the gods of the other nations WERE EXACTLY THE SAME (in power, in authority, in passion, in interest, etc) as the GOD OF ISRAEL.

I have one word for him. 

NOT!

All Gods are not the same. The Bible gives NO ROOM for this kind of thinking. God's answer to Sennacherib:

"Whom do you think you have been insulting and ridiculing? Against whom did you raise your voice? At whom did you look in such proud condescension? It was the Holy One of Israel!" (Isaiah 37:23)

Don't make the same mistake as this foolish king. He woke one morning after mocking God and found 185 thousand of his troops dead. "When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land."

It was a humiliating defeat. Thousands died because he was foolish enough to think:  All Gods are the same. No one else has stopped me. The God of Israel won't stop me either.

If you are a believer already, this story reminds us:

God has the power to rescue even against overwhelming odds.

God does not tolerate being mocked.

God hears everyone, even the foolish statements of our enemies.

God responds when we take our troubles to him.

God cares about us, whether our troubles are small, or large. When we are surrounded, when the water is cut off, the food is cut off and our enemy is camped all around us. He listens. He hears. He responds.

Our God is an awesome God.

Don't be fooled. He is like no other.

Bette 

Contented Christmas

Here in the northwest, we're experiencing one of the most severe winter weather systems ever. Today, we have much snow and frigid temps as we face the wedding of a dear friend. We hope many will struggle through the snow to celebrate with her. But considering Puyallup has no snowplows and relies entirely on sand to keep the roads clear, I have my doubts. We'll see though.

Today, I want to just make a few notes on contentedness. After all, Christmas is the time to be driven by dissatisfaction. We women want to provide our families the perfect decorations, the perfect food, the perfect gifts, the perfect parties. And sometimes, when we are thwarted, whether by weather or finances, children or time, we end up with a kind of miserable lump in our gut. A sorrow in our memory. It is born with dissatisfaction.

And Proverbs has the answer: Contentedness.

Check out these good words:

Those who love money will never have enough.

Riches are hoarded to harm the saver. (Prov. 5:13)

It is good to eat well, drink good wine, and enjoy your work. (3:18)

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have (6:19)

He might live a thousand years twice but never have contentment. (6:6)

So, how do you stay contented? Cultivate thankfulness! Remember those who have much less. GIVE to the poor. Pray for those who struggle. Live in the NOW (don't let your mind wander; when you are with your kids concentrate on savoring the moment) Try to avoid or restrict list-making (YES! list-making generates pressure for all the undone things. If you struggle with contentedness, consider what that long list of "to-dos" does to your psyche!) Tell those you love how much they mean to you. Mute or turn off the commercials. Focus on simplifying.

In a season where everything around you is geared to MAKE you dissatisfied, ask God to plant in you a deep sense of contentedness. It's the treatment for what ails us.

Bette

Faith Enables

So, I was reading the dreaded Hebrews passage the other day. You know the one, chapter eleven, the faith passage. Most of the time, that kind of reading can make you feel a little like a "faith weany." Yes?

And (remember that I'm using this new interactive attempt at quiet time),  I noticed this important pattern. In every place where faith is mentioned, it is followed by a VERB. A DOING word. 

By faith, Abel Obeyed.

By faith Enoch pleased God

By faith Noah (built an ark)

Sarah conceived

Abe offered Isaac

Isaac blessed his sons

Joseph spoke (of the future)

Moses parents (hid the baby)

Moses left Egypt.

See the pattern? While faith isn't an action word. It is the MEANS to action. It is NOT the means to passivity. 

Faith and action. Go together. Action happens BY FAITH.

James said something about faith and action, didn't he? You show me your faith and I'll show you my action. (Bette's paraphrase)

I got to wondering what that means. How does faith produce action? If faith comes from God, and action is our part of it, then, is faith our response to God? Our responsive response to God? Our active response to God in our life?

So, I guess I have to ask. What has faith made you do lately?

Good question, eh?

It's almost the Christmas season. I'm taking my laptop to the Mac doctor tomorrow. So, don't know when I'll get it back. In the meantime, I'm wishing you a wonderful holiday season.

Turns out that I finished the novel and turned it in last Friday night. Yahoo! And, the fire investigator who looked at the story says he is extremely impressed with the "page turner" and can't wait to read the whole manuscript. So, that's a good sign. Should be out this summer. I'll keep you posted. Blessings, one and all. And remember the One we celebrate.

Bette

Long Time No See

I've had trouble logging on and adding to this blog lately. So, I'll try to bring you up to date as quickly as I can. 

Kim (my husband of 33 years) and I were in Italy the last part of September, and part of October, celebrating our anniversary. It was a whirlwind, two-week trip, involving entirely too many towns, hotels, and museums. And frankly, lots of gelato. Mmmm good.

Since we've been home, I've done a retreat at the Firs in Bellingham, and worked hard on the new fiction project. It's due in three and a half weeks. If you're of the praying sort, I could really use the prayer support.

And, here's what I want to share with you. It comes from a friend of mine in Portland, who's been following Jesus for a long time. Her relationship with the savior is different than mine, but we often challenge one another to grow in Christ. 

Her latest discovery is a new approach to her quiet time. Kerrie is a random, artist type personality. She has trouble reading the Bible sequentially. It doesn't stick that way. She reads, but doesn't leave it with any real growth. So, the Lord seems to have led her to a new style. I thought I'd share it with you. I've been working at it for a while, and I've been excited by the change in my quiet times. See what you think:

She started with a three ring notebook. She added dividers labeled, "Questions," (what she wants to know more about. She has topics like "What moves the heart of God?" "What does generosity mean?" "What are the principles of the kingdom?") "Bible" (meaning answers to the questions she's asking) "Speaking" (meaning she writes what she thinks God is telling her about her own life and prayer concerns) and lastly "Prayer" (meaning her list of prayer concerns for her own life and others)

The cool thing about the approach is that she starts every day with a question for God. Then, she either listens as he leads her to scripture, or she uses a traditional tool, like a concordance or index to look for answers. Anything that she feels she learns, she writes down in actual quotes from the text. (Bible section).

I've been doing it too, only I use it while going through my traditional approach to reading scripture. For instance, one of the things I've noted going through the book of Proverbs is a list of the things that delight God. I've wondered, what does that mean? To delight God? To tickle him? To make him warm and fuzzy? I don't know, exactly but I'm learning. I'm thinking. I'm asking.

But the list is amazing. It includes honesty. The prayer of the righteous. Keeping your word, and a bunch of other simple ideas. 

You might try a notebook. You can add pages wherever your notes fill up a page. You can change direction at any time. And best of all, it's interactive. It's a way to really include God and wait for his leading as you spend time with him. Try it. And let me know what you think?

Bette