But Willingly

So, my life took a surprising turn over the last two weeks, in a direction I wasn't intentionally heading, to a destination I didn't know I was going.  But that's okay, because I've been down this road before.  In fact, it's the story of my life.

 

How many times did Mom and Dad step out in faith, not really knowing the why and wherefore, not needing a because or therefore?  Dad moved us to Albuquerque twice on what seemed to be a whim.  From that came one of our family's longest held friendships, not to mention the deep spiritual impact those two short sojourns had on our lives.

 

With nine weeks to go in my Sophomore year of High School, Dad resigned his church in White Deer, Texas, and relocated us to Roaring Springs.  Five months later, we were bound for Deming, New Mexico.  How did that happen?  A man Dad had led to the Lord--on a job site in Borger, Texas--was from Deming and wanted my Dad to come for a visit.  Dad had no money, no job, and no prospects for either.  That man tracked my family down, extended the invitation, and forwarded the financial means to get us to Deming, where he offered both of my parents jobs and loaned them the down payment for a house.  I didn't cotton to the desert at first, and spent several years trying to get away.  Yet ten years there and seven more in Las Cruces endeared Southern New Mexico to our hearts forever.  Again, the friendships, and the ministry, and the spiritual experience we had there!

 

I think about Dad and Mom going to Bernalillo...a church building with a mortgage and no people.  And how Dad defended that property, literally, with fist and gun to reclaim and restore a church body.  They lived in a 16-foot travel trailer and two Sunday school rooms at the back of the sanctuary, working hard and making many personal sacrifices in service to the Lord and His people.

 

My own life has had no end of surprising twists and turns.  I was happy with my church and ministry in Deming, but when I heard of the church in Las Cruces that needed a pastor, I felt the still small voice of God saying, "Go."  In the dark and difficult days in Las Cruces when I begged God to let me go--somewhere else--I felt the still small voice of God saying, "Stay.  And when the situation was restored to normal, I felt His urging again to "Go."  I came to College Station, Texas, with no intention of making it my home, but home it became.  When I wanted to sell out and flee, He said, "Stay."  I pastored again at His bidding, and stayed until He said, "Go."

 

For the last twelve months, I have been slowly learning an important lesson.  Always before, God kept me enough in the light to see about a half-step ahead.  But 2012 was a complete walk of faith--in the dark.  I resigned my church in Bryan and watched as God opened door after door of opportunity for me.  But when I tried to open other doors on my own, God slammed them in my face and said, "That's not where I'm sending you."  When I thought I had it figured out where I would go and what I would do, the Lord said, "You better not go that direction, because that's not where I'm leading."  And then he started opening doors where I wasn't even knocking, taking me in directions I hadn't been walking.  And He kept telling me, "If you'll trust me, I will take you where I want you to go."

 

For the last five months, I have been preaching intermittently at a church in a little East Texas town, and telling them "No" every time they asked me to be their pastor.  I was happy to fill in, but God had not told me to go out there.  But in December, things started to change.  Because you can't preach to people on a regular basis, and pray for their needs, and listen to their stories, without them getting into your heart.  But I was waiting for God to say, "go".

 

After I had consulted a multiplicity of counselors and weighed my options and looked at the situation from every angle, I had pretty much made up my mind that the answer was no.  And then I stood up to preach from Ephesians 5:15-17--

 

See then that you walk circumspectly,

not as fools but as wise,

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise,

but understand what the will of the Lord is.

 

And in that moment, as I read my text before that congregation, I heard the still small voice of the Lord.  And he wasn't saying, "go." Or "stay."  Or "no."  Instead He used my own words against me, words I have tossed out at people trying to discern the will of the Lord.  He said, "What are you waiting for?  A seven-foot angel with a telegram on the end of a flaming sword?  Moses coming down off the mountain glowing with the glory of God and My will inscribed in stone?  What more do you want me to say?"  It was all I could do to tell them right then and there that I wanted to be their pastor.

 

Today, the congregation at Lovelady Assembly of God voted 24 - 0 to have me as their pastor.  And though it wasn't a door I was knocking on, it is the one God has opened for me.  And I'm going.

 

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you,

serving as overseers, not by compulsion

but willingly...

1 Peter 5:2, NKJV

Two Turtledoves

Now when the days of her purification

according to the law of Moses

were completed,

they brought Him to Jerusalem

to present Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the law of the Lord,

"Every male who opens the womb

shall be called holy to the Lord"),

and to offer a sacrifice

according to what is said in the law of the Lord,

"A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Luke 2:22-24, NKJV

 

What do two turtledoves tell us about Jesus, Joseph and Mary?

 

Fifteen-hundred years before Jesus was born, God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt's bondage and started them on their way to the Promised Land.  Along the way, He gave them the rules to follow by which they would honor Him and keep themselves separate from their pagan neighbors.  Those rules seem strange to us, thirty-five centuries removed from Sinai, for they are not part of our culture (speaking on behalf of Americans of Western European descent), and neither are they part of our religion (speaking on behalf of Christians everywhere).  Jesus gave His life to set us free from the bondage of the law, and we are instructed to honor him and keep ourselves separate from the world by being transformed into His image and likeness.  The rules don't apply here.

 

For Joseph and Mary, those were the deeply held beliefs that defined them as Israelites.  They followed the law.

 

In Exodus 13:13, the Lord said, "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."

 

In Exodus 22:29, the Lord said, "The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me."

 

In Exodus 34:20, the Lord said, "All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem."

 

And in Leviticus 12:1-8, the Lord said that on the eighth day after birth, a male child was to be circumcised, and that the mother would be considered ceremonially unclean for the next thirty-three days, until her purification was complete.  And "when the days of her purification are fulfilled...she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering.  And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons--one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering."

 

It was these laws that Joseph and Mary were obeying when they brought their offerings to the temple.

 

Before the institution of the priesthood, it was God's plan that firstborn sons would have a role of ministry to their families.  But once He designated the Levites as priests, he substituted every Levite born for the firstborn of every Israelite household.  In return, He required that the family redeem their firstborn son with the sacrificial offering of a year-old lamb.  While there is no mention of this particular ritual in the gospel narrative of Jesus' birth, we can be sure that Joseph and Mary followed the law and redeemed their firstborn son Jesus.  Whether this took place at his circumcision, or later at Mary's purification, it was certainly done.

 

In the nomadic wanderings of God's people in the desert, there were several regulations ordered by the Lord to maintain a clean camp and a clean people.  It wasn't like these folks could take a shower every day, and the issue of bodily fluids of any kind could be a health hazard if not properly taken care of.  So while a woman's body was restoring itself and recovering after childbirth, both for her benefit and everyone else's, she was to remain separated from the community.  After the prescribed period of time, she could present herself to a priest with an offering for ritual cleansing.

 

Forty days after Jesus was born, while Mary and Joseph were still living in Bethlehem, they made the short trip into Jerusalem for the celebration of Mary's purification rites.  Jesus had been circumcised on the eighth day according to the law, and named according to God's command.  Now they came to present him to the Lord as their firstborn son, and they likely redeemed him with the offering of a lamb.  But if what we have considered about their situation is correct, they were likely in a rather meager financial situation.  That the offering for Mary's purification was two turtledoves (or two pigeons) instead of a lamb and a turtledove indicates they may have spent what they had on the lamb for Jesus, resorting to the poorer offering for Mary.

 

But whatever the substance of, and whatever the reason for, the offerings, Mary and Joseph brought them to the temple.  As faithful Jews obeying the commands of their Lord, they continued to do as their law dictated.  In doing so, they continued to build a family and a home on the foundations of God's truth.

 

And though we are no longer under the commands of the law and its sacrifices, we should endeavor to do the same.  From the time our children are born, we should surround them with a godly atmosphere in a Christ-centered home, raising them in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Friends

I hate this song. I really do. And yet it's one of those songs that is stuck in my head for the rest of my life now, because in the late 80s and early 90s it was performed so often at practically every event that included singing and memory making. Church camps, for instance. Invariably, some talented preacher's daughter would just happen to have her cassette tape soundtrack with her, and during the final Friday service when we were all packed and ready to go home, she would sing it in hopes that we would always be friends, and that we would stay in touch until we could come to camp next year and sing it all over again.

Don't get me wrong. I loved church camp. I loved making new friends. I loved the weeks I spent doing the church camp thing. Even as an adult, I loved working at church camp, something I miss terribly (although it wouldn't be the same now without all the people I worked with and got so close to). And I guess I probably loved (or thought I had fallen in love) with every preacher's daughter who came to camp. But I still hated that song.

To me, that song was less about "let's stay in touch" and "we'll be friends forever", and more about parting to meet no more.

That was the song chosen for my high school graduation, by the powers that were. I have to admit here and now that my last year of high school was a complete waste of my time. Out of seven hours of class time, I spent two in choir, two as a teacher's aide, one in Creative Writing, plus my AP English/Literature and my AP Biology classes. I think I may also have been in a Southwest Literature class at some point that year, but I'm not really sure. Though I loved them all, I think the Biology class was the only one that challenged me.

Sure, I guess I could have taken harder classes like our valedictorian and salutatorian, things like physics and calculus and chemistry and trigonometry. But I didn't really see the sense in busting my tail in classes whose concepts I was never going to use (and I haven't to this day used many math skills beyond the basics, or needed much scientific knowledge that I couldn't find on wikipedia). I wasn't going to be an engineer or a scientist, an accountant, a mathematical theoritician, or an astronaut. I was going to spend my life talking; though admittedly, I thought I was going to be arguing the law or running for public office. At the very least I thought I might be teaching. And of course, in the back of my mind there was always the path that I actually and finally pursued.

Frankly, I think the whole educational system needs to be reformed to better prepare the next generation for life, work, and adulthood. But that's a whole 'nother can of worms. I was talking about a song.

My senior year of high school was almost as bad as second grade (long story in and of itself, and no disrespect or offense intended toward the wonderful 2nd grade teacher I had, the late Glenda Bell Steed, may she rest in peace). Playground politics had not changed at all in the intervening decade. I became public enemy number one among some select groups of my peers. I lost my best friend (got him back though). I made some of the dumbest decisions and biggest mistakes of my life the year I turned 18. I was not thinking clearly, and not listening to God. Graduation was the event that could not get here quick enough, and then it finally arrived.

In addition to my diploma (which someone actually hid from me as a practical joke) and honors tassels, I got a cool porcelain mug with all the names of my graduating class. And my mother turned my gown into a stuffed bear. Those three items are the things I cherish most from that year. And one single memory...

We needed to "walk" with somebody during the Pomp and Circumstance processional.

Some people walked with their significant other. I think it was a big joke to some that two of our mentally challenged classmates ended up walking together. Some tall people just wanted to walk with another tall person. Some smart people wanted to walk with another smart person. I just wanted to walk with a friend. To this day, I don't honestly know what got into me, but on impulse I made my choice. A girl from choir and drama who I knew to be very sweet and generous in spirit, in whom I had no romantic interest, but whom I considered a close friend. I asked her to walk with me, she said yes. Only later did I learn that I had interjected myself into a situation between two of my other friends who had wanted to walk with her too, but because of their own rivalry for her affections they had hesitated.

And I got to walk with her.

Susie McIntyre Luchsinger, sister to Reba, sang at my graduation. And you guessed it. She sang, "friends are friends forever." Then her husband Paul, a cowboy preacher of note, gave the commencement address. I've always thought it was funny that a certain teacher gave a very secular, humanistic speech at the Baccalaureate, which is supposed to be a religious service for the graduating class. And a preacher gave a message about Jesus at the graduation, which is supposed to be a secular event. Paul talked about friendship, and about his best and closest friend, Jesus Christ. It was great!

Through the years, I've had a lot of friends come into and pass out of my life in various ways. There were some friendships that didn't stand the test of time, but there were lots of others that proved they were real when they picked up right where we'd left off the next time we saw each other, no matter how long it had been. I do believe friends can be friends forever.

But I still hate that song.

The Sign of the Covenant

 

 

And when eight days were completed

for the circumcision of the Child,

His name was called JESUS,

the name given by the angel

before He was conceived

in the womb.

Luke 2:21, NKJV

 

 

 

2000 years before Jesus was born, God called Abram from among his idol-worshiping relatives, led him to the land of Canaan, chose him to be the father of a new nation, and promised that his descendants would inherit all the land that he could see.  When Abram asked how he would know that God would do all that He promised, God used an ancient covenant ceremony that Abram would understand.

 

A sacrifice was prepared--a cow, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon.  The cow, goat, and ram were divided in half, with the haves placed opposite of each other.  The dove and pigeon were left whole and placed opposite each other.  The ritual required that the two covenant parties join hands and walk in a circular pattern through the blood together, taking oaths, and swearing to uphold their part of the covenant.  In the case of Genesis 15, God put Abram to sleep and passed between the sacrifices Himself, swearing by Himself that He would uphold both parts of the covenant Himself.

 

It was customary in a covenant ritual for the two parties to slice their palms and join hands as they walked through the sacrifice, letting their blood commingle.  Afterward, they would exchange cloaks, belts, swords, and names, with the scar in their palm forever reminding them of their covenant.  This didn't happen between Abram and God, for the covenant was God's to uphold alone.  However, Abram also needed to enter into the covenant with something.  So thirteen years after the initial ceremony, God comes back to Abram, changes his name to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, and asks Abraham for a sign of the covenant in his own flesh--circumcision.

 

I'm going to proceed on the assumption that you, the reader, understand the meaning of circumcision.  If you're not sure what it is, GOOGLE is a good way to find out.  Suffice it to say, it is a minor medical procedure performed on men that results in the separation of flesh and the shedding of blood.  That being said, God told Abraham that the sign of the covenant among his descendants would be the circumcision of every male born in the household, and every male who joined by purchase or by choice.  Later it became an ordinance under the law.  And at ninety-nine years of age, Abraham circumcised himself and every male member of his household.  Every boy born after that was to be circumcised on the eighth day.

 

Why the eighth day? one might ask.  Because God created our bodies and He understood perfectly how they worked, even in the ancient world when medical science was unknown.  Modern research has proven that babies are susceptible to hemorrhages and in danger of bleeding to death in the first days after birth.  From days five through seven, a bacteria in the intestines causes the production of Vitamin K, which interacts with the liver in the production of prothrombin, the body's natural coagulant.  On the eighth day, prothrombin is elevated above one-hundred percent of normal, the only day in a person's life when this will be the case under normal conditions.  Therefore, the eighth day is the perfect day for a child to undergo ritual circumcision.

 

For 2000 years, the descendants of Abraham practiced this rite as the sign of their covenant with God.  He had passed through the blood for them; in Jesus, He would shed His own blood for them, bearing the scars in his hands and feet, on his head, his back, and in his side.  But as a man, a son of Adam and of the seed of Abraham, Jesus would also bear the mark of the covenant of His people with God, the mark of circumcision.

 

Perhaps by the eighth day, Joseph and Mary had been reconciled to their family and relatives in Bethlehem.  If not, they were likely still in the temporary shelter of woven palm branches against the mouth of a cave.  But as was the custom of their people, celebrated for over forty generations since Abraham, Joseph took the knife to his newborn son, cut away the foreskin and drew blood from the wound, thus signifying their ongoing covenant with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.  And in obedience to the command of the angel given both to Joseph and to Mary, the earthly father held his chosen son toward heaven and named Him Jesus...for He would be the savior of His people and the world!

So as a Jew, Jesus bore in His flesh the sign of the covenant, the circumcision that marked His body as dedicated and consecrated to God.  Thrity years later, Jesus would wade into the Jordan River to be baptized, another sign of dedication and consecration which God would honor with His very presence and proclamation.  And for us, the Bible is clear that it is not our bodies, but our hearts that must be circumcised, and that though our bodies should be lowered into the watery grave of baptism and raised to walk in newness of life, the cleansing of the flesh merely illustrates the spiritual reality of a soul cleansed and made new through the blood of Jesus Christ.  It is a life lived for Christ, dedicated and consecrated completely to him, that is the mark of our covenant with Him.

For All They had Heard and Seen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things

that they had heard and seen,

as it was told them.

Luke 2:20, NKJV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They saw the angels in a field outside Bethlehem.  They heard the announcement of the Christ's birth and the mighty chorus of heaven's hosts singing, "Glory to God!"  The followed the instructions of God's personal messenger and found the Messiah in the manger, the Christ in the crib, the baby in the bread basket, Deity in diapers if you please.  They saw it all, just as they had been told.

 

And they returned to their place, glorifying and praising God for it all.

 

I think about those first evangelists, the original bearers of good tidings of great joy, as they ran through the streets and over the hills of Bethlehem telling the story  Because they had heard and seen for themselves.

 

Do we do the same?

 

For some, when God touches their lives, they cannot help but exclaim about the goodness of God.  They are quick to tell family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, strangers, and even enemies about what God has done for them.  They are thrilled to relate how Christ has changed their lives, restored their marriages, healed their bodies, delivered them from addictions.  They are excited when they have experienced first hand the transformational power of a living God.

 

But there are others who, no matter how powerfully God moves in their lives, no matter what they see, no matter what they hear, remain unimpressed.  They shrug as others shout and mutter, "What's the big deal?"  The presence of the Lord has become familiar, and their hearts have grown cold to it.  There is not more enthusiasm for the things of God.  They leave church looking sad and mad, and they tell no one about the goodness of God or the joy they have in Jesus.  And sadly enough, no one can tell that these have been saved, redeemed, born afresh and anew, or touched by the Divine in any way.

 

Let us learn the lesson of the shepherds, and I can't say it emphatically enough.  Let us worship in the presence of the Lord, then go back to our place rejoicing with praise and giving God great honor before all.  For that is why we are here!