“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:13-16)

I had the privilege to worship with my daughter and family this past Sunday.  I was impressed by something the pastor said in his communion meditation. He said the communion time was a time for us to align ourselves with Jesus.  In thinking about how my life aligns with my Savior’s I realized my life doesn’t measure up to the life of Jesus.  Jesus said, “Be holy, because I am holy.”  Sometimes I see a little something that might be considered holy. Does reading my Bible count?  Or, maybe giving my offering on Sunday morning?  How about helping my neighbor or being considerate of the other driver? Actually, none of that makes me holy!  I can’t be holy on my own.  Those things are the result of having been made holy.

It is only through the blood of Jesus that I can attain holiness. On the cross He took my sins so I could have His righteousness.  Paul says in Ephesians 1:4-8, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”

So the pastor’s idea of aligning oneself with Jesus takes on new meaning when I consider the cross. It took Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection to make holiness possible for me. He surrendered His will to the Father’s will and I must surrender my will to His will.  In Romans 6:19   we are told to offer our bodies in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. Being a slave to righteousness requires complete surrender to Jesus who is our righteousness.  “. .  . the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).  What a gift!

Communion time is a time to align myself with Jesus by surrendering my will to His. On the other hand, this surrender must be done daily. I am prone to veer off course. It is the cross that brings me back.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

I missed writing last week.  I had substitute teacher assignments for three days in each of the past two weeks. I was tired.  I retired because teaching is tiring and age seems to have a way of making fatigue come sooner than it used to.  These physical bodies are “wasting away.” They wrinkle and sag and the stamina weakens.  Sometime last week I heard those verses from 2 Corinthians and thought, “How true!”

I can’t do all the things I used to do, at least, not at the same pace. I don’t like to spend much time thinking about getting old so I forge ahead until my body says, “Wait a minute! You need a rest!”  God created Adam and Eve to live forever but sin changed that and now our bodies wear out. They are not eternal, but the soul is eternal. Based on this truth we should be paying more attention to our souls  than the outer or physical person.  This is not to say we shouldn’t care for our bodies. Certainly, eat your vegetables and get your rest. Live for God and serve others as long as you can.

Our souls need nourishment and daily renewal by the Spirit’s power. The Apostle Paul explained earlier in chapter 4 that because of God’s mercy and grace to him he was given power to keep preaching the gospel even through the tough times. Paul compared the physical body to a jar of clay.  The treasure of Christ lives in fragile bodies and His light shines to the world through no power of our own, only by God’s power.  Inwardly, we are constantly being renewed, while outwardly we fall apart.

I just spent a weekend with friends who had attended Eastern Christian College. For most of us at the reunion it has been 20 to 50 years since we were college students.  Our bodies don’t look the same but what shines through now is beautiful maturity and experience of years of ministry. Many shared how God has blessed and used them.  I was renewed inwardly by reflecting on the faithfulness of God, my Rock, Jesus, the Cornerstone on which I build my life.  As the old hymn reminds me, “all other ground is sinking sand.”

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 18:2).

“There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine –

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.”

(Words from the song In Christ Alone)

A dear friend of mine sent me a YouTube video of this song done by an acapella group.  This song is so Scripture-based and holds much meaning for me. Jesus’ sacrifice for my redemption is proof of a love beyond my comprehension.  What kind of love allows such suffering in order to save sinners?   This song also brings to mind times when Wayne and I stood together singing those words in worship.  Yes, I cried while listening to the recording and again today when we sang it at church.

Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every Lord’s Day when we partake of the communion bread and juice.  We celebrate His resurrection when we pray and when we spend time studying His Word.  These activities would mean nothing without the resurrection!  We celebrate Jesus when we encourage each other, when we forgive, and when we serve.   It is indeed in Christ alone that we exist.  It is in Christ alone that we stand forgiven. It is in Christ alone we have hope of our own resurrection!

Whenever I read Ephesians 1:19-20 I am reminded the power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to believers.  That’s a lot of power! God wants to work in us and His power is limitless.  Sometimes I fail to allow God to work in me. I let doubts and fears short-circuit His power. Sometimes trusting Him is hard.  When I remember the power of the resurrection I am encouraged to trust God more and to allow Him to work through me.

“By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones). And (so that you can know and understand) what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His (own) right hand in the heavenly (places), far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named (above every title that can be conferred), not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21 The Amplified Bible).

Alleluia! Christ arose!

I had the privilege of enjoying worship with some of my family yesterday.  Though it was a special treat for me to be with family I especially appreciated the selection of music. Nearly every selection emphasized the majesty of our Lord.  “Majesty” is one of those words that sounds like its meaning.  It has the feeling of kingly splendor and sovereign power.  What word could be more appropriate for our wonderful Lord?  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords!  I need to be reminded often that I serve this King and He wants to be Lord of my life.

Since I’m enjoying a couple days with my daughter and her family I’ll close with this challenge from the Apostle Paul found in 1 Timothy 6:11-16.

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.”

“He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

I heard a radio preacher use this verse in an illustration he was giving.  With the uncertain radio reception we receive here in the mountains I didn’t quite hear all he was saying about it, but my brain  started thinking about what John was saying. He explained that he was not the Christ, but was only sent ahead of Him.  Now it was time for Christ’s work to become more important and John’s work to decrease or become less important.  In fact, John is put in prison and later is beheaded because he spoke the truth. I guess that’s the ultimate “decrease.”

John 3:16 is often quoted, as well it should be. It’s amazing to think God loved this world so much he was willing to sacrifice his only Son for our salvation. Those of us who have accepted this eternal gift must live as John spoke.  Jesus must become greater while we become less. This is a lifetime process and requires commitment and diligence.

Jesus calls me to take up my cross and follow him.  My desires must be His desires.  This demands obedience and self-denial.  The Amplified Bible puts it this way in Matthew 10:38-39.

“And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me  (cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also) is not worthy of Me.  Whoever finds his (lower) life will lose it (the higher life), and whoever loses his (lower) life on My account will find it (the higher life).”

Carrying my cross is not putting up with life’s burdens. Rather, it is becoming like Jesus.  It is allowing Jesus Christ to control more and more of my life so that my life looks more and more like Him.  He must become greater, I must become less.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

I cleaned my desk today. It’s really Wayne’s desk–the one he bought as his retirement desk.  That’s a story for another day. The point is the dust was getting thick and the piles disorderly so I got busy and sorted, straightened, threw out and wiped off the dust.  It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  There is one corner I will get to another day.  You know those paper organizers that hold your papers upright in neat little sections. It’s not looking so neat. Thus, it will be another day’s job.

Cleaning the desk reminded me of how I live life.  Sometimes, I let clutter build up in my heart.  Yes, I read my Bible, I pray, and serve God in different ways.  But if I look closely there’s a bit of greed over in the corner of my heart. Yes, there’s even some pride piling up in another corner.  And would you believe? There are specks of deceit right there in the middle of the floor!

As a Christian I must guard my heart against these less-obvious sins. I would never murder, steal, or curse, but it is all too easy to let pride or greed slip in unnoticed. My friends may not see it at first, but if I don’t clear it out it will eventually be noticed.  Of course, God knows what’s there.

The Apostle John writes, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).  So Jesus is ready to clean and purify my heart if I confess and allow Him full access to every corner of my heart.  John writes in the first chapter of 1 John, verse 9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

So just as I have to clean the dust off this desk once in awhile, I also have to ask God to clean out my heart. I need to pray David’s prayer every day. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).  I’m so thankful Christ is the great Forgiver and Purifier.

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21).

Moses spoke these words to the Israelites as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land. They are actually a repeat of words found in Deuteronomy 6. In fact, Moses repeated many times the words “follow the commands,” “pay attention to these laws,”  “observe the Lord’s commands and decrees,” and other similar words.  Moses knew he would not be allowed to enter the land but it was his responsibility to make sure they understood the seriousness of God’s commands.

I know we no longer live under the Old Covenant but these verses are a strong reminder of the importance of passing on God’s commands to our children.  The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”  Parents have the primary responsibility for this but I believe grandparents, other family members, and friends also are responsible for training and instruction of children in their sphere of contact.  Oh, I don’t mean we’re responsible for sitting down with our neighbor’s kids and teaching them a lesson. I mean our lives, our behavior, and our words will influence children.

Sometimes our actions don’t match our words. I remember one incident when my girls were at the age of learning to drive. We were on the Interstate highway and I missed the exit. I immediately slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder of the road.  As I began to slowly back up to the missed exit, I remember telling my girls, “do as I say, not as I do.”  We laugh about it today, but what I did was not a safe practice.  Fortunately, there was little traffic and we were safe.  I wonder though, have I told my girls it wasn’t nice to talk about their friends in a bad way and then turned around and gossiped about a neighbor down the street?  Did I teach my girls one thing and then turned around and did the opposite?

I’m sure all parents have failed to live up to what they “preached.” I always say I left a lot of empty spaces in my parenting and I’m grateful that God filled them in with his grace.  The point is God has called His people to be separate from the world. We are in the world, but not of the world.  God said to “be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).  To be holy is be set apart for a purpose. God’s people  honor and praise Him. The lives of God’s people must look different from the worldly way of life, even in parenting.  May God bless all of you who are still raising children, and may those of us who are on the other side of parenting remember our lives still influence children. I pray that children see God at work in us.

Springtime is such a wonderful time of renewal and hope! It’s also a sad time for me. I’ve had more tears lately.  Twenty-nine years ago my 38-year-old brother died in April. Three years ago my mom died in May, and two years ago my beloved husband, Wayne, died in early June.  I enjoy the early flowers and watching the budding leaves open on the bushes and trees. I always anticipate getting my hands in the dirt, planting seeds and watching them grow.  I guess one could say I’m a mixed bag of emotions right now. Time only eases the pain a little, it doesn’t take it away.

I wrote this prayer in my journal last July, “My love for Wayne was full and wonderful but my love for you, God, must be more. You are enough to fill the emptiness and loneliness of my life. Help me trust you!”

I have struggled with the meaning of what Jesus meant when he said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38). Did I love Wayne more than I loved the Lord?  And how do you measure love? After more study of this passage and the preceding verses, it seems Jesus is talking about times when our family may be divided because of our faith. Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but a sword indicating divided loyalties. Thankfully, our family was not divided.  Both, Wayne and I (as well as my mom and brother) considered God as our priority in life making our love for each other deeper. Thus, the deep pain.

The last part of that passage mentions the cross we must accept in following Jesus.  Jesus repeats these words later in Matthew 16:24-25. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’”  The cross means giving up self and suffering for the sake of Christ.  Yes, my loss is great and the loneliness sometimes intense but God is still worthy of my devotion and trust. I depend on God’s strength for my service to him.  His promises offer hope!

I visited my grandsons earlier this week. I needed a “Grandma fix” and since the middle grandson was celebrating birthday #16, I thought it was a good time to visit.  They live a four-hour drive away from where I live so I hadn’t seen them since Christmas.  The birthday grandson is now a handsome 6‘3“ young man!  I’ve been looking up to him for quite some time. Now I look higher.

All the Smith Grandsons are fans of the UNO game, but not the UNO game I used to play.  They like UNO Attack, UNO Flash, UNO Flip, etc. Amazon.com has at least a dozen variations of UNO!  To say the least I do not like these variations!  But when grandsons challenge Grandma, she accepts.  I do not like UNO “whatever” but I do love my grandsons.  We played the Flash and Flip versions which weren’t quite as bad as the Attack.  I prefer playing “Sorry” which I almost won, second to grandson #3.

As I reflected on the UNO games I thought, how ironic that UNO, which means 1 in Spanish, has a dozen or more variations. It’s a contradiction of its name!  Then I remembered the commands that were given to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the land God had promised to them. Many times God reminded his people. “I am the Lord your God.” Moses repeated “the Lord your God” many times as he gave God’s law to the people.  Deuteronomy 6:4 tells us “the Lord is one.”  He is the holy ONE and the only ONE we are to worship and obey.   May we never try to make our own variations of the ONE TRUE GOD!

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).