Faith

Then an opportune day came

EireneLeave a comment

Herodias had desired the death of John the Baptist for some time but was unable to see her desires accomplished.  Herod stood in the way.  And so she waited….for an opportune day.  When it came, she was ready.  Herod had thrown a birthday party for himself.  A feast, certainly accompanied with enough drinking to dull good judgment.  The important, influential and prominent men were in attendance.  So when he gave his word to Herodias’ daughter to give her whatever she asked, and she asked for that one thing that he hadn’t really wanted to part with, he was put in a difficult position.  The Bible makes it clear that because of those who sat with him he complied with her request.  To do otherwise would be to damage his reputation.  He didn’t really want to kill John, but he preferred to maintain the good opinions of men.

Our adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8).  He is waiting for an opportune day.  A day when circumstances have come together to make the possibility of compromise optimal.  Most days we realize that the benefit of obeying God is always greater than the cost.  But then there is that opportune day when the cost seems greater than what we are willing to pay.

In myself, everyday is an opportune day for sin to overpower me.  But in Him, Jesus, I have everything I need for life and godliness.  If I will only stay in Him, every day will be an opportune day….not for sin, but for victory, peace and a God-glorifying life in the Spirit.

Pierced for me

EireneLeave a comment

During Old Testament times it was a common custom that when someone was unable to pay their debts, they might sell their liberty and become a bondservant of their debtors, and thus work off their debt.  In order to protect the bondservant, laws were given to prevent unfair treatment or excessively long periods of service.  Exodus 21:1-6 provides for the release of a bondservant in the 7th year of service.   This passage also details the process to be followed in the event that the servant decides to stay with his master after his term of service has expired:

Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them:If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing.If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.But if the servant plainly says, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

It seems so unusual that anyone would voluntarily choose to remain under a master when they could choose their independence instead.  Who would make such a choice?  The answer appears obvious – no one.   And truly there are none among this sinful race who possess within themselves the desire to make such a choice, even when that Master is the Lord of glory.

We did not love Him.  We did not want to stay with Him and serve Him.  We would not be pierced for Him, so He was pierced for us.

In His piercing He plainly declared His love for us

In His piercing He promised to stay with us

In His piercing He declared that He would serve as our High Priest forever.

The servant would not be pierced for the Master, so the Master was pierced for the servant…..so that we could love Him, so that we could serve Him, so that we could stay with Him forever.

Amazing grace.

A wasted life

Eirene1 Comment

There is a man in my church who has been recently diagnosed and is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia.  Even with treatment, the doctors give him just over a year to live.  I saw him yesterday after church and stopped to inquire about his health.  After he updated me on the status of various tests and procedures, I asked him this question:   “With eternity looming before you as a near reality, what has become the most important thing in life?”  Here is his response:

“I was saved when I was eight years old; that was 55 years ago.  20 years ago I moved to this city to go to Bible college.  And then I just settled in to life.  I pretty much lived the American dream.  I have a nice house, a couple of nice cars and a savings account.  And none of that means anything to me now.  I have wasted my life.  The only thing that matters is what I can do for the Lord Jesus with the time I have left.”

It makes me mindful that life is just a vapor for all of us and we will stand before the Lord Jesus and look into that glorious face.   So much of what we currently think of as important will not matter at all on that day.

I pray that the Lord would help us all, His people, to wake up to what really matters……eternal things…..those things that bring the Lord Jesus glory in this earth and make Him known.  The American dream is a tranquilizer that has numbed us to the fact that we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth.  We are citizens of another country….a heavenly one.  And unless we awake to this fact, we may all find that we have lived wasted lives.

“I don’t want to go to hell”

Eirene3 Comments

His name was Dalvis. It was difficult to tell his age. His face was weathered by the sun and ravaged by the effects of a life of drunkenness. Most men his age were retired and enjoying their grandchildren. But Dalvis was homeless and wandering on Bourbon Street. It was a noisy, crowded night as St. Patrick’s Day parades rolled through the street. But when Dalvis saw me from the other side of the street, he walked over and asked me if I was a Christian. When I told him that I was he said, “I don’t want to go to hell.” He had grown up with an alcoholic mother who had beaten him daily until one day she had an encounter with Jesus Christ. Everything changed from that point forward and Dalvis told me of hearing his mother pray for his soul and of the conversations they had about the Lord Jesus. He talked about his life on the streets….how many times he had been shot and stabbed and about the two people he had killed. His life had been devastated by sin. What hope is there for someone like Dalvis (or for any of us) other than Jesus Christ? I shared the gospel with him and encouraged him to trust Christ. And as he was preparing to walk away I asked if I could pray for him. We held hands on the side of the street and as I began to pray he went down onto his knees. I knelt beside him in the middle of the filth and noise and debauchery of Bourbon Street and this man wept as I prayed for him to know this Christ that loved him enough to die for him and was strong enough to rescue him.

The eve of Christmas eve on Bourbon Street – New Orleans

Eirene1 Comment

I never thought that I would ever spend any part of the holiday season, or any other season for that matter, on Bourbon Street.  For those of you who know anything about Bourbon Street (and it does have quite a reputation) I don’t need to add anything to that.   Even before I was a Christian, it wasn’t a place that I ever wanted to go.  It is a place of drunkenness, strip clubs and all manner of sin.

But recently I made contact with some people who are part of a ministry called Raven Street Ministry and they go to Bourbon Street every Friday and Saturday night for open air street church right in the middle of Bourbon Street.  On Friday, December 23rd, I made the trip with a few other people from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.  At 11:00 PM we met up in a parking lot with the rest of the people, and a total of about 15 of us began the walk to Bourbon Street.  The men carried the sound equipment and a large red cross about 10 feet tall.  We got to the 500 block of Bourbon Street and began to setup the cross and the equipment.  Although it was almost Christmas and the activity on Bourbon Street was less than a normal night, there were still many people out that night.

Five or six people took turns preaching and the rest of us stood either in the street or along side the street, talking to and praying with people who stopped.  I have been a part of street ministry before and have been active in evangelism in my hometown of Baton Rouge, but I was in no way prepared for what I saw this night.  The one verse that kinda sums it all up is this – “there is no fear of God before their eyes”.  I have never in my life witnessed such blatant and hateful mockery of Christ and His gospel.  I have seen street preachers before who preached such a distorted and hate-filled message that the mockery might be justified, but the gospel that was preached this night was wonderfully pure and complete – sin, righteousness, judgment, the love of God and Christ as the only Saviour.  And many people despised it.  One intoxicated middle aged woman actually came up and physically attacked our group and when she was finally separated away from us, she stood at a distance pointing her finger at us and screaming: “You are all white trash”, “Liars”, “Jesus would be so ashamed of you”.

Never in my life have I observed such hatred for Christ as I saw that night.  My heart broke for those people who were cursing the God who was giving them the very breath that they used to curse Him.  It seemed that if Jesus Himself had been there, they would have been shouting “Crucify Him!”  And still as Jesus was looking down upon them that night, He loved them and desired them to repent.

I felt as thought I was witnessing the battle between light and darkness.  And the darkness was very dark.  But still the light was shining.  The gospel was preached, Jesus was lifted up, and it was beautiful.

A disciple unto death

Eirene2 Comments

Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go that we may die with Him.”  John 11:16

Jesus had recently been in Jerusalem and His words had caused such a stir that the Jews sought to stone Him (John 10:31,39)  Now He was speaking to His disciples of going back to Bethany which was very near Jerusalem.  His disciples were concerned because of the danger of going back there.  The fear that filled them even caused them to ignore the need of one dear to their group – Lazarus, who was very sick.  But Jesus had heard from the Father and knew there was a work to be done in Bethany.  As the disciples continued to argue with Him, He told them plainly that Lazarus was dead and then added, “let us go to him.”

Thomas, who is always known primarily as the doubter, has lost credibility with most of us and his words in verse 16, “let us also go that we may die with Him”, have been labeled as pessimism.  But not only has Jesus recently been in danger at the hands of violent men, he has also just said that they are going to Lazarus – a man that is in the grave.  What other conclusion could Thomas, or any of them, have come to.  They must have all felt that their very lives were in danger if they continued on with Jesus.  And it is Thomas that encouraged the group to look the consequences square in the eye and to move forward with Jesus anyway.  This is the level of commitment that a disciple is called to – to follow Jesus wherever He leads.  Even if it is to death.   And it is Thomas who reminded them of this.

Can we remind ourselves of this today?  Here in comfortable American Christianity, can we remind ourselves that Jesus still expects disciples unto death?  The death of martyrdom seems unlikely here, for the moment anyway, but does He not require of us a death to all the allurements and distractions of this world?  Does He not expect from us a detachment from the amusements and entertainments that the lost chase after?  If we were called upon to lay our lives down as martyrs, how could we ever do it if we have not first learned to lay down the remote control in favor of the prayer closet?

The true bread doesn’t need any butter

EireneLeave a comment

I love going to restaurants that serve bread before the meal.   Sometimes I enjoy the bread so much that I don’t have room left for the meal and end up taking most of it home in a go-box.

One thing about bread though, it needs something with it otherwise it’s just kinda plain and dry.  It needs butter, or honey, or sandwich meat and mayo.  Something.  By itself it just isn’t quite satisfying.

“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”  John 6:32

The bread from heaven that came down in the wilderness for Israel was symbolic of the bread that was to come.  But it wasn’t that bread and couldn’t satisfy.  We read of Israel’s complaining about the manna because they became weary of it.  It wasn’t the true bread.

How often are we found trying to satisfy ourselves with something that the Father only meant to be a pointer to lead us to Jesus?  Even our spiritual disciplines, which are important and necessary, can fall into this category.  We pray and fast and read the Bible, but find that we keep looking for something to add because we just aren’t quite satisfied.  It is only when these things lead us into true communion with the living Lord that we will find contentment and satisfaction.

Jesus needs nothing added.  The true bread doesn’t need any butter.

Those who declare Him

EireneLeave a comment

“No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”  John 1:18

What more intimate place could there be than the bosom?  It is the place where the infant is comforted and nourished.  It is the place where the lover will rest his head to be near the beloved’s heart.  It is not a place appropriate for the casual acquaintance.  Only those truly known and dearly loved are welcome in the bosom.

The Son was in the bosom of the Father, receiving His love, knowing His heart and His secret counsels.  There was such an intimate communion and knowing, that He could declare the Father and make Him known to those who had never seen Him.   In the bosom of the Father, for those who will venture near enough to recline upon His holy, heavenly bosom, there is a spiritual seeing and knowing that all our study of theology and listening to sermons will never produce.  And from that place of learning Him, we too are made able to declare Him.

Prison Ministry – LCIW

Eirene3 Comments

For 2 years I’ve been part of my church’s prison ministry to Angola, the state’s maximum security prison.  One of the high points of the month for me is the evening we spend at Angola having a church service with them.  However, one of the difficulties has been that there is not much time for personal interaction with the inmates, and even what little time there is, as a woman I have to be very careful with how I interact with these men.  I have had a desire to have access to LCIW (Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women) but there were no available time slots for a new ministry.

But in May I learned about a discipleship program that uses volunteers.  I immediately began making calls.  I found out what training was required and attended the course, only to be told that they didn’t have many evening spots available and those usually filled up quickly.  After the training I contacted the volunteer coordinator, who again told me there wasn’t a spot available for me.  However, she did need someone who could be available to substitute if one of the regular volunteers was unavailable, so I gladly agreed to do this.   And I waited……….

Then, a few weeks ago I got the phone call.  I was needed to fill in.  I was nervous, anxious, unsure of what the prison would be like or what the inmates would be like.  My stomach was in a knot as I walked through the prison to the chapel with the other volunteers.  I walked into the main meeting room to await the arrival of the inmates.  They slowly trickled in by two’s and three’s and when they saw me, a new face they didn’t recognize, they came over to meet me and hug me.  Within ten minutes I felt like I was at home.

I led a discussion group with about 8 of the ladies and immediately decided that I liked them very much.  My only sorrow that whole evening was knowing that it was just a one time thing.  They asked me to come back next week, but I felt sure that was impossible……until I got the email asking me to substitute again the following week.   And the second week was better than the first!  Four weeks have passed now since that first visit and I am a regular now.  Even when I’m not needed to lead the group, the team leader has given her approval for me to come and be there.  And somehow, just seeing my face there let’s these women know that I genuinely care about them.

It is a blessing to be part of what God is doing at LCIW.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

EireneLeave a comment

My church has a time of prayer before the Sunday morning service.  I have my own little spot where I go to pray.  I like to sit on the floor between two pews so I am hidden away.  Earlier this year during one of these morning prayer sessions, a lady I hadn’t seen before came into the prayer service and came and sat down on the floor right next to me.  She looked at me and smiled with a big smile.  I was a bit shocked because nobody had ever come and sat down on the floor with me.  I didn’t quite know what to say.  She broke the silence with a question – “God doesn’t like it when we sin, does He?”  In the brief interaction that followed I could tell that she had some level of mental disability.  For whatever reason, she latched onto me.   Ever since then she would walk to church in the morning from the nearby apartments and then ask me to bring her home after church.  She didn’t always act “appropriately” in our Sunday School and church service.  Sometimes she said Amen in the wrong place, or ate way too many donuts in the church kitchen before Sunday School.  Things like that.  She’s just a little bit different from the rest of us.

Last Sunday during the altar time after the service was over, I could hear her voice.  It kept getting louder, until you could surely hear it throughout the whole sanctuary.  Over and over she kept saying “Hallelujah!” with deep and loud emotion.  It wasn’t proper in our reserved little church.  I heard her one last time exclaiming “let everything that has breath praise the Lord” and then she collapsed on the floor in tears.

She was the most simple minded among us that morning, and I am convinced the most pleasing to God.