Faith That Would Move Mountains

2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Winter continues to wrap it's icy fingers around our mountain village. A light covering of snow has settled on the high places. Neighbours greet each other with wisps of warm breath dancing between them. The cold wind has stripped most trees of their foliage, and the landscape has a clean starkness about it. Tell-tale smoke tendrils spiral up through the trees, revealing where wood fires are keeping a home warm.

I have not made time for writing as much as I'd like to. The days just seem to revolve around keeping fires burning, making warming and strengthening meals and drinks, raising a family and caring for our home and animals. These are all rewarding and satisfying tasks and I am deeply grateful for all that we have so lavishly been given here. But reading and studying Revelation recently has brought about a deeper desire to "fix my eyes on things unseen". And as I don't have the clarity or inspiration to write something specific right now, I'd like to share something I read yesterday that resonated with me and made an impression on my mind. I hope it challenges and inspires you to a bolder, more courageous walk with God. He is our Anchor in troubled times, our Rock and Protector who never slumbers or sleeps. This world is but a shadow of what is to come, and where we are heading, determines how we journey towards it. 

Oh me of little faith, by Greg Morse, staff writer at desiringGod.org

Man is a creature who hardly knows himself. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Even as a Christian with a new heart, I continue to discover within myself new contradictions, fresh perplexities, strange paradoxes. Take, for example, the cohabitation of a desire for a sturdier faith in Jesus Christ, with a quiet and competing preference for a scrawny faith.

On the one hand, I grimace as I watch Jesus routinely chide the disciples for their “little faith” (Matthew 8:26). Lord, I am too much like them. Fix my eyes firmly on my King. Strong faith, even when unpossessed, is not undesired.

But then I discover an Achan in the camp, a Judas among the twelve with his hand in the moneybag. A skulking and smiling and sinister wish that sabotages progress in the faith. C.S. Lewis first warned me of his presence.

I’m not sure, after all, whether one of the causes of our weak faith is not a secret wish that our faith should not be very strong. Is there some reservation in our minds? Some fear of what it might be like if our religion became quite real? I hope not. God help us all, and forgive us. (Essay Collection & Other Short Stories, 137)

At first, it seemed absurd. Who wouldn’t want to move mountains? Who wouldn’t want to bludgeon unbelief? I tried to move on. I tried throwing my conscience a different bone. But it wouldn't budge.

"Some fear of what it might be like if our religion became quite real” — that sentence drew the blood. Did I not want all of this to become more real? Was I afraid of what it might be like farther off from the shore? Are you?

Afraid of True Religion

What might Lewis mean by this dread of strong faith, of a religion too real and near?

He means that some of us suspect, deep down, that if we meet the real thing more often, if we galloped too forcefully toward eternal realities, they would unhorse us. And what would follow? If our faith were too solid, we might lose much in this world. We might become the oddities we wish to avoid. They might shackle us and carry us off we know not where, and pressure us to risk more than we would mind losing.

Our relationships would change. Our priorities would change. This world would start to fill with devils, with immortal souls, with warfare. Nature would kneel before supernature.

“The richness and depth of our world comes from the relationship between ordinary pleasures and transcendent beauty.”

God would grow. Death would stare. We might hear Satan laugh. Would the weight of it all crush our finitude? It could certainly stampede some dreams. If Christianity became entirely real, which of our Isaacs are safe? What sacrifice would be too great, or trial too burdensome, to endure for his glory? If the roots went all the way to the bottom, then my life really is not my own, is it?

Hell — how could we conceive of it? Heaven — how could we live for less? Gospel — how could we ever withhold it? Time — how could we ever waste it? Christ — how could he be less than all in all?

Such unbending realness, we can now begin to see, might secretly wish to be kept at bay. Jurassic Park is pleasant until the electric fences go out. We have done a fine job today creating our theme park and barriers where forces from the next world might be seen from time to time grazing safely on the other side of our passions and amusements. Yet, for all of that, we fail to realize that the electricity was never on.

High and Perilous

Strong faith knocks powerfully as an intrusive and demanding visitor. Is he not the great culprit in Hebrews 11, sending those saints forth to be swept off to otherwise unpleasant, inconvenient, and sometimes fatal adventures?

This faith is like pesky Gandalf to our hobbit holes. Austin Freeman comments,

Gandalf intercedes in the culture of the Shire because the hobbits had begun to forget their own stories of daring and danger and therefore their sense of the world’s greatness. They needed to renew their memory of the high and the perilous. The hobbits must be reminded of an element of danger in order to appreciate what they have. (Tolkien Dogmatics, 80)

Haven’t many of us lost much of what we once had? Haven’t we also grown stale, forgetting the greatness of the world — the greatness of this Story that God is writing around us? Too often, we have edited out the high and perilous, the epic and the eternal, the glorious and the numinous. Or at least we relocate dangers to chapters before and after our own page. Not in our doctrinal statements, perhaps, but in our daily sense of what is most ultimate, most urgent.

Freeman goes on to depict how the unpredictability and hazard of such faith actually becomes invaluable to our soul’s happiness.

The good things that make hobbit society valuable, such as freedom and peace and pleasure in ordinary life, require a greater and more dangerous world outside their borders in order that they not grow stale. The richness and depth of our world come from the relationship between the ordinary pleasures, such as food, drink, and family on the one hand, and the longing for transcendent beauty, quests, and noble sacrifice on the other hand. (80)

“Our secret wish for little faith, should we indulge it any longer, will only rob us in the end.”

Domesticity must dance with dragons. The richness and depth of our world comes from the relationship between ordinary pleasures and transcendent beauty. Reality, without consulting us, sings a duet: the ordinary with the extraordinary. This world lodges firmly in the shadow of the next. Yet, the transcendent is often gone — not from our Bibles or from our actual world — only drained from our bloodstream.

Weak faith contents itself to have it so. Weak faith minds the times and stands no taller than is necessary. Weak faith knows that a host of awkward conversations, probable persecutions, and unquenchable sorrows are restrained on the other side of the dam.

Yet without such a torrent, we live half-lives (if that). Again, “The richness and depth of our world come from the relationship between the ordinary pleasures, such as food, drink, and family on the one hand, and the longing for transcendent beauty, quests, and noble sacrifice on the other hand.” Reality will have her vengeance. Remove the spiritual, the beautiful, the sacrificial, and you flush all the wonder and meaning from the superbly ordinary.

But should we dress in the whole armor of God and war against spiritual powers, when we savor our food and glorify God as we drink, when we raise families and care for neighbors and serve a local church full of normal saints, when we sacrifice and suffer and wait and worship — bowed smilingly beneath the lordship and love of God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ — we live, really live.

Our secret wish for little faith, should we indulge it any longer, will only rob us in the end. Reality, to the Christian, is a best friend to be fully embraced, a captain to be dutifully obeyed. The unseen is more real than we think. Christ is more worthy than makes us comfortable. Death is nearer, hell is hotter, heaven more heavenly, sin more sinister, the body of Christ more dear, the gospel more atomic, the Father more holy, compassionate and just, than little faith wants to imagine. The real thing is the only reality that is, the only reality that will be, and the only reality that Christians will ever truly wish to be.

                            ~~~~~~~~~~++++++~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus Paid It ALL

31 March

The month of March draws to a close. Early mornings are increasingly crisp and when the afternoon shadows grow long, one can hear the reedy voice of Winter calling. It is a time of gathering in firewood and making hearty, strengthening meals. This is also the time of year in which we first arrived in the mountains, our new life still so thrilling and unfamiliar. The daunting task of building our wooden home on a wild and forrested hillside, was tempered by the beauty of Autumn unfolding around us. The scent of Wattle fires, the changing moods of the mountains, bejeweled spiderwebs, Knysna Loeries in flight, the call of a Jackle Buzzard, deep silence, star-spangled night skies...  These, and so much more, have all become so part of our existence here, that it is strange to imagine that it was ever different.

3 April

After a warm weekend filled with laughter and sweet togetherness, Monday dawns grey, wet and muddy. Distant rumbles and flashes of lightning cause the dogs to cower and the cats to curl up tight against each other. On days like this, with the mist closing in around us, the world and it's woes can feel very distant. The cocoon of our home a ship becalmed on the clouds.

Celebrating Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry of our humble King Jesus into Jerusalem, reminded me of all the prophesies that were fulfilled and all the promises that God has kept. While it seems so clear to us now, I wondered if there was even one in the jubilant crowd waving their palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!", who knew what was to come for this God-man whom they were hailing as their earthly King. And what it would accomplish, how all of history up to that moment, had been pointing to, and leading up to what was unfolding before their eyes.

On that day, the Passover Sunday before He was crucified, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a borrowed donkey’s colt, one that had never been ridden before. The disciples spread their cloaks on the donkey for Jesus to sit on, and the multitudes came out to welcome Him, laying before Him their cloaks and the young branches of palm trees. They hailed and praised Him as the “King who comes in the name of the Lord” as He rode to the temple, where He taught the people, healed them; the same people who would condemn Him three days later... 

Jesus’ main purpose in riding into Jerusalem, was to make public His claim to be their Messiah and King of Israel in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. In Matthew we read that the King coming on the foal of a donkey was an exact fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus rides into His capital city as a conquering King and is hailed by the people as such, in the manner of the day. The streets of Jerusalem, the royal city, are open to Him. No longer does He tell His disciples to be quiet about Him, even when the Pharisees ask him to do so. (Matthew 12:16, 16:20) Instead, His response to the Pharisees is: "if these were silent, the very stones would cry out!"

Sadly, the praise lavished on Jesus was not because they recognized Him as their Saviour from sin. They welcomed Him out of their hunger for a messianic deliverer, someone who would lead them in a revolt against Rome. And even though they did not believe in Jesus as their Saviour, they nevertheless hoped that perhaps He would be a great temporal deliverer. So they hailed Him as King with their many hosannas, still recognizing Him as the Son of David, who came in the name of the Lord. But when He failed in their expectations, when He refused to be their champion against the Roman occupiers, the crowds turned on Him. Within just a few days, their hosannas would change to cries of “Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:20-21). Those who hailed Him as their King would soon reject and abandon Him. And our Lord, who knows the hearts of men, suffered and died for them still.

He saw me, before I was formed in the secret in my mother's womb, and He knew... He saw all the times I would turn away from Him, all my selfish pursuits, all my defiance, my oft-hardened heart, my busyness, my pride, my cowerdice. And still...

4 April

The busyness and distractions of this time of year can easily reduce what Jesus suffered to a formula rather than an event. A method for dispensing forgiveness rather than the horrors my Saviour endured so that I could be free. There is a poem that was written by Christina Rosetti in 1866**, that really speaks to the heart that fears or feels coldness or indifference: 

"Am I a stone, and not a sheep,

That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,

To number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss,

And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved

Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;

Not so fallen Peter, weeping bitterly;

Not so the thief was moved;

Not so the Sun and Moon

Which hid their faces in a starless sky,

A horror of great darkness at broad noon –

I, only I.

Yet give not o’er,

But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;

Greater than Moses, turn and look once more

And smite a rock."

But through Ezekiel 36:26 God promised: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

Yes, I am sinful, broken, flawed, but through and with Jesus I too, have passed from death to life, a new creation. And even as I, with pangs of guilt, think that I should "feel" more at this time, I hear Jesus' anguished last words on the cross echo through the ages: "It is done". All He asks of me is that I love and follow Him, submit to Him, be faithful to Him until death. And even if that sounds hard, even impossible to do, just listen to the next verse in Ezekiel 36:27 "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes..."

May you also be encouraged by knowing that this precious blood-bought gift of forgiveness and grace was and is sufficient. Our King and Lord Jesus has paid it all, all to Him we owe. But that does not mean that there is a debt to be paid from our side. All God asks from us is that we love Him, with all our hearts, all our minds and all our strength. And to let our obedience stem from a heartfelt desire to please Him. True service and holiness are the outworking of the Holy Spirit, the overflowing of a life dedicated to the glory of God. Every day of the year.

David understood what God wanted when he prayed: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it, you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, you God, will not despise." ~ Psalm 51:16-17

                                    ~~~~~~~~*****~~~~~~~~

** The poem's title is "Good Friday", and the reason why I omitted it, is that the reasoning behind saying that Jesus died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday, doesn't add up. Even though it does not change our salvation, it is important to me to hold to the biblical explanation of timelines, and to test what we've accepted to be right and true against God's Word. Please feel free to research this for yourself, this is one good resource to use:

https://www.christianity.com/jesus/death-and-resurrection/the-crucifixion/on-what-day-did-jesus-die.html

Resources: desiringgod.org

gotquestions.org

Sing your Way Through Pain

2 March

March arrives in the mountains with crisp mornings and cool breezes tickling the treetops. There is a freshness and a little bite in the air that speaks of Autumn. The Bird Cherry trees surrender their leaves, and in the forests there is a hush, as nature quietly shifts towards the changing seasons. We gather the last wild mushrooms with a sigh, inhaling the earthy scent that is so reminiscent of Summer's last fruits. Our thoughts turn to cooler, gentler days, slowing the pace while all around us the countryside prepares for a rest.

6 March

I recently read a post by Joni Eareckson Tada, that really humbled and inspired me. Joni was just 17 when a diving accident left her paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair. But "paralyzed" has most surely not defined this amazing, Godly woman, who has written more than 35 books, accepted a presidential appointment to the National Council on Disability, spoken in more than 45 countries, and established a disability ministry that reaches around the world. She created fine artworks with a brush held between her teeth, and published an honest biography of her struggle to accept her paralysis as part of God's divine plan. She is now 73 years old, and regardless of her own pain and hardship, she continues to encourage others with her unwavering faith and deep love for her Saviour. 

I thought to share her post entitled "I Sing my way through Pain" with you, in the hope that it will be a blessing as well as provide solid, practical and Biblical principles to guide you through your own trials, as well as confirm the beautiful hope and blessed assurance that we have in Christ Jesus.

Article by Joni Eareckson Tada

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Joni and Friends

Joy is found in the strangest places. Take this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). When we read this, we may assume the field is attractive, something we would love to purchase anyway: a sun-drenched meadow dappled with wildflowers, or a garden plot with rich soil ready for tilling.

But life is not like that. We can see the field in this parable as representing what God would have us embrace for the sake of our joy. His lot for you may not be attractive; it may resemble a sandlot with broken bottles, rusty oil cans, and old tires scattered around. It may be a bleak field, with nothing about it even hinting of wealth.

Until you discover it hides a treasure. Then the scrap of hard dirt and weeds suddenly brims with possibilities. Once you know great riches are concealed there, you’re ready to sell everything to buy it. It’s what happened to me.

- Striking Gold

Early on in my paralysis — and almost by accident — I unearthed an unexpected treasure. I opened the word of God and discovered a mine shaft. I dug my paralyzed fingers into a weight of incomprehensible glory, a sweetness with Jesus that made my paralysis pale in comparison.

In my great joy, I went out and sold everything, trading in my resentment and self-pity to buy the ugly field nobody else would want. And I struck gold.

After decades of using the pick and shovel of prayer and Scripture, my field has yielded the riches of the kingdom of heaven. I have found a God who is thunderous, full-throttled joy spilling over. His Son swims in his own bottomless ocean of elation, and he is positively, absolutely driven to share it with us. Why? As he puts it, “[so] that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Jesus is after nothing less than our full joy.

But deep in the bedrock of Scripture, my shovel hit something hard and unyielding. God is nobody’s water boy. As the solemn Monarch of everything and everyone, he shares his joy on his own terms. And those terms call for us to suffer — and to suffer, in some measure, as his beloved Son did when he walked on earth (2 Timothy 2:12).

- Rejoice in Hope

No one understands the relationship between joy and suffering better than the Son of Man. My God became human, his love insisting that I not be alone in my struggles. When I hurt, he knows. But Jesus does not merely sympathize with me; he’s done something about it. Through his death and resurrection, he has freed me from sin’s power and, in part, from the suffering that results from it. And he will free me fully in the age to come.

That coming age is my joyous hope! It’s hope that sees Jesus on his throne with his kingdom filling every corner of the cosmos. Hope that envisions sorrow and sighing erased from the face of the universe. Hope that eagerly awaits the moment when pain and tears will be banished and evil punished.

But that hope — the better country of Hebrews 11:16 — is still in the future. I’ve likely got miles to go before I sleep, and it’s getting harder to adjust to the harsh encroachments of older age and increasing pain. I could easily throw down my pick and shovel, collapse by the edge of my ugly field, and say, “God, I am so tired of this. Please, no more."

So I stoke my hope. I am heartened by my precious Savior and the way he endured unthinkable suffering for the joy set before him. I follow him, parking my wheelchair on Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Now, it’s easy to see why God commands us to be constant in prayer, for it can be a struggle to pray when you’re suffering. And we understand why God commands us to be patient in tribulation, for it’s hard to muster patience when you’re in misery.

But it’s really hard to rejoice in hope — hope can feel so far off, vague, and nebulous. Yet God commands it. For if Jesus laid aside his robes to put on the enormous indignity of human birth for our sake, then his Father has the right to command our joy. He has the prerogative to call forth in us a happiness that’s commensurate with his Son’s sacrifice. We are to cultivate a joy that’s worthy of Jesus, our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13).

- Rejoice in Suffering

“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3). I cultivate a habit of welcoming trials because it produces perseverance that results in godly character — the kind of character that easily grasps the appeal of Christ’s loveliness and yearns to see his magnificent denouement with his kingdom completed. This marvelous hope is enlarged every time I choose joy in my afflictions.

Hope then no longer seems far off, but very near. Not vague and nebulous, but concrete and real. Hope fills my vision with Jesus, making my pain seem light and momentary compared to the glory to be revealed. So when suffering begins to wither my resolve, I stoke my hope by taking several steps.

I sing my way through suffering. Whenever I feel downcast, I ask a few friends to pray, and then I worship Jesus with robust hymns filled with solid doctrine. Hymns that focus on the worthiness of Christ have enough spiritual muscle to barge into my discouraged soul and shake awake a hopeful response. When my weak mind is too foggy to put two sentences together in prayer, my heart defaults to hymns I’ve memorized, like “Crown Him with Many Crowns”:

Awake, my soul, and sing

     Of him who died for thee,

And hail him as thy matchless King

     Through all eternity!

I busy my heart with good things. I’m no fan of television. If a story does not convey moral virtue or truth that points to God, it will dull my heart before the first commercial. Why yield the precious real estate of my brain to that which flattens my spirit? Instead, I busy my heart with good books and videos, art, memorizing Scripture and poetry, and pursuing uplifting friendships that nourish my soul. “It is entirely fitting that our hearts should be set on God when the heart of God is so much set on us,” wrote Richard Baxter. “If God does not have our hearts, who or what will have them?” (The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 102-3.

When suffering overwhelms me, I crowd my heart with Christ.

I serve others who hurt worse than I do. There are always people in worse shape than I am, and my job is to go find them and encourage them in Christ. It’s what Jesus did in his last hours on the cross. In spite of his unfathomable pain, he looked out for the interests of his mother and the thief next to him, and he even pronounced forgiveness on the brutal men who tortured him (John 19:26–27; Luke 23:34, 43). I want to serve like Jesus in the same manner, so I invest my time in Joni and Friends and minister to the world’s families that struggle with disability. It’s always better — and more joyful — to give them relief than for me to receive it.

- Resilient Joy

As we rejoice in our suffering, we experience a joy that’s otherworldly. It never asks, “How much more can I take?” but readily adapts to difficult situations with enough elasticity to spring back into shape if disappointed. Resilient joy makes hope come alive, so much so that we can be “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). I can be enjoying a glorious symphony or watching a breathtaking sunset, delighting in my backyard roses, or thanking God for his awesome creation, and still, there will be an accompanying sorrow. Part of my sorrow is related to my paralysis and pain, which never goes away; the other part is a heart-wrenching awareness that my crucified Lord gave his life so that I might enjoy the beauties of this world.

Suffering has made me hypersensitive to God’s joys. Such joy is an emotion and a fruit of the Spirit — it is deep and profound, yet tickles at the edges with an almost giddy delight over the prospects of its heavenly hope.

This sort of hard-fought-for joy swells Christ’s heart with gladness. The day is drawing near when Jesus will completely free us from all sin and suffering and present us “before the presence of his glory and with great joy” (Jude 1:24). And when joy becomes a way of life in your suffering, you prove the exceeding worthiness of Christ, which, in turn, will increase his joy in presenting you before the Father. I do not want to diminish that wonderful moment in any way. So joy is not an option. It is commanded for the sake of Christ.

That crowning day is drawing close for this aging quadriplegic. There’s no time to waste. So, it’s back to my sandlot of broken bottles and weeds with my pick and shovel. Back to the bleak field of pain and paralysis, for which no one would even put up collateral. From the beginning, God had set his eye on that ugly field for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful. And I certainly couldn’t be more joyful.

Joni Eareckson Tada is founder and chief executive officer of Joni and Friends in Agoura Hills, California.

Courageous Love

27 January

The flanks and ridges of our mountain are etched against a moody sky. Clusters of treetops seem to reach up to the billowy clouds, all framed by the window next to me. We have lived in this humble house on stilts for almost fifteen years, but I never tire of the views its situation affords. There is always more for your eyes to find, farther, wider, higher. And as the sapling trees have stretched past our roof, the birdlife has abounded. Brilliantly painted sunbirds visit the pinapple sage bushes outside our kitchen window, and doing the dishes becomes a joy when you have such sweet company. I watch them plunge their arched beaks deep into the red hearts of the flowers, my hands lost in the soap suds.

Another flamboyant visitor is the Touraco or Knysna Loerie, a shy bird that glides into view between the trees with a crimson flash of its flight feathers. A fun fact about the Loeries is that they are semi-zygodactylous, which means that their forth toe can be switched back and forth at will... A large boomslang also lives in the dense folliage, but we only become aware of it when it threatens newly hatched nestlings. The parents raise the alarm, and soon a whole mob of little birds are bravely and noisily defending the youngsters.

30 January

 

After a day and night of soft, persistent rain, the morning is a shimmering jewel. I try to write a bit, before the busyness of the day begins...

During week 4 of the "Slaying Giants"* bible study that we're currently working through, this quote by Elizabeth Elliot jumped out at me. "When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, I ask myself if I love Him." Elizabeth Elliot is remembered as one of the bravest women of our generation. Several years after her husband and a small team of missionaries risked their lives and were killed at the hand of the Huaorani warriors, the young widow returned to Ecuador with her daughter, to complete the mission to the Auca people that her husband had started. As a result of her courageous faith, she was instrumental in leading many of the Aucas to accept Jesus as their Saviour. (The complete story is told by her in the amazing book "Through Gates of Splendor".)

Courageous faith is a result of love and trust. If I truly love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind, there is nothing He may ask of me that I would not want to do. Perfect love drives out all fear. And where there is perfect love, there is perfect trust. If I truly trust God, I would know beyond a shadow of doubt, that He would never ask anything of me, that is not for my good and His glory. Or for which he would not give me the strength and the courage I needed.

2 February

There is a man who appears in the books of Acts, who's courage truly had far reaching consequences. Meet Ananias, who only appears in chapter 9 of the book of Acts, and is then never mentioned again. Ananias means "the Lord's gracious gift" or "Yah is merciful". It is a wonderful play on words in Aramaic, for God is about to both show mercy to Saul and ask Ananias to live up to his name. The other person in this story needs no introduction. He is the apostle Paul himself, formerly known as Saul, the feared persecutor of the early church, or "The Way" as they called themselves. He was breathing "murderous threats" against the Lord's disciples and was on his way to Damascus to make sure that they were silenced. But then he meets Jesus... Blinded and speechless, he is led to Damascus, where he spends three days without food or drink, praying.

6 February

This is the point when God asks Ananias to go to Paul, to lay hands on him and restore his vision. Just think about that a bit. Why would God need a scared Ananias, when He could just speak the words and Paul would see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit? Well, you see, even in the greatest stories of God's salvation, there are people like you and me, content to serve the God we love quietly, without wanting to cause too many ripples in the ocean. Like Ananias, we flinch at the thought of having to go out there, to confront our fears and be brave, bold believers. But God has given us a Spirit of power, love and self discipline, not of timidity or fear. We were made in the image of the living God, and He is the One who enables, He emboldens, He gives courage. Ananias was chosen to go to Straight street where Paul was staying, not because he was bold or brave, but because he loved, trusted and wanted to please the God who called him, with all his heart, and that cancelled out the fear for his own life. Corrie ten Boom said: "It's not my ability, but my response to God's ability, that counts."

David said in Psalm 56, "But in the day that I'm afraid, I lay all my fears before you and trust in you with all my heart. What harm can man bring to me? With God on my side, I will not be afraid of what comes." (TPT).

We know that we are greatly loved by God, and that makes us belong and have hope. But in choosing to return that love, over what makes us feel comfortable or brings us pleasure, we say Yes! to our King, regardless of the price. I pray that you and I would love God courageously. That we would share our faith even if it's rejected, speak the truth in love, even if it's ridiculed, show mercy even if it is scorned, give hope even if it hurts, kindness even if it's answered with contempt. God does not need our help to accomplish His perfect will, but He asks it. From the beginning of time, He has longed for a reciprocal, loving relationship with His people, His bride. And in our loving and trusting response to Him, we become part of His magnificent story of grace.

                             •~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

* "Slaying Giants ~ Finding Courage and Conquering Fear" by Darlene Schacht from timewarpwife.com

Take Courage

15 January

Our friend the mist returned for two sweet days of cool respite. It wrapped our wooden cabin in moist tendrils, obscuring the mountains and pine forests that surround us. We drove out to walk beside a lane of venerable oak trees, the sole remnants of a former farmstead. Strange mushrooms sprout from their gnarled, moss covered trunks, lending an otherworldliness to the landscape.  A herd of speckled cattle emerged from the mist, to watch our progress with bovine suspicion. As I snuck closer to photograph them, they turned to face me with that stolid dignity of cattle. I admired the sweep and curve of their horns, from what I hoped was a safe distance. I tried cooing some reasuring words, and for a lengthy moment we just continued to stare at each other. With feigned confidence, I raised my arms above my head, and as one organism, the whole herd turned and thundered away.

16 January

When the boys were little, they'd run out onto the deck to call the "mist dragon", as the first foggy swirls rose up from the valley. They'd shriek excitedly as it loomed larger and closer, it's swaying jaws gaping wider and wider... Then we'd tumble laughing into the safety of our cabin, swiftly closing the door on "danger".

17 January

Pretending to be scared was fun, but full-blown fear or worry is a debilitating, often overwhelming emotion. "Fear is often our natural response. We don't have to think of all the reasons to be afraid, fear comes unbidden. But being strong and courageous doesn't come naturally. Often we have to think through different reasons why we ought to overcome our fears with courage. God calls us to take courage, because it doesn't just come naturally, we have to fight for it. Confronted with fears from every side and even from within, courage must be seized." ~ John Bloom, Desiring God.org

22 January 

There is a man in the Bible whom I feel I've only just "met". He appears briefly in the book of Numbers as "the other" of the two spies who didn't doubt when they were sent to reconnoitre the promised land of Canaan. Twelve scouts were sent out, ten came back full of terror and trepidation.They feared the people living in that land, who were said to be collosal and powerful, not the kind of guys you'd want to meet at night in a dark alley. They feared their numbers and they feared their well fortified city. But then Caleb steps up and says: "Only rebel ye not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us, their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not." ~ Numbers 14:9 KJV

(The name Caleb, means "dog", not the most flattering name in biblical times. But God had a plan for Caleb's life...)

"They are bread for us..." Right there, Caleb saw what I so often fail to see, that trials are the very thing that strengthen us. That the "giants we conquer are as bread to our soul, and so by the power of God working in and through us, we grow." ~ Darlene Schacht, Slaying Giants. 

James, the brother of Jesus said: "Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverence. Let perseverence finish it's work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~ James 1:2-4 The word "count" here is a financial term, meaning to evaluate. James encourages us to evaluate the way we look at trials. An athlete or a soldier may look forward to physical and mental challenges because of the benefits that follow. Trials develop our spiritual muscles, giving us the the stamina and endurance to stay the course. I can "count it all joy" in hardship, because in and through them, I learn to fully depend on God and trust Him and His wisdom. Tested faith becomes refined, rugged, courageous, uncompromising. C.S. Lewis said : "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point." I can choose to face trials with courage and confidence, not necessarily for what they presently are, but for the outcome God wants to accomplish through them.

Back to Caleb. He was given the courage to face a seemingly impossible challenge, because He believed that God would fulfill the promise He'd given them. And in the process, their faith in Him, would grow ever stronger. So when we meet him again in Joshua 14, Joshua is dividing up the land between families. As Caleb had been faithful, he was given a choice. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, he chooses to go and live in the land of the giants. And this is what he had to say about his choice: " Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel was moving about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty five years old. I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out, I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said." ~ Joshua 14:10

23 January

Israel's warrior Caleb, at 85 years of age, still knew how to take courage. He could have settled on a sweet tract of land and spent the rest of his days sitting on the porch watching the olives grow. But he'd seen God's promises unfold, he'd witnessed God's power and might, his faith had been tested and honed. So, choosing courage over comfort, he walked with "the Lord helping him", into battle once again, confident of the outcome. It's no coincidence that Caleb came from Judah, like our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah! "The more we read the Old Testament as books written by God, through His Spirit, about His Son, the more we grow in hope, in understanding, and in the likeness of our Saviour." Alistair Begg

The Bible says that faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of God. Is God's Word not the very place we go to for courage and hope? His promises sustain us when nothing else can, because we know that the same God who changed Caleb "the dog" into a roaring lion, still upholds and strengthens us with His righteous right hand.

Whatever giant you may be facing today, remember this; the God of Israel is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Lean on Him, trust in His promises. Be en"couraged" by His faithfulness through all generations. Take captive in the name of Jesus, each anxious thought. The Lord Himself goes before you. The Lion of Judah is your conquering King, and He, will never fail or forsake you.

The Lord says: "I will rescue those who love me

I will protect those who trust in my Name.

When they call on me, I will answer,

I will be with them in trouble,

I will rescue and honour them,

I will reward them with long life and give them my salvation." 

~  Psalm 91:14-16

                                             ~✓~✓~✓~✓~✓~

You Hem me in Behind and Before

9 January

A new week arrives in a blaze of heat. The wild wisterias wilt, and the air hums with insects. As the sun climbs to its apex, birds fall silent deep in their leafy refuge. The ginger Tom lies stretched out and limp under the apple tree. Our old dog Shadow crawls stifly into a cool hollow in the soil. Muddy mountain paths turn to gritty dust, and we long for the cool mists as one longs for an old friend

While the blistering heat causes most creatures to become sluggish, it seems to encourage the cicadas to crank up their buzzy ninety decibel love song. As children we used to call them Christmas beetles or sonbesies (sun beetles). Male cicadas have drum-like structures on their abdomens, and by flexing and popping these " tymbals" in and out hundreds of times per second, they produce the high-pitched sound we've come to associate with the hot, cloudless days of Summer.

11 January

I continue my exercise in "discipline" by writing down some insights gleaned from a Bible study we've started, simply called "Slaying Giants".* (A picture of Ruth comes into my head, meticulously gleaning the life sustaining grain behind the workers in the field.)

Growing up as the youngest daughter of staunch "Dopper" (Dutch Reformed) parents, we had to go to Katkisasie (catechism or Sunday school) every Sunday after the morning church service. My memory is a bit vague about these classes, but I remember Bible stories as a littly, and being drilled as a teenager by the "ouderlinge" (elders) for confirmation. Part of the discipline and rigour of church life was good, and it established a firm foundation for us to build on. But for me there was always something missing, like warming yourself by a candle, when there is a bonfire beckoning in the distance. Perhaps it was my own heart that was not open and "malleable" for the Spirit of the living God to reveal himself to me. The intimate relationship with Jesus that I inadvertently longed for, did not exist.

12 January 

But God is so patient. And He really has had to be with me, ever prone to wander and procrastinate... 

Back to the Bible study: Most of us know from small the account of Israel's exodus from Egypt, with stern, bestafffed Moses in the lead. The first thing that stood out for me is that they "marched boldly" out of Egypt (Exodus 14:9). They didn't sneak out, quivering in their sandals, they marched, implying that they were focussed, courageous, and of one mind. I know, only a few verses later when they realise Pharaoh and his chariots are in hot pursuit, they're bemoaning the fact that they left the fleshpots of Egypt in the first place, and really giving Moses a hard time. Moses stays steadfast, and just hear what he says to the people of Israel in verse 13, after they'd basically announced that they'd prefer to serve the Egyptians thank you very much! "Moses answered the people, "DO NOT BE AFRAID. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be STILL."  Now that is my kind of motivational speech.

From what I could remember, Israel were happily marching along, when Pharaoh realises he's loosing cheap labour and hops in his buggy drawn by fierce steeds with flaring nostrils and foaming muzzles, and gives chase. (He obviously didn't read David's Psalm about trusting in chariots and horses...). By the time he and his army catch up with them, Israel are camping on the beach. They look up in fright, drop their braaibroodjies (toasted sandwiches) in the sand and start wailing. Moses gives his speech and God tells him to stretch out his staff over the Red Sea to neatly divide the deep, briny waters. The children of Israel recover from their panic and are marching again, mouths agape this time. They stride through the walls of water on dry land, and when Pharaoh tries to follow, he gets a nasty surprise and his chariot becomes the first submarine. But jokes aside, is this how it happened?

This is the account from the Bible, as written down by Moses himself in Exodus 14. After God tells Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea, an amazing thing happens. V19 - "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side, so neither went near the other all night long."

The angel of the Lord who had been traveling in front of Israel's army  - the distinct presence of Yahweh, who had been there with them and leading them, every moment since they left Egypt. Notice that Israel is now referred to as an army - soldiers for the Lord, who had been marching with purpose up to this point.

The pillar of cloud - God himself had been going in front of the people of Israel "by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they may go by day and by night."(Exodus 13:21). This was no ordinary cloud, it was the visible symbol of God's presence in the midst of His people.

Stood behind them - the angel and cloud which have been going before the Israelites to guide them, now shift behind, to protect them. "You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me." Psalm 139:5

Coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel - the cloud obscures the enemy from Israel, as it was the sight of Pharaoh and his men advancing that caused them to be fearful. They took their eyes of God and focussed on the seemingly dire situation instead. Sound familiar?

- It also obscured visibility for Egypt's army, so they could no longer pursue. God took an active role in Israel's defence.

- It would have been a visible sign to Pharaoh that the God of Israel is powerful and there for His people.

Throughout the night - God promised deliverance, but they had to wait out the night to receive it. "But they who wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not be faint." ~ Isaiah 40:31

The cloud brought light to the one side and darkness to the other - we don't need to guess which side was in the dark and which side was bathed in glorious light. "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" ~ Psalm 27:1. "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." ~ 1 John 1:5

I pray that you may also find tremendous encouragement from this account. God is for you, He is with you, He fights for you, He is mighty to save. He surrounds you with His love and protection. Keep your eyes on Him, there is no pain or problem that you cannot overcome with God. May He transform you through the renewal of your mind. May He give you the courage to slay giants and the boldness to tell the world of His might, glory, goodness and grace.

                                    ~•~•~•~•~••~•••~••~•~•~•~•~

* Slaying Giants, a Bible Study on finding your courage and conquering fear, by Darlene Schacht from timewarpwife.com

Under a Banner of Love

6 January 2023

It is a drenchingly wet and cold day in the mountains. The silver birches rock in the breeze where a lone forest pigeon sits huddled against the driving rain. Our animals gravitate towards the fire, their muddy paw prints drying in tell-tale paths on the floor. The kettle hisses on a gass flame, a kitten is curled up in a sweet spiral. A day for gentle pursuits.

I have been feeling a pull toward starting to write again, needing to push aside the all too familiar feelings of inadequacy and lack of inspiration. Reading can be a gentle pursuit, but writing... Writing is a discipline, at least for me it is.

Have you ever noticed how close discipline is to disciple? This got me thinking. Discipline (according to Oxford) is; "the practice of training or being trained to obey rules or a code/pattern of behaviour, where punishment can be used to correct behaviour. Or; a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education."

The noun "disciple" comes from the Latin word discipulus, which means student, learner or follower.

One can certainly be disciplined without being a disciple, but to be a true disciple, requires discipline. The discipline of a disciple of Jesus however, is not one imposed by other people. Rather it is self-discipline under Christ. Paul said to Timothy: "Discipline yourself for the purpose of Godliness" ~ 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

So is my motivation to start writing again "for the purpose of Godliness"? I have to be honest and say that I don't rightly know, but what I do know is that God is faithful beyond my doubts, and for that reason I will write. And trust that He will meet me as I walk towards Him on this yet unmapped road.

8 January 2023

To get back into the discipline of writing, I thought to begin with a form or journalling. Simply writing down the things that stand out from each day, whether it be from spending time with the Lord and in His Word, or preparing a meal for my family. Walking our beautiful mountain paths or sweeping the floor...

Part of our weekend routine is to take our motley crew of five dogs for long, leisurely walks. Both the humans and canines adore these outings and we always return with our spirits lifted (the humans), and tongues happily lolling out the side of their mouths (the dogs). One of our favourite walks is around an area called Eureka, where the mountain landscape is truly awe-inspiring. The adjacent forest offers a cool canopy overhead, and a scented floor of pine needles underfoot.

Today, the Elandsberg was an amphitheatre, where nature boldly declares the glory of the risen God. Here, the display of grandeur can make you want to soar above it all, and yet kneel small and humbled at the Creator's feet. "In one hand He holds the mysteries of the earth, and in the other He holds the highest mountain peaks." ~ Psalm 95:4

Later this morning we sang with our friends: "My beloved is mine and I am His, His banner over me is love... I'm safe and secure on the Rock of all ages, His banner over me is love."  Our self-conscious teenaged son sang it with what seemed like slight embarrassment, but the refrain stayed with me and sprinkled a deep and sweet joy over the rest of my day. How can I not soar on wings like eagles with the certainty of such a love. How can I not step boldly into the new year, this banner of love and protection always over me, regardless of what the days, weeks and months may bring.

"He will cover you with His feathers.

He will shelter you with His wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection" 

~ Psalm 91:4

May you too, be encouraged by knowing that the God who holds the mysteries of the earth in one hand, and the highest mountain peaks in the other, has you covered. With love and protection, with a strong hand to guide you, a caring heart to comfort you, heavenly stores to provide for you.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good,

blessed are those who take refuge in Him.

Fear the Lord, His holy people,

for those who fear Him lack nothing.

The lion may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing.

~ Psalm 34:8-9