Family

I love my family and I am so glad that I have been able to get in touch with them more often. They are a source of strength to me and one place where I know I am accepted and loved. We share the same history and heritage, as quirky as it was.  Our grandparents were two of a kind. Grandpa loved to argue to pass the time. He loved to preach and tell stories and sing in a tremulous voice that my brother can imitate to a tee. One of his favorite stories to tell was about when he was a preschooler in the Oklahoma Territory. Some Indians came up on horseback and his mother grabbed the gun, put the preschool children behind her and demanded to know what they wanted. After a conversation hindered by language barriers, it turned out that he was trying to sell her peaches.
 Grandma always looked at life just a bit off kilter to the way other people did and she LOVED to tell stories. These traits led to a conversation that I had with them. I was probably in 2nd grade and had been learning about George Washington Carver in school. The next time I was at their house I asked Grandma Carver if he was one of our ancestors. Rather than giving  me a simple answer, she said no and then proceeded to give me 200 years of Carver history. Eventually she said, "Now, your great-great uncle John Carver was a stowaway on a wagon train!" Grandpa, who had been listening in, said, "Oh, Stella, he was not! It's my family and I ought to know." Without batting an eye, Grandma said, "Well, I have to make it sound good."


Our families are flawed because they are full or people. As much as we love them they will let us down and we will let them down. The wonderful thing is that God has invited us to be his family.  We are told encouraged us to live as brothers and sisters. He tells us in John 1 that to everyone who believes in Jesus is given the right to become children of God. That means that just like our earthly families share the same heritage and history, so does our spiritual family. We are connected to the saints who have gone before and will leave our legacy of faith for those who come after us. Hebrews, after, listing people in the Hall of Faith, calls this our great cloud of witnesses.(Hebrews 12:1) Even better than this is the father we are connected to. He promises to never forget us,(Isaiah 49:15) to never leave us (Hebrews 13:5)to be our shield and our very great reward.(Gen 15:1) This morning I was telling God that I did not know how he was going to do something I needed and he sent me to Isaiah 40. Even though it is longer than the passages I usually include, I am going to put it in here because we need to remember what kind of God we serve.

  Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²² It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
²³ He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

²⁴ Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

²⁵ “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

You know how children on the playground always say, "My daddy's bigger than your daddy"?

Rejoice today in your family. If you haven't told them you love them do it. Then rejoice in your spiritual family and if you haven't told you Heavenly Father you love him, do it. I'll start. I love you .

Tangled

Tangled

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

On the Animal Planet the other day, I watched a show where sea animals had gotten caught and tangled up in trash from the beach. The plastic bags, six pack rings and fishing line had wrapped around their fins and flippers. Some of the animals had been cut and others were unable to move. In either case they were more vulnerable to predators. Wildlife rescue workers had to bring the animals in and either untangle or cut the plastic or line and tend the wounds it left. People are urged to pick up their trash to avoid hurting the wildlife and the planet. Dramatic music accompanies the plea, of course.

I am all for saving the planet and taking care of wildlife, but we have a bigger problem than six pack rings. In our spiritual lives we get tangled up too and it can have eternal consequences. For me the things that I get tangled up in are resentments and shame.  There are two versions of this voice in my head. The first one says “you should be ashamed.” The second, more dangerous one says “Your mother would be ashamed of you”.  I don't believe that my parents, preachers or Sunday school teachers intended to subject me to shame but the enemy is crafty and, knowing my personality, twisted what I heard.

 For some people it is a particular sin or an addiction that tangles them. Maybe it is regrets about things we did or didn’t do in the past. Another big entanglement is fear or worry.  The enemy will happily bring any or all of these things up because it keeps us distracted or overwhelmed.  He can use them as strongholds, or places to hold ground and launch an attack. Fortunately my stronghold of shame and regret has been hit by a battering ram of truth this week.

How can we deal with these things that get and keep us tangled? Hebrew 12:1 says throw it off and run the race with perseverance. The first step is to realize that we have a problem. Can you imagine a turtle or fish getting tangled in a line and not realizing it? They could easily twist and turn, getting more and more trapped. The second thing we have to do is to accept help. The harder and longer we fight things on our own, the more exhausted and discouraged we get. No matter how hard the animal thrashes it usually needs someone to help it get free. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

God knows us and knows the struggles that we face. Shame and regret are powerful weapons that the enemy will use against us. Paul tells us in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What a good God! He provided the solution before we even knew there was a problem. As much as Satan wants you entangled, Jesus wants you free. It is why he died to save us from sin and shame. Trust him.