janiemehaffey

Picture life ... what image comes to mind?

Today's reading in The Purpose Driven Life poses a question:

If I asked how you picture life, what image would come to your mind? That image is your life metaphor. ... It's your description of how life works and what you expect from it.

It says that some people view life as a roller coaster or puzzle, while others see it as a symphony, a journey, a dance or a circus.

I see life as a gigantic, page-turning novel. The plot gets juicier with each chapter, characters enter and exit sometimes before you decide if they're good guys or bad guys, and there may be a few chapters that are a little slow and boring, but you're compelled to keep on reading because you know that pause is just setting up the next big story line.

What about you? What image comes to mind when you picture life?

Seeing the Bible through Fresh Eyes

Wednesday night I went to my friend, Tamara's, house for a meal ... not with food, but rather to "Eat this Book" by studying Psalms together.

Tamara came to the US from Cuba in the early 60s, one of 14,000 youth who lived out Operation Peter Pan. She speaks so fondly of the Cuba she remembers, knowing it as a beautiful, tropical country rich with arts and culture. Her demeanor always turns to sadness when she talks about the Cuba she now visits as an adult.

Tamara loves God so much, but she has never read the Bible. She grew up Catholic, so what she knows about the Bible came to her second hand. What an amazing thing to watch a woman in her 60s read God's words written directly to her for the first time. Highlights:

1. I said something about "praying on our armor." She had no clue what I meant. It was refreshing to share Eph. 6, a passage I've known since I was a girl and have probably bragged about at some point in my life that I knew what all the pieces of armor were. Tamara began to really understand that all the struggles she's experiencing are not really about flesh and blood, and that God will fight for her.

2. Tamara is helping me with my Spanish, so I read from the Spanish NVI and she read from the English NIV. An unexpected benefit came as, when I stumbled through some of the Spanish words, Tamara would begin to explain to me what the scripture meant. She was learning and teaching and growing right before my eyes.

3. Tamara wants me to pray for her to have peace in her heart and faith that God is fighting for her. Will you join me in praying for her?

Matthew Day Twenty-Eight

Matthew 28:8 -

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Observations/Applications: I LOVE the conundrum of emotion these women grapple with ... "afraid yet filled with joy."

Every time I have had a powerful encounter with God ... my baptism, the first time I really understood what the word "grace" was, worshipping with Matt, a variety of quiet times and Bible studies, praying with friends, watching lives change after encountering God ... I have left the situation "afraid yet filled with joy."

The joy part is obvious ... God brings so much hope and freedom.

The fear is confusing. For me, part of it is a holy reverence ... "How in the world does God love me so much that He has granted me access to this kind of intimacy with Him?" Another part of me is downright intimidated, "Oh crud. If He's going to grant me access to this kind of knowledge and understanding of Him, I bet He's going to expect me to do something with it. Yikes! I wish He didn't have so much faith in me."

I wonder if that was the "fear and joy" Mary and the other Mary felt? Joy at the fact that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead; fear that, wow, something big is happening and we get to be a part of it.

My prayer: God, Thank you for defeating death through the resurrection of Your Son. Thank you for the joy it brings. Thank you for challenging us to do something about it. Help us be obedient in following that challenge. Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty-Seven

Matthew 27:41-43 -

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' "

Observations/Applications: Of all the examples Jesus set for us while He was on earth in the form of man, this is my favorite.

If Jesus had called angels to save Him from the cross, yes, many people at that time would have believed.

BUT, He would have sacrificed salvation for everyone for all eternity for the single moment. The temporary benefit would have been so miniscule ... if benefit at all ... because Jesus' ultimate mission would have failed.

My prayer: God, THANK YOU for Your Son, His sacrifice, His example of faith, discernment and obedience.

Jesus knew You asked Him to stay focused on the cross, obedient to carry that out. Help me to know exactly what YOU are asking me to do and WHEN you want me to do it. Show me my cross ... and help me to be patient enough to allow things to unfold in YOUR time, not mine. (I so don't want to be Veruca Salt.)

God, help me not to be distracted by what man is asking me to do. Focus me on the ultimate obedience for long term investment.

Give me discernment to know what Your long term mission is for my life and what I need to do and not do on a day-to-day basis so I don't get distracted from that mission. Focus my actions on Your will, not man's recommendations. Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty-Six

Matthew 26:75 -

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Observations/Applications Peter committed a blatant and direct denial, yet prior to that and afterward, he is portrayed throughout the Bible as a pillar of faith - an exemplary man of Christ.

That tells me clearly that God redeems mistakes. He clears them away and covers them with good. Peters benfit to the Kingdom far outweighed the damage he caused along the way.

My prayer:Dear God, reveal to me my mistakes/sins and the damage I cause along the way. Work good in my life despite me. Use me, my faith, my love for You and any talent you have given me to repair, renew and build Your Kingdom, and shine light on You. Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty-Five

Matthew 25:34-36 -

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

Observations/Applications Have you read Shane Claiborne's book Irresistible Revolution? Reading the book rocked my world. I found myself fighting against it (thanks to my conservative, anti-socialism slant on life), but I couldn't fight against the fact that everything Shane said was from God's Word. Over and over again, Jesus teaches a life of simplicity, generosity, denial of self -pouring out love and service to others. So why do I continue to make things so complicated?

All that to say, my life often gets so busy that I don't see the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, etc. I get so consumed in my world (which isn't always bad, I mean both of my jobs are focused on resourcing people to share the Good News of Jesus, you know), that I often miss opportunities to meet the physical needs of people around me.

As the economy changes, we as Christ-followers have more and more opportunities to serve physical needs. Most people I know are middle-income wage earners ... and those are the peeps experiencing the financial hurt right now. I want God to prop my eyes wide open ... help me clearly see how you want me, and Your church, to meet these needs.

My prayer:Prop my eyes wide open, God. Show me needs and fill me with inspiration and obedience to meet them in the ways you've gifted and resourced me to do so. Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty-Four

Matthew 24:42 -

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Observation/Application: As much as I've grown to like and be comfortable with many things in this world, I anxiously await Jesus' return.

Some days, thoughts of His return are way back in my head behind all the earthly distractions, while others, it's on the forefront of my mind. Like when ...

-I call my mom, and she's in so much pain she can't get out of bed.

-A female suicide bomber kills 45 people in a war that I believed in but now I'm questioning.

-My brother goes in and out of the hospital as his liver problems flair and subside.

-I talk to an 80 year old Jewish man who moved to Russia, then New York from Poland in the 1940s. He respects the Christian faith, but has no interest in being a Christian because, according to him, Hitler did all of his deeds in the name of Christianity.

My prayer:
Maranatha! Our Lord, come! Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty-Three

Matthew 23:3b-5a -

But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see ...

Observation/Application: These verses totally make me think of Matt because he's the complete opposite. Early on in our dating, I began referring to Matt as "The Congruency King" because everything he says and teaches perfectly aligns with his actions (with an occasional human mess up, of course). If he says he's going to do something, it will happen. If when he teaches, he says we should be doing something, you better believe that he's doing it himself before he even thinks of suggesting that to others.

He says he loves God, so he lives that out by reading God's word every day. He says he wants to live in community, so he celebrates and cries with family and friends during their best and worst times. He says he wants to lead as he serves. I've seen him rise to this occasion in gigantic ways since leading within The Pursuit. He loves this church and the community and wants to make them better, so he motivates all of us to take ownership and play our part. Whether he's hauling boxes on Sunday morning or quietly coaching a new Christ-follower, he leads by example.

The best part about being married to him is that I get to see this play out so much more. He lives out so much of this in humble and private ways, again, not done for men to see like our messed up friends in these verses.

My prayer:
God, Thank you for growing Matt into a man after Your own heart. Continue to strengthen him with wisdom and humility so he can impact this community and bring You glory. Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty-One

Matthew 21:21-22 -

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Observation/Application:I just took a quick flip through my prayer journal I've used since we moved to Florida. I'm on the last few pages before it's full. It's a bittersweet transition because I won't have those days as handy to look back on and reflect what God has been doing, but I also get a crisp new journal with a whole series of blank pages for God to write. Hooray!

Anyway, every time I look back through my prayer journals (whether the current one or ones from years past), God blows my hair back with His power. I can reflect on specific days when I prayed for God to move mountains and now I can completely see how those mountains were moved ... the movement most likely didn't play out the way I thought, but the mountains were in a much better place.

God knows I'm pretty dense. I need to see to believe, but I know that's not what faith is all about. So in His gigantic way of love, He gives me large doses of past action for me to see to believe that what He has ahead of me is going to bring Him even more glory.

My prayer:
God, Fill my requests to You with a mountain-moving kind of faith. And when my brain is too clogged up or I'm too focused on people instead of You, turn my head back to see all the ways you've moved mountains so far and fill me with faith for the future. Amen.

Matthew Day Twenty

Matthew 20:32-34 -

Jesus stopped and called over, "What do you want from me?"

They said, "Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!"

Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant ...

Observation/Application: It's no accident that this scene follows the one where everybody (through parable and real life) has just been jockeying for position. Jesus said that in order to be first, you must be last; in order to be greatest, you must be least.

These are confusing concepts, especially when our human perspective of what is "fair" and "just" contrasts so starkly against what Jesus says is just.

So now these guys come along asking for something so pure ... for their eyes to be open. Jesus smiles and says, "Now that's what I'm talking about ... somebody who wants to look beyond their own world, their own perspective and see what's really out here."

My prayer:
God, Open my eyes. Help me to clearly see beyond myself, my own needs, my own insecurities, my own desire to be important or respected or admired. Help me to see life the way you see it; people the way you see them. Help me to open my eyes each day and see the needs of OTHERS that I need to meet. Focus me beyond my tiredness and self-inflicted agenda to hone in on the things you want me to say and do. Amen.