ACCURATELY HANDLING THE WORD OF TRUTH

    I know what really matters is what actually occurs, but, do we pay attention to the words of the hymns we sing? I want to “accurately handle the word of truth”. (2 Timothy 2:15b (NASB)

    As I came across the words from this oft-sung hymn a few days back, the following thoughts came to mind: “On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise…”
Here’s what’s the scripture states…
Acts 1:9-11 (NASB)
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

    There’s more. Another spoken as fact and from one of my favorite hymns: “The cross became so heavy, He fell beneath the load.” Does the scripture say that? John 19:17 (NASB) says, “They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha..” where Luke 23:26 states: “When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.” After the treatment Jesus had received, perhaps we could surmise he stumbled and fell, but we let’s be careful we do not take the words from songs, oft-spoken quotes, or images in our minds to state as scripture. Let’s stay alert to accurately handle the word of truth.

M Sue       9-25-14

SHARING A CUP OF GRIEF

   A friend posted a beautiful piece on FaceBook today that includes the phrase, “There is another side of grief.” It discusses there comes a time when it’s not just sadness, struggles, and sorrows. Since just this morning a stranger and I had discussed grief and how it affects each of us in different ways I found the timing interesting. Having a copy of this poem to give would have been lovely, but all I had was my own experiences, none of which completely matched hers, but I could share an understanding of God and grief.

    This woman had lost her son two years ago and seemed to feel she should be getting “over it”. That would have been enough, but she has also been a caregiver to her now also deceased mother as well as her husband whose health is what brought her to the medical facility where we met. I was able to express my belief that two years, particularly in the loss of her son (though I’d not experienced it), was nowhere near enough. She visibly relaxed. Or was it my imagination?

     I told of my experience with the shocking death of my dad. I was twenty-seven, he, almost fifty-seven when he passed suddenly from a massive heart attack. I’d seen him at Thanksgiving. This was the following March. We lived too far apart for easy visiting and my children were young and in school. I believe I handled my grieving naturally with multitudinous tears, some sleepless nights, foods not having their usual, etc. While the family gathered in the home of my parents for the funeral preparations, we set the table for coffee and foods delivered by well-meaning friends. What were the chances that not only was there was an empty chair when we all sat down, but also unknowingly, Daddy’s favorite light blue coffee mug would be on the table at that very place, leaving my mother more bereft than ever? None of us realized why she suddenly burst into tears and threw her hand towards that cup until she was able to explain. Grief. All these years later and that image has been etched as deep in my mind as the wrinkles in the skin have been to my face!

    Seven years passed and I would have guessed my deep grief had as well, but how little I knew of such. I went to my special box where I kept a collection of favorite things to search for a poem I’d once given Daddy because I wanted to share a copy with a person I’d just met. Following Daddy’s death, Mama had returned it to me, explaining he’d kept it on his desk where he spent hours studying his Bible. The poem, cut from a magazine and backed by a complimentary piece of construction paper, was about a camel kneeling at the end of a day to have his master remove his load, and kneeling again at break of day to have his load replaced. It fit my daddy’s life. It was just seconds before I found that construction-backed page and once it was in my hand, I not only burst into tears, but also into heart-rending sobs! Our teen son, just descending the stairs where he could see into the room where I was sitting, was as startled as I was shocked by my uncontrollable grief. As with my mother at the table that day, I had to try to explain the deep sensation of being overcome by a stunningly surprising grief.

    As a result of that day’s ability to grieve so completely such a long time after Daddy’s death, I came to the realization I must have continued “hanging on until I finally “let him go” during those mournful moments. I also came to the comforting conclusion that God has built within each of us the ability to accept what we can today, a little more tomorrow, and still more the next day, etc., as time moves on. However, what that also means is the amount of grief you may be able to absorb can be as different as your eye and hair color, height, age, etc. from the amount I can accept. Just as when we were babies we grew physically and emotionally at different levels, so too, we can grieve at different levels.

   Who’s to say how much time is the right amount of time for grieving? Let it be between God and you, between God and me. There will come a time when the other side of grief will come, the memories of happier days, the smiles, and yes, even the laughter shared.

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:5b (NASB)

© M Sue       9-18-14

PETER PERSEVERED

2-26-2014

Last evening Milt Langston spoke about those we've read about in both the Old and New Testaments whom God called who basically responded by saying, "Not me. There are others better equipped to do what You're asking." He was talking about the lack of faith, so he included how often we hear about Peter's having literally stepped out of the boat in faith, yet how he sunk once he took his eyes off Jesus...but he also pointed out the many in the boat who basically said, "Not me. I'm not even going to try that!"

Peter had recently been on my mind, so the mention of him stood out more than the thoughts of the lack of faith in the other Old and New Testament characters.

Peter’s faith started with a not-to-be-deterred desire in his heart. His nature was such that once he was committed, even if he like we, became overwhelmed by the waves of the sea literally or figuratively, in his heart he immediately knew where to turn for rescue.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

As with Peter and the others, God desires that we be willing to step out in faith to be the people He has created us to be. Are we more like Peter or the ones who stayed in the boat?

©M Sue

ARE YOU A HUMAN SPARROW?

    Did you ever consider how much we human beings are like sparrows sometimes? 

    I’m sitting here at my office desk watching at least a dozen sparrows in our fresh-cut grassy area. It’s obvious they’re finding all kinds of goodies (way more than they can use immediately) and while I’m thinking of how their Heavenly Father is feeding them, two of the little creatures start to have a tug of war over a …bug, I guess! They hadn’t much more than completed their disagreement than another two (who must have been watching their example) followed suit, repeating the action. At least no feathers ended up flying, only the birds when our little dog went rushing at the window reminding them he’s boss around here!

    In the meantime, I’m still sitting, wondering, Does God watch us with similar feelings as I was going through in observing those birds? Does He wonder why we’re fighting over nit-picky “bugs” when He’s supplying us with “banquet tables” the likes of which no ocean cruise ship has ever seen? And is He feeling rather heartsick to see the effects of one’s example leading to another’s attitude becoming action of, “Well, he/she did it, so I can do it, too”?

    You know, I didn’t realize how much we humans are like those sparrows until sitting here learning these lessons while bird-watching this afternoon. When Jesus said unless we become like little children, I am positive He didn’t mean in such a way as this!

© M Sue       9-11-14       

HEARING GOD IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES

    When I assured one man about our prayers for the upcoming away-doctor visit for his wife he commented, “I think you have a lot of people you pray for.”  He is right but many times I do not pray as much as I ought. 

    I read a book by Charles Stanley about listening to God and one of the points he emphasized was that we need to “Be still…” and listen to God.

     Since God is my Father it does stand to reason that the communication should not be all one way…and God’s communicative skills are so far superior to my own!  He deserves far more attention than I give Him as well as far more praise.  His creations speak to me and I hear them perhaps more than many other ways of His communication directed to me. 

    How many times do I stop to look at a flower as though it were speaking to me of God’s presence?  I often realize that God has created such but do I let it speak of God’s love of beauty created for my pleasure?  And what about the sound of a waterfall and the beauty of a rainbow created by the sun shining through the spray? 

    I am not saying worship the creation but be aware of the Creator!  The song says, “All nature sings and ‘round me rings the music of the spheres.”  How true!  When “a picture is worth a thousand words,” do we even think of how many trillions of pictures we take with our eyes on a daily basis?  Wow!  What a gift when we can see! 

    And what is more pungent than the smell of a freshly cut orange or lemon?  Do we think to say, “Thank You that I can smell that wonderful smell”?  Does this help us better understand what a sweet-smelling savor is to God?  How does such a sweet smell make you feel?  Maybe like you want to take a taste?

     Oh, and the wonderful feel of a baby’s snuggly soft-haired head resting close in that particular place on your shoulder/neck area, the feel of the soft breath in and out, in and out, on your skin, and the wonderful gift from that child of trust!  Can we think how this feeling comes from God perhaps as a lesson to hear regarding our trust in Him and how it makes Him feel?  

    In all these busy moments of life, let’s be sure to “be still” and pay attention to God.

© M. Sue                                                                                                 8-11-06                Revised 9-8-2014

WHAT IS THE SOUND OF A BREAKING HEART

What is the sound of a breaking heart?

Is it soft? Is it loud? Does it make any noise at all?

Is it a tiny tinkling like Tiddly Winks® landing in the little plastic cup?

Does it mimic the harsh sounds of screeching metal on metal of a car crash?

Or does it sit in solitary silence never known?

What is the sound of a breaking heart?

© Marilyn Sue Moore       9-13-2008

  

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,

and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 34:18

SALTY TEARS

Why do you suppose tears appear on cue when sorrow arises in our hearts? And, if a tear happens to slip into the corner of your mouth before you can catch it in a tissue, have you ever noticed that it has a definite salty taste? 

As I lay in bed, with a heavy heart at the obvious approach of death of a dear friend, these thoughts invaded what should have been sleepy time. I am convinced that a tear shed in mourning is never out of God’s sight. There’s a verse that states….

You keep track of all my sorrows.

You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book.

(Psalm 56:8 NLT)

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?

(Psalm 56:8 ESV)

Consider what we know about salt:

Salt is a pure chemical. Frequently, the first thing offered is “something to calm” the closest loved ones of the deceased. God immediately provides salty tears.

Salt is used as a preservative. As we talk of our loved one who has passed, the tears flow, but those memories are being sealed with every God-given salty tear that drops.

We use salt as a seasoning. Is seasoning connected with mourning? Certainly flowing tears dry to sparkly gifts that help us swallow the sting of death.

As with my dear friend there comes a time, when either because of aging or disease, we are ready to lay our bodies aside. The way she put it, we want to “see what’s on the other side.” The antiseptic value of salt means it cleanses and/or makes free from germs. Can we apply that to our freedom from sin when we die because of the life we are presently living in Christ? “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB

Salty tears: Gifts from God, kept in His bottle, not one is missed.

© Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore       2-22-2011