December 8

“Naomi knew that Ruth needed a married life, a home, and a caretaker, and all the joys of wedded union.  In a similar way, the soul of the believer begins sooner or later to hunger and thirst after this rest in a realized union with Christ, of which the marriage union is so precious a type.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 11/15

I think that a closer look at everything in our lives might reveal them to be a “type” also--a symbol of something to come.  Scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun.  A popular saying is that history repeats itself.  It’s as though we’re going to have to keep going through these experiences until we get it right!  The dictionary says that it is no longer a “type” once it actually comes into being.  This is why there will be no marriage in heaven since our union with Christ will have been completed.  So I wonder what difference our earthly experiences would make if we were to view them as a foreshadowing of the real thing.  It would mean we wouldn’t put the emphasis on the here and now.  I also think it would encourage us to do what we do better.  Perhaps this is just a dress rehearsal and the better we learn our parts here the more enjoyment we’ll experience once the real deal happens.  I also think that seeing life’s events as “types” would change the way I think about my mistakes.  Mistakes are expected during a rehearsal.  It’s the night of the performance that matters. 

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”  Ephesians 5:25-27

April 15

“The highway of holiness is not a place but a way....We may for a moment turn aside from a path, but the path is not obliterated by our wandering and can be instantly regained.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 4/15

I’m beginning to see this path of sanctification much more clearly, and as I do, it’s beginning to fade because I no longer see it as an actual road that one can find plotted out on a map.  Instead, this path is a person--Jesus Christ in me, guiding me through life.  There is no path laid out for me that I can see.  It’s there, in the sense that God sees it, but there’s nary a footprint on my path because I haven’t made it yet. Before, I saw a path in front of me, and I tried to walk in it only to discover I’d been distracted from it.  Or, I was so intent on what lay ahead that I missed everything along the way that I was suppose to be enjoying.  Now, I realize, my path lies hidden from me.  God knows the way, and it is Him that I listen to for my next step.  Eventually, I hope I won’t even have to listen with my ears for if I can learn to listen with my heart, I will be able to pay attention even more so to my surroundings.  I will be able to see all the people laying along side the path that God wants me to minister to for Him.  And I’ll be able to feel the wind in my hair and the Son on my face.

“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also, henceforth you know him and have seen him.”    John 14:5, 6

February 19

“Following Jesus requires absolute obedience.  He does not seek our counsel about which direction we think is suitable....At times it will be easy to follow Jesus.  At other times, you will be tempted to abandon Him.  Following Jesus can mean going through a storm or standing on a mountaintop.”   H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 2/19

More than 20 years ago I saw a painting in a Christian bookstore in Florida that I’ve regretted not buying because it haunts me to this day--so much so, that I feel certain I will stumble across it in some secondhand shop one day.  It was a long, narrow picture of a gaggle of geese following someone (this detail I can no longer remember) with Psalm 27:11 printed along the bottom:  “Teach me thy way, O LORD; and lead me on a plain path....”  I was really just at the beginning of my Christian walk and I was looking for some easy path to get on and get in line with others as we all followed the leader.  Unfortunately, I’ve had my eyes on the other geese so much that I’ve forgotten who I was following.  Maybe that’s why I don’t remember who was leading those geese and why I can’t get that picture out of my head.  God is showing me what my idea of following has looked like.  It’s been to have my eyes on other Christians.  But all this has done is either puff me up or tear me down as I compared myself to others.  Psalm 27:11 exhorts God to teach me His way--not the ways of his followers.  Lord, it would seem I’ve finally found that picture after all!

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.” John 10:4

February 10

“Remember, then, that the real thing in your experience is what your will decides, and not the verdict of our emotions; and that you are far more in danger of hypocrisy and untruth in yielding to the assertions of your feelings, than in holding fast to the decision of your will.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life

Hannah is the second author I’ve read in the past month who has spoken to me about my “hypocrisy fear.”  Because my emotions have always ruled me I felt it was hypocritical to act happy if I didn’t feel happy.  And I wouldn’t allow myself to feel happy if I didn’t believe the circumstances called for me to be happy.  What I’ve been woken up to is that I’ve given my emotions far too much power over me.  Emotions are merely indicators of what we are thinking.  If we are thinking fearful thoughts we will feel afraid.  If we are thinking loving thoughts, we will feel loving.  Emotions are merely after effects.  They are like shadows that lie in front of us because the sun is behind us.  We are not our shadows.  We are our wills and the sun is our thoughts.  Will our thoughts come down from above so that no shadow is cast?  Or will they come from behind us in the recesses of our minds, controlling us, making us think that the shadow before us is who we really are?

“At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who journeyed with me.”  Acts 26:13

January 24

“Christianity is not a set of teachings to understand.  It is a Person to follow.....As you walk daily with Him, Jesus will answer your questions, and you will discover far more than you even knew to ask.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-By-Day, 1/24

We awoke to no water this morning and soon discovered it was due to a frozen pipe.  We’ve lived in this house for almost 22 years and have never had a frozen pipe before.  So why now?  We’re having colder temperatures for a longer time than I can ever remember but also two years ago we had to reroute a leaky  water pipe that brought water into the house from the well.  Because it was under the basement floor, it was easier to put in a new pipe overhead.  The new one was plastic--again because it was easier.  The room in the basement where this pipe enters the house is only used for storage.  It has an auxiliary electric heater in it, but was not turned on because the clutter had grown too close to it. This is a good picture for me concerning my relationship with God.  While taking the easy route may be the most practical solution to a problem we must be careful to examine the repercussions and take whatever precautions necessary.  Freedom in Christ means I no longer need to be legalistic--that is, cross every “t” and dot every “i”, but it doesn’t mean I mustn’t be diligent to follow Christ and the law of love.  My flesh will entice me to think otherwise for it is what I know best and with which I feel most comfortable.  That is why I constantly need an example to follow--so that I do not stray from that path which God has laid out for me.

“Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.”  1 Peter 5:8 

January 7

“Whenever people do not base their lives on God’s revelation, they ‘cast off restraint.’  That is, they do what is right in their own eyes......The only way for you to know God’s will is for Him to reveal it to you.  You will never discover it on your own.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 1/7

The beautiful thing about this truth is the knowledge that God has already prepared a path for us to walk in.  Because God is the One who has prepared this path we can be assured that He will provide everything we need for the journey.  Oh, that we people would realize this at the beginning of our walk with Christ!  Why is this message so shrouded?  Surely we were told this when we “came to Christ”, were “saved”, “born again”--whatever term you choose to label the before and after!  Or is there no such thing?  Is it always a gradual awakening.  Is that why it’s referred to as a walk?  There is just so much you can take in.  Perhaps some of us hurry along too much and miss what we were to have seen along the way.  That is why we are so backslidden--always seeming to redo so much of our learning.  

“Make me to know thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.”  Psalm 25:4