Love Letters

...but that ye might know the love
which I have more abundantly
unto you.
II Corinthians 2:4b

I was new to junior high school. Boys had always been so far down on my list of priorities that it wasn't even funny. However, one day in a math class, someone behind me passed me a note. After looking at the note, and seeing the name, I became quite flustered. A male classmate had passed the note to me through two other people. The note said the usual: “If you love me, then I love you. If you don't love me, then I don't love you.” With that, he signed his name. We had gone through grade school together so this was kind of a surprise to me. He and I had never even spoken that I knew of. SOOOO...I answered his note with: “If you love me, then I love you. If you don't love me, then I don't love you.” Class was about over so I gave it to a good friend of mine to hand to him on the way out the classroom door. She took the privilege of showing it to half of the school. Can't tell you the results of all of that and as a result, I don't think the young man and I ever spoke to each other even on through high school.

In high school, I had a couple of secret crushes, but had learned to never tell a single soul about it. My most serious relationship was in college with a dear Christian guy who was to be and turned out to be a pastor. We were parted for a summer. We both had ministry work we did that summer many miles away from each other. We weren't where we could telephone each other so letters had to do it. I can't begin to tell you how I rushed home every day anticipating getting a letter from that boyfriend. I read his letters over and over. He wrote at least every ten days or so which was good for a guy. When letters didn't come, I pulled out the ones I had and read them until they were almost tattered. When letters did come, I didn't leave them sitting on a dresser unopened for a week. I couldn't wait to tear those envelopes open. There were reasons for that. He was a dear guy I had come to know pretty well. We had a relationship that honored the Lord in every way. I knew he cared very much for my well-being. He was always honest with me, a person of truth. We shared a love for each other that was just for a measure of time. Still, we shared a love that had meaning even though it would never mature to full blossom. It was a blessing for that time.

I know of another man who was a wonderful letter writer. I first came to know him as Saul of Tarsus. His life required a great deal of refining, but he came to know and love Jesus probably like no other man I have heard of. In that process, Jesus changed his name to Paul as he was on a road trip. Because of his very personal meeting with Jesus, Paul was considered an apostle. I never had the privilege of meeting him personally, but I have read his letters, his love letters. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God to write each one. I have read some of his letters to the point of having some worn pages in the Book where I find each one of them. The difference is that I'm not the only one reading his letters. I don't care if a friend shares his letters with others. They are for all to read and to share with others.

Paul probably speaks of love in his letters as much as any other contributor to the Scriptures. In a few places, he expresses his personal love for his readers while most of the time, he encourages his readers to be people of love. Even Paul in some of his letters, that are now ours, speaks of his love for his readers. If Paul were writing his letters today, hewould still express his love for us.

       My love be with you all
       in Christ Jesus, Amen.
   I Corinthians 16:24

And I will very gladly spend and be
spent for you; though the more
abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
II Corinthians 12:15

The Holy Spirit spoke through chosen men and now the Scriptures belong to you and me personally. His love written is as good as spoken from the heart of God for all of us in our present times. If you are not a born again Christian, reading the Bible is like reading the love letter that belongs to someone else. It might be interesting but wouldn't be personal. For God's love letter to be meaningful, we must have a relationship with Him. If there is no relationship, there wouldn't even be an interest in reading it at all.

The whole of God's Word is our Heavenly Father's love letter to you and me, born in His heart in eternity, coming down through His Spirit to you and me this very day. Remember, as I have quoted before from the godly scholar, Woodrow Kroll:

                                      “The Bible is the only book God has written.
                                           I think he'd be pleased if we read it.”

Dear Father...I love You because You first loved me. Forgive when my love grows cold. I want to stay close to Your heart. As You pour Your love into me, I pray I will allow Your love to flow from my life into the lives of others. May my life be as a letter of love that others can read and see your love in action. In Jesus' precious name...Amen

How Could I Live Without It?

Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 119:11

It was January 23, 1968, and the news was spreading quickly by radio, TV and in the printed press regarding a military incident. A United States Naval submarine had been captured by North Korea. It was a reconnaissance submarine, but was in international waters so shouldn't have had a problem. However, a sub spotter from North Korea picked up on our submarine, the USS Pueblo, and took it captive. On board were 83 men and they would remain in captivity for a year. It was not an easy time as all were tortured in varying degrees during their captivity. It was our family's privilege to hear one of the crewmen who had been on that submarine speak at the church we were attending at the time. The one thing he spoke of was how the men were kept in side-by-side cells and how they communicated. They weren't allowed to speak out loud to each other so they developed their own systems of speaking to each other by code and writing.

One of the things the men did was to slide small pieces of paper on the floor from cell to cell. On that paper, each man wrote down whatever Scripture verses they remembered from time past. It finally got to the point that there were several slips of paper to pass around for the men to read. The total of those slips of paper came to be known as the “Pueblo Bible.”

I recently saw on my computer a group of young adults who were meeting in secret in an Asian country that I won't give the name of. Two people came into the room where the young adults were seated in a circle, and in the middle of the circle placed two large suitcases. When the suitcases were opened they were full of new Bibles. Those young folks walked slowly to those suitcases and almost reverently picked up their own copy of a Bible. Some lovingly held their Bible close to them as if hugging that precious book. Most wept as they held their new Bible, while some even kissed their copy. While sitting in my living room looking at that scene play out before my eyes, I looked at just one of my bookcases where there are many Bibles of different versions. I use them for study in preparation for lessons I teach in various settings. I was stricken with the fact that I have so many copies of God's Word and take for granted that I will always have a copy of the Bible of my very own. The day IS coming, however, when even in our country, Americans could lose many Christian privileges that would shock us at the thought. The Bible will definitely be under attack and in some ways, already is.

A single friend of mine lived with her very old and dying mother. Both ladies had been students and lovers of God's Word for more years than they could count. At one point, my friend's mother was near death and not being very responsive. When the end seemed near for this dear mother, her daughter recalled a favorite verse her mother loved, so she began to quote Psalm 27:1 aloud. She said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation...” and suddenly in a weak, quiet voice, she heard her mother say, ”whom shall I fear?” With some shock, her daughter went on, “the Lord is the strength of my life;” and her mother finished the verse: “of whom shall I be afraid?” How interesting that even in this older ladies weakest moments before her Homegoing, the Scripture was as fresh on her mind as the prior fifty years or in her girlhood days.

Remember Vacation Bible School? I memorized more Scripture in those days than is believable. We had memory time, learned even more with the Bible stories we heard, and after a recess time (cookies & Kool-ade) there were more opportunities for learning more about God's Word. I still know many of those memory verses learned under Ruth Young and her helpers. Then as God would have it, Ruth enlisted me to teach memory time to the junior class when I was “too old” to be a VBS student. I learned even more there...the teacher always learns more than the students.

If you and I ever find ourselves in a place totally without the Word of God, written or on a media device, how much do we know by memory that could be of strength and comfort to us? Could we write some verses out on scraps of paper? Laying in bed in the darkness of night, how many verses can we recite to ourselves that somewhere in years past we memorized? Could we recite precious promises of God in our weakest moments, whether in times of depression, illness or even with our approaching Homegoing?

How much do we pay attention through the week to that special book that sits on our coffee table, bedside table or top of our refrigerator? How precious are the words we find in it. My husband and I had the privilege last summer of hearing Woodrow Kroll teach on Psalm 119. I'll never forget seeing him hold up his open Bible. In that moment he said, “This is the only book God ever wrote. I think He would be pleased if we read it.”

One of the major ways we can please God, is reading His writings and even committing some of it to memory. A great source of our own personal strength, joy and spiritual well-being is being in that most wonderful book that could ever be placed in our hands...God's precious Word.

Thank You, Father, for writing Your precious Word through Your Holy Spirit that not only brings us into a relationship with You, but that teaches and comforts us along the way. Create a hunger in me to know You better through Your wonderful book. In Jesus name....Amen

"I HATE Getting Old!"

And even to your old age, I am He;
and even to hoar (gray) hairs will
I carry you; I have made, and I will bear;
even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46:4

The title of this blog is something I often say to my husband when arthritis makes itself evident on certain days. His reply is always: “You're NOT getting ollldddd” and then we have a slight chuckle between us. The simple fact is that all of us are aging. In younger years, young folks don't think about aging that much, but nine year olds don't hesitate telling you that they are “nine and a half.” They are quite anxious to move up the age ladder. I gave that “half” stuff up a long time ago.

Our aging process begins at conception when life begins and aging continues to the grave. However, in our earlier years we usually noticed aging only as we looked at parents, grandparents or even family friends. To be honest, I never really noticed the aging process in most of them until they were REALLY old...like 60 years old and up. :0) When I was in grade school, if someone turned 45, they were ancient to me. I never thought I would get to that age, but I did. We have to remember that around the time of the 1940's, people didn't live to be as old as they do now.

I don't know of anyplace where age is on display like in church where children and youth watch those of age...and they watch more than we can realize. In my little church, the Loyal Mothers Sunday school class was where our senior ladies met faithfully every Sunday morning. They always sat together in church, center section, third row from the front. For Sunday school they went up a few altar steps to the small choir section where their class met. Most of them as I recall, wore hats. We little girls sat in the row in front of them. We had to behave or get a bit of a poke in the back. Most of those Loyal Mothers carried candy in their purses and they often passed some our way.

So what's wrong with aging other than it reminds us that D-Day is drawing nearer and nearer. If our hope is in Jesus Christ be it here on earth or when making our way to Heaven, the older years can be just as fruitful and of use as any other stage in our lives. Let me tell you, I look back and there is no stage of life I have gone through that I would want to revisit. God wants us to serve His purpose in our lives in the here and now....living to the fullest in the present.

Books have been written about the aging process and how to do it gracefully. No matter the stage of life, we are never to give up on serving the Lord. It's not unusual to hear a person of age say, “Well, I put in my time...it's time for the younger ones to do it now.” Never give up serving the Lord. If you are 95, there are ways you can serve Him. I know men and ladies who are wonderful prayer warriors. Some verbally greet visitors to a church service. There are ladies who send out cards of encouragement to sick or shut in folks. I know some good soup makers in our church who are quick to share it with folks who are ill. God still needs our hands of service, even if those hands are gnarled with arthritis.

I have said to ladies I teach that every one of us has purpose in God's eyes. He doesn't see age when it comes to His purpose for us. That purpose may take various types and shapes depending where we are in our stages of life, but He has a plan and purpose for us until we are ushered into Heaven. We women have a responsibility to be of influence upon those women who follow us. It doesn't take a masters degree, but only a degree in life lived and one's spiritual experiences as well. For instance, in Titus 2:3-5, Paul tells us:

The aged women likewise, that they be
in behavior as becometh holiness;
not false accusers, not given to much
wine, teachers of good things.
That they may teach the young women
to be sober, to love their husbands, to
love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home,
good, obedient to their own husbands,
that the word of God be not blasphemed.

I have said to women of all ages that they, no matter their age, are aged women to someone.  I remember in my latter 20's having someone younger than me coming to me for advice. We are older women (or men) to any others who are younger than we are. This is a responsibility according to Scripture that we can never get away from. I find it sad in today's society that we don't have more Christian men teaching younger men how to be good husbands and fathers.

Next, a major advantage of age, is all that life's experiences have taught us. In our walk with God, we hopefully have attained to a certain level of wisdom. Wisdom comes from God and He will give us opportunities to share that wisdom in an appropriate way with others. We have much to share with this present generation and must take advantage of those moments presented to us without pride or arrogance.

With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of
days understanding.
With him is wisdom and strength, he
hath counsel and understanding
Job 12:12,13

Remember that “The hoary (gray) head is a crown of glory...” Proverbs 61:31a. Whatever amount of gray hair you have, wear it proudly. I tell people that I've earned every, single gray hair I have...all of us, of any age, have and should wear our gray with satisfaction. My prayer is that I won't waste a single day of where I am right now in life. I always want to be found faithful to God's plan for my life, no matter the date on my birth certificate. Join me!

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one and that to come. (Psalm 71:18)

Amen...and...Amen

Real, Living Temples

Know ye not that ye are the temple
of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you?
I Corinthians 4:5

In my younger, more spiritually immature days, I must tell you that I didn't really care for the Apostle Paul. No matter what I read that he had written, I felt if nothing else that he was a braggart, always patting himself on the back. However, as I matured and came to understand more fully that it was the Holy Spirit inspiring Paul to write everything he did, I came to appreciate him more. Now, the Holy Spirit speaks through him in such wonderful and unique ways to me personally.

In my study of all Scripture, I have been fascinated through the years regarding the Old Testament tabernacle. The tabernacle, that temporary structure and that later became a magnificent temple was the very center of the people's spiritual life, their salvation and their nearness to God Himself. The temple provided all a person would need in keeping in right relationship with God. God had thought it all out carefully, for you see, God has purpose in all He does and “He doeth all things well.”

With Jesus' arrival, ministry and death, there was no more a necessity for that building. Just as Jesus died on the cross, the temple veil was torn from top to bottom. Where only the high priest was allowed in the holy of holy's once a year, everything was now open, no obstacles between God and man. All of that was such a huge deal, but then Paul took it further that involves every born again Christian there has ever been or ever will be.

Along with every wonderful advantage God has provided to supply us for spiritual living, Paul blessed us with the information that we are temples...walking, talking temples. It's hard to comprehend that we as temples are as precious to God as those buildings were in Old Testament days.

If we are temples of God, there are then some comparisons we can make to the Old Testament tabernacle/temple and the temples we are. This might give us some perspective in our function as the temples Paul speaks of.

Approaching the outside of the former temple, it was there that blood sacrifices were made for the sins of the people. For us to be a temple, we have to have gone through that process of sins being washed in blood. In our case, Jesus took care of that with His death on the cross. That gives us the privilege of being that living temple. The people had to provide the animals for sacrifices, for the cleansing of their sin. In our case, God provided the lamb...Jesus.

Next as we would enter the temple, we would see, in a very large room, three priceless items, each having it's own unique purpose. To our left, there was a golden candlestick. Jesus said that we are the light of the world. This is a distinct feature of our “temple-hood” that we are witnesses for Jesus at all times. The lights of that large candlestick were never allowed to go out. It should be the same with our witness...constant and consistent.

To our right upon entering the door of the temple was a table with shew bread on it. Jesus is the bread of life. The bread is often compared to the Word of God that feeds and strengthens us. You and I can't afford to suffer spiritual malnutrition if we are to be strong in the Lord.

Straight ahead was the altar of incense where the ascending smoke off of that altar was symbolic of the prayers of the people. I have to ask myself how strong my prayer life is? Do I settle for asking the blessing over my food or sending up some SOS prayers. God doesn't like the silent treatment from us anymore than we like it from others.

Of course, straight ahead beyond that altar of incense was the huge veil behind which the Spirit of God abided. The common person would never ever enter that place...death would be the penalty. Even the High Priest entered that area only once a year to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat. God's spirit was seen in the wilderness over the tabernacle through a pillar of cloud by day and a piller of fire by night that hovered over the Holy of Holies.

We don't need pillars of anything to guide us now because that powerful Holy Spirit of God now resides within every person who has accepted Jesus as Savior. He is there to teach, guide and comfort. When the people in the wilderness saw the pillar begin to move, they got things together immediately and followed the pillar. When the Holy Spirit in us moves us to obey in any area of life, we are to respond immediately (pack up if necessary) and follow His leading. We don't have to understand the whys and wherefores, but need to move at His prompting.

I feel so blessed in knowing that the very spirit of God that led those folks in the wilderness was the same powerful spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. He's that same spirit that lives in those of us who have accepted Jesus as Savior. How unfortunate that we often live in spiritual defeat when that Spirit is available to you and me to walk in spiritual strength and victory. This Holy Spirit is a gentleman and won't force Himself on us. He is more than available to we “temples” as we witness, pray and feed on the Word.

When our children were MUCH younger, I found a Tabernacle cut-out book. It had all the pieces of the tabernacle to punch out and put together. We got it all together but it was just a replica made of some sturdy paper. You and I aren't temple replicas. We are the best of the better, just as God planned. Are we the real thing or just paper replicas. God is the only One who can tell the difference.

Dear Father...Thank You for making me one of Your children. May I really know what a responsibility it is to be Your temple. May I be faithful not just in various responsibilities but may I be a person of worship in this temple that I am like never before. I love you...In Jesus name...Amen