Loving Mom, Praising God

Another high moment took place recently in the life of one of my young grandchildren. Jovie, age five, was baptized about a month ago at her own request. Pastor Ron Smalls led the moment and David, my son in law and Jovie’s dad, did the actual baptizing.

Jovie’s most recent event is reminiscent of Bella’s Big God Story (See “God Is The Life For Us”).

Here is Janea's explanation of what happened.

“Tonight was our communion service, one of the first Jovie has participated in.  She was writing notes during the scripture reading and explanation of the service, and she handed me this note.  This, along with Dex singing me a song he made up about tractors, is enough to make this Momma's heart soar.”

Here is what Jovie wrote:  I love you, Mom.  I praise You, God; all on her own, no prompting.

When you see something like this, it becomes clear what Jesus meant when he said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16, NIV) These were radical words for adults in those days. Children were elevated from a level of unimportance, to the standard for citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

There is a remarkable thing going on here. Later, Jovie said to Janea, “I don’t praise you, mom, I praise God.” There was no context to this, it was just something Jovie came up with.

Is it possible for a five year old to be able to distinguish between who parents and loved ones are, and who God is, and that God is the only one who deserves our praise?

Apparently so.

In our own lives it is easy for God to be pushed onto a back burner in favor of something or someone who gets more praise and honor than God does.

There are some tough words coming from Jesus about this. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26, NIV)

It should be obvious that Jesus is not talking about actual, carnal hatred, or that would completely negate everything else he said. He is talking about giving God the glory, praise, honor, and our lives, that he and no one else deserves. It means to love Him more than we do any other. We are called to love our fellow human beings as ourselves, but to love and praise God supremely, above all else.

In that moment, five year old Jovie was able to express what it meant to give praise to God, and him only. Her love for her mom is strong. Janea provides an atmosphere of unconditional love and, what Janea calls, “Momma bear protection” for her kids, as well as teaching them expectations for good conduct and everything that goes along with that.

Did Jovie understand what it meant to be baptized? It would seem so. She gave as her main reason, “Because Jesus wants me to.”

Did she understand what it meant to take communion? I have a feeling she did.

To say that we are all proud of her is an understatement. More importantly, Jovie will have a number of people praying for her, that she can grow to help others understand what living for Jesus means; what it means to come to him and praise him.

Jesus is calling all of us to himself. Thanks be to God, He is calling the kids also.

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?”
(Matthew 21:16, Jesus quoting Psalm 8:2, NIV)

By the way, I also heard two year old Dexter’s tractor song. It is a definite hit!

Keeping Faith

My parents remain the best Christians I have ever known. Dad and mom taught us a lot about how to live for God. My sister, Anita, has said that they did not raise us by a lot of rules, but by godly example. Dad’s faith seemed unshakable, even during hard times. Mom’s faith was so tender she could hardly talk about it without crying. They were both simple people; eighth grade educations, blue collar workers. They also buried two babies, and raised five more into adulthood. Their example was to model a faith that would keep us. In fact, dad said something that has stuck with me all my life. I have only recently understood what it meant. “The older you get the more you realize that you don’t keep the faith…the faith keeps you.”

This can have a very liberating effect as we continue our walk with Christ. I am not obligated to work hard to keep my relationship with God, or to depend entirely on my own strength. Hebrews talks about rest for the people of God (4:9). Jesus also spoke in Matthew 11:28-31 about us receiving rest from him.

The whole idea of allowing Christ to keep us may not be easy to do, especially in our own country where we are told to “stand up for yourself,” “pick yourself up by the bootstraps,” etc. While these may be noble under certain circumstances, our strength rests in the Christ who lives in us. After all he did promise the disciples, “…and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NIV)

I am reminded of a hymn I have sung many times through the years, Moment By Moment. This lovely hymn speaks to our close, intimate relationship with Christ that sustains us literally each moment of the day. The verses speak to trials that he is with us; burdens that he does bear; sorrows that he shares. It also speaks of heartaches, groans, tears, and dangers we face from day to day. In each of these cases he is there, sustaining, strengthening, carrying the load for us, and sharing our bad times.

The refrain speaks directly to being kept by him.

“Moment by moment I’m kept in his love; Moment by moment I’ve light from above. Looking to Jesus ‘till glory doth shine, Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.” There can be no doubt as to the keeping grace of Christ that sustains us daily.

Some very special scriptures that speak to faith that keeps us, all from the NIV:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,”

“To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24, 25)

We do not have to try to be good on our own strength; he makes us good. He keeps us. How is this possible? I can think primarily of three things: grace, love, and mercy, all three of which are beyond our understanding.

Thanks be to God.

“Unworthy”

I recall years ago, before I went to TNU, being a major fan of Southern Gospel music. I knew all the groups, most of the top singers, and in high school and one year of college even sang in a group called The Eastmen Trio.

One group in particular that I loved a great deal was the Speer Family. Their enthusiasm and high level of sincerity appealed to me. In fact the trio did some of their songs. One of my favorite songs by the Speers was called “Unworthy.” It is a quiet song of testimony of how a beggar became a child of God, in spite of being unworthy of it all. It speaks clearly of grace and mercy.

The whole idea of unworthiness came roaring back again recently in church. Part of my duties is to select the Sunday morning hymns for the traditional service. Since Lent was upon us, the grand hymn “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” is an unspoken requirement to be sung at least once during Lent. The cross is the cornerstone of our faith, and this hymn magnificently portrays that.

Here is how the second verse in the Presbyterian hymnal goes:

Upon the cross of Jesus mine eyes at times can see
The very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess:
The wonder of redeeming love, and my unworthiness.

(words by Elizabeth Clephane, 1868; music by Frederick Maker, 1881)

I have to confess something now. Have you ever felt a sense of entitlement as far as asking God for something? I guess we use this occasionally as a kind of bargaining chip. “Ok, God, I do this, am faithful, etc, now you can do that for me.” Maybe we do not use those exact words but…well, you know.

I have been like that.

I also wonder about those times where we are told, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13) Yet, it seems like the heavens have closed an iron door and there is no one listening. It makes us somewhat angry; frustrated with God in that we are doing what he told us to do, yet getting absolutely nowhere, or so it seems.

This is where the idea of unworthiness comes in along with God’s plan we cannot yet understand.

The hymn puts forth a couple of things before getting to the unworthy part. There is the vision of the dying form of One who suffered for us. When we see that our hearts are broken, seemingly beyond repair, it stops us cold. The two wonders are redeeming love, where Christ delivered us from sin through the shedding of his blood for us. The last three words summarize the rest, “and my unworthiness.” It is by grace we have been saved, so said Paul. For God loved us so much that he gave his only son to die for us…so said Jesus to Nicodemus; in our place; instead of us. Someone had to be punished for sin to satisfy God’s holiness; we deserved it, but Jesus, in fulfilling the will of the Father, went in our place, sacrificing himself for all humanity.

My senses were awakened by the thought that there is nothing I do or am that will ever make me worthy of anything. I am not worthy of his love, but he loves me anyway. I am not worthy of the promise of eternal life, but it’s there anyway. I am not even worthy to ask him for anything, but he wants me to anyway.

At the end of the wonderful song by the Speers, the words become, “But he made me worthy, and now by his grace, his mercy has made me his own.” This changes the whole picture because it establishes me now as a child of God. Am I still unworthy? Yes, absolutely. I don’t deserve any of this. But, now I belong to him.

Maybe this is what he has been trying to get through my thick skull all along, and it is finally beginning to sink in.

He loves me anyway, and has made me his son. Wow, what a thought!

Thanks be to God.

Breakthrough

Breakthrough

Ok, I have said this before, but it is REALLY important now…I am NOT a theologian. I am not a Bible scholar, even though I read the Bible every day. Sometimes, however, a breakthrough takes place that I have to try, and I emphasize the word “try,” to write about.

I decided recently to go through the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Pentateuch. I read the fascinating account of creation, the flood, Abraham and all the really neat stuff in Genesis.

Some of Genesis is downright shocking. I found out that Jacob had his twelve sons, who were the twelve tribes of Israel, through four different women, including Rachel. Leah, his wife, who he did not love as much, had six of them, the others through Rachel and some servant girls. I was also reminded of how much Joseph’s brothers hated him; so much, they wanted him dead.

Then…I got into Exodus and the miracles God performed to get his people out of Egypt and beyond.

The hard part started after that. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (yet to be read) outlined God's rules and laws that were to be followed by everyone. The detail, and the possible punishment if not followed to the letter were something you had to read again to make sure you saw it right. Punishments ranged from being outcast from the group, to death by stoning. This was accompanied by God telling Moses that He (God) was holy and that is the way things were to be.

It seemed…to me anyway…that you almost had to live nearly every moment of every day avoiding anything that might get you into trouble. One of my pastors said when he was in seminary, they called Leviticus, “the swamp.” Good name!

Then, it was like the Holy Spirit gave me something to look into; Galatians, in the New Testament. In this astonishing letter, Paul is scolding the church at Galatia about wanting to do things according to the law, like being circumcised, for example. His words were clear and to the point. He even confronted Peter at one time because Peter avoided some Gentiles when the Jewish leaders came around. (I love Peter because he is so much like the rest of us.) Paul also said that if we became righteous through the law, Christ died for no reason (Galatians 2:21).

The section that really caught my attention was in chapter 3, verses 23-29. These verses read like this in the NIV:

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

It was like, “Oh…ok…now I see a connection I have not seen before!” The law has its place, because Paul also said that without it, we would not know how God defined sin, unless the law spelled it out. In Romans 7:7, he said, “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was, had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Once again this is the NIV)

Galatians 5:1 says that Christ set us free so we could indeed be free. The law is a “definer” of sin; a divine “dictionary,” if you please. But the law can only go so far. Grace and faith take over and we become Christ’s, free from sin, and no longer under the condemnation of the law. Christ was condemned in our place. This is an astonishing thought, but that’s what happened.

Amazing, isn’t it?

Thanks be to God.

God Calling

God Calling

Carol and I met with some friends recently we had not seen in about 40 years. We met at Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Strongsville, Ohio, just south of Cleveland. Our visit was as delightful as we hoped it would be. We talked about our times at Wittenberg University, performing together (he was a terrific baritone), having dinner together, and mostly, how God moved to bring us to this time in our lives.

They spoke of times when God called them to other places. One move was from a good ministry in Pennsylvania, all the way to Oklahoma. A new church, new friends, and a whole new life style awaited them. They knew they would obey God’s call to go, even though the move would not be easy.

Carol and I experienced closed doors and open ones. After graduating from TNU in 1969 I was accepted at Southern Methodist University with a scholarship to pursue a Master of Sacred Music degree. Carol and I headed for Dallas, but, quite literally at the last minute, that door closed tightly, and we headed back to Kentucky; Carol to her 3rd grade teaching job and me to…whatever.

Carol told me one evening that the school where she was teaching was looking for a music teacher. I did not have a music education degree, but decided to look into it anyway. With additional class work during the summers, that job, grades 1-6 elementary music, and one year of eighth grade general music, lasted three years.

The librarian was the principal’s wife, and she would give me Music Educator’s Journals from time to time. One edition had an ad from Wittenberg University. They offered a Master of Sacred Music degree in the School of Music. We went to Springfield in 1972 where I met Dr. Orcenith Smith, a man who God placed in my life. He moulded and shaped this greenhorn in a way that no one else has. Also, Carol met the wonderful Esther Manual, her principal, who was to Carol what Dr. Smith was to me.

In one of my voice lessons, in the fall of ’72, Dr. Smith said to me, “Mr. Liles, would you like to do a Messiah?” Eager to grow and learn my trade, I said, “Sure. Where?” “Mount Vernon Nazarene College,” was his providential reply. I sang Messiah there in ’72 and ’73, and from ’76 until my retirement in 2011, 37 times total at MVNU.

Dr. Smith also encouraged me to pursue doctoral work at OSU. I auditioned at OSU before the voice faculty in the spring of ’74. I thought I would do graduate work part time and work at something else. Before I left Mershon Auditorium they interviewed me, and asked if I would be interested in a TA, a graduate teaching assistantship. I could go full time, receive a small monthly stipend, and would only be responsible for buying my books. I would get valuable teaching experience and LOADS of performance opportunities. Once again, God opened another door.

In 1976 I applied for a faculty position at MVNU (then MVNC) and was offered my first contract by Dr. L. Guy Neese. I received my DMA in 1977. The dean’s office paid my tuition for that final year of doctoral study, which included my document and a couple of final performances. Thirty-five years later I retired. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Does God open doors, where entering them is obviously the right thing to do? Does God call us to new things we are not expecting, that may not be easy to follow? In any case, things work out far better than we can imagine. Whether God opens doors, or just calls us to go, like he did Abraham, he is there, leading, showing the way, saying, “Don’t worry my child; I will go with you.” Phil and Becky stayed in Oklahoma for eleven years, and their abandonment to God has led them to this time of life, fulfilled and more grateful than they could ever express.

No one can be certain of how God will lead. The main thing is, if he calls us, he will go with us. He knows exactly what he is doing. Ours is to simply trust and obey, no matter what.

Thanks be to God.

Adoption

ADOPTION

I think I finally know what an epiphany is; it is when something becomes known; a revelation: an “OH YEAH, now I understand” moment. You can also see Ephesians 1:3-6 for scriptural emphasis.

Before I get into that, let me make a disclaimer. I am not a theologian. I am not the son of a theologian. I am a layman, never called to the pastoral ministry. I was a very average theological student in college.

That being said, I am going to share some thoughts that I just recently began to understand; finally “getting it right,” so to speak. (See my blog, “Taking Time to Get It Right” from last summer.)

This may be risky, but I am going to reflect on the idea of adoption, as we become members of the family of God.

I have wondered about adoption now for several years. God created us, so why is adoption even necessary? I understand - sort of - what adoption is in the human sense. I know of a couple who adopted a baby several years ago. This child was born of another mother, who, for unknown reasons, could not, or did not want to keep the child. The adoptive couple followed all legal pathways, signed the papers, paid the cost, and the child became theirs. The child became part of the couple’s family. While this comparison is inexact, it can give us a picture of what takes place.

Before we come to Christ…we belong to no one. We are orphans. The Fall ruined everything. We are lost. There is no anchor. There are no connections. There are no “roots,” so to speak. God saw our condition and realized that, as important as the law was, it was incapable of solving this problem. The law could define what sin is, but could go no further. There needed to be a means by which we lost ones could receive forgiveness, be justified, and receive a cleansing from that which kept them from God, and brought into his family. This became possible when Christ died on the cross, taking our punishment so we would not have to…paying the cost for our adoption. A sacrifice was necessary to satisfy God’s righteous demands. Christ became that sacrifice and cleared the way for us to come to God. He became the satisfaction that God demanded…in our place. God forgave us of all that filth that kept us from him…and ADOPTED us as his sons and daughters. All legal stuff was taken care of by the death of Christ. When the Holy Spirit draws us to him, we come, are forgiven, and the “deal is sealed.” We are adopted into his family. We become his sons and daughters. We now belong to Him. At the resurrection, Jesus told Mary to “go and tell…MY BROTHERS…” He said that because they were now in the family; adopted as God’s sons.

I have to admit, my heart was overjoyed when I finally got all of this straight. Thanks be to God for his love that is beyond comprehension. Adoption defines our relationship very clearly. In justification we are legally declared forgiven; all guilt is taken away. Adoption, however, is relational. We can now call God, “Father,” “Abba.”

“Amazing Love, how can it be; that Thou my God shouldst die for me!”

Thanks be to God.