Life Begins as Life Continues

On Tuesday, our thirty-sixth wedding anniversary, our first grandchild was born in Colorado. In God's sweet timing, I arrived on the right day. (Photos will be up soon on www.rabbittsoupcom ) He was expected next week, but when I left Salina, Kansas at 6 a.m. on the second day of my two-day drive, my phone tingled with a text message:  "Guess where I am." Her water had broken at midnight and she was in the hospital. Praying across the prairie, I pondered the labor process.

Step by step, a child is born. Every birth proceeds from beginning to middle to delivery. The water breaks, the contractions start, the pushing begins. It's a messy process and not always orderly. Life begins as life continues. Messy and disorderly sometimes, but moving towards a goal.

Line upon line, precept upon precept, God is bringing to birth his goal of a family.  Beginning with "Let there be light," continuing with the light of the world sent into the darkness of our first parent's sin, and finishing with a golden kingdom beyond our imagination, God is giving life to his vision. Just like my daughter and son-in-law, we will all consider the end worth the labor.

Father, thank you for your vision. May we see more clearly what you see and, like you, may we count the birth-pangs worth the kingdom. 

Can You Hear Me?

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27(NIV)

Do we know his voice? Some of
us struggle to believe his voice is the one we are hearing. Often we believe
what we’ve heard is just our own thoughts. How can we distinguish his words
from media voices, parental words, Satan’s input, and our own ruminations? A
friend recommended a helpful book, Can You Hear Me? by Brad Jersak.

Jersak, a Canadian pastor, writes
clearly on hearing Jesus’ voice. He talks about the simplicity of listening,
blocks to hearing, and the life of listening prayer. His simple instructions
offer practical guidelines. For example, he describes listening through
biblical stories by starting with picturing the details of a Bible story, after
asking God to bring to mind one that is meaningful to you. After you imagine
the characters and their behavior, he suggests, just in your imagination, to use
your senses of touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell to immerse yourself in
the narrative. Then, see where Jesus is and what he’s doing. Finally, as you
draw near to him, ask him what truth he wants to speak to you.

Following these instructions
with the Mary and Martha story, I got a clear sense of a personal word. I was
surprised, actually. I’ve often questioned whether I’m listening to his voice,
but the sentence that came to me spoke directly to a current need.

As Jersak points out, this
particular prayer strategy isn’t new, but he communicates it in a way I can grasp.
In addition to this engagement with scripture stories, Jersak teaches other ways
of hearing God. He also talks about intercession, justice, and inner healing,
among other topics. If you, too, are hungry to hear the shepard’s voice, this
book will feed you.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, we want to hear and obey
your voice.

Who Will Stand?

Americans now know, with gas at more than $4 a gallon, what
Europeans have known for years. Energy is precious. We are learning
deliberation. “If I drive to Meijers, across town, I need to stop at the
library, Ace hardware, and Sam’s on the way.” I ran out of ink yesterday.
Knowing I’d be near Wal-Mart today, I didn’t run out for ink. Ridership is up
on mass transit and bike sales must be picking up. That’s just the first layer
of effects.

The second economic effect is how the increase in gas prices
increases consumer prices. We’re beginning to feel those pangs, too. The local
whole wheat flour I buy for bread-making has increased $.12 a pound. Our trash
bill went up recently. We’ve yet to see the full effect of increased
transportation costs. Some effects are predictable—increased food pantry
demand—while others remain to be seen.

World economic pressures add additional uncertainty to the
mix. China and India,
with their rapid development, increase demand for clothing, cars, and building
materials. And why should America
remain on the top of the heap? What gives us the right to use so much of the
world’s resources? But what a painful slide it will be. Some American
middle-class folks will slide right into poverty. And what will the poor do?

When
I turn my eyes from the gas pumps to the scriptures, I see Jesus. After foreseeing
people “fainting from terror” because of the events of the end, he says:   “When
these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption is drawing
near.” Luke 21:28 (NIV) Are we near
the time of the end? I don’t know. But as prices squeeze us, let’s look up to Jesus’
promises, more precious than any fuel. When the end comes, only he, and those
who hold his hand, will stand.

Jesus,
may we feel the pressure of your hand today.