Category: Soul Comfort

Soul Comfort, Soul Help

Soul Value

God values us enough to wait for our choice. During the week before His death and resurrection He has a poignant moment of deep grief.
”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together…and you were unwilling.” Matthew 23:37 NASB

Not that He was powerless to change things but somehow God limits Himself by handing choice to His human creation. He offers truth, help, wisdom for what is best for them. He gives, shows, warns, waits and weeps. At times He agonizes over our choices and over choices made by others that deeply hurt us. He weeps knowing what could have been.
Yet in His sorrow is awakened a fierce and loving redemption that can bring about “new creation” (Galatians 6:15). So much so that evil is reversed, defeated, overcome. He makes a way humbling Himself to a “system” He set up for the sake of love.

By His power and resurrection evil no longer has sway over us. We now have the choice to overcome with Him by His love! (Romans 8:37)

Where are you overcoming with Him in your life?

Soul Comfort

Soul Calling

Congratulations to our daughter Rachel, completing her M. Div next week!

(A portion of her manuscript from an advent message by Rachel S Wood, edited by JS):

We are mentored by our sister, Mary, through her song in Luke 1:46-56.

She sings into this extraordinary situation (Luke 1:21ff.): Gabriel appears to Mary announcing the miraculous baby she would carry, the Son of God.

Yes, this is good news – the savior of the world is coming, and through you, Mary, of all people! But, if we’re honest, this is also really hard news. What were your plans for next year, for your life with Joseph, for your family? Cancel them all.

You will be pregnant out of wedlock. You know, and I know, that this conception is miraculous, that you have kept yourself pure and that your relationship with Joseph hasn’t crossed inappropriate lines. But the neighbors won’t know that. The judgmental eyes and knowing looks will be the same as if you’d committed adultery.

Yes, it’s a beautiful blessing to be chosen as the bearer of our Lord. But let’s not over spiritualize to the point that we lose touch with the truly human. This is a hard calling.

Mary, an obedient servant of the Lord, says “let it be to me according to your Word” (Lk. 1:38). And the angel leaves. Where does that leave her? With a gloriously heavy assignment. No evidence…. except an angelic update about Elizabeth’s pregnancy.  She didn’t have Instagram to see the pregnancy announcement post, she had no phone to call Elizabeth and check the angel’s story (and in so doing check the trustworthiness of his message to her).

So, she packs her bags and hastens (1:39) to visit Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Can you hear the questions in her mind as she travels? Will her baby bump be visible or am I going to have to outright ask, “Elizabeth, I know you have struggled with infertility for years and this is probably a really sensitive and painful subject, but you don’t happen to be pregnant, do you?”

How incredible if she is – after all these years!

But, will she believe my story about an “immaculate conception”?

Imagine Mary approaching Elizabeth’s door with all the fear, anticipation, questions. The door opens, “Elizabeth!” and before she can ask a single question, explain her situation, plead for evidence or for belief, Elizabeth bursts out:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”” (1:42–45)

What joy and relief must have flooded Mary’s heart – Elizabeth IS pregnant! And she already knows about the baby in my womb – not just that he’s from the Lord but that he is the Lord! And it is here that Mary sings out our Scripture for today:

46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

49    for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

50    And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

51    He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52    he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

53    he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

54    He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,

55    as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Lord, teach us through your servant, Mary, to put our hope in You. What a song! In it, Mary praises the Lord for how he dealt with her personally, then she recounts how that is characteristic of Him at work throughout history, and whether she knows it or not, foreshadows the ministry of her own Son. Mary’s hope for the future is based on the character of God in the past and it changes her present.

Her initial praise is based on what he’s done in her own life.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

And what had he done? 48 …looked on the humble estate of his servant. Looked upon her. Seen her. Someone no one else would notice or think twice about, God saw. And lifted her to bear his Son. Note the kindness and condescension of God to provide Elizabeth for Mary to stay with in first 3 months – He deals gently with our humanity.

She says all future generations will call her blessed – not be impressed by her and focus on how great she was (don’t get me wrong, we have much to learn from her example, but that’s not what she is saying) – because of GOD and the great things he did for her. OT Scripture is woven all throughout Mary’s song. You’ll hear echoes of Moses and Hannah, the Psalmists and prophets.

When the LORD does great things for us, the right response is to tell everybody! Then others praise him too and his actions in our lives ripple out to greater and greater circles of praise. Mary praises the Lord for what he’s done in her life particularly, but this is not just how he treated her, it represents his way of working. Her song moves beyond her own circumstances and zooms out to magnify the character of the LORD and his way of working in the world. We’ve already been introduced to a major theme throughout the song – the lifting of the lowly. Mary is an embodiment of God’s delight to lift the lowly.  The reverse is also a trademark of God’s character. He has shown strength with his arm – to do what? scatter the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones…

God has an MO of reversal. He uses his strength the exact opposite way from that which we’ve come to expect. On earth, “power” has come to carry negative connotations, skepticism, fear, because we’ve become so used to humans using their power for their own advantage at the expense of others. But we see in the character of God what power is meant to look like. He protects and lifts up, advances others, BUT ALSO brings down the proud.

In addition to reversal, God is characterized by his faithfulness to his promises, his faithfulness to his servant Israel, the true offspring of Abraham. Here again, Mary is one particular example of God’s consistent way of working in the OT. His mercy is for those who fear him and in that same mercy he has now sent the long-awaited seed to save his people.

Mary magnifies the Lord: You saw me and lifted me. Praise you because this is not just how you treated me — This is the kind of God you are. She didn’t know Jesus yet when she sang this song. She didn’t know what he’d be like or what he’d do…

And yet, she did. To the extent that she knew the Scriptures and the character of God in the OT, she knew what Jesus would be like and be about.

We can see, as Mary sings, the Holy Spirit is also foreshadowing the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. “God my savior.”  “Holy is his name.” Didn’t Jesus do all these things?

  • He gathers the humble disciples and scatters the proud Pharisees.
  • He looks upon the lowly estate of Mary of Magdala and lifts her to be the first announcer of his resurrection.
  • He tears down the money changers in the temple and lifts up the kneeling leper and the children.
  • He feeds the 5000, but the rich young ruler walks away
  • He helps his servant Israel by coming to be the servant that Israel could never be.
  • He scatters those who thought they believed and gathers all the sin and shame of history unto himself.
  • In his life He lifts up and in his death he is lifted up to tear down the veil of separation from God!

 Mary’s hope for the future is based on the character of God in the past and it changes her present.

When Mary sings this song, she’s not likely far enough along in her pregnancy to be able to feel the baby inside, the savior hasn’t yet come, and the circumstances on the ground remain – she is an unwed pregnant woman.

This text is fitting for advent because it falls within the story of advent, Mary is carrying the Christ child in her womb, awaiting his birth. But it’s not just historically fitting, it’s fitting because it displays present hope enacted in praise, based on the promises and character of God revealed in history and in her own life before circumstances change. The sure hope of the future is pulled into the present and changes the now.

You know what Mary’s not doing? Trying to figure out all the details of how this Messiah thing is going to work. I don’t know about you, but if Gabriel tells me I’m carrying the Son of God, I’m starting to feel the pressure of parenting him, what school system he should be in, how we can make sure all those prophecies come true……

Mary does not mistake the call of God on her life for the responsibility to figure it all out.

So much of the Christian life is lived between the opposite poles of two true truths. So yes, we have responsibility to live into the call on our lives. Mary was faithfully obedient.

If you feel the weight of responsibility to figure out how exactly your calling is going to come together, how the timing and logistics are going to work out. let’s be encouraged by our sister Mary who responded obediently to the Lord’s call, but whose next step was not anxious striving but rather HOPE-filled PRAISE.

To close, let’s look at Mary’s role vs. God’s in this song.

Mary:

       “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

God:

48    looks on the humble 49  is mighty, does great things and holy is his name.

50    his mercy is for those who fear him 51  He shows strength with his arm;

scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52  brings down the mighty from

their thrones and exalts those of humble estate; 53fills the hungry with good things,

and sends the rich away empty. 54 helps his servant Israel, remembers his mercy,

55    as he spoke long ago

Clarifying, isn’t it? The job description of creature vs. Creator?

We serve a God whose character it is to have mercy on those who fear him, to lift the humble and bring down the proud, to fill the hungry and keep his promises. As we wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in all the dark corners of our hearts and world that so desperately need Him – look to His character in the past and you will find abundant grounds for present hope.

How are you responding to present unusual or unwanted circumstances?

Soul Comfort

Soul Path

PATH TO THE CROSS

 

Crown of Thorns – What does this represent?

Mockery

Shame

Rejection

Not being taken seriously

Disregard

Not accepted

Not important

Irrelevant

Hated

In the way

Public spectacle

Disgrace

Unloved

 

                                                                     Add your own ______________________________

 

Ponder where have your sensed or felt things like these. 

 

Name the most prominent ones and carry them with you to the cross.

 

 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand;

and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Matthew 27:29 (NASB)

 

The Blood of Jesus

 

 Ponder the mystery of the power of an eternal God/Man shedding his holy blood for the likes of us.

 

       How do we treat this incredible act on our behalf? 

 

“He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

Isaiah 53:2, 3 (NASB)

 

Do you hold back from accepting this radical act on your behalf?  Do you turn your face away and carry your sorrows and sin on your own? Confess you disregard of him and carry it to the cross.

 

” …without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:22

 

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near …” Hebrews 10:19-22

 

“…but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

1 John 1:7

 

His Body Broken

 

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written,

“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”  Gal. 3:13

He took on any curse we’ve been cursed with.  What names, labels, scripts, or unspoken attitudes have you been designated with or held over yourself that need to be shed, let go of or renounced?  Write down the ones coming to mind and carry them to the cross.

  “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5

 

“…having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

                                   

Exchange at the Cross

 

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10

 

What has the thief stolen from you?

What has Jesus done about this?

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory. 4 And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities long ago destroyed, reviving them though they have lain there many generations. Isaiah 61:1-4

 

Jesus took our sins, wounds, poverty, shame, rejection that we might be forgiven, healed, made righteous, accepted  (List your pains, rejections, failures, pain, shame to lay before him…)

 

Lay down the things you carry and make an exchange at the cross!

 

Exchange at the Cross  (adapted from La Rucher Ministries) 

On the cross a divine exchange took place.  All the evil that was due by justice to the human race (and to us individually) was poured upon Jesus so that all the good that was due the sinless obedience of Jesus could be made available to us who believe!

 Jesus was punished – that we might be forgiven.  Is. 53:4,5

 Jesus was wounded – that we might be healed. He carried our sorrows and bore our griefs.

Is. 53:4,5; Is. 61:1-4

 Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness – that we might be made righteous with His righteousness.

Is. 53:10; 2 Cor. 5:21

 Jesus tasted death for us – that we might share His life.

Heb. 2:9; John 10:10

 Jesus was made a curse – that we might receive the blessing.  Gal. 3:13, 14; Deut. 21:22,23

Jesus endured our poverty – that we might share His abundance.

2 Cor. 8:9 & 9:8

 Jesus endured our shame that we might share His glory.

Matt. 27:35, 36; Heb. 2:10

Jesus endured rejection – that we might share His acceptance.

Matthew 27:45 – 51; Ephesians 1:3-6

 

What do you lay down and what do you take with you?

Soul Comfort

Soul Entitlements

Our idea of what well-being for our lives and souls should be

is greatly dependent on expectations that spring from our contexts and inner neediness. Weary hours and years can be spent groping for what we think should be due us.  If I hold over you a set of unspoken or subconscious expectations that stem from my reservoir of need and deficiency, disappointment is inevitable. Nothing on this earth will supply for such vast hunger. There may be a temporary supply, but to the caverns of our need only our Maker can reach!

He has decreed that we’re entitled to that reach but it often doesn’t fit our liking. His ways can look so odd, confusing and disrupting. Rarely do we understand them. As a baby is “entitled” to its mother’s milk and embrace, so we are entitled to our Maker’s care & attention. Only because He is that kind of being. But while a baby naturally demands, we must humbly open our hands to what’s given and to the hidden, obscure woo-ings that draw us to a deeper Source of love beyond.

“…such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.”  Psalm 139:6

Where do you notice subtle, misplaced entitlements in your soul?

(What do your unmet expectations tell you about yourself?)

“Only in God….”  Psalm 62:1

Soul Comfort, Soul Help

Soul Launch

 

I wrote the poem below to my 91 year old mother-in-law 2 days before she was launched into eternity.  She departed on Mother’s Day.  Perhaps there was a celebration they wanted her there for!  As my husband wrote:

Yes, she is fully alive now with the Lord. 

As I heard Dad whisper to her at the viewing… “I’m coming”.  We’ll be together again… joy and hope in sorrow. In loss we have felt the priceless embrace of the community we have in Christ.

 

Her laugh, her wit, her honesty

Don’t even come close to what you see

As her ruling passion and lived-out love

That showed in her steadfast serving the Above

Her mind set to please Him with all her energy

She delighted so many with her capacity

To handle with joy her family of nine

So rare does that kind of holy light shine

And it’s shining still from her arrows shot out

Infiltrating our world all about

Finding in their own darkness, that same light

To lift and guide and bring new life

As we stand on her shoulders peering into a new day

May her faithfulness and God-seeking launch us in a thousand ways!

 

We will miss her sharp wit and joyful way.  Thank you mom for your dedicated life.

 

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind…”  Ecc. 7:2  

 

We can learn a lot there.  What do you learn from looking at someone else’s life?

 

Soul Comfort

Soul Spring

 

“…let us grow in every way into Him who is the head–Christ.”

Ephesians 4:15

 

After a full-on week, I sat outside to enjoy the fresh spring air and gaze on the new. The new raspberry bush growth; new, bright colors

taking the place of the grey and worn; new leaves on the chestnut tree that was so barren and begging a few weeks ago. These sturdy leaves will shade, supply and delight us all the way through the heat and storms to next fall.

 

When I took a little time for my soul to catch up with life, I noticed a niggling disdain for a brother trying to hide in my heart. As I let it come to the surface, I realized my contempt, then recognized God’s kindness leading me to repentance. I’m so thankful He does that to clean us out. Spring-cleaning of the soul, like weeding and preparing soil for new growth. How unknowingly the soil of our hearts gets hard!

 

How’s the condition of the soil of your heart? What growth is springing new in you? In your spirit and soul? As I journey with those interested in exploring their inner beings and replacing old with new, I find delight in fresh insights and discoveries as though new worlds are opening up. New growth from places of brokenness and shame, growth that will shade, supply and delight the soul through heat and storms, because of newfound freedom and strength.

 

One fellow journeyer said:

 

“…life is such a paradox: full of joy and pain, laughter and tears, freedom and strain. The mix reminds us that this is not our home… we are just passing through. At the same time we want to reach our full potential as we travel – all for His glory!”

 

New life, ideas, and dreams often come from connection and growth; growth into the unique you he has created; becoming the you that is free to love and give. We’re finding that as we share our journeys.

 

“When a person tells his story and is truly heard and understood, he undergoes actual changes in his brain circuitry that correspond to a greater sense of emotional and relational connection, decreased anxiety, and greater awareness of and compassion for others’ suffering.”

Curt Thompson, M.D., Anatomy of the Soul

 

What are some ways you are cultivating new growth in your life?

Soul Comfort

Soul Rainbow

(Thoughts after PS, teaching elder at Sojo’s church, led us into Noah’s life in Genesis 8 & 9)

600 years strong, Nepic4oah was.

His “right” heart before God kept God from wiping out the whole race in his fury. (Gen. 6:7,8) Noah was a rock! He diligently obeyed for many years while withstanding ridicule & opposition, then weathered the terror of the flood.

Fast forward to the rainbow (Oh the bliss of this glorious thought!) depicting the unconditionally loving, utterly merciful, personal, 2nd chance-giving God of ours! Even when He knew those on earth would blow it again, His faithful love dictated that he make a way to really be right (eventually through the only Right One – Jesus).

But the insight we discovered together was the contrast in Noah’s stance before and after the rainbow. His fear of the Almighty One kept him from swaying as he built the ark and preached apocalypse to his jeering contemporaries. The fear of the catastrophic power of the God who brought the flood could have paralyzed him as he again stepped down onto dry ground. So the rainbow’s promise must have brought astounding relief for him and his family.

But, things were not all rosy after the rainbow. God’s word doesn’t hide the sin of the man whom God had called “righteous and blameless”. He’s found shamefully drunken… resulting in ruinous impact on his family for generations…

Did Noah lose his sense of purpose after the flood… and his alertness when there were no opponents hounding him? Could the fledgling remnant of humanity have fallen prey to more subtle, inner temptations of “self, home and the menial”? The confusing scene after the rainbow seems to scream a warning about the fragile human condition where inner temptations may actually outweigh outer ones.

The rainbow points to the Right One who walks alongside us in our sin, and kindly brings us to repentance again and again to make our hearts right. And we need that as much “at home” as “on the job” – maybe more! – When our guard is down and there’s not a big accomplishment we’re reaching for… when it’s down to the menial things of life.

“What would our house say about us?” …The place where we’re off duty and not on display building our arks?

That’s where we need the fear of God in us even more – for our good and protection! The inner temptations are more subtle and insidious, so our vigilance and our open ears to the Right One need to be alerted and strengthened.

As Brennan Manning puts it: [Accepting the gospel of grace]

“…means hanging in there with God, learning our mind tricks by experiencing how they defeat us, recognizing our avoidances, acknowledging our lapses, learning completely that we cannot handle it ourselves. This steady self-confrontation requires strength and courage. We cannot use failure as an excuse to quit trying.”  The Ragamuffin Gospel, p. 86

There’s a rainbow for your soul today – pointing to the promise of Jesus who saves us from ourselves, from the wrath of God….and from giving in to defeat.

What part of your heart needs that rainbow today?

 

Soul Comfort

Soul Peace

The stunning promise of peace was penned approximately 700 years before the Prince of Peace arrived; and penned in the midst of a battered, disappointed, dysfunctional, sorrow-filled world. Two of the prophets that foretold the coming of this Prince lamented similar problems of their day.

  • Isaiah – the degraded political condition of Israel
  • Micah – the social ills that sound like things we see on the news today

Micah predicted the fall of the capital of Israel with messages of doom, but then of hope. Reading his Old Testament writings you see the extent to which his nation had fallen, and the lies they lived by despite warnings and pleadings.

 

“Listen to me, you leaders of Israel!

You hate justice and twist all that is right.

You are building Jerusalem

on a foundation of murder and corruption.

You rulers make decisions based on bribes;

you priests teach God’s laws only for a price;

you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid.

Yet all of you claim to depend on the LORD.

“No harm can come to us,” you say,

“for the LORD is here among us.”

Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;

Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!” Micah 3:9-12

And we thought today’s world was bad….

Micah goes on to warn that their enemy would eventually come to destroy Jerusalem, but in the next breath he promises that a ruler would come from the little town of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days…to be their source of peace”. Micah 5:2,5

In the mire of violence and abandonment, a whisper of peace, like a mirage, gives hints of hope.

“He will be called… the Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6

 

As prophesied, that Prince born in Bethlehem, came to buy our peace and later said,

 

“My peace I give to you not as the world gives…” John 14:27

 

It’s beyond this world, it’s incomprehensible!

 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

(DS) Peace is not sleepy, lethargic passivity. Peace is freedom from anxiety – often in the midst of intensity and pressure. Peace is not the avoidance of risk, stress and tension – that’s just boring life! Peace is the choice to turn from self-reliance, which leads to destructive anxiety, to God-reliance, right in the middle of the high-stakes challenges. That’s where the gusto is – not in avoiding the risks, but in enjoying them with God. What happens when I turn from self-reliance to God under stress?

 

“Do not be anxious…let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6

 

By taking hold of his precious and magnificent promises, I partake of the divine nature – PEACE. Right in the midst of the battle and intensity …yes peace, beyond comprehension because I just tapped into the divine nature!

* * *

Where in your life do you need to tap into His promise of peace today?