Mother's Day

I read a column on Mother's Day in the newspaper
yesterday, after sending Glen off to Germany. In it
a young woman with small children and a busy husband
was given advice on how to have a happy Mother's Day.
"First you lower your expectations. Then you lower
these expectations further, and finally, you lower even
your lowest expectations."

Expectations have always been my problem. I have
discovered over the years that high expectations end
in disappointment and self-pity. Our culture hypes the
day which can make it worse. This past Mother's Day
I joined with another woman who was celebrating the
day alone and we enjoyed the gorgeous weather with
a hike in a state park, followed by an early dinner on
our deck surrounded by tubs of lovely spring blooms.
I had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Questions

As I read through the 15th chapter of the first
book of Corinthians, I am struck by the fact that
Paul builds something from the very first verse.
It is impossible to pick a verse here and there,
because each verse stands on the previous verses.

Paul begins the chapter with the foundation of
our faith. Christ's death, burial and resurrection.
Then he spends verses 12 to 34 on what the
resurrection is all about, "for if Christ did not
rise from the dead then our preaching is in vain
and your faith is in vain." IT IS IN VAIN!

Paul asks questions, which seem to be the very
questions the church asked him in a letter. It
appears that the questions asked came out of
discussions and probably some heated arguments
among the believers. I am so glad that Paul took
seriously their questions and spent a lot of time
laying out the truth. I would rather look at
resurrection than the suffering of Job, wouldn't you?
So, beginning next week, I want to tackle this chapter.
And, I promise you, I will only scratch the surface.
Stories:
http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Worthless, Empty, Meaningless

Paul spends 58 verses discussing the resurrection
in the 15th chapter of 1Corinthians. Handel used
some of it in The Messiah where the trumpet sounds
the coming of the Lord for His bride. How I loved the
sound of the trumpet at Carnegie Hall in NYC!

In the first couple of verses, Paul reminds the
church of the Gospel he preached to them by
which they were saved and then he encourages
them to hold fast to this word--"unless you
believed in vain."

VAIN: Something that is worthless, empty, having
no substance, fruitless, ineffectual.

Well, is our faith something that has no substance,
 that makes no difference, something empty and
meaningless? Is it rooted in imagination only, or
does it carry us through death into eternal life? 

Dysfunctional Christians

Last week I looked at the seed falling into the ground--
a place of death, followed by resurrection. The seed
has taken me to 1Corinthians 15, a favorite of mine.
I hear trumpets every time I read it because Paul goes
from the seed, to resurrection and then to transformation.
Our resurrection and transformation!

I find it interesting that Paul wrote both the "love"
chapter (I Corinthians 13) and the "resurrection" chapter
to his most dysfunctional church. It is an encouragement
to me as I look at all of the dysfunctional Christians around
me. My friends and family would  categorize me in that
group! However, I know that all of us are favorites with
Papa. He is captivated by our beauty, by our individuality
and by our love for Him.

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Reunion

Well, this past Saturday I met with 30 women who had
trained with me at Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing
in the class of 1963. Do the math and you will find that it
was our 50th reunion! The school was a three year diploma
program that had hardly changed since the school opened
75 years earlier! The entire cost of our three years was $300.
Why? Because the students carried the load at the hospital.
I could go on but I feel a story springing up...

Did you know that all of us do change over 50 years? As we
came close to fellow classmates our eyes would meet, then
came the sweep followed by the blank stare as we tried to
put the face with someone we had known. Name tags helped,
sort of. As the afternoon progressed we felt more comfortable
because voices and mannerisms varied only slightly. In a very
short time conversation was punctuated by gales of laughter.
I got up the nerve to ask one gray headed "older" woman if
she had recognized me. She paused and said, "no."

Read the stories:

 http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Judgement?

"It is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgement." (Heb 9:27)

My eyes blurred over. Not only was that
verse underlined but it was highlighted in
my bible! The words rang in my ears, and
my heart sank. The picture of a huge throne
and an even bigger God who leaned down
to pass judgement on me, rose before my
eyes. I then thought of all the things that I
had done--not good. And so it went for many
years. Then I took the time to read the entire
passage but especially the verses before and
after. Context is so important!

"For Christ has entered...into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of
God on our behalf...he has appeared 
once for all at the end of the ages to put 
away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And just as it is appointed for man to die
once, and after that the judgement,
so Christ, having been offered once to 
bear the sins of many, will appear a 
second time, not to deal with sin but 
to save those who are eagerly waiting 
for him." (Heb 9:24,26-28)

This is long, but, dear readers, many of you
are laboring under the fear of death and
judgement just as I was. The author is
emphasizing that Jesus died once to take
care of all of our sin. We died when He died
and the judgement of our sin fell on Him.
We will not be judged for our sin again.
Do you know this gracious God?

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

When Christ died, I Died

How in the world is this possible? Christ died over
2,000 years ago. Paul nails it in Romans 6:2,6

"Do you not know that all of us who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?...
For if we have been united with him in a death like
his, we shall also certainly be united with him in a
resurrection like his. Knowing this, that our old 
man was crucified with Him, that our body of 
sin might be done away with, that we should no 
longer be slaves to sin."

I understood this better when it was explained to
me that Jesus not only died in time but He also
died outside of time because He is eternal, and
dwells in eternity. As a Believer, I dwell in Him
which means that I dwell in the eternals as well
as in time:

When Christ Died, I died.

When Christ was buried, I was buried.

When Christ arose, I arose.

If I grasp the truth of this, my behavior changes

and I find myself living out of His grace instead

of law. This sounds so cut and dried but, really,
it is a game changer in the Christian life.

See the new story:

 http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html