Adoption thought: Who is like the Lord? Psalm 113

When we read this in the Bible know this is a rhetorical question:  Who is like the Lord?.  Anton is at the age where we can do devotions together.  Of course, I'd really like to find time for myself to do more in-depth study, and I haven't lately.  And I really miss that.  But at least I'm reading and sharing with Anton.  We use D. A. Carson's modified version of M'Cheyne's Reading Plan, as seen here and we try to read 4 chapters a day and talk about it.

In today's reading, I thought of adoption when I read Psalm 113.  Here is a copy/paste from ESV:

Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!

(Psalm 113 ESV)

But the last verses.  He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.  He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.  Praise the LORD!  I also like the imagery of God in heaven looking down and working His sovereignty here on earth.  

I explained what "barren" means just gave Anton and hug and reminded him what a blessing is to us, and that we feel more blessed than he is, but he's blessed too.

Father's Day

I found an picture Anton made a long time ago, and thought it would be a nice post for Father's Day.  We were just going through all his old artwork the other day.

The boy and the girl in the picture are Chris and me.  The yellow figure is Jesus and he's holding Anton.  It says "I love God" on the top in symbols.  

I think he drew this after I explained to him that Jesus is in heaven and He placed you in our family.  OK, correction.  so I just asked him if that is what he was thinking when he drew this.  He said, "No, we're in heaven together."  And I asked what the red mat was underneath us.  That is a carpet going to Jesus.  So, we're all there together and not that we brought him to Jesus.  So, not quite what I thought when I started typing this post, but still a nice Father's Day post.  

Then he just hugged me and said, "I can't wait to see His glory, can't you?"  

Sweet boy.  

I have a wonderful church family!

From last Sunday...everyone in our church is so excited for us.  It was a real encouragement to my faith that this WILL happen (at times I'm daunted by all the work that has to be done and I focus on that so much out of necessity.)

Our church, that we've recently switched to, has a lot of adoptive families, children adopted all over the world, and many families in the process.  It was a great Sunday.   I think the girls will really like our church, as Anton does.  I can see them getting a lot of attention.  www.christcommunityhouston.org   But it is the body of Christ that is the main thing, not a building or organization 

Our other church was so instrumental to Anton's early life.  We are still so very thankful for them and their ministry and they look forward to meeting our girls also, and they have contributed as well to this adoption.  Anton made so many friends there and was such a source of joy, and social interaction for him.

I'm so thankful for the love of Christ in His people.

Anxiety and Psalm 23

How do I deal with anxiety?  I could never be like Jesus, asleep in the boat when there is a crazy storm.  I wish I could say I was like David who could sleep soundly even while Saul was pursuing him to kill him.

My natural tendency is to stress out, asks for prayer before I really have gone to the Lord, talk to my husband who is a great listener, talk to a friend, go running.  I seldom reach for a glass of wine because alcohol is a depressant and messes up sleep.  I've never taken any medication for anxiety and I'm not 100% against it.  I've been tempted in times of extremely difficult trials to just go into the doc and ask for a temporary supply of something, to get over a hurdle, like when Chris was a pastor and he was having a difficult time, or when my mom was dying.  But all this, while not bad, represents a heart that is not quiet.

I've been taught that I need to draw near to the Lord even though stressing out and worrying feels natural.  Even if I reached for a temporary fix, I'd still have draw near to the Lord.  We really don't have a choice if you think about it.  But it is a blessing to know that the One Who is sovereign and created it all has a good purpose in all these trials; and one of those purposes is to know Him more and to be more transformed.  Wow.  That is better than having a perfect stress-free life.

I look to David who used these times to draw near to Him because that is what He wants us to do.  These are great times to draw near to Him.

So, what am I anxious about.  There are several things that I'm anxious about to varying degrees, but when you add it all up, it is a lot.   Going to a foreign country and adopting is exciting, but makes me a little anxious.  I remember holding Anton in the airport and trying to carry luggage and catch a flight out of London that we were about to miss.  What about my age.  I'm 48.  Even though Chris and I feel pretty young for our ages, we'll be getting up there in years when our kids graduate from school.  What about retirement?   Should I ever go back to work?  Will I really be able to homeschool these kids adequately and be humble enough to change course if need be?  What about Chris and his career goals and his health and happiness.  There must a litter of puppies (probably coyotes), in the thick brush behind our house.  Do I need to rescue them?  or throw some food over the fence?  They howl whenever a siren goes by.  What about my grandmother.  What is God calling me to do to help her?  This last one wakes me up at night, and why I'm writing this blog at 4:32 AM.

So, I memorized word perfect Psalm 23 tonight, finally.  I've been a Christian over 24 years and I have never quite nailed it.  I skip verses and butcher it.  3 year olds know this Psalm!  I'm trying to get Anton to memorize it.

Anton and I have a some music that is KJV.  I don't really like the thy's and thou's, eth's and est's but it seems to flow and poetic.

Here it is without looking:

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul.
H leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemy, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  

Now to check my work:   Cool, I did pretty well, just missed some punctuation, things like that.

trick:  I memorized:  "maketh, leadeth, restoreth, leadeth"  (just those 4 words in that order and that cued me :O)  And then "preparest, anointest, runneth."  and the rest is home free.  Here is a lovely song I found, it isn't the one Anton and I listen to, both are very good.

Getting our of our comfort zones

I saw this on Facebook and I had to put on my blog.  This is so true.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  2 Cor 12:9 NASB

Jesus is the Vine

We want to adopt perhaps 2 orphans from overseas orphanage.  But I realize how weak I am.  I am not sufficient for this task.  I am trying to prepare myself, save money, get my body stronger through exercise, prepare my home, etc.  And we're encouraged by the progress (that He is in).  But I still can't do any of this in my own strength.  I'm selfish by nature.  The biggest preparation I need to do is on my heart, as I will need to love with the love of Christ (1 Corinithans 13 love), that every child needs.  I hope to present Jesus to them, and how can I do that without Him.

We are not seeking "good works" to earn God's favor.  We don't believe that when we die, God will look at our good deeds and our bad deeds and say, "OK, you adopted some orphans even though you were living pretty selfishly at other times, so we'll let you in."  We are resting in his finished work on the cross that we have accepted.

Our motives are for His joy in being a branch on the vine and simply bearing fruit for Him.

I hope that whatever "fruit" we do is in Him, not just adoption.

This is from one of my favorite chapters in Scripture, John 15.  Where Jesus is giving important last words to his disciples before he leaves this world.  Don't overlook the last verse, these things are for our joy, that is His joy.

1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.  

I can't add anything to that, so wanted this to be short.

On a side note, but not entirely unrelated:  Happy Shavout!  It was on this day that Moses received the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai.  The Day of Pentecost was already being celebrated by Israel before Jesus came.  But just as Jesus died during Passover, so He sent His Holy Spirit on another holiday, the Day of Pentecost, and so the day means something special to the Church.  We cannot keep the Law, it is impossible.  We may not have murdered, but we have hated.  Christ was able to keep the Law because He was God.  We have the very life of Him for those who believe, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the ability to bear fruit, even as we live in these bodies.  Praise God!

How I Named My Blog / Movie Recommendation

I named my blog, as you can see in web browser above:  www.our-resting-place.blogspot.com

"You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You." ~Augustine

Augustine of Hippo, who lived in the 4th century (beginning of Dark Ages) came to Christ later in his life.  He saw his life before Christ as burdensome, he carried the weight of sin for so long as an irreligious libertine, and in his search he didn't understand "grace" but saw the requirements of God as a burden.  After a lot of searching, and after his mother's many prayers, the grace of God mercifully came down and he partook of the saving nature of Christ.  He saw 2 worlds, the City of God (eternal) and the City of Man (temporal and subordinate).  His theological writings influenced many great theologians after him.  Catholics and Protestants alike draw from his writings (and from what I understand, his writings show a progression in his understanding, so he wasn't always consistent in everything he wrote).

He influenced a girl name Sophie Scholl who quoted him.
  

I think I heard the quote above, before I saw this movie, but I heard it again in: Sophie Scholl, the Final Days.  She is now one of my heroes.  The movie is based entirely on a true story.

Sophie was a a brave young girl, at only 21 years old, who was willing to die, like Bonhoeffer, or Stauffenberg, in order to do the right thing for the City of God.  

Through her college connections and brother, she was involved in a group called, The White Rose.  This  organization, wasn't necessarily "Christian," (can read their pamphlets here), but more political, but I believe some of the the participants, maybe not all (not sure), derived their motivation from a Christian worldview.  There is  Biblical thought in the pamphlet, but the writings draw from many religious philosophies, thus making it not entirely "Christain" (but maybe they just wanted to have a broad appeal to many audiences.)  I think there was one main writer of the pamphlets in this group (Alex Schmorel), if I remember correctly from when I researched this a while back.  They wanted to tell the truth about Hitler and what he was doing, even exposing that Jews were dying in concentration camps.  The White Rose wanted to motivate people to resist   Hitler's regime.

(spoiler alert)  She didn't want to be caught, of course, no martyr's complex, but she was caught along with others and given a quick trial.  She was executed quickly, only 4 days after she was caught.  It wasn't instant, but she mustered up remarkable bravery before her death.  The movie brings out that process as well as the court proceedings.  There is a distinct Christian worldview throughout the movie.

The movie sought to be completely accurate based on her quotes and people that came into contact with her, albeit some information is second-hand.  It is in German (with English subtitles available), German-made, and that gives it the more accurate feel as well.  It is one of those movies that have you on the edge of your seat.  I can't tell you how incredibly well-done the movie is.  (I made some popcorn before we began the movie and I couldn't eat it, I was so riveted.)  By the way, if you saw Valkyrie, and feel that you've seen this movie already because they're both about brave heroes during WWII, that movie is not on the same level as Sophie Scholl at all.

Her excutioner had killed over 3,000 people and remarked he had never seen anyone die as peacefully as she did.

She is quoted as once saying,

Stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone.

Her last words were:

How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?

For sure she was an activist and motivated to change things because of her faith in Jesus Christ, and I think Christ was not just her example of self-sacrifice, but her Joy and source of strength and courage.

Her parents were Protestant.  Her father particularly loved theology of the Reformers, including Luther, and that love spread to her, as evidenced by some of her quotes.  Her worldview was developed in her younger years but was solidified as she matured, and applied what she learned in the home.  There seems to be a progression of her understanding of her theology and how that would influence her actions, just like with Augustine.

In the movie, she was in prison, and she quoted Augustine as she looked out the window (if I remember correctly).  "Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you." (she was having anxiety attacks, knowing what her future was, she longed for the comfort only God can give during that difficult time)  When I heard that, I thought, what a great verse!  Is that in the Bible?  Psalms? I Googled it.  (don't you just love that you can Google anything and find it??)  It was Augustine.  

Here are a few other quotes:

I know that life is a doorway to eternity, and yet my heart so often gets lost in petty anxieties. It forgets the great way home that lies before it. 

I will cling to the rope God has thrown me in Jesus Christ, even when my numb hands can no longer feel it. 

An end in terror is preferable to terror without end. 

But I want to have that kind of love, that denies itself, that takes risks that God might be calling me to, that has peace that surpasses all understanding in Christ, and He is a source of that love.

In the political world, (the City of Man), as we see tyrant leaders, even in America, who find the God of the Bible and religious freedoms distracting from their evil and hypocritical agenda, I believe we are called to to stand up for (with an attitude of thankfulness and respect for governing authorities according to Romans 13):  the lives of the orphans, the unborn, the persecuted, the rights to worship God freely and pursue our service and growth in Him, and to tell others about Christ.  We need to be educated voters. We should blog, Facebook, tell others the truth because the MSM (main stream media) will not.  Remember that Hitler was voted for democratically by people who were duped and only thinking short term of their own personal pocketbooks.  Stalin was worshiped even as he sent them to die in the gulags because the press carried the myths.  These are things worth fighting for especially those who are apart of the City of God, as we rest in Him.

Sir Winston Churchill wrote in particular of the German resistance:

The political history of all nations has hardly ever produced anything greater and nobler than the opposition which existed in Germany. These people fought without any help, whether from within or from without, driven only by the uneasiness of their consciences. As long as they were alive, they were invisible to us, because they had to put on masks. But their deaths brought their resistance to light.

C. S. Lewis wrote:

If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages....all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither.

I'm so thankful I live in a country that gives us the opportunity to adopt. and help orphans thrive and come to a knowledge of Him.  If we lived under a Hitler or Stalin, I don't know that we could have anything to offer these orphans.   This is the kind of freedom the founders of America understood, not freedom for the sake for greed and materialism, but to be free to help others and be instruments of his grace.  To God be the glory.

Future Grace

Below is a copy/paste from John Piper's Future Grace article (from book), also found here on Desiring God website.  We were watching a video yesterday with our Bible study, by Piper and he quoted his "waterfall" quote.  I tried to find it, but I found this article instead.  I thought it was so good, I'd put it on my blog, here :O).  It is a good reminder for me (and maybe you too) as we wait for a referral, to give thanks that referral will most likely happen, and God knows this child(ren) and has chosen them for us.  Even through the hiccups and flawed process.  Or maybe the waterfall illustration is a good way to direct our prayers for a decision, if a referral has already been presented, "Lord,  where are you directing us to be instruments of your grace, direct us."  For sure, a good reminder in the Christian life in general, to be thankful for what God will do in the future.

My paraphrase on the waterfall quote I couldn't find:  we are to walk under that waterfall of grace that comes down from God, because all the needs around us, our home, our church, the widows, the orphans, the sick and dying, etc., we want to be instruments of His grace, as opposed to doing these things in our own strength, perhaps overwhelmed, we may just give up, retreat from opportunities to show His love because we feel we can't really make a difference, or of burn out, or cold spirit.  And it should be a comfort to us that God is not calling us to do everything, or be in two places at one time.

The waterfall analogy helps me in self-pity...say, if I wasn't invited to a gathering, or perhaps I'm not feeling useful or needed in a particular area, even rejected.  This is not where the waterfall is, but its somewhere!  We are to find that waterfall of His grace, and give thanks.  He has a purpose for us, or we wouldn't be here.

I'll find that waterfall quote and post later.

update:  I found it:  " ...you posture yourself, and you maneuver your life, and you devote energy and effort and time and creativity to positioning yourself under the waterfall of God's continual blessing, so that he remains the source and you remain the empty receiver. You remain the benificiary, he remains the benefactor; you remain hungry, he remains the bread; you remain thirsty, he remains the water. You don't ever do the blasphemous role-reversal on God. We've got to find a way to serve in a way that is in the strength that God supplies. I am on the receiving end when I am serving. Otherwise I put God in the position of a beneficiary; I become his benefactor, and now I am God. And there are many such religions in the world."

FUTURE GRACE

Gratitude is a joyful emotion for worship, but a dangerous motive for obedience. We are commanded in no uncertain terms to be thankful. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts ... and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). How can we not be thankful when we owe everything to God?

But when it comes to obedience, gratitude is a dangerous motive. It tends to get expressed in debtor’s terms. For example, “Look how much God has done for you. Shouldn’t you, out of gratitude, do much for him? Or: “You owe God everything that you are and have. What have you done for him in return?”

I have at least three problems with this kind of motivation. First, it is impossible to pay God back for all the grace he has given us. We can’t even begin to pay him back, because Romans 11:35-36 says, “Who has given a gift to God that he might be repaid? [Answer: nobody] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.” We can’t pay him back because he already owns all we have to give him.  

Secondly, even if we succeeded in paying him back for all his grace to us, we would only succeed in turning grace into a business transaction. If we can pay him back it was not grace. If someone tries to show you a special favor of love by having you over for dinner, and you end the evening by saying that you will pay them back by having them over next week, you nullify their grace and turn it into a trade. God does not like to have his grace nullified. He likes to have it glorified (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).  

Thirdly, focusing on gratitude as a motive for obedience tends to overlook the crucial importance of future grace. Gratitude looks back to grace received in the past and feels thankful. Faith looks forward to grace promised in the future and feels hopeful. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1).  

This faith in future grace is the motive for obedience that preserves the gracious quality of human obedience. Obedience does not consist in paying God back and thus turning grace into a trade. Obedience comes from trusting in God for more grace—future grace—and thus magnifying the infinite resources of God’s love and power. Faith looks to the promise: “I will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9), and ventures, in obedience, to take the land.

The biblical role of past grace—especially the cross—is to guarantee the certainty of future grace: “He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all (past grace), how shall he not with him freely give us all things (future grace)?” (Romans 8:32). But trusting in future grace is the motive and strength of our obedience. The more we trust in future grace the more we give God the opportunity in our lives to show the glory of his inexhaustible grace. So take a promise of future grace and do some radical act of obedience on it. God will be mightily honored.

Stepping forward onto future grace,

Pastor John