The Meaning of Hope

Lately, I have heard myself repeating the cliché words “don’t give up hope!”  I cringe because it sounds so generic and does not convey the meaning that I really intend.  Hope is not merely wishful thinking. It’s not just having a positive attitude. It’s not just a nice word on my coffee mug that gives me a warm fuzzy as I sip my coffee early in the morning.  In the last six months, God has been unveiling the meaning of hope in my life.  

When I say “don’t give up hope”, I really mean “God’s hand is still in this and He is not done. You can’t see right now what He is doing in this painful situation, but God IS doing something, even if we can’t see it on the stage of life.”  If we stop hoping, we might miss out on seeing what God will do.  When I hope, I feel God guiding me to fly above the difficulty instead of getting stuck in the middle of it.  By keeping on hoping, it pulls me up out of the muck and mire and helps me see a bird’s eye view of the situation, even if it is extremely foggy.

On the Desiring God blog for December 8, 2011, Sam Crabtree explains the meaning of hope: “Hope believes that God is not done. Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not the feeling we will have. That is, hope is the (up) feeling we have that the (down) feeling we have is not permanent. “  Hope sees the ultimate reality. Trusting is God is the only way to sustain hope.

Sam Crabtree also draws a link between gratitude and hope.  Gratitude looks backward and fuels the hope that looks forward with reasonable confidence and expectation.  He goes on to say that ungrateful people tend not to be hopeful.  I resolve to become a more grateful and hopeful person!

God was not done when Noah was in the boat, Sarah was barren, Joseph was in prison, Moses was on the run from Pharaoh, the children of Israel were pinned against the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho blocked possession of the promised land, Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, Samson was seduced by a woman and blinded, Ruth was widowed, David was mocked as a boy facing a giant, Job’s children were all killed, government officials persecuted Daniel, Jonah was in the belly of a fish, Paul couldn’t get rid of this thorn, and Jesus was put in the grave. God is not done!

Hope is becoming multi-dimensional for me this season of commemorating the time when God poured out His love to us by becoming man. When He was born as a baby, He was not done. When He died on the cross, He was finished with His sacrificial work but He was not done acting in the world.  When He was resurrected, the sacrifice for sin was complete, but sin still exists.  We wait for Jesus’s return with hopefulness while we still live in the realm of the already/not yet. 

Word Biblical Commentary Volume 18B, Job 38-42 - Book Review

I have often found the Book of Job to be somewhat disturbing and hard to figure out.  Not necessarily the part where God allows Satan to take away everything that Job has – health, wealth, and children in order to show that Job would still be faithful to Him even without all the material blessings. It’s the last few chapters that befuddle me. Job asks questions about justice and why the wicked people get away with their behavior while those who do right are rewarded with suffering.  God answers him, but not with a direct answer to his question. Instead of answering “why”, He illustrates His power as the designer of creation. Job backs down, almost in a way that seems he knows he better just shut up, but he doesn’t apologize for his behavior or attitude in asking. 

When the opportunity to review the Word Biblical Commentary Volume 18B, Job 38-42, I was thrilled to receive this precious resource.  This title is the third volume in the set on the Book of Job, covering the final five and best chapters.  The commentary divides Job 38-42 into 6 parts. Each part contains the following sections: a bibliography, translation, notes on the translation, form/structure, comment, and explanation sections.  But this is only one-third of this volume of the Word Commentary. The remainder contains chapter bibliographies to support all three volumes on the Book of Job. A general bibliography with an outline for topics is the main part of this book with over 250 pages devoted to citing everything ever written about Job from scholarly papers to music and literature. The commentary concludes with a classified index, index of Hebrew words, and an index of authors.

Scholars may find the extensive bibliography to be a thorough and complete resource for everything ever written about Job.  The comments and explanation sections were of particular interest to me and was where I focused my reading of this commentary.  Dr. David Cline performs a magnificent job of portraying the variety of opinions from various scholars on controversial issues throughout the Book of Job, from larger overarching themes down to interpretational issues of a single Hebrew word (which is not transliterated but actually written in Hebrew, something I really appreciate).   

Whether a seminarian, scholar, pastor, Bible teacher, or just a Bible reader trying to gain deeper understanding, there are sections of this commentary for every type of person seeking to understand Job.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Life Is Hard: Hype or Hope

Life is hard. The world says if you don't like something, change it. If your marriage isn’t happy, try again with someone else. If you don’t like your job, find a new one. If your church doesn’t meet your needs, shop for one that does. To be happy is to be successful, and people know you are successful by what you possess or how important you are. You need all the information and communication in the palm of your hand. But it’s all hype. Life is still hard.

Even Christians offer hype as the answer to the hardness of life – just accept Jesus and all your life’s problems will be solved.  God wants to bless you with wealth and health.  Live by the formula in His Word – obey, serve, pray, claim His promises – and you will be victorious, happy, and successful in this world.  It’s all hype.

God says life is hard.  He knew it would be ever since Adam and Eve left the garden.  We fight the frustrations of living and work that seems futile.  Yes, marriage may feel less than beautiful, the job (or the job of searching for a job) may seem meaningless, and troubles may be closing in. As Christians, we don’t need to deny the difficulties or explain them away or hide them. We don’t need the hype.  We can admit them straight-on. But we don’t stop there.

Because God offers hope – hope, not hype.  The sweetness of hope comes when we kneel at the cross, (or in my case lately, when desperately grasping the foot of the cross).  He offers to supernaturally sustain us as we endure life’s adversities. When we are misunderstood, or when we fail, endurance may be wavering, but we have hope that the misunderstanding or failure will not be wasted, that God will use it. Meanwhile, He wants us to trust Him, to trust in His goodness, even when it seems obscured.

When life is hard, He wants us to hope in Him. Through the difficult things, He wants to illustrate facets of His character through our experience so that we can really identify with Him. Even in the darkness, He enables us to capture glimpses of an incident from His perspective and in an enlightening context.  Suddenly we can distinguish something shining and precious in the blackness.  In the midst of suffering, even if we still feel blind, we have the hope that someday we will be able to distinguish the beauty through the darkness, when we are enabled to glance backward through His eyes after we have reached the end. Then it will all be worth it to explode with joy unexplainable.  

Light is brighter next to darkness.  Though it is night, joy comes in the morning. Until then, I will skip the hype and choose hope.

As Silver Refined, by Kay Arthur - Book Review

If you are weary of the deceiver taking your thoughts captive, or if you often allow your thought process to send you into a spiral of defeat, Kay Arthur’s magnificent book As Silver Refined: Answers to Life’s Disappointments, can help you break the cycle.  The core of this book centers on the truth that life’s disappointments are actually God’s appointments to make us more like Christ.

Kay Arthur explains that you must know how to handle disappointment head on, in the battlefield of the mind, before you find yourself slipping and spiraling downward into the deadly D’s – discouragement, dejection, depression, and  despair. It is essential to blast out  disappointment with biblical truth, and she provides insights that will change your perspective and help you practice taking every thought captive before it grows into a stronghold. 

She addresses the issues of failure, regret, stress, physical pain, emotional anguish, etc.  While thoroughly explaining the sovereignty of God and His character, she also provides tools for overcoming strongholds, learning victory over dejection and despair, and practicing the secrets to everyday endurance.  In 15 chapters, she applies Bible verses abundantly and sprinkles brief stories of her own humbling experiences that felt like failures at the time but were actually used by God to transform her character to be more like His. 

A study guide in the last third of the book would be a great resource for either a women’s Bible study or for personal use to examine Scripture and process the truth in relation to past, present, and future. The questions are thought-provoking and present great opportunity for lively discussion.

During the duration of time spent reading this book, I was repeatedly pummeled by disappointing circumstances beyond my control.  I clung to the thesis of this book and absorbed every word, which brought me comfort beyond measure.  This is among one of my most favorite books that I have ever read, perhaps because it was so timely. I want to soak up every single word and saturate myself so fully with trust in God’s sovereignty so that I transform my thinking of disappointments into His appointments.  I will be reading this book again and again.

Check out chapter 1: http://www.scribd.com/doc/53092241/As-Silver-Refined-by-Kay-Arthur-Chapter-1-Excerpt

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.

A Woman's Guide to Fasting, by Lisa E. Nelson - Book Review

The spiritual discipline of fasting has always fascinated me, but in actual practice, all it had left me with is crankiness, weakness, and irritability.   Until recently.  Lisa Nelson’s book A Woman’s Guide to Fasting is the best material I have ever read on why and how to fast as a spiritual discipline. She explains that the point of fasting as a spiritual discipline is not necessarily giving up food. The purpose is to give up something good and acceptable because you want more of God.  When you take the legalistic aspect out of fasting and replace it with the heart, the spiritual discipline of fasting becomes a tool that God uses to transform you. 

Lisa Nelson explains that fasting is not a transaction, nor a way to work a deal with God. It’s not acting like a spoiled kid refusing to eat until we get what we want. It’s not a reward system where we try to earn the answers to our prayers.  Rather, fasting is declaring God is more important. It is the pathway to humility before Him. It’s about letting Him work on our hearts as we seek hard after Him.  She provides the following reasons to fast:

·         To help us grow spiritually and overcome sin

·         To empower our intercession and petitioning

·         To prepares us for spiritual warfare

·         As an expression of obedience to God’s call

·         As a response to a crisis in our lives.

In this practical book, Lisa Nelson explains the purposes of a fast and the types of fasts. You may have medical reasons or other reasons to not do a water-only fast, but there are lots of other effective options.   She repeatedly explains that it’s all about the heart, not the letter of the law. 

She also explains both physically and spiritually what to do while fasting, how to prepare for a fast, how to end a fast, and the effects of a fast.  In addition, she also explains the physical and spiritual aspects that happen during a fast -- what to expect, how to cope, and how to listen to God through His Word.  Whether you have health issues to consider, are a busy mom, or have an active schedule, Lisa Nelson offers realistic advice on how to work an effective fast into your life.

After reading this book, I started incorporating fasting into my life as a regular discipline and I am finding that my prayers are more focused and my heart is more submissive to God’s will. God is using it as a tool in my life to strengthen and empower me.

Except for the pretty cover, I see no reason why this book should be a guide for women only.  If you never thought of trying to fast as a spiritual discipline, this book will inspire you and give you ideas on how to make yourself available to God for a more intimate walk with Him.  If you ever tried fasting and felt like it failed or was meaningless, this book will give you all the information and encouragement you need to try it again.

Bethany House provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

God's Plan

"God has a plan for your life," I told my daughter nearly every night ever since she was a baby. I wanted her to know that God had a purpose in her existence and to feel her sense of worth. 

One night when she was four years old and I was tucking her in bed, she asked, "Where is my plant?"

"Your plant?" I questioned, furrowing my forehead in confusion.

"Yes, my plant!" she insisted. "You keep telling me God has a plant for my life and I keep wondering when He's going to give it to me."

She is 15 years old now, and whether God has a plant or a plan, she still wants it now.  She wants to see the blueprint of her life all mapped out - college, career, husband, family, etc.  At least she is firmly convinced that God has something in mind for her.

Or is that such a good thing? She is so firmly certain that God has a plan for her life, that her choices that she makes now will not necessarily impact that. In fact, she says that maybe God wants her to make specific mistakes so she can be more usable.

This thinking is totally foreign to me.  When I was a teenager, I never really felt for certain God had a plan for my life, and if He did, I was pretty certain I kept messing it up. I figured He gave up on me. I know better than that now. This is why it seemed so important for me to let my children know that they were significant to God and He had a plan and purpose for their existence.

It's hard trying to teach the balance between God's sovereignty and our responsibility.  Just because God has a plan doesn't mean it will be fulfilled when we deliberately choose our own way instead of His. Maybe it would have been better if I had said that God had a "dream" for her life.

God has a dream for how He wants us to live and how we become a greater reflection of Him. But sometimes we resist. Sometimes we can choose sin. Sometimes we think our own way is easier or we'll miss out on something if we go His way. Sometimes we can turn our back on Him and the dream might never be realized. Then we miss it.

But I also think that when we've missed it and we turn back to Him, he weaves our mistakes into the plan, His dream, and can change them into something beautiful. The biggest key is in our turning back to Him.  Still, the road might be more difficult as a result of our choices.  But for God, nothing is wasted.

Just when Satan thinks he's winning, God graciously takes the defeat and turns it into a magnificent victory.  Just like the cross.  Except in the cross, there were never any "mistakes".  Jesus was obedient to the very end. God knew before He created the world that there would have to be the cross.

So how do we live God's plan for our lives? I think that no matter what is thrown our way, He wants us to lean hard on Him, depend on Him, follow His ways. He wants us to know Him and His ways more by studying the Scripture and listening to the assurances He places on our hearts. He wants us to talk to Him and to listen so that we can see from His perspective. He wants us to believe Him, trust Him, and to obey Him.  He wants us to love others and to show them His greatness. 

If we are doing these things, then we are living His plan, no matter where the road takes us--even if it doesn't fit the neat little map we have pictured in our minds, even if it's through the valleys of the shadow of death.  It's always worth it to obey the Father and trust Him - just like Jesus.  If we do, in the end our joy will be full and complete.

Nearing Home: Life, Faith, & Finishing Well - Book Review

“I had been taught all of my life how to die, but no one had ever taught me how to grow old,” said Billy Graham several years ago in an interview by Newsweek.  That started him thinking about writing on the topic of aging.  In Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well, the 93-year-old evangelist offers his lessons learned, advice, and encouragement for preparing for and dealing with the difficulties of illness, retirement and aging.  While aging is full of challenges, it is also a time that can be full of effectiveness and meaningfulness in living out God’s plan for your life, because God has a plan for you as long as you are living.  The best way to meet the challenges of old age is to prepare before they arrive. When we plant our roots deep in the Word of God, our faith is strengthened and He gives us strength to prepare us for whatever life has in store.

Whether you are 29 or 99, there is much to ponder in these ten short chapters on how you are living out the days of your life and how to be hopeful for the years ahead. But most of all, the words in this book will fill you with a sense of hope, no matter which season of life you are living. If you are fearful of the change of seasons or uncertain of what the upcoming season will bring, Billy Graham’s spiritual and practical advice will fill you with courage and prepare you to face it with victory. I have underlined and highlighted many words of wisdom from this encouraging and useful book. It holds a permanent place in my personal library and I plan to open it frequently in the years to come.

BookSneeze® provided me a complimentary copy of this book.  I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Jesus Experiment - Book Review

“WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do?) is a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. Yet it almost seems cliché to ask the question. But before we DO something, we are thinking something, and feeling something, both of which potentially impact how we do something.    When I’m in a specific situation where I have a choice to make, I have rarely stopped to ask myself “what would Jesus THINK?” or “what would Jesus FEEL?”

The book The Jesus Experiment, by Bill Perkins, brought the mental aspect of being like Jesus to my attention.  Conforming my thoughts and feelings to those of what Jesus might think or feel impacts what I will say and do.   To get such a grip at the very front on my thoughts and feelings would truly be life-transforming and this book was just what I needed to begin moving my head in this direction. 

Bill Perkins states that the purpose of the book is to show how to have a real-time on-going connection with Christ so we can test His promise to give us abundant life. If we line up our feelings, thoughts, words, and deeds to be guided by Jesus, we will experience the abundant life He offers.  He dares us to try the experiment and see what happens.  But be aware that the abundant life is not based on a health/wealth prosperity-gospel life.  Rather, the abundant life (by his definition based on Scripture) consists of having our basic needs met, a life of power and purpose, a circle of close and trusted friends, and accomplishing God’s will. 

This practical book is divided into twelve weeks of looking at what Jesus did and thought in private, in public, and with people, with each chapter ending in reflection and Bible study.  Each chapter looks at some aspect of what Jesus would feel, think, say and do in the situation we are in and comparing it to what we are feeling, thinking, saying, and doing.  Does it line up? If not, how can we prepare for the next time we’re in a similar situation?

As Bill Perkin’s personably and honestly relayed his own weaknesses, he encouraged me to keep striving even as I lament how much unlike Jesus I am. I must note that I disagreed theologically with his interpretation of what Jesus laid aside when he came to earth as referenced in Philippians 2:5-8 (I think it was status, not divine attributes), but he is still able to make his point soundly with other Scripture passages that point to how Jesus depended completely on the Father.  I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for a review. 

Doing "Whatever"

You might think no one notices, but they do.  You might think your hard work, your integrity, and choosing the right thing when no one is there to see are invisible before the world.  But maybe it’s not.

You might think only God notices when you do “whatever” for His glory – and that is good enough, but it would feel more fruitful if the “whatever” impacted the world for Him and produced visible fruit.  Maybe when you think you are invisible, you really aren’t.  

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on the floor next to my closet in my bedroom, tying my tennis shoes for a hike in the woods.  My twelve-year-old nephew walked in unexpectantly from outside through the sliding glass door of my bedroom and was startled when he saw me.  He apologized profusely, over and over, and I kept telling him it was okay.  Still apologizing, I tried to re-assure him, checking to make sure I really was wearing pants or a shirt, that he hadn’t actually walked in on me half-naked. Not sure what he thought he saw, I finally informed him I was just putting on my shoes and it really wasn’t a big deal, to come on in.  Relief replaced the guilt on his face as he crossed the threshold and said, “Oh! Okay, I thought you were praying.” 

As I thought more about it later, he must have thought I was praying when I was actually putting on shoes because he had caught me down on the floor in my bedroom before, on my face in desperate submission before God, unaware I had been observed. I have been doing that a lot lately. 

One day this summer at work, I was overseeing a driller as he probed deep holes into the ground to evaluate the extent of contamination from an underground chemical.  While the sun cooked us at 110 degrees that afternoon, he continued to labor hard, all by himself on a two-man job, never once complaining.  Early into the evening at the last hole, we plopped on the grass with exhaustion, waiting for the results so we would know if the day’s work was finished or more holes were needed.  He smiled cheerfully and announced, “I’m really praying this one will be clean.” I was too!

I knew immediately his brightness and work ethic originated from the light of Jesus in him.  I will likely never see him again, but I will never forget he worked hard without a single gripe on a miserable day conducting mundane, tedious work that may have seemed senseless.   He may think it went unnoticed, but it impacted me.  I’m sure God was proud of him that day and all the angels were applauding because he was doing his “whatever” for the glory of God.

You might think what you do every day is insignificant. But He wants us to do “whatever” it is that we are doing for His glory (I Corinthians 10:31).

And who knows just what people see in us on a day-to-day basis? Whether checking out at the grocery store, typing a report, taking care of our homes, loving our husbands, or teaching our children –  our efforts will not go unnoticed. And even should you think they do, God and a whole realm of the unseen are watching you on the stage of your life and He and the angels are yelling “encore!!” while you are doing “whatever” for the glory of God.

Afraid to Believe in Free Will - Book Review

I never thought about free will outside the realm of theology, so I was confused as I started reading the book Afraid to Believe in Free Will by Carl E. Begley.  Rather than an Arminian versus Calvinism argument, it is focused on free will in the discipline of psychology.

Since this was a new concept to me (the psychological aspect of free will versus determinism), I needed some definitions up front to know what the author was discussing.  Who really believes that we are predispositioned to turn out the way we are, that our choices are already determined? Free will upsets psychology, which is based on a system of fixed relations.

By the time I got to the second chapter, I was asking who was afraid of free will (as defined psychologically, not theologically)? What’s to be afraid of? Isn’t free will obvious? But he points out how much our culture and media are opposed to the idea of free will by searching out root causes for destructive behavior. A violent crime is committed because the perpetrator’s past as a victim of child abuse or an alcoholic – well, the explanation of whether or not an alcoholic has free will boggles my mind. The author says, “It would help if the media would stop affirming all the excuses and send the message that the person acting destructively is responsible for the bad consequences.”

He goes on to say that he estimates that 30 percent of our behavior is not free, but determined.  “We need to know when we are powerless and have to rely on outside help; we need to know when we have the power and responsibility to act on our own, without making excuses.”

Finally he approached the theological argument in the latter part of chapter 3. He claims that Jonathan Edwards and R.C. Sproul resist the importance of free will and rely so intently on emphasizing God’s sovereignty that they leave no place for human faculties.  When the creature is diminished, the Creator is more glorious. The author says, “Taking this to its logical conclusion, we have to say that it is more glorious of God to create a creature with little or no free will than to create a human with authentic free will.” This isn’t the logical conclusion for me!  He further accuses them of making so much of the irresistibility of grace that there is no place for free will.

This book is very academic and requires complete concentration.  It’s deep. I confess I skimmed the parts that didn’t interest me (a couple entire chapters). The biggest thought that I take away from this book is how often do I rely so much on the sovereignty of God that I fail to acknowledge my own responsibility or even take action? In a seminary or college setting, there is much material here for students to discuss and argue.

To comply with regulations by the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, I am disclosing that BookSneeze® provided me a complimentary copy of this book.  I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own.