December 21, 2018

Choose Happy

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. – Psalm 1:1-2

What does it mean to be blessed? We see that word in the Bible again and again, depending on your Bible translation. It’s a good word. Religious. But what does it mean for us?

Various dictionaries use words such as consecrate or holy, sacred or bringing good fortune. All those things are wonderful things and we long to be worthy. We want to be blessed in sorrow and pain (as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount) just as we want to be blessed in mercy and peace.

But what about happiness? We can be stoic and tell ourselves to remain strong in the Lord as we suffer. We can bear our sorrows and tell ourselves we are blessed to walk with Christ during a difficult time. But do we ever have a chance to be happy? Does God want that for us?

Of course, He does! God didn’t create us to suffer through life. Sure, we’re going to experience pain and heartache but it’s doesn’t have to consume us. It doesn’t have to define who we are.

In her latest book, Lisa Harper digs back into the original Hebrew to discover what this psalm really says. Did you know that the Hebrew word used for blessed is asre, which can be translated into with “happy” or “blessed”?

Go back and reread the Psalm 1:1-2. Now substitute the word “happy” for the word “blessed.” Are you happy when you walk in the ways of the LORD? Are you happy when you meditate on His Word?

Let’s go back to the dictionary. What does “happy” mean? Contentment, pleasure, favored by luck or fortune, delighted, pleased, joyful. Do you associate those things with external enticements, such as new stuff, job, food? Or do you think about happy when it comes to God? That’s a question Lisa posed in her book, The Sacrament of Happy.

Are you happy that next week we’ll celebrate the birth of Christ? Or are you feeling the stress of preparations and gifts and company?

Are you happy that God loves you and me enough to send His Only Son into a broken world to save it? Or are you so focused on your present circumstances that you’ve missed the greatest gift ever given?

Are you happy to fill your heart with songs of joy and praise for the Messiah? Or are you so caught up in the trappings the world insists on that you miss the reason we celebrate Christmas?

Each of us has a choice to make: Are we going to choose to be happy with what’s truly important or are we going to choose stress and disappointment as we follow the world?

I choose happy. What about you?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

True Faith Grows Deep

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” -- Luke 8:15

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. -- Psalm 1:3a

Her roots grow deep. She has weathered many a storm in her life. That’s natural for a widow who has passed her 80^th birthday. But to lose four friends in four days would be overwhelming for anyone.

Yet her faith stands strong. She speaks of rejoicing that her friends have gone home, that they are no longer trapped in bodies that didn’t function too well anymore. She reminds us that cancer ravages the spirit as well as the body. She speaks of hope and good times.

And, still, she grieves. Her card-playing friend, with whom she and others shared many joyful afternoons, has gone home. I saw her faithfulness as his cancer was diagnosed and his spirit fell into depression. She and others took food several days a week and continued to bring laughter, and card playing, into his life for as long as he was able.

I saw how she prayed and checked on the wife of another friend, as he lay unresponsive in a hospital bed. She spoke of the need for a living will so that spouses and children aren’t faced with agonizing decisions in the final days and moments of our time here on earth.

She shows us all how to live our faith in the midst of tragedy. In times of great grief, it is normal to question God. We don’t understand, especially, when it comes again and again and again and again. Surely it is too much. Unless, of course, your roots grow deep down in the soil.

Jesus spoke of this when He taught the parable of the four soils. The first seeds fell on the ground and were quickly eaten by birds. Then seeds fell on rocky places. The seeds sprouted quickly but didn’t last long. Because the soil was shallow, when the sun came up the plants were scorched and withered and died.

Other seeds fell among thorns, which choked the plants. The last seeds fell on good soil, where they grew and produced much fruit. Why? Because their roots grew deep and they could weather any storm life through at them.

My friend is like that good soil. Life has thrown tragedy at her time and again, yet she still calls herself blessed. Her health, her ability to live alone, being financially comfortable, her friends and family. She counts her blessings. A lesson for us all.

This dear woman teaches us so much by her actions, by her words, by her deep faith.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Who Influences Your Faith?

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

-- Psalm 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Who is your counsel? Who are your friends? What movies and television shows do you watch? What books do you read? Where do you hang out?

We like to pretend that it doesn’t matter. We know Jesus in our hearts. We don’t really need to edit what we see or hear. We certainly don’t need to avoid certain people because some of their actions aren’t, gulp, godly.

Yet the Bible tells us that we are not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly. We are being influenced by the people around us and by the media we consume. Don’t try to fool yourself. It’s the reason advertisers pay big bucks for ads during prime times, such as the Super Bowl.

That’s also where Satan attacks you. He knows all your buttons, according to Mark Hall, lead singer of Casting Crowns and author of Your Own Jesus. He noted that we say we believe in God but we are standing there right in the midst of the world. We look no different. So if we aren’t different, why should anyone else believe?

Good point. As Christians, we’re supposed to stand out. We’re supposed to be different. We’re supposed to light the way for a dark and lost world. We’re supposed to represent Jesus on this earth.

It’s not that we mean to blend in. It’s a slow fade (Hall’s words) away from Jesus. We make one small compromise, assuring ourselves that it won’t matter. Then we make another one and another one. It’s a slippery slope downward from there.

“We are who our friends are,” Hall writes. “What we put into our heads and hearts today will influence our choices tomorrow.”

So who is your counsel? Who do you listen to most? Are they godly people who live by His Word? Or are they worldly people who lack His foundation? What do you listen to on the radio station? Songs of praise to Him or songs of cheating hearts and love on the sly?

Our choices define our lives and our faith. We can walk with godly people and make wise choices based on His Word. Or we can allow Satan a foothold in our lives. Free will. Your choice.