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Be Still? Or Fight?

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

I Corinthians 10:12-13 says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

In reading Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst, she cites this passage in Chapter 16 and then says one “way out” the Lord provided for her was deciding in advance what she will and won’t have that day.

I have to admit, when I think of the “way out,” I think more of God coming to my rescue with supernatural strength and reminders of His truth rather than this kind of thing, but He does also say “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (I Corinthians 10:5), and planning is part of doing that.

In Exodus 14:14, when Israel was caught between Egypt’s advancing army and the Red Sea, Moses said, “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Some versions say “be still” instead of “hold your peace, some say “be silent.” I’ve seen people post this verse ending with “be still” on Pinterest or in other places as if that is God’s instruction to anyone facing any battle any time. In Israel’s battles, sometimes God supernaturally intervened, like He did at the Red Sea, and sometimes they had to take up their swords and fight. They couldn’t win unless He was with them and they relied on Him, as they discovered, but they had to actually go into battle and swing a sword and get sweaty and messy and strain their muscles in reliance on Him. In fact, after Moses tells Israel to “be still” in Ex. 14:14, in the very next verse “the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.”

When God gives me that “sword” of His truth like Lysa described of planning ahead for eating, or of reminding myself of His truth to oppose Satan’s lies, or of fleeing temptation, I’m to use it, with His promise of help and grace, rather than waiting for Him to do the battle for me. Sometimes He will supernaturally win the battle for me while I only watch, but sometimes He gives me victory by handing me a sword.

I Run to Christ

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Barbara Harper

I run to Christ when chased by fear
And find a refuge sure.
“Believe in me,” His voice I hear;
His words and wounds secure.

I run to Christ when torn by grief
And find abundant peace.
“I too had tears,” He gently speaks;
Thus joy and sorrow meet.

I run to Christ when worn by life
And find my soul refreshed.
“Come unto Me,” He calls through strife;
Fatigue gives way to rest.

I run to Christ when vexed by hell
And find a mighty arm.
“The Devil flees,” the Scriptures tell;
He roars, but cannot harm.

I run to Christ when stalked by sin
And find a sure escape.
“Deliver me,” I cry to Him;
Temptation yields to grace.

I run to Christ when plagued by shame
And find my one defense.
“I bore God’s wrath,” He pleads my case—
My Advocate and Friend.

Words by Chris Anderson
Music by Greg Habeggar

You can peruse more of Chris and Greg’s hymns at their web site, Church Works Media. Notes on the text to this hymn are here. The version on the video is from the Wilds CD, A Living Sacrifice.

May you run to Christ for any and every need, large or small.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Barbara Harper

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

1. Lovely weather. We had a little cold, some rain, some thunderstorms, but overall it has been really nice weather with sunshine most days and temperatures in the 70s some days. Felt so good after the old snap the last couple of weeks.

2. My daughter-in-law’s birthday yesterday, a fun family time.

Thought this picture of when we were singing Happy Birthday was sweet. 🙂

3. Cake pops.

Last Christmas Jason and Mittu bought me a cake pop maker, but I hadn’t used it yet. Mittu requested them for her birthday, and it was fun to get the stuff out and play. I obviously need to work on my technique so that the icing doesn’t dribble down the stick. 🙂 By the way, the Betty Crocker gluten free devil’s food cake mix was really good. Some other gluten-free cakes we’ve had were very heavy, but this tasted just like regular cake.

4. A day out. Normally I prefer staying at home and ordering online, but one item I needed for Mittu’s birthday was cheaper in town. I had a couple of gift cards for places nearby as well, so I took the better part of an afternoon doing some shopping and finding some things I needed. It was one of those gorgeous, just-right days I mentioned earlier. I had felt cooped up for a while between weather and Jim’s mom’s aide not being able to come in due a few days due to weather, so it felt really good to get out and about.

5. Jesse’s internship plans finalized. My youngest son is required to do an internship this semester, and had tried several leads, but nothing had worked out yet. His director had found another possibility, and things were looking really good for this one, but it wasn’t completely finalized until this morning when he had an interview. That is SUCH a relief!

Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday, Mittu!

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Wishing a very very happy birthday to my lovely daughter-in-law!

Book Review: The Woman in White

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Barbara Harper

I had never heard of Wilkie Collins until a few years ago. When I first started listening to audiobooks, I’d scroll through the listing of classics, and his The Woman In White would come up often. I thought, “How can this be a classic if I have never heard of it?” 😳 I read the description, but it didn’t sound all that interesting. Then last year his book No Name was chosen as one of the books for Carrie’s Reading to Know Book Club. I looked at the description for it and wasn’t interested in it enough to commit the needed time to it, so I skipped that one as well. But then everyone who read it thought it was really good. So when I decided to participate in the Back to the Classics Challenge, one of the categories was “an author you’ve never read before,” and I thought this would be an opportune time to try out Mr. Collins and chose The Woman in White.

I am so glad I did. It was a totally enthralling story. I can understand now why there is not much description of his books on sites that sell them: you can’t tell much about the story without revealing surprises and clues it would be better for the reader to discover in context.

The story is laid out in a series of testimonies. Within them, at least that of the major characters, the narrative is in more of a story form, although one takes the form of a journal.

The story begins with Walter Hartwright, a drawing teacher who finds himself “out of health, out of spirits, and out of money.” A friend fortuitously comes across an opportunity for Walter to teach two young women from a prestigious family in the country, and though Walter has misgivings, he has no good reason to refuse and every reason to accept, so he does. On the eve of his departure, as he walks home from his mother’s house late one night, he is startled by a young woman totally dressed in white who asks him the way to London. There are several things strange about her manner and the whole situation, and most surprising of all is that as they discuss where Walter is headed, this woman knows the very family he is going to. Walter is at first unsure of what to do, but he not only points her in the right direction; he also escorts her to a cab and sees her off. Within minutes a carriage comes by containing two men who are looking for a woman in white.

Where they are from and why they are looking for her is a major factor in the story, so I won’t share it here and ruin the surprise, but as this woman is the title character, obviously her presence and influence will come up again.

The beginning of the book says it is a story of “what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve.” It’s noted as one of the first detective stories written as Walter, though not a professional detective, uses many such techniques to get at the truth of the conspiracy, deceit, and betrayal that arise later in the story.

Collins was a good friend of Charles Dickens, and this book was first printed in installments in one of Dickens’ magazines, but his style is quite different from Dickens’.

Though the story is perhaps a little more drawn out than a modern novel would be, I never felt the story got bogged down. I listened to it via audiobook with several narrators taking the different testimonies of the story, and by the last few chapters I was carrying my phone around with me everywhere to listen and find out how it was all going to end. I had an idea of a couple of things that were going to happen (the foreshadowing of a terrible event pointed to either one of a couple of people because those people hadn’t given any testimony yet), but I didn’t guess exactly how things would work out. I did get a library copy of the book as well to go back and look through some passages a little more closely, but there is a free (at this time) Kindle version of it. And, of course, if you’d like to know more of the plot, including a lot spoilers, there is always Wikipedia.

I’m definitely planning on exploring more of Collins’ books in the future.

Have you read The Woman in White? What did you think?

(This will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

This also completes one of my requirements for the Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate.

The Spiritual Value of a Secular Job

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Barbara Harper

I recently read an article about people who didn’t want a regular 9-5 job because they wanted to do more with their lives than be tied to a desk (or garage or store or whatever). That got me to thinking.

It certainly sounds nice to be free to be involved in worthy projects rather than a boring, seemingly dead-end job. I’ve known some people who could do that. One man in our former church worked hard and regularly but had his own business and enough freedom in his schedule that he could go on mission trips many summers.

But not everyone can do that. Here are some points of value of regular secular jobs:

1. God ordained work. Adam and Eve were to “to dress and to keep” the garden (Genesis 2:15) and have dominion over the other creatures (Genesis 1:26-28) before they sinned and faced the consequences. Work was not ordained as a punishment for sin: it was a God-designed activity even in a perfect world. It was just made harder after sin entered the picture when thorns and thistles grew up and Adam was told, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Genesis 3:17-19). These days some jobs call for sweat of the brain rather than the body, but we can’t escape the fact that life involves hard work.

2. Biblical instruction. I Timothy 5:8 says “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” The Christian life is not ethereal or theoretical or philosophical: it is intensely practical. Yes, we trust the Lord to meet our needs, and sometimes He does that miraculously, but the way He usually does that is through regular work. Here are some other passages about work:

“And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (I Thessalonians 4:11-12).

“Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee” (Psalm 128:1-2).

“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” Provers 13:11.

“In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury” (Proverbs 14:23).

“The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour” Proverbs 21:25).

“I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God” Ecclesiastes 3:12-13.

“Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.” Ecclesiastes 5:18.

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28). Here we’re instructed to work not just to meet our own needs but also to be able to give to others.

Add to that the instruction in Proverbs about the diligent man vs. the slothful or sluggard. True, the principles involved apply to what we might think of spiritual or ministry work, but many of the examples are secular work, like planting and harvesting. Colossians 3:23 (“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men”), though applying to everyone, was written in context to servants.

3. Biblical example. Yes, Jesus’s twelve disciples were called to leave their fishing nets and tax collecting and follow Him. But other believers were slaves, soldiers, tentmakers, merchants, carpenters, and in various other occupations. Even Paul sometimes made tents and “labour[ed], working with our own hands (I Corinthians 4:11). God calls secular rulers His ministers (Romans 13:3-5). Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, a task that was usually done by a servant, and apprenticed as a carpenter. And the Bible opens with God working (Genesis 2:2-3).

There is an interesting passage in Psalm 104 that touches on man’s work as part of God’s manifold works and wisdom:

²¹The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

²²The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

²³Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

4. Mission. One does not have to be in “full time Christian service” as a pastor or missionary to be “missional.” Those in secular work have the opportunity to work side by side with unsaved people who would not be interested in coming to church or would be on their guard if a pastor came to visit them. I should say here that the first best testimony a Christian has at work is doing his job well. No one is going to respect him if he’s slothful and sloppy or doesn’t get his work done because he is using company time to “witness.” I don’t know that someone even necessarily has to organize Bible studies during lunch break, though I’ve known some who have done that. A Christian on the job can be a witness by how he conducts himself and his business and his genuine interest in others, and talking and befriending coworkers and customers can often lead to opportunities to share more about one’s faith.

5. The world depends on it. Where would our country or indeed our world be without doctors, truckers, cleaning people, or any of the multitudes of other jobs that all work together to provide an economy? Even if your work seems to be a minor cog in the whole machinery of the country’s economy, you can be confident that you are providing a useful service in some way.

6. It provides the means to give to others. Ephesians 4:28, mentioned before, says, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” and I Timothy 6:17-18 say, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.”

I’ve shared before my own testimony that in camps or meetings for teens, there was an emphasis on salvation, surrender, and full-time Christian service. Being surrendered to full-time Christian service was presented almost as the next natural step after being saved, or the highest and best calling. Those who were really sold out to the Lord, or at least thought to be, were the ones that went on to some kind of ministry occupation. Thankfully by the time my sons were teens, the general emphasis seemed to be more on taking the next step one needed to take spiritually, whatever it might be, yet the surrender to full-time Christian service still seemed to be urged as the highest and best, the ultimate calling. I’ve known sweet Christian girls who only wanted to marry preachers and parents who were disappointed that their sons did not become preachers. I’ve known Christian college graduates who felt looked down upon by their peers for being in a secular job and not out “serving the Lord.” Sometimes the kids in the youth group who do plan on training for ministry are given something of a special status or special responsibilities or opportunities. I wonder if this is where some of the “let the preacher do it” mindset gets started. Every teen should be training for ministry, because we all have ministry, whether it is in a paid professional capacity or not. If God called someone to preach or be a missionary, that is God’s highest and best calling for them, but He does call some to be scientists and teachers and office workers and truckers and grocery store clerks and many other occupations, for His glory.

There are many other Bible passages that pertain to work, like not trusting in our riches but rather being willing to distribute to others’ necessities (I Timothy 6:17-18), not laboring to be rich (Proverbs 23:4), and not letting the practical obscure the spiritual (John 6:26-29), taking God’s will into account (James 4:13-16), and seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). But the Bible speaks of the church as a body, with each member having a different part (I Corinthians 12, Romans 12:3-8) and different gifts. Not all are called to be full-time paid professional preachers or missionaries, but we are all called to be full-time Christians, doing everything as unto the Lord, serving Him with the gifts and calling He has ordained for each of us.

LET me but do my work from day to day,
In field or forest, at the desk or loom,
In roaring market-place, or tranquil room;
Let me but find it in my heart to say,
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray—
“This is my work; my blessing, not my doom;
Of all who live, I am the one by whom
This work can best be done, in the right way.”
Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours,
And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.

~ Henry Van Dyke, Poems of Sentiment: VI. Labor and Rest: Work

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

This Is My Word

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Barbara Harper

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:10-12

As the snow falls from heaven,
As it comes in swirling showers from the sky,
So is my Word.
As the rains bring the water to the earth that is thirsty and dry,
So is my Word.
And the Word of my mouth, it shall not return empty:
It will bless the earth wherever it is heard.
This is my Word.

As the rain brings renewal
And the tender buds begin to come alive,
So is my Word.
Giving seed to the sower,
And the bread to the hungry ’til they thrive,
So is my Word.
And the Word of my mouth, it shall not return empty;
It will bless the earth wherever it is heard.
This is my Word.

O Lord, when I am weary,
When I fell the days I’m living are in vain,
My God, help me be faithful to the Word You have given to proclaim.
Proclaim the Word, and you will go out in joy,
And be led forth in peace,
And the hills will break before you into song.
So be faithful, brave and true,
For I will go before you,
And when your earthly journey here is done.
I’ll say well done, well done!

As the snow falls from heaven,
And the rain comes in showers from the sky,
This is my Word.

Words and Music by Pepper Choplin

The track on the video is from the CD If Eyes Could See by the Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team.

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Here is my Saturday collection of some great reads discovered in the last week or so:

When God Does the Miracle We Didn’t Ask For.

15 Reasons I Stayed in the Church.

O Zion, Haste. How missionary work offers not only help for eternity, but also for the here and now, and some reasons why that is.

My Take: DIY, Pinterest, and the Rise of the New Domesticity. This and the two links directly above are all from the same blog. Someone put a link to one on Facebook and I really enjoyed looking at some of the other posts as well.

Use Your Words to witness as well as your life.

5 Things Modesty Never Taught Me.

25 Ways to Communicate Respect to Your Husband.

Five Lies About Your Body.

Sometimes Valentine’s Day Is About the Moldy Drywall. Loved this.

Tips for Possible Power Outages. Glad we didn’t have to use these during the last storm, but it’s good to review them occasionally.

Happy Saturday, or as my son said, “Happy Discount Love Candy Day to all! ‪” 🙂

Reading Challenge Update

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Roof Beam Reader, who hosts the 2014 TBR Pile Challenge, has check-in points around the 15th of each month so we can summarize how we’re doing.

Of the 12 books I’ve listed here, I’ve completed Ida Scudder, am about halfway through Made to Crave and Walking From East to West, and am a few chapters into Crowded to Christ. So I think I’m pretty much on track there.

I might as well update the other challenges, too: for the Back to the Classics Challenge, I’ve completed two from the required categories of my list (The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery and The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy), and am about 3/4 of the way through The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (which I am finding riveting!) From the optional categories I’ve completed A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and am about 1/4 of the way through Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. That leaves me three from the required and two from the optional lists, so I think I am in good shape there, too.

The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery was also read in connection with Carrie’s L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge and Reading to Know Classics Book Club and Farmer Boy is part of my Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge. Crowded to Christ is also part of the The Cloud of Witnesses Challenge. And Crowded to Christ, Made to Crave, Ida Scudder and Walking From East to West are all eligible for the Nonfiction Reading Challenge in which I am aiming to read 11-15 nonfiction books.

It’s funny how just having made these lists is spurring me on to more purposeful reading. And now I am going to have to read more Sherlock Holmes and Wilkie Collins when I get done with these challenges!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Welcome to Friday’s Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, in which we can share five of our favorite things from the last week, wonderful exercise in looking for and appreciating the good things God blesses us with. Click on the button to learn more, then go to Susanne’s to read others’ faves and link up your own.

The last three weeks have had something abnormal about them. Maybe this is becoming the new normal! :0 I hope not! But there are good things in any week, and here are five from this one:

1. The Olympics. I’ve been mainly watching the figure skating, but have also seen a bit of several other competitions.

2. Valentine’s Day! One of my favorite holidays!

3. Take-out from Ruby Tuesday’s. Love their Smoky Mountain Chicken. My husband graciously got me dinner from there when I was craving it even though he doesn’t really like anything he has tried from there.

4. Take-out from Wok Chow, an Asian place, as its name implies. Jason and Mittu were coming over one night and offered to bring some food from there when they came over. I’m pretty much always open to having someone bring me dinner. 🙂

5. Snow. I haven’t been a big fan of snow in my ~~old~~ middle age. I can’t get out in it due to a balance problem, and I tend to mainly see it as bringing potential for traffic problems and power outages. But we got 6″ on Wednesday, and it was hard not to get excited about it. We didn’t have any problems with it (except Jim’s mom’s aide didn’t make it in) and much of it was melted away by Thursday. Jim and Jesse even got out and played in it for just a little while.

But personally…I’m about done with winter and ready for spring, groundhog or no groundhog. 🙂

Hope you’ve had some blessings this week, too.