Lilies of the Field

Police cars turning into your driveway at 10:00 p.m. at night is a foreboding, terrifying sight…when there is a pounding on your front door that awakens you out of a sound sleep only to have police surrounding your home and dragging your husband out of the house in handcuffs…when your husband answers the door while you and your children are sitting at the breakfast table and the next thing you know there are police in your kitchen standing behind body shields carrying heavy duty guns, grabbing your oldest son and pinning him up against the wall with a gun to his back…when you receive that phone call in the middle of the night startling you from out of a deep slumber…when you get the diagnosis you didn’t expect…when you experience your first earthquake...These are those moments when your heart begins to race, you experience shortness of breath, and for some (like me) it becomes impossible to talk because you cannot get your teeth to stop chattering. This is what it is like to experience

One quiet summer evening my husband and I decided to take my two younger sons to the playground at a local school. Amid the laughter and lighthearted frolicking around the swings and slides, a fire whistle sounded. Soon after I became a Christian, I decided that every time I heard that sound, I would stop and say a quick prayer for the people who needed help as well as the responders who were answering the call. Once I had offered a prayer, we continued our time together at the playground, but I had a sense of uneasiness in my spirit. Not long after we returned home, we found out that my oldest son had been in an automobile accident not a mile from where we had taken the younger boys. While we did not hear the crash of his car, we did hear the siren, the warning signal to pay attention. Thankfully, the young man and my son who was driving, were not hurt badly; but do not think it did not change my response to hearing a fire siren. When circumstances like these hit close to home, we

When Israel moved into the neighborhood, soon thereafter the local chapter of the Canaanite Welcome Wagon showed up on their doorstep. I remember two different times after moving into a new neighborhood when there was an unexpected knock on my door. There, on the doorstep were members of a local cult (I had encountered them enough times to recognize them immediately). “Hey! Welcome to the neighborhood,” they said. “We often visited with the sweet older lady who used to live here. We have some good news to share with you; could you spare a few moments of your time for us to come in and share with you? By the way, do you read your Bible?” As I invited them inside the foyer, I cheerfully replied, “Read it? I teach Bible studies right here in my home. Maybe you’d like to join us on Friday mornings.” “Umm…you teach Bible studies? Can we read to you from John 1?” I said, “Sure, I’ll read it with you; let me go get my Bible.” “No, we have it right here,” they insisted. “I like to read along w

“If you don’t listen to me, you are going to be punished.” Some mothers say, “Just wait until your father gets home!” Used repeatedly without any follow through, the child comes to realize these are empty threats, and he or she learns to tune out the voice of authority. Sometimes calls to obedience are received by a child who responds lovingly. Other times obedience comes only out of the fear of punishment. Some children give a pretense of obedience when they say they will do what they are told to do, but they do not follow through. The dutiful child may do in part what is asked while neglecting to do all wholeheartedly. The goal of parenting is to get the child to wholeheartedly obey out of love for authority…because it is right and good. Lastly, there are those who respond with complete defiance. What would cause a child to stand against his parents in defiant rebellion? It is the sinful flesh that hates authority—sinful flesh that does not have to utter the words, “Don’t tell me wh

Many different cultures in the world have a spiritual connection to their land. It not only becomes part of their spirituality but their very identity. This is seen even in the most pagan tribal cultures. Our “land” becomes associated with our history, our stories. Why do we think about our roots in hard times? Our roots signify our people and our home. I heard a recent graduation ceremony in which a leader of the school district offered these parting words (or something to this effect): We have had a hard end to our school year. But we have adapted. Use this time as a future reminder in difficult times when circumstances are out of your control. Remember this one thing: You can always come home. Psalm 37:3— Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness . Verse 9: For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land . Verse 11: But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity

She was a wretched whore. He was her enemy. Yet He had set His love upon her in eternity past, long before her birth. Before He created her, He had chosen her to be His bride. He watched over her, protected her, saved her, delivered her from harm, always drawing her to Himself. When He brought her out of Egypt, she was grateful He was her LORD and Master. She knew that everything He did was done from a heart of pure love, and she worshiped Him. Then hard times came. One day something happened that caused her to become dissatisfied…something inside her was unsettled, and she longed, at times, to go back to Egypt where ‘life was good’. One by one, the temptations came luring her, enticing her, whispering to her, and drawing her back to where she came from. She hears the distant echoes of her Husband calling to her, but she no longer hears His voice as one of love but rather restriction, bondage, and control. Deceiving herself as she justifies her sin, she determines to take control of he

I remember having a conversation with a woman in prison who had been raised in the church. I was explaining church discipline to her. She said, “You don’t believe in that, do you?” I said, “Well, of course I do. It is scriptural, isn’t it? I not only believe in it, I love it and wish more churches practiced it! If they did, we’d have stronger, healthier churches.” She said, “Well, there would be nobody left in the church! I think it’s a hateful thing used by the church to make people tow the line.” When I got done explaining to her the purpose of church discipline, she said, “Wow! I wish someone had explained that to me earlier because that is beautiful. I never saw it from that perspective.” The purpose of repentance is always to restore…first to restore fellowship with God that is broken when one is walking in rebellion, then with His body. The things we do and the things our brothers and sisters do that break God’s heart should break our own hearts as well. When someone forces us t