Whatever He Says

On Monday an anonymous friend left a comment that I wanted to respond to more fully than I could in the comment box. Anonymous wrote, in part: ...I have been deeply hurt by those with faith and therefore am cautious with my own. I wish what you wrote was true, that our faith teaches the value of others. But, crosses were burned and black people killed by people of our faith. Women are not allowed to be ministers or priests by churches in our faith. 'Sins of the fathers' created a sin based view of disability. 'Kill a Queer for Christ' is a bumper sticker. I want a gentle faith... When I read the book, Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia, by Carmen Bin Ladin ; although the sense of oppressiveness and control clung to me like fog in a Newfoundland outport , I realized that the expression of Islam the author experienced does not represent all who follow that faith. I also realized that Christianity has, by some, been corrupted into a faith of oppression and r...

Acts 11:22-23 (New International Version) 22News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. "News of this reached the ears of the church." Those words trigger a shudder of recognition in me. Oh, not about news reaching the ears of the church, but about me, when certain things reach my ears. In this case, it was a rumour that the Cypriot and Cyrenian Christian Jews had shared the gospel with Greeks, of whom a great number believed and became Christians. The good news of the gospel was spreading more rapidly than butter on a pile of hot pancakes. I love that when the church got the news of what was happening, they sent a pair of eyes to see what was going on. And what a pair of eyes. Wise eyes. Godly eyes. Their response has the stamp of godliness. Don't react, but search out truth. I...

2 Chronicles 6:18 (New International Version) 18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men?... Exodus 25:8 (New International Version) 8 " Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. I read the verses above in this morning's Daily Light and they caused me wonderment as they always do; these verses that speak of God wishing to camp out with us. But yes, that is exactly what they say--that he isn't far away and distant; he really wants to be with us. Sanctuary; a sacred place; I thought about the need to make that place for God in my life daily. We have to create space for him, a place set aside and then guard it, for it will be assailed by all the forces of hell. They know well that when we linger with God, in intimate communion, we are transformed and strongholds are broken through prayer rising to heaven. Making room for him; how that reminds me of Bethelehem. We ought to be throwing open the doors, inviting him in and anointing his head...

PART II TO CLEAVE One never knows if one is going to be the bearer of just a greeting, conversation or a delivery of some sort, of meat, as it were. Today, “Our Farmer”, as I like to call him (aka Paul) came by to deliver our meat order. And what started out as a simple conversation over why he is growing his hair, turned into a two and a half hour session of teaching, questioning and growth, for me. Let, me make it clear, that any conversation had with Paul is always deep and full of a journey. When I told my husband on the phone that he was on the way over with the meat, Frank laughed and said “Well I know you’ll have a great, long conversation about something!” And so we did. It started in Genesis 1:1 where I was challenged to study more deeply the meaning of the words "In the Beginning..." Paul has been studying the way and words of the Hebrews for years now and he and his family practice what they've learned in their daily living. He speaks of Yeshua. So we journeyed...