A new heaven and new earth

But God says, “Make every effort”

2 Peter 3:13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth God has promised, a world filled with his righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

The most memorable statement in the sermon about Jesus’ ascension yesterday, I think, was “Jesus decided to work from home.”

One day, we’ll share his Home (Revelation 21). Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit, first poured out to the believers on the day we celebrate next Sunday, Pentecost, joins us in the trenches as we stay the course, faithfully pursuing “long obedience in the same direction,” as Eugene Peterson so famously put it.

Like perennials, Jesus will come back!

Jesus warned us there would be bumps and bruises along the way. “Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33). Why are we surprised and resentful when this proves to be true? Could it be that we’re seduced by the idea that this is all there is, that life ends with death?

I had the interesting experience Saturday of attending a memorial service immediately followed by a birthday party. Funerals, of course, always make me think of Karis. Perhaps that’s why I found myself telling someone at the birthday party that Karis longed to go Home. In her last year of journaling, she wrote repeatedly, “Father, I can’t do this anymore. Please take me Home. Please.”

So in our sorrow and missing her, we know Karis is exactly where she wanted to be, living her best life. Glimpsing ahead of time the “new heavens” promised to us.

The writer of Hebrews tells us the heroes of faith “agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. … they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland” (11:13, 16).

I think the promise of a new heaven and new earth, where there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4) gives us perspective on our trials and motivation to make the most of our time here, doing with the energy the Spirit gives us whatever God has asked us to do. Peter and other New Testament writers liked the phrase “make every effort,” or “work hard” as some versions translate the phrase:

Make every effort to respond to God’s promises (2 Peter 1:5—see also 1:10, 1:15).

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone (Hebrews 12:14).

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).

Make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification (Romans 14:19). … Never pay back evil with more evil … If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:17-18).

Some versions use the word “harmony” instead of peace. Peace, of course, begins in our own hearts. Worth thinking about, for as long as we’re on this side of the story.

This World Is Not My Home, by Albert Brumley, sung by Jim Reeves.

New birth

But God shows his kindness and love May 6, 2024

Titus 3:4-5 But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love … he gave us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:1-2 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.

Our extended family keeps growing! With Gavin’s birth a month ago (see photo), if I counted right, on my side we now number 84 living descendants of Ray and Helen Elliott, plus the two, Karis and Gordon, who are with Mom and Dad in Heaven. (This doesn’t include our Michael and others who were miscarried before they were viable on earth, though perhaps we should include them.) On Dave’s side, descendants of Bill and Gloria Kornfield add 17 (not re-counting our family).

Despite the size of our family, we’re as excited about Gavin and Hannah and Bennett (the three born in the last few months) as about each family member of their generation. Each new life is precious. We pray that each of them will grow up feeling dearly loved, by their family, their extended family, and by God.

I’m writing to you just home from southern Indiana, where we enjoyed a rare Kornfield reunion before Dave’s sister Kathy and Tom return to their home in Bolivia. Such a lovely time, including delight in our grandniece Bella and our two grandnephews, Andrew and baby Bennett (and their wonderful parents and other family members).

Dave’s brother Bill, whom you may have prayed for when his leg was shattered in a bike accident in December, and his wife Jennie, delighted us in another way. Yes! He’s WALKING! With just a cane. And swimming! He has accomplished all this in literally half the time expected, by enduring huge amounts of pain AND finding joy and strength in God.

In the verses quoted above, Titus wrote about new birth into God’s spiritual family, a miracle which makes us kin to millions of believers around the world and through time—a family we’ll have eternity to get to know. This family includes people on every side of the conflicts the world struggles with today. Every war is therefore a “civil war” in terms of God’s Kingdom, which doesn’t recognize this world’s political boundaries.

So, I cringe when I hear folks condemn people groups en masse. I’m sure this hurts God’s heart as well. We forget, sometimes, that this world is not our forever home. We’ll be living for eternity with people beloved by our Father against whom we’ve nurtured prejudices and desired injury.

Something to think about.

A new way of living

But the Holy Spirit prays for us

Romans 7:6, 8:26 Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. … And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us.

We got home at midnight last night from our mission retreat in Colorado, where we focused on the theme of aging faithfully. Since the age range of our mission team is from early 60s to mid-80s, this was appropriate! We studied the wonderful book Aging Faithfully by Alice Fryling as preparation for the retreat, which allowed us to go deeper under the leadership of our facilitators.

I have a lot to continue thinking about, but one highlight for me was realizing I’ve tried to do marketing of my books within a transactional framework (if I do this, I will get that result), rather than transformational, in which I depend on the Spirit’s leading and don’t get stressed over the kinds of results most marketing approaches work toward. As a start, I’m switching in my own mind from using the term “marketing,” to the word “sharing” of what God has given me. I feel hope about an area of my life that I’ve found extremely stressful. Hope for a new way of living guided by the Spirit.

This weekend our family will be saying goodbye to my older sister, who will be moving from a town an hour north of Pittsburgh to a retirement village in Oklahoma. So I’m thinking about the “new way of living” she will soon undertake. There are obvious benefits—like being able to simply open her door to be with people and participate in activities, in contrast with the increasing isolation she’s felt as her vision limits her ability to drive.

At the same time, she’s leaving behind so much that is dear to her, from possessions to people whom she loves. Starting over in a place where no one knows she was a college professor, published author, chaplain, ordained deacon in the Anglican tradition, and cared for 23 foster children over the years—along with her skills in so many areas, her creativity, her wisdom about surviving trauma, and so much more … Well, it’s daunting, to say the least.

A planter Linda built last spring–just one of so many things she’s leaving behind.

As I feel with her the stress of this move and grieve for myself the distance that will shortly exist between us, I am comforted by these words from Romans: the Holy Spirit, so attuned, so active, so perceptive of what God wants for us and what we need. I hope thinking about this will comfort you too, especially if you are in the throes of embracing any kind of “new way of living.”

An anchor for our souls

New birth into a living hope

1 Peter 1:23 (Titus 3:5) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Romans 6:18-19 It is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

So, I’m curious: Have you tried the “new song” idea from my last blog—applying praise to whatever is going on in your life today? I would love to know! I sang a “new song” as I found reasons to praise God as our family absorbs the reality and implications of our six-year-old grandson’s Celiac Disease diagnosis.

I’m quite excited about this understanding of “new song,” in part because it takes me back to a vow I made to the Lord while Karis and I were jetting to Pittsburgh from South Bend in the middle of the night in response to the first intestinal transplant call she was ready to consider.

I vowed to find something to praise God for every day of this upcoming adventure. I had no idea at the time how life- and hope-giving that practice would be. Keeping that vow forced me back to the Lord time after time when otherwise I could have floundered in the excruciating disappointments and reversals we experienced. Hope became for me–for us–a lifeline, an anchor, a safety rail, a source of strength for not giving up as Karis faced death day after day after day. I am deeply grateful to the Holy Spirit for prompting me to make that vow.

There are so many wonderful references to hope in the New Testament that I had trouble choosing, even from the book of Hebrews. The Greek words translated as hope are elpis (noun) and elpizo (verb), from the root elpo. They mean to anticipate (usually with pleasure), to trust, and to expect with confidence (and the corresponding nouns).

Peter emphasizes the fact that our hope is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus, whose victory over his own death extends to us in ours. That’s why we don’t grieve when a loved one dies or in thinking about our own mortality with the same despair as those without the hope of new life after death (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

In thinking about this, I remember Karis’s brilliant smile after she wrote in big scrawly letters with her left hand, “I love ____” each one of us. At the end she wrote, “Call the doctor. I can’t breathe,” just as a team burst into her ICU room to induce her last coma to give time for the antiviral to work (it didn’t, but this gave our family time to gather and to prepare ourselves as well as we could for her death). I believe Karis knew she was going Home, which we learned later through her journals she had been pleading with God to allow her to do.

This isn’t Jesus’s tomb, but it is a preserved tomb and round stone from the first century, like his might have been. Thanks to Marilyn Chislaghi for permission to use her photo taken in Israel.

Living hope: an empty tomb. A brilliant smile. An anchor for our souls through terrible times.

The Anchor Holds, by Ray Boltz

Hope or dystopia?

But Jesus’ light can’t be extinguished by darkness

John 1:1-18 In the beginning the Word already existed. … The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. … So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. … Jesus Christ has revealed God to us.

I’ve missed you! And I’ve enjoyed focusing on other things, like vacation. And the details of publishing Facing the Faeries 1906.

I’m returning to this blog halfway through the season of Epiphany, which ends with the beginning of Lent on February 14. The readings for this season have included the Gospel of John, with his emphasis on Christ as the Light of the world.

Epiphany began on January 6, the day selected by early church fathers to remember the magi visiting baby Jesus in Bethlehem and bringing him gifts. The magi were not Jewish, hence the connection with Jesus bringing light to the world, not just to the people God chose to be his earthly family and lineage. The wise men illustrate for us the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that through him and his descendants, all the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18).

Returning to twice weekly postings on this blog, I have four opportunities to think about John’s view of Jesus as the Light of the world before we enter Lent. It seems John can hardly wait to get into this theme. As one of Jesus’ disciples, walking with him for at least three years, John was well positioned to tell us what he personally saw and experienced of what he calls Jesus’ glory, the divine light of unfailing love and faithfulness shining through him.

John was no pushover. Jesus called him and his brother James “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). They wanted to call fire from heaven to burn up a Samaritan village that didn’t accept Jesus (Luke 9:52-54). Yet in John’s writings (he’s the most prolific New Testament writer after Paul), his emphasis is on love. His life was transformed by the light of Jesus shining into his personal darkness, gentling him and dramatically changing his perspective on the “others” in his world.

For us, you and me, grappling daily with the darkness, violence, and brokenness of the world, John’s introduction to his Gospel is tremendously encouraging. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” Think about that. Isn’t it good news, solid rock on which to place our feet, a promise we can count on no matter how dark things get? We don’t see it yet, but the ending of the story will be glorious!

Tucked inside my fortune cookie! Isn’t that cool?

Thinking about this promise, I feel my anxiety for the world dissipate like air leaking from a balloon. My thoughts turn to my small role in shining his light into the darkness around me, beginning in my own heart. What a relief to know I’m just a minor character in this huge story God is writing. He has the whole thing figured out! Hallelujah!

Amy Grant celebrates this: Lighten my darkness …

And have you been enjoying the Advent ABC playlist? It still brings me to tears.

Speaking of stories, watch this space for an announcement about Facing the Faeries 1906!

Advent ABC: Our God

Isaiah 25:9 (Isaiah 46:3-4, Malachi 4:2, Romans 5:10-11, Hebrews 4:15, 16, 2 Peter 1:1) In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings.”

Trust isn’t easy, especially when we’ve been betrayed. When someone we have trusted has not just disappointed us, but has deliberately hurt us for their own ends. Because the Three-in-One God understands this, Jesus came, to experience in a body what betrayal is. That’s why we can go to him to find mercy and grace in our time of need. This is our God, not a being far off, but one who draws near, in compassion and full understanding. With healing in his wings.

This is Our God, Phil Wickham

Advent ABC: Mighty One

Isaiah 33:21, 24 (Ephesians 1:19-20, Hebrews 1:3) The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross, that no ship can sail upon.

Jesus’s love would mean less uncoupled from his power to act on behalf of his beloved, and his authority over everything in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Listen to the author of Hebrews: The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command (1:3).

I need this word today, as I grapple with the severity of my brother-in-law Bill’s injuries from being hit by a car while riding his bike. Only the Lord has the power to sustain Bill and his family against the enemies of despair, anxiety, and depression. Please pray with us for Jesus’s mighty power to prevail against these enemies. Thank you.

Bill’s first check-up x-rays yesterday, two weeks after surgery to insert a rod to secure the two fragments of his tibia considered worth trying to save. This is a guy who normally rides his bike 15-30 miles daily. His left foot also suffered several broken bones.

In what way today do you need to see Jesus’s power at work?

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Holy One, your Savior. … Do not be afraid, for I am with you (Isaiah 43:2-5).

Mighty God (Another Hallelujah), Elevation Worship

Advent ABC: Holy One

Isaiah 29:19 (40:25, 57:15, Proverbs 9:10), John 6:69 The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One.

My husband’s brother Bill and his family spent Thanksgiving with us. The next Tuesday, riding his bike home to Plano from For the Nations in Dallas where he volunteers, Bill was hit by a car, which shattered his legs and broke a rib, collapsing a lung. Last night on the phone he told Dave, “It’s an amazing thing. As I lie here, I feel like I’m in the presence of the Holy One. I feel joy.”

This is more than I usually write for Advent ABC, but I want to tell you my three year old granddaughter Talita, who had been thrilled with all the attention Uncle Bill gave her while he was in Pittsburgh, told me, “I’m sad about my boy Billy who got hit by a car and broke his legs like my Vovó [her Brazilian grandmother Luciene, who is walking now!].” Today I was able to tell Talita her “boy Billy” is home from the hospital, determined, he says, to walk in nine months.

Joy. May it be so.

Holy One by Paul Mwai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKDZSpy10Ew

Justice. Hope.

But God is passionately committed to fairness and justice

Isaiah 10:1-2 What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws. They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. …The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire; the Holy One will be a flame. … In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders.

Isaiah 9:7 He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! [See Matthew 1:1, 4:16, 28:18; Luke 1:32-33, 1 Corinthians 4:24-28]

Romans 8:21 With eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

Revelation 21:4 God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

How could we endure the daily news if not for the promises of passages like these? I don’t know about you, but for me it’s so overwhelming that I can develop a “thick skin”–compassion fatigue–to protect myself from feeling all the pain.

Yet if we’re aligned with God’s passion for justice, I think each of us has a part to play. A small part, that may feel completely insignificant. But that’s not the point of our obedience to what God calls each of us individually and as congregations to allow into our hearts, our prayers, our pocketbooks, our time and energy.

What is your small part?

Lyrics of Still Will I Love You (A Song for Refugees):

Give me strength, give me hope
And I won’t suffer alone
The God who was and is to come
Break the silence with Your song
Oh, oh, oh, ohh, I can hear You singing
Oh, oh, oh, oh-ohh
Give me justice, give me peace
You are everything we need
The God who made the sky and sea
Of Your goodness, I will sing
Oh, oh, oh, ohh, I can hear You singing
Oh, oh, oh, oh-ohh, no, I won’t stop singing
Oh, oh, oh, ohh, I can hear You singing
Oh, oh, oh, oh-ohh
Still will I love, still will I love
Still will I love You more
Still will I love, still will I love
Still will I love You more

Hope for our grandchildren’s future

But God will mediate between nations

Luciene update: Surgery is now scheduled for Thursday. Though it’s painful, Lu can wiggle her toes. She’s finding grace for enduring each day and says thank you for your prayers for her. Her son (my son-in-law) Cesar has found two possible pathways toward funding.

Isaiah 2:3-4, 11, 22 The Lord will teach us his ways … He will mediate between nations … Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. … Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment. (Verse 11 is restated in v. 17) … Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath.

The other day I had a conversation with another grandmother, both of us expressing dismay over the world we see our grandchildren growing up in.**

Juliana is now an expert crawler

That’s why I think Isaiah 2 is one of the most thrilling passages in the whole Bible. As I re-read it this morning, I found myself with goosebumps. Have you ever watched someone mediate a dispute, honoring the needs and perspectives of both parties and bringing them to a place of understanding? It’s one of the most beautiful creative endeavors I have ever been privileged to witness.

Imagine, then, the breathtaking beauty of God mediating between nations! Take a minute just to picture this in your mind.

Imagine no more war, with all those resources invested instead in positive purposes. Imagine a world without fear, without the greed for domination and power that propels people to devastate one another.

Imagine people trusting God so deeply that they understand and want what he wants and love what he loves.

With this post I want to honor those who, every day, humbly walk in God’s paths, creating, building, mediating, honoring and loving one another, generating peace wherever they go.

I want to honor the Lord, for giving us hope, a future to anticipate with joy!

**It’s becoming more acceptable to end sentences with a preposition—hurrah!