Isaiah 59:21 “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Have you seen The Chosen Season 5, Episode 4, where the disciples recite the traditional 14-point Dayenu (“it would have been enough”), detailing some of God’s miracles in the history of Israel?
Later in the episode, the women recite their own Dayenu, but they personalize it in a moving recital of God’s wonderful works in their own lives. This prompted me to articulate (in Spanish) some of God’s acts in my own experience, spanning seven decades, several continents, and a series of seemingly impossible situations.
I recommend trying this. It’s more than an encouraging exercise—it’s a stimulus for praise! The biggest challenge is to contain all he has done in fourteen points.
I haven’t talked with my family about this yet, but I’ve been thinking about how we might do something similar this Thanksgiving, in part to pass on to our children and grandchildren some of what God has done for Dave and me. That’s what the Jewish Dayenu tradition does: it rehearses and passes down God’s acts from generation to generation.
And God doesn’t change. When he does marvelous things in my life, it’s not just for me. It’s a revelation of his character and purposes for all who witness or hear about it. That’s true for you too, hence this blog, where I long to showcase him through YOUR “God stories.”
As Mary expressed it in her song of praise (called the Magnificat):
The Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me
He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.
Nehemiah 9:29-30 [A prayer rehearsing the history of Israel] You warned your people to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.
1 Timothy 4:1 Warnings against False TeachersNow the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.
Hebrews 3:6-7, 12-13 We are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ [some manuscripts add, “faithful to the end”]. That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.” … Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.
I’m posting this in Maryland, at a wonderful place called Caboose Farm (Caboosefarm.net) where the extended Elliott family is having a once-every-three-years reunion. I probably won’t post this Thursday.
In the remarkable prayer of praise recorded in Nehemiah 9, the word “but” appears six times in reference to the people of Israel. God was faithful in myriad ways, but his covenant people turned away from him again and again and again.
The author of Hebrews draws a straight line from his time back to the people of Israel in the desert, 1500 years before. If he (or she) could see our hard hearts, two thousand years later, would he (or she) draw a line to us as well? Don’t we need the Spirit’s warning as much as the Hebrews did?
Reflecting on this, I recall that in the last few days I’ve heard or read the following:
“I don’t think God exists, because if he does, he would have healed my beloved sister. I can’t trust him anymore.”
“I was too badly hurt by the church to ever go back. I still believe in God in my heart, but I can’t stand the people who claim to know him yet behave in unkind and cruel ways in his name and say such demeaning things about people different from them.”
“I’m an ex. Ex-Catholic, ex-protestant, ex-atheist, ex-everything. Bottom line: I believe in myself.”
“God is too busy holding this fractured world together to care about me, and people have been cruel. My life has been one disappointment after another. So, I’m considering ending it.”
The good news from the prayer in Nehemiah 9? An entirely different “but.”
“But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon your people” (v. 17).
“And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you” (v. 32).
Forgiveness. Grace. Mercy. Patience. Unfailing love. God, who keeps his promises, offers them all. Take what you need.
Hosea 2:8 [The Lord said] It was I who gave her everything she has … But she gave all my gifts to Baal [an idol].
1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols [anything that might take God’s place in your hearts NLT].
The thing about the prophets is that they smack us right between the eyes. They have the courage (and often pay a high personal price) to confront us with our wrongdoing and to detail its consequences.
So the immediate question is, what are the gifts God has given me? And what have I done with them? And what are the name(s) of the idol(s) that tempt and seduce me into squandering those gifts and dishonor their Giver?
I won’t drag you through the sordid list of idols that the enemy uses to war against my soul. Instead, I want to give you a positive picture of a person who has overcome all kinds of obstacles because of his love for Jesus. He doesn’t bemoan what he doesn’t have. Instead, he uses what he does have, the gifts God has given him, not to serve himself but to serve others and to honor his Lord. Here’s one example from Christmas, when Rev. Peter Johnson stood outside for hours in winter weather night after night to listen to and pray for people. Pete describes it like this:
“A few weeks ago Hanoverdale Church hosted its annual Drive Thru Bethlehem. For several nights hundreds of cars drove through our church yard experiencing different stations of the Bethlehem Christmas story. From paying taxes to Caesar, to seeing the Christ child with his parents at the manger, to listening to the angel choir, and interacting with wisemen, shepherds, Roman soldiers and townspeople, the story of Christmas came alive.
The photos are dark because it was a dark night, but they give you an idea of Drive through Bethlehem.
“As pastor, I got the opportunity to pray for people in their cars at the last station before they left to continue their journey.
“Is it worth it to stand and interact with folks in the cold? Oh, yes!!! I met people who were asking for prayer last year and came back this year to tell how God answered those prayers. One couple asked that God might allow them to become pregnant and this year they introduced me to their baby. Another asked for comfort and healing for a sick loved one on hospice with cancer, and this year they wanted me to meet the one who did not die but was healed.
“After praying for hundreds of people over two weekends, who knows those whom God answered with a different answer. But I declare to you that God is still in the prayer answering business!!!
“If you live in central Pennsylvania and are looking for a place to worship, a place where the Bible will be studied and believed, give us a try. Hanoverdale Church, 577 Hershey Rd in Hummelstown, PA, 9:00 a.m.”
Psalm 103:1-2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
I didn’t manage to write a post yesterday, so I’m a day late with my ideas for this year’s Lenten season. Here they are:
Key off Psalm 103, one or two verses at a time, so we keep in mind God’s character.
Use the Litany of Penitence, one strophe at a time so we can think carefully about each one and make whatever confession we need to make, based on the Spirit’s conviction. The Litany has twelve stanzas, so using two per week will bring us to Holy Week.
Keep track of our progress using a Lenten calendar. The one I’ve chosen (thanks, Suzanne Werder) is a journey with Jesus to the cross. I suggest you download and print this and use color and symbols of your choice to represent your experience day by day. Of course, you can use other Scriptures to enrich this plan.
It would be great for us to use half an hour each day for prayer during Lent, but anything we manage to do is better than nothing, right? Decide for yourself how much you want to invest in this spiritual heartcleaning.
Today, and the next couple of days, as we think with King David about God’s holiness in the context of how praiseworthy he is, let’s start with a general confession. “We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength” fits with the first two verses of Psalm 103. Try to write down at least a paragraph of response to the psalm and the confession (below). What does God’s holiness mean to you?
Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ.
We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have sinned against you.
Hebrews 10:23, 34 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. … There are better things waiting for you that will last forever.
Matthew 28:20 “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
One thing I enjoyed about having breakfast with our friends Mary and Bill was the “promise of the day” they read from a small card extracted from their “promise box.” I imagine Bill continues this practice even though Mary is not there to enjoy it with him.
The promise I most depend on is this one, the last words recorded by Matthew: “I am with you always.” Since Jesus is with me, I’m not ever alone. Everything I care about is under his care and sovereignty. And he himself is the fulfillment of all the other promises.
I want to tell you a “But God” story from last week that relates to this promise. The Karis book in Portuguese will finally be launched by Editora Betânia in Brazil on May 2, 11:00 Eastern time, through an Instagram “Live” @editorabetania. The book has been delayed by Covid, by scheduling issues, and by lack of paper for printing. Finally, though, it’s all coming together. You’re welcome to join us, though it will be in Portuguese!
With its own Brazilian-style cover and color photos inside!
Along with this exciting news, Betânia’s marketing director, Egleson, gave me a long list of tasks to complete. Since I’m not in Brazil, my part of the promotion of the book must be done virtually. It’s not intuitive for me! I had to learn to use Instagram and invite my Brazilian Facebook friends to follow me and Betânia on that site so they can attend the launch. I had to make videos and other posts that fit within Instagram’s parameters. (I know, it’s probably simple for you.)
I struggled one whole morning without much success with understanding a series of procedures new to me. In frustration I cried out to the Lord, “I need help! I need someone who can show me what I’m doing wrong!
Within seconds of my prayer, a message flashed onto my Instagram screen from a Brazilian friend I haven’t seen or talked to for at least twenty years. “Debra, do you need any help with online advertising for the Karis book? I’m trained in that.”
Yeah. I was (am!) stunned. But wait—there’s more!
When I told Vanessa her offer was a direct answer from God, she said, “Well, your need is a direct answer to my prayer. Last week I was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. I asked God to give me something to do to divert my focus from myself, my fear and worry about this health struggle. Then I saw your announcement on Facebook. I want to do all I can to help you let people know about this book. I’ve been reading other things I’ve found written about Karis, and her faith is helping to stabilize mine as I face a huge battle with cancer.”
My need is small. Vanessa’s is huge, literally life-threatening. That God could use us (and the internet!) to help each other is so creative and generous of our Lord. Could there be any greater confirmation that God is with me, even though this work is hard for me? That it is worth what it cost me and my family to write the book? At this moment, for me, I can’t imagine anything that would more effectively shout God’s promise, I am with you. And with Vanessa, facing the assault of cancer.
Many times, I have not felt God’s presence with me. I have cried out to him and have not seen such an immediate response. You too?
Yet our feelings don’t change the trustworthiness of God’s promise, for God cannot lie. He is with us, in our need, whether enormous like Vanessa’s or small like mine. Hold tightly, the author of Hebrews encourages us!
As if to put this word from God to me in bold and italics, yesterday in church we sang a song new to me. I hope it will encourage you as it does me.
Debra Kornfield 