Have you ever mistaken someone for someone else? Perhaps the mistake was due to a hasty glance combined with a few assumptions that led you to conclude that the person you were looking at (or looking for) was someone different from whom they turned out to be.
As we reflect on the Resurrection story and all of the events surrounding it, we find an interesting story of mistaken identity taking place at the tomb. Mary is sitting at the empty tomb weeping and wondering where Jesus was. The last time she had seen Him, He was being placed in a borrowed tomb following His excruciating crucifixion. Now, the tomb is empty and, forgetting Jesus' prophetic words about his resurrection, she thinks someone has taken His body.
She sees a man and, with a hasty glance and an assumption or two, she concludes that he is a gardner. She asks Him if He knew where Jesus was. Can you just see her face when she realizes that the man she mistook for a gardner was in fact the tiller of her soul? The man she thought was an ordinary gardner had just, days ago, watered the garden of Gethsemene with his sweat and blood as He prepared to be raised up Himself!
An old R&B song says, "You are my friend. I never knew it 'til then....I've been looking around and you were here all the time!" How often have we, like those in Jesus' day, been looking all around for Jesus to show up this way or that way based on our assumptions or expectations, and He has already been with us all along?
Going further, how many of us have suffered from a personal mistaken identity, thinking that who we "are" is who the world thinks we are instead of who God destined and designed us to be? How many of us have denied or suppressed our spiritual identity because we are uncomfortable with having to separate from friends, family or situations that we know do not line up with who we truly are? Our mistaken identity can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, unhealthy relationships, poor decisions and an overall life that feels empty.
This Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, why not let that mistaken self-identity die off--the one that says you have all the answers; the one that thinks just because you've been going to church for years you're automatically spiritually mature; the one that thinks you can have a healthy, mature relationship with Jesus Christ where He is your Lord without surrendering everything to Him; the one that allows hypocrits or others with shortcomings to be an excuse for you not loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; the one that thinks your garden can grow without watering it with God's Word daily; the one who has been straddling the fence with one foot in the church and the other in the world for so long that it has become comfortable, leading to the delusion that the fence is a good and acceptable place (especially since so many others are there, too); the one that says you can't respond to a pastor's invitation for prayer or rededication because of what others might think....Have I gotten to your street yet or am I still only on mine?
Satan loves to try to capitalize on our mistaken identities. Sometimes, our enemy seems to know more about who we truly are than we do, which is why some of us are so heavily attacked. Once we fully accept who we are and whose we are, we won't fall so readily for the enemy's re-write of our life's story.
When we are no longer mistaken about who we are, we can then boldly tell the enemy that he is the only one mistaken--for thinking that we would never wake up and see the light! And, just like he had mistaken Jesus for someone he could keep down, he made a big mistake in failing to recognize that we are more than conquerers through Christ Jesus!
No weapon formed against us shall prosper--not even the weapon of mistaken identity! Know Jesus, "know thyself and to thine own (God-ordained) self be true!"
Have a blessed and transforming Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday!
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
A weekly posting of encouraging and challenging thoughts about life from Rev. Karen W. Curry, a pastor's wife and mother of two who is also --in her "spare time"-- a dynamic preacher, teacher, motivational speaker, facilitator, writer, reviewer, poet, MC, liturgical dance/drama consultant and storyteller. Contact Rev. Karen at BNcouraged247@msn.com to speak at your next service or retreat.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Many Ways In; One Way Out
Have you ever thought about why we don't have to teach children to lie, but we do have to teach them to tell the truth? Or, why we don't have to teach them to be selfish, but we do have to teach them how to share?
God's Word says we were all "born in sin and shaped in iniquity," and furthermore that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." If we are honest about it, we see these truths demonstrated daily in our own lives and of those around us.
There is no shortage of ways for us to get ourselves into trouble, but only one true way out of it.
We might think that drugs, alchohol, sexual promiscuity or burying ourselves in work are ways to get us out of negative or poorly-defined self-images, loneliness, depression or other challenges. Perhaps we find ourselves in a bad or inappropriate relationship and decide that time is our friend--if we just wait long enough somehow things will "just change."Or, we might think that telling a lie will cover for our other lies and shortcomings.
The problem is these "solutions" are only doorways to more trouble, not less.
Sometimes, life can seem like an enormous web with innumerable sticky situations just waiting for us to stumble into them. Some of them we stumble blindly into, others we stumble into with our eyes wide open.
No matter how we try to dress it up, we know when we have fallen off track. The challenge is, we don't want to accept that the only way to get back on track is to call on the name of Jesus. Perhaps it sounds too simple--sometimes we think complicated is better. Perhaps our pride doesn't want to accept submitting to a higher authority.
Calling on the name of Jesus does mean literally doing so, for,"whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved," but it also implies having and maintaining relationship, a connection. You cannot call on one in whom you have no faith. You do not call on someone you do not know.
God's Word tells us that there is "no other name...by which men must be saved," and that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me."
The blessing is, not only does our relationship with Jesus assure us salvation for our souls in the afterlife, it is a guidepost for our everyday struggles. Once we find ourselves in a struggle or in trouble, we don't have to find our way out--we just need to find our way to Jesus.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
God's Word says we were all "born in sin and shaped in iniquity," and furthermore that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." If we are honest about it, we see these truths demonstrated daily in our own lives and of those around us.
There is no shortage of ways for us to get ourselves into trouble, but only one true way out of it.
We might think that drugs, alchohol, sexual promiscuity or burying ourselves in work are ways to get us out of negative or poorly-defined self-images, loneliness, depression or other challenges. Perhaps we find ourselves in a bad or inappropriate relationship and decide that time is our friend--if we just wait long enough somehow things will "just change."Or, we might think that telling a lie will cover for our other lies and shortcomings.
The problem is these "solutions" are only doorways to more trouble, not less.
Sometimes, life can seem like an enormous web with innumerable sticky situations just waiting for us to stumble into them. Some of them we stumble blindly into, others we stumble into with our eyes wide open.
No matter how we try to dress it up, we know when we have fallen off track. The challenge is, we don't want to accept that the only way to get back on track is to call on the name of Jesus. Perhaps it sounds too simple--sometimes we think complicated is better. Perhaps our pride doesn't want to accept submitting to a higher authority.
Calling on the name of Jesus does mean literally doing so, for,"whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved," but it also implies having and maintaining relationship, a connection. You cannot call on one in whom you have no faith. You do not call on someone you do not know.
God's Word tells us that there is "no other name...by which men must be saved," and that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me."
The blessing is, not only does our relationship with Jesus assure us salvation for our souls in the afterlife, it is a guidepost for our everyday struggles. Once we find ourselves in a struggle or in trouble, we don't have to find our way out--we just need to find our way to Jesus.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Reality Check
"Can you spare the change?"
That phrase was uttered regularly by a man who used to hang around outside of the office building where I worked years ago. It's a phrase many of us who work in the city are accustomed to hearing. The only difference is that this gentleman is what I call a "BWA"-- beggar with attitude. He would begin by asking "can anyone spare the change?" If he got no immediate response, he would raise his voice and select the nearest individual to stare down and and forcefully inquire, "Mam! (Sir!) can YOU spare the change?!" After that, he would throw his hands in the air and yell out to no one in particular, "Can ANYone spare the change?!!!"
His efforts were not very successful.
Why? Probably because his attitude scared away or turned off many would-be supporters. You might say that people should have looked past his attitude and focused on his need. Perhaps. But, let's be real about it. How often have you been so turned off by someone's attitude that you simply turned off your attention to them?
Sometimes, we don't want to believe that our attitudes influence others' responses to us. As parents, some of us are quick to claim that our child's bad grade is the result of a teacher who "just doesn't like our child." The reality might actually be that our weak (or non-existent) approach to discipline, lax attitude about getting our child to school on time, negative comments about the school, etc. might have worked their way into the child's mind and showed up in the form of the child disrespecting the teacher or not following instructions as closely as they would if a positive, respectful attitude was modeled and encouraged.
On the job, we sometimes get jealous about someone else who gets ahead for what we call "brown nosing." In fact, he or she may have simply recognized that "you have to get along to get ahead" while we mumble and grumble with an air of negativity and an entitlement mentality that we are owed something just for hanging around a long time.
In the book of Romans, the first chapter, Paul refers to those who "exchange the truth of God for a lie." If we stop from time to time to take a reality check, we might find that, while we know that we are often are own worst enemy, we would rather believe the lie that our challenges are everyone else's fault.
"I'm this way because my mother did this..." or "I'm this way because my father didn't do that..." While it's true we are all products of our upbringing and environment, we are all new creations through Christ Jesus. A reality check forces us to not just superficially exclaim our woundedness and inadequacies but to fully expose them to the light of Christ so that we can be more like Him. We sometimes cling to our shortcomings as badges of honor, "You know I have a temper...." instead of going further to say, "...and I wonder how much it has cost me in lost opportunities and wounded friendships?"
As we continue in the season of Lent when we fast and give up things for our own (and the greater) good, maybe now is a good time to do a reality check on our attitudes and give up any attitude that is not Christlike--anything from being aloof, to arrogant, to overly critical, to pessimistic, to just generally negative and grumpy.
In these hard times, it's understandable that we might sometimes feel burdened or frustrated. It's also true that there are actually bad teachers, people who get promoted unfairly, and so on. Those situations, however, do not justify us becoming BWAs, expecting everyone (including God) to just turn a blind eye to how we behave and treat others. The golden rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" still applies. And, for clarification, it's not "do unto others what they do to you" or "do unto others before they do unto you."
When we are out of sorts or simply out of order, let's be open to allowing God to show us "a more excellent way" so that we can conform to God's truth about life and our place in it-- a reality check we can truly bank on.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
That phrase was uttered regularly by a man who used to hang around outside of the office building where I worked years ago. It's a phrase many of us who work in the city are accustomed to hearing. The only difference is that this gentleman is what I call a "BWA"-- beggar with attitude. He would begin by asking "can anyone spare the change?" If he got no immediate response, he would raise his voice and select the nearest individual to stare down and and forcefully inquire, "Mam! (Sir!) can YOU spare the change?!" After that, he would throw his hands in the air and yell out to no one in particular, "Can ANYone spare the change?!!!"
His efforts were not very successful.
Why? Probably because his attitude scared away or turned off many would-be supporters. You might say that people should have looked past his attitude and focused on his need. Perhaps. But, let's be real about it. How often have you been so turned off by someone's attitude that you simply turned off your attention to them?
Sometimes, we don't want to believe that our attitudes influence others' responses to us. As parents, some of us are quick to claim that our child's bad grade is the result of a teacher who "just doesn't like our child." The reality might actually be that our weak (or non-existent) approach to discipline, lax attitude about getting our child to school on time, negative comments about the school, etc. might have worked their way into the child's mind and showed up in the form of the child disrespecting the teacher or not following instructions as closely as they would if a positive, respectful attitude was modeled and encouraged.
On the job, we sometimes get jealous about someone else who gets ahead for what we call "brown nosing." In fact, he or she may have simply recognized that "you have to get along to get ahead" while we mumble and grumble with an air of negativity and an entitlement mentality that we are owed something just for hanging around a long time.
In the book of Romans, the first chapter, Paul refers to those who "exchange the truth of God for a lie." If we stop from time to time to take a reality check, we might find that, while we know that we are often are own worst enemy, we would rather believe the lie that our challenges are everyone else's fault.
"I'm this way because my mother did this..." or "I'm this way because my father didn't do that..." While it's true we are all products of our upbringing and environment, we are all new creations through Christ Jesus. A reality check forces us to not just superficially exclaim our woundedness and inadequacies but to fully expose them to the light of Christ so that we can be more like Him. We sometimes cling to our shortcomings as badges of honor, "You know I have a temper...." instead of going further to say, "...and I wonder how much it has cost me in lost opportunities and wounded friendships?"
As we continue in the season of Lent when we fast and give up things for our own (and the greater) good, maybe now is a good time to do a reality check on our attitudes and give up any attitude that is not Christlike--anything from being aloof, to arrogant, to overly critical, to pessimistic, to just generally negative and grumpy.
In these hard times, it's understandable that we might sometimes feel burdened or frustrated. It's also true that there are actually bad teachers, people who get promoted unfairly, and so on. Those situations, however, do not justify us becoming BWAs, expecting everyone (including God) to just turn a blind eye to how we behave and treat others. The golden rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" still applies. And, for clarification, it's not "do unto others what they do to you" or "do unto others before they do unto you."
When we are out of sorts or simply out of order, let's be open to allowing God to show us "a more excellent way" so that we can conform to God's truth about life and our place in it-- a reality check we can truly bank on.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
To Blog or Not to Blog?
Hello, Beloved Blog Family!
This week's Wednesday blog is about how I have simply been too bogged down to blog.
I knew it would eventually happen. I started this journey in September and have not missed a single Wednesday. Yet, I always wondered if the day would come that I just didn't have anything to blog about. I pondered about how I would handle it. Would I send out a cancellation notice, informing everyone to "tune in next week"? Would I issue a repeat of one of my favorite blogs? Would I post a lesson from one of the devotionals I read for encouragement? Would I simply delay it to another day of the week?
I finally decided that the only thing to do is to do what a writer does--write. After all, aren't blogs often merely written recordings of stream of consciousness thoughts flowing from the heart and mind of the writer to the hearts and minds of the readers? If I am honest, at this moment, the thoughts that are flowing through my mind are all about the challenge of pressing on with personal goals when life's responsibilities clamor louder than desired.
But, then I remember that, when life gets too loud, we can't stop. We just "Sloooow Down" and remember that "You Gotta Have Faith" because "This is a Test." There's no need to play "The Blame Game" because I am "Born Free". That means I am free to admit that sometimes, even when it comes to things I really love, like writing blogs, there are times when "I Don't Feel Like It", but I can keep pressing on knowing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Well, "It's Getting Late" and I've got to get back to the grind of life. Writing this blog was actually a great break and a breather for me. Maybe that's all God wanted you (and me) to think about this week. When life gets too full, be honest about it, take a break, take a breath, and get back into the game.
"To Blog or Not to Blog?" I guess the answer has revealed itself.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
This week's Wednesday blog is about how I have simply been too bogged down to blog.
I knew it would eventually happen. I started this journey in September and have not missed a single Wednesday. Yet, I always wondered if the day would come that I just didn't have anything to blog about. I pondered about how I would handle it. Would I send out a cancellation notice, informing everyone to "tune in next week"? Would I issue a repeat of one of my favorite blogs? Would I post a lesson from one of the devotionals I read for encouragement? Would I simply delay it to another day of the week?
I finally decided that the only thing to do is to do what a writer does--write. After all, aren't blogs often merely written recordings of stream of consciousness thoughts flowing from the heart and mind of the writer to the hearts and minds of the readers? If I am honest, at this moment, the thoughts that are flowing through my mind are all about the challenge of pressing on with personal goals when life's responsibilities clamor louder than desired.
But, then I remember that, when life gets too loud, we can't stop. We just "Sloooow Down" and remember that "You Gotta Have Faith" because "This is a Test." There's no need to play "The Blame Game" because I am "Born Free". That means I am free to admit that sometimes, even when it comes to things I really love, like writing blogs, there are times when "I Don't Feel Like It", but I can keep pressing on knowing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Well, "It's Getting Late" and I've got to get back to the grind of life. Writing this blog was actually a great break and a breather for me. Maybe that's all God wanted you (and me) to think about this week. When life gets too full, be honest about it, take a break, take a breath, and get back into the game.
"To Blog or Not to Blog?" I guess the answer has revealed itself.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
It's Getting Late...
"What time is it?"
My seven-year-old loves to ask that question. Often, he would ask with such a sense of urgency, it was as if he had an appointment or something to get ready for. In what quickly became a familiar scenario, he would ask for the time, his father or I would tell him what time it was and, a short while later, he would ask again! After a number of times of going back and forth about the time, we finally decided it was time....
He now has his own clock.
When I consider the time in which we live, we are living in a record-breaking, history-making time --massive earthquakes, unprecedented snowfalls, historic flooding, unparalleled violence in our communities and schools, rampant teen pregnancies, deadly sexually transmitted diseases, gender identity crises, political and celebrity scandals, economic downfall, historic elections....
And yet, we still ask, "What time is it?"
It's time for us to realize that God has been answering that question for decades. We have our own clock--the Bible. In it, God has already told us that, while no man knows the day or the hour that Jesus Christ will return, we know that He will return for the final judgement, and we should heed the signs and prepare for His coming.
What time is it?
Let's ask Jeremiah what time it is....
"I listen to their conversations, and what do I hear? Is anyone sorry for sin? Does anyone say, 'What a terrible thing I have done'? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse rushing into battle! The stork knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know what the LORD requires of them." (Jeremiah 8:6-7, New Living Translation--NLT)
Let's ask Timothy what time it is...
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" (2 Timothy 3: 1-5, NLT)
Let's ask Mark what time it is...
"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it (Christ's return) is near--at the doors!" (Mark 13:28, New King James)
Keep in mind that, regardless of whether Christ comes back in our lifetime or not, if He doesn't come to us, one day we will all leave this life and (if we have accepted Him) go to be with Him. So, either way, we need to be prepared. We all have an appointed time to give account of how we used the lives God so generously and sacrificially gave us.
I don't know exactly how much time any of us really have, but I do know this, when I read the signs of the times, I can tell it's getting late....
BNcouraged and "B" ready!
Rev. Karen
My seven-year-old loves to ask that question. Often, he would ask with such a sense of urgency, it was as if he had an appointment or something to get ready for. In what quickly became a familiar scenario, he would ask for the time, his father or I would tell him what time it was and, a short while later, he would ask again! After a number of times of going back and forth about the time, we finally decided it was time....
He now has his own clock.
When I consider the time in which we live, we are living in a record-breaking, history-making time --massive earthquakes, unprecedented snowfalls, historic flooding, unparalleled violence in our communities and schools, rampant teen pregnancies, deadly sexually transmitted diseases, gender identity crises, political and celebrity scandals, economic downfall, historic elections....
And yet, we still ask, "What time is it?"
It's time for us to realize that God has been answering that question for decades. We have our own clock--the Bible. In it, God has already told us that, while no man knows the day or the hour that Jesus Christ will return, we know that He will return for the final judgement, and we should heed the signs and prepare for His coming.
What time is it?
Let's ask Jeremiah what time it is....
"I listen to their conversations, and what do I hear? Is anyone sorry for sin? Does anyone say, 'What a terrible thing I have done'? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse rushing into battle! The stork knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know what the LORD requires of them." (Jeremiah 8:6-7, New Living Translation--NLT)
Let's ask Timothy what time it is...
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" (2 Timothy 3: 1-5, NLT)
Let's ask Mark what time it is...
"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it (Christ's return) is near--at the doors!" (Mark 13:28, New King James)
Keep in mind that, regardless of whether Christ comes back in our lifetime or not, if He doesn't come to us, one day we will all leave this life and (if we have accepted Him) go to be with Him. So, either way, we need to be prepared. We all have an appointed time to give account of how we used the lives God so generously and sacrificially gave us.
I don't know exactly how much time any of us really have, but I do know this, when I read the signs of the times, I can tell it's getting late....
BNcouraged and "B" ready!
Rev. Karen
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