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Grudge or Grace

May 26, 2012 by vernabowman

Humans aren’t natural forgivers.  Take note of how many angry people you meet along your day.  Take special note if you’re one of them.

Consider . . . for every minute of anger, we lose sixty seconds of peace.

What measure of insult or transgression have you had to deal with lately? Has it been someone hurling shouts, fists, or simply getting in the way of your happiness? Has it been a stranger or a loved one?  It’s more challenging when it’s the latter.

Over the years I’ve learned the hard way how to chart my course and pick my battles. But, a question gets in the way. . .

How do we forgive the repeat offender?  I’m asking . . .

Then I ask, what is the alternative to forgiveness?  Revenge?  Bitterness?

I choose grace.

A grudge just sounds bad, grrrr.  Kind of like an irritable animal no one wants to get near.  Have you ever heard the saying, a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping another dies?

Sometimes we don’t know if we’re holding a grudge . . . but others do.

There have been times I’m asked how I can forgive an unthinkable act.

I can’t, but through Jesus . . .

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

What has been misunderstood by the one asking the question was the lengthy process (yet, instant) it took to get there.  Forgiveness is a choice . . . now.  However, sometimes it takes time to have it flow from the head to the heart, down to the feet to actually walk it out.

The Bible is filled with stories of forgiveness from Eden to the cross.

The beautiful forgiveness accounts in Genesis 25-33, the story of the divided brothers, Jacob and Esau, who run to one another with a forgiveness embrace. The story of Joseph (Genesis 37-45) thrown into a pit and sold out by family. He had plenty of reason not to get over it.

Then, recall the famous brother story of un-forgiveness resulting in murder because Cain chose not to get over it.

Maybe you don’t relate to the stories in the Bible.

Maybe you will understand the amazing picture of grace in this one . . .

A few years ago I was at a women’s retreat where a speaker told a story of radical forgiveness . . . it was unforgettable.  It took place in near-by Lancaster County, Pa (before the Nickel Mines tragedy).  A young man, a drunk driver, hit the back of a buggy carrying a family with a new bride and groom.  The bride was killed instantly.  The mourning groom went home to live with his new bride’s family.  One day the young man responsible for the accident came along with his father to the home of the Amish family to beg forgiveness. The family welcomed him and sat them at table.

Amish grace.  God’s grace.  Indefinable, unbelievable.

It reminds me of how we may ask God’s forgiveness, repent, and are welcomed at His table.

Forgiveness is the balm on the scar of transgression that brings healing.

As I write this I have the choice to nurse a grudge or rehearse the truths that can bring me to the healing place. . . . . everyday.

Or, I’ll fail and be one of those angry people you might encounter today!

Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet leaves on the heel of the one who crushes it. 

Mark Twain

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Holding on to Hope

May 19, 2012 by vernabowman

Have you ever felt like the woman on the tracks?

I’ve felt like a damsel in distress.

The dramatic one lying across the rails is my daughter.  She has a good time no matter the circumstances . . . actually she just celebrated a rather “high-end” birthday.  She’s been a good source of strength and humor throughout the years when I’ve reached the point of wanting to jump off the planet.

However, we can’t depend on even those closest to us to supply the hope we need when facing hopeless situations.

This past week I’ve spoken to those who are heartbroken and bewildered over wayward children, difficulties in marriage, mounting financial pressures, and battling terminal illnesses, and others just trying to get through the day.

How do we get through the dark places when we’re crushed by life?

Sometimes we’re at a loss for healing words.  Embraces matter more.  Pointing someone (and ourselves) to the only source of hope . . . God . . .  matters even more.

When I was a child, I would often cling to the edge of my mother’s skirt. She had her hands full of canning jars, walking the narrow and dark path to the cellar.  I could hold only one jar . . .  but, my hand holding fast to the hem was the one that held security.

I knew she was as close as her skirt.

It’s the picture I continue to see as I cling to the hem of Jesus, who carries it all for me when I’m able to carry only the smallest portion. . . . in my little-ness.

Sovereignty doesn’t go off duty because we’re suffering.  Often the delays are when He’s working overtime in our lives.

Take a moment to reflect on where you place your hope.  Is it in good government, financial planning, a person?  They’ll fail.

The word hope (elpis) means, favorable and confident expectation.  The Bible is filled with passages of hope.

The next time you are listening to the news, the reminder how bad things are, pick up your Hope verses, and see if you have a different view of what’s going on around you in the world, especially in your personal world.

It’s all about where we fix our gaze.

Our Shepherd majors in hope.  He knows the way.

He is right where you’re reading.

Let’s hold on together . . .

You are my hiding place and my shield.  I hope in Your Word.  Psalm 119:114

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Yester-time Moms

May 12, 2012 by vernabowman

I sometimes wonder if my mother could be the same parent today as she was in the 50’s.  Although the voices of culture have made radical changes in family life, I believe she could.  Her child-rearing principles were unchanging.

Challenges are countless for the moms of today.  I speak with many women who are weary busy.

I understand.  I remember.

Oh, but the challenges of yesteryear moms must have seemed overwhelming!

Think about the ancient moms of the Bible.  The garden mom, Eve, the first woman to have a baby!  Wow! No books, no midwife.  After the fall, she suffered the heartbreak of dysfunction in her family . . . brother against brother.

The sacred mama of Jesus labored while on a donkey, birthing her holy baby on the floor of a cave.  And then, this young mom had the responsibility to teach and protect the baby Messiah.

Fast forward to the time of television moms . . . extremes from June Cleaver to Peg Bundy, the “ladies we’ve learned from” . . .   My admiration was for the patient and wise Caroline Ingalls, the pioneer mom of Little House on the Prairie.

She never had a melt down.

Through the ages, God’s design for the amazing role of mother-dom is unchanging . . . to give life, teach, nurture and protect the heritage He has given us.  It has been my privilege to be a mom, no matter the stage my children were growing through, no matter the season I was going through.  I have learned much from them.

And, unlike Ma Ingalls, I’ve had a melt down. . . .

No matter how our culture changes, a mother’s heart remains.

I look to my own mom, an everlasting example to me . . . not a biblical mom, not a tv mom, but a practical woman with extravagant dedication to her family.  Her eye was faithfully upon me clear, and remained upon me even when it became faded and framed with flesh time-lines . . . still holding out a wrinkled hand of help. She infused strength into and down to her great-granddaughters.

No matter what stage of mamahood or grammahood, we can be a strong influence and example to leave long after our homegoing.

So, on this I Remember Mama Day, I honor her, and I honor my children who have allowed me to be a lasting legacy in their life.

Children are our heritage.  Our faith is their inheritance.

Her children rise up and call her blessed . . . Proverbs 31:28

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Do You Want To Get Well?

May 3, 2012 by vernabowman

Jesus asked the strangest questions . . . or did He?

It’s feast time in the city.  The Lamb enters through the Sheep Gate into Jerusalem and chooses to walk among the lame, the blind, and the withered.  Over the course of my young life, I was all three waiting for someone to come along and change my situation.

In John 5:1-9 we see one who stayed sick until he met Jesus.  Paralyzed for 38 years, laying next to healing waters, yet waiting for someone to help him in.  This man was like many of the infirm that lined the floors, waiting for an annual angel visit to stir the Bethesda healing pool.  Waiting for waters to move, because they couldn’t.

As I read the gospel story, I can smell the sickness while walking by the emaciated.  I can see the haunting glances and vacant faces of the hurting while pleading for healing mercy.

It’s not just a scene from thousands of years ago in the holy city, but today, everyday . . .  we pass by the hurting and withered in spirit.

Jesus had a holy knack to ask the most pointed questions. You could ponder for a lifetime before you discover yourself enough to answer.

The question behind the question is “Do you want to be changed?”

So, Jesus looks into the face of one (and every one) and says, “Do you want to get well?  The afflicted one, much like us, answers “I cant” . .  “I need someone to help.”

What if the paralytic said, “No thanks, I’ll be fine. I can stay here for the other half of my life and keep waiting for someone to put me in.”

Merciful Jesus doesn’t pick him up and toss him in.  He says, “Rise up and walk.”  The one who couldn’t, now does.  Divine healing.

Sometimes afflictions can define us if we let them. 

Many of us truly can’t physically get up, but we can spiritually rise up above our excuses, our emotional wounds, and unhealthy patterns that keep us paralyzed on the ground. We can arise from the place of “No thanks!”

We seek expensive healing for our bodies today – or – doctors and pharmaceuticals wouldn’t be so prevalent.  However, we have available a free of charge fix for our spiritually sick souls.

But, I might have to change!  I might have to quit blaming others for my condition!

Isn’t this how we feel at times?

Look to the One who asks where we hurt and if we wish to get well. He’s waiting for our answer.

Everybody into the pool!

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well!  Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”  John 5:14

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Warfare Wardrobe

April 29, 2012 by vernabowman

How are you doing in battle?

If you’re residing on the same globe, you’ll agree life is a war zone. You may be noticing as the lights go down in our already dark world we need more than ourselves to get through daily living.

We need God.

In this world we will have tribulation.  John 16:33

We have an enemy who sends fiery deadly-D darts our way . . . discouragement, doubt, depression.  But, his mission is far more . . .  not only to defeat, but to destroy.

Unfortunately, it’s not a video game where you get to level three destroying computer generated demons on the way.  There is a reality-realm where we need the unseen clothes to battle the unseen war.  Flesh and blood we might handle, but principalities call for supernatural garments.

If demons weren’t real, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to cast so many out.

As Christian women we fight for our peace, our joy, our heart and battle for our homes, marriages, and children in the day of reckless evil.  But, we can be more victorious than ancient warriors.  We don’t have to experience confusion and weakness.

Put on the FULL armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of your adversary. (Ephesians 6: 11).

Don’t let the enemy catch you half-dressed.  He works around the clock and never calls a truce.

So, the next time someone sees you still standing and comments on your royal wardrobe, just say “This old thing?  My helmet of salvation?  Oh, I’ve had it for years.  It still fits!”

Our timeless ensemble doesn’t go out of style, yet thousands of years vintage.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, we can dress for success in six easy steps:

Stand firm having girded your loins with the belt of truth, (so we can hear it, and speak it).  Put on the breastplate of righteousness (to protect our heart), shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.  Take up the shield of faith to extinguish the flaming missiles, take the helmet of salvation (know who you belong to), and sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (:14-17) . . .

. . . and, don’t forget the military order to PRAY AT ALL TIMES!

The next time you wonder what shoes to wear . . . put on the sandals of peace and spread Jesus with every step.  Gird up with more than spanx today. Make truth your foundation garment.  So, left hand shield, right hand sword . . . everything prayed on?

We’re dressed to stand together and fight the enemy . . .

THERE IS NO NEUTRAL GROUND IN THE UNIVERSE.  EVERY SQUARE INCH, EVERY SPLIT SECOND, IS CLAIMED BY GOD AND COUNTERCLAIMED BY SATAN.  CS Lewis

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Chatting With Your Soul

April 21, 2012 by vernabowman

Would you believe you can make a difference in your emotional, spiritual, and physical well being by talking to yourself?

The psaltery journals of David penned in palaces, caves and shepherd fields, remind us how he strengthened himself in the words of the Lord.  When his soul was downcast, he chatted with his inner breath . . . .

O my soul, bless the Lord . . . .

I don’t know what kind of day he was having when he jotted down Psalm 103, but I think he was fairly overwhelmed with life.  Like us.

Many psalms have helped me through the day and long of night.

Think about your day, or your last week(s). How could it have been different if you reversed the negative by affirming yourself with a positive from holy wisdom?

It may not change the circumstances, but it should change the way you face it.

Working in a doctor’s office, I am surrounded by those battling health and death, family and financial struggle, and worried hearts that believe a pill will mend it all.

If you believe you can’t . . . you won’t.

We need hope, we need encouragement.  The word hope means confident expectation and the word encouragement means to urge forward. . . . we can do that for another.

We can do that for ourselves.

When self says, “you can’t do this, you won’t get past this, this is all there is” . . . the counsel of soul says, NOT!

When faith dims, make Psalm 103 your prayer . . . aloud.  Speak the word of God over your health, your circumstances, your children . . . your life.

Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits. 

He forgives all your offenses.

He heals all your diseases.

He redeems your life from the pit.

He surrounds you with grace and compassion.

He contents you with good as long as you live.  . . .so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.  (vs 1-5) CJV

How did David get from I think I can to I know I can, OR  I think God can to I know God can . . . how can we?

The shepherd-king got through his day and his life by coaching his soul, remembering the goodness and greatness of God.

Rehearse the promises.  He forgives, heals, redeems, surrounds and contents.

Remember what God has done for you, and speak over the loud voice of despair.

So, self . . .  echo soul . . .  and say, “today some good stuff is going to happen!”

Bless the Lord, O my soul . . . Psalm 103:1

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My Begats

April 14, 2012 by vernabowman

How many of us know the name of our great-grandmother?  Or, our great-greats?  I have a Sara Jane and a plain Sarah.  I also have a John Henry Carter back there, the only believing relative I’m aware of.  Years ago I did an extensive genealogy search, complete with photos and stories.  One family member was displeased with me for overturning dirt.

Most of us have come from a mixed heritage.  We all have it, even Jesus.

It would be nice to boast of a heritage of those coming over on the Mayflower, but my family was more like the Irish immigrants stowed in steerage on the Titanic.  Either way, our families are an heirloom, and we get only one group of humans assigned to us by DNA and God’s creative design.

Not even Jesus had a sinless lineage. In the first 17 verses of Matthew, we see a list of the boring begats, or are they?  Genealogies are important because they demonstrate the mystery and majesty of God’s plan.

A few identifiable names among the unpronounceable include four women.  In a time when women were not included in Jewish history, only father to son, it’s amazing to see the four names recorded as part of the royals leading up to the birth of the Messiah.

The God-inspired Scriptures deemed profitable for us tells of the ancestry scattered with shame.  Jesus wanted His family recorded, all of them.

Tamar, the scheming widow yearned for offspring and posed as a shrine prostitute to trick her father-in-law, Judah, resulting in pregnancy to preserve the line (Genesis 38).

Rahab, the Jericho harlot, sheltered spies and later was known for faith and courage. (Joshua 2).

Bathsheba, the woman involved in infidelity with King David, yet years later became the mother of Solomon, an ancestor of Jesus.  (2 Samuel 11).

And, the dear one, Ruth, different from the other ladies, but from the despised nation of Moab.  Ruth was not a Jew, yet God chose her to be in the line of the Kinsman Redeemer (Ruth  1-4).

Worthy accounts of a turn-around.  . .  a desperate housewife, two prostitutes, and an adulteress, all part of the Messianic family tree.

The stories are not about the sin, but about the grace of God.

Our Savior had a background much like you and me.  Every one of us has a lifeline stained with sin, which is the reason for verse :18, Now the birth of Jesus was as follows . . .

When I look through the tattered scrapbooks, filled with black and white remembrances of long ago . . . I see grace on every page.

The photo above is my great-great grandmother, Lizzie. . . . she looks nice.

To my great-great-greats, I can leave a blessing or a curse by the way I live.

How can our lives influence the next generation?

The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1

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