Chapter 2 - I'm A Most Unlikely Witness

I recently had a non-Christian friend share with me that her sister was gravely ill.  She said, "I know you have a relationship with 'The Man Upstairs' and I know he'll listen to you... so please pray for my sister."   Oomph.  It felt like a gut-punch; my breath was taken away.  Of course, she was expecting me to pray for her near-to-death sister to rise from her bed miraculously cured, with the doctors exclaiming they "just don't understand it."  On the other hand, she would be happy with a successful surgery that extended her sister's life a few years, too.  This was most certainly a last-ditch request (aren't they always?)  I felt so inadequate, so ineffectual.  Sure (I said), I'll pray.  And hey (I'm thinking), of course I'd love it if God always did whatever I asked him, whenever I asked him, sort of like a genie in a bottle.

But the reality is:  my God is so beyond that.  As Jo says, we don't just have a message to share, we have a Person to introduce.  We've encountered the dead-alive Jesus, and our lives have never been the same.

So why am I afraid?  Why do I feel like an Unlikely Witness?  What would my friend think if I appeared (to quote Jo) "sweaty, hysterical and wild" proclaiming that I've seen the Lord?

In Matthew's account, the risen Jesus met the amazed women and told them, "Do not be afraid.  Go and tell..."   This same Jesus says in John 10:28, "I give [my believers] eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."  Not only has He risen, but now WE never have to fear death again.

This message of eternity reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3:10-11:  "I have seen the burden God has laid on men.  He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

My heart breaks for my friend and her sister.  My greatest prayer is that they come to know the resurrected Jesus; I pray God draws them to Himself.  I did gently tell my friend that she, too, could join me at the foot of the cross.  (That's the only reason God listens to me, after all.)  And perhaps God was meeting her in this place of brokenness to introduce her to Himself.  But I haven't heard back.  Yet.

So please pray with me, and let's pray for each other, that God would make us faithful, if "unlikely," witnesses in this broken world.  And please pray for my friend and her sister, that their desire for eternity would become Personal.

Chapter Two:  Unlikely Witnesses
Oh, how I loved the story of Arthur and his ministry!  How God used a down trodden drunk as his ambassador to share His wonderful story of eternity for all.  Here was a man that didn't say a word and yet all of Sydney was impacted in some way by what he did for the kingdom.  This begs me to ask what I am doing to further God's kingdom?  I have been pondering Question #5 for two days and still don't have a clear answer.  At my age I should have a VERY clear answer to my life's purpose.  I do know I am much more a "Martha" than a "Mary" and what did Jesus say to Martha! God used women in so many ways as we see in this chapter.  What if the women who went to the tomb had never told another person about what they saw and heard?  Afraid of being laughed at and not believed what would I have done?  Wait!  A better question to ask myself is "what do I do now with great joy to let others know about ETERNITY?

Chapter Two: Not as Those Who Have No Hope

Last year my sister’s brother-in-law passed away suddenly in his early forties, leaving a wife and three children under ten. I remember thinking that if that happened to me, I know I would be thinking over and over that it couldn’t be true, and that my husband would be home soon. 

But what if that really happened? What if I were mourning the loss of my husband only to have him walk in the door after work as usual? How great would be my joy? How would that transform everything?

In the scripture passages we read for this “Unlikely Witness” chapter, we see people transformed by the joy of finding out that the one they loved had returned from the dead. It’s hard for me to put myself in the shoes of those who experienced the sadness of Christ’s death. After all, we know it to be a happy story: it’s wonderful that He died because of what He did for us in that act. But they did not know that at the time.  When they came to Jerusalem in triumph they could not possibly have known that they were about to experience both great sorrow and great transforming joy in a matter of days.  They watched Jesus die and then received the incredible news that he had been resurrected.  But in this case, Jesus did not simply return like Lazarus returned, or Jairus’s daughter, or anyone else who had been brought to life miraculously by Jesus or an old testament prophet.  Yes, those were miracles, and their loved ones rejoiced, but their resurrections did not have the impact that Christ’s did. Christ completely conquered death at his rising!

This means that when we mourn, we do not have to mourn as those who have no hope.  Death no longer has a permanent grip on those Christ died to save. This is the joy that transformed Christ’s followers. The kingdom they were working to bring, the one they thought was hopeless when Christ died, turned out to be bigger than they expected. It turned out to be everlasting!

We are all transformed by this! Let’s never lose sight of that!

Unlikely Witnesses

This is a great chapter title.  It's a fall-back for me when the impossible rears its head...that God uses the unlikely and makes it possible.  It's -14 with the windchill this morning, schools are closed, and all is snow and ice covered. BUT, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. The reminding hope despite the unwelcoming.  My heart has seemed a bit unreachable, my head foggy, and I often attribute much of this on menopause:) You know what I am talking about!

The Arthur Stace story and the women at the tomb made me think of the obedience and power of one.  The power of one; one God, one Savior, uses one person.  So much of life whispers what I do isn't enough; even though it matters with Christ.  These people quietly did what only they were given to do.  It matters even though I don't sometimes see immediate outcomes or the ramifications if I don't.

My one word I would use to capture my own life's purpose, today anyway, would be "dependent".  Often I pick up things like worry, fear, disappointment, rather than pick up Jesus and His word.  It's very self-focusing which I despise at the same time that I do it! So, God, in His very loving and merciful way redirects me and shows me my need.
I am very thankful we are working through this book.  My devotional time often consists of daily Bible time with my homeschoolers but this is a set-a-part time of dependence that I so desperately need; A Desperate Faith indeed.

Praying for us all,

Kristi

Week 2/ February 22nd - February 28th/ Chapter 2 Unlikely Witnesses

This morning I woke to thoughts of Jesus and his earthly death.  As a Mother, I have often thought of Mary as she watched her son on that crucifixion day with a heart that was breaking,. Then my mind skipped to the relief to her and others when he said" It is finished" and Christ's suffering was over.  Until reading Jo's first chapter of "A Desperate Faith" I had never given much thought to what happened to his followers except for his 11 disciples after that day. What shock, total devastation and despair they must ALL have felt!  But God's perfect plan had Christ's return to be with all followers for 40 days.  What a time of EXCITEMENT, HOPE AND JOY this must have been! As he walked, talked and cooked for them (I like that) their faith increase daily. After he left they had the promise of everlasting life with our Heavenly Father.  We Christians can have this EXCITEMENT, HOPE AND JOY for Christ every day if we choose because we are truly blessed to know "the rest of the story".

Chapter 1 --

As I reflect on Christ's resurrection .. Like Kristi I'm thinking with out the resurrection there is no Christainanity ... What hope would we have for the faith we profess?  If Christ didn't reveal himself to the apostles then there would be no church as we know it.  The apostles (like us) were fickle and although Christ told them that he would rise they didn't comprehend what it all meant.  They would have been silenced at His death.  What would have their mission been had Christ not revealed himself those 40 days on earth? Praise God for his sovereign ways! Christ knew there would be skeptics .. (as we see in the gospel of Mathew regarding the guards at the tomb being paid to fabricate the truth) praise God for the hope we have found in His glorious Resurrection! Thank you Lord Jesus for proof in your returning!  Who else can take a small group of believers and turn it into the movement that we know to be today?  (The excerpt from NT Write that Jo mentioned)

Old Hat - Reflections on Chapter 1

Remember the chapter in Little Woman called “Jo Meets Apollyon”?   Jo’s hot temper won’t let her forgive Amy for burning her precious stories, and because she hardens her heart, she almost loses Amy.  Little Women, and the Apollyon chapter in particular, definitely shaped me as child and later as a mother. Like Jo, I had a hot temper that I did not know how to control. Like Jo, I was often full of bitter remorse. Marmee soothed me as she soothed Jo; encouraged me as she encouraged Jo; understood me as she understood Jo.  I was blown away by this fictional mother, and I used to think, “When I am a mother, I’m going to be just like Marmee.”  Marmee: the fount of all patience, wisdom, quietude, forbearance, self-sacrifice, and love. 

Well, I’ve been a mother for more than twenty-three years now, and I’m still falling way short of Marmeehood.   But Marmee is still my ideal, and I guess you could call Little Women my “motherhood bible.”  I’ve read it more often as an adult than I ever did as a child, and even now, if I am stealing a few moments to relax in the tub or enjoy a quiet lunch and I don’t have time to start a new book or read anything heavy, I’ll just grab Little Women and open it at random and enjoy a chapter.  I have read it so many times that I am as familiar with the contents of my motherhood bible as I am with my Holy Bible.

But here’s the thing: Little Women never gets old to me.  I always enjoy reading even a few lines. But I’m sad to say that, lately, Scripture has gotten old. I try to read my Bible, but I get this impatient “I know all this already” feeling that I never get with Alcott.  I never tire of Marmee’s gentle admonitions, but Paul’s seem repetitive.  

Why should this be? It shouldn’t be – that I know! Little Women is a wonderful book, but it’s children’s literature and it was written by a woman of questionable doctrine to say the least. The Bible holds the words of eternal life, written by men directly inspired by the Holy Spirit. It does indeed tell the Greatest Story ever told – a story that did change the world and a story that has the power to shape and change me more profoundly than anything else I could possibly read. Why then should the one book  be ever-fresh and the other old hat?

In this first chapter, Jo Kadlecek writes, “Maybe I’ve come to view Christ’s resurrection in the same way we would a really good action, adventure, and romance movie all rolled into one.…We pop it in the DVD player to watch it one more time before cleaning the house or going to work. We’re warm and fuzzy from its familiarity but rarely changed by it. We don’t always know what to do with it.”

That’s where I am.  Reading the adventures of the March family is soothing escapism. Reading Holy Scripture is guilty agitation. I don’t know what to do with words that should change me but don’t seem to.  I’m anxious about many things, including the fact that reading or hearing the Word that should be a balm is often a source of more agitation.  It’s a bit of a vicious circle - anxiety and guilt feeding more anxiety and guilt.

But I have been here before. And I’ve been renewed in my spirit before - through study, through fellowship – through God’s provision.  I am praying that as we look for new insights in these “old hat” stories and share our reflections with each other, my love for my Savior and His powerful Word will be renewed and strengthened.  I want that. But I know that even these dry days are working for my good and God’s glory.  I’m confident that He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And I trust that through the power of my resurrected and living Savior I will someday be, not like Marmee, but like Christ: the fount of all patience, wisdom, quietude, forbearance, self-sacrifice, and love.

Dear Lord, grant that I may find your Word a glorious feast of peace and promise that leads me to more love, gratitude, and trust!

Reflections over Chapter 1

I loved reading Amy's comments! Thanks Amy. It resonated with my heart and reminds me...And that's what came to me in this chapter.  Jesus is the Resurrection and they go together.  I've not thought of Him without it or one without the other.  There would be no christian faith with no resurrection.  It's impossible, amazing, beautiful, and heartwrentching!  BUT, do I remember in light of my daily life?  Do I recall, savor, and delight in His great love for me?  Does the power get buried under the  cares of this life?  A good beginning for the week.  Praying for us all.

Resurrection Lessons Under the Snow - Chapter 1 Reflection

I had some extra time today, so hope you don't mind if I start the posts now. (Somebody has to go first, right?)  Many thanks to Kristi for organizing the group, and I hope we can be candid with each other as we take this resurrection journey together.  I'm Amy Beasley, a friend of Kristi's from church.

It seems appropriate as I'm reflecting on the first chapter of Jo's book, I look outside to see my world frozen, icy and blanketed with snow.  It seems hard to believe a spring resurrection is possible when there is no apparent evidence of life.  My soul, too, has been chilly lately.  I know the Spirit planted His bulb deep within my soil years ago, but lately I haven't been able to focus very well on prayer or Scripture.  I've been feeling like spring may never come.

But God works in mysterious, gentle ways, and He knew I needed to ask myself the question, "What does [Christ's] resurrection mean for me today?" (Q#4)  Wow.  I can't use the excuse, "Who has time to slow down and come face-to-face with something so ancient and intangible as resurrection?" (to quote Jo)  Instead, as she says, "Who can afford NOT to?"  Thank you, Jo and Kristi, for reminding me to "reach for a Bible, anyway, regardless of how I felt or didn't feel."

Just as Jo's wrestling with the importance of Jesus's resurrection was sparked in part by her mother's death, I, too, have been wrestling with life-and-death questions as I watch my mom slip away in the slow dirge of Alzheimer's.  Twelve years now, and no immediate end in sight.  Dad and I go to the nursing home nearly every day, and I see many others like Mom, losing their ability to speak, understand, and function.  Losing their personalities.  I find myself asking, what is the purpose of this prolonged illness and suffering?  Why doesn't God just take us home?  (Thankfully, Mom is a believer.)  I know that God is good, but what kindness is this?

And then I see Jesus, who after His resurrection, didn't come back just to swoop down and carry off His disciples... He came back to earth, He walked with them, ate with them, showed them His resurrected body, His scars.  He helped them understand the purpose for His suffering, and for theirs.  He gave them hope.  And it changed their lives.  As Jo says, after His resurrection, Jesus didn't change his mission, He was (and is) still pursuing those He loves.  And ultimately, it's all about Him, not me.

So there must be something more excellent, more beautiful, under the snow. "How would we live in this decaying world if the resurrection really was the center of our being?"  I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts over the next several weeks as we explore the answer to that question together.