Can you believe that another month has flown by? This one has been particularly busy for me, and it’s been reflected in my lack of discipline in many areas. When life gets chaotic, it seems that my disciplines are the first to go. I’m seven days behind in my Bible reading, and for most of the month, I was pretty lax about exercising, but both of those areas are currently improving.
I guess the biggest news in my resolution to be more disciplined and intentional is that I’ve started running again. Last week, I downloaded the C25K {Couch to 5K} app, and I’ve actually been using it. I like the fact that it maps my runs and keeps track of my pace. It tells me when to run and when to walk, and so far, the workouts have been manageable. Of course, I’ve only completed week one, but still, it’s better than nothing.
Saturday morning, I dragged myself out of bed and participated in my first real 5K. I’ve walked in a 5K before, but never have I attempted to run in one. I knew going in that I wouldn’t be able to run the whole thing, but I probably ran about a third of the distance. Not too bad, considering that my training consisted of two days of running prior to the race. Here’s evidence of my participation. Please don’t judge me for the unflattering finish line picture.
The 5K was fun. My next goal is to actually run one from start to finish. Maybe by the fall. We shall see. In the meantime, I’m going to keep running in an attempt to develop more discipline in my life.
Until next time, grace and peace.
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor & insolent opponent.
But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I receieved mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
myMISSIONfulfilled has just posted my latest article. Keep reading for a teaser, then click through to myMISSIONfulfilled to read the rest of Sarah’s Laugh.
Please read Genesis 18:1–15.
My mother was barren. She and my father were married for 11 long years before my sister was born. When my parents attended my mom’s 10-year high school reunion, they held the distinct honor of being the couple who had been married the longest without having any children. Their prize? A live rabbit. My mother has never forgotten the humiliation of that moment, and when she tells the story, pain still flickers across her face.
God used the skillful hands of a surgeon to reverse my mother’s infertility and bring life to her barren womb, but for thousands of childless women, indulging the hope that they may bear children is a dangerous and painful activity. It’s easier to stop hoping than it is to have dreams dashed month after month, and, after years of unsuccessful attempts to have a child, some women simply give up.
That’s where Sarah found herself when she and her husband, Abraham, entertained some unexpected visitors. Abraham rushed about, preparing steaks to grill while Sarah kneaded homemade bread. As the visitors settled down outside to enjoy the meal under shade trees, Sarah hovered inside the door of her home and eavesdropped on the conversation…
Lately, I’ve been reading through Jeremiah, and the more I read, the more I’m stricken by what it means to speak the word of God. When I began reading the book, I prayed that the Lord would grant me words to speak just as he promised Jeremiah, but the gravity of Jeremiah’s message is making me have second thoughts about that prayer.
God was faithful to his promise. He “put out his hand” and touched Jeremiah’s mouth, granting him not only words but also an audience. He never promised Jeremiah that the audience would like what he had to say.
Which is why a few short chapters later, Jeremiah wishes he had never been born. The promised words were not pleasant words for the people, and when Jeremiah tried to keep his mouth shut and save his own neck, the words burned within him and demanded release.
“If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” [Jeremiah 20:9]
My Hebrew class is translating passages from Isaiah, which is a bit of divine humor, since everywhere I turn around Isaiah is staring me in the face. Anyway, if you don’t know much about it, Isaiah’s one of the major prophecy books in the Old Testament. It’s a sobering message to God’s people about all the ways they have failed him. Even though they go through all the right motions of worship and sacrifice, it’s all for naught because their hands are covered with the blood of the innocent. They refuse to take care of the orphans and widows in their midst, and they fail to be the bearers of justice, grace and mercy to vulnerable people. Therefore, they have failed to keep their end of the bargain with God (the one that they agreed to when God through Moses led them out of Egypt), and Isaiah delivers a scathing message of judgment and indictment to them. But the book is beautiful because it also testifies to God’s mercy and grace. Even though these people, who are supposed to be God’s own people, have failed so miserably, he preserves a repentant remnant. He restores them. So the book can be roughly divided into two parts: messages of condemnation and messages of consolation.
All of that to say that in one particular passage, Isaiah 6:1-7, Isaiah has this vision of God in the temple. And it’s awe-inspiring. God is so big and mighty that the hem of his robe fills the temple. Angels are flying around overhead shouting praise to the Lord, an incessant chorus of “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts!” Their voices are so thunderous that the temple starts shaking and quaking, and Isaiah’s response is one of despair. He knows that he cannot see the Lord. He knows that he is not worthy to see the Lord. He knows that he is a part of this sinful and rebellious people. He knows that he is about to be destroyed. And he says, “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips.”
