Remember. Don't Forget.

How many times do we read in the Old Testament “remember” this and “don’t forget” that? Blake Newsome mentioned this in his chapel sermon last Thursday, pointing out that Deuteronomy 8 is full of such references.

So we’ve been remembering. Remembering what it was like to be a part of the seminary community eight years ago when Hurricane Katrina came for a visit. Remembering when three years later, then-mayor Ray Nagin instructed New Orleans and NOBTS’ers to hit the road again in anticipation of “the mother of all storms” (a.k.a. Gustav). Remembering the end of last August and the disruption Isaac brought to our schedules and lives.

Reflecting on her Katrina experience, Courtney Veasey wrote: Eight years ago today, at the age of twenty-two, I learned a very important life lesson: to hold YOUR plans with open hands. I had just graduated college, spent the summer doing mission work, and then set off on my first "adult" adventure of moving to New Orleans to begin graduate school.  Three weeks after that move, I found myself back in Florida and watching in unbelief with the rest of the nation (and world) as Hurricane Katrina invaded our shores and brought with it, quite literally, a flood of devastation. I lived on a first floor apartment at the back of the school campus where most of the flood damage occurred. Needless to say, when I returned nearly a month later to retrieve any belongings I could from the rubble, what could be salvaged was minimal.  It had taken two SUV's to get my belongings there in August, and one carboard box to carry out what remained in September ... humbling. [To read the rest of these thoughts, see Courtney’s blog at http://courtneyveasey.com]

What is it that you need to remember -- not for the sake of dredging up bad memories but to reminded of how you saw God at work in ways that you might not have seen Him otherwise? Sheila Taylor, in response to a Facebook post about the significance of August 29 in our lives, pointed out: “We will never forget Katrina, but most of all we will never forget the faithfulness of our God.”

It’s fixin’ to get real, girlfriends. You may not have a hurricane story in your Christ-walk narrative but I trust you’ve got something in your personal journey that reminds you over and over and over that He is faithful and active and loves to show up in the middle of ‘impossible.’

Your first quizzes are rolling in. Your first papers are coming due. Your first seminary stress-outs are lurking nearby. It will be easy to forget the work of the Lord that got you here. It will be easy to trade the peace you felt as you applied to come here for sweat-producing anxiety as the due dates pile up.

Instead, remember. And, even more, don’t forget.

"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God ….” (Deuteronomy 8:11a)

Hold Me, Daddy, Hold Me

The worship leader invited us to raise our hands in praise as we joined voices to honor Almighty God. I have to confess that, at times, I am tentative about this kind of instruction coming from the stage because I think one’s worship posture ought to be more spontaneous and personal. But he followed his initial appeal with these words: 'like a small child raising his hands for his father to pick him up and hold him.'

Pictures of many of the children I've seen in this posture ran through my mind, and my heart smiled. They’re so trusting and expectant as they hold up their hands and say, “Hold me, Daddy, hold me!” In that moment, I wanted to express that affection, so I threw my hands in the air with abandon along with so many others.

A while back, Rich Mullins wrote the words:

Sometimes my life just don’t make sense at all

When the mountains seems so big, and my faith just seems so small.

So, hold me, Jesus, I’m shaking like a leaf.

You have been King of my glory; won’t you be my Prince of Peace?

The start of a new semester holds a kind of scary anticipation (for those who have taken Total Wellness and the Minister, this is eustress and distress at its finest!). We can’t wait to see what’s in store but, then again, we’re a bit nervous about what might be in store. We love the fun surprises but hold our collective breath through the difficult challenges.

 Be proactive. Go ahead and invite your Heavenly Father to hold you through this semester … through the good grades and the hard assignments … through the relationship highs and the late-night lows. Remember the Apostle Paul’s invitation to worry about nothing but, instead, to give it all to God with thanksgiving. And then, get ready, because according to Philippians 4:7, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

A Big Show-Off

The opening night of Euroventure we enjoyed some amazing worship with 'Good Luck Penny,' a group from Orlando and beyond. At one point the leader asked us to turn and face the windows where we could look on the mountains. Even before we began to sing 'how great is our God,' I was already sensing a need to see the greatness of God in a new and fresh way.

Notice white section in center

As I looked out over the beauty before me, I noticed that in one area in the center of my field of vision, the snow began to move. And as we continued to sing, the snow movement continued and we witnessed a small avalanche! Incredible! As we sang out to the Creator, He smiled back! He showed off! I was looking for Him, and He confirmed that He was there! I felt the power of the Holy Spirit in that moment.

Earlier in the day, I had read a devotion about physical and spiritual dehydration. This really hit home to me since we are in such high altitude and feeling dried out from the inside out. But it also hit home because I have been so harried to get ready for this trip and finish the grant and prep my classes, I've been dehydrating spiritually.

In the moment as the snow tumbled as I watched, I felt my soul bring quenched. No longer parched ... I sensed myself being drawn once again to the Living Water ... Not only drawn but satisfied!

Packing My Suitcase

I’ve gotten to travel several times this semester and, each time, I struggle with what to put in my suitcase. If I’m flying, I’ve got to be very judicious about my choices because I don’t want to haul a bunch of luggage through the airport, even if Southwest lets two of my bags fly free. But if I’m driving, my choices seem even harder because, well, I don’t make choices; I just dump stuff in the car and then sort it out as I go along. There must be a happy compromise somewhere between the two.

In our spiritual journeys, we are all the time packing a suitcase. Every Bible study, every sermon, and even conversations with friends are full of spiritual direction that sometimes makes us think, “God, why am I hearing this? I have no point of reference for this stuff.”

It’s really a natural response because that’s how most adults are wired … that’s how adults learn. It’s this concept called andragogy which basically means that adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance to their jobs or personal lives. Basically, our lives are so full that we tend to think we don’t have time or energy to invest in stuff that doesn’t matter RIGHT NOW!

But it’s like packing a suitcase. Sure, you need to fit in the things you know you’ll need, but it’s not out-of-the-ordinary to throw in an extra outfit or jacket or swimsuit just in case. You want to be prepared . . . just in case!

So, as you struggle through the end-of-the-semester “why am studying this stuff” blues, hang in there. Picture yourself layering your suitcase with the necessary, the important, and the just-in-case … you’ll be surprised at how much of this information you’ll use right away while other details will be tucked away into the extra spaces just in case.

Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to save room for souvenirs. God’s got some doozies for us to pick up along the way! But that’s a story for a different blog . . . .

We Can Trust Him

How many times have you prayed the Lord’s Prayer? Yes, in your entire life … is there any way you can count how many times you’ve said it? I know I can’t. It’s not that I go to a church that recites it congregationally every week. It’s just that over the years I’ve said it a lot. A lot of years equals a lot of times.

The other night I went to a wedding where we joined the bride and groom in saying the Lord’s Prayer as part of the service. I’m so used to rolling through it that I was caught off guard that this particular church didn’t include the ‘for Thine be the glory’ section. Sometimes saying the Lord’s Prayer can be so mechanical that it takes a change in tradition to remind me to think about what I’m saying and not just say it.

In a recent small group Bible study, we looked at the Lord’s Prayer, and I was caught off guard again. But this time it was because of two of the discussion questions. The first one instructed us to look at Matthew 6:5-15 and make a list of all that we can know about God according to all of these verses. Simple enough. He sees what is done in secret. He knows what you need before you ask Him. He’s in heaven. He forgives us as we forgives others and visa versa. He has a kingdom He’s invited us to be a part of, and He has a will that He wants us to surrender to.

Fast forward through the discussion of ‘our Father,’ ‘hallowed be Thy name,’ and ‘Thy kingdom come.’ We were then asked to look back at the above characteristics and discuss what it would mean to pray ‘Thy will be done’ to this kind of God. Wow! What a perspective check! ‘Thy will be done’ implies a level of trust and dependence on the One to Whom it is said. He’s proven Himself faithful before; I can count on Him to be the same in the future. Those characteristics remind me He is certainly worthy!

I don’t know where you are in your spiritual journey but I imagine at this time in the semester you’ve got some doubts about being in seminary! Don’t give up! Read those chapters. Write that paper. Pull together that review. Trust the same God who faithfully walked you through the first twelve weeks to get you through the next three. And, while you’re at it, be sure to trust Him as you pray ‘Thy will be done!’

Because He Lives

Can I admit that news of several recent deaths has me fighting sadness? I know as believers we have a peek into the end of the story but, my goodness, it’s just so difficult to sit by and know these families are struggling with loss.

Rick and Jonann Byargeon had been at NOBTS about a year when we moved here in 1994. They quickly became friends, and we shared a number of life intersections, including the celebration of Rick and Allen’s birthdays (both in early November). Rick found out he had cancer last fall and, after valiantly pursuing a number of treatment options, on Thursday, April 4, “left this life for the life that lasts forever.”

Then, on Friday evening, newlyweds Deb and Jake Goforth (Deb works in the Dean of Students office and Jake is an NOBTS student) got word that Jake’s brother-in-law had been killed in a car accident that afternoon. Paul Marin and Jake’s sister Holly have two precious children and another on the way due in less than two weeks.

Perhaps you were on Facebook Saturday afternoon like I was when news of the death of Rick and Kay Warren’s youngest son hit friends’ statuses. Matthew, after a lifetime of struggling with mental illness,  gave into “a wave of despair” and took his own life.

Add to these the passing of Dr. Preston Nix’s father as well as Dr. Don Aderhold, former NOBTS extension center director. Plus a local church and family buried a young man this week, killed in a senseless murder (made even more difficult since his brother was killed last fall).

And so I fight sadness with a three-fold battle plan: 

•  I cling to the promise of eternal life.
•  I cling to the promise of comfort.
• I cling to the hope that God will use all of this for His greater glory.

It’s not a polly-anna take on life-and-death; it’s the only way I can get up each morning and do more than just go through the motions of work, school, and family. To borrow from the words of an old chorus:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow;

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living, just because He lives.

You ask a lot of questions!

Have you ever thought about why questions are used as a teaching tool? Sure, there’s the obvious review of knowledge shared but, even more, questions can be a great way to get students thinking outside the obvious and the comfortable. We live in a generation of information overload, and research has been reduced at times to just knowing where to find the info and less about setting ourselves up for deeper thinking.

Jesus used questions a lot as He interacted with people. Someone would ask Him a question but, instead of coming back with a direct answer, he directed the discussion with another question. In Luke 18, a ‘certain ruler’ asked Jesus: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Before Jesus got to the heart of the matter, He shot back with, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good – except God alone.”

At the Last Supper, as the disciples quibbled about who was the worst and then who was the best, Jesus framed the issue: “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27).

Even in the garden, after His resurrection, Jesus addressed Mary Magdalene with questions: “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (John 20:15). Good grief! Couldn’t He have eased her pain immediately by identifying Himself? Why was it so important for her to come to the realization that He was Jesus instead of pointing it out for her?

I was a journalism major in college (LSU! Go Tigers!) and, during this time, was introduced to the art of asking questions: Who? What? When? Why? Where? How? One thing that I have found in all the years between then and now is that I have a lot more questions than I have answers. But that’s not all bad. As a matter of fact, it’s got me trusting God to fill in the blanks and allowing Him to gently (and sometimes not-so-gently) direct me to His perfect ways, rather than my limited plans.

What questions have you heard from Jesus lately? Is He shaking you out of the status quo? Redirecting your study plans? Challenging you to see the world through His eyes? Receive His questions. Ask some of your own right back. And then see where the process leads. It could put you feeding the homeless in inner-city New Orleans or heading to Africa to work in an orphanage or studying Greek for more semesters than you’ve even studied English.

My prayer is that the questions don’t become an end in themselves. But, instead, may they direct you into a deeper relationship with the One who truly is the Answer!