Monday School

More and More

| Marie Griffith

I began a ten-week study of the book of Philippians this week. I’m using a resource by Keri Folmar as a guide. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested in joining me in the study. I’d be happy to give you more information.

Philippians is the inspiration of this Monday School and I feel certain will be a source of several more in the coming weeks.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in chapter 1 verses 9-11 jumped out at me when I read it the other day. I’m currently reading the ESV Bible, but often pull out other versions to compare the wording in each. One of my favorite study Bibles is my NIV and this one is marked up and highlighted, with notes written in margins and passages dated.

On May 17, 2000, I marked the same prayer.  IMG_7015

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”                   Philippians 1:9-11

It was my prayer then and is my prayer now, that my love may abound more and more. A love that is grounded in knowledge and understanding, and knowledge and understanding saturated in love.

Paul told the Philippians why he prayed for their love to abound more and more at the beginning of verse ten. Different versions say it different ways.

The NIV – to be able to discern what is best
The CEV – to understand how to make right choices
The ESV – so that you approve what is excellent

My favorite phrase is in the NLT.  “For I want you to understand what really matters.” I love that. Paul wants our love to abound more and more so we understand what really matters.

Here’s the thing: we’re learning to follow Jesus as we’re following Jesus. We don’t learn everything then follow. We learn as we go. More and more.

It’s been 18 years of learning since I dated that prayer and I can confidently say I’m better at discerning what is best. I love better because God is causing my love to abound more and more.

In verse 11, Paul makes it clear that ultimately it’s all for God’s glory and praise. All the abounding love and knowledge and depth of insight. All the discerning what is best and growing more and more like Jesus. It’s to point others to Him.

I’ve marked today’s date at the top of Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in my newest Bible because I have more and more to learn about what really matters.

May our love abound more and more.

Photo by Michael Fenton on Unsplash

Greater Than Gold

| Marie Griffith

Have you ever received a gift you didn’t like? Or maybe you hated it? Maybe you even returned it, exchanged it or re-gifted it. I know I have.

God is the Ultimate Gift Giver. Unfortunately, we don’t recognize the good gifts and a lot of times, we take them for granted. Some of them don’t feel like gifts at all.

Because some of God’s greatest gifts are disguised as trials.

James tells us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.     James 1:2-4 (NIV)

The Message Bible puts it this way: “consider it a sheer gift.”

And Peter had this to say:

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  I Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)

James and Peter agree that faith under pressure is for our good. The pain has a purpose. Trials make our faith deeper, purer, and stronger. Did you catch what Peter says of our faith? It’s worth more than gold, and like the fire refines the gold to make it pure, trials refine our faith. With a stronger and deeper faith we praise God and touch more people with His love. But we have to “let perseverance finish its work.”

When the trial seems never ending…

When the pain feels like it will swallow you…

When you can’t see how it will ever be better…

Don’t lose heart. Persevere. Stick with God and move forward. Some days that will be as basic as breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. Believe God’s promises even when you don’t feel full of faith. See it through my weary friend, see it through. God is faithful and He will never leave you.

This is a rewrite of a post I wrote five years ago. I wrote the original, The Gift, during one of the most painful seasons of my life. The pain was so cruel and deep I could hardly see beyond it.

But here I am……changed forever.

I’ve endured painful seasons since then and am living through trials now with a deeper faith. A stronger more pure faith. As He was then, God is holding me close and giving me the strength and courage to move forward. He’s revealing hidden places in my heart, healing me and always changing me. God is doing His work so that I will be mature and complete and I’m praising Him through it.

Thank you, Abba Father.
Thank you for the gifts that I would have never chosen.
Thank you for your relentless love.
Thank you.

 

The faith of good people is tried, that they themselves may have the comfort of it, God the glory of it, and others the benefit of it.        Matthew Henry

 

This is a Monday School post. For more info about Monday School, click here.

 

Photo by Nynne Schrøder on Unsplash

 

The Same Old Thing

| Marie Griffith

Paul wrote his letters with lots of love and passion. His letter to the church in Galatia is no exception but it’s especially harsh. False teachers convinced the Galatians they had to be circumcised, which was an outward ceremony of the Mosaic law. Paul chastised the Galatians for their foolishness because they turned away from the Gospel of Christ.

“You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you were foolish; you let someone trick you.  Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it.  You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish. Were all your experiences wasted? I hope not!  Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you follow the law?  No, he does these things because you heard the Good News and believed it.”   Galatians 3:1-5 NCV

Paul was astonished. I’m guessing he was heartbroken too.

The Galatians did what we tend to do. We add works to our faith to keep God’s favor. We may begin by trusting Jesus then we add rule-keeping to the mix and eventually we’re just like the white washed tombs Jesus called out in Matthew 23. Outwardly we appear righteous, but inwardly we’re full of hypocrisy and lawlessness and pride because we’re convinced we’re doing all the right things.

It’s called legalism. And it’s dangerous.

Legalism is the belief that we can earn or keep God’s favor by what we do. Legalism demotes Jesus, promotes performance, and keeps us focused on ourselves.

Before we assume our modern day and contemporary churches are immune to this, let’s think again. We may have eliminated the dos and don’ts we or our parents grew up with, but we’ve replaced them with others.

The long list of things we do or don’t do to gain God’s favor and unfortunately, man’s favor. The requirements of a man made system created to force and measure spiritual growth. The kind of work that has nothing to do with following Jesus and making disciples but is really a self-designed salvation.

If we are in Christ, we have his favor, forever! There’s nothing we can ever do to add to what Jesus did on the cross. Nothing.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,     Ephesians 2:8

Our checklists don’t require faith, but salvation does. Transformation does. Learning to love God wholeheartedly and love others the way He wants us to does. The kind of work James wrote about in chapter two of his letter does. Those works are fueled by faith in Jesus and a hope anchored to God’s promises.

And so we pursue Jesus and seek to know him better and better. Not to earn God’s favor, but because we live in His favor. Because we know He’s our All in All. We believe Him and we’re overwhelmed by the grace He shows us every day. We know apart from Jesus we can do nothing. He gives us our very breath and sees into the deepest part of our hearts.

Paul ended the letter to the Galatians in a dramatic way. He took the pen into his own hand and wrote with large letters to make his point.

I’ll do the same but not with a pen:  IF YOU’RE IN CHRIST, YOU ARE FAVORED FOREVER.

Now get to know him. You can start with the Gospels. For more about what I wrote in this post read Galatians, Colossians, and James.

If you have questions or comments, I’d be happy to hear from you.

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Beauty Break

| Marie Griffith

I’m using our Monday School time to introduce a new feature on my blog called Beauty Break. It was inspired by one of my favorite authors, Karen Swallow Prior.

Beauty is to the spirit what food is to the flesh.     Frederick Buechner

Mostly we live in a routine, which is good and necessary. But routines can turn into a mindless going through the motions. If we aren’t careful, we forget to notice the beauty around us.

A Beauty Break is a spontaneous reminder to pay attention, a chance to stop and observe when something catches our eye. To look and see and wonder, then praise the Maker of beauty and the Giver of gifts.

Even a fleeting glimpse of beauty offers joy. Like when a delighted 4 year old points to a tree in the park and squeals “Look!” as a squirrel scampers to the top.

For a moment we can enjoy the intricate design of a seed, a burst of color in a sunset, a towering granite formation, or the creative expression of an artist. Maybe Beauty Breaks will help us learn to be still and pay attention.

I noticed this sweetgum ball in the middle of the trail where I walked last week because it was green and extra spiky. I picked it up and walked around the park several times as I rolled it around in my hand, switched it to the other hand, rolled it around, and switched again. I liked the way it felt in my hands, but I’ve stepped on plenty of sweetgum balls in my time and I’ve never once liked the way they felt to my bare feet. This one would have caused an extra bit of discomfort.

There are hundreds of tiny seeds inside a sweetgum ball. Scientists discovered not too long ago that the aborted seeds contain shikimic acid, which is used to make Tamiflu. No need for them to gather the pointy ornaments though. They found a way to make it in a lab.

Thousands of them will fall in the coming months wreaking havoc on small feet and annoying the meticulous yard owner.

We’ll just have to watch our steps.

 

She Gave it All

| Marie Griffith

Yesterday, I read the story in Mark 12:41-44 about the poor widow giving all she had. Jesus sat near the offering boxes and noticed the crowd tossing in their contributions. Maybe some in the crowd gave their offerings thoughtlessly, just another item on their religious checklist. Maybe others thought a lot about what they gave and walked away with puffed up chests and noses in the air. The rich gave their large sums, and a poor widow gave her two pennies. Jesus let his disciples in on the truth they probably missed.

“The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”    Mark 12 (MSG)

The story reminded me of another widow who gave all she had. God could have sent Elijah to another home, another family…..with more to give. But he chose the widow in Zarephath with nothing but enough flour and oil to prepare one last meal for her and her son. Instead, she used all she had to make a small loaf of bread for Elijah.

“…For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”  1 Kings 17:14

If you don’t know the rest of the story, I urge you to read it. It starts in 1 Kings verse 7 and ends in verse 24. I wonder if the the poor widow in Mark’s account knew the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Perhaps it inspired her to give all she had.

The Bible tells us what happened to the widow of Zarephath, but we don’t know about the widow in Mark. What happened to her after she placed her coins in the offering? Did Jesus speak with her? Did the disciples help her?

We only know what Jesus said of her: she gave it all.

Maybe both widows inspired part of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. In the letter, Paul shared the story of the Macedonian churches’ overflowing generosity with the hope of encouraging the same in the Corinthian church. Titus delivered the letter which included this counsel:

And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.    2 Corinthians 8:10-12

It’s our willingness that matters, not how much or how little. There’s no need to compare our gifts because mine will be different than yours.

It’s about the motives in our hearts.

Is is duty? Is it a check mark on our religious to do list? Are we showing off? Are we buying our way into the inner circle, or trying to buy God’s favor?

Or are we giving from the overflow of the grace we’ve received?

Grace can be a loaf of bread or two pennies. It can be donating a $1000 a week or a full day at the rescue mission. Grace can be giving up a career to raise your family or going back to school to get a good job for your family. It can be giving up a dream or going for it.

God knows your heart. Ask Him to show it to you.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8

 

 

 

 

Photo by Ullash Borah on Unsplash

 

 

 

Really Lord?

| Marie Griffith

I’m glad this exchange is recorded in Genesis for us.

9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he said.

10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

           Genesis 18:9-14

The “they” who asked Abraham the whereabouts of his wife are the Lord and two angels. Abraham stood near his heavenly guests as they ate while Sarah listened to the conversation from the tent.

One of them reminded Abraham of the promise God made. The promise of a child….born to Abraham and Sarah. When Sarah overheard this, without knowing anyone could hear, she responded with a laugh and a bite of sarcasm.

I mean, Sarah had a point. She was 89 or so years old, way beyond the age to have babies. It was impossible.

Abraham laughed, too, when he first heard the promise (Genesis 17:17). But God didn’t respond to Abraham’s laughter the way He did to Sarah’s. I wonder why?

I think Sarah was scared to hope in the promise. Her barrenness made her bitter and she was resentful about the mess she made with Hagar (Genesis 16). I imagine when she overheard the promise of a child her heart fluttered. She remembered her longing and the uncountable prayers. Then she remembered the disappointment and pain. So she laughed it off.

Thankfully, God sees past all our pretense. He knows when we’re acting stronger than we are. He sees beneath the fake smiles and forced laughter, and He hears what’s beneath the sarcastic remarks.

God knew exactly what Sarah needed. The Lord asked Abraham why Sarah laughed then asked another question He knew Sarah would hear.

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

There have been lots of things I thought impossible. My marriage. This house. Our work. My heart.

I face impossible situations now. So impossible that I can’t see the possibilities any more.

But then I remember….

Marie, is anything too hard for the Lord?

 

Photo by Lionello DelPiccolo on Unsplash

Waiting is the Hardest Part

| Marie Griffith

I was in the Great Smoky Mountains over the weekend on a new trail with a different landscape and its own kind of challenges. The promise of a spectacular view and an abundance of wild blueberries filled me with anticipation as we made our way to the top. The narrow, rocky parts of the climb almost wore me out sooner than I needed to be worn out. I felt like a kid on a long car ride to the beach. Are we there yet?

When we reached a trail intersection that informed us we were six-tenths of a mile away from the view and the blueberries, I was encouraged. img_6870

No big deal, I thought. This is fine. We’ll be there in no time.

Six-tenths of a mile never seemed as long.

We are always waiting for something. Waiting in line. Waiting to speak to customer service. Waiting to finish a project.

Sometimes the waiting is exciting. Other times it’s painful.

Waiting for the right one to marry or for the marriage to be what we thought it would be. Waiting to lose the weight. Waiting for a relationship to be restored. Waiting for the perfect job or the dream to come true or a promise to be kept. Waiting for the cravings for the alcohol or the pills or the entire box of doughnuts to stop.

Waiting for a child. Waiting to forget the regrets of the past and the day you can look in the mirror and like the person you see. Waiting for the sadness to go away. Waiting for God to come through.

That kind of waiting can be so hard that one more day of it seems unbearable. It feels impossible to keep going.

img_6871It’s that kind of waiting that God will use to change us. When it all feels like too much and it’s taking too long and it’s just too hard.

He’ll open our eyes. Or reveal Himself to us in a new way. God works while we wait. He may not change our circumstances.

He’ll do something even greater. He’ll change our hearts and minds. He’ll make us more compassionate and less judgmental. Give us greater faith and softer hearts.

In the waiting, we learn to fix our eyes on Jesus. We learn that He is with us and takes care of us. We aren’t diminished in the waiting. We grow in it because we work through it. We are made stronger and more patient in the waiting. And we see more clearly because of it. Best of all, we learn to love better because of the waiting.

God is greater than the pain of waiting. Great things will happen.

Just wait and see.

I truly believe I will live to see the Lord’s goodness. Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help.    Psalm 27:13-14

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Got Questions?

| Marie Griffith

This installment of Monday School is inspired by a man named Nicodemus. I think I love Nicodemus.

The only information we have on him is in the Gospel of John. He was a Pharisee, which means he was a scholar who studied the Law and was intentional in the keeping of it. He was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews. He was highly regarded by the people and, obviously, an influential man.

One night he went to Jesus. John doesn’t give us any insight into why Nicodemus went to Jesus at night. Maybe he doesn’t want the other Pharisees to know. Maybe this was the only time he could speak to Jesus alone. We’re just not sure. But we do know Nicodemus respected Jesus because he called him Rabbi. Nicodemus acknowledged the fact that Jesus was a teacher from God. Then Jesus confronted him with a truth he didn’t understand.

Nicodemus knew a lot, but he didn’t know it all. He did what anyone who wants to know and understand would do. He asked Jesus a question. Then he asked more questions.

Someone I love is doubting what she thought she knew. She’s asking hard questions and I don’t always know the answers.

Her struggle would be unnerving except I know that God knows what is needed to make her faith real and strong. Coming to truly see, treasure, and trust Jesus Christ almost always begins in a crisis, one filled with questions.

I tell her to ask all the questions she needs to. Ask God. Ask me. Ask those she trusts to tell her the truth. Go to the Word with a desire to learn. Tell Jesus what she’s thinking and what she’s doubting.

Because she wants and needs it to be real. And don’t we all?

The last thing we learn of Nicodemus is that he, with Joseph of Arimathea, prepared Jesus’ body for burial. “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.         John 19:39-40

Nicodemus was brave and humble enough to ask the questions that night in the dark. Then he was brave and humble enough to prepare his friend’s body for the grave.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7-8

My prayer for those I love is the same one I pray for myself:

God, may we seek you wholedeartedly. Give us a wholehearted devotion to You and cause us to love you with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds and all our strength.  

 

Sandcastles

| Marie Griffith

My kids love the sand. When they were younger, they spent hours building sandcastles. They smoothed over the perfect spot for the castle, then gathered wet sand near the edge of the ocean and hauled it back to the construction site. They pressed the sand into molds, turned them over and patted carefully so the tower or wall of the castle came out perfectly formed. They worked diligently to create their sandcastles. Sometimes they finished their project before the tide came in and sometimes they built the castles in a place the tide couldn’t reach. But eventually and always, the sandcastles were destroyed. Either by the ocean or the beach walkers.

Jesus told a story about building in the sand. It’s found in Matthew 7:24-27.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

In this short parable, Jesus compared two types of hearers and two types of builders. Here’s a simple way to look at what he said:

The hearers who do what Jesus says = wise builder

The hearers who don’t do what Jesus says = foolish builder

According to the story, both the wise and the foolish hear the same words and both builders work to build their houses. The only difference is the foundation.

Jesus mentioned two foundations – rock and sand.

Do the words of Jesus = rock foundation = house stands

Don’t do the words of Jesus = sandy foundation = house falls

Jesus closed out the Sermon on the Mount with this story, but offered no editorial comment. He let the crowd sit with the image of the collapsed house. The crowd was amazed at His teaching, but Jesus wanted more than that for them.

Jesus started the same story in Luke 6:46-49 with these words:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Doing what Jesus says makes all the difference. It’s the difference between heart change and lip service, integrity and duplicity, a tender heart and a calloused one. It’s the difference between choosing the hard work of forgiveness and holding a grudge. It means we walk the walk, not just talk the talk, and we reflect His glory instead of seeking our own.

I’m learning to be a wise builder and I’m thankful God won’t leave me to do it alone.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.   Psalm 40:2

 

All the chisels I’ve dulled carving idols of stone
That have crumbled like sand beneath the waves
I’ve recklessly built all my dreams in the sand
Just to watch them wash away
Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To One who sees past all I see
Reaching out my weary hand, I pray that You’d understand
You’re the only One Who’s faithful to me
All the pennies I’ve wasted in my wishing well
I have thrown like stones to the sea
I have cast my lots, dropped my guard, searched aimlessly
For a faith to be faithful to me
Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To One Who sees past all I see
Reaching out my weary hand, I pray that You’d understand
You’re the only One Who’s faithful to me

Jennifer Knapp

 

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