Be Still. Be Loved.

I’ve just returned from the first Psalm One Refocus and Refuel Retreat since March 2020. It was a lavish treasure from above. I love teaching and leading these getaways. Maybe someday I can do one with you.

I often say my job description is to put your hand in the hand of Jesus and get out of the way. My prayer at a retreat like this is always, “Lord, meet us where we are and take us where we need to be.”

We shared reminders of God's love and truth, gifts, good food, camaraderie, discussions around the fireplace, creativity, safety, trust, manatees, chocolate and homemade cinnamon rolls, wisdom, the Word, coffee or tea in our pajamas, healing silence, prayer, peace, joy, a boy, a mole, a fox, a horse, and most of all, time in silence at the feet of Jesus. A few needed tears, or “liquid prayers” as one person describes them. Lots and lots of laughter. Hilarity is good for the soul.

We arrive, begin the dial-down, and lay our busy lives, jumbled minds, and scattered hearts before God. Then we seek the Lord alone together. That's not a contradiction in terms. That's a wonderful game plan. “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:11-12)

We had a whole new experience of Psalm 46 and 62. We journal page after page, as thoughts, burdens, and dreams flowed out of our pens that we didn’t realize were in our heads. God gives each person something so unique and powerful. We prepare our souls, then leave the agenda up to God. His theme came out loud and clear: Be My Beloved Daughter. Be My Beloved Son. Beloved. Be. Loved. Being grounded in being loved by the Beloved.

“The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.’” (Jeremiah 31:3)

Beloved.

Be. Loved.

Be still and know that He is God.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

After almost two exhausting years, one song kept echoing in my head:

    There is a balm in Gilead

    To make the wounded whole.

    There is a balm in Gilead

    To heal the sin-sick soul.

    Sometimes I feel discouraged,

    And think my work’s in vain,

    But then the Holy Spirit

    Revives my soul again.

For this we need Jesus. And for this we have Jesus. Jesus has placed us in His Body of fellow believers. May you find a community where you can seek God alone together. May the power and blessing of these vertical and the horizontal relationships transform us as we walk with the Trinity.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:8-12)

Giving thanks for each of you this week.

Much love,

Linda

O Master Let Me Walk With Thee

We have an unprecedented opportunity right now to be the Body of Christ in the midst of division, turmoil, and suffering. But how? O Master, let me walk with Thee.

I often say that my job description is to put someone’s hand in the hand of Jesus and get out of the way. That's what I'm trying to do. I teach the Word and come alongside believers to facilitate deeper and stronger life-giving connections with the Lord.

When it all gets too overwhelming, I keep going back to Jesus over and over. I will never forget being at a (Christian) conference when a woman said, “You’re one of those people who thinks we need Jesus, aren’t you?” Why, yes. Yes, I am.

I know people who have gone through unbelievable trials and suffering. At the end of the day—and for some, at the end of their life--it all comes back to “Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me.” Profound simplicity. Simple profundity. A child can understand it, but it will take the rest of my life to work it out and walk it out. How can I serve God and love people with my head, hands, and heart?

“One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘What commandment is the foremost of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)

I can’t do the second without the first. I can’t love God unless I genuinely know Him. How can I know God apart from Jesus? What does it mean for me to love my neighbor? How do I care for the widow, orphan and others who are vulnerable? I certainly don't have that down yet. So, I need to intently gaze at Jesus, learn from Jesus, listen to Jesus, and follow Jesus to learn his “unforced rhythms of grace (as Eugene Peterson phrases it).

The Christian life can be very hard. It is sometimes trench warfare. The only person who can truly live that Christian life is Jesus. I'm so tired of the name-calling, toxicity, venom, infighting, and attacks. I need to be sure that I'm choosing my battles wisely and fighting the right evil. I can learn from selected people, listen to people who agree with me, and follow people who claim to have all the answers, or I can run things past the God Only Wise.

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” (Galatians 5:13-15)  Hmmm. Do not bite and devour one another, but instead serve one another through love? Sounds crazy, but it just might work.

I know for certain I do not have all the answers. No one would listen to me even if I did. So, I will keep teaching about Jesus, and pointing to Him.

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-15)

We’re studying Matthew in the Psalm One Bible Study so we can really take a good long look at Jesus and the Kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount is kicking my tail. Yowza. Jesus is stepping on my toes and getting all up in my business as He unpacks what life in the Kingdom really looks like. Mere information is not going to cut it. I can only follow Jesus with transformation.

Echoing in my head…

O Master, let me walk with Thee

In lowly paths of service free

Tell me Thy secret, help me hear

The strain of toil, the fret of care

Teach me Thy patience, still with Thee

In closer, dearer company

In work that keeps faith sweet and strong

In truth that triumphs over wrong

O Master let me walk with Thee

In closer, dearer company

O Master let me walk with Thee

Let me walk with Thee

In hope that sends a shining ray

Far down the future's broadening way

In peace that only Thou canst give

With Thee, O Master, let me live

We will be known by the fruit of our lives. We have so many opportunities right now to be Jesus in the world. Master, teach me how to walk it out.

With His love and mine,

Linda

The 9/11 Effect

The 911 effect

The terrible events of 9/11 had a sudden and immediate blow to the world, but some of the mental, emotional, and spiritual fallout did not become fully apparent for a year or two after that fateful day. After a rough year and a half of pandemic, lock-downs, isolation, and staggering racial, health, and political issues, some people are just now hitting the wall. All the ripple effects of loss, grief, and disappointments are sinking in as we continue to adjust to a changing world.

Stress, uncertainty, and division are taking a toll on us. Anxiety, depression, and relational difficulties. How do we relate to other human beings in such a trying time? People are getting in fistfights on the way to their long-awaited vacation. Possibly a sign of a few underlying issues that keep bubbling to the surface?

Some people have barely been touched by the events of the last year and a half. I am so glad for these folks. But don’t underestimate how hard this has been—and still is--on many of us around the world. We will be unpacking the fallout from 2020/2021 for years. How do we navigate the minefields?

• Don’t rise to the bait. Everyone has an opinion and judgement on everything. I’ve never seen the Church so splintered and polarized. People criticize us for what we say. People criticize us for what we don’t say.

God is the only one who has all the answers. I try to make wise decisions based on the best possible information and withhold judgment when I am not an expert on issues (which is 99.999% of the time). We used to tell a dear but impulsive friend who lacked a filter: “Just because it’s in your head doesn’t mean it has to come out of your mouth. It IS possible to have an unexpressed thought.”

Some people think if they’re on God’s side and since you’re obviously wrong, they can be as vicious as they want because they are fighting for truth and righteousness.

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20)

Quick to hear. Slow to speak. Slow to anger. Listen. Listen. Listen. Then, and only then, speak.

“Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.” (Proverbs 25:11)

"But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matthew 10:19-20)

I pray that the Holy Spirit would give me wisdom and direction as to when to speak up and when to remain silent. I pray for God’s word, God’s wisdom, God’s agenda, but far too often what comes out of my mouth is just Linda spouting. So, my constant prayer is, “Lord, put Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.”

• Be aware of your warning signs. For me, the past year and a half has felt like slogging through quicksand. I work twice as hard and accomplish half as much. How many of you are exhausted? The anagram HALT is a reminder to beware when we become too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. I need to pay attention when I am dangerously frazzled. I need to stop, slow down, and care for my soul so I do not make decisions in a fog or a leave trail of destruction behind me by reacting instead of responding.

• Grace. Grace. Grace. When the pandemic began, I saw so many acts of kindness. So many people trying to protect the vulnerable. So many people encouraging and serving others through diverse but shared struggles. We thought, “We can do this! It will only be a few weeks.” Days became weeks, weeks became months, months became years.

After a while people grew weary. Irritable. Blaming. Mean. Divisive.

We are all trying to do the best we can. We need to extend grace to others. We need to embrace grace for ourselves. We need to walk in grace to maneuver through a world in pain. We need to lean into Jesus to understand the depth and power of grace.

“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)

• Study Jesus. How do we find grace to help in time of need? How do we move forward in the Church? How do we heal the rifts? Fixing our eyes on Jesus.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)

In the Tuesday night online Psalm One Bible Study, we are going back to Matthew. Instead of watching Christians, I want to study Christ. Instead of listening to the clamor of conflicting opinions, I want to listen to His words. How does Jesus handle the whack-a-mole of life? (I’m not sure the term “Whack-a Mole” is found in the original Greek manuscript, but the concept is certainly there.)

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase sums up my current state:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)

Let’s go back to the gospels and watch how Jesus does it.  Let’s learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Men and women from anywhere are welcome to join us as we study Jesus on Tuesdays at 7:30pm ET (That’s Wednesday morning for you Aussies.) We’ve had people show up from a dozen states and three countries. Sign up to stay in the loop: https://www.psalmone.org/tuesday-night-bible-study

Fixing our eyes on Jesus,

Much love,

Linda