Victory Garden - 7/29/2010

Romans 1:19-20, "...since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

When my wife and I first bought our house, there was a large, mostly empty garden spot in the front yard with three large yuccas and two small dahlias. My grandfather had always grown rose bushes, and I thought it would be nice to replace the yuccas with some roses. As soon as spring was approaching, Costco offered some nice varieties, so I was quick to snatch them up.

I live in a place with short summers and long, cloudy winters. I was stir-crazy for sunshine and for spring, so I started planning everything else that I'd grow. I went to a few "big box" stores and started shopping for bulbs. I was so stunned by the variety! Not the variety that the stores offered, but the variety of designs and colors my God created!

I've always loved God's creation - I loved to camp as a kid and get close to nature, and was so infatuated with animals that my childhood dream was to work in a pet shop (mission accomplished!). But, as I read about different types of plants for our front garden and learned how they grow, I couldn't help but be in awe of our God and His creativity, His attention to detail and variety.

Incidentally, after typing that last line, I was curious about the account in Genesis where God created the plants. I decided to search for it, figuring it was probably in Chapter 1, and unexpectedly typed verse 12 afterward; here is the verse that came up: "The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."

"And God saw that it was good." What an understatement! Anything He declares to be good is so much more by our paltry standards.

So, to display what God saw as good, I started to select flowers for the front of our house with a specific purpose in mind: to show everybody what my God has created. Gardening became an act of worship for me, and almost an obsession during that first, long winter in our house. I know there must have been people who raised an eyebrow at a 30-something man growing roses and

flowers like a retired grandmother, but I don't care! I love what my God has made and I wanted to put it on display for all to see.

So now, I've got this garden out front with dramatic shapes, bold colors, and stop-you-in-your tracks fragrances. I like the verse above because I see evidence of a loving Creator who poured Himself into the basic framework of nature, creating the most subtle yet dramatic backdrop for the human experience. We are surrounded by evidence of His character and His very nature. I'm reminded

now of the lyrics to the song "Here Is Our King" by David Crowder:

"And what was said to the rose to make it unfold

was said to me here in my chest,

so be quiet now, and rest"

We can rest in the knowledge of who our God is, as seen by the work of His hand. I wrote earlier about a verse in 1 Kings that describes how God revealed Himself physically. The scripture above in Romans says God revealed the invisible qualities of His divine nature by what has been made. Here in 1 Kings, when he made Himself visible, He did so with the arrival of a quiet whisper. Not a thunderstorm. Not an earthquake. Not a tusnami/meteor shower/volcanic eruption combo. A quiet whisper.

That quality is evident in the delicate details of His creation. The plants He made are like the quiet whisper where God Himself can be found - you have to be still and take notice. He will not demand your attention in loud, showy displays. But if you look closely at His creation, He commands it. This is His character as seen in His creation.

Often we wait for God to interrupt our thoughts and daily lives with His next order or command. We continue along with our plans, waiting in quiet desperation for God to grab us and steer us along, to change our direction and do the work for us. But,

"His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." That is not how He operates in our lives. Like the beauty He's created, God is always there for us. His power and ability constantly surround us, we have only to slow down and take notice. Let creation remind you of His quiet whisper. If you think He's gone or far away, you're wrong. He's right there, waiting for us to be quiet now, listen ... and rest in Him.

The garden I planted was my attempt to show this - the invisible qualities of God's eternal power and divine nature. I sometimes think of it as my "Victory Garden." That was a term used during the world wars for private vegetable gardens, designed to make families more self-sufficient, leaving more food for soldiers at war.

However, we are reminded numerous times in the scriptures that victory belongs to the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 15:54 and 57, Paul writes, "'Death has been swallowed up in victory'" (quoting Isaiah), and "...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." If God's creation displays His divine nature, then it can show us the victory of Christ as well. He swallowed death ... just as His creation demonstrates life arising from death. At the end of the growing season (a sad time for me), death comes to all the stunning colors and shapes in the garden. But in the spring ... Victory! Oh, the drama of gardening!!!!!

Christ conquered death, and victoriously rose to life from a corpse. In the spring, life comes again to the garden. Beneath

the decay of last year's flowers comes the tender shoots, bright leaves, and new flower buds. We are reminded again of God's eternal power and divine nature. We are confronted by His unchangeable constancy. We see victory over death!

Let God's creation remind you that His power is eternal and His nature divine. He is as approachable as an unfurling rosebud releasing its fragrance, and more beautiful than the burning colors of tropical blooms. Here is our King, remember His Victory!

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” Job 12: 7-9

_______________________________________________________________

Timeless Temple Treasures - 7/16/2010

Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

I have heard this verse many times before, but only recently did I allow it to sink in. Try to picture it if you can. Everything Jesus said will stand eternally. When there are no more countries, no more earth, no more heaven, only eternity with the Holy One, the words of Christ will still remain. They will outlast any building, any investment, any vehicle, any mountain.

It's interesting to think that in 60,000 years, we will still be with our Lord, and the words He spoke on Earth 2,000 years ago - that we can read right now in the Bible - will remain. Kind of makes me want to pay closer attention!

With that in mind, I read the story of the poor widow in Luke:

Luke 21:1-4, "As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth,' He said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'"

This account of a poor widow will be part of eternity, these words will never be erased or forgotten. I know of a poor widow, I included a picture of her. Haregewoin Teferra. She is Ethiopian, and a remarkable woman. You can read more about her here. She lived in one of the poorest countries on Earth, with the average income ranking 213 out of 227 countries. People in Haiti and Afghanistan make more than Ethiopians. The United States ranked 11th on the list.

• Average annual income for an American: $46,400

• Average annual income for an Ethiopian: $900

This woman was poor, but like the poor widow Jesus saw in the temple, she put everything she had into God's treasury. She gave her life to God's children, orphaned by AIDS and starvation. About 400 children over the years. The little money she did make went toward housing and feeding the kids brought to her by aid workers who had nowhere else to bring these innocent victims of circumstance. I know some Americans who don't want to have a third or fourth child because they think they can't afford it...

Looking back from eternity, we will be able to say that we were alive at the same time as this woman. I can't imagine meeting somebody like her and comparing what she was able to accomplish with my own use of what God gave me. The fact that I'm American and she's Ethiopian won't really matter that much. We were on the same planet at the same time, given the same chance to serve with our resources. Imagine what any of the poor widows who gave everything they had to God's treasury would say to us if we talked about it in heaven!

"Oh, you were an American? Wow, you were R-I-C-H! Didn't you people make like $46,400 on average in 2009? What did you do with all that money?"

"Well, I bought a nice home."

"I bet! How many kids lived there, like 1000?"

"Uh, no ... just a couple."

"Oh. Well probably a whole village of widows then!"

"Um .. no. We did have a dog though. He needed lots of toys and food and affection and room to run around."

"The dog lived inside your very nice home? Where did the orphans live?"

"Uh ... outside."

"Hm. So, did you use all of your money to feed those kids outside then? I bet they at least ate a lot of food thanks to you!"

"Well ... actually, no. I wish now that was true, but really ... I ate very, very well. In fact, I didn't even make my own food most of the time. I would go places and pay other people to make it and then serve it to me."
"So you gave the rest to the Lord, then? Did you place that wealth in the treasury so God's workers could use it?"

"Not really. I mean, I gave ten percent of it to God because I had to."

"Do you remember the story of the woman in the temple? Of course you do. The words of the Lord are everlasting. Are you aware that you are just like the rich people who gave out of their wealth? I made less than $900 that same year. Pretty much all of it went toward rice for the kids I kept from starving to death on the street. In fact, you can see some of them over there..."

Even with a poor attempt at an eternal perspective, it should be obvious that the poorest of the poor in this country still have more than the average person in a country like Ethiopia, where one poor widow was still able to give enough to literally save hundreds of lives.

So what are we to do then with the wealth we have been blessed with?

More.

Always more.

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow' - when you now have it with you." - Proverbs 2:27-28

________________________________________________________________________

We Are Adopting! - 7/16/2010

We have been pursuing adoption since the beginning of the year, and are nearly done with the paperwork! We have submitted an application to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to bring an orphan from another country into the United States. When we receive the confirmation form (the I-171H), our Dossier will be complete! This was a long process, and all that will remain is to have the whole thing notarized in the state capitol and mail it to Ethiopia with a referral for the child we've applied for.

This is not a cheap process, but we have been blessed to be able to provide for the costs to bring our next child home. However, during the process a new regulation was approved. We now have to travel to Ethiopia twice - before you only went once to bring your child home. We weren't prepared for that added expense. So, we are accepting any donations to meet our goal for the extra plane tickets. If you feel led to contribute, just use the "chip-in" widget in the top left of the blog. Thank you to those of you who have already contributed, every little bit helps!

In the meantime, please pray that His will be done in this process and that we would be sensitive to His leading in choosing the child He has in mind for our family. Thank you!

________________________________________________________________________