Blessings from Brenda

Standing in the Gap

2012-02-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

Standing in the gap is a privileged place to be. Though my arms aren't long enough to reach from me to thee. My mind isn't big enough to comprehend your worry and grief. But I'm standing in the gap because you need me. I'm praying with tears and praying with pleas. I'm asking for answers to questions that are not easy. Standing, kneeling, crying, praying – because you asked me. I would love to take your burden and sling it far into the galaxy. I would remove it as far as the West from the East to set you free, because you trusted me with your needs.

Standing in the gap has me up in the wee hours of the night when normal people sleep, because your worry makes me restless. So I'll stay up and talk to God and you just get some sleep. That's how standing in the gap works best. And when the day dawns and you face your dreaded trial, I'll know that I have done all I can to lift you to the Lord. And that's enough because His hand can reach you and me when standing isn't really standing. It's falling on our faces and bending our knees.

It's nearly two in the morning and I can't sleep because a friend is suffering. She's scared and uncertain; she's mentally already sat a hundred times in the sterile room she'll enter this day, to receive frightening and dreaded news. I tried to go through my bedtime routines last night, but found myself dripping as wet from tears as from the shower faucet that gushed streams of water. In every drop from the pipes and my eyes I mentioned her name and pushed it through the ceiling and heavenward with anguish as though my force would hasten some celestial intervention.

Prayer is an amazing gift and an incredible burden. Have I prayed often enough or hard enough? How much is really depending on my faithfulness? Will I ever know if it made any difference? There are no easy answers as I await heavenly signals. But there is sweet release and the certainty that my prayers have not fallen on deaf ears. For my God does not slumber or sleep! My God knows every thought and intention before I speak! My God is able!

So I must trust and just keep on praying, for I believe that God has our best interests at heart and He is already at work if we just ask, seek and knock. Silence may be His answer. Healing may be His delight. Death may be His sweet release, but God will do what is right. He is not capable of less. And in the meantime, when we are called upon by those we love so deeply to stand in the gap and pray for His mercy, we keep on praying without ceasing.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord...” (James 1:2-8a)

Standing in the gap takes energy and effort. Standing in the gap calls for surrender, yet a determined grit to dig in and fight to the finish. Standing in the gap is warfare, plain and simple. What we bring to the battle is belief. What we take away is peace.

The alternative is defeat. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and warned: “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (Ezekiel 22:30-31)

I think I'd rather stand in the gap and fervently pray so as to draw near to the Holy God than to experience His fierce judgment for being a wind-weathered crumbling brick in a broken wall.

Joyful Noise Should be Heard, Not Seen

2012-01-26T08:09:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100)

Obviously, Hollywood's version of Christianity is again skewed and condemning. What could have been a wonderful story of transformation in a teen boy's life was reduced to stupidity and crude comedy. Oh, there were a few redeeming moments in the newly released movie, Joyful Noise, starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Pardon. But they were far between and few.
Let me break it down for you. The reviewers on cnn.com call it “a squeaky clean pop-gospel fairy tale” and metacritic touts it as a “funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love and renewal.” I was more offended than inspired. I heard more cursing than gospel in this movie and was terribly disappointed by the hollow performances of nearly every actor.

Crosswalk.com professional movie critics agree. They say “Joyful Noise is a missed opportunity. Despite a decent performance from Queen Latifah—the most sympathetic character in the story, and the one who seems most earnest about her faith—the movie is too often flat, even offensive, when it should have been soaring and uplifting.” (http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/movies/sound-the-gong-for-i-joyful-noise-i.html?p=2 )

I don't normally write reviews, but there are some disturbing assumptions crammed down the audience's collective throat that I'd like to address. Jjust in case you think this movie hilarious, it is never funny to use the Lord's name in vain, to have sex outside of marriage, to manipulate, cat fight, gossip, dishonor, lie, cheat, disrespect or buy your power in the church. Oh, yes, these are the qualities personified in the “spirit-filled” Divinity Church Choir of fictitious Pacashau, GA. And these attributes are assumed normal and representative of all believers. The pastor is portrayed as weak and legalistic. The women are petty and power hungry. There were weird sexual scenarios in odd places and strange side stories that seemed to be just thrown in for shock value.

Only a couple of scenes actually evoked genuine emotion and delivered a morsel of truth. Latifah pulled them both off with believable sentiment when esteeming her autistic son and squaring shoulders with a daughter testing the boundaries. In those brief moments, she taught about a God who makes no mistakes and parents who do their best to live out faith. She also is the one who sings a soulful song of prayer with words “Jesus, fix me,” while the rest of the cast justifies their every sinful move.

While most of the songs are pop-turned-church music and easily get you groovin' in the theater seat, the would-be, take-away message and the beauty of their performance is lost in the shallowness of those singing. It's all twisted - a winning choir singing that it's all about Jesus, features a screaming lead singer who jerks around on the platform like a chicken with worms. That “praise team” is disqualified for hiring professional entertainers. Another contender is comprised of a group of uniformed children and their snappy little lead singer screams out lyrics about humility while he flaunts himself all over the stage like Justin Bieber. Instead of the competition being about praising God, it is about WINNING at all costs!

Just when I thought the choir director might rally her troops into an awe-inspiring moment by turning their hearts toward the real reason for singing – Jesus -- she keeps the movie consistently and ashamedly humanistic and just challenges her choir to kick the butt of the competition because “We deserve this!” Pathetic!

Look, I am quite aware the church is full of sinners. That's why I'm there. I need a Savior. But this movie's baseless assault on Christianity blatantly smacks of another attempt to make Christians look stupid and worldly. If we get nothing else out of it, I pray it compels us to take a hard look at our own behavior. I pray that we remember that it is Christ whose name we bear as we sing or stomp or kick and scream our way in this world. We live for His glory, not our own. Sing for Him and to His beat and don't bother with this movie.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2012-01-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

I loved it! I loved the lack of clutter, the clean white background, the beautiful faces of children of every color. I loved the simplicity and the purity of the message. I loved their expressions and personalities. I loved being stopped in my tracks as I was exiting a restaurant, surprised that finally there was commercial worth hearing, seeing and believing. Thank you, Focus on the Family, for broadcasting John 3:16.

By now, you've probably heard the buzz, seen the ad replayed over the internet hundreds of times. Still it doesn't get old. “Wow!” the little doll at the end proclaims. Out of the mouth of this babe comes the most profound of truths we cannot explain. Why God loves us enough to send His Son remains a mystery. Ancient citizens of planet earth despised and rejected the Creator of the Universe. Today they mock and hate Him still. Yet, He gave...and continues to save. Wow! What else is there to say?

It would do this world a world of good if we would stop and listen to the wisdom of innocence. For example, here are a couple of logical kid conclusions to a few over-used adult idioms.

“You get out of something what you..............see pictured on the box.”

“Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and............you have to blow your nose.”

Children are like wet cement, someone once said. Whatever falls on them makes an impression. However, some of our abstract adult concepts merely lay on the surface and never quite sink in. A kindergarten student reveals the assumptions we often make when communicating with children. On the first day of school, the teacher said, “If anyone has to go to the bathroom, hold up two fingers.” A little voice from the back of the room asked, “How will that help?” her request made no sense at all when you think like a kid.

When will we learn that the more complex we make it, the less influence we wield. Kids want the truth, not a bunch of philosophical hogwash tainted by political correctness or radical prejudice. They deserve the truth - free of clutter, clean, beautiful, in living color. We're the adults and we should be teaching a simple and pure message. Our children are worth it!

Children give us unconditional love and brazen honesty. They provide the most glorious sound in the world – a giggle. Kids are insightful and fearless. They are creative and brilliant if given a chance. They give us so much! What are we giving back?

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children," says martyred theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His standard comes from none other than the Christ himself.

“[Jesus] called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

“'But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin!'” (Matthew 18:2-7a)

If the test of morality is what society does for its children, then the test of the heart is if we'll listen. Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. Once more, we are the benefactors of God's love through the blessings of children and God's great wisdom and truth delivered from the mouths of babes. Remember that on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, Jan. 22.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That's John 3:16 in case you missed the commercial. It's the truth we need to be living if you care about our children.

If It Weren't for that Woman

2012-01-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

Eve – She was fashioned by intentional thought and loving consideration from the heart of God and the side of man. Her name means life-giver and she was designed to bear the seed that would populate the earth. One would think such a woman so notable would be talked about over and over in the Holy Bible, yet her name is spoken only a handful of times in all of Scripture.

Though referenced in Gen. 3:1-19, she is identified as “the woman” and “his wife,” but never called Eve until the twentieth verse when Adam names her because “she would be the mother of all the living.” He only learns that bit of information when God pronounces the curse. “I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.” (Gen. 3:16)

Again she was called by name in Gen. 4:1 when the conception of a child is discussed. And this woman acknowledged that Cain was delivered “with the Lord's help.”

Eve is called by name again in the New Testament, but unfortunately only when temptation is mentioned. Paul says it this way: “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:3). And sadly, she is tied again to the dangers and consequence of weak resistance in one final mention in a letter to Timothy. Eve's sins are immortalized; the fall emphasized.

She barely existed before she blundered and the rest of history remembers only her folly. Did she do anything right? Did God not call her good the moment He laid eyes on her? Adam said of this gift from God, “This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called 'woman,' for she was taken from man.” (Gen. 2:23) And remember: “Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.” (vs.25)

It started out GREAT! And then it went South! And Eve fell from perfection to the butt of bad jokes passed down for generations. She exchanged her innocence for cruel insolence directed at her name and every daughter of Eve since that time. All because of her own weak will and a deceptive enemy, who was a crafty liar and evil destroyer.

Oh sure, I've been mad at Eve myself – especially during child birth! But I've also grieved for the first woman who made one terrible mistake and went down in history as a failure. We have to remember, God is in the business of redemption. That didn't begin at Calvary, it began in the Garden. God covered the shame of both man and woman. In his punishment, He also protected. And though we never hear how old she was or when she died, I have to believe that Eve was loved – by God, by Adam, by her children and friends she knew and lives she touched. We'll never know her whole story. But I do know, God blessed her from the beginning. He saved her from her sin. I'll get the rest of the story when I see her in heaven.

None of us are perfect. We all give in to temptations through far less threats than coming face to face with that serpent of old. If our names were written for all the world to read, how many times would we be mentioned in shameful terms? How many times would our sins be documented as bad examples? Before we cast the first stone at any other, we should look first to our own blunders that need God-covers.

An Honest Outlook

2012-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

Opinions ricochet across the globe, zinging prophecies concerning 2012. Some volley good year predictions while others warn of pending doom. Economic upswing or more market plummets? Depends on who you ask. Global peace? Depends on where you live.

“Syria's government-owned Al-Thawrah says people across the country 'look forward to a new year full of hope and optimism,'” the BBC reports. But that same article, published Jan. 2, goes on to quote political analyst Wang Honggang from a statement published by China's Guangzhou Ribao newspaper. In it he predicts that "the global chain of unrest symbolized by the 'Arab Spring', 'Europe Summer', 'Wall St Autumn' and 'Moscow Winter' will continue to brew and trigger a series of follow-up effects,” making 2012 "more complex and unpredictable" than 2011.

Here at home, the reviews are just as mixed. If you listen long enough, you'll hear both hope and fear, sometimes in the same breath. I've ventured such conflicting emotions myself – especially when I analyze the next generation and their outlook.

I'm hopeful when I spend time with some young friends who are bright and articulate; moral and purpose-driven. They talk of community service and faith and friendship. They love to laugh and they aren't afraid of work. And then, I feel nauseous when I hear of the crass and ignorant rants from people who desecrate property and damn society, blaming everyone but themselves for their own circumstance. Hope and fear. Help and hindrance. Honor and disrespect. That's the difference in the next generation – and when we each look in the mirror at ourselves.

For the record, those who scream “We are the 99%” are not speaking for me! And last time I checked, I sure didn't fit financially into the remaining 1%. If you're like me, you can't identify with such polarized pigeon holes either. Around these parts, we don't lump ourselves into radical movements crying foul and expecting hand outs. Nor do we put buckets on our heads and pretend everything is perfect. We just do the best we can with what we have, which, for the record, we earned the hard way.

I don't have any grand predictions for 2012. Only the Lord knows what is certain in the months ahead. I know I can't afford $5 gas that some are forecasting and I don't think our nation can afford another four years of misguided management. I do know that America is in jeopardy and if we want to get through 2012, we better get on our knees starting now! But my plea is not rooted in fear. It's founded in belief. I believe there is a better way, a higher road, and I will always choose hope over fear and God's wisdom over my own intelligence. And I'll thank Him for every glimpse of decency, civility and morality I discover in fellow humanity.

There is hope this year if you look for it. There is hope this year if you will be it.

It's a New Year - Lighten Up

2011-12-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

From the beginning, God had a plan for our good; for beauty, perfection and paradise. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...” (Genesis 1:1) His plan filled the universe with light and life. “And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3-4) The plan has not changed. God still wills light and life into each new day and every new year that the earth stays in orbit. He interjects Himself into all of creation, including humanity. And we are called to reflect that radiance in our actions and proclaim His residence within our hearts. We were chosen for glory! So lighten up!

This marvelous beginning begins with you. It starts the moment you choose the life and light the Lord made ready eons ago. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

The Father of all creation determined from the beginning to make a way to make you His own, then He gave you a choice. The first day you commit to Christ, your destiny is illuminated. As a new year approaches, what will you choose? Light or darkness? I suggest you start it enlightened. Be filled with the Light of the World by serving Jesus as Lord and Savior.

“The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God --” (John 1:9-12) You have the right to live righteously if you choose wisely. That's a pretty good New Year's resolution.

Once the Lord is inside of you, let His light shine out of you! Be a beacon of help and hope in a dark and needy world. God separated the light from the darkness not only in the heavenly realms, but right here on earth, where those who walk in light make a brilliant difference. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Finally, live lightly. “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength...” (Psalm 89:15-17a)

He came as light. We are called to be light – every day... every year... until He comes again. “For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Lighten Up in 2012! You just might see a gleaming difference!

His Name Shall Be Prince of Peace

2011-12-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

(Final in series)

By Brenda Black

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

The Wonderful Counselor points the way to a Mighty God that will never fail and into the arms of our Everlasting Father who watches over us forever. But wait! There's more – so much more! The Babe in the manger came to a world at war to reign as the Prince of Peace!

To better grasp peace, we must consider the anguish it replaces. Go back in chapter 9 of Isaiah and see the contrasts. Darkness versus light (vs. 2); gladness versus burden (vs. 3-4); a yoke verses a staff (s. 4).

Christmas time and light go hand in hand. Strings of glowing bulbs line house gutters as well as businesses, trees, bushes, wood or iron lawn ornaments, porch spindles and even poodles with reindeer antlers and blinking noses. We illuminate stars, attempting to imitate the heavens. Twinkling spectacles transform into laser light shows complete with orchestrated, techno tunes. We light candles and line our sidewalks with luminaries to brighten dark winter nights and present a warm welcome to evening carolers. Light makes plain objects magical and long nights tolerable. The Prince of Peace came as the Light of the World to lead us out of spiritual darkness.

“'The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.' From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.'” (Matthew 4:16-17)

Gladness and burden are equal companions at Christmas. We are happy to give and long to express our love for family and friends through thoughtful trinkets and treasures. Parties sound delightful, but crowd an already over-extended schedule. The burden to bear the expense and find the time to shop among the masses and attend every celebration can become overwhelming. Keep in mind, burdens don't sneak up on you and knock you flat! Burdens accumulate. At first they seem bearable. Then the longer we carry them, the more we add to them, the more cumbersome they become until we can tolerate it no more. Good things, and bad things, like worries, sorrow, fear, financial hardship, and a hundred more weights from the world pile up in our minds and on our shoulders. If we don't lay them down daily, they will waylay us ultimately! The Prince of Peace came to bear our load and show us a simple path to glory.

“But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful...Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:4,19)

In the final weeks of the calendar year, it begins. The tidal wave of choking pressure to have the latest, greatest gadget or give the best deal! It's easy to feel swept up by the commercialism of Christmas, hammered by loud, annoying advertisements harping at us to buy, buy, buy or nag, nag, nag until you get, get get! It's really quite disgusting if you think about it. And it is suffocating. This urge to splurge on things unnecessary is like a heavy yoke clamped over your shoulders, forcing you to surrender and follow the herd mentality. The alternative is the calm, quiet nudge of a loving Savior who reaches out with his long, smooth, curved staff and pulls you closer. The same Good Shepherd will also get in the yoke with you and help bear the load. With Him it is safe and meaningful; there in the manger and in the arms of the Messiah. The Prince of Peace came to set us free.

“'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'” (Mt. 11:28-30)

“And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

May God bless you this Christmas with His presence in all of its magnificent forms.

2011 copyright by The Word's Out - Brenda Black

His Name Shall Be Everlasting Father

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

(Third in a series)

By Brenda Black

How can an infant son be the Everlasting Father? The notion is marvelous at its base and mind boggling from that point forward. Just think, He's an infinite infant, blessed forever to reign without end. The third name attached to the Babe of Christmas solidifies the eternal quality of this mysterious deity and gives us a glimpse of this loving and perfect parent that will never leave or forsake us.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1)

Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. He has always been. While you try to wrap your head around that, don't fret too much. So much of the person of our Lord is beyond our understanding. How can we fathom forever when “[our] days are like the evening shadow; [we] wither away like grass. But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.” (Psalm 102:11-12) Yet, God longs to reveal Himself like a loving father wishes to impart lessons for life to his son or daughter. “Call to me and I will answer you and teach you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Quite frankly, I don't believe God expects us to get it over the course of a vaporous life that quickly dissipates. This is just training ground for the rest of our days spent in eternity getting to know God completely. “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

What's exciting about this arrangement is that even in my limited, finite circumstance, the Everlasting Father sees the big picture. He is yesterday, today and forever the same. He knows my past, He's in my present, He's planned a beautiful future. What a great Daddy! He'll be guiding me forever...if I'll just listen and follow!

Jesus is the Babe. Jesus is the Beginning. He also proclaims in John's Revelation “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (1 John 1:l7b-18) Jesus may have manifested Himself fully in the form of a child, fragile and vulnerable to every hardship and evil in this world. But His 33 years here on earth do not negate His royal and powerful standing over all of the universe and everything, everywhere that ever existed or will exist. He has the power over life and death!

“'Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:12-13)

The Wonderful Counselor points the way to a Mighty God that will never fail. We are well advised and adequately protected by such a Savior. As believers in this multifaceted Messiah, it is especially good to know that Our Everlasting Father began before the manger to plan for our future. That should bring you perfect peace...We'll talk about that fourth amazing name next week!

His Name Shall Be Mighty God (Second in a series)

2011-12-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

Last week, we wondered over the Wonderful Counselor. This week we'll discover the power of a Mighty God, feared before He was ever born by those in the heavenly realms who knew that this infant babe came to rule the world. We must never forget “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.” (1 John 3:8b)

The fierce Spartans had a saying: “come back with the shield or on top of it” which meant don’t come back unless you are victorious. The samurai were heavily armed soldiers covered in armor and willing to die for their masters. They wielded a sword sharp enough to slice a man in two. The Roman Legion helped establish an empire that was unrivaled in terms of size and power through discipline and strategy and cruel inhumanity. Some of the mightiest warriors in history banked on advanced weaponry, raw courage, loyalty and wit to win wars and conquer millions. But for all their blood, sweat and tears, the battles fought and won were temporary at best. And the might they expended amounted to a mere drop in the bucket to the Almighty Himself.

Mighty God, El Gibbor – Strong, powerful, mighty, champion, hero! The soldiers of Israel are described as “mighty men of valor” in the book of Joshua and the Lord Himself is called “mighty in battle” in Psalm 24:8. Jesus is a powerful warrior and His army is incited to rise in the ranks and go into battle fearless.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 103-4)

To think of an innocent babe in the manger and sing songs of a holy and silent night are soothing thoughts and sounds of Christmas. But what did it sound like in the heavenly realms when Jesus came to earth? Were there swords drawn by demons and angels? Did the holy charge of God surround that cave and create an impenetrable barrier unseen by human eyes, but gleaming and fierce to the glowering orbs of an army of demons kept at bay and powerless? They couldn't stop His birth. They couldn't stop His purpose.

Christ was born. Christ lived. Christ battled the devil himself in the desert and won! Christ gave up His life and took it back again, conquering the grave! That's the Mighty God who was born a baby!

He's a Wonderful Counselor, deserving of our worship and our obedience. And Jesus is a Mighty God, able to protect and defend us. He promises His strength and commands our allegiance. The battle we wage is not against flesh and blood, but against the dark forces and a deceitful enemy. This Christmas, I am glad that my Jesus has already won the victory and that I live in freedom in a heavenly kingdom secured by a Mighty King!

All I Want for Christmas

2011-12-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

I could write of the Christmas hustle and bustle. I could tell you about traditions or share a nifty recipe just in time to rescue you from the 4-dozen cookie exchange coming up this Saturday. We could think together about miracles and charities and benefactors who fulfill Christmas dreams. This space could be devoted to deep pondering over world religions and the ever changing face of American culture where holiday greetings from store clerks incense seasonal shoppers when they don't hear “Merry Christmas.” Or I could just tell you what I really want for Christmas.

Don't worry. I'm not going to itemize a long list of material what-nots to fill my kitchen or bedroom closet. I don't have room for anything more and, in fact, would do well to purge rather than gather another possession. What I truly desire for Christmas can't be bought online or in a department store. You won't find it on special and it isn't sitting in a warehouse in China.

All I want is for people to see Christ as the Savior of the World, not just at Christmas, but always. I want small country churches to be bursting at the seams because “good, moral country folk” realize their good deeds and manners aren't a sure ticket to heaven. They need a Savior and the church needs saints who are faithful and committed and so in love with Jesus that they want to be there and learn and worship! I want to hear about churches in the city that are teaching the Word, not just gathering for a social hour. I want people everywhere to humble themselves and seek His face and stop pretending like good enough is good enough when they, like me, need grace!

This Christmas, I want young families to feel the urgency of teaching the Scriptures to their precious, priceless children more than appeasing them with temporary packages that quickly lose their attention. I want them to know the pleasures of watching their babies grow up in the safe arms of Jesus, especially in a world more and more filled with hate. I long for them to experience the indescribable joy of seeing faith grow through the help and love of fellow believers who nurture and teach and pray for one another as they come together.

On my list are visions of worship where it doesn't matter what position you take or how loud or old fashion the music. Instead, God takes center stage and we can't help but pour out our adoration! I want to see genuine expressions of gratefulness and submission to a Holy God who deserves nothing less. I want to hear praise, not curses, on the tongues of professing Christians who know the difference!

For Christmas, I want to be carried away by a true revival that sweeps across this land and puts the Light of the World back on His rightful throne! I want to live in such a way, that when that great movement begins undulating from soul to soul, I'll be riding the first wave out!

That's all I want for Christmas because Christ is all that Christmas, or any other day of this life, is about! All I want is for my loving Lord, who humbled himself and came to earth, to be honored and worshiped all year long. And for everyone I know to get it – the best Christmas gift of all.

**If you want this gift, I'd be happy to share it. If you've already received it, I'd love to hear what the Lord means to you and how you plan to share Him with others. You can leave a comment here or visit www.thewordsout-brendablack.com and send me a private message.

His Name Shall Be

2011-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

Most of us have one given name at birth. Sure, friends might add a nickname as we grow and take on personality traits. We might become “Zoomer” or “Slam Dunk” to those who know us best. Of course, parents may grant us the “I'll be known by this till my death” pet name such as “Tubs” or “Critter” and use it as a term of endearment until we start dating. Then it becomes leverage to insure their teen observes curfew to the minute. Some will change or lengthen their moniker upon marriage. But, for the most part, we legally and socially claim one name.

Jesus, who endured all things and became all things in order that we might receive redemption, also related to all of mankind by being called a host of names. Though God's angel Gabriel instructed Mary and Joseph to give their Son the name Jesus, He was also called the Christ and the Messiah. Those names and many others defined the roles He fulfilled in history and described His divine qualities. This Christmas season, I think it's fitting to take a closer look at the names Isaiah prophesied of His King: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. When we get to know Him better, we'll want to worship not just the babe in the manger, but the King on the throne.

Wonderful Counselor - The name immediately strikes awe by its very nature. It is the name that best defined the Christ's arrival – miraculous, a marvel. Wonderful indicates something unusual or extraordinary. The Key Word Study Bible explains that, except for one reference in Scripture, every time this word is used it “appears in the context of God's words or deeds.” His name is truly Wonderful. His ways are amazingly Wonderful. His gifts and power and grace and judgment are Wonderful!

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.” (1 Chronicles 16:8-12)

Now some might think winning a $254 million Powerball lottery is wonderful. I suppose it sounds pretty grand, but has anyone noticed that the owners of the ticket only took about a 100 million home after taxes. Kind of kicks the marvelous out of the equation a bit. And do those who plunked down hundreds of dollars for their chance at the ticket still think it is so amazing when the wealthy walked away more wealthy and those desperate for a miraculous break more poor for their investment. No, winning a lottery is not all that wonderful in the big scheme of things. It's fleeting. It is financially complicated. It can become a snare and often leaves people worse off than those who never raked in the mega bucks, after they squander their unexpected fortune.

The Wonderful Counselor has much to say about where we place our trust. It's not in money. And that brings us to the second part of this glorious and marvelous name – Counselor. The Psalmist David explains it this way in the lyrics to his thirty-second Psalm. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.” (Psalm 32:8-10)

When you think you don't have the answers, the Wonderful Counselor rises from within and leads the way to profound truth. “...I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” How wonderful!

One Deserves Thanks

2011-11-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

“We often forget the Source from which the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies come...No human wisdom hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God...I therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States...to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” – Abraham Lincoln

Political correctness will tolerate a “God bless you” for there are many adherents to generic gods categorized and defined by the men who claim them. But the God of the universe to whom Abraham Lincoln gives credit is more than a man made entity worshiped when convenient. This God of our nation's history and this God of our very existence is the Father of Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. The Source of our salvation and the giver of all things. He is Christ the Lord and Redeemer. This God that answers to no other is Almighty and omniscient. He is holy and just, righteous and perfect. The “Source from which the blessings...come” is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This God of blessing is Jesus.

“No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'

“And he says in another place, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'

“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:4-10)

Though perfected in human form through suffering, Jesus already existed in the beginning. You see, God took His only Son, the second slice of His own identity and rendered a flesh-covered offering of Himself for the sake of humanity.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it...He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or of a husbands' will, but born of God.

“The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14)

As Lincoln said, “No human wisdom hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.” And as the 16^th President of the United States implored the citizens of this great nation to give thanks, I exhort this generation to do the same. Go back to the Source! Remember the Savior! Give Thanks to the Father!

Thanksgiving is not a generic holiday to celebrate false gods and acknowledge all religions. It is a day set apart to worship and revere the One True God who created all we have, provides all we need and loved us to death on the cross by giving up all of Himself. We worship One who conquered enemies in the spiritual realm and enemies on the earth that we might be blessed.

God alone deserves our thanks.

Jesus on a Jersey

2011-11-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

What would Jesus do? That is the question. Would He be okay with his name initialized in the acronym “WWJD” on the front of a black t-shirt, but intolerant of His name spelled out in block letters on the back of an orange jersey? Some folks think it's irreverent that die hard Tim Tebow Bronco fans have placed “Jesus” above Tebow's No. 15 on their fan apparel. But what does Jesus think?

We could speculate the Lord's take on several ways His name has been linked to otherwise non-religious, worldly goods. Does He think it's cool to see plastered on billboards the dairy council's catch phrase by inserting His own moniker “Got Jesus?” I wonder if the Lord of All is surprised that there are no new ideas on ways to tout His name, it just keeps getting recycled through borrowed ad campaigns.

I've seen Jesus written in yellow cursive like a Peanut Butter cup. “Jesus is my King” takes center stage in the middle of Burger King's logo. Oh, and did you know: “He's the Real Thing.” It's not Coke, after all.

Though some of these may verge on disrespect, I don't think God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit is offended. In fact, weren't the marching orders made to His followers: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

And the Lord instructed in Deuteronomy: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Dt. 6:5-9)

What better way to bring up the name! Women wear cross necklaces, men carry cross keychains. Kids where rubberized bracelets etched with the name of Jesus. Those symbols may just speak to someone searching for The Answer to life's questions.

Just let me say, I'd much rather see the name of Jesus emblazoned on cotton than a million other ugly gestures, profane expressions or hideous pictures of skulls and cross bones. I don't believe the fans of Tim Tebow actually think him to be The Jesus. Instead, isn't it refreshing to think our youth have a sports hero who identifies himself with holiness instead of heroine or steroids or wine, women and jail time!

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There's just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus...Oh that the world would believe on His name. Oh that we would be unashamed to proclaim the name. Oh that we would talk about Him, share Him, and do what He would do no matter what we're wearing.

There is one caution to those who desire to be branded with Jesus' appellation: Walk worthy! I do think God takes His name seriously and expects it to be revered by our thoughts and deeds. So if your t-shirt reads “Jesus is my BFF,” act like it. When you are wearing a tank splattered in paint that boldly states “Jesus Loves You,” show it! And if you happen to be in a football stand draped in an NFL jersey with “Jesus” emblazoned across your shoulders, remember he carried a cross to Calvary so that you could bear the name into eternity.

Go, JESUS!

*Thanks to http://www.spottedjesus.com/2011/08/tim-tebow-fans-go-hard/ for spotting Jesus in a football stadium.

In Honor of the Human Spirit

2011-11-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

By Brenda Black

I watched the little brunette perch twenty feet in the air atop a tower of human spirit. Sturdy men and steady ladies pyramided their way center court to the cheers of college sports fans. The stack of flesh and school pride was even more impressive when I watched the diminutive dare devil flipped down to land on two feet and triumphantly lift one and a half arms into the air! All I could think was that beautiful little lady must have been loved by incredible parents who never allowed a birth defect to stand in the way of anything their daughter wanted to accomplish. Her spirit was never suppressed.

There is a story of a school teacher who asked her first graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She thought of how little these children from poor neighborhoods actually had for which to give thanks. She reasoned that most of them would no doubt sketch pictures of turkeys on tables with lots of other food. She was surprised with the paper that one small boy handed in. It was the picture of a human hand, crudely drawn. The other children tried to guess whose hand their classmate had scribbled. One said it was the hand of God because He brings the food to us. Another said it was the hand of a farmer because he raises and grows the food. Finally, when the others were back at their work, the teacher bent over the child’s desk and asked whose hand it was. "Why, its your hand, teacher," he mumbled. Then she recalled how frequently at recess she had taken this scrubby, forlorn child by the hand. She did it with many of the children and never thought much about it. But that little boy did. You see, she refreshed his spirit and he never forgot it.

The human spirit is remarkable, capable of overcoming all odds to rise to great heights! But the human spirit is impressionable. It can be deeply stirred by simple acts of kindness or just as easily crushed from lack of love. I admire those who model this human quality and those who empower it with love and sacrifice.

That's why I get weepy when our nation's heroes go off to war or return home to the welcoming arms of loving family and friends. I wonder what kind of grit and how much courage dwells in the heart of a soldier. Who challenged them to be all they could be? How do those young, left-behind wives continue to patiently uplift their brave husbands and embolden the children who don't understand why daddy is half way around the world. That amazing human spirit that fights for freedom and lives for others and dies for country astounds me! They deserve my greatest respect, my cheers and my thanks. Yet, I fear that simple gratitude will never be enough compensation for their sacrifices and service. But this Friday we can still try. As individuals, as communities, as a nation, we can pay tribute to the American human spirit at its best on Veterans Day, 2011.

“Today, our Nation comes together to honor our veterans and commemorate the legacy of profound service and sacrifice they have upheld in pursuit of a more perfect Union. Through their steadfast defense of America’s ideals, our service members have ensured our country still stands strong, our founding principles still shine, and nations around the world know the blessings of freedom. As we offer our sincere appreciation and respect to our veterans, to their families, to those who are still in harm’s way, and to those we have laid to rest, let us rededicate ourselves to serving them as well as they have served the United States of America.” (Veterans Day 2011 Proclamation)

Some of these noble warriors began as scared little boys in need of a guiding and loving hand to encourage them. Some have returned home with scars and handicaps they've had to overcome in order to stand proud again. But all give us reason to cheer and look upon them in amazement for the human spirit that dwells within them.

May God protect our troops. May we never forget how blessed we are because of their courage, strength and willingness to go into battle. This Veterans Day, please take the time to express due honor. It will do your own spirit good.

Trust is a Must

2011-11-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

“In God We Trust” is not just a motto. It's a mindset. It's an action. Over 97% of the House thought voting on a resolution Tuesday reaffirming the statement as the official motto of the United States was important. But unless that motto becomes more than just words engraved on government buildings, their resolution is nothing but worthless lip service to a Holy God that deserves complete obedience and longs for sincere relationship. We better heed the words of God himself, recorded in Numbers 20:12. “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.'”

Trust is defined as 1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. 2. confident expectation of something; hope. 3. confidence in …

TV host Brian Tracy says “The glue that holds all relationships together - including the relationship between the leader and the led is trust, and trust is based on integrity.”

Lip service or lives of service? Indifference or integrity? What will your motto be? And where will the United States be if we don't rely on the strength, ability and surety of God Almighty? We're toast without His blessing! Said another way, Rep. Trent Franks declared during the 35-minute floor debate over the motto that if the House doesn't believe in God, then “we should just let anarchy prevail because, after all, we are just worm food.”

Indeed we are made of dust and to dust we shall return, but in the mean time, we represent a King here on earth and our duties demand loyalty and love.

“The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates...Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord you God, who is among you, is a jealous god and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God...Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you...The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” (Deuteronomy 6 selected)

Though we are but a vapor, God has made us eternal. What we do in our breath of life matters forever. I'd rather go down on the side of the Lord than go down in history as one of His enemies. I don't want to be the generation that invited God's wrath on America! I don't want to be counted among the foolish and impetuous people that thumb their nose at a Holy God and tell Him, “We don't need you anymore; we can do this on our own.”

Praise the Lord, He works through remnants – sometimes they number 395. Sometimes they amount to only one. And I, as one, want to stand with those who will trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. I will in all my ways acknowledge Him so that He will make my paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). That's my motto and I'm sticking to it!

I will love the Lord with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind (Luke 10:27). That's my mindset and I'm thinking it!

In God I trust! That's my action and I'm living it!

The Perfect Family

2011-10-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

In 1978, Thomas Hansen of Boulder Colorado, sued his parents for $350,000 on grounds of "malpractice of parenting." Mom and Dad had botched his upbringing so badly, he charged in his suit, that he would need years of costly psychiatric treatment. Do your kids ever lay that kind of guilt trip on you?

Maybe it's not the kids, but your husband who assumes your worst is par for the course, as in the case of a lady who experienced a string of misfortunate consequences. A woman was at home doing some cleaning when the telephone rang. Headed to answer it, she tripped on a throw rug and grabbed for something to hold onto, thus seizing the telephone table. It fell over with a crash and jarred the receiver off the hook. As it fell, it hit the family dog, who leaped up, howling and barking. The woman's three-year-old son, startled by the noise, broke into loud screams. The woman mumbled some colorful words. She finally managed to pick up the receiver and lift it to her ear, just in time to hear her husband's voice on the other end say, "Nobody's said hello yet, but I'm positive I have the right number."

In an attempt to perfectly parent or fulfill perfect matrimony, how often I feel that I lose myself in the shuffle and become someone else – someone I don't want to be and barely recognize. I'm left wondering just “Who am I in this mix anymore?” much like the lady whose grandfather married her husband's mother and discovered, "my mother-in-law is now my step-grandmother. My grandfather is now my stepfather-in-law. My mom is my sister-in-law and my brother is my nephew. But even crazier is that I'm now married to my uncle and my own children are my cousins." (Campus Life, March, 1981, p. 31)

While you diagram that on paper, I'll press my case further. I am not the perfect parent nor the perfect wife, nor capable of being all that others expect or demand if I don't know first who I truly am. Actually, not even then! In all of the juggling to wear so many hats and fulfill so many roles, I have to step back and evaluate how am I helping and where am I hindering by forever trying to be perfect. God alone fills those gigantic shoes!

On days like these, when I feel depleted and overwhelmed, I turn to Scripture and read for the thousandth time that the imperfect family of which I am ingrafted is made perfect only by grace from the Lord Jesus.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen [me] with power through his Spirit in [my] inner being, so that Christ may dwell in [my heart] through faith. And I pray that [I], being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that [I] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all [I] ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within [me], to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:14-21)

Insert heavy, deep, breathless sigh here and roll off the self-inflicted burden you bear. Out of God's glorious riches, we are strong. Through faith in Christ, we have power for the long haul. When rooted and established in love, we get a grip on life and the fullness God supplies. And when the family dynamics once again reveal just how imperfect we are, it's good to know God's still at work in all generations and every household where He is worshipped and welcomed.

Proof of Answered Prayer

2011-10-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

I wouldn't have believed it if I had not seen it. That same ghost town of a gas station I visited last week, where I prayed for a clerk with a bad headache, was booming with business on my return trip home the very next day. Before I ever hit the town, I waffled over the notion of stopping to see if my prayers had been answered. I nearly had myself persuaded there was slim possibility that the same girl would be at work on an entirely different shift, when I found myself in the left turning lane and committed.

There were cars at every pump, and five more parked at the store front. I entered the store to find a dozen customers, but my eyes went straight to the register. Quickly I knew this was not the same cashier of the day before and I almost turned and exited, telling myself it was silly to think she'd be here again all alone. But something pushed me to search further. Only then did I notice that not only was there an employee at the counter, there was another one near the door where I first laid eyes on Lisa the day before. And then, toward the coolers, huddled among shoppers, were three more Casey's employees, with clipboards in hand. None of them looked familiar.

I turned to leave after swiftly glancing down each row, when my focus shifted from the far end of the aisle to the candy bar counter. With her back to me, I couldn't be certain, but the young women counting sweet inventory in her Casey's smock came the closest to looking like what I remembered from my 2-minute encounter more than 24 hours earlier.

“Are you Lisa,” I ventured. She turned, a little startled, and said. “Yes,” but did not recognize me. I was not surprised. “I stopped in here yesterday morning and told you I would pray for your headache. I just wanted to see how God answered.”

Her eyes lit up and she said warmly, “Yes, it quit hurting about two. Thank you.”

I told her I was glad she got better and bid her “God bless you.” That was it. I had no particular expectations; didn't really come for the appreciation. I just wanted to hear that God answers prayer one more time. It never gets old - this proof of a loving God, full of grace, documented by one more touch on humanity. Even the most undeserving (that would include all of us) may experience the bliss of God's intervention if we just ask, believing, “for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Chronicles 30:9b)

That statement is straight from King Hezekiah's letter to the people of Israel, calling them to return to the Lord. Remarkably, this grace-filled God to whom Hezekiah pointed the people, is the same God of today who is merciful and forgiving and healing toward sinners.

“Although most of the many people who came...had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God – the Lord, the God of his fathers – even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.' And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” (2 Ch. 30:18-20)

God loves us. God hears us. God runs to us and wraps His arms around us if we just turn and face Him and honestly see how absolutely, completely destitute we are without His grace and compassion. “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God.” You see, bodily healing is but for the moment; spiritual healing is for eternity. The most important prayer God answers will always be “Forgive me.”

Pit Stop Pity and Prayer

2011-10-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

I hesitated to pull into the gas station. No one was at the pump and it didn't look like this particular convenience store was frequented often. I wondered how clean or how safe it would be. But I was desperate. I needed a pit stop!

No one was at the counter and the place appeared empty. I hesitated just for a second and considered retreating back to the parking lot. Then a young woman peeked through a door frame from the far corner of the store, with a wadded towel compressed against her forehead. She dutifully welcomed me with a weary “Hello, Welcome to Casey's.” As I processed her appearance, I pressed my reason for entering and she pointed to a hallway that led to my destination.

When I returned to the main room, I was alone again, but headed to the refrigerator section to select a drink for the rest of my journey. Then, she emerged once more with said towel still pressed to said head. I asked, “Are you alright?” and she replied, “I have a terrible headache.” Though she was in pain, I was a bit relieved that she wasn't being held at gunpoint at the back of the store and had not been rapped on the noggin by some thug.

She briefly shared how often she suffers from migraines and I listened knowingly. Sometimes those awful things can be right down debilitating. I felt sorry that she had to plug on through the day in such discomfort. When I asked her name, she looked at me with wonder? I repeated my query and she answered, “Lisa.”

I called her by name and then told Lisa I was going to pray for her the entire stretch of the road through this town, at least three or four miles and that many stoplights would give me time to plead her case before the Lord. As I prayed, I began to cry, filled with empathy for a stranger I'd known for a mere minute. Not only did I beg for relief from her suffering, but I prayed that she would feel the fiery touch of God and would know it was a direct result of prayer. I asked God to soften her heart and if she knew Him, that this would bolster her faith; if she didn't, it would awaken her hunger!

I'll never know this side of heaven if Lisa's headache disappeared, but I prayed believing! And when I had poured out all of my petition and reached the edge of the city limits, I surmised that the reason for my need to pull off the main road was more about Lisa than about me.

The Apostle Paul instructed Titus in chapter 3, verse 14: “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.”

I could have been insensitive and diminished her trouble or demanded better service and expected her to buck up and do her job regardless. But I didn't. I had compassion on a total stranger who was doing her best to serve me under the worst of her own circumstances. Though I couldn't take her pain away, I could pray to the One who is able and I could practice patience and kindness.

How simple, how easy it was to do good and provide for Lisa's immediate need. And how thankful I am that I learned again so much of life is not about me. It's about being God's hands and feet and providing daily necessities in unexpected ways to those in need.

What Will It Take to Awaken

2011-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

"Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people," the statement released by the White House read. "That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency, and breaches Iran's own international obligations. A decision to impose the death penalty would further demonstrate the Iranian authorities' utter disregard for religious freedom, and highlight Iran's continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens. We call upon the Iranian authorities to release Pastor Nadarkhani, and demonstrate a commitment to basic, universal human rights, including freedom of religion."

Nadarkhani is currently the most notorious Christian facing hate-driven persecution, but he is not the only one. Worldwide, brothers and sisters in Christ die for their faith every day! They risk their lives, their families and their homes, yet cling to their convictions. They gather for worship in spite of death threats. They share their faith, knowing it may cost them everything. Four times, Nadarkhani has been pressured to renounce his faith. Four times he defended the cross of Jesus Christ and refused to deny God's saving power in his life.

Could you do it? Would you do it? Christians who live in the “land of the free and the home of the brave” cave under far less duress. Why, we won't say God bless you if somebody sneezes for fear it's not politically correct. Employers at certain retail stores will forbid staff to wish customers Merry Christmas in the days ahead lest some shopper complains. And choose to go to church on Sunday morning? Half of those who profess Christianity won't darken the doors. Not because there is threat to life and limb. Inconvenience or indifference is usually the excuse non-persecuted believers use, as humorously depicted in the following announcement:

To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special "No Excuse Sunday": Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in." There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard. Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church." Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can't go to church and cook dinner, too. We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money. One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature. Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday. The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them. We will provide hearing aids for those who can't hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he's too loud! Hope to see you there!

The ludicrous hoops the church must jump through to awaken its slumbering body is truly insane! People are dying to know Jesus across this planet and walk for miles to hear the Word preached! People are dying to defend their faith and smuggle the Word in scraps of paper past guarded borders to impart the Truth! People are dying while sharing the message of the cross with hungry, searching souls and count it all loss except for knowing Christ! And we can't get our behinds out of bed into a padded pew for a couple of hours once a week to just let God know we give a hoot! We won't leave our comfortable homes, get in our climate-controlled cars and enter a chapel to worship the One who made every stick and brick and every tire and tank and every steeple and stained glass window possible in our safe, little neighborhoods.

What will it take to awaken our souls? Must we be faced with death that we might express devotion. Though my heart aches for those who endure such abuse for the cause of Christ, I have to wonder if they aren't far and ahead more blessed and more fulfilled than me on any given day I live. For they are closer to God in their trial than I will ever be in tranquility. They are in the company of the saints and martyrs like Stephen, who “full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55)

Lord, forgive our complacency. Forgive our selfish, misplaced priorities. God help us to risk it all for Your sake and fall before You in worship! May we care enough to gather and praise, to go and tell, to never deny you no matter the risk. God save us from ourselves and awaken our souls.

A good place to wake up is in the Lord's house. Don't wait until your freedom to worship is threatened. Worship now!

Bullish Bravery in the Black of Night

2011-09-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

A phone call late in the evening can mean any number of things at our house. Could be a son who is up late studying and realizes he needs some money in his account by tomorrow morning. Might be one of my advertising clients who frequently calls at ten o'clock at night – the only sure guarantee that either of us is available to talk business. Sometimes it is the troubling news of a member in our congregation who needs the comfort of the pastor. And then, there are the calls that just get you in an instantaneous bad mood. A neighbor calls to report your bull is out.

On one moonless night under hazy, overcast skies, our big, black bull was wandering. To the farm we headed, ill equipped, since there is never a flashlight that really works and the spotlight burned out months ago.

Sure enough, he had covered more ground than we had hoped. We discovered the escapee standing along a ditch on the thankfully seldom traveled gravel road. We convinced him to turn and head north toward a fenced lane that would usher him back to his herd. That part wasn't too difficult since we operated by the pickup truck lights and both of us could push the burly bull with balanced pressure from rear and side. But when he turned down the lane, I was left alone and afoot to keep driving him while my husband returned to retrieve the truck.

By the time the beast and the bedraggled beauty angled down that lane and were headed west, it was eerie dark. A one ton black bull, followed by little ol' me, also dressed in black, moving blindly through the night. I honestly had no idea how far ahead he was or how close I was to him. My only clue was the crunch of gravel from rocks pulverized under the pressure of four hooves hauling one ton of bovine muscle. I'd walk a little, then listen to make sure he was still on the move. Only one thing would signal which way he was facing, the flash of white from his baldy head. By the time the truck whipped in the drive and shined it's headlights hundreds of feet beyond me, I could see what I suspected. There he stood, broadside, looking back at me obstinately.

The comfort and assistance from the beams aided our progress, but one more daring mission awaited the final step. While Alan sped down to the gate, I was left again, persuading the rebellious bull to keep moving the right way. A few cow-cutting steps and a cattle prod convinced him he had met his match and he relinquished pressing his cause. He turned and trotted increasingly faster toward the pen.

I've been around cattle my whole life and have a healthy respect for livestock that large. I prefer to work them in the daylight than in the dark and I never take for granted that one wrong move could be dangerous. As I walked that darkened lane, a bit of fear kept me safe. I would have been foolish to get too close or to run up flailing my arms. I kept my distance and I kept talking so he'd know who was in charge. Even when he stopped, he did not turn fully around and come back toward me. I intimidated him just enough to hold him at bay until help showed up.

So it goes with spiritual strongholds. When dark enemy forces break the boundaries and wander where they hope to endanger me, I call on courage and experience to help me face fear. I keep on moving confidently. I keep on speaking to the enemy. I carry a stick! And, most importantly, I wait for the Light who promises to help me.

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)

The more I call the enemy's bluff, the more he has to regard me and move according to my authority. And when the Light of the World shows up, he has to leave!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)

If I can turn a one ton bull in the pitch black of night, I know I can face any foe, any time, with Jesus on my side.

Preps to be a Pillar

2011-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it.” (Revelation 3:11-12b)

As a graduate of the University of Missouri, I know the significance of the six iconic columns that tower over MU's campus. The Columns once supported the portico of Academic Hall, the first building erected on campus sometime between 1840 and 1843. Hinkson Creek Valley furnished the timeless limestone, hauled to the construction site by ox-drawn carts. When the brick building burned in January 1892, only those charred white Columns remained, and their standing was threatened with removal when the Board of Curators voted to tear them down. After inspection revealed the Columns stood on solid foundations, the Board reversed their decision and agreed to leave them standing.

Pil·lar (plr) n. 1. a. A slender, freestanding, vertical support; a column. b. Such a structure or one similar to it used for decoration. 2. One who occupies a central or responsible position: a pillar of the state. tr.v. pil·lared, pil·lar·ing, pil·lars

The word jumped off the page at me when I read Revelation chapter 3. The imagery painted a picture of God constructing His church with tremendous and ornate detail. I was reminded of the highly specific and intricate blueprints Moses shared with the Israelites for building the Tabernacle. My mind raced from one end of history to the history yet to be challenging me to envision the New Jerusalem, the Holy City, “coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Rev. 21:2) God has particular plans. He has had them from the foundations of the world and He will have them for all eternity. He likes His house in order and He has space for every precious piece. Specifically, He is waiting for pillars, the saints of all ages joined together by and in Christ, to take their place in this spiritual temple so that a great banquet can begin.

The called, the elect, the children of God, the church, the bride! Call her what you must, but here in Revelation, God calls her pillars. Not windows to see through nor a door through which to greet. Not drapes that warm a room. Not walls or floors or ceiling tiles. Pillars. Rock solid, integral support. And like the church in Philadelphia, one of only two not rebuked, we pillars of this time period need to “hold on to what [we] have” so we'll be fit for the task.

That's going to take some quality construction. Safety cautions from AllenHousing.org for forging brick pillars may be applicable advice for building stable spiritual pillars as well.

“One of the most important things you should consider during the construction is the weight that the brick pillars will support. They have to be strong enough to prevent the building from collapsing.”

God may be holding the weight of the world, but He only has one plan for winning the world – faithful followers who will pillar in Holy Spirit power and hold up the truth of God's Word. The task is impossible without prayer support. “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-12) Since pillars have to be strong enough to prevent the building from collapsing, pray for the strength to stand firm. Pray for other pillars as well.

Caution 2: “The raw materials that you are going to use for the construction should be used according to the specifications. When you are making mortar to use in the brick pillars, make sure you utilize coarse sand. The bricks have to be perfectly burnt and the corners should be faultless.

“When mixing the sand and cement to make the mortar, the ration has to be 4:1. The bricks should also be properly soaked when using them. After you have constructed the brick pillars, they have to be cured for at least ten days to make sure they set well.”

It takes the right ingredients, a little heat, some washing and time to make us fit to stand in heaven and hold up our part of the temple. God isn't looking for ornate decorations though He does see as beautiful. He is looking for obedient disciples. Get into the Word. Get to know the Master Builder who drafted a design for your life. Get ready to be tested. The more you withstand the heat of a brick-layer's oven, the more pure you will become. Be cleansed. “...'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” (Acts. 2:38) Be patient. The Lord is at work in your life even when you feel like you are just standing still.

May we as the people of Christ, be willing to pray: Lord, forge us into pillars, established on strong foundations so that we might be fit to stand together for you in heaven. Teach us to pray for those still needed to build the Holy City and keep us pure in mind and heart and willing to endure to the end.

A Day for Dares

2011-09-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

One hundred plus two boarded the tiny ship bound for prosperity and adventure. They bundled their dreams among meager worldly possessions and said their prayers. In its treacherous 66 day voyage over rough, storm riddled seas, the crude vessel and those aboard were blown more than 500 miles off course. Only half who braved the trip would live to see a year beyond their departure of Sept. 16, 1620. But those who did survive the Mayflower journey were America's first settlers who, while yet aboard the ship, formulated and signed an agreement establishing constitutional law and the rule of the majority. Their pilgrimage of courage and commitment helped forge a new nation.

On Sept. 16 in 1893, the largest land run in history began with more than 100,000 people pouring into Oklahoma to stake their claims. A single pistol shot kick-started the mad dash of land-hungry pioneers on horseback and in carriages who raced forward to snatch the best acres. Their willingness to risk the dangers in a new and rugged country were due more to personal gain than national duty, but the grit it took still merits wonder for those who raced that day.

Instead of a fight for land, the fight for bragging rights landed Thomas Hearns, the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt winner, face down in the ring. His welterweight opponent, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, World Boxing Council’s (WBC) welterweight champion, came from behind to win the battle in front of 25,000 spectators on Sept. 16, 1981. These two fighters punched their way to glory – for what? National pride, personal gain or ticket sales for the boxing leagues? Still, those were a couple of tough contenders that wowed the crowd.

The motivation behind any courageous undertaking must be weighed heavily. Is it noble or greedy? Is the drive pushed by vision or vanity? Each of these historical moments happened on Sept. 16. There is nothing significant about the date. No time off for government employees or holidays from school. It's just another day, like this Friday, Sept. 16 will be.

But look again. Brave souls risked all they had to find a free place to worship and prosper. Families desperate to pursue the American dream dashed daringly across Oklahoma hills at break-neck speed. And two men of small stature scrapped and bum rushed one another to become the big dog in a brutal battle ring. All on the 16^th.

What are you doing this Friday?

I dare you to do something that impacts this nation for good. Begin a journey where you seek to worship in spirit and in truth. Share your faith with others. Serve in the church. Live like you only have one year to make a difference!

“...live a life worthy of the Lord and...please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might...” (Colossians 1:10-11a)

I dare you to go after a dream. Accomplish something you've long pondered and have never been given permission to pursue. Run for the goal. Race for the finish line. Seize the day with anticipation and enthusiasm, grit and nerve. You just might find you have what it takes.

“...so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Col. 1:11b-12)

I dare you to fight the good fight. Not for vain glory, but to honor God. Fight to the finish. Fight for what's right. Fight for freedom in Christ so that you can say with the Apostle Paul:

“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24)

Just think, something you do this Friday could go down in history. Will it go down as noble national pride, selfish personal gain or simple crowd pleasing fame? It's up to you how you live this Friday.

I dare you to live it for Christ!

Huck Finn Apologetics

2011-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

“Well, I got a good going-over in the morning, from old Miss Watson, on account of my clothes; but the widow she didn't scold, but only cleaned off the grease and clay and looked so sorry that I thought I would behave a while if I could. Then Miss Watson she took me in the closet and prayed, but nothing come of it. She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warn't so. I tried it. Once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. It warn't any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldn't make it work. By-and-by, one day, I asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. She never told me why, and I couldn't make it out no way.

“I set down, one time, back in the woods, and had a long think about it. I says to myself, if a body can get anything they pray for, why don't Deacon Winn get back the money he lost on pork? Why can't the widow get back her silver snuff-box that was stole? Why can't Miss Watson fat up? No, says I to myself, there ain't nothing in it. I went and told the widow about it, and she said the thing a body could get by prayin' for it was 'spiritual gifts.' This was too many for me, but she told me what she meant – I must help other people, and do everything I could for other people, and look out for them all the time, and never think about myself. This was including Miss Watson, as I took it. I went out in the woods and turned it over in my mind a long time, but I couldn't see no advantage about it – except for the other people – so at last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it any more, but just let it go.” (from the
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1961)

Contemporary dialects may have changed, but attitudes remain much the same among those searching for truth. Infernal selfishness continues to rant: If it doesn't benefit me directly and get me what I want, when I want it, then I want nothing to do with it. It saddens me like it did the widow who took Huck in and clothed him and loved him in spite of his sins. The selfish motives of modern man and the total disregard for all that the Lord has done reveals a spiritual ignorance that's lingered for decades.

Huck feared spooks and spirits, but did not fear the living God. His resolve to “just let it go” seems to be the same problem today among many folk, both young and naïve and old and worldly. An attitude of indifference excuses accountability for the present. But a day of reckoning is drawing near and like Huck contemplated, there is either the devil to pay or glory and grace.

There's no time like the here and now to define such providential destiny. While Huck scrambled for meaning in life through the questionable wisdom of others, he would have had a far greater understanding of God's loving plan if he had discovered the whole truth. Instead, he settled for hodge-podged tidbits of legalism, spirituality and tradition mixed with a dab of hell fire and brimstone and tempered with harps and angel choirs singing.

No wonder the world is confused when it comes to truth. We all, at times, have derived our own definitions based often on ignorance and well-intending, but ill-informed tutors. Don't just take my paltry explanations. Look it up for yourself right in the source if you want to know the real plan of God. It's clearly shared in the Holy Scriptures and these days you can get it written in languages and dialects that cover the globe. No longer are the Hucks of the world able to “just let it go.” We all have access to the very throne of God through the Word of God and have opportunity to worship the living God in Christian churches on every corner!

But are those outside of Christ hungry enough, curious enough, in need enough to seek truth for Truth's sake? Maybe the fear of not having the freedom to seek Christ will awaken that hunger. That same selfish drive that keeps us from serving others, may be the very thing that drives us to our knees! If a day dawned in this country when Americans were told they could not proclaim the Christ nor enter a house of worship, I believe we wouldn't “just let it go.” I believe we would see churches swell with a renewed commitment by those who have grown Mississippi River lazy and see people clamoring like the rolling river for the right to pray and worship!

I pray it doesn't take that kind of oppression for people to wake up and embrace truth and freedom found in Jesus. For “if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,.” Jesus told those who believed. (John 8:31b-32)

Those who hunger for the teaching and hold to it can right now be released from the entrapment of ignorance. They can be set free from a prison of confusion. Right now, today – they can escape the enslavement of selfishness, and live free in Christ. And that, folks, is Huck Finn Apologetics.

Rules for Running the Race

2011-08-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

As with any timed event, it matters not nearly as much how you start, but where you finish. But the opposite is true in the case of reigning Olympic and world champion, and world-record-holder Usain Bolt's latest race. The “one and done” false start rule just ruled fleet-footed Bolt disqualified. The very notion of dismissing a runner capable of smoking the 100 meter in 9.58 seconds leaves rule-makers running for solutions and questioning the necessity for such an edict.

Some social scientists contend that rule evasion can serve as a useful tool to promote more efficient policies or alternatives. As track and field judges weigh the prospects of new policies concerning revered runners, they may respond in one of three ways: either effectively ignore the rule infraction, enforce it to a greater extent or revise it.

One jump of the gun and you're done does seem a bit harsh. But there's a lesson to be learned at the cost of Bolt's unbridled bolt. Whoa! Better to be disciplined than to be eliminated. All too well, he has learned that the price can be shamefully high when rules get broken.

But let's not forget “some rules are meant to be broken.” Take for instance a law in Idaho that says it is illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box of candy weighing more than 50 pounds. Obviously that one needs amending! Some mandates are plain silly. Other sanctions make perfect sense . There's the law in Missouri that says it is illegal to drive with an uncaged bear! I'm thinking that one needs to stay on the books since bruin populations are on the rise in the Show Me State. Sure, it may be fine to see a bear in the cab of a pickup in the Ozark Mountains, but probably not a great thing in the backseat of a cab in downtown Kansas City.

A contemporary of Mark Twain, Charles Dudley Warner, finds the balance between total, blind adherence verses testing the waters: “We are half ruined by conformity; but we should be wholly ruined without it.” In other words: Some rules are absolutely necessary. The truth is “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7) When reasonable rules are followed, they are for our good to prevent false starts and failed finishes.

Foolish thoughts convince would-be winners that fudging just a little won't cause fallout.
And deceiving oneself with the notion that no one is looking only blinds the one competing. The best qualifying start in life begins in the Word of God where rules are specific and filled with purpose and broken ones bear consequence. There we are told that “...if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Timothy 2:5)

Even if a runner clears the starting blocks fairly, there are some things that can still keep him from officially finishing the race. A stumble? No. A runner can get back up and rejoin the race. A hurdle not cleared? No. Downed hurdles just slow him down, but don't disqualify a runner. Cheating and quitting are, however, surefire precursors for a failed finish. Those are personal choices of which you can blame no other contender, no other circumstances. The consequences for breaking the rules lie squarely on the shoulders of the one who committed the infraction.

Whether the International Association of Athletics Federation sees clear to ignore, enforce or alter the “one and done” rule, may change the face of future race results for high profile runners. Still, it won't repeat races already run. The consequences for those are in the record books.

Great Depression Deliverance

2011-08-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

In the U.S., grit was born out of the Great Depression! The enduring folks who remember those desperate and sparse days have tried for decades to impart prudent wisdom to generations that followed. But have we heeded their advice or their example? Whether you are stubborn and selfish or just careless on matters of money or faith, it's time to get smarter for “wisdom is found in those who take advice.” (Proverbs 13:10) Your deliverance begins with Great Depression guidance.

Gregg Koep, a blogger at “Not Buying Anything” (NBA), summarizes the Great Depression Survivors' sentiments saying that “People who lived through the depression often gained a new outlook on life. Many survivors still hold the same virtues today, so strong were the lessons learned. Generally, they avoid the self indulgence and immediate gratification that comes from easy access to material things. Instead they tend to focus on the important relationships in their lives, like with their families and community.” (http://notbuyinganything.blogspot.com/2011/05/advice-from-depression-survivors.html)

Listen up to more sensible and godly wisdom from the mouths of our own pre WWII citizens:

Pay cash instead of adopting the credit mentality. “Don’t spend money you don’t already have in your pocket.”
Don't make the rich richer by giving them your money. “Don’t pay someone else to provide something that you can learn to do or to make yourself.”
Cultivate traditional values of thrift and frugality. “Only buy what you can’t live without.”
Avoid self-indulgence and self-gratification by immediate acquisition of possessions. “Give yourself a good, long waiting period before making purchases.”
Do not gamble with your money (stock market, real estate speculation, lotteries, get rich quick schemes, etc). “It doesn’t matter how much money you make, it matters how much you save!”
Work is the way to make money. "Don't be afraid of honest, hard work."
Ambition is over-rated. "It is enough to just enjoy and appreciate each day."

This blogger says many depression survivors realize that good can come from bad, and meaning can come from tragedy. I agree. As evidence, take a look at Calvary. Jesus Christ died on a cross -- His suffering horrible, the price exorbitant! He owned nothing. Lived nowhere in particular. Walked everywhere. Ate at the generosity of friends and followers. And yet He lived His life lavishly and gave abundantly! His great sacrifice and self-denial, along with His suffering, resulted in freedom. I'd say that's good coming from bad and meaning springing from tragedy!

Whether enslaved to debt or economic hardship or worse, spiritual depravity, the wisdom of the ages is applicable. “It doesn't matter how much money you make, it matters how much you save!” That goes for dollars and cents, as well as souls. It's really that simple. People who use common sense, common courtesy and turn to Christ in time of crisis are best positioned to survive financial downturns or any frightening circumstance. I call it Great Depression Deliverance!

As the body of Christ we can help one another in the times in which we live by sharing what we have. We can serve one another by bartering skills and goods. We can encourage one another and pray for one another and pull together like family does when times get tough. And we can still embrace each day and just enjoy it. When we employ these attitudes often born out of hardship, we'll be strengthened to face whatever comes down the road and be a valuable witness for the Lord Jesus who paid our debt in full.

Discerning Learning

2011-08-17T09:27:00.001-07:00

By Brenda Black

Third row, aisle seat. Notebook open, pencil sharp. Hand in the air, eyes looking forward, ears ready to hear. I love to learn! Over the course of my life in classrooms large and small, for academic, spiritual, professional or personal instruction, I have come prepared to concentrate, participate and postulate. By and large, I believe I received sound instruction from most teachers. When I did question the integrity or morality of a subject, I enlisted common sense and godly discernment to sift the input.

Now, more than ever, with the onslaught of instant information from both reliable and down right corrupt sources, and not-so-subtle social agendas, it is vital that every student be keenly observant and brutally critical as they head back to school. The human mind and heart are under intellectual and moral attack.

Christina Hoff Sommers, professor of philosophy at Clark University, warned her audience in a speech delivered nearly 14 years ago at the Shavano Institute for National Leadership that the mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste.

“Too many young people are morally confused, ill-informed, and adrift. This confusion gets worse rather than better once they go to college. If they are attending an elite school, they can actually lose their common sense and become clever and adroit intellectuals in the worst sense. George Orwell reputedly said, 'Some ideas are so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.' Well, the students of such intellectuals are in the same boat. Orwell did not know about the tenured radicals of the 1990s, but he was presciently aware that they were on the way. The problem is not that young people are ignorant, distrustful, cruel, or treacherous. And it is not that they are moral skeptics. They just talk that way. To put it bluntly, they are conceptually clueless. The problem I am speaking about is cognitive. Our students are suffering from 'cognitive moral confusion.'” (Read more of Sommers' observations)

This moral confusion poses the greatest risk to all that has made America strong. While many among today's generation mindlessly compromise and conform, the burden to rebuild a strong moral base has to come from those willing to impart truth and expose the subtle and divisive attacks on the moral conscience of all. We must remind ourselves of the radical agendas of people like Joseph Stalin who once said, “America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: It's patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within.”

Where's the patriotism today? How's the morality? What about a spiritual hunger? Are we passing the test to stay a free thinking and morally motivated nation or are we failing miserably?

As students head back to school, those going and those sending better drop to their knees in prayer. For ideas will be many and agendas aggressive, but each of us has the moral responsibility to do what's right and employ divine discernment. Yes, there is a right and a wrong. We each must answer to God. Educating the heart as well as the mind to live according to biblical standards is the only way we can get back on track and not “collapse from within.”

Isaiah states its simply: “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!” (Isaiah 1:16b-17a) In subsequent verses, the wise prophet relays the Lord's instructions for how to get it “right.” “'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Ish. 1:18-20)

Learn with discernment.

It's a Mad, Mad World

2011-08-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

Around the world, people are raging and innocent lives are lost and destroyed. Not just in remote, desert wastelands with cave-dwelling insurgents or in war shattered regions. Cultural hubs and Wall Street districts are overrun with thuggery and vexation.

While news of the tragic losses of American servicemen grieve our nation at large, British families hide behind locked doors in posh neighborhoods where streets below blaze in fire. Riots in England spawned by angry youth mutated to sport when young people joined the wave of

violence all in the name of evil entertainment. "'Come join the fun!'" shouted one youth in the east London suburb of Hackney, where shops were attacked and cars torched,” reports the Associated Press. Some of the rebels are mad; others plain crazy.

This side of the big pond, forked tongues spit flames across party lines as raging politicians point fingers of blame for the economic fiasco we're facing. One magazine editor strategically demonizes a conservative presidential candidate in a cover shot while the current and failing president daily plummets in polls of public opinion. Jokes abound about kicking him out of a plane window. Some folks are desperately crazy and others are fed up and angry!

Headlines across the globe plaster repeated stories where minor conflicts escalate to deadly assaults. Take for instance a disgruntled woman on a bus who calls for open fire from a gang as her resolution for a difference of opinion. It's a mad, mad world where if someone doesn't agree, a gun is immediately used to settle the argument.

Why are people so angry? What made the world go insane? The answer is simple; the fix

attainable. Pride and selfishness, greed and hate are the sinful culprits behind the rage. Only one solution will ever temper the out-of-control tempers flaring in the hearts and minds of men. Jesus is the answer.

You may think that trite or flippant or even stupid, but the reality is it is truth. This mad, mad world is in need of a Savior!

A strong rebound in the world of finance won't squelch the greedy grab of humanity. A social system steeped in egalitarian gobbledygook won't work where selfish people who refuse to get a job think they can have the same level of wealth as those who work their entire lives. Arrogance and indifference from the top down won't heal the heartache of a weary working class nor motivate patriotism. And I'm not so sure that even an awe-inspiring leader could truly rally real hope in our nation. This mad, mad world needs a Savior!

Francis Bacon, English philosopher, essayist and statesman of four centuries ago, wrote, “Knowledge is power.” So I ask: Just who do you know? There's supernatural power in the right answer and it comes covered in love, not in hateful violence. Until Christ is preached and souls repentant, the world will continue to spiral downward, grasping for false saviors and fighting mad. 1 Corinthians 2 paints a picture of contrasts between such a mad world and this masterful Creator and Christ.

“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God designed for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'

“But God has revealed it to us by his spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because thy are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

“'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?'

“But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)

The answer to madness is this mind of Christ. The answer to violence, the love of Christ. The answer to economic crisis, Scriptural mathematics. Let's stop the insanity by choosing the Savior and pray not just for peace, but for divine wisdom and the supernatural power to be salt and light in a dark and angry world.

The Happiest Place Not On Earth

2011-08-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

I'm in the sunshine state where right down the road are a couple of multi-million dollar theme parks that can break the family bank in just a week. They are dubbed the happiest places on earth. Apparently, the call of the cartoon characters echoed over everglades and across one time zone to reach a Midwest family. They were Disney World bound. I became akin to the tribe of five – plus their teenage nanny – when I stuffed my luggage in the overhead bin and plopped between two adorable, red headed children on my flight to central Florida. I relayed exuberant conversation about clouds and itsy bitsy scenery between seven-year-old brother and his little sis and father. I passed scanty, over-priced airline snack purchases of Cheeze Its and ice and Sprite. Mostly, I wondered just how much it was going to cost this family for their big adventure.

Airline expense was just the beginning. According to http://www.uptake.com “a group of road-tested individuals that have vacationed all over the place and lived to tell about it,” Universal Studios has theme restaurants with “overpriced hamburgers, souvenir shops, face painting and a dozen chances to have your family vacation immortalized in a caricature drawing.” And “Disney is the master of the upsell.”

The bloggers contend, “You can’t walk three feet in Disney World without someone trying to convince your kids to ask you for money. Vendors walk the streets hawking $10 balloons, neon necklaces, gourmet cookies and of course you have to buy the ears. And don’t forget all of the extra experiences you can buy! You can have lunch with a character or give your little girl a princess makeover – but don’t expect that to be included in your price of admission.”

The professional analysis was confirmed by two personal acquaintances. One spoke of novelty shops at the exit of every single ride where parents are bombarded with kid-enticing high-way robbery. At their weakest, post-roller-coaster, knock-kneed moment, typically coherent adults buy a stuffed ugly ogre or cuddly lisping duck and think it a lucid decision. The other reflected on the magical transformation of little elves and beautiful mommies whose personalities quickly morph from happy and bashful to grumpy and sleepy. Overstimulation overrides pleasant memories with temper tantrums and glaring looks. But it's not about the cost or the entrapment, right? It's about the experience... and the memories immortalized by a park photographer for 25 smackers!

Don't get me wrong – I love a great roller coaster as much as the next thrill seeker. I can sing Disney movie theme songs with the best of them. I've spent my fair share of hard-earned money to make memories with the family and had a few theme-park melt downs or weak moments. But, honestly, at this point in my life, I'm more enthralled with the beautiful flora and fountains within the hotel where I'm staying than the thought of entering the Magical Kingdom. By far, the trickling waters, snoozing crocs, giant ferns, towering palms and orange speckled Koi fish here are more pleasant than an onslaught of Universal Studios' life-size characters. To think that these intricate and captivating creations are just dress rehearsal for a bigger production blows any old theme park right out of the water!

Maybe I am getting old or maybe I just long more for the peaceful promise of home – an eternal dwelling in a special kingdom not of this world. As our green, green grass in the Midwest singes into shades of brown, these lush tropical, maintained gardens remind me of a perfect paradise where no scorching heat will burn up the beauty. It's a place where a river runs through that never evaporates; a scene more vivid and spectacular than anything I can imagine or Hollywood can create. Heaven!

Heaven won't disappoint. It doesn't cost a dime. The flight is free and the trip spectacular! The gates will swing wide to those whose admission was purchased on a cross by The Christ. There won't be fictitious characters, but real saints and amazing angelic beings and the Lord himself, righteous and holy. The special effects won't come from pyrotechnics, but the whole kingdom will be ablaze with the light emitted from God alone!

Now that's some place I want to go!

The Risk of Being a Hot Head

2011-07-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

The blazing heat can drive many a sane man mad, says Craig A. Anderson, Department of Psychology, Iowa State University. He reveals his findings in a study “Heat and Violence” published in 2001 by the American Psychological Society.

“Numerous fascinating psychological processes might be involved in the typical effect of high temperatures on aggression and violence. The simplest and most powerful ones all revolve around the 'crankiness' notion. Being uncomfortable colors the way people see things. Minor insults may be perceived as major ones, inviting (even demanding) retaliation.”

Anderson explains with a probable scenario: “A minor provocation can quickly escalate, especially if both participants are affectively and cognitively primed for hostility by their heightened level of discomfort. A mild insult is more likely to provoke a severe insult in response when people are hot than when they are more comfortable. This may lead to further increases in the aggressiveness of responses and counter responses. An accidental bump in a hot and crowded bar can lead to the trading of insults, punches, and (eventually) bullets.”

Oh, the educated, intellectual, superior species of man gets a little hot under the collar and solves all his problems with fists, a beer and a bullet. Maybe we need to take a lesson from God's other planet mammals who survive the heat with much greater consideration for one another.

Let me offer a few examples. This week I watched a couple of young raccoons wander and wobble their way across my backyard and nearly traipse right across my sandaled feet. They had no regard for me nor the cats that lay watching their journey. And the cats did not pounce and attack the little masked bandits who crossed their feline territory on a warm summer evening. They just let them be.

Same cats, second verse, different species. A young, wild rabbit stumbled into my garage and descended the basement stairs in search of heat relief. The temperature probably drops a good 20 degrees from the top to the bottom. I discovered the shocked bunny sitting ever so still the other morning. And right next to her, the cat that did not act aggressive or hostile. Of course the hare was not certain of survival, but she did not fight or scratch in protest when I hauled her up the steps and returned her to some shady grass.

Third verse, same cat and add the melody of a black Lab. Though a cat will eat no matter how hot, I've noticed my dog is leaving most of her food in the dish these days. It's just too hot to dine. But when I added a few kitchen scraps, everyone was interested. And I couldn't believe my eyes. There they chowed, feline and canine, in a hot garage, on a hundred degree day, both of them caped in black and weary of humidity and heat – out of the same bowl. Not a growl was heard, not a sharp tooth bared. They lapped and chomped blissfully together regardless of the weather.

For Christians the crankiness factor is no excuse for bad behavior. If animals can ignore their instincts, can't we reason beyond the heat? As the sweltering days drag on, a little kindness might bring as much relief as a good rain shower. If misery loves company, most of this nation is in this big ol' hot boat together. Add to the heat wave, political unrest, unemployment and high gas prices and you've got yourself a human volcano about to erupt. But we don't have to succumb to the heat. As believers of Christ we are overcomers of hardships and heat waves, hot heads and even burning national debt. Now is not the time to blow our cool and be consumed by evil. It's our time to stand cool headed and faithful and to keep our eyes fixed on a returning King.

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter 3:10-14)

Christ is counting on us to keep our cool no matter how hot it gets.

Life and Death in Christ

2011-07-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

"It is a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy that is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians - and I am one of them." — Saint Cyprian (200-258).

Cyprian was beheaded for refusing to recognize pagan gods, yet he realized the great secret of joy in the midst of persecution. He died living for God.
Centuries later, and in every decade since, Christians die because they live for God. In 1956, five young men paid the price. Among them, Jim Elliott. His attitude toward life surely influenced his acceptance of death.

“To stand by the shadows of a friendly tree with the wind tugging at your coattail and the heavens hailing your heart, to gaze and glory and to give oneself again to God, what more could a man ask? Oh the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth,” he wrote in his journal.

Elliot and four other missionaries were speared to death by Huaorani because one of the tribeswomen lied about the believers on the beach. Their death may seem vain and senseless, but they died willingly, living for Christ, and generations of Huaorani have received salvation as a result of their faith and their demise.

Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint, another who died that day in Ecuador, has followed in his father's footsteps, back to the Huaorani. Steve speaks of his father's and his own motivation as God- driven, joyful purpose – “the great secret” that Saint Cyprian spoke of 1800 years ago.

“Dad strove to find out what life really is. He found identity, purpose, and fulfillment in being obedient to God's call. He tried it, tested it, and committed himself to it. I know that the risk he took, which resulted in his death and consequently his separation from his family, he took not to satisfy his own need for adventure or fame, but in obedience to what he believed was God's directive to him. I suppose he is best known because he died for his faith, but the legacy he left his children was his willingness first to live for his faith.” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/6ta/6ta020.html)

The persecution continues. Every day Voice of the Martyrs reports stories of hate crimes against Christian believers. Right now, in our lifetime, Eritrean Christians are fleeing to Egypt because of persecution that intensified after an Eritrean governor ordered a purge against Christians at the end of 2010. VOM says, “Hundreds of Eritrean Christians enter Egypt each month in hope of reaching Israel. Some Eritrean refugees die while attempting the 900-mile journey through Egypt, and others are shot to death as they cross the Egypt-Israel border. Many of the refugees end up in Egyptian prisons or are held hostage for $20,000 ransoms by Bedouin Muslim nomads, who frequently work with human traffickers. Hostages who cannot pay the ransom are killed. There are currently between 500 and 600 Eritrean prisoners in Egyptian custody, and as many as 200 are currently held by traffickers. The refugees face sexual abuse, torture, beatings and enslavement at the hands of both Egyptian authorities and the Bedouin gangs. Barnabas Fund partners report that the Christians’ faith is the cause of their treatment.”

It is a bad world, an incredibly bad world. It is the same world that hated Christ and crucified Him. It is the same world that Christ warned would hate those who love Him. So how do we live in an “incredibly bad world” and live joyfully?

The Apostle James offered this advice: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

Henry Ward Beecher once said, "The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things." More importantly I think we must extract joy from heavenly things by living above the common; living beyond the hate and horrors inflicted. We obtain peace by choosing the Prince of Peace as our solace and rest, our shield and help. A heavenly perspective is key to facing the heinous crimes of God haters. The hope of heaven is our source of all joy. And joy itself, as one component of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that lives inside God lovers, cannot be beaten out of faithful followers.

This world is not our home. This body is only designed for temporary use, but the soul for eternity. Live life aware of the “great secret” of joy in living for the Lord instead of living for the fleshly sins in this world or in fear of the sinful. Then come death or persecution or any kind of opposition, we go out grinning knowing we rise up winning!

Dedicated to my brothers and sisters around the world who daily “count it all joy.” Please pray that we all have the faith to stand firm to the end and be our Lord's great joy, for "faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light."

2011-07-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

The Drover's CattleNetwork is running a profile piece on me this week. "Jolley: Keeping up with Brenda Black, rancher, preacher's wife, new CBB member".

I think I rather prefer being the writer than having something written about me! That was a little unnerving, but I appreciated reporter Chuck Jolley's kind interview and was happy to share a little slice of my life with a fellow freelancer.

Fear Cheered Away

2011-07-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

I felt my heartbeat increase with each step up the 70 feet of spiraling, aluminum staircase perched on top of an Ozark Mountain. It did not help that the narrow tower swayed and the wind intensified the higher I climbed, or that hot, hard asphalt lay below. Lots of deep breathing, some internal talk and prayer kept me from giving in to natural fear. Plus the string of friends and strangers crawling up behind me would not have been happy with a retreat in reverse. I confess, some fear of humiliation pushed me upward and out onto the plank that would launch my horizontal, dangling descent.

By this point, I had already entrusted my life two times to a couple of pulleys, a carabiner and a guide who tried to use bad comedy as a means to alleviate panic. As one among the quasi-dare devils in his care, I came to conquer the zipline on this hot and breezy day. And the previous two practice rounds hadn't gone like I hoped.

On the very first apparatus, which was safely close to the ground, I grabbed the cable with my brake hand at the end of the line. I was supposed to simply apply pressure as instructed to this first-time zipper just moments earlier. I felt like I left my right arm back 20 feet while the rest of me careened forward. Three days later, I'm still sore from that wrong move.

Then our group ascended the first practice tower where I timidly stood 35 feet above rocky soil on a small wooden block. There I was clipped to a line three times longer and significantly higher than the one I just failed to master. I didn't have to worry about braking this round because I came up slightly short of the end of the line. But en route, I bicycled my legs haplessly when I began twisting out of alignment. I must have looked like a drowning cat in my awkward attempt to sleekly slide down a steel cable.

So, by the time I stood on that 70-foot swaying platform, I had mustered incredulous determination. I willed myself to steer true and to not grasp, but to press down, when our second guide motioned it was time to brake. The loud command from my cheerleading son who bellowed, “Just push down!” assured my successful end to my zippy trip that stretch. When done correctly, the stop came smoothly and the satisfaction was exhilarating!

“I did it right!” I squealed with delight. The inner fight was over. The inner fear faded. And the shear pleasure of gliding 50 mph through tree tops without worry over how the trip would end replaced all the anxiety.

Such is life. We do it the hard way and pay the price. We wobble and stray and blunder our way in our own strength and feel foolish. And then, when we just trust and obey and listen to the cheer of a Christian brother, we find great satisfaction in the journey and in the end celebrate together.

My zipline experience taught me much about myself and more about the courage and love and help of my son. It challenged me to face my fears and conquer them. I learned that perfection doesn't come with intensity, it comes when I relax and let the Lord lead me and someone else cheer me. Life is not about perfect execution, but it can be a perfect ride nonetheless.

I want to live that way – without fear or fretting. I want to step off every block that presents itself and fling myself joyfully along the path that God has charted for me. I know He's holding me. I know He'll be there to catch me. I know He is cheering me and smiling with me over every success. The Lord has given instructions for life. He provides a life line straight to heaven through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is trust Him that it will all end right.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

“The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.” (Psalm 28:7-9)

Without End

2011-07-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

I remember well weary nights of rocking and nursing and praying my infant sons would “please just go to sleep.” There were bumps and bruises and scraped knees and one incident of some tiny burned fingers during the toddling years. I prayed courage for me and for their relief. Academic success, good friendships, purity of mind and heart and safety driving a car called for time on my knees while my sons grew up and I survived their teens. Now the stakes are higher and just when I think the job of parenting growing boys is reaching an end, I discover the far greater responsibility of praying for my adult children.

My mom is still on the clock for me and joins me as we pray for her grandsons. A dear friend shares my burden and I her's as we lift one another's adult children daily before the Lord. I still pray for safety and healthy relationships. I plead for direction and ask God to lead them straight to the center of His will. I understand like never before the power of prayer.

Still, it amazes me when I witness God's hand on their lives, both in blessings and challenges He lavishes and allows. And always I remember how critical the calloused knees of a mother at every stage in life. There is much to cover, much to anticipate, much to hope for and much to fear. The job of a praying parent is without end.

Hannah, the mother of Samuel, sets the standard for dedicated prayer. We hear her faithfulness in 1 Samuel 1:27-28a.

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

I, like Hannah, prayed for my children before they ever were conceived. I prayed for their healthy arrival. I was blessed with two bouncing boys three years and three months apart. In between, I was blessed to carry a small life but a matter of weeks. That child I'll one day meet. The gift of healthy babies and the heartache of a baby unborn can never be fully understood. One is a miracle, the other covered in mercy to endure and accept that God knows best. Each, given over to the Lord in life and death.

As a praying parent, I have to revisit the concept of “giving over” over and over again. To entrust these whom I have nursed, clothed, fed, loved, sheltered, tutored, laughed with and cried over for the greater part of my life on earth is no easy calling. But I can't carry them in a back pack or hover over them in a cradle as I once did. I have to watch from a distance and surrender them to the One whose hands are big enough to hold them no matter how big and burley they get. He is able to speak peace to their hearts when their mother needs to be silent. The Lord Almighty counsels them with far better advice than this wise woman who thinks she knows them best. And God loves them more than I could ever muster because, though I carried them in a womb, He knit them together and placed His fingerprint on their hearts and heads.

So I just pray. And pray. And pray without end. And I have the pleasure of watching the Lord at work in two men. I see how He leads them and provides for them; how He teaches and guides them. I watch how they recognize more quickly the peace and joy that is theirs for the asking. I weep when I hear them give God their thanks and praise because it means their dad and I have done something right in this world: We've pointed them and prayed them to the Lord.

Parenting is many things. Painful. Pleasurable. Surprising. Challenging. Exciting. Demanding. Rewarding. Parenting is supposed to be filled with love and sacrifice and promise. Most importantly, parenting is a test of faith and calls for active prayer.

Especially when the kids grow up, parents need to look up for the Heavenly Father's will, for no child should ever doubt that they are loved or lifted at any age.

Tough Enough for the Tough Stuff

2011-06-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

Meek and mild, loving and kind – that's how many see the Savior of the World. He is long suffering, wishing none to perish. That's a fact. But if He came to only alleviate our discomfort and make us feel all safe and sound, why does pain and loss continue to exist?

God did not send His Son to bring calm to a sinful world. He sent the Messiah to die for sinners and win a revolution against unseen forces of evil. Christ came to conquer death, not just ease our ills. Still, when life gets tough and people continue to suffer, it's hard to trust that God still cares. How can hurting people turn to One who has such power over wind and waves, life and death when bad things happen any way? The answer is not easy. In fact it is filled with pain – torturous, excruciating, hateful, unjust pain. The Man of Sorrows knows about suffering. He endured the heinous sentence of death on a cross. We turn to Him when times get tough because we know He truly understands when this sinful world turns against us.

Isn't that what we need the most when all is lost and hope has faded? We need someone who can empathize with our fragile condition. We long for someone to grasp our anguish without having to explain the rush of emotions, the anxiety and the stress and lonesome, lost feeling that dogs us when we drop exhausted from pain and fear. We need a Savior who's been there.

Day after day, the news reports terrible tragedy in our country. Families are still reeling from spring tornadoes that ripped their world in two. Thousands of acres currently disintegrate as tongues of fire lick up land and homes and lives. What's not twisted or torched may be inundated by flood waters to the north or lying crisp and infertile in the drought stricken South. For the rest of us living in between, inflation and unemployment plague us like hungry locusts. The economic crisis may not be natural, but it is a disaster nonetheless! It's all tough stuff at every turn that calls for tough people in America to keep on keepin' on.

I don't know about you, but this proud American is not strong enough to handle these kind of heart wrenching, gut-twisting trials on my own. I haven't lost my home or a loved one to wind, water or fire like thousands of others in the past couple of months. I have, however, tried to put myself in their shoes and asked myself, “What if?” And “What would I do?”

Every time I ponder the frightening possibility, I get the same answer: “I'd run to Jesus!”

The One who was tough enough to go to the cross, is tender enough to understand deep sorrow. He is tough enough to handle the anger and doubting; kind enough to give the disillusioned time to question. This loving Christ is tough enough to deal with a billion tears and the sobbing from terrible loss; patient enough to wipe each eye, hold the hurting and rock them to sleep with whispers of hope and the promise of healing. My prayer is that those in the paths of destruction run to One so loving. You can make it through unthinkable tragedy with the grace of God.

As I watch faithful people throughout our great nation resign themselves to God's care, I am resolved more to cling to my tough and tender Lord who carries the weight of the world and hears every believer's prayer. God is good and God is able when times are bad and we are desperate. God is tough enough to see us through the toughest tests. Those who lean on Him will find great strength. For nothing is beyond God's might.

“The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic...The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;...The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, 'Glory!'

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (Psalm 29: 3-5, 7-11)

God bless America, her people and her land and help us always remember we never walk through any trial alone when we hold to a nail-scarred, tough and calloused, but loving hand.

A Wise Kid and a Warm Kiss

2011-06-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

Just when I thought the world had gone completely mad, two heart-warming headlines highlight the finer side of humanity this week. A teen golfer sees the bigger picture and opts for possibilities instead of quick cash. And an empathetic romantic is chivalrous in the middle of chaos.

In case you missed it, South River (Md.) High freshman Garrett Sauls turned down $5,000 in prize money after he won a putting contest at Lake Presidential Golf Club in Upper Marlboro, Md. Sauls didn't want to jeopardize his amateur status as an athlete for the next three years of high school, so he chose the high road of integrity and let the prize money go. Pretty smart kid.

In stark contrast to the gallery of civilized country club golfing fans where Sauls' defining moment occurred, were the darkened streets of Vancouver, BC, where hoards of angry hockey fans protested their hometown team loss of the Stanley Cup. When riot police forced the sore losers down the street, caught in the mayhem were innocent tourists, Scott Jones and his girlfriend Alex Thomas. Thomas was knocked to the ground by the police. That's when Jones swooped in with a comforting kiss to alleviate her fears and the whole thing was caught on digital film. Pretty sensitive man.

Yes, there is insanity mixed in with these two tales. A putt worth $5,000 seems a bit extreme when people are working weeks on end to earn anything close to that amount. And rioting over a hockey game? Come on, grow up! But the refreshing take-away is a teenager with good sense and a noble man with good manners. Now there are two rare and priceless qualities seldom celebrated in the press.

If given the chance, I'd shake both their hands and tell them thank you for the good example. Their acts of nobility reminded me of a conversation with a friend recently who spoke of his travels all across this great country. He said there are good people everywhere you go; decent, reasonable, kind people who are the rule rather than the exception. I had to agree because I've met many as well.

In the Midwest, we're seeing these “salt-of-the-earth” folks come from near and far to rebuild Joplin. We're watching hard-working farmers who have labored and supplied this country with food and fiber increase in courage and community to match the rising flood waters robbing their homes and harvests in northern Missouri. I know of families holding onto each other and watching their belongings burn to the ground out West. And some are desperate for rain and facing drought so severe they may have to sell out or move from down in Texas.

But if you ask these people from all across the country what matters most, they won't say money or trophies or even their houses or lands. It's not politics or police enforcement. Nor is it professional sports or Hollywood fashion. They'll tell you it's family and faith and the fight to overcome all odds. It's the goodness of friends and the kindness of strangers. It's young people making mature choices and gentlemen showing compassion. What matters most are good choices in tempting and treacherous circumstances.

Why such a fuss over a putt and a kiss? Because this teen's putt and this man's kiss gave me a little bit of hope that some people still know how to choose what is right in a world of madness.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13)

Shift to Perfection

2011-06-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

By Brenda Black

Jump! Buck! Stall! Roll! As much as it felt like I was riding a bronc, the reality was a mossy green Dodge Dart Duster had me grabbing the horn and holding on for dear life on EE blacktop! Okay, so Dad came up a little short at teaching me to drive a stick shift. It was no fault of his own. He couldn't risk grinding gears on his only mode of transportation to work. I sort of learned how; I just never perfected it. My dear husband tried to build on the fundamentals many years later in his new, cherry red Ford pickup. He was about as patient as my pop. Together, their combined teaching made me barely capable and certainly far from confident on a manual. Since I couldn't do it perfectly, I chose to go automatic.

Some things in life just don't come easy, especially perfection. We demand it from others, expect it from ourselves, and wind up perfectly disillusioned when we all fall short of the target. The slow fade from grinding gears to giving up can leave us settling for less than best. The final resort all too often is auto-pilot living. Still we are called to perfection.

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

I tend to be a perfectionist in nearly every area of my life. Why I shunned stick shifts leaves me a little baffled. I'm sure it perplexed my perfectionistic papa as well. No doubt, that's where I get my “drive.” He likes his world in order, everything in its place. He prints in all caps with perfectly sized letters lined up like little soldiers. He attacks every task with diligence and discipline.

This same man has a softer side. I saw a tear in his eye when I was crowned Miss High School Rodeo Missouri and on the day I got married. He's the one who scooped me up and dusted me off when a horse bucked me off or a heifer kicked me. Daddy took me fishing, helped me with long division math and created elaborate fireworks shows on the Fourth of July.

He worked in the city 40 hours a week and drove two hours round trip in rush hour traffic to get home on a Friday night, load up horses and drive two more hours to a youth rodeo. We took family vacations. He teased and tickled and kissed me good night and still tells me out loud “I love you.”

My dad is a great father, but he still isn't perfect and neither am I a perfect daughter. In fact, nobody on the planet is perfect! But what do we do with this challenge from Scripture to be perfect? Fear not! The word perfect has less to do with outward acts and more to do with the work within us. “Perfect” means complete. And it is the Lord who finishes the project. Be confident of this, “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

“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 1:6-8)

It should bring us blissful peace to know that the Perfect One is doing a perfect work in every believer! God doesn't demand perfect performance, He longs for perfect fellowship.

“I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:12-14)

The emphasis is on knowing the Lord! When we fall short, John explains the way of grace. “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 Jn. 2:1b-2)

Dad failed at teaching me to drive a stick shift. I failed at learning. But those old sins are forgiven. Just the other day, my daddy trusted me to drive his brand new Explorer (automatic)...in the rain...in the city... because perfect love drives out fear!

If my imperfect father has such affection for me, how much more my Perfect Father in Heaven.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads who are a work in progress and perfectly appreciated for all you do and all you are in Christ.

**Special Note: Thank you to all the facebook suggestions for a topic this week. You gave me some perfectly superb ideas!