Pickled

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PB loves pickles—sweet and dill, slices and spears, processed and refrigerated—so he is always on the lookout for a new pickle recipe. I found a good one for him.

The recipe comes from a guy named Nicander, a Greek poet, who jotted down his method for making pickles in 200 B.C.

“The vegetable should first be dipped in water and then baptized in vinegar.
The first step is temporary, the second produces a permanent change.”

Nicander used two different Greek words to differentiate between the two different steps.

“Bapto” = dip
“Baptizo” = immerse

“Bapto” a cucumber in water and what do you have?
A clean cucumber.
“Baptizo” a cucumber in vinegar and what do you have?
A transformed cucumber.
A pickle.

Thanks to a Greek poet who lived 200 years before Christ, we have a compelling picture of what being a Christian really means.

It’s not enough to dip our toes into belief, hanging onto our old identity, but cleaning up our act from time to time.

God wants us to soak in Him, be immersed in His love and mercy until, over time, it begins to produce a permanent change—transformation.

“For John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:5

John the Baptizer dipped people in the Jordan River for the forgiveness of their sins. Sooner or later, those people would have to come back, re-confess, and get re-dipped. The Holy Spirit works from the inside, “pickling” us, creating something new.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come.”
1 Cor. 5:17

A wise man once said:
“Once you’re a pickle,
you can’t go back to being a cucumber.”

I think there’s more analogies hiding in here.
Let your thoughts steep a while and then share, please!

Golden

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Friday, April 19, 1974.
A skinny 14-year-old farm girl
met a handsome 16-year-old preacher’s son.
Fifty years ago.
Fifty golden years.

Five years, 4 months, and 6 days after that first meeting, the two stood before a church full of friends and family and sang to each other.

“Love’s grown deep inside of us
And time has made us sure
That the reason we stand here
Is because You’ve touched Your hand here.
The love we feel today is meant to be shared by two,
So we commit our love to You.”

Still do.

All the Books

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I’m a book girl. When I was in elementary school, I was taught “readin’, ‘ritin’, and ‘rithmetic.” As time went on, I majored in reading, liked writing, and got by in math. I can balance my checkbook and I can figure out which box of cereal is the best deal per ounce. But algebraic equations and geometry proofs were never my strong suit.

Reading is my jam.
I love going to libraries as much as PB likes going to Menards.
And that’s saying something.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library boasting a collection of more than 34.5 million books among 838 miles of shelves.* Amazon’s online store contains over 32.8 million published titles, with 7,500 new Kindle books published daily.**

So many books, so little time.
Sigh.

John, the beloved disciple, ended his masterpiece gospel with this thought:
“Jesus did many other things as well.
If every one of them were written down,
I suppose that even the whole world would not have room
for all the books that would be written.” John 21:25

34.5 million books? Small potatoes.
838 miles of shelves? A drop in the bucket.

Just think of all the things Jesus did that aren’t recorded in the gospels. What was life like for Jesus and His parents in Egypt during those years of hiding from King Herod? Was there any sibling rivalry between Jesus and His brothers? When He turned water into wine, what kind of wine was it? What did Jesus talk about with Moses and Elijah on the mountain of transfiguration? Did Jesus laugh out loud and do a dance when He rose from the dead?

So many questions. So much time.
👏👏👏👏

The whole world may not have room
for all the books that could be written about Jesus,
but the new heavens and new earth will.

You will find me in the heavenly library someday,
with all the time in the world to read all the books in the world.

*Statistic from http://www.loc.gov
** Statistic from http://www.wordsrated.com

Walking Away From God

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Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 
Luke 24:13-18

In his Easter sermon, Pastor John Tyson (Church of the City) asked two questions about the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Q: Where are these people walking?
A: They are walking away from God.
Q: And where is God?
A: He is walking with them as they walk away from Him.

Have you ever felt like walking away?
Maybe not from God, but from His people, His mission, His calling?
Maybe not for forever, but for a while?
Maybe not from belief, but from hope?

If you’re feeling like that today, take heart my friend.
Jesus sees you.
Jesus hears you.
Jesus is walking right beside you.
Invite Him into the conversation.

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road?”
Luke 24:32

A Time to be Silent

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A very wise man once said,
“There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.”*
Wise words, indeed.

The story is told of Clement Attlee, who won the British General Election of 1945 in a landslide. Following the election, one of his opponents wrote him letter after letter, hounding Attlee with criticism on how he was doing his job. He attacked relentlessly, saying Attlee ought to resign. Finally, after having had enough of the constant harassment, Attlee wrote back saying, “A period of silence from you would now be most welcome.”**

There’s so much that can be said about Jesus’ final hours on earth. I’d love to compose finely crafted words that provide deeper understanding and appreciation for Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. But right now, words fall short. It is time to be silent.

It’s Holy Week.
Shhh.
Watch.
Listen.
Take it all in.
Absorb the bread and wine of Maundy Thursday.
Weep at the foot of the cross on Good Friday.
Wait patiently with the world on Holy Saturday.
Be still.

A period of silence from us right now might be most welcome.

*Ecclesiastes 3:7
**From Trusting God in the Darkness, by Christopher Ash

Photosynthesis

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Without trees, you’d be dead.
Within minutes of your first breath,
you’d get dizzy and nauseated and lose consciousness.
Poisonous gas would overtake you and kill you.
The whole human race would be extinct if it weren’t for trees.

Aren’t you thankful for them?

I love trees.
They have always been my favorite part of the natural world.
Now I know why.
They keep me alive.

In early elementary grades, the scientific process of photosynthesis is introduced.

The concept is expanded in advanced science classes,
but this is all you really need to know.
Tree leaves suck up the lethal carbon dioxide that humans exhale.
Sunlight turns the poison into life-giving oxygen that humans inhale.

Brilliant!

“The average human exhales about 2.3 pounds of carbon dioxide on an average day. Take this number and multiply by a population of 7 billion people, breathing away for 365.25 days per year, and you get an annual CO2 output of 2.94 billion tons.”*

Trees are hard workers.
They carry out their God-given purpose with no problem.
God bless them.

But beyond their scientific, ecological and atmospheric value,
trees do something else—they preach the gospel.

Jesus
hung on a tree,
soaked up my deadly sin,
poured out His light,
and transferred
His breath of life
into me.

I call this
photo-sin-thesis.

CO2 —> O2
Death —> Life
It’s the great exchange.
As we approach Holy Week,
let’s take our stand beneath the cross of Jesus
and breathe deep of the wonders of His redeeming love.

“Jesus offered Himself in exchange
for everyone held captive by sin,
to set them all free.”
1 Timothy 2:4-5

*Statistic from nrdc.org

Hours Before the Cross

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Join me for some thoughts as we approach Holy Week and the crucifixion of Christ, followed by Resurrection Sunday. I pray these short devotions will help us contemplate the hours that led to the cross.

Also airing on WCNP FM 89.5 at 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. (give or take a few minutes) and streaming at wcnpfm.org on Monday-Friday of this week and next week.

On the Dotted Line

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Recently I read that people have, on average, about 4000 weeks to live. I’m hoping for a few more than that, as 4000 weeks only gets me to about 77 years. I’m aiming for 4,680 weeks. You can do the math.

The idea intrigued me. What would 4000 weeks look like? I had to know, so I made a chart with each dot representing one week. Here’s what my life looks like in dots—each color marks a decade.

See those dark pink dots? Those are my 20s. Five hundred and twenty blue dots cover my 30s. My 40s are shown by yellow dots and purple dots represent my 50s. I’m well into my orange-dot-decade.

See that little heart around that green dot? That’s when PB and I got married. We’ve shared a lot of dots since then, and I’m so grateful.

Every Sunday I draw another tiny circle in another tiny square, step back, and take a long look at my life. I say, “Thank You Lord, for Your faithfulness to me over weeks, years, and decades.”

Then I look at the empty spaces yet to be filled in and say, “Lord, help me to be faithful to You until my dots run out.”

It occurred to me this morning that
truly, truly,
my dots will go on forever and ever.

“I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live,
even though he dies;
and whoever lives
and believes in me
wil never die.”
John 11:25

Burn Your Boats

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When I was an elementary school student, I thought time began in 1492.
I surmised that the written record of history began with the ditty,
“Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.”

That’s because every fall, when we cracked open our American Heritage history books, chapter one was all about the discovery of America. I didn’t know what happened before 1492 until I went to high school, and then I still didn’t have a grasp on the sweep of history. It wasn’t until I began teaching my own children that ancient history began to make sense.

Early in our homeschooling days, I made a timeline that wrapped around our dining room and stretched up and down the hallway. Contributions to our homemade timeline were added every year: Katie’s favorite books and authors, Sam’s sports facts, Anna’s musicians and Jacob’s inventors. Ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome took their place as we began to see the span of time come to life before our eyes. I sure learned a lot in our little schoolhouse. That’s why I still get a thrill out of stumbling upon a story plucked out of the annals of time—especially when that historical narrative has eternal overtones. Like this one:

In 1591, Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez landed on the shores of Mexico with 600 men. Legend has it that after landing, Cortez ordered the ships to be burned. As the men saw their way of escape go up in smoke, they understood it was all or nothing. Conquer or die trying.

Maybe that happened. Maybe it didn’t. But it’s a story worth pondering.

I tend to make back-up plans. If I never tell anyone my big dreams, then it doesn’t matter if they never come to fruition. I like to keep an itty-bitty loophole open if things don’t work out the way I hoped. I keep the boat in the harbor in case I want to sail away at the last minute. The problem with back-up plans and loopholes is that they keep me from going all in.

Pastor Mark Batterson wrote, “If Jesus is not Lord of all then Jesus is not Lord at all. It’s all or nothing. It’s now or never. For many years, I thought I was following Jesus. I wasn’t. I had invited Jesus to follow me. I call it inverted Christianity. And it’s a subtle form of selfishness that masquerades as spirituality. That’s when I sold out and bought in. When did we start believing that the gospel is an insurance plan? It’s a daring plan. Jesus did not die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.”

I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back.
No turning back.

Be dangerous.
Burn your boats.

“Any of you who does not
give up everything he has
cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:33
“Whatever you do,
do it with all your heart.”
Colossians 3:23

Job Insecurity

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To be clear, I’m not referring to job (JAWB) insecurity. My position as keeper of the checkbook, CEO of all laundry-related business, and boss of menus and grocery shopping is fairly secure.

No, I’m talking about Job (JOBE) insecurity.

According to my 2024 Bible Reading Plan, I am spending February and March in the book of Job. I thought this weighty and rather somber book would be appropriate during the serious season of Lent. As we approach Passion week and the suffering of Christ, it seems like the right time to sit with Job.

Over the past few years, I’ve managed to read through most of the Bible. Except Job. I left him for last. His book makes me feel a little insecure. Why? Because there are a whole lot of tough questions and not very many answers. It’s not for the faint of heart.

There are 270 questions in the book of Job, to be exact.
Job asks 122 questions.
Job’s friends ask 83 questions.
God asks 65 questions.

It’s a hard book to read.
It’s a hard book to understand.
It’s a hard book to love.

If you are reading along with me and feel the same way, let’s get some help.

The first place I go when starting to read a book of the Bible is straight to The Bible Project guys. They produce short, engaging summaries of each book that are very helpful. For those of us scratching our heads and saying, “What the heck is going on with Job?” check out this 11 minute video.

If you geek out on books about the Bible, like I do, I highly recommend Trusting God in the Darkness: A Guide to Understanding the Book of Job by Christopher Ash. In the Preface, he writes, “If you have never done so (read Job), my prayer is that this short study will help you find a way in. If you have ventured in but got bogged down and confused, I hope this introduction will signpost the main roads.” Ash delivers in this easy-to-read, thoughtful book.

More from Christopher Ash:

Job is a fireball book. It is a staggeringly honest book. It is a book that knows what people actually say and think—and not just what they say publicly in church. It knows what people say behind closed doors and in whispers, and it knows what we say in our tears. It is not merely an academic book. If we listen to it with any care, it will touch, trouble, and unsettle us at a deep level.

I’m not ashamed to say I need help with a fireball book like Job. I’m willing be touched, troubled and unsettled, as long as I’m holding someone’s hand. So I offer you mine as we read, come to understand a little more, and maybe even grow to love this unique part of God’s Word.

Here’s one take-away for me in the first 14 chapters: Job’s friends were better companions when they sat with Job in silence. Things went south when they started talking. Trite answers and shaded accusations were not helpful to Job.

Sometimes people need presence more than words.

If you are reading Job along with me, what are your take-aways?