A Miracle In the North Woods

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (I Kings 5-7)

“And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.” I Kings 6:7

Saturday night, Charlie and I witnessed a miracle in the north woods of Wisconsin. We attended the dedication of Praise Chapel Community Church in Crandon. Exactly seven years ago in April, the people of this sweet congregation started building a church. The tiny building that they had called home for many years was bursting at the seams and so, after much prayer, they were led by God to rise up and build. This wasn’t the ordinary church building program. It was decided that the new Praise Chapel would be built by faith– they would do it themselves as the money came in. The money did come, the people did build, and the Lord granted them health and safety as they worked. Saturday night we joined with half the community of Crandon and celebrated the dedication of this wonderful debt free “miracle built by God.”

As I sat in the church, I thought about the “coincidence” that in our reading through the Bible, we are right at the dedication of the temple. I don’t believe in coincidences in our lives, I deem them miracles of God’s amazing timing as He orchestrates our lives moment by moment. Eph.2:10 tells us “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before the foundation of the world that we should walk in them.”

In today’s reading, we are told that Solomon’s temple was built without the noise of craftsmen. The huge stones were finished at the quarry. In keeping with the holiness of the structure being crafted, there was no sounding of hammers or chisels or any iron tool in the construction of the lovely building.

This is a good reminder to us not to mistake noise for spiritual progress. We tend to measure the importance of things by the excitement they generate. Yet, we are conformed into the image of Jesus not by noisy human efforts but silently by the power of the Holy Spirit as day by day He perfects His power within every believer.

This happens in our quiet times as we read the Word and meditate on the things that He tells us. Maybe that’s why Christians are told to have “quiet times,” not “noisy” times. We are urged to settle down and listen to the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit as He guides and leads us on the paths of righteousness. He, alone, shows us the course our journey is to take and directs us to the things that need to be done on a daily basis. “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Is. 30:15

And then one day, His workmanship is finished and there is a dedication – it may be the temple in Israel or Praise Chapel in the north woods of Wisconsin.

We are told to “sit quietly before the Lord – to wait patiently before Him” as He amazingly does His work on this earth through the likes of believers like us.

Those Moldy Bread People Again

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (II Sam. 21-22)

“Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” II Sam. 21:1

My daughter-in-love Denise has a great system for remembering things. When she thinks of things she needs to do, she immediately writes a sticky note and adheres it to her kitchen counter. Then when she goes out the door, she just checks her sticky notes to see if she has everything.

Our family joke is – if it gets on one of Denise’s sticky notes, it will happen!

We all have little ways that we use to help us retain information. Today’s reading reminds us again that we have an omniscient God who remembers everything. He never forgets. He invented sticky notes for us, but He doesn’t need them.

King David had a problem. There had been a famine in Israel for three years. So, he inquired of God and asked Him why this was happening. God said it was because of the Gibeonites and what King Saul had done to them.

Remember the Gibeonites? They were those “moldy bread people.” When Joshua was taking the land of Israel, they dressed up in old clothes and brought moldy bread to Joshua. They claimed to be from another country and deceived Israel into making a covenant of protection with them. Later, Joshua discovered that they actually lived nearby but now he couldn’t destroy their city because he had made this covenant.

Four hundred years have gone by. However, during those years, Saul had broken the covenant with the Gibeonites and killed some of them. Wouldn’t you think God would have forgotten about it all by then? I mean the USA isn’t even four hundred years old…that’s a long time. But not to our God.

He is the God who remembers! He told David that he needed to honor the covenant by asking the Gibeonites how to atone for this infraction. David inquired and they replied that they would be satisfied if David gave them seven descendants of Saul and they would take their lives. David complied and delivered seven of Saul’s sons into their hands to be hanged.

What a sad story. Can anything good come out of the deception of the Gibeonites and the disobedience of Saul that resulted in the deaths of seven of his sons? I see one great thing. God takes covenants and oaths very seriously. If He honored the deceitful Gibeonites because of their covenant, how much more will he honor His covenant with us? How much more will he stand by His promises that are lavishly scattered through out the Bible, His Word? If he didn’t forget the Gibeonite covenant for four hundred years, how much more will He not forget our descendants and us? When we entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we entered into a covenant with God himself. Hebrews 6:17-18 tells us: “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

He won’t forget us. We have His strong consolation that He doesn’t need sticky notes. He remembered his covenant with the descendants of the heathen moldy bread people. How much more will He be faithful to us - His own covenant children?

The next time you find mold on your bread, remember the Gibeonites. God didn’t forget them, He won’t forget you! Maybe we all need a sticky note on our counter that says "God remembers!"

The Color Purple

One week ago, we were standing at the intersection of King and Queen Streets in Charleston, South Carolina. As I looked up at the signposts, I turned to Charlie and said, "That sign sure reflects how the Lord has blessed us this vacation - He has been treating us like kings and queens!"

Sometimes on our joyful journey through life we come to places that are so breathtakingly beautiful that we just want to stop and rest and inhale the sights and smells forever. That's how I felt about our trip to this lovely city with its gardens, mansions and fascinating history. I believe that God gives us these times to pause and refresh our souls and experience His creation - to remind us how wonderful it is. In Genesis, He rested on the seventh day and sanctified His work. Acts 3:19 speaks of "the times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord."

This trip came about suddenly and unexpectedly. We were both yearning for the colors that April brings to spring in the South. God seemed to open every door so we took off in our RV and headed for Charleston. Sometimes it amazes me how quickly and unexpectedly God brings changes in our journeys. He so rarely does things the way I expect Him to.

When we reached Charleston, we were quickly immersed in the weavings of our past. We lived in Aiken, South Carolina for eight years. We came into a personal relationship with Jesus while we lived there. Three of our children were born in Aiken. Charlie helped start up a new mill nearby in Beech Island for Kimberly Clark. Our oldest son went to college in Columbia and met his wife there. Lots of history, lots of friends, lots of memories. Coming back to Charleston was another colorful thread in the weaving of God's tapestry in our lives.

There was also a theme - the color purple. Everywhere we went, we saw purple - the color of royalty...the color of kings and queens.

We noticed it first in the campground in Mahomet, Illinois. Parked next to us was an RV totally decked out in purple. Every curtain was bright and purple. Charlie looked at it and said, incredulously, "Betsy, I've never seen anything like that!" I agreed.

As we drove to Charleston the redbuds were in bloom. You know what color they are - not red but purple and lovely against the spring green of the land.

The first thing I noticed as we walked through the coastal city was the wisteria. I have never seen such an abundance of purple wisteria. It hung everywhere in huge tumbling masses that beckoned us to come near and smell and savor and linger.

We toured some of the mansions, hotels, and gardens. At the Rutledge Inn, we started talking to one of the desk clerks. He graciously put down his book and shared with us the history of the elegant old hotel. As he spoke I glanced down at the title of his book. It was "The Color Purple!"

On the way home, we spent the night again in the campground in Illinois not far from Katie and Norman's. Katie brought me plants and said, "Mom, here are some pansies I picked up for you. They only had purple."

We arrived home and had a birthday party for ll year old Kayla. My friend, Andrea, gave her a cushy fuzzy blanket. Yes, it was purple!

This morning I sit at my computer and relect on our sweet time. (Wait, maybe it's not quite over. Our purple rhododendrums have started blooming!:) God gave us a pause in our journey through life to reflect and be refreshed, to remember and be surprised again by His goodness. As His children may we all remember that we are the adopted sons and daughters of the Mighty King of the universe. We are all standing in our position in Christ right at the intersection of Kings and Queens Street. And as we are His - we're clothed in purple.

Have a great day. Thanks for staying with me while I was off playing. I'm looking forward to traveling life's "Joyful Journey" with you again - wearing purple, of course! But first, I'm going to read my May "Southern Living" that just arrived. The cover is filled with purple hydrangeas.