Little Children

Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven ad earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” (Luke 10:12)These words of Jesus were spoken to seventy some followers including the disciples who had returned from visiting towns and villages where Jesus planned to visit. The men who returned were full of joy at how well they had been received. The seventy returned with joy and said , “Even the demons submit to us in your name. ( Luke 10:7) Jesus’ great joy came from knowledge that His Father’s Spirit had been successfully conveyed by his followers and disciples.

When Jesus spoke out of joy, he was also speaking out of experience, for as a twelve year old boy he himself had stayed in Jerusalemfor three days while his parents searched for him. As a child Jesus spoke with the “wise and learned” teachers at the temple, to the amazement of his parents, as well as to the teachers and bystanders. He knew that there were receptive ears in Israel, and it brought him great joy. As a boy, Jesus had a foretaste of his future ministry, It was enough to allow him to return willingly to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. (Luke 2:51)

Many years later, when Jesus was teaching and healing, he spoke about children: Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these . Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. ( Luke 18:15)

I have a sister who is ten years younger than myself. One Christmas I succeeded in convincing her that I was actually Mrs. Santa Clause in disguise, and that her sister Prudy was in the North Pole, but that at Christmas she would return; and I would go back to be with Santa. She believed it easily. She was only four years old. I was fourteen. I had a lot of fun deceiving her and talking about my life with Santa. At Christmas she was glad I had returned. When we were both grown up, I asked her why it had been so easy for her to believe me. “I never thought that you would lie to me,” she answered. “I didn’t think that you even could.”

Since then I have learned to value the simplicity of children, and the depth of Jesus’ understanding of childhood and the value of children. As Advent approaches, I think of it every year. Jesus’ words are so deeply true that they speak to our hearts two thousand years later.

Love in Him,

Prue

You may not be starting to cook today, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t start praying today for good food, the contact with loved ones, the needs of the world; and it’s not too early to pray for Peace on Earth, good will toward all mankind!

The Blog will return on Sunday.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Love and Thanks in Him,

Prue

In a sixth grade Sunday School class I was teaching we discussed the misery of the Hebrew people when they were slaves in Egypt. “It’s hard for us to understand what it might be like to be a slave, because we don’t own people in America any more.,” I said. A hand shot up and Geoffrey, a red haired boy said, “People can be legally owned here,” he said. “How so?” I asked. “They can be adopted,” he answered. I didn’t want to spend time discussing the difference between adoption and slavery, so I said, “adopted people can’t be bought and sold as slaves are.” I knew he had more to say, but I went on with the lesson.

The very next Sunday I was watching families as they left the church, and Geoffrey walked out between his father and mother, all three with bright red hair. “There’s certainly no mistaking whose boy he is!” I said to another teacher. “Don’t you know?” she asked. “know what?’ I wondered. “He’s adopted. They just signed the final papers at the courthouse,” she said. Geoffrey had wanted nothing more than to be owned by the couple who had adopted him. They certainly looked like a matched set, and were pleasant to see. He had lived with them long enough to know that he wanted to stay.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1Corinthians 6:19)

Better than anyone else in the classroom, including myself, Geoffrey understood the difference between slavery (being on the “ block” for adoption)and freedom (belonging to a family who loved him) He was emphatic that his parents absolutely owned him, by law. It was essential to him on every level. Better than the rest of us, Geoffrey could understand the covenant that God offered to the Hebrew people: I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God; and you will know that I, the Lord, am your God who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians, (Exodus 6:7)

Geoffrey’s parents offered him love and acceptance and identity, all things God offers to us in the Holy Spirit, and God through Christ offers us a brother through whom we can find fulfillment of our own need for companionship and love. I learned more that day than Geoffrey learned

Love in Him,

Prue

Visiting our grandchildren is always a pleasure. Once when we visited, our four year old grandson was wielding a newly aquired plastic sword, and he said to me, “I can’t really decide if I want to be David or Goliath.” I asked, “What’s the difference?” “well,” he said, Goliath had a great sword.” “Yes”, I answered; “but, you know that David ends up with Goliath’s sword,” “He does?!” “Yes,” I answered, “and he gets to keep it, too.” “Oh! Then I’ll be David,” he said. “Good choice,” I replied.

I had once heard a speaker say that the story of David and Goliath should be read to understand that we are all like the frightened and paralyzed Israelite soldiers at the sight of Goliath, needing a savior and acting as bystanders to the drama of David that was unfolding in front of them. As a contrast, the four year old saw in the story that the only question it presents is ‘who will have the sword in the end?’

Recently I read a statement from a theologian that it is impossible to grasp and understand the Bible without a full knowledge of the ancient Greek and Hebrew languages. Such a truth would leave most of the readers of the Bible unable to receive the blessing of reading accurately. Even St. Augustine, (354-430 AD) a teacher of the Bible and a Bishop in the the early church, never studied Greek, but contributed to the survival and the endurance of the church through the dark ages and even up to present time,as most denominations continue to look to Augustine for inspiration.

The Bible is thousands of years old, and every generation has looked for a fresh and new interpretation of the sacred book. Some of the most learned, like Augustine, have left us with wonderful insights: “The God who was able to thrust you out in proper shape from the womb, Himself wishes you to judge what can be done from what has been done, and to believe that He can also bring you alive from the tomb.” (Sermon 242a) Perhaps Psalm 16 was Augustine’s inspiration.: My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead. (Psalm 16:9)

I believe that God speaks to the humblest and the highest through His book whenever the Bible is read in simple faith and a personal desire to be close to the Spirit of God. From children to learned men and women, the word of life can open our spirits to a fuller participation in God’s life here on earth . Sometimes even the simplicity of children opens our eyes to God’s relationship with us. May we all decide to be like David.

Love in Him,

Prue

My father was a retired school administrator who loved gardening.One year he had a bumper crop from his hard work and was telling us how good it was to have so many fresh vegetables for the summer. “You’ll really like the asparagus when it gets ripe, and this is the best year so far for the tomatoes, and we’ll have a lot of green beans,” he said with satisfaction.

I responded with a hurtful joke about a man who died after surviving the 1889 Great Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood, and when he got to heaven he bragged to St. Peter about his experience in the flood. “Oh,” said St. Peter, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. His name is “Noah”.

My father paused, and I knew that I had hurt his feelings. “Ha,ha,ha,” he said dryly, and changed the subject. Afterward I was full of remorse and prayed that somehow the Lord would remove the sting of my “joke” from my father. The truth was that I really did like his garden, and knew what it was to be treated to freshly picked asparagus or tomatoes. I wanted a sign that I was forgiven.

The next time I talked with Dad, he told me a very gentle joke, and I laughed. I knew that my prayer was answered, and that God’s Holy Spirit had worked in the mind and heart of a man who Lived by faith, and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) The incident was a small one, but it stayed with me. I had read scriptures about the Lord forgiving sins, but had not thought of the sin being erased almost as soon as I spoke it and felt regret .

David, in Psalm 52, expressed some of my regret: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” I hoped a “steadfast spirit” would keep me from repeating the smart-alack responses, not just toward Dad, but toward anyone.

This small event taught me much about my relationship to Christ and about the very limits I place on that relationship. I knew that God answers prayers, and that forgiveness was entirely in His character, but I always believed that I was still responsible for the effects of the sin. (In David’s case, his new-born son had to die.) The grace that I received was undeserved, and I had received as well a spiritual harvest. I had no regrets. It’s true that, The Father Himself loves you because you have loved me. (Jesus) (John 16:27)

Love in Him,

Prue

W.E.B. Duboise ( 1868-1963) was a poet, a writer, and a leader in the Civil Rights movement in America. He was a co-founder of the NAACP. Early in his adult life he learned of a racial theory that the “negro” people were genetically inferior to the “white “ people. He was surprised to learn how many of his “white” friends actually believed it, but even more startled that so many of his African American friends believed it of themselves. The thought put a block on his writing, and he wondered where he could get a genuinely impartial opinion as to the differences between the races.

Duboise had heard of a woman who could neither see nor hear. Helen Keller, (1880-1968) it seemed to him, could reveal the truth about race. She had been raised in the South, and was familiar with the presence of both “black” and “white” people, which designations were, of course, meaningless to her. Duboise made an appointment to visit Helen Keller, and was welcomed into her home. Helen was delighted to have a visitor who would chat with her through her companion, Anne Sullivan. Helen’s fingers explored Dubois’s face, and Anne interpreted to each of them.

There is no official transcript of the visit between Helen and, Duboise. but he left her home renewed, and having acquired a life- long friend . He knew that neither his color nor his voice meant anything to Helen. It was the beginning of a friendship that was cherished by both Helen and Duboise.

The world is full of misunderstandings and misconceptions about people, nations, religions, and the natural world. The apostle Peter addressed a people just beginning to discern the change that came with Christ’s resurrection: We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place until the morning star rises in your hearts. . . For Prophesy never had its origin in the human will; but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. ( 2 Peter 19&21)

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the the Father—he will testify about me(Jesus) (John 15:26)

The darkness of rejection and hopelessness had engulfed Duboise briefly, but an encounter with a simple truth had restored him. I believe that God intends us to encounter the truth about ourselves from His Holy Spirit of Truth.

Love in Him,

Prue

Six years ago a two year old little girl named Charlee Campbell disappeared from her grandmother’s home in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky. Her dog, a pit bull named Penny , disappeared at the same time. A day and a half later Charlee was found in her neighbor’s back yard, with penny beside her. Wayne Brown, her neighbor, had been sitting on his couch praying for Charlee when he looked out the window and saw the little girl and Penny in his yard. He gave her a glass of water and called 911. there had been a search party out looking for her and the relief was palpable in the whole community.

Charlee’s grandmother gave credit to Penny for staying with the child , and “saving her life.”

I read this story six years ago and still it stays in my head. Probably all the details of this little girl’s adventure will never be known, but the outcome is a picture of pure grace: The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we aught to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Our own weakness could hardly be greater than at the loss of a very young child. The sense of our own helplessness and fear makes it hard to pray. But God has a provision for this spiritual condition. The wordless groans of the Holy Spirit to God our Father interpret and make known our needs. That interaction between God and His Holy Spirit is supernatural, and put in place for the benefit of God’s all too natural creation, human beings. In the case of Charlee, the interaction included Penny, the dog, but all of creation is accessible to our Father God through His Holy Spirit.

Once when I was confused and upset about something I can’t even recall, I stared at a single tree in a field and began to know that neither the tree nor I was really alone. I believe that the the Holy Spirit had intervened with groans too deep for words.

Even without a Christian neighbor who can pray for us, Good hears and understands the groanings of our hearts through His Holy Spirit, though we ourselves hardly know how to pray. In a world as complex and confusing as our own, knowing of the groans of the Holy Spirit is a great consolation.

Love in Him,

Prue

David was a man who had received an extravagant promise. Anointed by Samuel, David had been told in the presence of his whole family, that he, David, would be the king of Israel even though everyone knew that Saul, the present king, had an ‘heir and a spare’ to succeed him.

The time between David’s anointing and his emergence as the king of Israel was a tumultuous , even agonizing time that included David’s victory over Goliath and Saul’s eventual murderous jealousy that forced David too leave Israel altogether. Many of David’s psalms reflect some of the angst of that period in his life: You number my wanderings; put my tears into your bottle; are they not in your book? When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. ( Psalm 55:8-9) The back and forth of apprehension and confidence in the help of God, is a picture of David’s life, as he is fearful for his life and his family’s lives, but his fear sits on a shelf of confidence in the presence of God to protect and even prosper him. David’s relationship to God is deeply personal. He has needed God to preserve him ever since Saul perceived David as an enemy. It was a very delicate balance that David had to walk for the rest of Saul’s life.

When even David’s own men urged him to kill Saul, David answered, “The Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.” ( 1Samuel 26:11) Though David could see no path to the crown, He refused to take into his own hands the working out of Samuel’s anointing him king. (1Samuel 16:11-13) This refusal became a strong bond between God and David, making a way for God to act in David’s life hugely. Throughout his life David placed his faith in the covenant relationship he had with God. Almost no one in his acquaintance understood the strength of that bond.

Eighteenth century theologian Adam Clarke wrote, “The cry of faith and prayer to God is more dreadful to our spiritual foes than the war-whoop of the Indian is to his surprised enemy.”

When David sinned, it was his cry to God that restored him, “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me! (Psalm 51:11) When David was anointed he received God’s Holy Spirit. It was from that Spirit that David drew his knowledge and assurance that “God is for me.” This Spirit was a free gift to David as the Holy Spirit is a free gift to us through Christ. We, too, can say, ‘God is for me!’”

Love in Him,

Prue

When my brother was born he was given the name Richard Burdett. The first name was also my Father’s name, and the second was my mother’s maiden name. While he was growing up he was always called “Burr”, to distinguish him from Dad, but when he left home for college he began to use “Dick.” The plan seemed good to the whole family, and it was followed with each of his sisters except the last. Nancy was to call herself “Nan” when she left home; and I, called “Prudy” as a child, was to become “Prue” as an adult. “Holly” was to be “Hollace”, but Margot, the youngest, had no alternate name. Nancy, who had pretty red hair, didn’t like “Nan”, so she called herself “Rusty”while she was still in school. None of the family or her friends could consistently remember to call her “Rusty,” so she remained “Nancy.” Sometimes I reflected upon the fact that no one else I knew had been given multiple names for different stages in their lives.

In the Bible, naming a child is very important. Hannah named her firstborn son “Samuel”, which means “heard by God” (1Samuel 1:20), and the long lists of genealogies testify to the care taken in preserving names. Jesus’ name was important enough for God to give the Angel Gabriel the child’s name to give to his mother Mary: “You will conceive and bear a son, and you are to call him Jesus”( Luke 1:31)

“Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you what ever you ask in my name. . . In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on our behalf. No, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:23,27)

Jesus’ name was the same as Joshua’s, but translated from the Greek instead of the Hebrew. Most important, perhaps, is that the name means “God is Salvation.” It was not an uncommon name for a Hebrew boy, but when Jesus tells the disciples to pray in his name, the name of Jesus became a link to God Himself. “Ask in my name” is a powerful bond, as if God has given the believer an actual key to the Kingdom of God, and that is the very truth, When the Holy Spirit puts the name of Jesus into our minds, And we receive it prayerfully, we are united to God in the love we have for His son.

Names can be quite meaningless, but God has supplied a name that takes us directly to Him. In giving us his name, He is sharing with us His love.

Love in Him,

Prue

There are versions of a story that has circulated simply by internet or word of mouth since the 1930’s. It’s the story of a U.S Navy warship in Canadian waters on a very foggy night. To the surprise of the captain, he perceived the lights of another smaller vessel through the fog, dangerously close. He demanded that the other boat turn 15 degrees south to avoid a collision. The response was, “We are not moving. Turn 15 degrees north to avoid a collision.” the captain of the naval ship was enraged. Finally he commanded the other vessel to move, “This is the Aircraft Carrier USS Montana. We are a large warship of the U.S. Navy. . . Divert your course now!!” The reply came quickly: “We are a lighthouse. Your call.”

It is such a popular story that it has been called an “urban legend” Members of the U.S. Navy have sometimes used it in presentations, but there is no documentation of its truth. I first heard it from a preacher in a sermon. Whenever I’m reminded of this story I laugh again. That may be why it has survived for so long: it’s funny to think of mistaking a lighthouse for a ship, and funny to think of the embarrassment of the captain. In some ways, though, we are all like that captain. We sometimes live in a fog, a fog of unknowing our own selves. Thinking we are moving in a direction of our own choice, we miss important signs that tell us the truth of God’s plan for us.

King David experienced the need to rest the course of his life in his prayer, Hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:9-10)

The fog is sometimes in our own lives when we wonder where our God is. It’s then that we need to check our charts for a glimpse of the way to turn.:Your teachers will be hidden no more . Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:20-21) When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12) The light within can keep us from colliding with a lighthouse,or making selfish decisions to our own hurt. That light was given to the disciples to carry into the world. They received it and carried it and it is still shining in our own time. The light within is God’s Holy Spirit.

Love in Him,

Prue