Miss Hysham, my Classics teacher in College, was full of enthusiasm for her subject. In the midst of a lecture she would stop and exclaim, “Isn’t this beautiful? Isn’t it simply beautiful? The language is lovely, and the images just glow in your mind! How beautiful!” Then she would continue the lecture. These outbursts occurred virtually every lecture, for she truly loved the poetry and drama of Homer, Virgil, and other classical writers.

The class made fun of her behind her back, but we all gained an appreciation we would have missed without Miss Hysham’s enthusiasm.

The psalmists sometimes display this spirit: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (psalm 119:103) “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.”(Psalm 26:8) “Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.”(Psalm 29:1&2)

Miss Hysham, like the psalmists, was in love with her subject. She had dedicated her life to her study and her teaching. She successfully spread the word and spirit of her research and sheer enjoyment to her students. At the end of the class we gave her a silver goblet engraved with, “A thing of beauty is a Joy Forever” by John Keats.

The writers of scripture felt an even greater intensity in their relationship with God: “If I say, ‘I will not mention His word, or speak in His name any more, His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” ( Jeremiah 20:9)

St. Paul interrupts his letter to the Romans with “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33). Spontaneous exclamations of wonder are found throughout the Old and New Testaments. They spring from encounters with the Spirit of in the life of the writer. He is the Holy Spirit, the One whom Jesus promised to his disciples, and who reminds us of Jesus and even teaches us about our Father God.(John 14:25)

“The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) Miss Hysham taught us the joy of reading the classics. The Holy Spirit delivers the joy of reading His Word. How Beautiful!

Love in Him,

Prue

The use of clay to produce pottery is one of the oldest crafts of humankind. Shards of ancient pottery have been found on nearly every continent. The Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has displayed a large intact pot that is three thousand years old, and others have been found that are even older. I own a cherished pottery lidded dish that is perfect for stacking pancakes. Pottery is a symbol of civilization itself.

“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 God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2Corinthians 4:6-7)

God had sent Jeremiah to the house of a potter to receive a message from Him, a message that has reverberated for thousands of years: “Can I not do with you as this potter does?. . . Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. (Jeremiah 18:6) Jeremiah watched as the potter began work on a pot; then, when the project was imperfect in his hands, the potter “formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”( Jeremiah 18:4)

God’s capacity to shape and reshape us into perfection, His will to create and recreate us, is shone in the potter. That He would persevere in our lives to bring us to His perfection is a mystery, and a lifeline of hope for every soul.

The reshaping takes place in the common places and times of our lives, in the kitchen, in the car, in the school room, the back yard, in our closets, our work places and our relationships, in our churches, and in our play. It’s the message of salvation itself, the cry of David, when he had sinned: “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God!” (Psalm 51:10)

The potter’s work was the visible, tangible picture of God’s invisible supernatural work in our lives. When St. Paul wrote that we are “jars of clay” he was remembering God’s message to Jeremiah at the potter’s house. The “Treasure” is the light of God that lives in His people, the people who are the clay that is molded in God’s hands to receive His Holy Spirit. We are the clay; He is the potter. It is a joyful way of remembering our God, of receiving His work in and on our lives, and in rejoicing in the beauty of pottery.

Love in Him,

Prue

“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3) These words, if ever heard or read, are almost always dismissed as “filler” for God’s message to Jeremiah to give to his people; but I believe that they express both God’s method and His motive in dealing with humanity since the fall n the garden. Jeremiah accepted them as if he recognized their truth and passed it to his people and now to us.

The notion that God has loved His people ever since they were created, needed to be re-affirmed strongly for the many set-backs in the people’s relationship with Him. Many centuries later, in the New Testament, John, a different spokesman, asserts, “God is Love.”(1 John 4:16)

The notion that, not only is love his very character, but, perhaps most notably, it is “everlasting”, is the message: God has always worked and will always work to restore His own eternal life to the creation who lost it in the garden. Not just life, but Life Eternal has been His focus, his goal, His very reality for His people from the beginning of time. His motive and method are both love.

It must be hard to give to people the whole beauty of His creation in the natural world, and at the same time to guide them to see through the temporal beauty to an even better life with an unseen God.

Ultimately the problem of seeing the invisible reached the place where God knew that he would send Himself in Jesus so that Jeremiah’s and John’s and many other messengers’ words would have visible flesh. The very thought of such an event produced the joyful expression of Jesus’ mother: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,. . . From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name.” (Luke 1:47-49)

In the birth of Jesus we witness that God’s love is deeply personal. Though it almost forms a chorus in the Old Testament, it is brought into intimate reality when the Holy Spirit becomes a personal gift accessible to all who seek Him. After the Resurrection. The Scriptures themselves convey all this, another priceless gift to those who turn to them really seeking God’s word. The testimonies of thousands of years of messengers has cast light on the ways of God that enable us to walk through our generation sure-footed in the intimacy that is both personally loving and everlasting. He has given us a Book.

Love in Him,

Prue

Short in stature, poor in income, but gigantic in spirit, St. John of the Cross lived and wrote in the sixteenth century some of the greatest spiritual books in the world. “The Dark Night of the Soul”, and “The Ascent Of Mount Carmel” are spiritual classics that in over four hundred years have never been out of print. They are two of Medieval Spain’s deep and significant contributions to Christian understanding.

St. John’s writings focus on the interior life, especially the life of prayer. While I can’t plumb the depth of his understanding, St. John of the Cross left many traces of his practice of prayer: “Christ obviously, as one who knew so well his Father’s will, would have told them (the disciples) all that was necessary in order to obtain an answer from the Eternal Father. . . and in fact, he only taught them the seven petitions of the “Our Father”. . . and he did not teach numerous other kinds of prayers and ceremonies” ( “The Ascent of Mount Carmel”)

St. John took Jesus’ words seriously, and spent many hours in prayer. “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans , for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

(Matthew 6:6-8)

Frequently, fellow priests from their monastery found John sitting outdoors on a rise overlooking fields and vineyards, wrapped in prayer. Sometimes he stayed there for hours, gazing at the landscape and praying. He wasn’t in a room or a closet, but he was alone with God.

It was this that got my attention, and I wondered if sitting alone in our back yard would qualify as a “prayer closet.” I found that it can sometimes. However, it’s limited to good weather, and so I tried the “indoor model’ for prayer,and it reminded me of Christ’s words.

When people saw St. John gazing, they said that it was as if he could see heaven, or at least the pathway that surely led to there. Creation itself can give us a path, for God knows why we have come to the place we seek. When we go into a room, or sit by a stream and open the Bible, or gaze quietly until a prayer reaches our mind, no one in heaven wonders why we have come there. For St. John, gazing and praying were part of his lifestyle. More than 400 years later, they can be part of ours, too.

Love in Him,

Prue

Tender Mercy

On the day my new-born granddaughter came home from the hospital, I was visiting, and happened to be holding the baby when the doorbell rang. Without even thinking, I went to the door and met a neighbor who was bringing a lemon pound cake in honor of the birth. I have never seen a face so transformed in such an instant as this neighbor’s face when she saw the new-born on my arm. “Oh!” She said, “I never dreamed I’d get to see her!” I never dreamed I could really see the baby, and here she is!” The woman’s whole demeanor changed; her eyes widened as if she couldn’t get enough of the baby’s sleeping face.

“For unto us a child is born,” (Isaiah 9:6) God’s strategy for bringing human beings back to Himself after the fall in the Garden, was hidden in the swaddling clothes of a series of infants positioned in time and place to fulfill God’s plan to restore His people to Himself: Isaac, a child of promise, Moses, a child rescued, Samuel, an answer to prayer, John the Baptist, a miraculous birth, and Jesus himself, both an ordinary, and a divine baby.

God knew that the continuity in the birth and growth of the children would be the glue to hold His nation together, and ultimately the whole world would be able to receive Him through His son. It wasn’t through armies and force, but through the most tender and vulnerable that God came to His people: “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.”

Hundreds of years later, Zachariah spoke of his baby son John, who would become “The Baptist”: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.” (Luke 1:76-79)

The neighbor at the door was transported just by the sight of a lovely new-born baby. I believe that the spirit of joy and elation at the arrival of a new-born is close to God’s heart. He uses it to describe His infinite attraction to and love for His people. He shared that Spirit with the world in the chorus of angels who sang for the shepherds. No one could miss the love and tender mercy of our God toward children.

Love in Him,

Prue

In visiting my brother and his wife on the East shore of Maryland one year, I went to a small Methodist church on the Sunday after Christmas. The congregation had a custom of telling “Jesus stories” before the service began. A microphone was passed around to those who raised their hand and they told of an incident that had occurred the previous week.

Attendance was low on that Sunday, but two or three “Jesus stories” were offered. One woman apologized because she wasn’t sure that her story “qualified”, but it had “seemed important” to her: “I was driving Greg (her son) home from the bus station for Christmas break when he just said to me, ‘ You know, Mom, there are some sins that God can’t forgive.’ I slowed down the car and thought hard. I said, ‘ Greg, I don’t know what this is about; I don’t know what has happened, but I do know that there is no sin in the world, large or small, that God won’t forgive.’ Then I drove on home. That’s all, but it seemed important to me.” She handed the microphone to the next Jesus story teller.

The woman’s story seemed important to me, too; I felt as if I had received a sermon before the service began: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them, and in whose spirit is no deceit. . . Then I acknowledged my sin to you, God, and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘ I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” (Psalm 32:1,2,5)

If there were a single recurrent theme in the Bible, it would be this, the turning away of sin from our spirits by the only One who could ever do such a thing, and who then charges us to follow His example: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.’” (Matthew 15;21)

Many people talk of forgiving ourselves, but the woman and her son thought only of God’s forgiveness. I believe that self-forgiveness is a myth that enables us to avoid acknowledging God’s claim upon our lives, for once we have experienced His forgiveness, we are compelled to offer the same to others who may have sinned against us. Why? Because He is our Father, and invests forgiven life into us, and we experience the need to share it. The freedom it affords to know you are forgiven cannot be contained in one soul. It will always seem too important.

Love in Him,

Prue

As a child, I disliked eating eggs so much that my mother, who thought that eggs are always “good for you,” was frustrated when I refused them. After witnessing her frustration, my Aunt Mildred, who was visiting, said to me, “The only reason you don’t like eggs is because you’ve never had egginacup” (all one word). I was intrigued and asked her what that might be. She said, “I’ll show you, and you’ll really like it!” She took over the stove and cooked one slightly soft boiled egg, removed it, peeled it and cut it up into a coffee cup. She sprinkled it with salt and pepper, and served it to me warm with a spoon. I had never eaten an egg with a spoon, or used a coffee cup before, and the whole process seemed entirely new to me.

Aunt Mildred was right. I did like the soft boiled egg, and I did like eating it with a spoon. It wasn’t until she left, though, that I noticed that there wasn’t much difference between an egginacup and a fried egg that you eat with a fork.

What had changed? First of all, I had met another adult who was interested in my eating preferences . Second, Aunt Mildred introduced a whole new style of eating an egg, and third, she didn’t suggest that it was somehow “good for me,” but that I would enjoy it.

When Jesus appeared on earth, he brought a new way of living, a change in the ingrained patterns that had prevailed among his people for generations. St. Paul wrote,”I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

These words of Paul express the opening of a new relationship to God, that Paul himself experienced. The risen Jesus had said to Paul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting: it is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 9:5, KJV)

The new life of Jesus opened Paul’s spirit to the Holy Spirit of God, and transformed Saul into the “great apostle Paul, of Christ” God did it for the sake of us in the world, for His son, and for Paul himself, for this is the new life in Christ.

Aunt Mildred changed me for the sake of my mother, as well as for me and my growing up. The love of family is at work in each member. It is at work in our lives through Christ ,our brother, and God, our Father. They offer us supernatural egginacup.

Love in Him,

Prue

Preparing for a mission trip to a small rural village in Mexico, our church team was told that we would have adequate supplies of bottled water in the van we took, but we must not under any circumstances offer water to the citizens who would be working with us, or we would certainly run out of water, and be mobbed whenever we drove onto the site.

On my second or third day I returned to the van for a tool and met a tiny dark eyed girl, about three years old, who looked up at me and said, “agua?” I smiled and answered “No agua!” She asked again, and I answered the same. One more request, and she walked away. There was not another person in sight at all.

As I got the tool from the van I remembered Jesus’ words: “And if anyone gives even a cup of water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42) I quickly rationalized what had happened, but the scripture got louder in my mind. I knew that I had had an opportunity to “give one of His little ones a cup of water,”and I had refused. There were cups in the van and I could have easily poured water into one of them and given it to the child. Later,, I thought that obeying God and obeying people is not always the same.

I believe that I was forgiven for missing this opportunity, and I also understood that God has greater claims on us than we usually acknowledge: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1John 4:4) I wondered how many times I had missed His Spirit in deciding what to do or not do.

Giving the little girl a cup of water would have had none of the consequences I was warned to avoid. I wasn’t going to drink the water myself, and there was no one to come rushing after her for a drink. I had put my mind on “automatic” in order to follow our instructions.

I believe that God never works on “automatic”. While He respects our commitments to earthly authorities, at the same time He looks to see if we remember Him. In every step of my spiritual growth, I think that I have “arrived” until another event shows up. Some of them are quite painful, but all of them are full of grace. “Where sin abounds, there is grace, even more abundant.” (Romans 5:20)

Love in Him,

Prue

Wait

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in His word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord

more than the watchmen wait for the morning,

more than the watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:5)

After I had promised not to tell anyone, I told one of my sisters that our nephew’s wife was expecting her first baby. I drew the wrath of some of the rest of the family, and lost my credibility as a trustworthy sister and aunt. I couldn’t wait. When I read the words of the psalmist I knew that I had a long way to go before I could say with him, “I wait for the Lord more than the watchmen wait for the morning.” Psalm 130 continues with amazing assertions about God: If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.”

Though these words were written long before the resurrection of Jesus, they express an absolute assurance of forgiveness in our God, as if the psalmist might have been one of the disciples who witnessed the risen Christ himself, for it is through Him that we receive the priceless gift of forgiveness: “Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love, and with Him is full redemption. He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.”( Psalm 130:7&8)

The words of this psalm warmed my heart, and I felt as if I knew that all would be well. Of course the resolution was quite predictable, when my nephew’s wife delivered a lovely, healthy baby girl, my sin was wiped from everyone’s memory. This week the new family sent us a video of themselves with the newborn, and the joy was palpable.

The anticipation, the tension, the apprehension, before she came into the world, disappeared when she arrived. The many feedings, the loss of sleep, the diaper changing, all looked like pure joy and pleasure for this young couple. It was certainly a joy for me to watch.

With Christ there is indeed “full redemption.” It can’t be fully comprehended, but it can be believed, for the Old and New Testaments both extol this undeserved gift to all of us.

My slate ws wiped clean when the baby was born. When we wait on the Lord, we say with the psalmist, “With you, Lord, there is forgiveness.”

Love in Him,

Prue

In the year 1611, in London, England, a contingent of book publishers protested to King James I that if he allowed a new English version of the whole Bible to be made available to the public at large, they, the publishers, would be driven out of business; for who would buy any other book if he could own the Words of God?

Their protest was futile, as King James was delighted with his new English Bible and eager to have it distributed to “every shepherd’s cottage” in the land. He believed that a common Bible would increase unity among diverse Christian denominations in his realm, and improve the peace. For centuries the King James Bible was the standard for English speaking Christians. It became the publishers’ “best seller”.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish. . . so is my word that goes out from my mouth”; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:9-11)

It’s sometimes hard to believe that a supernatural God has given humanity a book full of natural and supernatural characters, as a way of revealing Himself to us. Each character testifies to that very reality. God speaks in the Bible over and over the words His people need to hear, and in the New Testament Jesus tells believers about the nature of their God and the share we may have in His nature: “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”(Luke 12:32) Without even understanding the full implications of these words, we are encouraged by their benevolent, kindly message; and, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to Her.” (Luke 1:45) There are “no strings attached” to these affirmations, just the tender reassurances of a parent to a much loved child. They are only a few of the ways the Bible draws us to Christ and to God. They are gentle, but persistent ways that God embraces and engages His people.

Written by many authors, the Bible testifies to a single God, whose character, manifested through many persons over many years, opens the way for us to engage in the dialogue with the One beyond the words. We may indeed read other books, and still own the words of God.

Love in Him,

Prue