Of all the living things created by God, human beings are the only ones who bear His “image.” They are also the only ones who daily fight the battles between good and evil in themselves , sometimes winning for good, and sometimes losing. Plants and animals suffer, but they do not sin. God’s angels do not sin, but witness much of the suffering from sin on earth, and sometimes do battle among supernatural beings. (Daniel 10:20-21) Evil exists, and humans experience it, and sometimes practice it, and sometimes with God’s help, defeat it. In this struggle between good and evil, we are joined by the Spirit of God, making us the closest to Him of all creation. In fact, humanity is the very object of God’s love and commitment. The prophet Isaiah spoke the words given to him by God: Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will never forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. . . ( Isaiah 49:15)

When the time was perfectly right God sent His son to Mary to join humanity and enable the world to witness the length and width and depth of His love and commitment to humanity. By giving Jesus and allowing him to die at the hands of God’s fallen creatures.

Jesus, who, though human, had never sinned, knew his Father God well, and used his time on earth to display God’s character and very presence on earth. He famously said,

God so loved the world that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3: 16-17)The key , and most difficult part, was the saving, for Jesus had to embrace the cross on which he died.

Not everything about God is known to us, but when God speaks in Scripture of His own heart, the furnace is revealed in Him toward us. David wrote, “I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever.”

(Psalm 52:28) The apostle John wrote, “See what great love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!

(1John 3:1)

In all times, and especially in times of uncertainty, it is good to know the One whose love is able to fill eternity.

Love in Him,

Prue

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came one night to visit Jesus. He said, “Rabbi,. We know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the works that you are doing if God were not with him.” (John 3:1) Nicodemus was rewarded for his remark with Jesus’ words concerning the second birth: “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” ( John 3:9) Nicodemus believed that Jesus came from God, but that God would work a change in a person was news to Him: “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. (John 3:3) Nicodemus believed and may have witnessed some of Jesus’ works of healing and feeding great crowds. He recognized the power of God in Jesus, but could not imagine what it meant for himself or for the Hebrew people. Nicodemus received some of Jesus’ most visited words: For God so loved the world that He gave His only son. . .”

Almost three years later on the evening of Jesus’ arrest, one of His own disciplesasked Jesus, “Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” (John 14: 8) Jesus answered him, “Philip, believe me when I say that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me: or at least believe the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:11)

Nicodemus did believe that the works of Jesus were from God, but he had not yet been able to see what it would mean in his own life. Philip witnessed the works, but did not yet see the connection between the living God and the person of Jesus. Jesus pointed out the works to Philip as an avenue to believe in him, and to begin to see what the disciple Peter saw: that Jesus is the son of the living God; and that someone entirely new had walked and lived with them.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, when the disciples saw and ate with him, they knew that the thing that only God could give, He was now giving to them. They knew that Jesus’ work was his cross, and by it he had opened the door to eternal life to ordinary people. The stories of Nicodemus and Philip are bright lights in the paths of today’s Christians. In that light Nicodemus found the courage to request Jesus’ body, and provide a tomb. Philip found his work along with the other disciples preaching and teaching about the risen Christ.

In a world full of contradictions, such a path is truly a gift to us from them and from their God and our God.

Love in Him,

Prue

Benhadad’s officers said to him, “The Israeli God is a god of the hills; that is why they won ( the battle) . But we can beat them easily in the valleys.” (1 Kings 20;23)

The Lord’s message to Ahab, the King of Israel,was, “Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is the God of the hills, but he is not the God of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands.” (1Kings 20:28) Benhadad was the King of Syria who planned to march upon Israel and dominate the country and destroy King Ahab and the nation.

When I read the story of the Syrians and the Israelites, I thought how very ignorant Benhadad’s officers seemed concerning Israel’s God, and even concerning their own gods. The story contains some ironies. Ahab, the King of Israel, had witnessed Elijah’s dramatic challenge of the Baal worshipers on Mount Carmel. Ahab had also been visited by one of God’s prophets who had informed him of God’s plan for his victory over the Syrians. It was Ahab’s first victory in the hills that convinced the Syrians that they could win in the valleys; and God’s statement to Ahab that enabled him finally to defeat the Syrian army for good. Nevertheless, Ahab did not respond with obedience to God ‘s saving presence in his life.(1 Kings 21:20)

I believe that, strange as these ancient people’s beliefs may seem, we Christians of this generation are as divided in spirit between the hills and the valleys as they were. In good and happy times we feel confident and even joyful, but in the valleys of life sometimes we lose sight of our God and believe that He just can’t help us.

Ahab had no reason to believe that God could or would help him, but he believed enough in God’s messengers to follow their instructions and win two decisive victories, freeing his nation from the oppressive threat of Syria.

Today we have powerful messengers in the Bible itself. God spoke to us when He demonstrated that He is the God of both the highs and lows of our lives. When we despair and feel separated from all the good in the world, yet, he is not absent. The victory that He supplied to one who proved unfaithful, is ours in even greater measure. God rescued Ahab for the sake of His own name. He gave us the name of His son who has promised eternal rescue.

Love in Him,

Prue

My brother once had an electric train when I was about seven years old and he was eleven. The train was set up in the basement on large sheets of plywood. It had multiple switches, and an ever growing “layout” that fascinated me. I wasn’t allowed to touch the train, but I often visited it in the cellar. For Burr’s birthday and for Christmas I went to the hobby store and poured over the plastic trees and a bench to be placed in his layout. It’s likely that he never cared for them as much as I did.

When my husband Jack ‘s parents retired to Florida they gave us the family electric train, a 1950’s American Flyer with more track than we could use, and lots of cars, and a tunnel. We eventually assembled it at Christmas time and our daughter was delighted. Since then it has been part of our ritual to “put up the train” around Christmas time. This year we will add a feature that I had never seen before. It is a black and white cow that walks onto the track, causing the the train to stop, then slowly backs off the track again. The novelty of it inspired both Jack and me to add it to the layout.

The project has grown to include houses and a church, a school, people, a skating rink, and a sledding hill. Our grandchildren help put it together, and it has become a tradition. It brings to life an imaginary world, that reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books.

It was by stories that Jesus revealed his Father’s kingdom to the people of Israel. In stories he taught about justice and mercy. He displayed the enduring love of God in the Prodigal Son, the reality of a “neighbor” in the Good Samaritan, the assurance of justice in the “Unjust Judge,” and the conscientiousness of the five virgins out of the ten, who brought enough lamp oil to the wedding. These are only a few of Jesus’ stories, but they form avenues by which we come to know their Creator.

The imagination is a powerful gift from God. It enables us to understand things we have not actually experienced,and to perceive meaning in the things that we do experience. Jesus asked us to use our imagination when he talked about God’s “Judgment”: I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. . . Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Mathew 25:36)

There is truth in all of God’s stories.

Love in Him,

Prue

Four cats, a mother and three kittens, have found our patio a place to rest, and since Jack started to put food out for them, to have at least one meal a day there. They are quite pretty cats, and very feral. They’re shy of us and run when they see us, but not so far as to miss seeing if we have left some food and water for them. The mother cat is thin, but all three kittens seem well fed, so we have concluded that they are probably being fed by other neighbors also.

This has presented a real dilemma for us. At first we thought that the mother might be passing through and we were just helping her on her journey, but when the kittens showed up with her, it appeared that they might be scouting for a permanent residence. We were told the “animal Control” will not come for them unless we have them “in custody”, but the thought of dooming them to extinction is a tough one for us, not to mention the problem of catching them in the first place. I believe that the mother is a very proficient hunter, and has lived at least partly on birds and lizards and other prey for quite a while. The kittens are past the stage of being nursed, and so they are probably learning to hunt as well.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds, and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:25)

One of Jesus’ most powerful metaphors is the image of the sheep that know the voice of the shepherd: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27)

Jack was able to call to the mother cat, and she would come for the food he provided.

Watching the cats behave like truly wild animals made me marvel at their ability to adapt to a world that was so very unwelcoming to this little family.

We finally decided to continue to leave water out for the cats, but not food. God has given us many pictures of life in His creation. For me to see these cats was to remember our Creator.

Love in Him,

Prue

This is a true story. I once taught a Sunday School class of senior women, among whom were many saints who had experienced a great deal more of life in Christ than I had. In the spring of the year in the Houston area where we lived I enjoyed the honor of inviting them to a brunch at my house. I held it out doors by the swimming pool. I had a friend who willingly joined us and played her flute for us to sing hymns. It was always a pleasant event for me and, I believe, for them. One year I decided that I would like to serve mild mimosas, a drink made with a sparkling wine, as an alternative to plain orange juice.

I began to worry about the possibility that some of the ladies might be unsteady enough to fall into the pool. It didn’t seem really likely, but at communion the Sunday before the brunch, I knelt at the alter rail and prayed, “Lord, please bless the brunch, and please prevent anyone from falling into the pool.” For a moment I thought how good it was to have such a resource as our God for assurance in a situation like this, until I “heard” a voice in my mind say, “Let me understand: you want me to protect your class from falling into the pool so that you can serve mimosas to them?” I didn’t hear another single word, but my entire project changed, and I joyfully abandoned the idea of serving mimosas.

Sometimes we go to communion thinking of our sins or wishing something could change in our lives. Many times we come away empty, but the power of the bread and the wine (or grape juice) to open our spirits to God is very great. It was given to us by Jesus himself, and our Father God honors it.

Paul Caudel, (1886-1955) a French playwright and poet once wrote, “Christians do not leave the communion as if they had met the Risen Christ, but as if they had been at a funeral.” I believe that for many people this is true, but when Jesus gave the wine and the bread , he was truly giving us a powerful link to Our Father, and I believe that God seeks this communication even more than we do, and that when we encounter Him, and even “hear” His voice, we rejoice: Jesus took bread . . . and when he had given thanks , he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it. This is my body.” Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many,” he said to them. (Mark 14:23&24)

God bends very low to reach us, and He succeeds. In the Communion He gives His son to touch us again and again.

Love in Him,

Prue

Hope is a quality that lives shadowed by hopelessness in many corners of our world today. St. Paul assured the world that, along with faith and love, hope endures for eternity. (Corinthians 13:13) Hope motivates human beings to pursue the thing hoped for, and the Bible asserts that hope originates in God: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” (Jeremiah 29:11) These are words of God sent to a people in exile who had no source of hope but in the words of their God. The condition of their lives was bereft of any visible, tangible hope of returning to their homeland but the words of hope entered and renewed them. For thousands of years believers in God have turned to this scripture for the hope that it promises.

Hope is grasped by the Psalmist who expressed the life-giving hope of God: I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope. . .Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love, and with Him is full redemption. ( Psalm 130:5&7) The fact that hope comes from God means that it carries with it eternity. Paul wrote that hope “endures” because it comes from God Himself.

When Corrie Ten Boom was in a prison in Germany during World War II, she and all the other women in her section were ordered to stand at attention out doors on a very cold morning wearing only the thin cotton dresses they had been given. The were ordered to stand at attention for more than an hour. Many of the women collapsed but Corrie stood, and silently prayed. Suddenly she heard above her head the song of a meadow lark. The bird flew back and forth over the enclosure for some length of time, and Corrie was reminded of Jesus. She never doubted that the Holy Spirit had visited that very desolate place that morning. It gave her hope in Him. In fact, she finally did leave the prison , and became a world wide missionary of the hope in Christ.

Hope is a wellspring given us by God, by which we find strength to endure hardships and anticipate joy and goodness. Paul wrote that hope endures because it comes from God. If so, then hope can be a gift we may ask of God. “ In that day (after the resurrection) you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me” (John 16:26,27) In times like ours we would not go wrong to ask our God for hope.

Love in Him,

Prue

When I got married my mother told me that sometimes I would hear myself say something that I didn’t usually say, but that Jack usually said. “Don’t be afraid,” my mother said, It’s simply that you share some of his character, as he will share yours. You haven’t lost yourself, but you have made room for someone you love in your life.”

The New Testament contains many references to Jesus as a bridegroom to the believing church. John the Baptist, in explaining his relationship to Jesus, said, “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is complete.” (John 3:29)

In the Old Testament God made known His desire and plan for a close and intimate relationship with the beings He had made in His own image: “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7) It is this very intimacy that happens in marriage that God seeks throughout both the Old and the New Testaments. It is a union that produces saints among ordinary people, individuals who converse with the Spirit of God in a real way. It is the delight of His heart, and His plan since creation to commune with human beings.

St. Paul’s conversion is one of the most dramatic examples of God fulfilling His ancient promise to “give them a heart to know Him.” Paul’s entire life was changed on the road to Damascus, and the change was so rewarding that in spite of almost continual hardships, Paul could joyfully assert, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done, but because of His own purpose and grace.” (2Timothy 1:9) His own purpose has never changed, for as the Psalmist wrote jubilantly, His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)

In the book of Revelations, Saint John wrote, “One of the seven angels . . . came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. ‘” (Revelation 21:9) From the beginning, to the middle, to the end of the Bible comes the message of God’s love that yearns to communicate with us and to be loved in return. When we’re not afraid, we have only to open our hearts to make room for our bridegroom.

Love in Him,

Prue

Easter brought us the sweetness of candy, of lilies, colored eggs, and family gatherings. Most of all it brought the knowledge that regrets for our sins have been washed away, and though we can remember them, they no longer have tags of sadness or disappointment , but they carry sign-posts of joy that Someone Else has carried them away.

King David once wrote, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” ( Psalm 51:3,4) David’s sin broke two of the ten commandments : Do not commit adultery, and Do not kill. He had ordered the murder of Bathsheba’s husband in order to have her for himself. David understood that though we sin against each other, the truth is that all morality comes from God and so all violations are against Him.

In the late 1960’s and 70’s Frank Sinatra sang the popular song, “My Way”, which contained the words, “ Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention,”as if not mentioning them would somehow make them disappear. In later years Sinatra disliked singing this song, but it was one of his most popular hits.

The world would like to believe that simply by not mentioning our “regrets” we can be rid of them. We can somehow bury our sins until they are forgotten by others and even ourselves, except when we’re reminded of them unexpectedly. King David’s sin was enough to destroy a lesser man but David knew his God better than most of us know Him. David’s psalm continues: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. . . Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.

(Psalm 51:7&10)

Many people believe that there is no one but ourselves who can remove guilt from our own consciences, but David knew, even before the birth of Jesus , that there is no one but God who could actually create a clean heart in us. When Jesus gathered up the heinous sins of human beings and had them nailed through his body to the cross, Jesus, David’s descendant and God’s son, made it possible for us to enter the family of God as His own children, because He has removed our sins. It is a gift too much to comprehend, but we have spiritual pilgrims who have gone before us to put a path at our feet. The apostle John wrote, following Jesus’ resurrection, This is how we know that we live in Him, and He in us: He has given us of his Spirit. (1John4:13) His Spirit is sinless. No regrets.

Love in Him,

Prue

To the Lord’s people God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) St Paul wrote these words to the church in Colossae, a place he had never visited. Paul himself was in prison in Rome awaiting his trial before Caesar.

When I was growing up I and my siblings talked sometimes about our maternal grandfather, who lived in the state of Washington. We lived in upstate New York, never saw our grandfather; but we had a photograph of him in his army uniform sitting casually with one hand resting on his knee. It was a posture identical to one that I often saw in my brother, whose middle name was also my grandfather’s name. I thought that these things meant that Grandpa was certainly part of us, even though we never saw him. Sometimes our older cousins would comment that our brother looked like our grandpa.

Whenever a child is born the relatives are quick to discern who that child “favors.” Everyone wants to see himself or herself in an infant’s face and form. “He has his fathers’ height.” “She has her mother’s red hair.” To find ourselves in another is an irresistible temptation. There is something glorious in being an indelible part of a family, possessing a permanent place at the holiday table.

When Paul wrote to the Colossians, a group of mostly Gentiles who had been converted by the preaching of Paul’s friend Epraphras , Paul was recognizing in them their mutual brother in Jesus. He was reaffirming for them that the Christ they had experienced and accepted lived in them as well as in Paul himself, and that the connection was a glorious one surpassing all other connections among people.

To the Galations Paul wrote about this new reality: So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. . . There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male of female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

(Galatians 3:26,28,27) Jesus removes our need to trace our ancestry in our predecessors. He literally conveys upon us a truer heredity: the spiritual heredity of our brother Christ. When we are his, we participate in the glory of God Himself.

Love in Him,

Prue