Divine Revelations

Years ago, I had a friend named Elisa who was raised in a Jewish home and later made a decision to make Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior.  She was a Jewish-Christian.  She was very proud of her heritage, and used to flaunt it by telling me she was a “completed” Christian.  Which, of course, insinuated that I was an “uncompleted” Christian!  She was such a snob!!

But, I have to admit, being Jewish would be pretty cool. In the Old Testament book of Exodus, it was the Jewish people that God selected out of all the other nations to be his bride.  Moses initiated the engagement or betrothal when the Israelites were still Egyptian slaves.  Acting as the friend of the bridegroom, Moses extended the proposal and then brought the “bride to be” to meet with God at Mt Sinai.  Standing at the base of the mountain, the people were presented with a marriage type contract, the Ten Commandments.  If they agreed to the terms, they would be considered legally married. 

Even today, religious Jews see every wedding ceremony as a celebration of their national marriage to God at Mt. Sinai.  In fact, whenever the Torah is read publicly, the Jewish people believe they are hearing the terms of their Marriage Contract with the Lord. 

In a Jewish wedding, the contract that is signed is called a Ketubah.  It literally means “written document”.  

After the terms of the ketubah are read in a marriage ceremony, the bride and groom take a public oath before witnesses that they will abide by the details of their covenant. 

This same practice is seen in the book of Exodus in the marriage between Israel and the Lord.  The Lord’s oath to Israel was “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.”  (Ex 19:5; KJV)  After the Lord, as Husband, presented his vows, Israel then gave hers:  “They responded, “We will do everything the Lord as said; we will obey.”  (Ex 24:7b) 

Once the agreement had been reached, Exodus 24 says, ⁹ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. ¹⁰ There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!  Israel’s leaders got to experience a divine revelation of God at the conclusion of the marriage ceremony.  Up until this time, God had revealed his presence to them through things like a cloud, a fiery pillar, thunder, and smoke.  They saw evidence of God, but only now were they able to “see Him” in a new and more personal way.

I think that this is something God wants us to pay attention to. Who doesn’t desire divine revelations?  Sign me up right?  I want to “see God”, I want to experience his presence in new ways.  If you have no idea what I am talking about, then that’s okay.  For most of my life, this terminology would have been unfamiliar to me too.  But, something changed in my 30’s.  I had tried the “buy a house, have kids and build a career” way of life.  And it was great, but somehow I had wandered away from my commitment to God.  He wasn’t first anymore.  Not exactly sure where he was, but it was further down the list for sure.  Anyhow, it was my Jewish friend Elisa who invited me to a Bible study for women that led me to get my priorities straight. 

I went, I got into reading God’s Word, I started to pray and see answers to prayer.  And then one day, I was leaving Bible study, and while walking across the parking lot I remember telling God, “Lord, use me, use my life for your glory.”  I can see now, that this was a turning point.  God began to reveal more of himself to me as I gave more of my life to him.  Experiences in worship, prophetic words in prayer, visions and prophetic dreams, all of these came after I made a more complete surrender to his will for my life. 

There is no “high” more thrilling than being in God’s presence.  It’s funny that the Israelite leaders got this high literally on a mountain!  John Denver had nothing on them! 

This is a good word for me today.  Recent weeks have been full of family drama, conflict, disappointment and changes at the church.  Each by itself, not that big a deal. But together, they took their toll.  And rather than run to God and immerse myself in prayer, I just felt frozen. Can’t say this has ever happened before.  But even in this, I felt that God understood and was there with me if and when I was ready to talk.

Today I went to church and the message was on the paralytic and the four friends who took him to Jesus (Luke)  They went out of their way to make sure their friend was touched by God and healed.  I thought about my friends, and how they have been there for me this month.  I feel so much better, lighter and more optimistic about the future because they brought me into Jesus presence in prayer.

Do you have friends like this?  Do you need prayer?  Please leave a request, and let’s band together as Sistah’s before God’s throne.

The Lord is My Rock

“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”  Psalm 18:1-2

I've been in awe of the Grand Canyon since my parents took me there when I was nine.  I remember being afraid of falling into it, and when I took my own children there thirty years later I was a bit nervous that my nine year old son might live out that fear.  Yet the beauty of the vast rock drew me, and viewing it from the safe distance of the South Rim no longer satisfied.   A year ago, my daughter Sarah and I braved the challenge of hiking to the bottom of the canyon and back.  The trip down took almost 3 ½ hours, and my knees took a beating. The next morning my calves were so tight that I couldn't take a step down without hurting.  Thankfully there was nowhere to go but up.  The way back out was grueling, and took more than 5 hours.  At times I thought I wouldn't make it, but my lovely athletic girl coached me not to look at how much further we had to climb, but just look at the path directly ahead.  The muscle pain and fatigue (lasting several days!) was well worth the experience of meeting the physical challenge.  Now I've enjoyed the beauty of the Grand Canyon up close.

That year I was also climbing out of a deep emotional canyon, as I experienced the pain of my marriage ending.  As I struggled with the process of forgiveness, my wise counselor told me I needed to ask God to bring to mind the memories of hurt, and write them out.  He coached me to write down three things: what happened, how it made me feel, and what it taught me about myself.  I resisted this idea for some time; I knew it would be painful and I didn't want to relieve those moments.   But I also didn't want to stay in the bottom of the canyon of grief, so I reluctantly started the journey.  When I processed those memories over time I was able to identity several lies that I believed as a result of those experiences:

I am unwanted, unloved.

I have no voice, no impact.

I am not worth protecting.    

                                           

I took those lies to the truth of God’s word, and found verses that counteracted them.  Through Jeremiah 31:1 the Lord told me “I have loved you with an everlasting love”, and in Isaiah 41:9 “I have chosen you and have not rejected you.”  Other verses reminded me that I am “anointed to preach good news” (Isaiah 61), I am a strong woman because Christ strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), and my Lord “protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.” (Psalm 116:6)

These are solid truths that I can hold on to, rocks that I can stand upon.  In order to remember them, I wrote each truth on a rock, and placed them in a glass jar that I keep in my bedroom.  When I doubt my value or am discouraged about my circumstances, I can pick up a rock and read the truth about how God sees me.  He is my Rock, in whom I take refuge. 

Marsha Craig 

Sing a New Song

“The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise Him.”  Exodus 15:2 NIV

                When we last wrote about the Israelites, they had just experienced a miracle – God parted the Red Sea and they walked through on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.  What they thought was a dead end (a huge body of water on one side and angry Egyptians on the other) became an unlikely path of freedom.  The entire army of Pharaoh that had followed to recapture them was swept away.  God had fought for them; He kept His promise that seemed too good to be true when they were discouraged from being treated harshly.  Their natural response was to sing.

Sitting with Grandpa,
the old piano in the background

 I have a love for music, not as a performer, but as an emotional outlet.  I learned to play the piano as a little girl, on an old upright that has been in my family for four generations.  I used to make up little songs about Jesus and sing my heart out, unconcerned about who was listening with the confidence that comes with childhood.  I realized I didn't have such a good voice in 5^th grade when my sister and her best friend taped me singing to my favorite eight track tape while wearing headphones.  They played it back, laughing, and I was surprised to hear how bad I sounded.  But I still sing my heart out, in church and in my car, just not when people are listening.

Music was a lifeline to me when I was going through the worst pain of my divorce.  I downloaded worship songs to my I-phone and lay in bed at night with my headphones on, trying to soothe my heart and get some rest when sleep was wouldn’t come.  I played the same songs over and over:  songs that reminded me of God’s love and promises to rescue.  Most were contemplative songs, songs of brokenness, and songs of lament that expressed my grief and helped me to hold on to the God who promised to bring me through. 

              I imagine the Israelites had familiar songs they sang while working as slaves in Egypt, making bricks.  They had many years of harsh labor which only got worse after Moses arrived, and each time things looked bleak they played the same tapes over and over.   When they were backed up to the Red Sea they didn't expect God to rescue them.  They told Moses “Didn't we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’?”  But their tune changed dramatically when God did the unexpected and rescued them.  God not only gave them something to sing about, He became their song.

                I can relate.  Like the Israelites, what I thought was a dead end has become an unlikely path of freedom for me.  I no longer feel deserted and abandoned.  God has been so good to me.  He’s given me a new place to call home that I love, deepened my relationship with family and friends, and made the money I have stretch to meet all my needs.  Recently, I realized my I-phone playlist no longer fits.  I have a new song in my heart that is light and upbeat.  It’s time to go back to I-tunes and download some new songs.

Beautifully restored, the old piano sits in my new living room 

                Do you have a new song to sing?  Has God brought you through something hard that you thought was a dead end?  Don’t forget to stop and savor the victory, even if it’s a small one.  Sing a new song, even if it doesn't sound good to others.  Change up your playlist, and share it with your Sistahs.

                

Amateur Redecorating Adventure!

This week I went to Seattle with my friend Marsha.  Her sister Allison invited us to come and asked if we could help her decorate her living room.  We arrived late on a Wednesday night, looked at a few pictures on Pinterest selected by her as inspiration, and were eager to wake up the next morning and start creating!

Allison had a lovely couch, 2 chairs, and 2 beautiful paintings already in the room.  She and her husband also had some furniture they weren't using....one piece we found interesting was her husband Jeff's childhood dresser.  It was a little beat up, but had great knobs and style. We moved this into the room, rearranged the furniture, and decided with a little paint and dark wax this would be a great statement piece.  (I didn't know I would be sharing all this...wish I had taken some "before pictures" for you all..)

We also found some yellow pillows that Allison wasn't using and when we threw those on the couch it was obvious this needed to be an accent color! The yellow was already in one of the chairs and paintings, and went beautifully with the blue walls.

Another treasure we found in the garage was a sofa table!  We moved that into place, and were so excited it was ridiculous!   We spent the rest of the day shopping for accessories at no less than 6 different local stores.  We looked for the right mirror, and things that would provide interest and texture.

Running back and forth to the stores, painting the dresser, and searching the house for last minute touches we laughed when we realized how much we were trying to do in just 8 short hours!! We have no port folio, no recommendations, and yet had been entrusted with a budget as if we were interior decorators!!  What had possessed us to have this kind of courage and confidence?  Who knew....

Allison and Jeff came home and were very surprised!  We provided a few options for the mantle, and they selected their favorite.  The dresser was hard for them to embrace.  They had never seen one in a living room.  So we moved it out...but then it went right back in.  It lacked something without it Allison said.

We were very tired by the end of the day, but it had been a rewarding experience.  By just rearranging the furniture, pulling in some things they already had in other places in the home and adding accessories, the room had been transformed. We stayed within our $750.00 budget which was also very good!

Before we went home, we decided to give them one more surprise.  During our early searches, we had found a collection of paintings done by Jeff's grandfather.  We took a risk and hung them as a collection on a wall in the bedroom we were staying in.  We also pulled a secretarial desk in from storage and paired it with an antique blue chair and another one of those great yellow pillows we found!

We arrived back in Spokane late Saturday night which left no time for blog writing!  My daughter Kelsey thought some of you might be interested in our adventure!

Have a great week everyone!!

A Sure Thing

Have you ever just known something was going to happen?  Like your best friend’s prom date turning out to be a total dud?  Well, maybe more significant than that… perhaps you just ‘knew’ when you met your husband that he was the one.  Or you just ‘knew’ that you were going to be a teacher some day?  I haven’t had a lot of those assurances in my life.  The only thing I have consistently wanted to be is Wonder Woman and my high school best friend’s prom date I thought she would marry (she didn’t) and my husband and I kept breaking up and getting back together before we finally decided we couldn’t get along without each other.

But I have had a few instances in life where I had an inexplicable peace about a situation that made NO sense.  The first was a job that I quit.  My boss was volatile and moody. Work made me almost physically sick with the stress of not knowing if today everything would be fine or I’d get fired. My husband was going to grad school and I was our income and our insurance.  But after 3 years of this, I finally broke down into tears one day in the bathroom. When I finally calmed down, I felt this strange assurance that I needed to quit.  I would have a hard time getting another job because as an executive assistant I would need a reference, and I couldn’t get a good one from my current boss.  I thought my future was going to be at Starbucks.  But even scrubbing toilets was starting to look like fun! Bring on the Frappuccino’s!  

Long story short, I quit. On my last day I got a call for an interview that resulted in another executive assistant type position (that I ended up having for 5 years until we moved to Spokane).  On my first day of my new job my new boss told me ‘I had an unsolicited reference on you.’ It turns out he knew a woman who retired from the department I’d just left.  She informed him that my previous boss was extremely difficult to work for, and that I had been a wonderful employee to put up with it as long as I did. God had it all taken care of. That was 10 years ago.

Just last summer I had another strange ‘assurance’.   Since we moved to Spokane for my husband’s job at Whitworth we had been renting the top floor of a house.  We LOVED the neighborhood but when we started looking at the houses for sale in it we realized most were out of our price range.  Through some neighbors we found out about a house around the corner that was going to be up for sale.  The owner had recently passed away and his kids were trying to sell it. We talked to them, looked at the house and wanted it even with all the updates and crazy yard work it would require.  But we calculated what we could afford and they wanted about a lot more.  We had calculated and re-calculated monthly expenses, utilities, tithe and mortgage.  This was the most we could afford and we had total peace.

They ended up listing the house for what they had offered it to us for.  We were sad.  It had everything we wanted and such a neat history.  And then something strange happened.  I again had this feeling, an assurance that God was going to provide us THAT house.  It made no sense.  I prayed and prayed and asked ‘God am I really understanding you?  Is it THIS house or just A house?  I know you will provide, you always have. Am I just not letting myself grieve over the loss?  Holding on to some misguided hope?’ 

I was participating in a ‘read through the bible’ plan with our church and each time I would specifically pray about this situation and this strange assurance some passage would JUMP out at me like in John where Jesus says ‘From now on I tell you so that when it happens you will believe Him who sent Me.’  Or in Luke where it says of Mary after she heard from the angel that she was pregnant ‘blessed is she who believed what the Lord has told her.’ Over and over I heard in scripture and in this strange peace of my heart, God had THIS house for us.  So I started looking for that check in the mail.  “Come ON God do you not see all the people coming to look at that house? We need to get going!”  No check arrived. 

Months went by and the house didn’t sell for what they were asking, for what it was WORTH. 

Six months passed. We kept watching the price drop and when it was within 10K of what we could afford we emailed them.  They got back to us and said ‘If you can use our realtor we’ll sell it to you’.  Get this, their realtor?  A woman from bible study!  I hadn’t recognized her picture on the sign because she’s since gone blonde. 

God provided us THIS house.  It still amazes me that He did.  And even more amazing is that He told me

about it before it happened! 

Now before you start thinking ‘how nice for you.’ Let me share that as amazing as this is, I don’t really understand exactly why God would provide a specific house and not do others things.  He has not healed me of my horrible migraines.  He provided this house but I have several family members and close friends who are hostile to the gospel.  He spoke so clearly about this house, but he has been silent on so many other questions: Why did my brother in law die at 29? Why did I have healthy babies and a friend of mine have a baby who will eventually need a heart transplant?

Yet through this strange assurance God has spoken to me in a way that I needed to hear him.  I feel like it was a unique way for Him to speak to the core of me, in a way I didn’t know I needed.  This isn’t just a house, it’s a place where I will raise my children, share my story with neighbors, include people in my life and have more ministry opportunities than I can fathom.  When I walk into this house with another horrible migraine, just getting off the phone with someone I love who doesn’t love Jesus I will remember “God is here, He knows, He is in this life… and this is where I am supposed to be.”

Serendipitous

 “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, 
but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy."  
John 16:20

It’s Easter morning and still dark outside.  I couldn’t sleep and got tired of trying.  Sitting in my chair with a cup of coffee, the word that comes to mind is: serendipitous.   Not a word I am used to using, I decided to look it up.  It means to discover by chance in a happy way.  I can’t help but think of Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, after Jesus crucifixion.  The Bible says that they too were up early on that very first Easter morning.  Still dark out, they went to visit the tomb where Joseph had placed Jesus.  They had been there.  After being by Jesus side during the crucifixion, and witnessing the horror of their loved one's death, they had followed Joseph who wrapped the body in linen and placed it in a tomb.  A large rock had been rolled in front of the entrance.  I cant imagine the grief they must of have felt or the fatigue that surely had set in.  Yet, there they were, up early and eager to go to the tomb to be as near Jesus body as they could.

But, nothing could have prepared them for what happened next!  Matthew 28:2 says, ^“Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.”   Can you even imagine?  Expecting to face a long hard day filled with sadness and grief, the two Mary’s instead witness a demonstration of God’s power accompanied by the appearance of an angel!  That’s Serendipitous! 

Maybe today, you need God to “shake” things up in your life and add a little serendipity while he’s at it!  I know I do.  Last week I was pretty down.  We received confirmation that a family member has a terminal illness and has little time left to live.  My grief was compounded by the fact that this relationship is fractured and has been for a long time. This week I resolved in my heart to let it go. It’s a complex situation that will take a miracle to end well.  

Are you facing the end of something difficult?  A job, a relationship, a ministry, a dream, or desire you had?  When Jesus died, it appeared to his disciples that everything they had hoped for also died.   And yet, what the two Mary’s are about to discover, is what they thought was the end, was in fact, just the beginning!   

With the large stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb,the two women ventured inside.  And what did they find?  Not Jesus!  The Bible says they “were puzzled”.  I guess so!!!  Who wouldn’t be?  But, the angel said to them,   “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day. Then they remembered that he had said this.  (Luke 24:6-9)  

Yesterday, I was just going about my day, when I remembered a promise God gave me many years ago. And yet, everything about my current circumstances would say, "Sistah, you got that one wrong".  You know what I mean?  I don't always hear God right. But, this morning, as I am studying this passage, I sense God's spirit telling me to "Be still and know I am God."  

Time will tell I guess.  How about you?  Are you willing to let some time go by before you give up on God's promise?  Can you let the vision of what you thought was going to happen die, and wait to see how God is going to resurrect it?  Maybe it will be when you least expect it?  Serendipitously!

Mary and Mary were both surprised and elated that Jesus was alive.  The Bible says that "they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened."  (Luke 24:9)  ,On this Easter morning, let’s allow ourselves to feel the excitement and wonder of the resurrection.  Let's not forget, but instead remember: 

• Let's remember the cross and the love of our Savior how endured so much so we could live.
• Let's remember the promises God has made to us.
• Let's remember to share what God has done for us with others.  

Death.... It's really scary!!

“Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.

All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:3b-4

I was with a group of My Sistah’s one night last week.  We had so much fun laughing and sharing a meal together.  Eventually the conversation centered on our favorite subject Jesus.  Unplanned as it was, each of us shared how our faith in Christ had been shaped, not through the good times, but through trials.  Losing loved ones, receiving life altering diagnoses, surviving betrayals…these were the things we thought would be the end of us, but later thanked God for. Why?  Because nothing can replace the assurance and blessing of knowing God alone brought you through a dark night into the light of a new day.  It changes your relationship with him, and it changes the way you look at the future.

How are you feeling about your future today?  I read a book once that said the Christian life is like a journey filled with hills and valleys. When standing on the hill, it’s so easy to look behind and see where we came and how we got there. Translated: we appreciate how God worked in the valley we just walked out of and marvel at the new perspective we have as a result. But when we are in the valley, our vision is short sighted and our perspective limited. Hill or Valley?

Maybe today, like me, you would say Valley.  It’s dark, it’s been a long trial, and you are wondering how much longer.  Well, Sistah…you’re not alone!!  Literally.  God is with us in whatever we are going through in the form of the Holy Spirit.  Like an engagement ring given to a bride before her wedding day, the Holy Spirit is something given to us when we say Yes to God.  Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “… When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance ….” (NIV)  As God's chosen bride, he promises to be with us from now into eternity.  He is right by our side no matter what!  (The modern Greek word for "deposit" is arrabon; when translated it means"engagement ring"!)

The Israelites were betrothed or engaged to God in Egypt.  Soon after, they camped in the wilderness and God’s presence joined them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire at night.  The Bible says that they marched out of Egypt boldly.  However, their confidence quickly faded when God’s presence led them down a road that ended at the edge of the Red Sea.  With nowhere to turn, and Pharaoh and his army gaining ground behind them, they were hemmed in,  confused, and afraid of dying.   They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? (Exodus 14:10)  

Fear and anger can be a tough thing. This week I went to a doctor’s appointment with someone and listened as they received the difficult news they had very little time left to live.  Questioned were asked, options discussed, and we left the room wondering what to do next.  Sitting in the lobby of the doctor’s building, we did our best to offer support and encouragement.  But as the news settled in, emotions escalated and sadness quickly turned to anger.  Words were spoken that were difficult to hear and won’t easily be forgotten.  Like the Israelites, facing death led them to lash out at others.

How do we face the future, even death, without feeling out of control and afraid?  The other day, I thought of a hymn I used to sing in church.  ….”In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.”  The words are a reference to the Israelites  experience.  Because God parted the Red Sea, making a path across to the other side, they were able to unite on the opposite shore.  This event pictures a day in our future when all the trials of this world will be behind us, “by and by”, and we’ll get the chance to be reunited with loved ones who have gone before to heaven’s “beautiful shore.”  We face the future with confidence not fear, because God is with us and makes a way where there seems to be no way. 

The peace I have about-facing death isn’t something I’ve always had as a Christian.  Most of it came as a result of being with my older sister Debbie when she passed away about 15 years ago.  Debbie had Down’s Syndrome, and although I knew at a young age her life expectancy would be short, I wasn’t prepared when her health spiraled and the time drew near. 

Taking care of her those last few months of her life however ended up being such a precious experience.  Her childlike faith made her journey home easier for all of us.  We had long talks about heaven, who she would get to see and what it would be like.  When she was afraid, I would tell her, “Jesus will come and take you by the hand, it wont be scary.” 

The day she passed away, this is exactly what happened!  Bedridden, she had no energy, no ability to talk, and she slept most of the time.  My grandparents and I were at her bedside, waiting and watching.  But, suddenly, without any warning, she sat up in bed!  Her eyes were as big as any I had ever seen.  I began calling her name, asking if she needed anything.  It felt like I was invisible because she fixed her gaze at the ceiling and said, “Okay I am coming home… Ya I am coming home.  Okay, yes, I will come home”.  Then, she went limp, her body fell back into the bed and her heart stopped just a few hours later.

This experience was such a gift.  It strengthened my faith and eradicated any fear I had of dying. I know where my sister is, and I know where I am going:  Home.  What a “blessed assurance” that is!

~Laurel Bahr

Until the Veil is Lifted

I had the wonderful experience recently of reading the C. S. Lewis novel “Till We Have Faces” and was enthralled.  The story is a twist on the myth of Cupid and Psyche and seemed to me endless with deep analogy to the Christian experience.  The main character, Orual, wears a veil which both hides her ugliness and gives her a certain power among her people.  She has deep grievance against the gods and is allowed to come before them to present her complaint, after which she says:

 The complaint was the answer.  To have heard myself making it was to be answered.  Lightly men talk of saying what they mean.  Often when he was teaching me to write in Greek the Fox would say, “Child, to say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean, that’s the whole art and joy of words.”  A glib saying.  When the time comes to you at which you will be forced at last to utter the speech which has lain at the center of your soul for years, which you have, all that time, idiot-like, been saying over and over, you’ll not talk about joy of words.  I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer.  Till that word can be dug out of us, why should they hear the babble that we think we mean?  How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?

This part tugged at my spirit and I pondered it for several days, puzzling over whether I fully comprehended the meaning. 

At the same time, I was conflicted spiritually over a personality flaw of mine that was rearing its ugly head.  I struggle at times with criticism (of self and others), over-sensitivity, and the need for approval which lately and especially from teenage children seems very elusive.  I have confessed my sin of looking for approval anywhere but to God; I have committed to always place him first; I have prayed for the Spirit to change my heart; I have deplored and repented of my self-centeredness; and I have cursed hormones.  And yet in certain situations, I continue to react as I always have done and feel trapped in this pattern. 

Romans 12 tells me to “no longer be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind”  and I truly want to.  I know that means knowing His Word and letting its truth renew my thinking and attitude.  It means rejecting the old patterns and letting His Spirit transform me into a new person.  Seeking more insight on how to be transformed, I was led to 2 Cor. 3:11

“But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Spirit is the Lord and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.  But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Wow, insight for my current struggle, but also light on the subject of  the book.  How can we meet God face to face until we have faces?  Some might accuse God of facelessness, but it is we who hide behind a veil.  We cannot truly see God with the veil down, nor do we let God see us. Orual hid her ugliness behind a veil which both protected her and imparted a sense of power.  We have been doing the same since our beginnings in the Garden.

 A beautiful aspect of our spiritual union with Christ is to know and be known, fully, face-to-face.  God comes to us and reveals his face to us in Christ.   Only in Christ is our veil taken away.  When we come to Him to lift our veil, we express a willingness to trust and find our protection in Him alone, forsaking all others, even ourselves.  In His face we see beauty, power, truth, honor, faithfulness and all that is good.  We see the Lord’s love and acceptance written all over his face.  As we look to Christ, we begin to reflect his glory, little by little, and as our ugliness begins to fade and we are transformed more and more into his image, becoming the bride he chose from the beginning.

~ Jan Seirensen

Bridal Veils

 “Since we have confidence to enter 

the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 

by a new and living way opened for us through the veil, that is, his body…

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart

 and with the full assurance that faith brings”

Hebrews 10:19-22a

Many weddings include old and new traditions. Did you know in the past it was a tradition for the bride to carry a bouquet of garlic that supposedly protected her from evil? Can you imagine a bride reeking of garlic as she walked down the aisle? Swapping that tradition with carrying a bouquet of fragrant flowers is definitely a good change.  One beautiful old tradition that is still included in many weddings is the bridal veil.  Only after the vows are said is the groom allowed to lift the veil and kiss the bride.

The biblical story of Isaac and Rebekah’s wedding includes a bridal veil.  Since Abraham could not find a suitable match for his son locally, he sent his chief servant to search for and select a bride for Isaac. The servant’s prayer was answered when he found Rebekah. Not only was she beautiful and from the right family, she was willing to come with him and be married to a man she had only heard about, never seen.  After a long journey, Isaac was spotted in the distance. Rebekah “took her veil and covered herself” so he could not see her until after the wedding.  The veil acted as a separation between Rebekah and Isaac until they knew each other intimately as husband and wife. 

(Genesis 24:42-66).

The story of Isaac and Rebekah foreshadows the wedding God the Father has planned for his son Jesus.  Like the chief servant did for Rebekah, the Holy Spirit moves those who are willing towards intimacy with Jesus. When we accept Him as our Savior, we become His and gain full access to Him.  He also wants full access to us, but sometimes we keep part of our hearts veiled. 

My husband John and I recently celebrated our 11th anniversary. We used to joke that no matter how long we were married, we would still be newlyweds.   But the honeymoon can’t last forever.  Time together and with God has revealed some deep recesses in our hearts we had covered with veils.  We had a choice whether to keep these barriers up, to hide behind them, or tear them down and allow ourselves to be fully known.  I have to admit, it has not been easy, but we have gained a new appreciation for each other. We understand each other better and have a deeper level of intimacy.  I am glad we aren't newlyweds. (Even though we act like it at times).

What gets in the way of our intimacy with Jesus?  Sometimes it’s little things, like being too busy to spend time alone with Him, or not involving Him in our decisions and plans. Other times, we back away from close relationship because we feel guilty and fearful of being exposed, or don’t want to stop doing something we know is wrong. We may even be disappointed by the way our life has turned out, and feel He doesn't care that much for us after all.  

Are any of these veils keeping you from intimacy with Jesus? What would it take to convince you that He is worthy of your time, your loyalty, and your trust?

God also used to wear a veil as a barrier, dividing us from Him.  In the temple, a thick curtain separated the outer sanctuary from the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence resided.  Only the high priest was allowed to enter, and only once a year.  Jesus made an incredible sacrifice to remove that barrier.  At the moment when He, hanging on the cross, gave up His spirit, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” (Matthew 27:51) God shook the earth, split the rocks, and broke the heart of His Son so you could be close to Him.  

Is that enough to convince you that He deserves full access to your heart? Jesus, like a gentleman, allows you to choose whether or not to be close to Him. Like my choice to move towards deeper relationship with John, like Rebekah's choice to leave everything she knew and marry Isaac, you can choose to remain at a distance or draw close to Him.

Will you choose to lift the veil that is keeping you from intimacy with Jesus?

­~ Billene Westerman