I love books. I love to read, and of course, books are one of the main ways to accomplish reading. I know there are also other objects to read such as magazines, newspapers, letters, emails, cereal boxes, close-captioned television (kidding—just wanting to see if you are paying attention!). But I particularly love books. I am a long time member of the library and regularly check out books. My first library was the East Nashville library, and that is still my standard for a library.

I also like to own books. I used to be selfish about my books; however, I was convicted of that by a quote from C.S. Lewis: “But you will find that your library in Heaven contains only some of the books you had on earth.” ‘Which?’ I asked. ‘The ones you gave away or lent.’”  So now, I will loan and give away my books, and cherish the impact that my books might have on the recipient. For example, I have bought and loaned the book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (one of my favorite authors) countless times. I do not currently own a copy but need to pick one up, just in case you might want to borrow it! I look forward to having a well-established library in heaven.

Once I had to complete a questionnaire for a newspaper article that included the question: “If you were stranded on a desert island, what is the one book you would most want to have with you?” Well, I think you know me enough to know that my answer was the Bible. I have written many of these Chaplain Corner articles about how God’s Word as revealed in the Bible is essential to daily life. However, if we are talking about books, there is a book that is more important than the Bible and that is the Book of Life. When the apostle John was in exile on Patmos, Jesus instructed him to write letters to the seven churches. In one of the letters he writes “The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” (Revelation 3:5.)

 Other books are also referenced in the Bible, specifically in the book of Revelation, chapter 20:  ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.¹⁵Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

 To sum up: Our life stories are being written and all our deeds are being recorded in the books. At the judgment seat of Christ, Jesus will open the books of all who are not also recorded in the Book of Life. We know that our deeds no matter how great cannot save us, and no matter how vile cannot condemn us. After passing judgment, those whose names are not also in the Book of Life, regardless of their deeds, will be doomed to eternity in hell.

The only way to avoid being judged by our deeds (a very frightening thought for anyone) is to also have our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, which occurs when we accept Christ as our Savior. When our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, we are accountable only for what Christ has done in us, and that means that we are victorious and will reign forever with Him. I pray that all our names will be written in the Book of Life, and that we will all reign victoriously with Jesus, a happy ending beginning for sure.

Blessings,

Judy

I have very recently been impacted by the sinful actions of someone close to me. (In case you wonder, this has nothing to do with anyone here at the Mission.) I know that the sinful action was not intentionally directed at me, but it did affect me with potentially deep repercussions.

The person who sinned asked me for forgiveness, and I freely gave it because I know that is the right thing to do. I will not hold this action against this person. I have experienced far too much grace in my life to withhold it from others. However, I have spent quite a bit of time pondering over my response, because even though I have forgiven, I can’t forget, nor do I believe I should.

First of all, forgiving does not mean condoning. I have already been clear with the person about that. I’ve talked through the circumstances that caused the sin to occur and how to avoid it in the future. Because this person is a dear friend and fellow believer, it is my responsibility to hold them accountable for actions that lead to sin. I will do that lovingly, and I’m grateful for a relationship that will allow us to do that.

Second, forgiving does not mean that there are no consequences. In this case, that is mostly beyond my scope anyway. Consequences will be forthcoming. Where I believe my responsibility lies is in not allowing this person to feel they are the victim of the consequences or that they somehow are being wronged when the consequences result. That is the human response, but would negate the healing and reinforcing effect of those consequences. This is difficult. Because I care for this person, I prefer to commiserate with them, but that would not be helpful; however, under no circumstances do I want to appear unloving. So I must remain prayerful about how I deal with this.

Third, and perhaps most importantly for me, I can’t assume that I have no guilt in this situation, even though to all I appear as a totally innocent party. In fact, on Saturday during my prayer time I had spent special time asking God to convict me of my sins—to open my eyes to where I need to change. Then on Sunday my pastor preached about complacency which I believed to be God answering my prayer, and then Monday I find out about the incident. I believe that in all this, God is also answering my prayer for conviction and discernment. We all sin. Some of us get caught and are forced to deal publicly with the sin. Others of us seem to escape those consequences. That doesn’t mean that we should be “off the hook.”

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)

So this is a complicated situation. It is still fairly fresh. I am trying to learn from it and to allow God to work through me. I do trust that “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).Although this is very personal, I pray that it will be helpful for you. I welcome your thoughts and prayers.

Blessings,

Judy

This weekend I had a glitch. I picked up my cell phone to follow up on a meeting arrangement, and the phone was not charged. This was a problem because I don’t have a landline anymore. I had put it on the charger, so what was wrong? I have a pretty nice smart phone with lots of features and apps; however, it was useless even for the most basic of functions—making a call! Do you know the feeling? The problem was that I had failed to plug the charger itself into the wall outlet. Guess what, no connection to the source of electricity to power the charger to make my phone work.

I attended a leadership function years ago during which Nelson Andrews gave a speech.  What I remember from his speech is that power (money, influence, authority) is not power unless it is used.  He was referring to civic leadership; however, the analogy is appropriate for this case.  The wall outlet was full of power, but nothing was plugged into it. Therefore, it was not being used to serve its purpose.

By the way, plugging the charger into the wall outlet does no good if the electricity is down.  This actually presented another problem for me during a recent thunderstorm when our power went off.  Let’s not forget that for our spiritual health, we have an ultimate power source that never shuts down, no matter how severe the storm.  Hallelujah!

I’ve always loved this passage from Psalm 20:5-7(NIV) because it points us to our ultimate source of power:

⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests. ⁶ Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

As I write this, I am remembering September 11 seventeen years ago. It was horrifying, not knowing what might happen next. We all felt that we were under attack (and we were and we are), and we might have felt powerless. However, in every situation that we face—whether personal crises, corporate challenges, or governmental failures—our LORD has already won the victory. We don’t have to be powerless. As the psalmist says in the passage above, “The LORD gives victory to his anointed.”  I pray that you will plug in to your ultimate power source by praying, reading your Bible, and participating in a local church for corporate worship, fellowship, and accountability. We have power through Christ our LORD.  Plug in.

Blessings,

Judy

I’m sometimes asked about role models. For me, the first person who comes to mind is my mother’s mother, my Grandmother. She died in 1992 after many years of being very sick. In fact, I would say that her ability to really relate to anyone ceased while I was in my early twenties; however, her life still influences me to this day.

Grandmother was a good cook and kept a clean house. She didn’t drive. I don’t remember that she had any hobbies other than embroidering and crocheting. She was even-tempered, and I can remember her laughing but I don’t remember her ever raising her voice. When my grandfather became terminally ill in his 40’s, she went to work as a nurse’s aide at the old Baptist Hospital until her back gave out in her 60’s from changing too many beds and bedpans.

She was my role model because she always put her family first, and she showed her love by caring for each of us. In turn, each of her five children lived with her at some time during their married lives. My family lived with her upon our return from my Dad’s tour of duty in Alaska, until I was three years old. I have vague but good memories of that time. My youngest uncle still lived at home and it was a busy, happy, crowded place. It was tradition to have Christmas Eve at her house, and we had picnics often in her back yard. I loved sitting with her at church.

I spent many nights, weekends, and weeks at her house; in fact, she would use her vacation allowing me and my cousins to stay with her. I can remember leaving her house in a taxi with my mom as Grandmother waited for the bus to take her to work, after I had just spent a week with her. I didn’t appreciate it then, but now I can’t believe she didn’t take some time for herself. She didn’t have to keep us, but she wanted to spend time with us, and I think she probably also wanted to give her children a break by spending her well-earned vacation time on us.

I have to mention here that I was probably not always the most lovable child. My grandchildren can sometimes be a handful, somewhat selfish and sometimes wanting their way at the expense of others. As I observe them, I recall things that I used to do or say as a child and realize that they aren’t too different from me. (That hurts to admit!)

Grandmother and I had a great relationship. I was her favorite (and I’m quite sure that each of her children and grandchildren also thought that they were her favorite. That’s okay; it was (almost) never a competition. She modeled love and we learned firsthand from her what it meant to love. Hers was a godly, selfless love. I loved her so.

When asked the greatest command in the law, Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-7: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wonder if I really love God like I’m supposed to, like this passage instructs. As I ponder this, I realize that my love for Him stems most from my gratitude for what He has done for me, for how he has loved me unconditionally, even when I was unlovable, enough to sacrifice his own precious Son on the cross to pay for my sins and ensure that I would not have to spend eternity in hell but instead in Paradise with Him.

When I think of my Grandmother, her sacrificial love for me always comes to mind and I can’t help but love her for it. When I think of my LORD and his sacrificial love for me, I can’t help but love Him for it. I pray the same for you.

I also pray for you that you have someone you can pour your life into, someone for whom you can model sacrificial, unconditional love so that they can relate to the love of God themselves. I think this is what Jesus had in mind when he added the second greatest command: “The second is this:  Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Mark 12:31)

Blessings,

Judy