“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)

In my old neighborhood are several structures that used to be church buildings. One is now a photography studio (as best I can tell), one is a burned-out foundation, and one is just not in use anymore, looking more and more rundown every time I drive by. The church of my youth was falling down from lack of funds to care for it until another church took it over, and now it is beginning to thrive again. Hopefully, the members of those other churches are worshipping somewhere else, but what I think is that the older members died out and there was not a new generation of believers to continue. That is another issue, and not what I want to talk about today.

The church is not the building, although the Scriptures use a physical structure as a metaphor as in this passage: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22)

The church is a “body of believers” with Christ as the cornerstone. In this and other passages, we learn that each believer is a temple in which God resides. ^“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Then together we unite to become the whole building, joined together to rise and become a holy temple in the Lord. However, if we don’t fit together and work together and support each other, we lose our connection to this holy institution and the opportunity to grow in Christ.  ^“They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.” (1 Corinthians 2:19).

Make no mistake, God’s house–the church–does not depend on us. It will succeed until such time as it becomes the bride of Christ to live and reign with him forever. However, we know that the kingdom is now, and as believers we desire to be a part of it now. We cannot do that by being a force of destruction. In nature, nothing is stable. It is either growing or rotting. That means that the structure is either growing stronger and more like Christ and more useful for the Kingdom, or it is rotting and becoming an eyesore like the buildings I mentioned above.

The question for you is this: do you want to flourish as part of the thriving body of Christ, or are you content to slowly disintegrate into a broken structure, because there is no in-between. The Lord characterizes a person who is not flourishing in terms of temperature, calling him “lukewarm.” And he detests a lukewarm Christian. “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” Revelation 3:16).

 We witnessed a beautiful thing last week. One of our staff was very transparent and vulnerable in sharing something very painful with us all and some decisions he had made that are life-changing. Although painful, it was a beautiful thing that he felt he could share it with his co-workers.  He took a risk to be transparent, which in itself is a growth experience. And so many of his co-workers reached out to him to encourage, support, and comfort him, some sharing their own painful stories and how they are overcoming even now. What a beautiful picture of the church, of how the body can strengthen and build/rebuild by coming together in support.

This is an example of unity, and this is pleasing to God.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing”  1 Thessalonians 5:11.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24

I’m still in the mode of New Year’s Resolutions—there are all kinds of things I want to change about myself.  However, maybe I need to rethink this effort. In the January 7 devotional from the book that Glenn gave us, Live in Grace, Walk in Love, Bob Goff says we don’t need resolutions, we just need to “go love everybody.” In other words, Just Do It. And last Sunday, my pastor said we don’t need a resolution, we need a revelation, quoting from Jeremiah 33:3.

Regardless of whether we make resolutions or not, most of us do want to be better, we want to make changes, and we would like to make them stick. There are theories about change that involve behavior, meaning that we can act or behave our way to change. However, the effectiveness of this approach varies, and often is not sustainable. According to God’s Word, real transformative change is to first set our hearts on things above, to adopt the mind of Christ. There is so much wisdom in this passage below from Colossians 3:1-17. I tried to omit some of it for brevity, but the message is just too important. I hope you will read it carefully and see the logical progression of transformation:

1. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
2. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
3. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
4. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
5. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

When we begin to understand this passage from Colossians, then the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:20-22 begins to make more sense: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”  If in our hearts we are angry, in Christ’s kingdom that is just as bad as actually committing murder. We must first experience a heart change before we can truly fully obey Christ’s teaching.

Chameleons can change their colors and change them back again. However, when caterpillars transform into butterflies, they will never be caterpillars again. Change is hard, and for people, transformation is impossible without the Holy Spirit. We do see from the passage in Colossians that we are called to do something: to “set our minds”, to “put to death” the bad stuff, to “clothe” ourselves with the good stuff, to “let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts”, and to “be thankful.”  I used to think that through self-control, I could do anything; however, as I repeatedly learned the hard way, I actually couldn’t make needed changes stick through my own efforts. I clearly remember the relief I felt when I finally came to understand that self-control is actually one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). In other words, we have self-control and the ability to make changes and to be transformed only through the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. As a believer, the Holy Spirit will help us to accomplish all these important changes, if we are doing them “in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2)

In Christ,

Judy

Happy New Year! I wonder how all the Vision 2020 Statements have been renamed?  Vision 2025 just doesn’t have the same ring. Vision 2030 sounds like a prescription for glasses is needed. Oh well, that’s just an aside. It’s a brand-new year, and Jesus hasn’t had his second coming yet, so that means there is still work on this earth yet to do.

If you are employed by Nashville Rescue Mission, you are more than a spectator to what God is doing in this world; you are the hands and feet of Jesus. You are truly demonstrating godly compassion by ministering to the least of these Matthew 25:34-40.

In my daily Bible reading last a few weeks ago, I came across a passage from 2 Corinthians 13:5 that struck me in a new way: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

Testing is a big deal in the Bible. God tests us. We see examples in the Bible of how God tested his people. God tested the Israelites when he gave them manna along with the instructions to only collect what was needed for the day (Exodus 16:4). Among many other examples, we know that God tested the Israelites during the time of the Judges (Judges 3:1-4) and during the Captivity (Jeremiah 9:7). I believe that God tests us not only with the hardships we must endure, but also with blessings. One of my favorite stories about my Grandpa is that he found a twenty-dollar bill on the sidewalk (he was a mailman and his route was downtown Nashville). He picked it up and somehow managed to find the owner. He did not keep it himself. Not only did he pass that test, my family retold the story to his grandchildren so that we were motivated to follow his example.

Every moment is a moment of decision, of testing. What will we think? What will we say? What will we do? We can be choose to be negative, we can choose to be-serving, we can choose to be wasteful. Or we can choose to be grateful, we can choose to be compassionate, we can choose to be a good steward of what we have been given. Every moment is an opportunity to make the best decision.

God tells us to test Him with our giving. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10).

But we are also told to test ourselves. We are told to test ourselves to see if we really have Christ in us, to ensure whether we are really in the faith. Honestly, I had not thought about the concept of testing myself. What could that even mean? I read many commentaries on this, and trust me, there are many commentaries on this passage. I began to get overwhelmed with all the commentaries. But knowing that this is serious, it can mean life or death, I persisted. I need to know how to test myself. Just what is the practical application of this passage? Here are my thoughts on this passage and include some things that I plan to focus on this year in my own personal walk.

I believe that the examination process should be a daily exercise; it is an important part of our prayer life. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). I believe that this passage is telling us to be specific in our confession, so in our prayer life, if we examine our day and confess where we have fallen short, ask for forgiveness and for help from the Holy Spirit to do better, we will grow in our faith and glorify our Father in heaven. Some specific things I will commit to review in my daily prayer life are:

1. Did I study God’s Word today? Since God tests our obedience as shown in the Scriptures above, I know that I should make it a priority to be obedient to His Word, which also means that I should know His Word. So one test is to be sure that I am studying God’s word, and doing what it says (2 Corinthians 9:13), even when it’s hard. Know that we will not be tested to see if we can recite a litany of “ought to’s.” Knowledge is important, of course, but we are tested to see if we have actually owned our faith, if we are wearing our faith, if it is who we are.
2. Did I trust God today? God tells us in his Word to trust Him. This is implied in the example of the provision of manna. It is also implied in the passage from Malachi above. And Jesus makes it very clear that we are not to worry (Luke 12:22-34). I believe that worry means that we are not trusting God as we have been instructed to do.
3. Have I exhibited the fruits of the spirit today? Galatians 5 says those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, and instead exhibit the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-26). Have I taken every opportunity to demonstrate love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and (last but not least) self-control?

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a reasonable start. I sincerely want you to know how my heart has been so blessed by your many acts of obedience and your many demonstrations of trust and exhibitions of the fruits of the spirit over the past Thanksgiving and Christmas season. As we have been short staffed due to illness, at the same time being busier than ever serving those in need, you have risen to the occasion with love and grace to work extra hours, sometimes with little notice. Your obedience has been a testimony to many others. Your cheerfulness and compassion have been the embodiment of Christ.  You are each an encouragement to me and to each other, and I pray that we will all be an encouragement to each other throughout 2020. May God richly bless you all.

In Christ,

Judy

P.S. Thought you might like to know that this is the 101^st Chaplain’s Corner since beginning in February 2018.

Thanksgiving – I don’t know about you, but for me Thanksgiving is either an exhausting day or it’s a day with nothing much to do, and in recent years, it’s been the former much more than the latter.

• Maybe you will have to work on Thanksgiving Day (just another day).
• Maybe you will have to work, but it will be a busier day than usual.
• Maybe you will be hosting family and/or friends.
• Maybe you will be cooking for family and/or friends.
• Maybe you will be spending the day with family and/or friends.
• Maybe you will be able to squeeze in a few minutes with family and/or friends.
• Maybe you will be traveling.
• Maybe you won’t want to go anywhere.
• Maybe you don’t have anywhere to go.

For many of us, it will seem like too much, or not enough. For many, especially us “Martha types”, it can be more about the “doing” and not the “being,” the “being with,” if we aren’t careful. Be careful.

I pray that you will have a perfect Thanksgiving Day. Not perfect as defined by a great meal, prepared perfectly, and where everyone volunteers to help clean up. Not perfect as defined as being with the people you want to be with, and everyone gets along. Not perfect as defined as the best work schedule for your personal schedule. But perfect as defined by knowing that you are in God’s will wherever you find yourself and with whomever you find yourself with.

My prayer is that regardless of how or where we end up spending Thanksgiving, that we will do it with a heart of ministry. I pray that whatever we do, we do it with a heart of love. Whether we are cooking, or washing pots and pans, or going somewhere, or doing our job at NRM, I pray that we will determine to be a blessing, to reflect the love of Christ, in each and every moment of the day. And I pray that our hearts in each and every moment of the day will resonate with the glory of God. May this be your Thanksgiving Prayer: Doxology (a beautiful version by Phil Wickham).

In Christ,

Judy

“But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1-2).

Last week I had a frustrating experience at a restaurant. I went inside to pick up a to-go salad. I’ve done this before, so I knew to go to the special counter for to-go orders. I was pleased as I approached the counter because there was an employee standing beside a large bag I assumed was mine. Great, I thought, I’ll be in and out in no time at all. Just as I got to the counter, she—without making eye contact with me (and I don’t know how she could have missed me)—left the counter to go speak with another employee. It seemed like they talked a good five minutes, and it appeared to be a casual conversation. They had to have seen me, but never acknowledged me, a customer! A third employee happened to walk out and asked, “Have you been waited on?” When I replied “no” they said, “I’ll go get someone for you.” And I finally got waited on. I know that’s not a big deal. But how hard would it have been for that first employee, or the second one, to have acknowledged my presence and to have done the same thing?

Now, I don’t want you to think I’m a prima donna and that everyone should just stop what they are doing when I walk in the door. Not at all. In fact, I’m typically one to assume that even if we have met before that you probably won’t remember me, so I’ll usually re-introduce myself just to be sure and to not cause any embarrassment. And when someone does remember me that I have only recently met, it makes me especially happy.

I think about this because I am trying to be sure that I don’t offend others by my lack of acknowledgement or recognition of them. This could easily happen because I tend to get absorbed in my thoughts sometimes and am not aware of my surroundings. It used to happen more frequently when I was too vain to wear my glasses. When my husband, then my boyfriend, and I would walk across campus, he would say, “Why didn’t you wave back at that person.” I’d have to say I didn’t see them (because I didn’t have my glasses on). While maybe that’s a good excuse, it didn’t make the person I ignored feel any better. I am trying to pay more attention, because while my acknowledging someone might not make an overall difference in their life, to be acknowledged or recognized could make a difference in their day. At the very least I could spare them the negative feeling of having been ignored or brushed off.

I also write about this because I am so thankful to know that our God, the Creator of the universe, divinely omniscient and omnipresent, the Alpha and the Omega, always recognizes me. He knows me. He loves me. He is interested in me in that He always knows what I am doing and thinking. He cares about me and He cares for me. He listens whenever I speak to Him. God not only acknowledges me, He never fails to recognize me as His own. He calls me by name. What a great and good God we serve!

I love the story about the woman in Matthew 9:20-22. When she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, he turned and saw her, and spoke to her with compassion.

Our challenge is to bring praise to God by doing likewise with one another. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7).

In Christ,

Judy

I was a Brownie Scout in second grade, and I loved it. I wanted to “fly up” to Girl Scouts, but there was no troop nearby, so I bought the handbook and worked through many of the merit badges on my own. My husband was a Boy Scout, and I have jokingly told him many times that he took the scout motto of “Be Prepared” too seriously when it comes to his car. Honestly, I believe my husband could survive for a month with just what you could find in his car at any given moment!

I was a working mom. I began my work career before having children, and then had a baby boy, then another (they were 20 months apart). When they were still young, a coworker came to me in a panic. She was pregnant with her first child, and she asked me “How do you do it?” I told you just had to be prepared for every contingency in advance, and then “go with the flow.” Got to work overtime? Have a backup childcare plan. Sick child? Have a back up work plan. Etc.

“Be Prepared” is a good motto, and it is actually biblical, with at least four applications.

1.  As in the above examples, it is wise to prepare in advance for certain things. We all know the wisdom of saving, storing up necessities, establishing an emergency savings account, saving for retirement, etc. Proverbs 6:6-8 tells us to “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Of course, we know not go to excess in this. Jesus tells us to rely on him for our “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). In fact, Jesus tells us not to lay up treasures on earth, but instead to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). I believe there is an underlying message here that we should do our part to provide for ourselves and our families. However we don’t need to stress over it, trusting that God will take care of us when our efforts fall short. Also, we should not go to extreme and hoard more than we need of anything, but instead put that extra energy to use in working for the Kingdom.

2. I have found that being mentally and emotionally prepared for the day is very helpful. To me, this means prayerfully thinking through the day and asking God to help me to be prepared. Each morning, I try to have two to three major objectives to accomplish every day, whether it is people that I want to see, a report I need to write, or some project to make progress on. Then I make sure I have what I need and also make sure that I have prayed for God’s will in each endeavor. It also means anticipating the various things that might happen. I will think through potential meetings (both formal and informal) and try to anticipate how the conversation will go, what the outcome should be, and what ask God for wisdom to ensure that I do as He wills.

3. Another example of being prepared is in dealing with temptation. For example, I am watching my calories, trying to lose weight. I know when I go into the breakroom that there might be pastries there. I tell myself before I go that I am not going to even look at them. And I have an apple on my desk if I really get tempted (get it?). Because if I don’t do both those things, I will be taken by surprise and probably decide that I am famished and one little pastry won’t hurt. I love what Rick Warren has to say about being prepared to battle temptation: “When the Devil gives us an idea, it’s temptation. You choose every day which thought you’re going to dwell on. You can change your mind by replacing the temptation with truth, and truth is found in the Bible. The Bible says to resist the Devil. How do you do that? By preparing for the temptation. Ephesians 6:17 says, “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (NCV). There are two things you need to do in order to handle temptation. Salvation is the first step: “Accept God’s salvation as your helmet.” What does a helmet do? It protects your head and your mind, and that’s where the battle is going on. Before you can say no to the Devil, you have to learn to say yes to Jesus Christ. You’ve got to have his power through salvation.The second step is to receive God’s Word to use as a sword. Truth is the antidote to temptation. You can keep your Bible on the coffee table at home, but when you’re at work and you are tempted, what good is it going to do you? No good at all! You need to get the truth that is in that book into your mind.Without a doubt, the single most effective tool to combating temptation is to memorize Scripture. If you don’t have any verses memorized, you’ve got no weapon for the fight! When the Devil comes along, how are you going to counter him? He’s not afraid of your opinion, but he does fear the truth. The sword of God is God’s truth, but it only becomes a weapon when you memorize it.”*

4. The fourth application, and by far the most important, is to be prepared by establishing a relationship with Jesus, ensuring that you know Him, and He knows you. Jesus taught about the signs of the end of the age, and in the 25th chapter of Matthew, he gives the parable of the ten virgins. When they learn at midnight that the bridegroom had come, the five foolish virgins realized that they had failed to prepare themselves with oil for their lamps and had to go the store first before going into the wedding feast. When they finally arrived for the feast, the door was shut. Jesus denied their entry, saying, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.” Don’t be caught unprepared.

If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, here is a simple prayer that you can prayto God: Heavenly Father, I know that I’ve sinned against You. I realize that the penalty for sin is death. Thank you for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die, shedding His own blood on the cross in my place so that I could receive His-righteousness by faith. I now confess my sins to You and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died and rose again so that I can be forgiven and live forever with Him. Here and now, I surrender my life, my plans, my goals to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. By God’s strength, I will seek to shareabout what God has done in my life with each opportunity God brings my way. InJesus Name I pray, Amen.

In Christ,

Judy *

Excerpted from Daily Hope Devotional by Rick Warren (November 11, 2019)