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If your loved one sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him (Luke 17:3-4, my paraphrase substituting “loved one” for “brother”).

Frankly, this verse really makes me uncomfortable on a couple of levels. First, I’m to rebuke my brother or sister? That’s not very nice. Isn’t it more Christ-like to put on a meek spirit and suffer quietly? Apparently not. Hmmmm…

Jesus forces me to face my resistance to confrontation. I prefer to retain my “nice girl” image. At all costs, I desperately want to be liked.

But Jesus’ way is psychologically brilliant. Stuffing feelings feeds resentment, yet this toxic buildup often drains away when we find the courage to confront. Speaking up empowers us, regardless of the other person’s response.

Next I find myself puzzled by Jesus’ statement, “And if your loved one repents, forgive him.” I want to say, “Wait, Jesus, that sounds pretty conditional to me. I’ve always thought we were supposed to forgive whether the other person is sorry for what they’ve done or not!”

But then Jesus describes what this repentance looks like. My girlfriend can come to me seven times a day and simply say, “I repent,” and I’m supposed to forgive her. Seven times a day? For how long? I’m sorry, but mine and Jesus’ definition of repentance clash. Suddenly I can no longer relegate forgiveness to simply a warm and fuzzy idea. This seven times a day business would quickly find me with my hands on my hips and a scowl on my face.

“You can’t possibly mean you’re sorry again,” I’d say in a harsh tone of voice. “There’s no way you’d keep doing the same thing over and over knowing how much it hurts me. This isn’t true repentance!”

“But I am really sorry…”

I’d shake my head in disbelief. “Sure you are. I swear, you’re just taking advantage of me.”

Maybe you, like me, have spent hours trying to analyze “true repentance.” But doesn’t a little voice keep whispering, What about the countless times you’ve come to your Heavenly Father, ashamed that once again you failed in your chronic weakness? Has He ever said to you, “Sorry, that’s not true repentance—you’re taking advantage of me”?

Praise God His grace extends an eternity farther than ours!

According to Jesus, rebuke, repentance, and forgiveness work together to create harmonious relationships. The Bible does teach that we are to forgive others whether they are repentant or not. However, in these verses in Luke Jesus seems to be giving specific instructions for relating to people who desire to be close to us.

If we humbly speak up about how we feel when we’re offended, we give our loved one the opportunity to make things right and avoid the cesspool of resentment. But if we’re too cowardly to exercise this God-given safety valve, we will, in many cases, needlessly struggle with anger and bitterness.

And if we remember how God continually forgives us far more than we are called upon to forgive others, we will grow in mercy and compassion each time a brother or sister expresses sorrow about their failure.

Rebuke, repentance and forgiveness. Exercised within the circle of humble honesty, our relationships will flourish.

Lord, we are so far from being like you. Give us the courage to rebuke in truth, and give us a heart like yours, willing to extend love, grace, and mercy over and over again.

By Ruth Wood

I am an old woman now, and how I cherish my memories. Oh, what an honor it was to be the mother of my Savior! May the Lord be magnified forever!

God taught me early in life that nothing is impossible with Him! Gabriel said that I, a virgin, would be with child. And so it came to be.

But you already know about Gabriel, the shepherds and the wise men. Today let me tell you what it was like to be the mother of the Son of God.

When I think back to that stable and the thrill of his birth, I hear his first cries—they seemed so heartrending. In hindsight I wonder, “Were his tears a waking to the harsh reality of being away from his heavenly home?”

I loved holding him; he was so beautiful, my child of promise. In my heart I vowed to someday make him a special garment with no seams, one worthy of the Deliverer of Israel. I felt so blessed, so honored to be the mother of this baby.

Many have asked me what it was like raising Jesus. Actually he was an easy child to parent—loving and obedient and kind to everyone. But I did face an unusual challenge—it soon became apparent he was different from anyone I’d ever known. You see, he was perfect—and I was not! Sometimes when I spoke impatiently with the children, he’d look at me with those earnest brown eyes as if he could see deep into my soul. And though his look was never one of condemnation, but one of compassion, it would always break my heart.

Jesus didn’t begin his public ministry until he was thirty-three, but I couldn’t wait for him to be revealed to the whole world—I knew they’d love him as I did. He would be a strong, wise and compassionate leader, the greatest the world had ever known!

Imagine then, how I felt when Nazareth, our home town, rejected him. When Jesus read the scriptures and taught in the synagogue, the people were offended by some of the things he said even though he spoke only the truth. They drove him out of the village and would have killed him except that it was not God’s time.

I was devastated and deeply hurt. To have my home town, and people I thought were friends, turn on our family like that was unbelievably painful. The women gossiped behind my back for weeks. Only by talking to Jesus about everything and watching how he handled the rejection with grace, was I able to forgive and go on.

For me, Jesus’ ministry years were exciting and a whirlwind of miracles. I saw him heal the blind, the deaf, the lepers, witnessing repeatedly that nothing is impossible with God. But in spite of all the miracles, at times my faith was challenged.

One incident stands out in my mind. Jesus was casting out demons and furiously debating the Pharisees with such intensity one day, his brothers thought he’d gone crazy. They were so embarrassed by the spectacle, they tried to force him to come home. They didn’t believe in him either.

I badly wanted Jesus’ brothers and sisters to see that he was the Son of God, but for many years they thought I was a fanatical old woman because of my unrelenting faith. Sometimes they even accused me of favoritism.

Not only did challenges come from my family, sometimes I couldn’t understand my own son. Once he said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, yes, even his own life…he cannot be my disciple.” Hate family? His siblings were supposed to hate me and follow him? Personally, this was a hard saying to accept, but later Jesus explained it better saying that love for family would look like hate in comparison to the commitment of discipleship.

As I dreamed of glory, imagining how Jesus as Messiah would someday rule Israel, I never realized that glory would first lead to a cross. No mother should have to watch her child murdered before her very eyes. From a distance I noticed soldiers casting lots for the garment I had made with such high hopes and dreams for my son. I kept thinking about Simeon’s prophecy, “And a sword will pierce your own soul.” Yes, even though behind the scenes God is orchestrating a wonderful work in your life, He will not hesitate to shatter your dreams or your heart for His greater purposes.

Nothing happened in my life how I thought it would. Can you relate to this? Yet today I testify, with a heart overflowing with joy, that God had a much greater plan than I could have imagined—and it was good, very good.

Not long after rumors about his resurrection, Jesus suddenly stood among us, a throng of 500 believers, my children and I among them. I couldn’t believe my eyes! He was alive! Laughing and crying I rushed to his side to hold him in my arms once again. My beloved Son, my Lord, and my Savior!

And because of God’s great love for all mankind, he is your Savior too! As you celebrate his birth this year, consider:

• God’s glory may first lead to a cross.
• God may need to shatter your dreams and your heart for His greater purposes.
• Nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible with God.

©2008 Ruth Wood. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Interesting Facts About the Christmas Story

• Jewish maidens were eligible for marriage at age 12-1/2 years, and Mary may have been as young as 13 when she was betrothed to Joseph.
• Betrothal was legally binding and could only be broken by divorce. During the following twelve months, couples didn’t live together and waited to consummate the marriage until after the wedding. However, it’s important to note that the man could claim his bride any time after betrothal.
• Mary and Joseph most likely traveled to Bethlehem sometime between spring and autumn when shepherds kept their flocks in the fields.

• They were poor and would not have been able to afford a donkey. Even so, the image of Mary on a donkey is a myth because the cultural taboo prohibited a woman to ride while the man walked.
• The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem was 90 miles, traveling a winding mountain trail through Samaritan hilly country, gaining an elevation of 1,321 feet. Commentators estimate that walking this road took more than a week.
• Mary most likely gave birth in a shepherd’s cave. The cave under the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem has been shown from antiquity as the birthplace of Jesus.
• A note on swaddling: Until recent times, Palestinian Arabs practiced the custom of rubbing salt, water and oil over a newborn’s entire body before wrapping him swaddling cloths. Every seven days they’d repeat the procedure until the baby was forty days old.
• The Bible doesn’t say how many wise men came, but these visitors most likely stemmed from a priestly Persian and Babylonian caste. They could very well have been in possession of some Old Testament prophecies regarding Messiah acquired from Jewish exiles to Babylon in Daniel’s time. Their valuable gifts would have made the flight to Egypt financially possible.
• The Bible lists Mary’s children as “James, Joses, Judas, Simon and several girls.”
• Mary is last mentioned in Acts when she and the disciples are waiting for the Holy Spirit in the Jerusalem upper room. “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

This is a talk I gave recently at the Eugene Mission Women’s Center for the homeless.

We suffer from many different kinds of losses in life, don’t we? Not only when loved ones die, but as we age, we face increasing loss.

For example, I can’t tell you how shocked I was when I turned forty-five and my eyesight started going. It wasn’t even on my radar screen that this could happen to me. I’d always enjoyed 20/20 vision and assumed this blessing would continue all my life. So when my vision started blurring, I figured something must be seriously wrong with me. Did I have diabetes?

When I saw my eye doctor, he said, “Just about everyone needs reading glasses when they get to be your age.” What? I’d never gotten that message. Thankfully, he quickly diagnosed presbyopia (an inability to read fine print or see close objects clearly), and with some contacts and glasses I soon resumed a normal life.

And then there’s my hearing. In my early thirties, I suffered a case of sudden hearing loss which my doctor treated with prednisone. This same type of viral attack occurred three years in a row, but the third year my hearing did not return, and I had to get hearing aids. It’s no fun dealing with amplified background noise during a “quiet” dinner or embarrassing feedback squeals coming from my head when leaning in to hug a friend.

And then there’s the loss of my youthful body. I swear that I just look at a piece of cake and it leaps to my waistline. I’ve definitely lost my ability to shed pounds. And these flaps hanging from my arms. What’s up with that? I’ve always had buff arms—unlike the rest of me—but I liked my arms. Now it looks as if I’m sprouting wings.

Aging is just a crazy thing, isn’t it?

What about you? What kinds of losses have you experienced? Perhaps you’ve lost a job, a relationship, or your health…

And that leads to the question, “How do we cope with loss?”

I’m going to speak for myself here, but for me, the only way I’ve been able to deal with it is to hang on to the one thing I can never lose—Jesus Christ.

You see as I age, losses will continue and may even accelerate:

Friends may move away, die, or reject me, but Jesus will always be my friend.

I could lose everything in the financial crisis, but Jesus is my treasure.

I may lose my health, but Jesus is my life and my strength.

I may lose a family member, but Jesus is my Comforter in times of grief.

Finally, and this is a certainty, I will lose my physical life, but through Jesus I have eternal life.

You see, if you have Jesus, you have everything regardless of what happens to you.

Let me ask you this—what do you think is the worst thing you could lose? Ponder this for a moment.

Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:25) You see, according to Jesus, the worst thing you could lose is your soul. There is nothing more horrific or tragic.

Part of the reason why I believe God allows loss in our lives, is to give us the opportunity to prepare ourselves for eternity. As we age, accelerating losses are signposts reminding us that this life is going to end and we need to be ready for the next.

Perhaps now you’re asking yourself, “How can I know that when I die, the real me will live forever? How can I keep my soul?

The Bible says to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” When you believe in Jesus Christ you are born again.

We hear the term a lot, but what in the world does it mean to be born again? Let me try to describe this as concisely as possible.

Being born again means understanding that you don’t deserve God’s mercy and grace because of all the hurtful and wrong things you’ve done.

It means believing that Jesus paid the price you owed God when He died for you on the cross. That He took your punishment so you can go free.

It means telling Him you’re sorry and asking Him to forgive you. It means accepting His forgiveness, receiving Him into your life.

It’s relatively easy to give mental assent to all of the above, but most importantly, being born again means changing direction, choosing to follow Jesus, putting Him first. It’s living in light of the fact that you’re forgiven, clean, accepted.

Now some people hesitate to change direction because they’re afraid they’re going to have to be perfect. Just because you follow Jesus doesn’t mean you will stop making mistakes. Let me explain it this way:

Life always spins in cycles, doesn’t it? We make relatively good choices and feel on top of things before messing up and circling to the bottom again. However, these cycles also spiral in a particular direction. Those who don’t know God revolve in a destructive, downward direction that eventually leads to eternal death. But when you follow Jesus, your cycles of good and bad choices spin upward toward eternal life, almost as if a rope from heaven pulls you ever closer as you live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In which direction are you traveling? Is there something stirring within you that badly wants a new beginning, to be washed clean, to be forgiven? To change direction?

If this is the case, I invite you to make a commitment to Jesus. Before eternity arrives at your doorstep, you may not have another opportunity like this one. With the music playing and every eye closed, please raise your hand if you would like to make this decision. Why raise your hand instead of just making the commitment in your heart? Because an outward, more public action somehow carries more weight in our minds.

Remember, the worst thing you can lose is your soul, but the greatest thing you can gain is Christ. And to know forever…that you are found.

Those of you “listening in” via this blog who would like to make a decision for Christ may email me at ruthywood@gmail.com as your way of “raising your hand.” Tell me a little about yourself and the commitment you’ve made. I will pray with you and send you some helpful material for your new life in Christ.

…Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes…For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (Luke 12:22-23, 30-31)

The command to not worry invites the question of what to do instead. Jesus tells us to focus on his kingdom. In other words, be busy seeking and doing God’s will instead of wasting your energy on anxiety.

Here are some things Jesus points out in relation to worry:

The body is more than clothes. Last year I attended Body World in Portland, Oregon, an exhibit displaying cadavers in an educational format. I came away from that experience in awe of our bodies, this “machine” housing our spirits. The earthly tent we live in is truly a miraculous gift from God. No wonder Jesus says our body is more important than clothes. I need to remember this the next time I go shopping and get frustrated because I can’t find any jeans that fit!

Life is more than food. The saying goes, “Do you eat to live or live to eat?” Jesus would be in the eat-to-live camp. He once said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)

Worry is futile. Death is the ultimate worry. Since you can’t postpone your worst fear, why worry about anything else? Jesus said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why worry about the rest?”

Trust your Heavenly Father. Though in our day we don’t face the same challenges for survival when it comes to food and clothes, we are no different than Jesus’ audience in our preoccupations. We worry what to make for dinner, what kinds of foods to buy. Free range chicken? Hormone-free milk? Sugar-free chocolate? We worry that we’ll eat too much and get fat or over-control ourselves and develop an eating disorder. We look in our closets, lament we have nothing to wear, and exhaust ourselves in a shopping frenzy to find the best buys, the right brands, the newest trends. Jesus reminds us that our Heavenly Father knows we need “such things.” His words are meant to bring us to our senses, to stop running, to live in trust and enjoy His peace.

Replace worry with a heart and mind bent on seeking his kingdom. Life is more than food and the body more than clothes…

Does God have a favorite love language? Of course not, you say; He is perfect in all expressions of love. True, but I’d still like to think He shares my preferences. Because I love spending quality time with people, I’m naturally inclined to look for Biblical evidence that God does too. And I don’t have to look very far—all throughout the scriptures I see that God wants to be with me:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

…but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

…God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b)

Jesus commended Mary over Martha because she prioritized spending time with Him over the tyranny of the urgent. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

God’s relational love is perhaps best seen in John 17. Notice this beautiful circle of love between Jesus and the Father and how Jesus includes us.

Father…all I have is yours, and all you have is mine…Just as you are in me and I am in you…may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…I in them and you in me…may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (From John 17)

God loves us far more than we can ever comprehend or imagine. Being with Him brings a deep sense of belonging.

Without question, God is with us. Are we with God?

Concrete ways to actively participate in the relationship:

Rise for an early morning espresso, Bible reading and prayer.

Take a nature prayer walk.

Drive to the beach, the park, the river… take a chair or blanket, your Bible, find a quiet place to read and pray.

Practice regular times of solitude/listening sessions and journal what the Lord seems to be saying to you.

On long car trips, if you’re alone, make it a prayer and praise drive and speak to the Lord out loud.

Pray and praise as you do household tasks—cleaning the kitchen, doing dishes, laundry, cleaning out a closet.

Meditate on a particular memorized scripture throughout the day.

Listen to praise music and sing along; better yet, dance to the Lord!

Now I know in part; then I will know fully even as also I am fully known. (I Corinthians 13:12b)

Think how little we know about:

Our bodies
Our recent ancestors
Our own life’s history

Perhaps the last frontier is not space but the unfathomable depths of man’s soul and spirit, his inner being.

Can you travel to the outskirts of a man’s forgotten memories, or probe the nebulous reaches of his subconscious mind?

Can you visit the region of his will and comprehend the motives of his choices?

Can you understand the tides of his emotions or follow every road his reason travels?

Have you found the garden where love is born, or the secret chamber where his most cherished hopes and dreams are housed?

We struggle to know ourselves. That we only “know in part” almost seems understated. And if we cannot even begin to fully know ourselves, how much less so one another!

We ought to be in awe of every person we meet. God has created us as uniquely individual and mysterious beings, each one with the capacity to be an amazing reflection of His love. Each one a star that will either shine brightly for Him or ultimately implode upon itself.

Truly, both my outer and inmost being are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Thank you, Lord, that someday you will fully reveal everything that puzzles me about myself and my life, and I will be complete.

A couple days ago I took a walk in my neighborhood and noticed a young starling sitting quietly on a post above me. To my surprise, he did not fly away as I neared. I noticed he was trapped inside a blueberry patch net—he had found a way in but didn’t seem to know the way out.

Still curious why he stayed motionless, I moved closer, opened the bottom portion of the net and called, thinking he could perhaps fly out. No response. He tried to flap but then I saw that in his frantic efforts to escape, he had completely enmeshed himself in a corner of the netting.

The only solution was to climb inside the enclosure and disentangle his body. Would I injure him in the process? Perhaps the fright of my nearness would finish him off, yet without my help, he would certainly die.

So I slipped under the net and started the process of unraveling the mess he was in. I kept a gentle but firm grip while working because if he got away, I could never catch him again, and all hope of escape would be lost.  He didn’t like my efforts; he struggled and squeaked and flapped.

I had difficulty freeing one wing, but finally I removed all the netting, yet he continued to fiercely cling with one talon to a wire. It seemed unthinkable to his little bird mind to let go and trust me. I had to pry his tiny foot off as well.

Holding him firmly in my hand, I ducked under the net and walked to a grassy lawn, but before I released him I petted his soft head, even if it scared him more. I was in such wonder at this little wild bird in my hand.

When I finally set him down, he hopped a little awkwardly at first, then quickly flew to some nearby tall grass. It looked like he would be all right!

Relieved, I continued my walk, happy I had helped one of God’s creatures. And I began thinking about the similarities between the starling and me…

I know what it’s like to get myself in a tight place, a place from which I can’t extract myself. It doesn’t help if someone points the way out—I’m too tangled up in my mess to do anything about my problem.

But it’s when I’m hopelessly stuck, when I’ve stopped the useless flapping around, when I’m at the end of myself, that hope of rescue approaches as God draws near.

And like that little bird I tend to struggle against Him even if He’s doing what’s best for me. Though God is working to free me, I don’t like what He has to do. It hurts, I fear He may break one of my wings, and I cling tenaciously to old footings for safety.

If only my little bird mind could see what God sees—that in my desperate situation He truly is my only hope.

Think about this: if I, a flawed human being, was happy to rescue an “insignificant” bird, how  much more God delights to come to our aid, we who are “worth more than many sparrows.”

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”

With a couple of insane weeks coming up in my schedule, I don’t think I can be too coherent today. So I think I will just list some random thoughts. These are some of the little blessings from a women’s retreat I recently attended with Bonnie Thomas (daughter of Cliff Barrows from Billy Graham):

Some people live a life they never had; some people have a life they never lived.

I know what I believe, but do I believe what I know?

Soul food—what we need to eat is not always what we want to eat.

You can talk about Jesus, read about Him, hear sermons about Him, but forget to talk to Him. Don’t substitute gifts, ministry, or theology for Him.

I have a problem. It’s me.
Child, I have the answer. It’s me.

He is what I’m not.

Sheep will not be driven; they must be led. My Good Shepherd doesn’t drive me; he leads.

In ancient times a shepherd sometimes dealt with a sheep prone to wander by breaking its legs. Then he carried it in his arms until it healed. In the process, the sheep so bonded to him, it would never again leave his side. Hmmmmm…

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall always want Him.

Many years ago I decided to study the book of Job. Life had knocked me about the head, and I figured my friend Job might have some answers.

I read one chapter at a time, paraphrased key passages into my own words and journaled my thoughts. I wanted to “read between the lines” if possible. The book was so poetic I wondered, “What are Job and his friends really saying?”

As I studied, I discovered spiritual riches and depth far beyond what I expected. Most of all I was encouraged that a godly man like Job could become a complete mess in his grief and still hang on to his faith.

Every book has a beginning, a middle and an end. Here is my overview of Job:

The Beginning:
Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart…”In all this Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.(1:20-22)

Job does not sin in his initial response to his losses, but his first words tumble out while he is still in shock. He spoke from a reservoir deep within, from a creed he had lived by all his life. But his faith was about to be tested.

I know from experience that it is often relatively easy at the outset of grief to trust God when we are buoyed by the support of friends and carried by adrenaline. Initially we have no capacity to fully comprehend the magnitude of what has happened to us. We may even spout impressive Christian phrases causing our friends to sputter in awe, “Wow, you are so strong.”

Also, in this numb state we may ignorantly think we can handle our grief. It’s only day after day, as the ramifications of the event and all the facets of grief unfold, that the torrents of pain unleash and our emotions spin out of control. Little by little we begin to grapple with the perplexing questions of life.

The Middle:
But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. (13:3)

Job makes a good first impression. In fact, we think well of him because he begins and ends well. And we ought to maintain our good opinion because God calls him “my servant Job” who spoke of Him “what is right.” (42:7)

What we so often miss is the torturous spiritual journey Job took between chapters three and forty-two. This godly man’s faith barely hung by a thread. He did not appear all neat and tidy during his ordeal. Look at the kinds of things he says in reference to God:

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul…You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions. (7:11b, 14)

Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? (7:19)

If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? (7:20)

Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing. He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. (9:16-17)

He mocks the despair of the innocent. (9:23b)

I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands? (10:2-3)

You could argue that here Job sinned by charging God with wrongdoing. But remember, he’s farther down the road of grief now. Shocking things came out of his mouth as he writhed under the intense heat of suffering. His friends seemed horrified by his attitude and over-corrected by digging for sin in Job’s history, insisting that somehow he brought on this awful fate. Their insensitivity only increased his suffering.

Even though Job overstepped his bounds before the Almighty to the point of sinning in his grief, his pain-filled questions did not come from an unbelieving, hard heart. In his anguish he even seemed to fear for his faith and would have preferred death to denying God:

“Oh, that I might have my request…that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off! Then I would still have this consolation…that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.”

Despite Job’s accusations against God, glimmers of life shine throughout his lament when he says things like, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” (13:15) His faith may have hung by a thread but it did not snap.

The End:
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. (42:3b)

Through his ordeal, Job learned some important lessons about himself, life, and his faith in God. And through reading his story I have learned with him. If a righteous man like Job could be driven to a near breaking point in his grief, then it’s no surprise that I might be tested in a similar way. Also, if he slipped under the pressure of pain and still received God’s blessing, so may I.

Like Job, I want to persevere through trials so that when I emerge on the other side I can join him in bowing low before God and saying, “…now my eyes have seen you.” (42:5)

Every small choice we make today determines who we will be tomorrow.

Now that I’m flying this side of fifty, I’m reaping what I’ve sowed for half a century. In particular, my “small” choices have accumulated on my hips. Every extra bite of food, those little nibbles here and there, a daily habit of undisciplined eating—my body tells the pitiful story.

Is it too late to begin making better small choices? I think not. I’ve been reflecting on who I want to be when I’m really old (ninety?), and I’ve decided that I want to change course in some areas of my life. I believe that like the rudder on a ship, a slight adjustment can head you towards a new destination.

So here’s where I’d like to change. Maybe you can relate:

Walking and biking more, driving less
Be quiet before the Lord more often, enjoying his creation
Get up earlier
Cut sugar but enjoy a good quality dessert infrequently
Run my dishwasher more often
Be more intentional about building memories with friends

What’s on your list?