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On Faith 2

October 6, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

    Today, as part of my daily devotion, I read Mark’s account of the crucifixion and these verses stuck out to me: “Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.”

    And I was confounded… having for so many years thought there were only 3-4 women at the cross, but now I think there were many more women “disciples” than men. And the thing that kept them there was their FAITH! Their faith despite the circumstances… their faith despite the pain and disappointment… their faith despite the loss. This is my goal: steadfastness. [Special thanks to Chris Gollon for the use of his painting, Stations of the Cross VIII, Jesus speaks to the Women of Jerusalem, used by permission.]

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On Faith

October 5, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

Today begins a new series at our church, 50 Days with Jesus. I hope to share some of my thoughts from my personal study as well as respond to the Pastor’s sermons and/or blog.

Today, Pastor Craig asked, “How do I insure that I will keep the faith?” since there have actually been studies done (Willow Creek Church) showing that “long-term” believers are often those who fall away. That would put me at risk as I have known the Lord since 1979 and I confess, I have felt the ebb and flow of my faith in recent years.

I wouldn’t say that Craig actually answered this question. He reminded us that our faith is key to remaining “connected” with God and Jesus is “the way, the truth, & the life” (Matt 9:20-22) and our faith must be supported by our belief in the Word… but none of these ideas feel like “insurance” to me. Pehaps the answer is that there isn’t any insurance after all.

In my view, keeping my faith “fresh” is up to me. I can’t blame anyone else. I can’t blame the church, the sermons, the pastor, or anything else. I suppose this is one of the reasons I started a new study, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. I’ve allowed my “activities” to crowd out time with the Lord and it’s only by spending time with Him that I can have more intimacy and it’s only through intimacy that my faith will grow.

What is faith? Trust and belief. While belief is a choice I think trust is built on intimacy. You must know someone to trust him and you must trust him to obey him. Psalm 84:12 – O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

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Blazin’

March 18, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

While working with the Seeking Him bible study group on revival and essentials to personal revival, I became acutely aware of the scripture I John 1:7

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.”

I had the group talk about what it means to “walk in the light” – what does it look like. I realized that what I want is to be “blazin'” … the light shining on me, but even moreso, shining out of me. I want extreme light. And we’re back, of course, to my favorite images: fire! Pure… refining fire that filled in the temple in II Chronicles 7:1 … when “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”

Lord, fill me … your earthly temple..

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Baptism of Humility

March 1, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

This phrase was used by Nancy Leigh DeMoss in her Bible Study, Seeking Him. It has really stayed with me all week. I think this washing in water of humility has a strong message for all of us as we prepare for Easter… as we prepare our hearts to honor Christ for His sacrifice.

Lord, immerse me in your love this week. Immerse me in your grace. Immerse me in your truth. Give me courage to come up out of the water, not just clean, but real… honest with You and myself.

How can I walk out this baptism this week?

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Bitterness

February 26, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

Tonight I had an interesting experience as I participated in a Bible Study in a virtual environment called Second Life. The topic was bitterness and unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the “discussion” time as I was reminded of my days working for Elijah House and running workshops on inner healing. These never really took off at our church and I’m not sure why… is it because these issues of bitterness and unforgiveness run so deep?

Another thing I wanted to say in the session is that bitterness is not particularly swift. I think it more often creeps upon us. First, there might be anger or disappointment, but then, the effects of a situation begin to repeat in our minds. Instead of casting these thoughts and feelings on the throne of our God, we nurture them and they grow. Before too long, we have created a bitter root. It is not easy to heal a bitter root. It is not easy to pull the root out. In fact, sometimes we become so accustomed to bitterness, that is feels normal. Not only that, but some bitterness has lived in our hearts and minds for long, long time–we don’t remember it. Only God can truly reveal these deep bitter root judgments. And once revealed, it is important to begin the process of confession and forgiveness. For truly, bitter root judgments are sin.

The last thing is that most people continue to lose sight of the role of forgiveness. It does not erase what a person has done. It merely cuts the cord that binds us to the situation or the person. Forgiveness is a choice not a feeling. We can consciously choose to forgive even if we don’t “feel it.” God will do the rest.

This type of forgiveness is quite difficult in the face of abuse or pain. It is not for us to treat these situations lightly. I believe God calls the heart when it is ready. Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” It is God’s grace that allows us to forgive … and also God’s grace that protects us. But we must cover ourselves in His cloak of grace.

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Woman, behold your son

February 25, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

It’s John 19:26… and although I know the context here is of Jesus “presenting” his mother to John, his beloved disciple (this is made clear by the next line where he presents John to his mother)… this phrase brings some other thoughts to mind…

1) Where were Jesus’ “half” brothers and why wouldn’t they care for her? For me, it’s a reminder that sometimes, family by blood is not as close as family by Christ or experience … friends who have “been there” for you can often be more significant and reliable.

2) A part of me wonders if this phrase doesn’t have a double meaning – saying to his earthly mother, “Here, look at your son now on this cross. It has all happened as it was foretold. It is a reality. Look at me. Accept the truth of what must be.”

3) How ironic it is to me that all the new translations and online translations are quick to say that the word “woman” used in this phrase is a term of “endearment and respect.” That may be true, all the same, He did not call her mother. There are many who would disagree with me, but some part of me believes that Jesus had long since stopped seeing her as His “mother” – but only as a dear disciple. (Also supported by Mark 3:31-35) Pastor Craig might disagree as well since he based his sermon on this phrase saying it shows Jesus’ concern for family even to the end of his life. That may well be true. But there is still a mystery in his choice of words.

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Mystery

February 23, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

The story of Daniel has many mysteries, but one of the most well known is the revelations that God gave him about the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2). I have not had any mysterious dreams, but I do wonder today why things work the way they do. The juxtaposition of events is always a bit peculiar. This past weekend, my children all went on a Chrysalis weekend, a mountain top if not life-changing one for all of them. And then, they all got sick (virus heaven on the weekend I suppose) and then, I too, became ill, but with a more mysterious ailment than just a cold.

I am currently in a lot of discomfort along with some pain below my sternum and so far, in a week of tests and doctor appointments, no one knows the source or cause of my problem. It’s a mystery. In my heart I believe that God is in this, but I don’t know yet, in what way. In verse 2:18, Daniel says to his friends, plead for mercy from God concerning this mystery… he was asking for revelation, a supernatural understanding of what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was and what it meant. Note… they needed to discover what it was before it’s meaning could be discerned.

There are actually many mysteries in our lives like this… and I think we don’t spend enough time asking God for the mercy of revelation. We are too busy using our own knowledge or the knowledge of others to reveal truth, when we should be asking God for it.

We don’t spend enough time identifying what is actually happening. We don’t look deeply enough into the nature of the events. We assume too much. We interpret before we know. We interpret the symptoms… the outward expressions of what is.

Today, I ask… I plead oh God, for an understanding of what is…

I remember my salvation story a true expression of this idea… when I came to the Lord, it was because a classmate challenged me to read the New Testament the same way we were being instructed in acting school to read scripts. For the first read-through, we were told to put the phrase, “If this were true…” and only after taking all the words at face value … to get the full intent of what they words actually say … could we begin to interpret. It was this reading of the Word that brought me to my knees before God, alone, on Christmas Eve, 1979.

There is a core truth to every event.

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