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Set Apart Christ as Lord

February 8, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

I Peter 3:15
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

Gentleness and respect for the other! But also, be gentle with yourself. This scripture used to send me into fear and trembling. Oh my… I’m going to have to lay out the facts of my faith. I’ll need to have scriptures memorized. I’ll have to know the 4 Spiritual Laws. I’ll have to answer tough questions about the complexities and apparent discrepancies in scripture. Oh no!

But now, I read this verse with thanksgiving. I thank God for the Christ of my heart. I thank God for the works He has done in my heart so far… and what He will continue to do … for you see, it’s all part of that “sanctification” process. And so, all I can share is what I know. God is not asking me to be more than I am. He’s not asking me to be a preacher or an apostle or a polished speaker. All I need to tell is my story. My story is God’s story. I am just one sliver of God’s grace. And for that I am grateful because without it, I would be dead, literally.

When Christ found me in New York City in 1979, I was spiraling down a very slippery slope while living a decadent life. Everything about me was self-centered and self-destructive from drugs to alcohol to sexual improprieties. And yet, when He touched me… it was with gentleness and respect. Oh yes, and I know, if He could do this for me, when I was living the darkest of lives… then He can do it for anyone else. And shouldn’t I do the same? Shouldn’t I, then, be able to offer gentleness and respect to all persons … for who is say, who might see the truth of Christ through me? Just the way I am… so far.

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Sensing Jesus

February 6, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” I John 1:1

Can you imagine what it would have been like… to hear, see and touch the man, Jesus? But I ask you… Would His voice remain in the aural memory? Or, like a loved one, long dead, would the voice go lost? Would his face always be emblazoned on the retina? Or, like friends we haven’t seen for a long time, become a mushy blur? Would the feel of his skin … or his scent … or his gait … would any of these remain? Unfortunately, though God He was, we would probably forget the details. No, our faith in Him would not make a sharper image. Our faith allows Him to be all things… to be in all and through all. It gives Him a multi-dimensionality. Personally, I never heard, saw or touched Jesus… and yet, in my spirit, when I am truly focused on Him… I think I do… see, hear & touch… it’s better than a memory.

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Fat Tuesday

February 5, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

“Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” Psalm 26:2

Actually, Fat Tuesday is the day that most people “eat everything they want” because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and a time of preparation begins… a time of renewal… a time of repentance. Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent.

It reminds me of the times I have said, “tomorrow I’m starting my diet” and for some crazy reason, they gives me permission to indulge myself now. But is Lent just a diet? Is it just some time period that we “suffer” by giving up some luxury item like sweets or sodas or rich food? Or is Lent something else… a stripping away of the “fat” around our hearts?

Don’t let tomorrow just be the beginning of Lent… let it instead, be the beginning of something really “new.” Let it be your “New Year’s Day.” It’s time for a revival!

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Hosea 10:12 – Break Up Your Fallow Ground

January 26, 2008 by Irmgarde Brown

“Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, til He comes and rains righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12, NKJV

This is the first scripture that is used in the Seeking Him bible study that I will be leading over the next 13 weeks. I write it here because I want to remember these beginnings. It is time to break up old ways. It is time to put the sharp plow to the ground that is not bearing fruit. This is not an easy scripture because there is a moment where I must look with honesty at my heart… there are too many fallow areas there. I am busy and yet, I am not fertile. I have experienced barrenness in my life but I have forgotten what that looks like in the heart. I believe it is time to look again… to accept the plow of God’s Spirit.

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Hope does not disappoint…

July 4, 2007 by Irmgarde Brown

Romans 5:5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

But what if it does? What if our hope is done? What if our hope is no longer strong enough to withstand the cares of the world? What if we no longer feel able to persevere? What if the shield of faith has tiny holes for deep dents? What if our vessels are perforated and we can no longer grasp the height and depth and breadth of God’s love? What if we reach out our hands to catch hold of His Mantle and our hands come up empty? What if? What if we feel disappointed in the way our life is going? What if we are disappointed in the way our life has gone? What if we’re afraid of where I life is going?

It is my desire to expand on the topic of disappointment. Share your thoughts with me as we go along in the days ahead.

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Come to Jesus

May 20, 2007 by Irmgarde Brown

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Today I attended my first Taize service at a nearby Presbyterian Church. It was a gentle service filled with silent meditation and simple music. I found it refreshing… I found the Lord calling me closer to Himself. I found him in the silence.

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Encourage One Another

May 18, 2007 by Irmgarde Brown

Hebrews 3:13
Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

And how does sin enter in? Sometimes, it is blatant and bold… brashly declaring its power to bend my will… like a mile-wide tornado crushing all in its path. But sometimes, it is a slow transition from security to terror… like the small mouse who is cooked in pot of water … not realizing the water is getting hotter and hotter. Who is my “other” that will call my circumstances for what they are! Who will encourage me and draw me before it’s too late? And who needs me to do the same this day?

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