Who are you and where do you live?

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018 | lindamowles

People are diverse, unique, different. Take for example, where we live.

As we were driving on our vacation this summer, we went through the City of Chicago. The traffic going down the highways going into the city were crowded with trucks, cars, vans, busses. Not to mention the train that ran to various parts of the city with terminals in between the highway lanes.

Then, when the highway signs were somewhat out-of-the-way, the skyline came into view!

Thousands upon thousands of people live within the scope of that picture. They live in high-rise apartment buildings which have incredible views of the city beneath and Lake Michigan along the shoreline, some of the views going almost to the Wisconsin state line! However, some live in much less splendor, along the railroad tracks and in dilapidated buildings in the center of town. And of course, there are shops, businesses, banks and all sorts of eateries spread throughout the city.

This kind of congestion is not for everyone, however. One of the places we visited was Bar Nunn, Wyoming.

The campground was rustic and the people were super friendly. The view of the community from the campground was beautiful with its backdrop of mountain terrain.

The first night we were there, the clouds provided a beautiful ending to a glorious day.

In contrast to the “majesty” of Chicago, the little post office next to the campground in Bar Nunn provided a different perspective as it gave the whole community postal services, and we, as sojourners, appreciated its presence since we could purchase stamps and use the handy mailbox to send post cards to the family back home.

We all don’t live in the same type dwellings, in the same area of the country or in the same climate. But, almost all of us are often asked the same questions, no matter where we are: “Who are you, and where do you live?”

Our answer frequently is to respond with the name our parents provided to us and then to give our place of permanent residence. And these are appropriate responses as they give some fundamental information about us to the person we have just met. From there, we can continue the conversation and a friendship might result, or we can walk away after conducting the transaction with the individual without any further personal information being exchanged.

That is not the whole answer to those questions for the Christian.

Jesus said:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“

John 14:1-6

Jesus clearly said that the one who believes in Him, through faith alone, will spend eternity with Him in heaven. Indeed, belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way that we can enter heaven and come to God. In fact, Jesus also tells us to put our treasure in heaven since there the treasure is secure for all eternity, rather than having it on earth where it can be easily destroyed. Read Matthew 6:19-20.

Paul said it this way:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,”

Ephesians 2:19-20

In other words, the Christian has dual citizenship – we are citizens on this planet, living in the country, province or state, city or hamlet in which we reside. But we are also citizens of heaven where we will live eternally with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, along with all our brothers and sisters who have been adopted into the family of God through faith in Christ.

So, how do we answer the question propounded above … “where do you live?” We might want to go into an explanation of our dual citizenship, or we might just want to give our address and let our Christian walk do the rest of the talking for us. Either way, let the Lord guide you as you witness for Him in our world.

Father, forgive me when I have been too timid to express my conviction that Jesus Christ made it possible for me to be Your child. I cannot express my gratitude and thankfulness for such gracious mercy extended to me, an undeserving sinner who was saved by grace! May I always be ready to tell others of Your gift of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Help me, I pray.

WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE?

February 20, 2018February 20, 2018 | lindamowles

The City of Chicago lies along the coastline of Lake Michigan, the only one of the five Great Lakes that is entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. Several years ago, I received slide pictures that my father had taken over many decades. After reviewing the slides, I found this picture taken in 1960 of the coastline of Lake Michigan.

Chicago coastline along Lake Michigan circa 1960

Lake Michigan is a huge lake. It is 118.1 miles wide and has an area of over 20,000 miles. It’s maximum depth is 923 feet and it contains bowfin, largemouth bass, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and lake trout, to name a few inhabitants.

Many rivers and streams flow into Lake Michigan, with the major tributaries being the Fox-Wolf, the Grand, and the Kalamazoo Rivers. Lake Michigan is connected to the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois River (from Chicago) and by the Mississippi River.

Scripture does not mention either the Great Lakes or Lake Michigan. But it does mention at least two other bodies of water.

A number of years ago I came across the following in a lesson.

There are two seas in Palestine, which, in their contrast, preach a most eloquent sermon.

The first speaks of forsakenness and desolation. There is no splash of fish; there is no song of birds, no fluttering leaves, no laughter of children. Men call it the Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea.

We read of the Salt Sea in Joshua 3 where we are told about how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry land:

“So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”

Joshua 3:14-17

The other sea is a delightful place with its emerald bays, its cobalt-blue expanses. Along its shores little children play. Its waters teem with fish. Songs of birds fill the air; it gleams like a jewel in a setting of superb natural charm. Men call it the Sea of Galilee. It is comparable to Lake Michigan, a thriving coastal area which is beautiful and which also is teeming with fish.

The Sea of Galilee is spoken of often in the New Testament, for example:

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.”

Matthew 4:18

What makes the difference in these two neighbor seas? Not the River Jordan; it empties the same good water into both.

The difference is this: the Dead Sea has inlets but no outlets; the Sea of Galilee has an outlet for every inlet.

There are two seas in Palestine. What each does with the Jordan determines the difference between them.

There are two kinds of people in the world. What each does with Christ and in turn with him or herself determines the difference between them. The one refusing Christ can only keep his/her worldly goods, remaining stagnant, and then leave the accumulated stuff behind when he/she dies.

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”” … Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

Matthew 19:16, 21-22

The other takes Christ, shares Christ, lives Christ, and finds abundant living through giving.

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” –

John 10:9-10

There are two seas in Palestine; there are two kinds of people in our world.

Jesus understood that the crowds did not necessarily understand who He was. Luke 9 describes a dialog that Jesus had with His disciples, asking them who the crowds said that He was. The answer He received reflected the variety of possibilities that the people surmised – John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets of old.

“Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.””

Luke 9:20

You see, it is one thing for the crowd to speculate on Jesus’ nature, but He wanted the disciples to think about Him: “who do you say that I am?”

Jesus asks this same question to us today, in 2018. “Who do you say that [He] is?” Do you answer that with the fumbling response of the crowd or can you say like Peter: “The Christ of God”. Is He your Savior or just a name from an historical document? Is He your Lord or is He a mythical character who does not deserve your love, respect and honor?

If your answer is the same as the crowd, your life, spiritually speaking, is comparable to the Dead Sea. The Sea with inlets but no outlet. The Sea without life. Do you keep and hoard, so that ultimately you will lose all?

Or is your answer like that of Peter? If so, your life is, spiritually speaking, comparable to the Sea of Galilee. You have inlets: the Word of God, feeding on the Scripture, praying to the Lord and living with the Holy Spirit empowering you. And you have outlets: service to others, worshiping with fellow believers, loving your neighbors, caring for the believers around you and spreading the message of salvation to those who come into your area of influence. If you are not exercising your life in Christ so that others can see it, I challenge you to pray to the Lord and let Him energize you so that you will be a strong witness for Him.

There are two seas in Palestine. There are two kinds of people in the world.

Who do you say that He is?

Father, I pray that these words would encourage and strengthen the believers who read them. I pray, too, that these words would be a challenge to non-believers to pray for the Lord’s leading them into a relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

SILENT NIGHT

December 13, 2016December 12, 2016 | lindamowles

Anyone who has stood outside while snow is falling has heard “the sound of silence”.

big-snow-in-chicago-1967 — Chicago big snow in 1967

The blanket of snow simply muffles sounds that ordinarily would be heard.

snow-driveway-and-yard — Front yard and drive covered in white blanket of snow.

It is a silence that is palpable, beautiful and spell-binding.

snowy-tranquility-c — Snowy tranquility.

That snowy silence was the impetus behind the Christmas carol “Silent Night” which is a staple in the Christmas collection of carols for thousands of churches. Even secular groups will sing the song because of its incredible imagery, beautiful lyrics and soul-calming theme.

Here is the story behind the creation of this beautiful Christmas classic.

In 1818, Josef Mohr was assistant pastor of the St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, a village near Salzburg in the Austrian Alps. He was in a meditative mood as he walked home after a Christmas presentation in a friend’s home. He walked along the longer path to his home which took him to the top of a hill.

Surrounded by the majestic Alps, from his vantage point over the village, Mohr looked down on the peaceful snow-covered village. He experienced the awesome silence of the night as he looked at the shining scene below him that looked rather like a Christmas card. As he pondered on the scene, he remembered a poem that he had written a couple of years earlier which described the night when angels came to the shepherds on a hillside to announce the birth of the Messiah.

While Mohr had words that he believed would be a good Christmas carol for the congregation to sing at the Christmas Eve service, he did not have any music. So, he went to see the church organist, Franz Gruber. In short, Gruber had to have a melody that could be sung that evening with a guitar since the organ was out of commission. Gruber composed the music for Mohr’s poem and they sang it that evening without the organ. The congregation loved the carol, and it is reported that many of the people had tears in their eyes from its beautiful rendition.

Later, the organ builder came to repair the St. Nicholas church organ, and, when completed, he asked Gruber to play a tune to test the repair. Gruber sat down at the organ and began playing the melody he had written for Mohr’s Christmas poem. Struck by the beauty of the piece, the organ builder took copies of the music and words of “Silent Night” back to his own Alpine village, Kapfing. There, two well-known families of singers, the Rainers and the Strassers, heard the song. They were so thrilled with “Silent Night” that both groups put the new carol into their Christmas season repertoire.

The rest, as they say, is history. The carol swept the world and now it is sung in over 300 languages worldwide.

The words of the carol are beautiful but their power comes from the fact that the carol is also theologically sound, quite a powerful combination! In the next post, we will examine how theologircally sound this wonderful Christmas carol is. In the meantime, Here is a rendition of the carol by The Piano Guys in their album “A Family Christmas”.

May the blanketing silence of snow cover you, whether literally or figuratively, so that you experience the peace that our Savior brings to your heart and soul even in the hectic days of the Christmas season. The Psalmist says it this way:

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10. Perhaps listening to Silent Night will get you into the stillness mode. Do whatever it takes to let yourself “Be still”. You will be glad you did and your relationship with your Father will grow stronger this Christmas season.

Father, help me to keep my eyes on You and Your gift to us, the Babe in the manger who became our Sacrifice on the Cross and is now our Savior in Heaven. I pray that my soul would rest in Your peace despite the calendar demands and obligation. Give me the grace to “Be still”, even when chaos reigns around me, all this is through the power and love of Your Son, Jesus Christ, my Savior.

FEARS — COMMON BUT UNNECESSARY

November 8, 2016November 8, 2016 | lindamowles

Fear. We all have things that we are afraid of, and many of them are legitimate. Chapman University has begun an annual study of American fears, and the results from the second annual survey that have recently been released. The random survey questions cover 88 fears in various categories, such as crime, economic, environment, government, illness, claustrophobia, public speaking, and even questions about clowns.

They found that in 2016 Americans were most afraid of “Corrupt Government” by a whopping 60.6% The next closest fear was of a “Terrorist Attack” which bore a percentage of 41% with “Not having enough money for the future” coming in as number 3 with a percentage of 39.9%.

Clearly, our world is full of fearful things, and this has been true throughout all of history. There have always been tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, severe ice storms, etc. Then, too, some of the things that mankind is capable of today were not dreamed of 1000 years ago, or even just 100 years ago, but even then there were fearful things. Consider the 1^st Century Christians and the persecution under Nero or the harm done to Christians in the Middle Ages, or even more recently, to the persecution of Christians in many countries of our world today. These are fearful times.

But, sometimes, looking back on our fears, we laugh at how we could have been frightened at all. For example, we watch the original television Star Trek series now, 50 years after its original airing in 1966, and we wonder how we could have been frightened by the special effects in that program! They are now so “cheesy” to us, but then I well remember being glued to my chair in fear that Captain Kirk was going to be vaporized!

My Grandmother was beyond fearful and well into terrorized when she lost track of me while she was babysitting when my parents were at some appointment away from the house. She was from a small town in Wisconsin and we lived in the big city of Chicago.

Downtown Chicago. This picture was taken from the top of the Prudential Building, “Top of the Rock”, in the early 1960s.

She was uncomfortable in such a large city and she just “knew” that there were evils hidden around every corner. One problem she had was that she remembered that the infamous gangster Al Capone lived in Chicago, and when my parents returned home, they found her in the middle of the street, screaming my name, crying that Al Capone had kidnapped me. (Actually, he had been dead for about 4 years at this point, but that was irrelevant to Grandma.) I had simply walked away from the house with my puppy and had gone to a house around the corner to show my friend’s Grandmother my puppy. She invited me in for cookies and I was watching the Howdy Doody Show on TV unaware that Grandma was in the street screaming.

Fears can cripple us from rational thinking. They are disabling and they damage our lives in ways that are too numerable to count. Fears of flying, fears of spiders, fears of going outside, fears of being in large crowds, fears of high places, fears of being in small spaces. The number of fears is too great to count because they are the fabrication of our own minds and each of us are unique.

Certainly there are fears that are normal. If we are in the woods and are bitten by a poisonous snake, we need to take immediate action to remedy the problem. But the fear of potentially being bitten by poisonous snakes should not stop us from enjoying God’s creation in nature, and even in the woods.

Scripture has quite a bit to say about fear. In Isaiah 35:3-4 we read:

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

In Joshua 1:9, God is directing Joshua in how he is to lead the people after Moses’ death. God says:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

This peace and lack of fear is available for the believer in Jesus Christ and in our God, as is seen by David’s psalm:

Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

I suggest that the ultimate antidote to fear is found in Romans 8:28, 38-39:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. … For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Read that again – NOTHING will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God is omnipotent and omniscient … He is all powerful and all knowing. Therefore, He not only knows what is going to happen to us, He has it in His control. His purposes will be fulfilled even if they are difficult for us to understand and to live through. We have to have faith that our Heavenly Father will not put more on us than we can handle (although at times in my life I have thought that perhaps He had more confidence in me than I had). During the rough times in my life, I have rested on Paul’s comment about his own “thorn in the flesh”:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

Fears – yes, we all have them. But thanks be to God they don’t have to be disabling. No, we are more than conquerors through Christ who saved us. When we are weak, then God is strong through us. When we are afraid, He will give us courage. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us, no matter what the trial might be.

Listen to the song “Perfect Peace” as sung on the album Scripture Memory Songs – Overcoming Anxiety. The words are taken from Scripture and provide balm for troubled hearts.

And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7 [KJV]

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3 [KJV]

Father, I pray that these words from your Word will provide comfort and blessing to those who read them and that Your perfect peace will rest and abide on us even during tumultuous times because we have confidence that You are in control.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

August 9, 2016 | lindamowles

Have you ever been asked “Where do you live?”

Childhood home on Olympia Street '59 — Childhood home on Olympia Street in Chicago, Illinois.

That question often came up when I was a young child … neighborhood children ask this question to find out if my house was near enough so that they could come visit without having to ask their mother or father.

Even as an adult we often ask “Where do you live?” Sometimes the answer is a physical street address and sometimes it is a city, or a county, or a country. But it is guaranteed that we all live somewhere.

One of the most unusual houses I have seen is the one pictured below, near Willow, Alaska. It was visible from the train ride as we made our way to Denali National Park. Looking at the vista, you might think you were looking at a cell tower rather than a house. It stands tall … over the neighboring trees.

Alaska - 7 layer house in woods (C) — View from Alaska Railroad on trip to the Denali National Park.

A close up of the house reveals that it is, in fact, a structure made up of at least 7 “houses”, built on top of each other, above the surrounding forest.

Alaska - Dr Seuss Tower House outside Denali - close up (C) — Close up view of “The Dr. Seuss House” outside Willow, Alaska.

According to the locals, the 12-story house stands above the surrounding trees with each “house” stacked so that it appears to be either an afterthought or a layer on a very tall cake. The owner built the house after a forest fire, and the house originally had views of Mount Denali (former Mount McKinley) as well as the neighboring Denali National Park. However, as nature will do, trees regrow after a fire and, as a result, the owner lost the view that he prized so dearly. So, not being a quitter, he added more and more stories to his house. The result is the 12-story tower that appears to be another tall tree in the forest, at least it did from the train! The locals call it “The Dr. Seuss Tower House”. [There is an aerial video of the house as well as some photographs of the entire building in an article written by Alexa Carrasco, dated April 7, 2015, and found at http://www.curbed.com/2015/4/7/9972998/dr-seuss-willow-alaska-house.]

Where do you live?

For the Christian, the answer to that question is not just our physical address or city in which we reside. While that information is a correct answer to the inquiry, it is not the definitive statement of where our true ultimate home is.

In John 14:2-3, Jesus says:

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

So, where is your home? Here or there?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21.

So, where is your treasure? Here or there?

An old country gospel hymn says, in part:

This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through.

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door;

And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like You.

If Heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?

The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door;

And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

We have a job to do on this spinning planet called Earth; we are here to do the Lord’s work. He has commissioned His people to witness to others about His life, death, resurrection, ascension and intercession for us before the Father. We are to tell others of His sacrifice on the cross so that His righteousness could be applied to those who come to Him in faith and believe in Him, following His commandments and loving others as He loved us. We are to present the gospel when the opportunity is made available to us.

We cannot just sit and pine for our home in Glory. In short, we should not be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good!

But, we also should not have a strangle-hold on this world and its treasures because they are only temporary. They will not go into eternity with us. The Psalmist knew this truth!

Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

Psalm 49:16-17.

Our treasures are to be with the Lord, while we are temporary residents of this world.

So, where do you live? Where is your house?

However, the far more important questions are: Where is your home? Where is your treasure? Where is your heart?

Father, I pray that I would keep my eyes on my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, rather than on this world and the lure of money, position, power, ease, etc. I pray that the Holy Spirit would attune my heart to His song and that I would look for the places that He wants me to go and do that which He directs. May my treasures and my heart be in Heaven, through Jesus Christ, my Lord.