"You don't have to go to church to get to heaven."

The statement in my title today really bugs me. It hits a nerve because the people who think and say it are usually looking for some rationale for their disobedience. The thief on the cross proves this statement to be true (Luke 23:39-43). But as I listen to God through his word, I am convinced he never intended for these beautiful words, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise," to be used as an excuse to disobey God. I believe Jesus was giving yet another awesome promise that he can and will save a repentant soul at any point in his life, no matter how much sin is involved.

There are five main things the thief of the cross could not do for God:

1. He could never study his Bible.

2. He could never be baptized.

3. He could never join or attend church.

4. He could never tithe.

5. He could never perform any service for God.

Because the thief on the cross died before he could do any of the normal activities of a Christian, does that mean we who are able are off the hook? The thief was physically incapable of accomplishing one thing for God. Did this keep him from being with God eternally in paradise? If it did, then our great God is a liar. Yet there are many religious leaders who convince their listeners that if they do not do certain things, they will not make it to heaven.

I pray that as we listen and learn from the words of our Savior that we would allow him to convince us of the great love and grace he has for us. And when we do the the things Christians do, like tithing and serving God, we would do them with as much gratitude as the thief on the cross would have, if he were cut down from his cross and set free.

Picture courtesy of Flickr.com: Saints Peter and Paul Church by The Lone Cypress

The Benefits of Listening

As I prepare for leading my "Listening for God's Magnificent Voice Retreat" at Little Hope Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN this weekend, I am reminded of some of my favorite verses on listening. One of them is found in the first chapter of Proverbs:

" . . . Whoever listens to me will live in safety

and be at ease, without fear of harm."

Proverbs 1:33

Our God is simple, clear, and straightforward with his promises. Listening to him brings protection. We are like ships at sea, often tossed to and fro by the turbulent weather of living in this crazy, upside down world. To seek safe harbor we have to steer ourselves into our prayer closets, spending quality time alone with him and his word. He is our place of refuge, retreat, and freedom from harm.

Thank you Jesus for being my safe harbor. For when I ignore your advice disaster is around the corner and calamity overtakes me like a storm (Proverbs 1:20-32) but when I listen to you I live at ease and secure. Thank you for speaking your life-giving words into my life and for the privilege of resting in you. Amen.

Picture, Safety Harbor, byfsudaft, courtesy of www.flickr.com

Distressed, but God Gave Me His Peace

This morning I answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. The number, an out of town, unknown number was from my alcoholic brother. If I had looked I would not have answered, but for some reason I did. Calling for help for the millionth time, I had to tell him "no," which is extremely difficult. As I told him I could not help him, I felt a rush of nervous anxiety run through my body. It made me sick to my stomach.

God has had me working on peacemaking in my family, which is torn to shreds over my brother's alcoholism. I didn't go into details in my last blog entry, but my broken family has remained on my heart as I prayed over the Scripture, "Blessed are the peacemakers." God has shown me that when someone struggles over and over with the same issues and refuses to go for the proper help--rehab, counseling, meetings, and so forth, there comes a point when help hinders and you must say, "No, I can't help you anymore." God is showing me this is his way of peacemaking, because it leads to health and wholeness. Human peacemaking is manipulative and causes us to work incessantly on smoothing things over, enabling, trying to make everyone happy (in my case, not saying anything, when I really want to scream), which leads to insanity, illness and more brokenness.

After hanging up the phone, I went to my Bible asking God to speak his peace into my life. A piece of note paper fell out with a grouping of Scriptures on it: Romans 15:33; 2 Corinthians 13:11, and Hebrews 13:20. I had to look them up and could not believe what I found. (Well, I really could believe it because we have an awesome God!) God spoke his words of healing immediately to my heart by saying:

The God of peace be with you all. Amen. Romans 15:33

Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21

Isn't God voice magnificent? His peace flooded my soul and I knew I had made the right decision.

Great Shepherd of the Sheep,

I love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Please continue speaking your peace into my heart. In your precious name. Amen

What does Jesus say about peacemakers?

God blesses those who work for peace,

for they will be called the children of God.

Matthew 5:9 (NLT)

About this verse Calvin Miller wrote: "There is a danger in separating quarrelling dogs. When hate rages, peacemakers face injury. Peacemaking is what the cross is all about. At Calvary, God and humankind were at odds. It was as though humanity was at war with the Creator."

So Jesus came as the reconciler. Although we all were at one time hostile toward God and alienated from him, We are now forgiven and have been brought into an intimate relationship with him (Colossians 1:21-22). Because we are now reconciled, we must be about the business of peacemaking, which costs us something. It is not easy dealing with angry souls. While reaching out to them with the love of God there are times we feel the bite of their rage. But wherever enemies dissolve, sons in God's Kingdom are born.

Lord, Help me to be a peacemaker every day, despite the cost. Fill me with your mercy, grace, and love so my actions will bid all earthly hatred to cease. In your powerful name above all other names I pray. Amen.

Trusting God's Sovereignty

“The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.” Isaiah 57:1-2

I recently found the sham of a report issued by the Navy with regard to my brother, John's, murder in my mother’s things. As most of you know my mom passed away last year. Now I understand even more why my parents kept me and my siblings from reading it. The inconsistencies throughout this ridiculous report scream injustice, but my parents were powerless to change things. For me to read the report now, 30 years later, God must be up to something. My mind is going a mile a minute, thinking the time is now to re-investigate and write about what I find. Please pray for me.

After my brother’s murder, the verses above were given to my mother by a friend. As I ponder this passage from Isaiah, my mind takes me back to the first brothers, Cain and Able. I attempt to comprehend how hatred towards someone who does things right could escalate to killing them. Even though it is hard to understand, it is still happening today. As I examine my brother Johnny’s life, a model citizen, friend, and brother I have come to the conclusion that his goodness brought out murderous hatred in someone, somewhere in Jacksonville, Florida back in February of 1979.

Thank God for his promises. Thank his Son, Jesus, for rising from the dead, after dying to save all people, even those who hated him for being good, to give us life everlasting. And thank you Holy Spirit for surrounding us with special people who you prompt to remind us of God's great and precious promises in the middle of heartache and tragedy. When my mom's friend gave us Isaiah 57:1-2, I'm sure her intent was to comfort and console my mom and all of us family members. God’s powerful word did just that. My brother has entered into peace and found rest and we know, at least in part, the answer to, “Why?”

Dearest Lord Jesus,
I trust your sovereignty in my life, even when the why question is not answered completely. My time to be “taken away” is in your hands. Living in this broken world confuses me, so please help me to remain fully surrendered to your will and way, because there I can see and hear you and live your promised abundant life. I want to obey, by going where you lead and doing what you guide me to do-in your strength, not mine. You are the way, the truth, and the life. I love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Picture of John Arthur Browning, 1965, age 12.

Has your ear grown dull through grief?

God often gets blamed for the horrible things that happen in our lives. As a young woman, I was angry at him for years for allowing my brother to be murdered, that is until my twisted views of of my Father in heaven were straightened out. I am not alone in the blame game. I heard about a woman who accidentally ran over her two year old. At the young child's funeral the preacher said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." She never went to church again.

Great sorrow stuns us. It even makes us forget the best source of our consolation. I don't understand it, but that is the way it happened for me. Grief dulled my ears to his voice. For years I ran my own life without any real need for Jesus. But then something happened at the birth of my first child. I became desperate for God. I knew that I had a huge job ahead of me and felt quite ill-equipped.

I started to devour the word of God and found out that I loved to write about all I learned. As I began to write, however, God began to stir up all of the hurtful memories of my brother’s death, prompting me to deal with my long buried anger issues. Writing is known to be cathartic.

One day while attempting to record the story of my brother’s murder, I became so distraught that I had to push away from the computer. Later on, during my prayer and Bible study in Matthew 9, a flurry of emotions and tears erupted again. Even though I was reading something that Jesus had said to a woman with an issue of blood long ago, I heard the voice of my Savior speak directly to my heart and say, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you.” I knew without a doubt that Jesus had healed my soul from the bitterness and pain of my past. During that restoration experience I peeked into the heart of my loving Savior. He desires to heal all of his children, if only they will come to him and listen, hear him that their souls may live (Isaiah 55:3).

At that time, I finally realized how many times Jesus had called me to come to him so he could comfort and carry me through all of my troubles. I then understood the affects of sin on the world. It has broken God's perfect creation and ruins our fellowship with him. But because God is love, full of mercy and grace, he wants to help us through all that we face. May I be my Master's messenger? Let me remind you that you still belong to him. All of his promises stand firm forever, for he says:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2

I now echo Jeremiahs sentiments from Lamentations 3:19-26 in my own life and you can, too.

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

May we all keep our ears open to the healing voice of our magnificent God and Savior. Amen!

picture by gballa86: "The Falls at Rushing River" courtesy of Flickr.com

Summertime--When the Living is Easy?

One of my favorite places to go is where I sit and bake in the sun. I don’t have to think about a thing, if I don’t want to, except for sinking my toes into the warm sand, smelling the salty air, feeling a fresh breeze dry the seawater on my skin, hearing the waves crash and seagulls squawk, and watching people of all different sizes and shapes. Relaxing on the beach epitomizes living easy to me, but my ocean-side vacation is not planned until September. For now, my easy living means non-stop action.

I’ve been living out of a bag for two weeks, visiting 3 states, not counting the ones I flew over. First, I was off to Chicago to the Write-to-Publish (WTP) Conference and then a weekend trip to Alabama to visit family, cruising through Tennessee on the way home. In between the two trips I had two proposals for my Listening Heart Bible study and articles to send off to interested publishers. I know schedules get out of whack over the summer, but whether you are having lazy days or not, won’t you follow me, and stay in the word, listening all summer? I have so needed his guidance and strength to stay on track.

Now that I’m back home and in the real world, there’s cooking and caring for my crew and doing things like sending my teenager off to camp and preparing for my first women’s retreat. I don’t want to forget all of the great stuff that I came away with at the WTP Conference. I was filled to capacity with valuable information while connecting with editors, and making great new friends and writing partners. To help me retain all that I absorbed during that week in Chicago and enjoy my full summer so far, I plan to follow Paul's advice who said:

Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again: Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. (Hallelujah!)

Do not be anxious about anything.

but in everything by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

So come, let’s pray together, to make living easier. God's loving presence is like a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer day--refreshment for the body, soul, and spirit.

photo "My Favorite Beaches" by Omnia, courtesy of Flickr.com