2017-08-25
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I mentioned that I’m led to write more about God’s mystery as it applies to my own life. It has not only impacted it for good, but it has changed my life in ways I would have never imagined. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus made His presence known just in time to save me from ending up in a life of crime. He did this through a combination of my earthly father’s decision to remove me from the school where I was going, and the Holy Spirit giving me both the opportunity and interest in applying for an all-academic school. Getting into that school would challenge my mind sufficiently to drive away both my bad behavior at the time and remove me from the bad influences on me. I was too busy to act out on the destructive anger that was so deeply buried in me. My anger was brought on by being in a dysfunctional family life and by constantly being reminded of the family we lost in the Holocaust. I was too immature at the time to even recognize what was causing this anger and how to process it in a constructive manner. I was age 13 at the time, hardly a great time in anyone’s life, with raging hormones and the transition from childhood to being an adult.
Being raised in Conservative Judaism was being taught to deny Jesus Christ’s deity. Jews agree that this Man lived, but they deny the God-component that Christians recognize. I was ill prepared to recognize at first what was happening to me when I received Christ’s call to faith. COL 1: 27, “God’s plan is to make known His secret to His people, this rich and glorious secret which He has for all people. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God.” This is not the first time this notion has been mentioned in the Scriptures. Had I not been subjected to the dictates of only belonging to Judaism, I would have paid attention to IS 55: 11 in which God is discussing His word. “So also will be the word that I speak (through Isaiah)—it will not fail to do what I plan for it; it will do everything I send it to do.” This is not only the truth, but it is so strong a truth that it could reach someone like me, who at the age of 13 was in full rebellion and didn’t care about having God in my life. Jesus Christ was being discussed in my 8th grade Sunday school class at the temple. Suddenly, I said, “We’ve talked about Jesus’ life, but nothing was ever said about His relationship to God! Isn’t He God’s Son?” The teacher and the others looked at me in shock. Afterward, I could hardly believe I said that myself! That night, the teacher called my father and told him, “Doctor, I think we have a big problem with Lynn.” And indeed, they did. That was the beginning, and things went on from there. At age 15, I was “confirmed” in the faith with the rest of my class of 92 students—each giving a speech in that long service. By this time, I was beginning to read books about Christianity, and my folks didn’t know about it.
A period of genuine confusion followed in my faith life. I got married at 17 ½ to the wrong person, and 15 years of misery followed. I met one of my brother’s family and began asking questions about her religion. Then, I decided to convert after a series of dedicated people followed the instructions they were given for “fellowshipping” potential converts. I accepted Christ without knowing much about what I was doing and was baptized. Twelve years went by. I was the first in my family to ever go through a divorce and custody matter. While this was a painful part of my life, I can look back with the wisdom that comes from life’s experience, realizing that I had to go through this as part of the preparation for what I’m doing now. Much to my surprise, I met the right husband for me, and today we’ve been married for 40 years and counting. This period of confusion, the pain of going through a divorce, and the happiness that follows were necessary to prepare me to serve God with sensitivity for the needs of others. Once I found Christ for myself, I learned what is said in EPH 3: 6, “The secret is that by means of the Gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God’s blessings. They are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Jesus Christ.” Sadly, many of today’s traditional Jews don’t see this truth.
PRAYER: O Lord, we confess to being imperfect and sometimes disobedient. It is only with Your help that we can overcome. Over the time we have studied Your word, we find that it is always wise and always consistent throughout our history. You have given many stories of people’s experiences in the Scriptures. We must recognize that mankind has often ignored history and has continued to repeat the same mistakes. With Your help, we can learn to pray first, think, and then to speak, make decisions, and/or take actions, in that order. This is learned behavior that doesn’t come natural to us, but learn it we must! Each of us is Your “work in progress”—work that can only be successful with Your interaction. We thank and praise You for being always available to us. We offer You our loyalty and honor You for being the glorious God that you are. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to write about EPH 2: 11-3: 12, an important statement that focuses on this oneness in Christ and our relationship with those in different denominations that the one to which we belong. We all have a responsibility to others, even if one isn’t married. It might come through our tasks in church or even in our behavior in our workplaces. We are not islands afloat in different oceans. Tiny babies are born totally dependent on adults around them; they are the center of their own universe. However, as we get older, we must learn to achieve a balance between taking care of ourselves and seeing to the needs of others. A totally self-centered life, one led by worship of other humans isn’t a happy life. But, one centered on God with that balance mentioned here can be a life filled with inner peace. Please spend time considering this notion this week. We should look for how each of us can achieve that balance in our lives. We have a God Who loves us and wants us to be happy and fulfilled. Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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