70 x 7 and Standing Up

In keeping up with my Lenten Commitment, I had my nose in the Bible again this morning. Odd thing happened, actually, and I'm going to chalk it up to God knowing I needed to read something important.

I'm still reading Acts. This morning's starting verse was Act 16:7. Usually I read a section and spend the day pondering. Acts 16:7-10 really could have served my brain well. It describes how the Spirit of Jesus prevented Paul, Luke, Silas and Timothy from going into Asia and Mysia. Really, doesn't that sound like something to ponder? God leads us and sometimes, if we're paying attention, that means we might be prevented from doing something. Excellent message and something worthy of pondering, yes?

I almost closed my Bible, but felt as if I needed to keep reading (God's leading). So I continued reading and finished Acts 16. The end of Acts 16 describes Paul and Silas's jail experience (when the walls of the prison shook and they were released from their shackles, but didn't leave and taught the jailer about Jesus. The jailer believes and has himself and his family baptized). At the very end, the magistrates who had Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into jail send word to release the disciples.

Paul refuses to go. He states that he and Silas are Roman citizens and should not have received such poor treatment. He declares that the magistrates should come to the prison and escort Paul and Silas out themselves. The magistrates come, much alarmed that they treated Roman citizens so shabbily. They escort Paul and Silas out of the jail and invite them to leave town, which they do.

Wow. I had completely forgotten about Paul standing his ground. He knew they'd been wronged and did not shrink from the confrontation. He used facts. He used reason. He didn't just run out of jail and relish being free. He righted a wrong.

Why does this strike me today? Well, in case you hadn't noticed, my FIL is visiting. (Read about it here, here, here, here, and here.) The part I hadn't mentioned was that he made a quip to my chip-eating, healthy, average-weighted Big Kid about "wasting away to a small house." Nice, huh? I haven't said anything to FIL. I haven't stood up for my child. (The Mama Guilt is palpable.) FIL dotes on Middle One and Little One, but is very critical of Big Kid. I've respected my Darling's wishes for peace and giving his father a "free pass." Darling lives by forgiving people 70 times 7. But when is it inappropriate?

I can take the abuse. I can come here and blast him on my anonymous blog while keeping my peace with FIL. But I'm a grown-up. My child isn't and while he might behave like a little turkey, he's a kid and doesn't deserve to experience shabby emotional treatment from his grandfather. Today's lesson has struck me and shown me that keeping the peace doesn't have to mean lying down and taking it and not pointing out wrongs.

Maybe I should point out here that a girlfriend said the exact same thing to me yesterday. Gee, think God's trying to tell me something? Make no mistake, God talks to us.

I need to think about it and how to apply the lesson. Please pray for me. Please pray for my FIL. And please, please pray for my son. And please throw in a prayer for Darling - this won't be easy for him.

Does This Square?

Did my Bible study this morning. And yes, true to my Lenten Commitment, I've not missed a single morning of delving into the Word. Yea, me!

I'm still reading Acts. Acts 13:51 says Paul and Barnabas "shook the dust off their feet" when they left Paphos because the people rejected their teachings of Jesus. What it made me think about was Jesus' admonishment to forgive. When asked how many times they should forgive someone, Jesus said in Matthew 18:22 to forgive them "seventy times seven."

So we shouldn't hesitate to protect ourselves and leave if we experience rejection, but we should forgive those who reject us? Is that how those two square? I'm going to chew on this all day, I can already feel it. Yea, me? Yes! Better to chew on the words of the Lord than to chew on gossip.

Lenten Commitment

Remember the Lenten commitment I made? Spend a few minutes with God and the Bible every day? Well, every morning I open the Bible and study before the kids emerge from their slumbers. This bleary-eyed studying won't win any academic awards, but it gets me in the Word and gives God one more opportunity to lay tracks in my heart. ("Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not stray from it." Proverbs 22:6 applies to God's grown-up kids, too.)

This morning's reading in Acts struck me. Acts 5:38-39 says "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Read more here.) A Jewish leader said this about trying to stop the spread of the Good News about Jesus, but it applies elsewhere. Basically:

What comes from God cannot be stopped. What doesn't come from God will fail.

It made me think of my friends and the many things happening in their lives. A friend and her husband want to sell their house and buy one that better fits their family's needs. The house they had their eyes on went under contract yesterday. If that house isn't available for them, it isn't their house. God has a plan for them and that house isn't it. Several friends and their husbands have found themselves in rough marital waters. Wedding vows keep coming to mind. "What God has brought together, let no man put asunder." The couples still love each other and are fighting for their marriages. Let them not put it asunder. God honors that. Other friends and their many situations come to mind and in each circumstance, God has a plan.

I'm looking around at the political world today. This day marks the televised "summit" President Obama has called with members of Congress to discuss health care. My personal feelings are that this is a sham of a summit, but... what God wants, God gets. If this thing (the health care bills the Democrats want to push through) I consider to be a monstrosity and morally wrong is of God, it will pass. If it isn't, it will fail.

That brings up another question, though. Is what we perceive to be a success or a failure God's estimation of success or failure? We live in a small moment. God sees the whole of time. What devastates us in this moment has far greater consequences than we can see and may well work for God's good, even though that good might never been seen by our eyes or might come centuries from now. How else can we explain dying babies (www.laylagrace.org) or miscarriages or senseless death or decades-old legislation that allows mothers to kill their unborn babies or newer legislation that could cripple a country? Are we so mired in our small moments we can't appreciate God has a bigger picture?

On the very small scale, and probably rather insignificant to the big picture, my husband and I have waited for months to learn whether a career project will begin. My darling felt inspired and this proposal poured out of him. Was it God inspiring him? This project has the potential to change our lives. I want it to work - badly. Not knowing the answer sometimes drives my brain crazy. Even when it's not actively in my brain, it's on my mind. Why else have I started chewing the inside of my cheek? Nervous tic, anyone?

Sometimes it takes more dedication to faith than I have readily available to remember that "if it is of human origin, it will fail and if it is from God, you will not be able to stop [it]." By the grace of the Holy Spirit, there lies a quiet spot in my heart. When I feel unable to think beyond the moment, I go there. I rest there. I know, deep in my heart, that "if it is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop [it]." So when the world swirls around my head, I have to remember that God has it. He will succeed.

God is right. I need this Lenten commitment.