Magi and The Gifts

"And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh."

Recently I acquired a small jar of frankincense and myrrh. Just holding it in my hand gave me a strange and excited feeling that I was holding something extraordinary and ancient. The color of the goopy mixture is brown. The fragrance is sweet. Its texture is oily. As you can imagine having such a special mixture of ancient herbs in my possession made me want to revisit the account in the Gospel of Matthew of the Magi and their visit to the new King of the Jews.

In Matthew 2:1-12 I read that the Magi came from the east. Some Biblical scholars believe they came from Persia (Iran), some from Babylonia, and some from Yemen. I tend to think they came from China. After all China held the oldest knowledge of herbs. The Chinese have been healing with herbs for thousands of years. However, it doesn’t really matter where they came from. They were astrologers, evidently, and they had seen a bright star which they knew from their studies meant there was a new king born in Israel. And they wanted to worship him.

Unlike what we learned in Sunday School when we were children it seems that the star or bright planet did not shine on them the whole trip and lead them to the manger. That is a myth and stuff of Christmas carols. From the reading in Matthew it seems evident that the Magi saw the star while they were still in the east. It was their motivation to make the trip. Then they did not see the star again until they left Jerusalem and headed to Bethlehem. "...they went on their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them..." (verse 9) "...when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (verse 10).

I have often wondered why they went to Jerusalem first. It doesn’t make sense that they would go see Herod. Unless they believed that the new king of the Jews would be the son of the present king of the Jews, Herod. It seems to me the only explanation. They arrived in the capital city of the Jews, Jerusalem, and went straight to see Herod the king whom they assumed was the father of the new king, the new baby. And they asked Herod, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" In other words, "Where is your new baby who will inherit your throne?" They had brought Herod and his new baby gifts. Treasurers for the present king and for the future king.

When they saw Herod’s reaction and the uproar they caused in the city, they must have been upset. Maybe they had misread the stars where the king was born. Maybe they had misjudged who the king would be. When Herod told them to leave, they were probably happy to get out of town. They headed towards Bethlehem. But before they got there, the star made its appearance again, and they were overjoyed. It was the same star or bright planet they had seen at home before they left on their trip. It had been two years since they saw the star. It confirmed they had been right in their calculations. Maybe it had been two years since they started on the trip. We don’t know. But by that time the baby king was no longer in a manger in a stable He was living in a house. But the star knew the way. The Creator of the star was leading them to His Son. They, unknowingly, were being used by the Most High God to provide for His Son.

When they found the Mother and Child, they were exceedingly happy. They fell down and worshiped Him. Their trip had been successful. They had found the treasure they were seeking. But their destiny and their purpose was not finished. They still had treasures in their caravan that they had brought for the present king and for the baby. And they had two gifts for the baby. Since Herod turned out not to be the father of the new king then the baby’s parents became the recipients of all the treasures they brought for the king. Enough treasure to take care of the Child King for the rest of His life. But what did they bring for the Child Himself? They brought holy and sacramental gifts. They brought gold for prosperity, and they brought frankincense (perfume) and mryhh (anointing oil) for healing. Perhaps they knew about the holy anointing oil that God had given the children of Israel for their tabernacle many years before. The tabernacle or place where God intended to reside. In Exodus 30:22-33 the scripture talks about God’s instructions to Moses about making the holy anointing oil, the perfumed mixture, the frankincense and myrrh with which He wanted everything anointed. He said, "Whatever touches them shall be holy."

These were no ordinary gifts. None of them were. The treasures the Magi brought were set aside for the king of the Jews. They thought that king was Herod, the king. But "the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." (Proverbs 13:22) And the treasures of king Herod, in this case, were stored up and given to the righteous, Joseph and Mary. God, the Father, was providing through the Magi for His Son for the rest of His life.

After the Magi saw the Child who would become king of the Jews they spent the night or several nights. We don’t know how long. But one of them had a warning dream. The dream told them not to return to Herod as he had requested but that they should return home by another route. They listened to the dream and obeyed what it said. The dream was meant for their safety. They had been used by God, and they were being protected by God from Herod. They had fulfilled their destiny and their purpose. They had delivered prosperity and healing for the Son of God. The two gifts that would sustain Him in His life on earth. And they had delivered treasurers to His parents for the prosperity of the family. The story of the Magi is more than a nice story about wise men from the east. It is a story about God’s provision for His Son and the Holy Family. It also holds promises for us. Today He delivers those same gifts, of prosperity and healing, to us, the children of the King of Kings.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Veterans Day from a Daughter

There are certain days during the year that Daddy and I always talk. No matter where we are. No matter what we are doing, we call each other. Two of those days are Veterans Day and February 2.

You see, Daddy is 85 years old and a veteran of WWII. He entered the war as soon as he graduated from high school and planned to go kill Hitler all by himself. Instead, after basic training he was shipped to Burma. When most people think of WWII, they think of Europe or the Pacific. But there were also American soldiers in the tiny country of Burma. Why Burma you may ask? It was important at that time because there needed to be a road between India and China where the Americans and British could ship supplies and materials. The important theater of operations called the CBI (China-Burma-India) was led by Frank Merrill, and his company was the Galahad Unit. My dad served in the 124th Cavalry Regiment. Movies have been made about this long forgotten and underappreciated group of special military forces. They were called Merrill’s Marauders.

On February 2, 1945 my dad’s company was in a violent and valiant surge to take a hill near LoiKang Burma. They were under heavy artillery fire. Daddy’s first lieutenant, Jack Knight, was killed right in front of him while taking out enemy pillboxes and foxholes and later received posthumously the Medal of Honor. My dad was shot in the chest by a sniper, and he fell to the ground where he lay the rest of the evening and into the night. He tells of Japanese troops walking all around him jabbing bayonets into the ground while he prayed to God to save him. All night long he prayed and trusted God to deliver him from the hands of the enemy. Sometime in the early hours a fellow soldier and friend crawled up to him and whispered, "Smitty! I’m shot in the legs but I’ll crawl and tell them you’re here."

Fortunately later that day the medics arrived with a stretcher. His friend had crawled a mile in order to report Daddy’s condition and get him help. God had given him the strength he needed to save Daddy’s life. Daddy talks about later waking up to see many of his fellow soldiers’ and friends’ bodies wrapped in white parachutes and stacked in a field. He says, "those are the real heroes."

The medics took Daddy to the base of operations which was merely tents in a rice paddy. But it looked like heaven to a wounded soldier. Later Daddy was loaded into the side of a C-100 which lifted off from a rice paddy and flew him home where he recuperated after many months of medical care and rehabilitation in several different hospitals.

While still recuperating in one hospital he was awarded the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star and several other Army medals. Today he is the most highly decorated WWII Veteran in Tarrant County, Texas. Tomorrow he rides in the Veterans Day Parade in downtown Dallas.

I called Daddy today because I knew he’d be busy tomorrow. Busy receiving many much appreciated thanks for his service to his country. While he’s doing that his daughter will be on her knees praying and thanking God that He heard the prayers of a 19-year old soldier lying on the ground with a hole in his chest half way around the world. No matter where we are God knows where we are. He knows our circumstances. He answers prayers when we cry out to Him. Thank you, Lord, for saving my dad and the lives of other American soldiers that we remember and thank on this Veterans Day.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Living With the Walking Dead

Do you ever have a day when nobody seems to get you? Do you feel like you’re talking to a blank wall? Does it ever seem like you don’t belong anywhere? I think I am safe saying that most Christians feel that way at some time or other. You may be trying to explain over and over what you think is a simple example of living by faith. Or you’re in the middle of a group of young people who are talking about the latest vampire movie craze and you begin to think, “I’m in the twilight zone!”

Actually that is not surprising. If you are a Christian and are practicing your faith, you are living in a different world from most people. You are living in a world where there are dead people walking around. That may seem harsh to think of unbelievers as dead people but they are. They are dead spiritually.

Humans are made in God’s image. That means that they are triune beings: body, soul, and spirit. If a person is not a believer and has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior then they are, in fact, spiritually dead. No wonder it is impossible to have a spiritual conversation with them. They are living in the darkness. You are living in the light.

Romans 8:10 says, “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Therefore, if you have made Jesus Christ Lord of your life the Holy Spirit has come to dwell within you. When the Holy Spirit comes to live in you, then you are made alive spiritually. Until then you are spiritually dead. You may be walking around. You may even look good. But you are dead and don’t know it.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ...” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NAS). How important is it that we associate with people who are spiritually alive and not dead? It is essential. We should not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the path of the sinners (Psalm 1:1 NAS). What do we have in common with the walking dead when we are so full of the light? Nothing. Of course, we should have hearts that want to witness to the lost. We are called to be witnesses and to reconcile the world to God.

But the next time you are wondering why the world is so difficult to live in, remember that you are living with the walking dead. Yes, have compassion on them. By all means tell them about Jesus Christ and give them an opportunity to accept Him and be filled with life. After all we were all spiritually dead at one time in our lives. Before the Holy Spirit came to live in us we had no life in us. Now we have the Spirit of Almighty God inside of us. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.

It should be a comforting thought when you wonder why you are not fitting in with some people. The reason you are not is because you are living in a world where there are dead people walking. Is there something you can do about it? Yes, there is. Share Jesus with them. Bring them into the Light if you can. Pray for them. Turn them from death to life. Then we’ll all be walking around alive!

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

Peace at Home

"Believe me, unless we have peace, and strive for peace in our own home, we shall not find it in the homes of others."--St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle

The Harvest from Jesus' Own Words

"...His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

"Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

There is a popular belief these days that when the rapture comes believers will be taken out first and the unbelievers will be left. I disagree with that belief because of this scripture from Matthew 13:36-43. Jesus is telling us that He will send His angels forth first to gather the stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness. THEN the righteous ones will be left in His kingdom. Meditate this scripture and His words and have ears to hear Him. He will reveal the truth to your heart.

The Power of Your Testimony

John 9:1-38
“The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes...and I received sight.”

Have you ever been miraculously healed of an ailment? I have been, and let me tell you, it can make you very happy. One minute you are burdened down by thinking about your illness, with having to deal with the limitations. But when you’re healed, the burden is lifted, and you truly feel set free. Along with that freedom comes boldness. You want to tell someone. Maybe you were shy before the healing, but now you want to speak up. You want everyone to know that God still heals today like He has in the past. And as you tell your story the boldness gets stronger and stronger.

That is what happened to the blind man Jesus healed on the Sabbath. We don’t know this man’s name but we do know that he was born blind. So he had been burdened with his affliction for a long time. When Jesus saw him, He made clay, put it on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool. The man did as Jesus said, and he came back seeing for the first time in his life. What an amazing experience to have! To see nothing, then to see everything! Wouldn’t you want to tell someone? Sure you would. You’d want to shout it from the rooftops.

People who knew who the man was asked him how this thing happened to him. And he said the man named Jesus did it. That’s where his faith started. It started with calling Jesus a man. Next the Pharisees called him for questioning. They asked, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” His faith is growing as the day goes on, and he’s getting bolder and bolder the longer he sees. And he says, “He is a prophet.”

The Pharisees couldn’t stand it, they had to talk to his parents, thinking that the whole thing was a sham. But the parents confirmed that their son had indeed been blind from birth. Even angrier than before the Pharisees brought the man back for further questioning. And he’s had all day to walk around as a seeing person. His self-confidence has sprouted wings. They ask him what happened, and he boldly shoots back, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen.” Young people today would say, “Duh! Are you people stupid?” But he’s getting so bold, he starts to challenge them. He presses on, “Why do you want to hear it again?” Lightening didn’t strike him dead so he goes on, “Do you want to become His disciples, too?”

Now he has them on the defensive. They start to explain to him who they are! A man who was a blind beggar at the beginning of the day is now a bold witness for the Lord and is challenging the Pharisees on their own ground. He is so pumped up and set free he even begins to challenge them further and to preach to them. “Well, here is an amazing thing,” he says, “that you do not know where He comes from and yet He opened my eyes.” Good point. By this time he is so bold that he puts himself on their level with his mini-sermon, “We know” he says. “That God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him. ...If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” Everyone else is afraid of being put out of the synagogue but this man is preaching to the Jewish leaders! By this time he is calling Jesus “man from God.” With this they are totally disgusted and without answers, so they put him out.

Jesus hears about what has happened to this blind man since He healed him that morning, and He goes looking for him. From the time he was healed until now the man’s testimony has gone from calling Jesus a man, to calling Him a prophet, to calling Him a man from God. When Jesus finds him, He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man didn’t know who that was. But he said to Jesus, “Who is he Lord, and I’ll believe in Him?” Jesus tells him that He is that Son of Man whom the man is looking at and talking with. And the man says, “Lord, I believe.” From man to prophet to Lord. With the man’s own words his faith grew and grew as the day went on. And as his faith grew he became bolder and bolder in spreading the word about what happened to him. He became a bold and powerful witness to the healing power of Jesus Christ in his life.

The same thing can happen to you. Power can fill you and make you bold in your witness about what Jesus has done for you. Talk about who He is in your life. Is He a prophet? Is He a healer? A teacher? Or is He Lord? As you tell your story tell the world who He is. Be bold. Pretty soon Jesus will come looking for you, too.

Jesus Is Your Peace

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee...” Isaiah 26:3

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: ...and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

“Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.” Isaiah 26:12

“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” Philippians 4:9

“Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also we are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Colossians 3:15

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

“The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11

“Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7

What Is God's True Fast?

Isaiah 58:6-12

Is this not the fast which I choose?
To loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?

Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness.

And if you give yourself to the hungry,
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday,

And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give you strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

And those from among you will rebuild
The ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

Without the Smell of Smoke in Your Clothes

Daniel 3:13-28 “...the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”

One Sunday morning in a small but powerful church in east Texas I heard a sermon that has stayed with me. The pastor said, “Facts must fall in the face of faith!” Ever since that day I see it happening more and more. When we speak words of faith coupled with our belief in those words, unusual things happen. Fear is moved away. Blessings begin to flow. Resources show up that we never knew existed. I’m convinced that’s what happened to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

King Nebuchadnezzar was in a rage. He had made a mistake by creating the wrong image from one of his dreams but he couldn’t see it. He had been blinded by pride and by listening to bad advice. So when Daniel’s three friends refused to bow down and worship the image from the king’s dream, the king flew into a rage. His wrath was full blown. When he also asked what god was there that could deliver them, they refused to engage in his conversation of doubt and unbelief to try to convince him otherwise. People are often impossible to reason with in the middle of rage!

What they did do was to state their faith emphatically. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing fire!” But not only that, “He will deliver us out of your hand.” Whether they lived or died, they knew they were delivered out of the hands of the king and into the hands of their mighty God. As the three held their ground the king grew angrier and ordered the furnace turned up even higher.

It took a miracle to open the eyes of King Nebuchadnezzar. Not only were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego not burned, the fire had no effect on their hair or their clothes. Verse 27 says that there was not even the smell of the fire on them! Plus, there was another person walking around in the fire who looked “like a son of the gods” according to the king.

By the time the three men came out of the furnace, King Nebuchadnezzar was worshiping their God! He said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego! He sent an angel to deliver them who put their trust in Him.”

When cold, hard facts are staring you straight in the face, whether it’s a bad health report or a bank statement with a zero balance, pay close attention to the next thing your mouth says. First your eyes see, then your mouth speaks. Be sure you say words of faith, words that confirm whose child you are and what your God can do. “It doesn’t matter what my eyes see, God is able to deliver me from this situation! I will come out of this without even the smell of smoke in my clothes!” Put your faith words to work today, and whatever facts are heating up against you they will fall at your feet in a pile of ashes!

Copyright Gloria Fisher 2011.
All rights reserved.

He Has Plans For You

“There remains yet the youngest, and behold he is tending the sheep.” 1 Samuel 16:11

It seems that most people hate Monday morning, and I used to be one of those people. Maybe on Sunday night dread begins to seep into your thoughts and before the night is over it has transformed your joy of Sunday into depressing gloom. Sometime about a decade ago I got tired of hating Mondays. So armed with the faith that it was possible to change my attitude, I made up my mind to start loving Monday mornings. In fact I found it quite easy. All I had to do was say it! I love Mondays! I love Mondays! And very soon I did.

Not only did I have to say it, I had to get a picture in my mind of something good that could happen on Monday and the following week. I would say my affirmation about Monday, and I would think about the possibilities that the week held. After a while I coined a phrase which all of my friends know I say, “The week is pregnant with possibilities!” And that is not merely wishful thinking, it is true.

Whenever the old dread tried to break free in my mind on Sunday night, I would take my thoughts captive and agree with my affirmations that every new day and every new week holds more promise and possibilities than I can possibly know about. Let’s think about David–the man who would be king. David was a young man living at home with his family. We know about his father, Jesse, and about his brothers, Abinadab and Shammah from 1 Samuel 16:8-9. Evidently, the sons had chores to do, similar to us, chores that kept the family prosperous and functioning. Perhaps it was a Monday although we don’t know that. But we do know that David was doing what he did on a regular basis. He was tending the sheep. A day like any other day. Doing what he did.

David had no idea that his week was about to change because God had plans for him. When he got up that day, it was just another day. Get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, comb your hair, head out the door. But somewhere in the midst of David’s day, it could have been a Monday, someone came to fetch him. “David! Your dad wants you up at the house!”

So David put down his rod and his staff, got someone else to watch the sheep for a minute, said he’d be right back. Little did he know that he was leaving the sheep a shepherd and coming back to them a king.

When David arrived at the house, there was a prophet there visiting. And his dad, Jesse, was there and his two brothers, so he could tell this was something unusual. Their day had also been interrupted. The prophet introduced himself and looked at David with wisdom in his eyes. It didn’t take him long to size David up and to hear from God. Yes, this boy was the one! He was to be anointed. As David stood there the prophet poured oil on him in front of his family and the Holy Spirit fell on David, and everyone in the room knew that something extraordinary was happening to David. The scripture doesn’t say it, but it would seem likely that there was joy and jubilation over the fact that David would be the new king of Israel.

God says, “...I know the plans I have for you...” (Jeremiah 29:11) Yes, God has plans for us. And we never know what day He’ll do something extraordinary for us to make those plans happen. When He does our lives change forever. Consequently, we should greet each day with high expectations! You could be sitting in an office or selling hamburgers in a café when someone will walk in whom God has sent to you. I know because it happened to me.

I was a legal secretary in a six-man law firm having an ordinary day when I looked up and an attractive man walked in the door that I didn’t know. He was there to see one of the attorneys. As I sat there looking at him from a distance God’s still small voice said, “That’s him.” Much like God telling Samuel when he saw David, “...anoint him, for this is he.” I didn’t know that day but I was looking at the man who would become my husband. And we’ve now been happily married for 32 years.

We never know when we get out of bed in the morning what God plans to do to bless us that day. But we should always arise rejoicing! Every day holds an untold amount of possibilities. Every week is pregnant with possibilities! Make up your mind not to look at your circumstances but to look at God’s resources and the possibilities each day holds because you belong to Him, and He has plans for you!

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.
All rights reserved.

You Are Sent to Someone Today

"And the whole multitude sought to touch him; for there went virtue out of him and healed them all." -- Luke 6:19


During a day we meet from one to twenty people. Maybe they come into your office. Maybe you see them in the grocery store. Maybe it's simply a phone call. But everyone you meet has a need. You may not know what it is at first. But they might actually share their need with you if you listen. They might be lonely or sad. They might have health problems. Their children might be in trouble.

You are uniquely gifted to help someone today. Not everyone. But someone. Someone needs something you are gifted with. Maybe you have a gift to listen. Or maybe you are an intercessory prayer warrior. Maybe an encourager. You might have a golden opportunity today to minister to someone who needs just what you have to give.

A lot of people want to change their circumstances but don't know how. They need a word from the Lord. Maybe He has put you in the path of one of those people today. Jesus was a healer, a teacher, a comforter, a restorer. So are you. You have it within you to be kind, generous, and compassionate today. This is your opportunity to use your gifts for good.

Slow down today. Stop for a moment. Really listen to someone who pours out their heart. They may have been looking for you all of their life. Be a resource for them. Plant seeds of love and caring. Believe me it will come back to you. You will reap a harvest of blessing.

Copyright Gloria Fisher 2011.
All rights reserved.

When We Are Speaking

"When we speak of wisdom, we are speaking about Christ. When we speak about virtue, we are speaking about Christ. When we speak about justice, we are speaking about Christ. When we are speaking about truth and life and redemption, we are speaking about Christ." -- Ambrose of Milan

St. Augustine on Being

"Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation." -- Augustine of Hippo

First There Was Silence

If I could write what existed before “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1), I’d write “before the beginning there was silence.” Before the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters (Gen 1:2) there was silence. When God was alone in the formless void and darkness and His Spirit was not moving yet, there was silence. Before the Word spoke, “Let there be light” there was silence.

It seems that God’s Spirit moved first and it must have made a sound because Jesus talked about the sound of the Spirit to Nicodemus in John 3:8. He said, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” And similarly in Acts 2:2 Luke writes, “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ...And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...” (Acts 2:4) So we can surmise that the sound of the Holy Spirit moving over the waters was like a strong wind blowing.

Then after the Spirit moved God spoke. Once He spoke then He spoke more and more. He called the light good. He called the light day. He called the darkness night. He said, “Let there be an expanse...” and so on.

There is no way for us to know how long God existed before there was sound. How long was He in silence? Was He merely thinking? Or was He contemplating the creation He was about to call into being? Was He creating in His mind?

The creation story in Genesis chapter 1 relates that God created certain things on each day and at the end of each day He saw that it was good. Not only was it good He loved it. How do we know He loved it? Jesus told Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world...” (John 3:16)

Because Jesus is the Word all that was created was created by the Word. Therefore He was there in the beginning. He knew that God loved what He created. The apostle John wrote in John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

It seems to me that God was–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–in a pause so to speak before He began to move and make sounds and create. And that pause is called silence. In the silence God was complete. He was Absolute.

Copyright Gloria Fisher 2011
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Journal Keeping As a Sacramental Act

I am a firm believer in sacramental living. I see some belongings as sacramental ownership, and I’ve blogged on here (Feb 2009) about that idea and method of thinking. But sacraments are not my idea, of course. They are God’s. However as I live out my life in ways that I believe God wants, I see sacraments in a lot of places. Not only are the sacraments present that God instituted such as baptism, communion, and marriage but I believe whenever we encounter an outward and spiritual sign of an inward spiritual grace, it’s a good idea to consider the fact that there could be a sacrament present in that.

As Christians we are expected to live a spiritual life instead of living a carnal life. That way of living makes it possible to cultivate a fertile field for spiritual activity. Maybe you worry that living a spiritual life may make you seem weird to the world. Well, you’re right. It might. But the reward of living a life of the Spirit is so great, why do we care what the world thinks? After all the writer of Romans says, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom 8:10) Do we want to live a life of righteousness? Of course we do.

I have kept a journal off and on almost all of my life. But I have faithfully kept one since 1980, and the benefits of keeping a journal are many. They are too many to list here. But I can assure you that the discipline of keeping one will aid you in growing spiritually by leaps and bounds. I always give my Spiritual directees a first page for their journals when I talk to them about journal keeping. On that first page is the scripture by Jeremiah that says, “Set up for yourself road marks. Place for yourself guideposts, direct your mind to the highway, the way by which you went.” (Jer 31:21)

How can you know how far you’ve come if you don’t know where you were before? And it is almost impossible to know that if it’s only in your head. It is essential to write your life down on paper so you see with your eyes where God has brought you. As a result your journal will also reveal to you where God is taking you. Your journal can be your testimony, a written reflection, of your purpose and your destiny.

A journal is like a true friend who keeps every confidence. The place where you can pour out your heart with no consequences. Your confessor and your voice of reason. In writing out conversations with friends, lovers, or God your journal is a place to pick your fights, to work through forgiveness, and to share your tears or laughter. A journal can be your holy space. Your prayer closet. Your prie deux. Your sanctuary.

Let me urge you to start a journal today. Buy yourself a pretty book. Give it respect and attention. Set aside a time and place for contemplation and reflection. Make a date with your journal and keep it. The rewards are numerous. The benefits priceless. Keeping your journal will become a sacrament in your life, an outward sign of a spiritual grace within you. It’s one of the very best ways you can love God and yourself.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher. All rights reserved.

He Is Not Here

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen.'" --Luke 24:1-6

C.S. Lewis on Jesus

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." – Mere Christianity, pages 40-41.

Jesus and Elijah

Passover begins tonight at sundown. Passover is a Jewish feast that is celebrated according to God’s command in Exodus 12 and 13. When God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, he sent the death angel to kill all the first born children in Egypt including the first born of Pharaoh. However, he gave specific instructions to the Hebrews about how He would save them. They were to kill the Passover lamb, apply some of its blood to the door posts of the house with a bunch of hyssop, and stay inside the house. When the Lord passed through, He did not allow the destroyer to touch the houses where the blood was applied and seen. As a result the children of Israel were saved and God commanded, “And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.” (Ex 12:24)

At the seder meal which is eaten on the first night of Passover there is the tradition of pouring wine and eating certain foods that have been prepared in a certain way. There are also acts that are performed according to God’s commands and according to tradition. One of those acts has to do with the Prophet Elijah. During the meal five cups of wine are poured but only four cups are drunk. There is a question in the Talmud about whether there should be four or five cups at the meal. So five are poured and four are drunk. The fifth cup is not drunk and is called Elijah’s Cup.

Elijah’s Cup is poured at the end of the meal, the front door is opened, and several verses from the Psalms is recited. The open door is an invitation for Elijah to enter the home. It is believed that at that moment Elijah does enter. According to tradition Elijah is always present when male children are circumcised. So at the seder meal Elijah is invited in to testify that all the males in the household are circumcised according to God’s command. Since only circumcised males were allowed to partake in the Paschal Offering it is important that only circumcised males participate in the Passover meal.

It always amazes me how Jesus fulfills all the Law and the Prophets. In this instance I am referring to Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” It sounds a lot like what happens at the seder or Passover meal, that the door is opened and Jesus comes in and eats with us. As Jesus often does He takes what God has commanded of his children and changes the meaning in order for us to understand that it was all about Him!

Not only do we see Him in the Paschal Lamb that was slain, that shed its blood to be spread on the doorposts to save God’s people, but He was also the one at the door waiting to come in and eat with us. The fact that only the ones that have been circumcised are allowed at the meal should not be missed either. Be aware that everything changed when the Lamb was slain. The apostle Paul explains it very well in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter...”

So when Jesus is standing at the door knocking, He is the fulfillment of what the Prophet Elijah comes to do. Elijah comes to make sure all the males are circumcised in order to partake of the meal. But Jesus comes to make sure all the people are circumcised in their hearts by the Holy Spirit in order to partake in the heavenly banquet. Yes, we have been passed over by the death angel because of the blood of the Lamb. Now all we must do is to pour the wine in the cup and open the door to Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior not only during this Passover and this Easter season but every day.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.

Silence As White Space

Did you ever notice that someone can mention one little idea, and your mind just takes flight? Maybe it was just a hint of an idea they had, and they share it with you, and your imagination immediately grabs hold of something and off it goes. I’ve observed that sometimes it’s what they said. Other times it’s not what they said. It’s what they didn’t say.

If they had kept talking and not stopped, the moment would have been lost. If they had laid out the whole thing before you, that would have been it. Over. Done. Nothing else to think about. But because they left space to think, your imagination latched onto something, and the ideas gushed in like a flood.

I love to visit art museums. They are a well spring of creativity. The colors are better than wine for my thirsty palette. Lines, form, medium, and color stir my right brain like a recipe for nectar. But it’s not only those elements that intrigue me so. It is also the white space on the canvas or on the watercolor paper. The white space is where the painting or the drawing is not. And where the art is not is where the imagination fills in the blanks.

The place I notice white space the most is on watercolor paintings where the artist did his or her artistic magic right up to the edge of the message and stopped. They didn’t finish the edge. They left the edge to the mind of the viewer. The viewer looks at that edge and wonders: what goes there? What would I put there? Why did the painter stop? Somebody hand me a brush, and I’ll finish this!

I’ve often thought that is why God gave us silence. He didn’t want to tell us everything. It would have left our imagination hanging out there with nothing to do. As it is the silences in the artwork of our lives are white spaces where God stopped and said, “There. Now you finish the painting.” He wanted our imaginations to come to silence, pause for a moment, and ponder what might belong in that white space. If He had told us the answer there would be no need to stop and think at all. As it is we can be creative. We have free will and experiences to draw from. We can create the painting of our life with brilliant color or with dark color. We can create beauty or tragedy. But the artwork is ours.

How do we know what the painting of our life should look like unless we stop and contemplate the white space? We must, I feel, in order to let our imaginations go to work on the forms, the colors, the message we want the viewers to see when the painting is finished. We must listen to the silence and not fill it in. We must let it stand alone and appreciate it for the rich source of creativity it is. We must leave some white space and silence in order for the message of our lives to become the intriguing and beautiful painting God intended.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.

Abiding in Him

Recently I’ve been wondering about abiding in the Lord. Am I doing it? Are you? If we abide in Him, are we aware of it or is it like breathing, it just happens. In this time of computers, iPads, 4G cell phones, social networks, flat screen tvs that let you watch 6 screens at once, how can we possibly find time to abide in Jesus?

The first conclusion I came to is that in order to abide in Jesus first you have to belong to Him. So, if you haven’t invited Jesus into your life, you should take that step first. After you are sure that you have made Jesus the Lord of your life, then you should give Him permission to change you. When you do that, slowly you’ll realize that your life is being refined for the better. What used to be important may not be so important. Your priorities will begin to line up in a more workable fashion. The old will fad away, the new will come.

When you think about the word abide, what does it mean? I looked it up just to make sure I knew myself. Sure enough it means to stay in, to continue firm in, and to continually reside in. In order to stay in and continually reside in Jesus what must we do? Do we sit and think about Him? Do we contemplate a picture of Him? Do we meditate on Him and what we know He did from the Bible? Maybe. Any of those things would be good to do.

But what does the Bible say about abiding in Him? 1 John 3:24 says, “And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us.” Okay. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him. So what are those commandments? 1John 3:23 “And this is His commandment, that we: (1) believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and (2) love one another, just as He commanded us.”

John goes on to say in 4:12 “...if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” That’s pretty clear then. Love one another. Not always easy to do. But it’s not a suggestion from Jesus. It is a command. Therefore, we need to take heed and be obedient. It doesn’t mean that we should be all warm and fuzzy about everybody. It means that we should want the very best for whomever we’re trying to love.

Here’s another good thing that John has to say about abiding. In 1 John 4:15 he says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.” Does that mean confess this when you’re first saved and then never again? No! It means confess Him all the time–every time you get a chance.

How do we know that we’re abiding in Jesus? 1 John 4:13 says, “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” When you hear someone say something that you know is evil, does something inside you reject it? That’s the Spirit speaking to you. When given two choices between good and evil to do, and something in you tells you to pick the better way, that’s the Spirit speaking to you. When you go somewhere questionable and you get an uncontrollable urge to get out of there, that’s the Spirit speaking to you. Stop wondering if you have the Spirit in you. If you only pay attention to your thoughts and your urges, you’ll realize that the Spirit in you is talking to you all the time. All you need to do is slow down long enough to pay attention to Him.

If you abide in Jesus Christ, there are many, many benefits that are yours. More than I can list here. But Jesus Himself tells us plain and simple what the greatest benefit is. “If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7) Whoa! Wait a minute! Whatever I wish? But you may say, “My mother always told me that God provides for my needs but not for my wants!” I’m sorry to tell you but your mother was wrong. These are the very words of Jesus Christ. If He says “ask whatever you wish”, He must mean it. He doesn’t lie to us, His children.

Let the truth of what Jesus said then and keeps saying today soak in with you. It is an important thing to abide in Jesus. It is simple. Maybe not easy but simple. Believe in Him and love one another. Abiding is another by-product of being in a relationship with Jesus, like salvation, healing, eternal life, sonship, etc. It is there if we pay attention to it. We need to slow down from time to time and examine ourselves to see how we’re doing. Try to be aware of your priorities and your love. Learn to abide in Jesus. When you do, the benefits are greater than you can imagine.

To the Older Generation

"Brothers and sisters of the older generation, you are a treasure for the Church, you are a blessing for the World! How often you have to relieve the young parents, how well you know how to introduce the youngsters to the history of your family and of your home country, to the tales of your people and the world of faith!

You are a necessary complement in a world which shows enthusiasm for the vitality of youth and for the power of the so-called “best years,” in a world where what can be counted counts so much. You remind it that it continues building upon the diligence of those who have been young and strong earlier, and that one day it, too, will place its work in younger hands."

Pope John Paul II to the elderly in the Cathedral of Our Lady, Munich, Germany, November 19, 1980.

True Interior Silence by Mother Teresa in Total Surrender

To make possible true interior silence we shall practice:

Silence of the eyes, by seeking always the beauty and goodness of God everywhere, closing them to the faults of others and to all that is sinful and disturbing to the soul.

Silence of the ears, by listening always to the voice of God and to the cry of the poor and the needy, closing them to all the other voices that come from the evil one or from fallen human nature: e.g., gossip, tale-bearing, and uncharitable words.

Silence of the tongue, by praising God and speaking the life-giving Word of God that is the Truth that enlightens and inspires, brings peace, hope, and joy, and by refraining from self-defense and every word that causes darkness, turmoil, pain, and death.

Silence of the mind, by opening it to the truth and knowledge of God in prayer and contemplation, like Mary who pondered the marvels of the Lord in her heart; and by closing it to all untruths, distractions, destructive thoughts, rash judgment, false suspicions of others, revengeful thoughts and desires.

Silence of the heart, by loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and one another as God loves, desiring God alone and avoiding all selfishness, hatred, envy, jealousy, and greed.

Our silence is a joyful and God-centered silence. It demands of us constant self-denial and plunges us into the deep silence of God where aloneness with God becomes a reality.

"When solitude and silence are joined together, they produce a sacred stillness that permeates every aspect of our life." --John Michael Talbot, The World Is My Cloister

Hearing God's Voice

My car pulled into its parking place at the courthouse and chugged to a stop. I grabbed my purse, slammed the door behind me, and strolled towards my office. The sun beamed down on a perfect summer day. My steps were effortless, my thoughts carefree. From behind me called a voice, like a friend, “Gloria!” As I twisted around to look, I yelled back, “What?” But to my surprise, there was no one there. The shock of the moment stopped me still in my path.

I looked around to see if anyone had heard me yell, but no one was in sight. Since that day I have heard God’s voice many times, in various places. And yet, I’ve never taken it for granted. It has never become an ordinary occurrence.

Hearing voices is not something we share with others lightly. We fear that family and friends might think we are weird or at the worst, mentally ill. However, in God’s kingdom it seems to be the norm. Not weird at all. In fact, in God’s kingdom hearing from Him is considered to be a blessing.

Jesus surely knew that His saints might have problems understanding hearing His voice, because He taught several truths about it. For instance, when He was making the analogy about Himself being the Shepherd, He said, “...the sheep listen to his (the shepherd’s) voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:3,4)

He said, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice. ...” (John 10:16) and “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) It seems that Jesus wanted us to know that hearing His voice is part of the job, so to speak. A natural, normal event. Therefore, when it happens to you, don’t be alarmed. Simply say to yourself, “This is normal. I am Jesus’ sheep. I hear His voice. I am His.”

What else do you do if you hear the voice of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? First of all, remain calm. Evaluate quickly whether God is telling you to do something. If He is, then obey. Plain and simple. If God’s voice tells you to do something, then take action, and do it. Don’t hesitate. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t try to reason it out in your mind. Move! Very often if you take time to think about it, Satan will try very hard to talk you out of doing what God told you to do. He’ll even try to convince you that you didn’t really hear from God at all. Or, worse yet, that you aren’t worthy to hear from God.

One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to say, “Who do you think you are–to be hearing from God? You didn’t hear from God. That was just your own thoughts! Do you really think that God would talk to you? Who do you think you are anyway?"

Just remember when you hear, “Who do you think you are?”, that it is the devil trying to put you down. A red flag should go off in your mind, and you should reply, “I am a child of the living God–holy, righteous, washed in the blood of Jesus! That’s who I am!” Remember that God will never ask you who you are. He knows who you are.

Your ability to take action determines your success. Just like young David, who picked up five smooth stones and ran toward the giant, swinging his slingshot over his head, and yelling, “The battle is the Lord’s!”, your ability to walk in victory lies in direct proportion to how swiftly obedient you are to God’s voice.

On the contrary, there are dire consequences in not obeying the voice of God. For instance when the children of Israel, during the time of the Judges, did evil in God’s sight, God’s anger burned against them. He admonished them, and they repented and He forgave them and sent them a new judge to rule over them. But finally in Judges 2:20 God said, “Because this nation has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to My voice I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died...” In other words, God removed His protection.

But, what if you haven’t heard the voice of God? What if no one has called your name? Does that mean that God doesn’t want to talk with you? By no means. There could be several explanations for the problem. Maybe it is just not the right time–yet.

Remember that hearing from God doesn’t depend on you or whether you have everything perfectly in order in your life for it to happen. Look at Saul. He did not have his life in perfect harmony with God’s when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. After all, Saul was a persecutor of believers. When Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”, it wasn’t because Saul was a nice guy.

There exists many erroneous beliefs concerning one’s ability to hear God’s voice, such as:

• You have to be alone to hear God. Saul was not alone on the road to Damascus. Several men traveled with him. And they also heard the voice. (Acts 9:3-8) And Jesus was not alone on the mountain when he was transfigured and heard the voice of God say, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.” (Luke 9:28 & 35)

• You have to be still in order to hear God. Jesus was not being still when the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. He was being baptized. A voice came from heaven saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) Because He was being obedient, God was moved by love to tell Him so.

• You have to be thinking about God. Experience tells us that this statement is not true. In fact, its very opposite is true. Most often you will hear from God right in the middle of thinking about something else. For instance, many saints relate of hearing God’s voice while they are washing dishes at the kitchen sink and thinking about their children or driving down the road thinking about their jobs or their vacation. It almost seems like God likes to surprise us by injecting Himself into our thoughts at the most unlikely times.

• You have to be Jesus or an apostle to hear God. Saul was neither of those people when he heard the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Neither was Samuel when God called his name in the night. Samuel was a child. And he did not know the voice of God until the priest, Eli, explained to him what was happening. (1 Samuel 3:9)

So, how can you hear from God? For one thing, listen. Keep your spiritual ears alert. Secondly, talk to God–aloud. If you talk to Him, it’s very likely that He will talk back to you. Tell Him, “Lord, I have my ears attune to hearing your voice. I am your sheep. You are my shepherd. I listen to your voice, and I follow You. I am your obedient servant.”

It is very likely that someday you may be singing in your shower, soaped from head to toe, when you’ll hear your name spoken, and you’ll know it isn’t your thoughts. You’ll wash soap out of your eyes and look around, and you won’t see anyone. Just remember to say like Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.

Practices of the Early Church

"And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." Acts 2:42-47

This World Is Not My Home

Psalm 39:12 "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with Thee, a sojourner..."

John 1:10 "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him."

1John 3:1 "See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us because it did not know Him."

Have you ever moved to a new city? There’s a lonely feeling at first. Once I moved from a large city to a small town, and initially I felt a little disoriented and isolated. I was always on the lookout for someone like me. In the grocery store I noticed all the other women hoping to get a glimpse of someone I thought might have something in common with me. Whenever I pinpointed someone, I rejoiced on the inside and rushed home excited to tell my husband, "I saw someone today that I might be friends with!"

As a Christian I feel the same way. For most of my life I’ve felt like this world is not my home. I have felt temporary, merely on my way somewhere else. Actually like John Denver in his song, Rocky Mountain High, "going home to a place I’ve never been before."

Prior to knowing Jesus and accepting Him into our lives we seem to belong in this world. We can say we’re even friends with it. We find a lot about it to love. But when we love the Lord and begin following Him and growing more like Him, the world eventually becomes alien to us. Why does this surprise us? John says in his gospel that Jesus was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. Therefore if we are like Him the world won’t know us either.

Do I want to be a citizen where Jesus was an alien? Do I want to love a world that hated Jesus? No, I don’t. Often I wonder if Jesus was excited, as I am, when I see someone who looks like they could be my friend. What does He look for in a friend? We know He doesn’t look on outward appearances but instead looks at the heart. Are we meek, honest, kind? Do we possess the fruits of the Spirit so He’d be proud to call us friend?

The more we love Jesus, the closer we grow to be like Him, the more alien we feel in this world that is not our home. Our hearts yearn for that other home away. In that true home there will only reside true friends, true family, our true life. We’ll be more at home there than we will ever be here in this world. Come soon, Lord Jesus, and take us home!

The Ones in the Room With Jesus

I often wonder what it must have been like to walk and talk and be in ministry with Jesus when He was on earth. In hindsight it’s easy to think that we’d have faith enough to be among the Twelve. But would we? The Twelve didn’t have the benefit of evangelists on television or the benefit of the New Testament. And yet they were eventually faith giants.

In Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 there is the account of Jairus, the synagogue official, who came to Jesus because his twelve year old daughter was near death. Jairus was a desperate man. He humbled himself before Jesus, falling at His feet and earnestly entreating Jesus to go with him and lay His hands on his daughter. Could we do that? Probably. If we were afraid enough, if we were desperate enough? For our child? Yes. But would we really expect Jesus to leave where He was and follow us?

For Jairus Jesus did what Jairus asked. He left the crowd at the seashore and followed Jairus to his house. On the way, however, some people came from Jairus’ house to inform him that his daughter had died. More than likely, those people were men whose wives were back at the house with the mother of the little girl. Jesus heard this report and immediately told Jairus to "not be afraid any longer, only believe." The next sentence states that He allowed no one to follow with Him except Peter, James, and John. Why was that? I’m convinced it was because He wanted only people with faith in the room when He came to see her. He already knew that the people from the house believed she was dead. They told Jairus not to bother the Teacher anymore. But Jesus needed people who were not afraid in that room. Jesus did not want fear and unbelief to follow Him into the room.

When they arrived at the house, people were loudly weeping and wailing. Those people, probably the women, were afraid. They were hopeless. They had given up. Even when Jesus told them that the little girl was not dead, they laughed at him instead of believing what He said. Verse 40 says that "He put them all out." However, He did take the child’s father and mother with Him since He had already told Jairus not to be afraid. And he took His three disciples. Evidently fear had not griped them and driven out faith. Jesus drove out the unbelievers from His presence. The scripture doesn’t say that anyone in the room spoke except Jesus. Even Peter who usually has something to say stood silently by. In other words there were no words of doubt or unbelief spoken in the room. Only the words of Jesus. Only The Word standing there in the flesh spoke.

Jesus said, "Little girl, I say to you arise!" And she did! The people in the room were astonished but once again they didn’t say anything. Then He told them to give her something to eat. There must have been rejoicing and total gratefulness from these two parents. It is an amazing account of a miracle performed by Jesus. Would you have liked to have been in that room? I would have. I have to ask myself, "Would Jesus have been able to count on me to be one of the ones who had the faith to be there? If I had any doubts, would I have kept them to myself?" I pray that I would. Would you?

What does it take to be counted among the believers who have enough faith to raise the dead? I’m sure I don’t know all the things you need. But I know some: the anointing of the Holy Spirit to do it, the faith to believe that Jesus still heals and raises the dead, the calm demeanor to take on the task, the discernment to know who can be present and who can’t, and the ability to only speak words of faith. Yes, I would have liked to have been in that room. I would like to be counted among the ones with that much faith.

Blessed Be the Church That Lets You Rest

Have you ever been weary spiritually? Have you ever expended so much spiritual energy for the Lord that you’ve worn yourself out?

I have listened to pastors who have done that very thing. They are "weary to the bone" spiritually. Maybe they were building a church from scratch or raising money to pay off millions of dollars worth of debt on church buildings. Some pastors wear themselves out from counseling, from ministering to the poor, from fighting prejudice in bad neighborhoods. Every day from morning until dark they solve other people’s problems. They miss meals. They miss sleep. They set their own needs aside to tend to their flock.

There was a time when my husband and I lived in a small town where God sent us. We were prayer warriors for the whole city, and God blessed us with new police officers, with righteous school teachers, and with Christian city officials as a result of our work for Him. In fact we were so successful at changing the city with our prayers that the Ministerial Alliance asked my husband to be their president even though he was not a pastor of a church. In that capacity we held city-wide church services, community gospel singing, community Easter services, and the walls between denominations and races began to fall. The last work God gave us to do was to take the city for Him. We divided up the city with a map and directed teams to every street in town. We put the feet of believers on every street to pray and take that street for God until the whole town was the property of God Almighty.

By the time God released us after nine years of ministry we were weary through and through. God had used us up spiritually, and we needed a rest. We needed a rest from spiritual warfare, from intercessory praying, from being watchmen on the walls and much more. After we left that small town and moved back to a larger city we began to seek a new church home. We wanted to be in a large church, a church where we could fade into the furniture. We wanted to be invisible. Eventually we found such a home church.

It had a membership of 2,000 in two services on Sunday morning. For the first several months all we did was cry. The music was so beautiful, and the worship was so anointed that our hearts began to heal. But before the healing began we needed rest. We needed not to tell anyone what our gifts were or where we wanted to serve. Our spiritual tanks were empty. We needed a refilling badly. People asked us what we wanted to do, and we explained that we needed a place to rest. We were the ones who needed ministering to. And people were kind and patient, and they left us alone. They prayed over us. But they didn’t press us. For two years we did nothing at church except to show up and sit in the pew and soak up God’s love.

If you ever come across someone at your church who has been in ministry for awhile and who is worn out spiritually, please have patience with them. Let God refill them in His time. Love them and pray for them. When it’s time for them to minister again, they will. Be the church where God’s ministers can rest and renew. Blessed be the church that lets you rest!

Copyright Gloria Fisher 2011.

People Who Pray

You see them in the grocery store
Heads bowed, close to a friend
Lips moving, maybe they’re touching.
Somehow you know what’s going on,
And you give them room.
Someone’s in pain, someone has a need.

People who pray don’t wait
For the appropriate place,
Or the more convenient time.
People who pray, pray.

No matter what time, no matter what place.
If someone is brave enough to ask,
Then "Let’s do it now. Bow your head."
People who pray pray over things
Other people might not think of.

They pray the front page of the newspaper,
So much violence, so much need.
Neighbors down the street need to be
Prayed for while walking the block.
Schools need prayers while you’re driving by.
Blow a kiss to the firefighters as they’re
Tearing down the street
"God bless you! And be safe!"

Pray-ers pray for ambulances, for policemen,
For construction workers and moms out shopping.
A silent army moves among us,
Fighting the Spiritual battle on our behalf
People who pray speak to God
Like they know Him,
And they do.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.

An Army Asleep in the Light

The soldiers all have armor
They have a greater cause
And marching orders
From a commander
Who laid out the plan.

The enemy has been revealed.
He’s even been defeated.
The victory is in the hands
Of the righteous army
Asleep in the Light.

Every Sunday morning the
Army meets in camps
To make strategic plans
Of how to move out--
How to win the battle of the week

Do soldiers share their battle tales?
Or do they only compare uniforms
And tell what they did at home
While others went out to war?

How much ground did you lose?
Did the devil take his spoils?
Wake up! Wake up, you warriors!
You are more than conquerors
Come home shouting
Awake in the Light!

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher

Living Here And There

They call it Duel Citizenship,
A home on earth, a home in heaven
Living in the flesh
Living in the Spirit
One is death
One is Life

The battle rages on
Outside and inside
Wanting to do what’s right
Then doing what you hate
How can there be peace
In a body that’s torn apart?

Look to the veil
In the temple
On the day that Jesus died.
Before it was one
And hung as a barrier
To the Holy of Holies

Then it was torn
And lay on the floor
In a pile at someone’s feet
Now an open door
For every royal priest
To enter and cry "Abba"

To the One who makes
It possible to take our seats
At the Heavenly banquet
And live a life of true wholeness
While living here and there.

Copyright 2011 Gloria Fisher.

They Don't Know

"Please, let me touch you," "Pray for me".
They all reach forth in need.
You cry for them and touch each one,
Can all their hungers feed.

Faces full of emptiness...
Forgotten how to pray.
Hold them, Jesus, kiss their lips
And teach them what to say.

It's been so long for some of them,
They hang their heads in shame.
They feel unworthy just to ask
Or even speak Your name.

For them, all hope and faith are gone.
They long for You and yet,
Their shame won't let them touch You, Lord...

They don't even know you've met.

Copyright 1984 Gloria Fisher.

Jesus is The Way

Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the Way and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

Today there is disagreement between some in mainline denominations, between evangelicals and liberals, and between Christians and other world religions about whether Jesus is the only way to salvation. Arguments fly because non-Christians cannot bring themselves to believe that God would not honor any other religion except Christianity. They say, “My Muslim friend is a really nice person. Surely, he is going to heaven!” When a Christian says, “No. I’m sorry but only believers and followers of Jesus Christ are saved,” then the discussion usually deteriorates into either a heated argument or a silent stand off. The Christian may say, “This is not my opinion. It says so in the Bible. Jesus said it!” That answer doesn’t usually fix the problem.

Those people who don’t believe Jesus is the Way also don’t believe most of what the Bible says about Him or what He said Himself. Either Jesus was who he said He was or He was crazy. C. S. Lewis said in his book, Mere Christianity, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

When Jesus said, “No one can come to the Father but through me,” He meant it. But doubters say, “Well, surely that can’t be right. Surely, my Hindu neighbor can get to God! Surely, my Buddhist cousin is saved! He’s such a good person.” Most Americans especially don’t study world religions and don’t know what Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims really believe. They only “know” what they hear from television or from their family and friends. No other religion bases the salvation of its followers on a God who came to earth to die for them out of love. Or who rose from the dead to save them from their sinful lives.

When Jesus said, “I am the Way...” What did He mean? Perhaps He meant that He knows the way to the Father and is the only one who knows the way precisely because He is the only one who has ever come from God, lived as a man, and then gone back to God. He has traveled that way and He knows the way from heaven and back. He alone can possibility say, “I know the way, follow me. I’ll show you the way there. I am your way to get there. I am the way to God. I am the way to heaven. I am the way to eternal life.”

And who else is? Did Buddha come from God? He never said he did. Did Mohammed come from God? Was he with God in the beginning? Not ever did Mohammed claim to be God in the flesh. No other world religious leader but Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30)

Even John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the way. He knew that Isaiah the prophet had seen the day coming when “the way” would arrive. The Apostle John quotes Isaiah in Matthew 3:3 when he says about John the Baptist that he is, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord...’”

Evidently, the first followers of Jesus believed that He was the Way. Before they were called Christians, they were referred to as “men and women belonging to The Way.” (Acts 9:3) In other words men and women belonging to Jesus.

In Hebrews 10:20 the writer says that believers have “confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way...” The living way is obviously Jesus. What other living way is there? None. No one else shed His blood for the lives of sinners.

The way in which you do something is “how you do it.” Following that logic then Jesus is the How you get to heaven. The How you are saved. The How you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is How you have eternal life–the Way you have eternal life. The only Way.

Copyright 2010 Gloria Fisher.