MERIDIAN MINUTE no. 14 Leading Like a Good Shepherd

"Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, 
who will lead you with knowledge and understanding."
                                                           Jeremiah 3:15 NIV
 

A good shepherd will possess certain qualities. In scripture the term "shepherd" is a descriptive analogy of a  spiritual leader with his people to that of a shepherd with his sheep. The sheep need the shepherd and are dependent on his or her protection and guidance. In this passage of scripture we see that a spiritual shepherd will possess knowledge and have understanding. These shepherds are spiritual leaders who pursue God in Heaven. It is their desire to know God, to follow His godly ways, and to lead wisely; men and women who God describes as "after His own heart."

Jeremiah 3:15 is underlined in my Bible because it speaks to me. I find it rich in meaning. It tells me several things about the right kind of spiritual leadership. The verse is a promise set within a passage, written to God's chosen people for a future date when Jerusalem will be called, The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord.  A time when their hearts will focus on the right things--that which is spiritual. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a  northern land to the land I gave your (their) forefathers as an inheritance. (Jeremiah 3:17-18) I love the picture of the two kingdoms united together for their godly inheritance. A time of healing, victory, and fulfillment.

A few thoughts come to mind as I consider this verse:

"Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, 
who will lead you with knowledge and understanding."   Jeremiah 3:15 NIV

First, the shepherd is given by God. 
     God orchestrates circumstances, and calls people to fulfill them. He has a plan. In His plan God brings to bear and to fulfillment those purposes of His. God prepares and gives us people to lead us in spiritual and practical ways. We must thank God for His provision of godly men and women who lead in His ways. Although the prophet Jeremiah was speaking to the Jewish nation, there are some principles that can be gleaned and applied as applicable to all people. It is obvious that God raises up shepherds to lead in His ways. 
     
Second, these shepherds have a desire for God.
     A true spiritual leader or even a political leader, if they have a desire for God, their lives will bear witness to the wisdom of God. This will be seen by the wake of their influence, the impact it has on people and places of their time. Desire can not be faked. Outward manifestations of spirituality can act as a facade, not the real thing, a path that leads to no-where and back. But, those who desire God will have a purpose that over-rides all else. This truth was brought home to me this last spring. At my college alma mater, the past president is losing a battle with cancer. He stepped down as president of the university because it was time. He served to the end without compromise or deterrence, his wife by his side. He wrote a letter, a good-bye to all of us. He said he wished he could have a few years more with his wife, but they had been in it together from the start, serving when they could have taken a retirement. This humble man led well and he finished strong, leaving a legacy behind him of a heart for God that impacted generations of young people in the ways of God with a Christian world view. In the conclusion, he passed on the mantle to the next president of the institution, encouraging him to stand firm in the Truth and to be passionate about the mission. It warmed my heart. He was a shepherd of this calling of which I speak. His mission was graced with wisdom and understanding. These are tough times in the Christian community of believers, and his words reminded us sheep to hold the line and to not be deterred by those unfriendly to things of God.

Third, these shepherds lead.
     Leadership can take many forms. But, the heart of the leader will outwork in the body of the followers. A shepherd that leads can force obedience or force adherence to their demands or egocentric commands. But, a shepherd who leads with a heart for God will have his objective, his objective will include the will and influence of his own Father God upon his life and this will provide guidance for his decisions regarding the church. Around us we see pastor after pastor, priest after priest, who have abused their leadership as a minister. How did this happen? It doesn't take too much imagination to come up with some reasons. Most of all, their fall and failing has to be in relationship to their weak walk with God, their lack of dependence on God, and not getting to the heart of their own areas of bondage. When a shepherd takes his or her gaze off the cross of Jesus Christ, off the love of God, off the willing obedience to God's holy principles for righteous living, then they become susceptible to pride, power, and self-sufficient arrogance. I speak for myself. It can happen to anyone in ministry. The temptation, the infatuation with self, the pride will corrupt like a narcotic, destructive and addicting. It is to be guarded against. 

A dependence on God must always be first, especially when success can change the person's focus. If the shepherd truly loves God, it is easier to maintain a spiritual base. This is because love wants to please the object of their love. For many years I led the women in my church in a Women's Ministry fellowship. I noticed that they followed me willingly. Whatever I would propose, they always liked. Wonderful ladies. I was younger than most of them and not confident in my leadership. But I noticed that if I grew in the Lord, they were more apt to grow as well. If I gossiped, they were more apt to gossip. They followed me. I wanted them to fall in love with the Lord as I had, so opportunities were given to grow deeper in our faith and to share this with one another. It was a blessing. (I will share some of this in my next book, A Gentle Grace.) Some shepherds fail to lead. And some churches fail to let the shepherd lead. Beware of this.

Fourth, these shepherds have a flock who follows them.
     The congregants are the flock. The shepherd has a responsibility to the flock. First, he must love them. If love is missing, the church will stagnate. Love is critical, I can't state this enough. All the programs and functions will be empty if love is missing. And people will get hurt. Truth, by itself, is not enough. God calls shepherds.  In this article, I am loosely using the term shepherd, and it is given as a principle not as an interpretation of the passage (in case you're wondering about the heart of my writing). Some of us have taken on leadership responsibilities in the Church. We have followers who are looking at our lives and helping themselves to what we have to offer. If the shepherd is following the Divine Shepherd, then the flock will be blessed. However, if the flock is "cold" to things of God, this shepherd who desires God and God's power within his assembly, will flounder. A house divided against itself will not stand. I have seen variations of this tragedy play itself out. It is most unfortunate. And the opposite, I've seen ministers who don't lead their sheep, they beat their sheep into submission. This is most unfortunate. So, what's missing here in this last scenario? On to the next one. . .


Fifth, these shepherds lead with knowledge and understanding.
     Knowledge and understanding is a gift from God. Christ displayed wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. The closer the shepherd is in his relationship with God, the more there will be a hunger and thirst in his or her person for things of God. Also, the more there will be the life of Christ displayed in action and deed, for the life of Christ is active never silent or uninvolved. In fact, it cannot be silenced for it is a well-spring of living water that comes forth from deep inside. A sour person in the ministry has a dried up relationship with God. It is God who gives and it is we who receive. For twenty years God has blessed me through the ministry of my pastor. He gives us the Word of God, not just opinions or trendy patterns, and serves it up with love, with care and words to help us deal with our stuff.  Over the years during difficult times and not, he will call and say these few words to me, "How're you doing?" and it is enough. He will comment a little and give me food for thought. And he listens well. I like that kind of shepherd, a shepherd who leads with knowledge and understanding.

FINDING GOD in THE DAILY: A Walnut Parable: The Little Steps to a Big Reality

THE LITTLE STEPS TO A BIG REALITY

Beginnings-

We aren't always aware when something majorly is happening in our lives. It is when one looks back we discover that circumstances have combined to weave the threads into a story that one can read and understand once a few chapters are written. The ending may be vague, but we're starting to guess at it, maybe even anticipating its final chapter. Whether a tragedy or a comedy, one is in the middle of it regardless of the plot. In the midst of a long struggle, it can be like that. And God doesn't seem so good or  kind. A person doesn't see the end result, where it's heading, and it sure seems to be a tough row to hoe (farmer talk). The domino affect of circumstances tends to have a purpose. Kind of like the feathers on an arrow that help maintain the balance as it is flies in flight to hit the bull's-eye dead center. In life, it must be rare for a person to see the bull's-eye in advance, those times when God comes in and is beginning a long range plan for the life He's all about. The person may find out years later, if ever, or not until Eternity's in view. There is someone who does see the red dot at the center, that Someone knows all about the arrow: where the arrow is aimed, the strength it will take, the tools for the process, and the know-how to get the job done. 

In this analogy, we just have to "show up" and be willing to do the hard work of learning and surrendering our "want to" to that of our Master Teacher, the One who will begin the hard work of teaching the unskilled student. Getting a person's attention is difficult especially when they get caught up in other projects and responsibilities and pleasures, and.... or they turn negative in their thinking, that it's just more than they can ever accomplish, or that He really doesn't understand how it is for them. In reality, often the person's desires are in another direction and the ready assumption is that they are not skilled enough or up to the task.. The Teacher may not even be the one the person first set out to be tutored by. They're a bit suspicious, not sure how much they trust His leadership or like His assignments. The arguments against the process can be on-going. The Teacher can't teach those unwilling to be taught. It doesn't work that way. The scenarios and arguments vary (some very logical) but one thing is clear: The Teacher can see the person for who they will become or can become if they allow the Teacher to teach (to enter their life), and God don't make no mistakes! 

Hartley walnuts growing on tree.

I farm walnuts. In the orchard I farm there are two varieties of English Walnuts. The Chico variety of walnuts have a purpose. They are small nuts, too small in size to sell for in-shell markets, instead the Chico walnuts are cracked out to be sold for culinary foods, going into baked goods and candies. The other variety is a Hartley English walnut. The Hartley's are bigger trees and produce much larger walnuts. If the crop grades well (yes, we get a grade sheet for nut meat quality). These nuts will be sold to the in-shell market like the walnuts you see in the supermarket that you buy in the hard shell. These will need to be cracked out by the consumer. The Hartley's are a desirable walnut. They often command a premium price when their color and size are of high quality. The goal each year for the farmer is to come to harvest with a crop that is marketable, has the expected volume of product, and will command a good price, as the farmer farms, all is done with the intention of producing a stellar product. Hopefully market prices will be good enough to make a living, and hopefully there will be no un-for-seen acts of mother nature or damaging infestations. It's a lot like following God. He has a goal, too. The product He has in mind, is the soul of our lives and His relationship to that soul. Like in walnut farming, God has a vested interest in the outcome.

Spiritually speaking, the way God has worked in my life has been a steady process. I was a little girl when I first found myself praying to God. The years went by. In my teen years I found myself wanting to please God with my life. There were tears and prayers as I began to seek Him with my heart. I chose to obey God and to serve Him. I chose to lead a moral life and not deviate from this purpose. However, it was a scripted plan. Obey God. Serve God. Share God with others. In turn, He will bless you and be with you. Yet, I didn't have what I would see in some others, a closer walk with God. Into college I went, a private Christian college with required coursework in Biblical teachings. God came a bit closer. I started reading my Bible with interest, some of this due to the comfort its words would give me as I navigated through different emotional upsets in the dating realm. Theology, Bible doctrines, Bible courses showed me that the Bible is a book with much to offer, the character stories there to accentuate its message. On and on life went, marriage, babies, work, hard work, life's experiences, some were nice and some were extremely difficult. Then came hard, harder, and hardest times, times of loss and pain.  I didn't just pray to God, I sobbed my heart out. He took my tears and put them in a bottle. My eyes were dried by His gentle love. God became a Source of great help and strength to me. The light of God began to meet the inner me in newness and radiance. How does one condense a life for a short writing? Impossible.

The God I found is an intimate friend who has my best interest at heart.

A walnut tree grows according to its health, environment and circumstances.

The story is not finished, my story that is. There is an Author who is still writing its pages. He knows the ending, I do not. I only guess that the ending will be full of joy. I know this to be true because when we love God, finding Him to be real (that's the secret), to be enough, to be everything, He slips a sweet something into our lives and the result is a peace and joy that is other-worldly. In the next few weeks, I hope to unfold a few ideas or little steps that will lead to a Big Reality. In the mean time, God loves you, He really does. The hard things have a purpose. We don't know sunshine without the dark night. We don't know the full sweetness of honey without tasting of a bitter herb. It is in the contrast that we have the knowledge of the opposite. If you are discouraged or angry, disheartened or afraid, know that God is One you can call out to. He is waiting. Seek Him to be the real Reality (even if you've been a Christian for years).  He is willing and waiting. It is a time for beginnings.

The Walnut Parables will be written on Fridays. They are for the purpose of exposing the deeper life of following God where true living finds its source for peace and contentment. See you next week.
.....

Tell me what God is doing in your life. Tasteful comments are welcome.

A Wedding Dress & Silk Flowers

MERIDIAN MEMORIES

A Wedding Dress & Silk flowers

What’s in this box? I lifted the box off the corner shelf where it had been stored away in a back bedroom for close to fourteen years. "Wwwhh!" The dust particles scattered as I blew on its lid. Grabbing an old cloth diaper as a duster (remember those?) I made a swipe across the lid, and then I opened the box. Ohhhh! I didn’t know I still have these! White silk roses, burgundy roses, white netting, rose-tipped edges on some of the pink-tinged buds, pink ribbon, all looking delicate in the box as they lay scrunched together still looking new. Wow, they’re still pretty. Oh, Mother, you worked so hard making them for my wedding day. I was twenty-five, teaching in a Christian school, a very busy time for me. The wedding was during Christmas Break, just two days after Christmas. It was an evening wedding at 7:00 p.m.. Votive candles lined the tall windows. Ferns in two large white wicker baskets up in front. Candelabras in shining beauty glowed a soft light. These were the adornments of the wedding; both simple and elegant. A unity candle was lit by the two of us as we promised to be one. My sweet mother had hand-made all the silk flowers, the flowers my bridesmaids carried, boutonnieres for the groomsmen, and to garnish the candle lighter's wrist. Thank you, mother, they were so lovely.

My wonderful mother and me.

Oh my, there's my wedding dress! Let’s see how it looks.  Sliding the closet door aside, I gathered the dress draped between two hangers, it was well ensconced in a dusty plastic covering. In all these years, my wedding dress had never been professionally cleaned or packaged since the night I wore it that one time thirty-two years ago, although my daughter once wore it for a mother's luncheon. Seeing the dress hanging in the closet made me smile. Such happy thoughts. My mother had offered to sew my wedding gown if I wanted her to. Yes. Perfect. I was eager to let her. We went to the yardage store to pick out a pattern and fabric. I already knew what I wanted. Something that would drape gracefully to the floor with a train that would follow me. As we looked around, I saw it. I loved it. It was a pleated fringe. I could picture it, the trim sewn to the skirt’s bottom edge, flowing out behind me as I walked, moving like froth on an ocean wave as it breaks and ebbs and flows while it spreads out on the shoreline.  Sheer fabric was chosen to grace the bodice and sleeves. Finding the perfect sheer fabric was a bit challenging, not too thick, not too thin, not too white, not too limp. After much considering, it all came together.

Moments before I began my new life!

The next step was designing the wedding dress. We did this by combining a couple of dress patterns to get the look I wanted. Measurements were taken, pieces were fitted and pinned, adjustments to the pattern were made, alterations to the pattern commenced. Finally, the pattern was ready. Mother attached  part of the pattern to the fabric which lay flat on the cutting board on the dining room table. Then she began to cut out the pieces. I helped her as we moved the fabric in place, pinned and snipped. The sheer length of the pieces making it a challenge. One doesn't want to make a mistake and have it cost you. It was a big project and I was nervous that it might not turn out right. Over the next few days, my uncomplaining, hard-working Mother spent hours on sewing my wedding dress. She is a skilled seamstress and had been sewing our clothes since babyhood. But this was different. A woman always wants to look her very best (and her very prettiest) on her wedding day. I was no exception. I shouldn't have worried. Mother sewed the dress perfectly. It fit me beautifully, form fitting, not too tight and not too loose. I was like a princess every time I put it on for a fitting, seeing its train trailing out behind me was especially sweet.The pleated trim set the gown off.

My wedding gown was daintily lovely. It was not as fancy as a store-bought gown but every bit as nice; cleverly crafted and carefully stitched by my mother’s love for her daughter. There were also bridesmaids’ floor-length ensembles being sewn and a similar candle lighter’s dress. I was not as skilled as Mother on the sewing machine which made me exceedingly grateful for her efforts. The wedding went off without a hitch. The music was provided by my sister and cousin. The bridesmaids walked down the aisle to "Nadia's Theme," played on the piano and guitar before The Wedding March began on the organ. "Longer Than" was sung by my cousin and sister, giving me goosebumps. It was so perfect. Before the wedding concluded, my sisters, cousin, and sister-in-law sang in a-capella the song, "Father, we adore you." As the girls sang the round, their voices hung in the air like one hears in a cathedral, filling the large 60's cavernous church sanctuary like an ethereal Amen blessing on the ceremony. 

A perfect wedding!

The wedding reception was from a different era. We ate zucchini bread and banana bread, almonds and Shubert’s mints. (love Chico’s Shubert’s mints!) Guess who made the nut-breads? Yes. My mother did. Mother even sewed a fluffy floor-length negligee’ for me to take on the honeymoon, a creamy, pink, chiffon dream of fringed gown and coverlet. Hers was the most feminine of the cutesy things I took with me. It is still beautiful, folded tidily away in a little white box with tissue paper covering it. It is one of those things I can’t quite throw out even after all these years although it is old and musty, I came across it in my cleaning in another box of keepsakes. Sentimental memories.

I sighed. It had been lovely remembering. I put the silk flowers away in their box, the dress returned to its place in the plastic sheath. I sighed again. The wedding was long ago. The marriage hadn't lasted for forever, but there had been good times and I had learned how to love deeply in the two decades that we had shared as husband and wife. The marriage had given me gifts in its own way. Long ago were the events of that wedding day. Warm fuzzies were tingling inside of me as I viewed these happy "treasures" from times past. Christian marriage is something I highly esteem and have held dear. The young woman who wore that gown has grown and matured but she still honors the traditions that were instilled in her by her earthly parents. Love still speaks to me as I hold those things from my mother, she labored over for me; that she made exactly how I wanted them to be. I still think they are beautiful. Mother wanted to please me, and she was good at it! 

Sometimes I wonder why I have been so lucky? My parents have been good to me, better than good, the best. Time and time again they are kind, helpful, generous, loving, and faithful. I know without a doubt that they will come through when I need them, or when they say that they will do something, they always will do it. Just yesterday I was talking on the phone with my mother; when the conversation ended she said, “I love you,” and I said, "I love you," in return. In recent years my mother has become more comfortable with speaking those words to me. They used to be written in her cards or in the closing of letters but rarely spoken. Now she says them to me. And it means a lot. Yet, I know her love has always been there. I have always known she would do anything for me if it was in her power to do so. That’s great love. It is precious. More precious than gold.  
Thank you, Mother. I love you. 

The silk flowers I found in a plastic sheath in a shoe box.

MERIDIAN MINUTE no. 13 A Cure for a Complaining

Time to clean up a bad habit?

“... for God loves a cheerful giver.”         
      2 Corinthians 9:7b.  NIV

Complaining is a bad habit. Negativity can be a way of life, a form of an outlook. It has a way of sucking the joy out of everyday occurrences and in finding fault in the little and big things that happen. It also conveys certain messages. These messages can be an underlying structure of disapproval toward others, the government, co-workers, family member’s actions, and those who are perceived as either better-off or worse-off than the complainer. The complainer has it “together,” at least in their own eyes, and is quick to point out the errors in others. Complaining has a way of looking at self and circumstances with an attitude that things should be better than they are, or even that others “owe” them. Distrust, dislike, injured attitudes, seem to join the band-wagon quite easily. Do you like being around a negative person? A person who often looks on the bad side of things? The bad side of people? Someone who gives off a sense of disapproval, a person with the scold about them? Who doesn't forget a wrong or a past indiscretion? In the church it is deadly. It saps up joy and spews it out.

During my early years of teaching it was said to me by someone outside the district that it would be best for me to keep clear of the negative members on staff. It was a general comment made to a novice teacher. But worth paying attention to. I even read this same comment in a teacher book written for beginning teachers. Negative people are draining, and they look for what’s wrong, often failing to observe or give credit to what is right. However, there is a time and place for being constructive in our thinking, but this does differ from being negative. I must confess, by nature I tend to be negative, or better put, I am one of those who see the glass as half empty. Not good! And, it is a life-long habit of mine. What to do?

The glass half empty is not a Christian view when one looks at it from a spiritual perspective. From what little I know, I do know this to be true. Why not? God has given us our lives. He has given us Salvation, re-birth, new life, faith and hope. God is enough in every situation, for the many difficulties we face. He offers Himself as the Resource from which we can draw our sustenance and strength in the many difficulties and issues we face. He is in the business of drawing our gaze to Himself and off of ourselves. The closer we are to God, the more our complaining attitude will be in contrast to the life of hope. When we complain or are negative, we are seeing life from our perspective not through the eyes of Christ, for He sees with love and concern. He calls a spade a spade, sin a sin, and He is just and righteous, but these do not negate His purpose in bringing many sons to glory. An abundant life will not be a life submerged in negativity nor hateful in expression.

The cows come home; my daughter gets my attention. “When you're stressing out, you make me feel stressed. I wish you would quit your job so you won’t be so stressed! It’s hard to be around you, you make me feel depressed.” My teenage daughter said these words out of her frustration during my hardest year of teaching. I was stressed to the max with many pressures and a boatload of expectations handed down by administration. There were several new programs to learn, not to mention a variety of students displaying anti-social behaviors or special needs, plus it was needful to respond to students’ parents who were quick to attack, some through piercing emails. No longer was I teaching in my field as a specialist but I was in-process of getting adjusted to a new assignment. As an experienced teacher with a tender heart, it was all too much. I was drowning in the mire, like being slowly submerged in quicksand. I would come home from a wearying day, in exhaustion I would proceed to vent or unravel in a discharge of complaint while cooking dinner or regrouping as I sprawled in relief on the couch. 

My daughter’s words stung, and they brought me up short. I always want to live a true, real spiritual life, and my wrong attitudes were showing! My actions, attitude, and frustrations were affecting her in a negative way. Enough so, that she wanted me to quit my job. I hate being negative ... but it comes so easily! My oldest son said essentially the same thing to me a couple times that year; he commented that I wasn’t much fun to be around because I always was looking at the bad side of things. He teasingly called me, “Miss Negative.” I really didn’t realize how much it had become a part of me, and I didn’t know to what degree I was being negative or perceived as negative. I love the Lord, and I want to live out my spiritual life, to not compartmentalize the spiritual from the daily stuff of life. I started paying more attention to my words. It was hard work.

And then one day God gave me something to help me overcome this unpleasant trait of a complaining spirit.

God used scripture. It was during a session when I was reading several chapters in the Bible at one sitting. I was reading a chapter in 2 Corinthians when I came to a very familiar verse that ends with “for God loves a cheerful giver.” I like to meditate, so I considered the words and asked myself, “What is a cheerful giver?” My first answering thought was that it is about giving of our money, in reference to the common use of this passage, that we should give a portion of our earnings freely to the Lord. Then I headed another direction with it. If a person is a cheerful giver in all they do, then they will do their giving and their actions without complaint. Giving of their time, energy, resources, and helpfulness, if done in a cheerful manner would, by virtue of the adjective, make it impossible to complain in the same breath. A worthy consideration indeed! Could I do up the evening dishes as a cheerful giver? Could I clean mop, vacuum, and scrub toilets as a cheerful giver? Could I reference my conversations with this same attitude, having a cheerful attitude in all things? I decided then and there that I would to the best of my ability do EVERYTHING as a cheerful giver. Everything! I took these words, “God loves a cheerful giver,” emblazoned them with an indelible imprint into my mind. Being a cheerful giver became my inner motto, a resource I would pull upon day after day, even hour after hour. The scold, the negative comments, the sour attitude began to become less a part of me.

Now, get started....  :)

The process of doing this changed me! The word, cheerful, is what changed me. It has a lot to do with attitude. I found I could not complain if I was giving of myself in a cheerful manner. In all things, if I was cheerful in the doing of it my perception toward the thing was much better. It was freeing. It is a year later now, I’m still not perfect, of course. I have my moments. But I find that negativity no longer has a death-grip on me. It will resurface when I am extra tired or when I am in conversation with a negative person, so I have to activate the phrase during those times. At times, I get lazy and forget to be cheerful in my attitude.. Then I get back on track. As in the KJV where I first read it as a young person,  
“God loveth a cheerful giver.” Amen!