Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Trinity


“God in three persons, blessed Trinity.”

Did Reginal Heber truly understand the concept that he wrote about in his hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”? For most of us it is a precept of Christianity that is difficult to grasp in its entirety. However, the other day, as I followed the guided prayer time on Sacred Space.ie, the writer offered the following insights into the Trinity:

“The inner life of God is mutual giving and receiving. Each Person of the Blessed Trinity is fulfilled by fully giving themselves lovingly to the other two Persons, and fully receiving the love of the other two Persons. It is an everlasting circle of love between three divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” (SacredSpace.ie)

The author also wrote that there is another trinity, in which we are a part—the trinity of God, others, and ourselves:

“We, who are made in the image and likeness of God, are only fulfilled by wholly giving ourselves out of love to others and fully receiving God’s love for us. God will always be with us in this work, for it is His work.” (SacredSpace.ie)

As we share God’s love and plan for humanity’s salvation with others we not only establish a connection between them and ourselves, we also offer the opportunity to connect with God, just as we have connected with Him. A trinity of God, us, and others is formed when we act in obedience to Jesus’ commands:

“Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: ‘God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.’" (Matthew 28:17-20)

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

May we join with God and others in a three-sided unity that draws us ever closer to the Holy Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.



Blessings!
Pam

©2017 Pamela D. Williams

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Is Resistance Futile?


I really shouldn’t,” I thought to myself.

I stared at the second brownie on my dessert plate.

A line from Star Trek flitted through my mind, “Resistance is futile.”

I could take it home for tomorrow,” I mused. “But some of the ice cream melted onto the brownie; it’s too messy to transport. I better just eat it now,” I rationalized in my head.

“Resistance is futile. . . futile. . . futile. . .”

Ugh! Too full—again! No wonder I get “the burps” and my jeans don’t fit like they used to! If only I wouldn’t give in to the temptation to eat more than is healthy for me,” I lamented with an audible groan.

Sound familiar? While to some people occasional overeating may not seem too serious on the enticement scale, as Christians we face a myriad of potentially derailing spiritual temptations that can be very hard to resist--joining in on the boss-bashing at work, whispering a bit of juicy gossip, having “the last word” in an argument, passing the blame for shortcomings onto someone else, . . . eating that second brownie—the list is endless and very personalized.

What can we do about temptation? How can we resist? God’s Word is full of advice!

  • Prepare by learning Scriptures (Psalm 119:11) so we can fight like Jesus did. (Matthew 4:1-11)
  • Pray. (Matthew 26:41)
  • Look for the way out that God promises to provide. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
  • Consider the consequences. (Proverbs 6: 27-28)
  • Think about something else—something pleasing to God. (Philippians 4:8)
  • Remember where temptation originates. (James 1:13-15)
  • Be on guard. (1 Peter 5:8-10)
  • Don’t be over-confident. (1 Corinthians 10:12)

 Resistance is NOT futile! With God’s merciful help, we can resist temptation and savor the victory. (Look out, brownies!)

What have you found that helps you resist temptation? What scriptures bolster your faith to overcome temptation?

Be encouraged!
Pam

©2017 Pamela D. Williams

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Uncle Junie

Uncle Junie and me at Easter 1956 (?)

Our world lost a very special man Sunday. My Uncle Junie slipped quietly away to Heaven.

Uncle Junie fit everyone’s idea of the perfect uncle—loving, giving, selfless, protective, and fun. He loved children and pets and always made a joyful fuss over each one of them. I can still hear him saying to our dog, “Awww. Seety old boy!”

As a kid, I spent a lot of time with him and Aunt Jan. We only lived a block apart, so running up the hill to Jan and Junie’s was a daily occurrence, especially during my elementary school years.

Since Jan and my mom are sisters and Junie and my dad were brothers, we even went on vacation together. I remember the time Uncle Junie agreed to transport my cat in his car so I could take him out to Pogue with us--and Junie didn’t even get angry when the kitty threw up all over the back seat.

As an adult, Uncle Junie still made me feel like a precious little girl. He went out of his way to be thoughtful and kind. He and Aunt Jan hosted both my wedding and my 25th anniversary in their backyard.

When my cat unexpectedly passed away, Uncle Junie drove over an hour by himself to visit me and offer me comfort on my loss. That type of lovingkindness was a huge part of who he was.

When faith questions arose, Uncle Junie always humbly attested to God’s faithfulness and care. Despite the challenges he and Jan faced throughout life, Uncle Junie often commented on how blessed he felt.

My husband Dick said Uncle Junie embodied the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud;
Love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable;
Love does not keep a record of wrongs;
Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.
Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal.

I am not the only one Uncle Junie showered his love upon. He made everyone feel welcome. Although he never had grandchildren, he was known as “Pap” by a passel of little kids. Everyone who got close to Uncle Junie loved him and will miss him. Although he cannot come back to us, we can one day go to be with him, if we believe, like he did, in Jesus as our Savior.

Blessings!
Pam

©2017 Pamela D. Williams

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Lessons from Legos

Bazillions of Legos!
Pam Williams
A bazillion shiny plastic bricks litter the floor of our empty spare bedroom, now monikered “The Lego Room”. I love the chatter and clink of the bricks bumping up against each other as I search for one particularly elusive piece to the set I am building.

Our family has been hooked on Legos since 1978, when our son received his first set. Recently, a friend gave us a huge tub of Legos that her children had “outgrown” and no longer wanted. (People outgrow Legos? Who would have thunk it?) We were so excited to dump them out and see the treasures the tub held.

There were space pieces and castle parts, minifigs and sea creatures. The tub contained a rainbow of sturdy plastic bricks in blue, purple, green, red, black, gray, white, yellow and every shade in between! Thousands of Legos, just waiting to be built into something really cool.

However, I discovered one problem—there were no instructions. And I didn’t even know which sets we had in order to look for the instructions online.

I decided to start with the obvious. The gift tub included one large three-dimensional base plate that just had to belong with the castle pieces. Thanks to bricklink.com I was able to identify the set and locate the instructions.

And so, I undertook a construction process that is taking weeks to complete, but that God is using as a spiritual teaching tool. What have I learned?

1.      Follow the instruction manual. God gave us the Bible as our guide. (2 Timothy 3:16)
2.      Weed out unrelated items. God instructs us to throw off everything that hinders us on our journey with Him. (Hebrews 12:1)
3.      Although a handful of pieces stuck together may not look like much, keep going till you see the finished product! God is at work, even when we don’t recognize it along the way. (Jeremiah 29:11)
4.      Enjoy the process. God wants us to be joyful! (John 15:11)

Don’t you love how God can use the simplest things to teach us? What lessons can you find in Legos?

Be encouraged!
Pam
Two-thirds complete!
Pam Williams

©2017 Pamela D. Williams

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Upholding God's Word

photo from acrookedpath.com

I apologize that this post is late. I needed time to prayerfully digest my feelings before putting my thoughts into words.

Our denomination’s Annual Conference met this week. I went as a visitor Friday and literally cried when I got home. Many discussions, both in session and out, revolved around a pivotal decision that will be made in 2019. My heart is heavy and my prayers fervent as we wait in trepidation for a pronouncement that will forever impact our 12 million members.

My hope and prayer is that those holding seats in the deciding council will vote to uphold Scripture, re-affirming that we believe God’s Word to be the clear, guiding influence, both for individuals and for the Church. And that’s not a very popular stand today.

Intense pressure to “conform to the standards of this world” (Romans 12:2) permeates even the Christian church. Society wants us to abdicate God’s directives on what is sin, so as not to offend or cause anyone to feel unwelcome. Those of us who expect the Church to stand on God’s Word are seen as unloving and judgmental.

The truth is, we aren’t the judges on what is or isn’t sin—God’s Word is. Isn’t it more loving to help a person find forgiveness of sin and new life in Christ than to allow that person to be deceived into thinking “I’m okay; You’re okay”, no matter what God’s Word says?

The decision our Church faces really has nothing to do with accepting diversity. This decision boils down to whether or not we will uphold the Word of God. Prayers appreciated!

For the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.
It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
(Hebrews 4:12)
 
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
 
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
(Psalm 119:105)

Blessings!
Pam

©2017 Pamela D. Williams