Jacqueline Wallace

November 3, 2015

Goliaths and Greater Things

Picking up with the topic I started before my last post, Interlude of Fun in the Twilight Zone: David was faithful in his everyday, ordinary life as a shepherd, guiding and guarding the sheep, sometimes at great personal risk fighting lions and bears. It was there, in his everyday life that he grew strong wielding the weapons of his trade–the staff and sling and stones–and he grew strong in faith in God. He knew God and could confidently say, “the LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear …” (see I Samuel 17).

We too live ordinary, everyday lives. We too face our lions and bears, those trials and difficulties that come into our lives, perhaps threatening our livelihood, our families or even our very lives with health problems. These are the enemies that come to defeat us, enemies that threaten to destroy us.

Are we being faithful to fight them with the weapons given us—prayer and praise and the Word of God? Are we becoming adept in their use and growing in strength, growing in our trust in God? Can we say as David did, “the LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear …”

It is only in our ordinary, everyday lives faithfully facing the enemies that would destroy us—our lions and bears—that we learn to fight, becoming skilled and strong.

Ordinary life is where we learn to know and trust the LORD, bringing him glory as we fight our personal enemies. This, too, is where we learn to recognize another kind of enemy: Goliath.

Goliath wasn’t David’s personal enemy and he isn’t ours, though most of us have heard the story in those terms. Goliath is not our personal lion or bear. Oh no. He is a different enemy. Goliath, to be consistent with the text, in I Samuel 17, comes against and defies the armies of the living God; he defies the LORD of Hosts, the Lord Almighty.

Goliath is anything that is contrary to the person and purposes of God and he must be fought with weapons, not of this world, but weapons that have “divine power to demolish strongholds … and everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God …” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Prayer and praise and the Word of God. These are the powerful weapons that we only become skilled at using in our ordinary, everyday lives fighting our lions and bears. The power of these weapons is spiritual, not of our flesh or the world, not originating with us but with God’s Spirit who lives in us.

When Jesus was on earth he fought many Goliaths. When he was about to leave and return to his Father in heaven he said to his disciples, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. … And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. … for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:12-17, NIV, emphasis added).

Jesus obviously expected that we too would fight Goliaths, all over the world. Else what did he mean by saying, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV)? (Notice the triple “and,” not “or.”)

Or this, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)?

The Spirit was given for specific purposes, as we read from the above verses.

The questions we must ask ourselves are:

Do I recognize Goliath when I see him?
When I do see him, do I have the spirit of David that says, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
And do I have the chuztpah to reply to the naysayers as David did, drawing on his experience of trusting God and and finding him faithful to deliver, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:34-37, NIV, emphasis added).”
Do I have the jealousy for God’s Name that makes me willing to put “skin” in the game, my skin, for his Name and glory?

The greater works we are to do, that Jesus expects us to do, are waiting to be done. They are there waiting for us to step forward, as David did, in the name of the Lord Almighty, that the Father may be glorified in the Son—through us.

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, … and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands’”(1 Samuel 17:45-47).

Let us get stronger every day wielding the weapons of our warfare—prayer and praise and the Word of God—fighting our everyday lions and bears so that we may be strong in the Spirit and fit to recognize and fight Goliath–doing those greater things–for the sake of his Name, for the glory of the Father.

Let us fear God more than men.

How have you fared with your lions and bears? Have you discerned the Goliath that you should be challenging for his Name sake? How is it going? Send me your questions and comments about this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

New International Version (NIV)

October 31, 2015

Interlude for fun: There is a Twilight Zone and I know how to get there.

Several weeks ago Randy and I tackled the next painting project in our house. Having finished the kitchen and family room cabinets we started on the seven foot long built-in china cabinet in the dining room. All the cabinets in our house, which was built in 1979, are the original dark stained wood: kitchen and family room cabinets, china cabinet and the wall of cabinets in the hallway. We have so many cabinets we could rent storage space for extra cash. But they aren’t pretty anymore, hence the painting projects.

Anyway, back to the china cabinet. On the top there are four glass-fronted doors on cupboards which reach to the ceiling. The lower cabinet has two vertical rows of four drawers each (total 8 drawers) in the center, flanked by a door on the left and one on the right, with a generous seven foot countertop. We may fancy up the countertop later but for now it will be painted to match the rest of the built in cabinet.

First task was to remove all doors and drawers (and sand; thank you, Randy). That’s when the spooky part happened. Pulling out the top drawers wasn’t a big deal, just another empty drawer beneath each one. But the bottom two, oh my. Dust bunny graveyard. Fuzzy grossness personified.

And, what’s this? All this stuff coated with dead dust bunnies. Yuk. I pulled them out gingerly, vacuuming as I went, hoping for no scurrying eight-legged monsters (there were none). Papers and little round cd’s and an instruction manual for … something or other. And kids’ drawings that should have been magnetized to the fridge door. So much detritus.

But the jackpot prize of the denizens of the under-the-drawers-world was an 8 X 10 picture, in its cardboard stand-up frame, of a happy, smiling young man in his Mustangs Baseball uniform.

My heart sank. I felt so bad for the boy who loved baseball and was so proud of being on the team and who held his bat as he smiled for the camera, and who proudly gave that picture to his mom and dad.

And I felt so bad for that mom who must have looked all over her house for that picture of her son! The picture of the son she was so proud of, the picture she wanted to show to his grandparents, and in fact to anyone who, unsuspecting, happened by for a visit.

Where in the world had it gone?

I know where. Into the Twilight Zone.

It is those dark, hidden, unseen, never thought about places in our houses that are The Portals to the Twilight Zone, the place things go to disappear.

Until someone decides to paint the built-in china cabinet.

October 27, 2015

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

Well, maybe not tigers, but definitely lions and bears. That’s what he said, “When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.” He went on to declare, “When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.”[1]

Now, I’ve seen a bear close up. Sure, it was at night and all I could see was a big round, furry looking thing lumbering swiftly away from me (thank goodness it was going in the opposite direction!), but I knew it was a bear. We saw its tracks in the snowy yard the next morning and followed the trail of garbage up the hill into our neighbor’s yard. No sheep, just garbage. Hungry bears apparently are not fussy about their meals. From the size of that behind and the paw tracks it left, I’m glad it hadn’t run toward me!

A lion and a bear. Running after it. Grabbing the sheep from its jaws and then grabbing the beast by the hair and killing it. That is an amazing feat. Done not once but twice. All in the line of duty. Just part of the ordinary life of a shepherd.

David was responsible and dependable. He could be trusted to take care of business, in this case, sheep keeping: guarding and guiding.

David was faithful to fight and do what he had to do; he did the right thing, even at great cost to himself. He may have had the scars to prove it. He used the weapons of his profession—the sling and stones and staff—becoming adept at their use. In the process of fighting the lion and bear he grew skilled and strong. His faith in God grew as well, for David knew he didn’t do his fighting alone. “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear ….”

David was faithful in his everyday, ordinary life.

We all live ordinary lives. We all face our lions and bears, those trials and difficulties that come into our lives, perhaps threatening our livelihood or even our life. These are the enemies that come to snatch away our lives, enemies that threaten to destroy us. Are we being faithful to fight them with the weapons given us—prayer and praise and the Word of God? Are we becoming adept in their use and growing in strength, growing in our trust in God? Can we say as David did, “the LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear …”

It is only in our ordinary, everyday lives, faithfully facing the enemies that would destroy us—our lions and bears—that we learn to fight, becoming skilled and strong in spirit. Ordinary life is where we learn to trust the LORD.

What bears or lions are you facing today: Health issues, fearful job or financial challenges, death or disease of a loved one, divorce, addiction? So many beasts about that would tear us apart and destroy us. Only by wielding the weapons of prayer, praise (yes, praise) and the Word of God, in the power of God’s Spirit, can we successfully defeat such enemies.

But that’s not the end of the story. Fighting lions and bears has another vastly important function in our everyday, ordinary lives. For only in being faithful in ordinary life will we, like David, recognize and be fit to face the giant Goliath, who defies the Living God.

Hidden creativity to light

Tomorrow Maria comes to continue work on her first ever mosaic. She saw some of my mosaics and wanted to learn how to make them and I said come on over! I get to work on my own mosaic project while she is working on hers. I’m looking forward to that creative time making a mosaic. Though there is always a struggle in the creative process, making the mosaic satisfies a deep need in me to express myself artistically.[1]

Wallace Shield mosaic on Tray by Jacqueline Wallace

Though I’ve downplayed my own creativity, I find ideas rising to the surface, breaking through to my conscious mind like air bubbles breaking the surface of a pond. I have ideas for making a mosaic house number plaque or a mosaic headboard, but then I don’t follow through on those ideas because, well, you know, I have to do this other thing I promised, or I’m too busy because of this responsibility, or the house needs cleaning (when does it not?). Ordinary life gets in the way.

Just as with writing, though, I have to make time to create mosaics.

I read a blog post by another Christian woman writer who, for years didn’t answer her inner desire to write, didn’t even realize it was there because it was buried beneath all the layers of the “I have to do” of her life (boy, can I relate). They were good things, but things that pushed aside her inner “voice,” as she put it. I made a copy of this one paragraph from her post to tape onto my desk so I will see it every time I sit here:

“We’ve been made creative beings, to help bring order out of chaos. When I give myself the time and space to create, even in little slivers of time stolen from sleep or “productivity,” I’m fueled for the ordinary. Then, all of (a) sudden, the ordinary has a sheen around the edges. The ordinary becomes part of a narrative of creativity.”[2]

Her words resonate within me! It took me a long time to learn and accept that I am an artist at heart, that I am creative and that I have a need to express that creativity visually. That was an important discovery.

And so it is for each of us; it is part of learning the way God made us as individuals. We are creative beings, made in God’s image, each capable of manifesting God’s creativity in different ways.

I’m not talking about spiritual gifts here. If God had chosen to never give gifts of his Spirit to Jesus’ followers, we’d still have within us the creativity given us by God because he made us in his image. He is the creative, Creator God.

It reminds me of the quote I use in my email salutation: “To be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.”[3] I think he is saying the same thing as I’m trying to say. We need to express the creativity God gave us as his human creation. We have the capacity to bring glory to God through our creative expressions, especially when we give ourselves back to God to live for his purposes and glory. [4]

Have you made the discovery of the creative spirit God put into you, and the ways you can express that creativity, bringing it out as a gift to others and to God?

[1] My mosaics website: http://www.expressionsofthelight.com/

[2] By Ashley Hales, from “Don’t Give Your Voice Away,” posted on Redbud Writers Guild http://www.redbudwritersguild.com/dont-give-your-voice-away/

[3] David Whyte, “What to Remember When Waking”

[4] “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2, (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. https://www.biblegateway.com/

October 1, 2015

The In Between Place

This post from one of the blogs I follow, said what I have often said myself. She is saying things I’ve written into my own book, Brokenness to Beauty. The trials I’ve learned from were not just for me, as hers were not just for her; they are to be shared with others, as Amy Carmichael said long ago. I hope we can learn from each other.

September 20, 2015

God, Jeremiah, Saeed and Us

A friend emailed me these scriptures and they got me thinking:

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.’”(Jeremiah 33:1-3, ESV)[1]

The euphemistic sounding “court of the guard” was not a nice courtyard. It was a jail. Jeremiah was “shut up” in it. Dungeoned away.

Phot by kconnors DSC_0471.JPG — Photo by kconnors DSC_0471.JPG

God had called Jeremiah, the son of a priest, to a prophetic ministry early in life. Jeremiah’s perceived inability and youthfulness did not keep God from ordaining him to be his “prophet to the nations,” regardless of how inadequate Jeremiah felt. It would be a difficult and dangerous calling but God pledged himself to “be with you to deliver you,” therefore Jeremiah was not to be afraid of his enemies (Jeremiah 1:6-8).

As I read the first quoted verses about God showing Jeremiah great and mighty things he knew nothing about when he called on God in prayer, I thought of Pastor Saeed Abedini, and many other men and women similarly persecuted and imprisoned for their faith in Jesus.

They are not Jeremiah, but like Jeremiah, God has called them to a hard task: faithfully speaking forth the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a resistant, even hostile audience. But God has also promised to be with them wherever they go, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:18-20).

We must not consider persecution and imprisonment for Jesus’s sake an anomaly. Suffering for Christ is not a strange phenomenon. It is part of being a follower of the true God and his son Jesus Christ. So it is not just the pastor Abedinis who are called to suffer: it is you and me. As a western Christian I have been trying to get my mind around that reality.

This lack of understanding about persecution for our faith being a part of the Christian life, is similar to my experience growing up in church and for the first 20 years of my life not recalling hearing about and nor giving thought to God’s care of and concern for the poor. Until I met someone who plainly understood it and could point it out to me in Scripture. It was everywhere in God’s Word! How had I missed it?!

When was the last time you heard a sermon or lesson on standing firm and fearless in the midst of persecution, as applied to ourselves and not a Bible character who lived thousands of years ago? Or even expecting persecution to come? In fact, when was the last time you were persecuted for your faith in Jesus?

I’ve asked myself these questions so don’t be offended at my asking you the same things. I’ll bet we’ve all made comments about it and had fears as to the coming persecution. I have. In Scripture, however, it is taken for granted that persecution will be part of our lives when we “live godly in Christ Jesus,” and we are told straight up not to fear. Jesus’s words to go into all the world and make disciples is for all his followers, not a select few.

I pray for deliverance for my brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and imprisoned for their faith.

But I also pray for grace, and their daily strength to stand strong, and to forgive their enemies. I pray that Jesus will be more real to them, that they draw closer to him each day. And I pray that Jesus draw very close to them. I pray that they know his presence with them as surely as they know they inhale and exhale.

I also pray God use them powerfully in those neighborhoods and prisons to live out and speak the gospel to those who haven’t heard it. To those who are their mortal enemies. To those who are so very lost.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Many of us have claimed for ourselves God’s promise to Jeremiah, I know I have. I don’t see a problem with that.

As long as we are also willing to wear Jeremiah’s mantle of suffering.

Or as Paul stated it: to fill up the sufferings of Christ.

He’s the same God today as he was then. And the way through dark times of persecution is the same as through any other difficulty in life: cling to and stand firm in the Word of God, live a life of prayer to the God of the Word, encourage and help one another, remembering our reason for being here: to honor, love and serve our King and Savior Jesus Christ, carrying his good news to the world.

God, help us to honor You.

It’s all there in the Book. Here are a few samples:

(Matthew 5:10-12;43-48; 10:14-39; 24:9-14; Romans 5:1-5; 8:16-18;31-39; 12:14, 17-21;15:30-33; 16:20; 1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:5;8-11;4:1-18;7:5,6;11:23-28;Ephesians 5:8-21;6:10-20;Philippians 1:12-14;19-21;27-30; 3:10-11;4:1; Colossians 1:22-24;4:2-6, 10; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:1,2; 3:1-4, 7; 2 Thess. 1:4; 2: 1315; 3:1-3; 2 Timothy 1:8, 11-12 2:1-3, 8-13; 3:10-12; 4:1-8, 14-18; Hebrews 11; 12:1-7, 11; 13:3, 12-15, 18-19, 23; James 1:2-4, 12; 1 Peter 2:12, 21-23; 3:8-12, 13-16, 17; 4:1, 12-19; 5:6-11; 1 John 2:18; jude 17-25; Revelation 1:9; 2:7, 9-11, 13, 26; 3:8, 11; 22:12-21)

[1] English Standard Version (ESV)

September 15, 2015

How Does A Christian Get To Know God Better?

What are you doing to get to know God better? This blogger, Becky, says it so well, I wanted to share her post with you. Tell me what you think.

September 7, 2015

Life Goes On

I “met” Bill by discovering his blog, “Unshakable Hope.” I’m now a follower. Bill is a believer in Jesus Christ and it comes out in what he writes. I listen to what he has to say, not just because he is Christian, but because as a Christian he has learned truths from God about suffering in a very difficult school; Bill has ALS. He has much to teach us. Please read, “listen” and learn. And pray for Bill and his family. Leave a comment.

August 30, 2015

Broken Praise

Driving home from an appointment I heard a song on the radio that brought tears to my eyes–because I could have written it.

The song recalled to my memory my inner feelings after my right femur snapped, casting me to the ground where I waited for at least a half hour in the snow before Randy discovered me. Emergency surgery followed to place a rod into my bone. The next April I had the same procedure done to my left femur, before it too broke and threw me to the ground to wait for someone to rescue me.

Though I had struggled with physical weakness from MG all my life; knew the pain of surgeries; and had gone through breast cancer treatments of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation; when I was recovering from broken bones, for the first time in my life I truly felt “broken.”

My body was broken.

I felt more helpless and vulnerable, crumpled, than ever before in my life. It almost felt like the final straw.

The only thing I knew for certain was that God was with me. In my brokenness. In the pain. In the inability to do for myself. In the wheelchair. In the physical therapy.

I did a lot of crying to God. In the midst of my physical, emotional and spiritual agony, he was the One I reached out to … and sang my broken hallelujahs to.

(Click to read and hear the song “Broken Hallelujah” on You Tube at this link. Or read the words at the end of the blog post.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFDAyyFn3WY

In my soon to be published book, Brokenness to Beauty, I talk about my life with MG (the disease that causes my weakness) and about my fight with cancer but I don’t mention my broken bones. The way through that struggle was the same as for the other struggles in my life.

And in yours. That’s what I share with you in Brokenness to Beauty: Transforming Your Brokenness into a Beautiful Life: How you can get through those dark, broken times in your life and be able to say “life is beautiful” and show it by your own beautiful life.

What are you struggling with today? Are you singing your broken hallelujahs to our God? Try it. He hears. He is with you. He will take your empty hands and lift you up. And make beauty out of your brokenness.

“Follow” this blog, leave a comment and send me your email to stay in touch to be among the first to get a copy of Brokenness to Beauty when it comes out, to encourage yourself and others.

Words to the song–

Broken Hallelujah

I can barely stand right now

Everything is crashing down

And I wonder where You are

I try to find the words to pray

I don’t always know what to say

But You’re the one who can hear my heart

Even though I don’t know what Your plan is

I know You make beauty from these ashes

I’ve seen joy and I’ve seen pain

And on my knees I call Your name

Here’s my broken Hallelujah

With nothing left to hold onto

I raise these empty hands to You

Here’s my broken

Here’s my broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You know the things that have brought me here

You know the story of every tear

‘Cause You’ve been here from the very start

Even though I don’t know what Your plan is

I know You make beauty from these ashes

I’ve seen joy and I’ve seen pain

And on my knees I call Your name

Here’s my broken Hallelujah

With nothing left to hold onto

I raise these empty hands to You

Here’s my broken

Here’s my broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

When all is taken away, don’t let my heart be changed

Let me always sing Hallelujah

When I feel afraid, don’t let my hope be erased

Let me always sing Hallelujah

Hallelujah (repeat)

(From the new album “Life is Beautiful” by the Afters.)

August 23, 2015

A Life of Unpacking

Every morning I get up, fix my cup of tea and, weather permitting, sit on my patio. A cup of tea, my Bible and Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest at hand and I’m ready to greet the Lord in the new day. How pleasant, how blessed my life has been. With the psalmist I say to the Lord, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6, ESV).

Morning tea and food for the day Photo by Jacque

Those pleasant places I have lived in, however, do not exclude or ignore the places of suffering and difficulty. Indeed, those hard parts of life, that we are all subject to at one time, or many times, serve to heighten our appreciation for that “beautiful inheritance” the psalmist spoke of.

I believe this inheritance is, in a few words, the grace of God. God’s grace has been poured out on us all through Jesus Christ and when we reach for it and grasp it by faith, we begin to know its gracious effect. Even the bitterest trials are made into that which can transform our character, making us stronger through the suffering we endure. Suffering endured with God, not alone. Within that grace of God is a whole world of goodness and kindness, a world apart from anything we’ve ever known outside of God.

Unpack it, explain that world of God’s grace, someone might say. It would take a lifetime. But that is what we have now, isn’t it, however long or short our lives may be? From this moment on we have the exciting expectation that God will give us glimpses—in his Word, in the face of Jesus Christ, in one another, in trials, in joys—what his “immeasurable” grace encompasses. And we carry that into our world.

We show with our lives and tell with our words the immeasurable riches of his grace, beginning to unpack for ourselves and others, to understand, or at least embrace by faith, this thing called the grace of God that can make even the unpleasant, pleasant.

Using my words to embrace and unpack God’s grace is what I’ve been doing in this blog, sharing my heart with you. This is also what I have done in writing the book Brokenness to Beauty: Transforming Your Brokenness into a Beautiful Life, soon to be published.

How have you been using your words to embrace and unpack God’s grace to others? Or are you struggling to grasp God’s grace? Let’s talk. Leave your comments to open the conversation.

Ephesians 1, Romans 5, Romans 8