Loving by being

I've made 2019 the year of helping/assisting/loving/donating/volunteering on my Discovering Love inspirational site. Most of the articles will be mine, but I’ve asked friends for guest articles on how they’re working in their circles of influence. Stay tuned!   





©  2019 Christy K Robinson

A couple of my pastor-friends recently posted questions about church growth, evangelism, and what might make a church more relevant in the 21st century than in the "olden days." 

My comments suggested that a big problem for an organized church or denomination is "doing evangelism" for the purpose of proselytizing members, instead of being a friend, being a volunteer because help is needed, being a companion in time of stress, being a consistently kind person, BEING. 

"Being" is a verb. God identifies himself as "I AM," a form of the verb "to be." In our Bibles, this is written as LORD, with all-caps.

When Moses asked to see God in a physical way, the Lord revealed himself in characteristics -- in being.

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:5-7 NIV

You don't have to DO the talking, but
you can BE the soft place to fall.

God reminds his people that he had done nothing but good for them in bringing them out of slavery and establishing them with security and safety and prosperity, but then they cheated on him by whoring after false idols (things that steal our focus or attention to the detriment of our souls). Those who remained thought they could appease God by doing things like making huge donations to the church, and providing expensive sacrifices to be burned.  

But God said that he wasn't impressed by, or seeking, those donations or acts of public display.

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 

And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:6-8 NIV

Think of this proverb in terms of relationship, not material goods: “It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor—what a blessing!” Proverbs 14:21 MSG.

Sometimes being a compassionate person means
doing good deeds.

So to be godly, we need not do things to impress others, to increase church membership or attendance, or to remind God that we deserve a place in heaven. We need to be the people he identifies as compassionate, merciful, fair, forgiving, loving.

In all our relationships, if we are feeling and practicing those virtues for the sake of love, the work will get done.

In the scores of churches and denominations where I've served as musician, elder, Bible teacher, and other roles -- that were growing and vibrant, and where people loved to bring guests -- the successful, godly, positive ones were where congregations kept Christianity simple: Love God, love others as yourself. 

*****

Christy K Robinson is author of these books:

We Shall Be Changed (2010)

Mary Dyer Illuminated Vol. 1 (2013)  

Mary Dyer: For Such a Time as This Vol. 2 (2014)

The Dyers of London, Boston, & Newport Vol. 3 (2014)  

Effigy Hunter (2015)  

Anne Marbury Hutchinson: American Founding Mother (2018)

And of these sites:  

Discovering Love  (inspiration and service)

Rooting for Ancestors  (history and genealogy)

William and Mary Barrett Dyer (17th century culture and history of England and New England)

Editornado [ed•i•tohr•NAY•doh] (Words. Communications. Book reviews. Cartoons.)

Ego Eimi -- I Am

©  2019 Christy K Robinson

 In the middle of the storm, I am holding on to you. 

I've sung this song in church numerous times, and heard it on the radio, and have known it as a declaration of me holding onto God for help, for salvation, for love.

In the Old Testament, God gives his name to Moses as I AM, or I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. In Hebrew letters, it's spelled YHWH. In Exodus 3:14, God said to Moses, "I AM who I AM"; and he said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"  We pronounce it Yahweh or Jehovah. Some people believe that the name of God is too sacred to pronounce, so they refer to him as Adonai or Lord.

Another word used in the Old Testament was El. It's a generic title like "God" and it shows up in El Shaddai ("all sufficient"), or Israel ("overcomer"), Emmanuel ("God with us"), or El Elyon ("God Almighty").

In the New Testament, in the book of John, Jesus makes several strong identity statements that begin with "ego eimi," which was sometimes used as the Greek equivalent of YHWH (but not always, because it was a common identifier that anyone could use in a secular way, like "I am Christy Robinson").

In short parables, Jesus said "ego eimi/I am" the true vine, the bread of life, the good shepherd, the way, the light of the world. He also identified himself with the Father when he comforted the terrified disciples as he walked on the water, and when the temple soldiers came to arrest him before his crucifixion (they fell down in terror at his declaration). At certain times, then, eigo eimi was meant, and understood, to be equivalent to I AM the eternal God.

When I was a young adult, my mother confided that she had agonized over whether I'd keep my faith in God and be saved. Then, she said, she had a dream that I had been tossed in the sea, but I'd clung to a rock and been saved. She believed that dream was sent by God to reassure her that I would be saved.

In the many times I've sung this song by David Crowder, "I am," I read the words on the screen in the conventional way, that I'm holding onto God. But at the end of the phrase this time, there was a new screen that said merely "I am." That's when I saw the double meaning to the song.

God, the I AM, is holding on to me. There's nothing I can do to save myself. I'm not strong enough to hold on to him. But like a mama lion, he's got me by the scruff of the neck! He's hauled me out of the waves and set me on my feet. I haven't got him. He's got me. 


In the middle of the storm, I AM holding on to you.
.
.





Christy K Robinson is author of these sites:

·       Discovering Love (inspiration)

·       Rooting for Ancestors (history and genealogy)

·       William and Mary Barrett Dyer (17th century culture and history of England and New England)

and of these books:

·       We Shall Be Changed (2010)

·       Mary Dyer Illuminated (2013)

·       Mary Dyer: For Such a Time as This (2014)

·       The Dyers of London, Boston, & Newport (2014)

·       Effigy Hunter (2015)

·       Anne Marbury Hutchinson: American Founding Mother (2018)

Accepting help

I've decided to make 2019 the year of helping/assisting/loving/donating/volunteering on my Discovering Love inspirational site. Most of the articles will be mine, but I’ve asked friends for guest articles on how they’re working in their circles of influence. Stay tuned!

  

©  2019 Christy K Robinson

Part of being a humane (compassionate, empathetic, kind, ethical) person is sacrificial giving. That's what we were taught in Bible classes and scout-type organizations growing up.

Many of the formative books I read, including the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the Dickensian and Bronte novels of the mid-19th century, lauded the act of charitable giving and selfless sacrifice, but assigned a vague sense of shame to those who were poor and forced to accept charity to survive. It was somehow a virtue to refuse to accept help or "charity."

And then there's that unbiblical proverb: "God helps those who help themselves."

But it's more like this: God helps those who need help, and God helps givers. Sometimes the help comes through a miracle, or something we can't explain, but we know by faith who was the source. And sometimes the help comes because God directs people through their hearts and minds to reach out to others.

Many years ago, I was the state director of a single adult ministry that was founded for fellowship and mutual support of never-married, widowed, and divorced adults of all ages in a denomination that catered to traditional two-parent families with children. We were a vibrant, connected, loving group because we focused on causes outside ourselves. On a monthly basis, we visited churches around the state and led worship music, sometimes gave the sermon, and then had fun with a potluck luncheon and afternoon hike or carpool driving safari. Closer to home, our group performed community service with our denomination, or with a homeless-feeding organization. Some of us took single moms' kids out for a Sunday afternoon of sports, biking around a park, hiking a trail, to a museum, or riding the kiddie train at the park. A few paid off utilities before they were shut off for non-payment, or sheltered battered women until they could get into a program. We started a bank account with our denomination's conference office for assisting extraordinary needs of single adults, prayed for guidance in how to use the donated monies, and had a committee to oversee disbursements. 

One of our members was a single mom with a child in Christian school. She took in a battered woman with daughters, and then in the heat of a Phoenix summer, her air conditioning unit died. We had a few hundred dollars in our benevolence fund, and we voted to write a check to our friend. A man who lived near her delivered the check to her, and it turned out to be the exact amount she needed to get the a/c unit repaired. Coincidence? Or God's help through answering our prayers for guidance?

My English friend puts herself in the driver seat for this one.
If only the driver were in a frame of mind to accept help!

Something I learned as a result of volunteer service, or donating goods or money, is that God blesses the giver in unusual ways. I wouldn't call it "reciprocity," that you give something to get something. But here's what I got from giving. I felt that in the entire universe, in this galaxy's solar system, on this planet of seven billion souls, God chose me -- ME -- to work through. I won't try to explain that, because you've felt it or you haven't.

Another lesson is that even with hard work, saving, and doing my best to survive this economy, or if I've practiced and rehearsed and then made errors, I need to reach out for help. I used to be one of those who were too proud to accept charity. But that's just the problem. Pride is destructive and sets you apart for loneliness. When I asked a few friends for prayer on a certain issue, and walked them out to their cars to say goodbye, they each told me that they were honored to be asked to pray for help! What?? They felt that out of all the people on the planet, God had used them to work through to help me.

So it's not just me making that up. 

It's a thing. 

Like a law of nature. 

When I accept help, God blesses someone with just the right words, or a healing hug, or helping hands, or their financial gift. They get a charge of joy, of satisfaction, of being part of a miracle. The giver and the recipient are bound together with the giving and receiving.

God is a giver. He for-gives our sin. He gives life. He gives food and drink, and gives beauty. He wants us to know the joy of what it's like to give, to create, to heal, to bring light to darkness, to lighten someone's load.

Paul knew this when he wrote to the Corinthians about their brothers in Macedonia. The Christians of Corinth insistently begged to be allowed to disregard their own interests and financially help the Macedonians.

Now, brothers and sisters, we want to tell you about the grace of God which has been evident in the churches of Macedonia [awakening in them a longing to contribute]; ² for during an ordeal of severe distress, their abundant joy and their deep poverty [together] overflowed in the wealth of their lavish generosity. ³ For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily, ⁴ begging us insistently for the privilege of participating in the service for [the support of] the saints [in Jerusalem]. ⁵ Not only [did they give materially] as we had hoped, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us [as His representatives] by the will of God [disregarding their personal interests and giving as much as they possibly could]. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 Amp

I used to hear this statement when people were asking for donations, or asking for the tithes and offerings to be collected in church: "Give until it hurts." 

But I'm here to tell you that with the right heart and mind, giving doesn't hurt. Giving feels fantastic. And learning to accept gifts can be a blessing when you remember that the giver is feeling fantastic.  

**********  

Christy K Robinson is author of these sites:

·       Discovering Love (inspiration)

·       Rooting for Ancestors (history and genealogy)

·       William and Mary Barrett Dyer (17th century culture and history of England and New England)

and of these books:

·       We Shall Be Changed (2010)

·       Mary Dyer Illuminated (2013)

·       Mary Dyer: For Such a Time as This (2014)

·       The Dyers of London, Boston, & Newport (2014)

·       Effigy Hunter (2015)

·       Anne Marbury Hutchinson: American Founding Mother (2018)