Galatians: Week 4

Galatians 1:18 - 2:2
“Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles, only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later, I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me.

Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gosepl that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.”

First of all, a confession. I don’t have the second half of the passage memorized yet this week. I’ve just forgotten. In some ways, I see how quickly the devil can gain a foothold because I felt a little discouraged, that I would struggle to catch up...so why continue?

What? I mean, we’re talking two verses here, and I’m feeling so behind that I can’t catch up? I still have two days. A verse a day wouldn’t be hard. But that’s where I am. I’ll share a thought about the passage that I have pondered a little, but please don’t think I’ve meditated on it all this week. The positive side of it is that I’m sad about it. I’m sad that I’ve missed out on meditating on a Scripture passage this week. I know that I’ve lost a week of time that I could’ve been growing closer to God that I won’t get back. Don’t worry, I’m not discouraged. Quite the opposite, I’m motivated. I don’t want to miss another week...another day...even another hour. For that, I’m excited. Excited about what the next two days will hold as I meditate on this passage. Anxious for next week’s passage and what lesson He might have for me there. That’s the joy of truly being in the Scripture, isn’t it? Waiting expectantly for what He wants to teach me, how He wants to grow me. I can’t wait.

As for this passage, what struck me was a comment my friend Beth made during our Bible study. Do you think you could praise God for someone who formerly persecuted you who was now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy? I think I’d have a hard time. If Osama Bin Laden suddenly became a Christian and began sharing the Gospel, would I rejoice? I’d have a hard time with that. I’d still want him to suffer for what he had done. I wouldn’t really want his sins to be forgiven and to spend eternity with him by my side in heaven. Mother Theresa? yes. Billy Graham? yes. Bono? yes. Osama Bin Laden? Nope, not really.

But Jesus came to die for our sins, period. Not for certain sins - the nice ones, the ones that aren’t so bad. All sins. Any sins. Sin is sin. It’s what separates us from God, even the so-called small ones. Luke says “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7, NIV). Paul needed Jesus. I need Jesus. Osama needs Jesus. And when a sinner repents, I want to join in the celebration.

PS - My friend Bekah, has a somewhat related post over at Xanga on forgiveness.

An Interview with Kay Marshall Strom

I met Kay two years ago, at my first Mount Hermon conference. She encouraged me greatly with her heart for the global Body of Christ, and her courage to travel around the world to gather the stories of persecuted women. She's written an awesome book called Daughters of Hope that I highly recommend. I'm pleased to introduce to you, Kay Strom.

Kay Marshall Strom
Freelancer, married for 8 years, written for 20 years, currently in Santa Barbara, CA

What is your passion in life? Actually, it has come out of my writing. My passion at this time is letting believers in this country know that they are part of the global family of God. They need us as much as we need them. It pains me that we don’t realize we’re part of a bigger family. Being a part of the Body does not just mean that we need to help our brothers and sisters around the world, but to realize that we need them just as much. We think we’re just depriving them, but really we are depriving ourselves, too. And we are depriving the Body of God.

How did this come about? That’s actually an interesting story. I love to read historical biographies. I was reading the story of Marie Antoinette. It’s amazing, she’s not as hard hearted as we think; she was just totally clueless. She had all the royal people over for a banquet, and there was so much food the tables were sagging - all while people in Paris were starving. After everyone left, she turned to the Emperor and said, “Let’s not throw away all this food, let’s spread the leftovers on the sidewalk.” As they stood and watched the people lick the sidewalk so as not to waste anything, she said “We are so good for the poor; they should love us.” The poor people of France heard this, clenched their fist and resolved to have her head. A week later, 9/11 occurred. At church on Sunday, an elder in church stood up and talked about the need to pray for the families of those who had lost their lives. Then he shared that he didn’t know how this could happen. “We are so good to the world, everyone should love us.” And I thought, we’re just like Marie Antoinette, and the world is going to have our heads. That became the inspiration to write Daughters of Hope (Kay’s book sharing stories of women around the world who are persecuted for their faith). I was in India interviewing women for my book, and as I normally closed my interviews, I asked if there was anything else someone would like to say to me. They asked me if I had ever been kicked out of my house for being a Christian, thrown rocks at, persecuted, hated, denied food for being a Christian. I answered, “No, we just don’t face that type of attack in the US.” Then they asked me if we did have to suffer, would we still be Christians? And I thought for a long time, and didn’t know how to answer. They said they would pray for strength for us. They would pray that if we did have to face persecution that we would endure it. And they asked me to tell everyone I spoke to that they were praying for them. When I am asked to speak - even at Rotary meetings - I share their story.

How has your writing affected your walk? It has changed it totally. It has changed my perspective on life and death, on my purpose in being here. The biggest battle is being patient with others. I know other people haven’t been where I’ve been. We complain about things here, but we’re so fixated on the wrong things. It is so hard to be patient with what I see in the American church. When you go and see, you can’t come back and be the same. I will never to my dying day, get out of my mind the pictures of the people in Sudan - the most wonderful people in the world - who bounced back despite the most incredible things. When I talked with them, they asked me, “Does anyone care about us?” No one asked me for money, they asked me to pray for them. They requested we pray for their children that they will stay firm to the faith (aka be willing to die, be persecuted). When we left them, they ran behind our bus as fast as they could for as long as they could keep up, saying “Pray for us” and then they disappeared into a cloud of dust. I still see that image in my mind. If only we would truly partner with our brothers and sisters around the world.

As Palm Sunday approaches, how do you celebrate Christ’s entrance into your life? I remember reading through the Bible as a 13 year old, trying to figure out how to get it all together, when I came to Micah 6:6-7, “With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” And then comes the answer in verse 8. “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” That’s how I celebrate and pray to celebrate - to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God.