Earlier today I finished Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper. I was vaguely familiar with the story of his run-in with the racist woman in Central Park that he caught on camera while he was birding there, which is initially what made me decide on this book. But I really never stopped to think much more about this confrontation nor about him as a person in any real depth. And this book helped unpack that. This book shed light on his story and who he was and is. His history as a gay, black man from NYC who loves to bird. He talks about his childhood, his college years, his love of comics and birds, his adventurous world travels, his strained relationship with his father, his experience as a New Yorker on 9/11, and the development of his identity as a gay, black man. Most of the book is all about this -- his history -- and only very little of it is actually about the run-in he had with the "Karen" in Central Park. All of the history he brings the reader through helps to shape and give context to the unfortunate part of the story we all know. While this book held my attention well enough, and also provided some enjoyable little tidbits about birding here and there and also presented some good lessons on race and identity, I found it overall rather boring. I think it was maybe the pace of the book that felt slow? I'm not sure. But I don't regret spending time on it. It may not necessarily be the first book I'd recommend, but it definitely wouldn't be the last either.

Completed Dear Girls by comedian, Ali Wong, earlier this morning. While this book does have some sincere and meaningful messages at times and also has some really funny parts -- parts in which I literally laughed out loud -- I honestly didn't care much for it as a whole. A lot of the humor is much too crude and raunchy for my taste, something I felt was wildly inappropriate especially in a book addressed to her own daughters with the seeming intention of them reading it some day. Nonetheless, I stuck with it til the end. If you've seen her in person or like her "Baby Cobra" standup special on Netflix, then you'll probably enjoy this. However, I won't be recommending this to anyone and certainly will not be reading it again.

Today I just finished Becoming by Michelle Obama. I've been wanting to read this for years, and FINALLY was able to get to it. And I absolutely loved it. It offers such a beautiful glimpse into her life and shows how, even though she was the First Lady of the United States, she was also just an ordinary person like you and me -- one with real thoughts and dreams and struggles and emotions that we all feel. I loved that this book showed a real, true, and relatable person behind it all. It was written with such grace and honesty. And it also provides such insightful experience of what being a black woman in this country is like. For anyone looking for an uplifting yet profound read, something that will make you truly think and ponder over the realities and struggles of this world, while leaving you with hope and encouragement that anything is possible, this book is for you.

A couple weeks ago, I finished And Baby Makes Three by John M. Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman. I didn't really know anything about this book prior to reading it, but I found a lot of use in it, especially as a new parent whose marriage has had to bear some stress while getting used to a new normal with a baby in the house. It's backed by lots of evidence and research, providing trust in the words and advice shared. There's a lot of "practice" activities to work through with your partner, which you can or cannot do. But regardless of whether you actually do the activities as you make your way through the book, there's some good information here that any new parent would benefit from reading.

Recently finished Advice for Working Moms by Harvard Business Review. This was a really short, quick book. But since it's been such a struggle juggling a full-time job and motherhood, I found solace and validation in what was shared. There's nothing really novel about this book, but it was useful nonetheless. Since it's so short, if any new mamas out there want a resource that offers some tips and validation, but won't take much of your time to get through, this might be helpful.

Satan's Clever Use of Scripture

This December, I am reading through the book of Luke. This morning, as I was reading through Jesus' temptations in the wilderness in chapter 4, I was reminded of Satan's cleverness.

The passage reads:

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” ~Luke 4:1-12, NRSV

Did you notice how with the last temptation, after observing how Jesus uses scripture to respond to his temptations, Satan then uses scripture himself to trick Jesus into giving in? He was using the very weapon Jesus was using to defend himself. He was taking something holy and good and twisting it into something else -- pretending to be on the same team, but really planning to pounce and destroy.

Of course, Jesus saw right through Satan's clever deception. But how often are we able to see through Satan's ways when we look to scripture for answers? Sometimes the devil disguises his purposes behind what we think is holy and true. I think it often happens when we look to scripture to try to defend our personal, sometimes very selfish, positions instead of humbly coming to scripture with an open heart, willing to be gently rebuked. We take passages out of context and use them to defend our own purposes, instead of acknowledging the true meaning behind them.

My prayer today is that we be careful how we interpret scripture, ESPECIALLY when something sounds off and against God's character. If the devil can use scripture for his purposes to tempt Christ Himself, we need to expect that he's attempting the same with us too.

Fear’s Power to Inhibit Our Walk with God

If you’re a Christian, chances are that you know the story of the first sin very well. God tells Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree, the serpent tempts Eve with the fruit, she eats it and shares it with Adam. They’ve sinned. It’s the start of our world’s downward spiral into despair, turmoil, sadness, death, fear. This last point – fear – is something I hadn’t really paired together with this first sin story before because of the subtlety of how it’s written, but it’s actually quite a crucial learning point for us in the story:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:6-10, NRSV

Did you catch it? Adam and Eve were afraid to walk with God. And instead, they hid themselves away from Him. Normally, before their sin, they wouldn’t fear God coming to find them to walk with them in the cool of the evening, because fear simply didn’t exist. Sin hadn’t happened yet. But after sin... they experienced fear and let it lead their thoughts and actions. And it affected their relationship with God.

The main takeaway for me today is that fear can inhibit our walk with God – sometimes literally, in the case of Adam and Eve. We need to be careful how we deal with fear. That’s not to say that we should minimize fear or simply choose not to acknowledge the scary things in life. But while there are many fearful things in this world that we cannot escape, it’s how we deal with those fearful things – and those fearful feelings that creep in – that will either strengthen or weaken our walk with God. We can choose to either trust in Him to see us through or we can choose to doubt His abilities. 

There are lots of accounts of “fear not” throughout the Bible. Today, let’s take that command to heart and choose not to let that fear take hold. By letting fear manifest, all we’re doing is inhibiting our walk with our Creator. Instead, let’s choose to strengthen our walk with God by trusting in Him to see us through whatever we are facing. We just may see that those fearful things aren’t so fearful after all.

Sabbath: God’s Gift of Refuge and Restoration

In Exodus, the Bible states a rather interesting commandment:

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” (Exodus 8:20, NRSV). 

I’ve begun reading a new book on Sabbath titled Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller. It’s not a Seventh-day Adventist or Jewish book, but already just one chapter in, it’s offering some great insights for anyone interested in Sabbath and times of rest. I really liked a portion of what I read last night – it says:

Sabbath time can be a revolutionary challenge to the violence of overwork, mindless accumulation, and the endless multiplication of desires, responsibilities, and accomplishments. Sabbath is a way of being in time where we remember who we are, remember what we know, and taste the gifts of spirit and eternity. 

Like a path through the forest, Sabbath creates a marker for ourselves so, if we are lost, we can find our way back to our center. “Remember the Sabbath” means “Remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it.” Remember, as if we would forget. Indeed, the assumption is that we will forget. And history has proven that, given enough time, we will. (Wayne Muller, “Sabbath,” pg. 6)

Among the 10 Commandments, nearly all of them, save two, are “thou shalt nots.” And this one – the fourth commandment – is the only one telling us to remember, as if we would forget. Sabbath is more than just a sunset-to-sunset type deal where we go to church and don’t watch TV – something we often make it out to be in the SDA system. Rather, it’s a principle by which to live, where we carve out time to rest from the cares of every day life – whether that be our work, our accumulation, our responsibilities, our accomplishments. Why is this so important? The chapter reads on:

Sabbath honors the necessary wisdom of dormancy. If certain plant species, for example, do not lie dormant for winter, they will not bear fruit in the spring. If this continues for more than a season, the plant begins to die. If dormancy continues to be printed, the entire species will die. A period of rest – in which nutrition and fertility most readily coalesce – is not simply a human psychological convenience; it is a spiritual and biological necessity. A lack of dormancy produces confusion and erosion in the life force. (Wayne Muller, “Sabbath,” pg. 7)

I absolutely love this analogy of plants and the necessity of dormancy! It makes the principle so much clearer. We are told to remember the Sabbath because, without it, we die. Without rest, we cannot have life. Think about it: without sleep, we literally won’t live for long. Without taking breaks from work, we burn out. Without “off days” from intense physical workouts, our muscles give out. If we just keep going and going and going, we will actually stop going, defeating the purpose of what we had set out to do. We aren’t made to be nonstop machines – we are made to rest. God gave us Sabbath for a reason. He KNEW we needed it. He Himself even needed it! For even He rested after the six days of creation (Genesis 2:2). 

Taking a Sabbath provides us with healing and rejuvenation – what we need to keep going with whatever it is we are called to do. 

Sabbath time can become our refuge. During the Sabbath, we set aside a sanctuary in time, disconnect from the frenzy of consumption and accomplishment, and consecrate our day as an offering for healing all beings. (Wayne Muller, “Sabbath,” pg. 10) 

Maybe there’s a reason our society, our world, is increasingly becoming worse. We focus on productivity and accumulation and consumption and accomplishments, all which are not necessarily bad. But we don’t remember to take a rest from it. Our focus on these things has become a constant for many of us – even those that claim to be Sabbath-keepers, myself included. And as a result, we are slowly killing ourselves and each other – sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally. Without remembering to rest from our everyday cares of the world, we become bombarded and weighted down so much that we slip into survival mode, only thinking about ourselves and our cares to the point of forgetting that we are made with a higher purpose, a higher calling. 

So remember to rest today. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. It may be the refuge you need. <3

Completed Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G. White last night before bed. It’s not the first time I’ve read it, but I wanted to pick it up again because I just love it so much. If you don’t yet know, it’s sort of a Biblical commentary... each chapter is based on a set piece of scripture, usually just a few chapters in one of the Old Testament books. And it just brings those stories to life! It’s one thing to read them straight out of the Bible and that’s it. But when you pair the Bible readings together with this book, it just really amplifies those stories and makes them so so so vivid and relatable. You get engrossed in some of those Old Testament stories that you otherwise might not. As I’ve done before with this book, I do again – I absolutely recommend it! 

Officially first day of my 3rd trimester and I just finished this book last night –  Your Baby, Your Birth: Hypnobirthing Skills for Every Birth by Hollie de Cruz. I first heard about hypnobirthing while listening to natural childbirth podcast stories, just to get my head around the daunting feat that is childbirth. And then I heard of a friend that had done it when she had her baby and thought, hmm, maybe I’ll try that when the time comes for me. And here I am, just a few weeks out from having my own little one come into the world, and hypnobirthing is what I’ve decided on. I purchased a few books on the topic to get more in depth with it, and this was one of them. If anyone is considering hypnobirthing, this is a fantastic read. It’s really easily digestible, has positive birth stories throughout, comes with free downloadable positive affirmations and relaxation MP3s, and even has some “homework” exercises to help you practice what you learn. It leaves you feeling empowered and excited rather than helpless and scared. It  has completely changed the way I view childbirth and now I am no longer afraid of what the process will bring in just a few weeks’ time. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to the experience. 

Detecting Christ’s Presence: Christmas Edition

In light of the Christmas season, tonight I decided I would read the Biblical account of the Christmas story from the book of Luke. I started from the beginning of the book, and while I love the “traditional” parts of the Christmas story from chapter 2 (no room in the inn, Jesus in a manger, shepherds being visited by angels, etc.), what stood out to me tonight was what takes place prior to that in chapter 1. 

Luke 1 is all about John the Baptist, whose birth would precede Jesus’ birth by about six months. Just like with Jesus’ birth, John’s birth was prophesied to his parents by the angel, Gabriel. Now, obviously, John was to be no Jesus. They had very different roles. But they certainly were to be connected – get this, even before either of them were born. 

What do I mean? Well, in Luke 1:14-17, we are given some details about some of John’s qualities and characteristics. It reads:

“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:14-17, NRSV)

What stands out to me here is the part that says “even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” To me, this normally seems to be glossed over when reading the entire passage because it is so casually mentioned. But, really, it’s actually a big deal... and is kinda crazy. Filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth?! What! How? He wouldn’t even be fully developed before birth, yet he would certainly be developed in the Holy Spirit department. Before learning how to make choices, before problem-solving skills are established, before developing cognitive maturity. 

Honestly, it doesn’t really make much sense to me. How can one be filled with the Holy Spirit first before birth? What is the point? We’re literally talking about a fetus here. They cannot actually think or do anything substantial at that stage in life. And yet, this is what the Bible tells us – John was indeed filled with the Holy Spirit before birth. So, there must have been a good reason. 

The only reason I can muster up is that it is simply so that he would know Jesus, right off the bat. So that he would instantly be connected to Him so deeply that he would not be able to help but to make Christ’s existence known whenever His presence was near. Kinda like one of those metal detectors you see people using in the sand at the beach, searching for precious metals. John was programmed right from the start to know Jesus and to be drawn to His presence. And we see this later in the chapter, after Mary has become pregnant and goes to visit Elizabeth (John’s mother), who had by that time been pregnant with John for about six months:

“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry. ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.’” (Luke 1:39-44, NRSV)

Now, surely Elizabeth had already started feeling John kicking in her belly prior to this moment in time. I’m currently six months pregnant myself and have been feeling my own baby kick for probably close to two months already. Sure, there are circumstances where some mothers feel kicks later than others, but by six months it’s likely Elizabeth would’ve already been feeling movement. So for her to say that John “leaped for joy,” I’m guessing it must have felt different than the normal movement she’d already been feeling. It was a “leap” so strong that she herself knew Mary was pregnant with the Christ. Mary hadn’t told Elizabeth she was pregnant with Jesus before arriving. Instead, it was John who made it known to her – even from inside the womb. He was so filled with the Holy Spirit and so deeply connected with knowing Christ, even though Christ was probably only a little cluster of cells at that point, that he knew His presence the moment it was there. That is insane amazing.

I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit like that. I want to be able to detect even the smallest bits of Christ wherever He might be present – even if just the tiniest, smallest bit – and to make that known to others around when I find it. I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit like that, even in my spiritual immaturity. I mean, if an unborn fetus can be filled with it, why can’t we? Right?

This definitely wasn’t what I thought I’d land on tonight during my Christmas reading. But it IS part of the Christmas story. And it reminds me to ask the Lord to fill me with His Holy Spirit, so that I might always discern when Christ’s presence is near. 

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil is not a long book. Just 165 pages, with short chapters at that. But I took my sweet time with this one. Not because it was boring or bad or dense – it was completely the opposite! And I wanted to soak it in and bask in each chapter for awhile because they left me feeling so content and at peace and in awe. This book left me with a feeling of fascination and wonder at the intricacies of nature in a way that I don’t think many other books could. The content alone was interesting on its own, but it was all written in such a poetic and graceful way that I got more out of it than I would’ve if it was written differently. And the way Nezhukumatathil is able to weave in comparisons of the ways and laws of nature with how her own personal life has progressed is just beautiful. To anyone who has a special connection with nature and finds solace and answers and wonder from within it, this book is for you. 

The Very Real Consequences of Small Disregard and Neglect

I’ve been reading for a long time about David. Today’s short bit of David’s story was about Uzzah. 

Many of us know about what happens here. Saul is dead and now David is the reigning king. And he desires to move the ark of God to Jerusalem from Kirjath-jearim (about nine miles from Jerusalem). So a grand procession – 30,000 men – goes out to retrieve it. As the ark is being transported, the cart the ark was on was shaken by one of the oxen carrying it and a man by the name of Uzzah, who was attending the cart with the ark, reached out his hand to the ark to steady it. Annnnd? God strikes him dead then and there. Here’s the passage: 

“They carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:3-7, NRSV). 

Honestly, this sounds kinda harsh right? The Bible says David was angry that the Lord did this (2 Samuel 6:8), and I probably would be too. And more than anger, Ellen White says David even questions the justice of God:

“David was astonished and greatly alarmed, and in his heart he questioned the justice of God.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 462). 

Again, honestly, I probably would question the justice of God in my heart too. They are doing this great thing to honor God’s presence by moving the ark to the capital of the nation – something good. And Uzzah puts his hand out to steady the ark so it doesn’t fall to the ground – again, something good. At least, the intentions were good. But we all know the saying about intentions, right? 

The lesson here is simply that God’s commands were disobeyed. Back in the book of Numbers, we are given context that applied to the people of this story. It says: 

“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die.” (Numbers 4:15, NRSV)

It seems an innocent mistake, but these men knew better. Although Uzzah’s  intentions were good, he was disregarding God’s command – and that was inexcusable. 

“David and his people had assembled to perform a sacred work, and they had engaged in it with glad and willing hearts; but the Lord could not accept the service, because it was not performed in accordance with His directions. [...] God can accept no partial obedience, no lax way of treating His commandments. By the judgement upon Uzzah He designed to impress upon all Israel the importance of giving strict heed to His requirements.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 463)

Again, it seems very harsh. And I fully understand the questioning heart of David in this instance. But this just goes to show how incredibly important keeping God’s commands are. If we learn His teachings, and then disregard and neglect them, we will suffer the consequences. We know better and we will be judged by that which we know:

“The Philistines, who had not a knowledge of God’s law, had placed the ark upon a cart when they returned it to Israel, and the Lord accepted the effort which they made. But the Israelites had in their hands a plain statement of the will of God in all these matters, and their neglect of these instructions was dishonoring to God.” (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 463)

I write this not to scare anyone, but so that we can take a deep look within ourselves and truly repent for the wrongs against God which we’ve done. It’s not that we should become legalistic about God’s instructions, but that we need to realize there are very real consequences for when we knowingly do something wrong – whether that be big (like murder) or small (like telling a white lie). It all goes against God’s commands, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve got some deep searching to do into the small disregards and neglect of God’s instructions in my own life. 

God, Our Deep-Sea Submarine

I’ve been reading the book of Proverbs with a friend over the past several weeks. A few days ago was Proverbs 20, and I find myself still thinking about a particular verse in it which goes like this: 

“The purposes in the human mind are like deep water, but the intelligent will draw them out.” (Proverbs 20:5, NRSV)

Some other versions read it this way:

“Counsel in a person’s heart is like deep water, but an understanding person draws it out.” (NET)

“A plan in the heart of a person is like deep water, but a person of understanding draws it out.” (NASB)

I’ve had to think a little about what this means. Purposes, counsel, plan. Honestly, I feel like the subtle differences in word choices from the various versions could lead one to find several different meanings to the verse. But my takeaway in understanding “the purposes in the human mind” is to see it as human direction or intention. As human beings, our minds and hearts naturally develop some form of direction and intent for where we desire to go in life. Doesn’t matter what age we are, what our financial status is, what our social class is – we all have direction and intent of some kind. 

But the human-sourced kind is like deep water. Some commentary I’ve looked at describes this to mean that people naturally tend to hide their dreams deep within the soul, and it is wise people who are able to get them to start talking about their plans, hopes, and dreams. That’s fine, I suppose. But I feel like there’s a deeper meaning.

The “deep water” imagery really takes hold in my mind. What is the deep ocean like? Dark. Dark dark dark. Darker than anywhere else on Earth. And unknown. Unpredictable. Unreachable. Sure, the night is dark, caves are dark, tree hollows are dark. But none are quite as dark and unreachable as the deep sea. And this is how our natural human direction and intentions in life are described. Dark, unreachable.

But luckily, that is not the end of this verse. It also says, “but the intelligent will draw them out.” Where does this wisdom come from, you might ask? It starts with God:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7a, NRSV)

So, yes, it may seem like wise people are the ones helping us steer our lives in the right direction. But if you really think about it, it’s actually the Lord doing the work. 

“With God are wisdom and strength; He has counsel and understanding. [...] He uncovers the deeps out of darkness, and brings deep darkness to light.” (Job 12:13,22, NRSV)

Do you see? It is God who provides the “understanding” talked about in Proverbs. It is God who brings us out of the deep dark waters. It is God who turns us from unreachable to reachable. Now, just think about this for a minute. Back in the time this Proverb was written, there were no submarines, no deep sea robots, no deep sea divers. If something was deep down in the ocean, it was inaccessible. And yet, this is the imagery used here. The idea of someone – intelligent or not – being able to draw something out of deep waters is almost absurd! Clearly, it wasn’t possible. And this just goes to show how lost and in utter darkness we really are on our own. This is what makes it so powerful for me. This imagery just drives home that It is only because of God that you and I are reachable by others. It is only because of God that they have the right wisdom and understanding to "find” us. 

I have a new way to think about God from now on: my personal deep-sea submarine, tirelessly uncovering me from the depths of my unreachable darkness and bringing me up into the light. <3

FINALLY finished reading October Sky (originally known as Rocket Boys) by Homer Hickam this evening. And I have to say, while it took me months to work my way through (why, I don’t know... it’s not long or difficult), it probably will go on my list of top favorite books. If you’ve seen the movie, you know the main story. But the book is so much better! An unlikely group of boys from a single-purpose coal-mining town figure out how to build rockets on their own and eventually fulfill dreams they never thought they would – the main character even ends up becoming a NASA engineer (wow wow wow!). And on a deeper thread, it’s also about Hickam’s relationship with his father, presenting a realistic look at how life can be frustrating but also fulfilling in different ways. It’s an absolutely entertaining and funny and gut-wrenching and heartfelt read. And as one of the critics says on the back of the book’s cover, once you finally finish the book, you really do feel an immense feeling of satisfaction. It was a really refreshing read, made so much more lovely in my mind because it’s a true story. So glad I decided to get this on a whim at the used book store I found it at! 

God’s “If-Thens”

It’s so funny to me how relevant God’s word always continues to be. Although the words were written centuries ago, they are still just as fitting for God’s follower today. Here are three passages that I’ve been mulling over the past couple of days: 

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44-47, NRSV)

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loos the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:6-11, NRSV)

“If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord.” (Isaiah 58:13-14a, NRSV)

There are a number of things to unpack in these passages, but what I want to highlight today is the “if-thens.” If we look at the passage in Acts, we see that it is talking about what life among the early believers was like. Their lifestyle was one of joy and selflessness, serving each other and serving God. They distributed their goods amongst each other as needs warranted, having the goodwill of the people in their hearts. The Bible says they had generous hearts. And it’s only after that, that the passage says their numbers grew. Let’s look at the passage again:

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44-47, NRSV)

I wonder... how do things look like for believers today? Do we distribute goods amongst each other as needs warrant? Or are we selfish with our resources, claiming that what we earn is ours to keep? Are we adding to our numbers – meeting our goals as so-called Christians – by simply going to church and claiming that the Lord is good or by even professing that service to others is a holy and necessary thing, but not doing anything about it and instead living a lifestyle that’s completely self-serving? We do this. All the time. I know I do, and I see it in society and especially amongst many who call themselves Christians.

This brings me to the passage in Isaiah. Not included above is the earlier part of the chapter where it discusses how God’s so-called followers carry out holy rituals and supposedly seek God’s ways, but they really are just serving their own interests through those acts instead – and God turns away and “does not notice.” There is no humbleness in their acts, but rather that of selfishness and oppression and quarrelsome attitudes. It’s clear why God did not take notice of their hypocrisy. And then the chapter moves on to where we began above in verse 6, where it starts to lay out what does get God’s attention. Let’s look at the passage again:

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:6-11, NRSV)

“If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord.” (Isaiah 58:13-14a, NRSV)

Do you see? God does not want words. He does not want a show. He wants us to live humble and selfless lives – to actually do what we preach and highlight in church every weekend. Instead of living selfishly and pursuing our own interests through the religious traditions and rituals (church-going, Sabbath-keeping, fasting, whatever you want to fill in here), He wants us to put away that self-serving pursuit and loosen the bonds of injustice for others. Similar to what we see in Acts, this means to share what we have with those who have need. How often do we really feed the hungry, house the homeless, or clothe the naked? When’s the last time you donated or volunteered at a food bank or homeless shelter, or welcomed a friend in need (or, God forbid, a stranger) into your home to stay with you until they got on their feet? I know I haven’t kept up. And yet, how typical is it that we point fingers and speak ill of others? I know it’s way too common for me, and from the looks of what I see on Facebook and Twitter, it’s way too common for others too. The Bible says to remove these things – what benefit do such things bring us anyway? All it does for me when I point fingers and speak evil of others is make me even angrier. And it definitely takes away any focus at all on God, the needs of others, and my ability to serve. 

The Bible says that it’s only IF we remove the blaming and the evil speak, and only IF we serve the needs of others, and only IF we refrain from pursuing our own interests and trampling on God’s holy establishments, that our light will rise in the darkness and we’ll take delight in the Lord. So much of the time, us so-called Christians make lofty goals for our churches and our religious systems. But oftentimes, that ends up taking away the focus on what God wants of us. It’s only when we remove the focus from our own thoughts and our own selves that we will truly rise above.

SO much more to unpack in these verses, but I’ll leave it here for now. 

Healing for Nations

This morning, with the world’s tragedies weighing heavily on my mind, I read Revelation 22:1-2. It wasn’t planned to turn to this passage as I was doing my devotion, but it’s funny how things like this work out and are so often timed perfectly. The passage reads:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2, NRSV)

We see imagery of the tree of life here, a tree with the power to heal nations. It got me thinking about all the nations that are suffering right now. I particularly think of Afghanistan, Haiti, even our own country with COVID-19 and political corruption. There’s so much upheaval and so much need for healing. And then there’s this passage about the tree of life which has the power to do just that: heal. 

But how do we access this healing? The answer: Christ. He is the source! He’s planted it and given it that healing power, for it flows directly from Him on His throne, as described in the passage from Revelation. It’s interesting how Ellen White puts it, revealing how humankind is so familiar with evil which kills and destructs, and yet Christ made the ultimate sacrifice of giving up His life so that we may have access to the power of that same life which provides permanent healing from such suffering and destruction: 

“The sons of men have had a practical knowledge of evil, but Christ came to the world to show them that He has planted for them the tree of life, the leaves of which were for the healing of the nations.” (Ellen White, Ellen G. White Manuscript 67, 1898)

By partaking in Him and accepting Him into our lives, we gain everlasting life with the only true healing that makes us completely whole because He is that tree of life. He is its creator. He is its power. All we have to do is reach out and take it in. Take Him in. 

“Christ is the source of our life, the source of immortality. He is the tree of life, and to all who come to Him He gives spiritual life.” (Ellen White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Jan. 26, 1897

“Christ... was the tree of life to all who would pluck and eat.” (Ellen White, Ellen G. White Manuscript 95, 1898)

So what does this have to do with the current matters of this world? Yes, taking Christ in is a personal choice that all of us must make for ourselves. But did you know? “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up...” (James 5:15). From what I glean of the passages above, such prayer doesn’t just save physically ill individuals. There is so much more power in it than that! Remember, the leaves of the tree of life can bring healing to the nations. This is such encouraging news! This world is sick and in desperate need of healing, and although we know things will get worse before they get better (as described by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24), we can still have hope. Not only can we find healing in Christ as individuals, but our prayers can help that of the world at large too. 

So today if the world’s troubles are weighing heavy on your heart – there indeed is SO MUCH happening these days – pray. There is power in it. It can bring healing. Healing for you and me, healing for nations.