Being a Friend--by Linden Malki

Even the Lone Ranger had a sidekick, a friend who backed him up in dangerous territory. Whether we realize it or not, this world is dangerous territory--and always has been. Adam started out with a Garden full of friendly animals, but God knew that it was not good for him to be alone--without a human partner.  We are created to be complements--to be distinct individuals, with different personalities and abilities and needs.  It's easy to get into the the habit of thinking that we know another person "like a book."  Not really. I recall one time seeing my husband John, about 30 years into a good marriage,  walking up the side aisle of the store, and I found myself  thinking, "This is a different person, with a different brain, and I shouldn't expect him to think like me."  There are people who think like me in some ways, but nobody thinks exactly like anybody else.  God loves variety--we are created to be individuals, but to relate to other individuals, and with Him, in ways that will make us more than we could be otherwise.

It is good to have friends, some of which might even be related, but there is something needed  besides wanting someone to be your friend.  What do we need to be, ourselves, to be the kind of friend that someone else wants and needs?  Left to ourselves, we put our own wants and needs and ideas first.  So what's wrong with this?

God made us, first and foremost, to be His friends.  He doesn't force Himself upon us, but He does recognise when we truly want to do the right thing,  and offers us the opportunity to be His friend and follower.  This also includes the opportunity to be in healthy relationships to others of His creation. 
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians,  truly wanted this.  The Message puts it like this:

  If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.  (Philippians 2:1-4) 

I think the key here is v3: "Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage."   The important thing to remember is that in the short run, it may look counterproductive to back off and respect others' ideas and wishes, but in the long run there are a couple of things to remember:  We don't know everything about everything; there just might be some things we can learn from each other,  and even when we're right, being gentle about it works better in the long run, and things may work out to our best even when we don't expect it.  And the most important thing is that we are NOT smarter than God!  And He said that "He who wants first place, he must be last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9:33-37)

It is a blessing to have family and others who are good friends, but  the most important thing is to be a true  friend.

Created to Use His Gifts! --by Linden Malki

I am always amazed at the potential talents that we have as creations of God. We all have different combinations of abilities and talents, and we can learn so many things that are beyond our native environment.  The programming is there, even when there has been no "evolutionary" reason for it. For example, my husband was born with a talent for mechanical things even though his family is from an technological undeveloped area. In fact, the many of the potentials that we are created with have no logical explanation.

 We are born with talents that are given to us for our benefit and for us to serve each other; but they are usually part of our own self-centered lives.  It's all about what we need, what we want, what will get attention and praise for us. Even when we do use them to benefit others, there is usually an element of self-esteem and expectations of some sort of return.  That's life on the human level. But even at this level, we are called to make good and responsible use of the strengths of our initial programming.

Bring God into the picture--where He belongs! And things should change. But even still, it's hard to get out of the habit of putting ourselves first.  A friend was telling me the other day that I need to pray for what I want with the sense that the Universe will be influenced by my efforts. There have been times that I've wanted something that I had a pretty good suspicion that it wouldn't be good for me in the long run.

When things don't go our way, we should remember " Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want ".(I Peter 4:1-2)

And our "wants" can become our master! Recognizing and surrendering is not something that comes easy to us. I been reminded (sometimes the learning the hard way) that God is smarter than I am, and knows what is best for me, and He needs me to give Him some room to work.  And as committed followers of Jesus, we are given gifts of abilities and callings over and above with what we have on the human level.  Ideally, we can make the best of both: use our inborn talents working with our God-given spiritual gifts--these things that are given for us to use to serve God, and use in His name.

 And as we grow in relationship with Him, everything should grow in the opportunities and places God puts us.  We are created to do more than we can do on the human level (this can be twisted into greater evil than we can control, as well): "Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"  (I Peter 4:10-11, The Message)

He Holds the Future! --by Linden Malki

"Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see. " This was written by a remarkable lady, Corrie ten Boom, who grew up in Holland before World War II. Her family were watchmakers, and she had every reason to think that she would spend her life repairing clocks and watches in their small shop
. However, when the Nazis invaded The Netherlands in 1940 and began arresting and deporting Jews, the ten Boom family found themselves taking in, hiding, and finding sanctuary for Jewish neighbors and others in need. They were betrayed to the Nazi occupation in 1944. The family was arrested; her father died in captivity, and Corrie and her sister Betsy were moved through three of the most cruel prison camps in Germany.

Their dormitory in the last one, Ravensbruck, was so crowded and vermin-ridden that the guards wouldn't go into the barracks, which gave Corrie and Betsie the freedom to read and share their smuggled Bible with the other women. Their lifelong Christian faith and their ability to see God at work even in these circumstances gave them hope. Betsie died there, and Corrie was released soon after. After the war, she became involved in rehabilitation for other former prisoners of the Nazi camps, and former Nazis as well. This grew into a worldwide mission of restoration, forgiveness and faith. Starting with an estimated 800 Jews who were saved by the efforts of this family and an underground network during the war, the future held opportunities to speak to people in at least 60 countries, and a best-selling book on her life and faith, The Hiding Place. Survivng the worst that people can do to each other led to a led to a future that blessed many thousands of people.

One of the differences between our understanding of God's creation, and most pagan traditions is the concept of history as having a past, present and future. We learn from the past, and look forward with hope in this world, and the promise of being with God in the eternal future. This idea is so powerful that it has also influenced several offshoots of the Judeo-Christian tradition--Islam and Communism also have a vision of a future paradise.

Bill Gaither has given us a great statement of God's gift of life, faith and hope: "Because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. For I know Who holds the future: Life is worth the living just because He Lives!"

Our Expectations--or His? --by Linden Malki

 

Gideon was a skeptic. He wanted to make really, really sure that God was serious about using him as the Mighty Warrior, especially as he didn't think of himself as such. He was willing to go for it; but on his own terms. When God told him to sacrificed one of his dad's bulls, on a fire made of a local pagan shrine, he did it--in the middle of the night.  Fortunately, when the local people came to kill him, his dad told them that if the pagan god couldn't save his own altar, why should they care about it?

The Spirit of God led him to send out messengers recruiting warriors to attack the occupying Midianites and others, but he still had to be sure. So he did something that we still refer to as "laying a fleece." He left a sheepskin on the ground overnight, and told God that he'd believe, if, in the morning the fleece was wet with dew while the surrounding ground was dry. Which it was. Then he did it again, only this time, he was asking if the fleece was dry when the ground was damp.  Which it was. Finally, he followed. (God was very patient with him!)

By now Gideon had a sizeable army. God next asked him to winnow down the numbers, because God didn't want them to think that the large forces had won a battle on their own strength. So he gave them two tests, and was down to a picked squad of 300, against a huge army encamped nearby.  With God's directions, they set the whole encampment fleeing in panic.  (Read it in Judges 7.)

What do we learn from this story? That God can give us the victory we need, but we are to give HIm the credit, not ourselves.  There are those who feel that God is their servant, that they can ask anything and expect the answer they want. (The Scriptures that tell us to "ask" also add "within HIs will.") Like Gideon, with God we can do unexpected and powerful things--but like Gideon, He shows His glory, not ours. 

We live in a culture that feels entitled to get what they want, no matter how unrealistic.  The goal is still, as was the common goal a generation ago, to "find yourself."  Too often, that's  looking in the wrong places.  "It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." (Ephesians 1:11-12, The Message)

God's Ripples--by Linden Malki

"I don't want any 'Downs'! just want Ups and Ups and Ups and Ups!" We all have days when we feel like Lucy van Pelt; we get tired by the ups and downs of life. The question of this last week was basically "what gets us down, and how do we get back up?" We have one thing going for us: we have access to the best helping hand there is when we need to be picked up, dusted off, and set back on the road forward.

I just had a great experience of one of the keys to recharging: good people. A couple of days ago a man walked into the side door of my store, and when I went to see what we could do for him, he said: "You may not recognize me; my name is John, but when I worked here there were two other Johns in the shop, so I became JC. " Yes, I did remember him; he had come to us as an apprentice over 25 years ago, and after a few years moved on, out of the area. I had gotten an email from him expressing sympathy at my John's homegoing, and going on to say that he appreciated what he had learned at our place: not just auto mechanics, but also about God and family. It was fun catching up; he is now a master mechanic at a Honda dealership in Indiana. He was in town visiting, and had stopped to see if I was still here, and to let me know that he still used things he had learned from John. Over the last several years, I've had several more of our move-aways stop by and still feel a conection to our place.

One thing I value about the places that God has put me is the people that I've had around here; that I've had the privilege to serve, and those who've taught me over the years. We gain strength and hope on both ends--what we invest in others, and what we receive in so many ways. Another one of those places has been our church; we've also had people come and grow and move on to other areas of life and ministry, many of whom still keep in touch. I can say with my friend JC that we learn about God and family from each other. We don't know all of the ripples that move out from the people God moves in and out of our lives!

Our Dreams--and God's Plans--by Linden Malki

"A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) We human beings usually have some idea of what we want, but God has His own idea of how to get us where He wants us.

I recall having had several different possible ambitions growing up, which gave me a guide for classes, etc; fortunately, they all led in the same general direction, and all turned out to be appropriate for where I did end up. About halfway through college, I realized that I really didn't know what I wanted long-term, but was led to the realization that if I took as many opportunities as I had available to learn as much as I could about anything that interested me, I would probably be reasonably prepared for whatever doors that God opened for me. When I was home in Spokane that summer, I decided to check on summer school classes at Gonzaga University, not far from where we lived. As it turned out, there was a French literature class and a mathematical logic class, both which were suitable followups to classes I had just completed. They were a bit surprised to find a strange girl who wasn't a teaching nun from the local Catholic schools show up in the classes, but my guardian angels were on the job and I learned a lot that I still remember. I graduated with what I have called a "non-directional" degree, and in the next year and a half, all the things I thought I might do didn't work out, and God and my family took me places I could not have imagined--winding up in San Bernardino, and Calvary Baptist Church. And I found myself being thankful for all the things I had learned without knowing why, other than my own curiosity. One of my kids decided in Jr high school that he didn't want to do his history homework because he couldn't see the point; if he ever needed it he could learn it then. I explained to him that the time to learn something is before you need it; on the spot usually doesn't get you where you need to be. (Yes, he has learned it.)

I have learned that I can analyze; I can dream, I can design, I can run scenarios in my head. But what I really need to do is pray for His vision; and for the discernment to recognize the fulfillment of the vision when it appears. I am literally eternally grateful for the places God has put me, and the people He put in my life; and appreciate the opportunities He has given me to be His servant.

Again, the wisdom of the Proverbs says it well: "There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel-- that will stand." (Proverbs 19:21)

The Circle of Compassion--by Linden Malki

This afternoon about 5pm I was putting together some thoughts about compassion, when I got a call from a friend in an unexpected jam, asking me to take care of something critical before 6pm. Time to put feet where my brain was! And then, a few minutes ago, someone else offered to help with something that I needed to take care of. It made me realize again how blessed I am that we take care of each other.

We see compassion and its related ideas all through Scripture, very often in a relationship to justice. At the very beginning of humanity, we find that God's reaction to Adam and Eve's disobedience was tempered by compassion and His love for them. He could have followed through on His clear statement that this particular infraction carried a death sentence, wiped them out and started over. Instead, He gave them a reprieve for a long life.

The next time we see this two-sided coin is with the very next generation. Again, there is a question of justice; God's sadness at the murder of Abel brought both banishment and mercy to Cain, who had been totally without mercy in his anger. We see it with Noah, when God pronounced judgment on a fatally sinful generation but called Noah and his family to a work of compassion. We find here both God's compassion to Noah, and a calling to Noah to show compassion to the animals.

We find in the Ten Commandments, following the injunction to have "no other gods" this promise: ". but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:6) From his same formational time, we find: "Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:18) . This is built into the relationship between God and His people: He will show mercy; we are to love Him, we are to keep His commandments; we are to show mercy, and to love our neighbors--because He is God.

Most religious and cultural traditions have some form of requirement to care about others. Few of them have a god who cares about them, and even fewer have gods who want to be loved. Feared, yes; but loved? And yet, throughout God's relationship with humanity, there is always the reminders that He cares about His people; and He commands us to love Him and love His people. Even within the cultures and nations that have some experience of and knowledge of God, we have too often seen lack of caring, hostility and even murder.

Sometimes the hardest people to love are the ones right under our noses, those we know best. But coupled with the commands to love are the demands for righteousness. Sometimes it means the oldfashioned suggestion to "love the sinner but hate the sin." This is not a bad idea; certainly healthier than being so nice that we get swept up into the sin.

We also need to remember that we are part of a worldwide family, and watch for opportunities to share God's love and fellowship with people from different places, and in different places. Several years ago, I was able to attend a C.S.Lewis seminar in London, with people from all over the world. One participant introduced himself as having been a sponsored child in Hong Kong, and is now, if I recall correctly, a preacher himself. Compassion has many faces--we should see it in all of God's children--and in our own mirror.