notes from lisa...

     I was just sitting here thinking about some very wise words from my mother. Whenever we got excited about a particular preacher or a certain ministry, she would admonish us, not to focus on the person, and make a point to remind us that "they are men ". She wanted us to understand the danger of glorifying the vessel, rather than the God of the vessel--it's tempting because we can see the vessel, with our natural eye. At the time, I don't think I realized how important and prophetic her words would be.      Before she died, we had begun to see scandals with church leaders--Jim Jones was in the distant past by February, 1993. We had gone through a couple more major ones, and of course many smaller (some completely unnoticed) ones. However , I don't think any of us could have predicted what we see, today--it is a pretty regular part of our national news. My mom would always say, "take your eyes off the man, because the success of his ministry isn'

This past weekend, was one of the best and most productive weekends I've had in a long time. It was also a challenge. You see, I'm so enamored, amazed and grateful for God's grace--and I want everyone else to be, also; so, whenever I see hints of legalism, something gets stirred up in me. That occurred, too, this weekend. Legalism doesn't only stink in God's nostrils, it stinks in mine, too. I see the damage it does, and I see also that it is in essence a rejection of the work of the cross. Today, for my devotional time, I was drawn to the 4th chapter of Romans. You know how you can read a verse or verses all of your life, but never get the full meaning--and then, a light bulb gets turned on? And, really that's not to say, that there won't be further illumination, but today was pretty explosive. I love this chapter--it's the story of the shaping of grace, through the father of faith, Abraham. When we read in Genesis (if we start there, having never r

Have you ever been in a place in your life where no matter what you do, everything seems to go wrong? You try, you press, you push--all uphill, but you remain at the bottom of the heap with no seeming progress in sight. I know all about it--too well (at least, by my standards). When you find yourself (or see someone in this position) it can be a natural reaction to assume that sin must be the cause. Sometimes, it is . Sometimes, it isn't . I had just such a moment when I woke up today--having had disappointment heaped upon disappointment in rapid succession, of late. My efforts to turn things around have not gone well, at all. Today, I asked that question--it is right to self examine. I asked God, "What have I done to cause this--why can't I get out of this rut; what am I doing wrong? " Before, I could put the question mark at the end of the question, I got the response: "Don't ask that question!" And, immediately, the passage came to mind where Jes