Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • communion

    —

    Dana

    The Father, Son, and Spirit invite us into holy communion. We celebrate this blessing as we gather around the Lord’s table and remember what Jesus did for us.

    “The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, after supper, He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it in remembrance of Me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.’” (I Corinthians 11:24-26)

    But communion does not stop with the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper. Just as Jesus walked with His disciples through the towns of Israel, so we are to walk in fellowship with Him and with one another.

    Some say such practice is impossible in our day and time with all the busyness of life, but God knows what is best and vital for our spiritual lives. We can’t do it alone. When we share communion we are willingly opening our lives to one another.

    Christ is the Center and we are His disciples who give thanks for what He has done and what He is doing. And what is He doing? Jesus is building His Church, a holy Temple, a Body, a Community that will reflect the love and truth of God. As believers live honest lives with one another, the world sees a difference.

    Power plays, manipulation, competition, and strife have no place in God’s family… instead, love covers all. As we live the way Jesus teaches — treating others the way we want to be treated, considering others better than ourselves, laying down our lives for one another — the world will know that He is real.

    “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

    “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

    “We will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16

    “By this all men will know you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

  • applause

    —

    Dana

    Ten days before Christmas, on a chilly day, Wilkes and I bundled up and went for a walk in the neighborhood. Three months shy of turning two, Wilkes loves to be outside. Sometimes we’ll walk nearly a mile enjoying leaves, trees, rocks, squirrels, airplanes in the sky, and many other things we grown-ups take for granted.

    For some reason on this particular day, I started singing a Christmas carol I really didn’t know that well… “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman.” Wilkes stopped walking, turned around and listened to my rendition, smiling the entire time. I’m sure I had the tune, but I confess I was making up many of the words. Wilkes did not seem to mind. When I finished, the little boy’s grin grew and he clapped his hands with enthusiasm.

    img_0827Almost a week later, on a much warmer day, Wilkes and I went for another walk. This time he wanted to take a baby stroller he loves to push. When he gets a little tired, he’ll hop in, but usually he just enjoys pushing the stroller as we hike. I remembered my song from the previous week, and since we had sung it in church Sunday, I knew the words a little better. This time Wilkes never broke stride; he just kept pushing the stroller. But when I finished, he stopped, turned around with a big smile on his face, and gave me another standing ovation.

    These 2016 Christmas memories bring a couple of thoughts to mind. First, I can’t help wonder if Joseph ever went on walks with a two-year-old Jesus. I’ll bet he did. And if Joseph ever burst into song on one of those strolls, I wonder if Jesus looked up, smiled, and clapped as the song concluded. Could the Child who had heard angels singing in heaven applaud an old carpenter on a Nazareth road?

    I also think of Jesus’ words declaring that we must become like children: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” How often do I stop, look up, listen and observe, then applaud our Father in Heaven? He made the leaves and the trees and rocks and squirrels and people who make the airplanes. All the blessings I have been given deserve gratitude.

    The most genuine worship may take place as we stop and let the Holy Spirit remind us of the truth of God’s love. When such revelation sinks to the proper deep place in our hearts, we can’t help but smile and applaud.

    “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24

  • bless

    —

    Dana

    santa3This will be the last writing for a couple of weeks as we are completing our fall semester and entering Christmas break. Kinsey and Jordan are hoping Mr. Claus did not take it personally when little Owen stuck out his tongue on his very first visit to Santa.

    I was at Emory the other day and overheard a patient with a big white beard say, “I was at a restaurant and a little girl came running across the room, jumped up in my lap, and started telling me what she wanted for Christmas.” I’m not sure what every Santa Claus feels about children, but it looks like the one holding Owen really enjoys his work.

    The ultimate Friend of children once overruled His disciples’ objections and said, “Let the little children come to Me!” He wanted to bless the little ones.

    “Here is a beautiful creation of My Heavenly Father… one who will live forever! I want the blessings of God to cover this child. I want this little boy (or this little girl) to know the One who formed him in his mother’s womb. I will ask My Father to protect this child from the plans of the evil one. He wants the worst for children… My Father wants the best. Children are always welcome in My Father’s house!”

    May God bless you all during this wonderful season!

    “Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there.” Matthew 19:13-15

  • fellowship

    —

    Dana

    “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8)

    As God became flesh and walked the earth, He faced the same challenges, temptations, and trials that we do. How did He do it? If the secrets of Jesus’ life on earth were rooted in fellowship with His Father and constant dependence on Him, it would be good to find ways to live in like manner.

    Jesus always looked to the Father, “who is greater than I,” knowing God was His life. As the Son kept His eyes on the Father, so we are to keep our eyes on Jesus, who is infinitely greater than us… and who is our life. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2) “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

    If our eyes are on Jesus, we stay in focus. When our eyes are elsewhere, priorities get confused and life becomes complicated. Jesus lived a life that was uncomplicated. He looked to the Father, listened to what He said, and did what He was told. Is it possible each day for us to look to Jesus, listen to what He says, and do what He tells us?

    For Jesus, fellowship with the Father also included walking in the Spirit. At His baptism, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove and the Father proclaimed: “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) As Jesus followed the Spirit’s lead, He pleased His Father by genuinely loving others.

    We are also loved by the Father and He has given us the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Counselor. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) The Holy Spirit will show us how to love others and the Father will receive much glory.

    Paul wrote: “The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will receive eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8) Jesus said: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true and living God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) Knowing the Father, Son, and Spirit… keeping our eyes fixed on the Savior… walking in the Spirit… living in fellowship with God… this is true life.

    “And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” I John 1:3

    “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22

    “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

  • living

    —

    Dana

    Each child of God should ask the question: “How am I to live for Christ in this world?” ‘Time in history’ and ‘location on earth’ have presented different challenges to those who love Jesus. A Christian who lived in Berlin, Germany in the 1930’s had to decide how to react to a ‘fuehrer’ who eventually made it clear he intended to kill every Jew on earth. Discerning the will of God in the midst of crisis is not always simple.

    In 2008, a fourteen-year-old boy named Zaid was walking near his house in Mosul, Iraq. Three men confronted him and asked if he was a Christian. Zaid answered ‘yes’ and was shot and killed on the street. Zaid’s parents have not only lost a son but their home and all their possessions to ISIS. Eight years later they still trust Jesus in their war-torn country. Such trials face many of our brothers and sisters in certain nations, but we must also decide what it means to live for Christ in our world.

    As we look to the Savior, we can be encouraged. While His goal was always the Father’s will, He had different seasons of life. “Didn’t you know I had to be about My Father’s business?” twelve-year-old Jesus asked His parents after they found Him in the Temple. But for the next eighteen years, we have no record of what exactly that meant. We assume Jesus lived as a carpenter in Nazareth, working hard and treating people as He wanted to be treated.

    After His baptism, Jesus found Himself in a hostile world. The devil confronted Him in the wilderness and made it clear that God’s will would be opposed. As Jesus taught, healed, and loved the lost, He faced persecution from those who did not recognize the Messiah. So how did Jesus know what to do? How did He know what to say? How did He know how to live in a crazy world? The secret for Jesus is the secret for us: He lived in fellowship with the Father.

    Day-to-day fellowship with the Father is the way the child of God successfully lives in this world. Whichever our generation, wherever we are on the earth, whatever dilemma arises, God is not confused… or surprised. We can ask what He thinks: “How would You handle this situation?” Then: “Lord, please give me the grace, strength, and courage to trust and obey.”

    “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught Me. The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” John 8:28-29

    “For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:38-39

    “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know You have sent Me. I have made You known to them and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.” John 17:25-26

    (Zaid’s story is found in the December 2016 issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, p 9)

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