This Is No Pinky Promise

I really hate to admit this, but . . . not so long ago, anytime “covenant” got mentioned, I found myself kind of tuning out just a little. It seemed way over my head and slightly boring. I have already mentioned that I didn’t even want to DO the Covenant Bible study! That was then. This is now.
Just my opinion, but I think the whole church should do this Covenant Bible study. How it will open your eyes!! Really. We are studying covenants from Genesis to Revelation. Who knew it was so interesting?!

Okay, how many times have you heard of the new covenant? And how many of those times have you understood what it means? Really, really understood what it means? Well, I was one of those who understood it, got it, and could talk about it. But looking at the new covenant in light of all the other covenants gives me a brand new way of seeing it. You will understand the depth of God’s love for you if you study covenants.

Here’s a little Greek lesson for you. Did you know that there are two different Greek words for “new” in the New Testament? Neos means new as compared to old. But, kainos means new as in unique. In every passage in the Bible except one, guess which one is used for new covenant? Kainos. The new covenant is unique. It is different from and better than all the other covenants. It has promises never before offered by any other covenant. Here they are: we get the power to obey God (this is NOT a natural human response!); we get forgiveness (blood of animals cannot take away sin; Christ’s blood can); we get eternal life and a never ending relationship with God.

This is no pinky promise. This is the real thing. Please, please, please – make it a priority to study and understand the whole concept of covenant. It will change your life.

Friends

I do not take friendships lightly. My friends are my friends. Period. I might or might not be loyal to a fault. When I was growing up, we moved around and, as a result, I don’t have any of those friends that some people have. The ones you have known since kindergarten (or before). The ones that have just always been there. I went to three different elementary schools. Sort of eliminated that kind of friendship for me. So, when I say that I don’t take friendship lightly, I really, really don’t. What I learned from not having any of those friends-from-the-beginning-of-life is to let everyone in and see if a friendship developed – and then hang on to it when it did. I know the value of friendship.

A few years ago, I had the miserable and heartbreaking experience of being betrayed by a trusted friend. It was a take-your-breath-away and I-can’t-believe-it moment for me. How could this happen? I mean, I had been there for this person. I had prayed for this person through a crisis (or a few of them). I was there through major life events and had been supportive. I had upheld my end of the friendship bargain. And now, this?! This was not a small, easily forgotten betrayal. It was massive and it was miserable. It turned my life upside down. It hurt my family – and mamas don’t like it when their families are hurt. It cost me dearly when I had done nothing wrong. It caused my unbelievably forgiving and sweet husband to say unkind things – and that is hard to do. It made me examine other friendships. No way was I going to get blindsided again!

I wallowed around in my misery for a while. I told myself I had earned the right. The emotional pain was very real. It was a how-am-I-going-to-make-it-through kind of pain. And I didn’t really want to share it with anyone. The story was long and complicated. To really understand, you had to understand a couple of decades worth of friendship. And to explain it, I had to reopen that wound and I just didn’t want to do that. Much, much too painful. I shared bits and pieces, but the whole story . . . well, that was almost too hard.  But I did tell Someone. And He listened. He heard my suffering through every word, every tear, every sigh, every gulp, every sob, every breath I tried to take and almost couldn’t, every bit of pain that I couldn’t even put into words. He was my best Friend.

Because . . . we have a covenant. And thanks to the fall Bible study we are doing – Covenant by Kay Arthur – I understand it so much better. He takes care of me when I can’t take care of me. He fights my enemies - when I cannot as well as when I can. That “two become one” thing – that is us. God takes care of me because I am His. He gave me His armor, so I can fight, too. But, most important, He is always there. When I can’t, He does and He will. Always. Forever.

Join us for Bible study. We all watch the same videos and do the same homework, but there is always a message there that is just for me. There’s a message in the study that is just for you, too.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. John 15:13-16

Except for the Scar

There was a time when we had quite a menagerie at our house. We had fish too numerous to count in one big tank and three guppies in their own little habitat. We had two gerbils that we called Him and Her because we could never decide on a name for them. We had two dogs. And we had Sparky, the rose-kneed tarantula. That’s right – we had a pet spider. Sounds exotic, but they really don’t do much of anything and we never did figure out how to play with him. Didn’t find out until after we got him that they live a l-o-n-g time. I discovered one fine day that they molt. When that happens, you go in one morning and find what appears to be another whole tarantula sitting in the spider house. Quite a shock, really. Not to mention a huge relief to find out that it is a hollow shell. But now, we are down to two dogs and one persistent fish. (Sparky lasted 10 years with us!)

If you are not a pet person, then you will probably have a hard time understanding that I am completely besotted with my dogs. Zorro and Lily are part of the family. It doesn’t matter that they are four legged and canine. They have a place in our hearts and our home; we love them. Period. It is okay if you don’t understand. It is not going to change. So, one day I noticed that a little bit of Lily’s fur was poking out in a funny way. And then I noticed a little bitty bumpy place on her skin. So I took her to the vet where she was poked with needles and examined. The veterinarian said that she needed some surgery to remove the growth; that would be the safest thing to do. That was on Friday and she had surgery on Monday. Between Friday and Monday, I prayed for Lily. Yes, I think God cares about my dog, too. I picked her up and took her home afterwards, all stitched up and grumpy, waiting for the report from the lab.


Lily on the way home from surgery

A week later, we got the call. Lily’s growth was a type of cancer. But there was good news. It had been completely removed and the “edges” of what had been removed were clean. Lily’s cancer is 100% curable. And she had already had the treatment. Our vet said that she will be just like it was never there –except for the scar. Can’t do anything about that. We celebrated. Extra dog biscuits for both Lily and Zorro to go along with the pain pills for Miss Lily. Woo-hoo!! We are happy at our house!



So, this really does have something to do with our Covenant Bible study. We have been learning about all kinds of covenants – Old Testament covenants that involved Abram/Abraham, Laban and Jacob, Jonathan and David – and New Testament covenants that involve me (and you!). Over and over again we have heard that a covenant is a solemn, binding agreement. And it means that the covenant partners become one – they have the same friends and the same enemies. They share completely. When we have a covenant relationship with Jesus, we have a solemn, binding agreement. We belong to Him and he will fight our enemies with us. He will never leave us. And, our sins are gone. Even our “edges” are clean. Forgiven. Forgotten. Just like it was never there. Except for the scar – a reminder of what once was but is no more. I am so thankful, thankful, thankful for my covenant relationship with Jesus. I hope you are, too. Go celebrate.  Better yet - join us for Bible study - what a difference it will make in your life.

Dressed for Success

Have you seen The Princess and the Frog? Yes, I know it is an animated movie (sounds better than “cartoon”). I watched it anyway. And I liked it. So, if you are not familiar with the story, there’s a prince who travels to New Orleans in search of a rich girl to marry. The Shadow Man turns him into a frog and only a kiss from a princess will turn him back into a prince. So, the frog meets Tiana, a poor girl who dreams of opening her own fancy restaurant and serving gumbo made with her father’s fabulous recipe. Now, the frog meets Tiana during Mardi Gras. He mistakes her for a princess because she is wearing a tiara, a beautiful dress, and really looks the part. The frog convinces Tiana to kiss him by promising enough money to help her make her dream come true. She kisses him and . . . instead of the frog turning back into a prince, Tiana turns into a frog! The frog can’t quite understand what went wrong. And then, he finds out that Tiana is no princess. He got fooled by her clothes. Her clothes said one thing, but real life said another. The frog/prince added the tiara to the ball gown and concluded that she was a real princess because she was dressed like one. Big mistake.

Now, I need to share something that has been rolling around in my head for a week. In the Covenant Bible study, Kay Arthur said, “Watch how you behave because you have His robe on.” This statement came from our study of the covenant between Jonathan and David. Jonathan gave David his robe and armor. It was a way of Jonathan saying to David, “You are putting ‘me’ on when you wear this. We are the same. Your enemies are my enemies, and I will fight with you.” Our covenant with God is similar. As Christians, we are “wearing His robe.” So, we better be careful how we act!! Like it or not, when we are wearing His robe, our actions get judged based on what others expect of us. Will they expect something different from us than they do from those who don’t have His robe? Yes. And they should.

I think my grandmother lived in fear that I would do something to bring some sort of dishonor to the family. She constantly reminded me, “Remember who you are.” Pretty good advice, really. So . . . when you are wearing His robe, remember Whose you are. That robe you're wearing - it was purchased with the blood of Christ.