Margie Theiss

For nine months, my husband had been driving me to the dermatologist for a monthly visit. This time I was going to talk to the doctor about the development of a persistent cough. The only thing that had changed in my life was the medication that I was taking for severe scalp psoriasis; so I read and reread the two page, fine print, pharmacy handout for it. In the next to last sentence was a warning that a cough may be a side effect.

Knowing that most doctors do not like patients diagnosing their problems, I had carefully planned how I would approach the doctor with my information. I shared my plan with my husband as we traveled. He suggested a different approach. My immediate reaction was inward anger. It felt like he was correcting me.

To calm down, I looked out my window and watched the vineyards, on the side of the highway, slide by. I began thinking of something that had occupied my mind for the past few days during my Bible study, the amazing submission of Christ to His Father’s will. My thoughts were interrupted by a comment from Len.

“You didn’t listen to me”

I replied, “Yes I did. I heard every word you said.”

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. We arrived at the doctor’s office and Len parked the car. We walked together from the car to the office. Len waited in the reception area while I was led to and left in an examining room. As I settled in, I began coughing. At the same time a nurse entered. Through my coughing jag, I tried to tell her, “I’m not contagious. This is chronic.” Simultaneously I saw the doctor looking over her shoulder.

He came into the room and, while examining my scalp, bombarded me with questions. “How long have you had this cough, when did it begin, … etc.” He concluded with, “Your scalp looks fine, so we can begin to lower the dose of the medication. Cut it in half and see me in two weeks.” Then he and the nurse were gone.

As I collected myself I chuckled. The verses that came to mind were Matthew 10:19-20. “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”

Jesus said this to His disciples as instruction for what to do when they were brought before authorities as trouble makers. The principle is the same for us in everyday situations as it was for them in confrontational circumstances. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU WILL SAY OR DO.

Think it through and let it go, no obsessing. Trust that the Holy Spirit will give us what is needed. We may not have to say or do anything, as was my case. All my planning of what to say was for naught. Being angry was wasted energy.

Oh, if you are concerned over the strained relationship between me and my husband, don’t be. He rarely holds onto any tension between us for more than five minutes. This drives me crazy. Hmmm. Maybe that’s his intention.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 660 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 11 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

My last post may have caused some to think that my relationship with Christ is too casual because I have begun to see Him as an older brother. This isn’t the first time that I have been accused of not giving Christ the deference that He deserves. When I taught a large Bible study, word got back to me that a woman was having a hard time listening to my lectures because she had picked up on my relating to Christ as a friend. I couldn’t change to accommodate her for a good reason.

When I first began to read the Bible at twenty-five, it was suggested that I start with the book of John. In John 15:12-17, Jesus says that He calls all who believe in Him “His friends”. For a young woman who had never had a close friend, this was amazing! So I took Him at His word and became His friend.

At times I would feel guilty, especially when I would run across someone who focused on the majesty of Christ. Why was it so difficult for me to also do that? Perhaps it was because I related to Christ in the way that He most filled my need. Recently a friend shared that when she was married, Christ was her friend. When her husband died, Christ became her husband. When she remarried, Christ again became her friend. Possibly not being ruled by a monarch or not having any sort of idol growing up kept me from centering in on the majesty of Christ.

Well now that I’m studying Revelations I think that I can transition, for in it is the culmination of the world as we know it and Christ is the main character. He is portrayed as “great and impressively beautiful”, as having “sovereign power, authority or dignity” and displaying “ greatness or splendor … of character”, as Webster’s dictionary defines majesty.

This is how I’m doing it. Early, most mornings, I spend some time picturing Christ as being majestic. I’m finding prompts from several sources, the first being how I have experienced Christ in the past.

This morning I entered my time focusing on Christ with my mind on Tallen, one of our grandsons. Today is his twelfth birthday. He and his father are the only children I have seen born. These thoughts caused me to see Christ as the giver of life, the sustainer of all life and the provider of eternal life.

A second prompt is concentrating on the words of the songs sung in church. One Sunday I came away with Christ as the leader of angel armies, perfect in power, uncontainable, incomparable, indescribable and unchangeable.

Third , I note how the authors of the Bible describe Christ. In Joel 2:13, God is said to be gracious, merciful, slow to anger and kind. Since Christ is the exact representation of God, He also bears God’s characteristics.

Think about this: What role does Christ play in your life? Why? On which of His characteristics do you focus? Why? Do you see Him as majestic?

How about sharing your thoughts with us to stimulate us to love Christ more.

You know how people usually sit in the same place during their church service. Well, my husband and I have claimed a pew a few rows behind the youth group which sits on the left side of the church, right up front, facing whoever is teaching, This Sunday I could not help but notice that there was a younger boy sitting with the junior high/high school students. What caught my eye was that the younger boy snuggled up to an older one, and once in awhile the younger boy would plant a kiss on his cheek. For this sign of affection the younger boy would receive a slight shove from the older boy’s arm. It wasn’t a deterrent. I concluded that these boys must be brothers and later confirmed that by asking another student.

I think the reason I was distracted was because when I was seventeen I accidentally discovered that I wasn’t an only child. I had an older brother who had been put in an orphanage before I was born. Since then I often wondered what it would have been like to be raised with him, especially since he was only a year older than I. Would he view me as a pest, tease me, try to avoid me or protect me, take an interest in me, perhaps hang out with me.?

In this week’s Bible study I came across a description of the perfect older brother, Jesus Christ. (Revelation 3:14-21)

He is faithful and provides me with a true description of our Father. (v.14) He has known me since birth. (v.14) Actually, He knew me while I was still in my mother’s womb. (Jeremiah 1:5a) He wants to fellowship with me but will not force Himself on me. (v.20) And the most amazing fact is that He is not greedy or jealous. He wants to share the position our Father has given to Him with me. (v.21)

My curiosity is satisfied. I search no longer. I do know what it is like to have the perfect older brother in my life. He was there for many years but I didn’t recognize Him in that role. Now that I do, may I learn to express my love and adoration in the way the younger boy did to his brother in church. One thing is for sure. I’ll never be pushed away.

I’m back in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) after being out for over 20 years. It is where I learned to apply Scripture to my life. It feels good to be held accountable to read Scripture every day, answer written questions about what you have read, listen to and share with those who have done the same and then have what you have been learning summarized by a lecture and notes. Quite comprehensive!

It is a good time to return because a brand new study is being offered, the Book of Revelation. In the first three weeks I have learned new things about myself, God, the way He works and the plans that He has for the inhabitants on earth. All this is bringing me such joy and, occasionally, laughter that I can’t help but share with you.

Two comments from the first lecture stuck with me. Reading from the Bible is the most important reading that you can do each day and God is pleased when you are growing spiritually.

I had finished doing my lesson two days before the next meeting; so I thought that I would do recreational reading. My choice is usually a mystery book; but before I was able to find time to fire up my Kindle, the first comment kept running through my mind. I finally gave in and decided to listen to a recorded sermon from my grand daughter’s church in Santa Barbara, California.

Guess what the topic was? Growing spiritually in your local church. God had directed me, through a BSF lecture, to what would please Him as my focus for the nine-month study. It wasn’t just the coincidence of the lecture comment being the same as the sermon topic. It was also that the three steps given for spiritual growth pointed to a weakness in my spiritual maturity that I probably would not have worked on unless given this prod from God.

The sermon was from I Peter 2:1-10 and the steps are as follows:

1. Drink milk (2:2) It takes discipline to read the Bible daily and there is the temptation to water it down, not recognizing that God is the final authority, not self.
2. Move into a new house (2:4-8) The new house is the local church. In it you will find fellowship, discipline, accountability, joys, frustrations, quirkiness, people who are multi-aged and from multi-backgrounds.
3. Act like a priest (2:5-9) You have direct access to God for serving others in the local church. Mature believers grasp their new identity. (2:9-10).

The problem I have is with step 2. I’m an introvert and socializing is not my thing. Plus, I have been in two churches that have split and when I saw a controversy coming in my present church in which I would be in the middle, I backed off and dropped out of most areas where I would have to relate to anyone but family and close friends. The preacher created the right picture of moving into a house. I would never leave my actual family home, even though it also is made up of people who are quirky and are multi-aged and from multi-backgrounds and who sometimes frustrate me. Staying and working out the problems God’s way, both in the local church and in my home, results in spiritual growth. And yes, it some times takes years.

I’ve got my work cut out for me. I have to change how I relate to the people in my local church.

I can’t imagine coming face to face with Jesus (and we will, as Revelation tells us) without having grown in this spiritual area.

I am delighted when I find someone in the Bible with whom I can identify. Recently it is Othniel.

The Old Testament tells us that Othniel was the first judge in Israel. The Lord raised him up to deliver Israel from Mesopotamia. There is not much said about him in the Bible. But a little research reveals that originally he was not part of Israel but a Kenite from the tribe of Moses’ father-in-law. Because the Kenites helped Judah enter the Promised Land, they were assimilated into the tribe of Judah. Othniel was an outsider!

Have you ever felt like an outsider? I have ….. many times.

My first experience of being fully accepted by a group was when I married my husband. He was from a very large, extended Christian family. Even though I was teased a lot, I felt their love. My second experience of belonging was when I was adopted as a child of God into His family because I chose to believe in the work, word and ways of God’s Son. Unfortunately, I did not always feel one with these family members.

Perhaps I was not completely comfortable because I had not been raised in a Christian home and my spiritual training was from many sources because our family moved a lot with my husband’s work. On the other hand, churches do have cliques that are difficult to break into and there are factions that have been long established in a church that convey founders rights.

Coming from these circumstances and being introduced to Othniel, the outsider whom God placed into the family of His chosen people and then used mightily in a unique way, gives me great affirmation that outsiders can be used of God to accomplish His purposes. But there is a warning that comes with learning of Othniel’s life and death.

Othniel ruled as a judge of Israel for forty years. During this time, Israel was at peace. But after his death, Israel turned back to doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

All of our adult children and their mates love and serve the Lord and they are training their children to do the same. But what will happen to our future generations when we die? Will our descendants be faithful and stand against Christian persecution that we now see growing or will they turn their backs on God? The latter is not a comforting thought. So I have been thinking of precautionary measures that can be taken. Following are my ideas. Please contribute your own.

Pray that our descendants will love and serve the Lord with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength.  Keep our own relationship with the Lord joyful, lively and real so that our relatives desire to do the same. Spend time with relatives or keep in touch. Get to know their friends and use what God shows you to also pray for them. Expose relatives to biographies of Christians who remained faithful to God despite persecution.

Help with the last suggestion by contributing titles that meet the criteria. My offering is Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.

It is not unusual to hear a kid blurt out, “It’s not fair.” But last week I heard it from two different Christian adults about two different situations. Each person was frustrated, bordering on anger. The male’s problem involved an action taken by the leadership of his church. He thought that what was done had been insensitive towards some members. The woman’s concern was how a preexisting rule of a missionary group did not acknowledge the work done by individuals in the group.
The male had time to pray through his problem before expressing it to me. He decided to approach those who may have been hurt, by what he considered a thoughtless action, and try to discern whether or not they felt slighted. If they did, he would find ways to build them up.
On the other hand, the female had just left her situation when we met and she was in full blown anger. But after she vented she did say, “ I know that God does not want me to feel this way and I’ll get over it.”
Since I heard these two stories, I have been amazed how often I hear people complaining that something is not fair. This got me thinking, “How does one define ‘fair’?” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary was a help. ‘Fairness’ is, “… marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest, prejudice or favoritism.”
My next thought was, “How does a Christian get over what she/he thinks is unfair?” Looking at the interchangeable synonyms of ‘fair’ helps.

Fair – a proper balance of conflicting interests
Just – following of a standard that is right and proper
Equitable – equal treatment of all concerned
Impartial – absence of favor or prejudice

Discerning in what way the problem is unfair allows a Christian to be more specific when going to God in prayer about the issue. Then when praying, the Christian will do well to ask God to reveal when he/she has committed a similar action in the past. Wait a few days. God will usually break through with a stunning revelation, unless I am the only one that He is faithful to convict? Thoroughly humbled, we can now ask forgiveness for ourselves and the one thought to have violated fairness. As we continue to pray, God may ask us to speak to the one or group that is thought of as unfair. Recognizing that we also are prone to be unfair helps us to to speak up with grace, using the right timing, tact and tone.

Some of us have gone through times, or are in a situation now, in which we accuse God of being unfair. I have been there, done that and have come to these conclusion:

God created me for a purpose.
That purpose fits into a greater plan of which I can not see the details.
God loves me.
He will not permit anything in my life that I cannot get through with Him.
He will use, if I cooperate, all in my life for good and His glory.

Having walked with Him through many trials and temptations for almost fifty years and having found Him faithful, I can not accuse Him. Instead I keep walking, watching and waiting for Him to work in my life and the lives of others.

June 22nd is my mother-in-law’s birthday. She died in December of her 90th year. She was a frail, little woman, probably only 5 ft. tall. One day I was helping her from her front porch onto the five steps that led down to the sidewalk when she stopped midway, grabbed the railing tightly, looked at me and, with a huge sigh, said, ”I didn’t think that it would be like this.” Without much thought, I acknowledged her comment with, “I know Mom, but we have to keep going.” Then I gently led her the rest of the way to the car.

Throughout the years since her death, I would retrieve her comment and wonder what she was experiencing when she made it. I’m beginning to understand better as I deal with disabilities brought on by the aging process. I wish that I had helped her express what she was going through spiritually, physically and emotionally. It would have helped her at the time and prepared me to look more realistically at my future.

Her comment reveals that she had expectations for her later years. I, on the other hand, can only remember one that I had for mine – pleasure reading, a lot of it. I never seemed to have time for that, what with marriage, raising a family, returning to college and working outside of the home.

Of course I pictured myself in a garden, reading in the cool of the morning with a steaming cup of coffee at my side or in the warmth of a late summer day, sipping from a frosty glass of an iced soft drink. The reality of my white hair years has destroyed that dream and I now can say, “I didn’t think that it would be like this.”

I do get to do a lot of reading for pleasure now, but it took about four years to fit it into my life; and it in no way looks like I envisioned it. I first had to adjust to my life slowing down to almost a crawl, which finally ended up with the use a walker. Then I snatched a few minutes each day to read as I sat in the bathroom. When I received a Kindle for Christmas three years ago, I placed it at my bedside and read before falling asleep. This year I was given an iPad and last month I began using it for an audio reading for one of my books on my Kindle. It is helpful when I am preparing a meal or cleaning up afterward or when I am ironing. Last week I finished reading/hearing three books; but not in the way I pictured when I was younger. But I am a happy camper.

I tell you about this struggle in my life because aging brings on difficulties and disappointments that most of us will face and because, even though I did not do right by my mother-in-law by not delving into her distress, I did speak a truth when I said that ‘we have to keep going’. It is called persevering.

Gayle, our daughter-in-law sent me her “InterVarsity Alumni Newsletter”. She said that it reminded her of my latest post.
InterVarsity introduced its article with these words. “Thankfully, God can and does grow us in the midst of our daily rhythms … He uses both kinds of experiences – our day-to-day life and unique service opportunities – to bring about transformation.” Following are the specific resources that they suggest:

GROWING IN MISSION: Urbana 15: Not Just for Students
GROWING GOODNESS: The Fruit of the Spirit in Our Lives http://www.intervarsity.org/blog/fruit-spirit-goodness
GROWING IN CHRISTLIKENESS: Missions isn’t just for super Christians http://www.intervarsity.org/blog/why-missions-matters
GROWING IN RECONCILIATION: http://www.intervarsity.org/news/national-lament-strikes-home
MORE FROM INTERVARSITY:
http://www.intervarsity.org/blog/does-god-care-about-diversity
http://www.intervarsity.org/blog/fruit-spirit-self-control

Since I began teaching Bible studies and training leaders, one of the roles that Christ plays in my life is that of a Master Teacher. Don’t misinterpret that statement. I am not saying that He is just a good teacher. He is the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God. What I mean by His being my Master teacher is that He has a plan for my growth as a teacher and He guides me through what I read, study and experience so that I reach the goals He has for me.
Although I no longer have a teaching ministry, I still rely on Him for my spiritual growth: and I get excited when I see that He still responds to me by putting in my path lessons that I see He has coordinated. As an example, I was making sure that I remembered the verse containing the Fruit of the Spirit when I received the Intervarsity article. Lo and behold it contained articles on the Fruit of the Spirit. Also, I’m reading Eric Mataxas’ book, Miracles. This week is Holy week. Guess what chapter I’m in. The Miracle of the Crucifixion.
My Master Teacher has given me this week’s assignment. If you are not doing a daily Bible study, ask God to put in your path one that He knows will lead you in the way He knows you need to grow. Be vigilant in watching for it. There’s nothing like receiving the special attention of the Master Teacher.

A few years back, a friend and I planted in our yards the bush commonly called ‘yesterday, today and forever’. She put her plant in a pot and set it in partial sun. I haphazardly planted mine in the ground in full sun where it filled an unsightly gap where the fence line and a hedge were to meet, but didn’t. Both plants appeared healthy, but hers bloomed profusely, mine sparsely. At the end of last summer I potted mine and put it in an area similar to hers. I checked it once in awhile to see how the shock of the move was affecting it.
As spring weather eased out winter’s, my plant doubled in size, looked extremely healthy and, I expect, will shortly have many blossoms.
Recently I e-mailed her to tell her what I had done and the results of my efforts. She replied, “Interesting … I moved mine into the ground … Mine is not blooming at the moment … I find it fascinating that they both hang on. What is God trying to teach us from this?”
Here is my take on this true to life parable. What would be yours?
Unlike the haphazard gardeners, which some of us are, the God of the Bible plants His children with purpose. One purpose is to grow a child spiritually. With the planting, He provides the resources needed for growth. Even negative experiences, when handled properly, can promote healthy growth. Our plants hung on by drawing from nutrients from the soil in which they had been planted. When life gets difficult, we can hang on by drawing from what God has provided for our spiritual growth – reading from the Bible and applying what we learn, being led by the Holy Spirit who guides and comforts, praying, ministering and being ministered to at a local church and seeking advice from mature Christians.
It is easy to forget how important our spiritual growth is to God; so we need to ask ourselves these questions and make adjustments where necessary:

Will I allow God to move and plant me as He sees fit?
What circumstances in my life are causing me grief or, I think, are less than bearable?
Have I allowed myself enough time to recover from the shock of a change in my environment?
What resources has God provided in order for me to grow spiritually through difficult times? Is my spiritual growth as important to me as it is to God?
*
In the above writing I used ‘lackadaisical’ to describe my gardening skills. As I reread my draft, I thought, “I had better check the meaning of that word.” Sure enough, the definition didn’t fit me.

“lackadaisical: feeling or showing a lack of interest or enthusiasm” from Merriam-Webster dictionary

I then checked out its origin: “lackadaisical. A lackadaisical person, lethargic, listless, lazy person, was originally someone given to sighing, “lackaday, lackaday,” a shortening of alack-a-day (“woe is the day”). Laurence Sterne may have coined lackadaisical from the earlier lackaday; anyway, he first recorded the word in his Sentimental Journey (1768)” from Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Fredrickson

I then had to look up ‘coined’. “coin: to create (a new word or phrase) that other people begin to use”
Merriam-Webster dictionary

Finally I checked ‘haphazard’. Its definition is, “having no plan, order, or direction”. This perfectly describes my gardening efforts but not my basic nature. That is the antonym of ‘haphazard’ – ambitious, animated, energetic, enterprising, motivated. Merriam-Webster dictionary
At least it was until I reached 70 years of age. But I still like to chase rabbits in the Bible, dictionaries and on the Internet..