In the Strength You Have …

By Lisa Huddleston

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  We all, with unveiled faces are reflecting the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

I’ve heard it said a million times if I’ve heard it once:  “I can’t help it.  It’s just the way I am.”  Heck, I’ve probably said it at least half a million times myself.  But I’m writing today to say loudly and clearly that that is a lie!

Now it may be a great excuse for why we continue to do the things we do.  I’m overweight because my whole family is heavy.  I’m sharp-tongued and angry because whatever I think comes right out of my mouth.  I can’t seem to finish what I begin, because I’m not a patient person.  Whatever the negative activity or thought—I can’t help it.  God made me this way.  Yeah, great excuse but still a lie.

And even worse than that, it’s our way of giving God the blame for our sin.  “God, the woman you gave me handed me the fruit to eat.”  “Lord, the creature you made tempted me to eat it.”  It’s God’s fault, and we can’t help it.  It’s just the way we are, and He gave us the personalities we have—good and bad.  Lies.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying there isn’t a God-connection here, but it’s definitely not one that gives Him the blame for our sin.  The connection I’m thinking about is the one that demonstrates the activity of the Holy Spirit in those who become children of the Lord that enables us to overcome what we once were.

Think about it.  If we are His then “we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9).  We don’t use Him as an excuse for our sin.  He is the very Spirit that empowers us to be transformed, to move from glory to glory until we are made into the same image of the Lord Himself.  With unveiled faces, no lies and no excuses, there is freedom in Christ to be changed.  And that, my friend and my self, is the very good news of the gospel.

No excuses.  Not fear nor laziness nor lies.  No blaming God nor anyone else.  Look into the glory of God with an unveiled face and be changed for good.

“Working together with Him, we also appeal to you: ‘Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.’ For He says:

 In an acceptable time,

I heard you,

and in the day of salvation,

I helped you.

Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:1-2).

By Lisa Huddleston

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne” (Heb. 12:1-2).

I know you’ve seen them, too.  Euro stickers on the back windows of every third or fourth car on the interstate (it seems):  13.1 or 26.2.  The sticker announces to the world that the owner of the car has run a half- or a whole marathon!  26.2 miles!  I can’t even imagine it without getting worn out. 

I know some of these amazing people, and while I am greatly impressed by their determination and endurance, I am surprised that they set and accomplished such a lofty goal.  They are ordinary people–not super heroes.  Ordinary people who persevered through long months of training regimens and the actual race itself.  Their ordinariness makes the accomplishment even more incredible!

Recently, my husband and I were pondering why the desire to run a marathon seems to be on the rise.  Ours is a day of leisure.  Most people don’t seem to be into deprivation or hardship.  So why run a marathon?

We were inclined to think it had something to do with the definition of the event.  No matter where you run a marathon, it is always carefully measured and clearly marked–26.2 miles.  No more.  No less.  It can’t be dumbed down.  It can’t be achieved virtually or through an on-line gym.  It must be run one step at a time until the entire length is completed.  No variation allowed.

Maybe that’s what people want today.  A true standard.  A rule or a measure that never changes.  A clearly defined course to conquer.  And a marathon is just that.  As is choosing to become a follower of Christ.

No, there are not mile markers to follow or specified distances to cover; yet, I do have One who runs before me upon whom my eyes are fixed.  And He who endured the cross knows what it means to persevere.  He understands my weariness and encourages me not to lose heart as I run.  He is both the source of my faith as well as its perfecter–starter and finisher–and He never leaves me behind in the dust.

Help me run, Lord!  Not for a sticker or for the applause of witnesses (although a large cloud surrounds me), but for the joy that lies at the end.  One foot after the other.  Drawn forward, ever forward, with my eyes fixed on You.

By Lisa Huddleston

I am devoting this day to wearing comfy clothes (yoga pants), drinking coffee, and studying for my last (hope so), fast-paced, J-term class–New Testament I.  You got it.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts all in a month!  I have to admit to having already learned much in the three classes I have attended as well as in the enormous amount of reading I have been doing.  I do wish I could slow the train down in order to savor more, but we have a deadline to meet so … chug, chug, chug.  I think I can.  I think I can.  I hope I can.

This morning, I read The Gospel According to Mark in one sitting–something I don’t think I’ve ever done before.  As I read, I almost laughed at how closely Mark’s writing style matches the pace of my studies.  “Immediately …”  “Then …”  “As soon as …”  “Right away …”  Whew!  What was his rush?

Just this.  People who knew Jesus were dying for their faith, and others were dying without knowing Him.  Mark’s friend, Peter, may have already been martyred by the time of Mark’s writing, and persecution was increasing.  Even if none of his fears came true immediately, Mark knew his days were numbered, and he had important information to share.  Therefore, he wrote with wild abandon careening through the highlights of Jesus’ life and ministry in order to arrive breathless at the most important news a writer could pen–”This man really was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:39).

As soon as, immediately, right away, Mark did what he could to tell the good news.  Not Mark’s gospel but THE gospel according to Mark.  Others would write their accounts as well, but Mark (perhaps the first of the evangelists) led the way with an urgency I would do well to follow.  And I wanted to slow down for a minute to acknowledge that fact before necessity pushes me past the thought and onto the next thing. 

Right now, immediately, and forever–Jesus is Lord!  Thanks for sharing, Mark, and reminding me to do the same.

By Lisa Huddleston

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

–“The Chambered Nautilus,” Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

It has been several weeks since I have had the time or inclination to write—more lack of time than inclination—but the outcome is the same.  No writing.  And I feel the urge.  In fact I felt it so strongly last night that I could not sleep.  I think even the dog sensed my unrest as she would not lie down in her cozy bed but preferred to wander around my room and poke me with her wet black nose from time to time to let me know that she felt my pain.  It was a long night as I pondered and strained to link my thoughts together.  It’s New Year after all—how hard could it be to come up with a topic?

My brain toyed and teased the topics of the past.  New Year’s resolutions.  A Word for the Year.   Changes for which I give God praise, and modifications that have still not been made.  Transformation, reconstruction, evolution, restyling and remodeling.  Whew … it was a very long night.  And as my brain ached, a verse began to run through the chaos.  “Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul …”  And the repetition soothed the sore struggle of my brain.  The melody of the words and the crescendo of the thought helped my cramped ideas to expand into a more comfortable space, nobler and more vast, till I at last could sleep.

And so, here we are.  Drinking my second cup of coffee and remembering the struggle which is yet to be resolved.  No New Year’s resolutions.  No Word for the Year.  No lists to check or promises to break.  Just a certainty that I must continue to grow and outgrow my earthly shell as the swift seasons roll and beyond.  Till I at length am free. 

May this year bring spiraling growth in incremental inches—one step and one choice at a time—until we break the confines of the past and have our feet set in a very spacious place indeed.  Happy New Year!

By Lisa Huddleston

I should be writing my final paper for my Missions class right now, but I had a thought I wanted to share in more than 140 characters. Tuesday night was the end-of-semester dinner honoring those who will be graduating this month. It was a typical event–lasagna from Demos, “tokens” of UU’s appreciation, and impromptu speeches from professors and students. A group hug experience, literally.

I enjoyed the words that were shared as well as seeing some students who had finished their work one or two classes ago. However, I went home that night feeling a little discouraged. After all, I only have a couple of classes left to complete the program. Why don’t I have a better sense of where my path is headed? Several graduates have found places on church staffs or will use their degrees in current positions of teaching or preaching. I still don’t know for certain why God pushed me to start this journey–and time is running out.

I voiced my concern to one of my professors and this was part of his response. He challenged me to ask, “What activity, job, or ministry will wake me up every day and send me on my way with great passion and purpose?”

Awesome question! I am asking it of myself with expectation of finding an answer, and while I don’t have a revelation I want to share with you right now, I do want to share the question.

What’s your passion? What’s your purpose? What activity, job, or ministry will allow you to serve without compromising God’s design of who you are?

Hope you already know the answer to these questions, but, if you don’t, I challenge you to join me in the search! Passionately and purposefully!