Christianese

By Cheri Cowell –

In the writing world there is a term we use for the “insider” language Christians toss about without much thought. It’s called Christianese, and is to be avoided because it is precisely that–insider language. If you don’t know the code then you won’t understand what’s being said. At first glance, it appears Jesus was the originator of Christianese.

Jesus just made the startling statement that He was the Bread of Life and that whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The Jews that heard this must have been startled. The eating of meat and blood was carefully guarded. Here, this man was talking about eating his flesh and blood. There is no way these followers could have possibly understood the connection He was making from the manna in Exodus to His body broken at the cross and the future act of Holy Communion. So, if they could not have understood, why did Jesus ask whether His twelve would leave as others had done? When you and I turn the question to ourselves it helps us to see that staying with Jesus means we won’t always understand what He is doing or even saying, but as Peter says in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (NIV).

“Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.’ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum… From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve” (John 6:53-59, 66-67 NIV).

PRAYER: God, I praise You for the great mystery of the Incarnation, and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Help me understand more completely, and when understanding is evasive, to have the courage to stay by Your side.

The Accuser

By Cheri Cowell –

I don’t know about you, but I carry an invisible person around with me. No one else can see her, but I know she’s there. Most of the time she is silent, but her voice, even when not audible, is loud and clear to me. Sometimes she can go for weeks without speaking, and at times I almost forget she’s there. Then, when I least expect it, she speaks in a cruel, accusing tone, almost in a whisper, but she might as well be shouting for all the world to hear. She is my accuser. Jesus knew her.

On this day as Jesus sat in the place of authority in the Temple, she’d been brought before him. Her sins were great. Everyone knew what she’d done, but no one knew more than she. Although the men who stood ready to stone her for her sins were visible, her accusers—her memories—were always with her. When one by one the accusers left, unable to stand in Jesus’ presence with the stones of judgment in their hands, there was another less visible who was also banished. Jesus’ question, “Where are your accusers?” was meant to show the woman (and us) that in light of His forgiveness, even the accusers we carry with us have no place to hide. Their voices are silenced.

The next time your accuser rears his or her ugly head inside of your mind, remind that voice that you belong to Jesus and see how fast your accuser flees.

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10 NIV).

PRAYER: Jesus, I hear you asking, “Where are your accusers?” and when I look around I see both the visible and invisible have no voice. Help me to accept that I have been truly forgiven.

Slurp!

By Cheri Cowell –

Have you walked through your garden lately and heard the slurping sounds? That’s right, slurping coming from your plants as they soak up all that wonderful rain. For weeks I was watering for at least a half-hour every night because there had been no rain. Lately, though, we have been getting those terrific steady rains. I know my plants appreciated the water I was giving, but there is magic in the water that comes from heaven. The plants show it by how strong they get, how green they become, and how much they grow. It’s as if they are saying, “Praise God!”

We are like that. We can go along for quite a while with a little watering by the water this world has to offer. Our thirst is temporarily met by lunch with friends, a walk, ice-cream, or a good movie, but after some time we begin to show how sun-scorched and parched we are. We may become irritable, easily frustrated, tired, overwhelmed, and needy. When you and I see these warning signs we need to call upon the Lord to send in the rain. The scriptures tell us He will satisfy our needs if we are willing to cry out, and do a few other things.

Isaiah tells us true faith is not just about us, but also about what we do in relation to others. We are being called to take what we learn and let it transform us so much that we stop pointing fingers, talking maliciously, and holding onto our pride. When we do this we will begin to serve others and shine like the noonday sun. When we do this God will quench our thirst in a way that only the Lord can.

“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.” If you remove the yoke from among you, the finger-pointing, the wicked speech; if you open your heart to the hungry, and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted, your light will shine in the darkness, and your gloom will be like the noon. The LORD will guide you continually and provide for you, even in parched places. He will rescue your bones. You will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water that won’t run dry” (Isaiah 58:9-11 CEB).

PRAYER: Praise God for hearing my cries for help. Thank You for being the Living Water that my spirit needs. Show me the ways in which I point fingers, talk wrongly, and harbor pride. My heart’s desire is to be like a well-watered garden, watered by the Spring of Living Water that never fails.

Grandma’s Little Helper

By Cheri Cowell –

I expected it every time I visited my grandmother, she was either preparing a meal to take to someone in need, or she was putting “one away” for when she would hear of an illness or death in a friend’s family. I loved being grandma’s little helper in the kitchen as she prepared these meals. I learned a lot of lessons, some about cooking, but most were about life. As we cooked together she would talk about the needs of the person we were cooking for and how she always received more than she gave. Sometimes I would have the privilege of riding along with her to deliver her homemade “stoup” (soup that was so thick it almost qualified as stew), or her yummy chicken broccoli casserole. It was in the doorways as we delivered these dishes that I witnessed what it really looked like to practice hospitality.

Paul is explaining in this passage in his letter to the Roman church how to function as a body. He precedes this lesson on practical love by explaining that each of us is gifted in a unique way so that together we might serve others in God’s love. He ends this section by explaining that in order to practice true hospitality, we must first understand what true love means. Hospitality is, therefore, an outgrowth of mature love. My grandmother knew this and practiced what Paul preached.

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:9-13 ESV).

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for the gifts I have been given. Help me to share them. Give me new opportunities to practice hospitality, to practice love.

Scars

By Cheri Cowell –

It was the day before my sixteenth birthday. One more day and it would be legal for me to drive without my mom in the car. I couldn’t wait. My mother wanted to reinforce some of those driving lessons I’d been taught with one more outing. So we set out for an afternoon of errands, one of which was to take our cocker spaniel by the vet’s for her check-up. We had gotten her from the pound about a month earlier, and it was time for her final shots. I can’t remember now if we ever made it to the vet’s, but I do remember the accident. And yes, I was driving, and it was my fault. I didn’t see the car before I made the right turn. The other car hit us, spun our car around and pushed it into a telephone pole. In the impact, my head hit the rearview mirror and sliced open the bridge of my nose. I still have that scar.

That day sitting along the side of the road with an EMT trying to stop the flood of blood coming from my nose, I was more worried about my dog. I knew my mother was okay and the other people in the accident were fine, but my dog was to be sent to the pound until we could pick her up. We had just bought her from the pound and I worried she would probably think we were returning her there. I was almost hysterical with the thought that my dog would think she wasn’t wanted.

Some scars are deep, and aren’t caused by anything we’ve done. Yet, the scars remain. We live in an imperfect and broken world and sometimes our scars remind us that we belong to a different world. Someday we will be permanent residents of that new world where there are no scars. For now we must accept God’s forgiveness, and live with our scars—the scars of a broken world.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4 NIV).

PRAYER: I praise You, Lord for Your gift of forgiveness. Some of my scars are from my own sins and I ask for Your forgiveness for those. But some of my scars are there by no fault of my own. Help me to see them as a reminder of the broken world we live in and the future we have in heaven—a world free of scars.

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