Making the Theological Understandable
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is a transaction between two or more individuals. Forgiveness assumes someone acted wrongly toward another and that the offended person has a right to something as payment to make peace with the offense and the offender. It’s also a relational issue…and a complicated one at that. If you’d like to explore deeper, join me on the next page.
The days are getting longer; the angle of the sun is warming the earth; the snow is starting to melt; and I’m impatient for spring. I am reminded of Genesis 1:14 where God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.”
There are many things God has graciously given to mark the seasons aside from the moon and sun and stars. I look at the swelling buds of the maple trees and the dripping from the branches and I can tell the sap is running. I look at the soil where the snow has melted and how it’s telling the robins that breakfast is served. Even today’s rain instead of snow is a happy reminder that signs of hope are a gift from God. Spring is that way.
It’s early March and my hyacinths that I brought in from their cold treatment are in full bloom, filling my kitchen with their lovely fragrance. I wonder if my blooming gardenia is jealous. The tulips (that I also cold-treated for 12 weeks) are slower to bloom. I don’t mind since it is a progression: hyacinth, tulip, and then I will cut daffodils buds outside as they mature for bringing indoors.
I’m continuing to start seeds indoors. I try not to start them so early that they become leggy before planting season. Knowing the last frost date for my area of USDA zone 5 is May 15, I back-calculate to determine what seeds to start on any given week.
Also indoors, I’m beginning to pot up cuttings of my Martha Washington geraniums so that they’ll be blooming happily from April through Mother’s Day until the weather begins to get hot. I use fiberglass drywall tape to cover the hole in the bottom of a pot, add soil and pot up the cuttings.
Martha Washington geraniums are cool season bloomers, but will continue blooming into the summer if sheltered from heat or full sun locations. I took cuttings when I brought them in last fall which served 2 purposes: (1) it made the mother plant smaller and (2) provided ample stock for multiplying quantities. I do the same with coleus which are easily started from cuttings. I grow stock plants through the winter under lights, take cuttings for new plants, and harden them off when planting season arrives.
The winter has been long for the deer and they’re hungry. There is still food for them in the woods behind our house and under the bird feeders, so they don’t need to eat my ‘Cardinal’ red-twig dogwoods, or my Spiraea. Shortly my tulips and hyacinths outdoors will begin emerging. It’s better prevent deer now—to nip their eating in the bud—before they nip my garden’s flower buds down to the ground. Train deer now and you’ll reap benefits all season long.
Beginning now, I use Tree Guard taste repellent (available online) on anything I don’t want the deer to eat. It’s highly bitter and cannot be used on edible materials, but it’s always perfect for ornamentals. It works longer than any of the other taste-type deer repellents and can be sprayed directly on the plant. As soon as the snow melts I will put Milorganite on the soil surface of flower beds as an odor-type repellent. As with any fertilizer, I don’t apply it over the snow so that it won’t pool in low spots when melt occurs and burn the vegetation.
This combination of the two (taste and odor repellent) works better than either one alone. Many old wives tales and folk remedies are floating around the Internet, but this approach has worked consistently for me for more than a decade. Deer live in the woods behind me and I stick with what I know works.
I love seeing the days get longer and knowing the ground is warming from the strength of the sun’s rays. Actually, it’s just nice seeing the sun shining—it’s far too infrequent in Chicagoland winters. I try to make hay while the sun shines…or at least clean up the yard. Among my current yard clean up tasks are picking up sticks, pruning the winter damage that my shrubs sustained from the incredibly snowy winter, gently raking up the leaves and other debris accumulating in garden beds during the winter, and removing garden grass that always seems to pop up out of nowhere.
Two things I do not do:
Thanks for enjoying my garden with me! Check back often. My garden updates will become more frequent as the season progesses. And please feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I welcome hearing from you.
I thank God for everyone whose life has forged my Christian walk. I am grateful for so many women including wives of the men whose names appear here and the ways you have stood by my side. Ladies, your encouragement and support I have never doubted. You know who you are and what a blessing you have been to me!
It is much more rare to find Christian men willing to invest in the mind, faith, and life of any woman in ministry or leadership, including this Seminary Gal.
With a grateful heart, I dedicate this page to men whose lives have impacted mine, in large and small ways, directly and indirectly, intentionally and unintentionally, and so I dedicate this page to:
My husband Warren who is the love of my life, my very best friend and greatest encourager. I love you.
Dad, I learned to enjoy many interests from you. Thanks for being my Dad and for never saying “Girls don’t” or “Girls can’t.” I love you.
I thank God also for (in no particular order):
Dennis Magary whose words have been regular pattern of blessing over the past decade. I can still hear your words of wisdom and in your voice, I know I have heard the voice of God.
Graham Cole for your reminder that a test of any civilization is how it treats its poor and its women. You have been an ongoing beacon of hope that men and women in the church can be better together.
My friend and retired Marine Don Kopff who taught me the artful balance of chivalry and opportunity and how the Body of Christ ought to model it even more than any Home Depot Orange Apron. Thanks, boss.
Pastor Dave McIntyre– I was blessed by your friendship and by your pastor’s heart even for a little sheep living a half a continent away. Your perseverance and trust in the Lord permeated your march through cancer toward victory in Christ. I will remember you always as a true shepherd who bravely followed the Good Shepherd. Thank you for being my friend.
Editorial eye Fred Musante whose wise reminder “Brevity is the soul of wit” (Shakespeare) nips at the heels of every article I try to write. My writing is bettered by your friendship. You’re probably thinking, “Still too wordy!” I know, I know…thank you, my friend.
Greg Scharf who saw and encouraged a gift. I know the sacrifice you made and want you to know what a pivotal ministry moment that has been for me.
David Larsen who was the first to remind me that being called to preach the Word burns in the bones of a genuine preacher. You know what mountain I’ve had to climb and what ocean I’ve had to swim. Thanks for being an encourager as I still climb and swim.
In memory of Paul Hiebert who poured his life out into men and women at Trinity and instilled value in his female students. Dr. Hiebert, your words inhabit a fragrant garden in my heart.
Steve Roy whose investment in men and women leaders at Trinity has been intentional, exceptional, and a pattern of life. Thank you for your faithfulness.
In loving memory of Farrel Fort: your faithfulness to the call on your life is a true inspiration to persevere.
Grant Osborne whose encouraging words to women in ministry are always a source of joy. I remember your kindness in supervising my in-depth studies of the book of Revelation, have read your wonderful commentary from cover to cover..over and over, and recommend it often. Thanks for writing it.
Michael Kelley whose passion for evangelism and ease with the Gospel have been a true model for me.
David Murrow, your book on Why Men Hate Going to Church simultaneously encouraged me as a woman in ministry and offered helpful and challenging insights for cultivating a church environment that encourages men. I’m so glad you wrote it and our paths intersected for a brief season.
I thank God for D.A. Carson for continually teaching me to read my Bible for detail.
Lawson Younger–yours was the best piece of timely advice anyone ever gave me regarding seminary –truly apples of gold in settings of silver. One moment changed a trajectory.
David Stuart–your passion for ministry to the arts continually inspires me to think outside of the box. I am thankful for this fountain of life in the heart of an artist.
Timothy George and John Woodbridge. I dog eared almost every page in your book The Mark of Jesus for the wise admonishment to love and unity in the Church. Thank you for writing it.
Bill Moore–thank you for teaching me important lessons on grace and forgiveness. These topics so near to the heart of God, I learned significantly from you.
Greg Waybright–your compassion and healing words have been a tree of life. I thank God for you.
Dave Gates–I am thankful that there are men willing to take risks for the spread of the Gospel and men who will sacrifice to be the Good Samaritan instead of passing by on the other, easier side. Thank you for being the neighbor despite the cost.
Doug Monkemeier, thank you for encouragement to persevere through opposition. You spoke it. You’ve modeled it. I will never forget your wonderful words about Jesus.
Bill Hamel–your kindness and wise counsel have helped me to stay the course when rejection was at every corner. I appreciate your friendship.
There are so many others, professors I had, neighbors, friends, and coworkers…you too have become part of the community work project I see when I look in the mirror. Thank you.
And no list would be complete without thanking God for my son Eric. Your help is making Seminary Gal a reality instead of a dream.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17)…
even if one man happens to be me, a woman.
Almighty Father in Heaven, we pray in the power of Your Holy Spirit that You would bring down strongholds that keep Your sons and daughters silent.
Thank You, Lord, for Your grace in calling us to serve You. Thank You, Father, for Your love for Your sons and daughters in the faith whose redemption is grounded in Christ and sealed by Your Holy Spirit. We praise You for Your goodness. We praise You for Your mercy. We praise You for Your Word as our guide to life. We praise You, the Giver of all good gifts. We glorify Your Holy Name. We magnify You as our Lord and as our God.
By Your power and by Your plan, may we walk on the Way of Holiness and be found faithful in You. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will illuminate the hearts of men and women in accordance with Your Word so that we might know and be obedient to Your will for the Church because Jesus died to make this possible. We ask, Mighty God, that You would point men and women beyond traditions to the Cross.
Impart Your wisdom to both men and women regarding what Jesus did there and what it means to have the Holy Spirit poured out on sons and daughters. Help us to see Your image in our brothers and our sisters in Christ. Help us to see that what we do to one another, we do to Him. Forgive us LORD for the insults we heaped on You, for the sufferings we cause that Christ had to bear. Forgive us for the pain You’ve endured because Your followers have hurt one another.
Burn a desire in our hearts, O LORD, to follow You and You alone. Bring every motivation and thought of ours captive to Christ. Bring us to the foot of the Cross in love and unity…for Your glory.
In the matchless Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we pray. Amen
Recently, I brought my tulip and hyacinth bulbs in from their 12 week cold treatment for forcing indoors. They make beautiful and cheerful spring flower arrangements with their leaves and flower stalks arising from bulbs atop decorative pebbles in a glass vase. Speaking of bulbs, soon the first of my outdoor bulbs will be emerging: winter aconite, snowdrops, and early snow crocus. Check out this page every month for my garden update.
Thank you, Simon, for asking the interesting question about the “Harrowing of Hell.” First, I’ll offer a short summary answer followed by two pages going progressively deeper into the topic.
The term “Harrowing of Hell” refers to the time after Christ’s victory over death through which He was able to secure freedom for righteous men and women imprisoned by sin since the Fall of Man. The timing happened sometime after His death, but before His resurrection. Some theologians do not want to taint Christ with Hell…even by a temporary visit…so they disregard this as not being in Scripture.
The bottom line is that the answer to the question “Where did Jesus go after He died?” is that His body lay in the ground for three days prior to His resurrection while His Spirit went elsewhere.
Jesus Christ secured freedom for all of God’s faithful people by His death on the Cross –even if it doesn’t specifically say how Christ went to release them from hell.
But there’s more to this and if you’d like to go deeper, join me on the next page.
The meaning of resolution can vary dramatically depending on the sphere in which it is used. Interestingly, Daniel experienced resolution in many ways when he resolved to serve God continually…even in Babylon.
Being resolved is critical to our daily walk with God…and Daniel shows us that nothing can prepare us for a lion’s den of troubles like cultivating a rhythm of worship, a continual serving of God.
Daniel 1:8 records that Daniel resisted the carnal temptation to personal luxury by making a prior resolution of will to serve God continually, not just in the corners of his life, but at the epicenter of his every action. In a world of political pressures, he had one master, not two. No division. No competition for his allegiance. God alone mattered. Can we say the same?
A pattern of serving God is visible to others (Daniel 6). Daniel’s critics saw and plotted a lion’s den, but in Daniel 6: 16b, “The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!’”
God rescued Daniel and in light of this, the king proclaimed, “In every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever” (Daniel 6:26).
A rhythm of worship anchors our souls so that when dissonant voices call out in conflict, confusion, or criticism, we will find our hope in God and trust in Him as our ultimate resolution.
Suffering has been a hallmark of God’s faithful people throughout history. Loved by God and yet appointed to suffer for Him. Why is that a logical connection?
In Romans 8:36, “it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” This statement of suffering is placed in the middle of what looks like a multiple choice question in a test of faith:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (v. 35)
a) Trouble
b) Hardship
c) Persecution
d) Famine
e) Nakedness
f) Danger
g) Sword
h) None of the above, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (v. 37).
Look at the list again. Christians are on a constant, irrevocable trajectory of eternal life. Things may happen along the way to highlight the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus which can only be plumbed in its every dimension by facing the physical, emotional, spiritual, and perseverance multiple choice testing of our faith.
Our hope in Christ will not be changed by anything. His love is deep and unchanging so we can proclaim along with the Apostle Paul, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39.