Category Archives: MUSINGS

The Underdog Rises-The 27th Day of Christmas

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On the 27th day of Christmas my true love gave to me a Savior from the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:1).

We like cheering for the underdog, but none of us wants to be the underdog. I know I don’t, and when I find myself in that position my mind goes to Mark 9:35 that says, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” Jesus said this to his disciples who were debating about who was the best among them. He gave them this lesson in humility, and they didn’t get it, and neither did Leah, Jacob’s first wife who he treated as the last.

I have always felt sorry for Leah. Many of us know her story. Her father tricked Jacob into marrying her instead of her beautiful younger sister, Rachel, who Jacob wanted to marry. She wasn’t very attractive; her husband didn’t want her and nothing she did made him want her; and she spent the first seven years of marriage watching her husband work so he could marry her sister. She definitely was the underdog and knew it (though I wonder how complicit she was in the trickery and may have contributed to her being undesired. I don’t know, but that’s beside the point right now.).

The only time Leah was on top was when she got pregnant and gave birth to sons, something every man wanted to carry on the family legacy. After she had Judah, her fourth son, “[t]hen she stopped bearing” (Genesis 29:35). And then she took matters into her own hands. After seeing Rachel’s maid giving birth on behalf of her barren sister, Leah, too, gave her maid to Jacob so she could try to have more sons. Leah was dissatisfied with Judah being her last, thinking he represented the end of her being able to conceive. What Leah didn’t know was that Judah may have been last at that moment, but he was destined to be first:

“The sons of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobal.”—1 Chronicles 4:1.

This is the beginning of the genealogies of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Even though Judah was the last son when Leah took matters into her own hands, he has the first genealogical listing, representing his prominence, but chiefly representing the preeminence of Jesus Christ, “the lion from the tribe of Judah.” While Leah jockeyed to be first, she had no idea that the Savior of the world would come through her womb, the first and the last, all we ever need, whether we’re the underdog or the top dog. When we get to the point where we stop conceiving, let us not take matters into our own hands trying to conceive a plan, project or even a baby that may be out of God’s order. Our last conception may very well be our best and the one God will have rise to the top.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

Grace for Today-The 28th Day of Christmas

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On the 28th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, hope, grace and life to settle me (2 Kings 4:7.

I could sure use some hope today and some grace, not just today but every day. These make for a powerful and tranquil life, what we need in order to thrive in this dastardly world. Sometimes we Christians think this type of life is far from us, beyond our reach, relegated to biblical times. And in these times, we think we must resort to strong black woman ways or any other way the world says is effective in prospering today. I used to believe this until I really started believing what God’s word says.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours (emphasis mine), and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.—James 5:17-18

If a man with a nature like ours could pray hard enough to move God to control the rain in his favor, surely we can have hope to trust in God’s grace to empower our lives daily. We see this in Elijah’s successor, the prophet Elisha, who asked for and received more power than even Elijah had. His life epitomized hope through God’s grace, which empowered his life and helped him give life to many, including one unsuspecting widow.

The woman was desperate. Her husband was dead. Her creditors were coming, and she didn’t know what to do, but she knew who to turn to. Elisha told her to use the only thing she had in her house—oil, and it proved to be more than enough.

Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”—2 Kings 4:3-7

Elisha, through the power of God, helped the woman meet her present and future needs. He gave her hope and grace to thrive in life. We, too, have hope and grace through Jesus Christ (2 John 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 12:9). Elisha points us to Christ, who meets our every need. Believe that and we will always thrive.

What are some ways that hope in Christ and grace from Him helped you meet AND exceed your needs? As always, I would love you to post your comments on the blog.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

Get Low-The 30th Day of Christmas

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On the 30th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a glimpse of eternity (2 Samuel 7).

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips (Proverbs 27:2).
A few years ago I had Joshua memorize that scripture to counter his constant boasting about a new pair of jeans or toy, how fast he could eat or run, what he knew about the Bible or just about anything else he had learned. He needed a scripture to help him learn humility because he was too young for the ultimate teacher of experience, perhaps King David’s greatest teacher.

David learned humility in the pastures with his sheep, under his brothers’ oppressive hands, and from the prophet Nathan’s indicting rebuke. For the most part, he allowed his experiences to humble him so he knew how to respond when he faced something big, like God promising him a royal offspring and an eternal kingdom.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'”—2 Samuel 7:12-16

This promise to David was a foreshadowing of the promise to Mary about Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”—Luke 1:32-33.

David (and Mary too) responded to God with praise and prayer. He focused on how small he was and how big God is, he recognized that he didn’t deserve any honor from God, but praised Him for giving it to him, and he prayed that God would indeed confirm His word. There is no record where David (or Mary) bragged about such a great revelation from God the Father. God spoke both about David’s physical and spiritual heritage. He spoke about Solomon, but the ‘forever’ makes it clear that this kingdom would transcend Solomon, pointing to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who also was David’s descendant and, yet God Himself. If we received an eternal revelation, many of us would be like Joshua, tapping everyone who came in our path and telling them just how special we are, but from David we not only learn about our coming Messiah but also how to respond when we get a word from God. There is no room for self praise but plenty of room for us to get low and lift up our Savior who doesn’t have to tell us a thing.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

All We Need-The 31st Day of Christmas

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On the 31st day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a prophet, priest and a king (1 Samuel 7).

Some of us have good girlfriends that are spiritual warriors who we count on to get a prayer through, the fun ones to shop and go to the spa with, and the heady ones, who initiate some deep, stimulating conversations. Then there is the rare friend who is all three and more. Before I became a Christian I used the many friendships model to build my faith system. I took the truth I learned from my Muslim boyfriend, the humanistic views of my revered intellects, the common sense my mama taught me and mixed it with my lifelong Christian lessons. I thought I had the perfect faith until I met the Perfect One.

When I met Jesus, I was uncertain about how He was who He said He was, but I couldn’t ignore His call to me and believed that He is God. My God is prophet, priest and king, and the biblical Samuel—prophet, priest and judge, was a type of Christ, foreshadowing the three-fold ministry of Jesus Christ.

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, [then] put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.—1 Samuel 7:3-4

And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered [it for] a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.—1 Samuel 7:9-10

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.—1 Samuel 7:15

As prophet, Samuel spoke to the Israelites for God, as priest, he spoke to God for the Israelites, and as judge, he settled matters between Israelites, pronouncing consequences for their actions. When Jesus walked the earth, He was a prophet, who spoke the words of God the Father; a priest, who made an offering—himself—as a sacrifice to God the Father for the sins of humankind and still intercedes for His disciples as He sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven; and a king, who will judge all after His second coming to earth. Jesus is the God of more than enough, the One who speaks to us and for us and makes everything with us right as it should be. With Jesus, there is no need for (nor can there legitimately be) additional gods. He is all we need.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

Let It Flow-The 32nd Day of Christmas

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On the 32nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me a savior fit to redeem even me (Ruth 4-8-9).

I grew up in the ’70s, a time glamorized for its street life, where pimping seemed easy, prostitution a girl’s choice and pushing dope was just another way to make some money. Maybe this doesn’t sound different than any other recent era, but the ’70s are home to personal memories of the corner house of Rudy the Pimp and his parties, people hanging on porches with loud talk and music, smoking and probably some drinking, but I never got close enough to see. Rumors reigned of Rudy shedding blood and this was when Detroit got the infamous title of “murder capital of the world.” It’s when little girls and boys, at least on my block, tried to make strong bonds by shedding some blood of their own, theirs, and mixing it with each other. Blood brothers and sisters they became, requiring each to come to the others’ defense, personal saviors of sorts. Having a blood sibling made us feel safe, knowing someone more than a friend would help take care of you. I wonder if this is how Ruth felt when she met Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer.

Many of you know Ruth’s story. She was a Moabite, an outsider married to Naomi’s Israelite son. Their husbands died, but Ruth decided not to go back to Moab but to remain with Naomi. She said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” The Israelite law was that the nearest blood relative, or kinsman, was supposed to marry a widow, redeeming her deceased husband’s blood line by giving the deceased’s name to any future children. Naomi and Ruth’s nearest kinsman couldn’t marry Ruth because his inheritance would be in jeopardy so he deferred to Boaz, Ruth’s next to near kinsman, who adored Ruth and purchased her and Naomi’s land so he could marry Ruth, be her kinsman-redeemer.

Boaz is a beautiful type of Jesus Christ, looking lovingly upon an outsider and available, willing, and able to pay and actually paying the price of redemption. Jesus Christ is our kinsman-redeemer because he shed his blood for us, the price required to purchase back outsiders to God because of the fall of man. He willingly made himself available by leaving the comforts of heaven and coming to this gritty earth. He was the perfect savior for us because he was free from sin, the required specification for the sacrificial vessel. Those of us who confess and believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and receive Him as Lord and Savior of our lives receive His blood, redeeming us and bringing us into relationship with God. I praise God that Jesus let His blood flow and now it flows through me, through us who believe in its power, a power incomparable to what we kids thought Rudy had and what we thought we had with each other.

What types of “blood substitutes” have you had that you looked to save you? How did those sacrifices fail in comparison to the blood of Jesus Christ? I look forward to you commenting here on the blog.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith