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Close your eyes, stop and think…random now…where does your mind drift off to? Honestly, I sure think most about me, my world, my home, family, problems and agendas and more ME! It kind of bugs ME to have a Me mindset. After all I share my home with others and thoughts of them tend to bring ME back around to ME. I rather think that this is a natural inclination, to be ME focused. However, as a woman of God, I am learning that this journey here on earth is NOT about ME!
I may have mentioned before that when I read Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love”, it totally rocked my world…forcing me to see outside of me, myself and I. That was a good thing! But I still struggle with myself and my little world rising to the surface. There are so many needs in this world that I become very overwhelmed when thinking about my part in helping others. And what I have found is to practice looking beyond self really starts right in my own home!
As a wife, I need to build into my husband the very elements that I myself desire. What wife doesn’t want a husband who is kind to them? So it is my responsibility to respond to him with kindness. But even when he can be unkind to me? Absolutely! Ask yourself when the last time you were genuinely kind to your spouse and remember how he reacted. Especially those times when you made the choice to respond to him with kindness and inside you were wanting to do likewise!
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. Proverbs 15:1,2
I love the verses above! What is on the tip of the tongue can sway a response every time! And making the choice to respond in kindness will always have an impact. You may not always see the response immediately but believe me it will percolate inside the recipients heart and soften instead of hardening that person’s response.
Do you find yourself sometimes wishing your spouse were gentler and kinder with his words? I have and do with my guy! He loves to be right and he loves to get me to react (and believe me, most times I do!) But I have tested this response thing and nine times out of ten, what I have found is that my gentle, kind response, diffuses his ire!
So here’s the challenge…purpose to respond differently than you would normally, put on that kindness and give it a try…see what happens and let me know how it has worked for you!
I can think of too many times when I have thrown my hands up in the air and said, “I just don’t know what to do!” My goodness, what a sorry statement that we all make at the times when God is right there waiting to help us in our predicament (no matter how small or large it may be.) It is all about retraining our thought process. We are not so, hopeless, helpless, defeated, whatever you want to call your situation that you cannot call out to God.
Do you need prayer? Right now is a perfect time to let God know what is going on in your heart. Stop your fretting and cry out to him and let Him hear your situation…nothing fancy, no special words or as simple as “help me Lord, I’m…”
One of the elements on this website is to be able to provide prayer support for you. Please know that it is okay to pray with a stranger who believes in the power of God to intervene in your circumstance. You can check out my prayer page and if there is anything you would like prayer for, I am here to pray for you and your situation. So give it a shot and really, what do you have to lose? We are meant to pray for one another and share each other’s burdens. This is not a flashy ‘hear this’ kind of thing but a sincere and honest place to talk to the Father. God speaks pretty clearly about making prayer a big showy deal:
“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” the Message paraphrase
Years ago when my youngest (troubled) son was placed in a facility to get help (he was an unhealthy hazard to himself and others), I was sharing my heart with Amy Shreve (she a harpist and her husband are our friends that we traveled with for some radio rallies.)
The night after a concert here in I-Falls I was so grieved for this son who has had problems since fighting me in the womb, It is true! Too many heartaches and broken promises that he would straighten up go right and that never amounted to success. This mother’s heart hurt so badly to see him fail time and time again. Not to mention the stress it put on my marriage.
How easy it can be to place blame! It’s my fault, the father’s fault, the stepfather’s fault, everybody else’s fault but no one owning up to their own responsibility. Living the dysfunctional life I have lived only helped me take on unnecessary blame for a whole host of things that were only partially my fault.
I believe that we are only responsible for the situations that we directly cause and not the speculative ones (if only you…) If I steal something, I am at fault, not the person who doesn’t lock his door to keep a thief out. “If onlys” are pure speculation! But we can really let ourselves get buried beneath them if we are not wise (or shall I say walking in truth.) Stuff happens, we make mistakes! Acknowledge them, confess them and ask forgiveness of those we have wronged and move on. How sad when we become buried under guilt and condemnation that really isn’t ours to assume provided we have responded correctly like mentioned above. We can become overwhelmed with false guilt.
Prodigals can be used by God to help us look at the truth in our own situations. Click To Tweet Looking back I can now see that there are things that could have been handled differently and with a whole lot more unconditional love. But then the child has a responsibility also. They become runners. Runners from the truth, their pain and anything that gets uncomfortably close to their emotions. They need help to see that their poor choices are what they need to own up to. I am responsible for my choices and my children for theirs, my spouse His, etc. It is a dynamic that I just don’t know how people without the Lord survive and many don’t.
I have attached a link to an Oswald Chamber’s reading for March 24 (linked to the image.) This is what Amy came to show me the next morning when she had been praying for me and my prodigal. It wasn’t even March but she came upon it and shared it with me and it has had a very profound impact on my thinking.
You see dysfunctionality breeds false guilt which in most cases won’t let the wrong assume their sorrows and pain that they find themselves in. He must increase… If God is sovereign and in control and I believe He is, then every thing, large and small is used by Him (He is fully aware of it’s happening) to grow us up and closer to Him. According to Chambers, we can become the very thing that gets in the way of our prodigal learning (yes the hard way) his lessons.
Some of us have to learn the hard way, I have. If someone comes along to smooth out the situation instead of letting the circumstances being used to teach the lesson, then that someone has interrupted the class and the lesson may be postponed until a later date and possibly a more severe situation. The verse for that day is from John 3:30 and it is simple and profound,
So I pray that we would not be in the way of the catylist that the Lord would use to work in the heart of that one who is walking contrary to God’s ways.
Father, I cautiously say, do it Lord, whatever it takes to break the heart of the wander so that they would look beyond themselves and see You! I know You will give me the courage to believe that You hold his or her life in Your hands and that Your desire is to see them come to You and give them the peace they have been searching for. I can even say “thank you” for the hard lessons that I have had to learn because You used them to bring me a bit closer to You each time. I not only love You Lord, but I trust You and entrust my loved ones to You, in Jesus’ Name!
We are all prodigals at one time or another! Recently Louie Giglio addressed some of this in a powerful message He delivered and shared on Focus on the Family at the end of May 2014. If you have some time it would be well worth listening to some of this first part of his message…
Louie Giglio on Focus on the Family
Need more encouragement for your journey…visit Arabah Joy, my blogger friend!
But then life happens and things get rough and times get tough and the winds of adversity beat on our united front and we begin to think ‘what am I doing in this situation..it has to be better somewhere else…’
From Matthew 19:5,6 we find common words spoken over bazillions of wedded couples:
‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
As a young mom, emotionally immature and needy I didn’t know how to look beyond my own needs when I finally got married with my one son born out of wedlock, I was looking for someone to take care of us. No faith to sustain me except in myself and that was pretty pathetic. My first marriage ended prematurely leaving me with three children that I didn’t have a clue how to raise and so it was easy to find myself back in another relationship.
Thankfully, God intervened in my life and He began to turn me from upside down to Christ-side up. What a process indeed. However, I will be ever so ready to say that I have made the choice to go it the long haul.
I am done being a quitter and a runner! I want God to be glorified in my life and in the example that my marriage makes in a world gone awry. I am a woman of God, and if I say I believe in Him then I better put my faith into action by trusting Him even when it hurts! And guess what, I’m not talking upon condition either.
Is it stinkin’ hard? At times, you bet it is. Like when we both look pretty ugly at each other and want to demand our way. But life is messy and relationships are some of the messiest stuff out there. But you see, if I’m supposed to point others to Jesus then I better quit pointing at myself and demanding my rights.
Then there is this forgiveness issue…pride says “I’m right and you are wrong!” But love says “I’m so sorry, will you forgive me?”
Remember this familiar description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in the Message paraphrase:
“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.”
I want others to know that it does work. But also, that it may take some elbow grease in the process. Like scrubbing away me to see I am in this with another.
Love this song from Casting Crowns that points to the fact that most times we don’t enter a marriage with the intent on giving up our selves. But if it is going to work it must. What God has Joined Together… Click To Tweet
My question to you is this…will you fight for marriage?
Will you lay aside your demands and get on your knees and ask God to show you how to make a difference in your life, not change him Lord, but in you?
If you have read my blog in the past you might have read my posting on Lessons from a Schnauzer. Oh, that little loving pup of ours is in some ways like my prodigal children have been, in that she is used by God to teach me more about Him.Our Sassy Little Elsa
A few years back over Easter weekend, we had an incident that only happens thankfully once in a while. I am always praying against this happening because I am fearful of the consequences. Elsa, is a Schnauzer who is very true to her calling, she loves children and loves to ‘hunt’. Schnauzers were bred to mind the kinder and keep the vermin at bay on the farms. Even when she hears children on the Television or radio she perks right up and would love to join the kid party. As to her inquisitive nature to hunt and chase after ‘vermin’ she would constantly be off to the woods and who knows that we would ever see her again. She even thinks that she should investigate the deer that are always roaming through the property. So in light of her natural calling we are not able to let her run free. If we are out she must be hooked to something to keep her from doing her ‘Schnauzer thing’. It sounds rather cruel but she knows that is the way it is and the leash has just become a part of her life.
Like our own human nature every now and again, Schnauzers, like ourselves need to have a taste of freedom. Elsa’s last fling without the leash came on Easter Sunday as we were getting ready for church. My daughter and I were the last to head out and I asked her where Elsa was and she thought she was possibly downstairs. Knowing that the kids were not in the house I suddenly entertained a thought that I really didn’t want to think about. I went downstairs with a heavy heart knowing that she was nowhere to be found in the house. I hollered up to my daughter and said Elsa must be outside to which she opened the door and promptly tried to coax her back into the house. All to no avail for all the coaxing in the world was not going to ruin this fling with freedom.
By the time I ran up the stairs and grabbed the leash and headed out doors she was springing for the highway leaping like a lamb through the front yard and I imagined hearing her yelling, “I’m free, I’m free…” I began to pray immediately to the Lord beseeching Him to not let her get hit on the road as the cars were coming up and down the hill. Yes, she leaped across the ditch and across the road she went up the neighbor’s driveway. I continued my praying, pleading with the Lord to please keep her safe and direct her homeward. We were all calling for her as I am sure she continued in her little puppy mind, “I’m free, I’m free…”
Then…(thank you Lord!) she turned around and headed back home, darting past my son-in-law heading right to my oldest grandson, Zachary. I said gently, “Grab her and don’t let go!” Which he did and then they came over to me and I promptly took her and put her on her chain by the kennel. She only uses the chain and kennel when we have to be gone for a short time and have no one to watch her. Or, sometimes just so she can be out and about when it is nice out. Then off to church we headed. I was praising God the entire way to church that He kept her from harm and returned her to home.
Well naturally my immediate application was to see this episode as how a loving God gives us loving boundaries for our good. For Elsa it is the leash and for us it is in the Word. For a long time I resisted some of God’s boundaries because I wanted to maintain my “freedom.” I realize now that I make enough mistakes as it is without thumbing my nose at a bunch of rules, regulations and warnings.
There is this sin nature that we wrestle with that is directly contrary to our Christ-like nature. It is a battle that we will wage until we go home to glory. But if we consciously live our life desiring God’s ways instead of ours we will provide less opportunity for the enemy to trip us up. Or in Elsa’s case become a flat, black furry spot on the road!
Paul tells us himself how he too very wrestled with doing what he was not supposed to do in Romans 7:15
“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.”
I am amazed that Paul would openly admit his struggles. And for me it is freeing to know that a man of Paul’s character—although probably not very often—struggled with sin. He understood sin’s character and the impact it leaves behind. (I think we would call that consequences.) Sometimes, we may only struggle with seemingly small issues and the Bible warns us with a blinking yellow light like the following verse:
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled:“Bad company corrupts good character.”
And search the word fool to see the many places you will find this in the Word. Like in Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 that says only fools say there is no God; Proverbs 1:7 says that fools despise wisdom, and discipline; Proverbs 1:22 says that fools hate knowledge! I could go on and on for there is much for us to learn about fools and foolish behavior. (Actually Proverbs is based on the contrast of the wise man and the foolish!) It is sometimes these grey areas that are not terribly obvious that can be used to trip us up and lead us astray. All for the sake of “freedom”, freedom to choose what I will and will not allow myself to get into.
I know that for years I have struggled with thinking I know best what is and is not good for me. It is just crazy how a little time here or there can leave a lasting impression on us when we spend time where we probably shouldn’t.
She is now 7 years of age and a bit more settled down although a rabbit will really get her going!
In this book called the Bible, there is a wealth of practical wisdom that God Himself has given to keep us safe and to warn us about old behavior patterns. Why? Because in His lovingkindness He wants what is best for us. He wants us to be safe and continue to grow more and more into Christ’s image. It is inevitable that there will come times when we succumb to old patterns or we may take a risk and do something that could put us in immediate danger, not heeded the warnings from our loving Father. We will suffer the consequences from blatant disobedience and hopefully we repent and say, “whew, I am glad I didn’t continue down that pathway.”
So whether it is not ‘completely’ telling the truth, a little flirtation with the opposite sex, watching that thing on the television that stirs old feelings inside of us or reading the same, all of these little blinking yellow lights are flashing when we enter into the danger zones of life. But, there is something that we can do to heed the warning signs. For me it is the check in my spirit telling me that I shouldn’t go there. I acknowledge the danger sign, back out, and praise God for His Holy Spirit that protects us, in essence, from ourselves teaching us how to take every thought captive and crucify our sinful nature. Freedom is wonderful but not freedom that bites back or is only fleeting!
Father, my sweet little girl could have been a spot on the highway in her quest to run to places she had never been before. I confess my desires can be much the same. I ask forgiveness for ignoring Your loving boundaries that are in place for my good. I know those earthly desires that can sometimes screams at me to just give it up for a season of ‘fun and freedom’ but I have done this enough to know how easily I can get trapped and caught up. I am grateful for your Word to me in Corinthians that says that “No temptation has overtaken [me] but such as is common to man and God is faithful, who will not allow [me] to be tempted beyond what [I] am able. And with that temptation will also provide the way of escape also, that [I] may able to endure it.” If we go out a bit too far You provide a way for us to escape. Help me to be listening and willing. Thank you Pappa for Your amazing love that only wants the very best for those You love! Amen.
Recently I have found myself bugged. Someone has acted inappropriately and it really began to fester and annoy me. Frankly, I have wanted to get opinions on the situation and build my case as to why this behavior is inconsiderate and wrong. Back and forth I go and finding it a real struggle to let go of this situation that I have kept it to myself. Because I really do want to do the right thing instead of what I am tempted to do, that is to point out the flaws of another.
ivebecomemymother.blogspot.com
I have been praying about this tendency in myself to react this way and psychoanalyzing why I get so bugged sometimes. I know it is wrong to point to another’s character defect, after all would I want that done to me? I know it is wrong to gossip about that scenario that took place and riled me up, because I don’t want that to happen to me. However, what I want to take place in me is the appropriate response to another’s inconsideration to others.
I remember memorizing this scripture long ago when I first became a Christian and it is indeed one of those that we need to remember because temptation comes to all of us…
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
Although I am tempted to…I don’t have to go there! And I am leaning on the scripture above to remind me. God knows why I am bugged but I can leave it in His hands and not transfer it to the hearts of others so that they can form an unbecoming opinion of that one, because that is slander! So the scripture covers all situations that come our way and It also gives us the avenue of escape to depart from our wrong thinking and reminding us that we do not have to respond to our natural tendencies or in the flesh as Paul reminds us.
So friends, no excuses, Kimberly, no excuses! Today I choose not to give in when I am feeling pressed by temptation, but will choose to surrender my natural desires to the Lord and escape before harm can come to me and or the one I am bugged with. No cranky responses, gossipy tongue and judgmental thinking! It just has to go! God’s Word is again the reminder that I have no excuses, but will make the choice to have the right response…”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”–and you can too!
Romans 1:7 “…to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints:…”
1 Corinthians 1:2b “…to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:…”
2 Corinthians 1:1b “…to the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:…”
Ephesians 1b “…to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:…”
Philippians 1b ”… To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi…”
If you were alive in the first century and part of the early church, Paul would be addressing you as saint! Saint Ann, Saint Kimberly, Saint Zachary, Saint Mary, etc. How does that resonate with you? I am certain that for some of you it sits well. But if you are like me, this really seemed unreal. Forget it; I’m far from a saint! You see, Paul was addressing the church family in the reality of who they were because they had been washed in the Blood of Christ! When I ponder this, I stand amazed and honestly, it took me a long time to appropriate this mindset, and feel comfortable with its implications.
For some of us it has been a long and winding journey traveling the pathway to receive forgiveness from God and then round and around the mountain until I could forgive myself. That is why it seemed just too odd to be referred to as a “saint.” I know that I can’t rely on my feelings or nothing makes sense! So let’s do some extensive traveling around and about the truth, because this is where we need to camp out. I want to examine truth and dispute the erroneous thinking around which we may allow our minds to wind. We are going to see how our emotionally driven thinking can keep us from walking in the truth.
Dr. Neal Anderson (Freedom in Christ Ministry) reminds us that we are saints who sometimes sin. I am hoping that at the end of this particular journey you will be willing to embrace your ‘sainthood’ so to speak, and not push it away as I did. It is vital to understand our identity in Christ and receive it. So on to some truth, and I will refer to Dr. Anderson often because of the impact his material and understanding had in my life as I grew to understand my identity in Christ.
Let me start with a description of the meaning of stronghold:
Jen Lincs UK
“…habitual, mental patterns of thought. These strongholds are memory traces burned into our minds over time or by the intensity of traumatic experiences…They are formed in our minds like deep tire tracks in a wet pasture: After the ruts have been established over time, the driver doesn’t even have to steer anymore—and any attempt to steer out of the ruts is met with resistance.”
This should help us to understand that we do not just flip a switch and recover from skewed thinking over night. The truth is there for us but we now have to form new ways of thinking and processing based on the truth of God’s Word. Here is something to ponder as we consider our positioning of being called saints and believers in Christ, and we will camp here for a bit.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”
Using the analogy of the tire ruts, we cannot deny that we all have patterns in which we habitually walk. Some are good but some are detrimental to our spiritual growth. The really amazing thing about this walk is that, as believers, we have not been thrown into the ring with the lions (so to speak) without appropriate weapons for the battle. The Scripture tells us that we have been given weapons for our battles that are divinely powerful to take down and destroy the fortresses (strongholds) that we have unconsciously built in our minds.
Next, the Scripture tells us that we can pit truth against error by weighing the truth found in God’s Word against the erroneous thinking that has embedded itself in our minds. “What does God’s Word have to say about who I am?” In God’s word it says that because I am in Christ I am a new creature, I am righteous and sanctified. But the battle begins when I dispute that truth…“No way; I am certainly not” or no, “I could never be because I _______…” (you fill in the blank.) It is here that we do the warring in our minds and, as the verse above says, we must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ! Now the victory is ours when we make the choice to appropriate what the Word says about who we are and walk in that calling as a saint. Do we do it without error? Of course not, but turn that wheel firmly and pull out of the rut of wrong thinking and untruth to form the new pathway of truth.
Someone I love very much says that they are a Christian yet continues to live a homosexual lifestyle. I realize that it is easy for me to think that if they would only see themselves the way God sees them then they could leave that lifestyle behind. Another loved one has sought after attention by doing lots of wrong things and behaving in wrong ways. This has made for a very dysfunctional life for them. My heart’s cry is that they and others like them would see themselves as God sees them, being made in His image. I cannot help but think what a difference this could make if they would only see themselves through the Word of life. Not that there would be no struggles and temptations because we know from the Paul’s words “…For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do…” from Romans 7.
Realistically speaking here, if we measured every thought about who we are with God’s Word, we might see that what we do or what is lived out is based on what we believe about ourselves. There is some similarity here to the positive thinking process but if we believe in Christ and His redemption on our behalf on the cross, then we should be well on our way to walking as children in the light. Our actions must be the response to the way we see ourselves in light of the Word! Dr. Neil Anderson says that “…satan would like you to believe that your behavior tells you what to believe about yourself, but the truth is that your belief about yourself determines your behavior!”
Here is a great verse to memorize:
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who called you is faithful and also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24
Father God, things can sure get mixed up in my thinking and I do forget that as Your child I have received sanctification, redemption and the right to put satan and his lies under my feet. He has done a good job in keeping me from living the abundant life for way too long. Today let me know and believe that my identity is in You and with Christ in me I no longer have to live and walk in darkness. You have called me out of that darkness to live in and be Your light. Let me absorb all the truth Your Word has to say about who I am as a new creature in Christ and let my walk show to Whom it is I belong to. Thank You for loving me and for the privilege of being Your child!
Do you ever find yourself sick and tired of going around and around the mountain and making the same mistakes over and over again and again? Wow, I sure do and I get so frustrated with myself when I do thinking ‘haven’t I gotten this lesson yet?’ Thankfully this has ignited my desire to draw closer to God. I knew that God had something so much sweeter for my life but that I would have to jump some hurdles to get there.
My tendency to be judgmental and critical of others was not going to stop until I realized that I had to make a very purposeful choice not to look at others comparing myself with them and criticize. My ministry was not going to go forth until I was willing to be honest with my struggles and work on allowing the Lord to refine me in the furnace of His love, being content knowing that He would use me right where I was. You see, God really wants us to flourish and grow and go forth in His name and for His purposes. And finally that I would stay committed to relationships with Him, my husband, children, work and friends to the best of my ability…not in my strength but in His.Where God was and is concerned, I had to make a choice (and daily make that choice) to spend time with Him first and foremost! This is where I have learned the answers to the hard things involving all my relationships. Learning to love my husband in a fresh way unlike I never had before. Friends, it has changed our relationship! I suppose realizing that I cannot control anybody but me is nothing really new but God made it fresh for me as I focused on what I could do to better our relationship instead of expecting and demanding that my husband needed to change. I am only able to change me!!! With my children it was similar in that I could not control their lives (like I used to try to do) to keep them from learning the hard way like I had to do. They have to learn their life lessons in the same way I have, through their own choices resulting in mistakes, failures and victories!
Work was merely a matter of being content where God had placed me. I am not one who enjoys confrontation and a few years back we had a lot of confrontation going on and frankly I wanted out. Not realizing that God was up to some big and exciting things that I could have very well missed out on. So every interesting job posting that became available in town I would apply for. But God certainly had something else in mind. He has kept me at Psalm FM Radio to serve in the capacity of the office administration and on air since 1990. And I have now been part of a very exciting ministry including the “Vertical Connection”, my radio program. Since 2004, I have hosted a two hour radio program to encourage listeners to draw near to the Father’s heart.
A side note of thanks to a former employee who saw something in me that I never dreamed I could do, thank you Gene! We just never know where God is going to take us and sometimes He takes us kicking and screaming while saying “I can’t do that!”
These tests and trials that come through our relationships with others, whether they be Christian or not, really matter to God. We are members of a body. We are not all the same (thankfully) and we have so much to offer each other but more importantly people are the litmus test of getting this God-walk right! I know we are all in process and we do not have it perfect this side of glory, but, how we treat each other is crucial from the stand point that the outside world looks at us in expectation that we know how to do it right. I think the song says that “They will know we are Christians by our love…” and we do know how to do it right. But the question is will I choose to do it the way I have been instructed and shown from God Himself through Christ? Loving God and loving others? Or will I continue to circle around the mountain again and again never taking the next step upward?
We can always justify our actions whether anger, jealousy, injustice or whatever other reason that is out there. But as my dear friend and I were sharing recently, the bottom line is we are responsible for making the right choice. By doing so we deny the flesh and by doing this we allow the flow of the healing balm of reconciliation to be applied to whatever the offense was that tore us apart. Our Father and Creator, is fully aware of our short comings and struggles. And although we will continue to make wrong choices it is certain that we will make less wrong and many more correct as we purpose to serve and spend time allowing the Lord to change who we are into the image of His Son Jesus.
I know how hard it is, believe me, but for me I am now at a place where I have tasted the sweet rewards of my Father when I do it right and I would rather take that next step up the mountain than let my frustrations and disappointments continue to hold me back because of repeating the same mistake time and time again, keeping me at the baseline, henceforth, going round and round the mountain!
Ephesians 5:1,2
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”.
Father, You know the sorrow that plagues me when I mess up. I can only imagine the disappointment that You must feel when I have to take the same test over and over again. I truly have set my sites on You and I really want to show others just how much You love them by the way I live my life and treat others. To be Your representative I ask that You give me the courage to change me and I surrender my frustrations and all that I think is justified in exchange for Your grace and ask that You would help me to humbly wear and put on Your love for others…in Jesus’ Name.
God blesses us all the time. Sometimes in small ways and sometimes in great big ways! It seems that it is quite the same with our prayers. Although I do believe He always answers our prayers—it may just not always be the way I think that He should or in the time-frame I think that He should answer them.
The Lord has taught me some big things about prayer as of late. Like why pray if you don’t expect Him to answer? I have done a lot of praying but honestly, I have not seen a lot of obvious answers. Now I am not saying that He is or has not answered, just that I do not always see the results and especially right away.
Recently I was reminded of a time several years ago when my daughter, Becky lost her wedding ring. She just had her first baby and they had gone swimming at David’s place of work. She took her wedding ring off her finger to shower in a public place and forgot put them back on before she left. She was devastated! When she finally told her husband, he even put notes on the bulletin board at work with hope that the person who took it would see the note and return the ring.
A few weeks went by and we were visiting when I noticed that her ring was not on her hand. She tearfully told me the story and as we sat on her bed we prayed together asking the Lord to return her ring and even allow the person wearing it to be very uncomfortable with it on their finger. I remember very distinctly that something rose up in me as I prayed for this situation feeling certain that she would get her ring back.
It was but a couple of weeks later that my daughter’s husband David, received a package at work with no return address label. He opened it to find the stolen wedding ring. We were amazed and so grateful, both realizing that God had answered our prayer as well as the prayers of others who were also praying for the ring’s return to its rightful owner. It had not so much been the value of the ring as it was the sentimental value considering the diamond had once belonged to her great grandmother. We were ever so thankful for this victory indeed!
It is interesting how James talks about the “prayer of faith” being enough to even heal the sick.
James 5:15 NKJ
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
James 5:13 NIV
“[The Prayer of Faith] Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.”
James 5:15 NLV
“And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”
The various versions show that it is possible for a few different things to happen here in regard to the “prayer of faith”:
The sick will be saved
The sick will be healed
Those in trouble should pray
I am not certain what we do with those prayers that appear to go unheard. But it does seem to me that when God does answer our prayers whether big or small, that it should certainly serve to increase our faith for the next time. (Kind of like filling for reserve.) For even when it doesn’t look as if something is happening, we have to believe that God has heard and is applying Romans 8:28 to our situation.
Let me leave you with another amazing little story of my own. About four years ago I lost an earring. It was one in a pair of simple hand crafted opals set in sterling silver, that were a gift from my mother. (I should never wear French hook earrings with out stoppers on them and have since tried to remember to do so when wearing that type of earring.) These were a lovely little pair–probably not extremely valuable but they have sentimental value being handed down from my mother. I had no idea when or where I could have lost the earring and I looked high and low (literally) around work, my car, etc. all to no avail. I never dared to tell mom, as she would have been terribly disappointed. I did pray though and I asked the Lord if He would help me find them so as not to upset mom should she ever ask. And I always believed that they would show up.
A few years later, the earring was still missing and I even toyed with the idea of having the jeweler see if I could get a replacement. This could not be done without knowing the company who made them. Well that was out because I would have to ask my mother and then she would know the story. So I just let it rest.
Last fall I found myself vacuuming the floor of the radio station studio as my husband and I ripped out carpeting to prepare the floor for the new carpeting that was to be installed the next week. I was naturally amazed at the dirt that showed up after the carpet was ripped out. I was on my hands and knees with my husband’s big old shop vac, giving the final touches on the nooks and crannies way underneath the console. I bent down low to the floor to look under a computer that sticks out on a low shelf and to my utter amazement there was my opal earring! There is no logical reason for it to have survived the carpet rip-out, and the shop vac’s super suction to be found just sitting there on the floor, but for God!
Once again, God answered a small “prayer of faith” and it served once again to bolster and fill my faith reserve once again. A reminder to pray with the expectation of getting the right answer, at just the right time!
Matthew 17:20 NKJ
“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Father, you absolutely amaze me when you answer our prayers. I know that there are many that we do not see and I am thankful that You are the one Who sees the big picture. I would ask that You continue to remind me that when I ask, I am to ask in faith, believing for Your perfect answers every time! I want to exercise the “prayer of faith” when I pray for one to be healed and or saved or simply to find a lost something of importance to whomever! In Jesus’ Name!
Do you know someone who has been affected by abortion? Maybe you were a man or woman who lost your baby to abortion…poor choices…regretful decisions. Maybe you are a woman who found yourself pregnant from taking just one step beyond where you should have gone with your boyfriend or found yourself a victim of someone’s abuse and then found out you were pregnant…then you were convinced that there was only one thing you could do.
If you or someone you know is living with the regret of having an abortion, I want you to know that there is hope. Hope knowing that you can be an overcomer of the bondage of having an abortion or making other poor choices. You see, it is our poor choices that the enemy of your soul uses to keep you from walking in freedom, to keep you from living with peace and joy in your heart.
Instead, you wear regret as a chain around your neck, and there’s a pendent for each sin you have committed. They are heavy and they weigh you down. No wonder there’s no joy. Oh, friend, that is not what your Father has intended for you.
It is pretty cool how God breaks through our messes and has His way in our hearts. After working with me and allowing me to view the “Silent Scream” a graphic movie of an abortion I was more or less forced to look at what I’d done. And although it wasn’t pretty I needed to admit what I had done so God could begin the healing process in my heart. My 14 year hidden sin needed to be exposed and that’s exactly what He did.
God Gave Me an Opportunity
He then allowed me to literally run into Kim Ketola, at a conference. Kim hosted a program called Cradle My Heart for several years and the long and short of it was that she asked me to be her guest. What a blessing that it would even be aired on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in 2014. I did this more than willingly as an offering to my Lord and counted as a redeeming blessing!
Peace about what I had done didn’t come immediately but it did come as I understood the forgiveness of the Lord more and more, understanding Him as my redeeming Lord. I finally laid that sin at the cross and found forgiveness and peace. Wow, I had another pendant to rip off of that chain around my neck! Thank you Lord
So this is why I share my journey. I know there are many who have traveled this same pathway, who don’t know how to get rid of the memories and the pain that resurrect themselves and hold us captive to our past.
The Good News is always good news! Because through Christ and understanding the Character of our Lord, you can find peace and put your past sins under the blood of Jesus.
Friend, I hope you can find that peace that passes all understanding in the midst of your trial, pain and past. The Lord is waiting for you to just ask for His help and in turn to offer you His forgiveness. Don’t let it wait, lay it down at the cross! Please know that you can always contact me for prayer as I would count it a blessing to pray for you on this jourey!
My interview with Kim was my best, it was an offering to the Lord for my wrong and my willingness to be able to finally say…I AM FORGIVEN! No turning back. I don’t always understand God’s amazing grace but I have learned to receive it and I hope you will also!
Be blessed and enjoy this song by Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be…
Close your eyes, stop and think…random now…where does your mind drift off to? Honestly, I sure think most about me, my world, my home, family, problems and agendas and more ME! It kind of bugs ME to have a Me mindset. After all I share my home with others and thoughts of them tend to bring ME back around to ME. I rather think that this is a natural inclination, to be ME focused. However, as a woman of God, I am learning that this journey here on earth is NOT about ME!
