Category: Healing

There’s a fork in the road.

If we choose the way of personally accepting Jesus (which is the decision to do everything through love, and as a result gives us a new heart-set), then we don’t ever have to go down the road of destruction that the other decision leads to.

Despite the clouds

Written by Blake Rackley)

(Forgive typos…Today has been long. Well, this year has been long.) So much is weighing heavy on the hearts of others. This week I listened to those who grieve the loss of identity, the loss of love, the loss of faith, and the loss of purpose. So many questions that have so few answers or at least answers that satisfy and calm their fears. They feel aimless and stuck. Maybe you feel similar. Maybe it is your job, the future, a relationship. You simply feel stuck by not knowing what decision is the “right” decision so you make no decision at all. Maybe you are nursing scars no one see. Maybe you are bleeding from wounds that do not bleed crimson and bandages do not help. The running theme of many who are experiencing this level of pain is that they do not want to burden another person with their “stuff”. Sadly, they suffer in silence and feel totally alone. Think for a moment. Have you ever seen a lone goose? A solitary, Canadian, turd dropping, Christmas goose flying all by their lonesome? My guess is that you haven’t. If you do, that is one lost goose. They are most always in a flock. They take turns with the burden of leading. They encourage by those obnoxious honks. They rest often. They have a destination, but it is often arrived at in the company of others. They will fly despite the clouds and gloom around them. They will fly at times in the rain, but they seek shelter together. They do not feel the need to do anything singularly. Why then do we believe we have to do anything by ourselves? We are called to bear one another’s burdens. So, I’m calling my brothers and sisters in Christ to help those around them. Sit with them. Eat with them. Shelter with them. Listen to their story. Encourage them with hope. But more than anything, fly with them through their clouds of depression, anxiety, abuse, loss, hopelessness, and failure. We all are more likely to fly on, fly farther, and fly with purpose when we have others behind us despite the dark clouds hanging over us. Quit saying, “If you need me, I’m always here.” They will almost never call you. If we want the world to know we love Jesus, we must intentionally bear the burdens of others by vulnerability and loving one another.

Faith

So much going on right now all over the world. It would be easy to be tempted to lose our faith. But that’s not going to be an option, is it?

I found this message on a facebook site and I was having one of those moments, primarily because I’m trying to spread the love of God around a lot of places today, and my computer is acting up…even while trying to post this. So I’m going to put a Ha Ha to Satan, and keep going.

5 WAYS TO USE YOUR SUFFERING TO LEAD OTHERS TO CHRIST

When was the last time your suffering led others to Christ? Ever since I scribbled these words, they continue to stare me in the eye—expecting a response.

The truth is I don’t know if I’ve ever prompted anyone to step closer to the Lord by how I handled sorrow. Pain tends to compel the crabby in me – enough to blame someone else for my suffering.

I doubt I’m alone. When in pain, it seems only human to default to finger-pointing—including at God.

“Are you heartless, or are you just incapable of healing my chronic pain, God?”
“If the store had posted a warning sign, I wouldn’t have slipped on the wet floor.”
“We got into the accident because you ran the red light!”

Jesus modeled suffering in a radically different way. The Son determined to live and die by glorifying the Father, even while enduring crucifixion and its excruciating pain. Jesus carried Himself with such dignity, it forced a handful of witnesses to face their own day of reckoning.

More on this later.

As a Christian, I aspire to emulate Jesus in every way—including during life’s harrowing moments. Don’t you?

The good news is learning to suffer Jesus’ way is doable. If it wasn’t, the Bible wouldn’t have recorded the following five principles He demonstrated while crucified:

  1. Non-Defensive
    When those around Jesus did nothing but revile Him, He didn’t defend Himself. Neither did He attack them back (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus stayed silent (Isaiah 53:7). By doing so, He fully exhibited trust that God would avenge Him without having to do so Himself (1 Samuel 24:12).

Do you know how hard it is to clamp your mouth when you’re being assailed? I do. As a therapist, I strive to not defend myself if something I say riles up my client. It doesn’t matter how innocent my intentions might have been. If there’s a part of the client who finds my words offensive, my job is to listen and process that experience with the client. Defending ourselves is improper for therapists to do because that’s hardly what any client needs. Ever.

Like Jesus, you and I don’t need to engage in self-defense even if someone decides to harass us in our pain. The Lord is still the most powerful Avenger there is (Psalm 94:1). The One who sees everything will make things right in due time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

  1. No Pity Party
    Every group of people surrounding Jesus mocked Him mercilessly:

Passersby (Matthew 27:39-40),
Spiritual leaders (Matthew 27: 41-43, Luke 23:35),
Roman soldiers (Luke 23: 36-37),
And the two criminals condemned to death alongside him (Matthew 27: 38, Matthew 27: 44, Mark 15:32).
But even though their derision must have hurt, what might have stung even more was the roaring passivity of Jesus’ own loved ones. A tiny band of followers, including His mother, a few other women, and the apostle John, all witnessed Jesus’ abuse and humiliation—but none of them said a peep (John 19: 25-27).

If it were me bleeding on the cross? Hearing vicious sneers, coupled with my support system’s sustained silence, would’ve easily triggered a serious self-pitying episode.

Not Jesus. Never once did He pull a psalm-style lamentation of how long will you let these guys pummel me like this, Lord, when I did nothing to provoke them? Scour every book in the Bible, Old and New Testament combined, and you’ll find zero mention of Jesus crying on the cross. None.

Crucifixion is likely the most painful way to die ever invented, yet the Son of God shed no tears. Why?

Because Jesus refused to indulge in a pity party.

Self-pity sucks all of the attention to ourselves—This hurts so bad! Why hasn’t anyone checked up on me? Does anyone even care? Because the whining in self-pity repulses everyone else, pity partiers tend to cry all by themselves. Their act makes it impossible for others to respond with compassion.

Let’s resolve to ban any pity party even if our suffering feels unjust.

  1. Selflessness
    Because Jesus squelched the temptation to pity Himself, He allowed the love of God to fully commandeer His attention.

Even though breathing—let alone speaking—would’ve wrecked His body with more unimaginable pain, Jesus intentionally did the following. He spent the energy to instruct His disciple, John, to care for His mother, Mary, from that point on (John 19:26-27).

Such selfless love!

A friend demonstrated how striking it is when we mimic Jesus’ winsome attitude. This fellow believer suffers from pancreatitis. She spent three weeks at the hospital for a major surgery. She has steadily lost weight and has to eat through a feeding tube for six months—yet, despite all the mental and physical pain she has to endure, she cares enough to ask how I’m doing.

Anytime we attend to another person, regardless of the intensity of our pain, we’re gently leading that person closer to our Father. That’s because only God’s love can inspire us to exhibit the unselfish love of 1 Corinthians 10:24—including in the midst of our suffering.

In this me-first world, such outrageous benevolence creates an unforgettable impression. It may even compel the recipient to investigate, “why are you so kind?”

At which point we can smile and explain: Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27).

  1. He Sought Proper Help
    There’s another reason I cherish the friend I mentioned above: she recognizes her limits. She didn’t conceal her need due to pride. Instead, she reached out to me and confided in me about her medical struggles. And when I offered to intercede, she gladly received my prayer.

How many are too proud to disclose our needs to each other?

My friend sought appropriate assistance because she needed it. In doing so she modeled after Jesus, who also appealed for help while on the cross.

On the surface, it seems as though Jesus’ words to the Father conveyed a son’s protest for his dad’s abandonment (Matthew 27:46). However, notice that Jesus directed His plea to God in a transparent and respectful manner. Contrast this attitude to many who, in their pain, give God the silent treatment or curse Him instead—like Job’s wife, for instance (Job 2:9).

The Lord will never forsake anyone who seeks Him (Psalm 9:10). So, if you want your suffering to count, never abandon the God who has loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Then, seek proper help—in the spiritual, physical, as well as emotional realm.

  1. He Forgave Fiercely
    Forgiveness benefits the forgiver. We don’t forgive for the sake of those who wronged us, but for our own (Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37). But if this truth is applicable to humans, then it applies to Jesus, too, given his status as fully God and fully human (John 1:1, John 1:14, Philippians 2:7).

https://thechristiannerd.tech.blog/

When Life is Dark and Heaven is Quiet

Posted byBryan LowePosted inbeliever, darkness, discipleship, encouragement, following Jesus, God, life lessons, Satan, theology, understandingTags:discipleship, God, Jesus, promises, testing, trials, understanding

God’s people have always had to wrestle with the things from the dark.  As believers, the Bible tells us that we’re in a permanent state of war against Satan. There has never been an armistice or treaty signed to my knowledge.  Each one of us is on the front lines.  The devil has been practicing with a deadly form of “spiritual terrorism.”  And he terrorizes many with his posturing and manipulation.

Life can get quite dark, and desperately bleak. No one needs to educate us about the dark nightmare that is now active. Over a couple of millennia, God’s covenant people have been harmed and harassed.  Enemies are constantly manipulating and twisting God’s Word. As disciples, we’re under steady surveillance by the dragon.

Sometimes heaven is silent. But I believe it is never, ever disinterested.

But He certainly has not overlooked us.  As we read our Bible, our faith becomes like Teflon.  Nothing can stick to you; even though so much is thrown at us.  When life is really dark or terribly bleak, we can protect ourselves and others. There are times when we can sense nothing.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

We are not theologians, we are just simple disciples.  He knows this.  I believe He simplifies things in order to help us understand. God has little reason to complicate things for us.

I believe that we are “surrounded” by saints of all ages.  They see in us a faith that justifies us.  And I must admit, that helps me.  I am part of a continuum.  I now know that my simple faith must always pass the test of discouragement.

But now the torch is passed, and now you must run with it faithfully and honestly.  And when all is so dark, and things seem far too quiet, I still intend to hold up that torch and carry it all the way to my Father’s house.

“There was a castle called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair.”

John Bunyan, “Pilgrims Progress”

How to define and apply love in our lives

Matthew 22:37-39
New International Version
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Who is in you!

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

Remember this verse as we go into the next year!

May God bless all of you, as we embrace Him and each other.

A Call to Love

If there was ever a time when we are called to show an extraordinary display of love for God and each other, it is now. I’ve been questioning what we as Christians are doing to show love during these hectic times.

Reading the following scripture, I tried to put a filter in place to determine whether modern-day Christianity actually survives the test of Jesus’ definition of love. Let’s read this together and ask the Holy Spirit to help us answer that question.

The Great Commandment

 Matthew 22 (English Standard Version)

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 

8 This is the great and first commandment. 

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Along with these scriptures, we would be remiss not to read and understand God’s further definition of love.

1 John 4:20 (English Standard Version)

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

So, let’s ask ourselves:

  1. Do we treat everyone with this kind of love? Does it matter whether they have the same color of skin as ours, speak with the same language that we use?

2. Are we prejudiced in any way?

3. Do we encourage hate of any person?

4. Do we support bullying?

5. Do we reach out and pick up the peaceful person that was just beaten down–by fists or guns–or words? Or do we join in?

6. Do we judge a person by whether they are poor, or not?

7. Do we act out, in any way, with disdain, judgmental thoughts or actions, or do we try to understand a person who is different from us? who may have a different religious affiliation? a different way in describing their belief system? Or do we think that we are the only people who have all the answers?

8. Do we agree that requiring servitude by anyone is ok? is loving? is the way Jesus would treat people?

I think this is a somber time in all of our lives when we should quietly sit and reflect on these questions. If we fall short of the definition of love as Jesus describes it, we have an imperative to go to Him and ask forgiveness, turn away from that wrongful attitude, and humble ourselves as we seek God’s guidance in remedying our actions. That way He will be glorified rather than being ashamed of us.

Are we really Christians?

If we don’t display the love and light from our Lord, then we should stop using His name–in vain!

Your sister in Christ,

Sharon

We are the World! Happy New Year!

Praying for blessings to all of you around the world. May we all come together to find what is best in each of us. Love surely is better than hate. Working together, standing together, loving together will make the difference. If you are upset about something, find your voice. Go on Twitter, Facebook, start a Website, care and share positive ideas and progressive thinking instead of crying in a corner. We can all light the place where we stand and that light will shine enough to change things.

Be blessed with much love, joy, and happiness!

Sharon & Erick

We are the world!

There comes a time when we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And its time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We are all a part of Gods great big family
And the truth, you know,
Love is all we need

We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving

In Memoriam – Victims in the Oakland Fire

My note: Because we live in the area, I think this nightmare has affected us more than maybe some of you. Nonetheless, I am sure as you read this memoriam, and look at these beautiful faces, you will be unable to not feel it personally.

These victims were going to, or teaching in, schools in the Oakland Area, as I understand it. One of the victims was a student of Professor Chris Johnson at California College of the Arts. (My daughter graduated from CCA, and Professor Johnson has had a major influence in her life, and ours.)

Tragedy occurs when one least expects it. I imagine these victims were either living in this warehouse, or attending the party. I can envision them…artists, musicians, students, and educators–immersed in their life’s dream, creativity running rampant, determined to pass on the gifts they had been given by sharing their unique ability to see the world just a little differently than most.

Our hearts are aching for the losses their families and friends are feeling. Our prayers are covering all of them.

Let us remember these people–their names, their faces. We will keep them in our hearts forever.

 

Oakland Fire Victims

  • askew
    CASH ASKEW
  • emb
    EM B
  • bernbaum
    JONATHAN BERNBAUM
  • barrettclark
    BARRETT CLARK
  • cline
    DAVID CLINE
  • danemayer
    MICAH DANEMAYER
  • dixon
    BILLY DIXON
  • dolan
    CHELSEA DOLAN
  • ghassan
    ALEX GHASSAN
  • gomez-hall
    NICK GOMEZ-HALL
  • gregory
    MICHELA GREGORY
  • hoda
    SARA HODA
  • hough
    TRAVIS HOUGH
  • igaz
    JOHNNY IGAZ
  • jo
    ARA JO
  • kellogg
    DONNA KELLOGG
  • kershaw.jpg
    AMANDA KERSHAW
  • lapine
    EDMOND LAPINE
  • madden
    GRIFFIN MADDEN
  • matlock
    JOSEPH MATLOCK
  • mccarty
    JASON MCCARTY
  • mcgill
    DRAVEN MCGILL
  • mendiola
    JENNIFER MENDIOLA
  • morris
    JENNIFER MORRIS
  • pines
    FERAL PINES
  • plotkin
    VANESSA PLOTKIN
  • Wolfgang Renner
    WOLFGANG RENNER
  • ruax
    HANNA RUAX
  • runnels
    BENJAMIN RUNNELS
  • siegrist
    NICOLE SIEGRIST
  • sylvan
    MICHELE SYLVAN
  • tanouye
    JENNIFER KIYOMI TANOUYE
  • vega.jpg
    ALEX VEGA
  • wadsworth
    PETER WADSWORTH
  • walrath
    NICK WALRATH
  • wittenauer
    BRANDON “CHASE” WITTENAUER

Reporters

Kurtis Alexander • Cynthia Dizikes • David Downs • Peter Hartlaub • Vivian Ho • Lizzie Johnson • Jenna Lyons •John McMurtrie • Sarah Ravani • Steve Rubenstein • Jill Tucker • Aidin Vaziri • Kimberly Veklerov • Sam Whiting

Editors

Demian Bulwa • Mariecar Mendoza

Interactive producer

Kimberly Chu

 

Worried Enough to Pray?

by Max Lucado
Last week’s blog struck a nerve. I wrote a piece entitled “Decency for President.” The premise was a simple one. Shouldn’t a presidential candidate who claims to be Christian talk like one? When a candidate waves a Bible in one speech and calls a reporter “bimbo” in the next, isn’t something awry? Specifically, when Donald Trump insists that he is a Christian (“a good Christian” to use his descriptor) and then blasts, belittles, and denigrates everyone from Barbara Bush to John McCain to Megyn Kelly, shouldn’t we speak up?

If the candidate is not a Christian, then I have no right to speak. But if the candidate does what Trump has done, wave a Bible and attempt to quote from it, then we, his fellow Christians need to call him to at least a modicum of Christian behavior, right?

Again, I struck a nerve. More than three million of you read the article in the first 36 hours! Thousands of you weighed in with your comments. They were fascinating to read. (Not all of them pleasant to read, mind you. The dozens of you who told me to stick to the pulpit and stop meddling in politics– I get it. By the way, I’d like to invite you to attend our services. My upcoming message is “Kindness”.) Detractors notwithstanding, your comments were heartfelt and passionate.

I detected a few themes.

You have a deep sense of love for our country. Patriotism oozed through your words. You cherish the uniqueness and wonder of the USA. You have varying opinions regarding leadership style, role of government, and political strategy. But when it comes to loving the country, you are unanimously off the charts.

You have an allergy to “convenient” Christians. You resist people who don the Christian title at convenient opportunities (i.e., presidential campaigns). You would prefer the candidate make no mention of faith rather than leave the appearance of a borrowed faith that will be returned to the lender after the election.

You are concerned, profoundly concerned, about the future of our country. The debt. Immorality. National security. The role of the Supreme Court. Immigration. Religious liberty. The list is as long as the worries are deep.

So where does this leave us? When a person treasures the country, but has trepidation about its future, what is the best course of action?

Elijah can weigh in on this question.

He lived during one of the darkest days in the history of Israel. The Northern Kingdom had 19 kings, each one of whom was evil. Hope had boarded the last train and optimism the final flight. The leaders were corrupt and the hearts of the people were cold. But comets are most visible against the black sky. And in the midst of the darkness, a fiery comet by the name of Elijah appeared.

The name Elijah means, “My God is Jehovah.” And he lived up to his name. He appeared in the throne room of evil King Ahab with a weather report. “‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word’” (1 Kings 17:1).

Elijah’s attack was calibrated. Baal was the fertility god of the pagans, the god to whom they looked for rain and fertile fields. Elijah called for a showdown: the true God of Israel against the false god of the pagans. How could Elijah be so confident of the impending drought? Because he had prayed.

Eight centuries later the prayers of Elijah were used as a model.

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:16-18).

James was impressed that a prayer of such power came from a person so common. Elijah was “a human being” but his prayers were heard because he prayed earnestly. This was no casual prayer, comfortable prayer, but a radical prayer. “Do whatever it takes, Lord,” Elijah begged, “even if that means no water.”

What happened next is one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Elijah told the 450 prophets of Baal: You get a bull, I’ll get a bull. You build an altar, I’ll build an altar. You ask your god to send fire; I’ll ask my God to send fire. The God who answers by fire is the true God.

The prophets of Baal agreed and went first.

“At noon Elijah began to taunt them. ‘Shout louder!’ he said. ‘Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.’

“So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:27-29).

(Elijah would have flunked a course in diplomacy.) Though the prophets cut themselves and raved all afternoon, nothing happened. Finally Elijah asked for his turn.

“Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come here to me.’ They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, ‘Your name shall be Israel’” (1 Kings 18:30-31).

Elijah poured four jugs of water (remember, this was a time of drought) over the altar three times. Then Elijah prayed.

“LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.   Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36-37).

Note how quickly and dramatically God answered.

“Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!’” (1 Kings 18:38-39).

“Pow!” the altar was ablaze. God delighted in and answered Elijah’s prayer. God delights in and answers our prayers as well.

Let’s start a fire, shall we?

If your responses to my blog are any indication, you are anxious. You love this country, yet you are troubled about the future. You wonder what the future holds and what we can do. Elijah’s story provides the answer. We can pray. We can offer earnest, passionate prayers.

It’s time to turn our concerns into a unified prayer. Let’s join our hearts and invite God to do again what he did then; demonstrate His power. Super Tuesday, March 1, is the perfect day for us to step into the presence of God.

Dear Lord,

You outrank any leader. You hold sway over every office. Greater is the occupant of Heaven’s throne than the occupant of the White House.

You have been good to this country. You have blessed us in spite of our sin and guarded us in spite of our rebellion.

We unite our hearts in one prayer. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done. Please, speak through the electoral process to reveal your leader.

This we pray in the name of Jesus,

Amen

© Max Lucado
February 29, 2016

The Lost Art of Listening

Incourage.Me

by LISA-JO BAKER27
topics:

FriendshipListening

I was listening to a podcast recently by two of my favorite human beings — Emily P. Freeman of Chatting at the Sky and Myquillyn Smith of The Nesting Place (this podcast is called, Hope*Ologie and I recommend it as a sort of Vitamin D for the soul). Anyway, they were each taking a turn answering listener questions but soon discovered that while one was sharing their answer the other was inevitably not listening because they were too busy trying to think up their own answer.

It made me laugh.

It made them laugh.

Listening to friends laughing while you’re folding laundry is a great way to start a week.

But it got me thinking.

Because some days I think friendship feels like that — one person sharing and another person thinking about what they’re going to say. Instead of listening to what’s being said.

Some days a friend is trying to share and instead of laying down all the things we’re mentally fiddling around with and focusing our heads, hearts, eyes, and mouths at our friend, we’re actually preoccupied with a sort of mental gymnastics planning what WE want to say next.

Sometimes I imagine those conversations like this:

Friend: Gah, I’m so sad today. I feel stupid and dumb at my job, and there’s this weird nagging loneliness I can’t seem to shake.

Me: (internally thinking: Oh man, I know EXACTLY how that feels — this week has been the WORST. Just wait till I tell her about how I blew that deadline and how I’m sure my boss thinks I’m stupid and why won’t my kids go to bed on time anymore.)

Friend takes a breath: —-

Me: Oh man, I know EXACTLY how that feels — this week has been the WORST. Just wait till I tell you about how I blew that deadline and how I’m sure my boss thinks I’m stupid and why won’t my kids go to bed on time anymore.

Friend: (stranded and without a way to steer the conversation back to the encouragement they so desperately need just feels even lonelier instead).

The thing is, sometimes it’s not our turn to talk.

“Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.” {James 1: 19-21, MSG}

Sometimes, listening is the most powerful gift we can give a friend. Especially when they’re trying to share something that feels vulnerable to them or that feels vulnerable to us — for example, when they feel misunderstood and they’re trying to tell us about it.

Because sometimes our determination to speak before we’re properly done listening is an act of self-defense. We load our responses, our arguments, and our words up in front of us to block out what’s being said and lob our own point of view out into the conversation instead.

Nothing will shut down true communication faster.

But nothing will disarm a friend more than the grace you grant them when you listen with palms up and walls down — inviting their hurt or their joy, their exhaustion or their delight, their fear or their fun, into your own self so you can understand it from the inside out.

Nothing is more powerful than giving someone the gift of truly hearing them without tagging on your own conditions, explanations, or justifications.

Here are three easy ways to put this into practice:

1. Listen to the whole story before you start formulating a response.

2. Ask follow-up questions.

3. Repeat the key parts of what you heard, empathizing with them.

Question for you: What makes you feel truly heard? Let’s crowd-source some of the best ways we can revive the lost art of listening well. 

You are loved!

Just wanted you to know

on this day,

and every day,

You are loved.

Not only by your creator,

but by me.

Have a blessed Valentine’s Day,

knowing,

no matter what,

YOU ARE LOVED!

What if I fall?

“What if I fall?”

“Oh but my darling, what if you fly?”

– Erin Hanson

Sowing Seeds

Many parents aren’t proud of their family trees. The harvest was taken, but no seed was sown. Childhood memories bring more hurt than inspiration. If such is the case, put down the family scrapbook and pick up your Bible. John 3:6 reminds us, “Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” Your parents have given you genes, but God gives you grace.

Didn’t have a good father?  Galatians 4:7 says God will be your father. Didn’t have a good role model?  Ephesians 5:1 says, “You are God’s child whom He loves, so try to be like Him.”

You cannot control the way your forefathers responded to God. But you can control the way you respond to Him. The past does not have to be your prison. Choose well and someday—generations from now—your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will thank God for the seeds you sowed!

From When God Whispers Your Name

~ Max Lucado

You’re not selfish . . .

You’re not selfish for deciding to cut someone off.

There comes a point when you got to stop

being unfair to yourself.

#Rehab Time

Letting Go

 

 

Serenity prayer 71114

(Photo of the Pacific Ocean along the Hwy 1 California Coast)

~ ~ ~

I’ve been having a rough time lately learning the lesson of “Letting Go”.

From time to time, I feel I already “know” this lesson.

But then I turn around and realize, “Letting Go” is a daily thing.

The subject of the “Letting Go” project changes,

but the lesson is always the same.

I have to let go to the right person —

and that is My Lord.

The latest lesson was to go to the Serenity Prayer

and repeat it until I let go of whatever is controlling my life.

I hope these words help someone

who is going through the same lesson.

~ Sharon

 

You’ll never be enough . . .

You’ll never be enough to somebody

who can’t recognize your worth.

You can’t make them see

what they choose to stay blind to.

#Rehab Time

Trent Shelton

And so I choose . . .

It’s quiet.

It’s early.

For the next 12 hours I’ll be exposed to the day’s demands.

It’s now that I must make a choice.

And so I choose—love.

I will love God and what God loves.

  • I choose joy.
  • I choose peace. I will live forgiven.
  • I choose patience—Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I’ll thank God for a moment to pray.
  • I choose kindness—for that’s how God has treated me.
  • I choose goodness.
  • I choose faithfulness.  Today I’ll keep my promises. My wife will not question my love.
  • I choose gentleness.  If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.
  • I choose self-control.  I will be impassioned only by my faith and influenced only by God.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When this day is done, I’ll place my head on my pillow and rest.

~ Max Lucado

Perfectly Lonely

Sometimes it takes being

perfectly lonely

Just so God can show you

what being

PERFECTLY LOVED

feels like.

~ Trent Shelton

I can’t control . . .

I can’t control what life does to me – –

But I can control how I react to

what life does!

~ Lewis Timberlake

Never lose yourself

Never lose yourself

while trying to hold onto someone

who doesn’t care

about losing you.

~ Trent Shelton

True Love

Nobody deserves to be physically, emotionally, or verbally abused.

Love isn’t abusive, so never let your heart believe it is.

True love wants to see the BEST YOU,

not a hurt you.

 ‪#‎RehabTime‬

Merry Christ mas to all of you!

More of Christ!

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing, is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. As Mary looks into the face of the baby.  Her son. Her Lord.  His majesty—she can’t take her eyes off him.  Somehow Mary knows she’s holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel.  “His kingdom will never end!”

He looks like anything but a king. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. Majesty in the midst of the mundane.  Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat.  Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

God came near!

“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

Luke 1:33″

~ Max Lucado

It seems today is the day to emphasize “Forgiveness”

forgiveness5

Everywhere I turned today, I ran into new tidbits about “Forgiveness”.  I don’t believe in coincidence, because I believe in the verse Romans 8:28  which reads . . . And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. NIV

So . . . it seems He is trying to bring home to me a truth that needs to be reexamined!

forgiveness6

dont-judge1forgiveness4

forgiveness God's promise

forgiveness3

 

Forgiveness is an act of love and obedience

It isn’t dependent on who the person is, what the person has done or how many times they have done it.

In fact it really has nothing to do with the person who hurt you.

It is all about you and your relationship with God.

I’m so thankful that He loves me enough to command me to do this. Because at the end of the day I know I can say, “God of second chances and new beginnings … here I am again, Please forgive me…

Daniel 9:18

We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

This message makes me stop and think.

Do I really love my enemies?And better yet, who are my enemies? Do I really have any?

First of all, we are so blessed that we do not have to endure the kind of persecution referred to in this story. But if we did, what would be our attitude? our response?

On a routine day, how do we respond to our neighbors when they do something that displeases us?

Do we vent to them?

Take it out on them?

Are we passive aggressive?

Do we fuss and fume about it in our homes?

Do we love, instead?

Food for thought!

~ Sharon

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… Matthew 5:44

Perhaps the most difficult of Jesus’ commands is to love even our enemies. A true Christian always seeks another person’s highest good—even when mistreated. Brother Andrew says “The Christian’s only method of destroying his enemies is to ‘love’ them into being his friends.”

Romanian pastor, Dr. Paul Negrut, was visiting an old friend in Romania named Trian Dors in his humble home. As Paul entered, he realized that Trian was bleeding from open wounds. He asked, “What happened?”

Trian replied, “The secret police just left my home. They came and confiscated my manuscripts. Then they beat me.”

Pastor Paul says, “I began to complain about the heavy tactics of the secret police. But Trian stopped me saying, ‘Brother Paul, it is so sweet to suffer for Jesus. God didn’t bring us together tonight to complain but to praise him. Let’s kneel down and pray.”

“He knelt and began praying for the secret police. He asked God to bless them and save them. He told God how much he loved them. He said, ‘God, if they will come back in the next few days, I pray that you will prepare me to minister to them.’” Paul continued, “By this time I was ashamed. I thought I had been living the most difficult life in Romania for the Lord. And I was bitter about that.”

Trian Dors then shared with Paul how the secret police had been coming to his home regularly for several years. They beat him twice every week. They confiscated all his papers. After the beating he would talk to the officer in charge. Trian would look into his eyes and say, “Mister, I love you. And I want you to know that if our next meeting is before the judgement throne of God, you will not go to hell because I hate you but because you rejected love.” Trian would repeat these words after every beating.

Years later that officer came alone to his home one night. Trian prepared himself for another beating. But the officer spoke kindly and said, “Mr. Dors, the next time we meet will be before the judgement throne of God. I came tonight to apologize for what I did to you and to tell you that your love moved my heart. I have asked Christ to save me. But two days ago the doctor discovered that I have a very severe case of cancer and I have only a few weeks to live before I go to be with God. I came tonight to tell you that we will be together on the other side.”

RESPONSE: Today I will destroy my enemies only with love.

PRAYER: God give me Your kind of love for my enemies—so they too will love You.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

Related articles

Thou SHALT love . . .

. . . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. . . .

Thou shalt love thy neighbor . . .
–Matthew 22:37–39

Here is the answer to the world’s problems today—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” “Thou shalt love thy fellowman.” That teaching is not out-of-date; it is absolutely relevant today. It is the only way in which the problems of the world today can be solved, whether the problems are those of individuals or of nations. If we love God with all our heart, we will have a capacity to love our neighbors. True love will find an outlet in service—not merely in singing hymns, attending church, or even in praying—but in trying our utmost to prove our love, by obeying the will of our heavenly Father.

Prayer for the day

True love demands everything I have. Take all the hidden things in my life that keep me from loving You and my neighbor as I should. Let me obey Your will unequivocally, dear Lord.

The Secret of Forgiveness

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered. 

Psalm 32:1”

Is it still hard to consider the thought of forgiving the one who hurt you?

We’ll never be able to wash the feet of those who’ve hurt us until we allow Jesus,

the one we’ve hurt, to wash ours. 

That’s the secret of forgiveness. 

You’ll never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven you.

Watch Jesus as he goes from disciple to disciple. 

Can you hear the water splash?  Keep that image. 

John 13:12 says, “When he had finished washing their feet…” 

Note, he finished washing their feet. 

He left no one out. 

That’s important! 

It means he also washed the feet of Judas. 

Jesus washed the feet of his betrayer.

That’s not to say it was easy for Jesus. 

That’s not to say it’s easy for you. 

That IS to say—

God will never call you to do what he hasn’t already done!

~ Max Lucado

Don’t Be Afraid

“Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him,

‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’

Mark 5:36”

Sometimes what we need is just a word of encouragement,

isn’t it?

And God gives a word—

to the overwhelmed. 

To the downcast. 

To us. 

He urges, “Don’t’ be afraid; just believe.”

Believe that He can. 

Believe that He cares. 

Believe that He comes.

Mark it down. 

You will never go where God is not. 

You may be transferred, enlisted, commissioned, re-assigned, or hospitalized….

But brand this truth on your heart—

Jesus promised, “I am with you always.” 

Don’t be afraid, just believe!

Make your fear a visitor and not a resident. 

Hasn’t fear taken enough? 

Enough smiles? 

Enough restful nights? 

Enough exuberant days?

Make it a day changer to meet your fears with faith. 

Choose to make every day—a great day!

~ Max Lucado

Prayer Request for me

Just wanted to ask for prayer for tomorrow morning.

I am having hiatal hernia surgery at 10:30 in San Francisco. I’ve had this hernia for over 10 years, but recently it became very enlarged, about 1/3 of my stomach is protruding through the wall of the diaphragm.

Everything should be fine, but surgery always brings a sense of anxiety for me.

I appreciate the support of our friends here on sharin’ His love.

Much love and blessings to all, and meanwhile I’ll be:

Become a Worry-Slapper!

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added to you. 

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. 

Matthew 6:33-34

Jesus said, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life—

whether you have enough.”

Not enough time, luck, credit, wisdom, intelligence. 

We’re running out of everything, it seems, and so we worry! 

But worry doesn’t work.

I challenge you to become a worry-slapper.

Do you procrastinate when a blood-sucking bug lights on your skin? 

“I’ll take care of that in a moment.” 

Of course you don’t! 

You give the critter the slap it deserves. 

Don’t waste an hour wondering what your boss thinks. 

Ask her.

Don’t assume you’ll never get out of debt. 

Consult an expert.

Let God be enough! 

He knows your needs. 

Seek Him! 

He will give you everything you need!

~ Max Lucado

Verse of the Day – November 28 – Do everything without complaining or arguing

VERSE:
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may
become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a
crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in
the universe.
— Philippians 2:14-15
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Philippians+2:14-15

THOUGHT:
“Don’t complain or argue!” We don’t normally associate these
things with purity and blamelessness. Paul was extraordinarily
close to the Philippians and knew them well. He knew their
weaknesses and shortcomings. He also knew the destructive power
that complaining and arguing have on the life of an otherwise
vibrant community of Christians. Let’s heed his warning today, as
we see church after church taken under by the negative and cynical
spirit that pervades modern culture.

PRAYER:
Forgive me and cleanse me, O God, from my argumentative spirit.
Please empower me with your Spirit to use my speech only to bless
and to build up, never to tear down or discourage. In Jesus’ name I
pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20111128

Taking No Chances

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God.
Isa. 43:2–3 NASB

With God—chance is eliminated.

God knows what is best.

No struggle will come your way apart from his purpose, his presence, and his permission.

Isaiah 43:2 says,

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers,

they will not overflow you.”

What encouragement!

You are never the victim of nature or the prey of fate.

Chance is eliminated.

You are more than a weather vane whipped about by the winds of fortune.

Would God truly abandon you to the whims of drug-crazed thieves, greedy corporate raiders,

or evil leaders?

Perish the thought!

You live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King

who superintends every circumstance of your life, and delights in doing you good.

Remember this.

Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of God’s love.

~ Max Lucado

Note: Read Romans 8:28

Verse of the Day – November 10, 2011

VERSE:
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the
dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my
blessing on your descendants.
— Isaiah 44:3
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Isaiah+44:3

THOUGHT:
Growing up in West Texas in part of my early years, I certainly
know what “thirsty land” truly is. The black dirt shrinks, leaving
deep cracks in the ground. All the grass turns yellow, then brown,
and then dies. A wisp of breeze stirs swirls of dust over the
barren land. When the downpour finally comes, the “thirsty land”
swallows voluminous amounts of water as the rain runs off the wet
surface and finds its way into the deep cracks left from the
drought. The ground swells, the grass comes back to life, and life
is replenished. In a barren spiritual wasteland, God’s Holy Spirit
pours out his blessing, brings times of refreshment, and
replenishes our thirsty hearts.

PRAYER:
Generous and loving Father, thank you for so many blessings you
have poured into my life. Most of all, dear Father, thank you for
the blessing of your presence, your strength, your grace, and your
refreshment given to me through your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I
thank you. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20111110

Excellent post « Women’s Window

Excellent post « Women’s Window.

I just have to “Post, and Press this Forward”. And, I must say, I’m going to push the “Follow this blog” button. Not only does this author capture our hearts through excellent writing, but these words pull us into the reality of how we actually may be living our lives. Either positively, or negatively.

I personally needed to be brought back into focus today. To reevaluate what is really important.

Be blessed as you read, and digest these thoughts.

Daily Promise – September 26 – God will bring comfort to you

Psalm 23:4 KJV

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Promise #269: When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will be with you.

Today’s promise is a much loved verse from the often quoted Psalm 23. Most times, we might quote this verse at a funeral service or at another time of extreme loss and of course this verse is fitting for those occasions. At the end of our lives, it is comforting to know that God will never ever leave us.

However, I do want to ask you to think of another application of this promise… Jesus told us that except a seed falls in the ground and dies, it abides alone (John 12:24). The principle of the Christian life is a continual letting go of things, allowing them to ‘die’, only to see them resurrected again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether those things are dreams or desires, the principle of the cross (death, burial, resurrection) is a resounding theme in the daily Christian life.

In that context, when you are feeling like God is asking you to surrender something dear to you, when you are in a sense walking through the shadow of death for something that you have hoped for, be comforted in knowing that God is very close to you in those times of surrender and His staff and rod will bring comfort to you. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)

~ Barry Adams

Daily Promise – September 25 – God wants each and every one of us to run into His arms every time we need to be comforted!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Promise #268: I will always be close when you need My comfort.

We all need comfort. When we scraped our knee playing in the backyard, we needed the comfort of a mother or a father to simply hold us and reassure us that everything was going to be okay. When we experience extreme disappointment or the loss of a loved one, words fail… What we need is comfort.

In today’s Bible passage from 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us that God is the Father of mercies (compassion) and the God of ALL comfort. Our God and Father is the source of ALL comfort and He wants us to be comfortable coming to Him to receive comfort whenever we need it.

Since we were created to receive comfort, we will seek it out somewhere. If we don’t receive it from God, we will receive it from other things… Food, material things, false comforts, etc. God wants each and every one of us to run into His arms every time we need to be comforted! As we receive the comfort from His loving arms, we will then be able to be an expression of that same comfort to other people when they need a comforting shoulder to cry on.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promise – September 20 – God’s heart is for the underdog

Isaiah 58:7-8 KJV

7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.


Promise #263: If you help the poor, your light will shine like the dawn.

God’s heart is for the underdog. He protects the widow and the orphan and has chosen the poor of this world to inherit His kingdom. In today’s Scripture promise, God tells us that if we feed the hungry, give the poor shelter and clothe the naked, then His favor and His blessings will shine on all that we do.

The NLT version of Isaiah 58:8 says… “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.”

What a glorious promise! If we look after those who can’t look after themselves, then God will look after us in every way possible. Our wounds will quickly heal, the light of our godliness will lead us forward and the glory of the Lord will protect our backs! God’s heart is for the underdog. In every way, we too are underdogs that God protects and provides for. May we see the world through our Father’s eyes today and see the many opportunities He presents to us so that we can be a blessing to others.

Lord help us today to see the needs around us and be a manifestation of your love, life and provision to those who are in need. Thank you that as we help others, your love and your glory will keep us safe too.

~ Barry Adams

Giving a Gift can Change You!


Is there someone in your life you always seems to rub you the wrong way? Years ago a friend shared three ways to get past the tension and even become a friend to someone you have trouble with.
  1. Pray for them, for God’s blessing and influence.
  2. Do something nice for them.
  3. Give them a gift.  (Even better, do not tell them it is from you.)
There are many verses that speak to these truths;

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Romans 12:20  (the burning coals are a gift, a nice thing.)

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”  Matthew 5:44

 

In stead of avoiding, we engage.

By faith we do the right thing, even if our “feelings” tell us not to and our heart is not in it.

As we invest in people, we begin to value them differently, and only good can come from that.

So take action and see what happens.

Think about it, pray and do something nice.

Bless someone who does not deserve it this week!

(This message is from Planet Ichthus Christian Gifts. I thought it was a great sentiment.)

Rainy Day People: Counseling Others in the Storm | BROKEN BELIEVERS

Rainy Day People: Counseling Others in the Storm | BROKEN BELIEVERS.

Thank you, Bryan. I really appreciated this message. You’re right. Those who do not suffer from depression or a mental disorder, don’t understand. No offense to them. It’s just not possible. They can sympathize, but can’t empathize. My husband and I are both bipolar, borderline personality, and PTSD, to name a few of our disorders. Even though we empathize with each other, so many times we have to pray, hold each other, and let the crisis pass. Lately, I’ve been extremely depressed, and for no apparent reasons. It’s rough. It is a little corner of hell, or maybe a big corner sometimes. I know it’s horrible, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. It’s especially hard when you know that you have absolutely everything in the world, and with God, that a person could ever hope for, and yet, the depression is there, eating your guts out. Thanks for sharing your heart and encouraging others to express and share from theirs.

Daily Promises – September 9 – God has a poor memory

Hebrews 8:12 KJV

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Promise #252: I will forgive your sins and then forget them.

God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. He is all powerful, He is everywhere and He is all knowing. Yet the God who created the heavens and the earth with just the sound of His voice has decided to have a poor memory when it comes to our sin. In today’s promise, God says that He will forgive all of our sin and then forget them.

The One who is limitless in every way, has chosen to intentionally forget every mistake, every failure, every time we have hurt Him and others because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I wonder if I actually live each day in the knowledge that God has forgiven me so completely that He can’t even remember one time when I have sinned.

As Paul the Apostle said, “Do we keep on sinning that grace abound? God forbid!” However, if we allow the full weight of this promise to seep deep into our hearts, we won’t be continually re-counting our sin over and over in our own minds and perhaps in our prayers. Because of our Father’s great mercy, He chooses to forgive and then forget. Let us embrace the words of Paul in Philippians 3:12-14 today and choose to forget the things that God forgets…

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. NIV Bible

~ Barry Adams

Daily Promises – August 26 – You shall obtain mercy if . . .

Matthew 5:7 KJV
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Promise #238: I will show mercy to those who are merciful to others.Even in secular surroundings, there is an often quoted verse from Jesus that we call the ‘golden rule’.

Do unto others as you would like others to do unto you.
Even the world recognizes that this is a universal principle.
Mercy works the same way. There is a promise for mercy for those who are merciful to others.

It is that simple.
How much mercy do I need in my life?
Do I need just a little, or a lot? 
And of course my answer is always…
“I need as much mercy as I can get!”The way that I can walk in mercy (for myself) every day is by simply extending mercy to those around me.

The person who cuts me off when I am driving,
the miserable store clerk,
the friend who might have offended me in some way.
If I forget that I need mercy myself,
I may forget that I need to extend mercy to others. Think of the areas that you need mercy in your own life.

For your shortcomings, for your failures, etc.
Do you want mercy to cover every area where you fall short?
Then shower mercy on others on every occasion
because mercy is receiving something we don’t deserve.We know that God’s love for us is unconditional and we can’t do anything to earn or deserve it.

However, there is a principle in God’s kingdom that is at work
everytime we sow something…
because what we sow, we will eventually reap.
I know that I need mercy today,
so I pray that I will have the wisdom to sow mercy wherever I go!

The Whole Basket « Two Minutes of Grace

The Whole Basket « Two Minutes of Grace.

As usual, Debbie is in tune with the Holy Spirit to offer a new perspective of  how to interpret the scripture. I, for one, really look forward to her messages because they make me think through a lot of my own “misunderstood meanings within the scripture that has haunted me all of my Christian life”. It’s time to open up to a more positive, loving meaning from our Lord. Thanks, Debbie, for your dependence on God to give all of us new insight.

. . . Change Your Life


Posted: 23 Aug 2011 12:00 AM PDT

By Jon Walker

I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again. (John 8:11 TEV)

Grace is meant to justify the sinner — “Go and sin no more.” Grace is never meant to justify our sins — “Everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are.”

In other words, the grace of God is not a cosmic “get out of jail free” card.

Grace is given freely, but it cost Jesus a bloody price to offer it to us: “Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 NLT).

Grace is given freely, but to walk in grace with Jesus will cost us everything as we join Jesus in “the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing” (Ephesians 2:10 MSG).

Jesus rescued the woman caught in adultery from certain death, but his expectation was that her life would change immediately. To return to her old life would have mocked the very grace that Jesus offered her that day.

His expectation of a changed life is no different for us: “Go in my grace, and sin no more.”

Daily Promises – August 20 – In time, God will heal our wounds

Job 5:17-18 KJV

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth:
therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up:
he woundeth, and his hands make whole.


Promise #232: Do not despise My discipline, for in time I will heal your wounds.

You may be reading today’s promise and wonder why I would have ever chosen a Bible passage about discipline and wounding to be part of 365 Promises. We don’t hear too many sermons preached about the discipline of the Lord and if we do, they may be skewed from the perspective of the punishment from an angry God.

When many of us think of the word ‘discipline’, we think of our own life experiences with our parents, teachers, authority figures, etc. This does not usually bring up warm feelings of love and tenderness but feelings of guilt, shame and pain. In Hebrews 12:4-11, the writer encourages us not to despise the Lord’s discipline for God is treating us like His sons. God does not discipline us in anger but in absolute unconditional love.

Every son (or daughter) receives discipline. Receiving discipline is part of the evidence that we do indeed belong to God. The root word of discipline is disciple, which at its heart, is training. God is training us to become like Jesus and walk in His ways. In this Hebrews passage, the writer does acknowledge that no discipline is pleasant at the time, but it results in a harvest of righteousness.

In today’s promise, we have an assurance that though we may be enduring hardship now, there is a promise of healing for all our wounds to come. My prayer is that we would not see God’s discipline through the lens of how we were disciplined by authority figures in our lives. I pray that we would actually value the loving discipline from God and gladly submit to the Father of our spirits so that we can live a full life. (Hebrews 12:9)

~ Barry Adams
Photo by Steve Taylor

 

Daily Promises – August 13 – Forgiveness and healing are among God’s many benefits

Psalm 103:2-3 KJV

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;


Promise #225: Forgiveness and healing are among My many benefits.

When a person is interviewing for a new job, one of the questions that they would typically ask is “Could you tell me about the benefit package for this job?” Different jobs have different benefits. Health care, dental plans, retirement plans, etc. In this promise, David is worshipping God and reminding himself not to forget all of the many benefits that come as part of the package when we are in relationship with God. In verse 3, David declares two of these benefits… Forgiveness and healing.

It is interesting that David needs to remind himself not to forget all God’s benefits. The Lord exhorted the Israelites to not forget all the miraculous things that He had done for them in the past. That is why they created monuments of His goodness and annual feasts… so they would remember and not forget.

In Luke 22:14-20, Jesus shares the passover supper with His disciples and encourages them to remember Him every time they partook of the bread and the wine. It was important to Jesus that His disciples didn’t forget the price that He was going to pay for their complete salvation.  For it is in the remembering of Jesus death, burial and resurrection, that we continue to partake of the fullness of His life. My encouragement to you today is to bless the Lord with all your soul and don’t forget all His many benefits!

~ Barry Adams

Daily Promises – August 14 – Rest in the Lord

 

Psalm 37:7-9 KJV

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.


Promise #226: If you rest in Me and wait patiently, you will inherit the land.

This is a call to rest and wait. In the culture that we live in, these are two of the most difficult things that we can do. Hebrews 4 speaks of a Sabbath rest that God wants us to enter into where we will cease from our own works and enter into God’s rest. While this promise seems simple enough to accomplish, there is something in the human heart that struggles to truly rest. I am not talking about having a siesta or taking a vacation, but a rest in the very core of our hearts where we cease from all striving. 

When we come to the place of learning to rest in the very center of our being, we will cease from our own human initiatives and position ourselves to simply wait for the Lord to work on our behalf. This is not a place of passivity because we have to work at entering into this place of rest. We will only allow ourselves to enter into this place when we are convinced that we no longer have to strive to find acceptance in the loving embrace of our God and Father. 

In my opinion, to truly learn to rest and wait patiently for the Lord is one of the highest forms of trust that we can demonstrate. It is in this place that we realize that we don’t have to protect ourselves, provide for ourselves, initiate for ourselves, etc., because we have a God who is head over heels in love with us and He has promised to work on our behalf. All He asks is that we learn to rest in Him and wait patiently for Him.

Today’s promise says that when we do learn to rest and wait patiently for the Lord, we will inherit the land! Not because of anything that we do, but because of the goodness of our heavenly Dad. May the Holy Spirit show each one of us how we can more fully enter in that place of rest and trust so that we can wait on the Lord and see our inheritance released. 

~ Barry Adams

 

Verse of the Day – August 12 – We are God’s Handiwork

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

Handiwork? What does that mean?

To me, it means that God,

through Christ Jesus,

took special care, time, thought,

to create me.

To fashion me out of the most precious materials

To mold me into a unique shape

To make sure He put me in just the right environment

so that I would grow according to His plan.

He sat, pondering, to give me a special kind of

heart to be receptive to the needs of others

To give me His kind of love, agape, so that

I would have an empathetic touch

and voice to minister to those I meet.

To give me the perfect mate so that I would know

that His love for me would have arms

to hold me,

joy to share with me,

patience to lift me up when I am down,

Unconditional human, yet Godly, love

that would shelter me

through all the storms of life.

To give me a vision for souls

in their lost state

and love to give everyone I meet,

and to help

lead them to His light.

Yes, He thought of all I would need

to go through life here on earth

and He gave me all the tools

to handle the journey

Some didn’t look like they were meant

for me,

but as I am drawn to minister to others

each day,

I realize that being, in the world’s eyes,

flawed,

would be my greatest gift

from my Creator

so that I could feel what they feel,

hurt as they hurt,

walk where they walk,

and know that through my reaching

out,

I have allowed God to use my arms

to wrap

His arms around His children.

a semblance of how

He would wrap His arms around them

if He were here in the flesh.

I am humbled to be

His Handiwork.

~ Sharon Rule

The Answer for Weariness

The teaching I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light. Matthew 11:30

Jesus says he is the solution for weariness of soul.

Go to him. Be honest with him. Admit you have soul secrets you’ve never dealt with. He already knows what they are. He’s just waiting for you to ask him to help . . .

Go ahead. You’ll be glad you did. Those near to you will be glad as well.

~ Max Lucado

Daily Promises – August 6 – Do not be afraid of what others can do to you

Psalm 56:11 KJV
11 In God have I put my trust:
I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

Promise #221: Trust in Me and do not be afraid of what others can do to you.

Fear of man is a powerful debilitating force in our world today. It will keep us from taking risks and it will keep us from being the person God made us to be.

If we are afraid of what others think, or what they will do to us, we are kept in a prison of their control.
God wants us to be free and He does not want us to live in fear.

The only way to deal with fear is to embrace the love that God has for us and allow perfect love to drive all fear away. (1 John 4:19)

Trust is the key. Knowing that our God and Father has our best interests at heart all the time.

In this promise, the psalmist makes a declaration that he will put his trust in God and not be afraid of what man can do to him. May faith rise up in our hearts today and agree with Romans 8:31, where the Apostle Paul declares “If God is for us, who can be against us?”. 

May each one of us grow in the incredible freedom of the children of God that we were intended to walk in and not live the place of being afraid.
Photo by Jeff Epp