Seek First

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:33-34

 If I'm seeking anything else first other than His Kingdom, and His will, then it's easy to become anxious about tomorrow. It's easy to become anxious about today as well. Why? Because my thoughts are on me or what's in "my kingdom". But if I seek His Kingdom, I know that He is ahead of me and knows what will come my way and He holds me still. 

It's only through seeking His kingdom first that I can recognize the blessings He gives me. Then I, in turn, am free to be a blessing to others. 

As we do verse 33 (seek first God...) then we have His grace to do verse 34 (do not be anxious).

by Janine Alvarado, Missionary to Japan

Editor's Note: Please keep Janine and family in prayer. Janine is scheduled to deliver baby #2 by Caesarean Section on February 9th.

Good Father

You're good, Dear Father, 
You are the only One good.

You are good always, Dear Father,
Even in the midst of bad;
Many storms and trials of this life
That Your precious children have.

Sometimes things can look desperate, 
But we will never despair, 
Because You are always good to us
And we know that You really do care. 

So whatever come what may
Is fine,
We will trust in You
And abide in the vine. 

Your ways are always perfect, 
Your Word is always true, 
You work All for good, Dear Father,
For those who belong to You. 

You call us Your beloved people,
You keep all our prayers in a bowl,
You give us JESUS Christ forever,
You have claimed our heart and soul! 

The blood of the Lamb, our righteousness,
And the testimony of His chosen, His saints
Crush every bond of slavery,
And break every strong hold and chain.  

This is our LORD, 
He defeated the grave!

Your love is wild, Almighty God,
Your peace is truly unreal;
We reject the poison of the liar
Who only destroys, kills, and steals. 

You are for us, our Great Defender,
Who can come against?
You go before us, our God, and make a way,
Guiding by Your loving hand. 

You know our frame, Dear Father,
We'd be sinless if we could;
But until that day of deliverance,
Whatever hurts or seems unfair,
We trust in Your unfailing love,
Your praise we will declare! 

You're good, Dear Father, 
You are the only One good.

by Dana Lange

Let Peace Reign

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. AND BE THANKFUL."  Colossians 3:15

I wake up most days with five things on my mind as soon as I open my eyes. Before I leave the house there may be an additional five or ten more things. Busy, distracted and unfocused my mind fills with worry about this possibility or admonishing myself because of that thing I forgot to do.

I sat this morning with my Bible, pen, journal and blanket – my favorite position to hear from God - and I wrote “Dear Lord, I want to stop this Merry Go Round I’m on but I don’t know how.” Am I alone in feeling this way? The answer to my prayer was this section of scripture.

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. AND BE THANKFUL."  Colossians 3:15

True peace comes only through Jesus. It is the kind of peace that slows down that out of control feeling and, as it slows it down,  the attitude of my heart must be thankful. I read on:

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with THANKFULNESS in your heats to God."  Colossians 3:16

Like a cooling rain or a soothing balm, the words of scripture refresh and renew. The natural reaction is a heart that becomes thankful for this respite and then worships and praises Jesus our Lord.

As I thanked God out went the anxiousness of trying to be everything for everybody. Out went the confusion of complicated relationships. In came thankfulness, compassion and forgiveness. Above all, the love of God was poured into me so I can start today with:
First – Jesus Christ
Second – His word
Third – forgiveness
Fourth – thanksgiving
Last, but by no means least - 
In came the overflowing love of God that is with me whether I’m spinning around like a top, dizzy with exhaustion, or sitting and resting at His feet.

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."  Colossians 3:14

Let the Lord save you from the overabundance of triviality and noise in your life. Give the Lord the mess of superficial banalities that dulls our senses to what is truly important and can send our lives spinning. Let His word heal you, bring back into focus what is really important and don’t forget to be thankful.

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving THANKS to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

by Eve Montano

 

Light On The Path

Like a bull in a china shop she bumbled around trying to get her footing. Different thoughts and emotions wrestled in her mind. 

“Yay! A new beginning! New people to befriend!" Then she thought, “I can share all the Lord has shown me!” Her smile widened as she thought “I will find a new friend.” It was that last thought that took root immediately. She prayerfully asked "who will it be?”

But she rushed headlong into the crowd trying too hard. Invisible walls started to come up. BAM- she ran into the first one. BOOM - she hit the next. After that she withdrew, hurt and afraid.

She spent the night praying. In the morning she heard, “Ease back my child. I’ll show the way and I know your heart’s desire.” She looked around and saw some of the damage she had done. Dutifully she obeyed and backed off.

"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."  Luke 6:36

She read this verse at a time when the waiting had started to simmer into hurt and then into a little anger. “Why must it be me, Lord?”  Silence was the answer. Grudgingly she acquiesced. “Okay Lord, Your way not mine – I get that.”

She found solace in the Bible and through His word understanding came. Kindness/mercy is given in LOVE. It is free of strings or conditions - the giver must die to hurts and slights. It cannot have an agenda, because then it would be self-serving. It must be free of expectations, fear of rejection or preconceived notions. Mercy must be looked at in the eternal, just as Jesus Christ has mercy on us. 

"The LORD is merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." Psalm 103:8

She whispered this verse as a prayer asking, “My Savior and Lord change my heart to reflect You. Help me to stop barging into situations and people. Gentle my heart.”

“Baby steps, Daughter,” came the response, “allow them the chance to get to know you.”  Life’s lessons are sometimes hard taught. She is learning one step at a time to allow God's Light to illuminate the way.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105

Are any of you like me, that "bull in a china shop"? We want to love others and share Jesus and sometimes we power our way into things, bowling over everything or anyone in the way of our exuberance. Learning to tone that down is hard – getting people to understand is harder still – but God has use for people like us. Remember Peter?

One quality of the Love which is mentioned as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 is gentleness. That is one which God will work out in our lives. Allow Him to do it. I can’t tell you that it won’t hurt because sometimes it does, but the end result is worth it.

by Eve Montano

Unexpected Gift From the Lord

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

I love when God gives me a special moment, revealing He is Immanuel "God with me" and reminding me of how much He loves me. Last night was one of those moments, and when I told JeJe that I was gonna cry (with tears swelling) - he said, "go ahead and cry" (oh, I sure do love him).

We were down to unpacking the last of the boxes following our move from Cluj. Our entire kitchen was all that remained. Up to then we had been "camping," waiting for the electric stove and the rest of the kitchen to be set up. (Our books and knick-knacks were to be unpacked today.)

Elli came down after school to help me with all the kitchen items. As we progressed in unpacking we came upon this cube shaped, beat up, brown cardboard box with "Coleen Dishes" written on it.  

The only dishes I own are some Corelle and some other everyday ones I picked up at a sale in a market here (which is more than many others have). Apparently I had a puzzled look on my face as I opened the box.  JeJe said, "those are your dishes". I just looked at him.

At this point, I need to repeat how thankful I am to God for my husband and children. My Mom went to Jesus when I was 16 and I was sent to live with family members who ended up (over the years) pushing me out of the family for reasons of personal gain. There have been lots of hurtful Christmases in the past. JeJe's parents split when he was 3 months old, and he was raised by his grandma and aunt who are both now deceased. So...our little family unit means the world to both of us, and we have started our own family traditions.

This Christmas, we are in a new home, in a place where God said "Go and I will bring beauty for ashes and joy for mourning" (Isaiah 61). He has spoken to our hearts to love those here as He has loved us. Now, back to this banged up brown box. I had forgotten all about it. JeJe told me in the past about it, but I wasnt sure what it was he was talking about. It had been packed away for over 5 years in our last house. We didnt have a cabinet for it so I never saw it. In fact, I had forgotten about it. The box had been delivered over seven years ago by a family member. At the time we lived in a small place that didn't have much storage and we were preparing to move to Romania, so it remained unpacked..and unremembered.

Last night I opened it for the first time. Everything in it was wrapped carefully with packing paper. This box has made it across the seas on a ship, through the Panama Canal, on a truck from Germany - to this place, for this moment....

The box contained my mother's china dinner settings along with some of her Waterford water goblets! I gasped and the tears came. Aren't they perfectly beautiful? My greatest memories of her are her joy (she had a great sense of humor and a lot of friends), and her love of Jesus (I often awoke to find her reading from her Bible each morning).

God blessed my heart with this moment. He let me know, in a tangible way, that He sees me, knows my heart, and loves me so very much.

My parents were married in California in 1965, so this china has been through two major earthquakes in the San Fernando area (1971 and 1994). Some pieces were lost, but nine main course dishes and 9 dessert plates remain. I love making delicious desserts for my family. There are only four of us, so I am looking forward to the future to see who will be using the other five plates.

There are only two tea cups left. I think they will be perfect for JeJe and me to enjoy a hot drink together through this coming year.

All this a reminder, that God sees (El Roi) and gave us "Immanuel" (Jesus) to reach down between us and Him - and, if we are willing to take time to pause and draw near ("preparing Him room") - He wants (waits) to meet us in very tangible ways.

Christmas 2016 - an extra special Christmas. A prelude to God's awesome work in 2017.

by Coleen Jejeran, Missionary to Romania