Real Faith Is For Real Life

"For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete,needing nothing." James 1:3-4

"Do you really have to mash it behind your head like that?"

"Please! Don’t use the pillow as a food tray."

"I beg you, don’t put the pillow between your legs. Fabrics absorb smells, sweetie."

"Seriously, who thought it was OK to put a muddy cleat here?"

"Why is Every. Single. Pillow. On the floor?"

I’m dying.

I’ve been drooling over extraordinary pillows for the past year. Yes, there is such a thing as extraordinary pillows. They live at Anthropology, where it smells like a magical forest.

I want them. However, they’re a gazillion dollars.

You can’t always get what you want.

Target came to the rescue with some adorable Anthro knock-offs.  So, for Mother’s Day, I pointed them out as, "this would be a great gift from the kiddos" (wink wink).

I see them enthroned on my stained, 11-year-old couch, and smile. They’re pretty. It’s simple as that.

Or is it?

These lovely pillows have awakened some alternate Type A personality in me.

My poor family. Relaxing is no longer allowed. It might disturb the decorative pillows.

I’m being ridiculous. What’s the point of having pillows, if I’m worried they’ll be ruined at the slightest touch?

I’ve found myself asking the same question about my faith. What’s the point of claiming faith, if I’m too afraid it will fall apart when life leans hard against it?

Sometimes I view my faith as decorative. I can admire how lovely it sits on the throne of my existence. However, when the big, dirty cleats of life tread on it, my shoulders tighten. Deep down I question, "will this destroy my faith?" And--if it does--what does that mean about God?

In the moments when I’ve dared to pick up my faith, stomp on it, wrestle it, punch it with questions and bitterness, I’ve realized…

Real faith, is for real life.

And real life doesn’t smell like Anthropoligie. God doesn’t want us to be afraid to throw all our junk at it full force. The faith he gives is not a cheap knock off. It’s the real deal.

Paul tells us,

‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed’.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

If we’re taking our faith along for the ride, it will endure the same refining.

I’ve fallen face first into my faith and sobbed. I’ve thrown it powerfully against my closet doors and cursed it as a liar. But the real lie is in thinking broken faith isn’t fixable.

I’ve lifted my faith up to the Lord--tattered, dirty, horribly misshapen with stuffing pouring out at every ripped seam. I’ve felt ashamed, like a little girl who ruined her new doll by leaving it in the rain.

Look what I’ve done to the gift you gave me, Father. I took it out in the storm with me. Look at this mess…

His eyes are on me.

Sweet girl, I knit you together in your mother’s womb. I can knit your faith back together, too.

And He always does. His healing fabric is durable, His stitch is solidly perfect. He knew the whole time that the testing of my faith would produce perseverance in me. (James 1:3)

I am weak. My God is strong. When I offer Him my feeble faith, HE strengthens it.

Maybe there’s just a frayed corner that remains of your faith. That’s OK. He just needs faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains in your life. (Matthew 17:20)

We must approach God with our brokenness, so we experience him as Healer.

After the battle, our faith proves to be the comforting truth we rest our heart upon at the end of the day.

by Jenna Masters

 

 

 

Prayer

"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. my voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:1-3

What is prayer? Do we close our eyes and make a wish... 
as if God were a genie in a bottle or Santa Claus... 
as if waiting for Him to grant our three wishes and to be at our beck and call? 
I don’t think so.     

Webster’s Dictionary:
Pray: entreat, implore, often used as a function word in introducing a question, request, or plea.
Prayer: an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought.

The Holman Bible Dictionary:
Prayer - Dialogue between GOD and people

I love to talk with my husband and children.  I communicate with them to exchange information. I learn how their day was. I get their opinions, and find out their plans for the future. When we share, it also makes me feel closer to them--I better understand their needs and wants. But, most importantly, it lets me become part of their lives. There is an intimacy that comes from sharing our day with each other.

God knows all things. You may wonder why we have to tell Him anything. He is ‘God’ right?  Yes, but intimacy with Him comes through sharing--being thankful for His presence--letting Him know our fears and our need to be comforted. Jesus loves us and wants to be part of our lives.

Prayer is intimate, personal and needed. Like any good parent longing to know their children better, Abba Father longs for conversations with us.

God wants to talk to us, as well. It’s not a one way conversation. God talks to us through His word (the Bible), advice from a trusted friend or a Pastor. He will and does communicate with us one on one--if we listen--in the quietness of our hearts. I will never forget the first time I heard Him call me ‘daughter’. 

We share with our friends, husbands, children, parents, etc...  Why not share with the One who made us?  

Jesus said this about prayer: 

"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!
Matthew 6:7-8

by Eve Montano

 

Choose This Day

"But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

In Chapters 23 and 24 we read Joshua's final instructions and farewell messages to the people he had led for so long. He was now one-hundred-ten-years-old and approaching death. It was his last chance to encourage them to "get it right." He reminded them God chose them even before Abram followed Him from Haran.

"The LORD had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:1-3

He rehearsed for them the history of the nation's relationship with the LORD their God. He implored them to be faithful to the One who had always been faithful to keep His promises.

"So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left. Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them. Rather, cling tightly to the LORD your God as you have done until now."
Joshua 23:6-8

The people listened to Joshua warn them of the consequences of turning away from God. Twice, the people vowed they would follow the LORD and serve Him only.

"You are a witness to your own decision,' Joshua said. 'You have chosen to serve the LORD.' 'Yes,' they replied, 'we are witnesses to what we have said.' 'All right then,' Joshua said, 'destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.' Joshua 24:22-23

Sin was already drawing them away. They had begun intermarrying with the inhabitants of the land, bringing their idols into their tents and worshiping them. The sin nature has a tenacious hold over mankind.

Until Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin at Calvary, we were captives to the reign of the sinful nature over us. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans:

"...The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway." Romans 7:14b-19

Can you relate? I know I can.

"I have discovered this principle of life--that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 7:21-25a

Caught between wanting to do good yet bowing to sin--what a miserable, depressing condition. But, when Jesus came into our lives, He not only set us free from the hold of sin over each one of us, He gave us His Holy Spirit to make us able to follow through on our choice to live righteously.

"But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)" Romans 8:9

So, dear sisters, we, too have a choice to make. Whose nature will we follow? The righteous nature of Jesus living within us or the nature of sin inherited from Adam? The choice is ours. Who will we serve? May we all, with the help of the Holy Spirit, proclaim...

"But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15b

by Marilyn Allison

 

 

Preschool Preparation in Japan--My Part Time Job

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Editor's Note: Our missionary family to Japan, the Alvarados, recently enrolled their four year-old daughter, Rosalyn, in the education system in Japan. This is a reminder of what our missionaries face when living and serving in another culture. Please continue to lift them up in prayer. So much that we take for granted can be a major hurdle in another country.

I stood in front of the rack of plastic-wrapped packages, one hand on my forehead, one holding the open book in front of me.  I glanced up and studied the rack.  I looked back down and studied the book.

Five minutes later, the scene was the same, only my kiddos were nearing the end of their patience.  I looked around and spotted a lady with an elementary-aged kid.

“Excuse me.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t work here.”

“I know, but you have a kid."  [awkward pause] "Can you help me?”

I had a whole list of things to buy. Some of the packages looked like they might match the pictures in my book, but without labels, I couldn’t confirm. Everything made sense to all the Japanese moms, who knew instinctively what they were, but I was at a loss as to why I needed so many separate bags.  On some of them, the measurements and shapes mattered.  Some didn’t.

I bought what I could confirm I needed and texted my neighbor on the walk home.  A few days later, she helped me figure out all I would need, what fabrics were used for what types of bags, and where I could pinch pennies and just get supplies at the dollar store.

Gee whiz!  The next couple of weeks were spent at the sewing machine we borrowed, sewing labels onto my kid’s uniforms. Even her socks, shoes and undergarments needed her name written on them.  The socks (I was advised to go with dark colors) needed a special white oil pen and were best written on the arch of the foot. Because the writing wears off easily, I was warned I’d be doing this forever.

After adjusting the sleeves on her uniform jacket multiple times, I finally called it a season and started to put away the pile that had become “school stuff”.

I began to look to the Entrance Ceremony.  I was expected to wear a 'first-lady looking suit,' with a corsage.   Spring colors are chic for entrance ceremonies while black is better for graduations.  (Store that somewhere in my mental file cabinet of pertinent particulars.) My husband would need a suit and tie for the occasion.  I added these things to my checklist.  Incidentally, I just learned that the corsage is not a real flower but a fake flowery thing--most of them too phoo-phoo for me.

I sat with a lady from church who went through our instruction booklet with me--every single page.

“On Mondays, you’ll take all these bags.  You put this, this, and that in this bag and the rest go in that bag.  On Wednesdays, the towels (with the little loop you sewed to the center) will come home; wash it and send another back on Thursdays. 

School lunch is Monday, Wednesday and Fridays; you pack a lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Still, go ahead and send the cup/bag each day because the kids get thirsty.

Notes home from the teacher will come in this pocket.  Check it everyday. You can send notes to the teacher in the same pocket on this type of paper. Don’t call the school except for X, Y or Z reasons. 

The school will withdraw the money from your account right around the first of the month, so make sure it’s deposited.”

The specifications went on and on.

Thankfully, in all this process, it’s been so wonderful to have a lady from our church and my next-door neighbor to help answer the many questions I come up with.

This morning, I spent 30 minutes searching in near panic for one of the pins I’m supposed to put on her jacket. I stopped, prayed, and happened to look down at the book and read right at the spot where it said I would receive this pin at the entrance ceremony.

Whew.  Did I mention I had a dream--sometime in February--that it was the first day of school and I had done none of these preparations and my kid was the only one standing out completely unprepared?

Yeah, I had that dream.  It was occasioned by a note in the instruction booklet which said kids experience a terrible shock when they realize they don’t have what they need and everyone else does--so please be careful to make sure you prepare your child well.

Yeah.

Well, I think we are all ready for tomorrow.  Rosalyn certainly is, and I think that’s the main point.  After months of preparation, I think we’re ready to embark on this first leg of the journey that is full-time school life in Japan.

by Janine Alvarado, CCEA Missionary to Japan

Unity

"But while they were still in Canaan and when they came to a place called Geliloth near the Jordan River, the men of Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh stopped to build a large and imposing altar. The rest of Israel heard that the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar at Geliloth at the edge of the land of Canaan, on the west side of the Jordan River. So the whole community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against them." Joshua 22:10-12

The warriors of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had received Joshua's blessing for a job well done (their seven-plus-year commitment to assist the other tribes in claiming their land of promise). They were on their way home--to the east side of the Jordan. Before they reached the river, it was decided to erect a huge monument they called "Ed." The Hebrew meaning is witness, testimony, evidence. 

The motivation for building the altar was fear. As they marched toward the Jordan, a gnawing doubt, a "what if," began to build. What if someday the children of Israel forget our joint lineage to Jacob and deny us the right to come back and take part in the sacrifices and offerings to our LORD God? They weren't even out of Canaan before fear and doubt began to divide the nation. They doubted their brethren and feared they'd be excluded. And the rest of the tribes? They heard a rumor and believed the worst of their kinsmen.

What bothers me most about this development is that, after all they've gone through--all the years of learning the blessings of the LORD for seeking Him and the consequences for doing what was right in their own eyes--neither side sought the LORD before acting. We shake our heads and think, "tsk-tsk, they should have known better."

But, are we any different? Do we jump to conclusions and act on what we've heard without bothering to check it out with the LORD? Do we follow what we think is a good idea, without getting wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit? Are we quick to see a lack in a sister's attitude and excuse any lack in our own lives? Has someone hurt our feelings, or--worse yet--have we hurt someone by repeating a piece of information to someone else that should have been offered in prayer for the Father's ears only?

We all have the same Savior, Jesus Christ. He paid the same price for each one of us. The number and degree of our sins doesn't determine the price. He paid everything for all of us with His life. The same Savior paying the same price makes us one. We have all been loved with the same love by this same Jesus.

"But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-6

The unity in the body of Christ should be our "Ed." The motive for our witness, our testimony, is Love.

"This is real love--not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us." 1 John 4:10-12

His love brought to full expression in us...love toward one another.

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance...love will last forever!." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

This is the love that should be our testimony, our witness to the world. Yet, how many times do we see Christians condemning other believers for something they have said--for an opinion they hold that might be controversial? Do you read comments on Facebook, especially in Christian Groups? Have you taken note of the comments flinging back and forth about the latest rumor from the White House? About the First Family? Did any of you watch the Royal Wedding and hear the sermon about love? The ceremony was barely over when the first negative comments appeared. It made me wonder, did anyone listen to the truth presented in the hymns? The sermon? Unfortunately, this is no longer the exception. Tearing down someone else, even a believer, has become the new normal.

What are we to do? I suggest we ask the LORD to turn His spotlight on our hearts. Ask Him to expose any hypocrisy in our heart attitudes, then repent and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in the ways that please and glorify God. Let's take a bath in the Word of God for it is...

"...alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires." Hebrews 4:12

When we hear something and we are tempted to take on the heavy weight of a negative response, let's consult God and learn what He would have us do.

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8

These are the guidelines we should follow. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love and virtue. When we consult Him first, we won't fall prey to rumors, doubts and fear. We won't start a civil war in the body of Christ. We'll build each other up in His most Holy Love...and the world will see that we are united.

by Marilyn Allison