Resolution or Restoration?

Resolution or Restoration?

“And be ye kind to one another…” Ephesians 4:32a

It was between Christmas and the New Year. I was praying for the Lord to speak to my heart a word from Him—a specific word and scripture of something he wanted to refine in me in the upcoming year. It’s a tradition the Lord put in my heart to carry over the years, versus having a “resolution”.

Nothing came right away. As I was scrolling through Facebook, a friend had posted her results from a Dayspring quiz she had taken. It was something along the lines of “Find Your word from the Lord that he wants you to know.” I laughed to myself. Right. This social media quiz is going to speak for the Lord. Well….

I took it. I didn’t like the “word” it gave me.

I took it again. Same result.

My “word” was completely different from my friend’s “word,” or the “words” of those who commented their results. I was too embarrassed to publish mine. I even argued with God—and myself—about it.

Then I prayed. Lord, is this what you want to speak to my heart for this New Year? The next day it was confirmed by my husband, who noticed my unkind response to something. He said to me, “You know, I think you need to work on being more kind in your response and delivery.”

I hadn’t said a word to him about that quiz or my petition of the Lord. I looked up at him surprised and shared the details. He said, “You are a friendly, giving person, but being kind is not always a strength that shows when you are annoyed.”

Well, I don’t want that—and neither does God. It was a painful truth, and I had to confess it and get help from the Holy Spirit in order to get it eliminated. I needed him to make me aware of it—to be cautious of my facial expressions and give me self-control over my immediate/knee-jerk responses. Believe me it’s a whole new re-training of self.

Years ago, I used to tell my husband, “This is the way God made me and people have to accept me or not.” Wrong! God made me in his image and, as his child, he wants to restore me to that perfect image.

But I was born into the world where sin—uncorrected bad habits, habits developed in my childhood, learned behavior from influential adult role-models, responses to hurts—in addition to the worldview projected through television, movies, books, etc.—distorted my view of what God has to say.

My being anything but kind and loving, is self-centered not Christ-centered, and it’s sin. It is hurtful, though my heart may or may not intend hurt towards anyone. God is in the business of transforming me from the inside out—into his image—so I can be a sweet aroma of Jesus to those I come into contact with. Its all about him, not me.

This is definitely easier said than done. People often aren’t kind. They are rude, they are invasive, self-focused.

“I am not meant to be a doormat,” was another response I found myself repeating. However, I can show kindness simply by being quiet and let God work out a matter. After all, he is much better at it than I am.

He does not expect me to be trampled upon as a door mat. There are times when I must speak up for the truth itself, or on behalf of those who are oppressed, but it requires not being mean-spirited. It requires going to him with my thoughts, emotions and motives—and applying his truth-filter on all given matters (1 Corinthians 10:5).

After confessing and handing over this area to the Lord, I asked him to show me practical ways to accomplish this kindness thing. He whispered another word to my heart. “Pause”. If I would just “pause” before responding— tap into him and hear the Holy Spirit speak to my heart—then I could avoid being misread or misunderstood and I would not respond in an ungracious manner with sharp words.

It’s true, the world is filled with lots of sinners like us—so unpleasant at times. We aren’t being the “sweet aroma of Jesus” when we are the “correction police” and do not extend kindness, graciousness, long suffering, mercy, and patience (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Some people are just difficult to be around. That’s when we can “pause”—however long that pause needs to be—to get us into a right place about the situation. A pause gives us time to ask God to speak his truth to our hearts. We can take the time to find three things about that difficult person for which we can thank God, and have his heart towards that individual.

So, as I was asking God if he brought that quiz to my attention, he immediately gave me some scripture to back it up. (Always ask Him for confirmation. That way you are 100% sure its not you talking—its him.)

“ Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered; does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

God is still perfecting this area in my life. He is constantly teaching and revealing to me those things he wants to sanctify in me. It’s a matter of surrendering our hearts wholly over to his Lordship, so he can do that restoration in our lives.

In closing, he revealed to me how blessed I am to have so many beautifully kind sisters in Jesus to learn and glean from. Their influences in my life have made a big impact. Be sure to surround yourself with other women who are stronger in those areas in which you see yourself as weak.

by Coleen Jejeran, Missionary to Romania

Free From Busy-ness

Free From Busy-ness

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 3:15

Thanksgiving has passed, and Christmas is fast approaching. It is a time that should be used for quiet contemplation and thanksgiving for all we have and who we are in Christ. It is a time to examine in awe and wonder what Jesus was willing to do for the world. Unfortunately, it seems to be a time of frenzied shopping and doing--Christmas trees, decorating, going to Christmas teas and parties. We don’t necessarily want it to be that way, but somehow, a bit of this will sneak into our hearts and then into our lives.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8

Remember when you first came to the Lord--how passionate you were about Him--and about His Word (the Bible)? You’d wake up with worship songs in your head, You wanted to tell everyone about Jesus and how to get saved. But at this time of the year, you find yourself waking up worried about work, school, finances, and dinner. Are you like me in feeling that if one more person says ‘Happy Holidays,’ you’re going to barf? Are you more worried about what to give for Christmas than what was given for you?

CHRIST HAS COME

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:7

Christmas is coming, and our Saviour Jesus is still just as close to us as when we became His. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can take us out of His hands or heart. Nothing can change the fact that
     He came as an infant
          vulnerable to sickness, weariness, cold and heat...
          to be tempted as we are and yet without sin.

     He came as a man
          to heal the sick,
          give hope to the downcast,
          sight to the blind and
          life to the dead.

     He came and was betrayed
          by someone He called friend,
          to hang on the cross
          to be crushed by the weight of our sin
          to be separated from His Father.
          His hands, feet and His brow, still scarred for you, for me, for the world.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Isaiah 9:2

Join me in finding the wonder of when we discovered the love of our Saviour. Before you worry about the gifts or the parties, or the dinners, the lack of money or time, the busyness of the ‘season’, remember how wonderful it feels knowing you are free. Free from eternal damnation, free of condemnation, free from guilt and from worry. We are free from the trappings of a world that makes Thanksgiving Day into Turkey Day and CHRISTmas into X-mas!

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!” Psalms 100:4

Let us praise Him.

Please join me and praise Him. Look to the star--the bright Morningstar, the KING of Kings and of angels and of you and of me. He already knows where you’ve been and what has happened. He's opening His arms wide to draw you close…again.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

Christmas is soon upon us and a New Year will closely follow. Remember that every day is one more day to thank God in Heaven above for the Gift that just keeps on giving. Thank Him, because what He takes away, we don’t really need or want anyway!

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

by Eve Montano

Perspective: The Grateful Heart

Perspective: The Grateful Heart

“Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1

Material things—perhaps one of the most distracting elements of this world. The decisions we make, the places we work, the time we spend... so much is centered around material gain. Our present day and age constantly feeds the idea that success equals the accumulation of things. It’s sad to think how much our focus has wandered from what’s important to what is superficial.

It’s not often that we really think about what we have, and rarely do we appreciate it. In fact, I think we get so used to all the blessings we have that we expect them—maybe even consider them a necessity.

I speak from experience. I can’t count on all my fingers how many times I’ve laid in bed at night with one nostril plugged—reminiscing on all the times I took untroubled breathing for granted—thinking, “If only this one nostril wasn’t plugged I would be thankful.” LOL. And then I wake up with my sinus troubles gone, and I don’t even think twice about it. Little do I know, as I lie awake quietly complaining about my annoying plugged nostril, someone else lay awake in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube flowing air into both nostrils to keep them alive. These things are all about perspective.

There’s a frequently quoted question (I believe by Max Lucado) that always causes me to assess my attitude of thankfulness: “What if you woke up this morning and had only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” More often than not, I’d be left with little to nothing.

In life, we go through loss. But from the limited years of life I’ve experienced so far, I’ve learned that in order to lose something, you had to have it in the first place. For instance, this year will be my family’s first Thanksgiving without my grandpa. It will be hard, and it will never be quite the same again. However, I know my family wants to spend this holiday remembering all the funny things he would say, the strong—yet soft—embrace he always gave so generously, and the way he loved us through to his last days. I was inexpressibly blessed to have such an amazing man as my grandfather, and that’s what I actively choose to thank God for.

Not only does loss indicate the fact that we had something, but there are more blessings surrounding us every day which go unnoticed. If we have food to eat, water to drink, the very breath in our lungs, we have something to be thankful for.

Most of us also have an abundance of unnecessary things that keep us entertained, educated, safe, and much more. In addition, many of our daily experiences are blessings that go unnoticed.

One of my favorite characteristics of God is that He is so personal. He knows exactly how to bless us, and—he wants to. I remember specifically one day last year when I was in Ireland. I was sitting on a stone wall with someone who is now like a sister to me. We were looking over a beautiful green hill that led down to a sparkling lake. I was admiring the beauty of it when all of a sudden a group of horses—my absolute favorite animal—came running over. All this was happening just as the sun was beginning to set, casting vivid colors over the clouds (sunsets are another one of my absolute favorite things).

I found myself getting teary-eyed thinking about how well my Lord knows me. He knew exactly what would be perfect to bless me in that moment. I don’t think I will ever forget that day, because I felt such a sweet and special connection with Abba.

He is personal, and so many of the little, insignificant things you encounter throughout your day—things that make you happy—are gifts from Him. Try to spot them when they come! It makes life so much more colorful and beautiful.

So this Thanksgiving, I challenge myself, and I challenge you, to think about what you may take for granted—the everyday things. Or the big things! Anything that you may be so used to, you just expect it. Anything that may seem inconsequential, but could be blessings going unnoticed. If you are experiencing loss, let yourself mourn, but let yourself also revel in the fact that you had something to begin with.

Let’s ask the Lord to open our eyes to the many blessings and abundance of things that are there simply to remind us that God loves us. He loves you so tenderly, so purely, so beautifully. Nothing in this world could be more valuable than that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

by Kaylee Kissack

Thankful Hearts

Thankful Hearts

“With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6b

Sometimes in reading Scripture, it’s the little words that capture my attention.

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (CEV):

Did you spot with and then? Paul speaks a powerful truth to me here in Philippians 4. He tells us that a thankful heart, anchored in Jesus, is the gateway to a peaceful spirit. What a beautiful promise. Gratitude on my part is honored by the Lord; it is he who supplies incomprehensible peace to my thankful heart.

John Ortberg says, “Gratitude is the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all his other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food.“

There is an old movie that I love. It’s a Civil War drama called Shenandoah. In it, Jimmy Stewart plays a widowed father of a large farm family. He is a man with a keen sense of self-sufficiency. At the beginning of the film, he prays before each meal (because his wife made him promise to do so before she died), but it is a pretty testy prayer. “Lord, we cleared this land, we plowed it, we planted it, we harvested the crops, and we fixed the food. We worked till we were dog-boned-tired. None of this would be here if it weren’t for us, but thank you anyway. Amen.”

Then the war comes. He loses everything. His family is ripped apart. Brothers fight against brothers. He suffers the loss of two sons. His youngest son, who reminds him so much of his wife, is carried off as a prisoner of war and lost to him for many years.

Deep into the war, the remnant of the family gathers around the table for a meal. Jimmy starts to pray the old prayer, “Lord, we cleared this land, we plowed it . . . “ but he chokes up and can’t go on. Suffering and loss—he is heartbroken, no longer feeling self-sufficient.

Ironically, it is loss and pain that open the door to gratitude. Toward the end of the story, against all hope, Stewart is sitting in church when his youngest son comes home to him, limping down the aisle. And they stand and sing together, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . . “

Stewart’s character comes to realize something powerful…in spite of circumstances, it’s really all a gift. His life was a gift. His children were gifts. The seeds…and earth…and rain…and sun…and growth were gifts. His work was a gift. Life itself was a gift. And God graced him with one more incredible gift—the capacity for gratitude.

The Lord likewise graced the apostle Paul.

“… for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
Philippians 4:11

Gratitude comes from the same word as freedom (gratis = free). Gratitude is the freeing expression of a free heart toward the One who freely gave, says Ravi Zacharias. A free heart and a peaceful heart—because we belong to Jesus and are thankful.

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.”
Psalm 107:8-9

by Connie Grosse

His Beloved

His Beloved

…stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” Philippians 4:1

As I begin to read the Apostle Paul’s final words to the church at Philippi, my heart swells. I take a deep breath, attempting to slow the pounding of my heart. But I cannot restrain the stirring within me. It is the Holy Spirit. He presses me—“Stop here. Stay in this place for a while.”

“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” Philippians 4:1

My eyes open wide to such great grace bestowed upon Paul. This man, who once persecuted those who loved Jesus unto their death, begins chapter 4 with undeniable affection for such believers.

In context, it is overwhelmingly evident he had taken on the very nature of the persecuted Christ-follower himself, imprisoned for the very thing he—in times past—self-righteously abhorred and rejected.

I read and reread the words of Paul, once called Saul, who believed the slaying of Stephen—and others like him—to be righteous. Those truth-telling lovers of Jesus the Nazarene—blasphemers of the highest rank—were his enemies. And everyone knew it.

But here in verse one, Paul calls people like Stephen his.

He writes, “my beloved brethren”…“my”…“mine”…”you are mine”.

I feel a lump surface in my throat and I close my eyes. I imagine this man chained to a Roman guard, with tears in his eyes. Not for himself, for them—his brothers and sisters in Christ. The people he once condemned he now shared such glorious affections.

I imagine him thinking on what is true and honorable, right and pure, lovely and admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. The promises of knowing Jesus Christ were such as these things—and Christ Jesus himself—full of truth and reverence, righteous and perfect, acceptable and pleasing, gracious, virtuous, good, and worthy of all praise.

And I imagine him thinking such will be Christ’s Bride, his beloved, divinely loved by God’s Beloved Son.

How can I bring myself to read past this powerful display of heavenly love and ownership? Paul says, “you, my beloved,” and I am undone.

Why?

Because a sinful hater of God’s true children—a hater of even God himself—now displays the miraculous with all the love of Jesus Christ—loving Jesus to the point of dying to self.

That, my friends, is the epitome of the handiwork of grace.

And that is my story—once a hater, now a lover. Only Jesus. Only the Cross. Rejoice!

“In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people” Isaiah 28:5

by Dana Lange