Applause from Heaven

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

Last night, I went to a work…let’s see what shall I call it?…’bonus party’. Dinner. Thing. I work for a multi-billion dollar, world-wide company who, unlike many in today’s economy, is making money and hiring more people, not laying them off. We reached a goal and so a vice president, marketing director, and regional director came into town and hosted a dinner, provided a DJ, and gave away some nice door prizes. There were many minutes of applause for a job well done.

Applause is an audio manifestation of approval. We grow up looking for approval. I don’t remember the day I took my first steps but if my parents were anything like I was with my children – they went berserk and so I found out that if I was ‘good’ I would receive applause. I liked applause!

If I listen, God applauds. To some that may be an uncomfortable thought. Well, maybe thinking that God pats you on the back is better. Or – He gives a ‘thumbs up’! God is my Father. He watches me every day take baby steps of faith on new ground. And when I keep my eyes on Him and trust Him and obey Him to take those steps, God does approve!

So – for which applause will I be listening? John states it as which will I love – the world or the Father? The Sunday School answer is a no-brainer but what do my daily thoughts and actions reflect? When I am talking with my co-workers do I laugh when they make fun of each other or a customer or do I do as Jesus would do? Is my spirit open to the opportunities to ‘give’ beyond the basics of my job, truly being Jesus’ ambassador?

My Father has loved me and encouraged me to grow up. In that maturing, I can tell Him that more than any applause I want to build a legacy of faith. Long after I am gone from this job, long after I am gone from this world, I pray that those whom I leave behind will remember not me – but the Jesus I love and my God that I desire to glorify.

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Rescued to the Wilderness

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Henry Neufeld

4They left Mt. Hor by way of the Red Sea so as to go around the land of Edom.  The people got discouraged because of the route.  5And the people spoke against God and against Moses.  They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to die in the desert.  There’s no food and there’s no water!  We’re completely tired of this lousy bread.  — Numbers 21:4-5

[This is Henry.]

Did you ever ask you parents for help with your homework when you were younger?  How did it go?  My parents were both teachers part of their careers.  What I wanted in terms of help was the answer.  What they would provide was some suggestions on how to find the answer.  It seemed like such a long way around when I knew that they knew precisely what the answer was.

The Israelites may have felt that way as well.  They wanted to get out of slavery.  Now their idea of the way that should go was that God would take care of the Egyptians and then clear a path for them to wander casually into the land of Canaan and take possession.

It must have been a bit disappointing.  If God had promised it, and God was going to give it, just what was all this running around the desert all about.

So they get to the point of complaining.  “God, why did you bring us out of Egypt?  We may have had to work day and night, we may have been beaten from time to time, but we had enough to eat and a reasonable life expectancy.  Here we might die any time, and it’s not a pleasant death.”

What about Jesus?  He is baptized and then driven out into the desert.  “Jesus!  You’re my Son.  I’m pleased with you.  Now go starve for 40 days and let the devil try to beat you up.”

“Thanks Lord!”

Does your life ever feel like that?  Do you ask God to get you out of the frying pan only to see the fire all around you?

I have good news and bad news:  We are interested in comfort, but God is interested in character.

Just like the Israelites as they left Egypt, each one of us has a lot to learn and a lot of character to develop.

We have a simple choice.  Will we remember why we wanted to get out of Egypt, or will we find the discomfort of character development just too hard to take?  Will we ask to go back?

The promised land is for those who keep going forward.

37“Yet in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay. 38But my righteous one will live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,  my soul will have no pleasure in him.” [Habakkuk 2:3,4] 39But we are not of timidity leading to destruction, but of faith, leading to obtaining life.  — Hebrews 10:37-39

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Posted on March 13, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

“Light has come into the world…”   John 3:19  (NIV)

Today I have a full schedule and many things demanding my attention.  On a day like today it would be so easy to move my time with God to “I’ll do it later.”  And, yes, I agree that becoming too rigid or legalistic is a slippery slope that can make this intimate, special time into a ‘have to’ time that produces no fruit!  But if I am listening to God’s Spirit speak to mine — we will find our time together!

In this hectic day, this verse encourages me on several levels.  First, Jesus is here! His presence is with every step I take.  He knows my life and has already walked the road we are on.  Second, no matter what the ‘dooms day’ media commentary may say — I do have hope and a future! I remember that I am an alien in this world and nothing is a permanent situation for me.  This means that I hang in there during the tough times (because they will end!) and I savor the wonderful times (because they, too, will end!).  I have a Savior.  I have an eternal promise!  I have Light!  Third, I am reminded that God desires that all come to know Him and His saving grace so He is going to put opportunities in my day to share His love.  In a dark world, I can carry the Light.  WOW.

Today I will be thinking about this phrase and watching with expectation to see what God will do.

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Tell my Story

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old –

what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children;

we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,

his power, and the wonders he has done. Psalm 78:1 -4 (NIV)

There are many Scriptures, many Biblical stories that tell me to tell my story. Jesus said I should go and show some people how to grow into His disciples. The best way to do that is by example. A good teacher doesn’t just tell a student how to do something. A good teacher shows how to do it and does it in their own life.

My family has supported a local hospital that is part of the Children’s Miracle Network for the last seven years. We raise money and give it to a program that provides…FUN ‘stuff’ to kids who are battling life-threatening illnesses and injuries. That is a legacy of my youngest son, James, who died four years ago from cancer. It is his story that has become our story to help others with their story. Not surprising that very often Jesus is identified as the true author of the story – even by those who had never previously met Him!

When I look at James’ story, there is much to be learned whether you are younger than he was, a peer, or much older. It would be a greater loss if we did not know his story with Jesus. He was a typical, imperfect teen who was raised up to something greater because he knew the One and Only perfect Lord! There were many times in James’ life when he could have chosen to pull in and shut himself off. He had great ‘brothers and sisters’ who hung with him in the good and bad times and helped him in weak moments and prayed – oh my, the thousands and thousands of hours of prayer that were involved in those five years! So much conversation between God and all who were connected in this network!

Too often we work all our lives to provide an inheritance for our children and grandchildren that can be lost in a moment. In this difficult economic time, maybe we can grasp the fragility of a financial inheritance! The legacy that last for generations upon generations is one where I tell my children about Jesus and His life and how His life saved mine. The legacy is also showing my children how Jesus in my life made me live a better life than I possibly could have. It is not being perfect but, in fact, allowing my children to see me weak so that they see how Jesus provides the strength!

Tell your story. Do not allow fear of what others might think deter you from sharing Jesus in your life. Do not be deceived that your faith is just personal. It is because that it is personal that makes the story so necessary to come from the heart. It does not have to be a well-spoken dissertation or an evangelistic message that could only come from Billy Graham! I suspect when Rev. Graham shared his story with his children he did not ‘sound’ like THE Billy Graham. He sounded like ‘Dad’. He shared his heart in a way only his children could identify.

We will not hide… Oh that it will be so!

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Come to Me

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

What more could I need to hear today or any day? How gentle and powerful are Jesus’ words! In one sentence He tells me all I need to know.

Come to me. Come to where the real help is available! Do not invest in the counterfeit that is dressed up but goes no where! No self-help books can do what Jesus can do. His healing, His comfort, His wisdom, and His faithfulness has no equal. Come to me…it is gentle…it is strong.

All you Yes, Jesus says, “All”. Jesus doesn’t ask me ‘in’ when I have it together and I am praising and thanking Him like I ‘should’. Jesus says He is the doctor who has come to heal those who are injured and barely making it! Jesus holds out His strong but gentle hands and beckons me in.

I will give you rest Jesus is the best giver! He knows perfectly what I need and how much I need and just how I need ‘it’. Whatever ‘it’ is – Jesus knows! Jesus gives me the kind of ‘rest’ that is totally refreshing. He brings the peace along. He brings that assurance that all really will be well. Whatever the situation…it is the peace that is beyond my puny understanding! I just know that Jesus has proven Himself too many times not to believe that now, even in whatever the moment, Jesus has me in His arms and He promises the peace. I believe Him.

Take this one line and think about it and receive the wondrous truth that Jesus meant it – for you. If your world isn’t currently so great – wait – Jesus has given His invitation. Come…

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God Hears

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. Psalm 130 (NIV)

Here is an example of a “Henry-ism”. My husband, Henry, who is a Bible teacher, says, “God answers our prayers much better than we pray them.” He has also reminded me that prayer is more for my benefit than God needed to be told what I need or what is going on in my life. He is after all…God!

Oh I have often thought and cried out that first sentence in my prayers. I have been “in the depths” and I am “crying out”! And I am so hoping that God is hearing my voice. (Is there a time when He doesn’t hear me?) If you are a parent, you may have had an experience where your child is in an adjoining room with several other children and there is yelling and screaming even an occasional crying and you are going on with what you are doing. Then you hear it. You hear the cry that belongs only to your child and out of all those children – you know your child’s cry. God knows my cry. He knows my cry vs. Henry’s cry. And being God, He knows the cry of each one of His children. Yes, God knows and hears my cry.

It is a humbling, overwhelming moment when you grasp the magnitude of your sin and purity and holiness of God. And you get the mercy and forgiveness of your Lord. WOW. It truly is unbelievable. But look at how God tells us over and over throughout the Old and New Testament how much He loves us and how merciful He is. I see the hope that is mine because of Jesus. The greatness of God is hard to describe and connect with words. The vastness of His love and forgiveness is beyond what I can grasp, isn’t it?

And then the psalmist tells his people with whom they should put their hope, their trust, their very lives should be entrusted to the Lord because of His great love and because only He can ultimately save them. I could stand on the pier at our local beach and say the same to my town. I could go to a joint session of Congress and say the same to my country. God and only God has provided the perfect atonement for our massive sins through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Oh, my Lord, do not give up on us yet! Let us pray. Let us spread the Good News.

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Getting Real

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

Then Jesus brought his followers together with whoever was around that day and said: “If anyone likes being with me and is liking what I say each one must decide that ‘self’ is not as important. You must take up whatever ‘cross’ I give you and do what I do. If you decide that what you want and focus on getting ‘stuff’ in this world is the more important, then you will lose your real life. But if you follow my example and do what you have been given gifts to do in order to spread the Good News in your lost, dying world, you will have eternal life. What good will it do you to store up ‘stuff’ in this world if you give away with both hands who you are and the good that you can do? What can you get that is worth everything you are?! If you are embarrassed to say that you follow Me and you believe in Me and who I Am in front of this wicked, love-’em-and-leave-’em, get-what-you-can world, then I will be totally embarrassed of you and tell you that “I don’t know you!” when you are standing in front of Me on Judgment Day – when you see the real Father and all that glory!”

Jesus then also said, “I am being straight with you when I tell you that there are some here right now that are going to see the real Mighty One before they die.” Mark 8:34-9:1 (my paraphrase and emphasis)

My pastor preached on this passage yesterday. It was not a ‘Twinkie’ message. I could say it was a ‘brussels sprout’ message but strangely, I like those! I told my husband it was like cauliflower with cheese on it. I love cheese and would eat almost anything if enough cheese covered it but in the case of cauliflower…I might have to pick at it for awhile. That is how I left worship yesterday – picking around at the message I heard. It wasn’t easy for me to digest. This is the paraphrase of the passage that reflects where my musings are going.

I so wish that Jesus would somehow and somewhere tell me that I can ‘get some stuff’ including the big home and the successful high powered job, and show up one hour per week and tell Him thanks – and it would be OK with Him! The so-called ‘prosperity gospel’ isn’t the one I hear Jesus telling. Jesus in His life here on earth was not prosperous in that way. He had one outfit, no horse, and ate bread, fish, and wine. Jesus wants me to understand, through His life, what real success is all about. He shows me what real treasures are. Remember “One Solitary Life”? Jesus, fully man, and yes, fully God, shows me what one obedient life will do. Me, fully human, obedient to my Lord, living my life as He did, can make a ripple that flows on through eternity to the glory of God.

Now that last sentence in which Jesus says that we can actually see the Lord before we die – that is one of those statements that has reams of controversy written about it! At the least, we can say that John certainly saw before he died. We read it in Revelation. But Peter and Paul and James also saw God. They saw Him work. They had visions. They had inspiration that they recognized could not come from their own feeble minds. They did miracles that could not have come from their feeble limbs or their own weak spirits. God did not create them; He did not create ME to prosper or receive pats on the back. He created me to be His hands and feet and walk and work among His children yet again. That is the beautiful, extraordinary reality in which I live. Hallelujah!

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Free-ing Truth

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NIV, emphasis mine)

I’ve been reading a piece of fiction recently in which the characters, friends, are finding out the importance of truth. “Duh!” might be a response to that revelation but truth is a tricky thing in daily life.

To walk in truth in my relationship with others I must also walk in truth with myself. And the best place to receive truth is from God. His truth is always perfect. It has no hidden agenda or bias. His truth is always constructive not destructive. It convicts but does not condemn. (Example: God says, “Jody, this is great tasting food and the right portion for you.” The enemy says, “Jody, you are fat and will never be able to stop!”) Receiving truth and accepting truth are two separate choices. And this passage gave me a new perspective on that truth.

Jesus is a wonderful teacher. He shows me His truths. He walked those truths in His life. He showed me how to live in those truths. If I use His teachings then I really am His disciple. I receive His truthful teaching and I accept His teachings. And I have the light of God’s truth in my life. Sometimes that is painful. It is taking a deep breath and letting light shine in the closet where I keep things I do not want to see. It is bending down and looking under the bed and ruthlessly acknowledging the hairballs and then choosing to allow God’s Spirit to clean house! Yes, I can shut the closet door or let the bed flap fall back in to place and ignore the ‘filth’. I can keep my dirt as long as I say “No”. God doesn’t like living in a dirty house. There are consequences (good and not good) for every decision! But when the house is cleaned – that is the freshest most wonderful moment! I can dance around the house not tripping over obstacles or bumping into things!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? IN the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truth in spiritual words.

1 Corinthians 2:9-13 (NIV)

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Abundant Life

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Jody Neufeld

I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:17-20 (NIV)

In 1997 I made a note beside that 20th verse. “A promise” Twelve years later, I can say that I was right about that. God has not rejected my prayers and He has not withheld His love from me.

This week Henry and I shared/discussed God’s silence. I hope you grabbed and thought about what Henry said when he stated that God being silent was not a bad thing. In the silence is often when I truly sense God’s tangible presence.

I remember stories that my mother told me of the Great Depression. She and my father both came from farming families in the Midwest. My mother’s family had little before the 1930’s but her stories were not about the lack but instead of how they overcame the difficulties. I believe that perspective came from their deep-rooted faith that God, who loved them and had great power, would see them through with enough bread for each day. Now we are faced with great difficulties and it is again time for deep-rooted faith.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

I have chosen to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge Him as my Savior and Lord. And so no matter what today or tomorrow brings, I will continues to live by Jesus’ example of mercy, grace, faithfulness, and joy. I will seek Him in Word and prayer so that my faith is deep-rooted. And I will give thanks every day for all that God has done, is doing, and will do. It is Life – abundant Life.

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Listening to the Silence

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Henry Neufeld

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? 
My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;
in the night season, and [I] am not silent. 
But you are holy,
you who inhabit the praises of Israel. 
Our fathers trusted in you.
They trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried to you, and were delivered.
They trusted in you, and were not disappointed. 
But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by the people.  — Psalm 22:1-6 (WEB)

For the last couple of days Jody and I have been discussing silence.  This is Henry again.  Jody had to go to work very early after working very late last night, so I’m writing another devotional.

The passage I quoted above is best known by Christians because of the cry of Jesus on the cross.  It is encouraging to many to realize that even Jesus, as close as he was to the Father, as himself God, felt that sense of silence and abandonment on the cross.  At the same time, Psalm 22 is a prayer that has been prayed by many, and can and will be prayed by many as long as we live on this earth.

The sensation of aloneness and abandonment can come when one is truly alone, or when one is in a crowd.  My greatest sense of aloneness came not when I was actually alone, but when I was in a large crowd at a speaking engagement overseas.  There was a tension with the leadership (later resolved, praise God!) and I had nobody that I knew.  There was a sense of complete silence in the middle of the noise.

In that case I turned to prayer, and the Lord put in my mind the number of intercessors and prayer warriors who had committed to back me up for the occasion.  Suddenly in the midst of that room I felt surrounded by the presence of God.  It was still silent, but a completely different sort of silence–a presence.  I was reminded of this in my morning devotions today as I read from Genesis 17:22, which could be translated literally “God got (or went) up from upon Abraham.”  Perhaps you have felt that God was “on” you, physically like a weight.

Ezekiel experienced this aloneness in Babylon.  It’s not accidental that his book starts with a vision, and the major message is not even the contents of the vision, though that is wonderful enough, but rather in the simple fact that he is in Babylon, in exile, away from God’s land, and yet he sees the vision and God appears to him.  Try reading Ezekiel 1, imagining yourself carried away far from home, in a prison camp perhaps, and let the picture form in your mind.  The key message?  “Ezekiel, you may be far from home, but I am not far from you.”

So what makes us feel far from God?  Is God really silent?  I’d like to go back to the radio analogy.  I’ve been involved in radio and electronics since before I could read or write.  I’m at least as comfortable with a soldering iron as with a pencil or pen.  There are so many lessons one can learn about communication.

What can keep you from hearing a signal?  What can keep you from getting a message.  Briefly here are some ideas from radio and the way I think they might apply spiritually.  Think about them.  You might think of many other applications.

  1. There might not be a signal.  Believe it or not, communication requires at least two communicators.  If God wants you to experience silence, you can do whatever you want, but you will experience God’s silence.  Remember:  God is more interested in producing character than in providing comfort.
  2. The signal might be very weak.  Would God send me a weak signal?  I think so.  We think of a weak signal as a negative thing, but in Amateur Radio I encountered a group of people who make a hobby of communicating with the lowest power possible.  Amongst other things, this practice builds up one’s skills in other areas.  I recall completing a morse code communication from Georgetown, Guyana with a station in Iceland who was using 300 milliwatts of power.  We took ages communicating just the minimum, and it had to happen in just the right conditions, but we succeeded, and it felt great!  Remember:  character or comfort?
  3. There can be interference.  Interference can come because a receiver is not well enough focused.  It can come because someone else is inadvertently transmitting on the same frequency or nearby.  On the other hand, someone might be interfering intentionally.  Have you ever encountered a person who presents a good thought, but does it at the wrong time?  They may not even know.  Listening to God involves your focus, and your ability to reject the interfering signals.
  4. I remember one conversation in my earlier days in radio in which someone kept telling me that my signal was good, but he kept missing the things I was saying.  Then he’d ask me to repeat.  Ask yourself whether you are doing this to God.  He’s given you his whole creation to bear witness, he’s given you his word, he’s provided you with brothers and sisters in the faith, and he’s given you a mind and a conscience.  Is it possible that you already know the answer, yet are still asking God to repeat it over and over?

Those are just a few thoughts.  I may fill in sometime soon with various ideas about how God can communicate.  But for now, if you think God is silent, are you really listening to the silence?

[Due apologies and credit to Simon and Garfunkel, “Sound of Silence”]

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