Grace: Good Word but What is it?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from January 11, 2010]

In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn’t obey God. Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you. God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. God did this so that in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.        Ephesians 2:1-10 (CEV)

“Grace” is one of those church words that brings beautiful, soft feelings to mind. I think too often we use a word and do not consider what the word really means. And so we miss the power of that word.

Paul was a Jew who took great pride in his knowledge and obedience to the Law. He knew the chains and the ultimate failure in trying to follow the Law. Given by God, it was the beginning of the relationship between God and His children. It was the Old Testament bridge to bring sinful children closer to their Holy Father God.

On the road to Damascus, Paul came into intimate contact with the answer to his heart question, “How do I, a sinner, find a way to live in the presence of God?” Paul met Jesus and found the way – “grace”. Paul talked about grace in every letter. He brought the Word to every church in different packages but at the heart of every message was – God’s grace.

“Grace” is God’s love. It is God’s free gift of His love. Grace is love that has no conditions because if there was any condition – I would not be able to receive the gift! Grace is given because God loved us first. I cannot brag that I turned to God first or that I became ‘good enough’ to receive His love. God gave His love to me thousands of years before I was born. From the moment that Eve and Adam chose themselves before God, God chose to save me and everyone before me and everyone who comes after me. God’s love does not divide and become less with each child but instead multiplies to give the full measure of His love to each of His children.

It has been interesting in my own life and the lives of many I have met, that we have trouble accepting God’s grace. We continue to look at the love that we have experienced and determine that God’s unconditional love, grace, cannot be real. And if it is real, we cannot be worthy of such extravagance and so we turn away and live with a ‘make do’ attitude. We ‘make do’ on our own love. My love alone cannot withstand the ‘bruises and lacerations’ that come with my life and its relationships. It is only with accepting God’s love that I find love that fills me and love that spills over to others. Enough.

Power of Your Love written by Geoff Bullock and sung by Hillsong Worship Team

 

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Make a ‘Jesus Change’ in My World

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,and they will be My people.
And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.
For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.     Hebrews 8:10-12 (HCSB)

Yesterday God spoke to me about how He is here – always here when I need Him. I can count on Him. No surprise to me today that He speaks to me about my whining. And let me share first that I have brought my whining and “whoa is me” to it’s own art form in my relationship with Him. And yet I still know that when we pull up a chair together and break out that hot cup of tea, Jesus is right there to listen, speak truth into my life and point me in the right direction. But the whining! Really???!!

Most of us who live in the United States are clueless about how hard life can be. Few of us live in neighborhoods where we very well can be shot or blown up on any given day. We do not live under a government that can breakdown our doors and haul us off to prison without an explanation except that we believe differently than the current leaders. Jesus lived in such a time. And yet He did not spend time talking about the government even when it condemned Him to death and crucified Him. Instead He spoke forgiveness to the government, the church leadership and to me and you. So what does that say to me today?

It certainly tells me where my daily focus should be and its not attacking my government. If I don’t like something the government is doing, then get busy and do something about it – like Jesus did. Taxes and unfair treatment were part of the world He lived in. And so Jesus taught how we should help each other. Give to each other. Encourage each other. Don’t analyze it – just do it! If I think less people should be on welfare, then stretch out a hand to someone who is and help them “up.” Remember that story about how it is better to teach a person how to fish than to just keep giving them free fish? Will there be people who reject that teaching? Sure. There were people who rejected Jesus but did He stop teaching? No, He didn’t. Why should I?

I love the stories I hear about kids, as young as 6 through teens, who have seen the homeless and asked their parents if they could buy a jar of peanut butter and loaf of bread and make sandwiches to give to the homeless or they gave their “extra” clothes to another family. Or want to work in a soup kitchen and end up getting their parents involved. Praise God for their simple logic of there is a problem and what can I do?! Don’t like abortions? Then let’s not wait for the government – let’s give these mothers a practical, real alternative. Open up a home for them to stay and teach them some life skills or help them study for their GED. Support them emotionally as they give their child up for adoption. Even if 5 out of 10 still decide on an abortion – there were 5 who didn’t who probably would have because they thought no one cared about them.

That’s what Jesus did. He taught and lived about love. I need to change my whining and complaining to love and caring. In making this change, God – who He is and what He does – will flow through me to others and He will live in their hearts as He lives in mine. And we will be His children, seeking His face all our days, a seamless flow into the eternity that He has promised.

Spirit of the Sovereign LORD written by Andy Park and sung by Lindell Cooley

 

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In My Time of Need

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

For the word of God 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. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.      Hebrews 4:12-16 (NLT)

Our study group is in the book of Hebrews. Not an easy skim through kind of book! But it is so good to be in a group of people and just talk and share about what the LORD says in His Word. It is so timeless! This passage of Scripture describes the “tone” of the book for me.

The very words that God speaks are powerful. From Genesis I know that it was God who spoke everything into existence. I am one of those people who has no crisis of faith when it comes to creation and evolution. It is my belief that God spoke the first cell into existence. It was God who set into motion what we now know as the ‘science’ of animals evolving and becoming. And for me, when God saw that “it was good” He placed His Spirit into what I think of as man and so Adam came to be. And one day when I am in that classroom in heaven and I see and hear the true story of what and how it all happen, I feel confident that it will be the power of God speaking His Word that will be the beginning of my amazement.

Believe and trust what God says. From Genesis to Job to Psalms to the Gospels and Paul, my spirit has been blessed to receive the Living Word of God. So many messages for different seasons in my life, God has given me courage, strength, healing, wisdom, love and mercy through the beauty and power of His inspired Word. When everyone and everything else in my life has fallen short or let me down, it is God who has been my Rock and Anchor.

When I need Him most, He is there. The key words in this passage are both frightening and comforting. There is nothing hidden from God. There is no fear of someone or something that I can hide in a padlocked closet of my heart that God doesn’t know about. There is no secret sin that I can cover or ignore that God will not expose with the Light of His Spirit. My brothers and sisters, I should embrace great comfort in that knowledge because despite knowing the all of me, God loves me still and wants me to be free from these hidden, secret chains that weigh me down and hold me back from being the whole child He created me to be. And then there is the comfort of knowing that Jesus, God in the flesh, understands the weakness in me and shows me and teaches me how to walk through to victory in His strength, not my own.

So let us take our needs, every one of them, into the Throne Room of God. We are His children and the King is alwaysglad to see His children. Jesus is opening the door and walking in ahead of us. And in that place we find God’s unconditional love (grace) and forgiveness (mercy).

You Know Better Than I written by Pete Shelley, from the movie “Joseph King of Dreams”

 

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Who IS the Greatest? And What IS Important?

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

John said, “Master, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of people. But we told him to stop, because he isn’t one of us.”

“Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “Anyone who isn’t against you is for you.”    Luke 9:49-50 (CEV)

At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”     John 6:66-69 (NLT)

Warning! I may step, stomp on many toes and knock over some golden calves today. Just remember that God does it to me first!

Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples. We are to go and share about Him, His great love, His great mercy. Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Jesus loved, fed, and healed people whether they were men or women or children, Jew or Gentile. So what are we doing marking our corners and drawing our dividing lines with names like Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Seventh-Day Adventists, liberals, conservatives, evangelicals, and charismatics???

Certainly we see the first century disciples attempt to establish some kind of hierarchy among themselves, even enlisting the aid of their mother (Matthew 20:20-28). Jesus was having none of that and says also in this passage that if I want to be great in His Kingdom – then I need to be a servant. A servant doesn’t receive applause or even a wage for doing her job well. Jesus even sets his own blood relations aside and states that it is those who do the work of the Kingdom that are His brothers and sisters (Mark 3:31-35).

We see the tension among those in leadership in the book of Acts as Peter and Paul and James learn that it isn’t about them. It is about building God’s Kingdom, whether in the Jewish community or the Gentile. Initially they thought that new converts must first become circumcised Jews before they could be followers of Jesus. It must have been difficult for Peter and therest to let go of the rituals and doctrinal beliefs they had believed since childhood and embrace that God was establishing a new covenant and bringing all the sheep into the fold – mixing them all up! (Acts 10)

Jesus says, “… the workers are few …” (Matthew 9:35-38). My friends, the workers are still few and time is growing short. We cannot continue to bicker and fight among ourselves on matters that mean little in God’s vision of His Kingdom.

  • It doesn’t matter which Bible version we read – it only matters that we read and absorb it!
  • It doesn’t matter which day of the week we worship God – it only matters that we worship Him!
  • It doesn’t matter whether a man or a woman shares Jesus’ Good News, or they are 14 or 94 – it only matters that we share it!

Do I really believe that my theology, what I believe about God today, is absolutely correct and anyone who disagrees with me is wrong?

Paul begs me to imitate, not him, but Christ. He talks about Jesus’ example of humility and servanthood and then he says,

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT, my emphasis)

Think of all that we could accomplish for God’s Kingdom if we pooled our resources and talents together! Want to stop abortion? Maybe the local Baptist church has an empty parsonage and there are some Methodists who are good at construction and some Seventh-Day Adventists who have a heart for young, single women who need a place to stay and someone to care for them through a pregnancy. Oh, and some teachers from the non-denominational church are willing to do some job skill classes. Now that is a practical alternative to abortion!

Let us focus on the important thing, my brothers and sisters, God and His Kingdom. The harvest is ready, the fields are white, and the workers? We all have the same Boss.

Grace written and sung by Michael W. Smith

 

 

 

 

Posted in John, Luke, Philippians | 1 Comment

Create in Me a Clean Heart

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from July 5, 2010]

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you; what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.      2 Corinthians 7:10-11 (NIV)

I first received this Scripture a few months after I learned about intercessory prayer. I was part of a group that met every week and we would pray for 2-4 hours. It was a powerful time of praying for our country, for elected officials, or for our children and their schools, or for specific people who had cancer, etc.

Intercessory prayer is simply prayer for other people and an intercessor is someone who is called to spend time in prayer for others. The Holy Spirit speaks the need and guides the prayer. As our group continued we noticed fatigue in each other. And this Scripture revealed the guidance to always pray through to the victory. By that I mean that whatever the burden of the prayer, God always has the need and always answers the prayer in His wisdom and time. It is not a burden for me to carry like a weight. It is God’s desire to carry our burdens.

This Scripture also speaks to me about how the Holy Spirit brings His conviction on me that produces sorrow and leads me to ask forgiveness and turn (repent) in a new direction, God direction. This conviction brings the Light that reveals my sin in my thoughts or my actions. It sees every dark corner where I might try to hide a secret sin that has literally plagued my life.

The Godly sorrow produces eagerness in my heart to change. When I spend time with Jesus every day, I learn how wonderful it is to be close to Him. The Holy Spirit’s conviction teaches me that distance from Jesus sets off an alarm that replaces the peace that characterizes my life close to Jesus. I have experienced that unrest and confusion when sin has come between me and God. The alone-ness of that is totally eclipsed by the joy that comes after repentance and restoration!

I leave you today with a longer Scripture than usual but read this like a prayer to our LORD who desires that we stay in a close relationship together.

Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness.
According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.
Cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions.
My sin is constantly before me.
Against you, and you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight;
that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts.
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways.
Sinners shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation.
My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.
For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it.
You have no pleasure in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.   Psalm 51:1-17 (WEB)

Create in Me a Clean Heart written and sung by Donnie McClurkin

 

 

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Got Humility?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they divided up his clothes into four parts, one for each of them. But his outer garment was made from a single piece of cloth, and it did not have any seams. The soldiers said to each other, “Let’s not rip it apart. We will gamble to see who gets it.” This happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say,

“They divided up my clothes and gambled for my garments.”
The soldiers then did what they had decided.

Jesus’ mother stood beside his cross …            John 19:23-25 (CEV)

Dateline: January 10, 2013. Child: Jody. Lesson #3: Humility. Session #172, 956.

I am so thankful this morning that my Father doesn’t give up on me. I am grateful that Jesus is a patient teacher and His Spirit has so many ways to get the principle across to me. Because it’s an important one.

#1: Love the LORD your God with your whole heart, soul, and mind.
#2: Love your neighbor as yourself.

It will be impossible to live the first two principles if I haven’t humbled myself under God’s hand (1 Peter 5:6). And God desires so much for me to be near to Him but that can’t happen if I am so immersed in my own ways and my own self. And so He teaches me. Often those lessons are not fun!

I have recently had some health “issues.” My husband Henry and I have had to learn new ways to get simple household tasks done. All my adult life, I have done the laundry and cooking and cleaning my way – a very good way, of course!. Now I have to turn lose of that control, allow that there is more than one way to do a task, and learn the patience and humility that comes with all the above. No, it isn’t always fun but God’s lessons are always good.

And just a note about marriage: When you are standing in the sunlight with your hand in the one that you love, making those Forever Vows, I suspect none of us see ourselves helping each other doing household and personal hygiene tasks! It starts with finding out about morning breath and moves on to other less fragrant revelations! But that is all part of the covenant that produces love and cherishing when the beautiful white gown and tux fade to t-shirts and sweat pants.

Pride leads to disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.    Proverbs 11:2 (NLT)

Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living—
first you learn humility, then you experience glory.    Proverbs 15:33 (The Message)

Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.    Proverbs 18:12 (HCSB)

Jesus, God Himself, hung naked on a cross with soldiers, church leaders, and criminals ‘dissing’ Him – even as His mother stood nearby. There was nothing left but stark humility. Jesus showed me the way to learn my lessons with an open and willing heart. He showed me true humility and the true glory that comes with the lesson learned and lived.

Have I got humility? Maybe not completely, but my LORD is faithful – so I will learn. Thank You, Jesus.

Go Rest High On That Mountain written and sung by Vince Gill (1995)

 

 

 

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Prayer with Wisdom

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Never stop praying. I Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)

Abraham and Sarah. Hannah. David. Paul. Jesus. Praying. Not just once but for years. Maybe without ceasing. And were all of their prayers answered?

Prayer is a vital part of a disciple’s life. Prayer is, simply, conversation with God. Some are more comfortable with repeating written prayers. There are certainly some beautiful ones. The Psalms are wonderful prayers of thanksgiving, help, healing, just about anything is covered there. Many people enjoy The Book of Common Prayer. As a child I certainly repeated many of those prayers. The repetition of prayer can negate a conversation that comes from the heart. Not always but often. It is with the heart that God wants to communicate most.

Solomon prayed and is said to have asked God for the best – wisdom. And God answered Solomon’s prayer and gave him wisdom. Unfortunately, Solomon did not continue to use wisely what he had asked for. Adam and Eve. Could it be that they were told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because they lacked the wisdom to know what to do with the knowledge? And here we are in the 21st century still struggling to recognize wisdom and then what to do with it.

The conversation or prayer is not for God’s benefit. God knows my heart. He knows my needs and desires. The prayer is for my benefit. It is a time of sifting the real from the distraction, the emotion from the truth. It is a time of learning as the Spirit reminds me of God’s character and principles.

A frequent prayer that God hears from me is about wanting to spend time with my family. God understands as He certainly wants to spend time with me and often I am “too busy” with other important things. Do you know what I hear most often when I pray, “Please make a way for us to be together”? I am reminded that God guided me to raise my children to be about His Kingdom business – and they are. He brought them through many difficult years and now they are ministering to many friends and extended family who are going through difficulties. And they are raising their own children. They are about what they should be about and I am about what I should be doing. And then God reminds me of Skype and text messages and phone calls and emails and Facebook! LOL I am a very blessed woman to have most of my family loving and serving our LORD. There will be a time when we will be together – forever. And Jesus does not tire of my prayers no matter how often they seem to have the same subject. He is patient and loving.

Conversation can certainly be spontaneous. Prayer can be spur of the moment. It can be an ongoing, throughout the day conversation with God. But it is important to have quiet, focused time also. Most of us find the beginning of the day or the end of the day the best time. There was a time that I closed my office door and Jesus and I would have lunch together. Yes, if anyone peeked in my window and saw me chatting away without seeing anyone in the room with me they might have thought I slid off the side of sanity. They couldn’t argue with the fact that I came out of lunch refreshed and ready for the next 4-5 hours, however! So if you wonder if you can squeeze another ‘thing’ in your day – try this: set your clock 10 minutes earlier. In the morning get the coffee pot going, go to the shower and have that 10 minutes in the quiet and solitude of your bathroom. Yes, that’s right. It’s not a bad prayer closet because you are rarely interrupted. Just share with God your concerns for the day. Ask Him to guide you and give you wisdom. Or if you’re not a morning person, take that 10 minutes at night in the bathroom before you go to bed. Try it until next week this time and then ask yourself on that day, “How has the last week gone? Do I feel better today than I did a week ago?”

I couldn’t stop unless I shared what He has taught me through the years about unanswered prayers. I believe God does answer every prayer. Just as any parent answers their child’s numerous questions, so God answers me. Sometimes His answers come quick and very clear. Sometimes they come quickly but I don’t hear Him because He isn’t saying what I want to hear! And sometimes I can hear Him in the silence, telling me He has told me His answer before and it hasn’t changed. And then there is the silence that can mean we have more to discuss and I have more to learn so that I am willing to hear the best answer.

Pray and don’t stop. Talk to God and don’t stop.

The Prayer by David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager, sung by Celine Dion and Josh Groban

 

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Prayer Board

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from May 26, 2009]

Pray without ceasing.    1 Thessalonians 5:17 (WEB)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.     Galatians 5:22-23 (WEB)

Like many of you there is a lot going on in my life that requires prayer. I say “require” because if I did not take it to the Lord in prayer – I would go crazy! It occurs to me as I am writing that Paul may have shared his heart in his letters and in this one to Thessalonica to encourage us to pray all day and every day! Don’t stop!

I have a prayer board in my office. In the middle of the board in large letters is the word ETERNAL. It reminds me in every prayer to keep my eyes forward and listen for God’s eternal words. There are prayer requests and names and pictures all over the board. I could say that the board is all about math. I add people, ministries, and pictures. As I add to the board I acknowledge that person or concern belongs to God and is loved so much by my Lord. I ask God that I never forget that. The blessings that God pours on those I love through prayer are multiplied by His extravagant love in ways I will never know. PRAISE HIM!

I take from the board also as prayers are answered. Some might call that subtraction but in God we are never taken from His hand! I have a ‘season’ of prayer for someone or something and then God moves me on because I am limited but He never is. God is not divided in His attention. He sees each one of His children every day – every night. He does not sleep or grow weary in His vigilance.

As I go through my day, faces come to my mind. I don’t always know why. I may not have seen the person in years. I may not even have good memories of the last time I saw the person. God recalls the Galatian passage about ‘fruit’. I can ask God to bless someone – anyone – with those words! And I ask God to bless me, too!

The branches I am growing on Jesus’ vine grow heavy with fruit as I pray without ceasing. God speaks and as I listen to His voice and allow Him to do His math in my life, I learn. I grow healthy in God’s garden.

You are my Hiding Place by Michael Ledner

 

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When I am in Over my Head

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

But now,God’s Message,
the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.
I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place,
it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you!
I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.

So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.
I’ll round up all your scattered children, pull them in from east and west.
I’ll send orders north and south:

Send them back.
Return my sons from distant lands,
my daughters from faraway places.
I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child
Whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one.’”     Isaiah 43:1-7 (The Message)

Lectionary texts: Isaiah 43:1-7, Psalm 29, Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-22

This is one of many passages that I believe is good for me to memorize. It is a promise. It is a “lifeline” that I can call any time.

God is my Creator and Redeemer. Have you ever created something? I have friends that are artists and it must be beyond amazing to step back and look what has appeared on a canvas or been produced out of clay or stone or wood! I mean one minute it’s blank and then it’s – beautiful! Or remember looking down into the eyes of your child the first time? This beautiful child was created out of love and now looks at you as if you are their whole world. They count on you for everything. God is not only my Father who looks at me with love but He also paid the ransom for my sin, He is my Redeemer. He did what I could not.

When I am in over my head. Creator. Redeemer. The only One who can handle whatever, whenever, wherever, and however what has overwhelmed me because there is nothing not in His hand. Oceans are in His hand. My boss. Every aspect of my life, including relationships and disease are in His power and within His wisdom.

God paid the price – do I ‘get’ how much I am worth? God is my Redeemer. The price? Only God Himself could cover the cost. Do I ‘get’ that God would send His Son, Himself really, to pay a price that totally covers the cost of my sins? God didn’t pay a deposit or partial payment. He paid the bill in full for all eternity. I am worth that much to Him? He didn’t do this for just the sweet grandmother next door or the innocent new grandchild you have. He did it for me. He paid it for you. How about that?

The Bonus Promise. And then God speaks about an eternal home that He has prepared, continues to prepare that will be a paradise that is more than I can imagine (and I can imagine a lot!). It will be aesthetically beautiful but it will also be so perfect – because He is there. And my James will be there and all those that I love because He loves them and they love Him.

Whether I am a prisoner in a cell more alone than I have ever been or in my bedroom alone with grief and sadness and too many bills, or in my office with a phone ringing and overwhelmed beyond what I believe I can do, God is with me. Jesus is there to with His promised Comforter and Wisdom-giver. It’s a promise. And it’s from God.

 Precious LORD Take My Hand by Thomas Dorsey & sung by the Concordia Chamber Choir

 

Posted in Isaiah | Comments Off on When I am in Over my Head

Advanced Discipleship

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!

“Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”      Luke 17:1-4 (The Message)

I am continuing to do some studying in Luke’s Gospel. Today I am again awed at how much Jesus puts into “just” four verses.

Trials and temptations will come. Being a disciple of Jesus does not come with a lifetime of ease happiness. It was common in the time of Job and Jesus for people to believe that any infirmity or trial that occurred in someone’s life meant that they had displeased God and He was giving them a mighty smite! Jesus told His disciples when they pointed to a blind child (John 9) that this had not occurred because of any sin of the parents or the child but so that God would be glorified. It is a struggle for me to see God’s glory when I am in the middle of such a season of my life or the life of someone I love. But Jesus tells me these times will come – His warnings come frequently throughout the gospels. His reassurance of His presence and compassion for my trials are also there. Just another reason for me to spend time rereading and reminding myself of His truths.

Do not be the vehicle for them! Jesus doesn’t spend time commiserating about the trials and temptations, they are just a fact of this life here in this world. But He does strongly warn me not to be a carrier of trials and temptations to others. I can see Him looking me straight in the eye, pointing His finger right at me and with a quiet but strong voice tell me it would be better for me to tie a huge stone around my neck and jump in the Gulf than to cause anyone to struggle against sin or misfortune because of something I said or did to them! Examples: It isn’t a sin for me to have a glass of wine with my dinner but encouraging my friend who struggles with alcohol to have a drink with me is Millstone Time! Sharing with others a story about someone else that is destructive and done in the name of a prayer request is also Millstone Time. If someone needs prayer for a problem, tell others you have a friend in need. God knows their name!

Correct and forgive. This is not an easy task as Jesus’ disciple. The success of this is in the state of my heart and the true leading of the Holy Spirit. When done in God’s timing and with all the gifts of His Spirit coming to the situation, it is a gloriously successful breakthrough. The correction is made with such love and purity of thought. The words are convicting and yet kind. They strike to the heart cleanly and, with forgiveness, pull the sinner into the arms of their Savior once again. It is not timidity that should hold us back from taking this step but wisdom. And when someone asks forgiveness from us, there are no limitations to the number of times to forgive. People do not wear out their forgiveness card. They ask – they receive. It does not give instant restoration of a relationship but does set it back on the path toward that goal.

God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is immediate and complete because God knows my heart. He doesn’t wait to check my intentions or weigh my actions. He knows my heart. He knowsmy intentions.

And He teaches me to forgive others with the same freedom. Specifically, He warns me that it is not my job to judge others. He wants me to serve, love, and care for others. He will handle the judgment and determine the state of their hearts – and mine!

Oh Father, may I stay on your lessons for me today. May I have ears to hear and a heart and spirit to receive with understanding Your teaching. May I be an encourager and up-lifter of those who are weak. May I speak and touch others with kindness, patience, peace, love, joy, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. In Jesus’ Name and for Your glory I pray …

This is My Desire by Rueben Morgan from Hillsong Worship Team

 

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