The Story

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.     Matthew 1:17 (NLT)

Forty-two generations waited for a Messiah. And some are still waiting.

When I remember my life before I knew Jesus, I am humbled by the indescribable gift I have been given and am awed by the distance that Jesus has brought me. The distance is so great that I could not have bridged the distance in my own strength. Truly He took my heart of stone and gave me a tender, spirit-filled-up heart (Ezekiel 36:26).

I read several blogs and emails every day from Christians who share their hearts. One such email asked the question that if I am aware of the truly extra-ordinary gift that I have been given through Jesus the Christ, then am I willing to share it with others? Am I selfish? Am I scared? Am I shy? Do I think it is not my job but the job of pastors or evangelists or whoever that I think knows enough about Jesus?

Most of us who live in the West will never have to choose our faith or life. But I believe that daily I am given opportunities to share my life with others and as a Christian, sharing my life is sharing Jesus. As an ambassador of the Christ, as His disciple, I am a reflection of who He is. People who see me, should see Him. Is my life that transparent?

Generations have left me their legacy of obedience and disobedience. The Bible and others that I personally know speak to me, offering their stories from which I can learn. Am I listening? Am I learning? God wants me to learn. He wants me to grow and receive His strength that comes from knowing Him.

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.     Matthew 1:18 (NLT)

As we continue through this Advent season, may we ingest the story into our very being. May it be what it is. It is more than a nice story in a children’s play. It is Life. Take some time today and read the first chapter of Matthew. Yes, there is a list of names but maybe that will bring to mind your list of names. Your list of family that know the Lord and have spoken into your life. Or maybe there are those on the list who decided not to acknowledge they need a savior. Pray for them. God desires that all would know Him (1 Timothy 2:4). Here is one of those opportunities. This is part of The Story.

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Joseph: An Obedient Quiet Man

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.     Matthew 1:24 (NLT)

A teacher, author, and friend of mine, Dr. Alden Thompson, talks a lot about the unanswered questions and information that we do not have explicitly written in the Bible that may appear in the “white spaces”– between the words.  He’s right.  There are many unanswered questions especially about the people and their lives and their relationship with God.  We see them in print like looking through knothole in a fence…just a part, not the whole picture.

Joseph has always been of great interest to me.  I always felt a connection since my name was – a nickname – of his name.  There is very little written about him except for this first chapter in Matthew, in chapter 2 when he is told to return the family to Nazareth, and then Luke in chapter gives the birth story and ends with Jesus’ trip to the temple at age 12.  Joseph is never mentioned again and so we conclude that he died before Jesus was 30 and began His ministry.  Joseph would have been maybe in his 40’s, which was average for the day.

I would think that Joseph would have many questions for God regarding the circumstances surrounding the birth of the Messiah and especially the setting for His entrance into the world.  He is shown to be an honorable man who, despite the Law that said he could ‘divorce’ or break his marriage to Mary when she is pregnant before they have had a physical relationship, did not want to expose Mary to a possible stoning for adultery. He is visited in a dream and told that Mary is carrying the Messiah. I wonder how many of us would have accepted that news without question? And then the birth comes when they are far from home and family.

“Where are the midwives and temple priests and even our family?” “Why didn’t Mary go into labor before we left home where at least she would have a bed and clean linens?” “Who is going to celebrate with us?”

I, too, have many questions about the circumstances that God leads me through.  “Why this way?  Why not another way?” “God, are You sure You know what You are doing?”

And yet, like Joseph, I love my Lord and I trust Him because I am His child but also because – what else can I do? He has been there for me so many times and led me through the darkest of valleys. Maybe Joseph had some experiences earlier in his life and now, in that place where he really knows something – he knows that he has heard God in his dream. And so he goes against all that may seem logical and follows God.

Yes, I have many questions but my perspective changes when I remember that He is God! He is Sovereign! Jesus is alive! And He loves me!

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.    1 John 3:1-4 (NLT)

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Emmanuel, God with Us

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!       Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)

The prophet Isaiah lived over 700 years before Jesus was born. And yet here are the beautiful words that promise a Messiah, a Savior. Today I know that my Savior lives but I look with Hope for the time that He will come again to take me home with Him forever.

It is the profound and extravagant love that swirls within my heart as I look at the candles that flicker, smell the pine, and see the manger. There is a figure of a tiny baby that is the center of the scene. The donkey, the sheep, a mother, and a father standing in watch over this baby that will grow in wisdom and stature. I pray that the humility and awe that I am feeling as I write this will stay with me all through Advent and be just the beginning of a new level in my relationship with Jesus.

Jesus is the wise Counselor. He is the One and Only Mighty God who cares for His children with a love that is beyond words to describe. The Father will care for me forever. Our relationship has no end! And Jesus is the Prince who brings a peace that I cannot understand at times when it seems impossible. All this is the Trinity that I do not begin to have the words to explain but I know that it is True. It’s a gift that is 3 in 1.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”       Luke 1:30-33 (NLT)

Don’t be afraid. You are loved by God. That is still a message for me – for you – today. Yesterday I said that Jesus would stir up my life if I chose to follow Him. Here is Jesus coming near. He will, in fact, be carried for the 9 months it takes for His fully human form to mature for birth. But Mary can lay down her fears – all of them – and strap in for the journey that God has for her. It will not be like anything she has ever or will ever experience. But God, again gives His promises about who He is.

May I stay focused on who He is and who I am with Him in me. Advent is about preparation for Jesus’ birth. I can prepare my house with decorations and prepare gifts with beautiful paper and ribbons but it is my heart that needs my attention so that the place that Jesus lives inside of me is swept clean and is filled only with Him.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.   (Veni Emmanuel, 15th century)

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A Sigh

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly! Mark 7:31-35 (NLT)

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake. Mark 8:11-13 (NLT)

This is one of many passages in the gospels that should warn all of us that when Jesus is a part of our lives, our lives may not be seen as ‘normal’ by society’s standards. A deaf man who also has problems speaking, is brought to Jesus by people who believe He can heal the man. Unlike some other passages, I can see that there is a measure of faith exhibited by those who come to Jesus. And how does Jesus respond? Does He lay hands on the man, speak a blessing, and the man is healed? No, Jesus spits on His own hand and then sticks them in the man’s mouth! We have no record of how the crowd reacted to that but I bet it was not what they expected!

It’s also interesting to me that Mark uses the word sigh in recalling these two stories.  Maybe Jesus sighed because 5,000 people had just witnessed an extraordinary miracle (are there “ordinary” ones?) and had their bellies filled in the process.  They still wanted a sign! What was an indigent, nomadic teacher feeding them from a few fish and loaves of bread??!! (It is so easy to be a Monday Morning Quarterback, isn’t it?)

Maybe Jesus was displaying a very human characteristic of frustration. That’s when I sigh!  Certainly in the second story that seems true.  No ‘sign’ was given to the close-hearted Pharisees and Jesus turns on His heel and gets back in the boat.

Frustration can be a good thing.  It can spur me on to put forth more effort and not just sit back on my heels waiting for something to be handed to me.  It can also be an indication that I have missed an important something. It can be a signal to seek God’s understanding of the situation.

When I become stagnant by the complacency of where I am in Jesus and decide that I have arrived, my spiritual life begins to decay.  God desires that I continue to move forward toward Him and so He does allow obstacles or difficult paths that will frustrate me into moving forward, reaching out for Him.

I see Jesus’ sighs as a human manifestation of His heart’s desire that I continue to move forward in Him.  As I do, I will learn more about His mind and His heart and His power.  I will become more like Him. A disciple of Jesus.

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In a Few Words

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Last week Rev. Steve Hill sent this quote as part of the devotion he sends out. The words have not left me. I felt compelled to share them with you.

Believe under a cloud, and wait for Him when there is no moonlight nor starlight.  Let faith live and breathe. Lay hold of the sure salvation of God when clouds and darkness are about you and appearance of rotting in the prison before you.  Take heed of unbelieving hearts, which can father lies about Christ.  Who dreams that a promise of God can fail, fall asleep or die?  Who can make God sick, or His promises weak?

Hold fast to Christ in the dark and surely you will see the salvation of God. Your adversaries are ripe and dry for the fire.  Yet a little while and they shall go up in a flame; the breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone, shall kindle about them.

Look down your prayer list today and consider what Rev. Rutherford said almost 400 years ago. Let us pray and leave our requests with God.

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Faithful Love – Again

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Gideon: an ‘ordinary’ kind of guy who gets a ‘call’ from God.

The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years…So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.                                                       Judges 6:1, 6 (NLT)

In many translations, the word again is used in verse 6. Again the Israelites cried out for help!  In reading the Old Testament, it is easy for me to begin to roll my eyes and mutter, “Here we go again!”.   The Israelites played out that two-verse scenario over and over and over and…over.  But so do I!  “You do evil, Jody?” you say?  Sin is evil.  When I make the choice to succumb to the temptation, I have chosen evil.  I get myself in a fix and feel that distance from God and cry out for help.  Here we go again!

Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

Gideon replied, “If you are truly going to help me, show me a sign to prove that it is really the Lord speaking to me. Judges 6:11-17 (NLT)

Yes, I have been in this scene and done that!  First I wonder if God is with me, why did He allow this to happen? Then I wonder if it is really God at all! Especially if I ‘hear’ God asking me to do something that is unexpected or something I really do not want to do!  “Is that really You, Lord?!!”

God then proceeds to prove that He is the I AM by performing the ‘tests’ that Gideon asks of Him: turning a fleece from dry to wet one night and wet to dry the next, with the ground around it producing the opposite!  If this was ‘reality TV’ there would be a disclaimer not to try this at home!

So Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon) and his army got up early and went as far as the spring of Harod. The armies of Midian were camped north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.             Judges 7:1-2 (NLT)

And so God takes His hand-picked commander from leading 32,000 men to 10,000 to 300.  And God’s reasoning on this is very clear that no one else is going to get the credit for what happens except Him! I have often wondered why things happen in my life that are so overwhelming!  My son didn’t just get cancer.  It was a cancer that had a 25% success rate the first time it occurs and decreased by 50% each time after that!  God is the only One to get the credit for the success of the chemo or the surgery!  Science says with those statistics any improvement is less than ‘poor’!  God gets all the glory!

That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land…

As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god.                                                               Judges 8:28, 33 (NLT)

Here we go again!

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Legacy of Thanks

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalm 100 (NLT)

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. It was a good day for me. My husband and I had a wonderful dinner together. He was a wonderful help in the kitchen! Not the least was that he washed all the dishes! We watched movies, a bit of football, and even a game show. It was very restful.

Henry and I also read the lectionary texts for the day, which included this psalm. The last verse really had me thinking.

For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

I have three children. I have six grandchildren and another on the way. I would love to see my grandchildren grown and loving the LORD as I have seen my children do. But that may not happen. Most of us know that reality but when you have had a child precede you to heaven maybe it is not just a possibility.

What are the legacies that I leave behind? I hope that giving thanks is one of them. I want to show by my example that:

    • the LORD is good. If you make your relationship with God #1 then even when circumstances appear different than you thought or too much for you – you will trust Him to go through it with you.
    • the LORD loves you. Again, if your relationship with God is #1, then you know who God is. You know His character. You will know His love.
    • Silver and gold I may not leave you but I leave you the LORD. The LORD was the best single thing in my life and that was the best of me.

I am glad that the LORD isn’t done with me yet. I am glad that I have an opportunity every day to draw closer to God and allow Him to be more in my life and me to be less. I want to leave my children and grandchildren more!

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I am Thankful – for you!

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. Psalm 37:5 (NLT)

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)

In 1998, I was working about 60 hours/week in a high-pressure nursing management position. I had been saved in 1995 and had learned how important my daily time with the LORD was. If I spent time with the LORD every day, my day might still have its stresses but I was prepared and the day would end with a much lower level of fatigue. I was blessed in my job to have two women who also saw the need for prayer in their days and we tried to meet in the morning before work but then we were told we couldn’t have prayer meeting on the property and our schedules became ridiculous. So we prayed for another option. God laid on my heart the option. I began writing a daily devotion. I began writing a daily devotion and sending it out by email for whoever requested it.  It grew and produced a book and then a website.

And so here I am 12 years later and I am thanking God for everyone of you. Yes, I am thankful that God used you to teach me about His faithfulness. You may not be surprised to know that I have had days when I did not feel like spending time with God. There were times I thought I was too busy or too tired. But except for 5-6 weeks of vacation and some holidays, God has faithfully met with me and given me His Word.

I like to remind people periodically that if they feel conviction – God convicted me first! If they feel ashamed, I am the one over in the corner with her head bowed. If they aren’t sure about something, well, God isn’t done with me yet either. I continue to study and listen to Him. He will correct me as I grow.

Honestly, I do not think I would have been still writing devotions if it had not been for the dialogue that has occurred between myself and others. It is that dialogue that keeps “iron striking iron” as the writer of Proverbs has said (Proverbs 27:17). I am grateful for that encouragement; the questions and comments. Today we can take the internet and use it as a wonderful outreach, touching people around the world. How very cool is that?!

Thank you. Thank you for joining me every day in seeking the wisdom and knowledge of God. Thank you for sharing His Word with others. Thank you for caring enough to write me, asking questions and encouraging me to keep writing. Thank You, LORD, and may You receive all the glory.

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:3-11 (NLT)

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I am Thankful – for Troubles?

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.   James 1:2-3 (NLT)

I haven’t reached the spiritual level where “pure joy” comes to mind when I am going through troubles. The doors on my house are grateful that I have stopped slamming them! I am at the level where I recognize that I can choose not to fall into a pit of depression! I do realize that I have more endurance inside me than I did 15 years ago so I know that some of Jesus’ lessons have occurred!  “Pure joy”. I am still working on that one!

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.     v.12

Here is where I need to grow more and develop my ‘eternal eyesight’ and ‘eternal heart’.  When trials come into my day, I want to be able to ‘see’ the marathon race that I am currently in and look up and ‘see’ the finish line, however far off it may be.  I want to keep God’s goal for me in mind every moment of the day so that I do not focus on the hurdle but instead focus on the point beyond each hurdle. I believe that will keep my steps within Jesus’ steps and allow me to make it over the hurdle and keep running toward the goal.  The hurdles are not the goal.  They are part of the trials and part of the run.  I may be moving through each day, not knowing God’s specific ultimate goal for me or maybe not accepting His goal, but if my heart is desiring to be in God’s will and direction, then I can put one step in front of another and stay in the race and on track.

To have the assurance that I know God’s true nature and character places a seed of trust and faith and hope that is the beginning and end of any and all other questions I may have.  The “know” part of my relationship with God comes with daily conversations with God; building each day in our relationship.

The gifts and the blessings that God works to place in me does not guarantee me a stress-free, no-problem life.  God brought good out of David’s sins of adultery and murder.  He brought good out of Joseph’s confinement in Egypt.  God brought the perfect good out of Jesus’ suffering and physical death on the cross.  God’s purpose in my life is greater than my problems, pain, and even my sin.

God’s purpose in my life is that I become like Jesus, the first fruit.  Everything that God allows points toward this purpose.  Am I willing to run the race?  Am I willing to take the next step?  Am I willing to submit to the discipline of Jesus’ example? When my lungs ache and my feet are raw and swollen, will I choose to trust Him and stay on course?

There is something that happens inside of me when I fly in the face of logic or reason and take that step of faith, in the midst of troubles, and say, “God. I do not know what or why this is happening. I just know that I trust You. So I am going to say, ‘Thank You’ today and believe that I will grow and be blessed in the growth with You.” Something happens, friends. I can’t tell you that I have some dramatic revelation of the why or what. But I will tell you that after this step of faith, I take another step and I know I am right there with Jesus. That’s where, no matter what else is going on in my life, I want to be.

And so I keep running…

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I am Thankful – for Jesus

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Jody Neufeld

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.          Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT))

My friend posed this question today: it is important to say thank you to God but sometimes I wonder if I am saying it from my head (knowing I must) or from my heart (really meaning it).

And so I am thinking about this and asking the Holy Spirit to examine my heart.

Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday. It is considered the last Sunday of the Church year. Next Sunday begins Advent. With Thanksgiving coming this week, many of the songs that we sang yesterday had to do with thanks. I wept as I sang.

There are so many people and things that bring thanks to my lips. But yesterday there was only one that brought more emotion than I could contain. It was Jesus. As I closed my eyes, it was like a slide show of my life began to play. The slides are still playing. Moments, big and small, keep coming to my mind. Jesus, my Savior. He came and gave for me. Death has no power over me because of Him. The economy has no power over me. Terrorists have no power over me. Rejection has no power. Loneliness has no power. I can do nothing by myself so the strength that I have is from Jesus. The courage for each day is from Jesus. The love and compassion for each day is from Jesus. And the mercy, freely given to me, is passed on to others because of Jesus. It is in the giving of thanks that I remember well the mission I have been given: to be an ambassador for Jesus.

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.       Micah 6:8 (NLT)

Are there people that you are going to sit across the dinner table on Thursday who need Jesus? Will you be speaking to hurting people? Will there be someone who who is going through situations of which they have no answers or are confused about what to do? Many times it is those to whom we love the most that we feel the most uncertain on how we can get them to see the freedom through Jesus. And so we talk and argue and quote many verses of Scripture to them. And it doesn’t seem to work. At best they pat us on the head. At worse they run the other way.

God didn’t tell me to pull out all my high school debate team skills. He said to just live my life in front of others, doing what will be an example. By example will I testify that it is Jesus that I serve and am thankful for all that He has given me.

This week I am going to be studying about all that I am thankful. But today, it’s going to be about Jesus. Teach me more, LORD.

Posted in Colossians, Micah | 2 Comments