Letting Go

On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in hearing of the people…”
Nehemiah 13:1

The people were back from captivity.  They had rebuilt the temple.  The walls were strong again, and they read the book of Moses to remember the covenant that God had made with them.  There in the book of Moses, they were reminded of God’s goodness and love.  Of His bringing them out of Egypt and all the miracles that He wrought in the lives of their ancestors.  They were reminded that it was the failure of the Israelites to keep God’s commandments that brought upon them the burning of Jerusalem and the deportations to Babylon.  They chose to renew their covenant with God through obedience, even to the putting away of foreign wives and children from such unions.  Hard?  Yeah!  Tough?  Oh yeah!  Impossible?  Just about.  But a heart bent on obeying God can do the impossible. 

In order to accomplish the impossible though, we must know our God and remember His goodness.  He loves us and sets out His commandments for our safety and provision.  He made us and He wrote the owner’s manual.  He knows best how we operate and what will trip us up and what will make us work effectively.  His rules are for our benefit.  Have you strayed?  Maybe you need to put away something that you have taken hold of that is against God’s ways according to His word.

Do it!  It is the only way to reenter into a right relationship with God.  He is a holy God.  He loves you and His love will be enough in your tough times of letting go.  He is faithful and true and eternal.  The heartaches of this world are only momentary light affliction compared to the weight of glory that awaits us in the forever.  Letting go usually opens our hands up to be able to receive something even better!

 

Give God the Glory!

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

And Your glory above all the earth.

That Your beloved may be delivered,

Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

Psalm 108:5-6

Life's situations can be downright overwhelming and discouraging to the point of panic.  As Christians we are not exempt from life, circumstances, or emotions.  Sometimes all we can do is cry out and hang on.  But if we have first bowed before the Lord our God our Maker, spent time in His presence, are living a life of moral purity before Him, and are walking with Jesus daily then we are better able to handle the "Oh No's", "Oops", and "Ah Oh's" of life. 

 

Author and theologian Ian Maclaren put it this way, "Those who know the path to God can find it in he dark."  In other words, when we have spent time with God in the good times when we can see clearly, then we can find God in the hard times when the situation is muddy.  Know God.  Trust His love for you.  Walk in His ways.  Then cry out for deliverance and He is a faithful God!

 

Will He do everything that you want the way you want it?  Probably not.  But that is what makes Him God.  He knows the big picture for your life and for eternity.  Trust Him.

 

 

Belief in the Face of the Impossible

Cyrus, one of the most ruthless kings was led by God to send Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple to God.  It was prophesied beforehand by Isaiah and Jeremiah then fulfilled in the time of Ezra.  If God could move a pagan king, He can move the heads of banks and financiers!  We are praying for you Garrett and Nathan.  Go in humility and confidence and see what God will do!

 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,

in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah,
the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,
so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
and also put it in writing, saying;
“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven,
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem,  which is in Judah. 
Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! 
Let him go…”
Ezra 1:1-2

What about you?  Are you caught in an impossible situation?  With God all things are possible.  I really struggle with the balance between trust and wanting.  I want God to answer my prayers the way that I want them answered.  But trust says that God will answer my prayers the way that He sees is the best for me.  Oh God help my unbelief!  My trust must be in God as a loving Father, not in what he will do for me.  This means that He may answer "no", and it is not because I have not prayed enough, or that I lack faith, or that I should have fasted.  He answers "no" when He knows that it would do me harm to get my prayers answered.  God even told Jesus "no" when Jesus prayed that the cup of the cross be taken from Him.  God did not promise us comfort, wealth or ease, but rather trails and tribulations that we might have to lean on Him.  But!  But God also promised to be with us through these times. 

Christians have found themselves in jail, tortured, depressed to the point of hopelessness, but God is able to bring peace and joy and hop in the midst.  Cling to Jesus, dear friend, no matter what you are facing.  He will bring victory in your situation through pruning and growth in your spiritual life.  And eternity is coming!

 

Lost Faith or Emotions?

Tyler should get to go home today!  We are waiting on the doctor to make his rounds.  Doctor thinks it was impetigo which is a rash.  Eighmy and Ethan have held up well.  I had an interesting conversation with Eighmy this morning and I share it with you only because we are all human!  We both have struggled, understandably so, with our emotions this past week.  How do we know if something is just our emotions or if we have lost our faith?

This is a great question.  First of all, we have to remember that our faith is not based on what God will or will not do for us, but rather in a Heavenly Father who knows what is best for us.  Christians are not immune to the muck of life here in Satan’s garbage pit of earth.  Tornadoes, famine, death, disease, etc… happen to Christians.  Is God punishing us?  Has He not heard us?  No!!!  He is allowing these things to happen to prune us, and it hurts when you get a limb chopped off!  It’s okay to cry and be angry and have emotions in the midst.  This does not mean that you are not trusting God.  Get the emotions out by talking, running, screaming, crying, etc… Then remember God in the midst.  He is still there to comfort, direct, teach, and love you.

We may never know why Tyler spent this time in the hospital.  Did the antibiotic ward off something?  Did a nurse see Ethan and Eighmy’s faith and seek God?  Did another mother remember them and know that she is missing a relationship with a Heavenly Father?  Did God need to prune all of us from pride, unbelief, or something else?  We probably won’t know until we get to heaven.  But we can trust God’s heart when we can’t see His hand!  He makes all things work together for our good.  He doesn’t make us live in all happiness and goodness; no we live in a garbage pit.  We are promised troubles and tribulation here on earth, but God makes all things work out for our good.  That we can trust. 

Does God hear our prayers even when we don’t like the answer?  Yes!  He hears and walks along beside us.  He upholds us and give us hope and joy in the midst.  Joy is the quiet hope and peace and sense of well-being that can be ours as we wait out the hard times and look to eternity.

 

 

God's Grace

My first grandson was born on Thursday January 16 at 8:07 in the morning.  He was 7 lbs and 1 oz.  He was over 24 hours in the uterus after the water broke and he had a bowel movement while in there.  He was born with a rash so they whisked him away and he ha been on antibiotics through an iv ever since.  Ethan and Eighmy have been able to hold him and nurse him and love on him.  We have not.  We have only seen him through the glass.  The in-house lab cultures came back negative for everything.  We now wait on the blood test. 

Well, I lost center for a few days.  I have empty arm syndrome, but God is still on His throne.  He still cares for us and baby Tyler.  His comfort through His people and His Word has been amazing.  He has shown Dad and I the same concept from His Word in two different books of the Bible.  He has given us a song, a sermon, and a Sunday school lesson, and through all of these, He has been right here with us.  His presence has been felt.  Today I am humbled because of my unbelief and God’s faithfulness.  I rejoiced to read all of Psalm 103, but escpecially verses 13 and 14.

“Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.”

Praise the Lord!  Praise Him for His compassion and mercy and grace and forgiveness; for His love and His faithfulness.

 

No Need to Fear

I found a gem this morning.  We all know the verse right above it: “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” But listen to the next verse:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

Persevere in this life, endure through it, for the kingdom is already yours!  God will provide your needs until you enter in.  He is a Father/Shepherd.  He chose gladly.  He delights in you!

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My daughter-in-law, Eighmy’s labor continues!  It has been a long 3 days!  She went to the chiropractor this morning and had an adjustment.  Her hip was out of sync.  So pray that it proceeds quickly from here.  We are ready to hold Tyler in our arms! 

 

Not to Worry

“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?” Luke 12:25

“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” Luke 12:31

 Worry.  There is a lot of things out there to worry about!  House closings, babies coming, financial needs, business endeavors, relationships, etc…  I want you to know that at one time I was one of the world’s best worriers!  I worried about it all!  But then, God began to show me that worry is not of Him.  He wants us to rest and trust.  If circumstances don’t turn out the way that we want them to, then we still trust because God has our back!  He knows what is best for us and, I believe that when we get to heaven we will become aware of all the catastrophes that God kept us from by not giving us what we wanted. 

The opposite of worry is contentment.  Learning to be content in all situations seems impossible,  But once you begin to practice contentment,, it really does bring a peace and joy beyond comprehension. 

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So, we wait.  We wait with our children for the baby to be born (now 1 1/2 weeks overdue) ; we wait for another son and his wife to sign the papers on a house closing (yesterday deadline) ; we wait with two sons for their business to become profitable.  I wait for editors and formatters to finish with my latest book so it can go to press.  I want it all now!  But I am not going to worry about any of it.  It is in God's hands and He can handle it!   Until then I will take joy in the small things - walks in the rain, phone conversations with friends, fire in the fireplace, tv with my husband, so much that I have at my fingertips right now!  I will be thankful and praise God!

Joy and Hope

Now may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you will abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Joy is supernatural!  It is a gift from the Holy Spirit to you!  Only a Christian can know real joy.  Joy is partnered with hope.  That is because joy comes from our hope of eternity.  Joy is an eternal perspective.  To know joy, sometimes you have to look beyond the circumstances and embrace the promise of forever.  When we abound with hope, then we find joy.  To get that eternal perspective, we must know the promises of God’s word, stand on those promises, and look to those promises.  Yes, Jesus is here with us in and through every situation and we can be in His very presence even now.  In His presence is joy and a taste of what it will be like to be with Him in the spiritual flesh forever.  Can you imagine dancing in the fields with Jesus, dining with Jesus, singing with Jesus?  When we practice acknowledging His presence now in each situation, we can see glimpses of what it will be like in heaven.

 

I pray that your day is full of hope and joy,

Joy and Jesus

 Joy.

 “Joy to the World, the Lord has come.”   

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:11

Joy.  What is it?  Are we meant to experience it?  Does it depend upon our circumstances?  Our relationship to God?

  The favorite Christmas song “Joy to the World” announces joy at the coming of Jesus.  That is our first clue.  Joy comes when Jesus comes.  Throughout Scripture I am finding joy coupled with salvation.  Joy is in the presence of the Lord.  John writes that Jesus said that if we keep His commandments and abide in Him then Jesus’ joy will be in us and our joy will be full.  So joy comes from the Lord and is ours when we are abiding (dwelling, living constantly in the presence of) Jesus.  Joy can be full – fully experienced, fully our reality, fully real -  when we are abiding in Jesus.  How can this be?

 Hebrews 12:2 says that we are to “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  In other words, Jesus was able to overcome the physical circumstances and pain of His suffering on the cross because He knew that great joy was awaiting Him because of His obedience.  In the same way, we are to endure whatever suffering or pain that we might experience in this world and remember that it is only for a time because as we are obedient we have great joy awaiting for us for all of eternity as we wait upon heaven.  It is like a woman in labor.  The pain is excruciating, the waiting seems interminable, the suffering is hard, but she endures it all with joy knowing that soon that sweet little child will be in her arms! 

The really cool thing is though that even though Jesus experienced the rejection of the Father upon the cross, Jesus has promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He will be with us through the pain and suffering of this world and because of that we can have joy now, not just in eternity!  “The Lord has come!”  As we abide with Him and stay in His presence, we can experience joy because we know that this suffering is only momentary, light affliction and that eternity is waiting for us.  He is our coach for now, telling us that we can endure and overcome our circumstances.  He is our encourager, our cheerleader and our reminder.

Joy is ours.

 So, what is joy?  It is a deep seated feeling of being okay.  It is a peace that God is in control.  It is knowing that God is who He says that He is and that He will do what He says He will do.  It is faith; it is hope; it is waiting and enduring.  It is knowing God’s love is for me personally.  It is being above and beyond the circumstances and walking on the high road with Jesus.  It is knowing that in the end, we will be with Jesus for all of eternity and that it will be beyond our imagination.  Joy is being right with God.

 I pray that you will know joy today and each day.  That you will experience joy in the midst of life’s circumstances.  That you will remember to run to God and let Him fill you with joy.

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We are still waiting on Tyler to decide to join us.  I have assured Eighmy that he will not go to kindergarten in there!  Pray for her because she is so uncomfortable!  But she will forget all of this once he is in her arms!  Garrett leaves us tomorrow if the weather cooperates.  That will end the holiday company.  Thank you each for coming and blessing us with you wit, your joy, your love, and your thoughtfulness.  We had a great time this holiday season. 

 

Joy and Obedience

“All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath,
for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly,
and He let them find Him.
 So the Lord gave them rest on every side.
2 Chronicles 15:15

 This happened under King Asa of Judah even to the point of putting to death anyone who “… would not seek the Lord God of Israel, whether small or great, man or woman.” (vs. 13)  Notice that they rejoiced first then God made Himself known.  A step of faith and acting on what we know is truth is usually the beginning of seeing God’s hand in our lives.  For Judah that step was rejoicing over the promise that they made based upon a prophesy.  In other words, they believed what God said through the prophet, acted on it with and oath, and then rejoiced to see what God would do.  And our God is always faithful!  He allowed Himself to be found. 

So, joy can come from obedience to God’s word and the anticipation of waiting to see what God will do.  But the key is that Asa and Judah did it with their whole heart and sought God.  Don’t be a double minded believer (James 1:6).  Put your whole heart into believing God’s word – and make sure that it is God’s word – then rejoice.