Necessary Doors

Recently, my husband and I encountered a tough situation that hurt our hearts and confused our minds.  In the midst of questioning why we were facing such a mountain, this comment was made:

“Why does it sometimes seem as if God is playing tricks on His children?”

You know the feeling – you are working hard at being an awesome spouse, a perfect parent, a faithful friend, and a hardworking servant in ministry.  Then BAM!  Something totally unexpected slams into your life, creating confusion and doubt and fear.  Sometimes anger rushes in, and you wonder why someone who has tried so hard to live for the Lord would be ‘repaid’ in such a way.  Why would a good and loving God choose to allow such heartache in a believer’s life?  The temptation to withdraw your faith in the Lord is strong; after all, He did not follow through with your plans.

Ahhhh….but it is not our faith, or lack thereof, that makes God faithful and good.  The Lord’s faithfulness never changes; His goodness never lessens.  He is GOD.  Our feelings do not change who He is.

For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?  Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.  Romans 3:3, 4

The hard things we go through serve as necessary doors.  It is so very easy to glorify the Lord when our bellies are full and our babies are healthy; it is another thing altogether when our children abandon Truth and our husbands are suffering from a horrible disease.  To honor the Lord fully and to glorify Him above all else, we must walk through that door of pain, hardship, or hurt.  Across the threshold is a greater knowledge of the faithfulness of the Lord as we look back and see how He guided us through those trials and tribulations.

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy…. Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. 1 Peter 4:12 & 13, 19

Job, the godliest man of his time, went through hell on earth.  If anyone had a reason to jump the faith ship, it was he.  And yet this man said: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10b) and “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)  Read the book of Job to see how his story ends.

Are you willing to walk through the necessary doors to increase your faith and bring glory to the One who deserves all praise and honor?  The Lord promises to never leave you or forsake you.  As you turn the knob, you can trust that He is there with you.

Prayer

Father, thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness.  You are righteous and holy and just, never failing and always kind.  You allow hard things in our lives to bring us closer to You, the only One with the answers.  Thank You for giving us Truth in Your Word.  Amen.

Challenge

Allow the Lord to show you His faithfulness. Ask Him to open your eyes to His presence in the midst of the hard things.  During this recent trial, my husband and I asked friends to pray for us as they felt the Holy Spirit leading. We gave them zero details, not even a hint of what we were battling.  As they laid their hands on us, guess what were the very first words spoken? “God does not play tricks on His kids!” (See the opening of this devotional if you do not see the significance of these words!) God cared enough to prompt our intercessors to use the very words we spoke privately to one another.

While walking through trials, big or small, keep the Word front and center in your life.  It is only the Truth that will keep you from falling into unbelief and discouragement.

Jen G 2012

A Broken Heart

I have tried to come up with a witty beginning to this devotional and it’s just not happening.  There is no way to dress it up; it must be blurted out and left to the reader to grapple with the matter.  Here goes…

Is your heart broken over your sin and the sin of others?  Is it broken, not because someone hurt you, abused you, spoke ill of you, stole from you, or anything else a human being can inflict upon another, but because sin grieves the heart of God?

The sin of an unbeliever grieves God’s heart because it separates that person from a relationship with God the Father through the sacrifice of Christ.  God does not desire that any should perish, no matter how despicable that one might be.  That is hard for us to understand, but when God says He is not willing that ANY should perish, He really means it regardless of our human thoughts on the subject.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

The sin of a believer grieves the heart of God because it is a direct rebuff of the sacrifice made to bring us back into a relationship with the Creator of the universe.  Each and every time we sin, we sin against God.  In the process, others are hurt and the holy name of the Lord is besmirched. Our sin is a choosing to walk opposite of God’s way – a way proven and promised to bring blessing to us and honor to Him.

Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.  “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,  nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.  Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:25-32

When non-believers sin against you, cry out for their salvation.  When believers sin against you, refuse to wallow in hurt feelings.  Instead, approach them biblically and pray for their repentance; repentance, not just so that you feel better, but because it will bring them back into fellowship with the Lord. (So many times I tend to think that I am all that and a bag of chips and how awful it is that someone would to something wrong towards me, when my real concern should be that GOD is grieved!)

When you see our world sliding faster and deeper into despair and wickedness, beg the Lord to let you experience what He feels as He sees His creation destroying itself when there is a better way, a perfect way – Jesus.  Pray accordingly, allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through you. Praying for someone you love deeply is so much different that praying for someone that you frankly wish was not even alive.  We need HIS divine ability to pray in the right manner.

May our prayer today as Christ followers be, "Break my heart with what breaks Yours."

Prayer:

Father, please break my heart with what breaks Yours.  There are no other words.  Amen.

Challenge:

When you sin, or experience the ramifications of the sin of others, immediately ask the Lord to give you His eyes and heart.  Pray for His will to be done and hearts to be changed.  CHOOSE to respond as He would have you respond, not as you feel.

Jen G 2012

Special thanks to my brother in Christ, BC, who, through his writings, brought me to a place of understanding on this subject.

I Would Walk 500 Miles

By Mrs. B :-) 2011

While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind ! Your great learning is driving you mad." Acts 26:24 (italics added )

If your homeschooling house is like mine was, this verse has caused a chuckle or two over the years. It has come back to my mind as I am now teaching an ESL class in our area . I team-teach with a young missionary named Brandon, and we have between 8 and 12 adult students; most are Burmese refugees into Thailand. They are of the Karen (Kah-wren’) ethnic group. Recently we studied Mary McCloud Bethune (there is a HS project that you did not even ask for!) and how she did not have access to education like American children do now. We talked about the importance of education, and all of them said that learning English was very important to them. There was a question in the book, “Would you walk five miles to class in order to get an education?”

Two young Karens emphatically said that they would, in their broken and heavily accented English. I expressed surprise, especially as most of the others shook their heads “no.” But I was not really surprised. A week earlier I had wracked my brain for a way to explain one of their vocabulary words – element – to them without knowing a word of Karen. I wrote “Periodic Table of Elements” on the board, wrote some of the elements with their atomic numbers, and drew some molecules of water, not sure if anyone would understand what I was talking about. These two started naming more elements and their abbreviations (since I did not know them, to my embarrassment!).

So it did not surprise me that they would walk five miles to go to class. It did not surprise me, but it did challenge me. Would I walk five miles to class to learn Spanish? Hebrew? Karen? Of course, I wondered if I would walk five miles to learn the Book that Paul, and I, love the most. Could anyone ever say of me, “MrsB, your great learning of The Book is driving you mad!”

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97

Prayer:
Abba, as we seek to teach our children and grandchildren about You, Your ways, and Your creation, put a great hunger in us to study Your Word. Put a great desire in us to model reading, studying, and learning how to do new things for Your glory. Let the eyes that watch us see that we take great delight in learning, too.

Challenge:
Memorize the Periodic Chart. (Just kidding!) Really, take the children for a walk and measure off a half-mile, a mile, or more. Then get in the car and measure five miles, if that is too far to walk right now. Ask your children if they would walk five miles to church or school? Share with them that there are people all over the world who walk long distances to church and to school. Pray a blessing on all those in the world who walk miles to learn about the Lord.

Mrs. B :-) 2011

These Last Days...

Have you ever had the vague feeling of having had a conversation with someone, only to be unsure if it was in real life or in a dream? This week's devotional falls into that category. It was originally written in July 2009 and titled "The Sower". It was saved in my draft file under that title with the words "needs work" next to it. I have rewritten it (moving away from the original Matthew 13 focus), but feel as if I have shared it before. And yet... I am compelled to post it anyway. Suffice it to say, the message is burning in my heart and must be shared! With that in mind, please let this speak to you for the first time or remind you of what you have already read here on Fresh Starts.

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For the last 100 years Christians have been preaching the message of "we are in the Last Days!" We get excited, and rightfully so, looking for the return of Jesus and a visual of the victory that is already His. As exciting as the Last Days are, they are also spiritually dangerous. The Word says that in these days the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24) People will become caught up in teachings that sound good, yet have little or no Truth in them; they will begin to focus on riches and worldly concerns, which will cause them to become unfruitful. (Matthew 13) As if all that were not bad enough - people will also become easily offended and will betray one another. Where is the hope?!
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The answer can be found in Hebrews 10:19-25: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."
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This passage tells us that we are to draw near with a true heart - a heart seeking and longing for God and God alone. We are to hold on tightly to our confession of faith, preaching to ourselves the Gospel each and every day, reminding ourselves of the great and marvelous gift we accepted and confessed. We are to think of others and purposefully encourage them to do what is good and right. We are to choose to gather together, fellowship, and exhort one another. There are a whole lot of action verbs in this passage! Keeping ourselves from being choked by cares of the world and false doctrines takes effort on our part.
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During these times, it is vital that we stay close to the Lord and to other believers. Second Timothy 4 tells us to be very careful what we listen to and to be ready in all circumstances to give the Truth of God's Word. Some will choose to turn away, even those who were our mentors or best examples. Our job is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith! Everything else can fail. He can not.
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Prayer:
Father, thank You that You are the One who can cause the seed of my faith to take root and grow. Please help me to guard my walk with You and nourish it with time in the Word and in fellowship with others. Keep my heart safe and focused on You in these dangerous Last Days. Amen
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Challenge:
Is your heart fully turned to the Lord? Examine yourself and see if you are still walking closely with Him. If you are not, pinpoint what is taking the place of a vibrant walk with the Lord. Is it worth it? Be aware that we are all human and susceptible to the lies of the enemy. Commit Hebrews 10:19-25 to memory to keep you on track!

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Jen 2010

Thorns and Sweetness

Some of God's most precious gifts come in packages that make our hands bleed when we open them."-Sheila Walsh
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Summertime in the country is a blessed time. It seems every other person's driveway has a vegetable stand outside or at least a sign for fresh eggs. About this time of year, the berries are ripening.
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This evening, we went to pick blackberries. We went to a local person's house who had a nondescript acre or two of uncleared brush with a few blackberry bushes hidden inside. Standing outside the huge wall of leaves, thorns, and saplings, one wouldn't likely suspect that there was anything worthwhile inside. However, I was told there were blackberries inside, so I delved in.
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Every berry literally had to be fought for. The blackberry branches were hopelessly intertwined with horrid thorn bushes along with the thorns that they themselves produced. I had branches clutching my clothing and snagging my hair. They raked across my skin and left me with the sensation that about 500 angry cats were biting and scratching me all at once. After battling this scenario for a sweaty, bloody 2 hours, I walked out of the thorn patch with about a quart and a half of blackberries.
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In the midst of my war with the thorns, the Lord spoke to me and said,"What are you thinking right now, daughter?" I impatiently pulled a thorn from my palm and said,"Well, Lord, I'm thinking that anything worth having is worth some trouble to get." Peace flooded me and God said,"Yes, daughter. A lot like you."
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"Like a lily among thorns is my darling among other women." - Song of Solomon 2:2 Though this verse is about a man loving a woman, Song of Solomon is in the Bible mostly because it's also a love letter from God to His beloved Bride, the Church(or at the time it was written, the people of Israel). The world is a nest of thorns, and he fought through the thorns around my heart to rescue what sweetness He could find. That sweetness was my hunger and thirst for truth and righteousness. I was that lily that drew His attention and affection. Hallelujah! My Lord found me and plucked me out from among those thorns.
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With a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye, I recount of another set of thorns my Lord endured in order to rescue me: "They stripped off his clothes and put on him a scarlet robe, wove thorn-branches into a crown and put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of him and made fun of him: 'Hail to the King of the Jews!' They spit on him and used the stick to beat him about the head. When they had finished ridiculing him, they took off the robe, put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be nailed to the execution stake." -Matthew 27:28-31
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All beautiful things are worth rescuing. All great things come at a cost. All sweetness can only be enjoyed when fought for. We are worth it in the eyes of God.
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Prayer:
Father God, thank you for rescuing me. Thank You for giving me value. You are worthy of my very life and I give it daily to You. Amen.
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Challenge:
Take the time this week to contemplate each day how much God loves you and how He showed that love on the cross.
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Adrienne 2010