Dodie

Christian, women, ministry, encouragement, spiritual growth

Waiting: Rejoicing and Gladness While We Wait

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 22, 2018June 27, 2019

Waiting can be torture. Can it be possible that waiting on God will result in gladness, rejoicing or praise. Only if we have a heart that trusts what He promises.

I wonder how much of life I have spent waiting – for my coffee to perk (serious stuff, that caffeine), for red lights to turn green, in line at the grocery or the movies, for slow drivers to get out of the left lane, (yes, I sheepishly admit, I’m one of those drivers). How many hours have been spent in waiting rooms at hospitals, doctors’ or dentist’s offices? What about the hours or days that have been spent waiting for the phone to ring to learn of a diagnosis or the well-being of a friend or loved one?

How many hours, days or years have you been waiting for an answer to a prayer?…or just for a whisper from God?

Waiting isn’t one of my strengths; I don’t enjoy it and generally need to employ some self-talk or prayer to endure it with any amount of grace. I like action – let’s move, move, move, people! (did you hear a clap-clap?) I mean, seriously – what is gained from the waiting? Well, more seriously, if you wait politely, you get your turn or the light turns green or the slow driver moves over and those around you won’t believe you are a jerk, right? Because they won’t see what was going on in your heart while you were steaming internally behind them…oh, sorry! I was referring to me!

The older I become, and I’m getting as old as dirt, the more I realize that waiting is a huge part of God’s plan; it is all over Scripture! I must have rushed over that word when I was younger, or perhaps I assumed it simply applied to them (as in Bible them), and not me, surely not me. Didn’t God make me to be an action person? Yes, which is why I require more prayer and discipline in this area!

In the 1940’s, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from his prison cell, “Waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten. It wants to break open the ripe fruit when it has hardly finished planting the shoot.” I can only imagine what he would think of today’s culture.

Not Alone in the Waiting…

You see, waiting isn’t simply a 21st century irritation, or a 20th century subject for theologians to write about; waiting is a consistent theme throughout the Bible.

Jacob

In Genesis 49:18, Jacob had called his sons together to give them a heads up about their lives after he was gone. It wasn’t all peachy. So, he had just told Dan some bad news when he suddenly throws in, “I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!” Jacob was an old man; I’d venture he had been waiting for God’s salvation for quite a while. We sometimes think waiting 15 minutes is too long to wait on God.

Jacob waited a lifetime.

David

David wrote in Psalm 25:5, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”

Whoa. What?! David waited all day! (Kidding; David waited years before he realized the promise to become king.)

In Psalm 40:1-3, David wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth – Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”

Unbelievable. David not only waited, but waited patiently for God to bring him out of a horrible pit. And then David had a beautiful new song of praise put into his heart so that others would see and learn to trust the Lord. I wonder what your horrible pit is right now…are you waiting on God to bring you out of it? Will you allow Him to put a new song into your heart as a result?

Isaiah

A couple of my favorite verses in Scripture concerning this topic are found right next door to each other in Isaiah 25:9 and Isaiah 26:8.

And it will be said in that day: Behold, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us; This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for you; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.

Rejoice in the waiting…

Oftentimes, waiting on God results in gladness, rejoicing or praise. I’m convinced the type of waiting these scriptures refer to can only occur in a heart that trusts what He promises – ‘You are the God of my salvation; He inclined to me, He heard my cry; He brought me out of a horrible pit; this is our God, He will save us; we will rejoice in His salvation.’

How long have you been waiting for Him to move in your life? In a situation or a loved one’s life? Can you be secure in the knowledge that He will pull you out of your pit?

In the still place between death and resurrection we wait…for peace, for answers, for hope.

During this season of Lent, of waiting for Him, is He the desire of your soul? Do you want Him to be?

He is waiting for you with His arms stretched wide.

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All Scripture from New King James Version

Jonatán Becerra

Pain: Cast Aside Blame and See the Purpose of Suffering and Sacrifice

Devotionals, Stay SaneMarch 11, 2018June 27, 2019

Life is full of pain, leaving us wanting to blame something or someone for our suffering. Can there be purpose behind our struggles and sacrifices?

If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty, He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both. This is the problem of pain, in its simplest form.

C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Eleven years ago last fall, my body began to feel like a traitorous enemy. What at first felt like aches and pains from a virus became nightly leg and feet pain that was nearly unbearable and robbed me of sleep. I was a hospital chaplain, on my feet most of the day, so I assumed that I simply needed to wear more supportive shoes instead of my usual stylish choices. However, nothing seemed to alleviate the pain that gradually began to spread throughout my body. Blinding migraines hit the following spring. By June, I had missed so many days of work that, weeping, I tendered my resignation.

Despite having classic symptoms, it still took eight months and numerous doctor visits to receive a diagnosis other than it being ‘all in my head’ or ‘depression.’ I had fibromyalgia. At the time, there weren’t many options other than pain meds, which I didn’t want because addiction runs strong in my family of origin.

There were many dark days to follow, months searching for treatments or cures, (there aren’t any), and numerous seasons questioning why, why, why. An understanding doctor, a fibromyalgia clinic in Atlanta, a husband who would stop at nothing to see me receive whatever I needed, and a patient, loving Father saw me through the next two years. Although I don’t know a day without pain somewhere in my body, by the grace of God, it isn’t the focus of my life.

A verse from a song by NEEDTOBREATHE always arrests me when I hear it because I now see pain in a different light, too:

Don’t let the night become the day
Don’t take the darkness to the grave
I know pain is just a place
The will has been broken
Don’t let the fear become the hate
Don’t take the sadness to the grave
I know the fight is on the way
When the sides have been chosen

Pain

Pain, the gift nobody wants, as Paul Brand wrote with Philip Yancey in their classic 1993 book (cleverly titled, Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants). In it, Brand described the staggering lessons he had gleaned from his work with leprosy patients, many of whom had lost the ability to feel any pain at all. One might think that was a good thing, yet Brand reported that the lepers would come to the clinic with festering, infected burns or injuries. Why had they waited so long? They could not feel the pain. Limbs had to be removed due to untreated, un-felt injuries. “The mind responded to these effects of painlessness with a feeling that could only be called suffering,” Brand wrote.

It seems pain and suffering often arrive at the same time. Many of us have suffered helplessly as we watched a loved one die slowly, painfully from a terminal disease such as cancer. Or perhaps like me, you deal with pain on a daily basis. Sometimes we question why. When I was a hospital chaplain, I can’t count the number of times I was asked why God allowed “this to happen” or allowed their loved one to suffer so much. There is an important choice to be made here – we can continue to seek God’s face in the pain or we can let the anger and sadness take us to places of bitter darkness.

Blame

God is an easy target on which to focus blame. After all, He’s in charge of everything. It shouldn’t matter if I’m an unbeliever, or I’ve been blatantly unfaithful. God is LOVE, isn’t He? Even more so if I’m a super-Christian, (aka – overcommitted and uber busy with church activities). Isn’t God supposed to step up when I am in pain and deliver me immediately?

I can’t say that has ever been my experience…has it ever been yours? Have you seen that born out in Scripture? Why, then, do we continue to question the existence of pain and suffering in our lives or in the world?

Suffering

As written in Christianity Today: Stanley Hauerwas, [American theologian and ethicist], famously said, “The great enemy of the church today is not atheism but sentimentality.” In his view, there’s no deeper sentimentality than the presumption that we (or our children) can hold convictions without suffering for them. To have true convictions is to love something bigger than the self, and we cannot love God or others without suffering…holding to our convictions might mean suffering unto death.

The entire Bible is very clear about the inevitability of pain in life. There is even a man in I Chronicles 4:9 whose name means pain! (All childbirth is painful, but wow! That’s harsh!) Interesting side note, being named Pain (or Jabez) didn’t scar him for life. In fact, “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers…” Is it possible pain has a positive purpose?

If you have ever read Hebrews 11 in its entirety, you know that it contains many who died in the faith, not having received the promises…(v13, NKJV). Verses 35-40 describe types of suffering and trials which men and women of faith endured because they knew that God had provided something better for us (v40, NKJV). These were people of whom the world was not worthy, (v 38, NKJV), yet we shudder to contemplate modeling our lives after them. Their suffering seems too monumental.

Sacrifice

And of course, there is the example of Jesus, telling us boldly in John 15 that love, not emotional, flighty, what’s-in-it-for-me “love,” but genuine love, sacrificial love, love that forgets about my wants and needs in order to meet my husband’s or my child’s or neighbor’s needs when necessary, the kind that dies to self over and over and over in order to display the love of Jesus…that kind of love is His commandment. It’s not a suggestion and He isn’t telling us to do something He hasn’t done or isn’t doing.

Love lays down its life.

Jesus simply commanded His disciples to love others in the same way He had been loving them, even as He was moving inexorably toward the cross. Nothing was going to stop Him, no torture, pain, suffering or betrayal of friends; He knew what was required for our redemption.

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Love laid down His life.

It’s usually painful – loving, that is…and life, too. Look no farther than the evening news for proof of the latter and at the last argument, you had with your spouse or close friend for the former. But imagine this world – or your life – without a trace of His love. It’s unimaginable, isn’t it?

The older I get the more I realize that I have only touched the hem of His garment where His love is concerned.

He freely gave it. He freely died.

And He commanded us to do likewise.

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freestocks.org

Known: To Be Known By, and To Know the Unknowable God

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 27, 2018February 14, 2020

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

Psalms 91:14, NKJV

Like my father before me, I struggle with SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder. We SAD folks need sunshine, LOTS of sunshine. Living in a city that is cloudy 56-57% of the time during the months of January and February only serves to exacerbate SADness. Beginning after Christmas, a quiet inner battle for emotional peace and a deep yearning for Spring begins in my soul.

Brennan Manning stated in Reflections for Ragamuffins, “Perhaps this is the essence of trust: to be convinced of the reliability of God.” During some of my darker days, I wonder where my trust in God has gone. Do I know Him as I claim I do? Am I an impostor? It’s usually a fleeting thing, like briefly wondering how different life would have been if I had done a, b, or c. You’ve been there.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalms 9:10, NKJV

Unknowable

Yet, for all the years of knowing God, pursuing God, longing for His presence, I am becoming acutely aware of how little I know Him. It’s so easy to fall into a trap of believing that the length of days one has been a Christian or been a faithful servant of Christ equal a depth of knowledge and wisdom said person has of the Savior. Even suffering doesn’t necessarily promise that God will be your new BFF, although it can certainly result in a closer walk with Him.

In the early years of our marriage, my husband and I had a pastor whom we secretly believed had the ‘red phone’ to God! I mean, he was so knowledgeable about the Bible and God; his sermons were so powerful…but then, well…the higher the pedestal the farther they fall, right?

People sit in churches every Sunday professing to know God but make a plethora of excuses for why they don’t have any other time to spend with Him. Christian authors, actors, small business owners, millennials, baby boomers from every denomination have something to say about knowing Him. It sometimes looks very different from what you or I think it looks like…

It often looks very different from what the gospel says knowing God looks like, too.

Unfortunately, one cause is due to thinking of knowing as in, “Oh yeah, I know her; she’s in my exercise class!” Or, “Sure, I know astrology! I look through my telescope at the stars sometimes.” This knowing is as in perceiving or understanding as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty; to be acquainted with, according to Dictionary.com. We can give a head nod to many things in life to which, or to whom, we are acquainted…even God the Father. You know, the “man upstairs.” (Cringe)

Known

But how many people do we know as in “yada“:

The idea of “knowing” in Ancient Hebrew thought is similar to our understanding of knowing but is more personal and intimate. We may say that we “know” someone but simply mean we “know” of his or her existence, but in Hebrew thought, one can only “know” someone if they have a personal and intimate relationship with them. In Genesis 18:19 Elohiym says about Abraham, “I know him” meaning he has a very close relationship with Abraham. In Genesis 4:1 it says that Adam “knew Eve his wife” implying a very intimate relationship. (Strong’s #3045)

Who knows you like that? People who can complete your sentences, but don’t. Or who read your emotional cues and know what to do…

Anyone?

Your Father does. And the incredibly amazing, unfathomable truth is He wants us to intimately know Him, too.

Scripture tells us that God’s greatness is unsearchable, beyond our understanding (Psalms 145:3). His understanding is infinite – we cannot comprehend it (Psalms 147:5)! Paul sounds forth praises exclaiming:

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!

Romans 11:33, ESV

Know

Who can know a God like that? Ancient Greek philosophers and believers in Deism wondered, too, referring to God as the “unmoved mover” or a “clockmaker god,” merely setting things in motion, but never getting personal. It seems absurd, but then I wonder sometimes if we don’t live out what they wrote about.

However, throughout the Old Testament, the Father repeatedly calls Israel into an intimate relationship with Him. Among many other things, God goes so far as to make the prophet Hosea’s life a word picture of His abundant love and mercy, then promises that HE will heal their backsliding ways (Hosea 14:4).

Who can fathom that? Can you wrap your mind around that??

I can’t…but I don’t think I’m expected to fully comprehend, really. I know the love and mercy my Father has shown to me. With that in my heart, I run to the throne room. I run into His arms, believing Him when He said,

I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.

Hosea 2:19-20, ESV

And on the days I struggle, He holds me.

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Fear: Brokenness Ultimately Leads to Living Fearlessly

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 8, 2018June 27, 2019

Fear and rejection can leave us feeling paralyzed. But it is our brokenness that will ultimately lead to becoming fearless.

My earliest memory of fear occurred when I was a child of six. On a warm summer evening, my family went to the home of some good friends of my parents for dinner. All my brother and I cared about was that they had kids close to our age – two boys. (It seems none of my parent’s friends had girls, but that’s another story!) While the adults chatted after the meal, we children happily played outside on the swing-set laughing, yelling, and probably arguing. 😉 Suddenly, I felt something stinging my face; the pain was immediate and intense. Jumping off the swing, I ran screaming to my mother, who soothed me and quickly assessed I had at least two bee stings on my face. Her friend made a paste of baking soda and water to apply to the stings while I rested on mom’s lap.

Within several moments I was ready to return playing with our friends, but no words came out when I opened my mouth to speak. I tried once again, but to no avail. Panicked, I got mom’s attention and she realized my body was swelling. Things were moving quickly from there. Fear spread throughout the group as they were preparing to take me to the hospital. Fortunately for me, mom had recently read an article regarding deadly allergic reactions some people had to bees and that a new desensitization process was being offered by the medical community. That article saved my life.

Needless to say, despite several years of shots to alleviate my reaction to bees, I spent decades being deeply afraid of them. I’m blessed to say I’ve raised perennial flower beds for 15 years now.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1, NKJV

Fear: Rejection

In high school, I wanted to be popular…translated – liked/loved. As a result, I became a cheerleader, joined clubs, became editor of the newspaper, etc. Guess what? There were still people who didn’t like me. Shocker, I know. For reasons unknown, I can recall one particularly vicious phone call I received from a popular girl about something I didn’t do, but she thought I did. Even though I professed Jesus, I was looking for acceptance at the wrong addresses.

Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.

Isaiah 51:7-8, NKJV

Fear: Paralyzed

When I was a young mother with a baby, my husband worked a swing shift. I didn’t like staying alone on the nights he had to work, but I spent most evenings at my parents’ until it was time to take my son home and put him to bed. But then one night while we all were out, our home was burglarized. My husband and I felt violated.

After that, fear blossomed like a sunflower in my chest. I heard every noise, real or imagined, in the house or the basement. Its embarrassing to remember the times I would call our neighbor over to check the house because I thought I had heard something. (He and his wife were very gracious!) This fear lasted so long it was making me physically ill – I was trying to stay awake all night, begging God to keep us safe. I was thinking of escape plans for my son and I should someone break in. It was difficult.

Fear: Delivered

During this time, I was working with first graders in Sunday School. One week we made a prayer wheel out of paper plates. For every need on one side of the wheel, there were Bible verses on the other side that applied to the need. “Coincidentally,” my husband worked nights that week, which I dreaded with a vengeance. In desperation, one night I pulled that children’s prayer wheel out and turned it to fear, looking up each verse. I told God I was so weary of living this way, and I knew that He didn’t want me to anymore. (He does say, “Fear not” 365 times in His Word!) From that night forward, the paralyzing fear left me. Has it attempted to return? Sure, but God has delivered me from the stronghold of fear each time.

I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?…But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared – the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand…

Isaiah 51:12-16a, NKJV

Fear: Be Fearless

I believe we all battle with fear in one form or another. Otherwise, why did God mention it so often? Sometimes I wonder if our fear isn’t used by God to help bring about needed brokenness…because only out of brokenness comes fearlessness. And isn’t that what we really want – to be fearless? Even Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for this in him in Ephesians 6:16-20.

Louie Giglio said in a sermon at 2012 Passion, “Minimize your fears by maximizing your one fear and realizing this: I’m already chained to Jesus Christ. The only thing I’m afraid of is living an insignificant life.”

Amen.

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Luke Matthews

I was afraid, but God… loved me.

This is one of the truths you will learn in the study, but God…Where the Story Changes.

Disappointment With God: The Root of Our Frustration

Devotionals, Stay SaneJanuary 25, 2018June 27, 2019

If we are honest with ourselves, we have all felt disappointment with God. This post discusses two roots of our frustration, and how to be united with Him.

Last week, when it was 50 degrees and raining instead of 30 degrees and snow whistling by my window (as it is today!), I had to run errands. About a block from my home I checked to see if my umbrella was in its regular spot. Blast! Picture this: distracted woman patting the back of passenger seat then back of driver’s seat while keeping car in lane. Clear the road, people!!

Assuming said umbrella was missing, I angrily said the potty word that has gotten our President in so much trouble in recent days. At the traffic light, I twisted around to look in the back seat. There in the floor lay my animal print umbrella. My, did I feel sheepish…and convicted.

After confessing my anger, I asked Jesus what was going on with my heart. I mean, it was drizzling, not monsoon season! There was no danger of me melting. To my surprise, immediately the word disappointment flashed in bold letters in my mind. Disappointment vocationally; disappointment concerning my life’s mission/impact; disappointment in the distance between us and our grandchildren. And so began a day’s-long dialogue with the Spirit about disappointment.

I’m learning that I set myself up for disappointment in several ways. Then subtly, even subconsciously, I blame God. I’m sure I’m not alone. David and other Psalmists complained often to God about situations that seemed unfair, (Ps. 13, for example). Phillip Yancey wrote a book about disappointment with God in 1997 with an update 25 years later. It sold well. Although Christians would rather not admit it, it seems fair to say there are periods in most of our lives when we feel disappointment with God.

But why?

Skewed Expectations

One reason, I believe, is because of our expectations of Jesus. Paul warned the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:4 of falling prey to “another Jesus,” or a “different gospel”. Sometimes, our expectations or the expectations of our church doctrine may cloud our judgement regarding the genuine identity of Jesus. It isn’t as though false expectations are a new thing – the disciples walked daily with Jesus for three years and were completely unprepared for His death and resurrection! (They were still expecting an earthly king.) If I am worshiping a nicer Jesus, a cooler Jesus, a more culture-current Jesus rather than the Jesus of the Gospels, my expectations are askew. I am guaranteed disappointment because I’m dealing in fiction rather than faith.

I appreciate how Frederick Buechner described faith in Secrets in the Dark:

Faith is different from theology because theology is reasoned, systematic, and orderly, whereas faith is disorderly, intermittent, and full of surprises…faith is a stranger and exile on the earth and doesn’t know for certain about anything. [Hebrews 11] Faith is homesickness. Faith is a lump in the throat. Faith is less a position on than a movement toward, less a sure thing than a hunch. Faith is waiting. Faith is journeying through space and through time…When faith stops changing and growing, it dies on its feet.

And I might add, we begin to operate in “another Jesus” mentality.

Selfish Motivation

Secondly, as much as I would like to see my prayers as selfless, my ‘disappointment inventory’ revealed that some of my prayers are my own plans, which I then hand to God for His stamp of approval. He can work out the details. (Ouch!) I’ve handed my heart over to dreams or plans which I’ve emotionally tucked away, out of sight, then wonder why Jesus doesn’t ‘come through’ with the realized answer! The answer lies with my motives and my heart, not God’s supposed stubbornness or failure to hear. I love what Thomas Merton said in an address to novices:

If I love God, I’ve got to love him with my heart. If I love him with my heart, I’ve got to have a heart, and I’ve got to have it in my possession to give. One of the most difficult things in life today is to gain possession of one’s heart in order to be able to give it. We don’t have a heart to give. We have been deprived of these things, and the first step in the spiritual life is to get back what we have to give. (The Promise of Paradox)

When I have given my heart to my own ideas, plans, or dreams, it’s impossible to give it fully to Jesus. I may be pitching prayers up concerning these things, but I doubt they are making it past the ceiling. Scripture is clear about who gets first dibs on my heart. Deuteronomy 6:5, which is repeated by Jesus in Matthew 22:37, speak clearly concerning where my heart belongs, yet I feel it tugged in many other directions in this maddening world.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:5, ESV

How can I lay my heart at the feet of my Lord, when it is a divided thing? How can I expect Him to answer prayers that are often, at most, spiritualized personal plans or at worst, self promotional?

United

Thank God for His steadfast love which endures forever (Psalm 100:5 ESV)! I am grateful that we have a high priest who understands my weaknesses and forgives me (Hebrews 4:15).

I am continuing to pray for my heart to be united in my love for and faith in Jesus. May any dreams or plans I have be God ordained.

Faith is a way of waiting – never quite knowing, never quite hearing or seeing, because in the darkness we are all but a little lost. There is doubt hard on the heels of every belief, fear hard on the heels of every hope, and many holy things lie in ruins because the world has ruined them and we have ruined them. But faith waits even so… (Secrets in the Dark)

If you have interest in the books mentioned, please consider purchasing them through these affiliate links. A small portion will go to help support this ministry at no extra cost to you:

Disappointment With God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud

Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons

The Promise of Paradox: A Celebration of Contradictions in the Christian Life

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Daniel Kainz

Inheritance: The Source of Our Future and Present Hope

Devotionals, Stay SaneJanuary 16, 2018June 27, 2019

Our hope, and our inheritance is not found in earthly things. Our inheritance is the promise of the Creator Himself.

In the early hours of December 10, my mom took her last ragged breath in this world and took a cleansing, pure breath in the next one. Her mind and body were instantly restored as she was welcomed home by a loving embrace from her heavenly Father. I’m sure my dad was standing or kneeling somewhere nearby and a joyful reunion likely followed.

My parents were middle class folks. Any meager savings they may have accumulated was spent on medical bills during the years my dad faced his battle with cancer. An inheritance isn’t something that ever entered my or my brother’s minds.

My father-in-law is 91. He worked in and retired from a factory. He and my mother-in-law had 6 children, so he also worked many odd jobs, in addition to any extra shifts he was asked to work at the factory. They were frugal; she sewed, grew a garden each year, and canned vegetables. As a result, their six children never had an unmet need. However, other than a small, rundown farm, an inheritance of large sums of money is unthinkable.

Since her death, my husband and I have attempted to close my mom’s estate, such as it was. We have chuckled at some of the absurdities of government, (don’t get me started)…such as having to take a $13.67 check from the bank to the nursing home so that Medicaid would not think we were stealing from the estate. Really. Oh! And having to call the Veteran’s Administration twice to inform them of her death only to have them deposit her funds, and then send us a letter to send it back. You can’t make this stuff up…

Inheritance: The Source of Our Future Hope

Inheritance. What comes to mind when you think of the word? The child of a wealthy person? People sitting around an attorney’s desk with an air of expectancy? Siblings fighting over heirlooms or the jewelry? The Jerry Springer show? Interesting where our thoughts initially go when that word comes up.

Recently, I was remembering a favorite passage of scripture I turn to in difficult times. You wouldn’t think Lamentations could give anyone cause for hope (!), however, these verses always renew mine.

This I recall to mind, Therefore I have hope.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”

Lamentations 3:21-24, NKJV

The Lord is my portion…

Today we have a tendency to think of a portion in regard to food, (as in smaller portions, since dieting is such a huge marketing focus.) Not surprisingly, there are other nuances of the word in the Old Testament that have become lost in today’s vernacular. In our simplification of the language for texting we often lose the richness of word meanings.

For decades the Psalms have given me much solace through seasons of trial, pain or loss. However, the full weight of the meaning of Psalms, such as Psalm 16:5, have only recently been dawning on my spirit.

Oh Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

Psalm 16:5, NKJV

Let your heart rest on that for a moment, as Asaph finally did in Psalm 73 after feeling jealous of his enemies.

GOD, everything HE IS, is our inheritance when we belong to Him. What does it matter if we have houses and lands? We have HIM, the God of Creation.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:25-26, ESV

Inheritance: The Source of Our Present Hope

You might be thinking, “Well, yeah, in the sweet by and by He’s my inheritance, but what about now?”

David answers you…

I cried out to you, O Lord: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.”

Psalm 142:5, NKJV

God is our inheritance here, too. He is our strength, our refuge, our deliverer, our fortress.

So, again, from where will your portion come?

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Quinsey Sablan

desperate, abuse, forgiveness, mercy, redeemed, redemption

Desperate: God’s Redemption Covers Our Messes

Devotionals, Stay SaneJanuary 9, 2018June 27, 2019

God has heard the cry of women throughout history. Living through abuse may result in desperate actions to protect ourselves, but God’s redemption covers our messes and can bring Him glory.

Throughout the holiday season a song by Pentatonix has been playing both in my home and on the radio called “Good to Be Bad.” If you are a fan of the group, I’m sure you’ve heard it. It’s a fun tune that causes a smile to light your face – I imagine kids love it for its message! In fact, my husband has teased me throughout the season, saying it reminds him of me. I can’t imagine where he would get that idea!

Nevertheless, despite the silliness around the song, it spurred me to ruminate over the bad girls of the Bible, as Liz Curtis Higgs named them in her 2013 book. To be honest, it further spurred me. My thoughts first turned in that direction in early December when our pastor preached a sermon from Genesis 38 about Tamar, a daughter-in-law of Judah.

Now ladies, let’s be clear; I am a Baptist girl, raised in a Southern Baptist church, attended 2 Baptist colleges, even a short stint at Southern Seminary, so let’s just say that I had heard of Tamar. I practically drowned in Biblical theology and doctrine! But let me tell you girlfriends, this gal had never heard, at least not in my remembrance, that for Tamar, it was good to be bad.

How do I know?

Check out the lineage of Jesus…she’s there, a couple of lines above Rahab, the harlot.

In fact, as my pastor, Jamaal Williams, was stating, Jesus’ heritage is comprised of the very people He came to save! In addition, Pastor Jamaal reminded me of an important truth, which I believe conservative Christians too often forget when we become wrapped up in the doctrine of the “Thou Shalt Not’s“: God is tenaciously for vulnerable women, regardless of their pasts.

You see, Tamar had been chosen to be the wife of Judah’s firstborn son, Er. No falling in love or courtship there…still isn’t acceptable today in many middle eastern countries, by the way. However, and this is difficult for us to grasp, God chose to kill him because Er was evil in His sight, (Genesis 38:6-7). It’s very likely Tamar was abused.

As was the custom, Tamar was then given to Judah’s next son, Onan, so that Er could have an heir. Turns out, (shocker), Onan had no desire to perform such a selfless act and allowed his seed to fall on the ground. Did he really think God couldn’t see in the dark? This angered God, so he killed Onan.

Whoa.

No sons left to give; the last one was too young…and truly, the apples hadn’t fallen far from the tree. Despite the honored cultural tradition of levirate marriage, Judah had no plan to give his last son to Tamar, even though it would bring destitution and shame to her life. He didn’t want that son to die, too!

And we thought #MeToo was a new thing.

Years passed, Tamar waited, no husband was forthcoming. What’s a girl to do when she is treated unjustly? She devises a plan…and what a plan it was!

Desperate: Self-Protection

I recommend you read the story in its entirety, but to condense it: Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute, tricked Judah into sleeping with her, and conceived a child. When he was first told that Tamar was pregnant, he wanted to have her burned alive. I kid you not; such was his self-righteousness and double standard of justice. However, when Tamar sent Judah proof that he was the father, uh-oh! He began to feel shame and rightly so. He said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.”

Wouldn’t you have loved to see his face when Judah received that 11×14 envelope of proof?

This can be confusing, however. Tamar’s actions were not an act of faith, but sin. Out of desperation, she took matters into her own hands instead of trusting God to provide for her. However, Judah had power over her and chose to abuse it. For reasons we don’t fully grasp, God forgave her and used one of her sons (she had twins!) to carry the seed forward in the line that led to Christ.

Desperate: God’s Redemption

God chooses to use weak and complex people to accomplish His will. Again, refer to the genealogy of Jesus. He doesn’t excuse our sin- there must be repentance (Psalm 86:4-5), but He uses ALL things, even the consequences of our sin, to accomplish His glory (Isaiah 46:8-10).

Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Psalm 86:4-5, NKJV

In many societies today women are still treated as property, no better than dogs, really. It’s easy to judge those cultures as backward or archaic. Yet, in the U.S. 4,774,00 women experience domestic violence by an intimate partner every day. America’s abuse of women has just been more subtle and hidden…but not from the Father.

God hates injustice and watches over the needy, the fatherless and the widow. His Word speaks clearly concerning these issues; I’m only naming two due to space (Deut. 10:18-19; Isaiah 10:1-2). When we turn our backs to these groups and gather in our Christian huddles for more Bible studies, prayer meetings, or leadership trainings, I wonder if the Father grieves, as Gene Edwards posited in his 1993 book, The Divine Romance. (There is a place for equipping; of course there is, but let us equip ourselves in order to go, not to sit and simmer.)

My prayer for you this year is the same for me, that as we love Jesus more deeply, His love will flow through us to the needy, the abused, the fatherless and the widow…and whomever He places in our paths.

If you have interest in the books mentioned, please consider purchasing them through these affiliate links. A small portion will go to help support this ministry at no extra cost to you (to read more about affiliates see the disclaimer page):

Bad Girls of the Bible

The Divine Romance

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Joel Filipe

We all have messes in our lives.
If we allow Him to, God will redeem our stories and make them beautiful.

Mary, revolutionary, world changer, favored, blessed

Mary: Known as Favored and Righteous, but a Revolutionary?

Devotionals, Stay SaneDecember 17, 2017June 27, 2019

Do we really know Mary? Yes, she is the mother of the Messiah, but she is also called favored, and righteous. She sets the example of being a revolutionary, living full of God’s power, and being a world changer!

“Mary, did you know…?” Are you freakin’ kidding me?!

CAUTION: It’s possible that I’m about to ruin for you one of the most popular and beloved modern-day Christmas songs of all time. The song is soothing, melodic (thanks to Buddy Greene), and asks a seemingly pertinent question. What I’m wondering, however, is how intimately acquainted the songwriter, Mark Lowry, was with Mary’s story.

Mary: Favored

Did HE know that God sent the mighty messenger-angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God (Luke 1:19), to a lowly peasant girl? Did Lowry realize that Gabriel, whose name means ‘God is great,’ was the same messenger who caused Daniel to fall on his face in terror (Daniel 8:17), and struck Zechariah dumb for questioning his message to him concerning John’s birth (Luke 1:18-22)?

Yet, Mary (while frightened when heralded by this magnificent angel) was first confused that he called her favored. She knew her standing in Jewish society – she was poor, and she was an unmarried woman.

Favored? That word had never been used in reference to her before.

Mary: Righteous

Of course, there was the matter of becoming pregnant while remaining a virgin; Mary wondered how. Scot McKnight, author of The Real Mary, states that surely Mary was surprised at all of these happenings, but the “biggest surprise was that she consented to God’s plan.” Today we have trouble grasping what she was agreeing to as an engaged Jewish girl. Her saying “Let it be to me according to your word,” would have ripped her world apart. I mean, even today, imagine telling your fiancé that an angel told you God had impregnated you…and keeping a straight face!

Not only was she offering her reputation to be ruined and exposing herself to public humiliation, but her engagement to Joseph would most certainly be reneged. Ultimately, she knew the Torah stated that she could face stoning (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). Life as Mary knew it would never be the same.

Most Protestants have cast Mary as the silent, compliant, blue-clad mother of Jesus at Christmas. For the other eleven months of the year we don’t have much to do with her because, well, she was just some sweet girl God allowed to be the holy incubator for Jesus, right? Uh, wrong; God isn’t in the business of giving anyone grunt work, (pardon the pun). And do we truly believe the Lord God would have chosen a random small-town teen to be the mother of His only Son?

In the NKJV, Gabriel calls her “highly favored one” and “blessed among women;” there is nothing random about those words. Mary was chosen because she was righteous. Her faith in God gave her the courage to consent to His plan despite the suffering she would endure.

Mary: Revolutionary

Through the years, many of us have had the pleasure of singing or hearing sung Mary’s Magnificat in a choir setting. It is in Luke 1:47-55, immediately after her cousin Elizabeth saw her and began praising God for what He had done in Mary! (And believe me, she hadn’t texted or emailed her beforehand). Her words offer soaring praise to God her Savior; but the latter verses, 52-54, could have been construed as sedition in occupied Israel. What? Meek and mild Mary, a seditionist?

Would it shock you to know that a level of concern remains in the modern world toward Mary’s song in places where dictators fear an uprising among their repressed people? In fact, in the 1980’s, the Guatemalan government “banned any public reciting of Mary’s Magnificat because it was deemed politically subversive,” (McKnight). Are you kidding me?!

I believe we need a paradigm shift concerning our views of Mary.

Mary was brave… bold… and apparently a revolutionary!

The Magnificat

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Luke 1:47-55, ESV

How dare she utter such provocative words: He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. Many had been murdered for less under Herod’s bloody reign. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. Whoa. The rich were the rulers, the powerful, the ones who, with a word, could end her life.

Mary: Full of His Power

You know that sick feeling you have for a friend when she opens her mouth and spews out something at the absolute worst moment? Imagine she was stopped for speeding and you were with her. Instead of being contrite, she was belligerent. And you wish you could have slapped your hand over her mouth and said, “Woman! For the love of all that is holy, shut your mouth!”

That’s how anyone listening to Mary might have felt… only more so. Her people were powerless, had been powerless, didn’t know the meaning of having power. While they followed the Torah, they quaked before the evil Herod was capable of.

But she knew a greater Power. Mary knew the mighty One of Israel and believed He had come to set them free. She could not remain silent! Her faith in the Father emboldened her to follow Him onto a path that promised darkness and pain, but also mercy and deliverance. She stepped out into the inky unknown resting in the palm of His hand.

Does this sound like the wallflower girl whom so many mistakenly picture Mary to be? I think not. Truthfully, I doubt if Joseph’s mother would have approved of Mary. She might not have been quiet or meek enough…but as Lynne Hybels titled her book in 2005, Nice Girls Don’t Change the World.

What about you?

Are you a Mary? Would you like to be?

If you have interest in the books mentioned, please consider purchasing them through these affiliate links. A small portion will go to help support this ministry at no extra cost to you:

The Real Mary

Because of Bethlehem: Love Is Born, Hope Is Here

Nice Girls Don’t Change the World

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Tim Mossholder

Advent: Preparing and Celebrating the Arrival of the Messiah

Devotionals, Stay SaneDecember 12, 2017June 27, 2019

Before celebrating the arrival of Messiah, we must prepare our hearts during advent. Only by preparing, can we truly rejoice in the gift of the Messiah.

When I was a little girl Christmas meant visiting Santa in a large downtown department store. Whether it was cold and snowy, sunny or rainy, my lower middle-class family also feasted on the magnificent Christmas scenes in display windows at the giant Sears store. Each window portrayed winter wonderlands or Santa’s workshops that captured our dreams and imagination. Afterward, dad would treat us to dinner at the now defunct Miller’s Diner. Of course I loved presents, but the warmth of those memories linger longer and deeper in me than any tangible gift I opened in my childhood.

And Jesus? He was an afterthought. Mom was a Sunday church attender and dad did not attend at all.

Advent? That’s something the Catholics did…or something.

Advent: The Arrival

Until several years ago, I’m embarrassed to admit, I continued to believe that Advent was “something the Catholics did “to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

The first Christmas season my husband and I were attending our current church, the pastor announced Advent services toward the end of November. My husband and I looked at each other quizzically. What had we stumbled into? Um. Was this a Cathobaptist Church?! We had some research to do!

As we discovered, Advent isn’t a magical word (or a Catholic word); it simply means “coming” or “arrival.” Our faith tradition had never acknowledged it, to our loss.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 1:9, ESV

Advent: The Preparation

I think where we might get confused is that we think of this season leading up to Christmas as one of merely celebration, but its origin was “primarily as a season of preparation – a time for prayer and self-reflection,” (Because of Bethleham Study Guide by Max Lucado and Christine M. Anderson).

I hear what you’re you’re thinking…Wow! Why don’t you just pour cold water on my Christmas?! Do you want me to take down the tree? Pull the lights down from the roof and take the cute snowmen off of my porch? What about the presents, are they to go, too??

Hold on…there’s more.

Advent: The Celebration

I have found that when I make time to reflect and pray, the Holy Spirit reveals areas of my life where I am weak, where I am needy, where I have been hiding from Him. But I am not condemned! I have Emmanuel: God With Us, God With me. Therefore, Christmas is also a time of celebration and rejoicing!

Can we not hold these all together? Self-reflection, prayer and celebration? I believe that we must.

In an Advent sermon in 1928, the then 22-year-old Dietrich Bonhoeffer said,

The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice!

Are you troubled in your soul, poor, and imperfect? Rejoice! The Savior has come!

If you would like to read more, check out these resources. Please consider purchasing them through these affiliate links. This does not raise your cost, and a small percentage will go to help support this ministry:

Because of Bethlehem: Love Is Born, Hope Is Here

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

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Annie Spratt

We are broken, but through His redemption we are made whole. Glory to God!

Respond: What Are We To Do In These Last Days?

Devotionals, Stay SaneNovember 29, 2017June 28, 2019

Tragedy is occurring all around us at an alarming rate. How are we to respond to the devastation? What are we to do in these last days?

An earthquake in Iraq kills over 400 people.

A driver mows down people on a cycling path in New York city, killing 8.

A crazed gunman enters a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, his gun blazing, killing anyone who made a noise…including babies. He slaughtered 26 people.

After leaving a relative’s home, located in one of the nicer neighborhoods of the city, a young couple was accosted by two armed teens. Shots were fired. The 30 year old husband of 9 days gave his life to protect his bride. They attended my church.

The young man who killed the cyclists with a box truck believed he was doing it for his god.

It is reported that the mentally ill gunman had a grudge against his mother-in-law, who is a member of the church he decimated. She wasn’t attending that day.

The two 15 year old boys who shot the young groom wanted money. “Random robbery,” the police said.

Respond: Living With Tragedy

Tragedy…it’s happening on a regular basis now, occurring so often that we’re numbed by the news stories of death and loss. Until it hits in our home turf.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

2 Timothy 3:1-4, NKJV

Is this world losing its mind?

Every generation since Christ walked the earth has asked, “Are these the last days?” Even the disciples questioned Jesus about it!

As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray…And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains…

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away…And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end; will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:3-14, NKJV

Respond: What To Do Amidst Tragedy

Would it surprise you to know that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world? I’m not quoting a Christian magazine or organization; even secular news has taken note. Increasingly, Christians are hated in America, but they are dying for the gospel around the world.

What is our response to these last days occurrences? To this evil that lives in our midst? Should we quake in fear? Sometimes it does feel frightening.

Or, conversely, go to the mission field? Be part of proclaiming the gospel to other countries? If you are called, go, but we’re living in a mission field.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to do is Paul’s charge to Timothy…

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:14-15, NKJV

I don’t know about you, but in the face of crisis, I want to go DO SOMETHING! Point me in the right direction and I will charge! However, I’ve been known to make a few messes in that state of mind; Paul has a different message.

But you…continue in the things you know are true. Continue in the Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus.

In these last days, let’s covenant together to persevere… to continue in the truth… which will make us wise.

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Not Alone in the Waiting…

Jacob

David

Isaiah

Rejoice in the waiting…

All Scripture from New King James Version

Pain

Blame

Suffering

Sacrifice

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Unknowable

Known

Know

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Fear: Rejection

Fear: Paralyzed

Fear: Delivered

Fear: Be Fearless

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I was afraid, but God… loved me.

Skewed Expectations

Selfish Motivation

United

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Inheritance: The Source of Our Future Hope

Inheritance: The Source of Our Present Hope

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Desperate: Self-Protection

Desperate: God’s Redemption

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We all have messes in our lives. If we allow Him to, God will redeem our stories and make them beautiful.

Mary: Favored

Mary: Righteous

Mary: Revolutionary

The Magnificat

Mary: Full of His Power

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Advent: The Arrival

Advent: The Preparation

Advent: The Celebration

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We are broken, but through His redemption we are made whole. Glory to God!

Respond: Living With Tragedy

Respond: What To Do Amidst Tragedy

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version.

photo credit: Wil Stewart

We all have messes in our lives.
If we allow Him to, God will redeem our stories and make them beautiful.

photo credit:
Wil Stewart