Devotionals – Page 6 – Oh Lord Help Us

Wait, waiting, hold, season, purpose, fruitful, joy, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Hold: Learning to Love and Enjoy God’s Waiting Room

DevotionalsJuly 30, 2019July 30, 2019

When everything is put on hold, God is still moving. We can enjoy the waiting rooms of life because, with God, no season is in vain.

Sitting on her pillow, holding her knees in her chest, she rocked herself back and forth as tears streamed down her face. She tried to journal, tried to pray, tried to worship, but all she could do was cry. She reached for the tissue, as her nose swelled again and snot settled on her upper lip.

“Why?!?” she screamed inwardly! “God, I’m trying to trust you. I want to hear you! I want to obey, but why aren’t you speaking? Why am I still waiting?” she bawled in the dark. Then, resigned to the fact that life was still on hold, she crawled under her covers, laid her head on a tear-stained pillow and went to sleep.

Life on Hold

A hospital waiting room tends to freeze time as if our world is suddenly put on hold. We step into its space, waiting for news of a loved one.

Some of my favorite memories have happened in a waiting room. I was just four years old, sitting on vinyl chairs with my grandparents and my little sister when my dad came around the corner in full scrubs. He held my sister and me on his two sides and announced the arrival of our baby brother!

Gramma

As a college student, I remember sitting in the waiting room, with all of my extended family, while my grandfather was in surgery. My enthusiastic Gramma dazzled us all with treasured tales as we waited. Time stopped, and I watched my grandmother’s eyes glisten as she told story after story of her childhood and college years. Growing up in Louisiana in the ’40s, falling in love with my grandfather in the ’50s, the early days in her marriage, the 60’s as she raised my mom and her three sisters.

To this day, I barely remember why Granddad was having surgery, and I have no idea how long we waited. But I will never forget some of her stories, or how it felt to be all together. It was pure magic.

And, there are the countless times I have sat in a doctor’s office waiting room with my own kids, reading books together, or playing “I Spy,” and, taking time to be still and make the most of our wait.

The irony of it all has not escaped me. After all, waiting rooms are often a place of frustration or anxiety. Rarely do you see people enjoy their wait, and certainly nobody throws a party in a hospital waiting room!

God’s Waiting Room

Waiting rooms can be beautiful places, where memories are made; yet, waiting for God to move rarely feels beautiful.

I have sat in the waiting rooms of life more than a few times. Several years ago, after my husband lost his job, I kept begging God to show us what was next. I felt like everything was put on hold, and I was stuck. I was willing to do anything and go anywhere, except sit still and wait! Sound familiar?

I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1, AMPC

As I began writing this post, I was waiting for my fourth child to make his debut. I was in pain, and emotional. I was uncomfortable. So, I strove to make something happen, but in the end, all I could do was wait.

Over and over, Jesus showed me Isaiah 55:1…

Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].
Isaiah 55:1, AMPC

And now, I am typing one-handed holding a bubbly, bright-eyed three-week-old wiggling on my lap. Like most things that require all of my patience, he is worth the wait!

Wait with Purpose

Waiting is HARD. Whether we wait with expectancy or anxiety, either way means to stretch ourselves and hope for something that we don’t fully see yet.

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.
Psalm 27:14, AMPC

The truth is, God does not put our lives on hold, rather He holds our lives. We don’t wait for God to move. God is moving, and we wait for Him to speak. And, in the waiting, He is not silent and we are not without purpose.

God does not put our lives on hold, rather He holds our lives. We don't wait for God to move. God is moving, and we wait for Him to speak. And, in the waiting, He is not silent and we are not without purpose. Click To Tweet

Wait with Joy

Through all of my times of perceived waiting. The Lord continues to show me, now is my time and right now is my calling. This place and these people right in front of me are my purpose. Enjoy this moment.

Even when we feel like nothing is happening, God is playing the overture before the show begins. We can choose to be anxious and impatient with the process, or we can sit back and enjoy the music.

If you are in a season of waiting, this IS your moment. It IS your right now. Today IS your season. Enjoy the day.

Waiting IS hard, but it is not fruitless. With God, no season is ever in vain.

Annie Spratt

Love, commandment, The Ten Commandments, Christian living, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Love: Living Out The Ten Commandments the Way God Designed

DevotionalsJuly 29, 2019July 29, 2019

The Ten Commandments are a set of commands from God we have all heard before, but what do they mean and how do they direct us to live in love?

We all know about the Ten Commandments. We grew up learning about them and knowing that they were important. I honestly never gave them much thought growing up. Yeah, don’t murder, don’t lie, only have one God. It all made sense, but I never truly thought about what they mean to us in light of the New Testament and the fulfillment of the Law. However, my church is going through a study of the 10 Commandments which has caused me to look at them differently.

What is the Greatest Command?

He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.’
Matthew 22:37-39

Love God, love others. Those are the two greatest commands. Jesus is very clear about this. If those are the greatest, where do the Ten Commandments fit in?

All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.
Matthew 22:40

All the Law. This includes the Ten Commandments. All of the Ten Commandments fall into these 2 categories.

The 2 Categories

Love God, Love Others. Those are the 2 categories.

If you break down the Ten Commandments you will find that the first four deal with our relationship with God and the last six refer to our relationship with others.

All of the first four commands talk about how we relate to God and how we are to show our love and honor to Him. If we keep these first four commands we are loving the Lord our God: the greatest commandment.

The final six commandments reference our relationships with others. They deal with basic things like not murdering. To things that are a little more difficult like not coveting what your neighbor has. These commands all lead us to love our neighbors as ourselves the second greatest commandment.

The Law Vs Love

Don’t even begin to think that I have come to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I haven’t come to do away with them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17

The way the Ten Commandments can be compared to the two commands Jesus gave is a perfect example of Jesus’ goal. He came to fulfill the Law not wanting to destroy it, do away with it, or disregard its importance. He fulfilled it so we would not be bound by it. The Law is still important and should be a part of our lives but Jesus fulfilled it and made it possible for us to not have to be bound by it.

Jesus taught us that love is the greatest of all commands. That’s it. Love. When we show love to God and others everything else follows suit…

You must have no other gods before me.
Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.
Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy.
Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Do not kill.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.
Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house.
Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

The way the Ten Commandments can be compared to the two commands Jesus gave is a perfect example of His goal. He came to fulfill the Law not wanting to destroy it, or disregard its importance. Click To Tweet

All Bible references are using the Common English Bible translation.

Paweł Czerwiński

Heaven, home, travelers, faith, pain, suffering, hope, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Travelers: Resting in the Truth, This World is not Our Home

DevotionalsJuly 28, 2019July 16, 2019

Whether we move around or stay in one place, feeling at home can be difficult. As Christians, we are travelers passing through this perishable world, trying to reach our true home.

I am a traveler and an exile. This is not my home, but I can still live in the confidence that my Father is good and just.

Where is My Home?

This year I will celebrate a milestone. It is the longest time my husband and I have lived in any one location. 8 years and as I think about what it means to have a home and to be a part of a place, I keep coming back to the time I spent in 1 Peter. The exiles, sojourners, and the travelers he wrote to knew what it was like to be in a country that did not want them. Where the political climate felt unnerving at best, and unsafe at its worst.

I have lived away from home in the sense that my husband and I have lived in a few states- Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, South Carolina. So, I learned really quickly to make a home wherever he was and wherever my children slept. I was often “not from around here” and learning the systems spoken and unspoken has taken some time to understand. Some I never did pick up on.

This is not My Home

I am not just a traveler in the earthly sense, though. I am a heavenly traveler too. This is earth not my home and Peter reminds us of this truth over and over again in 1 Peter.

Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
1 Peter 1:23

Why do we forget? Why do I make this earth and all that it has to offer so valuable? I think Jesus knew our flesh would be tempted to depend on what we could see, touch and contain. He reminded His disciples…

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

I Forget

Jesus knew we would face temptations and trials. He knew our frame –that we were dust and frail and prone to give up and give in. But, He still called us…

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9

He Reminds Me

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:10

No matter where I lay my head, I am His and I have an eternal home in heaven. As I have gotten older, I long for heaven more. I grow weary of seeing people I love suffer through illness and fear. I see sadness and overwhelming grief. But, I have also seen God’s hand move in ways I would have never dreamed was possible, in spite of me and my unbelief. How can we find hope in the midst of such uncertainty? I think we trust in the example that our Savior gave us…

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
1 Peter 2:23b

While We are Travelers, We Can Trust Him

Jesus had every right to demand better treatment. He was God. He had every reason to want obedience and worship. But, He knew that He had a good Father that He would trust with His very life. And so do I. When my life is not making sense, I can lean into Him. I can trust that He sees the whole picture and knows me and knows best.

This is not blind faith. It is faith informed by His word. What do you need help releasing that is really just perishable, won’t last, can’t satisfy? He bore our sins so we could die to sin and live to righteousness. Jesus is our home.

No matter where we lay our heads, we are His and have an eternal home in heaven. What do you need help releasing that is really just perishable? He bore our sins so we could die to sin and live to righteousness. Jesus is our home. Click To Tweet

All scripture references come from the English Standard Version.

Gabrielle Rocha Rios

Pride, prideful, temptation, forgiveness, prayer, humility, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Prideful: Resisting Temptation and Following Christ’s Example of Humility

DevotionalsJuly 24, 2019July 13, 2019

To our core, humans find it easy to slip into prideful character traits. We must resist the temptation to wear pride and follow Christ’s example of humility.

My husband and I closed on our first home on June 7. It’s a beautiful fixer-upper, built in 1920. We knew going in this would be a lot of work, but I think we underestimated just how much work.

For weeks now, we’ve been cutting, drilling and demolishing in that house every spare minute we have. It’s been challenging and growing, to say the least. But I knew it would be. I knew we would be exhausted. I knew our communication as husband and wife would be challenged and given opportunity to flourish.

But what I didn’t expect was something inside of me to crawl its way to the surface, revealing an ugly, sinful aspect of my personality: pride.

Doing vs. Hearing

I am a fairly independent creature. I love knowing how to get a job done and then just going and doing it. But I’m also a hands-on learner. Which means in order for the knowledge of how to do something to lodge in my brain, it’s a whole lot easier for me to physically walk through it than it is for me to listen to someone explain how to do it.

Let me tell you, when it comes to renovating a house, there’s a lot I don’t know. My husband has been gracious with me as I learn on the go, but I hate that I have to ask him so many questions. I hate that I have to wait for him to give a direction for certain things like roughing in the electric and creating framing for our new, beautifully-big kitchen window.

But that’s not even where my pride has reared its ugly head. The situations where that sinful little character flaw reveals itself has been in my meeting with contractors. With male contractors, I should add.

Prideful Scream

Now, I’m not the person who is all up in arms over women’s rights. I believe women are equal in intelligence and value to men, that we should have equal opportunity, but I’m not going to be protesting or arguing that the world is out to devalue women.

But what I will take a stand against is men assuming I don’t know what I’m talking about in a male-dominated field. That just gets me! I’ve met with a few different contractors during the day by myself, as I work from home and have the flexibility to do so.

What I’m realizing is that most of these men I speak with give my prideful nature a frustratingly simple path to the surface of my emotions. When they say things like, “You can have your husband call me if he has questions” or, “Do you know what I mean by this?” I simply want to scream.

And those are moments my pride sneers in success as I shrink back in failure.

“What Would Jesus Do?”

Allowing a prideful attitude to take control is something I know saddens the heart of Jesus. I could easily give excuses for why I feel the way I do. But to borrow from the old, Christian phrase, I must ask, “What would Jesus do?”

Jesus, the King of the universe, the One who created heaven and earth with the breath of His lungs and the words of His mouth — this Jesus was mocked, scorned, beaten and put to death. Evil, nasty men hurled insults at Him… At the Son of the Almighty God.

And what did He do? Did He scream back at them? Did He defend His Name and His knowledge and His power? No, He didn’t. Jesus didn’t allow the pride of who He is to tempt Him into sin.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.
Isaiah 53:7, NIV

If Jesus didn’t feel the need to defend Himself against His accusers, why should I feel the need to defend my knowledge and experience?

I shouldn’t, is the simple answer.

But it’s never that simple for us mere mortals, is it?

God is Faithful

We can easily say “What would Jesus do?” Yet that’s a phrase easier said than put into practice. But if I desire to look more like Christ each day, if I desire to glorify God with every fiber of my being, then I must set aside the pride that rises each time people assume I don’t know something simply because I’m a woman.

I don’t know what circumstances you face that cause your prideful nature to flood your emotions, but one thing I do know: We can rise above this temptation. We can not only push back our pride, but we can pluck it from the very core of our being.

How? By remembering God is faithful.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV

Enduring Temptation

God has given us an amazing promise when it comes to the temptation of pride. We can know, because of His faithfulness, He will always provide a way out for us. He will help us to endure the temptation.

But here’s the thing: We have to accept His help. Just because God provides a way doesn’t mean He pulls us kicking and screaming. We must acknowledge His faithfulness, take His hand, and accept His endurance.

We can do this through prayer and through repeating truth whenever faced with a temptation. Instead of allowing instant frustration at these men who assume I’m simply my husband’s puppet in regards to the renovation of our house, I need to ask God for help. I need to praise Him for His faithfulness. And I need to seek the way out that He will provide for me.

Christ’s Humility

I wish I could give you a step-by-step guide to what this looks like. But what I can do is promise you that the more you seek God, and the more you remember Christ’s humility, the more you will begin to reflect His character. And the more you reflect His character, the more your prideful nature will feel foreign and unneeded.

For God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But you must follow His lead when He provides a way out for you. At least that’s what I plan on doing tomorrow when I meet with another contractor. No more prideful screams. I’m following Jesus’ example this time.

The more we seek God, and the more we remember Christ’s humility, the more we will begin to reflect His character. The more we reflect His character, the more our prideful nature will feel foreign and unneeded. Click To Tweet

Emily Saxe was born and raised on the east coast but currently resides in Indiana with her husband. Working as a full-time freelance writer and editor, her heart and her pen are drawn to stories of faith as she helps people share how God is working in their lives. Everyone has a story to tell, and Emily loves helping to give people a voice to share their own story.

Read more of Emily’s articles on her website, To Unearth. You can also find Emily here: Pinterest Instagram Facebook

Evie S.

still, be still, wait, waiting, joy, overwhelmed, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Be Still: Choosing to Wait on the Lord in Our Circumstances

DevotionalsJuly 23, 2019July 11, 2019

Life’s overwhelming circumstances can leave us feeling completely helpless. But the Lord promises to never leave us. All we need to do is choose to be still and wait on Him.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Ram Doss

I sat on the cold hospital floor and knelt beside the bed as still as could be. My hand held the one whom I had called Daddy my entire life. All we could do was just be still and wait…

Be Still and Know God

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10, NKJV

God…sometimes there is just too much noise! There’s just too much going on around me. I just want to run away and hide!

If you are anything like me, you have prayed this same prayer more than once in your life. As Americans, we live in a fast-paced world filled with busy schedules and lives that seem to move at lightning speed. It is so easy to take our great and mighty God for granted when we don’t take the time to be still and know Him.

Kneeling beside the bed of my dad just days ago, I felt the same way. Everything in my life seemed to overwhelm me in that instant. Would he make it through this surgery? Could the surgeons fix his heart? Mind you, I was not doubting God or my faith, just worried and overwhelmed. But, as the minutes ticked by I remembered how God had helped me the past three years and all the lessons He had taught me along the way.

Many times I had people around me ask how I survived and held on to my faith? It was not anything I did, but everything He showed me. So, let me take a few minutes and share with you what God has taught me about being still in Him.

To Know Him is to Love Him

I accepted Christ into my heart at a young age. I am so thankful that I grew up knowing and understanding His love, His Word, and His ways. Dear friend, you may know who God is and believe in God, but do you “know” Him?

Do you believe Christ died on the cross for you? Have you asked Him to forgive you of your sins and come to live in your heart? Once you do this, you will experience His love, grace, mercy, and peace. Then you will begin to understand and “know” His ways.

Let the Worries Fade Away

Have you ever wondered how some Christians can go through pain and suffering and still have joy? It’s because they are being still. As a Christian God teaches us to put all our worries in His hands.

Instead of listening to the noise of your worries, listen to the voice of the Lord. We are not to let our joy come from our circumstances, because our circumstances can change in an instance. Our God does not change. Stop worrying about your joy and your happiness and let Him fight for you.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14, NIV

Have No Fear

The Lord remains the same. As Christians, we know He can fight our battles, but we still seem consumed with fear. Fear of the unknown? Fear of failure? Fear of the future? Did you know the Devil can use these fears against us? He loves to distract us with our worries and our fears because they can distance us from God.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Psalm 46:1-2, KJV

God has proven time and again that He can work within us and through us. Sometimes He allows trials to come into our lives, so we can learn to depend more upon Him. Remember, God is always in control. Stop worrying and just be still.

Wait

Waiting is hard and sometimes waiting can hurt. It is in our human nature to want to control every situation. Sometimes it can feel like God is not answering our prayers or does not seem to understand the urgency of our situation. But, if we give in to those thoughts we are saying God is not in control or He is not being fair.

Be still because God is worth waiting for. He is often at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot fathom. We should be still and discover what God is trying to teach us while we are waiting.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalm 27:14, KJV

Be still because God is worth waiting for. He is often at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot fathom. We should be still and discover what God is trying to teach us while we are waiting. Click To Tweet

Choose

I choose to be still and wait on the Lord in my present circumstances. I choose to discover what He wants me to learn in the storm. I choose to listen to the voice of my Lord, and not the noise of my worries. I choose joy. I choose life. I choose love. Join me and let us JUST BE STILL.

Until we meet again… Gracie

Elliot Mann

foolishness, God’s Kingdom, intimacy, obedience, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Follow: Laying Down Our ‘SELF’ in Obedience to God

DevotionalsJuly 22, 2019July 11, 2019

Our response to God’s call is often “Yes, but…” We must surrender our ‘selves’ in obedience to God and intimately follow His leading for the Kingdom.

Courage isn’t doing what you want in life; courage is laying down your life. Otherwise, it’s not courage – it’s self-gratification.
Ann Voskamp, The Way of Abundance

Follow Me…

There is a passage in Luke, which I have read since childhood, subtitled, “The Cost of Discipleship”. In my past Bible’s, it was in red letters. I imagine over the years I have secretly, self-righteously judged the people to whom Jesus spoke these words, but as I’ve grown older it has become easier to see myself in them…

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, ‘Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’ Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.’ And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’
Luke 9:57-62, NKJV

Misunderstanding

Now, I must admit, often when I’ve read that over the years, beneath my self-proscribed piety, I have winced at the harshness of the responses of Jesus. They seemed dissonant with His character. They weren’t fit for the kingdom because one wanted to bury his father and the other wanted to say goodbye to his family? Something was inconsistent here…

Therefore, there had to be misunderstanding on my part. One thing I learned was about the priorities of the would-be disciples.

Robert Stein said in The New American Commentary on Luke, “In both the second and third sayings, the individual’s ‘first’ priority was clearly something other than following Jesus… discipleship requires a radical shift in priorities. Jesus must be first. He will not accept second place to anyone or anything. Even a good thing… cannot usurp the place of the best thing, which is to love Jesus with all one’s heart, strength, and mind.”

Yes, but…

Jesus doesn’t appreciate a “Yes, but…” from us any more than we do from our children. Even though I learned as a young Christian that ‘delayed obedience is disobedience,’ I can’t say that I practice immediate obedience each time I hear my Father’s voice.

Example: The Holy Spirit has said to me, “Dodie, I want you to call this person who needs encouragement.”

I say, “Yes, Lord, but first I need to ___.” (and then sometimes I forget completely until He tells me, again!)

Or, “My child, pray for _____. They are in need of strength in this very hour.”

“Yes, Lord; I will, but I need to finish this first…”

These are small things to us, my friends, but to the Lord, it speaks to our priorities and our willingness to obey His voice immediately. If I am lackadaisical about obedience in the small things, why would God entrust me with the mighty things of the Kingdom?

To follow Jesus and place Him above everything, requires the courage of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Two things our culture knows little of…too often, two things I know little of.

Forsaken

Another way of better understanding the passage is a reference on the last phrase of the chapter. It takes us to a short verse in 2 Timothy.

for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica – Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
2 Timothy 4:10, NKJV

Demas – there are few mentions of him in the New Testament. In fact, the only other references to him are found in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24, when he was called a “fellow laborer” with Paul and Luke. Can you imagine working alongside the apostles Luke and Paul and then deciding to chuck it?? Not only did he decide the Christ-life wasn’t for him, but he also deserted Paul when Paul needed him, (verse 9). Demas revealed himself as someone who “put his hand to the plow and looked back.”

Why did he look back?

Because he loved this present world…

Loving the World

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.
I John 2:15-16, NKJV

Do you sense a slight bristling here?

Perhaps we’ve grown deceived in believing we never look back, (which is literally looking unto the things behind, or the things we’ve left behind for Jesus). Or, it has been awhile since we’ve confessed anything, so the thought of us loving the world feels odious or foreign to us.

Really, ME? How?

Intimacy with God

Recently, I watched a Beth Moore training DVD where she taught women writers, teachers, and speakers, (or those aspiring to). Once again, I was struck and humbled by her passion, not for ‘the ministry,’ but for Jesus and His Word. She declared, “There is no short-cut to long-term effectiveness: Bible Study and prayer will never change concerning your intimacy with God.”

How do we love the world? By spending on luxuries or drinking excessively?

No, it’s much more subtle than that. Our time and energy get sucked up by Facebook, Little League, Twitter, the fitness club, soccer, volunteering, church activities…then we fall in bed at night, arise the next day and begin it all again.

Intimacy with our Father? Seriously, who has time?

Will He love us less? NO. But will we be effective in the Kingdom?

No.

Living Foolishly

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Galatians 3:3, ESV

Like Demas and the Galatians, we may all begin strong, with a passionate, intimate relationship with Jesus. However, the moment we begin to trust in ourselves, in our own effort to continue the walk, we will fail. We may keep up the charade for a while; we’ve all known people who have.

But…it’s like living in the same house with a husband you used to love and now you’re divorced.

Can you imagine?

We may all begin strong, with a passionate, intimate relationship with Jesus. However, the moment we begin to trust in ourselves, in our own effort to continue the walk, we will fail. Click To Tweet

Evie S.

Bitterness, sin, stress, salvation, repentance, forgiveness, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Turning: Repenting of Our Sins and Returning to The Lord

DevotionalsJuly 21, 2019July 21, 2019

True repentance happens in turning away from our sins and turning back to the Lord. Once we are in right standing with Him, we can face any battle.

I had had enough. I was at the end of my rope, and I was angry. A root of bitterness was taking ahold of my heart, and I was blaming anyone and everyone–my kids, my husband, even God–for my situation.

There were too many bills and not enough money to pay them. Too many hours in the day with the kids and not enough activities or patience to fill them. Way too many frayed nerves and not enough peace to calm them.

In this perfect confluence of stressors, I was overflowing with anger and frustration. And my husband was bearing the brunt. Instead of turning to the Lord and asking Him to forgive and help me, I was turning my back to Him. In doing so, I was making everything even worse.

Turning Our Back…

What is it about turning our back to someone that makes us feel powerful? When we refuse to engage with someone, we don’t hold any true power over him. And we surely don’t have the upper hand.

In fact, in an actual physical fight, the most vulnerable position one can assume is turning his/her back to the opponent. Self-defense 101 cautions to never turn your back to your attacker. When you do so–unable to see what he’s doing– you render yourself defenseless against his attack.

And, what’s worse, as believers when we turn our back on our own ally, the Holy Spirit, we weaken our defenses against our true enemy: the devil. The Holy Spirit’s role is to comfort, counsel, and empower us to face any challenge we encounter.

So, by turning away from Him, we expose our weak side, making us even more vulnerable to our enemy’s attack. And we know what the devil’s sole intent is:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…
John 10:10, KJV

A Hard Heart…

Part of me knew what I needed to do, but my heart was hardened to the point that I refused to pray to the Lord and ask for help. And I’d begun to feel justified for feeling the way I was feeling and for acting the way I was acting. Even though it was getting me nowhere, and actually setting me back, I stubbornly refused to pray.

Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.
Romans 2:5, CSB

By refusing to pray, in essence, I was doing the devil’s work for him. I was fighting against myself. Beloved, when we turn away from the Lord, we side with our own enemy. But my hardened heart had blinded me to this reality.

Thankfully, the Lord does not take any delight whatsoever in watching us suffer as we play into the enemy’s hand. In fact, He wants nothing more than for us to turn away from our sin, to turn our back to our real enemy, and to turn again to Him–our very present help in time of need.

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11, ESV

Turning Back…

Luckily my husband has pretty razor-sharp spiritual discernment, so he understood the state that I was in. Even though my mouth was hurling fiery darts at his heart, he was deflecting them with patience and lovingkindness. And he kept encouraging me to pray with him and to ask the Lord to help me. I thank God for giving me a husband who is a true man of God, who can recognize when he needs to fight for me in the spirit. Even when I am trying to fight against him in the natural!

It took me awhile–way too long in fact–but eventually, I agreed to pray. I wish I could say I repented quickly, but honestly, it was a pretty slow, forced, and ugly process. But as I began to pray, the hard shell on the exterior of my heart began to crack, then soften. And before I had finished praying, all of the stony parts of my heart seemed to melt away, leaving trails of hot tears streaming down my cheeks.

Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
Acts 3:19, ASV

When we turn away from our sin–in my case, frustration, bitterness, anger, and fear–we can turn back to the Lord. And that is what repentance simply is: turning back to our Savior. Turning back to the One who loves us, and forgives us, and washes us clean. And when we are in right standing with Him, we will be able to face the real battles in our lives.

When we turn away from our sin, we can turn back to the Lord. Repentance simply is: turning back to our Savior. Turning back to the One who loves us, and forgives us, and washes us clean. Click To Tweet

Search Me…

No matter how far along we might think we are on our spiritual path, we never outgrow our need for repentance. I think too often we as believers view repentance with a capital R. Like it’s a one time, one of a kind thing that we do only when we’re first saved. When the Lord first forgives us.

But repentance begins with a little r. It’s just a regular, daily thing that we have to do as believers. Turning our hearts back to the Lord has to be a common, daily practice because unfortunately, sinning and falling short of His glory is a daily, ongoing challenge.

But thankfully, the Lord has made a provision for this continuous problem: repentance. Any time we feel disconnected or out of sync with the Lord, we can ask Him to search our hearts and reveal any areas where we have strayed. And when we humble ourselves and turn back to Him, fully repenting for our sin, He softens our hearts and erases our slates. He continually takes away our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24, ASV

Is there an area in your life that you need to turn back to the Lord? Do you treat repentance as something that begins with a capital R or a small r?

Christiane Nuetzel

wealth, value, salvation, love, grace, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Rich: Living As New Creations in Christ and Heirs to His Kingdom

DevotionalsJuly 17, 2019July 11, 2019

We are new. We are in Christ. This means we are heirs to the Kingdom. Rich beyond measure. How then can we continue to dwell on the empty wealth of this world?

Joy or Cash?

Money. Yikes. Man’s best friend and the root of all evil. As someone who loves stuff, I find money to be quite convenient to have. Besides, in a world where everything costs an arm and a leg, why not rack up on cash? As I begin to learn the ways of the world (and money), I’ve definitely fallen to the stigma of “more is better” and most of the time don’t even realize it.

Why is it that we’ve been given everything we need, even a lot of what we need, yet we’re constantly looking for more stuff and more things? At the root of it, at least for me, personally, it’s that I am discontent with what the Lord has given me. I think I know what’s best, therefore, I strive for it; all my energy wasted.

Daughters of the King

When you think about it, we’re all richer than we could imagine. Heirs to the biggest kingdom there ever was and ever will be. We need not ask for anything because we have already received eternal wealth.

But let me ask you this, as daughters of the one true King, what has God given us and what makes it so much better than anything earth could offer us? My darling we can’t even imagine…

And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:11, TLB

Rich in Christ

In heaven, we receive love. Not circumstantial love that can only live off of what we do for it, but true, unconditional love greater than we could imagine.

In heaven, we receive peace. Not the peace we find when we lay in our bed after a long day, not a peace we have to work for. But a peace for the soul. No more restlessness, no more tossing and turning. I honestly can’t imagine that peace, but I am sure as heck willing to give everything I have to be with the One who gives it.

How do I do that though? How are we supposed to be poor in spirit so that we can be rich in Christ? And how do we non-reluctantly give up every single thing we have and know and pursue Christ? What does that even look like?

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
James 2:5, ESV

New

Many of us have heard 2nd Corinthians 5:17. We are told that in Christ, we are new creations. While reading over this, I thought in the context of my questions… new creation can be taken literally. New. Not what we were. Not what I was. This means there must be a change. A change so vast that the word new can be applied to us.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV

When I look at my life since I’ve given it to Christ I honestly don’t look a whole lot different. I still find myself caught up in a lot of what I used to do. For me, I believe living for Christ will start by no longer living for myself. I can’t continue living the way I was. I am new in Him; rich in Him. I know this, but what am I doing to change it?

My encouragement to you is to find what you’ve been holding on to, or what it is you refuse to change. God I pray, please help me rid me of myself. Help me live for you and not the world.

Our wealth lies in God's overwhelming generosity. Through Him, we gain immeasurable grace and love. Above all, we gain the precious gift of salvation. Click To Tweet

Vanesa Papučíková

basics, Christian living, foundation, fundamental, honor, victory, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Basic: Understanding God’s Clear and Fundamental Instructions

DevotionalsJuly 16, 2019July 9, 2019

Just like in anything learned, Christian living has basic fundamentals. We must understand the basics in order to live according to God’s instructions.

The one who follows instruction is on the path of life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray.
Proverbs 10:17, CSB

Challenge Accepted

Baseball season is in full swing now! I waited as long as I possibly could, but I finally signed my boys up this year. I am not the type of person that finds enjoyment in signing my children up for everything under the sun. It’s exhausting to me, to be quite honest. I finally did it though.

I wasn’t thinking it would matter because they are both still pretty young; 9 and 7. Surely the other kids on their teams aren’t going to be THAT good, right? Uh, yea, NO. I was SO wrong! These kids are WAY better than I thought they’d ever be. Of course, they have been playing since they were 3!! So, obviously, my kids had some catching up to do.

Basic Fundamentals

It’s been a struggle in areas, but for the most part, they have excelled very well. My husband and I tried to teach the basic skills. The goal is to catch the ball without it hitting the ground, so you can get the player on the other team, out. This may sound like a simple task, but honestly, it’s not.

There is a method and technique required to do this accurately. It takes precision and skill. It takes focus and coordination. Each player has to understand the basic fundamentals before they can apply them correctly. If my boys want to succeed in baseball, they will have to learn to get the basics down first.

Choosing To Keep Pressing On

This is pretty common with anything we try in life; the need to know the basics first. If we want to excel in learning an instrument, or even learning how to read, we need to start from the beginning and work our way through. We can’t dive in with confidence, thinking we can do these things without any knowledge of how.

My kids were SO excited about baseball and thought they already knew what to do. They found out very quickly that they had much to learn. Though this was intimidating, they decided on their own it was still something they desired.

Knowing this would take hard work and discipline didn’t steer them away from learning. Instead, they were compelled and motivated to practice more. This becomes a choice that, we, as believers, are able to make on our own. Making this choice is what determines how much knowledge we are capable of gathering throughout life.

Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge.
Proverbs 23:12, CSB

Here Are The Basics

Just like the basic skill of throwing a ball in the air and catching it, there are also basic fundamentals needed in order to excel in our daily Christian walk.

Pray – We need to pray like we are breathing. It is the main line of communication that we have with the Lord. When we aren’t praying, we are preventing ourselves from being in communication with our Heavenly Father. Praying is necessary in order for us to grow in our relationship with God.

Read the Bible – We absolutely need to read our Bible daily in order to gain wisdom from above. It is also the only way we can learn who God is. When we take time to read God’s story to us, then we learn the attributes of God that are vital to know in order for us to carry on living a life with purpose.

Church – Though going to church doesn’t make us a Christian, it does provide fellowship unlike any other. Worshiping with surrounding believers and gathering together as a whole to pray, is powerful and effective. When we avoid going to church, we are robbing ourselves from this gift.

Small Group – Being part of a small group of believers is immensely beneficial in our faith. We need encouragement, Bible study discussions, and accountability partners. These things are always achieved when we make it a priority to be part of a small group.

Fellowship – Just like in baseball, you have to work together as a team in order to win the game, the same applies to Christianity. When we work together as a team; there is always VICTORY accomplished!

Jesus Wins The Game

Jesus came into the world to live the perfect life we could not live. He endured the death we were all destined to die and He rose on the third day to conquer death for good. Jesus is the main character throughout the entire Bible and needs to be the main character throughout our lives.

Following His life’s example shows us the reason we need to have HOPE. The Old Testament points toward Jesus’ 1st coming. The New Testament points to Jesus’ life and resurrection and ends in Revelation revealing that He will come again! It is our divine privilege to serve Jesus Christ, our Lord. To honor Him by understanding the basic principals we need to take with us through this journey in the flesh. There is Victory found in Jesus!

He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20, CSB

Jesus will one day come down to us again! Jesus has won the game already and offers victory to us, daily! Today, friends, let’s celebrate this beautiful knowledge that God has given us to possess! Praise God in Heaven! Hallelujah! He has instructed us clearly. Let’s not waste another minute without applying this truth! Amen!

It is our divine privilege to serve Jesus Christ, our Lord. To honor Him by understanding the basic principals we need to take with us through this journey in the flesh. There is Victory found in Jesus! Click To Tweet

Jarrod Reed

hope, pain, perseverance, restored, suffering, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Gain: Understanding God through Our Pain and Suffering

DevotionalsJuly 15, 2019July 15, 2019

God does not promise an easy life. We will see pain and suffering, but we will gain a better understanding of Him through those seasons.

I have always avoided the book of Job. To be honest, I was somewhat afraid of it. It just didn’t feel like the God I believed in. I had this irrational belief that if I ever came to terms with a God that would test Job in this way, maybe, just maybe, He would test me in a similar way.

Gain Understanding through Job

So, when Lisa Harper’s Bible study on Job was announced as the next one our women’s group would be doing, I struggled with whether or not to sign up. Deep down a part of me knew what I was really signing up for.

The next week as I was perusing through the library, something drew me to Harold Kushner’s The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person. For the next couple of weeks, it sat on my nightstand unopened, taunting me. It felt like some kind of sign that God wanted me to understand Job, really understand Job. So against my better judgment, I signed up for the Bible study and forced myself to actually go.

The Story of Job

For those of you who are not familiar with Job or those who have also hidden from it, the first chapter introduces you to a man named Job who seems to have everything–great wealth, land, family, friends–but most importantly, he is considered blameless and upright by God. Wow! It sounds like his life is pretty much perfect, and that is where Satan steps in.

He tries to convince God that the only reason that Job is righteous and loves the Lord is because God has protected him and given him everything his heart desired. If all those things were to go away, so would Job’s love for the Lord. But God knows better. Not only does Job have faith in God, but God has faith in Job.

So Satan strips away all of Job’s comforts: he loses his cattle, his servants, even his own children. In chapter two, we learn that Job is also afflicted with a disease that brings constant pain and suffering.

The story continues with Job trying to make some kind of sense of his senseless suffering. He talks to his friends, who instead of empathizing with him, try to persuade him that he must be to blame for this sudden turn of events. Job eventually comes face-to-face with God and receives the answers in which he desires. And in chapter 42, Job’s health and wealth are not only restored but doubled.

Making It Through

See, I think that most of us are living a story much like Job, although maybe not quite to the same extreme.

And if we could, we would take a time machine from one end to the other and miss the mess in the middle. But for all of you mathematicians out there, what is the difference between 42 and 2? That’s right, 40. If you took that time machine, you would miss the “40”.

Trials to Transformation

40 in the Bible has always been symbolic of a period of testing that leads to transformation.

Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:3-4, NIV

When it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, Noah learned that he could trust God to help him weather any storm.
The Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years to prepare them for the Promised Land.
Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the wilderness before his ministry began to give him the strength he would need to overcome him.

It is through these trials of life that God prepares us. That He transforms us.

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5, ESV

During those 40 messy, middle chapters of Job’s life, his eyes were opened in a way that would not be possible without his suffering.

Redemption Over Retribution

Those 40 middle chapters of Job dismiss the Jewish belief of divine retribution; the long-held belief that suffering is caused by sin, while prosperity and peace come to those whom God is pleased with.

Bad things DO happen to good people. People get sick, lose their job, get divorced… every day, and sometimes through no fault of their own. Job was blameless before God and still endured terrible hardship. Yet, through it all, he remained faithful to God.

Empathy Over Sympathy

The story of Job is not only an example of how we should handle our own suffering but that of those around us as well. God does not want us to be like Job’s friends and blame others for their problems. Or to look down on them in judgment.

God wants us to look past people’s misgivings and show them empathy and love. He wants us to show others the grace that He has shown us. It is not our job to ask how they got into that situation, but instead, we need to ask ourselves how can we lead them back to the One who can redeem all situations.

Relationship Over Religion

God’s praise of Job and reproof of his so-called friends, shows that God wants honest communication with us–relationship over religion. Job’s friends said what they thought God wanted to hear; their words were only for show.

Job, on the other hand, hid nothing from God. One minute, Job seems confident that God will hear his pleas, and in the next, he seems to have lost all hope in God’s willingness to listen and rectify his situation.

Sound familiar? God wants us to persist in asking, questioning, and sharing our thoughts and emotions with Him. In His time, He will respond with the answer that is best for us.

Eternal Over Temporal

God is forging a new deeper, relationship with Job. Job tells God, “I heard about you from others; now I have seen you with my own eyes.” (Job 42:5). There is nothing as powerful as the life-altering experience of being in the presence of God. There is no time that we are closer to God than when we are walking through those dark hallways of life; closed off from all the “should be’s” and the “might-have-been’s”.

But here’s the thing about hallways, they lead to a better destination. And during those dark times, we are reminded of what truly is important. All those little things we have been fretting over, just don’t seem to matter anymore. We start to see things a little more clearly, a little more like God. We start to focus on the eternal, instead of the temporal.

I suggest to you that it is because God loves us that he gives us the gift of suffering. Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. You see, we are like blocks of stone out of which the Sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of the chisel, which hurt us so much are what make us perfect.
C.S. Lewis

During dark times, we have hope. All those little things we’ve been fretting don’t seem to matter anymore and we start seeing things a little more like God. We focus on the eternal instead of the temporal. Click To Tweet

Gain Over Loss

I wish I could say that I did the Job Bible study, nothing bad happened to me, and I was blessed beyond measure, but that’s not the truth of it. We cannot get to the promised land without first making our way through the wilderness.

The full story sounds a little more like this: I did the Bible study, some bad things happened to me, yet God never left me and I was blessed beyond measure. However, I don’t believe that my health issues occurred because I finally read and understood the message of Job. I think that God gave me the message of Job when I needed it most to help me gain an understanding of my suffering.

So what I really learned from Job is that sometimes instead of asking WHY, “Why is this happening to me?”, I need to be asking WHAT, “What does God want me to gain from this?”

And I can promise you, the gain will always be greater than the loss.

Annie Spratt