Category: theology

Do not FEAR – only Believe (Mark 5:36)

“Do not fear, only believe” (Mk. 5:36). Jesus’s words in Mark show us that Faith is the solution to fear.

For my 9-5 job, I work with children and youth who are in foster care and their families. This involves investigating the circumstances that brought the children into care and combing through pages and pages of reports on a weekly basis. Just this last week I read that a client typically uses, “a boat and a half” of fentanyl multiple times a day. This phrasing caught my eye because for the first time in 10 years of reviewing these reports, I was not sure how much that meant… I did not know the “lingo” for this level of usage. I dropped to my knees praising the Lord that I did not know this! It reminded me of where Christ brought me from, He truly has “put a new song in my mouth” (Psalm 40:3).

This last month I have been doing a slow read through the book of Matthew. Matthew specifically grouped his book in topical order, not chronological order, with over 60% of the book containing teachings and guidance that Jesus personally spoke. Restoration to the Broken could be a title heading for the four miracles recorded in Matthew 9:18-38. In light of my reminder this week I want to look a little closer at two of these miracles recorded. A miracle restoring a Broken Home (vv 18-19, 23-26) and restoration of a Broken Hope (vv 20-22; Mark 5:26).

For sake of time I will not be including all of the passage text so I HIGHLY encourage you to look at the passages being discussed.

A BROKEN HOME: It must have been hard for Jairus to come to Jesus, since he was a devout jew and the leader in the synagogue. BUT Jairus’s love for his dying daughter compelled him to seek Jesus’ help, even if the religious leaders were opposing him. When Jairus first came to Jesus, his daughter was close to death. A delay caused by another woman ended with Jairus’s friends coming to relay the news that his daughter had died, no need to continue to bother the teacher.

Jesus, being compassionate, reassured Jairus and went with him.

This delay gave Jairus a great opportunity to see what a MEAGER Faith can accomplish.

No matter how our circumstances look, no matter what other’s say, no matter how we feel; We should trust Jesus and His promises. Jairus was frightened – yet Jesus took command and raised the girl from the dead.

The Gospel teaches us we are saved by GRACE not by worth

A Broken Hope: A woman who for 12 years had been ill with a hemorrhage, a discharge of blood. Mark 5:26 informs us that this woman had tried many physicians, but none could help her. Imagine the despair and discouragement she felt. Her hopes were shattered. Because of this hemorrhage, the woman was ceremonially unclean (Lev. 15:25), which only added to her hopelessness, as she had no community.

It is interesting that Jairus and this woman – two opposite people – met at the feet of Jesus. Jairus was a leading Jewish man; she wan an anonymous woman, with no prestige or resources.

He was a synagogue leader, while her affliction kept her from worship. Jairus came pleading for his daughter; the woman had a need of her own. The girl had been healthy for 12 years and then died; the woman had been ill for 12 years and was now whole. Jairus’s need was public – all knew it; the woman’s need was private only Jesus understood. Both Jairus and the woman trusted Jesus, and He met their needs.

Jairus could have resented the woman, because she kept Jesus from getting to his daughter before she died. But his real problem was not the woman but himself. He needed faith in Christ. Jesus forced the woman to give her testimony (See Mark’s account, Mark 5:25-34) BOTH for her sake and for the sake of Jairus. The fact the God has helped others ought to encourage us to TRUST Him more.

We can wait for the Lord – knowing that He is never late.

The woman’s faith was almost superstitious, and yet, Jesus honored it and healed her. We (people) must “touch” Christ where we/they are able, sometimes the starting place is at the hem of His garment. The Pharisees enlarged their hems and tassels in order to appear more spiritual, but they lacked the power to heal (Matt. 23:5). Others touched the hem of Jesus’s garment and were also healed (Matt. 14:34-36).

The woman’s meager faith reminded me this week of the amount of physicians, therapists, and others I consulted with when I was lost in my addiction, under the deep waters of sexual abuse and trauma, injuring my self as to show on the outside what an “outcast” I was on the inside and without community. Time and time again I sought healing but was never healed. Time and time again I walked away with a false hope, one that would slip away…

Until I touched the hem of Christ’s garment.

It was scary at first, scary to trust in something I could not see, something that required a full trust, but would leave me healed.

Now looking back over all of these years I can see just how small my Faith started out and how Jesus honored that and healed me. For some things it was quick and immediate like the woman with the hemorrhage, for other things it took time and took me growing in my faith, like Jairus I needed to see and hear the testimony of others, to trust what I could not see. To turn away from how things “looked” or “felt” to me and to Trust in Jesus.

I don’t know what your fear is today, friend. Maybe your are praying for healing for someone else, like Jairus was with his daughter or maybe your like the Woman and have an ailment of your own. Whatever it is, reach out for Christ.

Come like Jairus or come in fear and trembling like the Woman. The Greek word for “made well” can mean either “heal” or “save”. God is the one who heals. “In this instance this Woman’s FAITH was the divinely appointed means for her bodily healing AND for her spiritual salvation.”(Warren Wiersbe).

For me, I needed both healing and salvation, God brought what was dead to life.

Jesus did not come to mix the law and grace, HE came with New Life.

This girl was lost
This girl was broken
Now a Daughter of the King

Do not fear – only Believe… Jesus is the ONE who takes what is unclean and makes it clean, takes what is dead and brings it to New Life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

When Sir James Simpson, the inventor of chloroform, was dying, a friend said to him, “You will soon be resting on His bosom.” The scientist replied: “I don’t know as I can do that, but I think I have hold of the hem of His garment.”

It is not the strength of our faith that saves us, but faith in a STRONG Savior.

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Suffer Well

I started a study on the book of Hebrews at the beginning of January. I am currently a few months in and rounding out the last two chapters. Hebrews is such a theologically rich book that it has caused me to overlook or under-consider (is under-consider a word?) the books presentation of:

Jesus is enough and Jesus is always the answer

The last two months I have had some things come up that have given me a fresh comfort of this truth. This book has been a major balm to my soul and has increased my ability to abide in my relationship with Christ. When condemnation has came knocking on the doors of my memories and anxiety of the unknown has tried to shake me… these truths overcome!

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Earlier this month I had a scare with some unexpected blood loss… I go to the doctor and get a referral to surgery, which I am waiting to be scheduled currently. At that same appointment, unexpectedly, the doctor found a large lump on each of my breasts. This month made exactly one year since my last breast cancer scare in which my faithful church family anointed and prayed for me. 

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So now I wait on another mammogram and diagnostic imaging but I wait knowing God has been faithful in the past and I can trust He will be faithful again. Because I can trust Him, and know He is never changing, I can have peace in this messy place and I know if I suffer well – I will be rewarded in this trial.

Suffering for the Christian always presents the opportunity for discipline and growth.

“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.””
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This month I also had someone reach out to me relaying that my earthly dad would like my address so he can write to me. This is a person who I have had zero contact with for over 14 years. This person was abusive in every way possible and in the past has denied any contact with me, even contact for me to relay I had forgiven him and would always continue to pray for him. In an act of grace and mercy, I said yes and sent my address. I cannot know if this persons heart has changed or what their intention is… but I can have faith in trusting the Lord to see me through whatever may be on the other side of this.

And I can know that I continue to pray with faith that my dad would confess his sins to the Lord, be forgiven, become a changed man, and one day join the Saints in Heaven.

Jesus endured the suffering of this world because He knew the outcome was worth it. You were worth it, friend and I was worth it. Jesus willingly obeyed God by coming to this world and in turn, it resulted in the restoration and reunion of God’s children. Jesus knew there was eternal salvation waiting beyond the suffering of this life! The same is true for us.

Eternity with Jesus awaits us. So what about this suffering in the meantime? If we allow it, this too can have eternal purpose. Our suffering can become a means of God’s discipline… let’s define the word “discipline”.

Discipline here does not mean punishment. Jesus already took our punishment. (Isaiah 53:5) The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible defines discipline as “Learning that molds character and enforces correct behavior; from a Latin word meaning instruction’ or ‘training.” Suffering can be a major means for us to learn, train and be molded into someone better. Much like using weights to discipline and condition our muscles, or using alarm clocks to discipline our use of time, if we let it, suffering can discipline our hearts toward empathy, compassion, understanding and more.

If you let Him, God can turn pain into something that will transform you and yield righteousness.

Friend, being a Christian does not mean that you will have a life free of pain and suffering BUT what it does mean is that: You have Jesus!

Jesus to cover you 🙌🏻
Jesus to walk beside you 🙌🏻
Jesus in the good times and the hard times 🙏
Turns out, He is more than enough ❤️

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬
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Keep showing up: Going to church with a Special needs child

The enemy would want nothing more than for my family to stop coming to church.

If any of you have read the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis then you may be able to imagine that the enemy doesn’t need us to “hate” God in order to pull us away from God. The enemy would see to it that we would back away slowly, not completely. It would begin with missing one or two Sundays, looking to others who “watch online”, to compare the ways we are close to Jesus and to say that because of our circumstances being “different” we are excused from corporately gathering… then it would become that Jackson’s class is better off without him… that we are a burden to the church.

The Bible is so clear here though – and if you know the truth then you can discern the lie.

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Hebrews 10:25 “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

And we are all important in the body as the Lord has blessed each one differently, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” (1 Corinthians 12:18)

You may not know that 90+ percent of families with a family member experiencing autism don’t go to church. That 8/10 marriages end in divorce by the time the child is 4 years of age. Or that Suicide is the highest cause of death for young people experiencing autism with only drowning surpassing it.

These numbers tell me that we (special needs/disabilities families) need the church!!!

And that other families need to see us in the church. Pushing through the hard for the joy ahead.

This is not an immediate or tangible joy or a fit of “happiness” in the sense of what we think culturally when we use the term joy. I am talking the deep joy that comes from God alone.

The joy of knowing that in Christ is:

Healing

Forgiveness

Resurrection And Renewal

One thing I have learned is nothing, and I mean nothing, makes me yearn more for our King Jesus’s return than when I am carrying my hurting, sweet boy out of church crying out and unable to recover… hearing him begging to go back to his “big kid” class but lacking the “skills” needed for that day…

the helplessness I feel to see him hurting and longing to belong and no way for me to to fix it…

I also know humility is best learned in the “lab” not by reading others experiences and outcomes but by allowing God to configure the right parts needed to meet you and change you in the season He has you. We are taught to surrender.

And so this I cling to:

God is good

God is good to Jackson

God is good to us.

And God is good in autism.

Lord, enable me and my family not to just keep showing up but to glorify you! That we would show up with empty and outstretched hands so that we may receive the abundant life you have for us. And in that we continue to learn that in YOU and being with YOU is sufficient for all of ours and Jackson’s needs. Amen.

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It’s giving – perspective shift…

It’s perspective giving to me to see that I posted this two years ago… in this time so much of the day to day has remained the same. The Lord continues to use Jackson and our struggles to grow us, love us and discipline us. And, Jackson is still looking for and finding the light. Sometimes I get frustrated at my humanness and how long I can struggle to fully submit certain seasons to the Lord…

But then I am reminded that slow growth makes us strong and sturdy. I read somewhere that it can take an olive tree anywhere from 3-5 years to produce fruit, it is the trees slow growth that makes it sturdy. Similarly, we can’t fast track our spiritual growth without it being a risk to the fruit being produced.

Thank you Lord for these moments with you 🙌🥺

—————————————————————————

Sometimes in the quiet hours of early morning the Lord blesses me in the most unexpected ways.

Every morning of late Jackson has been getting up incredibly early and I find myself grumbling from the struggles of the day before or worse even dreading the struggles of the day to come.

But not Jackson.
The very FIRST thing he does each morning is find the light. Sometimes the light gets in through the expected places and sometimes it gets in through the unexpected places.

Regardless, he goes to it, he squats down and he basks in it. After he rests in this light, he then goes and get his “friends for the day” and he holds them up in the light too.

What a beautiful picture of the grace God gives us each day, that enables us to give this grace to others. A picture of how His mercies are new each morning. This morning I paused and stopped in the light with Jackson. We prayed and I paused, I grabbed my Bible and spent some time in the light.

Children are a blessing from God in so many ways. Jackson has a way reminding me of what is important when I forget. For a season I found myself sitting with him (still do) for long hours through the night – often beside the bathtub trying to soothe him. During that season the Lord impressed on my heart, “If you cannot even be still for your son, how than can you be still for me?”.

This season the Lord is using Jackson to remind me that life is found in the light of the world. In the life and grace of Jesus.

Lord forgive me, and help me to not resent these moments and days and months of intense pressure. Help me to recognize the gifts of these moments to help me to strive to enter the rest that is coming. Help me to do all things in the strength that YOU Lord provide.

“Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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Surrender

These hidden years have been hard. The Lord has been giving me (us) more than I feel like I can handle of BOTH joy & pain. As expected the antibiotics caused a significant set back for Jackson in his gut health which leads to behavioral issues and his entire sensory system being high jacked.

At the end of each day to help Jackson prepare for sleep and his night time routine I brush him. What I am using here in this picture is a tactile brush made with a ton of little fine bristles, rubbing one direction is soothing and tells his body to relax and brushing in the other direction is alerting and sort of ticklish. Jackson has not been ticklish at all and instead has even been asking me to brush his palms and bottoms of feet which is typically too stimulating but in this season he needs the input to help him feel where his body is in space.

Brushing for sensory integration

👉This is why he runs up to people and crashes hard into them when what he really is wanting is a hug.
👉This is why he has the urge right now to stand up on tables and high places just to be seen because being down low he feels invisible.
👎And it’s these things and others like it that is the hardest to communicate to those around him. It’s these behaviors that people don’t understand or desire to. It’s these things that keep us “integrated” but never really “included”. Integration and Inclusion are two different things…

So it’s been in these moments the Lord has shown me that grief left unattended will be become anger.
Grief left unattended is exactly what the enemy will use to keep you out of church, isolated, alone and distanced from Jesus. Even Jesus wept – but I in my pride have not.

Grief left unattended will become anger

I guess my message for today is SURRENDER 🙌
Surrender it all to Jesus. Lord help me to approach today with intentional and obediant faith – give me a fresh appreciation for your grace. 🙏

May our affections for our YOU and our children increase each day as we “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us Heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).

I am clinging to:
❤️ scripture for truth
❤️ confidence of my identity in Christ
❤️ holding fast to biblical conviction

I don’t know why some of us seem to get an extra portion of hurt or grief… but I DO KNOW the one ☝️ who pours it out and He is GOOD and I CAN trust Him.

Opportunities for distraction, excuses, and envy abound – but the answer is always the same: Follow Jesus 👣

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An encouragement for you

This sweet memory popped up for me today out of my Facebook photos, and I can do nothing else but think of all the ways the Lord has been faithful to us these last five years. 🙏 I had no idea what the path ahead would be – but HE did.

Me changing my sweet son just before he turned a year old

“God’s grace to sustain us through painful circumstances is stronger and is mightier and is much better than any deliverance out of those circumstances.”
-Joni Eareckson Tada

🙌 Amen!

God’s grace these last 5 years as I have learned more deeply what it means to be a wife, a mother, and most importantly a disciple of Christ – has been life giving!

God’s grace is greater than any diagnosis, financial difficulty, broken expectation, or hurt. Insert your own hard into this fill in the blank:

God’s grace is greater then my ——————-!

God has great compassion for His children 👇

“but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God allows for us to suffer for a little while so that we will be strengthened and so that our HOPE will rest in Him 👇

“My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭71‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God answers prayer 👇

“Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭50‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Share His hope and testify of His goodness 👇

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Experience the Joy that is ONLY found in God’s presence 👇

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

While everything else will fail you and waste away –
Jesus can be trusted 🙌

REST in HIM!

👉 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.❤️ My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Friends, be encouraged!

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So then, how should we pray?

Some months back I was blessed in sharing a short devotional on prayer for a very special Momma and her sweet baby girl. The Lord impressed on me the importance of women being devoted to prayer. This message has been coming up for me and the women in my life again recently so I thought I would share some of what the Lord showed me then and what He is showing me now.

Whether you’re welcoming a new baby, serving in your community or walking with a loved one through sickness this season I pray this message be an encouragement to you. I pray God will give you a deeper understanding of the importance of prayer and that you will be filled afresh with a desire to be in prayer. The holidays have a way of magnifying the things around us. Christmas has a way of magnifying the greatest joys of our lives or the deepest losses. Let us choose then to magnify Christ this Christmas season, let us choose to celebrate the greatest gift ever given to us, our Savior. Being in prayer is like putting a magnifying glass on your relationship with Jesus.

Why is prayer in motherhood important?

As women and Mother’s in our community we are uniquely positioned to pray for our children, our leaders, our husbands, friends and for the church. Women interact on average with far more people groups than the men in our communities. Women who are faithful in the mundane everyday moments are more likely to have homes where prayer and worship are modeled on an everyday basis. In my own life I have seen this, our home visibly begins to fall apart when our/my prayer life begins to fall apart. This last year I have been praying diligently for my son, Jackson. Jackson has a diagnosis of Autism, this particular diagnosis comes with a certain reality that we have to learn to wisely manage and maneuver with during these formative and foundational years of his life, Jackson will be turning 5 this month. In my own strength I could not handle the sleepless nights, the isolation, the rigid routines and structure he needs or the series of doctors and therapists who want to tell me the best way to raise my son.

OH, BUT THE GOODNESS OF GOD!

In His strength I have found all of these and so much more.

Matthew 21:22, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing you will receive.”
John 14:13-14, “And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name I will do it.”

The Lord has answered many specific prayers for Jackson this year, that he would:

  1. Have a desire for relationships and be able to tolerate being close to others. Jackson greets everyone from the coffee shop in our Church every Sunday morning. Jackson is the first to notice if someone is upset and will guide me by the hand to go pray for them. And although it is a little scary at this age, he will graciously give out hugs to any and all!
  2. That Jackson would begin to have functional language and words. A year and a half ago Jackson could only sign three words and would communicate by names of sea animals and vegetable categories. A year ago he said, “I love you” for the first time. And in these last 6 months he has began to use phrases and can express when he feels hungry or thirsty, if he wants to do an activity, and he can make some choices without becoming overwhelmed to the point of a meltdown.

These are all things I have real fears over that I continue to choose to take to the Lord in prayer. And this is only a tiny amount of all the things I am weak in that I NEED GOD’S STRENGTH to survive and thrive in.

Another praying mother…

Most of us remember Hannah of the Bible, Samuel’s mother. Hannah poured her out soul to the Lord for year’s pleading for a son and eventually God granted her prayer requests with her son Samuel, who Hannah dedicated to the Lord. Samuel grew in wisdom, became a great prophet and judge, and led the Israelites to victory over the mighty Philistines.

Throughout scripture we are told that God desires, invites, and hears our prayers. What a gift He has given us! The psalmist writes, “As for me, I call to God and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.” (Psalm 55:16-17)

Despite knowing that God invites our prayers, we often struggle with how to pray, what to pray, and what to expect from our prayer lives. In the west, we are especially a results driven culture and we tend to have a utilitarian outlook on prayer. We pray to God to ask for HIS help with our problems. Of course asking for God’s help and provision is one important part of prayer, but mostly a pragmatic, problem solving approach to prayer misses the deeper and beautiful truth about prayer:

We are meant to have a relational outlook on prayer. Not a practical one, as we pray we can and should view God as a loving Father who cares deeply for us. He wants to hear about our deepest pains AND our grandest hopes. He wants to know the ways we need HIS help.

He also wants you to LISTEN for HIS voice. Prayer is not mainly about solving problems; it is about experiencing our relationship with God. Though prayer is relational and thus not formative, we do need to know something about how prayer works.

In Matthew 6 we find the famous Lord’s Prayer and some introductory comments Jesus made about it. In this text we discover a basic guide for how to pray, as well as encouragement and warning about our attitude towards prayer.

Matthew 6:1; 5-8 – HOW WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT PRAYER

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep babbling on like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

This tells us and the audience of the danger in making our prayers a performance.

Matthew 6:9 -13- A GUIDE FOR PRAYER

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“This then is how you should pray”. These are the introductory words to the Lord’s Prayer and before we get into the prayer itself, it is important to notice a key word in this opening phrase, “HOW”.

Jesus says that what he is about to tell us is an example for us. It is a guide to the manner in which we ought to pray. It is a script. He did not say, “this then is WHAT you should pray”. We should think of the Lord’s Prayer as a rough outline or template that we can go through when we pray. It helps us to make sure our priorities are in order and that our heart is in the right place.

Let us continue now with the prayer itself and not the order of thoughts.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name (recognizes who HE is – the person / Adore Him because of who He is and give Him praise)

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (seek to do His will, His word is the path to finding His will and your purpose)

Give us today our daily bread. (ask God to meet you even in the mundane tasks, what you need to accomplish your spiritual duties, this is an example of PETITION)

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (ask God to forgive your debts or failures in obedience due Him, this is an example of PARDON)

And lead us not into temptation, bur deliver us from the evil one.” (seek a way to escape the evil of temptation, an example of PROTECTION, this is not asking for a removal of trials but of judgment when you are overcome by trials)

A number of Biblical commentators and theologians over the centuries have recommended praying the Lord’s Prayer line by line. And then elaborating on the specifics from your own life. For example you could pray something like this, “Give us today our daily bread. Lord Jesus you know what I need. Please help me to trust in your provision and be thankful for all the things you have already given me.”

WHAT ABOUT PRAYER LIFE OVER THE LONG HAUL

What about our prayer life over the long haul, over time? We can once again find clues about this in something else Jesus said in the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-6).

Luke 18;1, “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

The final phrase of verse 1 “always pray and do not give up”, doesn’t mean to “always pray and keep on praying” which would be one basic idea stated two ways. The phrase conveys two separate, related ideas. The “not give up” part is a translation of a greek word that has to do with being discouraged or loosing heart. So we might translate that last phrase as “always pray and do no loose heart or become discouraged”. Jesus is telling that persistence in prayer and avoiding discouragement are linked. Then Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow.

Luke 18:2-5, “

2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Jesus was saying that even if an unjust judge hears the pleas of the widow and responds, how much more will God, who is a just judge and loves His people, respond to the cries of His church?

Jesus finished with a rhetorical question: When the Son of Man (Jesus) returns will He find faith on earth? This question relates directly to prayer; which is what the parable of the persistent widow is about. Will Jesus find people who are still believing in Him, praying and trusting in Him despite life’s challenges?

The point is this: Our endurance in prayer – or lack thereof – tells us something about whether we really trust in God. When we continue praying over and over it is a testament to the fact that we keep believing God is real, that He is there, that He is listening and that He cares. It is not about that perfect words, even if our prayers are clumsy and intermittent, the very fact that we keep praying is an expression of our trust in God. Our prayers are real conversations with our Heavenly Father.

We should always pray and not loose heart, “I love the Lord for he hear my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2)

In closing, if you are still with me, I would like to offer a few encouraging examples of faithful women who changes history through having a faithful prayer life:

Susanna Wesley raised her sons (John one of the greatest evangelists of the 1700s speaking to crowds of more than 20,000) and (Charles who wrote 9,000 hymns still sung today) in a home dedicated to the word of God and prayer. In the midst of raising 10 children, she would spend two hours a day in personal prayer. On the days she could not find a place of solitude she would lift her apron over her head to be alone with God.

George Washington was inwon for his humility, perseverance, and dignity. His mother Mary raised him and his siblings as a single mother after her husband died when George was 10. It is recorded that she went to a nearby rock outside of her house to pray continually. George wrote letters to his mother while on the battlefield of the Revolutionary War, that he escaped death when bullets went through his coat and horses were shot out from under him. Miracle after miracle happened to George and he honored his praying mother with these words, “all that I am I owe to my mother”.

Billy Graham has led nearly 3 million people to freedom in Christ and has preached the gospel to more than 80 million people during his lifetime. He has said of all the people he has ever known, his mother, Morrow, had the greatest influence on his life. She would gather the family together to listen to the Bible and to pray together. She and his dad would pray for Billy at 10 each morning.

Every christian mother contending, interceding and praying for her children had the potential to change the course of history for God’s glory. Let us rise up and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His Might as we pray to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever think or imagine.

So how should we pray?

  1. Honestly
  2. Consistently
  3. With the main goal being a deeper relationship with God – to experience the joy of unhindered access to God and a relationship with Him.

When the Son of Man returns, will you be found in Faith?

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Pay attention to your fruit…

In today’s world I have unfortunately found that in my desire to make things orderly, I often have my “self” at the center of that need. Not desiring to make things orderly for the glory of God but to minimize my ordinary workload. I will admit much of this is not original to me, but it has blessed me and continues to sanctify me…

Looking back in Genesis – Adam and his helper, Eve, brought order to God’s earth with goodness, thoughtfulness, and authority. They imaged God and brought Him glory. There was dignity in their everyday lives because their work found its origins in God’s command.

As mothers, we continue to reflect God’s character in each moment as we conform to to His likeness. Ordinary moments existed before the fall and they were not demeaned or dismissed by God. Instead they were good and valuable for the flourishing of life.

Unfortunately, Eve wasn’t satisfied with the fullness of God’s provision in Eden or the knowledge and responsibilities He had given her. Instead she listened to the serpent, who tempted her to seek the extraordinary… becoming like God himself. 🍎

She was the first human who wanted to step outside of the ordinary, human, limited bounds of God’s command into something greater, godlike and unlimited.

This spills over into our lives today when we want to skip over todays mundane – wiping counters, cleaning messes, sweeping, diaper changes, emails, bills, and so on…

When we do this we stop finding our identity in who we are (image bearers of God) and start trying to find it in what we do. But when we start to rank the value of our lives in external circumstances, we will NEVER be content with our day-to-day lives.

As long as we pride ourselves in being able to speed through normalcy so we can get on to the better parts of life, we’re walking in the faithless footsteps of Eve. 🦶 🚶‍♀️

God works in both ugly, and the mundane to bring new life, redemption, and his sovereign plan to fruition, and such is the same for those indwelled with the Holy Spirit. All the moments of our lives – ordinary and extraordinary- will give us reason to fall before the Lamb on the throne, worshipping HIS worthiness in ALL things.

Being thoughtful with our time is a good thing but my/our deepest longing for glory and purpose is found in Christ.

👉🏻It might be mundane to fold laundry, but its extraordinary to do it patiently with joy and a heart of love.
👉🏻It might be mundane to sit on the couch and read another book to a whiny four-year-old, but it’s extraordinary to show kindness and mercy to an undeserving sinner.
👉🏻It might be mundane to fill the fridge with groceries, but it’s extraordinary to praise God for his provision.
🙌Our everyday moments might be ordinary, but when we accomplish them while displaying the fruit of the Spirit, they reflect our extraordinary Savior.

(Gen. 2:15,19) (Gen. 3:5-6) (2 Cor. 5:21) (Col. 1:27) (Gal. 5:22-23) (Rom. 11:36)

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Wives, the Gospel gives us a better way…

Social media has impacted our lives in so many ways – the lie of comparison dramatically impacts us (especially women) in the areas of how we keep/style our homes, how we dress, and how we parent. But it also impacts how we view and treat our spouses. The expectations that we have for our spouses.

The great news for Christian women – we acknowledge a higher calling placed on us as wives AND the Gospel gives us a better way!

Creation: Imaging God in unique ways, Adam and Eve were created differently from one another but those differences were not divisive – they were assets. They needed one another to complete the tasks given to them by God. In Eden they were unified, two becoming one, as they selflessly worked together. Living out a beautiful picture of love and harmony through worship of God alone.

Fall: When Eve doubted God had a good design for her life and union with Adam, sin and division entered the world, forever changing the marriage relationship. Now instead of being unified as husband and wife, we can act like two individuals sitting opposite of each other. Instead of out-loving one another, we look to our marriage to fulfill our own selfish desires. And if we’re Mothers – we can have the tendency to hide behind our children who we grant unconditional love to while holding our Husbands to an unattainable standard. We often live as an “I” instead of an “We” because being in a union requires us to die to self.

Redemption: Jesus loved us more than any earthly Husband ever could. Living a perfect life and purchasing our union with HIS Life. Through this sacrifice, Jesus displayed only what marriage can shadow – the Covenant love between God and His people. This love paved a way so that we could die to our selves and this happened when we were justified before the Throne. This is then played out over and over again as we are refined and sanctified for our future glory. Through Jesus’ death we are made right with God and we are one in Christ.

This is great news for believers! The same love that was in Christ to motivate Him to be patient with needy people. Kind to those who hurt Him. And long suffering for those who didn’t follow His instructions – this love is in us!

His love took Him all the way to death on the cross for us.

In Christ – this is the same love a wife can have for her Husband!!

No matter how your relationship may be with your Husband today – Let him see the work of Christ in YOU! Let Christ’s love in you be greater than your own prideful heart.

What are some things you can prayerfully work on in the way you view and interact with your Husband?

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Be the reason someone knows God is good

How I almost deconstructed my faith…

This Father’s Day, now yesterday, I found myself thinking about how good God is. This Father’s Day, I loved on my husband, and our precious son. We went to Sunday morning service and were blessed by an incredible teaching through Romans chapter 2. It was as we came to this verse, “4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

I remembered God’s faithfulness in my own life, a time that I did not know who He was, as in I did not know His attributes or characteristics. A time that this day caused a deep pain and suffering, a day that almost rendered me incapable of anything. Verse 4 highlights some of the characteristics of God that at that time I did not see: God’s kindness, God’s forbearance, and God’s patience.

You see, I grew up in a home where I was so aware of the brokenness of sin that I knew there had to be a good God… but I did not exactly know how to reconcile those two things.

In my home my earthly father did not love me as a father should. The hands that should have protected and nurtured instead hurt, hit, and in the darkest parts of the days and nights did even worse.

This went on for several years. As I grew up, I was able to confront the abuse and recognize the dysfunction that was present in my own life, sin is never a one and done, the ramification’s are far fetching. However, I did not have other believers in my life. The church I had been attending did not do well in teaching or leading those who had experienced deep trauma or hurt, this resulted in me being outcasted. Naturally, the secular world was ready and waiting. It was as I embarked on this therapeutic journey that I came dangerously close to redefining God and the Gospel to be what I felt safe with.

If you have experienced deep hurt or abandonement from your Father, I am so very sorry. If you have experienced this, chances are you too have wrestled with the idea of God being a man, you have probably wrestled with the idea of the Trinity, and maybe friend you still are and that is ok. Thankfully, God is so patient with us and He knows our hearts AND our hurts. It was during this phase of therapy that my therapist, who had a theology degree and identified as a christian, said ” Maybe you should view god as a spirit form, or as ANYTHING you want. God doesn’t have to be male…”

At first this prickled my ears! I mean this sounded good! It sounded EASY! But… God gently called out to me, a quiet whisper in my heart, “You know this is not true” “You were made for more, you were made for ME”.

What my therapist was suggesting… Well this was the very thing, the very tactic, that satan used in the garden with Eve… But did God really say? This tactic was effective then and remains effective today. Our current culture will have us read all the self help books and take all the personality tests, we are eager to do this even! But what if… the best measure of knowing who we are is to know WHO God is? You see I had a big problem with trying to make God more like me, when in reality I need to be more like Him. The enemy is so tricky because this same snare is what allowed for me to view my good and perfect God, through the relationship I experienced with my sinful, evil, and broken earthly father.

The enemy told me God was the same as my earthy father.

God’s word told me: Jeremiah 9:24, “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

We were made in the image of God. We are made to know Him, and we are made to reflect His image to the world around us. Knowing God is critically essential to having a foundation in our relationship with Him. It is essential to grow in our knowledge of Him in order to live the Christian life. It is of significant importance because the way we view God (or do not view Him) impacts every other area of our lives; relationships, sin, worship, and healing. So it is no wonder that the very first thing the enemy wants us to call into question is who God is. If satan can distort this one area than the entirety of our belief system is on sandy ground, our faith will be shaky. If satan can cause us to question who God is then we will call into question God’s word.

God’s word is the very thing by which we come to believe and to know who He is and who we are, and of equal importance who we are not. The gospel is the very best Good News ever!

I want to share with you some of the things that helped me the most during my crisis of faith, the TRUTH’s that God used to draw me back to Him, to stay.

First thing, recognizing that the Bible is compromised of 66 books, with many stories, that make up ONE big story. The story of God’s love for us. When I discovered the metanarrative of the Bible it gave me an outline for development of my theology. As I studied individually and collectively the acts of creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration, I began to clearly see God’s mercy. In the stories that before seemed horrible and sad, say the entire first five books of the Old Testament, now were overflowing with God’s patience and mercy for His people. Instead of feeling confused about God sending Adam and Eve out of the garden, I could see the truth of His love for them and His protecting them from eating of the tree of life and thereby permanently separating mankind from Himself. When I read about how God clothed Adam and Eve, I now seen that the Lord Himself committed the first blood sacrifice for us, He loved us that much! When the Lord cursed the serpent, He also gave His best promise of a future redeemer who would put all things right again. I began to see Jesus throughout the whole Bible. OK, I recognize I am straying off my main point but I get so excited thinking about those early days of discovering God’s word being alive and active in my life and everyday moments.

The next area of study that was integral to my growing in the Lord and being submissive in what He was showing and saying to me was studying HIM. Studying His characteristiscs and attributes, clearly defining terms per His standard, as He is the creator of all things. Here is where I realized just how misled I had previously been. I began to realize the way I used terms like goodness and justice were really subjective because I hadn’t fully identified an objective standard for them. When pressed my faith was called into question because my foundation had significant damage… Below are just a few of the attributes that made an immediate difference in my ability to recognize a good God, a good FATHER, despite the suffering I endured by my earthly father. Now, I do want to be clear, knowing these things did take time to live out. It was painful. I spent equal amounts of time crying out to the Lord. This time though, I was humbled and submissive, I wasn’t asking for any “thing”. I was asking for more of HIM – for Him to show me how to take all the pain I had experienced in my life and turn it into an offering of praise. And that my friends, while it is so difficult for us is only a small thing for our lord, He is faithful to do so much more than we ask for…

God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God. (Psalm 53:2)

  • FAITHFUL – God is incapable of anything but fidelity. He is loyally devoted to His plan and purpose. Scripture References: 2 Tim 2:13 / Deut. 7:9 / Heb. 10:23
  • OMNIPOTENT – God is all powerful. His strength is unlimited. Scripture References: Mat. 19:26 / Job 42:1-2 / Jer. 32:27
  • OMNIPRESENT – God is everywhere. His presence is near and permeating. Scripture References: Prov. 15:3; Psalm 139:7-10 / Jer. 23:23-24
  • HOLY – God is undefiled and unable to be in the presence of defilement. He is sacred and set-apart. Scripture References: Rev. 4:8 / Lev. 19:2 / Hab. 1:13
  • INCOMPREHENSIBLE & TRANSCENDENT – God is high above and beyond human understanding. He is unable to be fully known. Scripture References: Ps. 145:3 / IS. 55:8-9 / Rom. 11:33-36
  • IMMUTABLE – GOD DOES NOT CHANGE. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Scripture References: 1 Sam. 15:29 / Rom. 11:29 / James 1:17
  • SOVEREIGN – God governs over all things. He is in complete control. Scripture References: Col. 1:17 / Ps. 24:1-2 / 1 Chron. 29:11-12
  • JUST – God governs in perfect justice. He acts in accordance with justice. In Him, there is no wrongdoing or dishonesty. Scripture References: Is. 61:8 / Deut. 32:4 / Ps. 146:7-9
  • LOVING – God is eternally, enduringly, steadfastly loving and affectionate. He does not forsake or betray His covenant love. Scripture References: Jn. 3:16 / Eph. 2:4-5 / 1 Jn. 4:16

This is just a short list that in itself could be hours and hours of study. I hope this is helpful to you and I pray that wherever you are in you journey that the TRUTH of God’s word comforts you and leads you to your good shepherd, to our good Father. As God’s creation, we were made for worship. We will worship, whether it is for His glory or our destruction, we get to decide. I pray that today you will find Him in the quiet moments, the loud moments, the hurting moments, and that you too will ask Him to turn your sufferings into offerings of praise. I pray that you will use the low place you may be experiencing as a new viewpoint for looking up at the cross.

God is and will be faithful to do far more that you can ask.

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