Again, I was challenged in my walk with the Lord when I my back was against the wall.  I was told something I didn’t particularly like and I became angry.  I am slowly learning, sometimes I am better off keeping my mouth shut and going to the Lord, so I went for a walk. It was a walk of determination with fiercely swinging arms, as I literally cried out to God.  Tears streamed down my face, hidden behind my sunglasses.  When the walk was over, I didn’t feel any better, so I sequestered myself in my room.  I opened the Bible to where I was in my daily reading.  Here are some of my recorded thoughts from my journal that evening: “Part of me wants to speak my mind-but I am choosing to have God’s voice be the louder voice.  ‘Call upon Me  in the day of trouble.  I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.'(1)  ‘Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright, I will show the salvation of God.'(2) …I praise You that You waste nothing-I know you will redeem this for Your glory.  Cause me to know the way I should go for I lift up my soul to you.  Show me Your way, O Lord, teach me your path, guide me in Your truth and teach me for You are God, my savior and my hope is in You all day long.  

“Set a guard over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips”…Lord, I fear if I don’t speak this will pass unnoticed-please redeem this for your glory. ‘When I am afraid I will trust in you…In God I have put my trust; I will not fear.'(3)  ‘And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed.'(4) …Lord, cause me to remember to hide in the shadow of Your wings, to stand on the Rock which causes me to see life from Your perspective.  Lord, in You alone I trust……

I can’t explain what God has done – He’s been faithful and true to His word. As I sought to cling to the cross with both arms -die to myself- God has diffused my feelings of anger.”

You may not have noticed but the verses I shared were progressive.  I simply went to the Bible and started reading right where I had left off and verse after verse spoke to me in my specific situation.  The verse that was impressed most upon my heart was Psalm 50:23 because when we don’t know what to do, it makes it very simple.  1) offer praise and in so doing we glorify God and 2) I am to order my steps aright-do right for my part.

Regardless of what the other person does I can choose to do what’s right.  That does not mean I will be perfect but when I do fall and sin, I need to be quick to repent before God and to seek forgiveness from those whom I have offended.  Keeping short accounts allows me to be blameless.  When I offer praise and order my steps aright, God says He will show me His salvation.  I believe God can redeem any mess we get ourselves into, for His honor and glory.

That is a pretty simple prescription for righteous living.  

Diane

 

 

1 Psalm 50:15

2 Psalm 50:23

3 Psalm 56:3 & 4

4 Psalm 57:1

 “Being married to Matthew* was like getting hit by a Mack truck almost every day. Even when I followed the instructions of God in His Word and was on His divine ‘sidewalk,’ I still got hit by Matthew’s* Mack truck filled with anger, self-centeredness, mental abuse and neglect.

“Finally, my prayers started getting answered when a pastor jumped in my husband’s Mack truck, and started teaching him how to drive like Jesus. This pastor directed my husband toward KESWICK where Matthew is emptying his truck and filling it with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love. I’m so happy and thankful for this. I forgive my husband for the hit and runs, and I love him. 

“But now, I lay on God’s divine ‘sidewalk’ with a heart that’s broken. I’m bleeding, weak and tired. Everyone wants to help me heal and asks me, ‘What do you need?’ All I can say is, ‘I don’t know.’

“So I prayed for help to heal me and God sent me DeEtta (a biblical counselor at America’s KESWICK who is there to serve the woman whose husband, fiancÈ, etc., is a resident of the Colony of Mercy). Thank you Lord! You are mighty to save, heal and restore!”(1)

This beloved daughter of God shared the above with me verbally during an initial phone call to let her know that we are here for her. “Yes, the program is here for your husband. Yet our job is to encourage you to fully surrender ‘the man’ to the Lord. And yes, we are going to come along side you, to be the Lord’s heart and ministering hands to help you stop bleeding and regain strength as you encounter your Savior through His Word and the Women of Character program. 

She was overjoyed to say the least and she said, “Finally! I’ve been lying in the road thinking ‘what about me?’ while my husband got help; and wondering, who was going to come and help me get up. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

I shared the above letter (written by Elizabeth*) to encourage you (whoever you are) to have hope, to stay close to God, to continue to pray to Him; draw near to Him and listen for the sound of His voice. He has not left you without hope of deliverance or healing or provision or any other thing. He is faithful to supply every need you have according to His riches in glory.(2) 

So, dear one, NO MATTER WHAT, remember that you are His treasure! Do not grow faint or lose heart for the Lord your God is with you.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

“…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Stephanie

1 Letter used with permission

*Names changed by request

2 Philippians 4:19 http://www.biblegateway.com 

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.”(1) Now before I get into why Christ was able to wash the feet of the disciples, let’s skip down to verses 5 and 11, “He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet…He knew who would betray Him;…”  For years it escaped me that Christ knew His betrayer yet willingly washed his feet in the same manner as He did the other disciples. Have you ever needed to respond to someone you felt betrayed you?  What was it about Christ that enabled Him to treat His betrayer in a humble and gentle way? I believe the answer lies in John 13:3-4., Jesus…knowing.  What does it say Jesus knew?  The text says Jesus knew 3 things: 1) Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands; 2) Jesus knew that He had come from God, and 3) Jesus knew that He was going to God. 

We are called to imitate God. “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”(2)  Looking back to John 13, how could we possibly imitate God even in these circumstances?  How can we possibly be humble and gentle with one who has in the past or even continues to betray us?  I believe those three things Jesus knew empowered Him to humbly and gently wash the feet of His betrayer. Those very things are also true in your life, if you are a genuine follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

FIRST, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands,” (vs. 3).  2 Peter 1:3-4 says, about you, “…His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” God has given everything you need into your hands.  

SECOND, Jesus knew that He had come from God (vs. 3).  You also come from God.  “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”(3) 

THIRD, Jesus knew that He was going to God (vs. 3).  YOU TOO!  “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”(4)

There is nothing magical or mystical to Christ’s obedience in washing the feet of His betrayer. He did it because He knew who He was and to Whom He belonged.

When we lose sight of who we really are, (who God says we are) and who we belong to, we fight tenaciously for our rights out of fear of losing ourselves.  In reality, it is in losing ourselves that we truly find ourselves in Christ.  

Diane

 

1 John 13:3-4

2 Ephesians 5:1

3 John 1:12-13

4 John 14:1-3

How many times have we heard that statement? “I’m only hurting myself.” I’ve heard it again and again. A friend, a family member, or a brother or sister in the Lord who has fallen into sin and believes their own lie that what they are doing hurts no one but themselves and has no effect on others. I also have to confess there was a time in my life that I believed this lie myself. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Every time we sin or someone else sins it has a ripple effect that hurts many. Any choice we make – either good or bad – affects all those around us. There are always consequences to our bad choices and it always has a way of spilling over onto others.

      I used to have a very difficult time with the passage of Scripture from Exodus 34:6-7.  “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'” 

      Reading this always had me crying out to the Lord, “Why…how God, would you ‘punish’ the children for the sins their parents committed?” It just didn’t seem to fit with the character of God. I thought of my children and the sins I had committed. I thought of my parents and their sins, ones I knew of and those I didn’t. Was I being punished for my parent’s sins? Were my sons being punished for my sins? If I just stopped here with this verse I might conclude that this is the case. But I would be very wrong.

2 Chronicles 25:4

“Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: ‘Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sins.'”

Ezekiel 18:20

“The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.”

John 9:1

“As He [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'”

Even the disciples were having a difficult time with the Old Testament Scripture…so I don’t feel so bad! Children don’t suffer the wrath of God for their parents’ sins, however….there are those consequences of sin that can’t be avoided and this is what I believe the Exodus 37 passage is talking about.

The character, habits, and sins of a parent can’t help but influence his or her children and grandchildren. The bad choices a parent makes greatly affects his children and the consequences of sin spill over to other generations. The children of the Israelites who were born to them while they were in exile in Babylon were suffering the consequences of their parents’ sin. The children were suffering in exile because their parents had turned their backs on the One True God and worshiped other gods. However God does NOT hold the children responsible for the sin of their parents.

This should make each of us think very carefully about the choices we make. I know I want to have a positive affect on the generations of my family to come. This isn’t a one time only choice for me to make but one I need to make daily.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 35 years, have 2 grown/married sons and are the proud grandparents of two grandsons. She serves at America’s Keswick as a Biblical Counselor and also as Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy. Her life verse is Romans 8:28.

Matthew 7:1 says, Judge not, that you be not judged.  That’s how it reads in the ESV of God’s Word.  In The Message, which is the Eugene Peterson paraphrase, it reads like this, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-unless, of course, you want the same treatment.”

I love to read “My Utmost For His Highest,” a devotional book by Oswald Chambers, compiled by his wife after his death and in continuous print since 1935.  As I sat reading it a few years ago (and once again very recently), the message for the day was about being critical of others. He wrote, “The average Christian is one of the most piercingly critical individuals known.”  He went on to say, “Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others.” My Utmost For His Highest June 17 (1)

The first time I read those words I cried and cried.  My conscence was pricked by those stinging words and it hurt a lot.  At that time I was being especially critical and judgmental towards certain people in my life and God used those famously penned words to bring rebuke, correction, conviction, confession, repentance and change – change that is in constant ebb and flow as I grow in the knowledge of Him.

Please don’t think this task was or is by any means easy, because it wasn’t and isn’t.  If we don’t draw near and press in to God, our natural bent will be toward being critical of self and others.  As a Christian, this simply will not do.

Jesus’ words to the people ready to stone the woman caught in adultery are words that come often to my mind in the midst of being critical.  “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” John 8:7.  While I pursue blameless living I am far from sinless.  Who am I to look at the faults and failures of others and be critical?  “Search me O God and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24 (2)

My Challenge For You:

If you find you can relate in anyway to what I’ve shared today, go to God now, confess and allow His spirit to transform your heart in this area.  You’ll be so glad you did!

Stephanie

1 http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php 

2 http://www.biblegateway.com 

I remember it as if it was yesterday.  I was less than a second from inhaling a deep breath under water. I was out of air in my lungs.  The girl on top of me was clawing, digging, punching, and flailing about all the while she held me underwater. Oh, it was not intentional; she was simply trying to keep her own head above water.  Panic swept through my heart; I was going to die! In one split second, I would have to inhale.  I was out of options.  Energy surged through me – I had to get to the surface, now!  I overpowered my friend (that’s what I tell myself). I fought to get air. I fought for my life, literally.  If I had not popped to the surface when I did, my family would have mourned my demise more than 30 years ago, and I would not be here sharing this experience with you today.  

You may be scratching your head asking why I share this.  Simply this, I fought for my life with every ounce of energy I could muster, I wanted to live.  

When I consider the all-too-casual approach I often take towards the Scriptures, I wonder where the fight went.  The flesh is just as real a deterrent to my spiritual life and growth as that friend was to my physical life that day. Why do I not overpower it and fight to tarry at my Savior’s feet each day?  Why do I acquiesce to the sleepiness, the hunger, the busyness, the phone, the email?   When they interfere with my time with Jesus and His word why do I fail to see them as a threat to my spiritual health in much the same way as I saw the threat my friend posed that day in the pool?  

I may be slow, but I’m beginning to realize I need to fight my flesh with the same tenacity as I did that day 30+ years ago as if my very life depends on it, because it does. My spiritual life.  

How about you?  Do you roll over and hit the snooze?  Do you get distracted by the phone or the news or the washing machine?  Do you wander into your devotional room to realize that you haven’t dusted in there for 2 weeks (2 months) and decide it’s time to dust rather than sit at Jesus’ feet?  What is it that tempts you away? We need to do battle daily with our flesh because it will hold us under water until we either fight for the surface or give up.  Which will you choose?

Diane

Each day each of us sees and interacts with so many people. There are family members, co-workers, church families, and friends that we see along with scores of strangers we may never meet again. Hundreds of people cross our paths daily. Some we know and love dearly, some we don’t know at all. Some we meet for the first time and perhaps a friendship develops. Some of those we meet are the so-called “beautiful” people and we seem attracted them. Some we meet may have an illness, a deformity or perhaps we know something unpleasant about their lives. Who do you see as you go through your day? Each one of us sees another and then observations and opinions begin to form….good and bad.

My momma raised us to never make fun of or taunt others for any reason. This helped to instill in me a love for those who are hurting, the underdogs, those different from me. Even so, I confess, there are times I have pre-judged another by what my eyes have seen or my ears have heard. What if we truly followed the example of Jesus? Who did He see as He looked out on the masses?

Jesus called out to Levi to follow Him. He even had dinner in Levi’s home. (Mark 2:12-17) Who did He see? Everyone else saw a vile tax collector. No one wanted anything to do with him. Was he a sinner? Yes. But who did Jesus see?

A man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus seeking healing. (Matthew 8:1-4) This was an unclean man, an outcast, a man no one wanted to touch or even look at. Who did Jesus see?

A woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought before Jesus. (John 8:1-11) This woman deserved death for her sin. Who did Jesus see?

This is just a tiny example of the many that came across the path of Jesus while He walked on earth. Jesus saw something with His eyes that you and I need to see as well. Jesus looked beyond the flesh of man to the soul within. We may not be able to see exactly what Jesus sees but we need to begin to put on our “biblical glasses,” begin to see others through the eyes of our Lord. Even those we think are beyond grace and mercy because that isn’t what the Lord sees. He sees beyond the beauty, the illness, the sin, the ugliness and says “just wait and see what I can do with this life.”

Can you imagine if each of us put on those “biblical glasses” and took the time to really see those who cross our paths??? What if we took the time to look beyond the outer shell and saw a man, woman or child in need of God’s grace and mercy? 

        

Who do you see when you look at me?

Mary Ann

MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 35 years, have 2 grown/married sons and are the proud grandparents of two grandsons. She serves at America’s KESWICK as a Biblical Counselor and also as Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy. Her life verse is Romans 8:28.

Young people today are often characterized by having an attitude of entitlement.  They seem to think we and/or the world owes them something, they deserve what they get. I have heard many parents share how it grieves their heart that their children presume it is their responsibility to provide above and beyond the necessities – with little or no gratitude.  Anger runs high because others don’t necessarily cooperate with their self-centered agenda.  Many, not all, but many of our young people live as if the world revolves around them.  

Youth?

Who am I kidding?  These statements are just as true about me.  I am often characterized by having an attitude of entitlement. I, too, fail to return thanks for the many, many, many blessings God rains upon me.  I get angry sometimes when others don’t live or respond according to my self-centered agenda (also known as idolatry).  I admit, there are times I want the world to revolve around me.  Youth?  NO… ME.  But it’s even worse than that. I presume upon God every time I choose sin rather than repentance and obedience.  

Attitudes of entitlement are not new with today’s youth. As far back as the Garden of Eden people have presumed upon God and His grace. Rather than looking around perhaps we need to look in.  

Father, I am guilty of exactly what I accuse youth of, presumption.  Thank you that the blood of Jesus covers even this sin.  Thank you for grace.  Change me, Lord.  

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4

Diane

How many of us buy cheap shoes and feel it is better to replace them with another cheap pair than to have them fixed at a cobbler shop.  We think that the cost to repair a cheaper pair is not worth it.  

Recently I read an article in the “Daily Cheapskate” and she was talking about this same thing.  She goes on to say shoe repairs are on the rise. People are thinking about getting what they already have repaired or maintained instead of buying new.  They say the rule of thumb is that the same materials they used to repair a pair of $10 shoes are the same for a $500 pair. Think about that….I buy a pair for $10 at a cheaper store and get them fixed up at a later time when they are old and worn out and probably come home with a better pair than I started out with in the first place.  Better heels, better stitching, better “soles.”

Some days do you feel like an old pair shoes?  I do…there are days that my heels are worn out and my stitching is coming apart and my “soul” feels beat up.

How is your day going today?  Yesterday I had a bad day, so when I started writing this devotional, as simple and as corny as it is…..I figured someone out there like me might be having a bad day, too, when you read this.  Walk with me and be encouraged by the next few thoughts.

We might feel like an old pair of shoes but let me remind both of us that we are worth more than an old pair of shoes even if we purchased them for $500 and got a repair job on them.  Once we are saved by His grace, it is better than going to a cobbler for a makeover.  Take some encouragement in knowing that you are a daughter of the King of kings, that the God of all eternity wants to spend the rest of it with you, that we have a direct line to Him anytime and anywhere when we need someone to talk to.  We are able to ask or discuss anything with Him, no matter how strange, simple or involved the question is.  He is preparing a mansion for me with streets of gold to walk on. He has promised me that He will take care of all my needs daily, and He told me that if I need something He wants to give me the desires of my heart.  Are you feeling encouraged yet?  I hope so.  

Sometimes we need to stop and take a moment to realize what we are really worth to Him.  The days that people treat you wrong, give you a look, or discourage you…..STOP and remember you belong to Him.  The Lord will not always remove the situation or the people from our lives that make us feel like an old pair of shoes, but He does leave us with lots of encouragement in the Bible to reflect on and to encourage us in our daily walk.  

Join me today and be encouraged and know that He loves you and me.  He always gives us hope for a better day.  Walk with Him today and He will give you a new pep in your step. 

Lynn W

“He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it. When our virtues become more mature, we shall not be more tolerant of evil; but we shall be more tolerant of infirmity, more hopeful for the people of God, and certainly less arrogant in our criticisms.” 

– C.H. Spurgeon

I read the above quote today, immediately after entering my office in a huff over the glaring fault of another Christian. Their flesh and my flesh had collided and I found myself angrier than I have been in a long time.

It’s just like Father God to use that occasion to teach me something about me and to remind me – once again- that IT AIN’T ABOUT ME! Now surely we all agree that is a no-brainer. Of course it’s not about me. Yet, here I am, annoyed, irritated and hindered by policies and/or procedures that don’t make sense.  Top that off with here is Father reminding me that I am but dust, dust in need of a spiritual, Holy Spirit vacuum.

So what is today’s encouragement toward living in visible victory? Simple this:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

~~ Philippians 2:1-13

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

~~James 4:6-10

Stephanie