Turn…turn…turn

“To everything turn, turn, turn, there is a season. Turn, turn, turn, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Maybe some of you remember that song from a few years back. The Byrds made this song famous in the 1960’s. Back then I thought it was a neat song but had no idea that it was based on Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
Our world turns and everything changes. Nothing is as certain as change. Some changes are pleasant…some difficult. Some changes we make….some changes are made for us. Some changes bring happiness and laughter….some changes sadness and tears. Many of us don’t like change because it requires something of or from us…to do something differently, to change ourselves in some way. We get comfortable in the way things are in the present. There are some who will fight change tooth and nail EVEN IF it means a change for the better. As miserable as things may be at least you “know” it well….but change? What will that be like? How will I handle it? All the uncertainly can cause so much anxiety!
But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Bible tells us to expect change and then put our trust and hope in our sovereign Lord because God has a purpose and plan for it all. We witness change all around us every day. All we have to do is look at the seasons. We have just witnessed all our green trees turn into beautiful hues of yellow, gold, red and brown…and watched them fall to the ground. Then “turn, turn, turn” and in spring the trees will once again be green.
Sometimes, I’m the one resisting change. All my resisting only makes change all that much more difficult. Where is my trust? Where is my hope?
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.”
Psalm 42:5 “Why are you downcast oh my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
If I’m clinging to Him, resting in Him, trusting in Him I will not have any fear of the changes that will come.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 1

Change is certain, but God in His sovereignty has a purpose in it…and in that I will find peace.
Mary Ann

Of Infinite Worth…

Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him-for the redemption of their souls is costly…Psalm 49:7-8

I love it when God hands me a new piece to the theological puzzle. Oh, I don’t mean He gives me some new revelation no one else has, I mean, He reveals a little more of Himself to me.
Recently, the topic in our small group was about the necessity of the atonement to have occurred as it did. The question posed to us was, “Could the atonement have happened differently? Did Jesus’ blood have to be shed?”
Having been asked this question in advance, I had a week to mull it over and was convinced that it had to happen that way only because God said it had to happen that way, but that He could have chosen a different way had He been so inclined. Once He choose His Son’s blood as the atoning sacrifice, that is the way it had to be.

In the course of our discussion that night, our small group leader made this statement:
A single one of our sins is an infinite offense against Almighty God and therefore it takes a sacrifice of infinite worth to atone for it.

I can still remember the dawning of light as God reached down and handed me a new puzzle piece. A simple truth that penetrated my heart deeply: The only sacrifice that could possibly have infinite worth is the blood of God Himself, God the Son.
That, my sisters, is pure grace!

Diane

ZINZENDORF
“In 1722 Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf of Saxony founded a colony of pietist (“holy person who devoutly fulfills religious obligations¹”) believers called “herrnhut,” later known as Moravians. He also traveled to America and set up communities that began to send out missionaries, first to Greenland, then to the West Indies, then beyond. By the time Zinzendorf died in 1760 some 300 missionaries, all laypersons, had gone out from the various colonies. In 1738 when some of the challenges of missionary life had become clear, Zinzendorf wrote his famous instructions, many of which sound strangely modern, despite their 18th century language. It is better to send people into the wide world than to send no one. But you should be warned about the following temptations.” (I share 1-10 of 20) 1. To have even the slightest dealings with clergymen.
2. To think about your purpose in the land only when you get there.
* What is your purpose in the land?
3. To test your vocation on the heathen once you are among them.
4. To give up because something doesn’t work immediately.
* Are you ready to give up? Don’t!
5. To begin to make your home too comfortable, forgetting that you are really a traveler, a pilgrim among the nations.
* Ouch! Have we become too comfortable in this land of blessing?
6. To be prejudiced against the heathen because they are neither efficient nor pious, and to be irritated by how badly they run things.
* This is a big one for all us Christians, especially those of us who are in ministry. What are the areas we prejudge with little to no information?
7. To seek even the slightest advantage at the expense of your brothers.
* Another big one. One of the ways it shows up in our lives is gossip. Y’all know what I’m talking about!
8. To fill up whole diaries with descriptions of difficulties but write little or nothing about the ways in which our Savior has helped you.
* Let us never ever forget or grow weary of praising God in all our circumstances.
9. To forget that one can do far more with a believing heart than with many words.
10. To judge your colleagues, and particularly your superiors, according to their personalities and then allow your relationship to be influenced by whether or not you approve of them.
* Come on now! We all know about this one. Repent and be set free from a critical spirit!
Tune in tomorrow for 11-20.
Stephanie

Gift Giving for a Lifetime
This December I will once again pass the anniversaries of my parent’s deaths. My father will be gone 18 years this December 10th and my Mom will be gone 14 years on Christmas Eve. I never would have thought that I would no longer have my parents by time I barely got into my 30s. They were too young to die and I was too young to be left without parents. My son, Michael, remembers little about his grandparents. One day I wore a perfume I had once given my mother and as I walked by he said, “I smell Grandma”. Such a precious thing that he could recall her perfume! My daughter, Kerri, has only a slight recollection of her Grandmother. One day when she was about 10 she noticed the picture of my parents on the shelf in the living room. She stopped to ponder then asked me, “Who is that guy dancing with Grandma in that picture?” It broke my heart that she had no memory of her Grandfather.
Memories and legacies are so precious to pass down. As this anniversary comes near once again I am reminded of how much I want to touch the lives of my children and hopefully in the future, my grandchildren. I am also reminded of a project that I heard about years ago and still have not done. Maybe if I share it with you I will have the accountability needed to complete it and maybe also inspire you to do the same. What I would like to do for each of my children is to get a new Bible and for one year use only that Bible. As I read through I would write short prayers for them in the margins or give a brief insight into that verse, or tell them why that verse spoke to me. Then at the end of the year I have a precious gift for my child. After doing this for your children move on to your children- in- law and grandchildren and leave them your thoughts and prayers for them in a tangible way.
I received my Grandfather’s Bible along the way but there are no notes. I have my mom’s Bible but there is nothing to let me know how precious the Word was to her. God has shown me my legacy in a unique way-I will share that with you next time but for now I hope you are inspired to leave a legacy, a gift that lasts forever!
“Give ear O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from our children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.” Psalm 78:1-4 Kathy

Singing and dancing

I know some of you grew up in churches that didn’t allow dancing. I grew up in an atmosphere where singing and dancing were very much a part of my Ukrainian culture. Whenever family and friends gathered you could bet there would be folk songs sung and couples twirling to polkas. I loved dancing the polka with my Poppa, my brother Adolf and my Uncle Albert. When you polka you can’t help but smile and laugh. I recall those times with a bitter sweetness. My brother Adolf died in 1976 and with his death, the polka died too. My parents no longer danced.
In this past week I’ve discovered a scripture through my “Grace Walk” study by Steve McVey that has opened my eyes in a whole new way.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.1

Steve McVey pointed out that the word “exalt” means “to twirl, to dance with enthusiasm. He rejoices over you with shouts of joy.” 2Can you imagine our Father God loving us so much, we who are His children through spiritual rebirth, that He sings and dances…not just dances but twirls (I like to think it’s a polka) over us!!! Wow…that’s my Abba Father, dancing over me! Me? Can I believe that He would dance over me even though I still mess up? Yes! Yes! Yes! And He dances and sings over you too! Doesn’t that just put a smile on your face?
The polka hasn’t died. It’s alive and well and today…my God, my Savior is dancing over you and me! May this truth sink deep in your heart and soul. When someone asks why your smiling…you can tell them, you can’t help but smile and rejoice because God is dancing the polka over you today!

MaryAnn

To Be Sin…

I was walking one brisk, beautiful fall morning memorizing 2 Corinthians 5:21. A verse that is very familiar to me and yet… as I meditated on each phrase my heart was awash in the depth of meaning contained in these words:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)

He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus, God the Son) to be sin…
Read that again.

He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus, God the Son) to be sin…

Jesus did not just take on our sin, He actually became our sin. He did not become a sinner. While His divine nature remained undefiled, in His human nature he became “the embodiment of sin” having sin imputed to Him by the Father. “God dealt with Christ not as though He were a sinner but as though He were sin-absolutely identified with our sin.” (Pastor Bill helped me with the clarification).
I used to envision the cross as the place where Jesus Christ put on my sin, as if it were a cloak. On that cloak were words like gluttony, lies, anger, hatred, murder”. I don’t believe that is theologically correct.
When Jesus was crucified there was sign affixed at the top of the cross. “And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (Matthew 27:37) If God the Father had put the sign at the top of the cross, it would have read: “This is Jesus, gluttony, lie, murder, gossip”. The sign would not be large enough to list all sin which Jesus embodied.
Please don’t miss the subtle difference. In the first case He put on types of sins, in the latter, He became sin. This is huge. Don’t rush past this. “For our sake he made him to be sin…”

Just as amazing is the truth that in him we become the righteousness of God. We do not put on His righteousness like a cloak; no rather, we become the righteousness of God, in Jesus Christ. At the moment of regeneration, we became the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. If it were like a cloak we would be able to take the righteousness of God on and off, and lose it. It is not so. We become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. WE CANNOT LOSE IT!!! It is who we are. If God the Father were to put a sign around our neck it would read: This is ___________; my righteous one. Please stop a moment. Fill in the blank with your name. Say it out loud. Keep saying it until your heart leaps with delight over what God did for and to us at the cross.

Diane

Like a bolt from heaven it hit me.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Over a year ago now, my family experienced an event that shook us to the core. Deeper than anything else had ever done, we were shocked and wounded and we will forever bear the mark(s) of that event.

Since that time, one question has risen to the top as “the question” most people want to ask in their effort to understand. Their minds wrestle to figure stuff out; to attach reason, meaning and explanation to such a soul rending event.
I’m well aware that lots of conversations have taken place behind closed doors in a sincere effort to wrap conscious intelligible language around the question -the question of questions…”Why?!!!”

Why did it happen? Why did God allow it? Why…? Why…? Why…?

From the very beginning I have been adamantly opposed, and almost defiantly resistant, to offering anyone “an answer.” I know, that I know, there is no answer that will satisfy everyone. Any answer I would or could give to the “why” question for our situation would serve only to prompt another question…and then another…and another.

I believed then, and I believe now, that much energy is wasted in trying to figure things out, and even more is wasted speculating and judging. I believe the “why” does not matter much. For me the truest thing, the thing that gives me breath to breathe, is knowing -beyond any ability I have to ever explain or understand – that God is enough. God is enough. GOD IS ENOUGH!! And HE IS SUFFICIENT!

I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is Who He says He is and He can, and will, do all that He says, and He will do it according to His good pleasure.
He sees and He hears all of our cries, our pleading to do something (heal, restore, deliver etc.) And, He may very well answer my prayers and petitions just the way I want and ask Him to…and He may not. All that He does will be as He thinks and knows best.

I don’t know why, at a particular moment in time, a person decides to attempt to end their life. But I do know that God is God, and I am not, and He is able for the “everything” and the “whatever.”

Through the thick and the thin, the better and the worse, He wants His name to be lifted up so that the earth and all who dwell in it will know that there is a God and His name is Jehovah, not John, Paul, Mark or whatever your name is.

The question is, “Will I trust Him though the anguish I feel seeks to pulverize my soul and extinguish my spirit? Will I trust, believe, and glory in the Cross; in the One who came to die for my sins. Will I do this even when life does not make a lick of sense…and even when I feel so bad?”

Most of us have children, spouses, siblings and parents. We have loved ones who are, one way or another, being beat up by the world or are dealing with big stuff in their lives.

We can talk about the “why” all day long. We could make dozens of judging statements in an effort to understand or discern what God may be trying to teach them.
What hits me over and over again is this -God really does want to be glorified in and through our lives…no matter what. He is zealous for us and our worship and He will not be satisfied with crumbs from our table. He wants us to move beyond our words and put feet to our faith and live out our faith for His glory even when we feel like doing everything but that. Even if we’re curling up in a ball from pain or totally numb because we feel nothing and we don’t have the reason why, will we choose to praise Him anyway…even when we don’t know why?

Stephanie

Mom, let me try…
My friend lost his dad recently, and for the first few days of grieving, his mom would sit down and he would get on his knees and lean into her and pray. After a few days of watching this, one of his brothers, a brand new believer, said; “Mom, let me try”, and he prayed with her. When I first heard this story it melted my heart, as a mom and as a woman. What a blessing to have someone pray for you with such passion.
I had a dear girlfriend of mine pray with me on many occasions. But one night about 2:00AM we were in a spiritual foxhole together. As we sat and prayed I told her I thought God wanted me to be on my knees, so we both got on our knees. We stayed on them and prayed until they were numb. That melted my heart too.
I was blessed with yet another friend who prayed for me recently and again my heart melted. I was in my car taking care of the last minute details of a seminar I was going to do that same day. I was nervous, upset, tired and had lost my “edge” so to speak. That little bit of confidence that gets you up there if you know what I mean. I called my friend to ask for prayer and after a brief but powerful pep talk, my ears heard “Let me pray for you right now, but don’t close your eyes while you’re driving!” Not only did my heart melt, my eyes leaked! Not just because what was prayed, but how it was prayed and when it was prayed. Right then and there-on the spot! Sometimes life’s an ER and you’re doing triage. I really want to be the kind of woman who knows when the time to pray is right now. Amen?
Dina

Are you involved with addiction ministry? Consider joining us for our Family and Friends Seminar: Binding Up the Brokenhearted, December 8, 2007, 8:00 am -4:30 pm, $17.50 per person, call to reserve your place today 1-800-453-7942.

Attitude

Is Your family being ripped to shreds by your attitude? Or are they being encouraged, affirmed, lifted up and challenged to go farther and farther?

Recently, in the midst of a foul mood, I became painfully aware of how my mood was affecting me. I felt heavy and downright yucky. Within micro-moments all sorts of thoughts flooded my mind and I felt even worse. I could instantly see how my attitude was affecting me and therefore it had to be affecting my family. I knew I needed to make a change. After all, the Lord wasn’t speaking to my spirit for nothing. He’d lifted the veil so I’d be free to see the truth.

Believe it or not, I wanted to resist the Spirit’s promptings and stay in my mood. The only thing was I couldn’t think of any good reason to let my stinky attitude persist –at least none that my conscience would let me get away with.

So, I stopped in the middle of what I was doing, sought out my husband, and did some snuggling. Why was I in a “mood”? I don’t know! Sometimes the heart aches from old, old wounds which are stuck in time. Sometimes there’s been an offense that remains unforgiven. We could all name a different reason and on some level we could or would feel justified.

But, no matter what my mood or yours, no matter what situation or circumstance we could list, we are always Christians; always called to walk justly. I am always free to choose my way of thinking and being, remembering it is grace, and God’s grace alone, that does the work and pushes me towards experiencing victory and toward choosing a good attitude.

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you. But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? ~~ Micah 6:8 (NKJV)

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously- take God seriously. (The Message)

Stephanie

Do you have a loved one caught in addiction? Consider joining us for our Family and Friends Seminar: Binding Up the Brokenhearted, December 8, 2007, 8:00 am -4:30 pm, $17.50 per person, call to reserve your place today 1-800-453-7942.

He NEVER changes! …Rewind
I thought it might be helpful to return to this Victory Call from last month. A few have misunderstood what I meant and written to me. I hope this will clarify some things for those who were a bit confused but didn’t write…
Psalm 102:27 “But you remain the same and your years never end.”
Is there someone who you think you know like “the back of your hand?” Maybe a spouse, friend or family member? Have you ever thought that you knew them so well that you knew what they would say or do in any given situation? “Oh…she would never…he will always…” You might even comment that you would stake your life on it because you think you know them so well! Then… this person says or does something totally out of character and it throws you for a loop!
Funny, but people are like that. We might change our minds, learn something new or find out we were wrong about one thing or another. Maybe the person you know always thought or felt this certain way but they never shared it with you. Then we become confused, angry and our trust in them is broken.
If God is not the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; if God isn’t always holy, righteous and just, then maybe, lying, cheating, stealing, addiction, adultery, homosexuality, etc., are okay with Him?
Praise the Lord that none of these are true and our God never changes!
Can you imagine if our God was this way – unpredictable? Changeable?…What would it mean for our lives???
I don’t know about you, but that is a very scary thought! I find great comfort and peace knowing that the God of the universe is the One and only God. He tells us in His Word that He never changes. I can know God, who He is and His character. There is great comfort in knowing God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow…no surprises. If I fix my gaze on Him, spend time with Him, I can trust the promises and truths in the Bible. I will be able to rest in Him.
If I fix my gaze on Him, it means I’m spending time getting to know Him better through His truth found only in the Bible. The more I do this the more my relationship with Him grows. As a result, my trust in Him grows along with my faith. The better I know God it becomes a source of great joy, peace and trust. I will know without a doubt that God is exactly what and who He says He is. He never changes!
Psalm 62:5 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.”

MaryAnn