Getting to KESWICK, (Part I)
Psalm 37:3,
Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Before I came to work at America’s KESWICK I was working quite a distance from this area and commuting each day. I knew when I had come to Christ two years prior in 2000 that I wanted to look for another job. I’d been at this one a long time and the atmosphere was to say the least uncomfortable. But…the Lord had other plans. I’d begun to pray about and look around for other work. But the Lord had me stay there for another year and a half, just long enough to tell everyone that I had known for years about Jesus and what He had done to make a difference, all the difference in my life. Ok, I thought; Well Lord that’s everybody, now can I leave? And He said; “NO, I am bringing a few back”. And not until I had witnessed to the very last one did He move me. The truth is I wanted out of there because I was uncomfortable with my past. But I was in love with the Lord and on fire to tell anybody and everybody that would listen what He had done. As much as it was difficult to do, I truly was blessed and privileged to be the one of all people to be sent to tell my peers the Truth.
In the mean time my son had been invited to an Open Home School Swim at America’s KESWICK. I had heard of it at my church when I went to my first Christian Concert. Men from the Colony of Mercy had come to sing and present the ministry at the concert. A few months later Bill Welte, the Executive Director of America’s KESWICK, came to our church again, this time to lead a Hymnsing. And then a few months later there was the Colony of Mercy again! This time another man gave his testimony, Tom Paschke, (Keswick’s Director of Housekeeping). I remembered him. He was the guy sitting in front of me at the concert. One of the things that stands out in my mind was what was written on the back of his shirt. It read “Strong in the Strength of Someone Else.
It seemed the Lord wanted to keep Keswick in the forefront of my mind. After procrastinating for a while I decided to compose a resume’. But I hesitated sending it to Keswick. I didn’t see how God could do away with all the obstacles that in my mind stood in the way of taking a position here. I had to sell my house, pay off some debts, find a place to live, find a way to get my son to and from school and not to mention a house full of stuff I had no place to store. I actually made a written list, put it in my bible and said ok Lord if you want me there, you’ll have to do it. Well you guessed it HE DID IT! I’ll tell you how tomorrow…

Dina

“Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.'” Genesis 22:2

Recently I was working on a Bible study which directed me to look up this verse on the call of God for Abraham to sacrifice his only son, who he loved. Here was Abraham, who probably couldn’t love Isaac any more than he did, yet when God called him to sacrifice him he “rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.” Genesis 22:3
It struck me that God calls all of us to sacrifice that thing which we love. I’m not talking about literal sacrifice like with Isaac but rather are we willing to offer to Him anything that may detract our affections from Him, first and foremost. It could be anything: our marriage, our children, our home, our status, our own way, our reputation, our financial security, friendship, stability, comfort, food, convenience, etc. It is not that any of these things are bad, but if we love them more than God, God will ask us to sacrifice that idol.
It’s somewhat humbling to consider the passion and commitment of Abraham to obey God and the extreme he was willing to go to in that obedience, an evidence of his faith.
So when I look at the passion of Abraham to do such a difficult thing to obey God, I realize that thing in my life God wants me to sacrifice pales in comparison, yet, I have difficulty laying it on the altar of sacrifice.

Let me offer a very rough paraphrase to bring this closer to home. You fill in the blank. Then God said, “Take __________________________, which you love, and offer it as a sacrifice unto the Lord.”

What is it in your life that God is calling you to sacrifice to test your obedience? Are you being faithful? Are you being obedient? Are you loving Jesus above all else?

Diane

WHY AM I HERE?

Growing up I had a lot of brothers and sisters and mom and dad. My siblings range in age from 62 to 38(that’s me). There is six years difference between the sixth child and myself. Most of my playmates as a child were actually my nieces and nephews. It was kind of cool being referred to as Aunt Dee when I was five years old.
Dad and mom both worked, so after school one of my older siblings kept an eye on me, but I spent a lot of time occupying myself (mostly with an extensive Barbie collection).
Obviously I had a lot of time on my little hands. I used to like to sit and ponder things, still do. In our house we had a big mirror that hung behind our couch which I would peer into. I’d get close and stare at myself as long as I possibly could and then ask myself as I looked in the mirror, “Why are you here?” And then as no answer came, I found myself frightened as if I had to go away and do something else to get my mind off the question. It was a deep question, not why am I on this couch, or in this house but why am I in the world, what is my purpose here?
Eventually I stopped doing that. It wasn’t until about twenty-eight years later that the answer to the question came. I was in my pastor’s office and had been blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear, as I had just received Jesus Christ as my Savior. In the very next moments HE spoke to my heart and said; “You’re here for ME.” It was God confirming in my heart that what just took place was real and so was HE.
God was there in that room with me as a child, He knew my question and my heart. At the exact moment He ordained before the beginning of time HE answered my question. Later on that evening I took my little boy and cuddled up with him in mommy’s big bed and as I laid my head down on the pillow I knew for the first time that I could go to sleep in peace, God was with us and HE was never leaving.

Matthew 1:22-23 (NKJV)
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” Which is translated, “God with us.”

Dina

Is God There?
“After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, “Dear God, we had a good time at church today–but I wish you had been there.” — Source Unknown
When I read this statement today, it was for me a pause and think moment. Right away I felt something that resonated with that phrase. I can think of countless times when I’ve sat in church and had the same longing, “I wish God was here!”
I also thought about the dozen or so conversations I’ve had with people who wish they could stay here at Keswick and never go home. Why? Because they all had a perception about Keswick wherein they concluded that “God was here” and if being here meant I could “feel” God, then why leave.
The older I get in the Lord, the more experiences I have which fit into both of the scenes mentioned above -wishing God was wherever I felt He wasn’t, and wishing I could sit still forever where I felt His presence to be.
Praise God for the wisdom and knowledge that only time can bring. Thank God I have learned that He is way bigger than my feelings. Walking closer and closer to God is teaching me that He is never, not near and He is always present in the Holy Spirit who lives and breathes in me. Halleluiah!!!
The surest way that I know that I can feel and know that God is near is to praise Him. He inhabits the praises of His people!!
“But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel” -Psalms 22:3
The truth is we long for heaven. The longing we have to feel Him, to feel nearer to Him, to feel connected to Him can and will never be fully satisfied until we are home with Jesus. What we can do until then is to praise Him in the midst of every triumph and every single trial, no matter how rough it is. Praise Him, not only for what He has done but oh, dear one, praise Him for Who He Is!!

He didn’t leave us to settle for a sometimes feeling of His Presence, in church, or at any other place. As sure as He is who He says He is -He, the Lord of the Ages, has left us with a tangible Presence in the Person of the Holy Spirit. In this Presence we can know that we know that we know that He is here.

Encouragement:
Whatever trouble is present in your today, trust that He is in it and Praise Him, in spite of it.

Stephanie

. . . love thinks no evil
(I Corinthians.13:5 – NKJ)

Nearly everyone is familiar with the great “love chapter”, I Corinthians 13. We’ve heard it many times at wedding ceremonies, couple’s conferences, preached from the pulpit on special occasions, and have read it on plaques and greeting cards in Christian bookstores.

The words become so familiar, that we almost seem to forget that these are words spoken by the Spirit of the Most High God. They are more than mere sentiment or a beautifully written poem. We forget that this chapter is God’s instruction to believers about how to love one another; how to love as Christ loves the Church; how to love as Jesus loves.

Are we really being disobedient to the will of the Lord when we violate this teaching, or are we just so familiar with the words, that we overlook the true meaning of God’s instruction and life application?

As the Lord began to reveal the importance of Chapter 13 in my life, my focus rested upon verse 5 . . . love thinks no evil. Four simple words presenting themselves to me as a life challenge.

The Lord’s example to me was a simple one. My husband met a colleague for lunch. This meeting was in the center of town, at a very popular restaurant, the meeting time was 12:00 noon when the restaurant was filled with customers, the table that he chose to sit at was in the middle of the restaurant. I was aware of the lunch meeting; however, I was unable to attend.

Sometime during that lunch meeting, my husband was observed in the restaurant eating with his colleague (which happened to be a female) . . . the observer never approached my husband to greet him and to be introduced to the unknown woman, if he had, this would have satisfied his curiosity and any possible evil thinking would have been extinguished.

The lunch appointment was innocent enough to me, my husband, and his colleague, however, not so to the observer. It was obvious that the integrity of the meeting was in question as the observer passed the information along to a friend (what happened to verse 5 . . . love thinks no evil) who confronted my husband a few days later.

This incident caused me to evaluate my own thinking and obedience before the Lord. It brought up many questions . . . how many times had I misjudged a person’s motive and/or behavior? How many times was my thinking in violation of 1 Corinthians 13:5, thinking evil of another brother or sister in Christ? How many times did I gossip about a person who was above reproach . . . “much damage can be done to a person’s character with only a little suspicion”? As I continued to meditate on the Corinthians passage, I began to think about the man I meet every week for brunch.
I meet this man at a diner near the end of town, a sort of an out-of-the-way place, but conveniently located between both of our homes. We meet at an off time, when the restaurant is less crowded; we plan this around our working hours. We sit at a booth far from other customers so we can talk and laugh and share what’s happened in our lives throughout the week. We greet each other with a kiss, and leave each other with a kiss as well. We are attentive to each other and the expression on our faces shows that we love each other and enjoy our time together. This man is only 18 years younger than myself (I have friends who have husbands the same age), he is someone whom I love spending time with. (Are you starting to get a little nervous . . . well read on!)

This wonderful, intelligent, handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man (have you guessed yet?) is none other than my beloved son, Jamie, a blessing I received from the Lord almost 35 years ago. How much purer can that be, but yet, the integrity of our mother-son brunches could be questioned by those who violate verse 5 “love thinks no evil”. Just like my husband’s situation, an observer could avoid greeting me and meeting my son. They could question my character and call their friend and pass that information on to them.

Some might say we are to avoid the appearance of evil, and that is true, we should not intentionally put ourselves in situations that can be easily misinterpreted. However, Titus 1:15 tells us “to the pure all things are pure . . .” are we then living obediently to God’s Word when we slander others by thinking evil rather than good?

I say, we as Christians should step up to the plate and be obedient to the Lord. We should be obeying God’s Word and love as He instructs us to love. God’s Word is alive and it should be living through us, that my friend is the VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE.

I am practicing to “think no evil” and I’m learning to love the way Jesus loves. How about you?

Carole

Jehovah Jireh ~ “The LORD Will Provide”

Up to this point we have looked at the compound names of God beginning with “EL”, the abbreviation for “Elohim”. It’s time to turn to the compound names of God beginning with “Jehovah” meaning self-existent or ever-present. Jireh is the Hebrew word meaning “will provide”.

This name was used in the connection with the ultimate test of Abraham’s Faith – the sacrifice of Isaac. Let’s look at Genesis 22, because not only is this when we are introduced to Jehovah Jireh, but to a few other words.

1. This is the first time the word “love” is mentioned in the Bible – concerning Abraham’s love for Isaac.

2. We are introduced to the words “only son” at the same time in reference to Isaac. This becomes the picture of what event recorded in John 3:16?

3. We are also taught the word “worship” here as Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac is a picture the act of worship. When we worship God, we are acknowledging His important, divine status, as He is revealed through His names.

4. Gen. 22 is also the first mention of the word “obeyed” in the Bible. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (vs. 18) True obedience is when we do what God says when it goes against the grain of our selfish nature. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham obeyed because he believed God could raise him. This is the first time in the Bible that anyone has faith in the resurrection power of God (John 8:56).

What God did for Abraham and Isaac is available to us through the cross of Calvary. God loved his only son, who obeyed his father and laid down his life for us and was raised again so that we might live. Christ is our sacrifice… God provides! God provided Christ can you trust him to provide “all” your needs? (Phil. 4:19)

God’s provision comes when we like Abraham love, sacrifice and obey HIM. When you know God as “Jehovah Jireh” then you can believe in the promises of Matthew 6:33. Then you need not worry (Matt. 6:34) because you trust in the God that will provide.

Do you need to go to your Mount Moriah and say to God that you want to know Him, love Him and obey Him as Jehovah Jireh? Place those things on the altar that are squeezing God out of your life and let Him do what He chooses in your life. I know this is a terribly tough thing to do – you may want to say… Not that LORD! God says obey me and I will more than provide for you. Abraham gave up His Son and God gave Him back to Him. God asks for our love, worship, and obedience… are you ready to totally give those things to Him?

LDJ

Isn’t sorry enough?

Sometimes sorry just isn’t enough. Have you ever been sorry about something, and tried to make it right and couldn’t? When I say make it right I don’t mean in the sense of erasing the words or actions but repairing a relationship that has been damaged. I know I have people in my life, one in particular that I have hurt and wish I could have the forgiveness of that person and a restored trust.
Since coming to Christ and receiving the ultimate forgiveness, I am by God’s grace able to forgive as I have been forgiven. Don’t get me wrong, I do struggle with this from time to time, but I have power that I never had before coming to Christ. I know what it is to be forgiven before I even knew I needed to be! I also realize that my past choices have consequences that could remain for a lifetime. Having someone’s forgiveness doesn’t guarantee a restored relationship and in some cases it may be wise not to restore a relationship. However, there are some cases that deserve that chance.
A friend recently shared that he was estranged from his sister for some time due to his past. The brother is now living for Christ and is not the same person she once knew. She however is still without Christ, living a very comfortable lifestyle and chooses estrangement. What I find amazing is that this woman seems to have “everything” yet nothing of true value. She has money, a home etc…, it would seem she possess very little.
Not only has God forgiven his sins, HE has also forgotten them. Although the relationship has yet to be restored, God has given my friend eyes to see and ears to hear, a treasure that neither moth nor rust can destroy. He has also given him many brothers and sisters in the Lord. And while we wait for prayers of restoration to be answered, we can rejoice in the perfect love that hopes all things.

Sorrow is meant to lead us to repentance. And that is enough for the Lord.

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
2 Corinthians 6:10 (NIV)

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes it’s boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!
Psalms 34:1-3

The subject of words has been the topic of many conversations of late and I don’t think it’s by accident that I read about words in my morning study. I’m going to share a bit of that with you for the purpose of prayer and Holy Spirit examination. But first, I humbly ask you to purposefully commit the area of your words to prayer, and ask God to show you the stark reality of your own mouth speak and then set about taking your soul to task to bring your words under the submission of Christ Jesus. Why do I say this so emphatically? Because I know that my own harshly spoken words have been cutting instruments far too many times. And were it not for God’s compassionate grace and the Spirit’s changing work in my life I would not be here, doing what I do to encourage others to hope for better; to pursue change, trusting in the transforming work of Perfect Grace.
What I was reading this morning referred to a study done by marital researchers in order to uncover the processes that destroy marital unions. Couples were studied over the course of years, even decades to retrace their steps all the way back to their wedding day. What happened different in those who stayed together over those who did not? The researchers were surprised by their findings.
It was not how much they loved each other or how much they fought or what they fought about that determined their durability. What they were surprised to discover had the most significant impact was the use of words. Yep, you read correctly – WORDS.
And I quote, “Among those who would ultimately stay together, 5 out of every 100 comments made about each other were putdowns. Among couples who would later split, 10 of every 100 comments were insults. That gap magnified over the following decade, until couples heading downhill were flinging five times as many cruel and invalidating comments at each other as the happy couples. Hostile putdowns act as cancerous cells that, if unchecked, erode the relationship over time…In the end, relentless unremitting negativity takes control and the couple can’t get through a week without major blowups.” (U.S. News & World Report, February 21, 1994, Page 67.)

Oh sisters, let the mouth that we open to bless the Lord, be a mouth that uses words to bless each and every one God gives us opportunity to use our words on. May we all be stunned silent before we open our mouths ever again to utter any form of put down -even the ones that are so pervasively common that we tend to excuse as “just kidding” comments. You know what I’m talking about.
I guarantee you this is going to be hard to do. But as God is sanctifying you and refining you, others will see, and God will be glorified.
Stephanie

El Olam ~ “Everlasting or Eternal God”

This name for God suggests the permanence of Deity – He is God of Past, Present, or Future. Malachi 3:6 fully confirms this name where we read that “I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O Sons of Jacob.” I could end the devotional here and we could just ponder the statement: “I do not change”. See, we as humans we are constantly changing our thoughts and actions. Abraham first declared God as Eternal.

Genesis 21:33, “Then, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.”

This name was used to sum up what Abraham had learned about God in Genesis 21. Genesis 21 tells the story of Sarah’s request to have Hagar and Ishmael sent away. Abraham is shocked to have God confirm this request and ask him to send away his son. Why did God make such a request?

1. It is the preparation for the Sacrifice request of Isaac in chapter 22. If Abraham still had Ishmael when asked to sacrifice Isaac, it would not have required so much faith – he would have still had another son.

2. It is a revelation about God that some things cannot be fully understood at the time the request is made by God. We later learn the understanding in Galatians 4. At that time it is explained to us that it is not natural birth that makes us God’s people, it is a miraculous birth. “We are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” (Galatians 4:31) Abraham knew none of this – he just had to trust in the eternal God. Abraham came to know that as long as he did right for today, he could trust in El Olam for tomorrow.

The most recognized passage that we know regarding El Olam is Isaiah 40:28-31. Take time to read that passage again now. If you know God as El Olam, you can wait on Him or trust Him with tomorrow. This means that through prayer you can turn the future over to Him and then you can live (soar) above life.

Are you living as if God is Everlasting and In Charge? What do you need to turn over to him about your future? You can experience God’s peace (Phil. 4:7) by turning over your life to El Olam.

LDJ

Embrace your pain?

As I was reading Stephanie’s Victory Call from yesterday, it recalled to my mind a counseling conversation I had with Marilyn Heavilin (author of Roses in December) this past summer. Marilyn and I had teamed up to counsel a woman who had recently lost her husband in a tragic accident. I figured I would call in the big gun to help and at the same time take the opportunity to glean from Marilyn’s experience (having lost 3 sons), insight and wisdom. I was able to observe Marilyn in action.
I mostly listened as Marilyn counseled, comforted and spoke truth into this young woman’s life. Periodically, I would ask a question on behalf of the woman to get greater clarification. I remember Marilyn saying to her, “Embrace your pain”. After a few moments of trying to envision what that looked like, to no avail, I asked just what exactly did that mean.
I so appreciated Marilyn’s answer. I believe that it has value to all of us that are or have experienced suffering. Her answer basically was to not avoid things that remind you of your loss. Now, I don’t think that is to say you should seek out those things that remind you of your loss, but by avoiding them it prolongs the process of healing. We tend to avoid those memories because they cause our heart to hurt. In other words, it causes pain. By avoiding those areas of pain, we can create areas of bondage in our lives.
As flesh and blood humans our natural instinct is to flee or avoid suffering. When we find ourselves in a season of suffering, we tend to focus our mental energy and efforts to get out of it as fast as possible.
As Stephanie said yesterday, in our suffering God is at work. He is up to something in your life. He is never malicious nor without a purpose. Your suffering may be due to your own choices and decisions or perhaps through no fault of your own. Either way God does not waste your suffering.

Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of or God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Diane