Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him….

Romans 1:18-32 – Paul describes people who have chosen unrighteousness over righteousness. People against whom God’s wrath is revealed (vs. 18). People who by their unrighteous choice to suppress the truth. 

Paul clearly states that God, through His invisible attributes, has made Himself known to them and they are without excuse.  Consider a beautiful sunset, a new born baby’s cry, the grandeur of the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park or the Grand Tetons.  Consider the step-daughter whose stage-4 lung cancer dramatically disappears or the smile of a two-year-old – all these speak of God.  He is clearly seen through things that have been made (vs. 20).

As those that know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we might be tempted to scoff at those around us who have suppressed the truth through their ungodliness. Yet isn’t it true there are times we too do the very same thing?  Or, we would not come out and say we deny God but look closer. If truth be told are there not times our attitudes and actions fail to honor God? (vs. 21)

Every time we chose our way over God’s way we fail to honor God.  Every time we chose our own way, (sin) are we not in essence denying God is God in our lives – in that moment? 

Can we deny that at times, perhaps many times, we fail to give thanks to God (vs. 21)?

Every day we are a blessed people. Every day you and I receive the blessing of God. In the midst of any situation, any circumstance – His blessings remain.  They may be difficult to see or feel but by faith we know they remain.

May each day we grow to look and be more and more like the righteous ones we have been declared to be and less and less like those who suppress the truth. 

If you are not sure of your salvation, that is that you will go to heaven when you die, will you email me? I would love to share with you the live-changing, soul-saving news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the ministry team at America’s Keswick.  She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study.  Diane has been married to her husband John over 27 years.  She has 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren and 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 10 in all.  She delights reading and teaching, but mostly laughing at the funny things er grandchildren say and do.  

Recently a friend of mine passed along the following story:  The author is unknown.  I have no idea if it is a true story or fiction.  Either way, it is a story filled with a beautiful truth…And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

“Carl was a quiet man. He didn’t talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake.  Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.  Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us.  He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII.

Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.  When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister’s residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.

He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened.  He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him.  Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, “Would you like a drink from the hose?”

The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, “Yeah, sure,” with a malevolent little smile.  As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl’s arm, throwing him down.  As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl’s assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.

Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him.  Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn’t get there fast enough to stop it.

“Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?” the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet.

Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head: “Just some punk kids. I hope they’ll wise-up someday.”  His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water.

Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, “Carl, what are you doing?”  “I’ve got to finish my watering. It’s been very dry lately,” came the calm reply.  Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged.  Carl again offered them a drink from his hose.  This time they didn’t rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water.  When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.

Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth-giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.  The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches.  As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.  “Don’t worry old man, I’m not gonna hurt you this time.”

The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl.  “What’s this?” Carl asked. “It’s your stuff,” the man explained. “It’s your stuff back,
even the money in your wallet.” “I don’t understand,” Carl said. “Why would you help me now?”

The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. “I learned something from you,” he said. “I ran with that gang and hurt people like you.  We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn’t hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate.”

He stopped for a moment. “I couldn’t sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back.”  He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. “That bag’s my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess.” And with that, he walked off down the street.

Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist.  Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather.  In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn’t know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church.  The minister spoke of Carl’s garden as a lesson in life.  In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, “Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden.”

The following spring another flyer went up. It read: “Person needed to care for Carl’s garden.”  The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister’s office door.  Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. “I believe this is my job, if you’ll have me,” the young man said.  The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl.

He knew that Carl’s kindness had turned this man’s life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, “Yes, go take care of Carl’s garden and honor him.”  The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done.  During that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl’s memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.

One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn’t care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, “My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she’s bringing him home on Saturday.”  “Well, congratulations!” said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. “That’s wonderful! What’s the baby’s name?”  “Carl,” he replied.

“That’s the whole gospel message simply stated.”

Author Unknown

Patricia Wenzel
WOC Graduate

I’ve never been much of a runner.  But about 10 months ago, in an effort to improve my fitness, I bought myself a pair of good running sneakers and decided to give it a go.  I started out slow and gradually built up my time, distance, and endurance.  And, lo and behold, I found that I actually enjoy it (most of the time).

Sometimes though, I find it a bit overwhelming to think of how far I still have to go to complete my desired distance for that day, especially if I feel tired early on.  So instead of looking at the entire run, I will focus on just the next 1/2 mile.  Then when I complete that 1/2 mile, I will focus on the next 1/2 mile, and so on.  Then after I go for a while, I’ll say to myself, “well, you did that mile, you can do another.”  And before you know it, I am done.

While engaging in this “self-pep talk,” it occurred to me that this is not unlike my Christian walk (or “run”).  In the process of sanctification, becoming more and more like Christ, I can become discouraged with how far I have yet to go.  Can you relate?  We focus on our shortcomings and failures, and we feel like we will never make it to complete Christlikeness.   But while we can’t get stuck there, I think it is beneficial to take a look back once in a while, not to pat ourselves on the back, but to see how far the Lord has brought us already.  And instead of being overwhelmed by how far we have yet to go, maybe we need to just focus on what the Lord is currently working on in our hearts and lives, allowing Him to make those changes in us.  Then, when by His grace we pass that test, He can move us on to the next thing.  And before you know it, we have moved a few steps forward in our journey to be like Jesus.

See, the Christian life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  And we won’t cross the finish line until the end of our earthly journey, when “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2).

In the meantime, during our earthly race, let us cooperate with His work in our lives, as moldable clay in the Potter’s hands, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2).

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call, his name Immanuel,” which translated means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

It’s hard to believe that we are in the last month of the year. I have to admit it’s my favorite month because I look forward to spending time with my family. The greatest time is being with my daughters, enjoying the many activities of the season. They live in New York and with our busy lives we have to fit into our schedule a time to get together. My daughters like to plan something we all like to do. My favorite time is sharing the things that have been going on in my life. I love to listen to them as well; they always have funny stories about their jobs or the things they are doing. I find the time I have with them is rather short, but I certainly appreciate the time we have together.

My relationship with my Father is different; my Lord is always with me. I have a perpetual fellowship with my father. “Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28: 20).

The past month was difficult with the hurricane and then we got a foot of snow. The days were not easy; we had no power, no water, no heat, and were unsure of how many days it was going to take to get our power restored. The Lord is always faithful. With the storms, trials, circumstances in my life that I go through that are difficult to comprehend or embark on, I have learned God is always ready to listen to me. My Father wants me to communicate with Him to discuss all of my concerns in my life. The fellowship with my Father is to share all of my life with Him. I need to talk with Him throughout the day, during difficult times or good times. I have to go to Him in reverence to have this sweet everlasting fellowship.

“I in them, and you in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17: 23)

“But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all your works” (Psalm 73:28).

Glory to God!    

Sandra Valdes
Staff Member – WOC Graduate

Wrinkles?  Who me?  It started out innocent enough with crow’s feet – which to me are just evidence of a well-laughed life. Think about it. Those beauties are most evident when we smile or laugh; nothing to be ashamed of.  In fact, I think crow’s feet should be touted as a badge of honor; of course that’s just me as I highly value laughter. 

The innocence of crows’ feet, however, eventually was lost as the furrow lines in the forehead appeared.  Well, furrow ridges would probably be more accurate – they seem to be a regular companion.  What attitude or emotion do they betray?  I’m not sure so I practiced a few to write this VICTORY CALL: Concentration; observation, disapproval, disagreement, perhaps a critical spirit.  Any or all of those things can be read in the furrow ridges etched in a forehead. 

Ah, but the greatest tattletale of all are the frown lines engraved at the edges of a chin – jeering at the discontented, dissatisfied heart that lies within.  I can’t think of another reason a person would have frown lines than from the repeated practice of frowning. 

Why am I regaling about wrinkles this morning?  A person’s face tells a lot about a person’s life.  Wrinkles appear with a lot of practice. Some wrinkles are actually beautiful while others – not so much.  Our face betrays us.  Emotion is often written all over our faces. The issue isn’t our faces; they are just a barometer of emotion.  No, the issue is our heart – “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  “A glad heart makes a cheerful face…” (Proverbs 15:13).

What emotion or attitude or reaction have we practiced so much that our face remembers it and can’t seem to let it go?  What does your face betray about your heart? 

For most of us there will come a time when our outer beauty will fade and our inner beauty will need to step up.  “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16).  “…let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:4).  “A (wo)man’s wisdom makes (her) face shine, and the hardness of (her) face is changed” ( Ecc 8:1). A beautiful inner spirit is far better and cheaper than a facelift. 

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the ministry team at America’s Keswick.  She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study.  Diane has been married to her husband John over 27 years.  She has 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren and 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 10 in all.  She delights reading and teaching, but mostly laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.  

 

We live in a world running fast toward death and hell! That same world is also bent on interfering/eliminating the name of Christ from being seen, spoken or heard by any and all who’d likely be influenced by the knowledge of His birth, and therefore the radical life-changing power of His resurrected life.

The proof of that is clearly evidenced almost everywhere you go, from what we watch on television or listen to on secular radio. The Christ of Christmas is missing.

As Christ-followers we should hardly be surprised. We too were once in and of the world and could care less about Jesus born, crucified, buried, raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for our collective good.

So the challenge to all of us is really quite simple. Keep Christ in OUR Christmas! Make Jesus the main thing! Not Santa or any earthly traditions, but Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Period! We need to put compromise behind us and unashamedly proclaim the Savior’s birth!
How do we do this? Well, two ways that immediately come to my mind are:

One: we don’t do it at anyone else’s expense. Meaning we do not need to whine or complain about the fact that people of the world won’t say Merry Christmas.

Two: we don’t get lost in the commercialization of this profoundly secularized time of year. Meaning we tell the truth to our kids and grandkids about the Who, What and Why of CHRISTmas!

In other words, we celebrate Jesus in profound and meaningful ways. One of the ways this has been done traditionally is in Advent.
Advent defined means: coming arrival, appearance. You can discover more about it at: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent

Dear ones, let’s pray and ask God how we can resist the pull of the culture to minimize His first coming. Let’s ask for creative and meaningful ways to share Him within our families and to the strangers He will put in our path for the specific purpose of sharing the light of Christmas, which shines bright in and through each one of us. Let’s do so for the glory of the Lord!

“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” ~~Isaiah 53:3-6

Stephanie Paul

Stephanie Paul, wife and mother of two grown children. An “instrument of change” in the Redeemer’s Hand, in the lives of wounded and hurting women. Currently serving as a part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Woman of Character Program Director.

“If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” Matthew 16:24.

Recently reading through Fenelon “The Seeking Heart” for the “Nth” time this quote struck a chord in me:

“Do not add to the cross in your life by becoming so busy that you have no time to sit quietly before God…overactivity and stubbornness will only increase your anguish.” (pg. 3)

As we go through life – sometimes it seems easier to deal with life by keeping busy enough to not to have to think about life. If we don’t slow down long enough to think it seems less painful. 

Consider the hectic pace of our culture. So many people live in hyper drive sacrificing the inner peace that Jesus offers. This is true even among believers. 

In His explanation of the parable of the sower (the four soils), Jesus says “as for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” Matthew 13:22.

Why does Fenelon say “overactivity and stubbornness will only increase your anguish?”  This quote falls in a section of the book about “The way of the cross.”  He is encouraging the reader not to resist the way of the cross in her life. I believe the statement about stubbornness is simply a warning that overactivity is a form of resistance to what God is trying to accomplish in a person’s life through the cross. In an effort to block out the pain of death (I am speaking of the death that must take place that Christ may live in and through us) we can so busy ourselves that we add to the very cross we are trying to flee. 

As we set our day and our schedules – let us be mindful not to become so busy that we are distracted from embracing the cross God has placed in our life to accomplish His will and purpose to conform us to His Son’s image.

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the ministry team at America’s Keswick.  She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study.  Diane has been married to her husband John over 27 years.  She has 2 adult children and 3 grandchildren and 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 10 in all.  She delights reading and teaching, but mostly laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.

For those of us who live in New Jersey and the surrounding area, Hurricane Sandy is a storm that we won’t soon forget.  Many lost their homes and all their earthly possessions, and tragically, some lost their very lives.

Here in northern New Jersey, we were spared the worst of the damage.  We did lose power for two weeks, due to the many trees that came down.  The sheer number of trees that were downed in the storm was staggering; the very landscape has been changed.  As I took a walk after the storm to survey the damage, I noticed that the vast majority of trees that came down were pines.  And these trees did not snap in the wind, they were pulled out by their very roots, leaving large root balls standing high in the air at the base of each fallen tree.

As I stood looking at one of those fallen pines, I noticed something:  the root ball left a wide hole, but not a very deep one; the root system seemed shallow.  The tree was not diseased, in fact it appeared very healthy, but the roots did not go down deep.  Thus, when the heavy winds came, the soft ground just could not hold those large pine trees in, and the entire root system gave way.

Looking at those many fallen trees, the Lord impressed something upon me, a lesson I have heard before, but now with a very powerful visual to go along with it.  In order for us to survive the (sometimes violent) storms of this life, we must have deep roots – of course I am talking about deep roots in Christ.  Our faith must be strongly grounded, growing deep in the love of Jesus, or when the strong storms come we will simply topple over.

“But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away” (Mark 4:17).

Sisters, by His grace and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, let us seek not to have superficial root systems, but rather deep roots, going down deep into the “depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom. 11:33).

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him; rooted and built up in Him; strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness”  (Col. 2:6 & 7).

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jer. 17:7 & 8).

“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor”  (Isaiah 61:3).

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate

 I’ve recently been thinking about how easy it is for us to remain stuck in a “victim mentality” rather than live in victory through Christ. Each one of us has sinned against someone else, but I know that each one of us has been sinned against also. Some hurts are so deep that we walk around with our wounds, ready to rip open the bandage and show anyone who will look so that they can know of our pain and perhaps comfort or sympathize with us. We forever walk around with a placard that says, “I’ve been betrayed, abandoned, cheated against, abused (physically or emotionally)” or whatever; you can fill in the blank. We have a tendency to take our hurts first to our family or friends and then at some point to God.

I can just see our heavenly Father waiting for us to bring all our wounds to Him. His arms are opened wide ready to comfort and give us His strength. Matt. 11:28- 30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and by burden is light.” He is the only One who will listen anytime night or day. He is the only One who can truly comfort us. He’s the One that stands ready to take us from victim to victory. It’s not that we are to forget what has happened, but God takes our pain, hurts, and suffering and transforms it to treasure, for His glory. And we can claim victory through Christ. Our pain no longer defines who we are; it is just included in the fabric of our life to make us who we are.

I remember, ever so clearly, before I was a Christian walking around, downcast all the time, saying to just about everyone, “Why me? Poor me.”  My teen sons were spiraling out of control in the drug world. I was in pain, miserable, and hurt. I beat myself up for being a bad Mom and wife. But after I gave my heart to Jesus, I began to continually cry out to Him and surrender my life, my sons and my marriage to Him daily. I took it back many times but I was determined to keep giving it to Him. I had come to know He was the only One who could give me or my family victory.

Romans 8:28 became my reality. “We know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” God is in the business of transforming lives as they are surrendered to Him. Not only has my victim status been transformed to victory, but He has transformed my pain for His purposes. Who but God!

Mary Ann

MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 38 years, have 2 married sons and are the proud grandparents of three grandsons and two granddaughters and one grandchild on the way! 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.

Not a phrase I had ever heard before. Have you? Basically it’s the reverse of a phrase we have all probably heard; “under the table.” Let me be totally transparent; in the past, B.C., I have accepted payment for work without having paid taxes on it, let alone  tithe.  What was that? In my mind and in many minds, the government got enough money in taxes. Everyone does it, if they don’t they are the fools. That was my attitude. It was a wrong and sinful attitude to have and I was the fool. I have often been foolish with money and have literally paid the consequences. 

As I said, since I have come to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, I am learning to look at things in the light of His perspective.  And now I have become, well, let’s say a little gun shy. I have a certain amount of money I am responsible to invest for my son’s future. I have been tight-fisted with it and fearful of investing and losing it all. So what am I going to do with it? For a time I, figuratively speaking, buried it in a hole for safe-keeping and it made no interest. (Matthew 25:25 – And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.) Then, being the wildly wise investment guru that I am, I put it in a savings account earning about a 1/2 percent interest.  A short time after I had heard of something called Bonds and I invested it in that which offers a higher interest rate and short-term lock down of the money. Do I sound like I know what I’m talking about? I don’t. This is my child’s money; it’s not a lot and even if it gained a high amount of interest it’s still by no means a fortune. But it is what his father and I are able to set aside for him and it should be invested wisely. I’d like all that I invest plus a good amount of interest to be there when I want to cash out.  I don’t want to invest one cent in anything like tobacco companies, etc…, or to have a big tax burden on the end. 

In my sluggish search for a good investment opportunity I was reading about one firm’s principals and vision. The title of this devotional comes out of their literature and it is that kind of commitment to integrity that makes me feel a little more comfortable with investing.

Top of the table dealings for money I am entrusted with, that sounds like something God will bless. In fact, His word says that if we can be trusted with little we will be entrusted with much. I haven’t always been able to be trusted with little and in turn had been given little. As it says in God’s Word, so it is (Matthew 25:29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.) The Lord is teaching me His financial ways. I don’t always get it right, but I want to get it right more often than not. How about you? How do you handle money? 

Do you know what God’s financial ways are? Do you want to know? Here is a place to start. Read: Matthew 25:14-29, Matthew 6:1-4 and 25-34, Proverbs 31:10-31.

Dina Seaton
Marketing Assistant, Staff Writer