​25 September 2019
Ridicule & Repentance
2 Kings 22:19
You were sorry and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said...
 
This passage is from the historical account of King Josiah’s response to finding the Book of the Law and reading it. He realized right away that his whole kingdom had been offending God with their lives. When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair (v.11). He didn’t make excuses even though he had many – like having ungodly parents. He went straight to the LORD and discovered that God doesn’t make fun of people who repent. We are so accustomed to associating ridicule with repentance, but this has actually never been God’s practice.

James 4:6-7
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. So humble yourselves before God...

Josiah humbled himself, and God extended grace to him and his whole kingdom. What if I humble myself instead of making excuses for my actions – and I can come up with some good excuses. But what I really need (and my “kingdom” needs from me too) is simple. Apologize. Repent. Be humble. God isn’t looking for excuses, he’s looking to extend his grace on us all!
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Dear God,
You are so good, and I am so crazy. Thank you for making things actually simple. Thank you for your grace – that you never withhold. I even actually deserve for you to withhold it, and you don’t. Thank you that repentance is available everyday and you don’t ridicule for it. You are so kind and good; there is NO ONE like you. And I love you and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

24 September 2019
A Special Invitation
Luke 23:40-43

​But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This criminal had no time to make up for anything he had done. He was crucified next to Jesus and getting ready to die. And Jesus forgave his sins right then and there. Jesus is absolutely for people who have no where else to go, unable to make up for what they’ve done & no opportunity to show their “worth.”

Excruciating pain didn’t change Jesus’ mind about his purpose when he met that criminal. Jesus previously clearly stated his purpose to everyone... The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. (Luke 19:10) Not just save. SEEK and save. He sought one more even while he was dying. The last miracle he ever did was seek & save someone in his own last moments.

Since we live in the modern era, we accept this idea of an umbrella of forgiveness as Jesus died for all of our sins once and for all. This is true. But he doesn’t just save. He seeks and saves. He is still inviting everyone into a refreshing relationship with him for whatever amount of time a person has left, for that time grows into eternity. His invitation to find and save me wasn’t part of any impersonal, blanket statement made to faceless people. He personally wants me to be with him where he is.

Jesus is recorded as praying very specifically: I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message... Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. (John 17:20-24)

This is all Jesus. There is nothing I add or bring to the table to receive this. I may as well have no time to show for it like the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. He isn’t asking for any kind of proof of my potential, and he didn’t ask for a resume; he simply asked his Father to bring me to him. I’m fooling myself today if I don’t make spending time with Jesus my priority. I got an education from the thief on the cross. Jesus isn’t only a person’s last resort; he can also be our only!
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Dear God,
Thank you for your Son. He made the way for me to have a real relationship with you. He did all the work for such and impossible task. Thank you so much. Thank you for thinking of me, for saving me, for loving me & for inviting me everyday to simply fellowship with you. I love the peace that accompanies your presence and I love you and I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

19 September 2019
Mourning and Mourning Regret
2 Kings 19:1
When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord.

The report the king heard was that the Assyrian king was coming for the Kingdom of Judah. Hezekiah had already tried to pay him off with all the gold from the Temple he could find. That was his idea. But now, he’s out of ideas. He doesn’t have anything of value left. Tearing his clothes and wearing burlap is a sign of utter morning. Is he just mourning the devastating news? Maybe he’s also mourning the sobering realization that he tried to solve a problem with his wealth. Now, he doesn’t have any wealth. He has nothing. But he prays anyway.

This is what separates God from the pack. His arms are open when we come to him. He never says, “You made that bed...” or “It’s too late,” or a nice sarcastic: “So NOW you come to me, aye?”  No. Not God. He knows our ginormous failures and what follows that often is deep and utter regret for not coming to him in the first place. The reason I know God doesn’t mock us when we come to him late in the game, or made him our plan B, is because of how this event in Hezekiah’s reign shakes out.

That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there. (2 Kings 19:35-36)

God showed up. He would’ve showed up the first time, but Hezekiah was hoping his treasury of gold would work. Not only am I glad that God doesn’t mock us for forgetting he is our Plan A, he shows up when we come to our senses. It’s never too late to come to him. His arms are outstretched in our direction.  We don’t even have to clean up or try and fix anything first. We come to him for forgiveness, wisdom, joy and resolve.
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Thank you God!
Thank you for your incredible love that doesn’t shame or condemn. Thank you that we never regret putting our hope in you. My regrets come from when I didn’t seek you first. Thank you for forgiving me, for loving me, and for always being willing to help me. I love you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

​17 September 2019
No Small Space
Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

When Rob was teaching on Sunday, he said, “We shrink our life and expectations when we get discouraged.” And then he shared this passage from Ephesians 3.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is (v.18)... God’s intention is for our tiny hearts to expand to fit all that he is. We let life make us smaller when we get any negative feedback, suffer any embarrassment, or listen to the critics of our dreams. But God and his mighty power is at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think (v.20). He is certainly stronger and more powerful than any critic we encounter. Why do we let these people and these experiences get a word in edgewise in our hearts?

Rob also said that God’s glorious, unlimited resources to empower us with inner strength though his spirit (v.16) will not fit into our shot-glass-sized heart.  So true. I must ask God to expand my heart so I can receive all that he has for me – all the love, patience, joy & peace he can cram in there. That’s what I want. And I do that by increasing my faith. And we increase our faith by God’s Word (See Romans 10:17). That’s how the nay-sayers & negative experience don’t rule while I try to put God and all that he is in an itty bitty living space. Letting God be the biggest is what makes my heart expand to experience roots that will grow down into God’s love and keep me strong (v.17).
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O Lord,
Be BIG in my life today. Let any negative, embarrassing, or discouraging setback never be what I focus on. Don’t let these things give me a resolve to make myself small & unnoticeable. That’s exactly what the enemy wants – for me to keep you in a teeny tiny living space. I want you to expand my heart with your mighty power and for you to accomplish infinitely more than I could ever ask or think today. I love you & I want you to fill my heart up, and I pray in your Name, amen.

13 September 2019
Don’t Stop Halfway
Psalm 37:5
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.

We just finished studying the zealous king, Jehu, in 2 Kings 10 in our Women’s Bible Study at church. This guy completely and totally eradicated evil from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Finally all the people had no exterior hindrances to living godly lives EXCEPT for the fact that Jehu made no provision for them to worship God the way God instructed his people to worship him back then. God’s presence was only behind the curtain with the Ark in the Temple located in Jerusalem. When Israel divided into two kingdoms, no king of the northern kingdom ever made a way for the Northerners to get to the Temple in the South to worship God. Instead, new temples were constructed. Seems like a good idea except for the fact that this was their idea and not God’s. There was only ONE way to make sacrifices for your sins and worship God. The reason there was only ONE WAY is because today, there is still only ONE WAY to be made right with God, and that is through his Son, Jesus.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NLT

Jehu kept those little temples open that were constructed when the kingdom split. He did NOT lead his people to the only place where true worship was possible, and it’s a shame because he had gone to all that trouble to expel the worship of false gods only to provide false worship of the One, True, Living God for the people.

What was he supposed to do? Perhaps make a treaty financial or otherwise with the King of Judah in the south where the Temple was located? But a king who needs permission from another king isn’t much of a king. Looks like the pride of all the northern kings is what stood in the way of godly worship. Anyone of us can go to the meticulous trouble of exacting evil from our exterior simply by avoidance. But when we don’t clean out the idols in our heart, why even bother?

Psalm 37:5
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

This is the solution. No matter what it requires, ask God to show me what is hindering my worship. Don’t stop halfway. Go all in. If Jehu wanted to completely restore godliness and righteousness, he could have. But he stopped halfway. Dear heart of mine, do not stop half-way today; trust God; he will help me!

Dear God,
Help me not to be too lazy or indifferent to protect my surrounding as well as my heart today by committing everything I do and say to you and to trust you today for all I do and say. There is no reason why you won’t help me. Thank you for your Son, who is, indeed, the only way, the only truth, and the only life, and the only way to YOU. Thank you for helping me trust in you to guide me, and I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

​September 11, 2019
And Give Lots of Hugs
Romans 12:15 NLT
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

Today, our country mourns. We will forever mourn this day. Even though amazing stories have been told about courage and strength, it is appropriately a day for mourning because of the massive destruction and loss of life. It doesn’t mean we don’t move forward (easier for some than others). It means that it would be inappropriate for those who didn’t lose anyone to be insensitive to those who did.

Comforting people who are hurting requires this type of “funeral etiquette.” A lot of times well meaning Believers will unpack 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 when they go to comfort someone. This passage of scripture is for personal instruction not for offering comfort. It is inappropriate and kind of psychotic to tell someone who has just lost everything: Always be joyful.  Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

A hurting person needs our help, they need us to hold their hand, they need us to pray for them because all they can do is cry. Real comfort comes when we comfort someone with the comfort we ourselves have received. (See 2 Corinthians 1:3-4) And the comfort we receive comes from God. HE is the one who comforts. He mysteriously and miraculously replaces desperate sadness with unexplainable peace. We can’t physically do that for anyone.

What we can do physically is hold a hand, give a hug, offer support, food, care & love and agree with them that what they are going through is awful. Loving, physical, human presence will match what we pray for and believe God will do in the hearts of desperately sad people. Telling someone to “buck up” because God is in control is no comfort, telling someone to rejoice when they are actually sad is mentally unstable, and telling someone that God allowed it to happen is downright mean.

If I’m really concerned with someone moving forward from sorrow, I must give them something to look forward to...

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem... He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. (Isaiah 40:1-2&11)

Bad and sad things happen because we have a real and active Enemy. God is not our enemy. God comforts. God helps. God resolves. God heals. It doesn’t matter if he does it this side of heaven or the other; it is what we look forward to, and it is how we offer comfort: It won’t always be like this. You are close to God’s heart, and he will gently lead you. (and give lots of hugs)
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Dear God,
You know. Give me encouraging words for my sad friends. Help my comfort come from truths about you and your character. There are no handy tips, and no one needs a pep talk. We just need you. Thank you for your peace that is so deep that it can’t even be expressed. Thank you that you offer this to all who come to you for comfort and relief. Let me be faithful to gently point them to you in Jesus’ name, amen.

​10 September 2019
Don’t Try Harder
Jeremiah 29:13
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
   

On Sunday, we studied the history of Naaman, who was healed of leprosy. He was unimpressed with Elisha’s instructions to wash in a dirty river, but he was persuaded by his own men, so he was, in fact, healed. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” (2 Kings 5:13)

Just like Naaman, we all want God’s salvation a lot, but we also want to make sure we have something to do with it. God can change my heart, but I will have to help him with my will power and positive thinking. But God doesn’t require our help at all – just simple obedience.

Naaman was an impressive man with lots of means; he was ready to have an experience matching his expectations. An impressive person should do something impressive, but God doesn’t need our abilities for HIM to save US. Salvation is based on his love and kindness not our skills or worth.

Rob said on Sunday that “if I seek a better version of myself, I will never find it.” But if I seek the LORD with all my heart, I will find! We don’t put our trust in God so that he will make us better versions of ourselves; we come to him because he promises to make us more like his Son, Jesus.

My family doesn’t need a better version of me, they need me to be more like Jesus.  So whatever I think I need to ADD, I won’t. God didn’t require anything extra from Naaman, and he  isn’t requiring anything of me for me to save & help me. HE decided to generously give me the desire and the ability to please him (Philippians 2:13) and be like his Son – not to be a “better” version of me.
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Dear God,
Help me seek you with all my heart today. Help me not pursue the futile exercise of trying harder today but to simply let you give me the desire and the ability to be like your Son, Jesus, in whose name I pray, amen.
    

​9 September 2019
Just Ask Lillie
Matthew 7:7-8 NLT
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
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On Saturday at Women’s Breakfast at our church, my friend Lillie shared a personal experience from a time when she prayed fervently for something. Her husband’s family are Jehovah Witnesses, and she decided that she was going to pray for her mother-in-law’s salvation, but quickly learned that this woman was just a deeply rooted in her faith as Lillie is in hers. After several years of praying and eventually living under the same roof, so the mother could receive the care she came to require, Lillie finally got the opportunity to pray with her husband’s mother a few months before she passed away.

This is why I love this passage from Matthew 7. Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. YOU WILL RECEIVE... It never seems like it, does it? We pray out of desperation and obedience, but do we pray out of genuine assurance and HOPE? We should. We should keep praying about whatever that impossible thing is, and pray with great hope and expectation, because no matter how long it takes (God doesn’t seem as concerned with time as we are), God is working. In fact, he never stops working (see Psalm 121), and he doesn’t have to run his plans by us either.

Am I really ready for God to answer my desperate and sincere prayers? Lillie did NOT pray for her mother-in-law to move in with them, but that is what the answered prayer in her case looked like. We shouldn’t resist and fear changes that come; it might be what an answer to prayer really looks like.

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. (James 1:6 NLT) And it doesn’t matter if an answered prayer takes 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 years or 15 years. Never stop believing that God will do the seemingly impossible. He always does; just ask Lillie!!!
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Dear God,
Thank you for remembering every single one of my prayers. I know you have. Thank you for how you sustain me during the waiting and how you surprise me at your unveiling. I appreciate so much for the journey that prayer is. I have never been disappointed or ashamed for bringing something to you in prayer. Thank you so much for the mechanism of faith that is prayer, and that you use it effectively and faithfully in my life. I love your faithfully answered prayers, and I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

6 September 2019
There is no Box!
Jeremiah 32:17 NLT
O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

Jesus put it this way, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27 NIV) And he also said, “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37 NIV)

My hope gets elevated when I trust God. I see a circumstance and have extremely limited expectations because my strength and imagination is so finite. I can’t think outside “the box.” God says, “There’s a box?!”

There is no box! There’s no reason to believe God isn’t going to do the unimaginable, the unthinkable and the unrealistic thing today! He is not a man. His scope isn’t limited, and his power isn’t either. There is no god like our God. (1 Kings 8:23)

Whatever I am dreading today, whatever problem I can’t see a way around, whatever feelings of discouragement that may pop into my head at any given moment today doesn’t have to be what my day is made of. Knowing that God is all about the impossible, I can be full of hope and pleasantly surprised by joy, peace, strength, wisdom & even obstacles completely removed because God doesn’t operate from my confined box.

Dear God,
Everyday I will put my trust in you because you return hope to my heart. I am not stuck. You see tiny escape hatches for me everywhere: Think this way, do this simple thing, let that one go, Janys...  Thank you! Help me not live today by my limited point of view but simply enjoy relying on you and what you will do because of your great love and power. I appreciate you so much and the relief that accompanies trusting in you. And I pray in your Son’s name, amen.

​5 September 2019
Encouraging Others to Encourage Others
2 Corinthians 13:11
Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

Rob said something on Sunday at church while he was teaching that has stuck with me all week, “Don’t be passionate about what doesn’t matter.”

This is funny because isn’t most of what we do in life focused on what doesn’t matter much? Most moms will probably agree with me that if we buy the “wrong” toilet paper or a different brand of peanut butter, we will certainly hear about it. But I’m really encouraged by what Rob said. I conducted a little heart inventory and realized I have been focusing a lot on things that don’t really matter. I won’t elaborate on what those things are but simply report that this week I decided to pay attention to what I focus on. 

Let me just say that focusing on joy, making encouraging others my priority, and pursuing peace this week has not been a disappointment at all. I’m not even in an office, volunteering somewhere, or trying to change the world. I am just a wife and a mom at home encouraging the people I live with. 

Replacing criticism and critiquing with encouragement is actually very refreshing. I’m having alternative interactions and responses that have been much more effective than my automatic position. My hope has increased, my faith has increased, and my expectations have increased. That’s not normal. I’m finding that focusing on joy, encouragement & peace is a way more enjoyable, peaceful and freeing way to live than focusing on things that really don’t matter at all.

Dear God,
Thank you for your instruction all over scripture that is like finding treasure! Your solutions are not only full of life but enjoyable and even simple! Thank you for being with me. Thank you for helping me encourage where I’d automatically criticize. Thank you for the peace and joy in our home that YOU put there. I love you, and I pray in your Son’s name, amen.