Blog

Have you ever been underestimated, dismissed or treated unfairly based on your gender?  Women in Jesus’ times often were forced to exist on the fringes of life, unnoticed little gray shadows, often blending into the background to escape abuse and persecution.  Most men in biblical times considered women as property, to be used and abused as they saw fit. Jewish men even had a morning prayer that thanked God they were not a woman. But Jesus perceivedwomen differently. He saw them as equal partners in the family of God, and He constantly challenged the cultural bias of that day. He wasn’t afraid to shine a spotlight on women, calling them out of the shadows to escort them to center-stage in His drama of redemption.

    While the Pharisees avoided women, Jesus associated freely with them, even using examples from women’s lives to illustrate and clarify what He was teaching. He compared God’s joy over a lost soul coming to faith to the joy of a woman finding a lost coin.  He taught of persistence in prayer by comparing it to a determined woman knocking on her neighbor’s door.  He compared heaven to yeast that a woman mixes into a large amount of flour until it works all through the dough. Jesus openly celebrated women who lived exemplary lives, gave graciously, believed boldly, and worshipped authentically.

Jesus related to women the same way he interacted with men, honestly, openly and directly.He washed away the boundaries that kept women out of the mainstream of religious life, inviting women to play leading roles in God’s redemptive plan. Sharon Jaynes, in her book, How Jesus Treated Women, points out the following examples of the way Jesus lifted up women and liberated them from an oppressive culture:

• He touched the unclean woman with the flow of blood.
• He taught the hungry female pupil in a room full of men.
• He encourage Martha to join the classroom.
• He befriended the sisters of Bethany.
• He conversed with a thirsty Samaritan by the well.
• He revealed His true identity to the five times divorcee.
• He welcome the sinful woman’s worship.
• He called the woman with the crippled back from the shadows.
• He invited Mary Magdalene to join his ministry team.
• He defended Mary of Bethanys gesture when anointing him with perfume.
• He commended the Syrophenician mother’s faith.
• He applauded the widows offering.
• He commissioned Mary Magdalene to go and tell the disciples of his resurrection.
• Jesus’ first word after the resurrection was “woman”.
• Jesus was willing to risk his reputation to save the reputation of women.
• Jesus freed women from their painful pasts and freed them to fulfill his purposeful plans.
• He made no distinction between male or female married or single old or young; he simply related to people in regard to their relationship to God or lack of one.

Sharon Jaynes writes that Jesus gave women a voice that still speaks to us today.  We learn from the woman with the alabaster box that Jesus deserves our worship no matter what anyone else may think of us.  The woman at the well teaches us that no matter how crushed and broken our lives may be, Jesus can heal and renew us.  Mary of Bethany unpacks for us that no matter what others may expect from us, spending time with Jesus is the most valuable choice we can make.  Martha shows us that no matter our current tragedy, Jesus has the power over life and death.  Women recognized Jesus’ true identity when His inner circle did not, and women walked and sustained Jesus with their presence until the very end, despite the danger to their own lives.  

     You and I have a Savior who treated both men and women as individuals, with a firm kindness, deep respect, and focus on drawing out their faith.  While Jesus did not condemn the troubled women He encountered, He didn’t hesitate to point out that their sinful lives had to change.  No matter what Jesus diagnosed in the women who came to Him, He affirmed the value and dignity of every single one of them, often calling them, “daughter.”  He welcomed them and empowered them to find their true identity in Himself, the Christ.

    Jesus came to earth as a person who treated everyone, without exception, as a valued human being made in the image of God.  His measuring stick was not gender or status, but the quality of a person’s relationship with God.  Do you think you and I can do the same?  Can we look with the compassion of Jesus at the people in our lives who have been pushed into the shadows, and, like Jesus, invite them into the light of our love and acceptance?  Jesus saw the dignity and worth of women, giving them the power to deal with their issues of sin, repentance, and forgiveness. Might we do the same for anyone God brings into our lives?

Prayer:
Abba, my Daddy-God,

I have sometimes been hurt by people who did not see my worth and I have been guilty of doing this to others. Please forgive me. Thank You for treating women with such respect and love. Thank you for confronting our sin and mess without condemning us. Thank You for valuing us. Help me to find the dignity and worth in every person I meet. Please show me where I am biased, and please let Your love flow through me to those that the world has written off as undeserving of respect and care. Amen.

‘“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him (Mephilosheth), “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you to all the land that belonged to your grandfather, Saul, and you will ways eat at my table.”’
{ 2 Samuel 9:7 NIV }

“You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.”
{Luke 22:28-30a NIV}

Do you like to be invited to dinner?  I sure do, especially when my host has taken time to prepare a lovely meal made to express a deep, loving connection with me.  How wonderful to enter a home, sit at a carefully set table, and spend a long, leisurely evening hearing one another’s hearts over a delicious feast and delectable dessert!  But what if that invitation to come and dine was totally unexpected, completely undeserved, and good for the entirety of one’s life?  That is the kind of offer that poor, lame, Mephibosheth received from King David, an invitation he could hardly believe was his.

    The book of 2 Samuel tells us that David had completely defeated Saul and had taken the throne at last.  In those times, victorious kings, in order to ensure a long reign, completely annihilated every relative and friend, servant and anyone elseconnected to their enemy who might pose a threat to their kingdom.  But David, being a type of Christ, had a completely different mindset.  He asked if there was anyone from Saul’s house to whom he could show kindness.  His advisors told him that Saul had a grandson named, Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet. His nurse had dropped him when he was five years old while fleeing from the Philistines after his grandfather, Saul, and father, Jonathon, had fallen in battle (2 Samuel 4:4).

    Can you imagine the fear that coursed through Mephibosheth when he was taken from his bed and brought before the king?  Mephibosheth even called himself a “dead dog” wondering why the king even noticed him (2 Samuel 9:8).  Have you ever fallen so low that you have questioned whether God’s grace could truly be extended to you?  Are you able to put yourself in Mephibosheth’s place, poverty-stricken, defeated, crushed by the wheels of life, then blown away by an invitation to eat at the king’s table forever and have all that was lost restored? Can you imagine Mephibosheth’s joy at this unexpected deliverance from poverty and death? Pour yourself something hot and just process this for a while.

Jesus is still asking every single one of us to come and dine at His table. Like Mephibosheth, we are powerless, defeated and lame, because of that long-ago deadly choice made in the Garden of Eden. Yet, Jesus has lovingly, and carefully prepared a table for us, even in the presence of our enemies, a table groaning with the weight of His abundance, a table none of us deserve (Psalm 23). Every time we take communion, we get a little “foretaste of the feast to come,” that is waiting for us in heaven. Every time we spend time with Jesus, especially in the presence of our enemies, we can receive life-giving nourishment, the bread that “sustains the heart” (Psalm 104:15). But, like Mephibosheth, we have to admit that we are “dead dogs” needing God’s forgiveness and strength to make us “stand firm in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:21) before we take our seat at the table of the King of Kings.

Got enemies? Got struggles? Resources used up? Come and dine at the King’s table! Open your Bible and ask God to feed you. Tell Him about your hunger and thirst. The door to His great dining hall is open to anyone willing to come in (Revelation 22:17). God Himself is the Master of the feast, a feast He has prepared Himself (Isaiah 25:6-8), Everyone is invited to this unending meal with the finest of meat and drink, carefully crafted for broken hearts and crushed spirits. Forgiveness is the first course, served only when we ask for it, followed by food that brings healing and growth, renewal and resilience to anyone willing to live in Jesus’ direction and pull up a chair at His table. Death and grief are banished from that heavenly meal and there is no seat for God’s enemies, so come and eat in peace; eat until you are full (Matthew 5:6). Why starve, eking out an existence on crumbs, when you and I are invited into God’s presence to be rehydrated and to eat of Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, the “finest of wheat” (Psalm 147:14)? Will you pull up a chair at the King’s table?

Prayer:
Abba, my Daddy-God, I thank You for inviting me to eat of You until I am satisfied. Forgive me for chasing after life’s junk food. You are my living water. You are my bread of life. Teach me how to come to You for what will fill me with life, hope, and radiant health. Thank You for giving me a seat at Your table. Amen.

13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Isaiah 49:13-16 NIV

Have you ever experienced the tender, nurturing, abundant love of God? How would you describe this love? One of my most compelling encounters with the “mothering” side of God came when helping a member of our congregation plan a funeral for his estranged mother. I remember him asking those of us on staff to help him find the verse that mentioned mothers who forget their children, but God remembering anyway. Isaiah 49:15 became the theme of that funeral for a man who chose not to focus on his lost mother-love, but on the unending abundance of God’s way of loving him as only a perfect mother could.

I confess that God having a mothering part of His character was new and a bit uncomfortable for me at first. God as “Father” had been deeply ingrained in me from my Sunday school days onward. However, after chewing on this idea, praying and studying, I slowly came to the realization that God created motherhood, the need for mother love and the need for deep attachment in every single one of us, so why couldn’t He have this “mother” side? The Bible has some tender passages about this kind of nurturing love and this assurance of abundance that we were made to crave. Isaiah 66 overflows with God’s mother-comfort and invitation to deep attachment:

11 For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance.”
12 For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…..
Isaiah 66:11-13a NIV

    Every time I think of this kind of attachment, I think of my great-nephew, Caleb.  When he was an infant, I offered to hold him so his tired mother could eat some Christmas Eve dinner.  I sat in a chair by the fireplace and placed him on my chest with his little head tucked into my neck.  The fire was roaring and before long, its heat made us both sticky with sweat. When Caleb’s mama came to retrieve her baby, she had to literally peel him away from me for we were glued, skin to skin. What a powerful bond we shared!

     I am discovering that God is inviting us to this kind of attachment, an ongoing fountain of life that begins when we say “Yes!” to Jesus’ invitation to be in union with Him. This sustaining stream continues to flow into us every day of our lives.  All the joy, all the courage, all the creativity, and all the resilience we need comes from that attachment, but ceases without it.  So, do you think asking our Creator for the kind of mother-attachment we need might be an effective way to increase our connection to Him?  Do you think taking this need to any other place might not only be counter-productive but dangerous?  Might we pray about this?

Prayer

Abba, my Daddy-God, I need your mother-love.  I live with such a sense of scarcity in the world around me, that I need Your assurance of abundance.  I need a deep, constantly flowing, bonded love with You.  I give you all this need for mother-love, and I open the deep places of my heart to You. Forgive me for taking this need to any other source.  Comfort the fears that haunt me and nourish me, Your hungry child. Please show me the deep places in me that are not available to this kind of love. I need every blessing you want to give me. Thank You for engraving me on the palms of your hands. Thank You for staying aware of my need to be built up and protected. Amen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE  (Reckless Love)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDURInx_GUk (It’s Always Been You)

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
[James 5:16 NIV]

The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
[Isaiah 50:4 NIV]

     How would you rate your apology skills? Gary Chapman, the author of The Five Languages of Apology, believes that a good apology contains the following five elements:

• I’m sorry.
• I was wrong.
• Please forgive me.
• I’ll try not to do it again.
• What can I do to make it right?

     I grew up with a close family member who could never say the words, “I’m sorry.”  Her strategy for dealing with those she offended was to withdraw, wait for the strong feelings to subside, then pick up the relationship as if nothing had ever happened. Because she was such a prominent person in my life, I subconsciously internalized some of her strategies. I didn’t have many apology tools in my toolbox, and I did not have a strong standing in the grace and forgiveness of God that could have broken down my fierce defensive approach to every relationship. Learning to say, “I’m sorry,” without the bottom dropping out of my world has been a long process.

     What I didn’t understand is that there is more than one way to feel sorry.  Sometimes feeling sorry focuses on getting relief from the pain of feeling our badness instead of prioritizing the restoration of relationship with God and those we have offended.  Some sorrow focuses only on trying harder with the same old strategies instead of training to work out the details of a healthy change.  Some sorrow focuses on an angry, condemning conscience instead of looking to the grace of Jesus Christ for forgiveness and a do-over.  Some sorrowful people, like my family member, hide from judgment from any source. Other sorrowful people are open to assessment from God, self and safe others because they have learned that this evaluation is based on God’s grace, mercy, and love.  One kind of sorrow seeks relief from guilt; this is worldly sorrow, which always ends in regret.  However, godly sorrow seeks true change, healed relationships, and a maturing life based on the principles Jesus brought to us.

     We can see godly sorrow and worldly sorrow play out in 1 Samuel 24:1-22.  David, hiding in the same cave where Saul goes to take a time-out, sneaks up on his king to cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe.  But then David’s conscience begins to bother him and he recognizes that not only has he offended “the Lord’s anointed,” he has disobeyed God in the process (1 Samuel 24:6).  David has a godly sorrow that keeps his eyes on God and prevents him from harming the king (1 Samuel 24:8-15).  David, though he does not follow his men’s advice to kill his adversary, still embarrasses Saul but cutting off a piece of his garment.  He realizes God is not pleased and offers his king a heart-felt apology.  This is how godly sorrow works! Saul, on the other hand, maintains a relentless focus only on himself. He weeps sorrowful tears, but makes no changes to the course of his paranoid jealousy. King Saul’s worldly sorrow produces an endless cycle of broken relationships in his life, a life that is soaked in regret.

    Despite Saul’s tears and David’s remorse, both men have a missing piece in their interactions with one another. They do a lot of talking, but not much listening. What we say to each other when making an apology should only take up about ten percent of the conversation.  Listening to one another should take up the remaining ninety percent.  Why is this ratio so important?  If we do all the talking when apologizing, we can actually further wound someone we have already hurt.  King Saul could have asked, “How has my sin impacted you?” then started listening.  As he discovered David’s heart, he could have seen their disconnect through this young man’s eyes, rather than listening only to poke holes in David’s argument, find a quick fix, convince David to “get past it,” or stop any whining.  If both had listened to understand the hurt each had caused, apologized specifically for what they both heard from one another, then followed through with healthy changes, they could have taken significant steps toward reconciliation.

     Listening to understand is a hallmark of godly sorrow, a process that might take more than one session because we should never force a response from someone we have hurt.  Like other skills, listening with the intention of truly understanding and putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes, takes a great deal of practice, committed prayer, perhaps some counseling, and the energy and coaching of God’s Holy Spirit to see the process through to mastery. This sounds daunting, but take heart!  God has an ocean of grace in which to drown our defensiveness and despair at being the villain in someone else’s story.  Is this part of your life available to His grace?  Are you willing to ask God to make you a better listener and sharpen your apology skills?

Let’s pray.

Abba, my Daddy God,
Please help me to apologize effectively from my heart.  Show me where I have worldly sorrow instead of godly sorrow so that I can live free of these destructive patterns in my life.  Help me to be a better listener.  Open me up to Your loving grace for I need to come out of hiding to receive Your healing in this area of my life.  Thank You for not being mad at me about this because Jesus took my sin and shame and paid for it in my place on the cross.  Amen.

13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

[Isa 49:13-16 NIV]

      Have you ever experienced the tender, nurturing, abundant love of God? How would you describe this love?  One of my most compelling encounters with the “mothering” side of God came when helping a member of our congregation plan a funeral for his estranged mother.  I remember him asking those of us on staff to help him find the verse that mentioned mothers who forget their children, but God remembering anyway. Isaiah 49:15 became the theme of that funeral for a man who chose not to focus on his lost mother-love, but on the unending abundance of God’s way of loving him as only a perfect mother could.

     I confess that God having a mothering part of His character was new and a bit uncomfortable for me at first.  God as “Father” had been deeply ingrained in me from my Sunday school days onward.  However, after chewing on this idea, praying and studying, I slowly came to the realization that God created motherhood, the need for mother love and the need for deep attachment in every single one of us, so why couldn’t He have this “mother” side?  The Bible has some tender passages about this kind of nurturing love and this assurance of abundance that we were made to crave.  Isaiah 66 overflows with God’s mother-comfort and invitation to deep attachment:

 11 For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance.”

12 For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;

you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.

13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…..

[Isaiah 66:11-13a NIV]

     Every time I think of this kind of attachment, I think of my great-nephew, Caleb.  When he was an infant, I offered to hold him so his tired mother could eat some Christmas Eve dinner.  I sat in a chair by the fireplace and placed him on my chest with his little head tucked into my neck.  The fire was roaring and before long, its heat made us both sticky with sweat. When Caleb’s mama came to retrieve her baby, she had to literally peel him away from me for we were glued, skin to skin. What a powerful bond we shared!

      I am discovering that God is inviting us to this kind of attachment, an ongoing fountain of life that begins when we say “Yes!” to Jesus’ invitation to be in union with Him. This sustaining stream continues to flow into us every day of our lives.  All the joy, all the courage, all the creativity, and all the resilience we need comes from that attachment, but ceases without it.  So, do you think asking our Creator for the kind of mother-attachment we need might be an effective way to increase our connection to Him?  Do you think taking this need to any other place might not only be counter-productive but dangerous?  Might we pray about this?

Prayer

Abba, my Daddy-God, I need your mother-love.  I live with such a sense of scarcity in the world around me, that I need Your assurance of abundance.  I need a deep, constantly flowing, bonded love with You.  I give you all this need for mother-love, and I open the deep places of my heart to You. Forgive me for taking this need to any other source.  Comfort the fears that haunt me and nourish me, Your hungry child. Please show me the deep places in me that are not available to this kind of love. I need every blessing you want to give me. Thank You for engraving me on the palms of your hands.  Thank You for staying aware of my need to be built up and protected. Amen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE  (Reckless Love)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDURInx_GUk  (It’s Always Been You)

Have you ever thought you knew better than the person warning you that what you were contemplating would lead to big trouble? This struggle between flesh and God’s spirit within us is common to us all. I will never forget the day that this principle was lived out in technicolor in my sixth-grade classroom. New carpeting had been installed over the weekend and I had everyone swear an oath to do their best to not spill anything on it. The oath didn’t last long. One young lady offered to bring in cups of tempera paint from an art project out in the courtyard. I warned her to bring in only a few at a time, but rain was falling, so she tried to bring 26 cups in at once. She didn’t make it far before catching a toe on the leg of a desk, launching all those paint-filled cups into the air. I heard an audible gasp as paint fell on the children, on their desks, and on that beautiful new carpeting. Everyone looked at my poor helper and then at me in total silence, waiting for the doom they knew was coming.

     I sent up a quick prayer for self-control then found myself laughing and shaking my head at the mess.  I realized I had a very colorful teachable moment, so I put my arms around my hopelessly guilty helper and asked the class if they knew about “grace.”

     I explained to them that I was going to give grace to this speckled and dripping child standing before me, but that she did not deserve it.  I was not only going to forgive her, but I was also going to love her and help her to learn and grow for the rest of the year.  I was going to be in her corner, no matter what other challenges and struggles came her way.  Then I explained that everyone else was going to give her grace by not teasing her and by helping her scrub the carpet.  That day, my little helper gave me her heart.

     Despite our best efforts, a faint stain remained, so we named it “The Room 76 Memorial Stain.” I invited my students to visit it in the years to come and remember the day that grace came to our classroom.  They came and they laughed and they remembered!  My little helper, who received that grace, grew up to be a nurse in another city who then lovingly cared for a dear friend after surgery.  Grace given became grace shared.

     What about you?  Do you have some technicolor stains in your life?  Have you come to the place that you can only stand silent in speechless guilt because the evidence of a broken law is all around you?  Do you need God’s undeserved favor that covers so much more than just your need for forgiveness?  Do you need help to grow and to be transformed so that you are less likely to stumble in the future?  Then you are a candidate for God’s endless, unfathomable, unsearchable, ocean of grace.  

      God’s grace for you goes on an on, meeting your need for forgiveness, growth, fruit, obedience, victory, wisdom, relationship skills, problem-solving, and loving the way that Jesus loves.  Peter, soon discovered that he had a great deal to learn about grace, even after receiving it.  That is why he wrote in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  He spent a lifetime discovering the many facets of grace, and we must do the same.

     What about you?  What parts of you are available to God’s grace?  Are the stains in your life a source of guilt or a testament to God’s desire to forgive you, grow you, teach you, and unleash you to do good in this hurting world? Because of the work of Jesus on the cross, God wants to meet you with love, not condemnation, a fact that can free you from guilt and shame if you believe Him.

Prayer

Abba, please show me the parts of my life that are not yet available to your grace. Show me where I am trying to clean myself up without You. Please give me grace to learn more about Your grace. Amen.

For Further Study:

John 1:14-17; Romans 3:24; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Galatians 2:21; 2 Timothy 1:9

When I go on my hikes in the Hualapai Mountains, I notice various types of trees, from the tiny charlie brown type Christmas tree to the huge pine trees.  Most of these trees seemed to have weathered the storm regardless of the condition they are in.  Although they have been battered by the wind and rain, they still remain to stand even if it’s just the trunk.

Roots require three things: water, oxygen, and soil compaction levels low enough to allow root penetration.  If all these conditions are met, roots can grow to great depths. The trees that I observed met these conditions and are still standing strong in the ground.  Some have roots so deep that they spread across the trail and I wouldhave to be careful not to trip over them.

As I reflect on these tree roots, it reminds me of the roots of my relationship with Christ Jesus and how deep these roots are planted. In Jeremiah 17:8, it reads “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.”

This water that the trees need is continuous and comes from the stream. This scripture reiterates that I am to be planted by streams of water as well so that my roots can continuously grow.  This water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which the Bible says in John 7:38 will flow like rivers of living water.  So it is up to us to sink our own roots deep into a relationship with Christ, and then to water and enrich those roots with the word of God so that we grow and blossom in the Lord.

If trees don’t receive this consistent supply of water, they will wither away and die.  Its leaves dry and turn brown and the trunk soon loses its color.  The leaves fall and blow away with the slightest breeze.

The same thing will happen to us if we don’t continuously water ourselves with the word of God and feast at his table daily.  If we do this, when the storms come (and they will) we will be able to bear up under the winds of turmoil in our lives.  I know for me I just received a diagnosis of breast cancer and I noticed that if I wasn’t rooted in the word of God when I received this news, I would have been blown over quickly however, I am continuing to stand and will dive deeper into the word so that I can have the strength to stand through this trial.  It is imperative that I encourage myself in the word, pray the word and remind God of his promises and most of all continue to give him the praise for this trial and everything that will come with it during this time in my life.

How about you? Have you thought about how deep your roots are planted?  Are you a surface Christian?  Do you barely pick up your Bible or do you take the time to study and meditate on the word of God?

These are some important questions to ponder and decide what your response will be so that you can prepare yourself to stand under any trial that the enemy willbring your way.

My challenge for you is to encourage you to grow deep roots in the word of God and allow the water of the word to wash you daily.  In Psalm 119:105, the scripture tells us that “the word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.” So let this be a reminder to use the word as a guide in your life for every decision you need to make regarding which path to take.

Father God we pray for each woman reading this blog to have a deeper desire and a hunger for your word.  We pray that as they reflect on your creation and how you made the trees and how deep those roots go, we pray that our own roots will sink deep down into your word and we will have the strength and stability we need to go through any trial you bring our way.  We pray for listening ears to hear what you are saying to us during the hard trials that will come our way and we pray that we will learn whatever it is you are teaching us through these trials and we pray this in the name of Jesus! Amen!

Scriptures for further study: Psalm 1, John 7:37-39, Romans 8:28&37, Psalm 119:15-16, Hebrews 4:12, Joshua 1:8, Ephesians 6:17, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Tim. 2:15

Having an attitude of gratitude is not always easy or simple. Often times, we think gratitude is just saying “Thank you” to someone. While thanking people is great, it is not the life-changing kind of thankfulness that we are called to have. We are called to have a grateful heart. It is easy to see the blessings in your life, it is harder to feel blessed in all seasons of life. 

When faced with a task that you may not be very excited about, do you find yourself saying “I have to do this…” or have you learned to say “I get to do this…” We may know that our home is a blessing, but do we treat it in a way that a blessed person would treat it? Our homes, like many blessings, require maintenance and upkeep. The same is true for relationships. Often times we fall into the habit of feeling burdened by chores, volunteering, and helping others. We see these things as items to check off of a to-do list rather than as opportunities to invest in our blessings.

Changing your attitude is not an easy feat. It takes time for habits to form. If you’re not sure where to start, I think keeping a daily Gratitude Journal is a great idea! Pick a time each day to jot down what you’re most thankful for and then spend a little time in prayer to thank the Lord for those blessings. Another great habit to start is when you catch yourself feeling that “I have to…” phrase, try to change it! If you’re thinking “I have to do the laundry” try to remind yourself that access to clean clothes and a closet to store them in are blessings.

As we go into a holiday named for giving thanks, I encourage you to find the difference between knowing what your blessings are and actually feeling blessed by them. “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians‬ 3:15-21

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, He organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. [Colossians 1:15-18 The Message, emphasis added]

    How much time do you spend thinking about how to hold it all together?  How much effort? Think about your most troubling situation.  On a scale of 1-10, how would you measure your ability to trust that Jesus really is all sufficient to handle your struggle? 

    Paul made six compelling claims about Jesus in his letter to the Colossians that confront our deepest anxieties about how to tuck in all of life’s loose ends, all those places that feel exposed and vulnerable, all those parts of us that don’t seem to line up with who Scripture says we are in Christ.  

1. All things were created by Jesus and for Jesus, and He is the glue that holds creation together (Colossians 1:16,17).

2. Jesus was as human as any man, and as divine as God his Father, the fulness of God in bodily form (Colossians 1:19,20).

3. Every one of us can be made complete in Christ, if we are willing (Colossians 1:27-29).

4. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus, the Christ (Colossians 2:3).

5. All of creation is under the authority of Jesus (Colossians 1:15, 18; 2:10; 3:1).

6. Every single sin is forgiven as we live lives of faith in Jesus (Colossians 1:14, 20-23; 2:12-13; Romans 6; Ephesians 1:13-14)

Feeling unglued? Stop chasing those wild thought loops for a moment and look at Jesus. What do you see? Do you see a king already seated on the throne but still active in subduing his enemies (Hebrews 2:8)? Do you see a priest who paid for all of your sins with His precious blood, once and for all, yet is still freely offering His great salvation and willing to keep you in it (Hebrews 2:3)? Do you see a prophet who has shown you all you need to know, believe, and do, through whom the Holy Spirit still speaks when the Bible is read (Hebrews 3:7; 4:12)? Darlin’ you are looking at Jesus as “super-glue”! He has enough of what you need to cement you back together.

So, how should we, the unglued, respond to all this powerful sufficiency? We can begin by thanking God for being willing to put on our skin and showing us that He can not only begin any creative process, but finish it. He doesn’t leave us in pieces! We can ask God to show us His mind-blowing goodness and love, His hesed, so that we can learn to trust His agenda instead of ours. We can ask Him to clear away our misconceptions and expectations, so that we can give him all of ourselves, no parts exempt to His loving touch. We can ask Him to show us where He is rescuing us right now, and then watch for Him, listen to Him and express our gratitude to Him.

Prayer

Dear Abba, 

Help me trust that Your plans for me are good. Help me lean into the fact that You are truly strong enough, loving enough, and competent enough to glue my life back together and make me into a new “human 2.0”. Please touch the tender places in my heart and let me lean on You. I am so thankful that Your authority is over every part of my life. Amen.

1. https://www.rushpodcast.com/