Do you hear the sermon on Sunday mornings?  I know this is a powerful question to consider, but recently, I encountered someone who was seeking validation from a sermon, yet this person biggest issue was the failure to apply the sermon to themselves.  Instead this person chose to apply it to others around them.  As I listened, I began to think about how we listen to God’s Word.  Do we get the message that God is sending our way?  Are we applying what we are learning from scripture to our lives or are we choosing to apply it to those around us.

At lunch the other day with a colleague we were discussing sermons and their application to our lives when I brought up this topic of how sometimes we forget to apply the sermon to our own lives but choose to apply it to others.  I realize how easy it is to turn the message from a sermon away from ourselves.  As we discussed this during lunch, we all agreed that it is easy to judge others and fail to judge ourselves.  Matthew 7:1 reminds us, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”  This past Sunday as our pastor shared the story of Haman from Esther 5 and delved into the pride in our own lives, I focused on aspects of my life where I have allowed my pride to get in the way.  I realized the deep message that I needed to hear from the scripture and how it applied to me.  Looking back now at the message God was sending me, I can also see how easy it could have been for me to have placed the message on someone else and not myself.  Why do I know this could have been easy because I have been guilty of it in the past.  I have been Haman before preparing the gallows for others and promoting myself.  I could have chosen to look around the church and pick out who I felt was prideful and hoped they were hearing the message, or I could have thought of people that I wished were here listening to the sermon.  In essence, I could have turned the lesson from scripture away from its intent which was application to my life and become the judge for others.

In this day of social media which provides public platforms to share and vent, we can receive validation so quickly in our lives.  For many it can become easy to miss the great lessons that we should be learning from God’s Word.  Our lives are full of distractions that can cause us to miss what God is placing right in front of us.  Matthew 7:5 reminds us not to be hypocrites, ” You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  We have to be able to see our own sin before we can judge the sins of others.

David was a man after God’s own heart as Acts 13:22 states, “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'”.  Even such a man failed at first to hear the message God sent to him from Nathan in 2 Samuel 12 about his own sin after conceiving a child with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed.  Once David was able to stop applying the message to others but was forced to see his own sin and apply the message of the lambs to himself he humbled himself before the Lord and repented.  ” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”, 2 Samuel 13.  Even in his repentance the Lord did not remove the consequences of his action.  We must still bear the consequences of our sin.   This deep reminder of David’s sin and God’s forgiveness exposes our need to hear the messages from the Lord.  I will continue to focus on how the sermon’s message is intended for me and not for others.  Are we listening?

Closing Verse: Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Challenge:  Focus on the message the Lord is sending to you this Lent Season.

Please share if so lead.

We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it’s absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive. -T. D. Jakes

My husband and I spent a Sunday afternoon going to watch The Shack.  We read the book years ago, but we were quickly reminded of the deep meaning of this story.  Forgiveness.  God is the only one who can pass judgement, so in order to find joy in our life we can not sit in the judgement seat but must forgive those who sin against us.  The Bible is the story of redemption and forgiveness that God has for his chosen people.

How many times have I sat in God’s judgement seat of others?  Probably more than I care to admit, but it is so easy to want our own revenge and justice for our lives and the wrongs committed against us.  The difficult part of God’s plan is not accepting his forgiveness but giving that forgiveness to others.  Releasing the burden of carrying the anger and pain from others and forgiving that sin is a gift from God to allows us to build our relationship with Christ.  Christ is our path to the Lord, but we must travel the road of forgiveness.  The disciples in their teachings remind us all in Acts 13:38 that we must know Christ, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,”  Christ teaches us that if we do not forgive then he will not forgive as the  Lord’s Prayer reminds us.  Matthew 6:9-12

     9 Pray then like this:  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

                    10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

                    11 Give us this day our daily bread,

                    12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

                    13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

As we pray scripture in Mark 11:25 says, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”  Forgiveness allows our relationship with God to be stronger because we allow him to sit in the judgement seat.

As we left the movie, I have to admit my mind was everywhere thinking about the impact the movie was having on not just me but Derwin.  Derwin and I sat in silence for awhile on the car ride back before talking about the impact the movie was having on us.  Tears filled our eyes as were realized that we have to give so much to God.  We have to allow him to carry so much of our hurt and pain, so that we can move forward.  We have to trust in his love for his children.  He will provide good and glory in his own timing.

Evil is a part of this world as the movie so tragically depicts.  Everyone including Christians will be touched by evil as they walk through this life on earth.  Scripture in Proverbs 28:5 reads, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.”  I am reminded to turn to scripture to understand the evil in the world and how to forgive the evil when it finds me or my family.  Sometimes evil creates a feeling of unfairness in this world, but I must remember that my desire is not for this world but that which my heavenly Father has prepared for me.

Our pain does not match the fictional pain of the movie or the pain that so many others Christians face each day in their walk.  I pray for their strength to let go and walk in God’s plan.  I know that so many face deep struggles but choose to walk in God’s joy as an example to us all.  I pray that God will provide forgiveness in my life so that I too can be example of the joy even as you walk through the valley.  I was reminded of a story recently shared with me by a friend when I was breaking down and sharing my anger and judgement over someone who had hurt me.  She told me how she walked this path and prayed for her ability to forgive this person who had hurt her.  She realized one day when she ran into this person in public that she had forgiven her because she did not feel the anger and pain of the past any longer.  I cling to her story and pray for that in my own life. I am reminded in Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  Forgiveness is sowing to the Spirit and all Christians strive toward eternal life as their reward.

Forgiveness is hard but I read somewhere that it is like a muscle we must exercise.  Forgiveness is not just one and done.  It is like my friend described that you work at it and one day you will find that you have framed the pain differently through forgiveness.  I know that it is impossible for humans to forget, but by flexing our muscle of forgiveness we can change the pain to joy by giving it to the Lord to carry.  Matthew 11:30, ” For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  These words are reminders that God has not given us more than we can bear and he will carry the burden.  As I walk through this difficult time of forgiveness I know that God walks with me, Psalm 138:7 comforts me, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.”   God knows my enemies and their hearts and I must trust in my walk and relationship with him, and flex my muscle of forgiveness, and continue to walk in the truths of scripture like Romans 8:28 which comforts me often, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose.”

My final thoughts come from a verse that I feel is a deep reminder of how I need to be in constant prayer to release the anger of my sins.  The words of Ephesians 4:26, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,”  drops me to my knees to pray and forgive others who have sinned against me before the sun goes down.

Closing Verse:  Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”

Challenge:  May the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenge you as you forgive those in your life who have sinned against you.

“In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts…”

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

 

This past week Derwin and I attended a wedding.  The wedding ceremony is a vivid reminder of not just my love for Derwin but of Christ’s love for us.  This wedding was full of both joy and sadness as the pastor wove two families together that had walked the deep valley of pain but followed God’s plan for their lives which lead these two families together.  It was special to see the joy that God can bring to two families that have had such deep sorrow.  Funny that at the same time Derwin and I went to see The Shack.  We both read this book years ago and remembered the basic story, but seeing the story was a deep reminder of Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  This reminder from the movie is the theme of this wedding – from great pain and sorrow, God can bring tremendous joy.

Derwin was honored to have known both families and watch God’s plan bring them together. Tina and JR both lost their spouses several years ago.  A colleague of Derwin’s, JR, watched his wife die of cancer.   He was relieved of her finding her father hands in the midst of the pain, but the deep pain of her loss created an empty place that could not be filled.  JR then began a lonely walk.  Tina’s husband suddenly had a heart attack and was stripped from her life.  They were clients of Derwin and he helped Tina walk through the insurance issues as she began that lonely walk.  Both Tina and JR had adult children who were living their lives yet suffered along with their parents and loneliness  and sorrow each were living day to day.  As they each became weary but did not turn from their God and he provided as Isaiah 57:10 promises, “You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, “It is hopeless”; you found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint.”  And then Tina moves into JR’s neighborhood and the rest is history.  They found joy in companionship.  Someone to laugh and live with.  All their children rejoiced in the joy of finding a new love, a new beginning. This new beginning for their lives reminds us all to count our blessings even in our trials as God provides for us as James 1:2 reads, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”

The wedding which focused on Christ and their families was beautiful.  God’s promise was realized for two families that night as the light of Christ shone.  Ephesians 3:9 reads, “and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things,”  Children and Grandchildren all coming together to enjoy and celebrate a new beginning in God’s plan of life.  The children participated in the wedding pouring the sand of the family into the jar that represents their new marriage.  Christ at the beginning and the end just as scripture reads, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13.  Between Christ is the love of the each family and the lives of JR and Tina were mingled to show their commitment to God, Family, and each other.  It was a special service of new love and new commitment that God has offered to two families which have walked with him through the valley into the light of joy.  God’s promise to them from Timothy 1:4, “As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.”

Closing Verse: “And now I ask you, dear lady–not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning–that we love one another.” 2 John 1:5

Challenge: Lean on God as you walk through the valleys into the new beginnings God is planning.

Be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

My oldest daughter while in high school began sharing church signs with a friend of mine.  They would text them to each other anytime they passed one. Funny how we can drive by these signs and hardly notice their meaning, but if you stop and read these signs many times they will prick your heart and soul.  One day I drove by this one and it has become a motto I try to live by in my life.

I was challenged by this church sign to look at the world around me and even the way I see others.  I can’t expect people to change around me without role models of Christ touching their lives.  I can’t bring Jesus Christ to others if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and live among unbelievers.  I will not always meet God’s expectations and unbelievers will see me as a hypocrite because I am a sinner and I will fail, but I will always pull myself up by God’s love and mercy and strive to Be the Change I want to see in our world.

I am drawn to Esther once again and her willingness to step out of her comfort zone.  She put herself in the firing line to be the change for her people.  I stop and think could I be Esther?  Could I step out of my life and stand in the gap for others?  Joshua 1:9 reads, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”  I honestly am not sure that I can, but I believe that if I truly lean on God as Esther did that I could do what is right for others around me.

Change is usually a dreaded word in our lives.  We worry about change in our lives.  We are uncertain that change can be good, but if we look at how our lives can change other’s lives then we can see God in our lives.  We are reminded of God’s constant in our lives in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”  God is with us even as we stand in the gap or on the firing line when we are following his guidance.

Esther found herself in a position – “…And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14.  – to be the change for her people.  As the Jews stood to be annihilated by Haman’s order, Esther stepped out in Faith into the King’s Court where her presence could have brought her death.  Yet, “(2)And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.  Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. (3) And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther?  what is your request?  It shall be given you, even to half of my kingdom.”  (4) And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” Esther 5:2-4.  The King found favor when he looked upon Queen Esther and was moved to give her any request that she had.  As I read these verses, I can only see God working in both Esther life and King Ahasuerus’ heart.

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Psalm 18:2 gives me the strength to be the change in the world.  I may only be a small change, but I know that when faced with the opportunity with God as my rock  I walk the path of being an example of Christ.  Although, I may grow and change in my walk with Jesus Christ.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Closing Verse:  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Challenge:  What would it take for you to Be The Change for others?

I ran across an old screen saver for my phone just the other day that reads, God is writing my love story.  As the month of February begins, I realize that so far this year has been full of tears of joy, tears of sadness, and tears of anger.   I find myself drawn to scripture and searching for God’s plan, God’s path.  I wonder sometimes if I have missed a turn or signpost from God.  As I look to the future and ponder my past, I can’t help but wonder if I am meeting the plan that God has for me and for my life.  Then I see the phone screensaver and realize that God is still busy writing my love story.  All is not lost and hope is still abundant with His grace and mercy.  Romans 5:5, “and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  My heart is full of the hope from God as the future lies ahead.

A recent sermon on first chapter of Esther prompt me to reread the this old testament book.  Esther’s story full of joy, pain, and anger reminds us how God’s plan works in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  Esther remained true to herself and her people and King Ahasuerus loved her and God provided for her and her people.  Esther walked both through joy that filled her soul and the pain that shattered it knowing God was present.  Esther 2:17 reads, “the king loved Esther more than all woman, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.”

The ebb and flow of our lives are sometimes shattered by pain or fills our souls with joy. These are moments that God is intense and full in our lives.  This is when He is writing our story by placing us in the midst of conflict or gladness to direct our lives for His Glory.   This intensity is found in Esther and her decision to follow the love story God was writing for her and her people.  ” For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”,  Esther 4:14.   Sometimes it is hard to reach for God at both the lowest and highest points in our lives, yet these are moments that God has allowed in our story in order for us to glorify Him.  Psalm 86:12 reads, “I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.”  Are we choosing to Glorify God and share His love for us with others around us?  Are we glorifying his name forever?  Matthew 6:21 reminds Christians that “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

As Valentine’s Day arrives, I ponder my heart and God’s love for me.  What is the love story he is writing for me?  What part of my story is left to be written?  Am I listening to him and following him?  I remember to love God as the wisdom from the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches in Luke 10:27, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

As I walk through this year and see what it will bring into my life, I lean on his word which comforts me with “What no eye has seen , nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him–.”  1 Corinthians 2:9.  I know he is writing my story, preparing my path and my future home in heaven.  As February turns to spring and spring to summer, I will turn my focus on the journey God has for me by preparing my heart to listen to his guidance.  Proverbs 16:9 tells me, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Looking backwards from today, I see the story that he has already written.  So much to be thankful for, so much to worship and praise him for.  Although sometimes life seems unfair, if we stop and look back at the story he is writing we will see His Glory.  I yearn for the rest of the love story God is writing for me.  I strive to be patient as I move through my life and listen to his guidance.  What does God have in store for me?  for you?  How Esther must have felt when she looked back at the love story God wrote for her?

Closing Verse:  “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”   Ezekiel 36:26

Challenge:  Search Scripture and your heart today for the wisdom of God’s word for your life. God is already writing a great love story for you.   “…nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39.  Stop and wait for his guidance in the next chapter he will write.

We move through life with ups and downs, but sometimes when we hit the downs in our lives we wonder Why God?  Why Now?  As I write this post, I watch someone I love struggle through deep pain and shock.  All I can do is turn to God in prayer and pray for peace in this situation.  “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7.   May God bring peace through understanding as the search for the truth begins.

Truth, something so simple yet so complicated.  How many times have we ourselves spun webs only to next find ourselves snagged in a web spun by someone else.  We have heard so many times in our lives that the truth will set you free.  Scripture says this in John 8:32, ” And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus speaks of the truth in John 18:37, “Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world–to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”  If you are someone seeking the truth in your life, then turn to scripture, turn to his word and open your heart to his love, peace, and grace to be poured forth.

The opposite of truth are lies.  Lies that maybe labeled as protection will one day only cause devastation. How many people can one lie hurt.  Right now I watch three people who I love more than life suffer from a lie labeled protection.  Doing the right thing sometimes can be so hard, we can defend our choices so many different ways, but we forget to step into someone else’s place and try to feel what it would be like to be in their shoes.   Somehow the truth always wins and the consequences and devastation of the lie follows as the truth finds the light.   This devastation is more than most people really bargain for when they spin a web of lies.  We are warned in God’s word in 1 John 1:8, ” If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

I pray for these three people and others who have to walk down the path of lies that others paved for them, but I cling to this verse each day in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things will work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  These words give me hope and I pray provide peace to those suffering now that God will bring good into their lives through this pain.

Thankfully we have a heavenly Father who stand in righteousness and truth.  Who opens our eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ so that we might find ourselves in his glory one day.  The glory that will reveal all the truths of this life. My prayers for those suffering comes from Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

As I watch those close to me suffer I pray Psalm 43:3, “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!’  I remind my loved ones and others of the poem in the Challenge below because God is carrying you through this trial.

Closing Verse:  “These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;”  Zechariah 8:16

Challenge: My challenge is for us all to remember where God is in our trials….

 Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson