“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-12
My Lord and Savior Jesus there is no other above you! You are the touchstone for everything and person in my life. Help me to place my thoughts first on you today, God. There is nothing I should chase after that is placed greater than You. Amen
Misplaced priorities, oh how I have had (have) quite a few. I can easily forgive myself for the years I wasn’t a Christian. Even those years I was a baby Christian I look back upon with grace. But today? Today when I put my yearnings above God there’s really no excuse. I know better. And I find myself doing it anyways. I’m getting better day by day. As my friend Betsy calls it, I’m making imperfect progress.
“8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”Philippians 3:8
The apostle Paul was certainly a man on fire to give all glory and honor and praise to Jesus. We “normal” folks can sometimes look at the very faithful and think, “I have family that’s going through (fill in the blank) and that needs my attention.” Or even, “My job takes a lot out of me and it’s important work so I don’t have the same time as Paul to devote to my faith.” We can list endless reasons why we aren’t on fire for the Lord. Or worse, we just are ambivalent. Paul was not a man with time on his hands. Although Bible scholars aren’t in total agreement, some believe that at one time he was married. He also had a thriving tent making business which he took on the road during his mission trips. Whatever his full biography was, he clearly placed his everyday activities secondary to God.
I’ve come to finally realize that once I have begun aligning my actions, yearnings, words and more to God’s priorities, life has gotten a lot simpler and clearer. It doesn’t mean it’s easier. However, knowing my highest authority is our Lord, my worries and thoughts get pulled into His ways and purpose.
Friend, if you’re chasing a need or desire that places an earthly object, goal or person above God you are just spinning your wheels. You may get the fame or the fortune but you won’t have the fruit. God alone deserves the highest place of honor and glory in your life. He has no rival; He has no equal. Pursue Him with great passion over everything else and you will see Him at work.
“So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”1 Corinthians 10:31
“Blessed God, we praise You for who You are. You are the God who cares for our needs. We see this meal before us as a demonstration of Your wonderful grace to us. We glorify You for the day we have had. Thank You for the family gathered here and for every blessing we enjoy. Amen.”
When my kids were little we started praying at dinnertime. We found a simple prayer that they could take turns saying. “God is great! God is good! Let us thank Him For our food. Amen.” It was an easy way to add glorifying and thanking God into our daily lives. The problem was it became rote. After awhile, there was no feeling, personalization or even love behind the prayer. It was just something we did – quickly – so we could start eating. For some of us we never even pray before meals. Or we pray only during certain meals. But Jesus gave thanks at every meal, glorifying the Father for being a provider of needs.
“30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.”Luke 24:30
The beauty of this scripture is what came next. You see, the disciples had been walking along with the risen Jesus chatting with him, not realizing who he was. For whatever reason they urged this stranger to come stay with them and join them for dinner. After they gave thanks and broke bread, “…their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.”
It wasn’t until 2020, when the Covid pandemic hit that the love and glorifying act of praying before meals finally sunk in for me. Each evening when my husband came home from his job of caring for senior citizens exhausted, we decided to pray. Before dinner we prayed for anything good that happened that day, we prayed for help, we prayed for the health and safety of his employees and residents. We prayed for our leaders. We thanked God for providing. And my eyes were opened to Jesus.
“Lord God, not a sparrow is not known by You. Not a lily is not clothed by You. You know what we need, and we are thankful that You have provided the meal set here for us. Keep us from worrying about tomorrow but to be grateful for what You have provided us this day. Amen.”
A friend of mine has encouraged me to start praying before every meal. Even yes, in public, which in the area where I live you just don’t see much. Friend, at mealtimes we can see the obvious work of God in our lives. Whether what’s on our plate is a feast or just enough to sustain us for one more day – we need to give all glory to Him who provides.
The prayers from today’s post came from https://connectusfund.org/25-beautiful-prayers-for-meals where you can find more prayers for meal times. But I encourage you to just talk with God before you eat, having it come from your heart.
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Matthew 18:21
He’d been a drug addict and alcoholic for at least the 35 years I knew him. In fact, this lost uncle was my husband’s main reason for why he never touched drugs in his college days. My husband saw the path of destruction his uncle created throughout their family. This uncle, my mother-in-law’s youngest sibling, took the road so many addicts follow. They demand help, make others feel guilty for not rescuing them, promise to do better then start the cycle over and over again.
In my visits to my husband’s hometown, we’d have infrequent contact with his uncle. But we would hear of his begging his own mother for money and complaining of how “lucky” and “privileged” everyone else in the family were because they weren’t always so down on their luck. To be fair, this man bore the brunt of being the youngest child of an alcoholic philanderer. As for my in-laws, they gave money, moral support, food, and more for much of his life. But after a number of run-ins with the law and intolerable behavior toward my husband’s grandmother, the uncle found himself eventually with backs turned. Enough was enough.
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”Matthew 18:22
Let’s face it, we are only human. We get our feelings hurt. We often seek to protect ourselves from harmful relationships. We don’t want to be taken advantage of and have our kindness thrown back at us with vitriol. Like many of Jesus’ expectations of us the concept of forgiveness is not so easy for us sinful humans. We get to the end of our rope. We have no more tears to shed.
I remember when my loving, caring mother-in-law said to me one day a few years ago, “I’m done. I’m tired of being blamed for his problems. I’m tired of being taken for granted that we will always help. I’m angry how he treats our mother.” And really, could anyone fault her? But the thing is, I knew deep down she didn’t mean any of it. I knew if her brother came again with hat in hand she would help. Because she knew that Jesus would do the same for her.
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”Mark 11:28
We can be thankful we haven’t been assigned the task of God’s prophets to administer final judgements like Elijah had to (although one day two of us will be called to do just that). In the Old Testament, we see time after time the people turning their backs on God after so many warnings. And he sent his prophets to speak truth and judgement. His final truth-speaker was His Son, Jesus. But this prophet came to tell us when we seek forgiveness and to forgive we receive eternal forgiveness from God, even when we mess up over and over. You see, Jesus doesn’t just want the one who needs forgiveness healed, he wants us, the forgiver to be healed. Because when we place our own lives under God’s microscope, we each have a heck of a lot that needs forgiving. We each are blessed with the incredible gift of coming with our own hat in hand to the Lord and asking, “One more time, please Lord. Forgive me.” And He does.
I’ve been fortunate to witness the healing power of forgiveness in a few people’s lives. My friend Andrea will forever be changed simply by forgiving a family member for past hurts and asking for forgiveness for how she has hurt others. My own relationship with my parents has required me to forgive them. And although the situation can still be painful, I now have the healing strength which forgiveness affords to help me pray for them each day.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.Ephesians 4:31-32
I started this message about a man so broken from addiction. A man who most would say was without hope, without the peace from God. But God is a miracle worker as we all know. So, after another stint in prison about a year ago, my husband’s uncle finally said, “Enough is enough.” He turned to God for forgiveness and healing. When he got the news that his oldest sister was now riddled with cancer he came immediately to be by her side.
I don’t know if I’ll ever have the same opportunity to watch such a beautiful miracle unfold before my eyes. To see God’s hands work like no other. To experience the full promise of God’s grace and love descend upon a room. We met in the lobby of the hospital, just the uncle and I. His mind and eyes were clear. He looked so healthy! His demeanor was clearly different. I took him up to his sister’s room and we sat and chatted. I felt like I should leave the room and give them some alone time when suddenly he took her by the hand and with tears streaming down his face he asked for forgiveness. He asked to be forgiven for the destruction he caused, the pain, and for all the lost years that could’ve been different.
My mother-in-law thanked him immediately. She said, “I needed to hear this. It hurt so much when you blamed me for your troubles.” And they wept. For the next two weeks I witnessed this man stand guard outside her room, praying and participating in her last days. I listened as he asked the rest of the family for forgiveness. And saw them weep from the healing love of God. I watched as he helped lift his sister’s lifeless body onto the gurney for her final road toward home. He was in pain but was healed. He was washed in sorrow but cleansed from forgiveness. And he knew he was loved.
Who do you need to forgive right now?
Who do you need to ask for forgiveness?
It’s time for healing.
PS: Happy Birthday to my amazing, handsome, loving, forgiving husband 🙂
But while he was still a long way off his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20
I know the text doesn’t say it but I can only imagine the tears flowing from the father and mother in the story of the prodigal son. In fact, the King James version says “he fell on his son’s neck” in a dramatic display of joy and love. Awhile ago, my family brought me to tears of joy with a surprise visit from my daughter, whom I hadn’t seen in months. I heard the front door open and thinking it was my older daughter I made my way toward the front of the house to tell her hello. When I realized it was my younger daughter I was overcome with tears and unable to speak. I stood there sobbing in her arms.
It may seem strange to be thankful to God for tears but without them our world would be so vanilla. I’ve laughed until I have cried with friends and family. I’ve cried out to God, thankful for His grace and salvation. I’ve wept at the birth of my daughters. And yes, I’ve cried those tears of sorrow, of loss, of anger, of desperation.
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Psalm 126:5
So often we must weep, live in hard times before we can experience the full glory and blessing of God. It’s why James tells us we should consider it joy to experience trials. Because those trials produce good fruit in us. And that fruit becomes something for us to share.
I have a friend whose 90 year old mother confesses to not remembering the last time, if ever, that she has cried. What that means is she hasn’t participated fully in the gifts of life. With each winter season in our lives we are so often rewarded with the spring, a time to bring us great joys. I want to go from this life knowing I have cried many tears from laughter, thankfulness, joyous surprise, beautiful surroundings and more. I heard a Christian teacher say, “If you want the joy of Sunday’s resurrection you must first have the tears of Friday’s crucifixion.”
I’m so very grateful to God for giving us the outward ability to show our emotions. To show those we love how much we love them, even after they are gone. I’m looking forward to the day I can cry tears of joy when I see Jesus’ face watching for me from a long way off. I know that when I get close enough, I will fall into His arms weeping, filled with joy.
Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” Genesis 21:6-7
As I write this we are about four weeks away from the Thanksgiving holiday celebrated in the United States. And already I’ve heard from a few anxious friends concerned about gathering with family. To be fair, they are all worried about their spouse’s family! But what makes holidays potentially stressful – dealing with the various personalities and their idiosyncrasies – is also what brings us such joy. Our families.
When Sarah was gifted a child in her advanced age the Bible doesn’t talk about all her worries. Although I could imagine there might have been a few. Instead, what the focus is on is laughter and joy. God’s creation of man included the eventual creation of family. And there’s something about family that always feels so different than friendships. We are bonded by some mysterious force from the heavens. The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly in our families stays with us forever unlike a forgotten friend.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
The command to honor our parents is the first command telling us to do something for another human being. It stands to reason that God puts family pretty high up on his list. And while there are those whose parents have made honoring them difficult due terrible sin and lack of repentance, for so many of us we must remember God’s love for family and how He wants us to love them.
I love my whole family, those of blood and those my rolling stone has picked up along the way. Some I must work harder to obey the command, while others it comes easily. I thank God for all of them — because I have benefitted from them all while in this crazy, mysterious union.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18
I’ll be honest, I never thought I’d get married. Partially because I just wasn’t raised thinking about marriage and partially because I was the product of a marriage based on very little respect for each other. For many years, God allowed me to live my life in sexual sin. I went from one man to another, sometimes only passing through in the night. But God always has a plan for each and every one of us. For me, that plan included being given the gift of a wonderful husband.
In our early years, my husband and I weren’t faithful followers of Jesus. But he, at least, had a Christian background from which to draw. When I look back over our first 10 years of marriage I can see where I am grateful for that tension of knowing some of what God expected from us as a couple. I say “tension” because whenever we live outside of God’s narrow path we can either 1) live like we don’t have a clue that what we are doing is ungodly or 2) have some concept of ungodliness which can then pull us into learning more. We will be judged in the end so I’d rather not be oblivious to my sins and take the opportunity to work on them!
In our marriage we struggled for control. Control of who would be the head of our household. Control of our finances. Control over long term decisions for our family. Over discipline of our kids. Over our time management. Looking back, I was only doing what I had learned in my family home. A weak father figure gives way to a power vacuum. On the other hand, my husband came from a strong, godly father-led family. And so the back and forth went on and on.
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” Genesis 3:2-3
There’s a lot of talk in feminist circles and the media about the “patriarchy” and how men shouldn’t “keep women down.” But from the beginning God had a very clear plan for women and men. Women were to be the “helpers,” assisting their Adams to be the best men they could be. Like a good golf caddy, this is no job to take lightly. Yet we arrive at Genesis 3 and Eve immediately forgoes her heavenly role. Instead of seeking wisdom from her husband she is drawn to the words of the serpent. The fleshly desires pull her farther and farther away from God’s plan.
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12
And the result? As you can read above the entire plan is turned upside down. Eve takes the lead and Adam falls into a weak position of blame. Eve is punished by God for her role in the Great Fall with painful childbirth and the knowledge that men will rule over her. But when you read the punishment of Adam, he receives a harsh future that effects every area of his life.
I have to be honest and say that every marriage I have been around that was in serious trouble was a direct result of this upside down relationship. That’s not to say there aren’t men who disobey God’s command to love their wives as Christ loves the church (Eph 5:25). But so often in our modern world and as a result of the feminist movement which started in the 70s, women have jostled or demanded control in their relationships. Like all actions that go against God’s holy plan we see the results with weak husbands and overbearing wives. And wives who underneath it all desire a man to stand up for them, to take charge, to love them to the point of sacrifice.
Women of God, the idea of submitting to our husbands or future husbands does not mean we are second class citizens. You’ll notice in Genesis 3:16 Eve’s punishment was to have men rule over her. Therefore, it wasn’t God’s plan for men to “rule” over her in the first place. Thankfully Jesus came to give us a new covenant, reminding us that although there is still a hierarchy of responsibility, every person is of equal value. A helper doesn’t mean you are less than the one being helped. It’s taken me awhile to truly understand this. What it means is we trust God’s plan. And if we have chosen wisely, we trust our husbands who also trust God. We trust them to take care of the family business. We trust they will have our best interest in mind. We trust they love us so much they want us to be content.
If our husbands are not trustworthy in those areas or men of faith, who are we to blame?
He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 1 Kings 11:3
King Solomon was considered one of the wisest men of all time. Yet it was his wives that managed to turn him away from God, to lead him astray. Our role as our husband’s life caddy is so important that we can’t let what the world says about feminism and submission sway us from following God’s plan. A good and godly wife holds so much sway over her husband. And the world laughs at us thinking a bigger paycheck or fancy job title is what’s most important. Our work in helping our husbands will take us a lifetime — much of the time simply modeling godly behavior, control over our emotions, showing love, showing faith in the Almighty and our men.
Eve’s veering from God’s plan, leading her husband to a great sin, can make me so angry at times. But then I think about the times I placed myself above my husband and ask for mercy. It took a lot of intentional work on my part to step back and encourage and teach my husband how to place himself at the head of our family. He didn’t think I needed him, ever.
Friends, whether you are a husband, wife, or not yet married we must stand resolutely against how the world wants to define marriage. We can’t let the world define what “submission” looks like in God’s world. His great plan for man and woman, joined together in harmony is just the example for what is the final plan. The ultimate marriage between Jesus and His bride will be full of love, joy, beauty and compassion. Let’s start today with making those fruits part of our earthly marriages.
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14
This week I’ve been reading a lot about going ahead of God. Thinking I know the right way, the right answer, and moving forward on that path without first seeking God. I was reminded of when I was asked to be our elementary school’s PTA president. At the time, the elementary school was the largest in the district with over 1,000 students. And it was about to undergo a major construction program to build more classrooms. That meant a lot of turmoil with the way kids were dropped off at school, where classes would be held and how many of our PTA programs would take place. I told the committee I could do the job but I didn’t think they would want my style of leadership. I wasn’t an “insider” and didn’t have any qualms about squashing old ways of doing things. Yet they returned to me multiple times asking me to take the job. And I did.
You’ll notice in this story, like we do in so many Biblical stories of failed leaders, that I haven’t mentioned consulting God. Because I didn’t. That is, until after I said, “yes.” I believe it was the next day after I agreed to the job that I had my first of many conversations with the Almighty about this decision. It went like this, “Lord, I’ve done this thing. Please help it not be the wrong decision.” In other words, I went ahead of Him and now wanted Him to fix my mess.
And God was with me throughout the two years of my term. He was there when I cried myself to sleep. He was there when I had parents screaming at me over the phone. And He was there when people who I thought were friends turned their backs on me. But He didn’t take away the consequences of my decision.
Thank God that most of the time when I’ve failed to let God lead my life it hasn’t resulted in some horrible final outcome. He has picked me up and dusted me off. And after too many times of being on that same wheel I’ve decided to take a different path. To trust that God is the Great I Am. The One who has the best laid plans. Who can make my path much more smooth if I just consult Him first. If I release my need to be the most knowledgeable, not just about my life but other’s.
I praise God today, on this final 30th day, for being I Am. For being the Lord Almighty. The God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
If you’ve ever seen the Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty you’ll see a man who takes this idea of control to the extreme. He wants to be in charge of his life and no one knows better than him. So God sort of turns over His powers to him. And what a mess he makes of it. At first he thinks answering prayers is so cool and then when he becomes inundated with millions of prayers he just gives everyone what they ask. And as we know, God doesn’t give us all we ask. He gives us what we need. The movie is hilarious to be sure but it speaks to our innate need to be in control. To take over the job of I Am.
We can shake our heads at characters like Saul who stop seeking God’s direction and make every mistake possible. But how many of us today will do the same? How many of us yesterday forgot to place God at the top of our consultant list and instead called our friends or family for advice? And then probably did what we originally wanted to do anyway?
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”Isaiah 55:8
Friends, God is God and we are not, thankfully. His thoughts and ways are so much better than ours. If we truly believe this and accept Him as our creator, as an active participant in our lives, then we need to seek His plans for us. Let’s all start right now by thanking Him for being the Great I Am.
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.Galatians 4:6-7
For a long time, I just didn’t feel like I “belonged.” As a child, I didn’t have a group of friends to hang out with. My one friend, a neighbor around the corner, frequently left me out of activities with her other friends. And when I got into high school I felt more like I was on the edge of my friend group. Fast forward to adulthood and I never quite fit in with the boozy softball coach crowd, the gossipy PTA crowd, or even the Girl Scout leader gang.
And when I married I was an outsider to a large, wonderful family. Yes, they welcomed me but I couldn’t share in all the stories from long past because I never lived in the town they were all from. My own family consists of myself and my parents – who I see and speak with infrequently.
I spent a lot of time in prayer over the years asking God to work His changes in me so that I could feel like I belonged, somewhere, anywhere. As my faith has progressed I’ve come to realize that I first need to accept being a part of the most important family of all – God’s. I praise Him today that He sees us as His sons and daughters. We are His beautiful children whom He loves unconditionally. We belong to Him.
That’s been a hard message for me to soak in and accept. When I stand in the mirror I’ve asked God to help me see what He sees. To love myself as He loves me – no matter where else I may have felt rejected.
And it’s funny how God’s ways work. When I focus on God’s love, gifts and promises the more I feel that sense of belonging. He places me with new people and new situations that He has prepared for me. I slough off the old negative feelings and instead give all glory to Him who loves me and who draws me closer to Him.
I recently heard a lesson about belonging. As Christians we are admonished to “remember our last name.” Like children of our earthly parents we are to go about our lives remembering who we belong to and who we represent. That really hit home. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior I became a part of a special family. One where I’m expected to remember my last name and act like I belong to the Lord Most High.
It’s amazing how God gives us the next steps when He sees we are ready — when we start acting like He expects us to. He brings in new people to our lives when He knows we can openly accept His new ways. I find myself so incredibly blessed by, not only the women that have been populated in my sphere, but the men. Strong Christians who love people. Faithful Christians who serve others. Young, old, every race and quirkiness. And I feel like I belong.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.2 Corinthians 7:1
Like everyone else on this blue planet I’ve had my share of relationship problems. From friends to family and love relationships to work ones I’ve had my share of angry words and uncomfortable silences. In the past, I would rush in to trying to solve whatever problem had arisen. I couldn’t allow a quiet, cooling down period. I needed to work out the disagreement right now. I tried using my own solutions –whether it meant apologizing, arguing my point, denigrating myself, or even pretending nothing happened.
When I finally started taking my most important relationship seriously all that changed. When I placed God above everything in my life it helped to prioritize all my other relationships. It also meant I turned to God in seeking solutions to interpersonal interactions.
I recently have been turning to God about a friendship that has had its ups and downs. Instead of fretting over it and attacking it with my old gusto, I’ve given it over to the Almighty. I’m asking Him to let me know when to speak and when to stay silent. When to apologize and when to stand firm. And I have found His solutions to be so different than ones I would’ve dreamed up. His solutions have love for others first and foremost.
Today I praise God for being a change maker. For taking us broken, imperfect beings and turning our lives upside down. When I started taking Him seriously, He started making some serious changes in me.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.James 4:7-10
Besides the amazing gift of salvation, the promise that we are changed is quite possibly one of the greatest “selling points” of believing in Jesus Christ. My old way of doing things? It caused me a lot of heartache, despair, worry, and loneliness. And when we truly accept that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior we can’t help but be changed. We need to embrace it, ask for more of it, and look in anticipation for it!
Recently, after an interaction with a difficult person, I drove home praising God and giving Him all the glory. I said, “Thank God you have changed me Lord! Thank God I’m not the person I used to be!” Instead of angry, unattractive thoughts, I could only think of how good God is and how much He loves me.
I’m still working on my relationship with our amazing Triune God. But I know that when I get that right I can look forward to getting a lot of other things right. There’s so much that still needs to be changed in me and I know Jesus is the just the man for the job.
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17
“We are pretty much the only hope that God has for reaching people who need him.”
Joyce Meyer
On a recent visit with my daughter back in St. Louis, Missouri, she invited me to her friend’s 50th birthday gathering. It was to be just a small group as her larger party had already taken place. My daughter, who is 23, is blessed to have a number of women in her life who are not only mature in their marriages and in life in general, but in their faith. As I sat listening to them, I said a silent prayer of thanks to God. He, once again, put me right where I needed to be.
I listened as these Christian women of varied ages shared memories of shared events and the joy of being disciples to younger women. You see, their church encourages all ages to seek being discipled by more experienced Christians – something I haven’t experienced in the 20 years I’ve been an active Christian.
The birthday girl’s good friend suddenly announced we were to all take turns expressing what we loved about the newly christened 50 year old. She turned to me and said, “You don’t know Renee well so you don’t need to say anything.” I disagreed. I definitely had much to love about this woman that I had just met.
As each woman spoke, I felt the love flow throughout the group. It was sweet and brave and authentic. And at my turn I’m sure they all wondered what I would have to say.
“As a mother I miss my daughter terribly. She’s so far away. She has no family for hundreds of miles. And now with a baby on the way it grieves me that she is alone out here. But I realize she isn’t. I am so thankful she has Renee as her friend and godly counsel. A mother couldn’t ask for anything better besides being here herself,” I said.
You see my daughter’s friend, Renee, has taken her under her beautiful wings. She provides wise counsel about marriage, faith, motherhood and more. I could be jealous when I hear my daughter talk about her relationship with Renee. But my faith progression has brought me instead to a place of thankfulness. My daughter is incredibly blessed to be surrounded by Christian women who are prepared and ready to offer Biblical counsel.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free" Luke 4:18
That’s Jesus in the above verse. Jesus our wise counselor setting us free from our prisons. And He trained up His disciples to spread His message of salvation and freedom. Like the old shampoo commercial goes, “and they told two friends and so on and so on.” Which brings us thousands of years later to this little group at a café in Missouri.
Here’s what I noticed about those six women I sat with that night. 1) They didn’t gossip 2) They lifted each other up with genuine compliments 3) They showed love and concern for each other 4) They were confident in expressing their faith and 5) They were eager and willing to take up being disciples.
"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
These women are living the Great Commission. Teaching and guiding and loving Jesus’ flock. I sat there like a fan-girl marveling at being in the midst of ordinary women who were so extraordinary. Yes, ordinary women. They aren’t pastors or scholars although one is in fact a trained Christian counselor. They are students of Jesus. It gave me hope of what I could achieve with faith and the blessings of God.
I took the opportunity to ask a few of them a Christian counseling question.
“If I find myself in a situation with a fellow Christian who is struggling with an issue, what’s your best advice?” I inquired.
Without hesitation three of the women, including my daughter who herself disciples young women, said: “You need to really get to know the person. There needs to be a sense of trust that you come from a place of love.” And the birthday girl? She emphasized my old favorite, truth plus love. Not being afraid to speak God’s truth into someone from a loving perspective. Remember that Jesus trait of having a warrior spirit? Renee takes it to heart. She knows the end game – saving a soul.
“As you being the process of bringing correction into someone’s life, put yourself in his shoes. If you were the one sitting there, would it be easy or difficult for you to hear what is about to be said? If the person you are correcting acts closed at first it may be that he’s just embarrassed or reacting out of insecurity. Therefore don’t stop the conversation unless you can see that he’s just being combative. You need to be patient and slow in judging their reaction to your correction.”
Rick Renner, Sparkling Gems from the Greek
Isn’t this the reaction we worry about the most when we need to speak truth to our Christian friends or family members? A fear of making someone angry or embarrassed? But here lies the reason why “Wise Counselor” sits at the end of our faith progression. Without love, without a sense of serving God, without courage, without knowledge of the Lord’s will, we will probably fail at being what our friend, child, sibling, co-worker, or sister in Christ truly needs.
So, when Jesus asks us to “follow” He isn’t just offering Himself up to save us from eternal damnation which by itself is a pretty amazing gift. He’s saying “join me in a journey.” He’s saying, “we’ve got work to do together.” And if we stop partway on the journey and decide we are “fine” where we are at, we miss the opportunities He wants to put in front of us to free more captives.
I don’t know about you but I need wise Christian counselors in my life. And if I could be like Renee and be a blessing in other’s lives, I know it’d make Jesus smile. My imperfect progress, as my friend Betsy likes to say, is still progress. I want to know and live out having the mind of Christ. I’m not where I was when I started and I still have a ways to go. Thankfully, I can trust that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are my guides and cheerleaders.
When we started this journey, I invited you to say a prayer of confession I found in Sparkling Gems from the Greek. And true to God’s ways He put another in front of me to close out this series. Please join me in this prayer and confession. I pray that you seek love, humbleness, courage, and wisdom on your journey.
“Lord, I ask you to help be kind and patient when it is essential for me to bring correction. Help me to not be offended if the person I’m trying to help doesn’t respond at first the way I wished he would have. Help me put myself in that person’s shoes and to sympathize with how he might feel. I ask You to give me wisdom to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. I also ask that You give the other person the grace to hear what I am telling him so he might see that I have his best interest at heart and that I am only trying to help him. I pray this in Jesus’ name!”
“I confess that I have the mind of Jesus Christ! When it is needful to me to speak correction to someone else I do it with love, kindness and patience. I refrain from allowing anger to rise up inside me. I am careful about the words that come out of my mouth, and I refuse to participate in vain arguing. I remain in control of myself as the Holy Spirit works mightily inside me. My words bring life to all who hear and receive them! I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!”
emboldened.net 