Tag: Jesus

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Out of Our Minds

krisshetter 
If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, 
it is for God; if we are in our right mind, 
it is for you.  
2 Corinthians 5:13

There’s a lot of criticism of Christians these days.  We get called any manner of names from freaks to racists and dumb to science deniers.  And we shouldn’t be surprised.  No one ever said this would be easy.

I wonder if that’s why so many people, including parents, choose not to share their faith?  Yes, I said including parents.  A friend of mine grew up with a mother who considers herself a Christian.  Yet she never shared her faith with her two daughters.  Never encouraged them to come to church.  Never explained what her faith meant to her.  I’ve heard parents say, “I’ll let my kids decide when they get older as to what they want to believe.”

But think about all the things in life we are either willing or even feel compelled to share and teach others.  I, for one, have a lot of advice in me to spread about the world spanning any number of topics!  From a parenting point of view do we “wait till they decide” when it comes to teaching our kids about healthy eating habits?  Do we wait for them to figure out on their own how to read or write? 

How did we get to this point in our faith journey where we are so hesitant to share our faith out of fear from what the world would say about us? Out of fear we will get called crazy and “out of our minds?”

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him 
stand on the highest point of the temple. 
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, 
“throw yourself down from here. 
Luke 4:9

Right out of the gate, before Jesus can even start gathering up disciples, our friend, the devil, comes along and tries to tear down Jesus’ confidence.  He tests Him multiple times to see if Jesus is who He says He is.

Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not 
put the Lord your God to the test.’” 
Luke 4:12

I always love Jesus’ responses to those who would say He was “out of his mind.”  He never fails to give me a Perspective Change Moment.  He doesn’t argue with the devil about the dangers of jumping off a cliff.  He doesn’t present genealogy charts and Old Testament verses from Isaiah about His coming.  He just says, “Don’t even test me.”  He doesn’t sound angry or offended.

Ah, to be like Jesus.  When I was contemplating this post, I got convicted of something I had done the night before.  My husband and I were flying home from a visit with family.  As we sat in our seats on the plane my husband dropped one side of his mask while trying to adjust his hat.  A woman was making her way into the seat in front of us and turned and stared at both of us.  Then she looked at my husband and said, “Sir, put your mask on.”  

And boom, my hackles (whatever those are) started to rise.  I laughed at her.  I had all manner of comments I wanted to make but some supernatural force shoved me back in my seat and clamped its hand over my mouth.  I sat there steaming, irritated.  Very un-Jesus like.

I could’ve used the opportunity to be a peacemaker, a practicing Christian.  A Christian who shows what Jesus is about rather than what the devil is all about.  I could’ve been “out of my mind” with grace and apologies rather than defensiveness.  I didn’t act like I would’ve a few years ago but I didn’t act like the person I want to be. Imperfect progress as my friend Betsy likes to say. Yes, my husband had removed his mask for just a minute.  But this woman was clearly fearful and needed a bit of Jesus, not the world.

I told my BSGs the other day that if there was one thing I could try to erase from Christians’ minds it is the idea that “sharing our faith” doesn’t mean standing on a street corner screaming about Jesus.  It means that when, given the opportunity by God, we behave like Jesus.  We speak like Jesus.  We seek peace like Jesus. We teach like Jesus.  And we stand firm like Jesus. We step out of our own worldly minds and into Jesus’ mind.

But we have the mind of Christ. 
1 Corinthians 2:16

God will give you opportunities today.  It may be with your children.  It may be with your neighbor.  It may be with a stranger on a plane.  And yes, we need to act as though we are out of our minds with the love of God.

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Fan The Flame

krisshetter 
For this reason I remind you to 
fan into flame the gift of God, 
which is in you through the laying 
on of my hands. 
2 Timothy 1:6 

I remember the day I got baptized.  I was 34 years old and at the same time my one year old and 5 year old received the Holy water.  I remember standing on that stage full of the spirit of God.  My heart was full.  I was ready to jump in with both feet.

As a person trained in marketing and public relations, I decided a good place for me to volunteer at my new church was on the growth committee.  The church membership had shrunk over the years and they were looking to reach out into the community.  After four months of detailed work, we finally had the plan.  And by “plan” I mean the plan and bylaws of how the committee would work.  I was so dispirited.  

My friend invited our family to come worship at her church which was the same denomination but was very large and vibrant.  We loved it!  My spirits soared again as I watched my kids get involved in various church groups and my husband volunteered as an usher.  And then I flatlined.  Attending church became something we tried to fit into our schedule.  My faith life outside church was non-existent.  

We gotta get our faith stirred up again!  If I was just running on excitement, I would’ve run out of gas a long time ago.  Once the excitement of God is over, real men and women of God kick into faithfulness.

Joyce Meyer

We get tired of the “doing” in our everyday lives – making the bed, doing the dishes, going to work, brushing our teeth.  But we still do it or else we become destitute.  Some of us have become destitute in our faith because the excitement is gone. We all probably remember when we accepted Jesus as our savior or were baptized.  It was exciting!  And now, the day-to-day life has settled in.  We need to keep “doing” our faith because we are assigned the work of God. 

When I was thinking of this concept, I thought of my favorite college basketball team (Go Aztecs!). In March 2020 they were a powerhouse team, set to go to the NCAA tournament.  My husband and I had gone to a lot of the home games.  The SDSU Aztec games are well known for the influence of their fans.  We can really rock the Mesa and spur our boys on!  And in March 2021 we couldn’t go to any games.  It felt weird watching on tv without the excitement of being able to high five strangers when one of the players hit an amazing three-pointer.  It just wasn’t the same.  So, our faithfulness of watching games waned.  I’m sorry to say we didn’t even watch their NCAA tournament game.  We had better things to do.

But the difference between being a fan of a team and follower of Jesus is the Aztecs, once a game was over and we all went home, didn’t know my name.  They didn’t care to know me at all.  Sure, they appreciated the support but they didn’t ride home with me.  Except for the mailing list our name is on to ask us for money, our favorite team, that brings us so much fun and excitement, goes about their own lives not thinking of me once.

But after we commit ourselves to the Lord and experience that wave of excitement, He stays with us.  He is with us when we don’t think about Him during our busy day.  He is with us when we forget about Him completely.  He is waiting for us to go to work for Him.  He is waiting for us to turn to Him.  

Guard the good deposit that was 
entrusted to you—guard it with 
the help of the Holy Spirit who 
lives in us. 
2 Timothy 1:14

Last year I found myself a Christian without a church.  And at first, I thought that meant my faith would become destitute again.  I turned to God and said, “What now?”  And He answered, “It’s time to truly grow.”

I had been relying on outside entities to stir up my excitement for God.  To fan my flames for Jesus.  When all along He was sitting there next to me waiting to build a bonfire together.

A few studies ago my BSGs were tasked to draw their faith journey as a graph.  I’m happy to report we have all had steady growth.  It was amazing to see how, in the time where we were all without “church,” our charts showed an upward movement.  When we were stripped down to our lives being so simple because of the Covid pandemic God invited us to His campfire.  And we all accepted the invitation.  

For many of us our churches have re-opened.  And the celebration of the beauty of the resurrection is in our rearview mirror.  We need to ask ourselves are we expecting an outside source to fan our flames for God or will we turn and join Him at the campfire?

Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, Christian women, Faith, Jesus Follower, Uncategorized

Our New Identity

krisshetter 
Do your best to present yourself to 
God as one approved, a worker who 
does not need to be ashamed and who 
correctly handles the word of truth. 
2 Timothy 2:15

When I quit working full time about 25 years ago, it was hard for me to accept that I no longer contributed financially to our little family.  My identity was wrapped up in working.  I had earned money since I was a kid collecting cans and newspapers and turning them into the recycler.  In college at one point, I had a job, a paid internship, a full load of classes, and was the president of a professional-based club.  Work was what I knew and work was what defined me.

Not long after I decided to stay home with our 2-year old daughter I found myself face-to-face with my identity problem.  My daughter and I were walking home from a neighborhood park.  We had to cross a very busy street.  When we got the “walk” sign we made our way across in the crosswalk.  In one of the cars waiting for the light to change was an obviously very angry and impatient man.  He yelled out the window to me, “Hey loser, why don’t you get a job?”

Instead of being angry I was mortified.  You see, I agreed with him.  I wasn’t seeing myself as first a mother and wife then someone who could, if I wanted to, get a job.  I saw myself first as a jobless loser.

What do you see yourself as first these days?

As my faith journey has progressed my answer to that question has evolved.  Once my second daughter came along, I threw myself into motherhood.  I even placed being a wife much farther down the list for a bit.  Being a Christian was way down on the list.  In between I was a “coach,” a “PTA president,” a “school volunteer,” a “Girl Scout leader.”  And now, looking back, had I placed “Christian” as my primary identity I would’ve made a number of different choices along the way.

Just because you go to church doesn’t mean you’re a Christian. I can go sit in the garage all day and it doesn’t make me a car.

Joyce Meyer

I love this quote by Joyce Meyer because it speaks to the heart of this issue of identity.  We may say what our identity is but how do we act?  What do we base our decisions on day in and day out?  Do we decide what’s best for our kids based on their happiness or based on God’s direction?  Do we treat our spouses based on where we place our marriage on our identity list or on God’s expectation of us?  Do we hold dear the income from that job more than we do our relationship with our Lord?

It’s taken me awhile to truly accept the identity hierarchy God wants for me – 1) Jesus Follower 2) Wife 3) Mother 4) Whatever else He directs me to.  And in our verse today the priority for us is to be a “God Approved Worker for Him.”  Not ashamed of following His Word as best we can in every decision we make.

I used to listen to the famed Dr. Laura quite a lot.  One day she was talking about divorce.  She said that if you go into a marriage with the option of getting divorced you will always find reasons to not work on your marriage.  But if you go into it (having made a healthy choice of spouse) with the priority of staying together no matter what, you will always find new and creative ways to work out problems.  Our faith is a lot like that.

When we place our faith as our primary identity it changes who we marry, who we spend time with, what type of job we want, how we use our money, how we treat our families and friends, and more. We are God’s co-workers.   And we are tasked with being proud of that identity.  

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, 
stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always 
give yourselves fully to the work of the 
Lord, because you know that your labor in 
the Lord is not in vain.  
1 Corinthians 15:58

So again, I ask, what identity have you placed at the top of your list?

If it’s not “Christian” why not?  What’s holding you back?  God is waiting for you to put Him first.  Because when you do then, I believe, He claps His hands and says, “Great, now let’s get down to business!”

This is a great except from C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity that might help spur you on to your new identity. 

“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self—in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.” 

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Closer Than A Brother

krisshetter 
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is 
my helper; I will not be afraid. What 
can mere mortals do to me?” 
Hebrews 13:6

There’s been a number of times in my life when I felt all alone.  In high school the neighbor girl who I had been friends with since I was in fourth grade rejected me.  The kids I hung out with at school always treated me as an outsider, never inviting me over to game nights and other fun group activities.  I wasn’t a nerd, athlete, druggie, ASB, drama, or whatever type person we think of when we remember our high school years.  I was friendly with people in all groups but never a part of a group.

I could’ve really used Jesus.

I was listening to a great podcast recently called, “Talk It Out.”  It’s an offshoot of the Joyce Meyer Ministry where three women of various stages of life take Mrs. Meyer’s teachings and work on applying it to their everyday lives.  On that day they were talking about different times they’d felt alone.  And I realized that probably every single one of us have felt that way at some point or multiple points in our lives.  Some of you might feel that way right now.

One of the ladies spoke of when, in high school, she kept Jesus close to her at all times.  Her only true friend.  She would even talk to Him in the car as though He were a constant companion in her passenger seat.

One who has unreliable friends soon 
comes to ruin, but there is a friend 
who sticks closer than a brother. 
Proverbs 18:24

I can’t tell you with 100% accuracy that this proverb speaks of God.  But I can tell you that God is 100% that friend who is “closer than a brother.”  And when we feel alone and as though our faith journey is stuck, we need only turn to Jesus and say, “Hello.”  If you are in a season that you feel alone, left out, far from any quality friendships – including God– it’s time to call to Him with all your heart.

It reminds me of when Mary, having seen the empty tomb, stands outside crying.  She must’ve felt very alone at the time.  When Jesus appears to her, she thinks He is the gardener and demands to know where he moved the body.  And Jesus simply says to her, “Mary.”  She turns to Him and suddenly recognizes Him and grabs hold of Him, crying out “Rabboni!”  My favorite part of this is the fact the text is written like this in the NIV and King James version – “Mary.” No exclamation.  He doesn’t yell out to her.  It feels so quiet and gentle and personal.  “Mary.”  

Now imagine yourself standing there thinking God has let you down.  He’s allowed the worst thing that could ever happen to actually happen.  And you cry out.  He responds.  Standing right in front of you with a gentle, loving word.

Instead of saying with proud lip, “Well, if He leaves me I must do without Him, if I cannot have His comfortable presence I must fight on as best may be,” the soul says, “No, it is my very life, I must have my God.”

Charles Spurgeon

And with that renewed friendship we can add to our request of God, “Help me to find reliable friendships here on earth.”  He may convict of you of your own sins or thinking.  Rest assured when you sit with Him over coffee, while on your commute, or at a quiet lunch at the park, He will be the most honest friend you could ever desire.

The righteous choose their friends 
carefully, but the way of the wicked 
leads them astray. 
Proverbs 12:26

For me, I needed Jesus for a friend in high school as a companion – I was an oddball, a square peg and all the holes were round.  And later, I needed Jesus as that friend who would speak truth into me to show me why I didn’t have close friends, why I’d been rejected so often.  He showed me that my need to control the people around me was not a desirable attribute in a friend.  I was quick to anger and judgement.  And selfish ways pushed people away.

Sometimes when I think about what our lives are like today, I like to imagine what it would’ve been like living as a pioneer woman.  Living a lonely life with just my husband and two kids out on the prairie.  No texting, no Instagram.  Barely any mail even.  Where would I find friendship?  In my days of harvesting and cooking and cleaning I would need to seek out the only person my Bible told me would be with me always – Jesus.

That was true then and it’s still true today.  Friends we had 10 years ago may not even be part of our lives.  Friends we meet today may fade away.  So, it’s imperative we hold close to our hearts our one constant, our friend, our counselor, our Rock – our Lord.

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A Teaspoon of Salt

krisshetter 
Season all your grain offerings 
with salt.  
Leviticus 2:13

About a year ago my husband and I decided to combine our plans of getting fit at the gym with changing what we ate for dinner.  We decided to try out a couple meal delivery services.  Now, let me first say my husband is an incredible cook – creative and eager to try new dishes.  So whatever plan we chose would have to meet his high standards.  

As we made the various meals we discovered some of the “tricks of the trade” of how to make meals have that extra “pop” of flavor.  And the most basic trick was seasoning with salt and pepper throughout the cooking process.  It was amazing how much better our food tasted when we seasoned at the beginning, middle and end.  Salt is so simple yet it somehow releases the intricate flavors of whatever dish it’s added to.

Do not leave the salt of the covenant 
of your God out of your grain offerings; 
add salt to all your offerings. 
Leviticus 2:13

And throughout the Bible we are encouraged, or as in Leviticus, admonished, to add salt to our offerings to God and to our work for God.

Let your conversation be always full 
of grace, seasoned with salt, so that 
you may know how to answer everyone. 
Colossians 4:6

But what does this mean in our daily faith lives?  Adding salt to our conversations means making sure our work of sharing the gospel is pure and properly seasoned – with grace and love.  In other places in the Bible we see salt as something added to make our lives more pleasing to God.

My BSGs had a conversation once about memorizing scripture and prayers – an admirable activity for sure.  But when our faith life becomes a series of memorized verse or monotonous prayers we can lose our saltiness.  We lose the passion and uniqueness of our special relationship with God.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, 
how can it be made salty again?" 
Luke 14:34

So how do we regain that beautiful flavor in our relationship with Him?  Ask.  It’s funny how so often when we struggle with faith issues we forget to do the one thing that works the best – ask Him.  “Show me, Lord, how to reignite and bring passion to my relationship with you!”  He might show you a new way to pray, a new book to read, a new song to sing, a new Christian friend, or a new place in your home to mediate.  

The Holy Spirit is waiting to be tapped for answers.  It’s like He is jumping up and down with His hand up going, “Oooooo!  Ask Me! Ask Me!”  

Average is very acceptable in our society but I don’t think the angels are applauding. If you are determined to be excellent, to not back out of it, you will reap a harvest in your life.

Joyce Meyer

Let’s start flavoring our faith life at the beginning, middle and end of our day with salt, with passion, with grace, and with intentionality.  Let’s dine with our Savior and feast on the grace He gives us.

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Battle Strategy

krisshetter 
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who 
trains my hands for war, my fingers 
for battle. 
Psalm 144:1

I have a very strong personality.  I’m a fixer and a doer.  I’m a creative problem solver.  So, for me to sit back and let God take control or direct me has been one of my greatest challenges.  A few years ago, I was working in a school counseling office.  There were two of us with essentially the same job.  When my co-worker left for greener pastures, we hired a new, young woman as her replacement.  She was fun and interesting.  And then she stopped showing up on time for work.  And at times not at all.  Then she started spending what time she was in the office on personal phone calls or social media.  The bulk of the work fell on me to accomplish.

I jumped into fix it mode.  Trying to help her figure out a better work style.  Talking with our supervisor about how to discipline her.  Each morning as I headed into work, I created all the conversations I wish I could actually have with her.  I became angry and bitter.  I might or might not even jokingly asked God to take her out with a bus.

Fortunately, my faith was maturing.  One morning during my commute, the Holy Spirit whispered to me: “This battle needs a different approach.  Try praying FOR her.”  And so, I did.  For one week, every morning I prayed that God would intervene in her life to help her be more successful at work.  And that whatever was happening in her home life would not deter her from doing a good job.

And after one week she stopped showing up completely.  Two weeks later it was determined she had “abandoned” her job.  Essentially, she had fired herself.  And in the next hiring process I was able to recommend someone else who was amazing!

He is my loving God and my fortress, 
my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, 
in whom I take refuge, who subdues 
people under me. 
Psalm 144:2

You see, I was fighting the battle all wrong.  I focused on myself rather than God.  It was an in-your-face lesson delivered by the Holy Spirit.  

Since then, I have faced other battles.  I’m remembering to pray before I enter the battlefield for God to direct me and protect me.   Because I recognize that I can be a bull in a china shop with my “Miz Fixit” personality.  

“When I release my weaknesses and blind spots to God, He uses them to help me grow up spiritually.” 

Crystal McDowell

I love the visual from 1 Peter 1:13 to “gird your loins.”  The saying comes from the concept of tucking your tunic up into your belt so that it doesn’t get in the way while running.  

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, 
be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the 
grace that is to be brought to you at the 
revelation of Jesus Christ; 
1 Peter 1:13

And in this verse, it specifically reminds us to pull our thoughts together and have a disciplined mind so we can rest our thoughts on the grace of the returning Christ. We escape from the perils of the worldly mind – trying to fix everything ourselves — with the teaching and guiding hand of God.

Before we make that difficult phone call, head into that important meeting, sit down with the wayward family member we need to “gird our loins” and seek God’s battle plan.  Stand confident in prayer and listen to what He really wants you to say or do.  For me, He reminds me I need to be silent at times and let Him do His good work.

Most of us are “can do” people.  And when it comes to conflict or issues in our lives we so often want to take back command of the battle.  But like Joshua before us we need to be fired up and bold in our faith that He will be our deliverer.

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Time Well Spent

krisshetter 
We do not want you to become lazy, but to 
imitate those who through faith and patience 
inherit what has been promised. 
Hebrews 6:12

If today’s verse sounds familiar, it should!  The King James’ version was our stepping off point for this new series – “That ye be not slothful…”  Remembering that the Greek word for slothful, nothros, means slow or sluggish, Paul urges us to grab hold of our inheritance and be diligent to the very end (Heb. 11-12).

What does this look like in our everyday lives?

I had an acquaintance tell me the other day that she would like her church group to start back in studying the Bible.  You see, with the chaos from the pandemic their family lives have been turned upside down.  Kids are constantly home and constantly needing help with getting the education our schools have neglected to provide.  And so studying the Word has fallen by the wayside.  They are waiting for a “better time” to reboot their studies.

Hours for the world!  Moments for Christ!  

Charles Spurgeon

But if we are to be honest if it weren’t the pandemic, for many Christian believers there would be something else keeping them from regularly attending church, going (prepared) to Bible Study, sitting quietly studying His Word.  For my family it once was youth sports.  We abandoned church for softball tournaments.  We saw it as a season that would eventually change and God probably didn’t really mind.

Had I truly valued what God wants for me I would have realized that during that season I especially needed His Word.  It’s when our lives seem most chaotic that we need to grasp hold of God.  He is our center, our Rock, our plumb line.  He puts the swirling world and all its stresses into perspective.

The world has the best of our time and our prayer closets the leftover fragments.

Charles Spurgeon

So, when Paul reminds us to not be lazy or slothful or sluggish with our obedience to Jesus he especially means during difficult times.  To not turn to the flesh for solutions and comfort.  He chastises us to finish strong by keeping close to God.

I’ve invited many friends and acquaintances to participate in Bible study.  And every time I hear multiple people say they are too busy with “life.”  Work, family, hobbies, other obligations take precedence.  I get it.  I’ve been there many, many times.  But when I look back to those times I do so with a measure of regret.  Because those times are gone forever.  Times when I could’ve really used the Word of God to comfort me and to reignite my faith.  There are so many instances where I needed God’s wisdom to make better choices – both for myself and my family.

We do not forget to eat.  We do not forget to be diligent in business.  We do not forget to go to our beds to rest.  But we often forget to wrestle with God in prayer and to spend long periods in consecrated fellowship with our Father and our God.

Charles Spurgeon

Our days are numbered here on earth.  Christ sacrificed Himself to a horrible death so that we may have a close relationship with God and the gift of salvation. When our ledger is opened at the end will it show that we have made God the primary focus of our time or will He be a footnote?

Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, Christian women, Faith, Jesus Follower, Uncategorized

The Blessing of Hope

krisshetter 
And hope does not put us to shame, 
because God’s love has been poured 
out into our hearts through the Holy 
Spirit, who has been given to us. 
Romans 5:5

In February of 2020, my beloved mother in law got some disturbing news.  She possibly had uterine cancer.  We all started praying and hoping for negative tests.  But with each test, each imaging, we were disappointed.  Our hopes for it being “just a thing” were dashed.

In my prayers I lifted her up to God as one of His very faithful daughters.  And when the bad news came, I cried out to Him.  It wasn’t fair.  I couldn’t see why He would allow this to happen.

And as quickly as I cried out, He answered me.  “I have a plan.  You need to trust in me.”  So, I rested my hope in patience and faith and the knowledge that God has been there for her in the past.

Such hope as is the fruit of faith, patience, and experience, namely, the full assurance of hope;

Benson Commentary on Romans 5:5

When I read the verse from today, I wondered about the word, “shame.”  The clarification I found was that Christian hope will not disappoint or be deceptive.  God has proven Himself over and over of His faithfulness.  The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Jews and Christians in Rome, reminds us that even before we were willing to worship God fully He sent His son to die for us.  Think about that.  We didn’t have to prove ourselves to Him first.

You see, at just the right time, when 
we were still powerless, Christ died 
for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone 
die for a righteous person, though for a 
good person someone might possibly dare 
to die. But God demonstrates his own love 
for us in this: While we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us. 
Romans 5:6-8

He goes on to say if God would do this for us, how much more can we expect?  How much more hope can we put in the fact that God will take care of us?

As a maturing Christian this idea of “hope” has gone through a transition in my thinking.  And where I started mirrors what so many non-believers struggle with when looking at Jesus followers.  “If I pray and hope that someone is cured and they aren’t, doesn’t that mean God’s not listening (or doesn’t care or maybe the person doesn’t deserve it?).”  But friends, God’s plans are so beyond our own!

I truly believe that God allows us to experience trials so that we can change our perspective of what living a “good life” in the world means.  We, through our experiences, can offer hope to others that they can come out the other side with renewed faith.  And He uses people around us to show His love during difficult times.

Every single apostle, every single lover of God in the Old Testament went through extremely difficult times.  It was their hope they placed in Him that sustained them.  And it was their experiences that help us to remember He loves us.

As for my mother in law?  Praise God that through surgery and chemotherapy her cancer was eradicated.  But the message I got from God was that even if she succumbed to cancer, He still had her safely in His arms.  Because that is the greatest message of hope that Jesus gave us.  We are saved from wrath.  We are saved from the sins of this world.  And we will find a loving home for us waiting at the end.

Bible, bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, christian men, Christian women, Faith, Jesus Follower, Uncategorized

Hemmed In

krisshetter 
You hem me in behind and before, and 
you lay your hand upon me. 
Psalm 139:5

My BSGs were talking the other day about sensing God’s presence.  More specifically about the times we felt God was far away from us.  So often when we are experiencing difficult trials we think “where is God?”  But I’ve come to realize in my faith journey that the real question is the one God asks, “Will you come back to me and rest in my love?”

God surrounds us each and every day.  In our verse today it’s expressed as “hemming us in.”  For some that might seem restricting.  But to me it evokes the concept of wrapping a baby tightly in a swaddling cloth.  We do it so the baby feels the warmth and safety once felt while inside the womb.  And that’s what God wants for us. 

I will not leave you comfortless: I will 
come to you. 
John 14:18

Those are Jesus’ words.  He sent us the Holy Spirit to always be in us.  We don’t need to go looking for it.  We don’t need to beg for it to descend upon us.  God indwells.  So, what is truly required of us when we experience difficult times is to rest in what is already available to us.

“It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by you!”

Upper Room, Surrounded (Fight My Battles)

When I think about the times I felt distanced from God I also think back to when the Israelites were out in the desert.  They could actually see God’s spirit hovering over their camp day and night.  And yet, they asked, “Where is God?”  I don’t have the benefit of seeing a cloud follow me around day and night.  And, I don’t have the physical Jesus to sit down with at dinner to share my problems.  So, I give myself a bit of grace when I forget He is always with me. 

When I rest and tap into the strength and love and goodness of the Holy Spirit I find that promised peace.  It most likely won’t change the circumstances of the trial I’m experiencing.  But knowing He is with me, with His hand laid upon me, gives me the strength to continue.

My friend Betsy is an avid, extreme hiker.  Last year, at 70 years old, she set off to tackle the John Muir Trail solo.  She came to a particularly difficult portion and her body starting giving her troubles.  She has dreamed of this trip for years – and attempted it a few times.  She became distraught that she couldn’t go on.  With her, in case of emergency, was her Iphone.  She made the decision to use it to listen to some Christian music in the midst of this struggle.  As she reached the crest of the difficult portion, filled with the music of the Holy Spirit, her mind was transformed.  She had plugged back in to her closeness with God.  

Betsy wasn’t able to complete her goal.  But she gained so much more.  A confirmation that God never leaves us.  We just need to rest in that “hemmed in” space He provides.

Here’s a prayer from Sparkling Gems from the Greek to pray when we feel separated from God:

Lord, I thank you that I am not a spiritual orphan in this world.  You did not abandon me or leave me to figure out everything on my own.  You sent the Holy Spirit to me to be my Teacher and Guide.  So right now, I open my heart wide to the Holy Spirit, so He can be the Helper You sent Him to be in my life.  I give You thanks for sending this divine Helper and I ask You to teach me how to lean upon Him more and more in the course of my life.  I pray this in Jesus’ name!