joy – Page 8

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

Patience, Grasshopper

October 6, 2020October 5, 2020 krisshetter

I’ve told my friends that looking back over my life so far, I really have only one regret. It’s that I wish I had a closer relationship with Jesus when I was the parent of young kids. My husband and I attended church fairly regularly. But I was wrapped up in childrearing worries and stresses and didn’t know how to turn all that over to God. I could’ve enjoyed many more hours of sleep had I not been such a “woulda, coulda, shoulda” person. I found myself, during a very long season of self-doubt about my parenting skills, constantly praying for patience. Literally praying every single night for about two years for patience. You see, I was so afraid of turning into my mother – screaming at my kids and losing control – that I thought patience was the answer. One Sunday, our pastor’s sermon was about praying. He said, “If you keep praying about the same problem over and over and over maybe it’s time to start praying for something different.” He had a knack for speaking on issues near and dear to me. So that night I stopped praying for patience and instead prayed for ways to help me deal with difficult situations.

As I’ve grown closer to Jesus, He has taught me a lot of lessons. He’s still teaching me. And step-by-step He has moved me closer to my original plea for patience. You see, I wasn’t ready to learn the hard stuff yet. He just wanted me to start turning to Him when I was in need, when I was broken. Patience may be a virtue but it is a heck of a hard thing to have and use regularly.

You, too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
James 5:8

I first needed to learn what standing firm, standing safely in God’s arms even meant. I didn’t have the wisdom needed to grasp the joy in hearing that the Lord is coming near. I heard on a Joyce Meyer’s podcast this morning that God gives us a lot of leeway and grace when we first become Christians. But once we hear the Word and gain His wisdom, expectations change. We are expected to act as His children, not as children of this world. Think about that. Every time we attend church, do a Bible study, listen to a Christian podcast, see a Christian post on social media we are hearing His Word. We are learning the nature and expectations of God. And He expects us to live as He prescribes.

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is the one’s glory to overlook offense.
Proverbs 19:11

Wisdom that we glean from God yields patience. And when we are patient, that glorifies what we have learned from God. We cannot be steeped in the nature of God without also knowing and acting in patience. Why? Because patience means love. It means grace. It means forgiveness. Thank God He is patient with us. I never feel God rushes me to learn a lesson. In fact, my lesson in patience has taken about 26 years.

I looked up on-line “how to be patient.” I came across a website that focuses on self -improvement. Here’s their reasons why we should learn patience.

We make better decisions by assessing situations rather than going in emotional and blind.
We have less stress by understanding some things take longer than others.
Our relationships are improved because we are more flexible and understanding.

Doesn’t that all sound like something God would want from us? Being wise, giving our stress up to God, and loving and being grace-filled toward others.

They then described a 6-step process for learning patience:

Understand and counteract triggers
Increase your self-confidence
Put on your “positive glasses”
Change your attitude – “why are you in such a hurry?”
Visualize worst case scenarios
Release tension and stress through eating right, exercise, enjoying activities

Now imaging trying to do all that without God. Here’s my Christian re-do of these six steps:

Pray for God to reveal the areas where you struggle with patience (sometimes we pretend we aren’t being impatient and justify our actions)

John 16:24, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

Recognize that God loves you. Accept He wants the very best for you.

John 16:27, “No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Remember that joy can be found in trials. And most of all that God has delivered for you in the past. He is faithful.

2 Thes 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”

Rejoice each and every day, if not every hour, for all the great things in your life.

Prov 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

To be honest, visualizing worst case scenarios has been helpful to me. If I’m waiting in a long line at Costco and start getting impatient I think, “Well, what have I got to be impatient for anyways?” or “Well, if I’m late because of this line I can call ahead and let them know.”

Matt 6:27, “Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Yes, eat right, exercise, enjoy new and old activities. And pray. And pray. And pray. Give up all those thoughts, those worries, those fears, those negative emotions to God. Cry out to Jesus and ask Him to remove whatever negative thought you have right then.

1 Samuel 2:1, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.”

When we get closer to God – become fluent in His character – that is when He can work His ways in us. And God is always patient with us. My friend and I were having lunch today and she said she is starting to have more moments in her difficult life where she looks up and gives a little smile – recognizing those growth moments God has put in front of her. As for me, I described for her my process of writing and how I study the topic, pray, and then start writing. I rarely stop writing one of these posts until I am done. The words just come out of me onto the computer. My whole body is focused on getting these words down. I told her how weird it was that I was interrupted multiple times while writing this post. And as I drove home from lunch, I was listening to a praise song and it hit me. Patience. The topic of this post. And I had just been tested. I was not annoyed about the interruptions. I felt blessed hearing from a few friends. And normally I would’ve been distracted during lunch, thinking about what else I needed to write. I would’ve failed my friend who I need to support during this time in her life.

I called my friend from my car and said, “I just got it! Patience! I was tested!” And she said, “I realized that while you were telling me. And I’m glad it finally came to you.” Maybe this whole actually studying God’s Word really does work. Time to look up and smile.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

A Good Plan

October 1, 2020September 30, 2020 krisshetter

When my eldest was two years old (she’s now 27) I quit my career job. It was a big decision for me as I placed so much value in working. I had never planned on being married and having children so getting a good education and then a good career was my grand plan. And here I was, about 10 years after graduating college, quitting. One day, we were out for a walk. At a busy intersection, the crosswalk light turned for us and I pushed the stroller in front of a line of waiting cars. Halfway across a man yelled out of his car, “Hurry up and why don’t you get a damn job!” I was mortified. I wasn’t angry with the man for being out of line, I was ashamed. Ashamed I didn’t have a job to identify me as “worthy.” How he would know my job status could only be the work of the devil.

Sometimes we accept the word of satan much easier than the Word of God
Joyce Meyer

My value, my self-worth, was wrapped up in a career. Here I had a beautiful baby, a loving husband, a nice home and yet I was unable to see these gifts from God. I had a plan and I had quit that plan. I was a failure. Each day my husband would come home and out of habit ask me what I had done that day. Boy did that get my hackles up! I started inventing things I had done or making what little I had done sound so exhausting and important. I mean a trip to the dry cleaning can really take a lot out of you. Instead of enjoying those precious moments of playing hide and go seek with my daughter I fretted over my future.

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.”
James 4:13-14

Life seems so complex and we want to control it. By making our plans we try to take the chaos out of our lives. We don’t want to be those “losers” who don’t have enough money to live on when we retire. We make grand plans for our bank accounts. We try to position ourselves so we are the ones that get that great promotion. We commit ourselves to long term goals with creating a family, losing weight, travelling, careers and so much more. And yet, we forget about today. The right here and now.

“Do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring.”
Proverbs 27:1

That doesn’t mean we aren’t to be good stewards of our gifts. I did a Bible study once where the entire focus was on being a good manager of what God has placed in our hands. You see it’s never about having money or not having money with God. It’s never about having a good job or not. It’s not about saving money to buy a home or not. God’s has all good things in mind for us. It’s always about our relationship with Him. When we submit to the will of God, it all starts to make sense.

I used to pray for God to bring me joy one day. That day was, of course, when I was financially secure, my kids were in good jobs and married, and I finally had the perfect lakehouse. Sounds like the perfect plan, right? I kept putting off joy. Instead of investing in my eternal life by appreciating today, I was investing in my earthly life by ignoring today. I was reading a sermon by Charles Spurgeon today called, “Waiting Only Upon God.” He tells this story about the Scottish novelist and playwright Sir Walter Scott:

“Perhaps there never was a mind more gigantic than the mind of Sir Walter Scott: a man whose soul was as fertile as the newly broken soil of the land of gold. That man was a good man I believe, a Christian; but he made a mistake in the object of his life. His object was to be a lord, to found a family, to plant the root of an ancestral tree the fruit of which should be heard of in ages to come; magnificent in his hospitality, generous in his nature, laborious in his continual strife to win the object of his life, yet after all he died a disappointed and unsuccessful man. He reared his palace, he accumulated his wealth and one sad day saw it scattered to the wind, and he had lost that for which he had lived. Had he fixed his eye upon some better object than the pleasing of the public, or the accumulation of wealth, or the founding of a family, he might have got the others, and he would not have lost the first. Oh! had he said “Now I will serve my God; this potent pen of mine, dedicated to the Most High; shall weave into my marvellous stories things that shall enlighten, convince, and lead to Jesus,” he might have died penniless, but he would have died having achieved the object of his wishes—not a disappointed man.”

In other words, God gifts us in so many ways – with different talents, with finances, with family, etc – but when we make the plan to succeed at those, without seeking His Will, we will surely be disappointed at the end. We work and we toil. We stress and we plan. And we forget this one thing.

“You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
James 4:14

It’s true. We all will die. We don’t know the day or the hour. Without God as our light, without God as our object of desire, we waste our days clutching and worrying. Spurgeon goes on to say that so many of us make our plans and then turn to God asking what we should do and then go do what we originally planned. Sound familiar? In fact, after researching for this post I finally realized I hadn’t prayed yet what God wanted me to say. I kept bouncing back to my notes thinking about what I wanted to write. I finally just opened my computer, put my hands to the keys and said, “Tell me what you want me to say.” I had done my research, I had quotes and verses to pull from so I was prepared. But in the end, I was also willing to do what God told me to do.

I heard a sermon the other day called “Crazy Faith.” The pastor started out talking about Noah. Here’s this guy, most likely a farmer, who the Bible called a “righteous man.” Meaning he probably honored his debts, paid his workers and did a bang-up job with taking care of his family. He had it all planned out. Toil away in the fields year after year and be a successful farmer. And then God. The great part of this story is Noah didn’t say, “But I have my own plan for my life. I’m a farmer, not a ship builder. Oh, and by the way, I don’t live by an ocean. I’m going to go out and plant some more seeds and reap my harvest. Go away.” I’m sure being a “righteous man” he prayed to God for good things to happen in his life. So, when God said, “Ok, here’s a good thing I want you to do.” He did it. Are we so willing? Or are we married, fully committed to our plan? We are so committed that we miss the God given opportunities to help and love others. We miss the doors He opens for an amazing life rather than the toiling life we have planned.

A few posts ago I mentioned the 100 Lunches Project. Each week for about a year God led me to feeding the homeless. It wasn’t about feeding the homeless really. It was about ripping that need to work and justify my daily activities out of my heart and mind. It was about not planning every single detail out. It was about going first to Him to check in on what He wanted from me. At the time I was working at a school counseling office. I worked three days a week. It made me feel worthy. And then He told me that I needed to deliver food regularly on one of those three days. When I went into the office the next day I said, “I know you are familiar with my 100 Lunches Project. Well, God told me I need to start doing it on Wednesdays so that means I can’t work that day.” Yep, I said that. And the response was, “Ok, sounds good. We are happy to have you whichever days you can give us.” My mouth might have dropped open a bit. Each and every time I went to God for direction, on money, on what to buy, on where to go, on the help I needed, He answered. And I obeyed. It was glorious.

So, you see, it’s not about trying to build up that big retirement account. It’s about asking God what you should do with that paycheck. And doing it. Charles Stanley’s Life Principles #2 & #5 say to obey God and leave all the consequences to Him – even if it seems unreasonable. EVEN IF he asks us to build an ark in the middle of the desert. He has great plans for us – we may not ever be famous or wealthy. But that plan will be good. And if He doesn’t answer right away, as Christians that live close to God, we already know to be good stewards of His gifts. We will have prepared for the day He does speak. Until then, He calls us to enjoy what we have right now. For tomorrow may never come.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

The Mind-Field

September 24, 2020September 22, 2020 krisshetter

That day we were taking our usual walk through the canyon by my house. What wasn’t usual was that it was April 2020 – the height of the panic of Covid-19. Our entire conversation was focused on trying to discern the truth about the dangers we were facing. My friend turned to me and said, “I don’t understand. Why aren’t you afraid?”

Before I reveal my answer let me back up a bit. I am a maturing Christian. I’m past the “baby Christian” phase and making what my Bible Study Girls call “imperfect progress.” Had this virus and the media response to it been around about 10 years ago I would be freaking out. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I would pace the house all day with jumbled, unsettled thoughts – not being able to accomplish anything. I would be frantic about the economy, my husband’s business failing, my kids getting sick and so much more. The battlefield of my mind would look like a World War 1 field of hidden trenches, barbed wire and the stench of all things unsanitary. That’s how I handled a lot of problems. Fast forward to that April 2020 walk.

“I’m not afraid of dying is the simplest answer,” I replied. I had peace in my mind and in my heart that for one, I didn’t have control over much of what was going on and two, if I got sick or someone I loved got sick and died I knew I would see them again. I hadn’t thought about it much until she asked me. And when I answered I realized my mind battlefield looked more like victory than a bombed-out shelter. Sure there are the occasional skirmishes but my battle plan is solid.

So many of God’s lessons about going out and making “fishers of men” first require us to get right minded with Jesus. And James reminds us of this when he admonishes us to control our tongue, commit to doing good deeds, show others mercy, and gain God’s wisdom. So, when he says:

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
JAMES 3:18

I first think, “how can I be a peacemaker when I frequently battle myself?” We’ve all joked before about having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. Each whispering in our ear. The tug-of-war going on in our minds is surely not peaceful. And if we can’t get our own mind to be at peace with God then how can we reflect peace out to others?

I was reading excerpts from Francis Frangipane’s book, The Three Battlegrounds. One of those battlegrounds is our mind. The description of the combatants is fascinating. It’s important in any battle to know who, exactly, you are up against.

“We should know this about Satan: he is an ancient and extremely treacherous foe. On the other hand, the strength of most Christians lies primarily in idealism and untested fervor.”

In other words, Satan has had a lot more practice on this battlefield than you or I. It’s no wonder he seems to succeed so easily. We are tricked into thinking all our negative self-talk is justified – even in the face of knowing we are made in God’s image. Ya, but that saggy stomach and those large hips. And people aren’t going to like us anyways. Honestly, with this realization of Satan’s 10,000 page resume up against our entry into this battlefield for what, 30 years, 20? 5? 1? It’s no wonder we struggle finding peace in our minds.

“What happens when you wake up in the morning feeling low, irritated, discouraged, or frustrated – and you don’t know exactly why? There has to be reason. For every root there is a fruit.”
Joyce Meyer, Understanding the Root of Your Fruit

We’ve all done this – some of us are doing it every, single day. We wake up (that is if we ever did get to sleep) and immediately start thinking how bad the day is probably going to be. Sometimes we struggle because we just aren’t taking care of ourselves physically. Did you drink that extra glass of wine and went to bed late? What’s your diet and exercise routine (ha!)? Or maybe it’s a spiritual problem like you care too much about what other people think about you instead of focusing on God. Maybe you’ve forgotten that Jesus lives in you and you’ve shoved Him aside in order to try and “take control.” I do know this, when we aren’t aligning ourselves with God then the opposite must be true. And if that’s the case how in the world can we effectively handle a grumpy salesclerk?

“I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants – but let them not turn to folly.”
PS 85:8

Turning to folly is the key to that statement. The gift of peace is right there for the taking. God allows us to be sifted by Satan. He did it to Peter in order for Peter to get his pride in check. God knows we have wheat and chaff in our minds. He is greater than Satan. So, when God allows Satan to test us, sift us, and we turn to the angel on our shoulder instead of the devil, God knows the end product will be good. Our minds want to tell us the opposite of God’s love. Our minds want to be distracted by worldly things. Those darn minds can think too highly or lowly of ourselves. And our minds like to seek revenge. Just as James describes the small bit controlling a large horse, we need to use God’s Truth in His Words to tame our wild minds.

This is what my mind looks like when I want to just scream!

God is always working in our life. We just need to pray and persist in our goal toward God-centered wisdom. When we rise in the morning and thank Him for another day to be able to serve Him; when we take the time to sit in communion with Him; when we keep our eyes, hearts and minds on Him throughout our day it doesn’t leave much room for Satan to enter.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”
Rom 8:5

I don’t know about you but I’d rather make it through the minefield safely using Jesus as my bomb-sniffing dog. Constantly looking to him along the path for guidance. He knows what lies ahead. When we are closely aligned, I can see His subtle signals telling me to be careful and which steps to take. When we successfully make it to the other side we can guide others through that field as well.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

Jericho Walls Are Shaking

September 12, 2020September 11, 2020 krisshetter

She remembered that night when she laid in her bed waiting and expecting. Waiting and expecting her father to enter the room and sexually assault her, again. But as she lay there she thought, “One day I will do something great.” And great she did. In 2005, Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America” ranked her as 17^th. She is known all over the world by her ministry and volunteer work. Joyce Meyer overcame constant sexual abuse as a child because of hope and faith in God.

This week we looked at just one chapter in the Book of James. Chapter one brought us front and center in how to deal with trials. He spoke of spiritual wisdom and the wise act of listening and controlling our anger. In just 26 sentences He stands in front of us in admonition to wake us Christians up. And show the world what trust in Jesus Christ, our savior really means.

Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.
James 1:22

He goes on to say that when we leave church, after we pray each morning, or read our devotional each day we ought not to then turn out into the world and forget who we are. We are not like everyone else. Isn’t that what our parents told us when we wanted to go hang out with the “cool kids?” There are expectations and responsibilities to accepting Christ.

When I was a “baby Christian” I had a conversation about church with my mom. She is the daughter of a Baptist minister. She hasn’t regularly attended church since she was a child. She doesn’t pray. She says she believes in God but anyone that knows her couldn’t tell that to be true. She told me that when she was a child at church, she would watch all the ladies attend church dutifully. And then, they would gossip, hate each other, complain endlessly to her father, lie, cheat, and all other manner of sin. My mother had and still has a dim view of “Christians.”

When we leave the doors of church or our home we mustn’t forget who we are.

How many of us live our lives fully realizing that not only is God watching how we handle trials and temptations, but our non-Christian friends and neighbors? Do they see you getting angry and yelling and gossiping? Do they get a sense of peace from you during difficult times? Are you easy to talk to because they know you will listen without judgement? And are the words you speak back coming from a Godly place? Do you turn down offers of socializing with friends and tell them it’s because you have a Bible Study you are committed to? Have they heard you speak about your quiet time you spend with God, praying for others? Do you tell others you will pray for them and do it immediately, with them? What was the last book or movie or tv show you settled into? Was it something where you could gain wisdom of God’s ways?

While sitting and listening to God to speak through me before I sat down to write this, the song “My Father’s House” started playing over and over in my head.

The Jericho Walls are quaking
Strongholds are shaking
Love is breaking through
When the Father’s in the room
Cory Asbury, The FAther’s House

When we invite God into our lives during hardship, when we seek His wisdom, when we listen for His voice, and act as He wants us to, we experience His strength and love. The shackles of sin and anger, the ugliness of self-degradation and self-centeredness give way to freedom. Freedom to see His beauty in resolving problems. Freedom to experience joy in even the most difficult of times.

James pulls no punches. But he always reminds us, in the midst of admonishment, of the “why.”

We will develop maturity and perseverance
We receive the “crown of life” that the Lord has promised
We are given the Word of Truth so we can be “firstfruits” of all God has created
We live in the righteousness that God desires for us
When we rid ourselves of immorality and accept the Word planted in us, we are saved
We are given freedom
We will be blessed in all we do

James is not asking us to do anything more than what we ask of our employees, our children or our friends. If we make a commitment, promise, accept a job, want a friendship, then we must work on it and act in such a way as to say we are all “in.”

My challenge for this weekend it to be fully aware of our actions and words, especially while around non-Christians. Good luck, my prayers are with you.

Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

Show Me, Tell Me

September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 krisshetter

They didn’t want to add to our current, stressful situation. My husband, their son, owns and operates residential Alzheimer’s care facilities and each day the state government was changing rules related to COVID-19. The staff were worried, residents’ family members were worried. And true to my in-law’s gracious ways, they didn’t want to pile on more bad news.

You see, my precious mother-in-law had been diagnosed with uterine cancer. When we talk about angels on Earth you’re talking about her. When I picture her I see love. I see goodness. She is one of my touchstones. She’s a lot of people’s touchstones. During the last 32 years she has quietly guided my faith journey. And she has cancer.

James leaps from the starting gate in his letter to the church with a challenging statement:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
James 1:2-3

A few years ago, that statement might have received the response, “Are you ‘cray, cray’?” Meaning you’ve got to be kidding. Not only “joy” but “pure joy.” It reminds me of the scene in the movie Animal House — a pop culture film about a college fraternity. In it, actor Kevin Bacon is being initiated into the fraternity. He is required to be harshly paddled by its members. But not just paddled, he must also request the beating each time by yelling, “Thank you sir! May I have another!” The pain is evident on his face with each whack. Yet he knows he must ask for more to achieve his ultimate goal — membership.

While I don’t believe God wants us to be begging for trials, He knows in the course of our existence they will naturally come. In Mark 10, Jesus tells the disciples that not only will they receive a hundred times what they have given up to follow Him but also persecutions. Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to embrace our trials, whether from persecution, loss or affliction, so that our faith may mature.

A few years ago, I started hearing the term, “baby Christian.” The implication being that we are born with our commitment to Christ and then grow with our faith. We can choose to stay “baby Christians” just like we can also choose not to become mature adults. It seems more obvious to the world when we see people who have opted to not get a job, educate themselves, learn to live on their own, have a solid bank balance, and take care of themselves. You might have someone like that in your own family. Or you might be aiding in someone’s stunted path to maturity. What doesn’t always seem obvious is our stunted Christian spiritual growth. It takes much of the same concerted effort to grow in our faith. To be at the place James calls us to — finding Pure Joy in the difficult times.

Where are you at on the Spiritual Growth Chart?

With James’ simple opening salvo he blasts us into paying attention. We can either 1) scoff and choose to ignore him as a crazy person or 2) say, “tell me how.” In Luke 22:28 Jesus listens to a dispute among the disciples. They are arguing who is the better disciple (sounds like one of my PTA meetings). He interrupts and tells them, “You are (all) those who have stood by me in my trials.” His trials. You see, Jesus was sent to not only verbally teach us our Father’s ways but to experience our earthly ways to show us how to handle them. We mark our spiritual growth chart with each trial when we turn to Jesus and say, “you’ve been here, show me what to do.”

There’s lots of self-help books out there to guide us to being mature adults. But the best book to read for both spiritual growth and worldly maturity is the Bible. Every single book of the Bible talks about trials or persecution. And without fail the solution is prayer. Not just any prayer. A personal plea. A demanding of God’s blessing to rain down on us. A clearing of our eyes to see the joy. And then listening. He will speak to you.

God rarely just throws us first into the fiery pit. And even if he does, he is always with us. That alone is a blessing for which to be thankful. With each trial, each persecution, He expects us to grow more trusting of Him. Yes, expects. Dr. Charles Stanley’s Life Lesson #7 says, “The dark moments of our life will last only so long as is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us.” So, my advice to you, accept and learn early and as quickly as possible.

With each trial thrown in your path you gain perseverance, patience and clarity of God’s presence. But we must do the work of asking Jesus, “Show me.” I once told my Bible Study group we need to shorten the “ah ha moment gap” from years, to months, to days, to instantly. We all can look back at situations where maybe we didn’t get the job we’d hoped for or maybe even got fired from a job. Or a loss of a home due to fire, a friendship that soured, a marriage dissolved. How long has it taken you to accept the way God was working in that time? Have you seen it yet? He was there. He spoke to you.

Why is all this important? We know there will be trials so that means we can’t do anything about them, correct? When we dread what we think is to come, when we are poured into concrete boots of fear during trials, we’ve taken our eyes off Jesus. And if we are to grow in this project called Us we need a strong foundation of keeping our faith and trust in Him alone. This is not an easy task. For some of us it takes every minute of every hour re-focusing our mind on Him – especially when we are afraid. I’ve come to use the term, “Perspective Change Moment” with some of my friends. When we start in on our ills, fears, anger, dread it helps to have someone say to us,” Yes, that’s awful and…..”

We all need friends who can be our “James!”

With the same practice we put into doing our hair every morning or working out or learning how to use our smartphone or figuring out how late we can sleep and still get to work on time we need to attack the devil that keeps trying to pull our eyes away from Jesus. Show me, Jesus. Speak to me, God. It’s not enough to tell yourself, or others, “don’t worry” or “don’t be afraid.” We must fill our minds with something other than that fear and worry. In Luke 11, Jesus tells the story of an impure spirit coming out of a person and goes looking for a better place. When the spirit doesn’t find it he returns to find a nice, clean, empty house. And you know what that impure spirit does? He invites a few more friends to join him! Our lives end up looking more like a Weight Watchers check-in session – we have a week we are up and a week we are down and on and on. Had that person cast out the spirit with Jesus’ help and filled that home with God’s Word, Jesus’ love, and the constant presence of the Holy Spirit you can bet the evil spirit wouldn’t make it past the garden gate!

I have a good friend who was laid off from her church position about 3 years ago. It has been difficult for her to find the joy in that trial. For me, I can remember how unhappy she was in that job. But no matter how many times I told her how miserable she was, she still couldn’t accept it. Until she finished one of her journaling books. One day a week or so ago she started reading through her old journals from that time. In them she found her old self praying for God’s intervention constantly. Each workday entry was a distraught woman praying for God to fix the problems swirling at work. She finally had her “ah ha moment.” God was there, telling her to leave. But she kept holding on. That day she made a new mark on her spiritual growth chart. God had spoken to her and she had to joy of knowing He was with her. She could release all the negative emotions surrounding losing that job. It wasn’t where God wanted her to be.

So, here I was, working on being the best team member I could be for my husband as we waded through the throes of the COVID-19 lockdown and my in-laws finally decided we needed to hear the news. Cancer. Just a year ago this would’ve put me in a tailspin. But in just that year’s time, I’ve gone through a family death, putting on a distance wedding, accepting the fact that I’m not going to work anymore, and much more. With each trial I leaned into my Rock a little more. With each trial I started finding the joys. So, after the news I took my dog for a quiet walk in our nearby canyon and asked Jesus, “Show me.” I cried out to God the great Counselor, God my Comforter. I first pleaded and said, “You can’t take her.” I raised my hands high and begged for mercy for my sweet mother-in-law. I reminded Him she is a faithful servant. She is His loving daughter. And then I listened. He reminded me we all must pass one day, just as her own mother did a year ago. He told me He loves her more than even I do. He told me to just keep loving her and living out joy moments right now, today. He showed me that when her time comes, just as mine will too, she will join her mom in glory at God’s card game table. The battle of who is the best 31 card player will continue into eternity. And I laughed.

Are you going through a trial and need prayers? I’d love to pray with you. Have you gone through a trial and had your “ah ha moment?” Please share.

bible study, Christian, Christian Church, christian encouragement

Where’s The Joy?

September 2, 2020 krisshetter

It may be hard to find at times but there’s joy in trials. When we face a challenge we can go forward in dread or in the knowledge God is leading the charge.

Join me starting September 7 as we dig deeper into the Book of James with a five week study. Follow my blog to receive your daily emails.

30daysofpraise, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

Shaloha

August 20, 2020August 19, 2020 krisshetter

Life is like a stormy sea
That tosses to and fro,
But God’s Word will ever be
A ballast for my soul;
By its truth I’ll be held fast
Till I reach heaven’s shore
Where I will be home at last
And sail life’s sea no more!

—Perry Boardman

How often do you feel like a sailing ship being tossed to and fro? Or a tiny dinghy out on a stormy lake? I certainly felt that way more times than I can count. My “peace-filled” days were the ones I could count on a couple hands. But Jesus is the Prince of Peace! It’s so fascinating to study the days of Jesus and His interactions with the leaders of the Jewish faith. We have the benefit of thousands of years of scholarly study to correctly interpret Jesus’ words. We also have the truth of the resurrection to back up Jesus’ position with God.

But think of those leaders who knew the prophesy in Isaiah 9:6 which states: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” They certainly weren’t anxiously waiting for this Nazarene. A child born to a lowly woman. Someone not officially holding a title of Prince or even Rabbi. And yet there he stood.

“Shalom – peace – is a precious word to the Jewish people. It means more than just the absence of war or distress. Shalom means wholeness, completeness, health, security, even prosperity in the best sense. When you are enjoying God’s peace, there is joy and contentment,” says Warren Wiersbe on his commentary of John 14:25-31. The Pharisees, and other lay people, were looking for someone to just give them the absence of war and the gift of prosperity. They were missing out on the eternal peace that God gifts us through both war and prosperity. When I think of God’s peace the eye of a hurricane always comes to mind. This eye is an area of mostly calm weather inside a terrifying hurricane.

According to the website, A Catholic Gentleman, which promotes faith in men, “over 40 million Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder of some kind, and there are no doubt countless others that live with severe anxiety but are undiagnosed. “ But how do we obtain this elusive peace? The Catholic Gentleman gives some great insight:

First, it means living in the present moment. A great deal of anxiety comes from worrying about the past or the future, neither of which can be changed. Even though we know it is useless, we often expend untold emotional energy worrying.

Second, it means accepting the circumstances of life without impatient resistance, realizing that everything is either positively willed or at least allowed by God.

Finally, it means trust in the goodness of God. Many of us are afraid to completely abandon ourselves to the will of God because we are afraid of what it might mean.

These three pieces of advice are so clear and helpful. But they are not easy. I once told a good friend that some days just working on staying in the present moment took every ounce of energy I had. There are no quick fixes to this amazing gift God wants for us. Unlike grace and salvation which, once we accept Jesus as the son of God who removes our stains, is given fully and freely to us, the gift of peace can seem more like trying to open a clamshell style package. You think it looks simple and you try poking your fingernail between the two pieces of plastic. When that doesn’t work you look for a helpful tab somewhere the manufacturer must have added in order to tear that puppy open. But alas, none exists. Then you start trying to use brute strength or maybe your teeth. You feel a bit silly. I mean it’s you against a piece of plastic! You finally give in and get out a knife or scissors. And even that may lead to a bloody finger. When all is said and done you have in front of you a mangled piece of plastic and the object of your desire, freed from the bonds of the clamshell. You look at your freed item and somehow it feels more valuable from the work you just put in. And you exclaim, “finally!”

I love the teachings of Joyce Meyer primarily because this taming of our minds is her primary teaching focus when it comes to following God’s Word. One of her devotional days says,

“Nobody is successful with any venture just by wishing they would be. Successful people make a plan and talk to themselves about that plan constantly.”
Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day

This is based on 2 Cor 10:5: “We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey God.” When we keep our mind in the present and decide what goes on up in our thick skull we are miles ahead toward achieving that gift of peace.

I know a lot people who spend most of their time on the wall of the hurricane instead of the eye. They’re the “Chicken Littles” and the “Debbie Downers” and the “Joy Suckers.” I’m familiar with all of them as I perfected each of them at one time or another. Until I accepted Jesus. I surrendered to trusting the goodness of God. When I am facing tough situations I FIRST turn to God to pump a little extra peace into me. For a long time, I assumed that long-time Christians all had this peace. One friend I spoke to at the beginning of the COVID 19 scare, who has been a Christian much longer than I, was distraught. He said he just couldn’t see God at work anywhere. I told him he sounded like the ship being tossed to and fro. And that without trust in God he wouldn’t find peace. He stopped talking. He realized he had stepped out of God’s eye and into the storm.

I read this story as part of a sermon by Max Lucado on “Peace that defies pain.”

“I have everything I need for joy!” Robert Reed said. “Amazing!” I thought.

His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. His shirts are held together by strips of Velcro®. His speech drags like a worn-out audio cassette.

Robert has cerebral palsy.

The disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school or attending Abilene Christian University, from which he graduated with a degree in Latin. Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at a St. Louis junior college or from venturing overseas on five mission trips.

And Robert’s disease didn’t prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal. He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972. There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour and a tutor who would instruct him in the language.

Then he stationed himself daily in a park, where he distributed brochures about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord, one of whom became his wife, Rosa.

I heard Robert speak recently. I watched other men carry him in his wheelchair onto the platform. I watched them lay a Bible in his lap. I watched his stiff fingers force open the pages. And I watched people in the audience wipe away tears of admiration from their faces. Robert could have asked for sympathy or pity, but he did just the opposite. He held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, “I have everything I need for joy.”

His shirts are held together by Velcro®, but his life is held together by joy.”

I praise God, the Prince of Peace, the Giver of Joy, the Giver of Shaloha, as many on the beautifully peaceful island of Kauai like to say. I thank Him for helping me be steadfast in surrendering to Him so that I might live each moment in the eye rather than the walls of the storm.

30daysofpraise, christian encouragement, Uncategorized

God Woos Us

August 13, 2020August 11, 2020 krisshetter

During my years of attending church and going to bible studies I have heard many scripture verses surrounding love:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.” John 3:16

“Love is patient, love is kind.” 1 Corinthians 13:4

“And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

There are scriptures about how God loves us, how we are to love God and love our friends, neighbors and enemies. We don’t, however, always equate this “love” with romantic love. And yet, by all descriptions, the love the Holy Spirit has for us and wants in return is just that. Intimacy, thoughtfulness, honesty – an embrace, a tight hug, and sweet kiss – isn’t that what we long for in our “romantic” relationships? And the Holy Spirit is all about that kind of love.

A pastor at one of my previous churches wrote, what some considered a controversial book about the Holy Spirit, called, I’m In ❤. Controversial because he is part of a corporate-style faith where we worship, but not too exuberantly. We pray but not too boldly. We love but out of reverence. In the first chapter of his book he writes:

“Spirit wants to woo you into her arms in order to embrace you and whisper intimate truths. Spirit offers to tutor you in vulnerability and joy. Spirit welcomes you to trust her. Spirit kisses you. But this kind of love takes time to grow. Will you let Her court you?”
Rev. Dr. Bruce Humphrey

So many of my conversations with my Christian friends focus on creating a personal relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Let’s face it, when you are intimate with someone you know exactly what they expect of you and if it’s a mutually respectful relationship you want to meet those expectations. The Holy Spirit is who whispers to us. Who winks so that we both are “in on the joke.” She holds my hand when I am afraid to take the steps Jesus laid out for me. This “controversial” pastor goes on to write:

“Here is the truth: romance requires slowing down, listening, and spending time. As mysterious as it is, there are some basic ingredients for love to flourish. Romance requires intentionality. Love is a choice. You can decide to accept the Spirit’s love, or you can reject her embrace. She will not force or compel you. In other words, love takes commitment.
Rev. Dr. Bruce Humphrey

God is fully committed to loving you. Through the words of His son Jesus and the great counselor, the Holy Spirit, love abounds from the heavens. Are you ready to embrace Him just as intimately? Share how God shows His love for you in the comments below!