salvation – Page 2

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Enjoying The Gifted Life Part Two

April 3, 2024March 13, 2024 krisshetter

Did you miss part one? Go to Enjoy Life: From Meaningless to Meaningful

I heard a pastor recently talking about our wants and needs related to our prayer life. How we try to manipulate God into approving our behaviors. We mask our sinful desires by praying for prosperity yet have no plans to serve the kingdom with gifts, or we do so meagerly. We pray for the right house to purchase and won’t open our homes to our church needs. A better car, a good vacation, a husband or wife, a job, or even children. And all along we don’t ever plan to surrender all those over for God’s holy work. Or we make a deal with God to get what we want knowing full well we won’t uphold our side of the bargain.

"And he (Jesus) said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

False “needs” and empty prayers. They lead to greed and coveting. It all comes down to not trusting in God for our provisions. And not being good stewards of what we have been gifted. We tell God over and over what He needs to do for us. If He doesn’t perform that particular miracle then darn it, we are going to make it happen for our ourself. Or worse, reject God.

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words. " Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

Let your words be few, King Solomon warns us. With few words yes, but with listening ears. The Bible tells us to come before the Lord with our requests. However, night after night, morning after morning we roll out our list of wants and needs. Do we ever ask God if those are what He wants for us? Imagine a relationship here on earth like that. Your friend is constantly complaining about what she or he doesn’t have and what they want. And they never, ever stop talking (sounds like a toddler!). Our prayer life and quiet times with the Lord are supposed to be a two-way street! Not a drive-through ordering system.

In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.
John Bunyan

A few weeks ago I read an account by Christian teacher Kay Arthur about the night, at 29 years of age, that she was truly saved. “I’d been at a party. The only thing I remember about that night was that a man named Jim looked at me and said, “Why don’t you quit telling God what you want and tell Him that Jesus Christ is all you need?” His words irritated me. “Jesus Christ is not all I need,” she replied. My reply was curt. “I need a husband, I need a…” and one by one I enumerated my needs. I turned my heel and went home.”

Her family was very religious but the Bible had not been a central part of her life. She went to church but no one had ever asked her if she had been saved. She hadn’t realized going to church and being a “good Christian” weren’t the keys to salvation. She knew her sins were obvious and she was in deep spiritual and emotional pain. The next day after that party, she couldn’t face going to work and called in sick. She found herself at the edge of her bed crying out to God for a healing of peace. She discovered the God who provides, the God who heals. She gave her wants and needs completely over to Him to purge and refine.

Are you constantly making a list of all the things you expect God to do for you? Yet don’t plan on obeying and serving Him? Are you usurping His authority over your life and building up all your stuff to fill yet another room or another storage unit rather than re-gifting your blessings to His Kingdom? King Solomon starkly tells us this is all so meaningless. In his study of this life, he ends chapter 5 reminding us everything we have is of God — gifts from heaven to be used and enjoyed accordingly.

^“Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."  Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

The apostle Paul carries this theme of God as our great provider throughout the epistles. Setting our sights not on stuff but on the Lord. More importantly, setting our hearts to the heavens.

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:12-13

Is it time to do your own room-by-room inventory? An inventory of your prayer life? An inventory of the room of your heart? Maybe it’s time to give, give, give. And to quietly listen for His Word so He can set you on the path to enjoyment. For when you do, our Lord and Savior has promised us, “for with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

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Shock & Awe

December 27, 2023December 26, 2023 krisshetter

"Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking." Ezekiel 1:28

At the beginning of our church’s Christmas Eve service they played a video of kids answering questions about Christmas. One question posed to them was: “How do you think you would react if angels came down to speak to you?” In their sweet innocence, all of the kids mimed being scared and in awe. They hadn’t sanitized and sweetened the idea of angels. They knew the Christmas story well of the shepherds in the field being visited by angels announcing the birth of Christ.

"And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."'  Luke 2: 9-10

Those kids pictured the lowly shepherds looking toward the sky in fear of the mighty and glorious sight they were beholding. And although I can’t say what the angels looked like that day, if you look through the Bible and read the references to angels they are pretty scary and odd looking creatures.

Last night, we took my grandson to a local area which features street upon street of lights and handmade, large Christmas cards in their front yards. The homeowners take different cartoon themes and make clever Christmas sayings such as “Hakuna MaChristmas!” At one house there were four foot tall, pudgy Precious Moments angels placed all across the yard. Those sweet little cherubs with big doe-like eyes made into tiny statues. I couldn’t help but think how far we have ventured from the Bible’s “shock and awe” angels.

"Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back," Revelation 12:7

I don’t know about you but those angels don’t sound like doe-eyed cherubs. In fact, I recently heard a theologian remind us that every time we read about angels visiting someone here on earth they first proclaim, “do not be afraid!” Because of this, he also remarked that a true test of someone claiming to have been visited by an angel or even Jesus should state that fear was their first reaction. The glory of the Lord, whether in the form of angels, or the Lord Himself, is so great that even Moses had to be shielded from His great light! This makes it all the more amazing that God came as man so we could, in fact, see His face, touch Him, and just be with Him.

When I heard this “test of truth” statement it actually gave me comfort. You see, a few years ago I had a vision in which Jesus visited me and gave me clear instructions for some charity work. When I first tell someone about the vision this is how I describe it:

Suddenly, Jesus was standing next to me. I couldn’t look at Him because I was afraid if I did I might die. He was so gloriously bright. I could only peer at Him from the corner of my eye. While I was afraid, somehow He also comforted me. But at no time did I turn and fully look at Him. It was too much for me to take in.

Friends, so much of our Christian story is sanitized to be palpable and “user friendly.” We want Jesus to be our friend, not our glorious King. We want angels to sit on our shoulder cooing in our ears, not appearing and scaring us into action for the Lord. Our God is a god of such great glory that we should fall on our knees and bow our heads when we pray. Because we are not worthy of even being in His presence and yet, He sent His Son to wash us clean and allow us to participate in some of that glory. No man-made deity has ever wanted to share his glory, has ever expressed his love for his believers like the God of Abraham. For that alone we should give Him all glory and honor and thankfulness.

Soli Deo Gloria. Amen

Our Lovely God

December 26, 2023December 21, 2023 krisshetter

Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. Isaiah 24:15

Today we bask in the glow of a Christ come to us in the form of a baby. A baby which held the power to defeat sin in His tiny hand. A baby that so terrified a king that he called for the deaths of all the young children in Bethlehem. A baby that drew people of all races, creed, religion, nationality to Him for the promise of peace through all eternity.

The other day I read part of a sermon by the renowned 18th century pastor, Jonathan Edwards. He became well known for glorifying God’s beauty and magnificence throughout his lifetime in sermon after sermon. Today I’d like to share a portion of his sermon titled, “Children Ought to Love the Lord Jesus Christ Above All” (Sermons and Discourses 1739-1742). It seems fitting in celebration of the birth of our Savior and a lesson for us all to carry in our minds and hearts.

“Christ is so lovely that the angels in heaven adore Him. Their hearts overflow with love for Him and they are continually, day and night without ceasing, praising Him and giving Him glory. He is so lovely that God the Father infinitely delights in Him.

Christ is His beloved Son, the brightness of His glory, whose beauty the Father continually sees with infinite delight, without ever being weary of beholding Him. And if the angels and God himself love Christ so much more than anyone or anything else, surely all children on earth ought to love Him above all things in this world.

Everything that is lovely in God the Father is in Jesus Christ, and everything that is lovely in any man is in Him. For He is man as well as God, and He is the holiest, most humble, and in every way the most excellent man that ever was. He is the true delight of heaven.

There is nothing in heaven, that glorious place, that is brighter or more lovely than Christ. By becoming man, He was as a flower springing up out of the earth, lovelier than any seen in all this world.

There is more goodness to be enjoyed in Christ than in anything or anyone in all the world. He is not only loving, but all sufficient for any need of humankind. There is enough provision in His person to supply all our wants and satisfy all our desires.”

To our God who created the glorious heavens and earth, to Him be all power and honor and majesty. Amen

High Fives

December 14, 2023December 13, 2023 krisshetter

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6

The other night, just before we were about to go to bed, I looked over our Christmas shopping list to see who my husband still needed to check off. It caused me to ask him where a gift certificate was that had come in the mail the day before. It is an “old school” paper certificate for $100 to a local attraction. Thus began an all out search for this thin piece of paper.

At the same time, I know it sounds odd, I was also searching for a brand new bra that disappeared about a week ago. Since I don’t go around tossing my bra off outside my house I just knew it had to be inside somewhere! So, here we were at 9:00pm going through trash cans, drawers, paperwork, sheets, towels, etc searching for a piece of paper and a bra.

At one point my husband was ready to give up. He was going to call the shop the next day and ask for a duplicate gift certificate. He told me to just buy a new bra. But I’m not a quitter so we kept searching. At last, I looked in one last place for the gift certificate — the office recycling bin. And there it was stuck to an empty Christmas card envelope! Moments later my husband was digging around in the clothes hamper and he pulled out my bra displaying it like the Lion King Mufasa holding up the baby lion Simba. How I didn’t see it the other 10 times I looked in there I have no idea.

As we fell into bed laughing about our search I said, “We are practically like a Bible story — you know, the ones about the lost coins and the lost sheep! We didn’t give up and we finally found our precious things.”

As so often happens when I’m in the midst of writing, my everyday experiences lead me to ponder on the glory of God. In this instance, how He also never gives up. He goes into our trash heap of sins and pulls us from the depths. He seeks us out under the dust and brushes us off. He cleans us up and makes us righteous before Him through our faith in Jesus.

"And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:9-10

Christ not only welcomes us home but He runs to meet us like the father to the prodigal son. Through His bountiful mercy (not dishing out the punishment we deserve) and grace (giving us the love and justification we don’t deserve) He celebrates our entrance to His Holy Kingdom.

Think on the last time you lost something and finally found it. You may have performed a little, silly dance or shouted out in glee. Now imagine when you accepted Christ as your Savior how God must have danced in joy because He is a God of great celebration. While we can’t change someone’s mind about God, He can. He asks us to join with Him in the search effort. Imagine each time you share the message of your salvation with an unbeliever how God must be saying, “YES! LET’S DO THIS! Let’s bring another home!”

Give all honor, praise, and glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

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His Sacrifice

August 28, 2022September 7, 2022 krisshetter

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15

Gracious God this morning I rose thinking of the Son you sent to save us. I remembered the pain He endured to show His everlasting and deep love for us. You created this plan and He completed it. In remembrance of that day I sit in awe and wonder at your glorious ways. Amen

Over the course of 30 years a survey was undertaken asking high school and college students if they would first try to save their dog or a stranger. I’m disturbed to report that 2/3 have always voted against saving the person. In newer studies, adults now vote similarly. How would you vote if asked the same question?

This study was posted online awhile back and I went to the comments section to see what people had to say. I shouldn’t have. It was more disturbing. People condemning others for being “evil,” “cruel,” and “vile.” Strangely enough, they didn’t put themselves in those categories! The folks that would pick an animal over a human (now certainly there would be instances we all might do the same. Say a person has just attacked you and your dog) fail to see their decision makes them complicit in devaluing human life.

What the surveyors have surmised is the lack of Judeo-Christian values in a person’s life or the watering down of those teachings increases making moral decisions based on our feelings. In addition, a belief in God elevates human worth over that of animals. Without that, we see the image of God brought down to having no more value than a squid.

^“9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Colossians 3:9-10

Throughout the Bible we are reminded that humans were God’s special creation. So special that He gave us dominion over the earth. The earth serves us, not the other way around as some would say. When this understanding of the world’s creation is thrown out the window it’s no wonder the people of this world have turned everything upside down!

A number of my Christians friends have struggled with the fact that God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. We either secretly or out loud say we hope God never asks us to do something so difficult. Yet every day parents see their children in the military risk their lives for us. Police officers, firefighters, lifeguards and others put their lives on the line for strangers. Because they believe we are worth saving.

The Bible is one of the most tested and proved documents in all history. And God’s work is all around us to see proof of His ways. There is little to no dispute that Jesus walked this earth. Or even that He died a horrible death on the cross. And whether or not a person believes He rose and ascended into heaven everyone should understand that He went to the cross that day for us. He spoke over and over about the plan ahead for Him. He didn’t die because He wanted fame. He didn’t die to save the whales. He didn’t die because of some terrible crime He committed. The Father sent His Son to die to save us. Because, thank God, He believes we are valuable. And just as our first verse reminds us, we aren’t saved just to be saved, but to spread the Word so that yes, even strangers are saved.

Friend, God in His glorious ways made us special. I love my dog, Tucker, but he won’t seek justice for me and he won’t take up arms to protect me. God made us in such a way that we can even ponder these moral thoughts. He made us so when faced with difficult decisions we can decide on A, B or even A and B. It depends on if you love God’s creation as much as He does.

Beauty In The Battle

August 16, 2022August 29, 2022 krisshetter

"Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to our holy name and glory in your praise."  Psalms 106:47

Holy God, the heavens are your battleground! You fight against the cosmic forces over darkness. Your power and majesty are at work all around me through the unseen world of the spirit. And through my earthly worship I take up your sword each day to withstand any evil, in your Son’s name. Amen

One of my favorite lines by Jesus in the Bible is, “Get behind me, Satan!” as He rebukes Peter for having the wrong mindset about Jesus’ work. His exact words are repeated in Matthew 16 and Mark 8. Jesus also uses similar words in speaking directly to Satan in Matthew 4:10 with “Be gone, Satan!” I jokingly use these phrases when donuts appear in front me. Recently, however I heard teaching about spiritual warfare and I realized I had the completely wrong approach to it.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

We so often talk about rebuking Satan or fighting our “Goliaths” when in reality we shouldn’t be speaking to the devil at all. It’s dangerous work that I would venture to say most of us are not prepared to withstand. Even the archangel Michael used God as his shield rather than his own words. Instead, we should be relying on the incredible power of the Trinity to fight our spiritual battles.

Along this same line I once told a friend we shouldn’t be asking, “What would Jesus do?” but rather what would Jesus want me to do? We are not fully man and fully God. We are just man. And we need to acknowledge that alone we only have the power given to us through the Spirit. God, through His great love for us, will take care of the rest. Isn’t that beautiful and amazing?

So what do we do? We enact the famous lines from Ephesians 6 and put on our armor of God. We stand firm in God’s truth. We fit our feet with Jesus’ gospel of peace. We arm ourselves with the shield of faith and the sword of God’s Word. In other words, we allow God to fight His glorious fight with the devil while we do the seemingly mundane acts of worship, studying our Bibles, praying for intercession, baptizing in His name, and spreading His Word of peace and salvation.

Friends, we need to start saying, “Get behind my Lord and Savior Jesus, Satan.” He is the blinding shield, the kryptonite against evil. He is the most powerful weapon we could ever imagine to ward off the arrows lobbed at us. Each time we open our Bibles, go to church, show love to a stranger, speak the Gospel truth into a friend we place that shield firmly in place for God to enter into battle.

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From Why? to What?

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022 krisshetter

Lessons from Cherith

He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Luke 24:38

During the time in my own land of Cherith, a place where I was separated from my home, my regular way of life and exposed to great sadness, I so needed to rely on the vast promises of God. Yet each day I battled the “why” of it all. Why didn’t the cancer doctors see and recognize the increased cancer markers in my beloved mother-in-law’s blood tests? Why did each visit to the emergency room end without answers? But more importantly, why would this woman, a shining light for God, an inspiring gift to everyone around her, a woman, as her pastor reflected at her funeral with a beautiful aura surrounding her, be stricken with cancer and taken so soon? Why God, oh why?

How often have we lamented that why question in our lives? Why are we suffering financially? Why is my child rebelling? Why is my marriage on the rocks? Why did I suffer that abuse? It seems as Christians we are expected to answer those questions. I believe many of us avoid speaking the Gospel to our friends, family and neighbors out of fear of being asked those why’s of life. In fact, as a young college student who was approached one day on my campus by two religious folks, I too asked the big why – why is there suffering? You see I believed in God but didn’t really know anything about Him. Unfortunately, neither did these two young proselytizers.

I recently heard the statement: “If we view the world as a Christian, it all makes sense.” On the surface that’s a real head scratcher since this world seems so upside down especially now. Broken families, broken lives, so much pain and death abound. But take a step back, way back to Genesis 3.

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. ¹⁸It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. Genesis 3:17-18

And that’s just a taste of what man’s rebellion wrought. Creation is currently at odds with God. And just as cells divide and life moves without our intervention, our world around us is no longer under our full dominion. So yes, there’s floods and fire and famine and cancer. And it has absolutely nothing to do with whether we are a good person or not. In addition to this result of The Fall, we became separated from God, always seemingly looking for ways to buck His system. And we face the consequences for our actions, both individually and collectively.

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” ²Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”  Exodus 5:1-2

And we know how well that went for Pharoah. But what was Moses’ first reaction after Pharoah knuckled down and made the Israelites work harder? “Why?” He asked God why did He have to make things worse and why did Moses have to be the brunt of everything? From a Christian point of view, we should say, “There’s consequences in this world when anyone chooses to not submit – whether you choose to believe in God or not.” This is not “Karma,” it’s simply a cause and effect of acting outside God’s desires for us.

And while we may cry out, “why?!” in the moment whether in situations of our own making or of those in which we have no power, we need to remember the “what.” What is God doing in me or even in the world? What is God expecting of me as a believer? What is the promise I can hold on to? The early Israelites had a decent excuse. They didn’t know God as well as we do now. They didn’t have all the stories of how He has rescued and protected His people. They didn’t have Jesus’ brother James telling them there will be trials and in them they need to seek the lessons of God. They didn’t have Jesus come to earth and die for their sins. They didn’t have the Book of Revelation. But we do.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So, each day as I sat beside Bev’s bed as her body succumbed not to cancer but to an infection, I battled the “why” demon. I wanted someone punished. I wanted someone to suffer like I was now suffering. Then I heard a whisper, “She gets to come home to me. And you need to see what I am teaching you.”

You see even in her suffering, on her death bed, this Christian called Bev was a conduit for Jesus. A teacher and a comforter. I finally realized it didn’t matter the “why.” For one, there really were no answers that fully satisfied. At times like that we just need to submit to God’s sovereignty and say, “I don’t know but He does.” The only real answers that I continued to come back to were the “what.”

What did I truly believe about God? And what was He trying to teach me?

Christian Friend, if you earnestly believe the Bible, believe that God is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and all it’s inhabitants, if you believe He is sovereign and He sent His Son to die for our sins, if you believe that there is a place greater than Eden awaiting us then you could understand why Bev wasn’t worried. Why she could make us all laugh at her darkest hour. Why, in the middle of a conversation she looked over my shoulder, waved and with a child-like voice exclaimed in joy, “Hi Jesus!”

²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? John 14:2

You see I didn’t need to know the answers to my worldly questions and I definitely didn’t need retribution. I needed to remember that Jesus hates death because it’s a sign of our broken world. And He is right now preparing a room more beautiful than I can imagine for even me. When He comes back we will all be raised up to live forever in a beautiful place that has no suffering, no death, no pain, no war, no hate, no fear. And that is just what I needed to learn.

Are you asking “why” in your difficult time when you should be asking “what?”
What is the Lord teaching or asking you right now?

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The Heart of the Matter

February 14, 2022February 14, 2022 krisshetter

“And I am so angry I wish I were dead.”  Jonah 4:9

I’ve shared before about the miraculous year I had doing God’s will during our 100 Lunches project. When Jesus first spoke to me, directing me to make 100 lunches and deliver them to the homeless in downtown San Diego I had no idea the lessons He had in store for me. Initially, I thought it was just a need that He directed me to fill. My spiritual gifts were perfect to complete this task – or so I thought. What began as a one-time submission to God became a year-long lesson in trust, compassion, faithfulness and humility. Definitely not traits I would’ve confidently listed amongst my gifts.

With each passing day that year, God placed new trials and new opportunities for me to finally grasp what He really wanted of me. I could administer any program at my church, work or other organization. I’m organized, comfortable with leadership, a successful multitasker, and can teach readily. As long as I was in charge life was good, so it seemed. Until someone was unhappy with me or disagreed with me. Or I hurt someone’s feelings. Or I felt overlooked and unappreciated. Praying came after the fall, if at all.

But the Spirit of God came upon me that fateful day. I like to think of God seeing my potential. My new beginning. And He knew with some pruning and care I could shake off many of my old ways and start working on new ones. Starting with praying to Him to help me make the change. And learning that God wants our heart first, above all, so that it’s our heart that pours out to the world.

“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. Jonah 1:2-3

The story of Jonah and the whale rank up there with Noah and his ark as being widely known by Christians and non-Christians alike. Jonah tried to get away from God, jumped overboard, was swallowed by a giant fish, prayed to God and God spit him out onto the shore. A nice story of turning back to God in faith, right? But in these four little chapters there’s so much more! There are lessons on being a “I’m fine, it’s fine” sleepy Christian. Lessons like Moses experienced when he told God he wasn’t up for the job. Lessons on how one person can help save so many.

Jonah was actually a man of great faith. He knew that if he went to Nineveh, a sworn enemy of the Jews and well-known for its evil ways, God would most likely use him to rescue the people there. But Jonah’s patriotism got in the way of his faith. So, he resigned as God’s prophet. He didn’t want his new beginning to look like betrayal back home. But God gets His way no matter how hard we try to thwart Him!

Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah 3:3

So yes, Jonah sees how amazing His God is while sitting in the mouth of a giant fish and prays, remembering how God saved him before and asking for him to do it again. And Jonah finds himself once more pressed on toward Nineveh.

While there he spreads God’s message that in 40 days the city would be destroyed because of their wicked ways. But there’s something missing. Within this story you will not find a message from Jonah on how to stop this destruction. You won’t find compassion and love for these 1,000s of people. He states the fact, does it efficiently and without pause. In three days this one man had reached the ears of every citizen, including the king. Pretty impressive right? And although God loved the fact that they believed and turned from their evil ways you can’t help but think the real target of this lesson was just one man – Jonah.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. Jonah 3:10-4:1

Jonah had the gifts of prophecy, faith, evangelism and apparently administration. And he begrudgingly used them. Where God saw an amazing new beginning as a man who could help bring so many to faith, Jonah saw embarrassment and shame. He didn’t want to go home to face his people who hated the Nineveh citizens and be known as a traitor. He stopped remembering that God loves everyone and God can work miracles in all our lives, even our enemies.

In chapter 4, Jonah is like the Prodigal Son’s elder brother – critical, selfish, sullen, angry and unhappy with what was going on. It isn’t enough for God’s servants simply to do their Master’s will; they must do “the will of God from the heart.” Eph 6:6
Warren Wiersbe

So as Jonah sits on the hill outside town in the last chapter of this amazing story God takes another shot at softening Jonah’s heart. He provides another lesson for him to experience and learn. Because God is love He doesn’t give up on us. He wants our new beginnings to be filled with love and compassion. I love this quote from a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on Jonah:

“The deeper your trouble, the greater are your possibilities of adoration.”

When I first went into our 100 Lunches project, I was certain I could complete this simple task with efficiency and ease like Jonah. But God put me on the hill, overlooking all that I had done that first week and said, “You have much more to learn.”

With each distribution of lunches He said, “do it again, this time like this.” He showed me how to be ok with people turning me down when I asked for help. And how to be grateful when people came out of nowhere to help. He taught me how to slow down and look the hurting in the eye and offer a kind word or even a gentle touch. He reminded me to trust in Him, to love Him. He answered prayers which encouraged me to pray even more. He allowed me to be loved by society’s “unwashed”, giving me the opportunity to tell them of God’s glory and provision.

Jonah’s story ends without a word from him letting us know he “got it.” His last lines are the first in this look at Jonah – “I wish I were dead.” God’s last words are about His love and care for all people – no matter their nationality, financial status, religion, or sins. Think of the amazing new life Jonah could’ve had when he left Nineveh. Not just knowing about God, not just having faith that God is in charge. But loving God and loving the fact that He wants us to live like Him, in love.

Jonah’s faith was a divided one. He held onto his patriotism and pride with a vengeance. It caused him to withhold his love and compassion. When we think of the Bible’s greatest lessons about love, 1 Corinthians 13 probably comes to mind. In verses 4-13 Paul tells us what love is. So many think these passages are about romantic love but in the context of the entire letter it’s about how we serve out God’s will with our gifts. In a way, the more important lessons are in verses 1-3. The lesson God was trying to teach Jonah. The lesson which can help us all in our new beginnings as God’s servants.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Cor 13: 1-3

How Dare You?

February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 krisshetter

This is a short story about a little girl. A girl without a name. A Jewish slave girl, taken captive by the Syrians 1000’s of years ago. But first, let me tell you about another little girl, one who few have heard of yet recently saved so many.

In 2004, 10-year-old Tilly Smith was vacationing on a beach in Phuket, Thailand. At some point during the beautiful, sunny day the sea began bubbling “like on the top of beer.” As others watched out of curiosity, Tilly remembered her recent lesson on tsunamis in her geography class. An early warning sign? That the water would froth and suddenly recede.

Tilly pleaded with her family to escape the beach. Her father took her warning seriously and went back to the hotel to bring it to the attention of the staff. Her mom, however didn’t believe her. Out of fright and frustration she announced,

“Right, mum, I’m going. I’m definitely going. There is definitely going to be a tsunami.”

Tilly’s father, impressed by his daughter’s conviction, alerted an on-duty security guard, and the authorities quickly evacuated the beach. The Smith family and all the beach goers sought refuge at their hotel, just minutes before the tsunami hit.

Throughout that day, tsunamis in Southeast Asia killed nearly 230,000 people. But Tilly’s persistence saved the lives of every person on that beach.

She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:3

This was the pleading voice of the little Jewish girl. Her new beginning began in a strange land as a slave. Taken captive by King Aram, living in the house of Naaman, commander of the army. Naaman, although an impressive warrior and highly regarded by the king, was stricken with leprosy. And this little girl, far from home, was urged to tell her mistress about the healing powers of the prophet Elisha, the man of God.

Without fear, without thought of not being believed because of her youthfulness or gender or race or faith, this no named child saved a man both physically and spiritually. She doesn’t appear to harbor malice toward her captor. She shows the love and mercy of God.

As for Naaman, he was urged to take this little child’s advice and travel to a far off land in search for a cure. With the prophet Elisha’s help, Naaman became a follower of the one true God. He too took this gift and quietly weaved it into his surroundings, eventually converting the royal household.

“And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:27

When Jesus spoke these words in the Nazareth synagogue he was thrown out. How dare he speak of saving gentiles! How dare he encourage the saving of their enemies – ones who had taken them as slaves? Yes, how dare He? How dare Tilly think she knew something that could save so many? How dare this Jewish slave girl share her God’s love for everyone?

I can only imagine how grateful Naaman must have been toward this little slave girl. I can only imagine because she’s never mentioned again. Her new beginning, as her master’s first guide in his steps toward salvation, had to have brought that household so much joy. Just like Tilly will always know how much of a difference one person can make.

How dare we all direct just one person toward the loving grace of our Savior? Who are we to give others the gift of a new beginning? To have our own beginning as a servant of Christ? How dare I, a person of lowly origins, share in the hope and salvation of someone? How dare you?

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Jesus

November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 krisshetter

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And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. Luke 1:35

Dear God,

I wanted to write to you today and thank you for the amazing gift you gave me and all of humanity. It was so thoughtful of you to think of us! I really wasn’t expecting something so wonderful and life giving!

I am of course, writing to thank you for Jesus. For that little baby you breathed into Mary thousands of years ago. For that little child who grew to be a powerful yet quiet man. God clothed in skin who experienced all the hardships, joys, temptations, love, frustrations and miracles you have blessed this world with.

I’m so sorry, however, that your Son had to also experience the pain of our sin. When I think of His last days it brings me so much sadness. Your gift to us was so beautiful and we destroyed it with a vengeance. And yet you still love us. So much so you raised up that gift of Jesus for awhile to teach us a few more lessons before He went home to you.

Heavenly Father, we are entering into a season that should be all about the gift of your Son, Jesus. Help us, through your Holy Spirit, to remember that little baby, that man, who gave so much in order to cleanse us of our sins.

Today, oh God, I’m so thankful for the salvation your Son brought to those of us who pronounce Him King of our lives. Your gracious and mercy-filled gift to us is all we ever need. I know this small note of thankfulness can never repay you for your kindness. I look forward to seeing you one day so that I can thank you in person.

Your loving servant,

Kris

I hope you have enjoyed these 30 Days of Thankfulness! I’m taking some time off from the blog to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year! God bless and Merry Christmas!