Trust Him!

Psalm 37:1-15 ¹ Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.² For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.³ Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.  ⁵Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. ⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.⁸ Stop being angry!
    Turn from your rage. Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. ⁹ For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. ¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear.
    Though you look for them, they will be gone. ¹¹ The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity. ¹² The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance.
¹³ But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. ¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right.
¹⁵ But their swords will stab their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. (NLT)


Wow!  What a great word! This word is so true!  One time in my career I got my focus off of God and onto a situation.  I was not being treated fairly and instead of trusting in God, to take care of me, and doing my job well I started trying to bring justice to the situation.  Let's just say that I could not bring justice to the situation and all I did was start to breed bitterness and discontent instead of joy.  Anyone who knows me well, know that I love to smile and laugh and that had disappeared.  Finally one day the Lord finally got through to me!  I had gone from being a kind and joyful person to being consumed by the person who was at the center of the whole situation and it wasn't pretty.


I was praying and talking to the Lord.  I realized that fear was the root of the whole situation and instead of trusting God to protect me and to be my defender, I took my gaze off of Him and placed it on circumstances.  I repented of everything to the Lord.  Instead of whining and saying, "It isn't fair!"  I took responsibility for my part in the mess.  I decided that I was going to trust God to take care of me no matter what others did.  I was going to go to work and do my job well and look for the gold nuggets in everyone and everything.  I was choosing to be grateful.  I went and apologized to the person who I felt was at the center of the whole ordeal.  He was shocked.  I told him that I was sorry for my part and for how I reacted instead of responding.  The great news is later he came to know Jesus and we are now friends!


A year after I changed my heart and attitude God totally changed my whole situation!  He created opportunities for me that would have normally been impossible!  He was able to bless me and elevate me in position at work! When I accepted my new job I called a retired employee and said, "Ken!  I am moving and I want you to come to my going away party!"  He asked me what my new job was and I told him and his response was, "How in the world did you go from being a range clerk to an Executive Assistant?"  My response was, "Ken, Jesus loves me!"  He laughed and said, "I know that!"


Today when I read Psalm 37 I was like yes!  Just a week ago someone in my family attacked me viciously on Facebook, unprovoked and instead of defending myself and reacting, I prayed and did some preventive measures.  I did not participate in her behavior.  This morning I read this chapter and I just smiled.  It was like, "YES! This is what you are doing for me right now, Jesus!" 


So I am a living testimony of God's goodness to his kids.  Just trust him to care for you and any situation.  Do what is right and be grateful! Focus on Jesus and stand on His promises.  His word never fails!  He can see everything that is happening and what will happen.  He has it all under control and He can do so much more than you ever can!  Just trust Him!


Trusting Jesus and walking in joy,


Shanin

Choosing God's View

²⁶ They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸ But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
³⁰ Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³² And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Numbers 13:26-33 NIV

Today I want to talk about how we view ourselves and our circumstances.  Twelve spies were sent to Canaan to spy out the land.  God had already given them the promise that they were going to take the land because He was going to give it to them.  Two of the twelve spies were Joshua and Caleb.  They brought back evidence of the wonderful crops that were there for the taking!  The fruit alone was huge!  A single cluster of grapes had to be carried on a pole between two men!

They came back in to give the report to Moses and Aaron.  Ten of the twelve told this woeful report of how big the people were, they were giants!  They were sure to spread their negative report to all of the Israelites, spreading fear everywhere.  Caleb silenced the crowd and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it!" However the terrifying tales of the ten were spreading and gained more "press" than the positive report of Joshua and Caleb.  The momentum of fear snow balled quickly and then I would like you to read verse with me 33  We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.

Two drastically different views.  One viewpoint was looking at themselves in their own strength and other viewpoint was looking at God's promises and how He saw the opposition.  Once the ten spies viewed themselves as small like grasshoppers and assumed that they looked the same to the enemy, they had already lost the battle.  They didn't lose the battle on the playing field, they had been conquered in their own minds.

Caleb and Joshua viewed themselves through God's eyes!  Joshua and Caleb knew that the battle belonged to the Lord.  They would conquer and take the promise land because they could do it in the Name of the Lord!

How often do we filter our circumstances through our own weaknesses and fears?  Shouldn't we focus on how amazing the promises of God are?  And whose authority are we walking in?  If we walk in our own strength we are definitely losers but if we walk in God's strength, direction and authority we will take the promise land! The battle is not ours but it is the Lord's! Don't take your eyes off of Jesus!  Because if you do you will start seeing the giants and then view yourself as small grasshoppers!  Focus on God and what He has promised!  Walk in the authority that he has given us!

Caleb silenced the people when he declared, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it!" So today we need to choose, are we going to listen to the fearful woes or tales and lose sight of our Victor (and think of ourselves as grasshoppers)?  Or are we going to stick to the promises God has given us and go and take the land?  We will certainly win with the Lord when we are obedient and follow his directions!

Choosing to filter my position through the Lord!

Shanin

Old School Social Media Bullying

8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

11 So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” 12 This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

13 The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

15 At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. Act 6:8-15 NLT

Stephen was described as a man full of God's grace and power!  That is quite the description. Let's take a section of this passage and talk about if it happened in today's world.

Stephen would be considered a motivational speaker and life coach in 2019! The reviews about him could read like this, "Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power.  A real miracle performer!" 

"Stephen's pod casts are so informative and inspirational!  You need to follow Stephen today!"
"Stephen is wise beyond his years. Under Stephen's coaching and mentoring, my life was transformed."

But then something Stephen said took a wrong turn.  He spoke against something politically incorrect and the local celebrities got angry!  One person went and watched him and took out their phone and recorded just part of something he said and hurried and posted it! Then another person took a quote out of context and wrote a story around it and posted it on his blog.  Others started tweeting about the travesty. Before long it made it to a post on Facebook and someone else created an incriminating picture that they photo shopped and then shared it with the original post.  Practically overnight the story went viral!  People heard how Stephen had treated the political figures and had spoken out against the local minorities. Oh this generated an outcry from all over the country!  Soon the local radio stations, talk shows, the AP wire and blogs all shared the story. Well meaning people would copy, paste and share it.  They didn't do their fact checks, they just believed the thread at face value and were outraged! Soon it even started to spread among the religious community, "Did you hear about what that Stephen was saying??? He is changing laws and ..."  False witnesses would come forward to testify against "something he had said or did before." Stephen, in today's world, would have been crucified on social media.  From hero to zero.

Stephen, the man full of God's grace and power, who performed amazing miracles and signs, was now arrested and being brought before the high council. In verse 15 it says that when they stared at Stephen his face became as bright as an angel.

The accusations didn't persuade Stephen to change his story.  He took advantage of the platform (being brought before the high court) and shared the history and testimony of God's greatness. Later in chapter seven (please read it!)  it says that what Stephen said infuriated the crowd and they placed their hands over their ears and rushed at him.  They drug him out of the city and stoned him to death with the approval of a young man named Saul. The whole time Stephen didn't recant or change his story under peer pressure.  He spoke the truth and did what was right.  He kept his focus on Jesus.

When I read this I thought to myself that today it really isn't much different.  Except we have the internet and social media to do the bullying (oh I know you would hate to use the word "bully" in this setting) but isn't that what a lot of people do on social media?  They can hide behind their laptop screen, in the privacy of their own home and click copy and paste (without even checking to see if a story is true) and hit publish! I see well meaning Christians spreading gossip and false accusations about other Christian ministries before fact checking simply because someone posted a partial truth or even an out and out lie but phrased it in a way that someone wanted "to share it to warn others." We might not literally kill someone but I have seen people ruined so quickly. 

Stephen was an integral man, full of God's grace.  He didn't cower or recant the truth.  He faced his accusers and still stood firm in his representation of Christ. I think that we will see more and more of this as time goes on.  Please fact check stories before sharing them.  Don't hurry and share because a friend said to share it.  Chances are that your friend didn't fact check the story either. 

Stephen kept his focus on Jesus even when he was facing death.  May I be so noble, to keep my focus locked on Jesus in any circumstance.  Did his faith in Jesus spare him death? No.  They stoned him.  Was it all in vain? No!  The young man who gave his approval to the stoning?  His name was Saul who would later become Paul the apostle.  You see Stephen's testimony planted a seed.  His firm conviction and passion in Christ must have puzzled Saul.  All of the witnesses said his face was that of an angel.  I am sure that picture echoed in Saul's mind when he slept.  It wouldn't be much longer after this time when Saul would have a pivotal moment happen in his life.  You never know what seeds your testimony is planting.  You might think no one is listening or even noticing.  You might think that your life story isn't making much of a difference or that is isn't turning out how you planned it to be, but do not be discouraged.  Stand firm with integrity, living for Christ and I will promise you that none of it is in vain.  God will weave it into his plan and glory.

Sharing in today's world,

Shanin

Transformation Isn't Magical, It's a Process

Luke 9:51-56 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵¹ Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, ^[a]just as Elijah did?”

⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, ^[b]and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. ^56 [c]For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

James and John were know as the "Sons of Thunder."  They were brothers and let's just say that they weren't always politically correct. If you were going into a fight you would want James and John on your side.  James and John were the rowdy boys!

James and John loved Jesus, so naturally they took great offense when the people of Samaria didn't want Jesus to minister to them.  They were highly offended and then asked the Lord if He wanted them to call fire down from heaven to destroy them all!  This makes me laugh.  I can just hear them, "Hey Jesus, those people are fools!  What do you mean they don't want you to come and minister to them?  Who do they think they are?  Do you want us to call fire down on them?  You just say the word Jesus and we will take care of them!" LOL  It just makes me laugh to think about the situation.

Jesus didn't encourage them but instead he chewed them out.  He told them, "You don't know what kind of spirit you belong to or you do not know what manner of spirit you are of." (NKJV)

James and John had made a decision to follow Jesus.  They had left the life that they knew to follow him, they loved him, but there were still some rough edges.  They didn't fully grasp the transformation that they were making!  They were in the process of changing.  it wasn't magic, they didn't change overnight, it was a process.  When they offered to call down fire and destroy the whole city, Jesus didn't kick them out, but he did correct them.  Jesus went on to tell them that He didn't come to destroy the souls of people but to save them.

How true.  Jesus didn't come to destroy people but to save them.  Perhaps we (me) should think about that before being so quick to take offense and react to people's actions.  We should filter everything we do or say through the "He came to save them not destroy them" filter.  Before we write some snarky response on Facebook or before we cut someone with our words, we need to take moment and think, "Will these words reflect God's mission of saving or do these words destroy?  Are we reflecting our Father's mission or vision?"  We shouldn't be so quick to take offense, we should be quick to remind ourselves that if we are a Christ follower then we should reflect His mission!  We need to be patient and loving to those who are just starting their journey.  We need not to say something that will hurt them and mess them up but we need to love them along the way.

I am really happy to report that James and John did do a transformation.  Their passion for Jesus was still strong but instead of being known for the Sons of Thunder, John was known as the beloved, a far cry from the terminator!  He grasped the mission of Jesus!  James did too!  He actually died as a martyr for Jesus.

Jesus, help me to remember your mission.  Help me to remember that I belong to Your Spirit so I should reflect that same Spirit.  Help me to continue in changing and growing to reflect You more and more each day.  Thanks God for Your Word and great example.

Shanin

The Choice is Yours

Motive, noun, 1. a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious.

Trust, noun, 1. the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty. He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him. ¹⁸ Whoever puts his trust in His Son is not guilty. Whoever does not put his trust in Him is guilty already. It is because he does not put his trust in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18 NLV

Have you ever had someone doubt your motives?  I have, and when they doubt you it hurts.  Today I was reading Chapter three in John and something stood out to me that I had never pondered before in verse 17, "For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty.  He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him."  Wow this stood out to me today!  How often do we doubt the motives of God?  I see the world doubting the motives of God everyday, everywhere.  Just take a look!   Who do we question first when times get hard?  When tragedy strikes what do you read on social media?  "How can a loving God do this?"  or "God, why did you do this to me?"   Now we have gone from doubting his motive to blaming him in that one simple question.  I cannot even imagine how much that hurts Jesus.  It literally is spitting on his sacrifice.  He gave his life for us out of the motive of love.  Not only did he give his life, but he was tortured before being executed.  You see, it wasn't the big spikes that held Jesus to the cross, it was his love for us that held him to the cross.  He was providing salvation for us, a way of escape from our sins, from our death sentence.  Before he was arrested he was praying and asking God if there was any other way because what he was about to do wasn't going to be easy.  He had to think about his mother, Mary.  The hurt she would experience when having to watch her son be beaten, his skin torn to shreds only to be nailed to the cross and watching them mock him only to see him take his final breath.  It makes me cry just to think of what hell she went through that day and the following three days.  Jesus did all of that for the world just so that we would have the choice to choose life.  We have been given the gift of free will to choose to accept or reject Christ!  Yet how many of us choose to doubt his motives?   The choice is ours to choose to trust him or choose to not believe, to doubt him.  But let me reassure you that his motive, to face abuse and torture to only die, is love.  He loves you so very much.  He wants you to choose to believe, to trust him, and his motive of love.

Trusting and Choosing Him,

Shanin

Live Life Firsthand

Paul’s First Missionary Journey

⁴ So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. ⁵ There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

⁶ Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
⁹ Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. ¹⁰ Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. Acts 13:4-12 NLT


Okay this was Paul's first missionary journey.  I love it because this is where it is first mentioned that Saul, was sometimes known as Paul.  If you start reading in verse nine you get to see Paul truly minister what he knew!  Before Saul served God he was traveling on the road to Damascus to torture and kill the Christians. The word says that a bright light blinded Saul and that is how God got his attention, it was a pivotal moment for him.  It was when he was blinded for three days that he was desperate and prayed to God for help.  If you want to read the story it can be found in Acts 9.  So fast forward to Acts 13 and now Paul is on his first missionary trip to tell others about Christ.  So how did Paul minister? Paul shared what he knew that worked for him! He basically prayed or used the authority of the Lord. to make this man BLIND! 


Let's shift gears for a moment. Let's say that I am struggling with my weight and someone really heavy tries to sell me this amazing weight loss program but they are still heavy, why would I want to invest in that program?  However if someone who used to be heavy, and lost weight with this amazing program then shares with me her before and after pictures, wouldn't I be more inclined to invest in the program for myself?  Same thing with our walk with Jesus.  We need to experience it for ourselves and then share what we have learned!

Paul ministered what he knew and what he had been through.  Isn't this how we should minister? When we spend time with God, in word and prayer, He teaches us in how we can apply his word to our lives.  It is what we have learned through those experiences that we can share with others because we have lived it out for ourselves! When we spend more time reading books and listening to sermons about other's experiences (not that it isn't good to read books or listen to other pastors) than we do reading the word, we are regurgitating someone else's stories.  When I read stories on Facebook about "someone's neighbor's cousin" how do I know if it is true? When all we have to share is other people's testimonies it does not have the same effect, because we haven't experienced it for ourselves firsthand.  When we spend time with the Lord we are developing our own relationship with him. When we live out our own encounters with God first,  then we can effectively share what we have learned with others!


Praying that you live life first hand!


Shanin

Decision Time

“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? ¹⁵ I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸ But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:14-18 NLT

This is a great story about three young men taken captive from their Country.  Not only were they kidnapped but their captor changed their names from Hebrew names to Babylonian names.  Hannaniah, which means, “My God is gracious”, was changed to Shadrach (which is believed to be a reference to a pagan god, Marduk).  Mishael’s name meant “Who is what God is?” was changed to Meshack (another reference to Marduk). Azariah (Yahweh has helped) was changed to Abednego which meant servant of Nebo.  The young men were immersed in the Babylonian culture and language.  This was all part of the plan of assimilating them into becoming Babylonians.

The three young men were placed in a position of where they were ordered to bow down and worship this statue.  When they refused to bow down they were given a choice, worship the statue or you will be put to death by being thrown into a furnace of fire. Now although these young men had learned the language, culture and name change, they still loved God. 

Let’s reflect on this situation for a moment.  How many of you let your circumstances determine your current relationship with God?  These three young men were kidnapped, had their names changed, immersed into a foreign culture and now were being forced to either bow down before a statue or die.  Not once does it say that they abandoned their faith.  It certainly would have been easier to bow down when commanded.  After all, there was a bit of peer pressure being put into play. I have heard so many people say, “Well when I prayed and asked God to do this and it didn’t happen, I decided to no longer believe in him, or I got so angry with him.”  Let’s pick back up in the story verse 16.

Their response was to stay faithful to God and not bow down or cave in to the pressure.  They made a decision that they were going to remain faithful to God no matter what happened.  They answered the King, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸ But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  I love verse 18, but even if he doesn’t…  They had made a decision to serve God no matter the circumstance and it showed.  They had made a decision to serve God no matter the outcome, even when faced with death.  Wow, that is so impressive. 

Did you know that when it was all said and done, the three young men were thrown in the fire?  They were bound by ropes and thrown in to be burned alive.  When the King looked in to watch them burn, he didn’t see three men, he saw four men.  He said that the fourth man looked like a god.  He had them brought out of the fire and not even their hair was singed or was one thread of their garment burned, shoot, they didn’t even smell like smoke! What a testimony of God’s greatness!  Even if they would have died, it would still have been a testimony of serving the Lord God Almighty.

I want to reflect a little further on the story for a moment.  What would you do if you were placed in a situation like this?  Would you stand by your decision to serve God no matter the circumstance or outcome?  Think back across your life, when tough times have happened did you press into God, or when things didn’t go as planned did you just jump ship?  If you have gotten mad at God, it’s okay, He won’t abandon you, He loves you.  He simply desires to have a relationship with you.  It’s not too late to make a decision.  When you are weak, He is strong.  Cry out to him to give you strength.  Sometimes he delivers you from those tough situations and other times he walks with you.  He will walk with you through the fire or floods.  Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Bottom line, you are loved.  He desires to walk with you through good times and bad!  Make a decision today!  Choose Jesus.

The Devil is a Liar

^8-11 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. I Peter 5:8-11 Msg                                            (the Message is a paraphrase)

I remember writing a devotion years ago about the devil is like a lion roaring, seeking whom he may devour.   Did you know that the purpose of a lion’s roar is to transfix and actually paralyze its prey?  Well, that is what the enemy would like to do to you.  Paralyze you in fear, so much, so that it consumes you, instead of picking up your sword of faith and going forward into battle.  He likes to distract us from prayer, from ministry, and from focusing on Jesus.  The enemy would love to do nothing more than kill, rob and destroy you.  If he can simply conquer you by making you afraid (paralyzing you in fear) then he has nothing to worry about.

The second thing that I noticed is that most usually, the Lion represents Christ, however the enemy loves to counterfeit the King.  He has counterfeited so many things of the Lord, twisting them about until they are so distorted and nothing like the original, our Abba Father.  The Word of God says that he comes as an angel of light (total counterfeit).  It says in 2 Cor. 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 

This morning I was reading from Reality Exercises to Develop the Inner Man, by Janice Seney.  I found it funny that just as God reminded me about my devotional that I had done before, that this would be one of the first things that I read in her booklet.  I would like to quote her prayer.

“Knowing that my enemy roams about like a lion seeking someone who will allow him to devour them, I bring myself under the mighty hand of God, casting all my care over on Him.  I am calm and watchful.  As the enemy approaches I stand firm and resist him because I understand he uses the same methods on us all.  As I stand firm in faith, under pressure, then my God will make me mature, establish me, strengthen me and settle me.”

If the enemy has been roaring in your life, know that he is looking for an opportunity to scare and distract you.  Keep your focus on Jesus and keep praying.  God’s Word will prevail and it never fails. I hope that this speaks to someone today.  God is faithful and bigger than any circumstance.

Living Life in Full Color

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ² As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

⁴ Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!”⁵ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. ⁶ But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,^[a] get up and^[b] walk!” Acts 3:1-6

I love this passage of scripture.  I have read and written about it many times but today I saw it a little differently.  Yes the physical healing is still the miracle of the story but something different stood out different to me today. In verse 6 Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have.”

Today we see people begging for money every day.  Money may help their problem for the short term but what if we were to give them what we have that would last forever?  What if every time someone asked us for something, that we gave them all what we have, Jesus.  Jesus is the ultimate solution.  We have been given this amazing gift of salvation and relationship with Jesus.  Shouldn’t we share Jesus? 

I see people who are so excited about their make-up or the latest weight loss supplement and they can’t seem to talk about anything else and they want to share this love of theirs with the world.  I see people who cannot seem to focus on anything except for politics and they literally cannot talk about anything else without relating it to the latest political temperature.  If we have Jesus, shouldn’t we desire to share him with as much passion as a political meme, a patch, or a tube of mascara? If we were to stop and truly examine the troubles of this world, we would see the need of Jesus, our Savior, the Redeemer, Restorer, Healer, Provider, and our only Hope.

If you don’t have hope or know Jesus, can I share Him with you?  He really is real and He loves you so very much.  A relationship with Him doesn’t cost money; He has already paid your lifetime membership. Don’t you get tired of carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders?  Let Him carry your burdens for you.

If you are a Christian already, may I challenge you to reconsider your focus, your Band-Aid approach to today’s epidemic?  You should filter everything through Christ.  Listen to what you “preach” into the world by your words or actions.  Do you season your words with grace and love?  Listen (or read) to what you say, can you take the “red face” test and pass?  Who are you representing with your passion? Are you being a good representative of Jesus or are you leaving a bitter taste in people’s mouths?  Maybe it is time for a refresher or realignment in life! It is never too late.  You will find that when you change your focus to Jesus, everything in life is a little sweeter.  It is like going from a black and white film to a Technicolor production! 

Living every moment of my life in living color!

Shanin

Rewriting Your Story

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:² Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,⁶ and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, ⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, ⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, ⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. ¹² After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, ¹⁵ Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Matthew 1:1-16 NIV

This is the story about redemption. God is the God of second chances. Normally I would just skim or hurry past my readings in the bible where it lists genealogy. Today when I was reading I took my time and even though I know that God is the Redeemer, this time it hit a little closer to my heart.

Tamar, out of desperation, became pregnant by posing as a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law, in order to conceive, to continue the family line. Rahab was the harlot in Jericho who hid the two spies from Joshua’s camp. Then there was Ruth, another “outsider” who honored her mother-in-law, by following her back to her home country after both of their husbands’ death. She stayed close to Naomi instead and worked to provide for her. Solomon’s mom, Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, had slept with King David while married to Uriah. After Uriah was killed in battle, she married King David but there was already a history of a child conceived out of the affair and then lost to a miscarriage. Then last but not least, Mary, the young girl, who was betrothed to marry Joseph, who was still a virgin yet became pregnant with Jesus, the son of God.  Joseph stepped up when he could have discarded her, after all if your fiancé got pregnant and you hadn’t slept with her that would be a deal breaker! Yet he obeyed God (and he loved Mary), and became the step-dad to Jesus. What do these women all have in common?

They were all “outsiders or outcasts” and yet they are all listed in the genealogy of Jesus, son of God. Some of these women would be labeled as damaged goods or throw always, even today, they would be whispered about or plastered on Facebook, because of a few bad decisions or even perhaps just because of a bad family situation. Did they have a history? Absolutely. Did that part of their history just go away? No, but instead their stories of tragedy were turned into stories of redemption and grace.

You see, God wants us to know that there is no one excluded in His offer of salvation and grace. He didn’t just accept these women as a package deal, in dying for everyone on the cross, but He gave them a place of honor. Jesus wants to do the same thing for you. Do you have a history? Everyone has a history. Have you ever made a bad decision? Everyone has made a bad decision at some time in their life. Perhaps you are a victim of circumstance like Tamar or Bathsheba, it doesn’t matter who your family is or what they have done that won’t discount you in God’s eyes.

I have great news for you! Jesus’s offer of salvation, mercy and grace is available for anyone and everyone! Jesus is the Restorer! He can take prostitutes, harlots, the lost, broken and anyone who has made a bad decision or decisions and make their story a story of redemption. The first step is telling him your story, your mess-ups and saying you are sorry, making Him, Lord of your life. Then your story of Redemption has begun! One day you can tell others of your history and how Jesus took a tragedy and turned it into an amazing story of restoration and your story will give them hope for their situation and future.

I'm thankful that my story was rewritten and I now have a happy ending because of Jesus.

Shanin

Vision Check

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” ⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. Mark 3:1-6 NIV

Clearly Jesus had been performing miracles on a regular basis because the Pharisees were stalking Jesus so that they could “catch him in the act” of healing someone on the Sabbath. Jesus knew that He was being watched. It says in verse 5 that Jesus looked around at them in anger and distressed at their stubborn hearts. He then healed the man with a shriveled hand, on the Sabbath, in front of everyone including the very people who were looking for a reason to destroy Jesus.

I have read and reread this passage. It makes me so very sad because the Pharisees were so intent on “catching Jesus” breaking the rules that they missed the whole event! They were blinded to the fact that He was there to heal and save! He even tried to reveal it to them when He asked in verse 4, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” He was there healing someone on the Sabbath while they were there plotting, on the Sabbath, out an evil plan to kill Jesus. They were blind! They were so obsessed with trying to find fault in Jesus that they missed witnessing another miracle of Jesus! He healed someone right before their very eyes and all they could see him doing was “violating the Sabbath” when in all reality they were doing the very thing they were accusing him of doing.

Recently, I think of all of the times I hear people quote “judge not lest you be judged!” when in all reality they are guilty of doing the very thing that they are accusing others of doing, just like that day when Jesus was there to heal the man with the shriveled hand in the synagogue. I think how sad it must make Jesus when people are missing the whole point of Him coming to heal and save everyone.

Today, it seems as though people, are so busy looking for offensive behaviors that they become blinded to the million examples of kindness and love that surround them each day. Sometimes we need to do a vision check! You don’t want to become so focused or jaded on one thing that you become blinded to so many other wonderful things! When you become driven by one event in your life then not only are you cheating yourself of many blessings but you are cheating others of the blessings that you can to be to them.

So today I challenge you to do a vision check! Are you focusing on one small field of vision or are you looking beyond the small picture in your immediate world? You see, Jesus came to heal, save and reach the lost and wounded. He didn’t come for just the pretty, the rich or royal people. He came for the very Pharisees, who were watching Him just so they could catch Him healing a man on the Sabbath. Jesus died for everyone. His desire is not that one person would perish but that everyone would choose everlasting life through Him.

I want to love how Jesus loves. He loves everyone, unconditionally, beyond their flaws or shortcomings.

Shanin

Balanced

Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Zech. 7:9 NIV

This scripture stood out to me today when I was doing my reading. If we administer true justice with mercy and compassion then it is balanced.

It becomes unbalanced when we do one without the other. For example if you are a mercy driven person but you enable someone by just being merciful all of the time, and not wanting to “be mean and tell them the truth” in fear of alienating them, then it is totally unbalanced and you are not really helping the person. If you bring justice without truth, mercy or compassion then aren’t you just issuing a punishment and not a correction? It is when you bring about “true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another” that it truly helps one another. When you bring about the whole package in love then it truly helps someone and then the responsibility of what they do with it lies at their feet.

Think about it. Are you being a balanced friend in life? God calls us to be balanced.

Shanin

Connected

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. ⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Luke 8:40-56

I love this passage. Perhaps it is because it happened near Capernaum and I loved that part of Israel, but I don’t think so because I loved this passage before traveling to Israel. I have always read this passage as two separate stories but really it is one story because today when I read it, the first part had to impact the second part. Let me explain. Jairus had already collapsed at Jesus’s feet begging him to come to his house because his daughter was dying. Jairus was desperate. It makes me cry when I think of how he would have felt, his baby girl was dying and this was his only hope of saving her. There were so many people. They probably all wanted something from Jesus! But the desperation of a Daddy of a dying girl…then someone touched Jesus.

It is very clear that there were many pressing in on Jesus but yet He knew that someone touched him? Another desperate person, a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, touched the edge of his cloak. He knew that someone touched him because he felt the power go out from him. Then the woman came forward, once knowing that He knew that she touched him, and told him (in front of everybody) that she was instantly healed! He responded in love and told her that her faith had made her healed and to go in peace (without guilt.)

Today I realized that this was not two separate storied but one! Jairus had witnessed this whole event! He was there and witnessed the miracle and the compassionate response of Jesus. And while Jairus was taking this all in, the bad report came of his daughter dying and the messenger telling him not to bother Jesus. Jesus heard this! Jesus, once again, responded with compassion, “Don’t be afraid; just believe and she will be healed. “

What Jairus just witnessed had to boost his faith a bit, after all, if Jesus had healed another woman who was in a dire situation why couldn’t He heal his only daughter?  He heard her say that she had been bleeding for 12 years! And all she did was touch his garment? Jesus told him to don’t be afraid, believe and she was going to be healed! Out of desperation and he had nothing to left to lose. Jesus was kind and loving to this woman (who was unclean in the Jewish culture) and healed her and then He told him that to believe…don’t be afraid and believe (Jairus’spart) and then Jesus would do his part (heal her.)

Jesus went to Jairus’s home. He only let Peter, James and John go into the room with him. He put out all of the mourners. Jesus told them to stop wailing. The people who were wailing laughed at Jesus in disbelief. (BTW Jairus lived very close to Peter’s house so I am pretty sure that Peter knew Jairus and that means that Jairus probably knew Jesus. Jesus had been to Peter’s home, after all.) Jesus healed the little girl and then told them to feed her.

While I have always loved these accounts of healing separately today I connected them together. When you are desperate, it is okay for others to know you are hurting as long as you reach for Jesus in faith knowing that He is the source that can answer your need. Don’t flail about and be all drama, reach for Jesus, even if all that is in your reach is just the hem of his garment. Reach for Him! He will respond to you with love and compassion when you are seeking him as the answer to your need.

Don’t think that he is so busy with other desperate situations that he can’t take time for you! He is BIG! He is big enough to handle every situation even in the midst of a sea people, He knows when you are reaching for him. You might not even have eye contact with him, but he knows when you are grasping at the hem of his garment!

If you are Jairus’s situation, and you find out that something precious to you is dead and you are told not to bother him with a hopeless situation, don’t be afraid and have faith! He will respond to you with love and compassion! You are not a bother! He will take time for you. Now he might have you “put out some mourners and wailers” that are surrounding the situation! But he will go right in to where your problem is and heal it!

Even after the little girl was healed, he had them feed her! There are times when Jesus heals an area of your life but you have a responsibility to continue practical and healthy practices, like feeding the little girl. But he will direct you! Isn’t God good? He is so big that he can meet your need and cover all of the bases!

So today I am reminded that even though not everything seems connected that Jesus can use your situation to help others. You might feel that your situation is so unrelated to anyone else’s situation but God can use your need and miracle to help someone else and you might not even be aware of it! He is that big!

So continue to reach for Jesus! No matter how desperate you feel that your situation is remember this: Your part is to reach for Jesus, don’t be afraid and believe and He will be faithful to respond to you with love and compassion.

Reaching for Him,

Shanin