Of Grace and Peace

27 Nov

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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:2)

Paul’s letters begin with these words: grace and peace. Each time they are accompanied by, ” from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” In his letters to Timothy, Paul also adds mercy.

Jesus mercifully came to pour out His grace so that the Holy Spirit might forever reign in believers hearts giving them peace.

That I would carry a greeting of grace and peace to my brothers and sisters in word, heart, and spirit. That takes the infiltrating mercy I receive from God to turn and pour out mercy upon mercy. Giving mercy just as I have been freely given mercy.

How often is my soul in a state of unrest? Worry, sin, and striving can lead to this state, but abiding in Christ Jesus and growing in love and knowledge of Him ushers forth His grace and peace in my spirit and yours.

When the angels told of the birth of Christ, they ushered in their tidings with,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. ” Luke 2:14 (emphasis mine)

In the form of a warm and fleshy baby boy, peace and joy were birthed to earth so that striving and death could be ceased.

I long to behold the baby boy of Bethlehem whose birth we celebrate over two thousand years later. To be one of the lowly shepherds to coddle, kiss, and worship his tiny fingers and toes. To bask in the earthen glow of a heavenly Savior is to know Love.

Our King.

I must recognize my thirst for my Savior and His Word beckoning to me, “Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The shepherds momentarily laid down their duties to partake of His grace and joy. I should do the same.

How did the lowly shepherds spend the rest of their earthly days?

What joy did they take forth into their mundane tasks?

Was that moment in a stable enough to sustain them till heaven or did they ask God for more? How many of them lived the thirty-three years more to receive the eternal anointing of the Holy Spirit?

Indeed the baby boy of heaven changed everything.

This Thanksgiving which ushers in the Christmas season, might we remember to receive His grace and peace in all things as we worship the new-born King of Kings turn Risen Savior? Might we pause from tasks, turn from distractions, and then bow our heads in meditation and wonder at the gift of Christ our Savior?

Grace and peace to you in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ this Christmas season and every one thereafter.

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The Meaning Behind the Tree

19 Nov

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There is a little gang of people who always make me smile.  They are forever children, but they have adult-like characteristics and vocabularies that are laughable.  Can you guess who they are?

If you guessed the Peanuts Gang you are right!

I just love that Charlie Brown and all of the characters that surround him!  In one Christmas episode, Charlie is in charge of selecting a Christmas tree and he comes back with the most pathetic, little twig of a tree you have ever seen.  This angers the kids and shames little Charlie Brown.  He turns to Linus and says, “I guess you were right. I shouldn’t have picked this little tree. I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is about.  Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

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In the past I felt like a mix between Charlie Brown and his friend Linus at Christmas. I knew what Christmas is meant to be about, but in the midst of “the most wonderful time of the year” I caught myself falling prey to the commercialization of Christmas in many ways. I longed for the perfect family-get-together where we read the Christmas story, thanked God for his blessings, handed out thoughtful gifts like Ma and Pa Ingalls in the “Little House on the Prairie” books, and sang Christmas carols together around the fire.

I felt at war between a Christ-centered Christmas and a commercialized “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” Christmas.

Well, it is that time again. So, as Christmas tree pictures are beginning to infiltrate Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook… here it goes Charlie Brown, this is what Christmas is all about. Here is my take on the meaning behind the Christmas tree and all that surrounds it.

Christmas is about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Born of a virgin and lain in a manger, Jesus came to reestablish the way back home to unhindered communion with our Father.

Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)

Jesus came to bring life. (John 10:10)

The wonder of Christmas is that Christ came.  He gave up the riches of heaven to embrace a fallen world and let us know of God’s great love for us and His God-glorifying plan of redemption and restoration.

Because the Savior born Son bore our sins on a wooden cross then rose to new life again, we are free to remember his birth with lush trees ablaze in splendor and light.

May our Christmas tree this year be more than mere decoration; let it serve as a glorious reminder that Jesus defeated death and sin and offers new life through the laying down of His own.

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Here By Design

15 Nov

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 Create…design…

These are terms that most all people would throw about when talking of crafts, woodworking, interior decorating, or art. However, insert the terms created and designed into a conversation about the earth and its beginning, and we will immediately bring a battle of worldviews into the discussion.

Your worldview is the lens through which you view life. Your worldview is your paradigm, your philosophy, pertaining to the reason we are alive, how the human race was born, and the origin of time, space, and matter. Additionally, your worldview affects all decisions that you make and the value you place upon human life.

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People operating from a Christian worldview look at all of creation as a work of God Almighty as outlined in the Genesis account. First, we view man superior to the animals because he was created in the image of God. Next that man is now fallen, a sinner, as a result of his initial disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Finally, we preach the redemption of sinful man through Jesus Christ alone by the forgiveness of sins. Our sins are forgiven through the spilled blood of God’s sinless son, Jesus, on the cross of Calvary over 2000 years ago.

Creation, Fall, Redemption, the divine narrative of the Author of Life.

Let’s take a look at the predominant counter worldview I would propose is pursuing the minds and souls of people today, that of naturalism, or an evolutionary worldview.

An evolutionary worldview holds that man evolved over millions of years from a series of natural processes under the chance of macroevolution. This suggests a large scale change in kind with the change being progressive. Catie Frates, a biblical scientific creationist teacher refers to evolution as “the ultimate frog to prince fairy tale.”

Evolutionists preach macroevolution although it cannot be tested nor proved by the scientific method. It is neither repeatable nor observable. In fact, ask any evolutionist to point to a change in kind from one species to another and they will not be able to give you even one example on the level of macroevolution. Sure, they can provide various examples of microevolution; what we could call adaptations to environmental change, but no change in kind. Moreover, they cannot determine the origins of the first proposed amino acids that would have kicked off a form of living organism on earth in the first place.

Further disheartening to evolutionists is the fossil record supports only fully formed fully functional species with no transitional fossils. They don’t have a leg to stand on… pun intended.

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Dr. Henery Morris of Institute for Creation Research puts it this way:

Since there is no real scientific evidence that evolution is occurring at present or ever occurred in the past, it is reasonable to conclude that evolution is not a fact of science, as many claim. In fact, it is not even science at all, but an arbitrary system built upon faith in universal naturalism. (Henry M. Morris, 2013)

Dr. Morris continues to explain:

The fact is that evolutionists believe in evolution because they want to. It is their desire at all costs to explain the origin of everything without a Creator. Evolutionism is thus intrinsically an atheistic religion.

Did you catch that? Evolution is a religion…not a science but a religion.

Some may prefer to call it humanism, and “new age” evolutionists place it in the context of some form of pantheism, but they all amount to the same thing. Whether atheism or humanism (or even pantheism), the purpose is to eliminate a personal God from any active role in the origin of the universe and all its components, including man. (Henry M. Morris, 2013)

It is imperative for each of us to understand that evolutionists and creationists are faced with the same scientific data. The difference lies in our interpretation of the data and the causation of the earth that we see around us today.

Evolutionists need millions and billions of years, plus a good deal of imagination, to explain merely the topography of the earth today. Creationists explain the same data as a result of a catastrophic world-wide flood as the Genesis account teaches.

Study the Word, the world around you, and the scientific evidence to date, and decide for yourself. You might be surprised to find, we are here by design.

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To Lay Down a Life

11 Nov

He picks up the fallen, sawed logs and lies them in a path for others to follow.

Raking dead and fallen leaves to clear a path for tiny feet and wrinkled hands.

Pushing the dead things aside, giving of his time and energy. Eagerly working at his task that will provide direction through the woods on a dirt path to grandma’s house.

 

 I see him working gladly and give thanks for his work.  Thinking all the while that in laying down our lives, the dead things, and picking up our cross, new life, we are laying paths for fellow man.

24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25

Weeks approaching Thanksgiving may meditation be on this:

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! 2Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!3Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him;bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100

In everyday tasks, to serve the LORD with gladness. To do this. To do this, is to lay down my life and walk in the newness of Christ’s.

Give thanks, lay down our wills, take up our crosses and lay a path for fellow-man to follow.

May praises and thanks be on our lips and gladness be in our heart.

*a repost

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Going Home

5 Nov

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Our foster son entered our hearts and joined our family 13 months ago. This week he is likely going home. It is time, and we are thankful for the stretch of life we experienced together. Please keep us in your prayers and Little E most of all. With all the going home preparations and loose ends we are attending to, I will not be posting this week.

Thank you for your prayer support during our first foster experience!

I hope that your journey takes you nearer to the heart of God and learning of  His heart for you. See you back here next week.

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How I Talk to Our Children About Evolution

1 Nov

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“Hey mom!” My children greeted my return after a few hours out. “We’re watching Dinosaur Train.” Let it be noted, we do not regularly watch Dinosaur Train. Having never seen the program before, I was skeptical about the science taught in the cartoon. I hypothesized the worldview of the producers of the show would be naturalistic and teach that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.

As I greeted the babysitter and asked how the children behaved themselves, I heard the cartoon explain, “This dinosaur lived during the Mesozoic Period.” Ding, ding, ding, my guess was correct; this show was teaching evolution, likely from a naturalistic standpoint. At the very least this was communicating a worldview and philosophy in direct conflict with the Christian Theistic worldview I aim to instill and live out before my kids. With the same scientific data, creationist and evolutionist arrive at two different conclusions. It is my job as their mother to draw these differences to their attention.

Join me over atCrosswalk today to read the rest of this post. (Click here.)

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Purity and Social Media… Not Mutually Exclusive

30 Oct

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My husband and I were hanging out in the living room, he watching sports on TV as I scanned my iPhone Instagram App. Wading through pictures of friend’s children and the latest meme, I was jolted by the next photo that flashed on my screen. A former student from our ministry days was posed in her bathing suit bottoms, showing off her hard earned assets… I think you get the picture.

I stammered over my thoughts as I turned to my husband, Ron, and said, “It is really disheartening when I see former students who profess faith in Christ showing off their bodies and bad decisions on social media.” Without showing him the picture, I described the image. Without responding, Ron continued to fiddle with his iPad and watch the game. No reply from him led me to assume he has heard my modesty rant mortification spiel one too many times. However, imagine my surprise when Ron’s Facebook status popped up on my feed, seconds later.

“I am going to go out on a limb here and ask you girls who are working out like fiends and look great to protect us guys who are trying to be faithful to our spouses. Please save those photos for your husband either now or one day. #thinkbeforeyoupost Thanks!”

Read the rest over at iBelieve. (Click here.)

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Trading Our Hearts of Stone

29 Oct

Trading Our Hearts of Stone

As is often my custom, I like to escape from mommy and house duties a few times  a month and spend time writing in a coffee shop. A couple of years ago on one such outing, I had the opportunity detailed below.

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT)

As I entered Panera, a couple came in behind me.  I noticed them immediately in the parking lot. The bald head, slow gait, and walker for a woman in her 30’s grabbed my eye first. Then her husband helping her and waiting on her patiently subsequently grabbed my attention.

I hurried in ahead and ordered already beginning to be disturbed by this frail woman whose diagnosis quickened one’s thoughts to the eternal.  The Holy Spirit began impressing upon my heart to go and talk to her and ask her name so that I could pray for her.  Also, He urged in my spirit that  I should share the gospel with them if they did not immediately decline my intrusion upon their lunch.  I squeamishly asked God to have them sit beside me as if I was the one having to labor to walk!  He did not do that, but instead put them within sight.  I prayed for my opportunity, ate my lunch, read some commentary, then gathered my writing supplies to travel the 5 yards over to their table.

After short introductions, I asked Nicole if I could pray that she would be healed from her cancer followed by asking her and her husband their thoughts on God and heaven.  They responded that they had just been talking about God. However, Wade said they weren’t religious at all so I proceeded to lay out the gospel.  In the course of our 15-minute conversation, Wade went from saying, “We are all god,” to saying, “What god would make only one way to him?” to, “It is my right to approach God without an intermediary let alone Jesus.”

Wow.  Wade had an obvious beef with Christianity because it proclaims that there is only one way to God and therefore heaven.

Both Nicole and Wade, much like the majority in our day, had a problem with absolute truth.  To say that Christianity is the only way is to say that one way is right and others are wrong. That was a stumbling block for both of them. I will spare you all the details of our conversation, but sadly, Nicole and Wade left saying they would pray that my eyes would be opened to the fact that Jesus isn’t the only way to God and for an open mind for me to embrace other faiths.  Undoubtedly, this was not how I had hoped it would go, but I was minimally contented in my obedience to Christ and prayerful that He would use my meager obedience to one day bring these lost sheep to Christ Jesus’ saving grace.

Don’t you wish that every lost and dying soul would appear to our spiritual eyes as a frail chemotherapy patient?  Wouldn’t that make the sense of urgency in sharing more real for us on an unavoidable level?  It would be hard to escape the emaciated bodies on TV, billboards, and restaurants across our land. Sporting events would look much different if the players were barely able to stand much less slam dunk, fast pitch, and tackle.

“Prophecy,” says the Lord in Ezekiel 37:4. In other words, preach. Tell God’s story.  How hard is that?

I was almost in tears before I even approached Nicole and Wade. I was praying and hoping that I would be able to hold it together to preach to them.  It didn’t take long for my emotions to subside once I was confronted with the hardened hearts of two very lost people. Neither this woman, nor her husband can save Nicole, yet she and her husband refuse to believe in Jehovah-Rapha.  Rather, they deny His provision and salvation.  These were dry bones indeed; very dry. Only God can breathe The Life into these two lost souls.

In Ezekiel chapter 47, Ezekiel is prophesying to wayward, exiled Jerusalem:

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the LORD has spoken! (Ezekiel 37:14, NLT)

God longs for His glory to be revealed, to be reveled in, and to be made a big deal of.  Many times in the Old Testament God says, “Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.” It is for God’s glory and His renown that He saves us spiritually, physically, and undeservedly again and again. 

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:20-21, NLT)

God wants the glory.  I hope God breathes His Holy Spirit upon Nicole and Wade. It will indeed take a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to give these people a heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone.

I will be listening and waiting expectantly to hear the rattling of bones, and then see the bones coming together with tendons and flesh and skin.  Until that moment, I will keep prophesying and praying and asking God to sanctify and refine me, a wretched sinner turned saint.

So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” ( Zechariah 4:6, ESV)

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When Plans Fall Through

25 Oct

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We have been told reunification was coming for over 6 months now. Little E has had four days of over night visits for the last 7 weeks. It was all set. We would stand before the judge in just a week and a half and wait for him to declare reunification of our foster son of over 1 year with one of his biological parents.

I have mentally made a list of all that I should pack and send “home” with him. How do you pack up a two year old who loves you as a mom and dad, and whom you love as a son, in any way that he will understand you are not another person to walk out of his life? That is a question I have mulled over for 4-6 months.

All the planning, all the crying, all the disciplining and decision making was to culminate and we were to find a new normal in a few short weeks.

That all changed with a phone call yesterday.

In short, one parent’s bad choices caught up with them and thank goodness before reunification had taken place. As these plans fall through we can shake our head at this adult’s repeated poor decision making, or we can say “thank God He revealed this before E was reunified.”

My mom told me earlier this week that her Sunday school class had a special time of prayer for us. Thanks be to God! The prayers of the saints are being heard and God’s will is going forward. We have seen the protective hand of God upon this child even and especially a midst all the pain that life has dealt him.

When plans fall through, when expectations stop short, when what we had anticipated dies, God is there with every twist and bend. He is there in every valley and mountain peak.

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

When plans fall through His arm is outstretched so that we do not fall but have hope,  joy, and peace that passes understanding though they may ebb and flow as the ocean tide.

What plans have fallen through for you today dear one? Have you entrusted your requests to God? Have you enlisted the prayer support of even one or two other individuals? God is not silent when your plans fall through. He uses the Body and His Word to speak love over your situation and grace in the presence of pain.

Take heart this weekend friends.

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When Cancelled Plans Lead to a Better Path

21 Oct

Jason Mooney Falls

Often plans don’t go according to our schedule. Disappointments, delays, and roadblocks often test our ability to give thanks in all circumstances. A detour can threaten our peace of mind and unsettle our spirits. No doubt anyone who has lived a very short time can identify with disappointment…even kindergartners cry, “that’s not fair!”

Occasionally overturned plans lead to better paths.

Jason and Heather Horseshoe Bend

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So was the case with our trip to Arizona with Going the Distance Adventure Ministries (GTD). Leader and ministry founder, Doug Garner, joked he feared the government shutdown would lead to a Grand Canyonless trip to Arizona. However, due to Doug’s tenacity, tireless efforts, and the Lord’s blessing, we were able to experience abundantly more than Plan A had allowed for.

Initially, our itinerary included the choice of a  day hike to Plateau Point or a ride to the North Rim to conquer the 26 mile Rim to Rim hike in one day. Many of us had trained for months for this chance of a lifetime hike from Rim to Rim. We also planned hours of rest and relaxation in Williams, Flagstaff, and Sedona, Arizona. Conversely, with the government shutdown here is what we were able to experience as Doug’s Plan B:

  • Hiking (22 miles) and Camping in the Supai Indian portion of the Grand Canyon with the breathtaking views of Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls (which towers 26 feet above Niagara).

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Ron Havasu Falls

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Mooney Falls

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  • Horseshoe Bend

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Brooke at Horseshoe Bend

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Ron and Brooke Horseshoe

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  • Antelope Canyon

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  • Flagstaff and Williams, Arizona

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  • Bell Rock in Sedona, Arizona

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Interspersed between all of these beautiful sights was apologetic teachings on the world wide flood and the subsequent formation of one of the world’s natural wonders, the Grand Canyon by Dr. Aaron Walp. After two years listening to Dr. Walp’s teachings and a year of bits and pieces reading on my own, I can confidently say that the rocks are crying out to the glory of God. It is the glory of man to study and understand the story the rocks are telling.

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them. (Proverbs 25:2, NLT)

As we have settled back into our “normal routines” I have pondered the lessons learned on our adventure. There are many to share, and many more pictures to help illustrate the lessons. I can’t wait to weave the stories and the spiritual truths together over the next few weeks with you as I share our pictures.

In the face of unexpected changes and revealed truths, God answers our prayers in His own way and time to bring about the most glory for Himself from all the nations.

Praise you Lord Jesus for safe travel and a Plan B that exceeded our expectations!

O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! (Psalm 61:1-4, NLT)

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*Special thanks to my fellow GTD friends for the use of a few of these photos.

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