Days of Grace

May Jerry Bridges’ quote, from Chapter 5 of Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson, minister to you as it did to me:

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of His grace.  And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.  Every day should be a day of relating to God on the basis of His grace alone.

Bearing it Cheerfully?

Hebrews 10:34 For you did sympathize and suffer along with those who were imprisoned, and you bore cheerfully the plundering of your belongings and the confiscation of your property, in the knowledge and consciousness that you yourselves had a better and lasting possession.  AMP

As I read this portion of a favorite Bible passage, Holy Spirit opened my eyes to it in a way that brought correction, along with a much better perspective.  The little phrase, “you bore cheerfully,” stopped me in my tracks, for I knew I had not borne cheerfully what I had been experiencing.  If I just stop at that phrase, though, I’m left wondering just how I’m to be cheerful in the midst of losses.  But God never leaves us hanging!  He finishes by reminding us of what we do have – always.  As if this wasn’t enough to get me back on the right track, the Lord spoke to my heart, “Be of good cheer.”

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]  AMP

You see, it’s really all about focus or perspective.  My focus is not to be on that which is no longer.  No, my focus is to be on the “better and lasting possession,” Jesus Christ, and eternal life in Him!  It’s not that I’m to be happy about the devil stealing, damaging, or destroying what doesn’t belong to him.  It’s simply that my cheer – courage, confidence, certainty, and persistent perseverance (undaunted) – is in the overriding, overpowering Truth that Jesus has already overcome the devil; and, that He has already deprived him of power to harm me, having conquered him for me!

The belongings and property that have been plundered and confiscated this time are not things, for me, but relationships.  I don’t think I’m alone in this struggle, however, as I observe the body of Christ being pressed in all kinds of ways right now.  Even though it may be in a completely different area, you have probably been experiencing some fort of plundering and confiscation in your own life.  That’s why I wanted to share what the Lord ministered to me for strength and encouragement.

No matter what form the tribulations, trials, distresses have taken in our lives, the Truth is still the same.  We already have the victory in Christ, and these things have no power over us when we keep our focus on the One Who will never leave or forsake us, and Who has all provision for us!  It’s a lesson that seems to come back repeatedly – that I need to get my eyes up once again, that I’ve somehow lowered my view to only the here and now.  When I let the Word readjust my focus, however, the issues are still there, but they are not the center of my attention anymore.  Now I look on them through the lens of faith in Jesus and His Word, and I am able to bear whatever it is cheerfully.  That’s when I walk in victory – in Him!

Blessings to you in your victorious walk in Christ!

Kay

It’s Time to Laugh!

I pray grace for you, precious and powerful ladies on the mission field for Christ!  I know by the Spirit, that the tests and trials that have been coming against me recently are not unique to me, so I want to encourage you a little differently today – with humor from Mark Gungor.  The quality of the picture on this video isn’t great, but the content more than makes up for it.  I hope you get a laugh – and even learn something along the way that might help in your dealings with the different genders.  After all, the brains are the same regardless of which nation is home!

Much love always!

Kay

They Are In You

I’m re-reading The Shack, by William Paul Young, though I finished it for the first time only a couple of weeks ago.  It is an amazing read, one of those works of fiction that is filled with so much Truth you tend to forget it’s a “made-up” story.  The author has such a revelation of God and His unconditional love and has been given a gift of writing so He can make it easy for all to understand; meanwhile, the Truth continues to work long after the book is put down.  Though this isn’t to be a review of this book, I highly recommend it to anyone who longs for an ever-increasing revelation of God’s love.

At the beginning of Chapter 15, Festival of Friends, is a quote from Telling the Truth, by Frederick Buechner, that made me think of you again, my precious sisters on the mission field.  May you be blessed by its sentiment.

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.

The ACT (After Cat Tree)

I thought you might enjoy this as you return to life after the holidays. 

I don’t have any grandkids, yet, only grandkitties.  These come by way of my younger son and his wife, and are named Zydeco, celebrating Sarah’s Cajun roots, and Zamboni, celebrating Adam’s love of hockey.

This being the cats’ first Christmas alive, not to mention with Adam and Sarah, it was also their first exposure to Christmas trees.  They found them most interesting, to say the least, but mostly from the inside, where you and I don’t normally go.  I think it was after the third or fourth morning of his having to reshape and redecorate the tree before leaving for work that Adam decided the tree was what it was.  The end result was the After Cat Tree of 2009!

That’s a cowboy hat at the top, the treetop “ornament” of their choosing, celebrating their Texas home.   And it was a merry Christmas, despite the tree!

Salt of the Earth

Included with some receipts from one of the ministries with whom we partner was a typed note on a small piece of folded paper.  In the fold of the paper was one of those small packets of salt you find in the bottom of a bag from a fast-food restaurant.  It piqued my interest even more as to the contents of the note.  With only a few punctuation changes, I share it as I received it:

“Pass the salt, please,” is a common request at many meals.  Yet, wars have been waged, fortunes made and lost, and history rewritten all because of the only rock we humans eat.  Salt is so vital that, despite the admonition by nutritionists in our day and age to reduce its intake, we cannot live without it.  The production of salt has secured empires and inspired revolutions.  Yet, it is often taken for granted by those who consume it.

One method of salt production was to boil brine in large iron pans.  Then, at the right moment, the salt master would add a few drops of blood that would draw impurities to the surface to be skimmed away, leaving only salt of the highest quality.

Due to that precious blood shed by our Savior, we are declared pure and are called to season our culture.  Jesus proclaimed, “You are the salt of the earth . . .”

Thank you for seasoning, with your lives, a culture I might only be able to visit for a few days, if at all.  Blessings of God’s grace in Christ to you as you enter the New Year!

Winter Wonderland

I don’t know if we’ll have a fresh “white Christmas” or not, but having such a wonderful covering the weekend before leaves at least a few patches on the ground when Christmas Day arrives!  For a snow-lover like me, this is a special treat from the Lord. 

I guess snow changes the mood around here because it isn’t that common an occurrence.  Even if it were, for someone like me, having grown up in middle Georgia, then living in Florida for more than 20 years – all the while longing for real winters with real snow – it thrills me to watch the snow fall, and to see the blanket of white everywhere.

Sometimes I think God brings the snow just for me.  One year, my father had been hospitalized several times, including one for open-heart surgery, and I was spent emotionally and physically (was also homeschooling both boys at the time).  I wanted so much to go on vacation, but couldn’t because of the circumstances.  It was Christmas, and I asked the Lord for snow.  Though it wasn’t predicted, when I looked out the window on Christmas morning, there was a thin blanket of white on the ground – just not on paved surfaces.  As the tears of joy and thanksgiving flowed, I sensed the Lord saying, “Happy birthday, Kay.”  (Christmas also happens to be my birthday.)  My Daddy loves me so much that He brought a snowfall to change the scenery for me when I couldn’t leave town, yet made it such that I could still minister to my earthly father by driving across town without slipping and sliding.

Do I really believe He would do something like that for me?  Absolutely!  He knew what I needed (a change of scenery and the perspective that comes with it) and what I wanted (because I asked).  I’m His daughter, and He loves to lavish His love on me.  You are no different!  I look forward to hearing your special stories of how Daddy poured out His love on you.

Have a most wonderful Christmas, and be refreshed in His love and His presents (Presence)!  Visit my other blog, the December 21 post,  for a slightly different perspective on the snow.

Another Big Bite of Humble Pie

As I went through the new (since September) procedure for notifying folks of the latest Prayer Nuggets post, my heart sank when I went to my website’s email only to find that none of the close to 200 contacts were in my address book.  I didn’t go into a total panic since I have a current backup list of the addresses in another part of my computer.  The thought of the work and time required to reenter them was not a pleasant thought.  I had to make a decision that the devil wasn’t going to steal from me in any way – peace, time, or otherwise!

My next step was to send an email to my web hosting tech person to ask for his help.  When I received no response after a day, I sent a second e, asking if he was working on the problem.  In his response, he asked a simple question to help him narrow down the source of the problem – which email address was I using?  There are 3 addresses associated with prayforthenation.org, and the contacts in associated with one are not automatically associated with the others.  As soon as I saw the question, I had this sinking, but excited, feeling that those contacts had probably been there all along in the right account, not the one I tried to access.  Since I had no recollection of the one I’d signed in under, but knew at that moment which one I had used previously, I tried the right one.  Guess what?  There were all those addresses and all the sent emails – just like they should have been!

I obviously hadn’t thought through what I was doing in the first place, encountered a problem, and immediately pointed my finger at the program as the culprit.  Oh, the insidiousness of pride!

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

As soon as I saw it, I repented for pride – for not even considering I might have made a mistake.  Why I would think that, I have no idea, since I’m not exactly the most accomplished of computer users.  I answered the man that his question had helped me discover that I was the source of the issue, and then I apologized profusely for the time and effort I had cost him.

In this story of falling to pride – again – the most important thing to me is the amazing difference in my attitude this time when I realized my error.  Yes, it bothered me to have wasted other people’s time when they were not at fault.  But I wasn’t in guilt or condemnation at all – not even allowing it a moment of my life.  I actually laughed inside because I knew the Lord wasn’t upset with me at all.  Jesus had already paid the price for the pride, and I believe He found it pretty humorous, Himself.  Yes, I ate a big bite of humble pie – again.  As I swallowed it, however, I also experienced the glorious freedom of the children of God ¹ – again!

Praying for you to experience this glorious freedom in His love and forgiveness, too, no matter where you fail!

¹ Romans 8:21

Just Can’t Help Myself

It seems like everywhere I turn these days, I read more about the amazing love of God for me.  The more I read it, the more I “get it.”  The more I “get it,” the more I want to share it, give it, shout it – you get the picture!  Who better for me to share with and give to than you, beloved friends?  I am so thankful for you and your humble service to the people where you live, so they might know and grow in the love of Christ.

In my regular reading this morning, I drank in the words of Romans 8 again, though it was almost as if for the first time.  How much greater is His love than we allow ourselves to receive in so many parts of our lives!  So today, will you read these words as part of His love letter to you?  Remove any man-made and man-taught filters through which you have heard these words in the past, and simply listen as Holy Spirit speaks them to you:

Romans 8

³¹ . . . If God is for us, who can be against us?

³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our Time of Year!

I will post again this week with something a little more substantial, but I want to throw a bit of pun your way – at our expense.    Naturally, I am drawn to stocking ornaments and decorations for Christmas.  When I spotted these at an arts and crafts show after Thanksgiving, I knew it was a must-have for our Christmas tree!