Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? —Romans 8:35
God does not keep His child immune from trouble; He promises, "I will be with him/YOU in trouble . . ." ( Psalm 91:15 ). It doesn’t matter how real or intense the adversities may be; nothing can ever separate him from his relationship to God. "In all these things we are more than conquerors . . ." ( Romans 8:37 )...(b/c of Christ IN us. Mer asked Him into her life in the Spring of 1999)
Paul was not referring here to imaginary things, but to things that are dangerously real. And he said we are "super-victors" in the midst of them, not because of our own ingenuity, nor because of our courage, but because none of them affects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ. I feel sorry for the Christian who doesn’t have something in the circumstances of his life that he wishes were not there.
"Shall tribulation . . . ?" Tribulation is never a grand, highly welcomed event; but whatever it may be— whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness— it is not able to "separate us from the love of Christ." Never allow tribulations or the "cares of this world" to separate you from remembering that God loves you ( Matthew 13:22 ).
"Shall . . . distress . . . ?" Can God’s love continue to hold fast, even when everyone and everything around us seems to be saying that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?
"Shall . . . famine . . . ?" Can we not only believe in the love of God but also be "more than conquerors," even while we are being starved?
Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, having deceived even Paul, or else some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Logic is silenced in the face of each of these things which come against him. Only one thing can account for it— the love of God in Christ Jesus. "Out of the wreck I rise" every time.
"Wow" is a favorite word of mine...and one that I kept saying yesterday when Steve and I were at Clarian North having a 2D ultraound.
When we saw the 20+ week old lil' person in my "belly" :) we saw a lil' GIRL!! Wow... :) There are few words that are easy to articulate when seeing a lil' miracle growing (not to mention IN you). Long legs moving... Fingers flexing and extending... Eyes moving.
Psalm 139 1
3 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
I don't cry very often, unfortunately, but I can't help but tearing-up when I think about what our Ultrasound tech, Sarah, said, "These are girl parts!" LOL I have been feeling her move more the past 48 hours. Instantly I smile, my eyes water, and I thank God.
Going through the process of loss, waiting, and then receiving has been extremely insightful!!
Before we were given this baby, I realized that it was very important that I didn't put my worth in conceiving. That I was loved just as much (by God and by my hubby) if I wasn't able. We still want to adopt a kiddo or two someday... Being an aunt has taught me so much, too. The love I have for our 7 nieces and nephews has grown my heart in a motherhood-way. I have been more used to taking care of baby boys (2 nieces and 5 nephews) and thus hearing that we have a lil girl brought even more insights. I think the fact that I see my frailties causes me to depend of God even more as representing a mother's love for her daugther. I don't know if this makes much sense :), but it was an unexpected insight into myself, yesterday.
Not only do I have comfort knowing that God will help us raise His lil' girl, but I have such joy being married to my bestfriend who is going to be the best Daddy ever!! Modeling a Father's love to his lil' girl... That is a blessing that won't end. He can't wait to meet her and is excited beyond words regarding being a Daddy for a lil girl. She is 12 oz and ~7 inches long. Her organs (brain, etc), spine, etc. all are healthy!! Wow...
We are praying about names and may need to see her lil face before we choose one... She is due on July 20th.
The pics attached might not be super easy to make-out/interpret :)... They are 2D... One show a hand; One shows a profile; A couple show her looking you with her hands and arms by or under her face.
Please know that your prayers have encouraged and supported us more than you know!! It has been a matra to pray, "God, no matter what happens, you are good." :) He is so good... and His wisdom is trustworthy. Thank you again!!
His love through me,
Steve and Mer (& Baby Girl Black)
God is The God who seeks personal relationship with us. He is persistant to heal us and rebuild us (Isaiah 61).
Jeremiah 17
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
God doesn't want us to be puppets but wants a genuine, real relationship with us. He gives us the gift of choice/free will. He also allows us to experience what happens in this world when we choose. His wisdom is perfect. Just like a child touching the stove... He or she learns. Eventually, sometimes. :) But that child is curious and doesn't always take his or her parents at their words but wants to experience the freedom of experiencing that choice...walking through the consequences.
Galatians 6:8
For the one who sows to HIS OWN flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the God's Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Seek's God's wisdom, talks with Him, asks)
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh (sinful nature/old way of living/thinking/choosing/reasoning); for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
God knows that hard times will come and that tough choices are inevitable. Jesus experienced these... more than we know.
Hebrews 2:18
For since He (Jesus) Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
What is important to remember is that Jesus left His Father in Heaven and became fully man:
Philippians 2:7
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
He was tempted by Satan and our sinful nature but He was without sin because He prayed/depended on God to give Him the truth to battle lies and the strength to escape acting on those temptations. It's so EASY to forget that Jesus gave into the world fully God but fully man. He can sympathize with our weaknesses.
When the fires came, what did Jesus do? He prayed and sought out His Father...
When the fires come in our lives, sometimes we are the ones who ignite the flame by our choices. Sometimes we are the victims of the matches/choices of another. However, we also go through fires of growth with God.
Daniel 3:25, 27-28 (New Living Translation) “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” (The furnace was heated 7 times hotter than it was typically thus when the 3 Israelites were thrown into the furnance, the guards died due to the heat. Despite the extra heat and the blazing flames, there was a 4th person/shape of a person walking IN the fire WITH the 3 men. That man was Jesus! Wow, HUH!).
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Whether the fires are thrust upon us by our choices, the choices of others (our family, ancestors, friends, strangers), or by God... He is WITH us...
Isaiah 43:2
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you... When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.
Sometimes His words will burn within us... showing us our need for God. His words guide us and grow us.
Psalm 12:6
The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
Psalm 66:10
For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.
The fires that we cause can cause us a pain that breaksdown and leaves us feeling charred. We are left feeling like ashes. The fires that refine us- in God's care do the opposite: they don't leave us broken down but rebuild. They don't charr but burn off what is hindering us. We are left feeling and living more free and whole.
Friends, if you'd rather not get these emails :), I put these devotionals on our blog... http://steveandmer.blogspot.com/ Love you all very much!!
Mer.
Nicky introduced this song to me 2 years ago... so good... Natatlie Grant's "Real Me."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5kz9wU2QXU
Natalie Grant's, "Real Me"
Foolish heart looks like we're here again
Same old game of plastic smile
Don't let anybody in
Hiding my heartache, will this glass house break
How much will they take before I'm empty
Do I let it show, does anybody know?
But You (Jesus) see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me
Painted on, life is behind a mask
Self-inflicted circus clown
I'm tired of the song and dance
Living a Charade, always on parade
What a mess I've made of my existence
But you love me even now
And still I see somehow
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me
Wonderful, beautiful is what you see
When you look at me
You're turning the tattered fabric of my life into
A perfect tapestry
I just wanna be me
But you see the real me
Hiding in my skin, broken from within
Unveil me completely
I'm loosening my grasp
There's no need to mask my frailty
Cause you see the real me
And you love me just as I am
Wonderful, Beautiful is what you see
When you look at me
Many of us so thanks in word, singing, dancing, running, etc... So often I find myself praying along with the words of a song. It guides me so well... The chorus of "Hosanna" by Hllsong United (Lyrics and Video at the bottom) is so powerful that as soon as I hear it my heart starts praying with those words as my prayer. Sometimes words fail me and thus praying along with someone's else's prayer helps me :)...
Jesus was talking to Religious Leaders (Matthew 6) when He said:
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy (Hallowed).
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
God knows our needs, even before we ask. Why ask then??? To build relationship, to enlighten/reveal truth (help us become aware of deeper needs, wounds, unhealthy patterns of thought, etc), and to free us. "Thy Will be done"... By praying our hearts soften and open-up to His voice and love. His thoughts become our thoughts and His heart moves ours. Without His heart and word leading, our hearts WILL lead us astray:
Jeremiah 17:8-10
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
Knowing that I NEED His wisdom I pray these prayers almost daily:
Psalm 139:23-14
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
James 1
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
What does our Good God say about prayer and asking:
Luke 11:10
"For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
Why are some prayers not answered in the way or timing we'd prefer???
Since we are temporal and our knowledge is finite in comparison to God we won't be able to know everything nor can we see all that God sees (beyond time, the tapastry of how our actions combine with those of others, etc). God in His goodness helps us know some important reasons why many prayers are answered by God in different ways:
James 4:3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,...
As we pray we learn about God's heart and character. God's mercy and love is married with His wisdom. His timing is perfect and His provision for us is always inspiried out of love for us. Due to His love, He knows we are healing and growing in our knowledge of Him... as well as our knowledge of our needs, areas of growth, as well as how to pray. He helps us...
Romans 8:26-27
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
Again, WHY SHOULD WE PRAY if God is praying in us and for us, already?
Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God
Philippians 1:6
For I (Paul) am confident of this very thing, that He (Jesus/God) Who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
As we talk with God we build relationship. Your heart will grow to hear His Spirit in you... He may ask you questions regarding things He knows the answers to, but is guiding you...helping you process. He allows us to join Him in loving others.
God wants to rebuild those ancient ruins IN YOU... Sometimes we fear letting go of old wounds and fears because they are like clothing for us. We grow into them as if we are our skin. These old ruins bring us false comfort and a false identity. God doesn't want us to live a life without joy or a true knowledge of Him or without a true knowledge of who we were intially designed for: to be a home for His Spirit (Jesus in us).
Isaiah 61:4
They will rebuild the ancient ruins,
repairing cities destroyed long ago.
If you have doubts, questions, etc. God loves you and knows... He encourages you to ask. Ask for faith. Ask to know love for God. Ask to know Who Jesus is... Ask...
Mark 9:24
Immediately the boy's father cried out (to Jesus) and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
How do we pray?
Review Matthew 6 above... It's not our words but our hearts that God loves. He wants relationship not our doings... We can talk and visualize what we hope for but without God in our lives, those prays and hopes may mislead us or trick us. God may put some of those prays on your hearts to ask of Him. Why? To build relationship with Him. When a prayer is answered you remember that GOD brought those to you... All good gifts come from God. (Matthew 7:11)
2 Timothy 2:13
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Romans 3:3
What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? NO :)
Love you all!! God is good... no matter what our circumstances or emotions might say...
“Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.” C.S. Lewis
HOSANNA By Hillsong United
I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing
[Chorus]
Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest [x2]
I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees
We're on our knees
[Chorus]
-Heal my heart and make it clean...
-Open up my eyes to the things unseen...
-Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours...
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to Eternity
Psalm 139:17-18
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You.
Ephesians 1:3 "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ."
Not "united" with a Bible Study. Not b/c we are united with a church. Not b/c we think positively or are thankful. Not for anything we do or have done BUT because Jesus opens His arms and invites us into an intimate relationship with Him. When you ask Him to live in your heart and be with you always...to follow Him and know Him...then you/we are united with Him and have EVERY spiritual blessing given/planned. AWESOME.
HERE IS AN ILLUSTRATION:
"There was a very rich man who created wonderful masterpieces of art paintings and then he had a teriffic Son. One day the Son wen't out of his Father's house and befriend a beggar. The Son would tell this beggar about his Father's grand house and all his magnificent paintings. The beggar really likes the Son and the Son really likes the beggar. But one day the Son suddenly stop seeing the beggar and this beggar wondering where did he go. But the beggar found out that the Son had passed away.
So the beggar took a piece of paper and a crayon and drew the face of the Son because the beggar really likes the Son. The beggar went to the gatekeeper and told the gatekeeper "Would you please give this drawing to the Father because his Son is very nice to me". The gatekeeper thought this is quite a gesture and the gatekeeper said " I will give this to him when he comes by".
One day the Father also passed away and all of his masterpiece art gallery is going to be auctioned and the beggar found out about all of this. So the beggar find some casual clothes and try to fit in to the auctioning gallery and he succeeded. The beggar wondering if his drawing is amongst the paintings and he found out his drawing is among the masterpieces.
All of the rich people and officionados looking at all of this masterpiece paintings with their lenses and talking about it except the beggars drawing. The gavel pounded and the auctioner said "We are going to begin the bidding", and all of the rich people say " yeah, yeah, good, good its about time".
But the auctioner said, "But there is a condition in the will, we must first auctioned this piece of drawing"., and the crowd moan and groan but nobody bid on it. The auctioner said " anyone?, any bid at all?", but the beggar reached down to his poket and bid all that he had." No counter-offer?. Sold." The beggar won the bid on his drawing.
But as soon as The Beggar about to leave the auctioning place, the gavel pounded again. The auctioner say's "There is a second condition in the will, it says "Whoever bid on the first portrait of the Son gets the whole art gallery"
I USED TO PUT MY LIFE INTO MY OWN HANDS AS WELL AS IN THE HANDS OF OTHERS... I'M DEFINITELY IN BETTER HANDS NOW... HIS. :)
Peter’s response to this piercing question ("DO YOU LOVE ME?") is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" ( Matthew 26:35 ; also see Matthew 26:33-34 ).
Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. (eye-opening awareness of our need for Him to show us our hearts: 139:23-24)
Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love.
It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, "Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God" ( Luke 12:8 ).
Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. (So true)
But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level.
("Hurt"- meaning seeing our limits without God- the state of our natural selves- that part that needs refined- the part of us that acts independently of God and yet God promises to be the author and perfector of our faith. Again, Psalm 139:23-24..." Search me, O God, and know my heart; try/test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out any hurtful way in me, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." As well as Mark 9:24, "Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief.")
"For the Word of God is living and powerful . . . , piercing even to the division of soul and spirit . . ."— to the point that no deception can remain ( Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question ("Do you love Me?"), it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense.--It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.
("When asking Jesus to lead you and be in your heart, you are asking to be adopted by Him into His family. God/Jesus promise to never leave you nor forsake you. They promise no condemation in Christ but grace and mercy- new every morning. God desires ALL to come to the saving knowledge of the truth... ALL. In Christ, we are chosen, Holy, and DEARLY loved...Colossians 3:12).
thank·ful (thāngk'fəl)
adj.
Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful.
Expressive of gratitude: a thankful smile.
Essentially, we're expressing gratitude regarding a gift (ie, someone we love, a great parking space close to the store on a rainy day, someone opening a door, birds chirping after a loooong winter, etc).
Being thankful inherently indicates contentment in that moment... Expressing thankfulness seems to usher in an attitude of thankfulness (and vice versa)- which gives you a new lens through which you see others and helps you to receive their actions in a way that won't shake your foundation as much as they might have otherwise.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to (ask/choose to belong to) Christ Jesus.("Jesus, please show me Who You are...I want you to live in my heart and to follow You.")
Good circumstances? Bad? When are we to be thankful? "...in ALL circumstances." It's not easy to be thankful in tough or painful situations but it is essential.
For example, if someone for whom you open the door doesn't look at you or say, "thank you"...you might have more grace for that person if you have an attitude of thankfulness...it is POWERFUL!!
Remember when I shared that "thankfulness indicates contentment in that moment?" Contentment means
1. the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind.
2. the act of making contentedly satisfied.
Thankfulness produces an "ease of mind" and grows a state of satisfaction. If we want to have satisfaction in a moment of discontentment, what do you do? Workout? Grumble? Worry? Distract yourself? OR, do we go against the grain of our programming of entitlement and seek thankfulness?
Here's the kicker: When we are thankful, TO WHOM OR WHAT are we thanking? Mother nature? Ourselves? Coffee? WHO ARE WE THANKING?
Ephesians 5 "...Instead, let there be thankfulness to God."
Being thankful isn't enough unless we are thanking the One Who gave us life and Who lives to woo us to Himself. When I went through a heartbreaking situation 10 years ago, I remember thinking, "I don't need a man to buy me a gerber daisy (my fav flower)." I felt as though God was touching my heart with the realization that He wanted to give me one... that He made Gerbers for us to enjoy and care for/nurture. I bought one from Marsh and put it by my computer at Roche. It was so simple and so pure...that flower gave me such joy b/c I remembered that I was/am loved so deeply by God. I was able to grasp it at that moment... I thank God for giving me that joy and for that memory...
Matthew 7:11
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those WHO ASK HIM.
Who created the trees, flowers, birds, rivers, seas, and us? :) Who gave us the talents to create? All things come back to Him...
I hear friends talk about "positive energy" and negative energy." Do I believe in energy? Definitely...
What some term as "energy" my heart interprets as the attitude of the heart. When I am discontent and attacked by entitlement then I definitely have a negative attitude. My emotions follow my attitude...and my actions follow my emotions. Usually I have a negative attitude when something isn't going my way or b/c someone/Someone isn't doing what I want in the way or timing I would prefer.
I can't have true, lasting peace and wholeness unless I know Jesus... and yet I have difficulty accessing the ability to pray/seek Him/trust Him sometimes. I wrestle through my tempermental emotions to thank God some days but then my heart seems to melt and open up to what God wants to show me. Does that make sense? Thankfulness initiates and thankfulness results.
John 14:27
" Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Psalm 139:23-24 (New Living Translation)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
I'm thankful for how God has put people in my life to show me His love... I am thankful that Jesus prays for me (Romans 8- LOVE that chapter) and helps me pray; I am thankful that He is a very present help (Psalm 46); I am thankful for His comfort when I am hurting; I am thankful that God will help me see my selfishness and anxious thoughts- then guides me through; I am thankful for His unconditional love; and I am thankful for Jesus who took ALL of my sin (and yours) upon Himself as to give us freedom from guilt & condemnation...to make a way to know Him intimately as a Father.
Colossians 2:7
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Let's let our roots go DEEP down into Christ- Meaning, ask to know Him more. Ask... :) It's that simple... If we don't ask, why??? Are you not ready? Do you feel as though God won't give you the desires of your heart? Why???
Having a Masters degree in both Special Education and Speech-Language Pathology, I am now a stay-at-home mom. God had blessed with with a profession I love(d) and now with a husband and a daughter that fill my heart. This blog is a vehicle of sharing gems that have been given to me vocationally. I truly hope they are helpful for you and your family, too. :)
