Category: Patience

Bountifully, Abundantly, Eternally Good

Posted on by Dorci

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

Psalm 145

 

The Secret of Contentment

Posted on by Dorci

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.”  1 Timothy 6:6

It’s a strange juxtaposition in which we believers find ourselves.  We are filled with Spirit of God Himself, bringing heaven down to earth and all the godly riches available to us with such a glorious gift, and yet at the same time we are still on this earth, saddled with these fleshly bodies, so prone to temptation, walking among earthly riches, seeing, smelling, contemplating, desiring…

The flesh and the spirit are at war.

But Paul reminds us that while godliness is good, godliness with contentment is greater.  It is gain.

Holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, but they can be especially rough on some who have suffered a loss of some kind.  The days when seemingly everyone else is rejoicing can be a magnifier for those losses or unfulfilled expectations.

But a magnifying glass only magnifies that on which we are solely focused. And when we focus the magnifying glass on the world and its temptations, even on those things that aren’t necessarily bad, but God has simply, in His wisdom and grace and mercy, not given them to us, then our focus becomes lust and envy.

We become discontent.

Contentment means we have moved the magnifying glass to focus on our Lord and Savior.  We’re focused on Christ and God’s Spirit working in our lives, even through those losses, and have found we have all we need, and even more, to live an abundant life right here and right now.

In Philippians 4:11-12 Paul declared “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

And what is that secret to being content?

He doesn’t leave us wondering; in the next breath he tells us “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

No matter what our circumstances, and we are all in some kind of circumstances–don’t let the enemy tell you that everyone else’s life is perfect and yours isn’t—Jesus Christ gives us strength, not just to endure, but to thrive, to be spiritually well-fed and well-clothed, to have all our physical needs met to the glory of His Name, the magnification of His goodness and faithfulness.

In the world there is always something more to want, something more to chase after.  Just like we can stuff ourselves silly on Thanksgiving only to be hungry again two hours later, the world will never satisfy.  But the overflowing, never-ending, treasure of God will satisfy the soul because that’s what we’re created for.

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency  in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”  2 Cor. 9:8

The same word that is “contentment” in 1 Timothy 6:6 is used as “sufficiency” here in 2 Corinthians.

Contentment–magnifying Christ in our hearts and minds–knowing He is sufficient for all our needs and able to work through those difficult or even impossible situations, watching Him move every mound of dirt until our mountain is thrown into the sea, will bring us a satisfaction that no amount of earthly riches ever will.

Contentment means we don’t have to worry about our needs because God’s got it covered.  We can come off the sidelines of dismay as we realize the eternal treasures that are ours in the Lord and the strength we receive frees us to carry on, faithfully doing the good work He has carved out for us to do.

In His Good Grace,

 

 

 

The Fiercest Battle

Posted on by Dorci

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.

Matthew 10:34-36

Whoa.  That is some pretty inflammatory language Jesus is using here.  Did not come to bring peace?  A sword?  Enemies?

What on earth could Jesus be talking about?

First, we need to understand who He’s talking to.  Jesus is giving instruction to the twelve disciples as He sends them out, specifically to the Jews, as His witnesses to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases and drive out demons.

But before they head out, they need to understand His message, and what they’ll be up against.  Many, even the disciples, were under the impression that when the Messiah came He would set up His kingdom on earth and reign over all, bringing peace, ending famine and wars.

But Jesus makes it clear that is not His mission.  Not yet, anyway.

As they went, they were to proclaim this message:  the kingdom of heaven is near.  The Messiah has come.

And He came to be the fulfillment of the law.

The law showed us we were sinners, and sin requires a payment of death.  Jesus came to die in our place to pay for our sins.  He came to make truth known, even as He Himself is truth.  But not everyone wants to hear that they’re a sinner. And of those who know they’re a sinner, not everyone wants to be saved from it.

Jesus references the words of the prophet Micah in Micah 7:6.  Micah lamented about the terrible times in which he lived when sin was rampant, and there were few who held onto faith and righteousness.  And many of those who did found that their sons or daughters or other family members fell into the other camp—the one that reveled in immorality–and that caused strife, to say the least.

Centuries later, the disciples would find that, again, there would be relatively few who would choose faith and righteousness, even among the ancient sons and daughters of God.  Few who would choose to align themselves with the truth—Jesus Christ.  The disciples themselves would be among the few who stood in a world full of people who would rather deny the Christ and live in their own sinfulness.  Even then the disciples were unaware that there was one among them, a friend, a fellow servant, who would choose sin over Christ.

And now, centuries later, the story is the same.  Sin is rampant and there are few in this world who acknowledge their sin and put their faith in Christ.  And even among those who call themselves Christians, there are fewer still who are willing to submit their whole lives to Him, leave the world behind, take up their crosses daily and live upright lives before their God.

And for those who do, for those who know that truth triumphs over sin and evil and destruction and death, for those who desire to live in that truth, we will, sooner or later, be called on to make a choice.

Someone we love, a close friend, a fellow servant, someone in our own family, someone who doesn’t adhere to the truth, will want to sin and drag us along with them.  They won’t understand why we won’t do this or allow that.  And a son will be against his father, a daughter against her mother, a fellow servant against another.

And a battle will ensue.  This is the metaphoric sword Jesus speaks of.

The battle could get bloody.  Sharp words may well be thrown our way. Wounds will be inflicted.  Relationships could die. We could feel as though our heart is being ripped clean out of our chest.  And all the while we’ll need to keep loving them and praying for them.

The inner struggle will be to not to let our flesh take over, to not retaliate with harsh words of our own, but to keep praying, remembering we don’t battle against flesh and blood but against an enemy we cannot see.

Prayer is the real battleground, and whether or not we choose to remain in prayer is where the battle will be won or lost.

Through it all we might have an inkling of the pain Christ suffered on the cross.

Are we willing to risk it all for Him?  Is His cause our cause?

It’s at this moment when the foundation of our faith will be revealed.  Is it sure?  Do we stand on the Rock which does not move, is not shaken and does not compromise? Is our love for Him real?

Or will we falter?  Will we choose sin over truth?  Now is the time to choose, not when we’re in the heat of battle and the enemy is coming at us full force.  Put on the spiritual armor and don’t take it off.

Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy.  He will get at us any way he can, even through family members.  Especially through family members.  He will come and whisper “It’s just a little sin.  Just a little compromise won’t hurt.  And you love them, right? You don’t want them angry with you.”

If we listen and give in, before we know it we’re far from God, and so is the one we love.

Stand strong.

Love them enough not to compromise.  This is not a battle for mere ground or castles or other earthly kingdoms.  This is a battle for hearts and eternities.

And love Christ more.  He saved us and He wants to save the other person in our lives whose ways are at odds with His, whose heart is far from Him and whose eternity will be a bitter one unless they have a lighthouse to show them the way.

Better than keeping a false, temporary peace, be a light shining the truth of God, so they can find their way to Him and experience real, lasting, eternal peace.

One day you may see a glimmer of hope. You’re gaining ground.  Hearts are softening. Christ is winning.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

A Mother’s Day Message A Lifetime in the Making

Posted on by Dorci

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

This won’t be your typical “my mom’s the best mom in the world and everything I am I owe to her” kind of Mother’s Day message.  Nope.

This will be a different kind of message.

These words are, though, a lifetime in the making, and I fought hard for them. I clawed my way through a mountain of pain to find them, and I struggled to find my way back out again.

You might have guessed that growing up I didn’t have a “normal” mother-daughter relationship.  My mother didn’t teach me all the things a mother should teach a daughter.  She taught me things a mother should never teach a child, like how to hold a grudge, and how to mistrust people.  How to take daily criticism and stuff it way deep down inside until it turns into unrelenting insecurity.

As I grew up, I took all those things and so much more, lifted up the ol’ metaphorical rug and swept it all underneath.  Nevermind that the rug was miles high and anywhere I went I had to climb over it.  Nevermind that half the time I couldn’t make it to the top, and instead slid all the way back down again.

As the months and years went by, some of that pain began to seep out from underneath, so I kicked it back under there where it belonged.  As hard as I tried, it kept spilling back out again.  Furiously I kicked and swept and shoved and struggled and sweated and cried.

Slowly I began to realize that it was God standing there lifting up that rug.  He was the one letting me see all that pain.  And He didn’t just let me see it, He gave it to me.

After a lifetime of my own pain and struggles, I’ve had time to reflect on her life through eyes not much different than her own, not just as my mother, but as a human being.

I heard more stories of her painful childhood; I gained more of an understanding of mental illness; I saw that she had been misunderstood and criticized by family, friends, doctors; I saw her struggle with all that under the weight of living with an alcoholic, wayward husband and trying to raise two daughters, one of whom had a very difficult to manage neurological disorder.

And the picture I had of my mother became more and more detailed.  The colors went from black and white to living, breathing, heart-wrenching reds and blues and purples.

I saw that all that time she was crying out for someone to love her, for someone to help her. She just didn’t know how.  The pain and fear and insecurity came out as anger and it pushed people away.  It pushed all of us away.  And I’m sorry.

I’m sorry I couldn’t see that then.  I’m sorry, Mom, that no one ever saw that.  I pray that now you have someone who is able to look past the walls you’ve built up around your heart and love you anyway.  I pray you know Jesus does.

The words I searched and struggled for all my life are this:

I forgive you, Mom.

From the bottom of my heart I forgive you, and hope you can forgive me.  I hope you know the forgiveness of Jesus so that one day you will have the peace and love you’ve longed for all your life.

I forgive you, Mom, and I love you.

 

Why Pray?

Posted on by Dorci

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’

And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ Luke 18:1-8

This Thursday, May 1, is the National Day of Prayer, and our country and world are in desperate need of it.  Prayer has taken a back seat in favor of entertainment, the pursuit of money, even religion.  Our time with God has been neglected.  How do I know?  Because I look around at the state of things and I see the fruit of it.

I see morals being thrown out the window by the bucketful.  I see people using one another for their own gain.  I see adults’ behavior regressing into immaturity and downright childishness.  I see the family unit disintegrating more and more. I see disrespect and even hatred on a whole new level. I see sin coming out of the darkness and living proudly in the light for all to see, and I see people afraid to stand up against it.  I see the pain and suffering caused by rampant sin.

And more and more those who call themselves Christians are looking and walking and talking no differently than non-believers.

Yet I see Christians pointing an accusing finger at the world and talk about how awful it is and if they’d just straighten up and fly right everything would be okay.  But God says that “if MY people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

God doesn’t tell the world to change, He tells His own people that if we will repent, and if we will submit and turn from our old man and live righteously before Him, then God will our land.  We are the example to the world.  We are to be salt and light.  And when we are right with God then we will be able to, by the grace of God and the blood of Christ, stand in the gap between God and unbelievers and pray that God will open their spiritual eyes and that they will be saved.

It starts with us.

I was saved, because of the persistent, year-long prayers of a Christian, when I was 25 years old.  By that time I’d already formed a lot of erroneous beliefs.  One was that abortion was acceptable since our laws give us a right to it, and the other was that God and satan were equal powers, the only difference being that one was a power for good and the other for evil.

But the moment I was saved and indwelt by the power of the Holy Spirit, my eyes were opened and those two beliefs were dispelled.  I knew immediately that abortion was wrong and that God’s power over satan was infinite.

The only way to see our country and world transformed is to pray for them, one person at a time.  To pray that God will soften hearts and open eyes, like He did mine, and that people will be saved.

A lot of us are weary, though.  We’re weary of seeing sin gain the upper hand.  We’re weary of trying and feeling like we’re moving two steps forward and one step back.  We’re weary of praying and praying and praying and not seeing results.  I get it.  I’ve been there.

There are some things I’ve prayed years for and still have yet to see fruit.  But that doesn’t mean nothing’s happening.  God is making things happen behind the scenes that I’ll never see.  He waits for circumstances, other people, our hearts and a multitude of other things to be just right before He can answer prayers.

Some He’ll answer quickly, and some take a lifetime. But His timing is always, always perfect.  There are some answers where I’m beginning to see the bud develop, but it’s taken an excruciatingly long period of time.  And there are some things I prayed a long time for, and now know those things will never happen.  And in those instances hope can take a hard hit.

But God says don’t give up.  Hope in Him.

In the Luke 18 parable, Jesus illustrated that if even an unrighteous person relents to someone’s pleas simply because they don’t give up, how much more will God, who is fully righteous and loving towards His children, give to them when they continue to seek Him?

Yes, you’re weary.  And distracted.  So am I.

So why pray?  The bottom line is this: God wants to see our prayers answered.  He wants to show us His will.  He wants to broaden our dreams and give us victory in this life. And what’s more, He wants us to have the peace and courage and wisdom we need every day, and the only way to have those is through prayer.  That’s why He tells us to pray and keep on praying.  Some answers to prayer simply take a long time.  And what if we give up before it’s time?

So let’s find a little corner and sit down at the feet of Jesus—the giver of strength and peace and wisdom–and pray, and gain our strength again.

Let’s stand in the gap for our family, our church, our friends, our neighborhood, our state, our country, our world.

Our children and grandchildren are growing up fast and the legacy we leave them in this world will depend on if we choose to pray or not. It’s a responsibility and privilege we can no longer take for granted.

Here is the link to the website for the National Day of Prayer.  I hope you’ll choose to be one of those on the front lines of prayer for our nation and our world as the time draws closer to the Lord’s return.

And when He does, as Jesus asked, will He find faith?  Will you and I be the ones He sees holding onto our faith in Him as we continue to seek Him in prayer?

Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to pray.  Please pray for me as I seek the Lord for wisdom.

God bless you as you pray!