Tag Archives: faith

Bring It On

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Isn’t the Christian walk supposed to be easier than ‘this’?  What is ‘this’, anyhow? Your life, a part of your life, a specific circumstance?  After all, if you are doing what God has called you to do, if you are making decisions after seeking His heart and His wisdom, shouldn’t everything fall into place and go smoothly?

I guess you can never be a Christian too long to fall into a trap of  lies that say that life for a Christian should be easier. And a lie is exactly what crossed my mind.
I just got off the phone with a friend, who reiterated the same words that life should be easier but insteand, it is a battle. A battle for life. A battle between forces we often forget exist because we easily become distracted with the very things over which God has already given us victory. Yet, we wake up, scrub our faces, don our Christian attitudes and go forth into believing the lie that life will be easier for us since we are Christians.  That things should go our way since God is on our side.  By the end of the day, we are falling on our faces and wonder, as we lay in the muck of life, why life is so hard.
When we are seeking His face, we cannot help but see that He is still in control. Our God, who created the heavens and the earth, led the people of Israel over a parted Red Sea, who took back Jericho, who raised a dead man from the grave, who extends a loving hand to sinners… He is still in control! When planes crash into buildings, when millions of people have lost their jobs, loved ones are suddenly and confusingly taken from us, when illnesses with no cure claims our body, and disaster strikes across the face of the earth and leave no one untouched in some way -He is still in control!
When things go wrong in our lives, we may be experiencing unseen battles firsthand and must remembered that our enemy has been defeated. A pastor once said, “His goal is to destroy your life on earth and to discredit the cause of Christ through you. . . . Be alert—be aware. Satan plays for keeps. He wants to mess with your mind. He wants you to start thinking wrongly about God, wrongly about yourself, and wrongly about others. If he can do that, he knows you’ll make destructive choices for yourself and for those you love.”
We need to discover the enemies tactics and where we are vulnerable. To be alert and to be aware. We need to remember that in Christ’s power, we are invincible. How? We must not neglect (as we can so often do!) to put on His armor. Put on the belt of truth.  Stand firm in what you KNOW to be true, not in how you feel. Put on His breastplate of righteousness—oh to know you are His! What greater joy than to know you have been cleansed from sin and are the apple of His eye! That He now sees you through Jesus Christ His son—beautiful, clean and pure. We must live accordingly.
Now, put on the helmet of salvation and remember that you are saved and sealed! Put your feet in the boots of peace and BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD! Go – take the peace of God with you, entering into every situation with the knowledge and trust that He is in control. Tighten those laces and carry His good news to those who are struggling alongside of you. With all of that, take up your shield. A shield of faith that deflects what is intended to destroy. Remember that when all around you seems confusing and when nothing makes sense, God will use it for your good. Have faith and trust Him to do just that.
Now, with all your armor cinched tightly and in place, pick up your sword. How often we prepare for battle and then forget the one weapon that is our strongest defense: the Word of God. Hide it in your heart. Make it the light for your path. When the battle rages, trust His truth. It is His truth and in His truth alone what will set you free.  Pray. Pray without ceasing. God says that the prayers of his people are like sweet smelling incense to Him. Oh what a joy to smell sweet to the Lord because of prayer. And, what power when we release to Him what binds us from being free.
When I first heard a song called “Bring It On” by Steven Curtis Chapman, I immediately liked the name even before opening the CD. The song talks about how we ‘have an enemy who is waiting to bring us pain, but he seems to forget that what he means for evil, God works for good’.
I what to encourage you as God has encouraged me this last week: let us not retreat or surrender, for that is exactly what the enemy is hoping for: to bring us down and leave us feeling defeated. Instead, let us say with confidence, “Bring it on! Let the lightning flash, let the thunder roll, let the storm winds blow, let the trouble come, let the hard rain fall, let it make me strong . . . Bring it on!” – (by Steven Curtis Chapman)

Comments:

Jeanette Alayne Hoffman: Totally true and well said Sherri. I thought that when I first became a Christian at age 40. I’ve learned the truth since then and still wouldn’t go back for anything.

February 18, 2011 at 8:33am

Loved

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loved

egg shells

scattered across the floor

tread carefully

or you’ll cut your feet

bruise your heart

while your spirit is being broken

tread carefully

or the current of the river

will suck you under

without compassion

cruel and unforgiving

hold on tightly

to the only Hand

that is stretching out

catching your tears with one

pulling you to safety with the other

hide safely

buried in His arms

feel the beat of His heart

knowing if you were the only one

still it would beat for you

rest peacefully

warmed and covered by His grace

healed by His touch

covered in His mercy

held in His love

Simply Incredible

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Father, it is hard for me to understand You.
The way You created the world.
Out of nothing.
It is incredible to me.
Simply…
Incredible.

The way You provided a sacrifice for Isaac.
At just the right moment.
Out of nowhere.
Miraculous.
And Abraham knew that you would!
Simply…
Miraculous!

The way You parted the Red Sea.
The way You allowed the Israelites to cross over the dry sea.
The way You brought the waters back down to the earth.
To protect Your people.
How merciful You are.
How mighty.
How just.

You allowed Joseph to undergo persecution from his own brothers!
You allowed him to be bent low in order to raise him up.
There is always something greater.
Always something better.
Always something someone will not understand.

It is hard for me to understand,
how you became a man.
Why you would choose to dwell down here with us on this earth,
among our dirt and our grime.

It is hard for me to understand,
why You would choose to sacrifice Your life for me.
I know who I am.
I know what I am.
You know even better.
And yet you love me –
That is hard for me to understand.

And yet, how grateful I am!
How deeply thankful that You don’t ask me to understand!
Just to believe.
Just to trust.
And that is,
simply…
incredible.

June 2005

Sherri Woodbridge

A New Year, A New Decade

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Tomorrow is the end of another year
Followed by the beginning of a new year
A new sunrise
Old plans with new ideas
Old habits desiring new disciplines
Old dreams with new hopes

Tomorrow marks the end of another decade
Followed by the beginning of a new one
Ten years ahead of me
To change a habit
To change my community
To change the world

I have a vision
To see the orphans loved
Clothed, fed, and sheltered.
To see the homeless loved,
Clothed, fed, and sheltered.
To see the widows loved,
Protected, cared for.
To see the lonely befriended,
The hopeless hopeful,
The weary strengthened.

Can it be done?
I don’t know.
I do know I cannot do it alone.
But if I can encourage just one heart,
Offer food to just one who is hungry,
Give a coat to just one who is cold,
Give my time to be a friend to the friendless,
Offer hope to the hopeless,
and rest for the weary -
It can be done.
I will not have changed the world,
But I will have changed my life and
My heart will have been changed in the process.

I Will Fear No Evil

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the dark of the night

in the valley of the shadows

i will fear no evil

though it surrounds me

invisibly

from all around

i will fear no evil

in the dark of the night

though my body trembles

and my heart it shakes

still

i will fear no evil

in the dark of night

when my mind dances

as a winter storm

loosed from its chains

still

i will fear no evil

when the dark of the night

threatens to consume my soul

to lay me outstretched

naked before the world

still

i will fear no evil

for the dark of the night

will turn its ugly face

to the light of the morning

and there

there

i will feel no

i will see no

i will fear no

there will be

no more evil

Does God Make Deals?

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yellow finchA few weeks ago I was able to visit my daughter in Southern California. In the course of my stay, she showed me a contract one her boys, seven years old, had written between the two of them. It read:

Nathaniel’s Deal

Tamara,

Nathaniel will like to make deal with you- if he go to school he gets large chips and soda.

It was signed,

Nathaniel and Tamara

Some of the things my daughter has to deal with at this home for abused kids is beyond belief. But every once in a while, she comes across a cute situation that makes it worthwhile, like a contract made by a seven year old.

We do the same things with God, but I wonder if they’re ‘cute’ to Him. We get in a bind, go through a tough time, and in hopes of getting out of our ‘tight’ spot, we cut a deal with God. We say things like, “I’ll do this if you will do that” or “I promise I’ll do this, if you don’t do that.”

If God doesn’t come through the way we’ve outlined in our deal, we feel we’re not doing things right, God doesn’t like us, or maybe we even missed the miraculous moment.

God isn’t like that. God is a God of mercy and grace. He does things out of love, for our good and not to frustrate us.

Sometimes, God just wants us to use our brains. That is, after all, why He gave us common sense. Sometimes, decisions are easy enough, if we use that common sense, but we don’t like the options so we seek a better way – or what we think is a better way, according to our desires anyhow.

For the last year, I’ve wanted to attend a writer’s conference that is coming up. For my birthday, I ended up with almost enough, but because my husband has been unemployed for over a year and I am on disability, I believed that the best use for good stewardship was to pay off some of my medical bills. So I did. But first, I cut a deal with God.

I told Him that I’d do the right thing – I wanted to – but if at all possible, could He provide a way to go and if not – that would be okay.

What makes it be okay when you want something so bad but if you don’t get it – it really is okay? Because we have a sovereign God that can do anything. If it’s His will for us to be somewhere at a certain time, He’ll get us there. However, if it’s His will for us to stay put, then we will do as He leads and not try to manipulate the situation to suit our needs wants. And we know that whatever we allow Him to do, it is for our good and it is His best for us, just as He promised in His word.

So, come what may, I am content and at peace for whatever He chooses. Until then, I think I’ll join Nathaniel and have a large chips and a soda.

Being A Martha

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roses-in-jars-uneditedOnce upon a time, there were two sisters. One sister was always busy mopping or dusting, fixing lunch for those that would drop by and secretly envying her sister, who instead of helping with the chores, chose to squander her time hanging around the guests and making sure they were comfortable.

Sound familiar?

That’s the story of Mary and Martha, the two sisters who serve Jesus. One serves him by making sure dinner isn’t burned and the other serves him by doting on Him. Which does he prefer? You got it. He likes to be doted on. After all, He is God. However, Martha had a hard time understanding that and thought that what she had to do was more important than what Mary was doing (paying attention to her Lord). Martha was making pie crust while Mary was giving Jesus a foot massage with her hair and some rather expensive oil. She spared no expense and he enjoyed every minute of it, even telling Martha that Mary had chosen the most important thing to do.

Poor Martha. In her own way she’s trying to do the right thing and serve a delicious meal, in a spotless house, surrounded by a group of men who could care less. They preferred having their feet rubbed. So she gives up and throws in the kitchen towel and goes and sits out on the couch and watches Mary. She’s really into this perfume and toes thing. The bottom strands of her hair are oily where she used them to rub Jesus’ feet. This – this thing Mary was doing for Jesus – this was more important than a fresh potato salad and a perfectly cooked steak?

She watched. She watched the look on Mary’s face. She watched the look on Jesus’ face. She watched the faces of the disciples who had come with Jesus.

Mary was intent. You could see, without her having to say a word, that she loved this man called Jesus with a deep love. As Martha watched, it was easy to see that Jesus almost as if Mary knew him better. How could that be? She hadn’t spent any more time with Him than Martha had. Or had she? When he’d drop by, Martha made snacks in the kitchen while Mary chose to sit at her beloved’s feet and listen to his stories.

Martha watched Jesus’ face. It was almost as if she could see the burdens he carried, melt away with each tender touch. There was something about the human touch and it’s healing effects that not even apple pie could fix.

The longer she sat there, Martha began to understand. What she did was important and needful, but not every time Jesus came to visit. Every once in a while he asked for some iced tea. She would get it. Sometimes he’d ask for a sandwich and she’d make it. He knew all he had to do was ask and she’d gladly do it. Maybe that’s what she needed to do – wait for Him to ask and until he did, she’d spend some of that spare time doing something a little more important - like rubbing her master’s feet and seeing him smile as He looked into her eyes saying, “Well done.”

Gorgeous Inside

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softened-and-cropped-rose-budI was driving down one of the side streets last Saturday morning and came to a stop sign. After the cars coming in the opposite direction passed by, I accelerated to the other side of the street. That is when I noticed a tan house for sale. It was not a house out of the ordinary – nothing special. It didn’t capture my attention. It was the sign that hung from the front of the fence that caught my eye. It hung against the wire fence that surrounded the rather plain backdrop. A plastic sign and certainly nothing to write home about, but it was the words that called for my attention.

The first time I saw the words that made up the message of this particular sign, I glanced at them briefly.  However,  they beckoned me for a closer look. Making sure of what I had read, I read them again, only for some reason, this time I read them aloud as I drove past. It was at that moment, when I heard them audibly, that God spoke directly to my heart.

“I’m gorgeous inside.”

That’s all it said. But, have you ever said those words in the quietness of your own presence? Have you ever whispered that to your heart?

I’m gorgeous inside.

I looked at that house and there was absolutely nothing extraordinary about it. It was very plain and very simple. The landscape was turf and a few flowers thrown in here and there. Definitely, nothing spectacular. And then I thought about how that house represented me. I am nothing extraordinary. Nothing above plain and simply put, very simple. I have flaws that others notice and an interior and an exterior that needs a lot of fixing up.

But, I’m gorgeous inside.

It reminded me that I concentrate on what the world sees – what I see – instead of what my Creator sees. He sees a soul that has been made clean and pure by the righteousness of His beloved Son. When He sees me, He sees His Son.

I am gorgeous inside.

I am a reflection of my Maker. The apple of His eye. Made in His image and righteous in His sight.

I am gorgeous inside.

I know because He told me so. And He announced it to the rest of the world on a plastic sign, hanging on the front of a wire fence, on a street named Mt. Carroll, in a town called Coeur d’Alene.

Hand Over The Twinkie

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I was driving down Wilbur Ave. tonight on the way to the store in pursuit of a birthday gift. Listening to the radio, Matt Redman, a renowned Christian worship leader, was playing. His song was talking about knowing God. So, I began having a conversation with God. It began somewhat like this…

“Lord, I want to know you better and love you more. I know I get so distracted and it’s in no time in my conversations that it seems I’m up and about, attending to whatever demanded my attention away from you.”

I continued to drive and talk…

“It seems it doesn’t take much any more to take my focus off of you. I say I need direction and yet I hurry off to the next important thing…”

I was thankful the traffic was light because that slowed me down and I asked myself, ‘What is the next important thing, anyhow? What is so important that I allow it to capture my attention of the One which I claim I want to know so much more deeply?’

That thought led me to thoughts of fasting and opened my eyes a little more clearly to that area of the Christian life. I know that fasting is giving up something, sacrificing something, in order to show God you’re serious about what you want. At least, that’s how it was explained to me. But, it has always seemed like more than that.

‘Lord’, I say, ‘I am giving up all food for the day so that you will give me guidance for the choices ahead of me.’ And I skip breakfast, forget to pray, and by lunch I’m cheating.

If you’re like me, I’ve taken a bite of sandwich and bam! – I remember that sandwich wasn’t a part of my day. And so I go about the rest of the day living in guilt over the bite I took and the ten other bites I gave my dog and I determine that it won’t happen again.

Fasting… I think about it in terms of showing God I’m serious about a deeper relationship with Him.

I’m serious. I’m determined. I’m sincere.

But then I wonder – am I so serious that I’d be willing to give something up to show God just how serious I am? I thought back to other times in my life… Like when your friend brings a Twinkie to school in their lunch and you have carrots. You determine you’ll make a trade. You say you’ll give them your carrots because you really want that Twinkie. Deal?

No deal.

How about the chips? Deal?

No deal. But they do have something in mind that will satisfy them. The necklace around your neck. You hesitate because your mom gave you that for your birthday and you wear it practically every day. But, you give in and take it off. All because you want that Twinkie so badly.

As you hand over the goods, they give you a fluffy, greasy little cake equipped with preservatives that will keep you alive an extra 5 years.

And so, it makes me wonder, ‘How badly do I want this relationship with God that I speak about? This deeper, intimate relationship that can and will satisfy any hunger or need? Am I willing to say, ‘Lord, what is it you want me to give you?’ And then I have a brilliant idea and I say, ‘I’ll give you my carrots.’

No deal. He doesn’t want the carrots.

Chips?

He’s not into chips.

And He just looks at me. And I look down at my Twinkie. I really wanted that Twinkie. I’ve been waiting all day for that Twinkie.

But I want Him more.