With a Backward Glance...

Last week I found this written in a journal from November 2008.

“I just now realized my prayer of June 23rd has been coming true. God answered my “growing up” request by letting things NOT go the way I want and making me take [life] by the horns and deal with it. Wow. God answered that prayer, and I’ve been complaining. How stupid of me. I guess this is all just part of the growing process.”

I remember that day, reading backwards through my journals and seeing all the difficulties I recorded going through, and then I found my prayer to be grown written at the very beginning of all of those trials. I remember being hit with the realization that God was answering my prayer and I hadn’t even recognized it.

Thinking about that again today, I am in awe of the fact that God would hang on to me, and continue to work on me, even when I was essentially accusing him for putting me through the growth I asked for. He is so patient and loving, I can hardly believe it!

I love to journal, and while it’s so very important to not “live in the past” (because I’ll miss out on today), some great things that can come from re-visiting where we’ve been are:

1. We will be reminded of things God has already taught us -- that we may or may not still be applying to life.
2. We can see where God has taken us from and be encouraged to see where He’s brought us to.
3. We can use our experiences from times gone by to bless, encourage or challenge others.

It’s always amazing and humbling and encouraging and convicting to read through my own life. There’s times when I thought I had it all together, and I laugh because I SO didn’t. There’s times I was completely broken and depleted and turned to all the wrong sources before turning to God, the true source of healing and fulfillment. It’s hard to read over some of that, but it’s always a helpful reminder to not go that path again. Then, there are all the WOW stories. The times I had faith and God moved. The blessings and even miracles I’ve experienced. The little things God did for me that I don’t always remember off the top of my head. Like a great conversation with a friend, or an answer to a deep question or desire coming at just the right time. Reading all of this brings the desire to get deeper into my relationship with God... and to see what He will do next.

I encourage you to reflect on the work God has done in your life, and thank Him for it! Then press on, refreshed in Him!

 If you can’t see any works, I would encourage you to turn to God with a willing heart and ask Him to work in you. Then, watch as He moves.
If you don’t have a personal relationship with God, none of this will be possible. I ache for you, because without God, life is so empty and futile... no matter how “fine” it may seem right now. I beg you to seek Him. He is so good, so loving, so caring and so much more than I can even describe. And He longs to show himself to you, He desires a personal relationship with you. He loves you.


Mmmhmmm. Mmmmmmmhmmmm.

Betkany

God's Undeniablilty

While teaching Bible stories for three weeks over the summer, God’s “undeniability” overwhelmed me. When God shows up, there is no denying it. 


Here’s one case. 
It’s paraphrased from Scripture, almost how I would have taught it, but without my own thoughts and applications inserted (I'm too jetlagged and lack motivation to type and organize the plethora of comments I have on the story...). 


I’ll try to post other stories we used that showcase God’s undeniable power soon, but in the meantime, I highly recommend digging in to the book of Daniel yourself and really contemplating the awesome ways that God shows up. 


It blew me away.

From Daniel 3

King Nebuchadnezzar made a giant statue and set it up in Babylon. He called all his rulers and important officials to come to its dedication. His herald told them, “As soon as you hear the sound of all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship this image. If you do not, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace!”
When the music played, all the people fell down and worshiped. But, some men came to the king and said, “Oh king, live forever! You said that everyone who hears the music must fall down and worship the golden statue, or else be thrown into the fiery furnace. But there are some Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who have ignored you! They don’t serve your gods OR worship the statue you made. ”
Nebuchadnezzar was furious! He called for the men, and they were brought before him. the king said to them, “Is it true that you that you don’t serve my gods or worship the statue that I set up?” Then he gave them one more chance, “When you hear the music,” the king explained, “if you fall down and worship the golden statue, then good. But if you don’t worship it, you WILL be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?!”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have nothing to say, because even if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God that we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O King. But even if He does not rescue us, know this: We will NOT serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.
Nebuchadnezzar was FURIOUS ad he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. His strongest soldiers tied up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and threw them into the blazing furnace. The fire was so hot, that the flames killed the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in. 

Now, the king, who was watching, leaped up and asked in astonishment, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them in the fire?” His men replied, “of course, O king.” Then the king said, “Look! I see not three but four men walking around in the fire, they're not hurt and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!” So Nebuchadnezzar called out to them, “Shadrach! Meshach! Abednego! Servants of the Most High God, COME OUT and come here!” And out they came! The officials crowded around them and saw that the fire had not harmed them, not even a hair from their heads had burnt off. Only the ropes with which they were bound. They didn’t even smell like smoke!

Then, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants, who trusted in Him, defied the king’s command and were willing to lose their lives rather than worship another god than their own God. Therefore, I make a a decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, be torn limb from limb and their houses destroyed. For there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way.”

When CPR is a Bad Thing.

So It’s been a while. To say I’ve been busy is not adequate anymore. It’s just my lifestyle, it’s not gonna change anytime soon. I guess i will say I haven’t been able to take time out of life to write like I used to do. But here I am again, because I have some ideas clawing at my mind, begging to be released into words.

The idea I’ve been toying with lately is in regard to the human struggle against the flesh.  And how it can interfere with our productivity and ministry.
Yesterday I was visiting Bay Area First Baptist, where I was involved with Vacation Bible School this past week. The speaker was talking mostly about/to fathers in honor of Father’s Day, but I got so much out of it for ME as a believer. And it solidified some of my thoughts.

The passage that stuck out to me was Galatians 5:16-25 

 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 

So here’s my mental picture.

When we, as believers who have died with Christ and been raised to walk in newness of life, give in to the works of the flesh (as recorded in verses 19, 20 and 21), it is as though we are digging out the decomposing, sinfully rotten self we crucified at the time of our salvation and attempting to perform CPR. That’s disgusting!

Inside of every believer is a Helper, the Holy Spirit of God. As I like to tell my students, it’s the very same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead -LIVING INSIDE. The Helper does just as his name suggests- helps! Helps us to say “no” to temptation and “yes” to God. (nod to the best GNC Bible teacher, Mrs. Frankovich, on that one!)

Those works of the flesh are no longer our obligation if we are living by the Spirit of God. Instead, we have the power to produce fruit, not death. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Here’s what I told myself in regards to all this:

If I am so busy dragging around (and attempting to resuscitate) a dead thing, how in the WORLD do I think I’m going to be effective for the kingdom of Christ? If I’m focused on trying to put some life back into what I’ve killed, how can I be offering an example of living by the Spirit?

I can’t. At least not very well. And not without confusing people, and exhausting myself along the way. Trust me, I speak from experience.

So, while it’s (unfortunately) hard indeed to leave that rotting hunk of sinful-self alone, imagining dragging it around all day in attempt to revive it certainly gives a mental picture that disturbs the soul just enough to remember to knock it off when I’m dabbling with the works of the flesh.

I keep thinking what it would be like to make this into an object lesson for my 1st through 6th graders. I can just see me now, walking onto the stage with a halloween dummy strapped to my back.... yeah, maybe not such a good idea. But honestly, with something as hard to shake as the grip of the sinful nature, you have to get radical or get lost.

Instead of spending my time giving CPR, I want to be using my every breath to bless others, to honor God, to bring the good news of Salvation to those who haven’t heard.

I’ve got only one go at life here on earth, and I want to truly live.

Well, that’s all for now, folks. Gotta dive into a harrowing blitz week with the Slovakia team now. Focus, focus, focus. I’ll be back at the end of summer with something for sure, and maybe I’ll make a quick stop in mid-summer. We’ll see.

Until then, I remain...

Betkany