John 8:7

Another great week of discussions as we reap the harvest of 8 weeks of hard lessons in this tabernacle study!

In our study this week we read James 8:7:

When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

We discussed the way we sometimes think of our righteous acts. We were reminded that our righteous acts are like filthy rags. We studied the fact that Christ's death was for the pharisees, those who gave him vinegar to drink, and even those who drove the nails into his hands and feet. In the middle of one of the worst times in the history of man, Christ died for us. Sobering news, but great news!

Our discussion turned to the fact that it is important for long time, been going to church your whole life, believers to remember that their righteous acts are like filthy rags. Sometimes we think we are doing pretty good. At least we don't have big things on the list like murder, or adultery, but sadly, we sometimes forget that slandering someone is the same as murdering them to God.

We talked about how easy it is to sit in judgement of people who seem to be in a mess all the time. We sit back and wonder, "why can't they get their act together?!"

I shared the story of feeling the eyes of judgement on me when I had to appear before the council as a pregnant unmarried teenager. It hurt.

On the other side of the coin we talked about the way things have become so gray, and how we really need to call a sin a sin. Especially in church leadership, the Bible calls for discipline, it needs to be done.

I thought about what I would say to a pregnant teenager if I were called on to the job of church discipline, and it would go something like this:

As your sister in Christ, I need to talk to you about the situation you find yourself in. The Bible teaches us the law, and you probably already know that some of your past actions are considered sins according to God's Holy Word. I'm sure you already feel bad, and guilty about your sin. We all sin against God and fall short, no one is perfect. Here's the good news, Jesus death was for the sinner, not for the "perfect" or the "sinless" person. In fact not one perfect person exists, so Jesus died for each of us. I'm here on behalf of the church to remind you that God still loves you, and that, once you repent, your sins of the past will be GONE and remembered no more. You are a beloved child of God and His only desire is that you remain in a close relationship to Him. If there is anything we can do for you, we are here as your God's family.

The goal of church discipline should certainly be to draw the wayward back to God. Let's pray for the elders of our churches as they make these difficult visits, and try to handle awkward situations in love. And let's vow to keep looking inward at our own hearts to see where we are falling short, instead of looking around in judgement of others. Jesus died for the sinners...that's you and me, and the addict, and the murderer.

Are we committed?

So we're staring down the last 2 lessons of the Tabernacle study. I think we've had more drop outs than people who have stuck with this study so far. In talking with the women, the theme is the same, no time to do the homework. And, let's face it, you don't get as much out of the discussions when you haven't done the lesson.

So yesterday I was finishing up my homework, and it talks about what it must have felt like for Moses when all the items for the tabernacle passed inspection. It has been a challenge for us to LEARN about all the details and specific instructions that went into creating each article in the tabernacle. God even chose who could do what, in what order, with what materials and so on. Exhausting work in my opinion. I've been studying for weeks, and I still mix up the golden and bronze alters occassionally.

Imagine the Israelites building this thing. Hammering out the lampstand out of one solid piece of gold. Weaving intricate images of cherubim into the hides. Can you even imagine the time involved, the dedication it must have taken? And remember it wasn't like they could just throw a frozen pizza in the oven for supper either, just eating and having water to drink took time and energy to pull it off, add all of these projects to the "to-do list" and wow, what dedication it must have taken.

Today we're not asked to hammer out golden lampstands, and cover acacia wood with gold to make a the table of the bread of the presence. And modern conveniences exist all around us to make our daily tasks easier and less time consuming...I mean, can you imagine washing your clothes with a rock in the river??? yuck.

The Bible is full of every single answer to all the issues in our daily life. God tells us to trust Him, that He will care for us, he watches over the birds of the field he will watch over us. Over and over the stories and God's own words in the Bible show us that anything and everything that happens in our lives was ordained by God who loves us, our prayers are brought to The Father thru Jesus who lives to intercede for us...if that doesn't make us sleep better at night, I don't know what will!!!

But, in order to believe what the Bible tells us, to trust God fully....YOU HAVE TO OPEN IT AND READ IT! I spent years and years calling myself a believer....and never opening the Bible. In my life this led to double minded living. From years of growing up in the church, I knew what the Bible said, and what God's promises were, but without spending time in a relationship with God, my head and heart were always messed up. Life's challenges felt like punishment, and I could never see how any good would come from the trials I was facing. Things were hopeless, and life was a mess.

I'm just wondering if anyone in this generation would have put in the time and dedication it took Moses and the Israelites to build a tabernacle? Can you think of anyone who would have stepped up? I mean we don't even have what it takes to complete 10 lessons of homework with 14 days to get 5 days completed. I myself have struggles this year to complete the lessons. It feels like toooooo much information every week, my brain is stretched in many directions and without the proper level of quite and peace to get the homework done, I find myself missing key components the first time around. I've nearly done every lesson 2 times just to get the full effect of the day's lesson. Would I have done this if I didn't have to lead....I'm not positive I would have. I may very well have been a drop out. I'm busy. Carving out quiet time is hard.

When Moses learned that every item they had worked so hard to complete for the tabernacle had been inspected and approved, he blessed the people. And you know what those of us who have stuck this year's study out are receiving blessing every week thru the video teaching, and thru the discussions. As hard and time consuming as it has been I would not trade the fact that at this moment in time I have a better understanding of the Bible than I ever have before.

And for me, this study has worked to make the knowledge that Jesus death was for me, even sinner, loud mouth, daily messing it up, ME! Praise God for his perfect plan. He inspired the very lessons we complete, and He knows exactly who needs what encouragement, and then we ask Him to teach us thru His Word each week, and He does!

I'm just saying, I have friends who go to a personal trainer 5 days a week, spending large amounts of cash, and a lot of time, in order to maintain a slim body. I see friends who go to a tanning bed and lay in it for 30 minutes every single day to look tan in the winter. Yet it's hard for us to spend time with God who has a lot more to offer us than a hot, tan body. And I was the same way, and I still am, I spend time I could use to meet with God on a whole lot of useless things. But I praise God for the women who will complete this study with me. It's been a long hard road with a whole lot of blanks to fill in. But the blessings are already obvious.

And next year, as many of you know I will be in Florida, and most likely not yet leading a Bible study, but I will be hunting down a structured study to attend. I will make time in my schedule to go, whether that means changing a work schedule or even, (gasp) taking time out of laying on the beach. God will be a priority to me, and I'm asking my sisters in the Word to hold me accountable for it.

Thank you to each of you who faithfully attend and share your lives. I think of you all often with love, and I will always remember the time we've spent together.

to be profoundly effective in this generation...

Wow ladies we have been challenged over and over this year thru "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place" to be profoundly effective, and in last week's video Beth Moore pointed out that God calls us to be profoundly effective in THIS GENERATION. She asked, "what are we waiting for?!" Good question.

Immediately my heart began to race, it is how I am made, give me a task, and I'll set out to accomplish something. My mind raced too, with questions; "am I doing enough? what else can I do? am I even mildly effective?".

As this idea of being profoundly effective in my generation bounced around my head the past week, God finally got thru the jumble of noise and activity that is my brain, and I think I'm finally getting a picture of what He means for me to be profoundly effective. Surprisingly it doesn't mean signing up to "do more stuff", it doesn't even mean getting a plan of action together and moving forward.

How am I going to be profoundly effective? It's easier than I oringally thought. I believe that God assigned my spiritual gifts, He thought them thru and gave certain gifts specifically to me. I can already see and believe fully that God will use everything He allows to happen in my life for His good. I believe that Jesus lives to intercede on my behalf to the Father. I believe that my past, present and future has purpose in the Kingdom of God. I will stay rooted in God's word, I will pray and fellowship with believers every chance I get. I will remain in the vine, I will ask the Holy Spirit to fill me up so that I can be a light in this dark world.

I'm re-thinking this effectiveness out...and I'm starting to see that it's not so much WHAT we do, but WHO we are. It's not about volunteering for yet another program, it's not about spending more time doing busy work. God has a plan for every moment of our day....and we won't always know when we've been "profoundly effective". If the Spirit lives in our hearts, if we are full of God's love and pouring that out onto people everywhere we go, then we are the light we are called to be.

We don't need to sit around and wait for the perfect opportunity to be profoundly effective, every moment of every day is an opportunity to let God use us to be profoundly effective in our generation, isn't that cool?!

Jesus lives to intercede for us...

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them Hebrews" 7:25 NIV

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" Hebrews 7:25 KJV

Whether you are in the Tues night group, or the Wed morning group, you will want to clear your schedule to see the video teaching of Heb 7:25 this week.

I usually don't watch the dvd in advance, but something this morning just prompted me to watch it while I got ready for work, and I am so glad that I did.

For me, it is the most meaningful lesson of this study...and wow there have been powerful lessons already. I am so good at asking God "WHY???" In the last few weeks I shared a situation I was dealing with and thru that mess, I was asking God in my prayers, "Why God why do you let people with drug addictions get pregnant and bring babies into this world????....Why and why do you put these people with all this mess into my path??? WHY????"

Through the video teaching this week, I have a better understanding and peace over the why of every single thing. On the one hand I believe God made me this way, and it is partly my nature to ask questions, on the other hand, am I not believing that God's plan for me is in my best interest? Do I really mean it when I pray "Your will be done?" or are those just words?!

I can't wait to discuss this video with you all tonight/tomorrow. Until then, I ask that God would break down the barriers that stand in the way of us getting together, and that He would open our hearts and our minds to what He needs to teach us thru this lesson.

I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart

Does Community Church put on an awesome Women's retreat, or what?!

Picture pink and brown "kid in a candy shop" theme. Adorable decorations
Imagine a "Sunday dinner" menu; pot roast, mashed potatoes and green beans. Yum.
And a speaker who kept us laughing the whole day with her funny stories and jokes. Truth be told, some of the stories in and of themselves weren't very funny, but Glenna Salsbury finds the joy in all things.

What I appreciated most about Glenna Salsbury was her honesty, and the one thing that keeps ringing in my head is that "Jesus FINDS us!" The parables of the pearl and the treasure in the field were so key to knowing who we are in Christ; sought out, bought with a price, treasured forever. Praise Him.

All of you from WIW know that Gayle De Vries has been struggling with some health issues, but you wouldn't have known it to see her on Saturday. She looked wonderful in her pink jacket, and was just as charming and sweet as always. A mere 3 days earlier after study I told my husband I didn't think she'd be able to pull it off. Wednesday Gayle looked tired, and worn out, but Saturday found her chipper, and bright. Surely God carried her thru the day, and gave her the strength and we are so thankful for that!

Pray for extra blessings for all those hard workers of the retreat committee. They really put more work into that day than anyone ever should, but the results are great, women are blessed and feel special, and God teaches us thru the guest speaker, and hearts are filled with Joy as a result.

On Friday I had given my ticket for the retreat to my mom. After a plea on the previous Sunday for workers, I had decided to serve instead, but each member of the committee encouraged me to sit down and enjoy the day. Thank you for that. I sure did enjoy the day, even though it took quite some time for me to sit still without feeling like I should be doing something. And thank you to Lynae Dykstra too, who, while we were greeting, told me to stop being ridiculous and to relax and enjoy the day. I'm not so good at that, and I really appreciated the nudge to relax. In return I got to give Patty Roodzant the same nudge. She's really bad at relaxing and letting someone else do the work, but I think she finally managed to settle in to the idea also.

Joy is contagious, start spreading some around today. Remember you were bought for a price, isn't that reason enough to be joyful?!

bitterness

Apparently President Obama mentioned Tonya Harding while on the campaign trail in December. He stated that he wasn't going to pull a "Tonya Harding" on Hillary Clinton just to win the state of Iowa.

In case you lived in a cave back in 1994, Tonya Harding was an olympic figure skater who had a hand in the attack on her figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan, hiring a couple of thugs to club her in the knee before her performance.

Yesterday I caught the end of an interview with Tonya Harding who was quite bitter about the president talking about her. She spoke through gritted teeth and squinted her eyes while railing the president for using her name when the country is in financial crisis. She felt he should have more important things to do than to bring her name up again.

She was practically spewing venom saying things like "how long do I have to pay for my mistakes" and "how much punishment do you want me to endure".

She's obviously still bitter some 15 years later. How sad. What a different life she could lead could if she would just confess to wrong doing, ask for and accept forgiveness, then move on.

Easy to say when one knows God. In God we have someone to confess our sins to. We can just get on our knees at anytime and tell our Father God how we have sinned. And because Jesus already paid the price for that very sin, we can ask forgiveness, and then we can live in the knowledge that God forgives our every sin, and covers us with grace thru His Son.

The world is not full of grace for sinners. The world seems to enjoy watching someone fall on their face. I think maybe it makes us feel better about our own mistakes when we can look at someone else and point out their faults.

I imagine Tonya Harding is sick to death and tired of being the butt of jokes, and now even the president of the United States has made fun of her by name. I can picture the Obama speech writer thinking "here have the president elect say Tonya Harding because it will help him relate to 40 year olds who remember the Tonya Harding incident!" good one.

Tonya Harding's wound has obviously not been healed, from her demeanor during the interview I saw yesterday, her wound is gaping and bleeding 15 years after the original blow. I remember reading that she was suffering from alcohol addiction some years ago. One could guess she tries to address her pain by dulling it with booze, but that does nothing to heal her original wound.

There is hope for Tonya. No one is beyond God's reach. This has served as a reminder for me, to be thankful that I have a God who forgives my sins and heals my self inflicted wounds. Without Him the wound festers and the blood flows, and it hurts forever and bitterness reigns.

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:13

hard lessons

I am convinced that there are a certain type of people who wake up each morning determined to make everyone in their path miserable.

Before they open their mouth, the look on their face tells the story; the scowl, the creased forehead, the squinty eyes.

Now I'm not talking about the kind of person who has the occassional bad day or the one who sees the cup as half empty. I'm talking the one who, no matter how sweetly a store clerk might speak to her, can not find nice words to say back.

Well today a woman that falls into the category described above, graced me with her presence. I'm telling you, she was just looking for a fight, and she almost got one.

Let me tell ya, miss crabby pants sure got under my skin today. Twenty nice people can say all nice things, but the words of that one unpleasant person can stick with you all day long! I vented to my poor husband via text message, and he sent one back, it said, "Think of the 200 nice things ppl have said, and remember me and Jesus love u."

Awwww! And then it hit me, oh yeah, that sermon series, yuck I can not and will not forgive crabby lady...she's undeserving! No, we're called to forgive....everyone. And in reality I got pretty snippy with her so I probably could apologize myself.

God sure asks us to live up to big things, doesn't He? I so want to make exceptions to the rule...my mind thinks even Jesus would get annoyed with that lady!!!!

So, I've asked God to help me forgive even crabby pants, and while I was praying I found myself praying for her, asking God to heal whatever inside her makes her so bitter toward the world. Wow that sure feels better than the stewing I had been doing over her unkindness.

God calls us to forgive, he gives us the forgiveness in our hearts, even when we can't muster it on our own, and then peace follows. God's methods are so good and so right!