Saturday, November 8, 2008
Several years ago, I was asked to speak at a women’s retreat. The theme was “How to Keep Growing When the Son Don’t Shine.” As I contemplated this idea, the thought came to me – but, the sun is always shining! There are various reasons we may not see it, but the sun never ceases to shine. As for the Son, He never ceases to shine either. He IS the light of the world – not He will be nor He was – but He IS the light of the world. Always IS. Present tense. Yesterday, today and forever, He shines!!
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So then, why does it seem dark sometimes? One reason is because it is nighttime. At night, the earth is turned away from the sun. And when it seems dark spiritually, perhaps it is because we have turned away from Him. Have we stopped spending time with Him? Are we standing in or relying on our own strength? The answer is simple: turn our focus back to Him, spend time in the Word and prayer, enjoy the fellowship of believers. I know I said the answer is simple, but that’s just simple for me to say. It is not always easy to do. Just take one tiny baby step in the right direction, and God will meet with us. He may ask us to keep taking those steps, but He gives us the strength to do it as we lean on Him. “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Cor. 4:6-7)
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Other times, it seems dark because something is blocking the sun, like an eclipse or dark clouds. There are things that seem huge and overwhelming, but the fact is – nothing is bigger than the sun! It’s just that these issues are closer. When is your thumb bigger than the sun? When it’s right in front of your eye! These obstacles capture our attention and block our view of the Son. But if we can step back and put things in the proper perspective, they shrink in comparison. My friends, we are engaged in spiritual warfare, and an effective enemy tactic is to distract our focus. He uses busyness, family or friend problems, work concerns, over-sensitivity, self-consciousness, financial worries, etc. to attract our attention. When we concentrate on eternal matters, the things of this world dim in comparison. Like looking through the lens of a camera, if our focus is on things nearby, those details in the background are fuzzy. When we adjust the lens, we can bring the background into crisp detail, and the close things are less harrowing. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”(Heb. 12:2-3)
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Lastly, when the sun’s glare is difficult to endure, we put on our sunglasses. We can still see the sun, but it’s dimmed. And people can’t see us as clearly either. We hide behind a façade, and don’t face the issues that keep us from the light. From minor misunderstandings to serious hidden sin, we can cautiously be near God, and yet separated from Him. We put up a barrier to keep God and people at a “safe” distance. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. God removed the barrier to the Holy of Holies signifying our new opportunity to have a direct personal relationship with Jesus. “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away. … All of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.” ( 2 Cor. 3:16-18)
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Oh, may we become more like Him and reflect His glory more and more!! That is my prayer for you and for me, beloved.
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Susan
Month: July 2009
Gentle Leader
My little pup, Roxie and I took a stroll yesterday in the beautiful autumn weather. Now, this doggie of mine is a natural born “puller”. She always has been. Put the leash on her, and she is so excited, she can’t wait to get moving. It puts a terrible strain on her neck. We tried the choker collar to no avail. Tried one with teeth that cut into her neck, that was a nightmare. Then we found the “Gentle Leader”. It is a miracle. No stress. No pulling. No problem. It’s based on the theory of a horse’s reign. Instead of attaching the leash to the back of her neck, it attaches under her chin. If she pulls, her head will go down and she stops pulling immediately. The only thing is – she doesn’t much like putting it on.
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When she sees it coming, she turns her head to the side. So like the mom I am, I start talking to her: “I know, baby, it’s not what you want, but it’s what you need.” Well, that reminded me of the Rolling Stones song my husband would sing to our kids when they were young: “You can’t always get what you want… you get what you need…”
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This episode got me thinking that I have a Gentle Leader too: “You will keep on guiding me with Your command leading me to a glorious destiny.” Psalm 73:24
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Our Lord is a most Gentle Leader, is He not? We want to pull this way or that. He knows that often what we want is not what we need, and He leads us in the right direction. We may resist or turn aside, but if we allow Him to direct us our paths, we will experience His best for us.
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Roxie overcomes her initial objection because she knows that it’s only with the Gentle Leader she’ll have that walk she longs to have.
Susan
Will the real miracle please stand up!
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The real miracle here, I think, is not so much that people were spared death. The miracle is prayer itself. That the Creator of the entire universe would deem to hear our feeble cries for help is amazing. That He who set stars and planets into orbits is concerned with our baby’s fever, our financial woes, our relationship problems, even our parking spaces! (Don’t even tell me you’ve never prayed for a parking spot!) He is intimately aquainted with all our ways, and He greatly desires to spend time with us as a mother loves to spend time with her child. What if we never heard from our child unless he or she was in trouble? Wouldn’t that be so sad? We love to celebrate their joys, their sorrows and their everyday experiences. And so does our heavenly Father. It’s not that He doesn’t know about what’s happening. It’s about relationship! He wants to hear about it from us, and prayer will build that relationship on our part. It will help us to know Him better the more we speak with Him.
Miracle in Charlotte
When I heard that the plane was destined for Charlotte, I felt the impact profoundly. Charlotte holds a very special place in my heart, having visited there last June for what has become a turning point of my life. I plan to share more on this in the future, but God’s miracles were present at the She Speaks conference in Charlotte. The fact that I was even there was a miracle in itself. It was a conference for speakers and writers and women in Christian ministry. I have kept secret a desire to write a book for about 8 years when I found myself at this con ference. At the end of the first day, I cried myself to sleep, “There is NO way that I am up to this task.” My thoughts as I drifted off to sleep were that I would pay attention to the sessions the next day and glean what I could from the various speakers, but forget about my book dream. When I woke up the following morning, a single thought pushed through the haze. “Do not bury your talent. ” I had one talent, and I did NOT want to be compared to the wicked and lazy servant who buried his one talent rather than invest it. I didn’t give this much more thought, but my spirit felt lighter as I made my way to the sessions that day. The first speaker shared an uplifting devotion, and then I proceeded to a session I had previously selected called “Pathway to Publication.” This presentation was a nuts & bolts, point by point, systematic discussion about pursuing publication. Since I had decided that I wasn’t going to pursue publication, I wondered what I was doing there. Near the end of the session, the speaker said, “Now, don’t forget. You have to give an account to God. Do not bury your talent.” She continued on with her factual helpful information, but sitting there, I could barely breathe. Did I hear correctly? Indeed I did. Later on, we spoke and she (again very matter-of-factly) repeated, “Yes, you have to give an account… Do not bury your talent.” This was a confirmation to me to do what I believe God has called me to do.
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I purchased a keychain in Charlotte Airport waiting for my delayed flight back to NY. It is a daily reminder to me that God works even in the smallest details of my life.
There were many other doors that opened in 2008, but I share this one today because it confirms the miracle that our all-knowing, all-powerful God cares about our concerns, no matter how tiny they seem in comparison to His vastness, and He wants us to share our burdens with Him. He desires relationship with us, and to me, that’s a miracle!!
Miracle at your place
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Susan
News
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Big Fruit!
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8
Don’t need to see it to believe it
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Do we believe the wind exists?
So can we believe the God does too?
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Jesus told Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:28
May we believe and be blessed!!
Surrender is Freedom
On Independence Day, there’s a lot of talk about freedom and liberty. Thankfully, we do not live under the bondage that is found in some other countries. But all too often, we live in bondage to fear, pride, depression, anger. We may not have control over these areas of our lives. The answer is surrender.
In Bible times, slavery was common. Slaves had no freedom, but when offered freedom, some chose to live surrendered to their Master, for life with a kind Master was superior to freedom outside that home. These surrendered slaves were called “bond-slaves.” The Apostle Paul often referred to himself as a bond-slave of Jesus Christ.
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While unjustly imprisoned, Paul wrote the letter to the Philippian church. In it, he says that due to his being in chains, the gospel was shared with entire palace guard. He sees that his lack of freedom had a greater purpose. He was surrendered.
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From Paul’s letter to the Philippians we can discern his answers to the bondages I mentioned above:
You will not have to worry
Phil. 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
You will not feel the need to be in charge
Phil 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
You will experience true joy
Phil: 4:4-5 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
You will be free from anger
Phil 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.
The Christian life is a paradox in many ways-
-When we are weak, we are strong
-The first shall be last
-You must lose your life to find it
-To live forever, you must die to yourself
And…
-True freedom means surrender to the One who owns you
Happy Independence Day to you.
May you experience true freedom in surrender to the King of Kings!
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
Susan
We’re Empty Nesters!
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Before long, both Momma and Poppa returned, flying to and fro in a frenzy encouraging baby to take flight with them.
After a few seconds, baby tenderly lit off the nest and experienced her first miracle of flight. The three flew across the yard, across the street headed for a neighbor’s tree, the first stop on their journey onward.
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They poop on our decks.
(and windows!)