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faith

Stand Firm

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 “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 
1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV

Has God ever called you into a new ministry that was out of your comfort zone? Did you feel fearful about taking that first step? This happened to me when we were called to become foster parents. This was not something that my husband and I had ever considered, but it became clear that this was a path set by God. After months of paperwork, background checks, interviews, home visits, and training, our house was about to open to foster children. While waiting for the phone call (which was a lot harder than I thought it would be), I began to ponder the “what ifs.” What if there’s a behavior that I won’t know how to handle? What if there is a medical issue that I don’t know how to deal with? What if there is no longer peace in my home?

But I had nothing to fear. God revealed a message of truth to me about walking in faith. Like the children in the picture, it may be scary to cross the slippery log over the creek, but I can stand firm with God and know that He will finish what He has started. I realized that I am not capable of carrying out this ministry by myself, and that is actually a blessing. All I have to do is begin walking and when I can’t go any further, then God will equip me. I don’t have to have all of the answers before I begin. I only need to trust Him.

Since then we have had three foster children and there have been many difficult times (some of the most challenging of my life). These times require me to surrender to God, and he has never let me down. The beautiful moments in which I have seen the foster children seek God have been more rewarding than if I had never taken those scary steps to get to that point.1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV says “stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Stand firm. Don’t let the chaos cause you to lose balance. The Lord is working in their lives.

I can tell you from this experience that if God called you into a new ministry, He will be faithful to carry out his work through you. You do not need to be fearful, but only to surrender in faith and take the first step. You will see that He will be there equipping you the whole way.

In Christ alone,

Erin Tabor

 

 

Photo Credit: My own photo

Faith, Faults, and Failures

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“And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith . . .”
 Hebrews 11:32-33 NASB

Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the ‘hall of faith’ chapter in the Bible. Among its verses you read of the remarkable reliance and trust of men and women such as Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. As I was reading this chapter recently, verses 32 and 33 caught my attention. I’m familiar with most of the men listed in verse 32, but Jephthah, not so much. What had he done that would merit his name to be listed in this faith chapter?

Upon research, I discovered that Jephthah, an Israelite from Gilead, was driven out of town after he grew up because he was the son of a harlot. But, because he was a mighty warrior, he was summoned to come and fight against the warring Ammonites. The Gileadite elders made him their head and chief; he became their judge for six years. However, Jephthah made a tragic vow to the LORD. If God would give him victory over his enemies, he would sacrifice whatever came out of his house when he returned in peace. It cost him the life of his daughter, his one and only child. How sad!

What of the other men listed in verse 32? What was hiding among their faithful acts?

Gideon – because of his fear of the people, he destroyed the idols of Baal and the Asherah as God commanded, but at night instead of in the daytime. He also asked not once, but twice, for a sign from God that He would deliver Israel through him.

Barak – was summoned to fight against Israel’s enemies, but he refused to go unless Deborah, the judge, went with him. As a result, Barak was victorious, but the honor of defeating the enemies’ commander Sisera was given to an obscure woman, Jael, and not him.

Samson – used by God to defeat the oppressive Philistines; but his weakness for women, and especially Delilah, became his downfall.

David – was known as a man after God’s own heart, yet he committed adultery and murder.

Samuel – was one of the greatest prophets of old, yet both of his sons turned from following God and were dishonest, took bribes, and perverted justice.

Sometimes it’s easy to focus on the less than stellar actions of others and even ourselves. We all have faults and failures as did the great list of people in the hall of faith. Nevertheless, I find such hope and encouragement in the fact that God chose to remember them for their great faith, not for the lack thereof. Let us do the same.

“who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut   the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Hebrews             11:33-34 NASB (emphasis mine)

[Digging deeper – Judges 11 – 12:7; Hebrews 11:1-40]

Living by faith,

Beverly <><

 

 

 

Photo Credit: photo by Beverly Lussi

What a loaf of bread can teach us

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“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. “
Romans 5:3-5, NIV

You’d never think a humble loaf of bread could teach us much about the Christian life, but look a little deeper and you’d be astonished. In the Bible study ‘Feasts of the Bible,’ I’m examining what bread offered as a sacrifice can mean. Jewish feasts required many different items God requested. Some of the foods were bitter to represent trials in life, other items were sweet to represent the hope of a Messiah. Normally bread offered up for sacrifice is unleavened, with a very notable exception.

One feast calls for two loaves of bread, with leaven, made with very fine flour. The leavening throughout the bread represents our sin, the flour the refining process, and two loaves portray Jews and Gentiles. To dig deeper, I decided to make my own bread as it would have been made thousands of years ago.

As soon as you start the process the lessons begin. Leaven is made by stirring together simple coarse flour and water and waiting, just as we start our life by being coarse and unrefined. Wild yeast present in the air infects the simple flour and water mixture just as sin infects our untested lives. The leaven is sour and takes over whatever is in your container once you feed it. Just like sin, it grows and destroys.

Then God starts changing things. God asks for refined flour. This flour has been crushed, stomped down, until it is light and pure. God will put us through the same refining process. Once we add this refined white flour to the leaven, the tang of bread becomes less sour. The dough mixture is kneaded and stretched, then left to wait and mature. Often God will knead and stretch us, leaving us to wait on Him. The dough is ready only when it’s been stretched so much that we can see the Light through it. It’s not difficult to draw the comparison there! God will refine us and keep stretching us until we reflect his light. Then we are ready to be put in the refiner’s fire to be an acceptable offering. As James points out, endurance and perseverance perfects us, a worthy and desirable goal. (James 1:2-4)

The beauty of this offering is that God asks us to come as we are. No matter what sin is in our life, so long as we ask his forgiveness He accepts us. His work doesn’t stop there, we are continually being refined, stretched, and left to wait, reflecting His glory throughout the entire process. If you’re struggling, left in a long season of waiting, or even being stretched, take heart. This is the process God uses to refine us! A little lesson from a humble loaf of bread.

In Him,

Amy