Month: January 2016

Asking for a Pony

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

“What do you want?” I remember asking that with an exasperated sigh when being pestered by a whining child. Children’s requests are almost universally self-focused and addressed to parents who have many responses from silence to angry no’s to soft headed indulgence of foolish whims. The child often makes extravagant promises in the hope of a positive parental response. Our human parenting is so tainted by sin that we have difficulty getting a good picture of the amazing perfection of our Heavenly Father’s parenting of us.

I know that my prayers need to fall in line with God’s will. But my limited knowledge of God’s over-arching plan for the world makes it impossible for me to be absolutely sure that every request I arrow toward heaven is perfectly aligned with what God wants. So the temptation is to shrug my shoulders and sigh, “what’s the use?” and just not pray at all.

But that won’t do. We are commanded to pray. Jesus taught us to pray and we are supposed to pray with belief that we are heard. OK. So what DO I pray for? Isn’t some of what I pray for like a foolish whim that my child asks? “Mommy, I want a palomino pony for my birthday.” Really! What child asks for a plate of broccoli and a stack of books to study as a birthday gift? Isn’t it the same in the Christian walk?

Enter this amazing word from the Psalms.

Asking for a Pony

I have read this promise many times over the years and have made the assumption that surely God meant that if I was a really good girl and really doing lots of noble and good things that He would somehow be pleased enough to give me longings and desires that would please Him.

But this time, I decided to reexamine the passage. I went to my ESV Study Bible and read the notes.

“Some take “the desires” as referring to the feeling of desire, i.e. “God will shape your heart so that it desires the right things”, but the sense is rather, He will give you what your heart desires.” …as they delight themselves in the LORD, their hearts will desire the right things.”

Oh, no! That can’t be. That is TOO grand a promise. “What my heart desires?!” But there it is. Plain and simple. I am immediately reminded of the places in John’s Gospel that I have marked and read many times. Jesus Himself says six times in three chapters in John (14, 15, and 16) the exact same thing.

  • “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do…” (14:13)
  • “If you ask Me anything in my name, I will do it.” (14:14)
  • “…ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (15:8)
  • “…whatever you ask of the Father in My name He will give to you. (15:16)
  • “If you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. (16:23)
  • “As and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (16:24)

These promises from Jesus’ lips must be read in context, but they have the same framework as the Psalmist lays out. The one who loves and obeys Jesus, the one who honors the Father has this amazing promise.

I am still pondering how big this promise is as I frame my prayers. I want help being organized today. I want the process of getting my book printed and published to go smoothly. I want to stay healthy so I can care for my family. I want to grow up spiritually. I want my family and friends to know and love Jesus, too. I want the world set right- the end of war and suffering. The list ranges from the mundane to the lofty, but all of it is part of what my heart desires. I am free to ask. I am assured He hears and will give what I request.

Jesus has commanded me to pray. He has promised to answer and so I get the privilege of entering into His wonderful plan for His world- by PRAYING.

Question: What are the desires of your heart? Have you taken them to Jesus?

Looking For The Way Of This Mess

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

What a mess I’ve made of things! My big mouth has gotten me in trouble again and my eye rolling and huffy sighs have fanned into flame a quarrel with my loved one. I have made a poor choice and now need to know how to “back up my truck” and start on the right path instead.

TEXT

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you…he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him. Psalm 32:8, 10

When I came to this promise in Psalm 32, I was struck by the personal nature of God’s word to the reader The beginning of the Psalm declares the misery of one who is living with sin and the blessed relief when it is confessed to God and forgiven. Then, God goes on to promise to give me instruction and tells me that if I trust Him by following His teaching I will be watched over by Him and surrounded by His mercy (another word for “lovingkindness”). Wow. How amazing is that?!

When I commit sin, I am definitely not going in the way God wants me to. So the question arises: how can I know my sin? Well, the Scripture is plain. When I measure myself against the 10 Commandments- not just the bare words but their implications- I am sobered and grieved at how far short of God’s holiness I fall. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 “There is none righteous, no not one!” Romans 3:10. And right now, I know my behavior has fallen way short of the way a Jesus-follower should behave. So what’s a girl to do?! Ah, listen! Hear the wonderful words from God’s lips to your heart:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.”

God’s guidance is no mystery that only special people get from God. Anyone who needs His direction can find it. “Oh, yes,” you say, “that’s easy for you to say, but I haven’t heard God’s voice. I don’t know what He wants me to do.”

Really? Have you made a regular habit of reading the Bible? If not, why not? When you have, what sorts of things do you find there? Hmm. Well, there is a lot about what God expects of those who follow Him, and there is plenty about not partaking in the sinful things the world does.

Check out Galatians 5: 14-21. The whole Law is summed up in loving God and your fellow man. Then, the writer goes on to say, “the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealously, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like these…”

This isn’t an isolated passage. Scripture abounds in clear instruction on how to live in harmony with others and gives clear definition of sin. For instance, Philippians 2:3 says “do nothing from selfish ness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves…” THERE IT IS. SIN DEFINED AND THE RIGHT COURSE POINTED OUT. How much clearer can God’s Word to me be?

I ask again, have you been reading your Bible? If you have, it is there that you will hear God’s instruction and see the way you should go. Enjoy His loving care.

Question: Will you listen to God’s instruction by reading the Bible regularly? Will you bask in the comfort of His loving, kind gaze upon you as you follow Him?

Fear and Trembling

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

EVERYTHINGYOU'VE EVERWANTED ISON THEOTHER SIDEOF FEAR.

“The LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” So many things come to mind pondering this promise. The context of this promise is very specific direction from God to Joshua, at a very specific point in history so I must exercise caution and wisdom in applying this promise to my own life.
I begin by thinking of the fact that Scripture uses the whole story of the Exodus and the conquering of the Promised Land as a vast and deep picture of the triumph of Jesus in the work of the salvation He accomplished for His people. He delivered us from the power of darkness and delivered us into the kingdom of Light. (Colossians 1:13). We are made “more than conquerors who love us and gave himself for us.” (Romans 8:37).
This “saving” and this “conquering” beg the questions:
From who or what are we saved? And what or who do
we conquer? Do we really conquer anyone or anything?
There are four commands that precede this promise. God tells Joshua he is to “be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed.” Each of these words imply that there is some reason one might be weak or cowardly and fearful. One might tremble at something that inspires fear or be dismayed at a terrible, apparently “un-fixable” problem. So what it is that would require remembering that “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go?”
The life we live in this fallen world confronts us with the enemy of our souls, satan and his evil minions who hold sway over the world until Jesus returns. They stir up horrific evil and trouble for all earth’s inhabitants. But they particularly hate and desire the downfall of the ones Jesus has bought for Himself with His own blood. Satan is our mortal enemy who wants to see us devoured. He uses our own lusts (1 John 2:16) and puppets of evil (John 8:44) in his efforts to cause us to renounce Jesus or to make a shipwreck of our faith.
This battle is real. It is against “the powers of darkness” (Ephesians 6:12) and so you and I must take to heart the encouragement that God spoke to Joshua in much the same way Joshua must have had to do. He faced formidable foes in the wicked pagan people living in Canaan. He had to deal with complex problems in leading the people to the promised place. So we must look at our evil foe in all his roaring, frightening aspects and choose not to be afraid. We must tackle the tough situations with which we are presented with courage, not cowardice.
We need to remind ourselves of the amazing truth: “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Before Jesus was born his parents were instructed to name Him “Immanuel”—which means “God with us.” Wonderful thought: even His name declares the glorious truth of His being with me! This promise does not say God WILL BE with you, but rather God IS with you. There is not and cannot be a time or place where God is not with me. What a wonderful promise!
Question: What causes you to be afraid? Will you cling to the promise that God is with you?

Making Me His

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

Week One of my God’s Promises adventure:
Deuteronomy 30 became my Context Passage and I chose verse 6 to memorize and ponder this week.
Promise to memorize:
Deut. 30_6 NASB

Day one, I was rather troubled by the “circumcision” aspect—after all, I’m not a guy. But when I used my concordance, it led me to Colossians 2:8-15. This “circumcision” is the symbol used to describe God’s cutting away the old nature from me, making me new in Jesus Christ.
I am new in Christ! How amazing! HE did it! I didn’t seek Him. I didn’t save myself. I didn’t and can’t separate myself to be holy like Him. This is work only He can do. And here, in this verse, He promises that He has made me His own. And a really fabulous bonus in this is the joy of knowing that He will work in the lives of my descendants, too! WOW!

Yesterday I noticed in the Colossians passage that He is the one responsible for ALL the aspects of my salvation. How wonderful is that? I am not responsible for being “good enough” to “make it in to heaven.” HE did that!
Today I saw that He has forgiven ALL my transgressions. Psalm 103 immediately came to mind and when I went there, verses 11 and 12 popped out. I pondered how complete is His forgiveness of my sins–“as high as the heavens” and “as far as the east is from the west.”

That second image in particular is very strong. Think of a globe (our earth). If you were to able to walk north (of course, you have to ignore oceans and other “obstacles” for the sake of illustration) …in a straight line, and finally reach the North Pole. What happens if you keep walking the same line right across the top of the earth? That’s right. Suddenly you are going south! And if you could keep walking south until you got to the South Pole, and you crossed that barren landmark and kept walking in your straight line, what direction would you be walking? Yep. North. Hmmm. OK, now let’s start at our home again but this time let’s say you walk east. Keep walking in a straight line east. Will you ever cross a point where you won’t be going east? No. Turn around and walk west. Same thing. This is a magnificent picture of God’s complete forgiveness of our sin. I love His Word! This truth about His loving kindness to me just thrills me every time I read it.

QUESTION: What has God taught you this week in your time with Him in His Word?

Promises, Promises! A New Year- A Fresh Start

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

Every autumn I begin thinking of how I want to structure my personal time with God in the coming year. One year I chose to use a devotional called Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms. ISBN 0-87552-458-3 (pbk) It was a very fruitful year for me spiritually. Other years have been other books, but for this year I decided to try a less “other person’s work” approach. I am planning to focus on God’s Promises.

He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature…

The scheme is this:

  1. Every Sunday I am going to spend some time reading the Word mining for a promise that bears more meditation.
  2. I will read the surrounding context, and choose the main promise as a verse I will work on memorizing during the week.
  3. I am going to make a 3×5 card for each week with the context passage noted, the verse written out

(to look back to for memorizing process) and then notes during the week of other passages that correspond…things I find in the margin notes, or that I stumble across and that play into the Word that the Spirit is speaking to me.

I’m excited about this project. As I was reflecting on how to share it with you, I thought I should tell you that one of the things I really want to do—have wanted and sought to do for years—is to KNOW God.

Years ago I read the book, Knowing God, by J.I. Packer. It is a Christian classic that really impacted my life. (I encourage you to find a copy and read it.) Packer emphasizes the fact that God is so vast that learning about Him is an eternity-long project. God reveals Himself in Scripture in so many ways that just draw you to Him and make you love Him more and more. His promise-making and promise-keeping are part of who He is in relation to us, His special creation. So, I want to think about what He has promised me. I want to make this year one that warms my heart with love, joy and faith in my wonderful, faithful, Promise-Keeping God and Savior.

I hope you will find a way to meet God regularly this year. I would love to have you tag along on this adventure with me. Each week I will post my passage and promise. OOPS! That is a big promise…so, I will add the word “try” to that-

Post a comment below if you like. I’d love to hear from you.

QUESTION: What will be your “New Year” resolution in your relation to Jesus?