by wendy | Jul 15, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Godly Relationships, Hospitality
My sweet elderly neighbor has recently returned from the hospital. Agnes is such an important part of our community here – she truly has a servant heart. Though her mind and spirit are in excellent shape, her body is declining and she needs assistance in order to stay in her home. It is a hard thing for Agnes to accept as she has always been the caretaker, but she is also so grateful for the people who are offering their help.
It has brought such joy to my heart to see the many people volunteering their time to stay with my dear friend. Agnes calls us her “committee” and there are more than 10 volunteers, along with family and some hired help that have come together to assist her through this time. It is an amazing testimony to what it looks like to follow God’s commands about looking after the widows.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
James 1:27
My word study helped me to understand the words and phrases James used in this passage:
- “to look after” implies a range of actions from visiting to inspecting, or being concerned about the needy
- “religion” is defined as the expression of worship
In other words, we express pure worship when we are concerned about and act on behalf of the needy – or those who cannot look after themselves. James goes deeper into this concept later in Chapter 2 when he goes as far as to say that our actions define our faith.
“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
James 2:17
It is important to note that James in NOT saying that we are saved by our actions or deeds, rather genuine faith will PRODUCE good deeds. When we recognize the grace and mercy of God to save us, we are then compelled to have grace and mercy for others. God acts on our behalf – we act on the behalf of others in gratitude for what God has done for us!
In our society, we are accustomed to widows and orphans being cared for by the government or other entities. Many widows are even able to manage their own care – vastly different from biblical times. So are we to assume that this command is no longer relevant? If it is, who are our widows and orphans and how can we fulfill this command?
In many places in Scripture, God notes the difference between wicked and righteous as those who take care of the poor and needy. For example, in contrast to the wicked son of King Josiah, it is said of his father:
“He defended the cause of the poor and needy.”
Jeremiah 22:16
Josiah loved God by loving others and we are to do the same. Widows and orphans are examples of those who have great need and we should consider them our responsibility even when there are other options for them. But they are not the only examples.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40
When we are discerning who we should look after as a part of our worship and faith, we should ask these 2 questions:
- Who are the poor and needy among us?
- Who are the least of these?
There are many ways to serve – numerous opportunities to follow the command of “doing for the least of these.” As we pray about what God would have us do, let us never forget that we are called to follow God’s example.
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.”
Psalm 68:5
Could he be calling your family to serve the lonely today? Perhaps you are the answer to someone’s prayer.
by wendy | Jul 9, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Godly Relationships, Prayer, Tips for Encouraging Others
As I was writing the post, “Prepare and Perfect – Encouragement for the Process” earlier this week, I was reminded of the clear sense of mission Jesus had when he met with the Woman at the Well. When John says that Jesus had to go through Samaria, he is suggesting that Jesus needed to go there to accomplish something – not that it was the only road to get to where He was going. It is this same passion for mission that I want to have in my life as well.
I wrote another post about a “A Mission of Encouragement” last month and this is becoming a theme for me. That most likely means that God is using it as a teaching moment for me – and perhaps you as well. As God continues to bring up the topic of a Mission of Encouragement, He seems to turn it ever so slightly so I can look at it from a different angle each time. This week the angle is intercession – the Encouragement of Prayer.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:18
Throughout Scripture, we are encouraged to pray for:
Each Other
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
James 5:16
Other Believers
“From the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”
Colossians 1:9
Our Country (towns, cities, counties, states)
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Jeremiah 29:7
Our Leaders
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
1 Timothy 2:1-2
Unbelievers
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”
Romans 10:1
In order to be Intentional about our Mission of the Encouragement of Prayer, we need to have Intentional Strategies for Intercession.
Ideas for Intentional Intercession:
1.Planner Prayer
- Gather favorite verses from friends and family and write them on various days in your planner. Commit to pray for that person on that day when it arrives.
- Write a list of people to encourage and pray for as a part of your weekly planning.
- Assign a different day of the week to different groups to pray for.
2. Prayer Book
- Make a flip book of names and prayer needs on index cards.
- Create a prayer album using photos of people you want to pray for.
- Create a “book” from your Christmas Cards and pray through the families at regular intervals.
- Use the church directory or your address book to pray for others.
3. Prayer Device
- Use a prayer app like Echo.
- Keep a list of people to pray for in the notes on your phone.
- Use the photos on your phone to help you pray for others.
- Pray through your contact list or your followers on social media.
4. Traveling Prayer
- Pray for each house and business you pass as you travel to work each day.
- Pray for your neighbors as you walk, bike, or drive through the neighborhood.
- Pray for towns as you travel through.
- Pray for other passengers on your bus, train, or plane.
- Pray for the people you sit beside at stoplights.
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2
by wendy | Jul 8, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Godly Relationships, Trusting God
Our Sunday school lesson yesterday was about the Woman at the Well (John 4:4-26). I have come to love this account because of the way it highlights the kindness of God as He chooses the most broken, the most rejected, the least likely of all to spread the news of who He is! This time, as I taught this passage to our youth, I was reminded of His grace – that He would love us and pursue us in our ugliness but doesn’t’ leave us that way. Through His son, He equips us for a life of royalty and service for Him and with Him.
“Because Jesus is about transformation, about finding us just the way we are, but not leaving us that way.”
Zach Hunt Blog
Also this week, our Pastor preached on a portion of Ephesians – about how God gives us pastors and teachers to equip us (Ephesians 4:11-12). Later, I did a little word study on the word equip and found that the Greek word “katartizó” means to prepare or perfect for one’s full destination or use; to bring into one’s proper condition.
It wan’t until I was reviewing the sermon this morning that I recognized the connection between these two teachings. Just as He pursued the Samaritan woman, Jesus pursues us out of his love for us and prepares and perfects us for the good work He has for us to do. In this – the preparing and perfecting, the equipping – He gives us purpose and value, and in turn we encourage and equip others. What a beautiful cycle!
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
I love word study (I use the Hebrew and Greek Lexicon from biblehub.com) and I decided to follow all the links I could find there to see what Scripture says about how God equips us. Here is a bit of what I discovered:
God equips us through Himself
Submit yourself to God and stand firm in your faith – He promises to restore and equip you.
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
1 Peter 5:10
God equips us through pastors and teachers
My husband is a coach, and he looks forward to practice because he really wants his players to be well trained. Our pastors and teachers are the same way – they long to encourage and equip us – they want us to be successful in our Christian lives.
“Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”
1 Thessalonians 3:10
God equips us through other believers
As believers – as people who live in the Spirit – we are to restore and equip other believers by leading them to the Word, praying for and with them, and encouraging them in the Lord.
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.”
Galatians 6:1
God equips us through ourselves
While restoration and equipping ultimately comes through God, we are to participate in the process. As we dig into the Word, spend time talking to God in prayer, and join a body of other believers, we are prepared and perfected.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”
2 corinthians 13:11
I love how this verse reminds of that God is a God of peace! May you find peace as you pursue his preparation and perfecting.
“Now may the God of peace… equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.”
Hebrews 13:20-21
by wendy | Jul 1, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Godly Relationships, Trusting God
I had an opportunity this week to develop my trust in the Lord a little more. Someone in my life presented a request/demand that seemed like a possible threat to our family’s peace. As these situations usually are, the correct way to handle it is complicated and a bit fuzzy. Suddenly, that person seemed like an enemy. As I began to toss the situation and our defense around in my mind, it didn’t take long before I was angry and all of my peace was missing in action.
I reached out to several of my trusted friends to pray for us about the situation. Asking them to pray was a good thing, but in the ask I also began to explain – and my explaining quickly became complaining. As I was explaining/complaining to my PIP (Partner in Prayer) our signal got cut off and I had about 10 minutes before I was able to reconnect. During that intermission, God brought Psalm 37 to mind and began to show me that I was fretting over the situation instead of trusting Him! When I was able to call my PIP back, I confessed that to her and asked her to pray for each party – and that peace would prevail.
Here is what I have learned from Psalm 37 about how God wants us to handle these situations:
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.”
Psalm 37:1-2
The word “fret” used here means to burn or to kindle in the original Hebrew. That certainly seems to describe my disposition when I feel threatened. As I described earlier, I roll the thoughts over and over in my mind until they become bigger and I become angrier. The fretting causes me to kindle that anger until it becomes a raging fire within me. How could peace possibly survive in that kind of environment?
This passage also reminds me that I am fretting over a temporary situation. While it may seem to be the most important thing in the moment, this is what distracts us from our purpose (worshipping God) and our mission (shine light to the dark world and encourage others).
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
God wants us to trust Him to handle our difficult situations and relationships so we can focus on our important work.
“Trust in the Lord and do good.”
Psalm 37:3
When we fret over people and difficult relationships, we are attempting to usurp the power of God. Fretting (rehearsing our defense in our minds) assumes that we have the power to fix things. Only God has the power to change hearts and minds – and He is able to do it in a way that brings peace and preserves relationships.
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14
As believers, we have a clear mission – encourage others – and specific directions on how to avoid the pitfalls of distraction due to difficult relationships.
“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15
Godly relationships do not always include 2 godly people. When we choose to implement God’s ways into any relationship it becomes godly. Use wise boundaries to protect your heart from chronic abuse and choose to trust God in every situation. Only He can see into the heart of each one and He always knows the right way to go!
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
by wendy | Jun 29, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Godly Relationships
More often than not, expectations get me into trouble in my relationships. I expect that someone will treat me a certain way, spend a certain amount of time with me, serve me in a particular way, or give me something. I have expectations about other people’s behavior, words, and even the way they look. When I think this is not true, I only have to think about the last time I got upset with someone else and examine what actually upset me.
Please don’t misunderstand me – boundaries in relationships are important. We should set boundaries within our relationships for safety and our health.
- Boundaries say this is how far I can go and this is how far I can allow you to come.
- Expectations say this is what you need to do and this is how far you need to come.
- Boundaries guard my heart.
- Expectations put demands on yours.
We all have expectations that our relationships will be a two-way street, but we must remember that expectations most often stem from selfish desires and lead to selfish actions.
-Excerpt from Godly Relationships, Custer
I have never liked to consider myself selfish, but that is often the discovery I make when there is conflict in my relationships. Paul tells us to have the same mindset as Christ in Philippians – and he gives us specific directions about how to do it:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the others.”
Philippians 2:3
The key here is that each is looking to the interest of the other. When this happens, unity is reached and there is no need for expectations. But what happens when one person in the relationship doesn’t consider the other? It is then that we learn to trust in the Lord!
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it only leads to evil.”
Psalm 37:7-8
What evil does our wrath and anger lead to? When we refuse to turn our relationship issues over to God we ultimately turn to revenge and taking matters into our own hands.
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19
Relationships are amazing – until they are not. When we remain stuck in the cycle of having expectations of others and being disappointed by them, we miss out on the true value of godly relationships.
People do have the ability to make us feel loved and appreciated. We can, at times, feel fulfilled and complete because of a person, but that was never God’s intention for any relationship – including marriage. If another human could meet out needs fully, why would we need God?
-Excerpt from Godly Relationships, Custer
When we are disappointed by unmet expectations of others we are emptied – when we are filled by God we overflow!
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Godly relationship is not a means to be filled, it is an opportunity to serve!
Instead of looking at relationship as a means to have our needs met, we should instead view it as an opportunity to practice unconditional love. And let us not forget that unconditional love – or “Agape” – is not a human characteristic. Instead, it is a quality of our supernatural God and we can only access it through the Spirit.
-Excerpt from Godly Relationships, Custer
How would our relationships change if we could see each one as an opportunity to practice loving others the way God loves us?
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
1 John 4:7
by wendy | Jun 8, 2020 | Encouragement, Encouragement For Your Heart, Focus on God, Godly Relationships
My friend, Heather, and I talked about the feeling of overwhelm and weariness the other day.
“I am trying to make sure I have my quiet time,” one of us insisted, “but I still feel like I am running on empty.”
In the same conversation she sends me this quote by Ann Voskamp in “One Thousand Gifts.”
“You have to want to see the well before you can drink from it.”
Voskamp, 131
Later in the day I walk past the little goldfish pond my husband made from a clawfoot tub. He welded an old rusty pitcher to a copper pipe and it appears that water continuously pours from the pitcher to fill the tub. The water never runs out – it always pours out. But if you look closely, you see that the bottom of the pitcher is full of holes. It never holds any water – ever – it has nothing to give. The water flows from the pipe and is pumped up and through the pitcher.
I am that pitcher – rusty and full of holes. There is nothing in me that I can pour out to others – only what is poured out through me. When I try to pour out what I don’t have – I just feel more and more empty.
And its not enough just to sit with my Bible and mutter a few prayers. I need to pause and sit – abide – dwell in His presence. I need to want to be in His presence. I need to want to be filled.
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Jeremiah 2:13
So how do we truly pause in a way that allows God to fill us? Here are some of the ways I pause.
Rest
Sometimes we need to sleep and other times we need leisure. In his book, “An Unhurried Life“, Alan Fadling describes the difference between holy and unholy leisure. The difference is found in what is life-giving and that could be different for each of us. We sometimes think of leisure – or even sleeping – as idleness or laziness, but rest and leisure are biblical and necessary for quality of life.
Slow down
Take a moment, breathe, step outside of the whirlwind. It is hard to believe, but the world will continue to rotate when take a break. Take time to listen, to think, to reflect, to meditate. Slow your response, slow your reaction, take a time-out. You are allowed – give yourself permission and grace.
Talk to a friend
Choose someone who will encourage you in the Lord. (1 Samuel 23:16) Talk through the hard things. Laugh together, cry together. Admit (confess) your emptiness and attitude. Remind each other of God’s promises and grace and mercy. Point each other back to God.
Each of these 3 ideas are important and biblical, but the next is the most important and the only way to find true peace and lasting strength in the pause…
Practice abiding
The Greek word for abide is “meno” and Kelly Minter described this as “hanging on the vine” in her Bible Study, “What Love Is” – a study on John 1,2, and 3. Hanging out with Jesus – it is a peaceful and intentional activity – a remaining in His presence so He can fill us. Fadling (An Unhurried Life) titles this, “Extended Personal Communion” and it is the single most life-giving thing we can do. It is there – in the abiding, in the communion with God, that we find life and life to the full.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
John 14:6
I must want to see The Well, I must drink deeply from The Well, and I must remain connected to The Well – always drawing from The Living Water – so I can continue to pour out.
“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:14
