DONT LOOSE HEART

All throughout the scriptures God's word tells us that He works for our good, and on our behalf. Sometimes, we simply cannot fathom how a bad thing can turn out to be a good thing, at the time. However, God knows that our suffering produces character in us, teaching us endurance, and perseverance for future situations that will come, and that is the only reason that He allows them to come near us. To teach us to trust Him in all situations, even in those bad and hard times.

Maybe you are going through a tough time right now and have no idea how things will turn out. May I encourage you today sweet friend, don’t allow your current circumstances to dictate your future or your joy. View them as a means of bringing you to a place of trusting God in them and by doing so, your joy will be made complete in them. The enemy's plan is and purpose is meant to try and discourage and destroy you. God’s understanding in them is that everything works for the good, of those who love Him according to Romans 8:28, and that what Satan intends for harm in our lives, God intends for good, according to Genesis 50:20. God's plans are for good; to prosper us and not to harm us as told to us in Jeremiah 29:11.

God’s loving and tender hand can smooth the turbulence that threatens our peace if we will see them from His perspective and the scars that are created by those turbulent times are only road maps of where we have been; and the cross roads that we have chosen to take, as reminders of the right and wrong choices we made.

While our understanding of our situations may be limited and small and mostly focused on the moment, remember that God is focused on our eternity. In realizing that, you may very well encounter the mighty hand of God and understand His purpose better. You may not be able to change your situation, but you can absolutely change your spiritual environment while going through them.

Be sure to choose wisely the directions that you will take in how you look at everything that touches your life. Don’t lose heart, work to see them as God sees them and fuel your faith with hope and only then will peace slip into those bare and lonely places to provide you peace as you walk through them!  

Hold Fast,

-Bren

JESUS STANDS AT THE CROSSROAD

From a spiritual perspective in relation to Jesus, a crossroad refers to pivotal moments of decision making and turning points in the life of an individual Christian's faith as a whole. It signifies the need in choosing a path that is   influenced by faith and that can oftentimes have far-reaching consequences.

Jesus himself faced numerous crossroads throughout his life, including his temptations by satan, His not going to Lazareth right away upon hearing about his impending health, knowing the heartbreak of Mary and Martha because Jesus did not come when they ask Him to and the moment in the garden when He anguished over what he was about to face, and then feeling the overwhelming grief of His Father turning His face away from Him on the cross because God was unable to look upon sin, as His Son became sin for all mankind. 

These are only a few of the events that highlight Jesus' role as a decision maker who was faced with similar crossroads that you and I are faced with on a daily basis. However, we have someone who is greater than we are to stand in the middle of our crossroads to help us choose the right direction not only because He is the Son of God, but because He Himself has been in our situation and understands our need for wisdom and discernment.  Jesus said that He would never leave nor forsake us. He stands at the center of our crossroads with the answers that we need to make the right choice if we will have the faith to follow His direction and believe Him for them.

Following Jesus as we come to our own crossroads is presented as a deliberate choice, a commitment that may require self-sacrifice and going against the grain of popular opinion. This involves not only believing in Him but also choosing to live a life that reflects His teachings and values, and while some may not always understand, we must be willing to take the road less traveled as we choose to walk our own road to Emmaus with Him.

Jeremiah 6:16a says this, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

The cross is not only a symbol of sacrifice but decision-making as well. It represents not just physical suffering but also the willingness to renounce one's own desires and embrace those things that God may ask of us; to follow Him. God's word emphasizes the importance of standing at the crossroads, considering one's ways, and asking God for direction. This involves seeking wisdom and guidance from God, rather than relying solely on one's own judgment.

In the days of Jeremiah, God was directing His people to stop and think about where they were and what they were doing, but they would not listen. He is saying the same thing to His people today, sweet friend.

The Bible places Jesus at the crossroads for every person, presenting the unavoidable decision of whether to follow Him or not.  Are you on the right path? Are you daily pursuing the life God has for you? Are you walking in faith or are you walking in fear? Are you obeying the Word of God, or have you allowed compromise in your life? Are you listening to the voice of the good Shepherd or consumed with other voices?

Only one path leads to life; this truth is woven throughout the entire Bible. It’s up to us to find that path and walk in it. Today is the day to stand at that crossroad and look to Him, listen for His voice, and get on the right path. 

Hold Fast,

-Bren

HOW GOD USES OUR FRUSTRATIONS

How often do you find yourself getting frustrated? I know for me, the older I get the more often it seems to attack my attitude and response with others as well as in situations that arise out of nowhere. It happens so easily. I can be driving along and come across bumper-to-bumper traffic, which makes me late for a doctor's appointment or my cell phone's battery runs down because I failed to charge it, or someone simply says the wrong thing at the wrong time. I feel sure that you can relate and can probably think of your own experiences like these for yourself.

There’s just no escaping them. All of us, one way or another, must deal with the problem of frustration. No matter what kind of life you lead, plans will go wrong and opportunities will be lost. It’s just the way life is, yet instead of dealing with them properly, sometimes we may choose other options. I read a statement by a social worker that stated that, one of the reasons there is such an increase in drug use today is that people are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with frustration; and this may be very true, because everyone is looking for a way to deal with them.

Frustrations stem from the feelings of being hindered in how we feel about things or what we want to accomplish by some head-on barrier. They can lead us to think we’re victims of our circumstances, but that attitude doesn’t help us overcome them. I am learning that frustrations that exhausts me are the aggravations that wear me down, and they are merely the ordinary annoyances of daily life. 

But the root of frustration is not always caused by external circumstances. They are just the triggers. The root of frustration actually comes from inside us. While it seems easier to simply deny, bury, or ignore the true issues, if we don’t face them, they’ll keep hanging around, hindering us, holding our attitudes hostage.

If we are reluctant to deal with past issues or refuse to deal with present impatience, ungodly attitudes or habits we will not be able to escape frustration. Bitterness, resentment, and an unforgiving spirit always result in dissatisfaction and aggravation. The only way out is to admit and repent of these feelings, instead of trying to justify an ungodly response.

In Isaiah 14:27, Isaiah spoke the words concerning when the Assyrians had surrounded Jerusalem, and the people had no hope of survival. But God frustrated the Assyrians’ plans overnight. In the morning the Israelites woke up to discover that the Assyrian soldiers were completely defeated. God has a way of using frustration to help His children out. When the Lord plans something, no one can hinder Him from accomplishing it. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

Sometimes God may frustrate our plans in order to redirect our lives as He desires. Sometimes He puts up barriers to hinder us or deflect something that is not good for us and we can’t get past it. At other times He allows us a feeling of frustration that has no explanation. We can’t find the source; it’s simply a sense of uneasiness and those are times that we need simply to wait on God, and Trust that He has a plan in our situation, even if we are running late for a doctor's appointment.

But you can always be assured that God’s teaching purpose in all our frustration is to draw us into a deeper relationship with Him. We’re often so busy that having uninterrupted time alone with the Lord is rare. God uses an obstacle or sense of restlessness to get our attention, so that we can focus on an area of our life that He wants us to address. When this happens, we need to read His Word and seek Him, to understand what He wants to do in our lives. His purpose in all of our weaknesses and shortcomings is to develop us into the fullness of who He created us to be. It’s a purifying process that by degrees and in time conforms us into Christ’s likeness.

Most of us seek to find comfortable places in life and park there and are often reluctant to make a change. But when the Lord wants to move or redirect us, He may use a sense of frustration to start the process. What began as frustration can quickly change to excitement as we anticipate what He will do next and how he will use these as lessons in our lives.

Whether the source of your frustration is God or the exasperating events in your life, the path to peace is the same. First, acknowledge His love for you. Then determine to trust Him, which means depending on and surrendering yourself to Him to do whatever He chooses in your life. He’s a sovereign God with all power who knows you perfectly. He will always guide you on the right path. 

Hold Fast,

-Bren

FAILURE TO RESTRAIN

Being hasty in our conversations with others, failure to restrain from assumptions and words that we want to say, anger that flairs up when we get our feelings hurt and not being on our guard spiritually can do more damage in relationships than any other thing. When our moments become moments that are all about us moments and we fail to see the real issues, we are missing out on opportunities to be Christ to others. But, when we model the Lord’s behaviors, we become more loving, more willing to sacrifice our rights, seeing a little more of how God may be looking at the situation; and we can be a great blessing to others, instead of what they may perceive as being a thorn. Letting go of those moments of control, judgement, haste, and pride brings us closer to God, and it is then, like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22 that we become all things, in order to win others. 

I know that the Lord is committed to me, so I need to commit to Him. I want to have a teachable spirit and be willing to accept His correction, or discipline. Yes, God disciplines me! He disciplines you too if you belong to Him. His discipline may hurt, but it is not harsh, nor does it tear down. His discipline corrects, reveals and builds us up and moves us into the direction of better actions if we choose to summit to it.

Learning how we speak to one another is not a one time process. It is continual. We all possess the opportunities of producing a harvest with our words. But in order to produce a transforming harvest with our words we need to be ever cautious to bless, lift up, show love and build positive and loving relationships.

The scriptures tell us, the things that cause friction, conflicts, even fights and quarrels between ourselves and someone else is found in James 4:1-3, it says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it”. God’s Word teaches us those conflicts in us, come from the wrong desires that battle within our hearts and are the result of our sinful nature. 

Sin in us is always lurking to threaten our happiness and our fellowship with one another. The enemy uses everything and every opportunity he can to cause our focus to be misplaced, because he knows when that happens, even the smallest of things can escalate. Once we give in to our sinful nature, God is ignored and we take matters into our own hands. 

It is with great effort that we must train our minds to be set on God, for those moments and what He has instructed us to do in those situations. Sometimes, what we think are good desires, can be escalated to reach a sinful retaliation, if our thoughts and ways are not His and we do not deal with our emotions and feelings by making the choice to put them to death in us. When something is dead, it has no voice, no feeling, no emotion, and no response. Truth becomes concealed as if we did not know it or worse, it becomes twisted. Our listening shuts down and we are not understood, nor do we understand the other person, thus the conflict.

When my daughters were little, I found myself constantly picking up and cleaning up messes that they made. As they got older and became more aware and thoughtful about making messes, the less they made. This is how God deals with His own children. As His children grow in His grace and knowledge from the point of their new birth, they struggle trying to do the right thing. 

Like small children, they make messes in their lives. Those messes often-times may even affect others as well. Yet, as they grow in truth, desiring to do better, they begin to make less messes and they learn how to clean up the messes that they make, by responding in the right way. Sometimes that may mean to seek forgiveness or forgive others. Forgiveness is a direct command and mandate from God to His Children. 

It is something extremely special which we are given, and something precious we are to replicate to others. It is not easy. It requires the practice of maturity, the patience to allow the process to unfold, and the tact to endure it, and remember this; obedience is worth the sacrifice. Whether we realize it or not, being hurt is the place where bitterness takes root in a fertile heart, that is fallow for planting. So, be sure to sow the right seeds for a godly harvest and not bitter ones.

Hold Fast,

-Bren

SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHARD

When a child of God finds themselves in trouble, and when problems become overwhelming, there is one section of scripture in Psalm 23 that always provides them comfort. This section of scripture refers to God's child as a sheep. This Psalm is about the unique relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. However, most of us have never been around shepherds or their sheep, much less experienced what it is like to work with them.

The relationship between the shepherd and his sheep is a profound and a recurring theme throughout the Bible, symbolizing guidance, care, and the intimate bond between God and His people. Knowing and understanding both the sheep and their shepherd can help us to understand the relationship between God and his people. 

It is the love that the sheep has for his shepherd that keeps him safe and out of harm's way. Sheep are easily alarmed and can run over each other at the slightest noise. Shepherds will catch a panicked sheep and gently but firmly force them to lie down and feed quietly on the grass that the Shepherd has chosen for them to feed on. Sheep are instinctively afraid of running water so much so, that a group of thirsty sheep will stand and stare at a running stream and not take a drink until the shepherd moves a few stones around to create a still pool. In the middle of the rushing stream the shepherd provides needed water.

His rod and staff that Psalm 23 refers to are symbols of power and protection. The rod is a wooden club used to protect the sheep from wild animals, and His staff is for the wandering sheep to pull it back to safety when it strays away from the fold.

Psalm 23:5 talks about how God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies and anoints our head with oil. Tables in Israel also describe flat, grassy areas within mountainous terrain. They are perfect for grazing sheep, but these same tables or meadows often contain holes which hide poisonous brown snakes called Adder or sheep snakes.

These snakes can pop up suddenly and strike the sheep. Knowing this, the shepherd prepares the field that he chooses for the sheep to graze in by looking for those holes and pouring a thick oil in each one to prevent the snake from climbing out! Because of the slimy skin of the snake, he simply can't climb out but slides back into the hole. As extra protection, the shepherd will also anoint the sheep’s head with oil to prevent the snake’s bite from penetrating as well as using the oil as a healing ointment for the sheep. 

In the same way, when a child of God remains under the Good Shepherd's care and stays close to His side by walking with Him, He prevents the serpent (the devil) from sliding out of the unseen holes that are all around them in order that he may bite and destroy them. But as God promises, as His children draw near to Him, satan cannot get to them to defeat them.

Sheep are stubborn and hardheaded and are really good at just a few things. They are good at drowning, being defenseless, and being utterly dependent upon the shepherd. While they do provide wool and meat, they can’t even take credit for that since their God made them that way. Isaiah the Prophet nailed it when he wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” in Isaiah 53:6. Jesus knew the nature of people without a shepherd. Matthew wrote that when Jesus “saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” in Matt 9:36, and we’re helpless as well without Jesus the true, Good Shepherd.

Hold Fast,

-Bren

REKINDLE A LOSS OF SPIRITUAL MOTIVATION

Spiritual slumps can often be dry places that are temporary periods where a believer feels distant from God or some aspect of their faith, experiencing a lack of spiritual engagement and motivation. These periods can be caused by various reasons and factors, including life stressors, feelings of discouragement, or even a sense of spiritual burnout. Overcoming these slumps or dry places involves recognizing the signs, seeking guidance if needed, and pulling away from things that may be distractions from what or where you once were actively engaging and being a part of. For instance, returning to those practices that can rekindle your faith and connection with God. 

The signs of spiritual slumps or dry places can easily be recognized by that lack of commitment in our living for, being obedient to, and serving the Lord as we once have done.  If we know that we are neglecting feeding our spiritual body by skipping prayer, Bible reading, attending church, or even engaging in Christian fellowship, then we may be on the road to returning to the place where we once experienced spiritual freedom, peace and sweet fellowship with the Lord.

A loss of spiritual motivation and desire to participate in spiritual activities and fellowship can cause us to have internal struggles that bring on apathy, cynicism, and a sense of spiritual dryness. These feelings will replace our joy with a sense of distance from God as well as other believers and a sense of emptiness or disconnection from what and how we once may have felt. If we do not turn back to God, these feelings will increase heaping thoughts of negativity and our feelings will become more negative and critical instead of positive and joyful.

In order to overcome these feelings, simply acknowledge to God the slump or place that you are in, recognizing that you are struggling and need His help. Possibly seek guidance and wisdom by talking to someone you trust. 

Engage your faith by focusing on activities that nurture your spiritual life and walk, such as prayer, reading your Bible, obeying those things God may be instructing you to do, but you have been running the opposite direction from what He has been saying. And be sure to get connected with other believers. Trust in God's love and forgiveness. He is always present, even when you feel lost or discouraged. Remember that slumps are temporary and they will pass. Your job is to surrender and do what you know you must do. God will do the rest! 

Recognize that these periods are a normal part of the spiritual journey and can be a time of growth and renewal and don't give up! Continue to seek God and engage in godly spiritual practices, even when you don't feel like it. God will guide you through this season that you are going through if you seek Him on His terms. Evaluate your priorities and identify any areas where you may be neglecting God or your spiritual life. Focus on God's promises and remind yourself of God's love, grace, and faithfulness.

Pray for strength and guidance. Ask God for the wisdom and courage to overcome this slump. Surround yourself with godly positive influences and get rid of those things that may be encouraging you to act in a way that you know in your heart would not please Him. I Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Connect with people who encourage and support your faith and avoid those who are influencing you to be disobedient to your heavenly Father. Be patient and persistent. Don't get discouraged and never ever give up!

Hold Fast,

-Bren  

                                                                                                                                    

RUNNING FROM GOD

The story begins with a man minding his own business, and then one day, God asks the man to go and take the people of a great city, the message of His love, forgiveness and their need for repentance. The man's name was Jonah. Jonah turned the opposite direction that God had asked him to go and ran away. 

At first, Jonah responded to God’s request by going in the opposite direction, but keep in mind that God foreknew what Jonah’s response was going to be before He even asked Jonah to go. I am sure that while Jonah knew enough about God to know that he should not disobey Him, he stubbornly set aside what he knew to be truth and went with his feelings. Jonah's focus was in the wrong place. 

His focus was on having it his way and not God’s way, and he was willing to make a run for it. I would argue that Jonah did not disobey God when he got on the boat to run from what he knew God wanted him to do, but at the moment God had asked him and said in his heart, "I will not go". You see God had asked Jonah to do something that He knew Jonah did not want to do. Jonah despised the people of Nineveh; they were not descended from Abraham and in fact had a history of treating the Israelites cruelly. The last thing he wanted to do was to take the love of God to a people that he despised. He even stated to God, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” and even in his knowing this, he did not want them to share in the same love and forgiveness that God’s people received. 

Jonah’s disobedient choice ended him up in a whirlwind of disappointment and despair, slap dab in the middle of the belly of an enormous fish. God had placed Jonah in a situation (a time out chair so-to-speak) that was going to make or break his will so that God’s will would rise up and surface in the life of Jonah and accomplish what God had meant for good, to change Jonah and save a people from destruction. But even though Jonah ended up exactly where God wanted him to go, Nineveh, and did exactly what God asked him to do, become the instrument God would use in saving an alien people, Jonah was still angry at God. 

You see, just because Jonah was doing God's will, did not mean that he was happy about it. Jonah prayed and told God exactly how he felt. However, because God loved Jonah and was compassionate to his frustrations, and slow to anger, God really did not want to send calamity into Jonah's life. He instead showed compassion to Jonah by making a vine to grow over Jonah’s head to provide shelter from the hot sun where Jonah had camped out at.  Instead of sending fire and brimstone on Jonah for his lack of love and concern for others, in which he probably deserved, God showed favor. 

This is why in the middle of our own disobedience; God continues to show us favor. Not because we may be doing everything right or wrong, but because He loves us in-spite of how we treat Him or others and God uses His kindness towards us as object lessons for us to learn from. Jonah's selfish heart was revealed when he became angry as the vine that gave him shelter from the sun withered up and died. God had sent a worm that chewed it and caused it to die. Upon Jonah's complaint concerning the dead vine, God asked Jonah if he thought he had a right to be angry, and Jonah actually said yes, he sure did. Jonah said that he was so angry, enough to "even die". 

You see Jonah really believed in his heart that he was in the right. He thought he had every right to be angry and felt like God was being unfair by everything happening to him. This is a prime example of how God tells us as well, that His ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts, and ours not His! Some important lessons that we can learn from Jonah are that when we focus on disappointment and not truth, love and compassion we will in fact become angry, disappointed and many times spiritually walk away from the Lord in certain areas of our lives. It is at that point that we begin a roller coaster ride of emotions and questions as to why we feel so disconnected from God. It almost always has something to do with us either denying what the truth is, or an unwillingness to accept the fact that we may not be able to change the situation. And in our struggle for control, we simply choose to be angry and have a disconnect from God.                                                          

You see, God knows the source of our anger and the inner workings of our mind and spirits, and He knows our limitations even when we don’t. He knows the events and experiences that make us angry. He knows our emotions and feelings of helplessness, fear, confusion, and dismay that lead to our anger. He knows all about our situation. Just as Jonah owned up to God about how he felt, we too need to express our anger to God when we are going through trials and tribulations that seem to push us over the edge and be repentful. He will hold our hand and walk through the anger with us, providing light. It is up to us however, whether we open our minds/eyes to what He is saying. Be sure not to turn away from His truth because it is not what you want to hear. Otherwise, you too may stay in “the whale’s belly” of sorts, as long as it takes to get you to see what God wants you to see or learn what He wants you to learn. And while God does not necessarily send all pain into our lives, He does allow it and He wants to use everything that touches us to grow us and make us more like Him. 

If your struggle is in loving someone or having compassion, God will most certainly send a wind your way to cause you discomfort in order to change your attitude. He wants you to learn that while going through the storm if you will keep your focus on Him and not your frustrations as Jonah did while He is working on you, then the process will not be as bad, nor will it take as long to get through it. He wants you to see yourself as He sees you, or maybe I should say He wants you to see your sin as He sees it. 

In the first chapter of Jonah, Jonah states that he knew that he was in that storm because of his disobedience and because the storm that God sent for Jonah’s sake was having an effect on the people around him in the boat. When Jonah requested, they throw him overboard, that too was Jonah's choice. Once we see it as God sees it, then we can deal with it and overcome it.

Hold Fast,

-Bren