May 15

Is it Possible to Allow God’s Fiery Trials to Transform You?

Who in their right mind would welcome God’s fiery trials into their life? In 1 Peter 4:12, Peter makes it sound like fiery trials are a common thing,

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” NLT

Why do we go through fiery trials (ordeals) anyway? Sometimes this is referred to as the refiner’s fire which I will cover in next week’s post. For now, Ed and Josh Smith on transformationprayer.org say, “God continually walks His people through the refining fires of suffering [fiery trials] which brings about His perfect will and purpose in each of our lives.” I have also learned in recent years that He allows these fiery trials to refine our faith if we will lean into Jesus in the midst of them.

I wonder if each of the Bible characters – Hagar, Ruth, David, Mary of Magdalene – spotlighted in the oratorio, The God Who Sees, by Kathie Lee Gifford and Nicole C. Mullen, were chosen to be included because they each faced their own fiery trial?

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Apr 30

Do You Know God as the God Who Sees?

Do you know God as the God who sees? Or is your experience more of a distant God who doesn’t seem to care about what’s going on in your life?

Maybe you feel abandoned by Him . . . even invisible.

Possibly you’re traveling with thoughts like, I trusted you, Lord, to come through for me, but it feels like you’ve lost my address.

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Aug 15

What Do You Do When Your Strength is All Gone?

The Lord can renew you when your strength is all gone.

Is this a familiar place for you? You are in the midst of a hard time that won’t let up. It feels like your strength is all gone. You’re not sure how much more you can take. It seems that God is just asking too much of you.

I found myself in that place this morning. I slept an entire night and should have awakened feeling rested, but instead I physically felt very crummy, not to mention my mind was spinning. As I began journaling about my feelings, I ended up with a long list of everything swirling in my mind. It was about a page long and a few of the concerns were screaming at me while others were just nags because they were undone tasks. Seeing the cumulative list caused me to cry out . . .

TOO MUCH!!!!!!

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Aug 08

What was God’s Plan for You from the Beginning of Time?

God’s plan has always been good for you.

Have you ever found yourself in a tough place asking some hard questions such as:

  • What is God’s plan for my life?
  • Does my life have any significance?
  • Who am I really?

How do you answer the question, “Who am I?”

In Frank Friedmann’s book, Stunned by Grace, he tells the story of speaking to a group of college students and asking this same question – who are you? Each college student gave their first name, followed by their field of study (i.e. “I’m Thomas. I’m an accounting student.”) He quickly set them straight that their answers reflected what they do, not who they are.

To illustrate his point, Frank went so far as to ask Thomas to bark like a dog, which he did. Then he asked Thomas if barking like a dog made him a dog? Of course not. I’m sure this got everyone’s attention.

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Aug 01

Why are the Words “Follow Me” so Scary?

What kind of emotion do the words, “Follow Me” evoke in you? You’ll recognize those words from a couple of familiar scriptures:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ‘” Matthew 16:24

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME . . .

The author of a post I read recently shared what the words “Follow Me” meant to her. Her words resonated with me on a deep level. These scriptures came to mind, but also a song I heard at a concert a lifetime ago, “Please Don’t Send Me to Africa” by Scott Wesley Brown. I recall thinking surely he wouldn’t send me to Africa if I said, “Yes, I’ll follow you anywhere”.

I’ve learned through the years that the idea of being sent to Africa as a missionary means a variety of things to people. For some it sounds more like, please don’t make me speak in public or I’ll do anything for you but please don’t make me _____________________.

GOD IS A GENTLEMAN

This is what I have learned after following Christ for almost 5 decades. God is a gentleman. He will never MAKE us do anything, but He certainly knows how to orchestrate life and work all things together for our good. Sometimes that means drawing our hearts gently in a particular direction.

I remember standing on the stage at Chapel leading worship and having the realization that God was calling me into full-time ministry. I wanted to be obedient but boy, oh boy did that evoke some fear. Give up teaching after 18 good years in the classroom when that is all I ever wanted to be? What? You’ve got to be kidding me.

About that same time I believe God used a song entitled “You Say Imagine”, written and performed by Rob Biagi, to stir my heart to go deeper with Him in ways I’d never done before.

MEET JANET NEWBERRY

The post that stirred my heart was written by Janet Newberry. Janet is an author, speaker, blogger, consultant, love researcher, and podcaster with a passion for communicating the message God placed on her heart – love is fearless.

I believe anyone seeking an abundant life would benefit from knowing Janet Newberry’s work. I felt it a disservice to this community to keep this gem from you.

The reason the post I referenced stirred my heart so much is because I had similar feelings as Janet when I sensed God calling me to begin this blog. My fears were the size of Goliath!

BUT GOD . . .

I have learned that when God calls you to something (i.e. says “Follow me”) He doesn’t expect you to go off and do it alone. It’s the next thing that He wants to do through you.

I’ve also come to know that it’s usually the very thing that will cause you to depend on Him even more and experience His faithfulness in brand new ways.

For me, my fears when starting this blog were coming from many lies I was believing. As He faithfully replaced each lie with His Truth, it freed me more and more to be able to step into this new journey WITH Him. I am so grateful that He kept pursuing me and gently nudging me in this direction.

Is there something that you feel God is calling you to? Maybe Janet’s blog post will inspire and encourage you. I received permission to share her post here. (The headings are mine.) You’ll find her writing highlighted in bold text below:

FOLLOW ME – WHAT DOES THAT MEAN LORD?

“I used to be afraid of the words in Scripture, “Follow Me”. I could restate that by saying I used to be afraid of Jesus.

As a child in a religious home, I thought following Jesus meant I was going to one day live my life in a place with no clean water or air conditioning, sleeping in a mosquito tent.

A few years ago, when a nudging in my Spirit invited me to start blogging, I begged God to make me sleep in a mosquito tent for the rest of my life–terrified of what “Follow Me” into the virtual world might mean.

I was more afraid of technology than a life without air conditioning. I could rewrite that sentence by saying I was afraid of failure.

Deep sigh.“

HOW DO YOU SEE JESUS?

“In God’s perfect timing, He’s teaching me to love His words, ‘Follow Me.’ I’m not loving these words now because He’s all of a sudden leading me to a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow–although I’ve given Him permission to do so when He thinks I’m ready for a real surprise.

I’m loving these words because I’m not afraid of Jesus anymore. I know Him differently now.

For so long, I thought God was my Commander-in-Chief, giving me my marching orders. For decades, Jesus was my evaluator and I was His employee.

Today, He is my lover and source of supply–not demand.

He is my Shepherd, leading me through valleys and up mountainsides. He is the One who meets my needs, not the other way around.

Jesus knows where the dew has touched the desert and a bit of grass has grown. He leads me to green pastures.“

JESUS IS ENOUGH!

“I want to know where the green grass will be in 6 months and 6 years from now. He quietly leads me to enough for today and whispers, ‘Follow Me’ with a twinkle in His eye.

Yes, indeed, He is.

I’m being transformed by my trust, not my discipline. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Trusting is not for the faint of heart.

Trusting is much harder for me than discipline.

And, I have a new heart–not a faint one. Jesus gave me His. At the moment of my salvation, I didn’t give my heart to Him. Coming out of the grave, Jesus gave His heart to me.

He gave it all and demanded nothing. He is my lover and my Supply. My part is trust.

I’ve got to go now, friends. I just heard Him say, ‘Good morning, Janet. Follow Me.’ He has a twinkle in His eye.

I woke up with some real needs and there is great hope.“

May you grow in your experience of God’s love and sense Him looking at you with a twinkle in His eye.

If you would like to follow Janet Newberry, you can find her in one of these places. I think you’ll be glad you looked her up.

YOUR TURN

Please share an experience you’ve had with Jesus when He nudged you to follow Him in a certain direction. It might be just the encouragement someone else needs.

PARENT’S CORNER

Consider playing “You Say Imagine” with your family and discuss what it means to you. Dream aloud what you believe the next place God is calling you to. Talk with your children about what that looks like to take a step of faith into the unknown, trusting Jesus the whole way.

At a very young age, they have the potential to learn how to flex that trusting Jesus muscle so that it becomes their default anytime they get that nudge.

Jul 25

Do Covenants Really Matter in God’s Word?

As a believer do we need to be concerned with covenants?

When reading the Bible do you ever consider covenants as a context for what you are reading? In Frank Friedmann’s Stunned by Grace he addresses how important covenants are to a complete understanding of our identity and living an abundant life free in Christ.

In chapter 2 of Stunned by Grace Frank gives a condensed definition of covenants, “defined simply, covenants are promises God made with His people.”

CONTEXT FOR COVENANTS REALLY DOES MATTER

Recently I shared that I sat under Pastor Frank Friedmann’s teaching for about 20 years. He shared the analogy on numerous occasions that just as realtors say location, location, location is vital when dealing with buying and selling houses, context, context, context is critical in understanding which covenant is being addressed in God’s Word.

It is imperative that we understand how God works in covenants. Otherwise, we will think that every single scripture is true about us as believers living under the new covenant. All scripture is “God-breathed and useful for instruction . . . “. However, there are scriptures directed related to any person who has placed their faith in Jesus. These scriptures teach us about our identity in Christ and His finished work on the cross, resurrection, and ascension.

COVENANTS – OLD VS. NEW

In chapter 2 of Stunned by Grace, Frank did a great job of unpacking the two major covenants in the Bible. “There was an old covenant that God delivered through Moses on Mount Sinai. It was so glorious that Moses’ face was shining after receiving that revelation from God.

But in Christ, God established a new covenant that is far more glorious than the old covenant (2 Corinthians 3:8-9). It brings us life from the Holy Spirit and makes us right with God, rendering the old covenant obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).”

I love the example he shared using scriptures about our heart.

OLD COVENANT – “In Jeremiah 17:9, we are told that ‘the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.'” (I had this quoted to me a few years ago by a mature believer and I kept my mouth shut. I knew it wasn’t accurate for us as believers, but I couldn’t articulate or defend my beliefs.)

NEW COVENANT – “‘Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”‘ Ezekiel 36:26

If we find both of these scriptures in God’s Word, then they both have to be true. Right? This is why context is so important. You have to determine who the scriptures are referring to and under what covenant the people live. Even though Ezekiel is in the old testament, this is a prophecy proclaiming our reality as believers after the cross.

Pastor Frank pointed our that if we fail to distinguish between old and new covenant truth, it will keep us from embracing our “glorious new identity in Christ”. I would like to add it will also keep us in bondage and unable to fully experience the freedom of the abundant life. I speak from experience!

GOD’S COVENANTS ARE ALWAYS GOOD

God always has a purpose when making a promise to His people. He absolutely had to make the covenant with Moses and the Israelites because they needed the law to live rightly. The law is perfect and it worked. It is what God is still using today to drive people to Himself.

It is a really good strategy if you think about it. Not only do you have to keep the big 10 but you also have to keep the additional 603 commandments.

Whew! No thank you – give me Jesus!

Some people might read this post and think Pastor Frank and I are both saying that it is OK to kill and steal and covet because the 10 commandments were given to the Israelites to govern their way of life, but not for us as new covenant believers. Absolutely not! Instead I believe Jesus, as our perfect sacrifice, fulfilled every one of the commandments. When we place our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross and learn to live in dependence on Him, He will keep the commandments through us.

CHRIST CAME TO BE OUR VERY LIFE!

Remember what Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

The day The Holy Spirit illuminated Galatians 2:20 for me, I was totally shocked. What? Has that been in the Bible all of this time? How did I miss this? That was a defining moment for me and caused an intense paradigm shift. The statement below explains that paradigm shift.

I have heard Pastor Frank, as well as other Bible teachers say often . . .

UNBELIEF KEEPS US IN BONDAGE

Pastor Frank boiled it down to “why so many people fail to experience all that God has done for us – UNBELIEF”! He shared a true story of a man who had been walking with God for over 50 years. The gentleman believed both Jeremiah 17:9 and Ezekiel 36:26 to be true of him at the same time and he could not be budged. He “could not bring himself to fully embrace the good news of what God had done for him in Christ. He lived in an incomplete gospel.”

Friends, that is bondage and will keep you from living the abundant life. I lived there for over two decades of my life after I became a Christian. My prayer for any believer reading this post is that you would search the scriptures and ask The Holy Spirit to reveal to you if it is indeed true that context matters when reading truths from God’s Word. I encourage you to also ask Him for revelation of all of the riches and spiritual blessings that became yours the instant you said yes to Jesus.

POSTS BASED ON STUNNED BY GRACE

You have already been introduced to Frank’s teaching from Stunned by Grace in the following posts:

YOUR TURN

What are your thoughts on reading God’s Word through the lens of the proper covenant?

Jul 19

How to Change Your Beliefs so You Can Interpret God’s Word Rightly

Are your beliefs holding you back from interpreting God’s Word rightly?

Do you ever find yourself reading a scripture that doesn’t FEEL true? You desperately want to be able to interpret God’s Word rightly, but something seems off. You know the scripture has to be true because it’s God’s Word, but it just doesn’t SEEM true for you.

It’s possible that you have a filter in place that is causing you to misinterpret what God is saying. Frank Friedmann, of Our Resolute Hope, addresses this very thing in chapter 2 of his new book, Stunned by Grace.

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Jul 12

Can Unresolved Anger Make You Weary to the Bone?

Could anger be the underlying reason for being weary to the bone?

Have you ever thought to yourself, I’m just weary to the bone.? What does that even mean? For me, it typically means I have a tiredness that I’m pretty sure no amount of sleep will take care of it.

Sometimes it comes over me when life is coming at me like a tsunami and I can’t even catch my breath in between trials. Other times, when I slow it down long enough to see what I’m really feeling, I discover anger.

For either reason, if being “weary to the bone” is a direct result of unresolved anger I know that either I have misunderstood God if I’m angry towards Him or I am using anger as a solution if I’ve stayed angry at someone or something.

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Jul 04

If Jesus is the Answer, Why Do We Work Hard to Live Independent of Him?

No matter the problem for our nation, Jesus is the answer!

Is it true that Jesus is the answer for everything? The children I teach in a local after-school Bible Club certainly think so.

I can tell when someone really doesn’t know the answer but they are willing to take a stab at it. I’m pretty confident the next word out of their mouth will be JESUS no matter the question. Sometimes they are even right. Something inside them knows their chances are pretty good to say JESUS as the answer. Although their answer is a little misguided in that context, I believe we could take a page from the book of an innocent child.

Maybe Jesus really is the answer.

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Jun 27

How to Benefit from Trials and Not Just Endure Them

We can benefit from trials rather than just endure them.

When you are in the midst of a hard time, do you find yourself asking God for strength to endure the trial? What if there was a way to actually benefit from trials instead of just enduring them? 

In last week’s post, How to Experience Five Promises of God, we looked briefly at 5 promises that Frank Friedmann expounds on in Stunned by Grace. These promises from God include joy, peace, abundant life, rest, and freedom.

I must confess that when I am in the midst of a fiery trial, many times those promises seem elusive. I’m too busy just trying to get through the trial.

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We can benefit from trials rather than just endure them.

When you are in the midst of a hard time, do you find yourself asking God for strength to endure the trial? What if there was a way to actually benefit from trials instead of just enduring them? 

In last week’s post, How to Experience Five Promises of God, we looked briefly at 5 promises that Frank Friedmann expounds on in Stunned by Grace. These promises from God include joy, peace, abundant life, rest, and freedom.

I must confess that when I am in the midst of a fiery trial, many times those promises seem elusive. I’m too busy just trying to get through the trial.

Continue reading
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