Acceptance – 5

Text: Job 1:6-12, Isaiah 40:15, Psalm 27:10

When you’re not accepted by the ones who should accept you… this can be the most difficult of all, both to process, heal and learn to deal with. Sometimes the person who should be accepted is someone who you will be ‘stuck with’ for lack of a better way to say it. Family, for example.

Anybody relating to that?

I have someone like that in my life. And you know, even though it feels awful, God’s still in control of the situation, and it never happens without His knowledge or, yes, even His permission.

Read Job 1:6-12 and answer these questions:

Q: In verse 12, God grants permission. Who does He allow to do what?

Q: Because God is unchanging, the way He operated in Job’s time would be the same as the way He operates now. What does this mean about the things that happen in your life? (Including the things that seemingly ‘go wrong’ in your life.) Thoughtfully write the answer in your journal, and consider sharing here in our community, in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Q: According to this passage, who does Satan have to answer to? (see verse 7)

In verse 11, Satan makes a suggestion to God:

Job 1:11 “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”” NASB

The root word for touch in the Hebrew is naga`, and it not only means to touch – it also means ‘to strike’. I believe this is a better picture of what Satan is demanding. Can you imagine, Satan who absolutely hates God, and anyone who would please Him… Really Satan hates anyone other than himself. You and I included. And there he is, answering to God about what he’s been up to, and then begs God to destroy all the blessings He’s giving him.

Does it ever feel like Satan’s up there making that same request toward you? It’s so possible that’s what’s going on. But look at the root reason he has for destroying peoples’ lives – see verse 11 again.

Q: What is the ultimate goal Satan has when he craves our demise?

Now that we’ve got all that foundation laid, I’d like you to continue with me on our next text. Please read Isaiah 49:15 and Psalm 27:10. Since they’re short, I’ve included them here.

Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” KJV

Psalms 27:10 “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” KJV

In Psalm 27:10, the phrase ‘take me up’ is from the Hebrew acaph, and it carries the idea of gathering together, as a bird would gather her young, or see you it is used in Judges 20:11.

Judges 20:11 “So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.” KJV

And this is how God says He will take us up. Gathered. Knit together with God. He’s going to make sure nothing rips His child away.

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NASB

So in those two verses (Isaiah and Psalms) I find such comfort. They both depict the times when the ones who should be accepting us decide for whatever reason to reject us. But neither verse ends with that hopeless conclusion.

Q: In Isaiah 49:15, it says that a mother may forget/forsake her nursing baby. Who will never forget us? Please write your answer as a complete sentence.

Q: At what point is this believer most drawn to the Lord?

I believe, if we believe that God allows rejection for a reason, that could likely always be the reason. That He wants our love and dependence so badly that He would do/allow whatever it takes to get us and our stubborn hearts to that point.

DO: Please write out the last part of those two verses. Do it more than once if you have to. If it is more applicable to you, go ahead and write out the entire verse.

Please understand how greatly God loves you, and how greatly He craves you! If He sees you content, and decides to allow Satan to rip away that which you hold dear, He allows it for a good reason. He allows it so that you will be drawn to further depend on Him, and glorify Him through it. Glorify Him through, in, because, and in spite of. And what greater glory it will be when that praise was born of tough times!

So, by all we know to be true, those in our lives that should accept us (this could be anyone – spouse, father, mother, siblings, church friends, etc.) might reject us because God has a work to do in us!  Is God working in your life in this area today?

Please recognize it as such – lessons more quickly learned often hurt less. Just start leaning on God more – through the hurt, because of the hurt, or even before you get hurt.

He loves you and can’t get enough of you.

Acceptance - 2

Open your Bible back up to Romans. This is such a rich book; I love it. Paul speaks with such no-nonsense instruction, yet with a note of understanding as a fellow Christian – a fellow human.

Today we look at Romans 14:1-12, 5:1-13

Romans 14:8-9 “If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.” NLT

Romans 14:1 “Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.” NLT

Welcome and accept those who are weaker than others. Do not just write them off as less than yourself. We are on the same side and it is not our own side. I ask, along with Paul:

Romans 14:10a “So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer?...”

Why do you, human, redeemed you, pass judgment on your brother?

All of us, pilgrims on this journey, are fallen, and did not have the strength to pick ourselves up – why then do we who were lifted, feel we have the right to sneer? To boast? To judge?

We are here, we were redeemed – all for one reason.

Q: What was that reason, according to 14:11, 15:6, 9-11?

To glorify who?

Nor ourselves, certainly.

God! To give glory to God!

And why then do we vie for higher levels among one another? I submit that the higher we try to raise ourselves, the less glory we give God, and the less we fulfill our given purpose.

Matthew 19:30 “But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.” NLT

We nit-pick and sneer over trivial things, hurting each other, breaking God’s heart and missing the point.

Q: Be honest. Is there someone you look down on, or have trouble accepting? (Not including names here, publicly. That’s for your personal journal only.)

Q: Look at why that is. It is probably different for each person on your list. Mine looks a bit like this:

She hurt me.

Poor people skills

I don’t agree with her theology

She hurt someone I care about

Immature

Now take a look at Romans 14:4

Romans 14:4 “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.” NLT

Can we lay aside our victim-mentality for a moment and look at those people on our list as children of our God? Someone for whom Christ died (verse 15), who share our Abba Father?

Repeat after me: “It’s not about me.”

Write it in big letters in your journal if that helps.

Read verses 7-9. We are here not for ourselves, but for Christ, and His work. And we can do that because Christ died and rose again for that to happen. Look with me at the Greek roots of Lord in verses 8-9.

Whether we live or die (or get hurt or offended, yes?) we are God’s. For this reason Christ came that He might be Lord of us.

Verse 8 Lord = God (Greek word kyrios: he to whom a person or thing belongs, the possessor and disposer of a thing)source

Verse 9 Lord = to be lord of(Greek word kyrieuō: to be lord of, to rule, have dominion over; to exercise influence upon, to have power over)source

Do you see the difference? He is to be the lord of our lives – the center of our focus, not ourselves.

So when we put Him at the center, and ourselves as merely one more arrow pointing to Him, it doesn’t matter so much now what the other arrows are doing. Are you following me?

And if those other arrows are doing something that hurts you, or that you don’t agree with, let God take care of it, okay?

DO: Write out Romans 14:12.

Romans 14:12-13 “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” NASB

Let’s aim for harmony and stop picking at one another (Romans 14:19). Don’t tear apart God’s work over these things. You are responsible for you. You were commanded (Romans 15:7) to accept one another. Anything less is sin.

We ought to get off our own high horse and view ourselves as Christ did: as a servant. One not concerned over insults and injuries to ourselves, but focusing on our central focus – God.

Romans 15:3 “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” NASB

DO: Today, take the list you made and spend some time in prayer over your relationships with each one of those people; handing your hurts over to God, because ultimately they were directed at Him anyway (Romans 15:3).

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” NKJV

Ask God to help I healing and viewing His children as He views them. As people who He died for.

The Painful Lesson 6 – Crumbled Clay

I found the potter working at the wheel. But the vessel he was making did not turn out as he hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay and started again.

Today we cover a lot of ground. Our text is from Jeremiah 18 (18:1-17 specifically), 19, 21, 22, 23, & 24

How can we get God to start over on us? Do we really truly want Him to?

It can be so painful.

We’ve talked about how God wants His Bride to be holy. Be worthy of her title. But the only way for that to be accomplished is our complete surrender.

Is it that God just lets go of the wheel and lets us crash our own cart? Maybe. Please don’t misunderstand. God is still in control! He is still here! He has never, and will lever leave. You can count on that if that’s the only thing in all the world you can count on.

Because it is.

Jeremiah must have been like me. Object lessons really hit home for him. I love how God knows each of us so intimately that He knows how to send a message that will deliver the greatest impact; tailored for each of His children.

Don’t you just love Him for that?

Read Jeremiah 18:1-17 & 19

Jeremiah 18:3 “So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. 5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” NLT

I know we have all got to (some of us many times) come to a place where God is all that is left, so God is all we need. And He wants us there sooner rather than later. Some of us are content with God alone, and could take or leave everything else in life. Good for you, if that’s you. But if you’re like me, it has taken hard lesson after lost relationship after hurt heart to get me there. Are you with me?

And it is cyclical, with ups and downs, and do-overs; much like the Israelites really. But God hasn’t let go, hasn’t given up and most definitely is faithful to complete the work He started in you.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” NLT

So maybe He lets go and lets us crash our own cart. But maybe He has more specific timing and wants it to happen a certain way “so that we know His power.”

Raising up situations. Taking away comfort-zones. God patiently prunes. Purging. God is taking your comfortable land away from you. Read Chapters 21 & 22 Especially take note of 21:14, and 22:5-6

He is taking everything you know, that place you cling to – that maybe you haven’t realized you were leaning on and trusting in more than in God? – He’s turning it to rubble.

Why? Are you still with me? Because we replaced Him. He didn’t value God in our prosperity. In our security. In our happy relationship with that person. In our comfortable job. Because we adulterated ourselves with something- anything- other than Him. Relationships took priority. Or job, or crafting, or cleaning. What about hurt, self-pity? Can you fill in the blank with me on this? Because we violated our covenant (22:9)

Romans 1:18-31

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts… and [they] received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

See Jeremiah 22, especially 5-6, 12, 20-30

Are you feeling like your life is crumbling? Maybe God destroyed those ‘lovers’ you cheated on Him with, and now all you have is Him. He did it because He loves you, sweet sister.

Next read Jeremiah 23-24. (These are both short chapters. You will be glad you did) Especially take note of 23:23-24 & 29

Jer 23:23 ““Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord.    “No, I am far away at the same time.24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place?    Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”    says the Lord.” NLT

He has been here the whole time. He knows it all. Where did you think you could’ve gone that He couldn’t see?

This makes me just want to curl up into a ball a little. A lot.

But then isn’t that just what He wanted in the first place? A ball. A lump of clay. That lump of clay that He will start over, rebuild and reshape until you are how He intended.

Read Jeremiah 24, looking closely at 24:4-8

Replanted, nurtured, and re-established in Him. Let him give you that heart. It is not going to “just happen”. Dear One, nothing ever “just happens”. He has a very intentional purpose for you. And He cares too much to leave you to chance. He will crumble you and rebuild you as many times as it takes to get it right. And He gives you the heart that you need. Let Him.

Jeremiah 24:7 “I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” NLT

Faith Spoken Of

Hosea 13:6 "As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me."

Friends!!! Oh let us keep grateful praise on our lips at. all. times. for how He cares for us, in unknowable, wonderful ways, in the MIDST of us selfishly ignoring Him throughout most of our day.

This was on my heart today. I have been burdened to share my faith and my journey with the Lord with more than just my close family and friends. I can count on one hand the people I feel deeply close to, close enough to share that with. Close enough that conversations go deeper than what we did this week, or what plans we have for the upcoming weekend. Those precious friends have sharpened me, and been truly used by God to strengthen my heart for Him. Anyone else I might begin to share with always comes with a measure of discomfort. Not a lot, but just a bit, enough to make me squirm in my shoes a little and think what if they don't accept what I'm saying? What if I make us Christians look weird? I don't want to tarnish God's reputation. I'll just keep my mouth closed. There. That feels more comfortable.

But then, He has never called us to stay where we are comfortable. And He can take care of His own reputation.

My blog title has a twofold meaning. Primarily derived from Romans 1:8
Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ  for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

How humbling would that be? And how awesome. That your faith would be renowned like that.

My second reason for titling the blog as I have is this. 'Faith spoken of' is a call to speak up! Speak your faith!
Psalm 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

Let's speak up! If your faith is going to be spoken of, let it start with you!
Let mine start with me!