Author: Ruth Fink

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The Perfect Holiday Wardrobe; Humility and Thankfulness

Dear sisters,

Several years ago as a new college graduate, I began to realize that I enjoyed nice clothing and that I had easy access to a fabulous outlet mall! Hmm…where do you think this story is going? Growing up in a large family with several sisters and female cousins, I was quite accustomed to second-hand clothing, so having new clothes for every season was not a regular occurrence for me. Most of my extra cash during college went towards books (science books are not especially affordable), but now I found myself with a new budgeting (read: heart) dilemma. I had yet to discover thrift-shopping and clearance racks, or the beauty of holiness.

One morning, I stumbled upon this passage in Colossians 3: 12-15: “Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love — the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.” I knew this was God speaking directly to me, and I quickly posted these verses in my closet as a reminder to put on these lovely qualities daily, hoping to find more joy in these virtues than in donning a new outfit. We see this reminder in 1 Peter 3 as well, and in Proverbs 11:22. Notice that these verses do not reject the cultivation of physical beauty, but rather emphasize spiritual beauty more so than physical.

As we move into the holiday season, it is easy to become distracted with appearances, whether it is finding that cute party dress, the perfectly wrapped gift, or a family photo that will impress. Do you find yourself struggling to be grateful in this season? I know I do. Someone else will always have more or look better. The very time of year when we are ‘supposed’ to be overflowing with the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience in the passage above, many of us find it extremely difficult to do so. You are not alone in this sister! The crowds at the mall, grocery store, and post office don’t help us a bit, and it seems impossible to get everything done, while also getting reasonable sleep, nutrition, and exercise. There is absolutely no white space on the calendar, and cultivating a quiet heart? Forget it, you might be saying! But our gracious and compassionate Jesus comes quietly, with the answer. Are you listening?

Jesus comes to us this Thanksgiving as he always has, in perfect humility. In Philippians 2, we are reminded of the example of Christ as he laid down his life for us in every possible way. The Gospel is again the answer, and not just at the Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve services. The Gospel is the answer when you are stressed and running late in the grocery line, when most of your Christmas cards were returned with wrong addresses, when your child forgets their lines in the play, when the cookies burn. When we humble ourselves and embrace our great need for a Savior in these small, daily moments; when we accept His lavish grace in our imperfections, we find ourselves robed in His exquisite righteousness. Talk about a makeover, ladies! Who needs a reality show when this grace can be your daily reality? That’s what I want. Take special note of the reminder in verse 12… our motivation to put on holiness is found in the knowledge of God’s love for us! Pretty powerful, I think! No guilt trips or legalism here.

Join me in putting off the vices listed earlier in Colossians 3, and seeking the face of God for grace to put on humility, thankfulness, compassion, gentleness, patience, kindness, love, forgiveness, and the peace of the Messiah this holiday season. We’re not going to do this perfectly, but the first step is always repentance, followed by grace that empowers us for holy living. Might I encourage you to post these verses in your closet, by your bursting calendar, or next to your bathroom mirror? Let’s all take a deep breath; let go of the unreasonable expectations we have during the holidays, and find grace to truly embrace these gifts. Sister, you are already looking gorgeous!

Glowing in Grace,

Ruth

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Honor Given and Received

Hey sis,

I see your struggle and can totally relate! We all are searching for honor and significance in this world, whether we realize it or not. In fact, this often motivates many of our decisions…how we dress, the things we post online, who we befriend, the jobs we pursue, even our good deeds. But without a proper understanding of biblical honor and significance, our hearts will never be satisfied. Let’s not shame ourselves for our improper and sinful motives, lovely ladies, but rather run to the Cross and find the joy, mercy and purpose that we crave.

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” — C.S. Lewis

 Jesus desired to show honor to His disciples by washing their feet, serving them in a very sacrificial way, but Peter was not at first willing to receive this act of humility. Luke 13: 5-8: Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.  So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.

 How often do we refuse the lavish grace of God because we deem ourselves unworthy? When we close ourselves off from Christ’s love, grace, and mercy, our hearts do not find the satisfaction we were created for, and as Lewis noted above, we look for this satisfaction in worldly things. God has put eternity in our hearts, and we long for significance and honor (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Finding our identity in God as His daughters is the only means of true satisfaction!

I am a firm believer that our refusal to accept God’s Grace in our daily lives leads us to the many sinful thoughts, desires, and actions we all battle. It is GRACE that leads us to repentance, not lashing ourselves repeatedly in our minds for every wrongdoing. Romans 2:4: “Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”This daily pursuit by our Lord and Lover can take many forms – an offer for dinner, a gift from a friend, a gentleman opening a door, a much-needed day off, etc. Have we in our pride refused these gifts from God? James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Sister, perhaps you do not have a relationship with Christ? If so, you are refusing His sacrifice of Grace on the Cross, the gift of eternal life and relationship with Him. You have nothing to lose, but the fear of death and eternal punishment!

Returning back to our passage in Luke, we see in vs. 14-17: “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Just as we have received this grace, honor, and humble service and sacrifice from our Lord, we are called to offer it to others.

God does not show favor, as we see in James 2: 1-6: My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man.”

 True religion is showing honor to the weak, vulnerable, and oppressed. We are no better, ladies!Offer that cup of cold water from a sincere and generous heart. Wash the feet of the helpless and hurting. We might all do well to remember that ‘our neighbor’ is often no further than the roommate, friend, spouse, or difficult family member we often try to avoid. We must come to the Well of Grace and fill our souls, so that Living Waters will pour from our lives into those who are in deep need.

 

Running to Grace,

Ruth

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Infused Glory

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“This monarch butterfly was captured at Leu Gardens here in central Florida, quite by accident, while I was admiring the lovely rose garden varieties.  I find that some of the most beautiful things in life can be missed when we are distracted by our fruitless worries and inevitable disappointments.  The glory of God is infused in the smallest details of life, that flutter by, never to be seen again.  I must daily remind myself to slow down, embrace the moment, and look for the glory of God that is showered upon us daily.”
By Grace,

Ruth

 

 

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The Challenge of Praise

Dear sister,

This past October, I took part in a blogging challenge that has taken place throughout the blogosphere for a few years now – the challenge to write a blog post every day of the month on a topic of your choice. The idea is to keep yourself motivated and write more frequently. It was great fun! But the topic God put on my heart to write about was not an easy one for me – Praise. I tend to be a reflective, melancholy gal and while feeling emotions deeply is not bad in and of itself, my emotions can tend toward discouragement rather than praise and joy if I am not careful.

Writing about Praise for the entire month was a challenge, but a very worthwhile one for me. I’m sure you’ve pushed yourself through something that did not come naturally and been surprised at the results – you probably felt a sense of accomplishment and joy over reaching a goal you didn’t know you could reach. Making the choice to praise God every day is just like that – we need to choose to do it, even when we don’t feel like it. I do understand that if you are deeply discouraged this won’t come easily…but when you take that step of faith to praise God for who He is, not who He might seem to be in the darkness, you will experience great joy – especially as you continue in this habit! Our emotions are sometimes fickle and change with the weather, but God never changes. What comfort to know that we can cling to God in praise, even when the storms rage within us and around us. I find it particularly convicting that David the Psalmist ends the majority of His Psalms with his eyes lifted up in praise to God – despite his often overwhelming circumstances. He was anchored in the character of God and chose to praise God no matter what he was experiencing.

Making the choice to praise God daily changed me permanently, though I have had to continue choosing this discipline, with God’s help. I realized that I did not have to wallow in my discouragement but could lift my eyes to Christ and His perfections! While we are deeply loved and accepted by God, we are frail, broken sinners and this can bring much discouragement at times. Looking to God in praise and thanks opens the floodgates of heaven – this posture is commanded! (Psalm 100:4) You will find that if you approach God in prayer this way, you will be reminded of His many glorious perfections, and laying down your requests in faith will often seem easier, having reflected on how magnificent HE is, rather than how great your problems might seem to be. No trial, however large, can compare to the wonder of His glory.

May I commend to you a book, dear sister? Please consider reading Becky Harling’s 30-Day Praise Challenge if you are struggling to praise God in this season. She so beautifully elaborates on this discipline and I found it to be very instructive and encouraging. I pray you find comfort as you praise our Great God and Savior. He is so worthy!

“ Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

With love ~ your sister,
Ruth

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God Sees Our Hearts

Dear Sister,

Are you burdened this day with the disparity between what life looks like and what you hoped it would look like? Are you frustrated with the results of your labors, despite the love and effort you have put into each act of service? Are you saddened by a relationship gone sour, due to no fault of your own, or a relationship that never bloomed, despite your many prayers and good desires?

God sees you. He saw Hagar as she was fleeing her mistress Sarah, prepared to die in the desert. “She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, “You’re the God who sees me! ‘Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!’ “ Genesis 16: 13 (MSG)

God sees your heart, and He is honored by every pure desire and motive that lies within. Resist the urge to give up on the priorities, relationships, and dreams He has given you. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

Life is a lot like farming – I know that from first-hand experience. Growing up as a farm girl in southern Ohio, I not only watched my father and grandfather labor over their fields and cattle, but I also got dirty, planted seeds, and weeded many rows of corn and beans, waiting for the crops to come. Some years, there would be a drought, and the crop would not be very healthy, or the bugs would eat up the young plants before they could grow, or an unexpected frost would kill new blossoms on our fruit trees. Being a large family, we depended on this food, but more importantly, we depended on God. He was always faithful to supply our needs and bless the real fruit of our labors, even if in a small way.

Sister, please remember that while we are called to be faithful, we are not ultimately responsible for the end result of our actions, prayers, and good desires. We are not in control. Not at all! Just like a faithful farmer, we are called to labor for the Gospel to be furthered in our own hearts, in our families, and in our communities. God will produce the fruit at the right time.

My father had a saying he liked to share with us when we were sweating in the garden every July… “You know kids, these beans are going to taste great in January!” Often when we least expect it, in the middle of the dark winter, the ‘crops’ that we have labored over, and set aside for the colder months, will bear fruit that is oh-so-sweet.

He sees you, He delights in you, and He will bring the harvest at the proper time. Be faithful to the garden He has planted you in. You don’t know how He might use your faithfulness for His glory.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

Seen by God…your sister,

Ruth