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A Clean Slate Everyday

My Dear Sister,

I want to thank you for the kindness which you showed me recently. Your tender words and compassionate listening watered my heart like an afternoon rain shower does a dry thirsty garden. For this I am grateful.

However, it was the reflection of our Lord that brought joy to my heart. Even though His reflection brought light to my sin. It’s exposure led to my confession, forgiveness and repentance thus drawing me nearer to Him.

Your kindness has reminded me of a verse that no matter how many times I read it causes my heart to melt at it’s Truth!!!

“This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion’, says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!'”
~Lamentations3:21-2

The Lord shows me His kindness every morning by reminding me that my slate is clean each day!
I pray that His kindness towards you blesses your heart as it does mine.

Grace and peace to you,
Your sister Susan

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A New Equation

My Dear Sister in Christ,

You may not know this about me but I am kind of a science geek!  I used to teach junior and senior high science in Thailand and often when I was hanging with my students I would make some kind of science reference to what we were doing and not even realize it.  It would make them laugh and call me a nerd.  Yet as I was thinking about kindness for this month, all that came to mind was physics.  Yes, physics; specifically, action and reaction equations.  For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.  Remember those?  Often they had cartoon pictures of bats hitting a baseball, trains connecting to other trains, and so forth.  I really enjoyed figuring those out.  So as I was doing some studying on kindness, I discovered that kindness has its own action/reaction equation…and it doesn’t make sense!

Often we tell our children to be kind to others and we also desire to speak kindly to our friends and husbands…but what does that mean?  I normally think if the action done to me is kindness, my reaction is kindness.  If the action toward me is mean spirited, sadly, I sometimes choose to react in the same manner.  The Bible speaks of the kindness of the Lord with a different equation.  The kindness of the Lord is toward believers and it comes after the Lord has shown us the depravity of our sin.  So our action is dwelling in sin and the Lord’s reaction is kindness.  Wow.  This has made me view kindness in a new way.  It is not only “being nice” to someone, it is overlooking the wrong that they have done to you and treating them better than they deserve.  Now, when I read that the kindness of the Lord brings us to repentance (Romans 2:4), it makes sense!

Kindness is part of the fruit of the spirit and we are told to put on kindness in Colossians 3:12.  We must take the example of how the Lord showed us kindness (by sending us Christ when we were at our worst, to die on a cross and rise again to pay for our sin debt) and show it to others.  Wow.  When my husband, daughter, friend, or neighbor is at their worst, do I show kindness or frustration?  Do I give them what they deserve or do I follow Christ’s example and give them what they don’t deserve?  That is so hard!  We can’t do that on our own.  This is why its part of the fruit of the spirit.  It is the spirit compelling us to be like Christ.  This Spirit’s action/reaction equation may not make sense, but it changes lives…including our own.

Your science geek sister in Christ,

Colleen

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Testimony of a Broken Heart

 

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  ~ Psalm 147:3

Dearest sister,

Though grief may come to us in many different ways, the two most common ways are death and heartbreak. Heartbreak doesn’t have to come from breaking up with your boyfriend or the end of a marriage. Heartbreak can come from the loss of a friendship, the behavior of our friends and loved ones, and even the acknowledgement of our own personal sins. No matter how it comes, dear sister, having our hearts broken is a difficult and painful experience.

Some time ago I was struggling with the loss of a friendship.  Actually it was the loss of a “season of friendship” that was very dear to my heart and that I cherished deeply. Circumstances demanded a change in the way I viewed our relationship but I wasn’t ready to accept this new season of friendship where I played a lesser role in my friend’s life. After confiding in my mom one night she told me, “Kayla, you need to grieve this loss.”  I hadn’t realized that I was need of grieving but I did know that my heart was broken. I even felt betrayed, unloved, and abandoned. Did my friend consciously inflict these feelings? Was it my friend’s fault that I was feeling this way; No, of course not.  But in my selfishness I had grown bitter and angry. So I heeded my mother’s words and I grieved the “loss” I was feeling.

Once I let the grieving process begin, the Lord began to change my heart and started to heal the brokenness within me. Oh the sweetness of our faithful Savior. Oh the richness His healing brings. With time I was able to accept this different kind of friendship and once again enjoy the company of my beloved friend.

The lesson to be learned here, dear sister, is that if we do not allow ourselves to feel our hurt and to grieve the loss we are feeling whether it be from a broken friendship, the death of a loved one or any other cause, we have the potential to grow bitter towards God and/or others. Dear sister, you do not want your life to be defined by bitterness or anger! I want to encourage you to lift up your cares to the Lord, tell Him of your grief because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). And remember our Lord was called a man of sorrows and described as being acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). He understands your hurt; He knows your grief. So grieve, dear one. Cry your heart out, for afterward comes healing and a peace that passes all understanding.

 

Your sister,

Kayla

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The Dragon’s Final Fatal Spasms

Dear sister,

~I had gotten the email Sunday morning Thailand time.  It shocked me to the core.  While living in Virginia I worked with an amazing Young Life staff who taught me how to meet teens where they were at.  There was one couple in particular who just exuded a love for Christ and each other that I had yet to see elsewhere. They were magnets to teens seeking joy and peace in the throws of high school chaos and awkwardness.  The husband came home from work that day to have lunch with his wife and brand new baby girl.  He just loved his family and wanted to spend some extra precious minutes with them. On the way back to work the authorities believe the sun blinded him and he ran off the road and was killed.  My heart broke for his wife, precious girl, and all those who knew him.  But the real tears came as I helped lead worship at church that morning with the song “God is so Good”.  At that moment, I did not believe those words and I left in tears.

~I woke up from the anesthesia hearing my name being called.  A few seconds later tears filled my eyes as I realized the beloved twins that once were alive inside me, were now gone.  I still feel the ache and tears now fill my eyes as I type.

How as Christians do we grieve to the glory of God?  Do we plaster a grin and say we are “fine”?  Do we fake it till we make it?  Is that what this Christian life is about?  Only good things should happen to believers, never sad, confusing or hurtful times?  Oh sweet sister, the Bible is full of grieving people…even the Lord Jesus himself grieved…even God the Father grieved at the death of his Son!  Yes, there is a way to grieve to the glory of God that does not minimize our hurt and pain.

We first need to realize that death was not in the original Garden of Eden.  Sin was not there.  So when we grieve death, we do so rightly.  Death is the result of sin that came from Adam’s disobedience to God which carries with it the curse of death to all who followed in life.  It reminds us that this world is broken.  Yet it is also a reminder that Christ came to CONQUER death!  Death has been and will be defeated.  It was slain at the cross and we wait for Christ to come again and stop the dragon’s final fatal spasms.

So as Christians, death hits us hard as we know that it is a result of a sin laden earth.  We grieve because of the destruction it brings.  So let the tears and groans come.  Know the Father grieves too.  But do not grieve without hope.

  • Be honest with what you are feeling:
    • The psalms are full of examples; let them guide you (Ps 13, 22, 38, 42, 55, 59, 61, and 88).  Bring your grief to the Lord, he above all understands what it means to grieve.
  • Seek Godly comfort:
    • It will be easy to run to the TV, food, exercise, memories, music, work, or other people but they will not give you lasting comfort.  Jesus Christ is our lasting comfort as He is the one who conquered death by dying and rising again!  Run to Him above all else.  Yes, you can use the others as tools, but not your respite.  Christ is your ultimate comfort (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
  • Resist Temptations:
    • You will be vulnerable when you are in grief.  Resist the temptation to doubt God’s goodness, mercy, grace, and love.  You may not feel like He is those things but remember He never changes.  Be careful not to be angry with God, envy others who have not felt your grief, or fall into self-pity.  Serve others.
  • Use Your Resources:
    • This is when we really need to lean into our church family for support.  We need them to help us remember the Truth and not believe the lies.  Read the Word.  Read the Word.  Read the Word.  Even if you don’t feel like it.
  • Remember your Blessings:
    • The Lord does promise good out of all things.  Actively look for them

I had never understood the pain of a miscarriage until I had one.  Since that day, my heart aches for each couple who experiences this loss.  I can grieve with them, cry with them, hurt with them, and offer them hope as one who understands what they are going through.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says that there is “a time for everything”, even a time to mourn, lose, die, and break down…but it also says there is a time to laugh, build up, and live. “There is a season for everything under the sun”.  Yes grieve, but don’t stay there, let the Lord use you to then comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3).   Grief is real, but so is the comfort of Christ.

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen

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Lessons From Joseph

Beloved sister,

Is it the friend who betrayed you?  Or could it be the relative who defamed your character?  Is it the co-worker you sit next to every day, or the church member you dread seeing?  Chances are, there is someone in your life that you need to forgive, to move past bitterness.  We all, in our flesh, are prone to holding a grudge, and withholding the love that is due our friends, relatives, and neighbors.  And yet as Christians, we are called to a radical life of forgiveness.  But how, you ask?  When the pain is so big, and the reasons for extending grace and forgiveness seem so small in comparison, what then?  You don’t understand what I’ve been through, you protest!  And perhaps I do not, but can I offer a word of encouragement?  Christ forgave you, when you were His enemy, and because HE suffered for us in every way, without sin, He will see us ALL through this challenging process of forgiveness.  Let’s take a walk through the life of Joseph for some answers….

Was Joseph without sin? As a young man, and the favorite of his father, Joseph made some choices that were perhaps not as wise as could be.  Telling his brothers of his dreams of greatness not once, but twice, was a good way to incite anger in them, which eventually led to the poor treatment he received.  No, his brothers were certainly not justified in what they did, but can we take to heart what we see here?  That perhaps there is some fault on our part, as well as on the part of the ones who have sinned against us?  Can we commit to reflection, even if our imperfections were very small in comparison to how we were sinned against?  Searching my own heart and seeing my faults often makes forgiveness easier to work through.

We all suffer greatly, but our Savior is Greater…. He was left for dead, sold into slavery, twice imprisoned, and slandered in character, to name a few things that Joseph endured.  We all have our laundry list of ways we have been sinned against.  I am not here to belittle what you have suffered dear sister, but do you, like me, often rehearse in your mind what has been done to you, in sin?  Reach out to your compassionate Savior instead, who suffered to the point of death, in perfect innocence.  Though our sufferings may be great, there is One who has suffered greater, and will walk with us through the darkest valleys.

The love of God breaks Joseph’s heart…. In Genesis 45, we see how Joseph’s love for his brothers finally won over, and he wept as he declared his identity.  While we do not see what transpired in the heart of Joseph, it is obvious that God was at work, bringing him to this point of deep forgiveness and grace towards those who had sinned against him.  We even see how they dined together in fellowship.  How can we arrive at this point?  This is only possible by the grace of God.  As we daily offer our hurts to the Lord, He is able to change our hearts and bring us to the point of radical forgiveness.

There is hope for you and me…. My dear sister, perhaps this has been a painful letter to read, as you struggle to know how you can come to the point of forgiving your enemies.  But may I encourage you—not one of us is able to forgive, apart from knowledge of how we have been forgiven.  As we humble ourselves before an Almighty God, admit our own sin, and embrace the forgiveness we are offered in Christ, we will become radical ‘dispensers of Grace’…. ambassadors in the great Kingdom of Love.

Your forgiven sister,

Ruth