Where is the Good?

By Lori Freeland –

“For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name” (Luke 1:49 NIV).

Some life lessons come harder than others. Being good is one of them.

While I’ve struggled with various temptations and issues as a child, teen, daughter, friend, wife, and mother, I’ve always understood one truth.

Without the Lord in my life, I am nothing. Nothing good anyway.

Left on my own, I tend to cross the line, dabble in what pleases me, explore areas of life better left unknown.

Yes, I might manage to hang onto to a husband, produce little people that grow up to be functioning members of society, and enjoy a few close friendships.

I may have more happy days than sad. When you look at me, you might think I have it all together, that I’ve figured life out, that I’m sure about my path. That I am a good person.

But you would be wrong.

Inside, where it counts, I could never claim to be innately good.

I do what’s expected. Cover feelings considered unacceptable. Bite back words I know shouldn’t say. Work hard to fit in. Smile and frown on cue. Move forward. Juggle life. Deal with some issues. Bury others.

But anything truly good, anything right, anything pure does not originate in me. Because inside, I hide anti-good behaviors and thoughts. Inside, I squelch desires I know I shouldn’t have. Inside, I am a completely different person.

Although on the outside it may look like we’ve become better people as adults, sometimes we’ve just become better at masking our flaws and insecurities. Emotions like jealousy, hate, and anger never completely disappear just because we age and develop a few wrinkles.

Some days maturity has more to do with what I censor and harness inside my head than how much I’ve really grown and changed.

Sad, but true.

But hiding is not what God has asked of me. He doesn’t want me to conceal who I really am. He wants to change what’s inside me to reflect what’s inside Him.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).

Those are the qualities God asks me to seek.

And so I do. With His help. Hoping one day, what He wants for me will be what I am.

He wants me to be honest. Stop hiding. Quit covering. Be real. Change inside and out. Permanently. He wants a new me. A renewed me. He wants the best for me.

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:9,10 NIV).

Thankfully, it is in His strength that I find the best things, put them on, and offer them back to Him.

For in my strength alone, I will always remain helpless, insecure, and eons from innately good.

Lord, help me put on the new today. Help me look to You for the things You want for me. Change me in a way that means I can never go back to the old.

Daddy, It’s Dark and I’m Afraid

By DiAne Gates –

It’s dark and I’m afraid.

What mom or dad hasn’t heard these words? Many times. And what did you say to that frightened child? Be quiet and go to sleep? Did you fuss and tell your child you needed to sleep? Or did you get up, go to your son or daughter and lovingly give them proper comfort and instruction?

But where does a parent go when shadows fall like a shroud and pitch you into the depths of unknown terror?

If you haven’t been there yet, just wait. It will come.

Twenty years ago, my husband had an aneurysm rupture in his leg. Petrifying weeks followed as we waited to see if he would loose his life or his leg. Waited to see if he would be able to work or still have a job. Waited for that time of unequivocal darkness to pass.

Until job loss, heart attacks, financial distress, deaths—all long black tunnels of fear—sucked the light from our lives and plunged us into the inky abyss of anguish. We couldn’t hop over ‘em, dig under ‘em, or run around ‘em. I sobbed, “Abba, Father, it’s so dark and I’m afraid.”

And when I cried, my Father was faithful to hold me, comfort me, and give me His strength. Strength to put one foot in front of the other. One step at a time. And travel with Him through the sightless night back into the light. During that time, I feared I might stumble and die in the process.

But God taught me there were lessons I must learn in the dark. Lessons I can’t see in the bright light of day. Lessons I must learn in the discipline of darkness.

This discipline required me to walk in lock-step with the Lord Jesus, forced me to focus on His face, instead of the things that creak and groan in the night. And reminded me to call out, “Daddy, I’m afraid.”

I only do that when I’m forced to abide behind the sooty curtains of heartache.

God shines the truth of His love on me in the light of day. But in the darkroom of trouble, He develops the knowledge and understanding of my faith in Him. Then I see the profane and unclean things lurking in my mind, things I have refused to acknowledge in times of blessing. I see pitfalls and traps that would have entangled me, had I not slowed my pace and clung to Jesus. And I am convinced it is better to walk with God in the dark than to stand alone in the light.

But as sure as day follows night, turmoil will pass and His light, like the sunrise, will disburse trials and tragedies. I will blossom again, strengthened by His comfort to know when darkness returns all I have to do is cry, “Abba, Father—Daddy— I’m afraid.”

And if you’re His child, He will wrap you in His arms of comfort and carry you through ’til morning. Because He loves you.

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15 NAS).

“What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee” (Psalm 56:3 NAS).

Will You Hear Them Now

By Jennifer Slattery –

When I first began writing, I’d ask my husband to read my work then offer feedback. Each time he did, if he said anything remotely corrective, I’d get upset and feel the need to argue with him. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before he quit offering feedback. That was when I realized I preferred the constructive criticism, as hard as it was to swallow, to the wall of silence.

In essence, I came to a point where I had to choose—did I want someone to tell me what they thought I wanted to hear, or was I truly wanting to learn and grow?

Proverbs 9:7-9 says: “Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more” (NLT).

To become wise, to grow, I had to go from a mocker, one who spurns truth and correction, to the wise, one who soaks it up and listens, receiving criticism with an open heart.

This applies to all areas of life: parenting, at work, in our small groups or Bible studies.

And I suspect, to receive constructive criticism, to take it in and prayerfully consider it, requires a great deal of humility.

Pause for a moment to think of how you typically respond to criticism or correction. If you respond by getting defensive or upset, why do you think this is?

Do you tend to receive criticism better from some people than others? If so, why do you think this is?

What about your children? Do you allow them to openly share their concerns? Do you find this to be a hard balance between maintaining the parental role and creating an open environment for communication?

What changes in thinking need to take place in order for you to openly evaluate criticism received?

Dead Batteries

By Kathi Woodall –

My daughter was sick recently, so I took her to the walk-in clinic at our pediatrician’s office. The walk-in clinic is a blessing because an appointment is not required. It is a curse because the wait can often be long, especially during cold and flu season. Anticipating the wait, I grabbed my Samsung Tablet on the way out of the house so she could play games or read while we waited. However, my preparedness turned out to be worthless. The batteries ran down the day before and I hadn’t plugged it in to recharge overnight.

A few days later I wanted to listen to my iPod while housecleaning. After searching awhile, I found it in a pocket of my backpack with a dead battery. Weeks of neglect had killed it.

As I write this, my cell phone is charging in the kitchen, my daughter’s iPod is plugged into my laptop, and my laptop is plugged into the wall. The battery on my laptop no longer charges, it doesn’t work at all unless I plug it into the outlet.

All of this charging and plugging started me wondering. Does God want to use us sometimes but we have run our batteries down so low we’re worthless? Are we ever so in need of a charge that we can’t do what He desires? Do we wander so far that, when He finds us, we can’t do anything because we haven’t plugged in lately?

We plan out each moment of our day weeks and even months ahead of time. We are so busy working, shopping, cleaning, cooking, planning, playing, talking, texting, meeting, eating, driving, and doing that we don’t take enough time to plug in and spiritually recharge.

We can recharge spiritually many different ways. Some may renew their spiritual batteries by worshipping God through music with a great praise band whereas others may recharge by spending time alone in prayer. For me, I recharge by studying God’s Word. Even better is when I can then write about it. My husband, on the other hand, reenergizes by hiking through the woods and enjoying the beauty of creation. There are as many ways to spiritually recharge ourselves as there are Christians who need to do it! What’s critical though is that we find time to stop…just stop…and plug in to Him. Let Him refill us once again.

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

Looking Beyond The Cross

By Pat Hodges –

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

There comes a time in every believer’s life when there is a “cross” before us that we don’t want anything to do with. As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane “. . . O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me . . .” I can think back over the times in my life when I’ve faced various “crosses,” begging God to eradicate the “cross” or somehow just bypass it all tog-ether. The truth of the matter is God allows us to face these crosses and to experience them from time to time. Some are short lived, while others can last for extensive periods of time. Now I don’t subscribe to the notion that every bad situation is put in our lives by God as a cross. The Word plainly states the enemy comes to us steal, kill, and destroy. There is a marked difference between a cross and the enemy just coming in to wreak devastation and chaos in our lives.

The purpose of the cross is specifically allowed to give us the opportunity to overcome and to conquer a given obstacle. The purpose is not to destroy us. There are times when God delivers us from situations and circumstances and other times He delivers us through situations and circumstances. The delivering through part is what we often seek to avoid.

I want to encourage you to start seeing what lies beyond the cross you may be facing. It makes it a whole lot easier when we can see what is beyond a cross. Your cross may be a relationship that’s going through a fiery test, or it may be a character flaw within yourself that God has allowed to remain to gain victory over or something else entirely.

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