Listening to Learn..Meg Bucher

 Listening to Learn

By Meg Bucher

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” - James 1:19-21 NLT

Silence is: “the absence of any sound or noise; stillness …the state or fact of being silent; muteness …absence or omission of mention, comment, or expressed concern.” The silent treatment has turned into ghosting. To ghost someone is to “suddenly end all contact with a person without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship.” 

James says, in the verse above, “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Anger is a necessary emotion, but the way we handle it is important. James tells us why: “human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Then, he says, “humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” In other words … listen. Tempers are lost and people are ghosted because we are disobedient to the Word planted in us. The Holy Spirit is faithful to convict us when we’re about to cross the line in anger … but it’s our choice to listen. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, 

“'Don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” - Ephesians 4:26-27 NLT

God created us to need each other. No where in Scripture does it say we have the right to give someone the silent treatment, ignore a brother or sister, or ghost someone out of anger. (Special side note to this article: In situations of abuse, please get help.)

Intersecting Faith and Life:

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.” - Proverbs 17:9 NLT

Matthew recorded a conversation between Peter and Jesus:  “Then Peter came to him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven.’” - Matthew 18:21-22 NLT

The Bible equips us with steps to repair relationships. God is faithful to place people in our lives purposefully. When we have responded in anger, and wreck a relationship, there are three things Scripture tells us to do:

1. Own our behavior. 

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two other with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” - Matthew 18:15-17 NLT

2. Apologize.

Hurt people, hurt people. We can have forward loving compassion for others who are hurting by choosing to walk the road of forgiveness before we receive an apology. However, when we are responsible for hurting another person, it’s important to acknowledge the hurt we have caused, whether or not it was intentional. James wrote, 

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” - James 5:16 NLT

3. Lead with Love. 

“Always forgiven, never loved less.” It’s a phrase I have said to my daughters over and over, and taught to communicate to their friends as well. Jesus’ command on how many times we are to forgive someone in the verses above (Matthew 18:21-22) allow us to safely assume He means, always forgive. Why? Because we are always forgiven.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins …”  - 1 John 1:9 NLT

There is nothing we can do to outrun the love of God. The Bible says,  “…nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” - Romans 8:38 NLT

Learning to listen is hard. We are by nature very offend-able. Though it may seem easiest to ghost someone out of our lives, the truth is they were put there on purpose. Cutting them out only robs us of the reason they were there in the first place. Instead of running from the inevitably difficulty that is relationships with other people …let’s aim to stay, and learn to listen.

 

A Prayer for When You Need Peace..Jodie Niznik..

A Prayer for When You Need Peace 

Jodie Niznik

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” - John 14:27

The night Jesus shared a last meal with his disciples was an evening full of emotion. Aware that these were some of His final moments, Jesus imparted truths he wanted his friends to remember once he was gone.

Laced within Jesus’s final words of comfort and love, he conveyed his parting gift of peace. Jesus was leaving the disciples with His peace – not just fleeting tranquility for a moment but enduring peace for a lifetime. And because of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence in our lives today, we have access to this same peace of Christ. Philippians 4:6-7 helps us understand how to embody this gift of peace. It says that when something anxiety-inducing invades our hearts and minds, we can give it to God in prayer, and then God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding, will take charge of our hearts.

This can be easier said than done, though. It may take intentionally turning to God again and again before we can start to abide in his peace.

As we face the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s easy to let our peace slip away. Whether it’s unmet expectations, difficult loved ones, or simply the pressure of more to do in less time, stress can become the norm for our holiday season. Yet, Jesus longs for us to exchange our stress for his peace.

As you go through your holiday season, when you start feeling stressed, take a deep breath and ask Jesus to help you. He left his peace for us. We can trust him and lay our anxieties down to pick up his peace despite our circumstances.

Let’s Pray and ask God for his peace right now: 

Lord Jesus, thank you that you left us with your peace. You knew the disciples would face a multitude of struggles and discouragements, and so, as some of your last words, you made sure they would know they had access to your peace. And you also knew those words would make their way into our lives today. You left your peace long ago – but it transcends time and can be ours right now. So, Lord, we ask that you would help us know more of your peace.

If something is causing us anxiety right now, would you help us discern how to move forward? If we need to change something, give us the wisdom to know what to change. If we need to trust you more in this situation, help us do that. If we need additional help to navigate the anxiety, guide us to the proper support. Lord, we believe you when you say you left us your peace. So, help us know your peace right now.

Lord, As we move through this holiday season, we ask that you give us your enduring peace. Help us to rest in you and trust you. Help us to experience and celebrate this season with hearts full of peace. 

We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

God is Near, Even When He Feels Far Away..Brenda Rodgers

 God is Near, Even When He Feels Far Away

By Brenda Rodgers

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed..." - Deuteronomy 31:8

Often when I feel God is far away, shame takes over. We have this idea that low points in our relationship with Jesus equate to a lack of love for Him. Sometimes well-meaning churches or Christian environments support this belief.

However, most people in the Bible felt like God was far away from them at one point in their journey. Think about Hannah whose only hope in life was to have a baby. Or Joseph who was sold into slavery. What about Moses who never got to enter the Promised Land? Even though the Bible may not articulate that these people felt far from God, I imagine that their circumstances created that tension. And then, of course, there was Jesus Himself who asked, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).

In many ways, our relationship with God is like our human relationships. There are times we feel closer to God than in other times, just like there are times we feel closer to people in our life than other times. This is natural. There's no reason for it to cause shame or make us question our love for Him. In fact, we need to guard against doing that because it is a tactic of the enemy. Satan wants us to feel shameful about our relationship with God, and the longer we wallow in that belief, the more opportunity he has to build a foothold in our lives.

Remembering that my feelings aren't my reality is hard for me. Everything I feel is reality for me. But the Bible tells us differently. We may feel that God is far away but the truth is He never leaves us and He's always with us. Let's look at some of the promises from the Bible that tell us God is always with us:

"Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

Feelings are powerful and important, but we do not need to depend on them to guide us. When we're tempted to believe our feelings instead of what is real and true, we need to meditate on these promises from God. Reality is what the Bible tells us, not what our feelings say.

Why I Give Thanks to God..Keneesha Saunders-Liddie

 Why I Give Thanks to God

By Keneesha Saunders-Liddie

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. - 1 Chronicles 16:34

There are times that, because of God’s extraordinary goodness, I overflow with thanks. One such time, I was about 13 years old when I got off at the wrong stop while traveling to see my aunt. It was supposed to be a simple and very short trip across the ocean, from one island to the next. But I got off at the wrong port.

At the time I didn’t realize that the island had two ports, and I picked the wrong one. It was around 3 pm in the afternoon, and everyone who disembarked with me was picked up. I didn’t think anything about it until I realized that it was about 6 pm. At the time, the little flip phone I had was unable to make calls, and I wasn’t receiving calls either.

I sat there until it was about 10 pm. I tried calling my aunt’s house several times with a payphone until I ran out of quarters. A family drove into the lot and exchanged their vehicle for another one. When the mom spotted me sitting there, she stopped the car and asked me, “Do you know where the person that was supposed to pick you up lives?”

Despite my fear and the gnawing in my belly, I decided to accept the lift. They took me straight there.

That night before I went to sleep (after being scolded by every possible family member from near and far), I thanked God for his goodness.

Anything could have happened to me. But God. I was sitting by the side of a closed building while the sun descended. It was literally a dead end, just a parking lot full of cars. And yet, God’s love is enduring. It is particular. Do you understand what that means? It means that, he loves you. And his love never ends.

All your earthly relationships, the love of your mama or husband or fiancé will never, ever be able to compare to the enduring love of God.

This is why I give thanks. When I look back on his goodness over my life that night, I have to give my God thanks and praise. I could have easily become a statistic. I would have been another unsolved murder or just disappeared without a trace, but God.

Look at your life and honestly ask yourself, “Are you truly thankful for all that God has done, is doing and will continue to do for you?” If we are honest, we know that the answer is no. Every day is a gift, an opportunity that we have been given to thank God for his goodness and his enduring love.

It pays to remember that there is none who is good and no one that seeks after God (Romans 3:10-11). This is why we shouldn’t downplay or take for granted the goodness of God. He is a good God and he alone can carry the title of good. He is the definition of the word ‘good’ and he is our father. I’m thankful for all that he has done and will continue to do, are you? Then give him the glory that is due him.

Dear Jesus,

Right now, I want you to know just how thankful I am that you are my God. I am so grateful that you are so good to me and that the love you have for me is enduring. In Jesus’ name, Amen.