Being Still . . . Even on the Curbside

   My husband and I had a friend who had a very interesting way of declaring his “down days.” He would comment that he was “lower than a pregnant ant sitting on a curbside. . .”  Just the  comment made you burst into laughter as you mentally pictured this scene . . .

  The problem is when you’re the one feeling like the ant! Somehow the statement doesn’t find the same humor. True – we have an eternal HOPE in Jesus Christ. True – nothing is impossible with God. True – our future IS bright – as bright, someone has said, as the promises of God.

  However, it is also true that we are human beings, with human emotions, and some days the skies are gray. (Then other days they may be pouring rain!)  So, what are the secrets of getting through . . . victoriously?

  Well, the Psalmist lifted His eyes to the hills – and realized His help came not from the hills, but from the Lord who made the hills. The Lord who made “heaven and earth.”

  When the Israelites were bound in slavery, their cries weren’t  falling on deaf ears. God tells Moses in Exodus 3, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them . . ” (Ex. 3:7-8 a The Message)

   Moses, the chosen vessel to bring deliverance is uncertain that he is up to the task! What makes him up to it? God’s promise, “I’ll be with you . . .” (Ex. 3:12 The Message)

   What is the name of our God? I AM WHO I AM! He is presently concerned with our need. He is presently able for our circumstance. He is presently enough. Yes, He always has been and He always will be – and He lives in the PRESENT with us.

   His mercy extends to the heavens – His faithfulness reaches to the skies. His love is wider, and deeper than any ocean. His power knows no limit – you cannot measure His grace.

   Looking to Him it isn’t long until our feet can find the “top of the curb!” (We may not be flying with the eagles quite yet, but we’re on our way!) He walks along side and says it’s ok – that He is working things out for the best. The heart inside remembers -- “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10 NIV)

Janene Dubbeld/FGG

 “I will extol the Lord at all times ; his praise will     always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and  rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name      together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are        radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”

Psalm 34:1-5

I Won't Be A Stranger

Memorial services are always such a mixture of emotions. When we know that our loved one or friend is with the Lord, we rejoice that they have made it “home,” but our own hearts grieve. The human heartache of missing them can only find it’s ultimate comfort in the Holy Spirit — God’s Comforter.

  At one such service, a dear preacher friend of ours was remembering several friends who had made the crossing to the other shore. As he was sharing, he verbalized his feelings in a rather unique way. Looking out across the crowd he said, “It kind of makes me feel like I won’t be a stranger when I get there.”

  So true. Everyone who goes on before us will be there to welcome us when it is our turn to come through the pearly gates. Oh, no! We won’t be a stranger.

  Best of all, when we have accepted salvation through Christ, and given our lives to serve Him we will know the welcome of God our Father when He says, “Well-done!” God the Son — our dearest Friend will take our hand in His nail-scarred one, as we worship Him, praise Him, thank Him for the redeeming power in the blood that fit us for such a glorious place. How we’ll praise the gift of the Father — the precious Holy Spirit for His ever present guidance as we walked in the world but not of it. Our Godhead — Three in One knows us! We certainly won’t be a stranger.

  So, when the world “down here” seems to be going cross grained with everything God has put in our hearts from the world “up there” — simply smile and listen closely! There’s a cloud of witnesses cheering us on! The band is marching to a different time. Tune your spiritual “inner ear” to hear the interceding to the Father for you!  You won’t be a stranger then, because you are not a stranger now!

   Living here is not forever — not our final home. We truly are just passing through. Like the song says:

This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through

   My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue

The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door

   And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Albert E. Brumley

   When you weep with the ache of the earthly loss you know — don’t weep without hope. There is another day coming. A day when future will be known as reality. A day when we will be “forever with the Lord.” When it comes . . . We won’t be a stranger!                                                     

    Janene A. Dubbeld/FGG

“How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalm 116:12-15

Two Scenario's and a, "What If?"

Scenario #1:

She stood there for a moment – her hand on the door knob. The few extra unplanned minutes in her busy schedule nagged at her brain. It wasn’t because she couldn’t fill them; it was what to fill them with. See, ever since last Sunday’s sermon it seemed she was bothered. Bothered that she had been a Christian for so many years but seemed less passionate now that she had ever been about spiritual things.

Life was busy. It was just all the legitimate things – the day to day concerns – like now – all the stuff she needed to do loomed up and seemed to consume the person who she needed to become. She was bothered by this fact. Who was she becoming in the process?

She shut the door, dropped her keys on the table and shrugged out of her coat. On purpose she went to find her Bible, and get on her knees. It was just a few minutes – but it was a start – a way back to renewing the passion of what really mattered.

Senario #2:

He reached for the remote – after all it was time to relax a few minutes before dinner. It had been a hard day – he deserved it. Before he even turned it on he felt a twitch inside. His brain began to replay the words he’d heard in the sermon the Sunday before. He tried to shrug it off – he dropped the remote. Why was it so hard to be the spiritual leader of his home he needed to be? He worked hard to provide. He took time for the kids. Why was it His love for God seemed to find him in hot pursuit for awhile – then off to back burner? 

He picked up the remote – then laid it back down. He didn’t want it to be this way this year. He reached for His Bible, and prayed in his heart. “God, help me keep you first.” More than he knew – he was on the right track.

"What If?"

We take it literally . . .

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 

Loving Him most and keeping Him first is always the best way to live.

Nothing Lost

   The tears were flowing as his heartbroken words reached the front seat, “Please, go back . . . I lost my knife.” It was unbelievable to me! I had just returned home a few days before bringing my son this small souvenir. We had already spent the better part of another day that week, praying and searching for its “reappearance.” Now, it was lost again!

   We called “big brother” who was still at the place we had been. He searched – to no avail. We drove back and searched ourselves – it simply wasn’t there! With his name engraved on it, we were sure it would show up in lost and found – but we never heard a thing. His precious “keepsake” was gone.

   It seems like a household of seven is constantly looking for something! Even with our best intentions to “get organized” somehow items sneak out of the structure we strive for! Prayers and answers and thankful hearts are a big part of this “losing and finding” cycle . . . and I don’t think our family is alone in this!

   However, in my regular Bible reading, I ran across a Psalm the other day that GREATLY encouraged me! Psalm 36:5-7 in the NIV reads like this:

“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies, your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

   When I read it in The Message translation I had to stop and re-read it – and thank the Lord! It reads like this:

“God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; not a man, not a mouse slips through the cracks. How exquisite your love, O God! How eager we are to run under your wings. . . “

   How lovely the thought that “IN HIS LARGNESS NOTHING GETS LOST!” He is mighty to save, mighty to deliver, and HE knows where YOU are! His salvation knows where to find you, His peace knows where you live, His provision will prove His promise. Today, find your refuge – in the shadow of HIS WINGS!

Take it with You

“O, Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:6b,7

The Only Way

   As a child, I remember singing a little chorus that went like this, “One way God said to get to Heaven, ‘Jesus is the only way,’ one way to reach those pearly mansions, ‘Jesus is the only way’! No other way, no other way, no other way to go . . . . . One way God said to get to Heaven, Jesus is the only way.”

    Perhaps you have heard the expression, “All roads lead to Rome.” In our world today, one of the most prevalent thought processes involves the idea that there are many ways to get to Heaven. This is one of the ways the enemy of our souls schemes to betray us — coming as an angel of light — mixing lie with Truth.  The light he brings only shines long enough to deceitfully beckon you to come to it. But the real truth of the matter is, that once you get there, it only provides temporal, earthly light, but brings darkness to your spiritual soul, and brings to you — eternity lost.

   When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they made a choice that not only affected them, but the entire human race. The relationship between them and their Heavenly Father was severed. Sin had entered the picture, and sin cannot enter Heaven.

   To heal this broken relationship, a plan had been formed. Formed in the mind and heart of a loving God. A plan of restoration — a plan of redemption. Until Christ came, His chosen people carried out a type of this plan by sacrificing lambs, and following ritual.

   But when Jesus came — He finished once and for all the need of a Sacrifice. He was the Sacrifice — not only for one race, but for the entire world!

   Exclusive? Oh, no — He is INCLUSIVE! I Peter 3:9 tells us that he is “. . . Longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” All that’s necessary is to believe and accept Him for WHO HE IS!

   For “illustrations sake” — It’s a little like this. My name in this world is Janene. No matter what you say or believe, my name is Janene. That is simply who I am. You can call me Ruth, or Debbie, or Misty — but my name is still Janene. You can BELIEVE sincerely that my name is something else — you can even call me something else, but I am still Janene.

   The deluded lie of Satan constantly desires to twist or cloud the view of Who Jesus REALLY is. He is the Messiah, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. This truth remains — no matter what. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). This is an absolute Truth. Jesus is our Way to reconciliation with God the Father — our Way to eternity in Heaven — Jesus is the only Way.

   Pilate asked this question on that fateful day, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” He asked it of the crowd — we must ask it in our hearts. It’s our choice — accept Him or reject Him — because no matter what — He will continue being Who HE IS!  Jesus — I accept You all over again for Who You Are! Thank You for saving me! Amen.

By: Janene A. Dubbeld

For God's Glory

Take it With You

 

“The next day John saw  Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”

John 1:29 

“And he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” Acts16:30,31

Moms -- Do Your Best, Surrender the Rest!

The word, “mother” brings with it a whole vocabulary of thought. The heritage of a mother’s love is certainly a treasure, and when her example to you has mirrored the unfailing love of our God, we have a treasured possession indeed.

   Moses lived because of the love and faith of his mother. Not just his birth, but his continued existence rested in her insight, love, and faith in action. She knew God had a plan for this child. She did everything she could to protect him — to keep him alive for as long as she could. But her faith carried her even beyond that moment. When she knew she could no longer protect him from the evil forces intent on taking his life, she surrendered him over to another who was much more capable than even she.

   Amazingly, her surrender actually enabled God to not only keep Moses safe, but to give Moses back into her care and training for yet awhile longer. Then, when the time came, she again had to release him, and trust God for the rest.

   Moses took quite a journey! His life was certainly colored with unexpected events, taking him to unexpected places. But the faith instilled in him as a child had taken permanent root. Moses was one of the most powerful leaders in history, leading God’s chosen people out of the bondage of Egypt and into freedom from slavery.

   Being a faithful mom doesn’t always afford us a top seat in the “glamour society.” Yet, when we live for Him, Proverbs 31:38 tells us our children will arise to call us “blessed.”

   Throughout God’s Word we are privileged to read many examples of mother’s of faith. Mothers like Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary — and so many more. By faith they were entrusted with the soul of a child — and by faith they surrendered them back to the God who gave them. It was then God’s purpose in their lives could be fulfilled.

   So, Mom’s whatever the “demand” of the day, YOU are valued, important, and oh, so loved!  Do your best — and surrender the rest to the One who is everlastingly able. We can trust Him with our lives. We can trust Him with our children!

   

 Janene A. Dubbeld/FGG

 Take it with You

“But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”

Exodus 2:3

You Said What?

Communication is extremely wonderful.  However, it is constantly changing – and that can be a challenge for some of us.  Letter writing used to be a love of mine – actually still would be – but times have changed.  Finally, I declared I had to do more e-mailing because that IS the way lots of people communicate!  Now there is facebook and twitter . . . and the list goes on.

You see, out in the country where we live, we don’t have the modern convenience of “anywhere internet” yet. (At least at our house.)  A few months ago, I saw a DHL truck and seriously contemplated chasing it down . . . I thought it was DSL and it was in our area . . . I thought the driver needed to know that our area NEEDS INTERNET SERVICE!!!  Thankfully I didn’t – since DHL is a delivery service that operates much like UPS – and doesn’t have ANYTHING to do with internet service. Oh, my, you should have heard my family laugh over that one! 

When I was first learning to text, I had gone to the library to check my e-mail and work on some writing.  I needed my friends e-mail address, so I gave her a call on my cell phone.  Guess what? She texted me back.  So, here I am, patiently learning this wonderful communication.  All of the sudden another text comes through from my oldest son, Vincent.  Now I’m really “high tech.”  Two people going at once. (Quit laughing teens!)  By the time we were done, I was laughing so hard it was difficult to operate under the library rule of,  “quiet please.”  Poor Vincent didn’t have a clue what I was trying to say.  I think his last text to me was, “What?”  I finally gave up and said to one of the librarians something like, “I’ll just talk to him later.”

Yes, communication has been an art since the beginning of time.  As the old adage goes, “You can’t live with it – and you can’t live without it!”  Keeping up with the most modern ways can seem exhausting at times.  But a shared smile, an “I love you,” or just sharing over a cup of coffee are communication ways that never go “out of style.”

 There is one very important place that I frequent where I am always understood.  I can bring whatever problem I have – big or small.  Sometimes I really don’t have to say much – it’s better to listen.  See, it’s the secret place where I can commune with my Heavenly Father.  He doesn’t require a certain cell phone – I’m already on His list of favorites.  It never says, “all circuits are busy now” or gets confused in the garble of text messaging.  He loves, He hears, He knows, and He cares.

   It’s amazing what communicating with Him does!  See, from the beginning of time, when He said, “Let there be light,” His Word changes things.  Bringing Him my needs is such a privilege – listening to Him speak through His Word my lifeline. In this communion, He changes me, He changes others, and He changes circumstances.  It is in the secret place with Him that I can find comfort for my sorrow, forgiveness for sin, hope for my tomorrow, and the peace of knowing that whatever happens, He is Lord.    

Take it with You

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Psalm 91:1