Slow Down and Pay Attention

By Sharon Jaynes
sharonjaynes.com

Today's Truth

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16,17 TNIV).

Friend to Friend;

One summer I went to a very famous art museum. I walked up and down the aisles, quickly glancing at first one masterpiece and then another. Finally, I decided to stop and look at one particular painting. I don't even remember which one it was. The more I looked at the painting, the more I began to see. It was dark on one side and grew lighter on the other. I noticed the expressions on the faces, the longing of a child, the pain of a man, the approaching cloud in the sky, the hues of the clothes, a bare foot, a torn robe, a clenched fist. A story began to unfold before my eyes and it was if I were beginning to see into the heart of the artist.

This reminded me of how we sometimes read the Bible - like perusing through an art gallery and never really stopping to see what the artist intended in the great masterpieces lining the majestic walls. Like walking briskly through an art gallery, we grab the Bible and read a few verses before running out the door in the morning or closing our eyes at night.

But God's Word is a masterpiece and He speaks through every stroke of the writer's pen. Oh the treasures stored on each page just waiting to be discovered!

The Hebrew word for Bible is mikra, which means "the calling out of God." He calls out to us from the pages and speaks to us through the words. The Bible is amazingly profound and yet simple enough for a child to understand. The more time we spend in the Scriptures, the more God will reveal the truths within.

The Bible tells us that the Scriptures are alive. John calls Scripture "the word of life" (I John 1:1). Peter calls Scripture the "living and enduring word of God" (I Peter 1:23). "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). No matter how long we live, no matter how many times we read through the Bible, God will continue to speak to us through the pages of His Word. His Words are living and bring us life!

Let's Pray...

Dear Lord, I pray that you will "give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know him better and so that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe"(Ephesians 1:17-19). I pray that the eyes of our hearts will be open tosee God through the pages of the Bible and hear His voice in each and every word.

In Jesus' Name,

Now It's Your Turn

Over the next few days, read the book of Esther in one sitting. Then ponder the story just as if you were looking at the story of a painting.

Who are the main characters?

Who are the villain and the hero?

What is the conflict?

What is the lesson learned from the story?

Even though God's name is not mentioned in the story, where do you see Him in the masterpiece?

YaYa sister, we'd love to hear how God has been speaking to you through the Scriptures lately. Let us
know at becky.weiss@usw.salvationarmy.org .  We can't wait to hear from you!

  

The Bethel of Your Soul

by Jennifer Rothschild

www.jenniferrothschild.com/java

In 1851, a group of missionaries to Tierra del Fuego was stranded in bitter cold waiting for their supply ship to arrive. Unfortunately, before the ship arrived, they died of cold and starvation. One of the missionaries, Richard Williams, a surgeon and Methodist lay preacher, recorded his thoughts in his journal. On April 18th he wrote, "Poor and weak though we are, our abode is a very Bethel to our souls, and God we feel and know is here."

The brave and faithful man wrote that the place of his starvation and bleakness was a "Bethel" to him. What an interesting description of a place of physical barrenness. He was a surgeon and knew even more than his companions the horrendous effect of their lack of food and shelter. He knew their demise was imminent. Yet, he called this situation of his soul "Bethel." He knew and felt God was there.

The word Bethel means "house of God." When I imagine a house of God, it is shiny and beautiful, comforting and elegant, vast and warm. Dr. Williams described their setting, their abode, as Bethel...a house of God? There was nothing about that place that was comforting, warm, elegant or beautiful. It was more a desert of suffering--bleak and terrifying. Yet, he called that terrible place Bethel, for he found the comfort of God's presence within his soul, regardless of the conditions that surrounded him.

He likened it to Jacob's encounter with God in a barren place. The story is recounted in Genesis 28:10-19. Though Jacob lied beneath the stars without tent or blanket, he was confident his God made him to dwell in safety. Though the hard ground was his pallet and a cold stone his pillow, he called his place of rest Bethel, for God was with him. He could lie down and sleep upon a stone because he was with God and God was with him. Thus, he rested in Bethel.

Jesus promises to make the address of our soul Bethel, no matter where our body is located. He said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23) Your soul is the very dwelling place of God if you trust and follow Jesus. God is there.

A few weeks after that stirring April entry in Williams' diary, on May 7th Dr. Williams wrote, "Should anything prevent my ever adding to this, let all my beloved ones at home rest assured that I was happy beyond description when I wrote these lines and would not have changed situations with any man living."

He wouldn't have traded places with anyone living because he was living in Bethel. He made his abode with God and God made His abode with him. Within his suffering, his soul's residence was Bethel.

Is your soul Bethel? Is your very life the house of God? If so, rest there, even if it is cold and dreary at times--even if you lay your head on a stone rather than a pillow. The house of God is beautiful.

~Dear YaYa Sister, welcome home!

S.O.S.

When Life Drives You to the EdgeBy Cindi McMenaminCindi McMenamin - Strengthforthesoul.com
 

Do you ever feel like you’re about to go over the edge?

I remember a season of my life in which I was feeling desperate. My teenager was not giving me the verbal respect I felt I deserved. My husband, in hearing what was going on between us, was not intervening on my behalf. One evening I’d had it with that routine.

I just want to go somewhere far away, I found myself thinking. I am not appreciated. I am not feeling respected or supported. I am not feeling understood or loved. (Now did you notice how many times I used the word “feeling” and how many times I used the pronoun I? We get that way when we’re on the edge.)

Aware of how much my thoughts were focused on me, and yet still feeling I had grounds in the battle I was fighting, I desperately wanted change - not just a change of circumstances, but to change. I desperately wanted wisdom to know how to respond to my daughter - and my husband - in a more mature way. I desperately wanted peace in my home. I desperately wanted to be able to re-do some arguments we’d had.

I realize now why I was succumbing to the meltdown: 1) I was depending on my feelings, not the facts of the situation; 2) I was expecting everyone else around me to change, rather than looking at my own heart and actions; and 3) I was listening to those voices in my head rather than being the one to do the talking!

Today, I have a distress call - an S.O.S. - when I begin to feel like I’m going to go over the edge because of certain situations that feel out of control. It’s all about Sorting the facts from the feelings; Offering my own heart to the Lord for change; and Starting to talk, rather than listen to, myself.

Sort the Facts from the Feelings

In my moment of frustration, I had to ask myself: What am I believing about God that isn’t true? (I could best answer that question by looking at how I was feeling, and lining up the facts next to it):

* I was feeling that God had abandoned me as a mother and left me to figure this out on my own. But the fact is that God has promised that He will never leave me nor forsake me; therefore He had not abandoned me as a mother (Hebrews 13:5).

* I was feeling hopeless in my situation. But the fact is that God promises He will work all things (even that difficult season with my daughter) for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

* I was feeling alone in my situation, like God was unaware and unconcerned with my pain at the moment. But the fact is that God is aware of what I’m feeling at every moment. He has searched me and He knows me (Psalm 139:1-4).

* I was feeling it was impossible for God to give me the kind of wisdom I needed to be a better mom, but the fact is God is able to give me the kind of wisdom I need because James 1:5 says “if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” In other words, I had to look at the facts (about God’s character) and not at what I was feeling.

Offer My Heart to the Lord for Change

My prayer as I was feeling so lousy was not “change my daughter’s heart” as it started out. It was not “open my husband’s eyes” as it started out. But “God, grant me the discernment and the grace to treat and respond to my daughter and my husband in a way that draws a loving response out of them.”

I had to look at my own heart and say “God, show me what I need to do to be more like "You” even though I was convinced that they were both the problem that day. My responsibility before God is to say: In what way does my heart need to change so I can be more pleasing to You in this situation?  The prayer: “Change me, God, not all of them” is usually where real change starts.

Start Talking to Myself

Now you may be thinking “if I start talking to myself, then I really have gone over the edge!” But I found I needed to incorporate this principle in my life to keep me from going over the edge!

We are told in Second Corinthians 10:5 to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” and to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” The reason we are to take every one of our thoughts captive is because our thoughts will wreak havoc in our lives if they are allowed to run loose. Bind them. Imprison them in the truth. Keep them from running rampant through your head!

In Psalm 42, instead of listening to his downcast soul, David started telling himself what he would do: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him” (verse 5).

As you send out your S.O.S. (Sort the facts from the feelings, Offer your own heart for change, and Start telling yourself what to do) you will be able to cling to the truth and not fall so easily over the edge.

This article is excerpted from Cindi’s book Women on the Edge.

Cindi McMenamin - Strengthforthesoul.com