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Monday's Musings - Oct 11 - Come and See

What is it that Jesus, Philip, and the woman at the well all have in common? All three offered the same invitation.

Jesus said to Andrew and another disciple of John’s “Come and see,” when they asked where He was staying. Philip said to Nathanael, “Come and see,” when Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” And the woman at the well said “Come and see,” to the people of her city when she invited them to meet Jesus, the man she thought might be the Messiah.

“Come and see.” These words sound so simple, yet they can take people on journeys of great depth. They offer others the opportunity to join us in life — to experience life from our perspective. They allow others to see that what we say corresponds with what we do, how we put our faith into practice. “Come and see” doesn’t tell others what to believe. It invites others to discern for themselves.

Jesus had a “Come and see” way of life, and people followed because His life was full of truth and grace, and He encouraged others to live the same. “Come and see” was never a command, but always an invitation. People could choose to follow or not. What they decided was up to them, but it didn’t make Jesus love them any less. He always looked at others with eyes of compassion and kept the invitation open.

When Jesus invites me to “Come and see,” I too want to follow because His way is always better. I want to learn from Him, love like Him and do life with Him.

Before Philip or the woman at the well could invite others to “Come and see” Jesus, they had to know Him first, and it’s no different for us. We can’t introduce others to someone we don’t know. Let us receive and respond to the invitation Jesus offers. “Come and see.”

Monday's Musings - Oct 4 - Who Do You See?

We spent the weekend in Virginia Beach at a reunion with old friends from Mike’s Navy days on the USS Caron, the ship Mike was stationed on for the first three years of our marriage. It was wonderful reconnecting with women who made a great impact on my life as a young Navy bride — welcoming me into their hearts and homes at a time when friendship and belonging were vital to my survival

However, what has stayed with me the most from the weekend wasn’t renewed conversations with the women, but the character of the men. It came to light the first morning as many of our group descended on the hotel restaurant for breakfast. There were about twenty of us, in addition to a few other hotel guests, and one server and one cook. Needless to say, breakfast took a while, and when it arrived many of the plates didn’t resemble the orders placed. In fact, some of the men who were the first to order were the last to be served. One gentleman, after almost everyone else had left, told the young woman he hadn’t paid his bill yet because he never received his omelet. Our server quickly went in search of the cook, who had just left on break.

What was so amazing, though, was the attitude of these men who were still coming together because of their time on the “Can-Do Caron,” as she was affectionately known. Instead of complaining about the service or indicating they would tip very little, they were telling one another they needed to tip our server extra — give her a larger tip than usual because she had a large group and was really trying hard. Her attitude spoke volumes about who she was and resonated with members of this “Can-Do” crew.

My first thought in experiencing all of this was, “Wow, such grace,” but then I realized that in order for grace to be offered, you have to see people. You have to see them for who they are and not as you expect them to be. These men could have been so focused on the food missing from their plates, that they lost sight of the person who was serving them. This is what set Jesus apart from the Pharisees, who were so focused on the scriptures that they missed the Savior to whom the scriptures pointed. Jesus saw people whereas the Pharisees saw problems — people not meeting their expectations. Jesus saw others for what He could bring to them not what He could get from them.

I am wondering how many people do we really see throughout our days? Do we see them as they are or as we want them to be?

Who do you see?

Pictured above: Crew members of the "Can-Do Caron"

Monday's Musings - Sep 27 - Faithful Service

At the beginning of our Fresh Grounded Faith (FGF) Conference, Shirley Adams, one of the co-leaders for our NorthStar Women’s Network (NWN) Intercessory Team led us in prayer. The significance of this was missed by most, as they didn’t know Shirley’s story. However, it was after Jennifer’s Fresh Grounded Faith Conference with us in 2010 that Shirley stopped me in the foyer of First Baptist Church of Woodbridge near Jennifer’s signing table and indicated she would like to “help” with NorthStar Women’s Network. By August of that year, Shirley joined our team as the new team lead for prayer. Shirley developed, led and now co-leads the NWN Intercessory Team. Under her gifted leadership for intercessory prayer, our ministry has thrived as Shirley and her team have continued to pray for women of our Network and their families—breaking down barriers and strongholds and keeping the work of our ministry before the Lord.

At that same 2010 FGF Conference, God was also stirring another heart. Wauchilue Adams (no physical relation to Shirley, although they are spiritual sisters) attended with a friend, and by fall of 2011, she joined the leadership team for our 2012 conference. Wauchilue, another gifted Intercessor, soon joined ranks with Shirley, and they now lead the Intercessory Team together — battling back the enemy on all fronts seven days a week as their team intercedes for NorthStar women.

As I learned from Shirley years ago, at the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade there were two tents — the big tent where Billy spoke and the small adjacent tent where intercessors poured out their hearts in prayer. Cliff Barrows, who worked alongside Billy Graham for 60 years, often said, “…what happened in the big tent was governed by what took place in the little tent.”

Congratulations to Shirley for 11 Years and Wauchilue for 10 Years of faithful service to NorthStar Women’s Network. Through your prayers and those of the team you co-lead, lives are changed and greatly blessed.

Click here to share a prayer request with our intercessors. All requests are kept confidential. (Pictured above L to R: Shirley, Wauchilue)

Monday's Musings - Sep 20 - Plan B? Or Plan A?

Have you ever been amazed at God’s timing? I know God has a perfect sense of timing as I’ve seen it happen again and again. Yet whenever I experience it anew, it still always seems amazing. That’s the way I felt after our Fresh Grounded Faith Conference on September 11 — amazed by God’s timing.

In early 2019 after months of prayer, our speaker selection team felt God was leading us to Jennifer Rothschild and Laura Story. Then out of the blue, a friend, who had previously served on the team for other conferences, called saying her "Bible study group was wondering if it’s time to invite Jennifer Rothschild back again?” as Jennifer had been our speaker at our 2010 conference. We felt her call was God’s confirmation that in 2020 we were to host Jennifer once again.

We extended the invitation, and on March 14, 2020, we were planning for another conference. Only three of us knew the content of Jennifer’s intended message for that day. Usually we say the rest is history, but it wasn’t. Not this time. By Thursday, March 12, things were closing down and being postponed throughout our country, including our conference. Jennifer’s “She Can” message for the women of Northern VA was placed in a holding pattern.

Had Jennifer shared her message when we originally planned, I have no doubt it would have been impactful. However, as God told Isaiah, His thoughts are not our thoughts and our ways not His ways (Isaiah 55:8). After hearing from so many women after the conference about how Jennifer’s messages of Hope - Trust - Soar were so needed at this time in their lives, I have wondered, what if the new date wasn’t due to God’s perfect sense of timing — as if He took our plans and rerouted them to a different day? What if, instead, the new day was God’s original plan? What if September 11, 2021, was not Plan B for Jennifer to deliver the “She Can” message God gave her, but His plan A? What if, when God gave us Jennifer as our featured speaker conference it wasn’t for 2020 at all, but for 2021?

We may never know the answers this side of heaven, but may the remembrance of Fresh Grounded Faith on September 11, 2021, help us to trust more in God’s sovereignty and rely less on our certainty. And when we experience future disruptions in our lives (as there will be others), let us remember, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

*Favorite Moment: The picture above is of Laura Story when she forgot her own words to her new song, and she Googled them on the phone. Laura's authenticity was a conference highlight and great reminder of how much being real can bring delight to other women.

Monday's Musings - Aug 30 - Prayer Changes Lives

Have you ever thought about your earliest faith memory? Recently I was asked about mine.

I was five years old and the doll I had just received for Christmas stopped walking. Our family was Catholic at the time, so I got down on my knees with my rosary in hand and prayed. We didn’t have extra batteries in the house or extra funds in the budget to replace them with new ones, so prayer seemed like my best option. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only five to ten minutes, I got up from my bedside, flipped the switch, and my doll walked.

What amazes me most is that at five years old, I knew I could pray and ask God for anything. I don’t remember others specifically praying with me, but they must have. And more likely than not, it was probably the women in my life—my mother, my grandmothers, my aunts, and Kay, my mother’s mentor and the woman I was named after.

As I think about my mother today on what would have been her 81st birthday, I remember that my life was birthed out of prayer by these women. As the story goes, when my mother was four to five months pregnant with me, she weighed only 90 pounds, which was not very much for someone who was five foot nine. She had lost a lot of weight and was very sick due to extreme morning sickness, so my uncle carried her into the hospital as others were home praying, hoping that her life would be saved and mine as well. Two years later, my mother saw one of the doctors who attended to her care that night, and he told her medically there was no way I should have survived. It was truly a medical miracle that I lived. It was prayer that night that changed the trajectory of many lives, including mine.

This week, NorthStar Women’s Network celebrates its 18th birthday. Like the start of my life, our Network was birthed out of prayer. Somewhere between 1998 and 1999, Sanford Beckett, a leader at Mount Vernon Baptist Association, began praying for unity for the women of our area, asking God to bring women together. One night in May 2002, I spoke with Carol Tilton, a close friend and former Bible study leader who had relocated to New England with her husband. Carol told me that two years earlier God had put on her heart to begin praying for me and the women of Northern Virginia, including our mutual friend Paula Mutchler. (In starting the Women’s Network, Paula was like Aaron to my Moses.) God was answering Sanford’s prayer by first instructing Carol to pray to prepare our hearts. In April 2003, the vision for NorthStar Women’s Network was shared with Sanford Beckett and Stephen Welch, the leadership of the newly formed NorthStar Church Network, and on September 1, 2003, we launched. Once again, it was prayer that has changed the trajectory of women’s lives.

We have learned over these 18 years that changed women change lives. So, let us seek the Lord together in praying for our Network, and may our prayers help to change the trajectory of other women’s lives as other women have changed ours.

Monday's Musings - Aug 23 - Conversations with God

Conversations with God

How does God talk with us?

Have you ever heard His voice?

I have.

Sometimes I hear it through

the written word,

as sentences jump off the page

and strike a chord

within my heart.

Many times, I’ll see a phrase

in the Bible,

one I never really understood,

and suddenly a new meaning

comes with full clarity.

Other times, God speaks

directly to my heart

and convinces me to offer a hug,

dry a tear

and tell people, “I love you.”

Then there are times

the Lord controls my pen,

and words start appearing

on the page

faster than they can be thought.

Often, I hear His voice

through my Spirit-filled friends

when they offer encouragement,

comfort, and gentle reminders

of God’s truth and love.

But most of the time,

I hear it when I stop and listen.

God whispers in my ear

and impresses upon my mind

the thoughts He has

about my day.

He tells me I am forgiven,

to go and sin no more.

He calls me His daughter

and tells me I am deeply loved.

I find

there is nothing in life

I’d rather do

than spend my days

listening to my Lord.

For He is my Father.

He is my God.

Monday's Musings - Aug 16 - One of the Most Unasked Questions

When we discuss scripture, what is one of the most unasked questions? It’s not the question of “What?” We ask that question all the time. What does this mean? What do we think? What is God saying to us? For all the ways we can ask it, we get as many different answers. The question I am thinking of, however, always seems to point us not to different answers, but to the same answer. It’s the question of “How?”

Mary asked this question of the angel Gabriel when he came to her and told her she was going to conceive in her womb and give birth to the Son of the Most High God. She asked, “‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’” And Gabriel’s answer to her was, “‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…’”

The question: How can this happen? The answer: The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was to come upon Mary and the power of God would overshadow her. However, through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit no longer just comes upon us, the Holy Spirit now dwells within us.

God told His people through the prophet Ezekiel, “‘I will put my spirit within you…’” Jesus said to his disciples, “‘And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirt of Truth…You will know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.’” And Paul said to Timothy, “‘Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.’”

Like Mary, we need to start asking, “How?” How am I to abide in Jesus as He abides in me? How can I love others as Christ loves me? How can my joy be made complete? How can I forgive as I am forgiven? How can I have intimate fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ His Son?

And we need to realize the answer is the same: through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. God has given us a part of Himself to live and dwell within us. As Paul told Timothy, “‘For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but [a Spirit] (as in The Spirit) of power and love and discipline.’” The power of God no longer overshadows us, the power of God now dwells within us. He empowers us from within.

One morning in August 2002, as I was getting ready to go and lead a workshop at a church in Martinsburg, WV, I knelt by my bed for prayer. It was very early both in the time of day and in my ministry, and I was nervous beyond belief. Fearful questions of all kinds kept knocking at the door to my heart. What if? Who am I? Can I do this? After closing my eyes for a few moments, and sharing my fears with the Lord, I suddenly saw an incredibly bright light as God spoke to my heart and said, “See that light? That’s my Spirit within you.” I didn’t have to be afraid. God was giving me the power to go, AND He would go with me.

It’s the same thing Jesus told His disciples before He left this earth, and the same thing He says to us today, “‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

How, we ask? Through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

(Scripture references: Luke 1: 31-32, 34-35; Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 14:15; 2 Timothy 1:7, 14, Matthew 28:20.)

Monday's Musings - Aug 9 - The Bookends of Jesus' Ministry

Did you know that Jesus ended his earthly ministry the same way he began it, preaching about the kingdom of God? He began with, “…the kingdom of God is at hand…,” and He concluded it by presenting, “…himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” I never thought much about this reality until recently.

These verses about the kingdom of God form bookends for Jesus’ ministry of sharing the good news (gospel) of the kingdom. It was the main message He preached and the same one He instructed His disciples to share when He sent them out on their own.

Yet, until the past year, I hadn’t given much thought to the kingdom of God and its daily impact in my life, even though Jesus said to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” I can recite this verse by heart and know the scripture reference well, but it seemed I rarely considered what it meant to live it out. That is, until I reread Living in Christ’s Presence by Dallas Willard for our NorthStar Women’s Leadership Forum last year.

In his book, Dallas defined the kingdom of God as the rule and reign of God in our world, and for some reason this time when I read it, it just clicked, as understanding often does when clarity comes. Seek the rule and reign of God in my life — not the rule and reign of Katie or others, but the reign of God — first and foremost, in ALL situations. Which means there is no separation between the sacred and secular in the kingdom of God.

As God’s children, we are in the kingdom of God whether we are in the church pew, at the neighborhood pool, or on our front porch. “He [the Father] his rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son…"

This was the good news Jesus preached; it was woven throughout His ministry from beginning to end. And as Jesus told Nicodemus that night in Jerusalem, the kingdom of God is available to us when we are reborn into God’s family. New life — here on earth — in the kingdom of God.

(Scripture references: Mark 1:14-15, Acts 1:3, Mark 1:38-39, Luke 9:2, Matthew 6:33, Col 1:13, John 3:3.)

Monday's Musings - Aug 2 - Finishing

Have you ever cleaned up your home or office only to look around days or weeks later and wonder how it quickly became such a mess again? Are there papers piled high on the side of your desk, dishes where they don’t belong, clean clothes left unfolded or suitcases lining the hall after returning from vacation? Everything has a place, but somehow no one has told everything where it belongs.

During my sabbatical, I discovered the reason why this happens. In Glynnis Whitwer’s book, Taming the To-Do List, which is an easy read and very engaging, she speaks to so much more than lists. Whitwer covers topics from procrastination to perfectionism, from strengthening willpower to structuring time, from goal setting to habit making, and from overcoming fears to organizing work. It’s a little book with a lot of depth. She includes Scripture references and encourages practical application.

In the book, Whitwer describes a day when she realized that every morning she left her robe lying on the edge of her bathtub instead of hanging it where it belonged. The reason for this wasn’t because she was lazy or short on time. Instead, she discovered it was because she had a habit of not finishing. Finishing would have meant walking the few extra steps to hang the robe on the back of her closet door.

In dwelling on this concept for almost two months now, I am amazed at how much in life I don’t finish — which can greatly affect my stewardship of time and productivity.

Finishing in our work place can mean filing that piece of paper we no longer need. It might mean tossing the scraps of paper left under the blade of the paper cutter or washing our coffee cup instead of leaving it in the sink. It’s amazing how many things we leave undone as we get up from one task and move to another. What about our cars? What is still in there because we got out quickly and never finished our trip by throwing away our trash, which is now taking up residence?

Finishing is becoming a “new” vocabulary word for our staff as each person discovers how this applies. There are many different ways I am finding I don’t finish and some of them are not so obvious. For me, finishing can mean closing documents and windows on my laptop upon completing a task. It can also mean tagging photos I take each day to make them easier to find in the future. Once we start to finish one thing, it becomes easier to finish others.

In writing this, I am thinking about the first chapter of Genesis and how the Lord finished His task each day by declaring it was good and how He finished His week by declaring a day of rest. Even Jesus let us know His work was done by stating, “It is finished.”

Where is your greatest need for finishing? Is it in your home, office or car? Maybe it’s books never completed, blogs never published, or dreams left undone? Wherever it is, what would it take for you to begin to declare things finished?

Monday's Musings - July 26 - Jan Brinson

We are excited to share a poem today written by Jan Brinson.

Her poem is based on Jeremiah 20:9 : "But if I say, 'I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,' then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it."

That burning in our beings after hearing from God is what helps us to distinguish His voice from all others.

"Aren't We on Fire?"

When God steps in and whispers life into us,

Aren't we on fire?

As we read His words that penetrate our being....

As He lights our paths and calls our names....

Aren't we on fire?

To hear Him speak into our souls

Words that non-believers will never understand

Words that delight us, bring us joy

Words of understanding that light our way

Words of love and comfort....

Aren't we on fire?

He lights the fire within us

So, we can share what He brings:

Life eternal

Loving grace

Promises we can show; we can tell......

He knows MY name....

He wants for me to know Him, to tell of Him

To take the fire He started in my heart

And pass it on just like the torch in a relay....

A torch that will light an eternal flame

So, everyone we meet will be on fire for Jesus.

Aren't we on fire?

Let's shine that light

So, the whole world

Will be on fire too

In His word!

Amen and Amen!!!

Written by Jan Brinson, July 2021

Jan is a member at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church. She has two sons, seven GRANDchildren and one GREAT GRANDchild. She's been working in women’s ministry over fifteen years, having led many Bible studies and as a Mentor Mom for MOPS. She loves to study GOD’s word and encourage others to do the same.
*photo courtesy of Maxim Taejer, Unsplash

Monday's Musings - July 19 - God Comes Down

Earlier this year, in our walk through the book of Exodus, I wrote a blog about Chapter 34, reflecting on God’s grace after Moses displayed uncontrollable anger in response to the golden calf incident. In coming down from the mountain and seeing the Israelites worshipping a man-made image of their God, Moses lost his cool and chucked the first set of tablets to the ground.

I’m guessing we’ve all had days like that. Glorious days on the “mountain top” with God, only to come down to the “valley” to some issue, and we lose it. Every stride we made in deepening our faith suddenly gets cast to the ground, much like the first rendition of the Ten Commandments.

Yet what amazed me most as I revisited this chapter recently wasn’t God’s grace as He invited Moses back up the mountain with the two new tablets. It wasn’t even Moses’ acceptance of that grace. Although seeing Moses meet with the Lord and not withdraw or hide out in guilt and shame, as we often want to do, when he had a major shepherd-fail was pretty amazing. What caught my attention this time, however, was what the Lord did as Moses returned.

When Moses went up, God came down. The “…Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there…” The Lord didn’t condemn or say He was disappointed in him. He didn’t mention Moses’ failure or lack of composure at all. Instead, He came alongside, and then spoke of His own character — reminding Moses that He is “The LORD, merciful and gracious, and slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”

Whenever we see our flaws up close, the person who usually inflicts the greatest pain in that moment is us. We do a pretty good job of beating ourselves up, but that is not how God responds. He reminds us, as He did Moses, that He is a gracious and merciful God.

We need to practice receiving that mercy like Moses, so we can be conveyers of it not only to others but also to ourselves. Next time we fail in some way — and unfortunately there will be a next time — let us not withdraw in guilt and shame. Instead, let us rise up to meet with the Lord — knowing that when we rise up, He comes down. #ourGodisanawesomeGod

Monday's Mustings - July 12 - Perfect Peace

For some reason, Isaiah 26:3 has been on my mind lately. “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” As I have reflected on this verse, I realize that if we trace our feelings of worry, fear, anger, and many others down to the root level, they always seem to land in the same place – right on top of our trust muscle. It’s not that we don’t trust in God as in believe in Him, but it’s that we often don’t trust in God as in rely on Him. We don’t trust that He is in control, knows better, and is sovereign.

In March, I saw this relying kind of trust lived out when our neighbors were planning to take a trip to visit their college-aged son, an extremely talented soccer player who was recruited to play on a Nicaraguan team when his college was shut down during the pandemic. However, upon their arrival at the airport, they were not allowed to get their boarding passes due to the date of their COVID test, even though they followed testing instructions and the results were negative.

When I saw his mom later that day, she told me their flight was postponed a week. Instead of blaming or complaining about the airlines or the inconvenience, she said rather matter-of-factly, “God knows why we are delayed. He must not want us to go this week.” In those two statements, she declared her reliance on the Lord. She was trusting in His sovereignty – acknowledging He was in control and He knew best. She flexed her trust muscle as she demonstrated acceptance of God’s plan without frustration, anger or even tears. She was in perfect peace because her mind was steadfast – unwavering in her trust.

It seems to always begin with the mind. When our mind is firmly fixed on the truth of God, our trust will follow. And the result? Perfect Peace.

(The photo above is with my neighbor, prior to his departure for Nicaragua.)

Monday's Musings - July 5 - Freedom Isn't Free

Two summers ago, several women from our church were baptized in a creek not far from our home. It was a hot day, but one filled with great joy and anticipation as the women shared their testimonies and then proceeded with the assembled crowd down the path, through the woods, and to the embankment of the creek.

I remember their baptisms like I remember no others — the excitement, the life stories and the gathering of cheering witnesses.

But I remember something else from that day. It wasn’t anything someone said or did; it was a phrase printed on the front of a t-shirt worn by one of the women getting baptized: “Freedom isn’t Free.” As we celebrated our country’s independence yesterday, that phrase was on my mind.

Sometimes our initial response when we see or hear a phrase like that might be, “No, freedom IS free; it is a gift from God.” We know we are justified by faith, so we don’t have to earn our freedom in Christ. While that’s true, it doesn’t mean our freedom is free.

Like the freedom we have in our country because countless men and women have paid for our freedom with their lives, the freedom we have in Christ is no different. The gift of freedom we have received from God was paid for by Jesus.

I remember telling my dad once about a friend who worked at Burger King and gave me a FREE burger. I was a teenager and very excited, but my dad drilled home a serious life lesson that day. He said that although the burger was free to me, someone else paid the price so I didn’t have to. It wasn’t free, even though it was free to me.

Jesus did the same thing. He paid the price for our freedom. It’s free to us because it’s been paid for by Him.

May we never take our freedom for granted. Christ sacrificed His life on a cross to give us an abundant life on this earth. Let us live fully in the “free” gift we’ve been given.

Monday's Musings - June 28 - Asking the Right Question

We are now into summer, and with summer comes more occasions to see people in our neighborhood as we grill out, go for walks and lay by the pool. It gives us greater opportunities to meet those who live down the street and sometimes those who are right next door.

Several years ago, our staff read the book The Art of Neighboring, and we were all encouraged to ask ourselves the same question the lawyer asked Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan: “Who is my neighbor?”

Recently in re-reading this story, I realized we usually focus on the question the lawyer asked Jesus, but we either miss or ignore the question Jesus asked the lawyer. After Jesus told the story of a man being robbed, beaten, and left half dead, He asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man…?” Jesus’ question may seem similar, but it’s actually different than the question He was asked.

When the lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor,” what he wanted to know was who did he need to love? If this was something he needed to do, of course he wanted to do it right. And right for the Jews meant other Jews, and certainly only those who were “clean.” He was still looking for the opportunity to self-select.

When Jesus answered the lawyer’s question with an inverted question, He was letting the lawyer know it’s not about doing love. It’s about becoming love — becoming the kind of person who is loving to all people, regardless of their place in life, including the unclean man lying in the street. Loving isn’t something we do, it’s something we are.

When we ask, “Who am I a neighbor to,” it can change our posture. It’s not about treating people as projects or focusing on what we get from them. Instead, it’s about what we give to them. It can make us ask questions like: Am I seeing others? Am I being merciful?

Mercy is compassionate treatment of others, regardless of their situation. We give mercy not because of who they are and what they have done. We give mercy because of who we are and what Jesus has done. There are no ulterior motives; nothing is expected in return. It’s actually very freeing to show kindness in this way.

When Jesus asked the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The lawyer said, “The one who showed him mercy.”

And Jesus said to him, as I’m sure He says to us, “Go and do likewise.”

Monday's Musings - June 21 - But God

Seventeen years ago today, my bowel perforated, and it caused an infection that was almost fatal. It was one of the greatest challenges I have ever faced — even greater than my double mastectomy at age 30.

I was homebound for eight months, spent 38 days in the hospital and had five surgeries.

Before the perforation, God kept saying, “The battle is going to be tough.” We weren’t even a full year into the development of NorthStar Women’s Network, and I thought I was ready. But I was wrong; I was so far from being ready for the battle that ensued.

But God. God showed up in the battle through the love of family and friends — through the meals, the calls, the visits and the cards. One woman, I still have never met, sent a card every single week.

God showed up in a dream. I remember Andrea, my surgical floor nurse, telling me that the night before I ended up back in the ER, the Lord came to her in a dream and said, “Tomorrow when you go to work, you will be in the ER.” I was her first patient in the ER that night when she began her shift. Several nights later, after another surgery, Andrea was in my room and told me, “In 15 years at this hospital, I’ve only been in the ER twice, once when my neighbor came in and the other night when you arrived.” Then she proceeded to share her dream.

God showed up in such a mighty way by going before me that night in the ER. That thought still brings tears to my eyes.

What was so significant about Andrea was that she became a turning point in my life. The Lord later used the button she wore to reorient my focus when I was at my lowest moment. I was home by then and asked my husband, “How can I trust God when I look like this?” This meaning weighing about 100 pounds, having a bed sore on my backside, looking gray from my low blood count, going through withdrawals from two weeks of morphine, and navigating the challenges of a temporary ileostomy (after the recent closure of the temporary colostomy).

My heart broke just in verbalizing that thought, so I cried out to the Lord for help. Soon He brought Andrea’s button to mind. It said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” That button became the basis for my daily prayer. “Lord, help me to trust you with all my heart,” and then I would add, “because I don’t understand any of this."

As my mind cleared and my body healed, I changed the ending of the prayer to, “and help me to understand.” One day in my living room, God answered that prayer as well. In the quietness of the moment, He said, “You’re destroying the same temple you’re offering Me to use. How can you understand the power of the Living Water, when you can’t understand the power of basic water?” (I had a doctor tell me three years earlier that if I didn’t drink more water, I would lose my colon within fifteen years. Unfortunately, her words didn’t change my water intake.)

From that point forward, I started drinking more water and spent time every morning gazing at the stream in front of our home and recording lessons I learned from the water. Then one day the Lord gave me this verse, and I knew the battle was almost over: “In that day of peace, battle gear will no longer be issued. Never again will uniforms be bloodstained by war. All such equipment will be burned” Isaiah 9:5.

That season was one of the most challenging of my life, but it was also one of the most transformative. I don’t ever want to repeat it, but I am grateful for it. I’m grateful for the Lord’s mercy, for the growth gained, and most of all I’m grateful for coming to a greater understanding of these two words: “But God…” Ephesians 2:4.

Monday's Musings - May 31 - Two Letters Can Make a Difference

For Katie's last week of sabbatical, we've reached into our archives to share this blog she wrote in 2018.

Sometimes it's just two letters that make all the difference in the world.

In reading Isaiah 53 several weeks ago, I got to verse 10 and drew a breath. "But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief;..." For some reason, I was expecting the next word to be "so." Almost like it was the Father's plan and Jesus was just going along with it, but the next two letters weren't "s-o.” Instead, they were "I-F."

Even Jesus had a choice. "IF He would render Himself as a guilt offering,.."

Yet, God is not about taking life, but giving life.

It's what comes after the IF that explains why God was pleased to let Jesus suffer. When there's an IF, it's always followed by a THEN. IF Jesus would surrender His life to the Father, THEN Jesus "will see His offspring, prolong His days and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand."

Sometimes the choice (the IF) seems so painful, but we have to remember that God is a good God and always wants what's best for us. Unfortunately though, growth (the THEN) doesn’t usually happen without pain. The choice is always ours, but so are the rewards.

Choose wisely.

Monday's Musings - May 24 -Too Noisy To Pray!

During Katie's Sabbatical leave, we have special guest writers for Monday's Musings. Please help us welcome Debbie Jaeger.

I find that I get distracted easily, or to be honest, I allow myself to get distracted. We all have our own “noise” that distracts us from the truly important things. I try to sit each morning and read God’s words and reflect on them. However, during a particularly busy and stressful week, I realized I was skimping on my morning time with God. By the end of that week, I was really wanting some answers and help, and I came across this passage in Psalms:

“Hear me as I pray, O LORD. Be merciful and answer me! My heart heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming’” Psalms 27:7-8 (NLT).

My thoughts and conviction:

· Hear me as I pray, O LORD. In those moments, I was like David -- in trouble, asking the LORD to hear me as I prayed. Of course, I was hurriedly asking this prayer while thinking about the tasks yet to be done.

· Be merciful and answer me! I was also asking my Father to be merciful and answer me on my timing, without the courtesy of a waiting for a response.

· My heart heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” I remember at that moment, I realized what I was doing and that my Father was truly inviting me to come and talk with Him. Not just a quick word, but a conversation, which does not happen when one person speaks and then says, “Oh, I have to go now.” He wants to have a two-way conversation with me.

· And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” I would love to say that everything around me faded away and I was fully present right there in those moments. But I was not quite there yet, until the Holy Spirit prompted me to Matthew 6:6:

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you” Matthew 6:6.

Our Father knew then and knows now our struggles with the distractions of this life. Jesus said and modeled for us to go away from the crowds and distractions to pray. For me, going to our cabin, Woody, away from daily distractions, has been such a blessing to focus my mind and heart. And when I come home, while harder, I can keep the practice going. Whether you spend five minutes or an hour, I’m not sure the amount of time matters as long as we are not distracted from what God wants to tell us in this conversation.

I pray that each of you have a place (home or elsewhere) that is free from distractions so you can sit and have a conversation with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting.

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Debbie Jaeger is the Lay Leader for Women’s Ministry at Columbia Baptist Church. She is married to Doug (40 years) and has three children and five grandchildren.

Monday's Musings - May 7- Transformation

During Katie's Sabbatical leave, we have special guest writers for Monday's Musings. Please help us welcome Anna Poff.

"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13.

These verses have come to mind quite a bit lately as my thoughts have been drifting back to when I committed my life to Christ years ago. At the time, I was living in Fort Worth, Texas, and although I was living in the buckle of the Bible Belt, did not know or understand what Jesus’ work on the cross meant for me personally. God sent two women to share with me, open up the Bible, and talk to me about my life and Jesus.

To make a long story short, I eventually committed my life to Christ at age 35. Things really began changing. So much so, that when I learned the above verses and memorized them, God used them to reassure me that one day when I died, I would live in Heaven with Him forever and that truth was incredible to me! This truth granted me so much peace. I would drive my car down Hulen Street and say out loud to God, “If this is all you ever do for me, this is enough.” His peace, the assurance of my salvation and the newfound life God had given me was so drastically different to what my life had been like before. I now had the Son, and the Son had given me true life!

As God began to transform my mind (Romans 12:1-2), He gave me truths about my new identity in Christ. He wanted me to know how He saw me and to know that the enemy would try to whisper lies into my mind that I had not changed. There were many opportunities to choose to remember who I was now in Christ. There was a battle going on for my mind. One of the verses that really helped me is, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5. It was a tremendous time of training my mind to check in and really think about what I was thinking about!

This process of renewing my mind has been such a rewarding endeavor. It is such a privilege to share these thoughts with you and if you ever want to reach out and talk, you can reach me at anna.r.poff@gmail.com.

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Anna is the women’s ministry leader, a small group leader and mentor to women at Cornerstone Baptist Church, where her husband, Mike is pastor.

Monday's Musings - May 17 - Parable of the Sower

During Katie's Sabbatical leave, we have special guest writers for Monday's Musings. Please help us welcome Doris Lama.

I love the Parable of the Sower. It is found in three of the four gospels. Luke 8:4-8 (NLT) says: ⁴One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: ⁵“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. ⁶Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. ⁸Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

This parable awakened in me a need to establish a foundation of FAITH that would produce a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted! One that will withstand fear, adversity, devastation as I grow a long and lasting relationship with God.

The seeds I plant are Bible Verses that speak to me in both pictures and words. I know that if I continue to repeat them over and over and pray over them that the Holy Spirit will do a mighty work in me.

Friends often ask me: Where do you get all your energy? My answer comes from Philippians 4:13 - “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

It’s not talent or intelligence or perseverance that makes you the person you are. It is God’s Word and promises and your relationship with God.

Life is so much easier when we have the proper tools to get the job done. Let’s make our tools God’s words and promises. So, should we have to face a Goliath, we can rely on the same FAITH that David used to fell the mighty giant.

If you want to protect yourself, select the Bible verses that inspire you. If others want prayers, choose the Bible verses that inspire faith and healing. If you have a challenge before you, look to what the Bible says and feast on the examples of those in the Bible who have conquered much.

Join me in spreading God’s Living Word. Every day I post an artful rendering of God’s Word on Facebook. Pinterest is my resource. It’s the best ad campaign I know to share God’s plan for us, and I get lots of positive feedback.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the power of praise songs. They can put HOPE in any day of despair and many are based on the Bible.

Begin your day with God’s Word and end your day with God’s Word and see how it will affect you and impact those around you.

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Doris Lama is a partner at New Hope Church in Lorton, where she hosts on-line services, recently taught a Journey Class and is a small group leader. She loves being an encourager.

Monday's Musings - May 3: Shifting Our Gaze

During Katie's Sabbatical leave, we have special guest writers for Monday's Musings. Please help us welcome Courtni Berry.

When our gaze changes -- everything we do in life shifts -- our motives, our intentions, and what we do. We no longer have a fading or superficial image of life, but more so a clear lens that shows us the future image of God Himself and His glory alone. Having a heavenly horizon allows us to not do work in vain or boast in ourselves - we are not the end-all be-all. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on the one who gives us eternal security. Let our vertical perspective influence our horizontal actions, attitudes, and relationships.

Below are a few affirmations to encourage you throughout the week. Feel free to say these out loud or to yourself, talk to God about them, and keep them close to your heart.

I will be present with God and myself.
I will learn to just be over do - the things I do don't define who I am.
I will focus on what God has put in front of me this season and lean on Him for direction and hope.
God is patient with me and I will be patient with myself.
Slow down, pace yourself, and be kind to yourself (say your name).

This post was inspired by scripture and song:

Hebrews 6:19
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Colossians 3:1-4
Luke 10:38-42 (Martha and Mary)
Songs: Dust and Fix My Eyes by Kings Kaleidoscope

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” Hebrews 6:19 CSB

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT

“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”Colossians 3:1-4 CSB

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Courtni is a bridge builder and culture maker. She enjoys reflecting God's love through community and bringing people together. Courtni attends One Shot Church in Silver Spring, MD. To connect with her, visit www.courtniberry.com or on LinkedIn.

Monday's Musings - April 19: Amalgamated with Christ

During Katie's Sabbatical leave, we have special guest writers for Monday's Musings. Please help us welcome Cheryl Garner.

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” 2 Corinthians 3:18.

In C.S. Lewis’s book, Mere Christianity, he writes in Chapter Four, “But supposing God became a man - suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God’s nature in one person - then that person could help us. He could surrender His will, and suffer and die, because He was man; and He could do it perfectly because He was God. You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us.” The word amalgamated is a wonderfully, expressive word. In the world of dentistry, amalgam is the technical term for silver filling. Amalgamation occurs when mercury and a powdered alloy comprised of silver, tin and copper are mixed together. It will result in the formation of a silver-grey workable mass which can be condensed into cavities. After condensing, the amalgam is carved and polished to fit perfectly in the mouth. C.S. Lewis was describing God coming to earth as a human, Christ’s death and resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that occurs when we accept Christ as our Savior. In order for amalgam to form it takes two elements coming together to form something useful. The same is true for our human lives and the Holy Spirit.

Paul describes in 2 Corinthians that the “veil” between God and people has been removed and this happens because of our faith in Christ. In order for our lives to be useful to the Kingdom and be a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit must change us. We must allow our lives to be condensed, carved, and polished according to His will to fit into His plan. After the unveiling, the transformation process begins. And Lewis echoes Paul’s description that this transformation only happens because, “God does it in us,” or as Paul says, “which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” When we continue to behold the glory of God through the gospel work of Jesus Christ we are changed from the inside out. The root word for transformed also gives us the word metamorphosis. Which is a total and complete change of character. As when mercury and an alloy are melded together a totally different element is produced; so it is when the Holy Spirit transforms our souls.

Paul shows us the power of God’s glory, faith, sanctification, and the Gospel of Jesus in one verse. Let us pray that this verse spurs us to heed Paul’s instruction to the Romans. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2. May our goal be to be amalgamated in Christ in such a way that the pre-Christ elements of ourselves are unrecognizable.

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Cheryl is a full-dental hygienist who loves the Lord, her husband Clay and adult daughters, Brooke and Kelsey. Cheryl is a member of Plymouth Haven Baptist Church.

Sabbatical - Rest & Refreshment

Twenty-three years ago, people began praying for Christian women to come together in our area. Little did we know what the Lord had in store as NorthStar Women’s Network was birthed five years later. In all these years, Katie has worked tirelessly as the vision God gave her has unfolded and our Women’s Network has grown exponentially. Well deserved, Katie is looking forward to the next seven weeks as she enters into a time of sabbatical leave. The word sabbatical, taken from Hebrew, means Shabbat or a rest from work. A sabbatical leave, unlike a vacation, is a time for reflection, study, and rest for ministers. This aids in the spiritual, mental, and sometimes physical wellness of the minister. While Katie will miss her work, and especially all of you, she is looking forward to spending her time studying, resting, and listening for the Lord’s continued direction for the Network and other areas in her life.

During Katie’s sabbatical, our staff will continue to carry out the mission and are happy to serve you. For any questions or help you may need, you can reach us: myself (Michele), Donna, Mary Beth and Dawn at northstarwomensnetwork.org/staff or at 703.941.6822 during office hours. Katie is grateful for this gift and opportunity from NorthStar and for all those who are stepping in to help during her absence. Join us as we pray for her time away, that it would be a blessed time of rest, reflection and renewal and that the Lord would impart great wisdom and sweet fellowship to His beloved daughter.
(Written by Michele)

Monday's Musings - April 12: Phileo Love

I can’t help but wonder if the guilt Peter carried was far heavier than the nets of fish he later drug in. I’m guessing his adrenaline was flowing pretty strongly as he jumped out of the boat and raced to shore, probably hoping to get Jesus alone to explain his failure and find out if he was still accepted. No one likes to admit guilt in the presence of other people.

The conversation between Jesus and Peter in John 21 that followed breakfast that day is one of my favorites to reflect on after Easter. I can imagine the feelings of failure Peter felt in denying Jesus the night He was taken captive. We have probably all felt the same way, for different reasons, at one time or another.

For years, I understood the interaction between these two described this way —Jesus was setting a high bar of “agapao” love and Peter humbly admitted he could only love with “phileo” love. Peter stated he couldn’t be so bold as to love so broadly (as with the mind and will), so Jesus acknowledged that if Peter could only love Him like a friend (as with the heart), that would be good enough. Then he commissioned Peter to follow Him.

Before our trip to Israel in 2019, where I stood on the same shore as Jesus and Peter, God impressed upon my heart to look at that passage in context of Jesus’ other teachings, especially John 15, where Jesus said there is no greater love (agapao) than this, than to lay down your life for your friends (philos). Then Jesus told His disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” — knowing He was journeying to the cross to literally lay His life down.

Peter had professed after the Passover dinner that he would lay his life down for Jesus, but Jesus knew otherwise — Peter would deny Him, not just once, but three times. As a friend, Peter felt he had failed.

So here on the shore after breakfast, Peter didn’t answer Jesus with no, I can only love you as a friend. He said, “Yes Lord, you know that I love (phileo) you.” He was saying, yes, Lord, you know that I love you as my friend. I know You said the greatest love (agapao) one can have is to lay their life down for their friends. I am willing to love in that way. You are my friend, and I will not deny you again.

Three times Peter denied Him; three times Jesus asked him. But the third time Jesus confirmed what Peter was saying, and it grieved Peter to hear Jesus ask, “Do you love (phileo) me?” It was like Jesus was asking one more time: Are you sure? Are you really ready? Then Peter said, “Lord, you know everything;” — you know I failed you before — “you know that I love (phileo) you” — I am willing to lay my life down for You. Peter was all in with his heart and his head.

Loving Jesus with our heart and our head is loving Jesus with a passionate and disciplined love. It’s a transformative type of love. It’s not only emotional, but it’s focused. It’s simple, but not easy. It’s training our inner life, so it overflows into an outward reality.

In loving Jesus with our heart and our head, we may have to answer the same question Peter did, “Am I willing to be Jesus’ friend — to lay my life down for Him?” If we answer yes like Peter, Jesus has the same two words for us as He did him, "Follow Me."

Photo was taken the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel.

Monday's Musing - April 5: The Road to Emmaus

In Peter’s first letter, he told believers, “Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants a reason for the hope you have within you.” Have you ever thought about what you would say if someone asked about your hope? We each have our own story about how God has impacted our lives, so our answers may be as varied as we are.

Yet, as I continue to read and reread the story of the Road to Emmaus, I can’t help but wonder if the way early believers answered didn’t vary at all.

Cleopas and another disciple (thought to be his son or his wife, Mary, the sister of Jesus’ mother) were headed home. It’s what you do when the party is over. You go home. Even Peter, after seeing the tomb empty except for the linen wrappings, “…went home wondering at what had happened.”

They believed Jesus was going to be the one who would redeem Israel, but they figured wrong, so they thought. It wasn’t going to happen, at least by the One on whom they had hung their hope.

We often claim to have hope because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. But His sacrifice didn’t fill these early believers with hope at all. It made their hearts hurt, and probably their heads too, as crying often does that. They were going home disappointed, dejected, and deep in discussion.

Jesus’ death turned their worlds upside down and left them feeling hopeless, instead of hopeful. It was His life - His resurrected life - that changed everything. Once they discovered He was alive, they became excited and energized. In fact, within the hour, they made a return trip to Jerusalem and probably ran the seven miles this time. They had hope.

There were many individuals in Judea during the Roman occupation who died by crucifixion, but Jesus is the only one who got up from the grave. He’s the only one who has ever been crucified and resurrected. Ever.

His resurrection made everything true — everything He taught — from being able to pray for our enemies, have mercy on our neighbors, and love one another. We can live in the Kingdom of God here on earth – it’s ALL true.

Christ our Lord has risen and defeated death, and we can live an abundant life in the reality of that truth. Peter said to be prepared with an answer for the hope that is within. I know what my answer would be. Do you?

Scripture References (Phillips): 1 Peter 3:15, Luke 24:12-35.

Maundy Thursday Thoughts

As I reflected more on Psalm 23 this week, I’m amazed at how verses three through six speak to the last few days of Jesus’ life. So on this Maundy Thursday, here are some new insights I have gleaned.

“He leads me in the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though [on these right paths] I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” As Jesus was led into Jerusalem at the start of what we call Holy Week, He rode through the Sheep Gate, along with all the other paschal lambs being herded into the city for their sacrificial deaths. Even though it was the right path for Him—the Father’s path—it didn’t mean it was easy. I can’t picture a valley darker than one leading to death, even for the Son of Man. Yet, Jesus continued finding comfort in knowing this was God’s plan.

At the Passover meal, I can imagine Jesus saying these words, “You set a meal before me in the presence of my enemies...” Judas’ presence would have literally represented His enemies waiting for the meal to conclude to take Him captive. But the word for enemies in the Greek can also mean distress, so it would be just as easy to imagine Jesus eating the Passover meal in the midst of His distress. We see that distress in the Garden of Gethsemane when He “began to be grieved and agitated” and then said to Peter, James and John, “I am deeply grieved, even to the point of death...”

“You anoint my head with oil...” A day or two earlier, Jesus had been anointed at Simon the leper’s house in Bethany as an unnamed woman poured an ointment (a perfumed oil) on His head. He understood the significance of this and told His disciples, “By pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared me for burial.”

“My cup overflows.” I am struck that in the Garden it is a cup that Jesus asks to let pass from Him. The second and third time He prays, He states, “My Father, if this [cup] cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Jesus drank the cup of man’s sin, and God refilled it to overflowing with salvation. It is this cup of salvation that He now offers to each of us.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” Even though He died on the cross for our sins, when we look into the face of Jesus, we see no condemnation. Instead it is His goodness and mercy we experience as He looks upon us with love.

“...and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” Before going to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told His disciples, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” Later, Paul asked believers, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple [the house of the Lord] and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Sometimes “my whole life long” is written as forever, but it literally means “for length of days.” Jesus will dwell in the Father’s house within us for as long as there are days.

As we journey with Jesus over the next couple of days—from the garden to the cross to the empty tomb, let us reflect on the sacrifice He made and the salvation He offers. May we abide with Him as He abides in us.

Scripture references (NRSV): Ps 23:3-6; Matt 26:6-12, 36-46; John 14:23; 1 Cor 3:16

Monday's Musing - March 29, 2021

A Continuation of Reflection on Psalm 23

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” There are times in life we need to hear these words of David in Psalm 23 more than others.

David begins his thought the same way Habakkuk ended his, with two significant words—even though. Even though always lays the groundwork for a conscious choice. Despite our circumstances, we have the ability to choose how to direct our thoughts. And David is no different.

The valley where David was walking was a place of darkness and difficulty. He called it the “valley of the shadow of death.” As Christians, we know we don’t have to fear death, but it’s the shadows that can get us every time. The shadows are the unknown. And it’s the unknowns that often cause our greatest stress. What will happen tomorrow? How will this test come out? What will others think?

It’s in these circumstances that David redirects his thoughts from where he is to how he is. “Even though...I fear no evil.” In other words, “Even though I have to walk through it, I will not be afraid of it.” But David didn’t stop there. He continued from the how to the why. “I fear no evil; for You are with me…” He was consciously choosing to trust in God’s presence instead.

David also trusted in God’s power and ability to protect, “...your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” The rod (club) and staff could keep intruders from coming into the flock, but the staff would also keep the sheep from going out. The shepherd wasn’t only protecting the sheep from others, he was protecting them from themselves. In addition to being a protector, it makes me think of him as a boundary-keeper—helping the sheep to know their boundaries and live peaceably within them.

For you and me, this may not be too far from the truth. As Jesus’ sheep, the shadows we most often encounter are those internal instead of external—like assumptions, enemy lies replaying in our minds, and even fears about the future. Learning to place boundaries around our thoughts is what Paul was instructing the Philippians to do when he told them to, “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right.” The Shepherd wants to teach us to do the same.

Whatever shadows we face, may we allow our Shepherd to help us place boundaries that are “true, honorable and right” around our thoughts. May we learn to redirect our thoughts and fix our focus on the Lord like David. And in all things, may we choose trust—in God’s presence, power and ability to protect.

Even though I have to walk through it, I don’t have to be afraid of it—because You are with me. Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.

Photo Credit: Mike Harding

Monday's Musing - March 22, 2021

Throughout the Psalms there are times David is said to be referencing Christ in prophetic thought. Although Psalm 23 is not one of those passages usually mentioned, a closer look at the first three verses of this psalm has given me a fresh perspective.

Last week (see Monday’s Musing - March 15), I shared how Psalm 23 is about The Lord as summarized in the first verse. This week I want to place some of David’s statements alongside those of Jesus. David begins this psalm with “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (lack).” Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” John 10:11. He sacrifices ALL to provide for His sheep.

In the book, Living Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23, I learned the only time sheep lie down in green pastures or pass by still waters is if they are not hungry or thirsty. What David is saying when he states “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters…” is, “I don’t hunger, and I don’t thirst.”

Compare this with Jesus’ statement in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

Then David continues with “He restores my soul.” However, it’s important to note that the word for soul here is also the same word for life, as used in Ruth 4:15, “He (The Lord) shall be known to you a restorer of life...” In John 10:10, Jesus tells us, “...I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”

David finishes this paragraph with a phrase we often skip over quickly, “He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” What’s interesting to learn is that the Hebrew word for righteousness in this verse is also the same word for just or justice and equity. And in Matthew’s passage when Jesus tells the multitudes to “Seek first His (God’s) kingdom and His righteousness...,” the Greek word for righteousness also means equity. Equity means fairness, justness and justice. David’s last four words of this sentence, “for His name’s sake,” actually tie together these thoughts about God guiding us along righteous-just-equitable paths. So, don’t miss this. God will only guide us in ways that are consistent with who He is.

As Jesus told His followers, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

If I were to restate the first three verses of this psalm in my own words, according to my knowledge of Christ, I think I would say it this way:

Jesus is my shepherd, and in Him, I have everything I need. I don’t hunger or thirst for anything. Through Him, I have gained an abundant life. And with Him, I am learning to live and love like Him.

Monday's Musing - March 15, 2021

In a book¹ I’m reading about Psalm 23, the author suggests reflecting on the Psalm for ten minutes each day before reading further. When we sit with God’s Word, it allows Him to “speak to us.” God wants to give us a clearer understanding of Himself, help us grow in our knowledge of Him, and draw us into a more intimate and conversational relationship, and He will often use His written Word to do so.

Although this psalm has been a favorite since I taught it as an interpretive dance at Vacation Bible School as a teen, there are still new insights I continue to glean—especially in the first verse.

Even though we may know otherwise, we often speak as if this psalm is about us. “I shall not want...He makes me lie down...He lets me rest...He leads me beside...He restores my soul” and so on. Yet, if we move slowly without racing over David’s beginning thought, we realize his first two words set the stage for the entire psalm—“The Lord.” David’s initial statement frames everything else. “The Lord is my Shepherd.” In the same way that David shepherds his sheep, God shepherds him.

Then David proceeds to define what that means—focusing on the He instead of the me. There is a big difference between what He does and what we do. The Shepherd—He makes, He leads, He restores, He is with us, He comforts, He prepares, He anoints, He pursues, and He keeps us close. The Sheep—we shall not want, we walk, we will not fear and we dwell.

Focusing primarily on the first verse, I’m learning from the book how pivotal it is to the entire psalm. It’s easier to understand once we realize the word “want” also means “have lack.” The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack. Because He is shepherding—guiding, protecting, comforting, restoring, preparing—me, I can trust Him to provide. Whatever is needed,—even peace, patience, wisdom, understanding, clarity, humility, grace—there is no limit. I shall not lack.

My dad always said, “What you want, little girl, and what you need are two different things.” This psalm is not about me wanting or not wanting anything. This psalm is focused on the fact that with the Lord as our Shepherd, we shall not lack anything. Our Shepherd provides all we need—every day in every way.

Photo Credit: Mackenzie Hopping
¹Life Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23 by Dallas Willard

Monday's Musing - March 8, 2021

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One morning last week, I read through the book of Habakkuk for at least the third time since the first lock-down of the pandemic about a year ago. The book of Habakkuk always seems comforting to me, especially in light of some of the challenges we face today. Although Habakkuk was considered a minor prophet, his final thoughts continue to make a major impact.

Habakkuk was speaking in the context of his day when he said, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty,..”

When I recite these phrases, I also contextualize, and often encourage others to do the same, by filling in the blanks with what’s going on our lives today. ”Even though _______; even though _______; even though _______.” Just naming struggles can be the first step in overcoming them.

Then Habakkuk completes his thought with, “…yet, I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is my strength!” Yet is one of my favorite words in this passage. Habakkuk uses this small word to make a big change to his perspective.

When yet precedes my response, it tells me I have some control, even when circumstances may seem out of control. It indicates I have a choice. Yet tells me regardless of what’s happening around me, I can choose how to direct my thoughts.

Choosing to redirect our thoughts by looking at God and remembering who He is in the moment can help us respond differently to our current circumstances, whatever they may be.

“Even though _______; even though _______; even though _______; YET...”

I will rejoice in the LORD. No wickedness in the world will ever change the goodness of God. I can rejoice in God’s goodness, even though….

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. God is the One who saves us from death, gives life and restores us to a right relationship with Himself. I can find great joy in the God of my salvation, even though…

The Sovereign LORD is my strength. God is over all, and we can let go of our fears as we walk in faith with Him. I can be strong because God is sovereign, even though…

In the end, Habakkuk concludes with, “He will make me as sure-footed as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains.” Notice Habakkuk doesn’t say there won’t be mountains or that God is removing the mountains, but He will bring me safely over them. And in that, I can find peace. Even though...

Monday's Musing - March 1, 2021

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The year 2021 has become a year of training for me. And no, I am not preparing to run a marathon. My sport is spectating races, not running them. I’m also not talking about the weekly exercise sessions I have with my trainer to try to reverse the effects of osteoporosis. Although this training I’m speaking of does involve my body...and my mind. It’s what heavily influenced my decision in what to give up or fast from for Lent—something several of you asked about after my last post. For Lent, I have given up technology after 9:00 PM. No iPhone. No iPad. No computer. That means, no over-working, no extended viewing of Facebook, no late-night texts with our children on the West Coast, and no reading news reports before bed.

This is not just a temporary fast, something I’m trying for the Lenten season. This is part of my training program–to help me grow in both self-discipline and self-denial. As I step into a new decade this month, I want to train as an apprentice of Jesus. For years I have tried to follow Jesus, to do as He did. But trying can only get you so far and can only last so long; as long as the body and mind cooperate. Training on the other hand, according to Dallas Willard, “means arranging our life around those practices that enable us to do what we cannot now do by direct effort.”

If we want to be disciples of Jesus, then we have to learn from Him how to live like Him, and put it into practice. And that involves training. Training our body to do what it cannot do under its own power, so we can live a full life in Christ by His power. So I am starting my training program—being intentional about becoming an apprentice of Jesus. Would you like to join me?

“I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27, NLT).

Monday's Musing - February 22, 2021

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This year as I pondered what I wanted to fast from or give up for Lent, I reflected on the importance of spiritual disciplines. Disciplines, as I have learned, are not those activities we undertake because we excel or find enjoyment in them. Disciplines are practices we put into place to help us break through barriers that keep us from living a full life in Christ and becoming who God created us to be. That understanding made me give my decision to fast from something for Lent a lot more consideration than I had in the past.

In prior years, my husband and I often fasted as a couple, but my struggles are not his struggles, and his struggles are not mine. The parts of my character where growth is needed are not the same for him. Fasting is meant to be a time when, in abstaining from something, we make more room in our life for the presence and purposes of God. It’s a time of focusing on Him and finding our strength in Him.

The forty days of Lent are reflective of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, preparing for the ministry that was ahead. I always find it very interesting that although Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days while He ate nothing, Luke tells us it wasn’t until the forty days were over that He became famished. His time of fasting helped to bolster His endurance and not be distracted by His experiences.

If you choose to fast from something this Lenten season, I pray these forty days will be the same for you as me—a time to bolster our endurance and not be distracted by our experiences. It won’t be easy. Training is never easy, but it’s necessary. As I have stated many times over the years, pruning hurts, but the shaping gives way to beautiful growth. May this season of Lent be a time of intentional pruning and preparation for the coming of Easter—new life in Christ.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2, NASB).

Monday's Musing - February 15, 2021

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Nineteen years after I surrendered that last five percent to do whatever God wanted me to do and go wherever He wanted me to go, I surrendered again. This time not just to do what God wanted me to do, but to be who God created me to be—to be true, to step into my identity of who I am in Christ.

Being is so much different than doing, and so much more difficult. Being takes discipline; it takes training. For instance, being totally honest and totally kind at the same time doesn’t come naturally. It’s work. Hard work. It’s putting boundaries in place and letting your “yes be yes” and your “no be no,” so that what we say with our lips is consistent with what we feel in our heart.

Jesus lived this way. Peter described Him saying that no deceit was found in His mouth. What He felt, He spoke and what He spoke, He felt. Yet, it was never from a place of hate, but of love. Love for God and love for others.

Believing in Jesus isn’t the same as learning to be like Jesus. Dallas Willard says if we want to be like Jesus, then we have to learn to live like Him. We have to do the things Jesus did. That means training our body to respond as He responded.

The practices we put into place to train our body to do what doesn’t come naturally are called disciplines. And when they relate to learning to live like Jesus and in God’s kingdom, they are called spiritual disciplines. Our aim is not heart formation, but heart transformation.

It’s all about learning to be—from a place of love.

“I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified” 1 Cor 9:27.

Monday's Musing - February 8, 2021

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One of the dishes my husband has learned how to make during this

Covid-19 season is ham and black bean soup. It’s incredibly delicious,

but it also makes me unbelievably thirsty because the ham is so salty.

For the rest of the evening, all I want is water.

Thinking about that recently gave me greater insight into Jesus’

statement, “You are the salt of the earth...” I used to think this

verse was solely about making a flavorful impact, because salt adds

and enhances flavor.

But what if being salty is even more about making others thirsty? What

if, through an interaction with us, people begin to thirst? What if

the kindness we display, the peace we convey and the love we share,

leaves people wanting more of that in their own lives? What if it

leaves them thirsting, not for basic water, but for the power of the

Living Water that flows within us? A question I have to ask myself is,

“Does my life make others thirst?” Does who I am and how I am, not

necessarily what I do, give others a desire for Jesus? Have I allowed

Him to change my life in such a way that I am like salt?

Imagine if what we believe about Jesus is translated to how we behave

like Jesus —in ways like loving others, disciplining our lives and

extending mercy. If we allow Christ to transform our actions by

changing the way we think, it could make others thirsty for Jesus and

change the world.

Are you like salt? Do you make others thirst for Jesus?

Immanuel: Hope for 2021

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Photo Credit: Melinda Prince

She left home pregnant and almost full-term, traveled about 40 miles by foot, and gave birth in a stable. It was really more like a stone cave than a wooden shack, but it was still messy and smelly and far from the pristine clean perspective we see on Christmas cards.

Nothing was as she imagined, no friends or family and isolated from those she loved at one of the most special times of life, the birth of her first-born child.

Yet one thing Mary knew was Immanuel — God was with her. He saw her. He saw who she was and where she was. This knowledge of Immanuel helped her to endure and do life different. The Bethlehem Star rose high in the sky marking the fulfillment of God’s promise. Hope had come into the world and rested in Mary’s heart.

As we conclude this month and reflect on 2020, let us remember the “Bethlehem Star” that appeared recently in the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. If there was any year we needed to see the star, it was this one.

Life is still messy, but Hope is still present.

Immanuel.

We have been separated from those we love at this special time of year, but God is near.

Immanuel.

We feel unseen, but God sees us.

Immanuel.

And we are tired, but we have been given the Power to endure.

Immanuel.

We, too, can do life different, because Immanuel—God is with us.

God Sees Us

As we decorated our tree for Christmas, I realized there are many things that are the same this year. First, Mike put on the lights, as he always does. Next, I carefully placed the paper chain we have been using for 41 years, reminding us of our first Christmas, followed by the tinsel, also purchased that year. Then we hung TONS of ornaments, some dating back to childhood, others gifts from special friends, and then our favorites, the ones created with photos of our children, and finally, the star.

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While spending several hours on the tree, I also realized there would be many things this Christmas that would be different. There would be no extended family Christmas party at my sister's. No cookie exchange with women from the neighborhood. No Christmas Eve singing with our daughter and her family, and no quiet dinners at home with friends.

Not only are we not going out to see others, others won’t be coming in to see us. It could be quite easy to feel unseen this Christmas.

Yet, as I reflect on the first chapter of Luke this Advent Season, if there is any one message that is conveyed through the lives of Elizabeth and Mary, it’s that we are not unseen; we are seen. God sees us. He sees us for who we are and who we are yet to be.

And the way God sees us is so different from that of the world.

The world looked upon barren Elizabeth with disgrace, yet God looked upon her with love. He saw her righteousness, her faithfulness and her obedience. When we realize God sees us in our place, we discover our true significance.

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The world looked at Elizabeth’s relative, Mary, as young and ordinary, yet God saw her and called her blessed among women. Before He even came to her, He saw her potential to believe in the fulfillment of what would be spoken to her. When we realize God sees us in our potential, we understand that nothing is impossible for Him if only we believe and step out in faith, as Mary did.

Perhaps a reminder to us this Advent Season is God sees us. But let’s not stop there. Not only did God see these women, He looked upon them with favor and entered their lives to bring about change. Not change to their surroundings, but internal, intimate change in their lives.

As we continue to prepare for Christmas, let us remember that God wants to do the same with each of us. God looks upon each of His children with favor and enters our lives to bring about change. That first Christmas was all about change. The change God was making in the lives of two women and soon the world.

God sees you in your place, and God sees you in your potential. He sees your successes and your struggles. He sees your joys and your sorrows. He sees your faith and your fears. He sees who you are and who you are yet to be, but not from a distance. He is right there with you. With us.

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So, this Christmas, as we treasure the memories that hang on our trees and reflect on Christmas traditions past, may we remember that although this Christmas will be different, we can rest in His love, comforted that God sees us.

Women of Luke II

Each week we are highlighting women found in the Gospel of Luke. We invite you to join us on this journey. (For women found in Luke 1 - 8, see Women of Luke I on the sidebar.)

Week 10 / Luke 10 - Mary and Martha

In today’s passage, we see Jesus doing what He often does—addressing a question that’s not even asked. The question Martha actually asked Jesus was, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?” And before He could even respond, she assumed His answer and made another comment. “Then tell her to help me.” Martha was distracted by her preparations, but there was really a lot more going on than just being distracted. In the Greek, the word distracted means cumbered—to be hindered or prevented. Martha felt hindered by her hostessing. Her outburst wasn’t really about Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, but about why she felt she couldn’t as well, in essence Martha was making Mary responsible for her feelings. But it was her own choices that made her feel cheated. So Jesus addressed her feelings by helping her rethink her thoughts. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.” Then He told her there is only one thing that is really useful, and it's what her sister chose. Mary was sitting with others learning from Jesus. She was becoming a disciple. Being with Jesus is more important than than doing for Jesus. A truth not only for Martha to learn, but us as well. Thank you, Lord, for transforming Martha by helping her change the way she thinks. What thought does Jesus want to help you change?

Resetting our Rhythms

Recently my husband and I took a week-long vacation in upper Michigan with our daughter and her family. It was a perfect time to rest from our routines and reset our personal rhythms, as it coincided with the start of fall. Being surrounded by the beauty of God's creation in an isolated cabin on a lake allowed us to slow down and just be.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons as trees burst forth with their hidden color before shedding their leaves. It includes October, my most favorite month—although that hasn’t always been the case. When our children were young, I often grumbled because October was our most expensive month with back-to-back fees for schools and sports. Then one year, I noticed it was also the month we vividly saw God’s hand at work, meeting our increased financial need. Upon greater reflection, I realized that throughout our forty years of marriage it’s been in October when we have consistently seen evidence of God’s provision and healing power. It’s amazing. Without pausing to rest, I’m not sure I would have remembered the significance of October this year.

Pausing allows us a time to rest and reflect. It can be a time to praise God for all He has provided over the last season and pray over that which is to come. It can also be a time to remember how we have seen God move in our past and thank Him for how He will move in our future.

In this season of fall as the colors begin to change here in Virginia, I encourage you to take a day or two (or even an hour or two if that’s all you have) to intentionally rest and reflect—taking time to pause, praise and pray. Inhale God's beauty and exhale worldly concerns. Feel your pace slowing as you quiet your mind and still your soul. Listen to the cadence of your breath as your body assumes a position of rest. Close your eyes, and allow yourself time reflect on the Lord and His goodness. As you remain in silence, experience the feeling of resetting your personal rhythm by just being.

Your sister in Christ,
Katie

Women of Luke I

Each week for the next couple of months, we will highlight women found in the Gospel of Luke. We invite you to join us on this journey.

Week 9 / Luke 8 - The Woman Who Reached for Jesus
The woman who reached in faith for Jesus’ robe teaches us two important truths:
1. Jesus has the power to change lives. This woman had bled for 12 years and spent all her monies seeking the help of doctors, to no avail. No one had been able to help her until she reached for Jesus.
2. Jesus empowers us to share our stories. After touching the fringe of Jesus' robe, this woman tried to remain hidden within the crowd, but Jesus wanted to acknowledge her healing. Once she realized Jesus noticed her, she declared before Him and all the people present the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. She shared her story. It’s interesting to note that Jesus could have said, “Daughter, I have made you well (Lit. saved you).” Yet, He didn’t. Instead, He said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well;…” There is no doubt the power for her healing came from Jesus, but He affirmed the fact that she acted on her belief. Thank you, Lord, for the believing faith of this woman. What story of faith has Jesus given you to share?

Week 8 / Luke 8 - Jairus' Wife
This woman was more obscure than most, so it might be easy to miss the wife of Jairus, an official of the synagogue. Yet, she too was with Jesus. At first glance, it would seem we don't have any lessons to learn. It was to her husband Jesus had said, Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she shall be made well. But upon their daughter rising, Jesus gave orders for something to be given her to eat. In other words, “I have given her new life, now feed her.” Back then, women were the ones responsible for the meals, so this was meant for her mother. By giving her daughter something to eat, it not only confirmed her new life, it provided much needed nourishment. As moms and grandmas, aunts and friends, let us take this to heart as the next generation comes to faith. New lives need nourishment. They hunger. Let us not miss the opportunity to share the sustenance of Christ. Thank you, Lord, for transforming this woman from a bystander to a woman of purpose. Who are you "feeding"?

Week 7 / Luke 8 - The Women Who Traveled With Jesus

In this passage, we are reminded that Jesus’ disciples were women as well as men and an integral part of His ministry. These women, whose lives were changed by Jesus, changed their lives to follow Him. Once healed, (meaning to be set free), from their illnesses and evil spirits, they committed themselves to furthering the ways of Jesus, and their lives reflected His teachings. It’s very interesting to discover that the word Jesus used to illustrate serving or ministering in the Gospels is the same word for deacon and the same word used to describe the actions of the women in the Gospels who had encountered Him, including these women. They lived the life of a deacon, dedicating themselves to Jesus’ ministry and serving sacrificially. They gave from their own resources, contributing what they personally had on hand to support the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. They lived out what they believed. Thank you, Lord, for the transformed lives of these women, encouraging us to do likewise. How has following Jesus changed your life?

Week 6 / Luke 7 – Woman at Simon’s House

What others see and how others think of us is so different from the thoughts of Jesus as evidenced by today’s story. Simon defined the woman washing Jesus' feet as immoral, identifying her by her sins. He wondered how Jesus could be “a prophet” if He was letting her touch Him. Then Jesus did what He often does, He answered Simon's questions before they were even asked. Jesus saw this woman and every action she took, from washing and wiping His feet with her tears and hair to kissing and anointing them with perfume. He understood her past, yet He saw her in the present. Simon saw her through what he thought she was bringing to Jesus—immorality, but Jesus saw her through what He was bringing to her—forgiveness. He didn't shoo her away; He accepted her acts of worship and expressions of love. Her gratitude. There is nothing that brings more tears to one’s eyes than feeling guilt and being shown grace. Jesus not only forgave her sins, He told her her faith saved her, meaning it brought healing to her life. Thank you, Lord, for the transforming faith of this woman—from brokenness to wholeness. How does the thought of Jesus bringing forgiveness and wholeness to your life make you feel?

Week 5 / Luke 7 – Widow of Nain
This woman in Luke 7, reminds us of several important truths. We are seen and known by Jesus. Each of us, individually and intimately. Even in the midst of the crowd, Jesus saw this grieving mother and knew all about her life. She was a widow and her only son had just died. Jesus is with us in our suffering. Jesus could have ignored her pain and looked the other way, but instead, He entered in. He saw her grief, moved with compassion and told her not to weep, letting her know of His presence. With Jesus, healing can arise from our hurt. With one touch, Jesus halted the natural progression of the situation, and then He commanded her son to rise. Although we may experience Jesus’ healing power differently than this woman, Jesus has the power to bring healing to our hurts. Jesus is the giver of life. This is the resurrection story at its best, new life empowered by Christ. But don’t miss this. When Jesus gave the resurrected son back to his mother, He changed not only the son’s life, He changed the mother’s as well. One life changed can change others’ lives. Thank you, Lord, for the transforming power of Your healing presence in this widow’s life. Which one of these truths resonates most with you today?

Week 4 / Luke 4 - Peter’s Mother-in-Law
Although Peter’s mother-in-law was a rather obscure woman, she gives us four important life lessons we don’t want to miss:

1) She listened to her body. Even though it was the Sabbath, because she had a high fever, she stayed home instead of worshiping at the synagogue.
2) She shared her situation. She let others know of her illness, and they petitioned Jesus on her behalf, interceding for her healing. Jesus responded to their request.
3) She believed in the power of Jesus’ spoken word. Unlike many others who came after sundown, Jesus didn’t heal her by laying His hands on her. Instead, she understood He was present and let His words bring about her healing.
4) She expressed her gratitude through service. Once she experienced healing from Jesus, she responded immediately with a desire to serve the needs of others. (The word used here for serving is the same Greek word used for deacon.)

This little-known woman has a lot to teach us about the importance of being honest with ourselves and others. It was her humble spirit that opened the door to her healing. Thank you, Lord, for the transforming power of Jesus’ words that took her from humility to health. What is something Jesus has spoken to you that has brought healing to your life?

Week 3 / Luke 2 - Anna
Women like Anna were often overlooked and undervalued, but not in the life of Jesus. She was seen for who she was and the purpose to which she was called. Anna was a prophetess, called to speak God’s message boldly to His people. She was an 84-year-old widow who never left the temple and spent her days and nights serving through fastings and prayers. She remained in continual communication with the Lord—speaking out what was spoken to her. So it should be no surprise that after hearing Simeon’s words to Mary, Anna would again use her voice. First to give thanks. Then to speak the truth of who Jesus was “to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” God used Anna, a woman steadfast in prayer, to proclaim to His people their Redeemer had come. Thank you, Lord, for the transforming growth of Anna—from prayer to prophesy. In what way is God growing you for His purposes?

Week 2 / Luke 1 - Mary
If there is one word that describes Mary’s life, it’s belief. Not belief that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah (although she believed it) or belief that God could do the impossible (she believed that too). Mary’s belief was more than just believing in God. It was believing God and the message He sent through the angel Gabriel. “The Lord is with you.” Although this truth frightened her at first, it framed her faith. It allowed her to ask the question of “How?” instead of “What if?” It gave her confidence that nothing, even a miraculous birth, is impossible when we are with God. It prompted her to proclaim her submission to the Lord. And most of all, it gave her the ability to sing freely of God’s promises, instead of fearing the future. Thank you, Lord, for the transforming belief of Mary–from fear to faith. "Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (meaning God with us)." How does your belief that God is with you affect your life?

Week 1 / Luke 1 - Elizabeth
Despite her disgrace among men for being barren, Elizabeth was found blameless and righteous in the Lord’s sight. She served as an example of the Lord’s ability to do the impossible. And from that experience and through the empowering of the Spirit, she spoke encouraging thoughts into the life of Mary, a younger woman. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” (I love this verse.) Elizabeth wasn’t a people pleaser, but a God pleaser. When her son was to be circumcised, those present wanted to name him after his father, but she declared his name would be John (as the Lord had instructed). Her son became the forerunner of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for the faith and life transformation of Elizabeth—from disgrace to dignity. In what way can you relate to the life of Elizabeth?

This is Holy Ground

Do we recognize a burning bush when we see one?

Moses was in the wilderness tending sheep with his sights set on Horeb, the mountain of God, when the bush began to burn, and it didn’t faze him at all. It was common for bushes to catch fire in the wilderness, so the fact that one was burning near him didn’t strike him as odd, nor did it demand further thought.

It wasn’t until Moses realized the bush was burning but wasn’t being consumed that he turned aside to look. It had finally captured his attention because the fire wasn’t stopping.

Normally in the U.S., protests come and protests go. We see them on the news in cities far away and in cities close by, like our nation’s capital, yet we pay them little to no attention. We maintain our busy lifestyles, and eventually they die out.

However, instead of dying out quickly this time, the protests have ignited a nation-wide movement—a conversation focused on overcoming racial injustice that isn’t stopping. Working from home, separated from others due to a global pandemic, how can we not notice? It has gotten our attention and is causing many of us to turn aside to look.

Once God saw that Moses was looking His way, He called to him from the midst of the bush. Moses realized that day he wasn’t going to encounter God from some lofty height upon the mountain. Instead he was going to experience Him at ground level in the middle of a fire. His presence was within view.

Recently, feeling led to reread the story about the burning bush, I realized the same thing. God’s presence is within our view. As I reflected on that passage, what I heard Him say was, “Many people want this movement to stop. But it isn’t stopping because I am in the middle of it. I am working here. This is holy ground.”

I have learned that anytime people are being oppressed, we can expect God to be present, working on their behalf. Wherever there is injustice, God’s desire for justice follows. God heard His people’s cry in Egypt. He saw their affliction and their oppressors and told Moses, “I have come down to deliver them.”

This is something we often miss. God’s plan wasn’t to have Moses deliver His people. God’s plan was to work through Moses. The deliverer then, as it is now, was God.

Whenever we get this mixed up and think we are the deliverer, we begin to assume a position and claim power that isn’t ours to possess. Moses was always clear about his role. Anytime the Israelites turned against him, he let them know their anger was misdirected as it was God who had given them their freedom.

I can only imagine if Moses had claimed the position as deliverer, he might have felt he held the power to determine it wasn’t worth it to set the people free. He could have declared the work too hard, the journey too long or opposition too difficult. He might have decided it would be easier, at least for him, to just leave things as is. But God told Moses He had come down and was ready to deliver His people. Moses’ ultimate decision was whether he would work with God or against Him.

I think this is the same decision we have to make as well. Whenever there is injustice in our world, God is present wanting to work through His people to deliver others and free them from oppression. Anytime we justify our stance in not advocating for justice, we have to realize we are not working in opposition to others, we are actually in opposition to the Lord Himself.

Justice and righteousness are the foundation of God’s throne. Through the prophet Amos, whose name means burden-bearer, God told the people of Israel:

“I hate all your show and pretense—the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offering or grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry.” (Amos 5:22-24, NLT)

It is no different today. God is in our midst wanting to work through His people to end racial injustice, so justice can begin to flood our nation and change the way we live and interact with people of color.

Author and pastor Henry Blackaby reminds us we must look to see where God is working and join Him there. The bush is burning, will you turn aside to look?

For I Am They

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Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida, and I thought “They need to make this stop.” Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, MO, and I wondered, “When are they going to do something?” Then I saw the videos and heard the news reports of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and asked, “Why do they let this keep happening?”

When George Floyd died from police officer Devon Chauvin kneeling on his neck in Minneapolis, I finally understood. “They” haven’t done something because they means we and we means me. The real question is, why haven’t I done something? Why have I sat in silence, waiting and watching for someone else to act?

Years ago, while studying 1 Kings, I was struck by God’s response to the faithfulness and faithlessness of the kings of Israel. It ran so contrary to expectation. Surprisingly, God held both the faithful and the faithless accountable. The kings who were disobedient were accountable for what they did. But those who were devoted to Him were accountable for what they didn’t do.

I wonder if that is how it will be for Christians? Will we be accountable for what we didn’t do? Will we be accountable for not using our voice and speaking up when injustice occurs, including racial injustice?

One of the favorite verses Christians recite when discussing justice is Micah 6:8. “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Micah could have reversed the order and said love justice and do kindness, and then we could easily love justice from the sidelines. But we are required to do justice, and it’s impossible to do anything by standing still. The “do” in do justice implies action. Instead of reciting the verse, it’s time to start living it.

As we do justice, it’s important that we approach this work with a posture of humility, openness, and courage. Our posture should show that we have a willingness to listen to others, convey an earnestness to learn, and project courage—a willingness to speak up and speak out.

Some ways to get started in addressing racial injustice include:

Listening
•   Gather with others for honest and authentic conversations about racial relations.
•   Learn from one another about hurts of the past and hopes for the future.
•   Attend planned events where others share their stories.

Learning
•   Read books, watch movies and listen to podcasts to better understand why, where and how racism and systemic racism began and is still occurring in our country.
•   Study how to be an anti-racist.
•   Educate our children on America’s dark history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Speaking up and speaking out
•   Let others know we are offended when they make jokes concerning, unkind remarks toward, and racist generalizations about people of color.
•   Expose redlining* and advocate for it to end in cities where it is still occurring.
•   Petition lawmakers for equality in education, police and prison reform, and non-discriminatory practices.

How many more lives have to be unjustly taken before we do justice? We are God’s people, and we will be held accountable.

For me, it’s no longer what will they do, but what will I do? For I am they.

* Redlining is the practice of excluding whole communities of color and other minority groups from receiving services (government, financial, etc.) on the specific basis of race or ethnicity.

It's Time

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As a child of the 60s, growing up in a Northern Illinois city that was and still is very racially divided, I have been recently reminded of some of my grandparents’ closest friends. They would come to visit and often stay for hours. He always had a hat in his hand, and she was always clothed in a smartly fitted dress. They seemed more financially well off than many of the others who came to my grandpa and grandma’s home, but that difference didn’t matter to my grandparents. Neither did the color of their skin. Those differences didn’t define our feelings about them. What mattered was who they were—they were Kiki and Lena. They were friends.

Since the time of our country’s inception, we have long confused who we see with what we see. And that confusion has allowed us to classify and condemn individuals based on the color of their skin and their country of origin. The confusion is part of the disease that took George Floyd’s life almost two weeks ago, Ahmaud Arbery’s and Breonna Taylor’s lives, and too many others in the years and decades before.

That disease is one of the two powerful diseases we see erupting in the United States right now. Both are similar in their viral effect, but the difference lies in the length of time they have have existed and the way healing is to be experienced.

The novel coronavirus has only been around for a short time. Yet, in the not too distant future, a vaccine will be discovered, and healing will soon take place from “the outside in” through the medical community.

The other disease, racism, has been around longer than many of us really care to admit. It was woven not only into the DNA of our country at its formation, it became part of the genetic make-up and culture of many families, being passed down from one generation to the next. As pastor and friend Chris Davis said in his article, “‘I Can’t Breathe’: Reckoning With Our Racial Atmosphere,” it’s been in the air we breathe. And the air we breathe has everything to do with how our heart functions, the organ most affected by this dreadful disease.

Some have maintained that this can be cured from “the outside in” with governmental laws and guidelines. However, the approach has done little to rid us of the disease. We know this to be true because there are times in our lives when something will happen to reveal that racism is still very present today, causing deaths and wounds with life-altering pain that never goes away.

I took part in a Zoom call this week with pastors of our local churches and listened as several of my friends and colleagues shared their stories. What I heard grieved my heart and caused many tears to flow. The pain that these men have experienced in their lives and through the lives of their sons in this 21st century America is overwhelming. The cause of it is racism.

This is one disease that can’t be cured by the medical community, and it can’t be cured by the government either. The eradication of this disease has to take place from “the inside out,” as the change has to be made on the inside before it can ever be experienced outwardly. Inside our hearts, before it will be seen in our responses. “The inside” is where Jesus does His best work. A change of heart is where it has to start, and then it must manifest itself in our actions.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says that we are called to freedom, but not to “turn our freedom into an opportunity for the flesh,” to indulge our human nature. Injustice and oppression are about expressing power over others, and expressing power is an opportunity of the flesh. It contradicts not only what Paul said in serving one another through love, but it contradicts the words of Christ Himself. “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve” (Matt 20:28). Somewhere, somehow, many us have inverted the words of Jesus and called it truth. We want to be served more than we want to serve.

Now is the time that we, as The Church, must finally address this dreadful disease in our country. It’s time that we, both individually and collectively, sit down with our brothers and sisters in Christ and listen to the stories of those who have experienced racial injustice. We need to understand what we are facing—the depth of the injustice and the wide-spread oppression that still occurs in our society today. It’s time we acknowledge that racial injustice isn’t just a thing of the past, but it’s of our present, as well, and it’s time for The Church to act.

It’s time we start taking an active role in helping to initiate a cure for this disease. It’s time we, as Christ’s Body of Believers, step into Christ’s prayer for The Church—and come together in unity as a true family. We need to recognize our friends for who they are, our brothers and sisters, instead of letting society define them by what they see. We all look different, but most siblings do. But it’s up to us to start changing the culture; letting others know different isn’t wrong and different doesn’t mean bad. Different doesn’t justify racial injustice.

It’s time that we, as The Church, do what should have been done years ago. It’s time that we get down on our knees and repent. Repent of our desire for power. Repent of past actions. And repent of the hurt we’ve caused, even going back generations. It’s time we come before the Lord and others and ask for forgiveness.

It’s time to humble ourselves, and look for ways to serve others, instead of looking to be served—to come alongside others, stand with them and take action whenever we see injustice occurring. Our Father is all about justice, and as His children, it’s time we are too.

Building Trust

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This is not the blog I intended to post this week, but after our Zoom call on Thursday with Richard Blackaby, co-author of Experiencing God, my thoughts changed. Richard encouraged us to see where God is already working and join Him there. With that insight in mind, I felt compelled to write a new blog and share what the Lord has recently shown me.

For years I thought that when God told Moses He wanted to send him back to Egypt, the fear he exhibited was about going before Pharaoh to seek the release of God’s people. But as I have continued my study of Moses and have camped out in the third and fourth chapters of Exodus, I’ve come to realize it wasn’t Pharaoh who gave Moses such fright. It was the Sons of Israel, the elders. He desperately wanted their approval and was afraid of their opinions. “What if they ask me Your name?” “What if they won’t believe me?” “What if they won’t listen to what I say?” He knew he had encountered God, but what if they didn’t believe it? He had such fear of failing. Fear was a primary cause of his struggle with God. Or so I thought.

Increasingly, I began to wonder, “What caused Moses to change from a timid shepherd to a confident leader?” “When did this change occur?” “How did he move from someone who was ignored by the Israelites to one being greatly esteemed?”

It always amazes me when we have questions on our heart, how God will often use others to convey the answers. Two separate conversations I had this week confirmed this truth. God was moving in our midst, weaving several thoughts together.

In talking with a friend, she told me about a book she’s been reading, The Relational Soul, by Richard Plass and James Cofield, and what she’s learned about trust. Basically, if parents are not emotionally available, children learn to not trust others. If parents are not emotionally reliable, children learn to not trust themselves, and it leaves them striving for the approval of others and worrying too much about other people’s opinions. And if parents are not emotionally available or reliable, children are considered “scattered,” as they trust neither themselves or others.

Later I spoke with our daughter who is a therapist and shared how the above information is reflected in my life as I too have struggled with “approval idolatry,” as Pastor Tim Keller calls it. Then I told her about trying to determine the significance of Moses interceding for Pharaoh in Exodus 8. It was after that incident that his life began to change, and I couldn’t figure out why. My daughter stated the answer so matter-of-factly that I almost missed it. “Mom, that’s because Moses realized he could begin to trust God when he prayed and God answered.”

In that moment, I realized what was really at the root of Moses’ struggle. It wasn’t fear; it was a level deeper than fear. It was a lack of trust, both in himself and in others. Moses was so scattered. He didn’t trust himself, which left him desiring the approval of others and being defined by their opinions. And he didn’t trust God, His promise to be with him and His ability to speak through him. Moses’ lack of trust affected his identity, who he was and how he saw himself.

As Moses entreated Pharaoh, he exercised his trust in God, and his trust muscle began to grow. He cried out to the Lord with a need and the Lord responded. Later again in chapters 8, 9 and 10, Moses made supplications and the Lord moved according to his requests, and his trust continued to expand. Isn’t that the same way our trust muscle begins to take shape as well? We pray, asking the Lord for a need, and as we see Him answer, our trust begins to build.

I remember the first time I started to use my trust muscle. I was only five years old and the doll I had just received for Christmas suddenly stopped walking. Instead of taking her to my parents, maybe because we were poor and batteries couldn’t be easily replaced, I took her to God. I remember getting out my rosary (we were Catholic at the time) and saying my Hail Marys as I cried out to the Lord. After praying for what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, I stood my doll on the floor, flipped the switch and she walked. My trust in God as a provider was born.

In the Amplified version of John 6:29, Jesus says that the work God asks of us is to “believe in the One Whom He has sent.” Believe, in the Greek, translates to trust, have faith in. As my dad always said, “Belief is an action verb.” Action is how most of the muscles in our body grow, and so it is the same with our trust muscle. The more action Moses took, the more his trust in God grew, both in His availability and reliability. Soon we see Moses living as the faith-filled leader he was meant to be.

Seeing the change that happened in Moses’ life, as he went from hiding in the desert in fear to becoming a mighty leader in the wilderness, is more than inspiring. And it’s all because he started trusting God. It makes me wonder, how deeply do I really trust and leads me to pray, “Lord, help me to trust you completely, just like Moses.”

I don’t know why the Lord gave me this understanding for this week, but I have to believe it’s for “such a time as this.” May it inspire you to reflect on the strength of your own trust muscle.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

Many blessings,
Katie

Not Mine, But His

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Years ago, as we were launching NorthStar Women’s Network, I felt overwhelmed and under equipped. Someone suggested I start praying on my armor each day. So, I did. And as time went on, I encouraged others to do likewise.

But now, 17 years later, I am done with that. I'm not advising women to pray on their armor anymore. Why is that? Because recently while rereading Ephesians 6, I was convicted by the Spirit that I had been advising women incorrectly. I realized there isn’t anywhere in Paul’s letter where he says we need to pray on our armor for daily protection. Instead, Paul advises us to “put on the full armor of God.” It’s God’s armor we are praying on, not ours. What a difference changing one word makes. It’s huge.

Our armor – our thoughts, our truth, our faith – has no power against the enemy. If it did, Adam and Eve would have remained in the garden. Everything we do, we do through the One who gives us strength. His strength. His power. His armor.

But in the end, does it really matter what we call it? Yes, it does. Because when we call it what it is, it reframes our perspective and gives us greater insight into Paul’s instructions.

Beginning with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is actually dwelling within us (given to us at the time of our profession of belief in Jesus Christ), we can see why Paul is telling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. If the Holy Spirit is indwelling, and He is, and if Christ is manifested through the Spirit and abides within us, which He does, then praying on God’s armor has little to do with us, but everything to do with Jesus. It is always about Jesus.

With that in mind, when we are praying on God’s armor, we pray on:

His Truth – It’s the truth according to what Christ lives and teaches, understanding things from His vantage point as He dwells within. The enemy wants to make us think truth is relative, believing all kinds of lies about ourselves and others, but Jesus has said He is Truth. Truth is not relative as the world states, Jesus is the plumb line. The belt of the armor is meant to hold in proper place those things that could easily trip us up. So it is with Truth.

His Righteousness - We have been made righteous—restored to a right relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son. Once Jesus begins to indwell our life, God no longer sees our sin. Our sins have been replaced by Christ’s righteousness. However, the enemy would like us to think otherwise, to believe we are still sinners deep in sin who can’t measure up in God’s presence. That’s why the Breastplate of Righteousness is so important— to protect our hearts from feeling unworthy or shame from the enemy’s constant attempts at condemnation.

His Peace - We often think this piece of the armor is all about the shoes of peace, but Paul says it’s actually the preparation of the shoes of peace. So how do we prepare to walk in peace? We do it the same way Jesus does as He lives and dwells within. The same way He did it when He walked the earth, by abiding in the Father’s presence. And the peace that protects is not our peace, but the actual peace of Jesus. Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” We can move forward without fear, resting in His peace.

His Faith - It would be great to think our faith is strong enough to stop the “fiery darts of temptation” aimed at us by Satan, but it isn’t. If it were, Adam and Eve would not have failed in the garden, but the saving faith that can protect us from ALL of Satan’s lies is the faith of Jesus. In a more accurate translation of Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us “The life we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God,” instead of faith in the Son of God. Somewhere over the years the word was changed from “of” to “in.” I am not sure why as it totally distorts the meaning. When we are clear about the fact the Holy Spirit indwells us and Christ is manifested through the Spirit, it’s easy to understand the Shield of Faith is about submitting to Christ’s faith as He dwells within.

His Salvation - Jesus came, died and rose again as the Savior of the world, to deliver us from the consequences of sin. He set us free from the penalty of sin; we are forgiven. He set us free from the power of sin; we are restored to a relationship with God the Father. And He set us free from the presence of sin; we are cleansed through the presence of His Spirit who dwells within. Our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. In the Greek, the word for salvation also means deliverer. As we pray on the Helmet of Salvation, the helmet of our deliverer, let us guard our thoughts and guide them with the knowledge and truth of His salvation.

His Sword - I love the translation of this in The Amplified version, “The sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.” The Spirit doesn’t speak on His own initiative, as Jesus tells us in John 16. But He discloses to us what is spoken to Him by God the Father and Christ the Son, so we can thwart the enemy’s attempt the same way Jesus did in the wilderness, by repeating God’s truth, “The Scriptures say....” The Sword is the only offensive piece of the armor; let’s remember to draw it often to stop Satan’s attacks and destroy his plans.

If you don’t already do so, I want to encourage you to pray on God’s armor every day, for yourself, for your family and even for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Over the past 17 years, as I prayed for “the power of God’s armor” to be upon those on my list, I have seen lives changed. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” Ephesians 6:13 (emphasis added).

Many blessings,
Katie

Feeling Fear

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Everywhere I turn I am hearing it. From online Bible studies to recorded sermons to parents with good intentions, people are saying, “Do not fear.” In this time of overwhelming disaster of global proportions, Christians are stating, “Fear not.” This phrase is then usually followed by the thought that as believers we shouldn’t be anxious or fearful because we trust in Jesus.

When we say to others they should not fear, we are saying there’s a right way to feel, and fear is not it. We are conveying that what you are feeling is wrong. And what we are often implying, without realizing, is if you are feeling fear, you are not being strong in your faith.

I think it’s well intentioned, but this can leave others not only trying to overcome fear, but now guilt as well.

I am a Christian leader, and I have felt fear. Not because I don’t have a strong faith in God or a deep-seated belief in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, but because I do – to both. I have felt fear because our world is in chaos right now as this global pandemic is taking lives at such a rapid pace. So rapid in fact, that New York City had to bring in trailers at one point to hold the deceased.

I have felt fear because our son-in-law is a doctor who was testing on the front lines in Chicago and our daughter, his wife, is asthmatic and has had pneumonia twice. I have felt fear because our grandson is on a nebulizer treatment (which started before the pandemic). I have felt fear because our son lives with an immune deficiency. And I have felt fear from seeing people dying alone in hospitals without their loved ones nearby. What a tragic ending for so many families. Yes, I am a church leader, and I have felt fear.

Mostly, I have allowed myself to feel fear because Jesus showed me it’s okay to feel fear. We often forget that Jesus was FULLY human, as well as fully God, so as death drew near, he too felt afraid. On the night he was betrayed, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray because of his fear. He told his friends he was deeply grieved over what was coming, the known and the unknown. Then he asked the Father if it was possible to let this cup pass from him.

One of the most beautiful aspects about Jesus, described by Peter, is the fact that Jesus had no deceit found in his mouth. Some might say it meant he didn’t lie or tell an untruth, but I would also add that he didn’t feel an untruth. What he said he felt, and what he felt he said. He lived an authentic life with a singleness of heart; there wasn’t a division between what he felt and what he spoke. He shared honestly and openly, and because he was distressed over his upcoming death, he said so. He not only felt his feelings, but he expressed them as well.

It is right to express our feelings, not only feelings of love and joy, but also feelings of fear.

So, what can we say when others are feeling fearful? We can let them know their fear can be normal. We can assure them that even Jesus felt fear. We can pray with them, drawing them into the Father’s presence, and most of all, we can encourage them to take their feelings directly to the Father.

Contrary to the thoughts of many, it is actually by acknowledging our true feelings with the Lord, including our fears, that our faith goes deep and gives way to trust. We see this modeled time and time again by David throughout his psalms, and we see this in the conversation Jesus had with the Father in the garden.

Sharing our honest feelings with the Father invites Him into our struggles and opens our heart to hear His truth. He doesn’t tell us we shouldn’t fear because of our trust in Him. He shares His truth why we don’t have to fear. It’s the same reason He gave others throughout the scriptures. We don’t have to fear because He is near. It isn’t about our faith, but God’s faithfulness. He reassures us He is with us. Emmanuel.

Expressing our fear to the Lord doesn’t necessarily change the circumstance, but it can shift our paradigm to a place of peace. I have experienced this in my own life, and we see this in the stance Jesus took in the garden. He went from asking the Father to let the cup pass to surrendering to the Father’s will. He was able to say, “Thy will be done,” all because he acknowledged his fear. May we encourage others to be like Jesus and do likewise.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear” Ps 46:1-2a.

Wired for this Work

Never underestimate your ability to mother. Still in my study of Moses, this week I found myself reflecting on Moses’ earlier life - from the time of his birth until the time of his first-born son. As I replayed the scenes in my mind and listened to the Lord’s narrative, I realized when God called Moses to go and free the Israelites, He had wired him for this work. He had a heart for the underdog and a willingness to stand up and fight injustice.

As I thought more and more about Moses’ wiring, I realized that it was directly influenced by the women in his life - from the midwives who delivered him, to the mother who birthed him, to his adoptive mother who raised him. They too, were all willing to stand up against the oppressed. It’s no wonder we see this same trait woven into the character of Moses.

The midwives were commanded by Pharaoh to put the Hebrew baby boys to death. “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live.” They were willing to stand against injustice.

Since the midwives thwarted the plans of Pharaoh, he instructed his people to cast the Hebrew sons into the Nile and save the daughters. So Moses’ birth mother decided not to ignore the order, but to go around it and put her son in the Nile herself, her way. After hiding him in her home for a bit, she placed him in a protected basket among the reeds at the river, praying his life would be preserved. She too, fought for the underdog, who in this instance was her son.

When Moses was found by none other than Pharaoh’s daughter, we come to understand where Moses derived his determination in the face of oppression. Not only did she totally refuse to obey her father’s order, but she saved a baby from the river and brought him home as her son. And to continually remind her father that she stood against his order of casting little boys into the water, she named him Moses, meaning “I drew him out of the water.” It was like saying “I saved that which you were trying to destroy.” She stood strong and took action to free the oppressed.

All three of these women mothered Moses in their own unique way. All three influenced him greatly by not only standing for what was right, but by taking sacrificial actions to bring about change. This is how Moses came to have the raw materials that God could shape and use to set a whole nation free. Moses was mothered by three different women.

Like Moses, I’ve had many women who have mothered me along life’s journey. There was my biological mom who gave birth and raised me, my step-mom and my mother-in-law, along with so many other women who influenced who I am today. Some had children who were grown and gone when they entered my life like Kay, June, Mildred and Eloise. Others only had sons, like Karen, Jackie and Jan, so I was their “daughter.” Some, like my dance teachers, Helen and Denise, had no birth children, so they loved and “raised” me as their own. There were also so many others, too many to name, who mothered me spiritually, helping me to grow and mature in God’s Word.

I can’t tell you the number of women who have come alongside me in mothering my own children, like Margie, Nancy, Julie, Ruth, Annette, Joanne, Marilyn, Mary, Cindy, Pam and Kathy. Some were neighbors, many were Sunday School teachers and others family friends, but all of them have been great influencers in the lives of my children.

As we approach another Mother’s Day, let us remember that whether you give birth to a child, adopt them, neighbor them or care for them in a class, never underestimate your ability to be a “mother” in another person’s life. We are wired for this work.

Many blessings,
Katie

Emerging Rhythms

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The last six weeks have left me thinking a lot about this period of seclusion, especially as I hear our lives will be different when it ends. Our society will be different. Our culture will be changed. But a new culture is created by individuals, so my question is, “Will I be different?” Is this time in seclusion calling me to make any changes in my own life?

Before Moses ever led the Israelites into the wilderness, he had his own 40 years of seclusion in the land of Midian. He had fled there after killing an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew slave, hoping to hide and avoid trouble, much the same way we ran to our homes in March. Moses entered Midian as an eager-to-take-charge Egyptian and later emerged as a staff-carrying shepherd.

This time in seclusion was necessary for God to make monumental shifts in Moses. The first shift was from the production-oriented life of an Egyptian to the unhurried pace of a shepherd. Even Jesus as the Good Shepherd never hurried. God moves at an unhurried pace. Yet for most of us, our lives are quite the opposite. We are driven by hurry.

During the month of April, God initiated this same shift in my life as well; moving me from a hurried to an unhurried pace. But before you can move to where you want to be, you have to understand where you are. So, God began showing me I hurried not only my days, but my nights as well. From the moment I got up until I rose again the next morning, I hurried. Getting ready, getting things done and even going to bed were all hurry-driven. We all have natural rhythms, and I was totally ignoring mine.

As I set about understanding my natural rhythms, I learned I have three basic rhythms that give formation to my days and nights. My sleeping rhythm, my ramping up rhythm and my rhythm of ramping down. All of these are crucial and more important than I imagined as God is moving me from a hurried to an unhurried pace.

Sleep is fundamental to everything in life. As I learned from pastor and author, Michael Breen, we don’t work to rest, but we rest to work. I have learned during this seclusion that my body needs seven hours of sleep to rest well. I always tried to pretend I could get by with four to six hours, but the fact is I’m older now and need more sleep. Actually, I have probably always needed more, but forced myself to get by on less. Now I am sleeping more and find it easier to be more at rest in the daytime, as well.
My Sleeping Rhythm: Seven hours to rest well.

During this seclusion, I have kept my morning routine of showering, putting on makeup and getting dressed for work (a nice shirt and leggings every day—just because I can) to understand how long the physical act of getting ready takes. I finally accepted it takes me an hour. It. Just. Does. No matter how much I thought I could do it in a half-hour, when I was finally able to move about at an unhurried pace while listening to my morning podcasts, it‘s been an hour every time. And in not hurrying at this more even pace, I realize I actually enjoy putting on makeup and drying my hair, instead of thinking it to be very monotonous as previously professed.
My Ramping-Up Rhythm: One hour to get ready for my day.

Over this last month, I have also learned the importance of slowing down before bed. Like ramping up, I have finally accepted the need to give myself an hour to ramp down. The tasks of that hour include the normal brushing teeth and washing face, but they also need to include solitary time with music or a good book. The music calls to my creative side and gives expression to the dancer within. (Beginning ballet at age five and dancing for the next fourteen years, it’s always been “my sport.”) The other activity I enjoyed when I wasn’t dancing was reading. I was a voracious reader and still am. Both of these bring a stillness to my soul and a quiet to my thoughts.
My Ramping Down Rhythm: One hour to slow down from my day.

I have learned I hurried because I didn’t accept my natural basic rhythms. If I didn’t plan for my ramping down, it would still take the same amount of time to slow down. However, in order to compensate, I would either deprive my body of much-needed sleep, which would leave me operating at a deficit the next day, or I would sleep in and be rushed in preparing for the day. Days turn into months and months turn into years. We can see why it took Moses 40 years to be transformed.

Shifting to an unhurried pace wasn’t the end for Moses, and it’s not for me either. It’s just the beginning. There was so much more Moses had to unlearn and learn in seclusion. This next month may prove to be very transformational as this next shift takes me, like Moses, into long ignored territory. More on that later.

In the meantime, I would like to encourage you to start exploring the shifts God has started revealing to you during your time of seclusion. Share with me if you will.

Many blessings,
Katie

What Should I Share on Social Media?

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In this social media driven society, should we always share everything with everybody? Is Reality TV the lay of the land, or should we have filters for authenticity, vulnerability and transparency?

In answering questions like these, there is one source that can give us much greater insight than Google, and his name is Jesus. While on earth, Jesus not only came to restore our relationship with God, but to model life for us here in God’s kingdom.

In looking at Jesus’ life and reviewing the short, yet impactful, story of the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46), I believe we can find answers to the questions above.

In this passage, we see three distinct groups Jesus directly related to: his outer circle (a group of twelve), his inner circle (a group of three) and his audience of One (his relationship with the Father).

To his outer circle, Jesus told them, “Stay here while I pray.” He was open and honest about his actions and intentions. He told them about the bread and wine representing his body and blood, and he shared about the hard days ahead. He was being authentic, especially about his need to pray in that moment. Authenticity is being real and true to who we are with everyone. God doesn’t want us to speak lies, but He doesn’t want us to live them either. Being authentic is living and leading from our true self, not our false self. It’s not trying to measure up to look good, be good, do good, but living out of a place of humility and truth of who we really are.

As Jesus walked on further, he invited his inner circle to make this journey with him. He began to share his deep feelings of anxiety and distress. He told them about the sorrow and grief that was encircling his soul and feeling crushed from the thought of his bleak days ahead. He was being vulnerable, very vulnerable. Vulnerability is being completely honest with others and being able to share our deep feelings and struggles without fear of condemnation or retribution. Our circle of vulnerability is usually comprised of those who will speak truth to us in love.

After Jesus asked his inner circle to keep watch and wait with him, he leaned in to converse with his audience of One, our heavenly Father. He stretched out in front of Him in prayer and spoke his deepest thoughts, “Is there any way this fate can pass from me?” In this intimate time of communion, he was free to question. Free to doubt. Free to express fear for what lay ahead. Free to be transparent. In a transparent relationship, there is nothing hidden that remains hidden. We are free to put everything on the table. Things we are willing to face and tough things we’d rather forget. Like the relationship Jesus had with the Father, our transparent relationship is where we find our greatest source of strength. We can share everything with Him, knowing we are totally and completely loved, trusting that God always has our best interest at heart. “Not my will, but yours.”

Sometimes, we can cause more damage than good by sharing everything with everybody. As we come to understand the difference between authenticity, vulnerability and transparency, we can better discern what is appropriate to post on social media or discuss with others. I have often used these words synonymously in the past, but as I reread the passage about Jesus’ final hours in the garden, I now realize how important it is to understand the difference. We are to be authentic with all, vulnerable with a few and totally transparent with the One.

My Peace

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful" John 14:27 (NASB).

My Peace

In the midst of this crisis,
Jesus, I look to Thee,
I close my eyes gently
In search of Your peace.

Don’t be troubled,
And don’t be afraid,
As I sit in stillness
I hear you say.

My peace is who I am,
My peace is what I give.
Abide with me,
Experience My peace.

Breathe in truth,
Breathe out doubt.
Breathe in trust,
Breathe out fear.

Feel the calming presence
Of My Spirit in your life.
It is My peace
I give to you.

© 2020 Katie Harding All Rights Reserved

Trying to Save Lives

Trying to Save Lives

I believe in the sacredness of life for ALL lives,
Because ALL life is sacred.

And if I believe ALL life is sacred,
Then I believe in trying to save lives
From this virus called COVID19.

I believe I must keep my physical distance from others
Yet remain socially connected,
because I believe in the sacredness of life.

I believe I must share my resources, like monies and masks,
with those who don’t have enough,
because I believe in the sacredness of life.

I believe I must pray fervently for those who are ill
and the medical community providing their care,
because I believe in the sacredness of life.

And I believe I must look upon ALL people with love,
and be willing to sacrifice for the good of others,
because I believe in the sacredness of life.

Let us follow guidelines, give generously,
pray fervently and love sacrificially.

Let us declare the sacredness of life.
Let us be willing to do our part,
Because God created ALL life
And ALL life is sacred.

© 2020 Katie Harding All Rights Reserved

One Word

This poem was inspired by Matthew's story of Jesus Walking on the Water and
a comment speaker and author Jo Saxton made on a podcast,
"When Peter got out of the boat, he was actually standing on the Word of Jesus."
It was written during this season of COVID-19.

One Word

In the fourth watch of the night

When darkness distorts our thoughts

And the waves make our footing

Seem so unsure,

We don’t even recognize Jesus when He comes near.

Then He speaks,

As the wind circles about our boat.

Reassuring us of His presence

And bringing calm to our fears.

His one Word

Propels us to movement.

His one Word

Gives us boldness in each step.

May we not be distracted by the wind.

May we not be overwhelmed by the waves.

May we find courage to stand strong

As we hear His one Word.

Yet, when our perspective
Gets distorted again

And we feel fear closing in once more,

Let us cry out in faith as Peter did.

“Lord, save me!”

One Word from Jesus,

That’s all we need.

One Word to stand.

One Word to step forward.

One Word gives us great courage
in these turbulent times.

One Word from Jesus,

“Come.”

Katie serves as the Founder/Director of NorthStar Women's Network and Associate Director of NorthStar Church Network.

"Doesn’t 'Immediately' Contradict 'Fighting Hurry'?”

This morning my mind is still fixed on a question my small group asked last week. “Doesn’t the word immediately contradict the phrase fighting hurry?” I had just told our group about a podcast series I’ve been listening to called “Fight Hustle, End Hurry” and shared that I also recently discovered in the first chapter of Mark, he uses the word immediately ten times. I love questions that make you pause for thought. After thinking on this, I realize it doesn’t contradict it at all.

Immediately is actually a key word that can unlock one of the main reasons why we hurry. We hurry because we don’t have enough time. And usually we don’t have enough time because we didn’t do something we needed to do when we needed to do it. We procrastinated. Most people who procrastinate are very busy people. We are just busy with the wrong stuff.

Instead of immediately doing what really needs to be done when it needs to be done, we focus our attention on tasks of lower priority, using them as escapist behaviors. Then when it almost becomes too late to accomplish those things which are most important, we hurry to complete them, often rushing around like crazy people. (And making the people around us crazy as well!)

I have discovered one of the main underlying reasons for procrastination is fear. Not the kind of fear you experience when there is physical danger; that is a healthy fear your mind initiates to keep you safe.

The fear I’m referring to is that of getting it wrong or not doing it perfectly the first time. Or the fear of failing and the embarrassment that accompanies it. Perhaps there is even fear of succeeding and not knowing what to do next. Fear of criticism, often from myself or others. Fear of rejection, of not living up to expectations—both mine and from others. And then there is the fear of the unknown. It can stall us every time. There are so many different ways fear can be a motivator to our actions or inaction. Fear is a small word, but it can have a big impact.

It would be great if we could say, “Just don’t procrastinate.” But it’s not that easy. Not only because it could mean we have to stop and acknowledge the fear, which often takes time and the help of others, but it’s actually hard to break the behavior of procrastination because we are accustomed to the hurry. Our bodies begin to crave the “rush” we get from the rush. We are addicted to hurry.

There are groups to help with most addictions, and there is probably one for those addicted to hurry. If there isn’t, maybe there should be. But in lieu of going to a group or starting one, I have found Mark’s word immediately to be most beneficial.

I have discovered the word immediately actually displaces the fear. It doesn’t necessarily get rid of it, but it renders it ineffective. It takes the fear captive by giving me something else to focus on. When I reflect on the word immediately, it prompts me not to put off, but to step into action — to begin to develop a life of responsive obedience. It makes me stop and ask the Lord, “What really needs to be done right now?” and then practice submitting as the Spirit redirects my thoughts to that which is most important and of highest priority. Immediately is a word God uses to reorder our steps. Now. Not two days or two hours from now, but now.

When we respond immediately to that which is of highest priority, it starts to eliminate procrastination, hurry and rushing in our lives. Soon our rhythm begins to change as we experience the peace of this new pace, and our bodies start rejecting hurry instead of craving it. Before long, we begin to feel very uncomfortable with the thought of hurry and at odds with the stress it causes and the physical ailments that ensue.

Without even realizing it has happened, we have experienced a paradigm shift called transformation. By refocusing our thoughts and responding to the Spirit’s promptings, not only have our actions changed but our desires as well. We have moved from procrastination to peace, from chaos to calm, all because of one word, God’s word - Immediately.

Katie Harding serves as the Founder/Director of NorthStar Women's Network and as Associate Director of NorthStar Church Network.

The Best Gift Ever

The best Christmas present I received this year wasn’t one wrapped with pretty paper and a matching bow and found under the tree on Christmas morning. It wasn’t even one found in a decorative bag handed out at the office or given by a friend. The best present was one I received early Christmas Eve morning from the Lord Himself, as I studied the scriptures for that day.

That morning I followed the Spirit — starting at the first chapter of Luke with the announcement of the birth of John, on to the Mount of Transfiguration, then to the Mount of The Beatitudes and ending at the Cross. It was quite a journey, but it was also quite a gift.

In the first chapter of Luke, we are told that John will come in the spirit and power of Elijah. Elijah wasn’t just a prophet; he was the prophet noted for praying it would not rain, and it didn’t rain for three and a half years. He then prayed for rain and the sky poured forth. He was the prophet who turned the hearts of the Israelites back to God after challenging the prophets of Baal to a showdown between their god and his. Elijah was bold and prayerful, honest in his fears, and listened with a finely tuned ear to the voice of the Lord. He was one of two individuals mentioned in the Old Testament who never died, but was taken straight to heaven.

Focusing on John’s comparison to Elijah, the Lord brought to mind Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, so I followed the Spirit there. Whenever I read this passage in Mark, I am usually taken by the fact that Peter, not knowing what to do or say as he suddenly sees Jesus standing on the Mount with Moses and Elijah, offers to build three shrines as if they were all staying. For some reason Peter always wants to offer an answer before a question is even asked.

But that day, what struck me most wasn’t what Peter and the others saw, it was what they didn’t see. After God proclaimed, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”, they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus only. One moment there were three of them — Moses, the giver of the Law, Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of the old scriptures, and Jesus, all standing together in community. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was just Jesus.

In the past, I have not given much thought to their departure as I always focused on their presence and Peter wanting to build shrines. But that morning, I keyed in on these words “no one with them anymore, except Jesus only.” Except Jesus only. That phrase kept replaying in my mind, and suddenly I realized, it was as if God was showing them in the past the Law and the words of the Prophets were of prime importance. But now the time had come to listen and fully heed what Jesus says, Jesus only.

From there I felt drawn to Jesus’ words about the Law on the Mount of The Beatitudes, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Jesus was telling his followers He wasn’t coming to overthrow the Law or the words of the Prophets. Instead, if we look up the word fulfill, what Jesus was really saying is that He was coming to complete the Law and the words of the Prophets. In thinking about the fact that His mission was to complete the Law and to complete something means to finish it, suddenly the next phrase that crossed my mind was Jesus’ words on the cross, “It is finished.”

“It is finished.” I had never given much thought before to what “It” was or is. Was it His work? Yes. Was it His life? Yes, that too. But what if He was referring to the specific task assigned to Him, to fulfill the Law and the words of the Prophets? What if for a moment, we view it from that perspective? Maybe when He said, “It is finished,” He meant the time of the Law and the words of the Prophets in being a governing force has ended. Moses and Elijah are no longer on the Mount. Just Jesus only, with the Father instructing His disciples to “Listen to Him!”

What God gave me that morning was a vision for Jesus’ mission. The importance of His work in bringing the Law and the words of the Prophets to completion before ushering in His new and indwelling presence into the lives of His disciples. Then there would be no question as to whom they should listen to. “This is my Beloved Son,” He told them, “Listen to Him!” Jesus understood His task, the Father confirmed it, and He brought it to completion before putting in place A New Way of living in direct relationship with the Father.

Many of us don’t understand the importance of completing one initiative before starting another, but Jesus did. And I am eternally grateful. There is no confusion about who to follow. It’s always Jesus. Jesus only.

What a beautiful gift I received this Christmas.

An Advent Devotion: The God Who Sees

“What do you want me to know?”, I asked.

I recently attended a conference with many other NorthStar women. One morning before breakfast, I sat on the edge of my bed in prayer and asked, “Father, what do you want me to know?” After a short time of complete stillness, He lovingly answered with, “I see you.”

It was the first time the Lord ever said those words to me, but it was not to be the last. Throughout that day, God confirmed His word as various speakers made some type of reference to God seeing us. It was crazy. As I shared those words with a few friends, they continued to confirm the message as they heard it throughout the day as well.

Those three words, “I see you,” have been permeating my thoughts so much this Advent Season as I am beginning to realize how foundational they are in this season of Advent.

From the beginning of time, God has seen us.

He saw Adam and Eve in the garden.

He saw the Israelites in slavery.

He saw Moses by the burning bush.

He saw David shepherding his flock.

On and on throughout Scripture, God sees His people.

In the first chapter of Luke, God sees Zechariah, Elizabeth, and their newborn son, John. He also sees Elizabeth’s relative, Mary. God sees them as they are and more importantly, as they are yet to be.

And God‘s view of them is so different from that of the world’s.

The world looked upon barren Elizabeth with disgrace, yet God looked upon her with love. He saw her from the inside out. He saw her righteousness, her faithfulness and her obedience. Once Elizabeth discovered that God saw her, that was all that really mattered. When we realize God sees us in our place, we discover our true significance.

The world looked upon Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptizer, as odd. He lived in the wilderness, ate locusts and wild honey, drank no wine, and was clothed with camel’s hair.

Yet, God saw Him before he was even born, fulfilling his purpose as the forerunner of Christ, preparing people’s hearts and turning them back to the Lord. When we recognize that God sees us in our purpose, it fuels our focus and drives us forward.

Perhaps God’s reminder to us this Advent Season is, “I see you.”

I see you in your place. I see you in your purpose. And I see you in your potential. I see your successes, and I see your struggles. I see your joys and I see your sorrows. I see who you are and who you are yet to be – not from a distance, but up close and personal, because I am right there with you. Where you are, there I am also.

I see you.

As we await the coming of the Christ child, let us remember our God as the God who sees.

Women of Influence

Recently as I was praying, the following phrase came from the Lord, “Women who are leaders and devoted to Me can change the world.”

As I reflected on those words, my thoughts were drawn to a few very specific women in the Bible— those who went to the tomb that first Easter morning. They were leaders, women of influence, and they influenced not only each other, but their actions are still influencing us today.

These women were brave enough to journey with Jesus to the cross, despite the animosity of the crowd. They didn’t run away when they saw Christ being persecuted; in fact, they remained steadfast and focused until the end, even when others of His followers fled.

They were humble and caring and willing to do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done. They didn’t hesitate and weren’t timid. They were ordinary women open to being used by God for his extraordinary purposes.

After Jesus was laid in the tomb, the women went home that night to prepare the burial spices, and then they took a very important step. They stopped. Instead of rushing to get their task done, they rested quietly on the Sabbath and didn’t let their work get in the way of their worship. It gave them each the time to prepare their body, mind and spirit for what God had laid on their hearts to do. And when the sun rose the next morning, so did the women. They
went out early and without delay. They didn’t exhibit any fear or concern of how they were going to move the big boulder in front of the tomb.

Instead, they trusted, and their trust in God made them bold, determined and disciplined. It led them to be the first ones to hear the news of the risen Lord and to be able to share it with others. And even though the disciples first laughed at them when the women told them about Jesus’ resurrection, the men didn’t ignore their message. They still went to see for themselves.

That was influence at work. It’s called leadership. And the world was forever changed. By ordinary women.

Has the Lord put something on your heart to do? If so, what is your first step—to race to get it done or to stop and sit with Jesus? Today, I would like to encourage you to take a few moments to worship before work and see what a difference it makes.

Spending Time in the Wilderness

It has been two months since I have posted anything on our Leading Well page or almost on any page of the website. I realized last week, in my study of John the Baptist, that before John began paving the way for Jesus, he had been in the wilderness. Somehow reading those words resonated with me, and I felt like for the past two months I too have been in the wilderness, unable to write or think creatively.

Normally we look at the wilderness as a less than desired place to be. A place that we would rather run from than run to. However, as I reflected on the verses about John the Baptist, I realized that it was during his time in the wilderness that John received the word from the Lord that propelled him into ministry. It was similar with Joshua. It was when Joshua was in the wilderness that he received his calling and was given his marching orders. And then there was Jesus. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit after a pinnacle moment in His life. His baptism. It was during His 40 days in the wilderness that Jesus hungered and was sustained by God's truth. He wasn't teaching or preaching, instead he was building up His inner resolve against the enemy by feasting only on what the Lord had to offer.

I have come to the conclusion that being in the wilderness is not necessarily a bad place to be, as we may often think. Instead it can be a very holy time, a time to listen much and speak little. A time to reflect and repent and renew. The past two months have been a very busy time in the life of our Network - both for our churches and for our women, so I had thought that it was just the busyness of the schedule that had made me lay my pen down. Now I realize that I wasn't meant to write during this busy season. I was in the wilderness, and it was a time for just listening. Listening to God's Word, feeding on His truth and discovering some of the next steps in moving forward. What I have learned has been incredible.

There may be times when you too will find yourself in the middle of the wilderness. I would encourage you to not be discouraged by the fact that you are not completing what maybe you think you should be doing with your time. Instead, embrace this time, let go of the unnecessary and just listen. Listen to what the Lord has for you, and then follow His leading. Let the wilderness be a place to recall or discover your purpose. Let it propel you on the next steps of the journey the Lord has planned for you.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope'" Jeremiah 29:11.

Years ago, as we were launching NorthStar Women’s Network, I felt overwhelmed and under equipped. Someone suggested I start praying on my armor each day. So, I did. And as time went on, I encouraged others to do likewise.

But now, 17 years later, I am done with that. I am not going to advise women to pray on their armor anymore. Why is that? Because recently while rereading Ephesians 6, I was convicted by the Spirit that I have been advising women incorrectly. I realized there isn’t anywhere in Paul’s letter where he says we need to pray on our armor for daily protection. Instead, Paul advises us to “put on the full armor of God.” It’s God’s armor we are praying on, not ours. What a difference changing one word makes. It’s huge.

Our armor – our thoughts, our truth, our faith – has no power against the enemy. If it did, Adam and Eve would have remained in the garden. Everything we do, we do through the One who gives us strength. His strength. His power. His armor.

But in the end, does it really matter what we call it? Yes, it does. Because when we call it what it is, it reframes our perspective and gives us greater insight into Paul’s instructions.

Beginning with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is actually dwelling within us (given to us at the time of our profession of belief in Jesus Christ), we can see why Paul is telling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. If the Holy Spirit is indwelling, and He is, and if Christ is manifested through the Spirit and abides within us, which He does, then praying on God’s armor has little to do with us, but everything to do with Jesus. It is always about Jesus.

With that in mind, when we are praying on God’s armor, we pray on:

His Truth – It’s the truth according to what Christ lives and teaches, understanding things from His vantage point as He dwells within. The enemy wants to make us think truth is relative, believing all kinds of lies about ourselves and others, but Jesus has said He is Truth. Truth is not relative as the world states, Jesus is the plumb line. The belt of the armor is meant to hold in proper place those things that could easily trip us up. So it is with Truth.

His Righteousness - We have been made righteous—restored to a right relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son. Once Jesus begins to indwell our life, God no longer sees our sin. Our sins have been replaced by Christ’s righteousness. However, the enemy would like us to think otherwise, to believe we are still sinners deep in sin who can’t measure up in God’s presence. That’s why the Breastplate of Righteousness is so important— to protect our hearts from feeling unworthy or shame from the enemy’s constant attempts at condemnation.

His Peace - We often think this piece of the armor is all about the shoes of peace, but Paul says it’s actually the preparation of the shoes of peace. So how do we prepare to walk in peace? We do it the same way Jesus does as He lives and dwells within. The same way He did it when He walked the earth, by abiding in the Father’s presence. And the peace that protects is not our peace, but the actual peace of Jesus. Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” We can move forward without fear, resting in His peace.

His Faith - It would be great to think our faith is strong enough to stop the “fiery darts of temptation” aimed at us by Satan, but it isn’t. If it were, Adam and Eve would not have failed in the garden, but the saving faith that can protect us from ALL of Satan’s lies is the faith of Jesus. In a more accurate translation of Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us “The life we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God,” instead of faith in the Son of God. Somewhere over the years the word was changed from “of” to “in.” I am not sure why as it totally distorts the meaning. When we are clear about the fact the Holy Spirit indwells us and Christ is manifested through the Spirit, it’s easy to understand the Shield of Faith is about submitting to Christ’s faith as He dwells within.

His Salvation - Jesus came, died and rose again as the Savior of the world, to deliver us from the consequences of sin. He set us free from the penalty of sin; we are forgiven. He set us free from the power of sin; we are restored to a relationship with God the Father. And He set us free from the presence of sin; we are cleansed through the presence of His Spirit who dwells within. Our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. In the Greek, the word for salvation also means deliverer. As we pray on the Helmet of Salvation, the helmet of our deliverer, let us guard our thoughts and guide them with the knowledge and truth of His salvation.

His Sword - I love the translation of this in The Amplified version, “The sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.” The Spirit doesn’t speak on His own initiative, as Jesus tells us in John 16. But He discloses to us what is spoken to Him by God the Father and Christ the Son, so we can thwart the enemy’s attempt the same way Jesus did in the wilderness, by repeating God’s truth, “The Scriptures say....” The Sword is the only offensive piece of the armor; let’s remember to draw it often to stop Satan’s attacks and destroy his plans.

If you don’t already do so, I want to encourage you to pray on God’s armor every day, for yourself, for your family and even for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Over the past 17 years, as I prayed for “the power of God’s armor” to be upon those on my list, I have seen lives changed. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” Ephesians 6:13 (emphasis added).

Many blessings,
Katie