Unwavering Presence - Gloria Guest

 

 

Light, Mountain, Forgiveness, Redemption

Where is the light?

The Redemption and Forgiveness?

There is only this 

Mountain.

Better if I had picked three other words, 

To accompany me through the past year

Confusion, Anger, Despair.

Now, in the waning days of November

I stare up at that Mountain,

Standing on its rocky footstool,

I have barely even begun to climb.

I take in its height and incline,

I can't climb that, I think.

But here it is

It's not moving

And so, I must

Somehow.

I know it can only be done

By holding that same hand,

That brought me this far, through this year,

Of valleys and unexpected, twists and turns,

I hope I don't fall, I think

You might, I hear

But I've got you,

I always do.

And so, I gingerly step up and out 

Perhaps, I think, those other words

Light, Forgiveness, Redemption

Will track me into this new year,

Full of the unexpected,

Yet full of God's steady hand and 

Unwavering presence.

"Man plans his way but the Lord establishes his steps."

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

Photo credit: Image by Kanenori from Pixabay

Gloria writes from Caron, Sk on issues close to her heart, through memoir, fiction, non-fiction & poetry. She has published many newspaper articles and columns throughout various newspaper in the province, has some pieces published in anthologies, and continues to take editing classes from SFU.

Bringing Hope to the Brokenhearted by Nina Faye Morey

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

~ Romans 15:13 NIV

Faith, hope, and love are fundamental to Christianity (1 Cor. 13:13).

But what exactly is hope?

HOPE

To the worldly wise, hope means something quite different than it does to us Christians. To them, hope is simply a desire or yearning for a certain outcome: “I hope it doesn’t rain today.” For many, it also means having a positive outlook on life. The hopeful focus optimistically on the opportunities that life’s challenges present. Those who tend to be more downcast, pessimistically focus on the challenges that come with life’s opportunities.

For nonbelievers, much of the hope that the world has to offer turns out to be false hope. Despair abounds and is often reflected in literature and the arts. Many people are so overcome by hopelessness and despair that they turn to drugs and/or suicide as a means of escape. Suicide is one of the top ten leading causes of death in Canada <https://suicideprevention.ca/understanding/suicide-in-canada/>.

FAITH

For Christians, grounded in the Word of God, Christ offers true hope: “The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). This hope, based on our Christian faith, sets us apart from the world. It’s not the kind of false hope that blinds us to life’s challenges or leads us to expect good things to simply fall into our laps.

But how can I, a believer, convey to the world’s brokenhearted the genuine hope that Jesus Christ offers? The Bible exhorts us to be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks why we are so hopeful:

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give

an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope

that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

~ 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

As a Christian writer, I must not be timid about sharing my testimony (2 Timothy 1:7-8). However, it’s imperative that I not offend my readers by being critical or judgmental. I must be careful not to write in a patronizing tone or make the mistake of putting myself on a pedestal. To gain my readers’ trust, I need to reveal my true self and be open and honest about my flaws and mistakes. If I’m not authentic, how can I connect with my audience or expect them to be receptive to my message? My desire is to reflect Christ through words that offer kindness, patience, gentleness, understanding, compassion, and respect.

LOVE

My mission is to share with the brokenhearted a sense of the incredible, infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 61:1). By sharing my own faith in the face of challenges and suffering or the peace that I feel in my heart and soul because of the trust I place in God, my words have the potential to give someone whose world is filled with hopelessness, darkness, and pain a faint glimmer of hope, light, and love.

My objective is to offer my readers words that encourage and inspire. But no matter what our Christian ministry, we can never single-handedly fix a broken world. However, by spreading Christ’s message of love and hope, we have the power to mobilize someone to take that first tiny and timely step that will start them down the right path to redemption.

Photo Credits: © 2017 Nina Faye Morey

Mercy in a Gift Shop By Marcia Lee Laycock

I was in a hospital gift shop some time ago, stocking a rack with Christian books. A young woman asked me about the flowers in a nearby display case. Her eyes were hopeful but I had to disappoint her and explain that I did not work in the hospital gift shop. I was just there to stock the book rack. I pointed to two ladies at a nearby counter. “Maybe they can help,” I said.

She nodded, stared at the flower display and sighed. “I’m not really sure what I want.”

I took note of her dress then – a baseball cap pulled over messy hair; a thin pair of pyjama bottoms topped by a hospital issue housecoat wrapped around a frail frame; pull-on terrycloth slippers, two sizes too big.

“My friend is dying,” she said, then turned back to me. “I am too.”

I put my clipboard down and waited. Her story unfolded in simple language, the words slipping from her mouth almost as though rehearsed. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a picture of her seven year old daughter. I could see the resemblance. She smiled when I mentioned it and went on to say there was a surgery that she was hoping for – highly experimental, there was only one doctor in the country who could do it and he just happened to live in a nearby city. But then her voice fell and I had to lean close to hear. Her friend had had the surgery. She was still dying.

The conversation turned to the word hope then. She had hope they would agree to do the surgery, hope that, unlike her friend, she would recover, hope that she would live to watch her daughter grow up.

She said a pastor came to visit sometimes and “we say our small prayers together. They seem small, just words, but maybe not, eh?” Again that hopeful look in her eyes.

I was praying small prayers right then. She’s so young, Lord. Please. Please.

Then she was gone and I resumed stocking the rack. I do it once a month and in that hospital, the rack is usually almost empty by the time I return. As I filled the pockets with books I was acutely aware of their contents. They hold pages about the love and mercy of Jesus, pages filled with stories of courage and faith, pages of humour to lift a sad heart and inspiration to encourage a weary soul. Pages of hope and redemption.

I knew I was sent there that day to do much more than just stock the book racks, but my job suddenly seemed important. My other job, as a writer, suddenly seemed essential, “That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works” (Ps. 26:7, KJV).

Sowing Seeds For Eternity Bob Jones

Every year in the spring I go to Canadian Tire and purchase perfectly good grass seed. Then I throw the seed away. Not wastefully, but hopefully. I throw it away in my yard with the hope that the seed will “take” and new grass will grow. Agricultural engineers call this process “seeding or “sowing”. I call it “more grass to mow”. Every summer I watch expectantly for evidence that my efforts were successful.

Words are a lot like seeds. Writing is a lot like sowing. Its simply thrilling when writers observe evidence that their words have resulted in encouragement, nourishment or even redemption in those who read their works. The response may come in the form of a blog or Facebook comment, a book review or an old fashioned letter.

I’ve written blogs about depression, mental illness and suicide. Its personal for me – my young cousin took her life after a heartbreaking divorce brought on a deep depression.

The church can feel like an unsafe place for people with mental illness and I’ve taken it on myself to communicate grace-filled acceptance, understanding, support and hope.

The responses have told me I’m on the right track:

“I love this! After taking four years away from church, I finally realized that I needed to start again and found North Pointe. It was through talking to the psychologist I see that I realized this, and seeing this after only two weeks of being back was perfect timing! Knowing that I’m now attending a church who gets that depression isn’t something wrong with someone and their relationship with God is an amazing feeling! Thank you for this post!”

“I’m so thankful that you address this openly. I’m so thankful our church isn’t living in the dark about the reality of depression. Love “… physical illness with spiritual symptoms” so true. Having suffered with depression myself it’s uplifting to not feel shamed by it.”

“May I commend you for such an excellent article on a subject that many in the Body of Christ put a “Christian” facade over. The article provides a thorough understanding of what so many need to know.  As someone who had severe depression for decades (even 17 years as a born again Christian), it’s good to see God lifting the stigma of depression. I, like so many, did not meet one Christian who understood what I was going through.

Fortunately, today (18 years later) God has provided Victory Over Depression – primarily through seeing CHRIST IN ME. I see myself the way God does. My new life is Jesus in me and I choose to focus daily Jesus living in me (Galatians 2:20.)

Life is now such a fantastic joy to grow in this relationship. It is Jesus in me living His life through me.”

My first published book was “Ornament” – the story of a young singer/songwriter and of three boys, facing inoperable cancer and the faith, hope and joy she exuded for the world to see. 

Readers commented:

“This book really touched me. It reminds us to put life into perspective and be grateful for every moment. The strength and grace of Kristen Fersovitch is truly an inspiration. I will treasure this book and pull it out every time I need a reminder of how one person can make a real difference.”

“The story of Kristen and her family is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. Kristen's unwavering faith and joy inspired thousands of people as she battled cancer and lived her life to the fullest. Kristen is a superstar, warrior, and hero. She shows us that God uses all circumstances, good or bad for His glory. Do yourself a big favor and get this amazing book.”

One of my family members gave a copy of “Ornament” to an avowed agnostic. She had been a person of faith until her mother died a sudden and tragic death. I was visiting in her area and when she was told she could meet the author of the book she jumped at the opportunity. She had me autograph her copy and in our conversation about the book I directed her to page six - a prayer of faith. She prayed the prayer.

Marcia Laycock, Inscribe writer says, “As writers of faith we are planting a vineyard with our words…a vineyard that will reach into eternity.” 

You can only reap what you sow. I encourage you to sow your seeds. Your harvest may simply be an earthly “thank you” in the form of feedback or it may be a heavenly “thank you” from one who was redeemed because of your words.

The Year of Living Dangerously by Connie Inglis

If I had a year of financial freedom to focus on writing, I would have two goals: to improve my ability in writing poetry and to compile more character and cultural information to continue a novel that I started five years ago.

To reach my first goal, my dream would be to be mentored by a well-known poet--to study their work and to sit under their tutelage for a semester. It's not the drumming up of poem ideas that I struggle with, it's the feedback in knowing what is good, what needs work and what is just plain bad. In other words, I would seek someone who would critique my work to make it publishable. It would be fun to do this in a city I've never visited because I find travel inspirational--Europe for instance. Since I'm dreaming, I'll dream big.

My second goal involves travelling to Burma. I started a novel based on the life of a young woman who we trained to help in the translation project for her people, the Shatikha of northern Burma. I also spent time teaching her English and she spent many weekends at our house learning all our wonderful colloquialisms. Her story is one of sadness but also of freedom and joy. I have many questions to ask her--more details about her perspective on life as a child but also many questions about her village, her family, her day-to-day existence and cultural expectations. For that I need to visit her home area, something I have not yet done but that I've always wanted to do. I want to share her story to raise awareness of her struggle as a second-class female but, more importantly, to share how she was released from that bondage when she found Jesus. It's a beautiful redemption story.

Along with that, I want to write poetry about the lives of the Shatikha people--to write about the children in this photo, for instance, who are learning to read and write their own language for the first time. Each of these children have a story to tell. I want to tell it and tell it well.

I titled this post, "The Year of Living Dangerously," because my desire is to live dangerously, not from a physical perspective but from a spiritual perspective. A year like this would give me the training to be a voice for the underprivileged and a voice to proclaim freedom in Jesus. It would be a fight of a different kind but, oh, how I would LOVE the opportunity.

Allowing God to Redeem Our Writing – Ramona Heikel

As writers, we brainstorm, draft, edit, ask for feedback, take courses, attend conferences, follow talented writers online, work harder and practice, practice, practice. All of this is intended to make us the best writers we can be.

As Christians, we are well aware of our limitations. We are human beings who fail and sin, and we can get on the trying-harder track in our quest to be better. But, especially at this time of year so close to Easter, we realize that we are incapable of making ourselves good in our own strength, wisdom and willpower. So we trust our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, to transform our hearts and lives by his power.

This month, if we’ve never done so before, maybe we can make a point to ask the Lord to redeem our writing. Or perhaps we can remind ourselves (and God) of a prior commitment to submit our writing skills and success to the one who can infuse divine power and influence into what we write.

Beloved Christian fiction author Francine Rivers is my hero in this aspect of relinquishing her writing to God. (I know, I’ve mentioned her before, but I just can’t seem to shake her!) I first discovered a book of hers in the endless racks of romance novels at the public library in 1992. It wasn’t labeled as a novel of faith or published by a Christian publisher, but the description on the back cover led me to believe it was written from a Christian perspective. That book moved me so deeply that I tried to find other novels she’d written, and it was easy because she’d written 13 of them (which sold roughly 3 million copies!).

But none of the older books could compare in Biblical truths to her latest, and some of them were actually too harsh for my liking. I soon found out why. As I read in an article in the May/June 1995 issue of Today’s Christian Woman, Francine Rivers became a Christian in 1986 and soon after, she stopped writing. She didn’t want to stop writing, but for four years nothing that she wrote worked or made sense. During that time, though, God did a wonderful work in her marriage and she grew to know Him through studying his Word.

While her Bible study group was delving into the book of Hosea, she realized that she wanted to write about the kind of love that could make a prostitute want to change her ways—God’s kind of redeeming love. That became the title of her first novel written as a follower of Jesus, and Redeeming Love was that first novel of hers that I “happened upon” at the library (published by Bantam, re-published later by Multnomah).

Ever since I read about that four year gap in her writing, I’ve been fascinated by the idea that God could—and would decide to—temporarily remove a writer’s skill and success for his own purposes. I so admire how she submitted herself to whatever He was doing during that time. She may have wondered if she would ever write again. How would that feel? But the Lord wanted her to write his words, and when she eventually started writing again, he gave her great success as he used her books for eternal purposes.

My prayer is that we all will experience the Lord’s redeeming power, see His words in our manuscripts and recognize his fingerprints on our lives.

Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com

Cry of the Earth - Lynda Schultz

The crew of the Starship Enterprise is trapped on a planet where every wish is granted, where every convenience is available. It’s a gilded cage, but still a cage. Captain Kirk wants off (Yes, that’s actor William Shatner who is apparently on someone’s short list for Canada’s new Governor-General) but the robots who have taken him captive feel that humans shouldn’t be allowed to run the universe; they are far too flawed to be trusted with such a responsibility.

Pretty smart robots.

April 22 celebrated Earth Day. The movement’s official website made this astonishingly frank statement: “Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever.” Uh-ha, what’s wrong with this picture? No improvements at all? Sadly, the robots were right; we are too flawed to be trusted with such responsibility. The problem is that God gave us the task to care for His creation.

Psalm 8 says: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens…When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him…You make him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”

My commitment to taking better care of my environment lacks panache. I have good intentions, but my carry-through is not so wonderful. It appears I am not alone. That failure reminds me again that the crisis in creation is a living (or dying) example of the need for redemption and our incapacity to fix what we’ve broken. We don’t even have the will, let alone the might. Paul writes in Romans: “…the creation was subjected to frustration…has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…we ourselves…groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our…redemption” (Romans 8:20, 22, 23 NIV).

The nasty truth is that all our efforts (and we should make them) will be fruitless in the end. Redemption belongs to the Lord—redemption of the soul and redemption of the planet. The good news is that redemption is sure: “the creation will be liberated from it bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God…for in this hope we were saved” (Romans 8:20, 24 NIV).

Works in Progress - Janet Sketchley

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 Peter 1:18-19, NIV*

“You were redeemed from the empty way of life...”

These words caught me today. They’re a promise we can rely on when we’re tempted to despair of ever changing and growing in our new life with God.

He has redeemed us, rescued us from the empty way of life. No, He didn’t zap us into instant holiness or godliness, but we can be sure that if we cooperate with His Spirit’s work in our lives and choose to turn from the old empty, self-centred ways, we will change.

He has a lot to do in our lives, and it won’t happen overnight, but the transaction has been done. Ownership of our “house” has changed, and we really are in the “renovation” stage.

God is good.

*New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

© Janet Sketchley, 2009
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For devotionals, reviews and conversation, stop by Janet Sketchley's blog, God with Us: Finding Joy.

Whispers and Shouts — Lynda Schultz

God sometimes whispers. At other times, He shouts.

Just before four in the afternoon on Palm Sunday, a tremor of 4.3 magnitude rippled through Caracas. On the thirteenth floor where I live, the movement was quite impressive. About four hours later, a shock of 4.0 shook several other states within the country. There was no damage, but there were people who fled to the streets “just in case.” Smaller aftershocks numbered into the dozens. Of course, nothing we felt here compared to what happened just a few hours later as an earthquake of over 6 on the scale ripped through central Italy. Buildings fell. Over 200 people died and thousands have been left homeless.

The “shaking” of the earth on Sunday reminded me of the role earthquakes played in the first Easter. Matthew 24:45-54 describes what happened when Christ died. The sun hide its face, the earth shook, the graves were opened, and the holy dead came back to testify. Every time I read these verses I am reminded of a devastating quake that struck the city of Popayán, Colombia while I was living there a number of years ago. The city was destroyed and the movement of the earth was such that the dead in the cemeteries were tossed back to the surface. Unfortunately, they stayed dead and could give no testimony to the need to flee hell, or to embrace heaven. On the morning of Christ’s resurrection, the earth shook again as the angel descended to move the gravestone from the entrance to His tomb—another powerful testimony.

There are no coincidences, not even in the natural realm. God continues to speak through His creation. In the case of a depressed prophet, His voice was not heard in the earthquake, but in a quiet whisper (1 Kings 19:11-14). God knows when we need a whisper and when we need something stronger.

Paul tells us in Romans: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth" (8:22) as he describes the earth's eager anticipation for liberation from the effects of sin, and its ultimate restoration to what God has always intended it to be.

The shaking of the earth during this particular week of the year has served to remind me why Christ took upon Himself my sin, and those of the whole world, on that terrible, wonderful, day so long ago. The earth shook then, in response to the consequences of sin and as testimony to the truth that sin has a remedy, and his name is Jesus.

May God give us this Easter, the once dead in sin who are now alive in Christ, the opportunity to testify for our Liberator.