What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)

At the core of my story and everyone’s faith story, is the Holy Spirit. It is God, through the Holy Spirit that calls us to Himself. Paul acknowledged this in Galatians 1:15-16:

 But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him. His Son was to be seen in me. He did this so I could preach about Christ…

We never ‘bring people to Jesus.’ God does that through us. We participate in this miracle, but we do not cause it. And that is why sometimes it happens quickly and sometimes it takes years, as it did for me – I spent my first 30-some years as an unbeliever. We can’t change God’s timeline. However, it IS necessary for us to do the things that God can use to bring a believer to Him.

They say that statistically, it will take between 7 to 18 times hearing a gospel presentation before a person decides to make a commitment to Christ. It did for me. But then there’s the Billy Graham Crusades and Revivals where people commit on their very first invitation.

Another statistic is that most Christians will make their faith decision between the ages of 4-14. This highlights the importance of VBS, Sunday School and Youth Rallies. But those decisions won’t likely happen in a vacuum. Someone along the way (grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents, friends, etc.) will have planted seeds earlier that finally blossom.

So, don’t be afraid to mention Jesus, and grace and blessings in your casual conversations. Force yourself to ask people if you can pray for them about something in their life. All these things plant a seed of faith that the Holy Spirit can grow.

And this one thing is key, and it’s easier than it seems as long as we don’t put too much expectation on it. Just invite people to the events and activities of the church. Offer to pick them up. Have your kids invite their kids. Make it easy to say yes. Begin with something easy like the Holiday House Bazaar, an ice cream social or luncheon. Ease into a Sunday service.

And here’s the reality from God’s word:

1 Corinthians 1:23-25

 When we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

So yes, someone might snicker, roll their eyes, agree to disagree or even be rude. But what does that matter if ultimately their soul is saved? What does that matter if you’re fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission? Just be bold, God’s got your back.

Now, to all of you whose hearts are burdened by your lost sheep and prodigal sons, or are grieved by atheist friends and family, I tell you…don’t lose hope! Keep casually inviting, keep planting those seeds in little ways wherever you can, and most of all, keep praying. This is a prayer that God absolutely wants to answer. Trust Him to rearrange your loved one’s life into to opportunities and difficulties that will point them to God. He will make Divine appointments for them because He chose them before they were born, and He will keep calling them and knocking at the door of their hearts until they let Him in. It can happen. I’m proof.

PRAYER:

Father God, You see our hearts and You know the desperate longing we feel to bring the lost sheep and prodigal sons in our lives into Your kingdom. Work in their lives and keep calling them. Arrange opportunities for us to share your Good News with others, help us to be bold in our faith. Strengthen us to go out into our community and make disciples, inviting them, planting seeds of faith, and praying for them continually as we trust in You to herd them into your flock. In the precious name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Amen and amen.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Jen

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.
What will you do on the day of reckoning,
    when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
    Where will you leave your riches?

Isaiah 10:1-3

Noblesse oblige is a French term generally used to imply that wealth, power, and prestige come with responsibilities. It suggests that privilege must be balanced by duty towards those who lack such privilege. In Luke 12:48 Jesus established the same concept: “...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” At my Law School graduation we heard a long speech about our obligation to pursue justice and give back to the community now that we had the skills and ability to do so.

But I wonder if my fellow lawyers and lawmakers are actually following these principles. I’m certain many are, but it is troubling to see how often the law is twisted these days for political reasons rather than for true justice. I really believe in the law. Taken as a whole, much of it is a house built upon a foundation hundreds of years old, carefully reasoned out after much arguing and experience. Many Supreme Court Justices have been excellent scholars and jurors who used stringent standards to uphold our Constitution – a Constitution carefully crafted to cover the most important mechanisms of governance and freedom while remaining flexible enough to allow for future contingencies that could not have been imagined by our founding fathers.

But the law can be a snare too. It can be manipulated to serve purposes other than which it was intended. This is where mercy comes in. If we stick solely to ‘the letter of the law’ without considering ‘the spirit of the law’ we can actually end up with injustice. Mercy and discretion are always necessary to bring about justice. If we go back to Luke 12:48 and look at the previous verse, we see Jesus saying this:

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.” (vv. 47-48)

Hence, even if both servants did (or failed to do) the same action, the one who knew will get the worst punishment, the one who didn’t know receives mercy. We all need mercy at times. Situations are rarely black and white. Human judges have to use their best discernment and intuition, but our Heavenly Judge has ALL the facts and the COMPLETE picture.

Real justice can only be pursued with humility. We are NOT God. We are flawed and sinful, and despite our best efforts, our perception is tinted with our preconceptions, prejudices and experiences. These can be mitigated by staying in conversation with people from many ages and stages and walks of life. Our law is a patchwork of social norms crafted by many different people in many different legal cases argued and decided by many lawyers and judges over time in order to best represent our communal standards. It takes the input of many people from many backgrounds, as well as the humility of lawmakers and judges to create laws that provide the most justice to the most people.

That said, ultimate Justice is not achievable on this side of Heaven. Only God has perfect Knowledge and can dispense perfect Justice. However, we can get much closer to True Justice by following Biblical principals in both the Old and New Testaments. We can and must hold ourselves to a higher, Christlike standard – protecting the oppressed and marginalized with justice, mercy and humility. But also recall that Jesus never ‘demanded His rights’ but always lowered Himself to serve others, even to the point of turning the other cheek, giving up His coat, and going the extra mile.

Well, I got a hammer, and I got a bell
And I've got a song to sing all over this land
It's the hammer of justice, it's the bell of freedom
It's a song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Peter, Paul & Mary

Blessings of Liberty,

Jen

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

You never know what you don’t know. As I get older it is increasingly obvious to me that there is much I will never know, at least not until I’m in my forever Heavenly Home.

In Ray Boltz’s song ‘Thank You’, he tells the story of a person arriving in Heaven who is immediately met by people they impacted here on earth. This verse sums up the gist of it:

“One by one they came
Far as the eyes could see
Each life somehow touched
By your generosity
Little things that you had done
Sacrifices made
Unnoticed on the earth
In heaven now proclaimed”

Whether it’s a VBS student, or a person reached by a missionary you supported, or a waitress you prayed with, or the man whose wallet you returned, or a child who received the shoebox you packed as their first Christmas gift ever, you most likely will never know the eternal consequences of the choices you make on earth to be faithful and bold for God.

At Hereford Faith & Life Church we send Love Boxes to college students, Prayer Shawls to those ill or hurting, Shoeboxes filled with gifts to children around the world, money to United Women of Faith missions spanning the globe, UMCOR donations to provide relief in disaster zones, bags of groceries to our needy neighbors through our Food Bank, and the projects from our Missions Fairs. We will never know how far or how effectively those prayers and gifts travelled. We can never know how much they blessed the recipients, perhaps leading them to accept Christ. It’s fair to imagine they might have. Someday we’ll know for sure.

Prayers are every bit as important. James 5:16 reminds us, “…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” In our Wednesday Ladies’ Bible Study two of the family members we prayed over for years finally came to Lord and accepted Christ.

In my case, my friends and colleagues never stopped praying for me. Many of them continued to talk to me about Jesus and gave me Bibles and Bible tracts and Christian albums. It took decades before I finally gave my life to Jesus, but one of the first things I did after my conversion was use the new ‘social media’ to re-connect with some of those friends and thank them for not giving up on me.

So keep praying. Pray fervently and continually.

No matter your age or stage of life, your shape or color, or any of that, God can use you right where you are to refresh others. Like Jesus at the well, we have the secret to living water – living water that refreshes eternally! They say that “the sin of the desert is knowing where the water is and not telling anyone.” Obviously, in the desert that has life or death implications. But understand – we live in a spiritual desert…a moral and ethical desert. And we know where the fresh, cool, running water of Truth, Joy and Everlasting Life is located. It is a sin not to share it!

Jesus’ encounters at the well, in the markets, and on the road were just everyday encounters like the ones we have. But in short conversations He got right to the point – ‘you’re lost, you need a savior, there’s hope, believe in Me.’ We should be delivering that same message with every Love Box, Shoebox, bag of groceries or flood bucket. We should be delivering that message to everyone we interact with. Let your compassion for the lost overcome your fear of engagement. At the very least we should ‘speak a good word about Jesus.’

PRAYER

Lord, you have placed us on your nurture committee, appointed us as water boys, and made us refreshing teapots in order to serve the life-giving water of Your spirit to those around us. Help us to be bold and kind and compassionate in sharing that water with all of those in need that you put in our paths. In Your precious Name, Amen.

Blessings,

Jen

Isaiah 35

Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
    The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
    and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
    as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
    the splendor of our God.
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
    and encourage those who have weak knees.
Say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
    He is coming to save you.”

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
    and unplug the ears of the deaf.
The lame will leap like a deer,
    and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
    and streams will water the wasteland.
The parched ground will become a pool,
    and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
    where desert jackals once lived.

And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
    It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
    It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
    fools will never walk there.
Lions will not lurk along its course,
    nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
    Only the redeemed will walk on it.
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Most of the prophetic books of the Bible follow a pattern where God calls out his complaints against His people or other nations or both, then gives a terrifying list of His punishments to come but finishes with a refreshing account of restoration for His people if they will turn back to Him. The Book of Isaiah may have been written 2,700 years ago, but God’s litany of complaints against His people sound eerily familiar (check out chapters 32 and 33). Sadly, contrary to the theory of humans evolving towards utopia, it seems we haven’t changed much since 700BC.

I think that is God’s point exactly. Each civilization that rose up thought it was the best ever. But corruption, weakness, or war eventually brought it down. No one has been able to perfectly do the will of God – history proves this over and over. And thus, we are absolutely in need of a savior to rescue us from the terrifying wrath of God. And that Savior has been provided in the person of Jesus, Christ. “With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” (vv. 3-4)

The news these days is shocking. Sin is abounding and the truth is under assault. It seems to just get more distressing. It’s hard not to think the End Times are near. But rather than being dismayed, we need to cling to the prophetic words of God that show us an ultimate future of joy and redemption beyond our imaging. The Highway of Holiness is ours! “There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.” (vv. 9-10)

A Christian life, yielded in humility to God, turning from the sin-soaked culture, boldly proclaiming the saving grace of Jesus is ‘quite contrary’ these days. But how does our garden grow? “I [God] said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love...’” (Hosea 10:12) Love, righteousness, peace, all the fruits of the Spirit should be growing in our garden, not just as a blessing for us, but to everyone around us. We can be like Mary, mother of Jesus, humbling giving her future to God. And like Mary Magdalene, faithfully following Jesus in gratitude for her salvation. And like Mary, Lazarus’ sister, sitting at Jesus’ feet soaking in His words and wisdom. Like them, although we seem contrary to the world, nevertheless our garden of blessings will be in full bloom.

Be quite contrary!

Jen

And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. (Matthew 23:9)

Let’s be real – people are a disappointment.  Even the ones you really love and care about. There’s a reason ‘love one another’ is the second Great Command – it’s important, but it’s hard – we have to be reminded to keep at it. Even parents disappoint. Commandment #5 reminds us to “honor our father and mother” because it’s a challenge sometimes.

My dad, who I idolized, eventually disappointed me. I certainly disappointed him. And I, in turn, have been enlightened as to how I disappointed my own children.

It’s an inevitable situation because A. people are unique and will often act in ways that we don’t like or expect, and B. lacking humility, we pridefully expect people to act in a way that makes us happy. It’s a recipe for ruffled feathers.

Ephesians 6:1-4 instructs us:

“Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

If children are obedient and respectful, parents will have no reason to provoke them to anger with punishment. Conversely, if parents teach their children discipline and responsibility in the Lord, kids should have no reason not to honor and obey their parents. Then again, we all have our emotions and bad days when respect and responsibility go out the window or we stubbornly want what we want, forgetting that it isn’t about us.

When these times come, whether between parents and children, friends, coworkers or church members, here are some verses to guide your reconciliation:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2)

“If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” (Luke 17:3-4)

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12:17-18, 2)

Parenthood is a tough job. What makes it, and life in general, easier is to have the guiding principles of our Father in Heaven to help us. No matter whether your earthly father disappointed you or was absent physically or emotionally, you have a perfect Father in Heaven who loves you with an everlasting love and wants to give you an abundant life of holiness and service, teaching you to walk in Truth. This is what we should want for our children (and the world). This is living our best life – no disappointment in that!

And parents, here’s a life verse for you if you don’t already have one:

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love. (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

Blessings,

Jen