Day and Night Skies and The Blue Hour

1/25/14

God called the light “day,” 

and the darkness he called “night.” 

And there was evening, 
and there was morning

—the first day.  

Genesis 1:5

Many people classify themselves as a morning or night person.  I have wavered between the two, at different points in my life.  When I was young, I loved sleeping late; and relished a chance to stay up way past my bedtime.  This morphed into my single adult life, when going out for the evening did not start until 11:00 p.m.

Marriage and Motherhood changed this, as my babies sleep-schedule became mine.  Enjoying the quiet morning time, I welcomed the morning sun with my infant daughter, and two years later, my son.  Watching the growing light reveal the shadowy places in neighborhood, slowly turning the dark shapes in the living room back into the familiar furnishings of our home.

The promise of a new day. Sunlit or filled with misty clouds; daybreak means God’s grace flows to us once again.  Birds everywhere call out to one another, celebrating a new day of flight.

Wonderful mornings, where just a small piece of a rainbow appears in the sky, just ahead; showing me the way I need to go.  A band of color that leaves me awestruck with wonder, especially when there has been no sign of rain.  How can I not be filled with joy?

I enjoy the late-night sky as well.  Seeing the phases of the moon and shifting stars change from night to night, week to week, season to season.  Their brightness defying the darkness.  Allowing me to witness God’s splendor, as one star shoots across my line of sight, just as I turn my head as if called by name.  I relish those silent symphonies of light, a gift of love from My Heavenly Father.   

These moments fill my heart, again and again.  Perhaps this love will sustain me when earthly facts shake my world again and I find myself stranded between pain and fear.  I want to build a prayer-life that reflects the ways God shows His love to us.  Day and night and the times in-between.  The times we can miss, while we are busy trying to hold on for a few more moments of sleep, or just a little more daylight.  We can miss the Blue Hour.

In French, “L'heure bleue”, is the time when the light is shifting, when everything seems slightly hazy, and tinged with a blue that seems to flow from everything. The edges of day and night, when the air itself it filtered through nature’s most romantic lens.  Sunrise bringing definition to things, sunset, softening the sharp edges, creating a kindness of sorts to my perspective of the world.  

These moments remind me that our lives are constantly changing, and we are unaware of the many possible outcomes.  This is when God and His angels are needed most, when we are oblivious to the transitions that could lead to glory or plunge us into disaster.

So now, I will look for The Blue Hour whenever I can.  To give thanks for where I am and to pray for the wisdom to hold on to the Lord through whatever is coming.

“ And God said, “ 

Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, 

and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,  

and let them be lights in the vault of the sky  to give light on the earth.” 

And it was so.  

God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day 

and the lesser light to govern the night. 

He also made the stars.  God set them in the vault of the sky 

to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, 

and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.  

And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.” 

Genesis 1:15-19

Written by

Lynda Kinnard

Laying Hold of an Unshakable Trust in our Lord

“Trust in Him at all times…

pour out your heart before Him”

Psalm 62:8

According to this Psalm, “trusting” and “pouring out” are inseparable.  If we are to trust God at all times, including the darkest times, then we must be pouring out our hearts to Him without ceasing.  Become bolder as we call upon the name of the Lord.  

“The Lord is my helper, 

and I will not fear what man can do to me”. 

 Hebrews 13:6

Revelation from God’s Word will uphold us in the hardest of times.  David learned to call on the Lord in every part of his life.  This godly man ran to his secret place, emptying all his fears before the Lord.  Later, when the biggest storm of David’s life came upon him, he was ready.  He already had a song in his heart that he could sing through darkness and uncertainty:  

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, 

the God of my strength, in Him will I trust; He is my shield….

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; 

so shall I be saved from my enemies”  

2 Samuel 22:2-4  

As David delighted his soul in God’s Word so shall we.

God wants to give us particular, specific promises for specific times in our lives.  He wants us to lay hold of these promises with our hearts, so we may stand strong and assured as we reason with Him.  We need special trust when an act of obedience casts us into the unknown.  God demanded of Abraham to step out into an unknown future.  Nobody could touch him. God was his shield and protector every day.  Because of his faith, Abraham became a friend to God.  When God asks us to step out into the unknown, it is not a one-time event.  It is a walk that’s required our entire lifetime.  Yet our obedience wins us a great reward. Genesis 15:1, “God told Abram: ‘Fear not, I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward’.”  God is telling us that those who obey Him –who step out not knowing what will happen to them or their lives, yet blindly trusting in his Word – will never be outside of his protection.  He says that I will hover over them as a shield, I will be their reward, and I will give Myself to them.

Whenever we step out in faithful obedience, the devil will bring some enticement to draw us back to the side of disobedience.  Obedience will always cost us something!  God’s Word abounds with special, specific promises for those who are called to step out in obedience…

          “If you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant,

 then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people.”  

Exodus 19:5.

         “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, 

and ye shall be My people: and walk in all the ways 

that I have commanded you that it may be well with you.”

 Jeremiah 7:23 

We also have an ironclad promise that the Holy Spirit

 will be with us through all our steps of obedience and times of testing: 

“We are his witnesses to these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, 

whom God hath given to those that obey him.” 

Acts 5:32.

If God is telling you to lay something down, step out and do it.  The Bible clearly says that if you obey the Lord, He will give you the Holy Spirit to be your guide and your strength.  He will provide you with everything you need to complete the act of obedience.  We need a special trust when God speaks to our hearts.  We've got to be able to discern these times, so we can ask God for the specific trust needed to see us through what’s ahead. 

“If you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant,

 then you shall be a special treasure unto Me above all people”.  

Exodus 19:5

This oath from God must always be the foundation of our trust.  Let it be your whole argument at the throne of grace.

Written by

Nancy Spence

Many Parts in One Body

As a child of the 1950's whose dad passed away when I was three years old, I was taught to be self-reliant and, as far as possible, not to be dependent on others. However, during the latter passages of my life I can think of at least three instances when the Lord used Christian friends to powerfully impact my well-being. I have endured some extreme tests of my faith and Godly friends have prayed and offered wisdom, guidance, encouragement and support to see me through to victory. Truly without their prayers and love I would not have been an overcomer in these circumstances. Of course, all the glory goes to God and He was the one who offered me their love. I will be eternally grateful for these friends' dedication and obedience to God, and for their compassion towards me.

We are definitely one body in Christ and dependent on others to carry out the ultimate purposes of God in our lives. As I look back with gratitude for the love of fellow believers, I pray that during the coming year I can be willing and available to help others as the Holy Spirit leads.

 

“Let each of you look 

not only to his own interests, 

but also to the 

interests of others.” 

Philippians 2:4

“So it is with Christ's body. 

We are many parts of one body, 

and we all belong to each other.”

Romans 12:5

By Cathy Friberg

A Canaanite Mother

From MATTHEW 15:21-28

  

I am so tired. I don’t think I can last another day.  I want to just walk away from it all.  I want to leave my home, this house that I have come to love, the friends that I have made; and even my child.

My ONLY child.  My once-sweet daughter.  My beautiful child was such a joy to me from the moment she was born. But now, (sigh) now I cannot look at her without wanting to cry.

I don’t know why the life that I loved so very much was taken from me.  I was a good girl growing up. As a young girl, I did everything my nurse told me to do.  I was quiet and respectful and learned how to do everything the eldest daughter of my father’s household was expected to do.  I obeyed my father when he announced that he had promised me wed to my husband before I saw my fourteenth year.

 I was a good wife to my husband; who I grew to care for deeply. I learned to manage his household, eventually finding the courage to control the servants. Even the servants who had been with my husband’s family for years.  Some of them older than my own mother and father. My husband was good to me, though I never gave him the son he deserved.  He was not an easy man, but he was never cruel to me. Not like some of the other men who live nearby.  We would hear the cries of their wives and servants as they beat, or did even worse things to them late at night.  When I was young, he would tell me that the screams we heard were the wolves crying in the wilderness. Years later, when he knew that I understood what was happening, he would curl himself around me, holding me in his strong, safe arms and whisper, “Never in my house.” Over and over again into my tangled hair.  His breath warming the chill of shame that ran down my spine as I cried for those women whose lives were a nightmare compared to mine. I think he was declaring it for both of us.

And then suddenly, when our daughter was almost ten years old; all of the things that I worked so hard for were stripped away.  Leaving me with just the bare bones of the life I’d had.  My husband, taken by fever, leaving me with no male relatives to support and protect us.  Forcing me to learn how to do so many things that I never imagined had to be done. Some of our servants stayed, out of loyalty to my husband, who was the last male in his line. I spent many weeks in fear, thinking that one of the evil husbands from nearby would simply come and claim me and my daughter as possessions, owed to pay some imagined debt.  I prayed to all of gods I could think of.  I took offerings and made secret vows to the gods who are never spoken of out loud. 

We were left alone.  I thought we were safe, and then one night, after the watchman had passed by the gate leading to our courtyard, my daughter began to shriek and tear at her bedclothes.  Scratches covered her face and this horrid voice spewed venom from her.  She used words that I only heard the unwashed and unwanted speak from outside the city walls.  The wise men from the temple came to see what was wrong. They left right away, running out of my home, shouting that she had been cursed; she was overcome with evil.  It distorts her lovely features, hiding all signs of my much-loved daughter.  She spends hours sitting hunched in a corner, spitting and staring at me as if she no longer knows who I am. 

Her eyes were once so beautiful, just like her father’s.  Dark and deep and filled with laughter. They twinkled like jewels or stars at midnight.  I used to sit holding her for hours, drinking in her joy and innocence and sweetness.  Now her eyes are red-rimmed and runny with a sticky film that smells of death.   Their clarity lost, the whites now yellowed like an old rabid dog.  She grunts and pants as if she were one.

No one will help me anymore.  When I was first widowed, there were some good people from the temple who would bring us food and small gifts, offering comfort to us.  But gradually they all stopped coming; and began to avoid me in the marketplace; pulling further and further away from us as the sweetness that had been my girl’s true self was consumed by this vile and evil thing.

Our gardens were ruined, flowers uprooted, fruit trees ripped apart, fountains cracked and filled with filmy, putrid water.  So many lovely items that my husband purchased for our home were broken and turned into weapons to attack anyone who tried to help her. 

She shouts at me and sometimes hits me; but seems to know that I am the only one who will not really harm her.  I no longer know what day it is, or if I can continue to love any part of this creature that is controlling my life.

Oh, how I have cried and prayed and given nearly all I own as offerings to those who have promised to cure her. The ones who said they would break this curse that had befallen us.  All have failed.  There is nothing more to be done.  No one and nothing that I know of will help us now.

So last night, after my tortured girl was finally allowed to sleep the restless sleep that has become the only time she is not a danger to herself; I decided to seek the one the people talk about.  The Healer from Nazareth.  The Man who had drawn so many to Him.

There is nothing else to be done.  I know that she – and I cannot last another day like today.

I MUST FIND HIM!  I MUST MAKE HIM HEAR ME!

I MUST DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO SAVE MY CHILD!

Written by

Lynda Kinnard

ONLY ONE THING.......December

12/1/13 

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 

“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me 

to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, 

“you are worried and upset about many things, 

but few things are needed—or indeed only one. 

Mary has chosen what is better, 

and it will not be taken away from her.” 

Luke 10:38-42

This might be a meaningful passage for us to keep in mind this holiday season. Like Martha, it is so easy to become stressed and upset in the midst of labor intensive Christmas preparations. We can become frustrated, short and angry with fellow drivers and shoppers, temporary inexperienced store clerks, and with our “reluctant to help” kids and husbands.

However, perhaps if we quiet ourselves and listen we just may hear the Master whisper, “few things are needed- or indeed only one.” 

Wouldn't our loved ones be blessed if we spent more time seeking the Lord for them rather than shopping excessively for them? Wouldn't our families and friends benefit if we exhibited the Fruit of the Spirit this season rather than frantically trying to provide a lavish banquet in a meticulously decorated home? Balance is always the key and the Holy Spirit can lead us in how to prepare the externals of the Christmas holiday intertwined with the spiritual blessings of God's Kingdom.....righteousness, peace, and joy. 

Jesus can give us creative ideas on how to present the gospel message at our holiday gatherings and activities. As we spend extra time at Jesus feet each morning and throughout the day we can be filled with the Spirit and be led to do the will of the Father as we journey towards the celebration of the birth of His son.

By Cathy Friberg

Mary Magdalene

Quiet.  It is so quiet.

There are crowds of people all around me.  I can see them, hear them, but their noise does not bother me now.  Their voices are no longer angry and scornful.  They are filled with awe and wonder.  The faces that looked at me in horror and disgust are curious now.

I lie on the ground, feeling at ease.  I am in the dirt, but feel as if all is well.  In the midst of the voices around me, I hear one, kinder and more alluring than the others.  It is calling my name with such love and tenderness; my eyes fill with tears as they search for the speaker.

“Mary…Mary Magdalene.”  I found the source of my stillness.  As my vision cleared when my tears flowed through the filth on my cheek, I found the face filled with the tenderness that had vanished from my life when my grandfather died.  He was the only one who ever tried to understand that the violent, hate-filled beings that had tormented me for so long were not really me.  The anger and vile things that I said and did had been triggered by the attack on our village, that awful night.  He protected me fiercely afterward, regretting that he had not been there to save me from the violence that destroyed the woman my family thought I would become.

My father could not stand to look at, or be around me.  I was damaged, tainted, no longer worthy of his name of protection.  Even though what happened was against all of our people, I had the audacity to not die.  If I had died, he could have mourned my loss with dignity.

This memory caused more tears to flow, running down my face, dripping from my chin onto my torn and dusty garments.

“Woman, why are you crying?  Who is it you are looking for?” (John 20:15a)    I wiped my face with a dusty hand, smearing my cheeks as I struggled to find words.  It had been so long since I had reason or the ability to speak as myself.  I closed my eyes, and whispered, “You.”  Not knowing why I had said this, I opened my eyes quickly, to see this man who was more than a man, smiling at me. 

He helped me to my feet, something that men did not do for a strange woman.  I was unsteady, so he stood quietly, waiting for my trembling to stop.  I was unsure of what to do, so I kept my head down, trying to see him through my veil of tangled hair.  He nodded to someone I could not see, and two women, who smelled of clean oil and spices, gathered me between them and led me through the crowd.

They led me into a courtyard near the edge of the city.  There was serenity about them, and a reverent peace came over me as soon as we entered.  One of them said, “This is where Rabboni is staying tonight.  We must hurry and get you bathed and dressed before He returns.” 

They helped me bathe in a small stream that ran through a small, enclosed area behind the house. Then they dressed me in clean, sweet-smelling garments.  The fabric was rougher than the rags that I had worn, but I was grateful to them just the same.  Then they fed me fruit and bread with honey, and left me to sleep on a mat in the corner of the main room. 

I do not know how much time passed while I slept. I had not slept so well in a long time.  When I woke up, sounds of laughter filled the air.  For a moment, I thought that I was a child again, waking to the sounds of my parents and their friends sharing a meal.  But these were men’s voices, teasing one another like brothers.  It had been a long time since I was in a room filled with love.  Tears came again, as I held myself still, afraid that once I was discovered to be awake, I would be sent back into the street.

So I cried silently, pouring out the years that had been lost to the voices that shouted inside me, making me do and say things that I frightened me with the depth of true evil and wickedness.  My body slowly felt as if the invisible chains that had kept me from trying to reach out for help were crumbling into dust; leaving an outline around the void that I was left with.

“Mary.”  The voice that soothed, called my name.  My eyes fluttered open, looking directly into His warm, loving face.  His eyes reached deep inside of me, as I slowly raised myself to a sitting position.  I felt myself filling up with so many wonderful things.  Like perfumed oil being poured into a precious alabaster vessel.  The void in me was dispersed as he continued to look deep inside my very being.

He held out his hand.  It was a strong hand, with old scars from work they no longer did.  But this hand helped me stand up easily.  It was warm and clean and comforting.

“Mary, we are about to share a meal. Won’t you join us? 

 ^“Follow God’s example, therefore, 

as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, 

just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us 

as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”   

Ephesians 5:1-2

Written by 

Lynda Kinnard

Personal Foundations of A Christian Life

The life of a Christian can be like an iceberg, the visible part receives the most attention and is often used to measure success or failure. Yet, its the par that is hidden from view that is of greatest concern to God. Oswald Chambers, who wrote My Utmost for His Highest, said My worth to God in public is what I am in private. The time that I invest in my private time with God has greatly affected my public life and leadership.

If we apply these six practices in our lives they will help to form the foundation of who we are. We need to have a good foundation (Matt. 7:24-27) whether we are alone or in front of a crowd, or these ideas are new or old, they are a worthy reminder to us who have the desire to walk worthy of the call or position God has for us.

Journaling 
Its hard to journal everyday, and don't feel guilty if you don't  I carry a small notebook in my purse at all times. The book is mainly for sermon notes from Sunday or other sessions/classes I am attending. But I use the back to write thoughts, quotes, or words that God places in my heart. It is a great help.

Time with God
We should try to follow the example of Jesus in Matt. 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Find a quiet, secluded place so you wont be distracted, and the focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his presence. He is then able to encourage, rebuke, admonish and speak words of wisdom into our lives. 

Monthly Assessment
Since the unexamined life is not worth living, we should try to ask ourselves these questions below at the end of each month. For each question rate your current condition. (1 = never, 3 = sometimes, 5 = always)

• Did I pursue regular spiritual disciplines?
• Did I listen to God throughout the day?
• Did I have consistent Bible study time?
• Did I rely more on resource material than on scripture?
• Did I spend quiet time, so I could hear God speaking to me?
• Did I spend time in prayer everyday?

Quarterly Review
I read through my journal (book) to remind me of thoughts or words that God has given me. Significant spiritual insights are often gained from this simple practice. It also reminds me of what God is going to do in my life, and how he wants to use me. It is a great encouragement to be reminded of Gods faithfulness to us.

Semi-Annual Fast
It is helpful to set aside regular time to fast. It may be for just a single meal or for several days to a month, depending on how God directs you. This practice develops focus and personal discipline, and much more.

Accountability
Find someone to be your spiritual mentor. Accountability that grows out of genuine relationship will strengthen you personally as a leader.

If we don't take time to slow down in order to be with God, then He usually catches our attention through a life event that brings us to a standstill. He often unfolds His plan over a space of time while we learn not to rush ahead of Him by applying foundational principals, like these, into our lives. God is more concerned with my relationship with Him than my ministry for Him.

A faulty Christian life, like icebergs, can cause shipwrecks that dishonor God and undermine leadership. Giving due diligence to the hidden parts of our lives will one day conclude with the words, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Written by 

Rhonda Ihrig