The Sting of Criticism

 When we moved to Texas, I took a break from writing and focused on home and family. I wouldn't have been capable of balancing a 'career' and family at the same time. My family was my career. I know plenty of women that do this, but that wasn't my calling in life. 

In truth, raising kids and taking care of home was not my only reason. God needed to do some serious work on me. I arrived in Texas pretty beat up emotionally and spiritually. I wanted desperately to serve God, but my ego needed to get over itself (a safe way of saying, hey, I had way too much pride and I needed to turn from it). So, it seemed fitting to take a break away from readers and writers and all that comes with that, and simply learn about God.

You know what I learned? God loves me. Simple, isn't it?

But in all the criticism that comes when you are an author, or any person putting herself out there, you can miss a very important fact expressed in a simple children's song: Jesus Loves Me.

Did I get over my ego? Nope. Did I get over the hurt? Yes. While I have been a student of the Bible since childhood, I still need to remember that I am a child of God. I still need to take the time to adore God in truth, to pray in sincerity, and to live with complete abandonment. 

I have picked up writing again (as you can see). I still fear what people say when I shouldn't. I still feel the sting of criticism. I still battle with the need to be approved. But I know where to go to regain my stability and my courage and my strength. I have to remind myself of His love and mercy and pleasure in me. I have to remind myself that He is my audience, and it is His Holy Spirit that will speak to the hearts of my readers, not my words. My battle with pride is certainly my thorn in the flesh. But God's grace is sufficient. To Him be all honor, and glory, and praise. Forever and ever, Amen!

Thomas Perry

 Thomas Perry lived in Wales in the 1600's, an ordinary man with an extra-ordinary faith.

In Wales, like in England, the Church of England (Episcopal Church) ruled, yet without truth. King Charles I sat on the throne, believed he "received [his] power from God and thus could not be deposed." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England) He waged a war against any and all who opposed this.

Thomas Perry dreamt one night of two places, one of hell and one of heaven. He wanted to go to heaven but was told he could not until he ate the bread of life. The dream impacted him and when he was able, he visited the parish church, listened to the Episcopal minister, and "became a little more moral as to his outward conduct." (History of the Welsh Baptists, p. 44)

A seemingly random meeting of an old woman on the way to a Baptist meeting brought him to hear a sermon preached on the bread of life. He spoke to the preacher, learned that the bread of life was Jesus Christ and only through Him could he go to heaven. Thomas Parry was then converted.

This preacher that led Thomas Parry to faith revealed an important truth which would later depict Thomas' life:

. . . described the tribulation that he must expect to meet with on his way there; and that it was to continue only for a short time, in comparison with that eternity to which he was hastening. (History of the Welsh Baptists, p. 44)

Thomas Parry's life exhibited boldness in the face of persecutions from both King Charles I and King Charles II.

Men of faith, like Thomas Parry, encourage me to take a stand. The prevailing wisdom of many leaders in Christendom today tell us to bend under the winds of compromise. They claim that a civilized approach to Christianity is to acknowledge others faith journeys as just as viable ways to live as that of a person who bases his salvation on faith alone.

Not true.

As Thomas Parry discovered, there is only one bread of life, there is only one way to salvation. He was warned what it would cost him to chose to partake of this bread, and he, having desired a heavenly home, accepted the cost as a momentary time of suffering.

The Apostle Paul, while writing to the Philippians from prison, said:

"But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;" Philippians 1:12 (KJV)

Paul recognized that God continued to work even when he suffered. He willingly suffered so that others might be encouraged, so that the rulers of the time would have opportunity to hear, so that the Gospel of Christ would be proclaimed.

During the 17th century many suffered persecution but that did not stop the spread of Truth.

Today many scoff at those who take a stand and continue to share the one and only true Gospel message: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the redemption of man. Many who put themselves under the umbrella of Christendom place upon their followers a heavy yoke of works oriented faith and then mock those who say that salvation comes only through faith . . . not through baptism, not through the receiving of the sacraments, not based on how good you are and whether you feed the poor or work to save the environment.

How does this apply to me?

Thomas Parry was said to have "in the name of his God . . . hoisted up his banners." (History of the Welsh Baptists, p. 43) He refreshed the souls and bodies of those fellow Christians, fellow ministers of the cross, who suffered affliction for their faith.

I care not to be praised by the lofty members of Christian publishing. I don't desire to be an acclaimed novelist like the author of The Shack. There is nothing wrong with praise or acclamation, and if God chooses for this to happen, so be it.

But I would rather be recognized as someone who upheld the Gospel message, exhorted believers to stand fast in the faith, and refreshed the souls and bodies of those who "stand in the fray. "

How's Your Worship?

 "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible." Malachi 1:7

Read Malachi 1; Nehemiah 13.
The priests in Israel lost their passion. They grudgingly offered sacrifices, knowingly placing imperfect animals upon the altar.

The offering of sacrifices was a form of worship. We don't offer animal sacrifices anymore, but we do worship on many different levels. In your daily life (which we are to offer as a sacrifice) are you doing your best for the Lord? 

• When you pray, do you fall asleep or let your mind wander?
• When you read the Bible, do you scan the words instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you?
• When you sing do you make a joyful noise, presenting to God your very best?
• When you serve in your church, do you give 100% effort?
• When you are at work, are you honoring God (acknowledging that He is the one that provided the job) and giving your 100%?
• When you fellowship with friends and family, do you remember that God tells us to 'minister' to one another, and therefore reflect this in your communication?

The list is endless in the ways that we 'offer sacrifices' to God.

I must not offer my sacrifices grudgingly, as the priests did, with only a half-hearted attempt to please God. Rather, I must pour my all on the altar with the very best that I can give—with a passion bent on meeting the passion God has for me.

In what ways are you offering sacrifices of worship to God?

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1

The Journey

 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Read Revelations 21:1-8; Isaiah 66:17-66:2.

When I lived in British Columbia, Canada my favorite escape was to the mountains surrounding the Lower Mainland, particularly the Golden Ears.

In Golden Ears Park two falls, The Upper Falls, and The Lower Falls, became my favorite destination. A broad, well maintained path led to the Lower Falls, a nice relaxing hike. However, the real treasure existed beyond this path, up a narrow, rocky, crooked trail to the Upper Falls.

When you step from the woods onto the rocks overlooking the Upper Falls such beauty surrounds you that not even the most skilled painter could capture it. A mountain river runs through a broad valley encircled by majestic mountains: a picture of Heaven. The trek up the slippery and steep trail is worth the effort for the beauty you behold.

This place, at the top of the Upper Falls, became my resting place.

Do you see the parallels of the Christian life? Every person sets out on a journey. Many people travel along the same road, but only a few choose to take the narrow path that leads to Heaven. There are plenty of wonderful sights to see on the broad road. You won't get lonely, because there are many to keep you company. But if you stay on that road, you will not be able to see the majesty of Heaven.

To take the path off the main trail requires effort. You'll likely stumble along the way. You might get scraped. You'll probably sweat. You might be poked and scratched by tree branches. You might even fall into poison ivy. But when you arrive, and you burst forth from this world into the next, you will find the hurt is gone for the beauty and find your resting place waiting for you.

The Christian meets up with dangers on his journey. He'll tire at times. He'll fall at times. He'll wonder if it is all worth it. But when his journey ends, and he crosses the river into Celestial Place, he'll find his effort rewarded beyond what his mind could have imagined.

The Work of My Hands

 "And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." Psalm 90:17

Read Matthew 13:3-30.

Heavenly Father, please establish the work of my hands, first to the raising of my family and the running of my household, and second to my writing ministry, for Your glory and honor and praise.

I have nothing to be afraid of. I need only to trust Him.

The success of my ministry is not dependent upon me. I merely have to obey and trust Him to do the rest. He is the one who gives the increase.

Lord I worry about letting people down. Forgive me. Help me to remember this is Yours, not mine.

This isn't about me; it isn't about making a name for myself or lifting myself up, or the church or the Pastor; It is about doing the work of a laborer.

The laborer is not the one that made the crop grow. God did it. The laborer is merely there to do His bidding.

Some work to prepare the soil. A labor of faithful obedience by hands that may never see the fruit of their work.

Others work to sow the seeds, ensuring the Word falls on good soil. These laborers might never see the harvest, but what wondrous glory if they do.

The work of others is to fertilize and water, ensuring the plants get enough and that the soil around each plant is healthy. Such a laborer must be regular and consistent. Even these might not see the harvest, but they will rejoice if they are blessed with such opportunity.

Then comes the harvest and what a joy it is to bring in the fruit, but it must be done in a timely manner.

Each of these workers have a part in the harvest, but it is God who gives the increase.

It is God who gives the strength to the ones who prepare the ground.

It is God who gives the seeds to the sowers.

It is God who provides the water and the fertilizers to the husbandmen.

It is God's soil.

It is God who makes the crops produce their fruit.

The harvest belongs to God.

We merely labor. We merely obey.

If we do not do our part in preparing the soil, in sowing the seed, in watering and fertilizing, and in gathering, then we have no part in the glory of the harvest. We fail to be fruitful.

Each part is important; they are dependent upon each other.

If the soil is not prepared, the seed may not take root.

If the seed is not sown, there is nothing to water and fertilize.

If the crop is not watered and nourished it will not grow.

If the harvest is not gathered, the fruit will turn to waste.

We may not always know what our part is, but we must do the work given us to do.

Lord, help me not to weary in the tasks You've given me. I pray this in my Precious Lord Jesus Christ's name, Amen.

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:18-20

Do You See God's Heart?

 I Timothy 2:3-4

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

II Peter 3:9

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

I have been reading Isaiah and Jeremiah of late. The desire of God for Israel to turn from their way of life to Him struck my heart. He pleads with them for He desires that they experience good.

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search me with all your heart.”

He wanted them to turn to Him so that they would not have to endure judgment; so that they would not have to receive the curses He spoke of in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. He sent prophets to remind them of His ways, to tell them how they were to come to Him, to let them know of His love for them AND of His righteousness and judgments.

Jeremiah 13:15-16

“Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.”

Can you see God’s heart? How He loved Israel? How He wanted them to repent before the judgment came?

But Israel rejected God.

Jeremiah 13:25,27

“This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. . . . I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighing, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. . . .”

Jeremiah 19:15

“. . . because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.”

We see in the prophets the heart of God. We see how He wants to bless, not curse, but He is a righteous and holy God. At some point He will exact judgment. Indeed, the character of God is revealed through His dealings with Israel.

The time came when God needed to judge. Israel lost her opportunity to turn to Him.

Isaiah 29:10

“For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: . . .”

Read Romans 11.

There comes a time, and it may be several, in a person’s life when he is given the opportunity to call upon the Lord. This is what God wants. He revealed Himself for this purpose, to draw all men to Him (Romans 1:19-20). Consider Cornelius who cried out to God, and God sent him Peter (Acts 10); consider the Ethiopian eunuch who sought to know the truth and God sent him Philip (Acts 8). God desires that all men everywhere come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:9

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by all things in Jesus Christ:”

But, this opportunity to hear the Gospel, to call upon the Lord will not last forever. Judgment will come (see Revelation 20:11-15). In each person’s life there comes a time that, should the person reject Christ as his savior, God will reject him. Though, even on one's death bed, a person may turn to God, and God will forgive and save (see the thief Luke 23:39-43).

II Timothy 2:12

“. . . If we deny him, he also will deny us:”

And there is coming a time when those who rejected God will receive their judgment.

II Thessalonians 2:10-12
“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (emphasis put on by me).

We who have the Gospel message do not know the hearts of individuals. We do not know who will reject Christ, and who will receive Him (God, however, does). We therefore must do all we can to share the clear message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ for the redemption from sin to every person with whom God gives us opportunity.

A Christian who silences someone who seeks to share the Gospel brings sorrow to God--those who lay a stumbling block for Christians who have a burden for lost soul--by saying things like “only those who are of the elect will be drawn to the irresistible grace of God,” or “You will offend them by telling them they are sinners, therefore just tell them they can get to Heaven by believing." My friend, God’s Word says He wishes none to perish; He calls ambassadors, such as the Apostle Paul, to make ALL men see.

We see in His dealings with Israel that He gives people opportunity to turn from their ways and follow Him, but the people chose not to, the people reject Him, and according to His holiness, His righteousness, His judgment must come.

On an individual basis, we don’t know when a person's life will end. For the world, we do not know when that opportunity to hear the Gospel will be removed. But we do know a person can be saved today.

II Corinthians 6:2

“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.”

Isaiah 49:8

“Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, . . .”

Clearly, God wants us to go and tell the people of the salvation He provides through faith in Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls, before it is too late.

As a writer, I have a responsibility to ignore the naysayers of this world, who tell me I shouldn't boldly give the Gospel Message. I must press on and "do the work of an evangelist" using my computer's keyboard, the instrument God has given me to "Preach the Word;" and "be instant in season, out of season;". (II Timothy 3:2-5).

What about you? Are you listening to the naysayers of the world or to God's Holy Word?

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the word, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15

Saul

 "And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord . . ."

Acts 9:1

Read Acts 9:1-30

Saul sought to destroy the young church at Jerusalem. He hated this new religion that came to existence because of a man who “showed up” the Pharisees. So he obtained letters from the high priest to take to Damascus. He intended to round up those nasty Christ-followers and bring them to Jerusalem for punishment.

But he never completed his mission. The Lord, Jesus Christ, halted him in his tracks. A frightening experience of blinding light from Heaven, a voice only he could hear, and then conviction drove hate far from his heart.

Then this murderer of Christians, this man who watched the good saint Stephen stoned, converted to a deep faith that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God. He entered the city of Damascus a blind man. But God had prepared the way for him. God spoke to Ananias in a vision.

Can you imagine the fear Ananias experienced? “Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.” (Acts 9:13)

Ananias trusted the Lord and obeyed. Now, because of the conversion of an angry, hate-filled man, and because of another who trusted the words of the Lord, the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles.

Yes, it is possible, God could have raised another, but God chose Saul (later known as Paul). “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15)

I have heard stories, and I have met people whose lives were full of wickedness before they turned their hearts over to the Lord. People you wouldn’t want to meet on the street. Individuals most people would consider a bane on society, not worthy to receive a second chance. Yet, God gave it to them.

I am so grateful to my God Who is willing to stop a murderer or a hardened criminal on his mission and to turn him from his ways, enabling him to follow Christ.

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." I Timothy 1:15