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Trials and Triumphs

Posted on by Dorci

A 12-year-old boy kills his sister and later finds the forgiveness and love of a great and merciful God.

An angry man, disillusioned by a God who would allow untimely deaths in his family, is later visited by the presence of God, washed in His peace and finds the love of God is all he needs.

A woman turns to the gay community and lifestyle and later allows the truth of God to dispel the lies as He heals her heart and she finds a new life in Him.

A Christian woman struggles with resentment toward God as she watches her believing mother deteriorate from Alzheimer’s disease, but would in time come to understand that the reason was full of God’s grace.

And my own story of growing up with parents suffering from mental illness and substance abuse, then turning to anything and everything in the world to deaden the pain and try to find love, and later finding real love and the forgiveness of Christ in a tiny church filled with the Spirit of God.

These are just a few of the testimonies of God’s faithfulness, grace and forgiveness in the lives of ordinary people who were touched by an extraordinary God in the book Trials and Triumphs, Hope Beyond Circumstances, Forty Life-Changing Testimonies.

I am so blessed to be a part of this project, one of the forty people who tell their stories of grace–either how they came to Christ, or how they held onto Him in difficult circumstances.  Each fascinating account is authored by the person who experienced it.  Every story is unique, but each one points to the same God, the same Lord Who is willing to forgive and give strength and courage to anyone who genuinely seeks Him.

Any believer can watch the news or look at their own family members, friends, co-workers, and on and on can see that the world needs a Savior.  People are starving for the love and forgiveness that we know only God can give through His Son, Jesus Christ.

But the enemy of God is hard at work lying, deceiving and bringing destruction on anyone who believes those lies.

Revelation 12:11-12 tells us that “They overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;”

People can dispute a lot of things about God, but no one can dispute what God has done in our own lives.  All of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior have a testimony, the story of who we were before we put our faith in Christ, and how He’s changed our hearts and lives since.  Stories of how He’s loved us, intervened for us in miraculous ways, provided for us and protected us, and another page to our story is written every day.

That, God’s Word says, is how the enemy will be defeated in the lives of those family members and friends and co-workers.  As we tell the truth of God’s love, just as someone, somewhere told us, by the faith given by God and the blood of the Lamb, they will be snatched from the enemy’s mouth and set firmly in the hands of God.

Think of it: we have the privilege of joining with Christ to defeat the enemy that has lingered and lied and destroyed since the Garden of Eden by sharing our witness to those lost and dying in their sin.

Maybe you know someone right now who needs to hear these stories of faith.  Maybe you need to be encouraged and comforted yourself as you face struggles of your own.  I pray this book brings hope and magnifies the grace that is our God in the lives of many around the world.

If you’re so inclined, you can find it on Amazon at the link on the right.

Grace and Peace!

Why Pray?

Posted on by Dorci

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’

And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ Luke 18:1-8

This Thursday, May 1, is the National Day of Prayer, and our country and world are in desperate need of it.  Prayer has taken a back seat in favor of entertainment, the pursuit of money, even religion.  Our time with God has been neglected.  How do I know?  Because I look around at the state of things and I see the fruit of it.

I see morals being thrown out the window by the bucketful.  I see people using one another for their own gain.  I see adults’ behavior regressing into immaturity and downright childishness.  I see the family unit disintegrating more and more. I see disrespect and even hatred on a whole new level. I see sin coming out of the darkness and living proudly in the light for all to see, and I see people afraid to stand up against it.  I see the pain and suffering caused by rampant sin.

And more and more those who call themselves Christians are looking and walking and talking no differently than non-believers.

Yet I see Christians pointing an accusing finger at the world and talk about how awful it is and if they’d just straighten up and fly right everything would be okay.  But God says that “if MY people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

God doesn’t tell the world to change, He tells His own people that if we will repent, and if we will submit and turn from our old man and live righteously before Him, then God will our land.  We are the example to the world.  We are to be salt and light.  And when we are right with God then we will be able to, by the grace of God and the blood of Christ, stand in the gap between God and unbelievers and pray that God will open their spiritual eyes and that they will be saved.

It starts with us.

I was saved, because of the persistent, year-long prayers of a Christian, when I was 25 years old.  By that time I’d already formed a lot of erroneous beliefs.  One was that abortion was acceptable since our laws give us a right to it, and the other was that God and satan were equal powers, the only difference being that one was a power for good and the other for evil.

But the moment I was saved and indwelt by the power of the Holy Spirit, my eyes were opened and those two beliefs were dispelled.  I knew immediately that abortion was wrong and that God’s power over satan was infinite.

The only way to see our country and world transformed is to pray for them, one person at a time.  To pray that God will soften hearts and open eyes, like He did mine, and that people will be saved.

A lot of us are weary, though.  We’re weary of seeing sin gain the upper hand.  We’re weary of trying and feeling like we’re moving two steps forward and one step back.  We’re weary of praying and praying and praying and not seeing results.  I get it.  I’ve been there.

There are some things I’ve prayed years for and still have yet to see fruit.  But that doesn’t mean nothing’s happening.  God is making things happen behind the scenes that I’ll never see.  He waits for circumstances, other people, our hearts and a multitude of other things to be just right before He can answer prayers.

Some He’ll answer quickly, and some take a lifetime. But His timing is always, always perfect.  There are some answers where I’m beginning to see the bud develop, but it’s taken an excruciatingly long period of time.  And there are some things I prayed a long time for, and now know those things will never happen.  And in those instances hope can take a hard hit.

But God says don’t give up.  Hope in Him.

In the Luke 18 parable, Jesus illustrated that if even an unrighteous person relents to someone’s pleas simply because they don’t give up, how much more will God, who is fully righteous and loving towards His children, give to them when they continue to seek Him?

Yes, you’re weary.  And distracted.  So am I.

So why pray?  The bottom line is this: God wants to see our prayers answered.  He wants to show us His will.  He wants to broaden our dreams and give us victory in this life. And what’s more, He wants us to have the peace and courage and wisdom we need every day, and the only way to have those is through prayer.  That’s why He tells us to pray and keep on praying.  Some answers to prayer simply take a long time.  And what if we give up before it’s time?

So let’s find a little corner and sit down at the feet of Jesus—the giver of strength and peace and wisdom–and pray, and gain our strength again.

Let’s stand in the gap for our family, our church, our friends, our neighborhood, our state, our country, our world.

Our children and grandchildren are growing up fast and the legacy we leave them in this world will depend on if we choose to pray or not. It’s a responsibility and privilege we can no longer take for granted.

Here is the link to the website for the National Day of Prayer.  I hope you’ll choose to be one of those on the front lines of prayer for our nation and our world as the time draws closer to the Lord’s return.

And when He does, as Jesus asked, will He find faith?  Will you and I be the ones He sees holding onto our faith in Him as we continue to seek Him in prayer?

Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to pray.  Please pray for me as I seek the Lord for wisdom.

God bless you as you pray!

 

Invisible Dogs

Posted on by Dorci

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

There was a period of time I had dreams that a wild pack of dogs was chasing me.  I never saw them, I just heard their snarling, vicious barking and my imagination ran away with thoughts of being torn limb from limb.  I’d be filled with fear and instinctively run for my life.

Night after night this nightmare invaded my dreams until one night when I heard the dogs right behind me and I thought what if I just stand here, turn around and face them?

So I did.

The barking stopped and the dogs were gone.

I never had that dream again. Later I had dreams about bears, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

Because of a series of events throughout my life, fear is something I’ve always had to deal with.  Even when the initial event is over, that fear can linger like a pack of invisible dogs.  And I haven’t always stood my ground and stared that thing I’m afraid of in the face.  There are times I’ve run.

But the Lord’s shown me that if I keep running from the thing I’m afraid of, fear will always chase me.

We all have invisible dogs–those fears that chase after us–and for some inexplicable reason we automatically turn and run.  They don’t even have to be big things.  Sometimes we run from the little things just because we don’t want to be uncomfortable.

And running from those little things puts in motion deep inside us an undercurrent of fear that we may not even be aware is there.  And then when something big comes along, instead of being able to draw on a foundation of courage, we have none.

Trusting God to be with us in the little things grows our faith big enough to trust Him in the big things.

And there is something big God has entrusted to us.

It’s the reason Paul encourages Timothy (and us) to remember that God does not give a spirit of fear.

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,  who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,”  2 Timothy 1:6

Above anything else, we can’t be afraid to use the spiritual gifts God’s given to each one of us for the good of the kingdom of God—to strengthen our brothers and sisters and to witness to those who are as of yet unsaved.

And sometimes that can be a little scary.  A little uncomfortable.

Paul suffered to share the message of the gospel with people who were dying in their sin.  But he so believed in that message—in Christ—that he was willing to risk being repeatedly imprisoned, flogged, starved, shipwrecked, in constant danger, and finally, beheaded.

I doubt any of us will ever face the trials Paul did, but we will serve Christ at a cost.  Like Paul, we are here on a mission.  We are called to share in the sufferings of Christ, to be a living sacrifice, bold and unashamed, living for His glory, not our comfort.

But oh, the gain.  The souls we’ll encourage, the lives we’ll save, the light we’ll shine, the glory we’ll reveal, the crowns we’ll receive and cast at the feet of our Lord.

If we’re willing to turn around and look fear in the face.

A lot of the time those fears will disappear when we turn to face them.  But if they don’t, if they charge us anyway, at the end of day, it won’t matter.

Paul has long forgotten his suffering.  But he will never forget the joy of serving alongside the King of kings, the glory that’s his in Christ, or the souls that are with him now, all because he was willing to use his gift.

Grace and peace,

Where Are You Staying?

Posted on by Dorci

It was probably a day like any other day.  People are milling around John, known as The Baptist, as he talks about the One Who is to come.  Daily more people come to hear about the Light who has come into the world, to learn of repentance, and to be baptized. 

John is talking with two of his followers when he sees Jesus of Nazareth walk by, and declares “Behold the Lamb of God!”  John 1:36

They turn and see the One they’ve been hearing about.  The One Who they’ve heard will baptize with the Holy Spirit.  The One Who takes away the sin of the world.  And they leave and begin following Him.

“Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi’ (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), ‘where are You staying?’  He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).’”  John 1:38-39

These two new apostles, Andrew and probably the man who would author the gospel of John, wanted to know where Jesus lived. They left John the Baptist to stay, not in a certain place, but with Jesus Himself.  Where Jesus went, they went.  Where He slept and ate and spoke, they were there with Him.

His home, wherever that would be, would now be their home. And their lives would never be the same.   

Had Andrew and John stayed with John the Baptist, they would have only heard about Jesus.

They would have missed out on three years of actually getting to know Him, walking with Him from place to place, talking with Him along the way about the great mysteries He held deep in His heart.  They would have missed seeing Him perform miracles and watching Him change the hardened hearts of men and women.  They would have missed seeing the joy in His eyes when children skipped up to Him and threw their arms around Him, and hearing Him laugh as He held them tight. 

They might have missed that day at Pentacost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed with gifts from God to live out the greatest calling to go out into the world and preach the Good News. They would have missed seeing countless others come to know Jesus–the Man they knew as friend, confidante and Lord–as their Lord and Savior. 

Hearing about Jesus was good, but living with Jesus brought them to the Source of all good things, to the very feet of God, the place of all power. 

The word staying in the apostles’ question is the same word translated as abide that Jesus later uses in this admonition: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Jesus calls us to abide with Him, too.  It’s not enough to hang back and hear about Him from teachers, parents or friends. 

He now lives in us and He wants us to live in Him, wherever that may be.  He wants us to beg the question of Him, “Where are you staying?”

Jesus doesn’t live in church.  Don’t leave Him there. 

If we’ve received Him as Lord and Savior, He lives in our hearts, and we are to live in Him. 

He is now our home.

 

And for each of us He is in a different place.  He is walking in a different direction in my life than He is in yours.

He is doing a different thing, teaching a different lesson, healing a different wound in each of our lives. 

He is sanctifying individual souls.  And only He has the power to do it.

Why be satisfied with only hearing about Him, when we can live with the Source of all life?

Where is Jesus in your life right now?  What does He want to teach you?  How is He working to mature your faith?  Where does He want to go and who does He want to serve through you? 

Are you right there, following in obedience, living where He’s living?  Are you in communion with Him daily, learning from the Master, being filled with His Spirit, receiving His gifts and living the abundant life He longs to share with you? 

Jesus said we can do nothing unless we abide in Him. 

But if we do abide in Him, there is nothing we can’t do.

Last Days Living

Posted on by Dorci

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:1-13

What we face today should come as no surprise.  Paul warned us of rampant sin, wolves among sheep, and persecution long ago.  So, the question is: what kind of response should we have? 

1. Expect it. 

There has always been sin and always will be until God pronounces judgment on the world and makes all things right.  But here Paul is warning us about a specific type of sinner.

Those who have a form of godliness but deny its power.  Those who live a form of religiosity but have no relationship with the living God.  These are dangerous people who wield lies as if they were the truth and they lead many down very destructive paths.  Paul warns us not to have anything to do with them.   

It’s not hard to find these kinds of people if we’re living connected to Christ ourselves.  We are to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we are able to discern the truth from a lie and not get caught up in false doctrine. 

Be aware by staying in prayer and in the truth of God’s Word. 

2. If you can’t beat ’em, don’t join ’em.

That list at the top?  That’s our personal “do not do” list.  Sadly, it’s not just unbelievers who can get caught up in those sins.  Many Christians allow themselves to fall back into temptation, be pulled back into the world and allow it to mold them instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to transform and sanctify them.  Romans 12:2 warns us about this. 

Stay plugged in to the Holy Spirit through obedience and He will lead you into all righteousness. 

3. Live intentionally. 

A tree only bears fruit when it’s been watered and fed properly and when it’s had the proper light.  A godly life doesn’t come by wishing it.  It comes when we’ve purposed to live our lives in the Spirit by praying, reading God’s Word and obeying it. 

And when we do live a godly life, expect persecution.  Sometimes we expect the opposite: that if we’re “good” we’ll be spared from sin.  That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

When we live by the Spirit it is a threat to the enemy and he will stop at nothing to discourage us, to sidetrack us, and outright attack us. 

The apostle Paul attests to that.

It may seem as if those who do evil get away with their evil deeds.  And they very well may, for a time.  But the day will come when they will, in deep sorrow, bow their knee to the One Who is the truth, and they will be judged. 

We will bow our knee to our Savior and be ushered into eternal life and reward. 

Stand tall, stand firm.  Our Savior is with us.  Who can be against us?  No one!

Is Your Anchor Secure?

Posted on by Dorci

I asked the Lord one day how He can stand it.  How can He know all the pain and suffering that goes on in the hearts of men, women and children every minute of every day and not be overcome with grief?

He spoke to my heart and said, “Because I have hope.”

I had to think about that one for a bit. What does God need with hope?  He knows all things.  But the kind of hope God has is not the wishing kind. 

It’s not a verb, as in “I hope this or that will happen…”

It’s a noun.  It’s a sure thing.  An expectation.  A confidence.  And the object of our hope is nothing less than God Himself.

As I write this, Oklahoma is being slammed with a second round of deadly tornadoes.  New mystery viruses are killing people and doctors don’t know what to do about it.  Abuses such as slavery and pornography abound and the news seems to grow darker every day.

And a bit closer to home, I know three people who are currently battling cancer.  I see people struggling in their walk with Christ.  And I have a daily battle going on in my own mind with health issues that keep trying to take my attention away from what’s important.

No one gets through life without experiencing at least a few storms.  Waves of trials come crashing into our lives and it can feel like we barely have a chance to take another breath before we feel the sting of another. We feel tossed around emotionally and spiritually in the violent winds and waves and there are moments we can feel like the whole thing is going to capsize.  

But we’ve been given an anchor to still us.

When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:16-19

The world puts its hope in things like health, finances, children, a spouse, friends.  And there are religious doctrines that will tell you God wants our lives to be perfect, that He wants us to put our hope in those things.  I’m not sure how anyone can read the accounts of Abraham or Job or Joseph or Paul or even Jesus and come to that conclusion.

No, God wants us to know that no matter what happens He is our hope. So He swore by Himself–because He cannot lie–to prove that His promises are true.  But we may have to weather a few storms first.

Hope in God is what anchors us in those storms. 

Intead of being overcome, hope is what keeps us still and grounded, focused on God instead of thunder and lightning and our wet feet. 

And the more we know who God is—that He is a God Who never changes, that He is Who He says He is, and does what He says He’ll do, and that He loves us beyond comprehension and wants for us His absolute best—the more heavy with hope we’ll become. 

Sometimes it’s in the middle of the storm we’re tempted to panic and let go of hope. But that’s when we need to hold on the tightest. 

God has hope because He knows the plans He has for us.  He knows He’s in the boat with us and He maintains control of the storm at all times.  He knows that if we’ll just hold onto Him, at the end of our storms we’ll be children of God who will shine pure as gold, who will more and more reflect the beauty of His Son.

And we can have hope that this life is not all there is.  That there is another one waiting for us.  One where all our hopes and dreams will be fulfilled.  One where our joy is never again interrupted by pain or sorrow or suffering.  The hope of living with Jesus in paradise.

The storms may not abate, not for a while at least, but we can be confident in the One Who has power over them, and us.

With great hope,

 

 
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