Holding God's Hand

Hosea 11:3

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,

And out of Egypt I called My son.

 

As they called them,

So they went from them;

They sacrificed to the Baals,

And burned incense to carved images.

“I taught Ephraim to walk,

Taking them by their arms;

But they did not know that I healed them.

 

I drew them with gentle cords,

With bands of love,

And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.

I stooped and fed them.

The story is told of a young boy who had just gotten a brand new winter coat. The little boy loved his new coat, but above all, he loved the warm pockets. The pockets were so warm that he didn’t need to wear any winter gloves. One day the little boy and his father were taking a walk through their snowy, white neighborhood, enjoying the fresh crisp air, the snow on the trees and the crunch of snow beneath their boots. Unfortunately though, there was much ice beneath the snow, making it difficult for the young boy to keep his footing. Several times he slipped, and probably  would have fallen if his father didn’t catch him. His father offered to hold his hand, but the little boy refused. I’m a young man now, and men don’t hold their father’s hands, he thought to himself. Plus, his hands would get cold if he took them out of his pockets. So the two walked on for sometime, until there was a large, slippery piece of ice, covered in snow. The little boy stepped onto the ice and his legs began to wobble. His father tried to catch him, but it was too late. The little boy was already on the ground, sobbing. Lovingly, the father reached out his hand to wipe the little boy’s tears and lifted him up to his feet. And together they walked on, hand in hand.  

The young boy quickly realized that with his hands in his pockets, it was hard for his father  to do anything for him. Many times we are asking for God’s protection, but we are not willing to give up the things of this world to allow Christ to fully work in our lives. Lets take our hands out of our pockets and let God take care of us!!!

Picture Story: Yes, I know.... I did break the rule this time. I was planning on drawing a picture and then taking a picture of my picture, but I soon found out that my drawing skills need ALOT of work. So I decided to break the rule, and post this picture. I love it because it's so beautiful and I can really see the verse from Hosea through this picture.

Blaming Others

For the last little while, I have found myself reading Psychology Today fairly frequently.&nbsfp;

This morning, I read a very interesting article about offenders who killed children in school shootings. 

Although I definitely think that the author's claim that

"Blame, frustration, depression, and anger at others, coupled with the means to definitively punish, is a volatile combination." is a huge stretch. (Frankly, I think it takes much more than that to become a serial killer.)

However, what got me is blame. It's pretty much the root of psychotherapy...blame my mother, my father, society etc. for the way they raised me, for the conditions I was brought up in. The sense of responsibility is gone. 

While there is no doubt that our environment and our parents have a strong impact on us, there comes a time where we must take responsibility for our own actions. I know too many people who are complaining about the woes in their life and linking it to their parents. Their inability to control their credit card is because "my mom never taught me how to manage money" or "she was such a bad steward of her finances". Of course, that is not an ideal situation, but the only way we are going to shed our baggage is if we honestly re-evaluate who is to blame. 

The Bible says: 

"But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load."

-Galatians 6:4-5

Why is this so important? God can't help us with our weaknesses if we are forever blaming others. If we don't acknowledge that the problem is with us, we won't see the need for Him to change us. I want to leave on a message of hope!

The good news is this (one of my favourite verses in the Bible):

"And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

-2 Corinthians 12:9

Happy Monday and Happy Week! No matter what our past has been, we can have perfect peace in knowing that God can use our worst weaknesses and make them strengths. Just give it up to Him!

-Nina

Christ-sufficient

 "I can do all things through Christ ^_ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

We have taken on this attitude of self-sufficiency, relying upon our own strength. Is this the attitude God want us to have? The Bible didn't say, "You can do all things through your own strength," instead it said in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." "I can!" 
"How?"
 "Through Jesus Christ."
 "Why?" 
"I need help and He will be my strength."

 We might be at the pinnacle of self-sufficiency, but God has an amazing way of bringing us down, bringing us to the door of Christ-sufficiency.....weakness. In our weakness we realize we need Christ, we need His strength to carry us.....but first we need to relinquished self and become Christ-sufficient.

I was recently reading the book of Joshua and was amazed at how God showed Israel where their strength lay. In Joshua 5, after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan and crossed over to the enemy side amongst the Amorites, Canaanites, Hivites and all the other 'ites'...God said to Joshua 
"Make stone knives and circumcise the People of Israel a second time.” 

At that point I thought...why didn't God tell them to be circumcised before the crossing of  Jordan while they were in  safety? Circumcision is a painful procedure, but especially so in adulthood. So imagine, all these mighty warriors, grown men who had just been circumsised were standing in the enemy's territory. Because of the circumcision, they were at their weakest point. Think of it, you are physically weak and incapable of fighting, what's more, you're on the wrong side of the Jordan! For an Israelite soldier, that is the last place you want to be! However, do you think God had forgotten that minor detail when He commanded for the men to be circumcised? Of course not! He had a lesson for them to learn...one that we would do well to learn. 

....."When they had completed the circumcising of the whole nation, they stayed where they were in camp until they were healed." 

What if the enemy had attacked? They would have been doomed, but, they were not relying on their own strength.

What was God saying to the Israelites and to us today? My strength is sufficient for you.He is calling us  to rely on His strength and not our own. To become more Christ-sufficient and less self-sufficient. At the point when the Israelites strength was zapped, they had to totally depend on God...in their weakness God became their strength.

Today, face the difficulties of life, not in your own strength but in the strength of the Lord.

Kem :)


Picture Story: I recently decided to teach myself to play the banjo......as I entered the room to begin my first lesson I realized that I had forgotten to bring a stool and the banjo strap.I decided I didn't needed them, but after a minute, I realized that the banjo was way too heavy to be played without a strap or even a  stool. Yet I was determined to play it without them...."I am strong enough, I lifted and carried heavier stuff than this banjo." After about five minute of struggling with holding up the banjo and trying to learned to play a note, I realized my strength was not sufficient.

Be a Tree!

Luke 19:9-10

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

         |A few days ago, I got up ready to do my devotional. Lately, my devotional life has not been as strong as I wish, which is why I thank God for the sister I have. She explained the secret to having a powerful devotional each and every morning. She told me to claim Jeremiah 33:3 which says that if we call to God, He will show us great and mighty things which we do not know. So, I did that and asked God to teach me something new, and I thank Him for answering my prayer. I was inspired to read Luke 19:1-10, which is the story of Zacchaeus.

            The story starts off with Zacchaeus having a strong desire to see Jesus. But the only thing that prevented him from doing so was that the crowd was blocking his way, like it says in verse 2 and 3

^“ Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.”

 Now, before I continue, I want to make a small point here. Sometimes, maybe unknowingly, we are blocking the way to Jesus. It is important to ever be on our guard and watch that we do not discourage each other, and that even our actions are always pointing to Jesus, not keeping them away from Him. But Zacchaeus desperately wanted to see Jesus, so he found the solution:

“ ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.”

            In the Bible, many times a righteous person is described as a tree. Like in Psalm 1 it compares a righteous man to a tree:

“Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
    Nor stands in the path of sinners,
    Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
    Planted by the rivers of water,
    That brings forth its fruit in its season,
    Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper”.

-Psalms 1:1-3

 So even if a whole crowd of people are blocking the way to Jesus, just one righteous person can bring them to Christ.

I find it interesting that the Bible says specifically what type of tree Zacchaeus climbed; a sycamore tree. Their common characteristics are that it has a thick trunk, and thick, low branches, perfect for Zacchaeus since the bible says that

“…he was of short stature”.

And just like each tree is different, so each person needs a specific type of “tree” to guide them to Christ. A tall tree with high branches (like the baobab tree,) wouldn't have helped Zacchaeus to see Jesus. He needed a specific tree. In the same way, God made us all different. The talents and gifts that you have might not be the same as my talents and gifts. God made us in a special way, which is why the people you can reach out to may not be the same as the people I can reach. So when we don’t use our gifts, people could be potentially lost because we failed to reach them. 

This story also taught me that if Zacchaeus just gave up when he saw the crowds, he would never have seen Jesus. But I’m sure God saw his persistence and pointed him to the sycamore tree. This story is an encouragement to never give up. Even if it seems that the situation is hopeless and even if the people closest to you say it’s hopeless, turn to Jesus. Seek to find Him, even if it means climbing up a tree. 

Picture  Story:

We used to have a beautiful cheery tree in our back yard, that would give lots of cherries each summer. In the spring when it would blossom, it was a beautiful sight to behold, (too bad we didn't get many pictures of it in the spring time.) It was my favorite tree because it was so easy for me to climb up on, perfect for a short person like me!

Faith Hall of Fame!

"The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd." Hebrews 11:1 (MSG)

Hebrew chapter 11 is one of my Favorite bible passages, when I consider the  background of the Heroes of faith listed, it compels me to go farward with steadfastness even when the going got tough. These characters show their faithfulness amidst struggles, trial, temptation and hardship. Now think of how easy it could have been for them to give-up or give-in. Being Faithful involves action; if we have faith in God, we will act in faithful ways. Abel, Joseph, Enoch, Noah, Barack, Issac, Esau, Moses, didn’t have superhuman qualities or semi-divine origin….they were as human as you and me prone to temptation and trial…but when the going got tough, they were steadfast in their trust in God “Faith in action”.

A lot of you might remember watching the animated characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road runner in the Coyote and the road runner. Let’s say Wile E. Coyote is the devil (he does portray some characteristic of Lucifer) and the road runner God faithful servant. Wile E. coyote uses absurd contraptions and elaborate plans to pursue his quarry (the road runner). Though time and time again Wile E. Coyote is unsuccessful, he seems determine than ever and never gives up. Do you see where I am going here; the devil in his desperate quest to tempt us will do whatever it takes. In an episode of the coyote and the road runner, the coyote finally catches the road runner; however he has been shrunk down to minute size and dwarfed by the road runner. It does not matter the situation you are in, if you put your trust in God "Faith in action" it will only be a matter of time, GOD will take care of you….So be like the road runner even though he knew that the coyote was after him he never lost his enthusiasm (faith kept him going), he just keep on going with a "MEEP MEEP".

Are you demonstating your faith, putting it in action? The names listed above exemplified faith...^13" All of these people died in faith without receiving the promises, but they saw the promises from a distance and welcomed them. They confessed that they were strangers and immigrants on earth." (CEB) .........Now you see why God was so proud of them. How cool it would be to have my, "my!" name recorded in the faith hall of fame. How wonderful it would be, to be able to proclaim "I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

Kem

Picture story:

Victoria made these cute little finger shoes. Her grade 8 class was doing a fundraiser for their class trip and a couple of the students decided to make these mini shoes and sell it to the other students. Interestingly enough, they were a big hit! Students started buying them very quickly and the girls soon found that they couldn't make them fast enough to supply the demand. As you can see from the picture, the shoes are made with intricate details, right down to the shoe laces (which are sown by a needle and some thread). So, if you ever need some mini shoes, you know who to ask. ;)

His Strength is Perfect

Hello Everyone!

I feel like I should be saying "Hello" because I've been gone for so long. Now that the school year is in full swing, I have been very busy…but this evening, I told myself that I simply MUST post something today. Actually, I always have ideas popping into my head at random times and I write them all down, but somehow, I just don't get around to it. It's on my to do list. :)

Today, I just want to share a simple story with you. It's not anything big or grandeur, but it was deep for me. 

Last month, I found out that I was scheduled to preach at my church. At first, I was a little bit surprised because they gave me only 2 week's notice and it would be right in the middle of the most hectic time for university students (did I hear you say, midterms?). My initial reaction was to switch with someone else and preach at a later time, however, I resolved that if God asked me to do it, I should. 

From the day I was told that I would be preaching, I prayed every day, asking God to tell me what He wanted me to speak about. Day after day went by and I was blank. I had great devotions in the morning, but each topic that came up, I knew that wasn't what God wanted me to talk about. 1 week went by, I still didn't have an idea, much less a draft. Then, at the last minute, God showed me exactly what to speak about…His love. 

Let's start with some background. Recently, I've been studying a lot about Jesus' death on the cross and my heart has been melted as I begin to see a tiny glimpse of how much God loves us. How much He gave up, for a poor, wretched soul like mine. The phrase "Jesus loves you" has become rampant among Christians. It's almost like a mantra we chant thinking that it will win people to Christ. I've been hearing it ever since I was a small child, but I didn't really understand the depth of it until now. On a side note, if you want to see a clearer picture of how much Christ loves us, I highly recommend a book called, "The Desire of Ages", here is a link so you can read it for free online: http://www.whiteestate.org/books/da/da.asp (I specifically recommend Chapter 74-87). Read it parallel to the Bible. It changed my life. When I stop and meditate on how the King of Kings gave up everything, just so that sinful mankind or more specifically, so that sinful, rotten, Nina can be reunited with Christ, can be forgiven of her sins, can be given pure joy and happiness. I sit and I wonder, what kind of love is that? It is so much deeper than any love I could ever give, so much purer than anything I have ever known. 

However, when God told me to preach about His love, I was very hesitant. I didn't want to do it because I felt like it would be impossible to describe God's love and actually have people see the depth of it. I felt that if I stood at the pulpit and talked about it, I wouldn't pay it any justice, so why talk about it at all? His love is so deep, it's beyond our comprehension; my biggest fear was  that people wouldn't see the depth of it. So, here I was, in the middle of the week, I finally had a topic, but no inspiration as to how I should go about doing it. So, I continued praying. On Friday, I went to the library and devoted my day to studying the Bible and writing my sermon, then I went home. As I lay in bed, I prayed to God. I saw myself, sin-stained and a broken vessel. What could God do through me? I felt wholly inadequate to speak, moreover, I knew I was completely unworthy to stand before His people. The nagging thought was ever before me, I was so worried that people wouldn't understand what I'm saying or that they wouldn't see the unsearchable depth of His love. With that thought in mind, I fell asleep. 

Every morning, when I wake up, I take out my phone and check my email (obsessive habit, I know). I'm signed up for this "verse of the day" email list from Biblegateway. I opened it up to see what it would say and as soon as I read it, I had a huge smile on my face. It was from Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

In the midst of all my doubts, all my fears, all my deficiencies, God had a message for me. He told me that while I don't have the words or the eloquence or the wisdom to describe His love, His Word is enough, that's all it takes. The Bible is a sword, moving with power, it pierces the soul in a way that we could never match. As I read the passage, I was amazed once again that God knew exactly what to do to comfort me. He had arranged it so that the verse that I needed to read the most would be sent to me at the time that I needed it most. Isn't our God good? He is amazing! I got up and went with full assurance that God was with me and that HE would be the one speaking, not me. I experienced perfect peace in my heart. 

In closing, I just want to remind you of one of my favourite verses in the Bible.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

-2 Corinthians 12:9

When we are at our weakest point, that's when God is able to work in our hearts and through our lives. When we realize that we can't do it on our own, it forces us to surrender our all to Him. His strength is made perfect in weakness! What an amazing God!

-Nina

Picture story: When I read the verse that morning, I took a picture of it right away, knowing that I would want to share it on the blog later. So here it is!

Kindness: The Magic Penny

"But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people." Galatians 5:22

A couple of weeks ago I went into the supermarket to grab a couple of things, I was in a rush. While I was in the Caribbean section,  I overheard a lady asking  a worker  about  the different types of coconut milk…..the worker wasn’t any help….
a voice spoke to me and said "You are pretty knowledgeable about it , why not take a minute to explain it to her?" to which I quickly responded "I am late, I don’t have the time."
 "What if it was you?" Suffice it to say I ended up losing that debate----I  walked up to the lady and explained the differences between the 3 types of coconut milk ( cream,powder and liquid), and I also found out what she wanted the coconut milk for and recommend the best one for the recipe.
 It took a bit of time, but I left the supermarket with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

 Last week on my way home from an event, I decide to stop by the supermarket to grab some fruits. As I was taking my own sweet time strolling (enjoying my walk),  I heard a female voice say “You need to hurry, the supermarket is closing in 8 minutes.” I thought, "how does she know that I'm going to the supermarket; I could be going to any store in the mall?"….but I replied “I thought it closes at 9pm.” “On Sundays it closes at 8, but if you hurry you will make it before they stop letting people in.” “Thank you very much,” I said as I start running. “I hope you make it on time and thanks for your help the other day,” the lady shouted. That stopped me in my track; I turned to see the lady waving and realize she was the same lady I helped with the coconut milk.

This bring to mind a little song I used to sing each morning in primary school; 'The magic penny.' It goes (Jamaican version): 'Love (insert kindness) is something if you give it away, it will come right back to you. It's (kindness) just like a magic penny, put it in your pocket and you won't have any. But if you spend it or give it away, it will come right back to you.' The small act of kindness I showed ended up coming back to me. The kinder we are (it doesn’t matter how small)… the more like Christ we become.  When we put self aside, room is make for the Holy Spirit to work upon our hearts; kindness will spring forth from us.

When was the last time you spent or given away your magic penny (kindness)? Remember, if you  hold it tight or put it in your pocket, you won't have any. Little deeds of kindness,will cheer and gladden the pathway of life.

Kem


Picture Story:
I actually wrote this post a long time ago, but I had so much trouble finding a picture to go with it. (All of us at Live Profoundly have a rule that we only use our own pictures for our posts)...so I told Nina about my post and we sat down at church one day and went through hundreds of pictures on her laptop. This picture was taken when they went to African Lion Safari. For those who have never heard of it, it's a wild life park that allows you to drive through and there are real animals walking around, with no cages. It's like the safari experience! Some of the animals (especially the monkeys) like to come right up to the car and it gives you an up-close-and-personal experience!