02242018 Word of God

Dear Missionary Lady,

I trust that God has blessed your ministry this week and that He has strengthened you personally for each task. God is well able to supply for us and equip us for the particular needs we face.

Sometimes it seems that the best way to share God's encouraging truth with you is by telling how He has guided me in that truth, so I hope you're okay with another testimony-related letter. A few weeks ago, when I desired to see God give answers to some difficult situations, He reminded me that "we walk by faith, not by sight." The answers still have not come, and the battle for faith has at times been challenging. My mind has recalled Acts 27:20. "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away." Except that my mind filled in other words about what there was no hope about. In that context, God reminded me of another truth: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

I know that I need the Bible and that the Bible can help me, but the sad truth is that sometimes I want to look elsewhere for my help. When I am struggling, I want other people to care. When I am discouraged, I want people to love and comfort me. This desire can be so strong that I fight against going to the Bible, because I want to be miserable long enough that someone will finally notice and do something to show me love and support. It's a pretty foolish position, not only because it unnecessarily increases my struggle, but even if people do give help, it's not as effective as what God can give through His Word.

So I needed some more reminders and prompting from God. He reminded me of verses in Psalm 119. "My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word" (v. 25). "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me" (v. 50). "I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me" (v. 93). "Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments" (v. 156). These are some of the verses in Psalm 119 that talk about being quickened, or revived, by the Word of God.

Sometimes I know I need the Bible (and lots of it), but I have a couple of excuses for not going there. Due to chronic fatigue, I feel like I'm too tired to read and be able to get any profit. I have to allow God to be in charge of that and trust that He will make His Word effective in spite of my limitations. My second excuse is a helplessness in knowing where to read. Especially in the midst of difficulty, I feel like there must be certain passages that would be helpful; it seems like the majority of the Bible isn't appealing or can't help, because it isn't the precise answer for my immediate need. So since I don't know where to read, I don't read at all. The Psalms are my tried and trusted friends, but I have a tendency to stay there to the neglect of the rest of the Bible, and I was just finishing another read-through of Psalms.

In that dilemma, I believe God directed my thoughts, telling me in essence, "It doesn't matter where you read. Just read!" After all, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16).

Okay, I got the message. So I just started in Genesis, with the determination to get as much of God's Word into me as I can. Just the decision itself was helpful, yielding my will and my insistence on needing help from other people, and agreeing to seek it in God instead. And the other thing I was reminded of is that reading the Bible is not strictly about gaining knowledge or coming across the right verse or having the understanding strengthened. It is about spending time with my God, communing and fellowshipping with the One who loves me best.

My focus in Bible reading used to fall into a common trap - that of seeking one special verse or truth for today, a practice that leads to random snatching of verses. I have come more and more to focus on broader ideas, both the immediate context of the passage I am reading, as well as its place within the wider themes of Scripture. Reading the Bible is an opportunity to see the character of God revealed, to see underlying themes of love and redemption, and to understand the way in which God wants Christians to live. It is both having one's eyes opened by God to grow in maturity and understanding, and it is also a means of spending time with that special Friend.

I long for love and comfort and support from people, but my expectations and my dependency in that direction are far too high. God is the only one who can truly meet those needs. (I've even heard that the perfect husband has yet to be discovered!) No one else can do for me what God can do through His Word. No other truth is as flawless. No other love is as pure. No other comfort is as sweet. No other compassion is as deep. The love and comfort of others is helpful and welcome, but it can never take replace or equal what is available from my dearest Friend through the precious Book He has given me.

May you find the Bible to be sufficient for you this week, special and effective in meeting all the needs of your heart.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

02162019 Jeremiah

Dear Missionary Lady,

"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth" (Psalm 86:15).

I am so glad God is the way this verse describes. Can you imagine if God treated us as harshly as He could? As severely as His holy standards require? We are weak, and we constantly fall short of what we ought to do and be. Sometimes those failures are small and routine, and sometimes they are of epic proportion. Yet God has patience and compassion. He forgives us and encourages us and helps us to grow. One way God shows His longsuffering is through repeated statements and reassurances.

Last week I considered Abraham. God didn't require Abraham's faith to cling to a single revelation of His promise. No, God reminded Abraham over and over again, building his faith. I count eleven different times when God repeated His promise, some of them occurring on the very same day! (12:1-3; 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:1; 15:4-5; 15:7; 15:13-16; 15:17-21; 17:1-8; 17:19-21; 18:10)

Abraham is not the only person for whom God did this type of repeated reassurance. God sent multiple signs to fearful Gideon, assuring him over and over again that He would be with him. Through the long years of preparation and exile, God reminded David of His promises. After Peter's failure, Jesus repeated statements that indicated God's desire to use Peter again. And there is a special story in the life of Jeremiah, a despised prophet with a very long ministry that seemed to yield no fruit.

This story happens in Jeremiah 32. Jeremiah had been prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem for over forty years. At the moment this story takes place, Jeremiah was in prison, and the city of Jerusalem was under siege, with ramps already placed against the city walls. Destruction was imminent.

In the midst of this hopeless situation, God asked Jeremiah to do something that seemed ridiculous. God told Jeremiah that a cousin would come and ask him to buy a piece of land. Jeremiah was to proceed with the purchase. Jeremiah’s mind was filled with questions. He wondered why God would lead him to purchase property when all properties were about to fall into the hands of the enemy.

The cousin did come just as God had predicted. He asked Jeremiah to buy the property, and Jeremiah complied. After the proceedings had been finalized and Jeremiah was again alone, he turned to prayer. He acknowledged truth: "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" (Jeremiah 32:17). He then speaks of God's historic working with Israel and of Israel's rebellion, leading to the imminent destruction. Jeremiah then comes to a conclusion that sounds like a confusion-laden question rooted in hopelessness. "And thou has said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans" (v. 25).

In other words, "God, you just told me to do something that doesn't make sense. You made a big deal about the ceremony involved to make this land purchase public and official, but it's about to be taken away by the Chaldeans! This seems like a silly action and a hopeless situation."

God responded to Jeremiah's doubt by reinforcing the words Jeremiah himself had spoken in v. 17. God said, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (v. 27). God continued speaking. He agreed with what Jeremiah had said regarding Israel's history of rebellion. He agreed with Jeremiah's assessment of imminent destruction.

Then God did something really interesting. He quoted Jeremiah's protests back to him. In v. 36, God says in essence, "You say the city is about to fall to Babylon," and in v. 43, "You say that this field you bought is going to be desolate and captured." Jeremiah's protests (or doubts) were about why God would ask him to do such a pointless act. Why invest in land that he would own for such a short time?

God had an answer for Jeremiah. In vs. 42-44, He assures Jeremiah that future restoration was just as certain as the imminent destruction. There was a reason for Jeremiah to buy land, and it was as a sign that this land would return again to the people of Israel. God's people would again buy and own property in this soon-to-be-captured kingdom.

In addition to God's repeated reassurances to Jeremiah and His pointed responses to the specific doubts that had come from Jeremiah's own mouth, the situation itself also provided Jeremiah with hope. This particular slice of Jeremiah's life was an incredible demonstration of God's repeated faithfulness.

Jeremiah could look at his recent past. God had said a cousin would come with the offer of land, and he had in fact done so. Jeremiah could look at his present. God had said that the city would be destroyed, and it was happening before Jeremiah’s eyes. If God fulfills His word in the past and the present, is there any reason to doubt He will do so in the future by restoring the land? God gives that very argument in v. 32: "Just like I brought the predicted evil, I will bring the predicted good" (paraphrase).

There is no reason to doubt God. He has always done what He has said, and He always will do what He has said. No matter how impossible a situation looks, God’s Word can be trusted. Nothing is too difficult for God. He is powerful enough to fulfill all that He is bold enough to declare. And He is gracious enough to work with our weaknesses and respond to our doubts with repeated reassurances of His love and faithfulness. If we doubt that God gives such comforting repetition, all we have to do is look back over the course of our lives to see the evidence, or better yet, pick up the Bible and start reading. Praise God for His patient faithfulness!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

02082019 Abraham Waited

Dear Missionary Lady,

Have you ever taught a lesson to someone else, and even as you were preparing and teaching the lesson, you knew you needed that lesson very badly for yourself, but realized that you were having trouble grasping it? It's hard to teach under those circumstances. You feel like a hypocrite, for one, and you might even doubt the words you're saying, even though you know deep down that they're true. It can be discouraging, as you wonder how you can teach a truth to others and expect them to get it when you as the teacher fall so short, and you're probably frustrated with yourself for not being able to get it. Those lessons taught to others can fall short of what they ought to be, but frequently God still uses the preparation and teaching to reinforce His truth in a personal way, both to the listeners and to the teacher. After all, His Word is powerful and alive.

This week I had to teach a lesson on longsuffering to my four- and five-year-old class. The lesson was on Abraham and Sarah as they waited for their promised son. I started in Ur when Abraham was 75 years old. I told the children about the promise God made to Abraham. "Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to do something very special for you. I'm going to give you a little baby boy, and then grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and I'm going to make a whole new nation just from your family."

I told how Abraham went from place to place, obeying and worshiping God. Following the Biblical record, I emphasized each time God repeated His promise. Abraham arrived in Shechem, and God told him, "Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to do something very special for you, etc." After mentioning Bethel and the south country and Egypt and the return trip, I told how Abraham and Lot split up, and then God said, "Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to do something very special for you, etc."

When the son wasn't born, Abraham thought maybe his servant Eliezer would be the answer, and then he thought the son of his servant Hagar might be the answer. But God kept telling him, "Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to do something very special for you, etc." By this time Abraham was 85 years old and had been waiting ten years already. About the third or fourth time I repeated God's promise to Abraham, (and every time thereafter), this cute little boy in my class reacted. His eyes got big and he kind of grinned, and he said, "God keeps saying that!"

"Yes," I told him. "God kept saying it, but it didn't happen yet. Abraham had to keep waiting." After the story of Hagar, there is a 14-year gap. God came back again when Abraham was 99 years old, and He said, "Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to do something very special for you, etc." (Hear little boy saying, "He said it again!") But this time God said it would happen in one year, and finally, when Abraham was 100, baby Isaac was born. Abraham waited 25 years and finally saw God's answer.

I returned home after teaching, and this lesson kept going through my head. I want to see answers. There are some things that I have been waiting on for so long, and sometimes I can't stand it any more. I feel like I need to see an answer immediately or I will just fall apart. And I know that God wants me to wait on Him and trust Him just like Abraham did.

Still my heart protests: "But I want to see something happen." And God reminded me, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7). That's what Abraham's journey was all about. Over and over again, the Bible tells us that Abraham believed God (Genesis 15:6, with NT quotations). If anyone had reason not to believe, it was Abraham. He and his wife were far too old to have a child. He waited 25 years, beyond what any hope could hold onto. As far as the biblical record goes, he went many years without additional reminders of God's promise. In spite of all those obstacles, Abraham staggered not at the promise of God. He considered not his own nearly dead body, neither the deadness of Sara's womb (Romans 4:19-20).

Abraham's faith was strong (Romans 4:20), so he could keep on waiting; he knew God would take care of him and do what He said He would do. We may not have the same specific promises, but we do have promises, and we can keep waiting too, because we know God will take care of us and will do what He has said He will do. Just because we don't see the answers doesn't make God's promises any less true or any less sure. God's truth is often too grand for us to comprehend, and our faith is often too weak to cling to that truth, but none of that changes God's faithfulness.

God says to us, (insert your own name): "Peggy, Peggy, I'm going to do something very special for you. I'm going to meet all your needs. I'm going to give you strength for all that you need to do, and I will supply enough grace for every day. I'm never going to leave you, and I'm never going to forsake you."

I don't know about you, but I stagger, sometimes a lot. God keeps teaching me and reassuring me, but my faith is weak. I am not naive enough to think or dishonest enough to say that I have learned this lesson about waiting on God, but I am thankful that God keeps patiently working His truth into my heart. Isn't God good to keep using His Word to remind us of truth, to encourage us and strengthen us? Each time we are confronted with the same lesson is another opportunity to grow and to let God work that truth more thoroughly. Can I encourage you today to rest in His promises whether or not you see the fulfillment as you desire? God won't fail.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com

02022019 When God's Plans Change

Dear Missionary Lady,

Warm greetings on a cold day - at least where I am! I trust that God is meeting your every need and is guiding you day by day.

God's guidance and direction is precisely what caught my eye as I recently read Psalm 105. This psalm recounts Israel's history, and it praises God for His wondrous works in the course of that history. What stood out to me in this reading was that God's plans for Israel changed over time to the point of apparent contradiction, and in each change, it was God who was directing.

Israel's history started with Abraham. God made a covenant with him, promising him the land of Canaan, and sending him to that land (vs. 9-12). It was God's plan for Abraham to move to Canaan and remain there. It was God's plan for Isaac to live in Canaan. It was God's plan for Jacob/Israel to live in Canaan for most of his life.

But then God's plan changed. Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt. In a time of great famine, Joseph was able to provide for his family, and the whole clan moved to Egypt (vs. 16-24). That was God's plan. It was God's plan for Joseph to live in Egypt, and for the nation of Israel to live in Egypt for 400 years.

Then God's plan changed again. Moses was appointed by God to lead Israel out of Egypt and back to Canaan, albeit with a 40-year interlude in the wilderness (vs. 26-44). It was God's plan for Joshua and Caleb to live in Canaan. It was God's plan for Gideon and Samuel and David and Josiah to live in Canaan.

While Psalm 105 does not include the continued story of Israel's history, God's plan changed again. It later became God's plan for Israel to live in Babylon and Assyria. Later it was God's plan for a remnant to move back to Israel, where they were at the birth of the Messiah. Then it was His plan for them to be scattered abroad in the time of the early church, living throughout Asia and Europe. Not until the late 1940s was it God's plan for Israel to return to their land in large numbers. And someday (soon) God will pull Israel back to their land with divine thoroughness.

What is God's plan for Israel? Where does He want them to live? Canaan? Egypt? The wilderness? Babylon? Europe? The answer to all of these questions is "Yes." Each location, in its time, was God's plan. Psalm 105 supports such a statement by repeatedly attributing the changes to God's intervention. The psalm celebrates God's "wondrous works" (v. 2), "his marvellous works" (v. 5), and "his wonders" (v. 5). I count at least thirty-two actions of God in this psalm, things that He did on Israel's behalf as He led them from place to place.

Why did God's plan change so often? It certainly was not because God did not love them, nor was it because God was powerless to prevent the changes. Verses 8-10 speak of God's everlasting covenant with Israel, one that He always remembers and is committed to fulfilling. It is indeed God's ultimate plan for Israel to dwell in the land of Israel. That is the place to which He has repeatedly pulled them and will ultimately pull them.

The temporary absences from that land were, however, part of God's plan as well. Those absences were necessary and served specific purposes in accomplishing the ultimate plan of God. God had different purposes for Israel over the years: initiation of His covenant, growth into a mighty nation, training in obedience, chastisement for willful sin (with the purpose of restoration), the spread of the gospel. The pressing need at the time dictated God's guidance, as He created the environment in which to meet that need.

God wanted Israel to live in Egypt so He could abundantly provide for them and increase them from seventy souls to a great multitude. God needed Israel to live in the wilderness so they would learn to trust and obey Him. God required Israel to live in Babylon so their hearts would return to Him. God deliberately scattered His disciples into the world so they would carry the message of the gospel. Each exception, whether it was 400 years in Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness, 70 years in Babylon, or 1900 years in Europe, carried its own purpose within the overall unchanging plan of God.

I have a brother and also a dear friend who went through puzzling changes. After many years faithfully serving in ministry, God led them each to new ministries - both for a mere two years - before leading them back to the exact ministry where they had previously served. Why? This doesn't make sense. As with Israel, the answer is that God had a different purpose for those two years, a purpose that could only be accomplished in a different setting.

We can look back at Israel's history and see the different needs and reasons for the changes. We don't always have that same insight in our own lives. But God does. He knows exactly what we need and for how long. Whether those temporary puzzling changes have to do with geographic location, type of ministry, co-workers, health, finances, family situation, ministry challenges, or anything else, God knows exactly why each change is needed. He knows precisely what He is accomplishing in each situation.

The other comforting aspect of this psalm is how far God went to effect each change. When He needed to move His people, He truly did great wonders! He moved heaven and earth for them - sending famines, bringing unfathomable plagues, parting seas, giving fire by night, providing manna, springing water from a rock, driving out enemies (v. 16, vs. 27-36, vs. 39-41, v. 44). When God needs to make a change, He is well able to do it, and He can accomplish it so there is no doubt! And in the midst of all the change and upheaval, He carefully watches over His people (vs. 14-15).

Thanks, praise, and glory are indeed appropriate for our great God, who knows exactly what He is doing and why, who is completely able to accomplish His purposes for us, and who gently watches over us while He does it! God is great, and God is good. May you rest in His guidance and supervision of your life, even when you don't understand.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com