June 28, 2010

Wait For It!

"For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!" Isaiah 64:4 (NLT)

Tomatoes are one of my favorite summer foods. OK, I hear all of you out there. How can ANYONE like tomatoes? I guess it's just an acquired taste. Anyway, I used to have a huge vegetable garden in my backyard where I grew lots of tomatoes as well as other vegetables. Eventually, the shade from the tree growing next to it prevented me from using this piece of ground as a vegetable garden anymore. But that didn't stop me from craving tomatoes so as the summer season progressed, I would visit the local Farmer's Market to get my tomatoes. Problem was it was only open one day a week and if I had a craving for fresh tomatoes during the week, I always had to wait.

This year I decided to grow my own tomatoes in pots on my patio. That way I would have my own supply and wouldn't have to wait to get my tomatoes. Well, guess what? I'm still waiting! I think I was one of the first in my town to get tomatoes planted and I have been checking daily looking for fruit. All I ever saw were lots of leaves and a few yellow blossoms. But a few days ago I took a closer look and found tiny green tomatoes hidden among all those leaves and blossoms. Hmmm…seems like God was at work inside those plants while I was looking at the outside.

"Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O LORD our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us." Jeremiah 14:22 (NLT)

"Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him." Isaiah 30:18 (NKJV)

I know my tomatoes are coming. I may have to wait for them, but they'll be here. I have to admit, though, that there were several weeks of doubting and disbelief. I couldn't see anything happening and was beginning to think it might be another summer of Farmer's Market tomatoes. But while I was looking at the outside, God was at work on the inside.

It's like that for those we pray for. I know that a lot of you have done more than your fair share of waiting. And for a lot of you it doesn't seem like anything is happening. All you see are the outside leaves of circumstances and the blossoms of situations and you wonder if all that prayer planting and scripture watering is ever going to pay off. But the Lord is at work in the heart of those you pray for. While we are looking at the outside, He is at work on the inside.

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." Ezekiel 11:19-20

Just seeing those tiny green tomatoes has really pumped me up. It seemed like a long wait but there are signs that something is happening. I just needed to trust that there was growth where none was visible. That's hard enough to do with nature and even more difficult to do with people. But if we continue to care for the hearts of those we pray for; if we continue to love unconditionally and pray without ceasing; if we continue to trust that there is movement where none is visible; if we continue to go to the Lord on their behalf, I just know we will soon see the seeds we have planted start to grow and before long we'll be enjoying the fruit of a new family, restored and rebuilt on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

"This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed." Habakkuk 2:3 (NLT)

God Bless,
Kim, standing in Nebraska
http://rejoiceministries.org/Kim.html  
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061
http://rejoiceministries.org  

June 21, 2010

Building A Home

"And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed…I will also give you rest from all your enemies." 2 Samuel 7:10a; 11b

The other morning I was watching a fat mama robin gather twigs for her nest. She had a whole bunch in her beak and then would spy one she liked better, drop the whole caboodle, and start all over. I guess she wanted things "just so" for her home. She wasn't willing to settle for less than the best.

I'm guessing this is the same mama robin who had returned to her nest in my tree year after year to lay her eggs, care for her young, and teach them to fly. A few weeks ago, we had some pretty strong winds and the nest that had been in that tree for years was scattered in pieces on my lawn. I felt badly that the nest had been destroyed because her return was always one of the things I looked forward to. But this robin is not a quitter. After just a few days of hard work, the nest is back and her song is greeting me once again through my open window. Even though the "house" had been destroyed, that tree was still her home.

What is it that makes a home? For my grown children, the place I live now will always be their home, even though they have houses of their own. This is the place where they had their friends over for sleepovers and wrestled with the itching of chicken pox and built snow forts in the backyard and had prom and graduation pictures taken. This is the place where they cried and laughed and argued and loved. It isn't the house itself that makes it a home; it is the shared memories and love.

"Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." Hebrews 3:4

You may not have the same "house" that you had when you were younger, but you have the same home. A home is built by kind words and gentle admonishments and love. It is strengthened and fortified by prayer and Bible reading. It isn't so much a place as a state of mind. Whether it is a two-story brick in a quiet neighborhood, an apartment overlooking the city streets, or a small bungalow at the end of a long drive, your home is where your heart is. Your home is also where God's heart is. As Mr. Steinkamp wrote in a devotional one time, "No matter where you live, God knows your address."

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young — a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." Psalm 84:3-4

The Lord loves families and He wants to be the center of the home. Like the mama robin, He is not willing to settle for less than the best for you. That is why He has raised up prayer warriors in your family to stand in the gap and pray for the restoration of your home. He wants you to be strong and fight for your family and your home.

"After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." Nehemiah 4:14

The Lord wants to restore broken families and make them whole again in God's love. He loves you, He loves your parents, He loves your family, and He loves your home, wherever that might be. When He is the center of your life, that home can be a place of peace.

"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." Isaiah 32:18

God Bless,
Kim, standing in Nebraska
http://rejoiceministries.org/Kim.html  
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061
http://rejoiceministries.org  

June 11, 2010

Summer Season

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)

There is a season to everything on the earth. Right now we are heading into summer and the earth is coming alive with the warmth and the beauty of the season. Crops are being planted, flowers are in bloom, the sun is with us longer each day. We have been released from the day-to-day routine of school and have shed our winter coats and snow boots. We can step outside in our shirtsleeves and walk barefoot in the grass. What a blessing summer is.

God has a season for everything and we have something to be thankful for in each season. The colors and harvest of the fall, the sparkling beauty of a snowfall in winter, the gentle breezes and new growth in the spring, the warmth and color of the summer.

It is the same with the seasons in our lives. Each new season brings a new blessing. And even though there are some cold and dark times, we can always find something to celebrate. God is good - all the time. Not just in our summer seasons, our seasons of warmth; but also in our winter seasons, where it is cold and dark in our hearts and souls. Jesus loves us in the cold and the warmth; in the dark and the light; in the good and the bad. And He wants us to celebrate His love, no matter what season it is.

There's an old folk tale about a man who sent his sons to look at a fruit tree some distance away. Each son went at a different season of the year. The first son went in winter and saw only a bent and twisted branch. The second son went in the spring and saw the tree was covered with buds. The son who traveled in the summer saw a tree covered with sweet-smelling blossoms. The fourth son saw a tree heavy with ripening fruit, full of fulfillment. Each son saw the same tree but each had a different view.

Just as you cannot judge a tree by only one season, we cannot judge our lives or our walk by only one season. Each season of that tree's life served a purpose just as each season in our lives serves a purpose. The Lord wants us to bloom where we have been planted. It may be summer outside but still be winter in our hearts. That doesn't matter. We can serve our Lord wherever we are, in whatever season.

In Jeremiah 29, the prophet writes a letter to the Israelites in Babylon, telling them that the Lord wants them to bloom where they have been planted. In verses 4-7, he writes, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

The Lord is telling the Israelites that this is just a season in their lives. It might not be a real pleasant season, but surely they can find something to celebrate and something to praise Him for. Despite their exile, despite the season, they are to continue to pray and seek peace and prosperity. No matter where the summer season finds you - in the physical sense or in your heart - don't forget to pray and to celebrate the goodness of the Lord.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." Jeremiah 29:11-14

God Bless,
Kim, standing in Nebraska
http://rejoiceministries.org/Kim.html  
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061
http://rejoiceministries.org  

May 28, 2010

Remember When

"Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations." 1 Chronicles 16:12-15

I think the most favorite day for my students is the day they get their yearbooks and get a chance to look back at their school year. There is a lot of "remember when" talk. Remember when we got that last second basket? Remember when Cody was laughing and shot milk through his nose? Remember the Honor Roll Breakfast and the Golden Sower Party and the Christmas Carol dinner? Remember when I was so upset and you talked to me for hours on the phone?

The Lord asks His children to "remember when," also. He asks you to remember when He parted the Red Sea and the Israelites crossed on dry ground. He asks you to remember when He stopped up the waters of the Jordan when they were at flood stage. He asks you to remember how He made the sun stand still when Joshua fought the Amorites. He asks you to remember how He made the shadows go back 10 steps when Hezekiah prayed. He asks you to remember the sacrifice of His Son so that you may have eternal life.

It is good to remember the miracles God performed for His children throughout the Bible. These people didn't have any special qualifications to receive a miracle. He did it for them in answer to their heartfelt prayers. If the Lord can alter things in the universe to bring victory for His children in the Bible, can He not also alter things in your universe to bring about your victory? Remember, we serve the God of the impossible.

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17

Think about it. Can you recall a time when you just knew the Lord was at work in your life? Maybe it was a close call that was avoided. Maybe it was an unexpected blessing. Maybe it was a scripture that tugged at your heart or made you smile. Maybe it was a time when everything was right in your world.

Sometimes, we look at the road ahead and forget to "remember when." Although it is good to look to the future, it is also good to look to the past and remember how the Lord has been there for you when you really needed Him. It's good to remember His promises and His provision. Often, in the midst of our trials, we fail to see how God has provided for us and we forget His promises to us. We pray for what we think we need instead of asking Him to help us see what we already have. We need to rejoice in God's past help, present protection and future guidance.

"On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:6-8

Yes, we serve a miracle working God and He is in control of all the things in your life. He wants you to remember that He is always there for you and wants you and your family to have the best that He can offer. So today if the road ahead looks long and difficult, get out your Bible and read about all the ways God blessed and protected and fought for His children. Then remember when He did that for you.

"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Psalm 77:11-14

God Bless,
Kim, standing in Nebraska
http://rejoiceministries.org/Kim.html  
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061
http://rejoiceministries.org  

May 7, 2010

The Final Lap

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24

It's that time of year. Leaves are starting to cover the bare branches of the trees, the tulips are blooming, the day is getting longer and, much to the delight of many children, the end of the school year is fast approaching. Take my word for it; it isn't only the students who have a hard time staying focused right now. The end is in sight, we can see it. But there is still that final lap to run. There are still tests to take, books to read, and problems to solve. Don't let the thought of freedom distract you from that final lap. Persevere. The finish line is in sight.

Paul talks a lot about perseverance in his writing. He talks at length about the eternal reward and how the things of this world do not last but God's love and salvation do. Paul endured many hardships on his journey with Christ. He was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, ridiculed, rejected, thwarted and despised. Yet he kept trusting and he kept preaching and he kept running because love for Christ burned in his heart. He wanted everyone he met to know this love; to know the freedom from sin that Christ offered; to receive the forgiveness and mercy He so lovingly gives; to know the hope that could be found in Him; to hear the promises of the Faithful One.

"The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:39

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NLT)

I know this has been a tough race, maybe a long one. Maybe you have found it difficult at times to even walk, let alone run. We need to remember that we do not run this race alone. We have a God who holds us in the palm of His hands and numbers the very hairs of our heads. We have a Savior who hears and answers prayers. We have a Jesus who offers to take our burdens on Himself. Can you see Him there in the crowd? He's the one who is clapping and cheering you on. He's the one who is coming out of the stands to help you up when you stumble and fall. And He's the one who will carry you when you get too tired to take another step.

"Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

Paul never gave up the race. Even when the final lap approached and he knew this imprisonment would be his last, he kept on to finish the race.

"As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me-the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NLT)

Paul was no quitter and neither are we. We have been called to pray and stand in the gap for the ones we love so that they, too, may receive the prize of eternal life. It isn't always easy. But your prayers for your mom or your dad, your obedience to Christ, your perseverance and faith - these are the things that God uses to draw people back to Him. These are the things that will make a difference in your parent's life. These are the things that show your love for both your family and your Lord.

Just as we need to keep our minds focused on our job at school these final weeks, so also we must keep our hearts focused on the victory that the Lord promises. Get ready for that final lap because victory at the finish line is now in sight.

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:57-58

God Bless,
Kim, standing in Nebraska
http://rejoiceministries.org/Kim.html  
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061
http://rejoiceministries.org  

PS: Have you looked at Kim's new granddaughter's picture? Kim is now a Grandma like me! - Charlyne