Marveling at Jesus

Let’s really marvel at Jesus this week. Let’s marvel at the fact that Jesus changed how the world expresses compassion, that he shaped education, revolutionized art and changed political theory. In him, we find hope and the one and only path to God.

For centuries, people lived distinctly divided lives. Identity remained defined by the group into which each person was born or married. Then Jesus taught people about God, himself, and the Holy Spirit that would reside within them after his death, and he gave them a new way to define themselves. Jesus presented an idea of community that no one had ever seen. In this community, all manner of people, wealthy or poor, Gentile or Jew, slave or free, were welcome.

           

Think of all the dissimilar people that Jesus brought together! People like C.S. Lewis, Bono, Joel Osteen, Denzel Washington, and Tim Tebow; all of them united because of one man—Jesus Christ!

           

We are all one body united in Christ. As sinners and broken people, whether we are black or white, Asian or German, tall or short, single or married, parents or children, hip or nerdy, new believers or spiritual authorities, we are one community. Only one thing matters: Our identity is found in Jesus Christ, and he lives in all of us. Jesus brought us all together. He gave us hope through community. Who else could do that?

One of the most predominant principles shared in most westernized societies is the right of citizens to obtain an education. From about five years of age until around age eighteen, it is expected that children will attend school and be taught the knowledge, skills, customs and values necessary to shape them into productive members of society. This has become such a common occurrence that it’s pretty much taken for granted. But it wasn’t always so.

           

The life and teachings of Jesus would radically alter the “status quo” of education being a privilege only for the elite and would shape the foundation of education. Jesus, the ultimate Teacher of all time, set the precedence for making no distinction between fishermen, women, rich, poor, outcasts, young or old. His classroom was on mountaintops, in boats, synagogues, roadways and private homes. He taught one-on-one, in small and large groups, both privately and publically. He used methods that everyone could understand through parables, stories and everyday life occurrences and examples.

Jesus revealed to us the mysteries of God; of His immeasurable truth, love, mercy and grace. Through his teachings, Jesus gives us the hope of a relationship with God and his death on the cross. His burial and resurrection make that relationship a certainty. 

In Mark 3:17, Jesus taught that we are to follow the rules laid down by government while still surrendering to God all that belongs to God...which, of course, is everything else. In his time, Jesus’ statement was an abomination because he pointed out that, while government is an important element in our lives, there is also another realm, a second and ultimate authority by which we are governed. The Pharisees realized that, under this man’s reign, their dominion could be profoundly limited, and they were having none of it! But even by killing him, they couldn’t change what Jesus had set into motion.

From that time until now, disciples of Christ have been standing on these precepts. When it came time for our forefathers to design a governing document for this new world, they purposefully based it on the teachings of Jesus Christ: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and have been endowed by their Creator with certain rights…”

           

Jesus was also the architect of our global concepts toward human rights and dignity. He delivered a fresh perspective, and Galatians 3 reported that, in Christ Jesus, there is no longer a    distinction between people, and that we are all one our servanthood to him. In this election year, it’s important to remember that this powerful perspective grew sturdy legs throughout political history. Martin Luther King, in fact, was inspired by scripture at The Mall in Washington, D.C. when he began to quote the Book of Amos and    ultimately moved forward to declare to the gathering crowd: “I have a dream...that one day…”

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Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most recent book, Always the Baker Finally the Bride is the final novel in the Another Emma Rae Creation series from Abingdon Press Fiction. Check out her website at www.SandraDBricker.com. 

Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church. Today's devotion is borrowed from the Living It Out study on HOPE. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check out the daily studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.

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Our Calling is Connected to OTHERS

It’s refreshing to know that God called us to be connected to others; think of how lonely you would be otherwise!

Your calling, the assignment, purpose, vision or dream that God has for your life, is connected to other people. It is impossible to fulfill your purpose in life by yourself. Apart from others, we cannot succeed in our calling. 

Pastor Rick Warren emphasizes, “Calling and community go together. You cannot be what God wants you to be…fulfill what God wants you to fulfill…enjoy your destiny on your own. You have to do it connected to other people.”

Think about the different parts of your body. An eye can translate the world into beautiful pictures for your brain to store as memory. An ear can bring you the sounds of the ocean or the voice of a friend. A hand can write, fix things, or support a friend. But an eyeball outside of the socket cannot see. An ear lopped off cannot hear. A hand removed cannot pick up a child. Apart from the body, each part is worthless—powerless, talentless, purposeless—because they are not connected. You have to be connected to the body to fulfill your calling.

There is a similar example in nature. The beautiful and grand redwoods are magnificent trees that commonly grow to between 200 and 275 feet tall. The tallest one currently measures 368.6 ft. And as tall as redwoods are, they have a comparably shallow root system. How is it that they so rarely fall? 

The redwoods’ root systems reach out for great distances and are intertwined with one another, literally holding each other up.

We are a church family—God’s family. In order to reach our full potential, we need to support each other and hold one another up! 

"Brothers and sisters, you are holy partners in a heavenly calling." Hebrews 3:1

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Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most popular series (that started with Always the Baker Never the Bride) will conclude this spring with Always the Baker FINALLY the Bride, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon.

Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church. Today's devotion is based on the Living It Out study on the importance of community within bodies of believers. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check out the daily studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.

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Giving Thanks Keeps Ungodly Attitudes in Check

 “Decide to turn blessings into praise: Every blessing you pour out, I’ll turn back to praise. Every blessing I don’t turn back to praise turns into pride.”

 - Craig Groeschel

Ungodly attitudes include envy, pride, entitlement, covetousness and more. Gratitude keeps these all in check. The situation may remain the same, but maintaining a grateful outlook will adjust your attitude. It’s all about perspective.

Author and speaker Craig Groeschel tells a story about his family’s vacation to a beach resort. It rained the whole week and he was not happy about it. He grumbled, whined, and made the whole family miserable as well. On the last day, the sun came out and they raced down to the beach.

The Groeschels have six kids, so each parent took three, and off they went. Craig got distracted for a moment and when he looked around, one of the little ones was missing! They searched all over and in were serious panic when the little guy came over a sand dune, pulling up his pants. After they resumed breathing, they laughed themselves silly and finished up the vacation in great spirits. At first, Craig chose to be miserable because things didn’t go according to plan, but then he chose to be grateful for his family and the time they had together.

Consider the story of the Prodigal Son. All the youngest son wanted to do was get out of his boring life and spend his fortune having fun. But when he realized that the party was over, all he wanted to do was get back to the people he loved. He was grateful to go home and be a slave because he knew his father would treat him fairly. A grateful heart changes our perspective.

So what’s next? What do you do now? How about praising God for all of the amazing gifts He’s given, beginning with His precious Son? Let’s pray together and ask the Lord to rid us of any ingratitude, envy, pride, or entitlement within our hearts.

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Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most popular series (that started with Always the Baker Never the Bride) will conclude this spring with Always the Baker FINALLY the Bride, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon.

Sandie leads a team of writers in creating the Living It Out daily Bible study for CedarCreek Church. Today's devotion is based on the Living It Out study on the importance of gratitude. If you enjoyed it, feel free to check out the daily studies by e-mail or audio podcast by clicking HERE.

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Evolution Isn't All Bad

CynthiaRuchti tells stories of Hope-that-glows-in-the-dark through her novels and novellas, devotion collections, speaking, teaching, and a history of 33 years as a radio writer/producer. Her books have been recognized by RT Reviewers’ Choice, Retailers’ Choice, Family Fiction Readers’ Choice, and other honors. Her novel When the Morning Glory Blooms (Abingdon Press Fiction) releases April 1, 2013, and has received an impressive 4-1/2 stars AND Top Pick from Romantic Times. In July, her nonfiction project—Ragged Hope: Surviving the Fallout of OtherPeople’s Choices—releases from Abingdon Press Christian Living.

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 “I can’t imagine this scene any other way.” … “No, I can’t kill off such a beloved character!” … “Read my lips. I’ll never write historicals.” …“I’ll never write contemporaries.” … “You’ll never find the word Amish in one of my novels.”

I don’t remember saying the words aloud, but the last of the foot-planting fell this past month when I keyed in the letters A-m-i-s-h in the final draft of a novel that releases in 2014. I know. It surprised me, too.

Another novel, releasing April 1, 2013—When the Morning Glory Blooms (Abingdon Press)—could form an Evolution is Not a Dirty Word chapter of a fiction craft book. In its earliest form, it had one viewpoint character and one timeline—the late 1800s. It languished that way in the primordial ooze for years. Not quite whole. Its limbs weren’t fully formed. The character telling her story did a lot of that. Telling.  But I couldn’t imagine the book any other way.

Tenacity is prettier than stubbornness. So I traded up. I let imagination wander far enough to include a second era, a second point-of-view character. Better. Now the story could both swim and crawl. It crawled and swam for three more years. But I wanted it to fly, too.

On the phone with a writer friend one day, I moaned, “I feel as if it needs a contemporary element. A third viewpoint character. A third era. That’s crazy. How could I make that work? But I can’t get away from the feeling that it needs the contemporary component.”

“Then do it,” she said.

Evolution? In the world of writing, it pairs well with creation. The book that started out as one woman’s story turned into three women’s stories told in three eras. When I quit fighting the things I said I’d never do, the novel was free to become something better, richer, deeper, more satisfying—even to me—than its original version.

 “I’ll never” may be among the most dangerous words a writer can utter. Stubbornly clinging to an initial concept could cost the heart of the story that longs to be told.

Swim. Crawl. Fly. What questions should a writer ask to help a story evolve to its full potential?

1. Would the story be stronger in a different setting?
2. Are all the secondary characters worth retaining? Are they worth the page space?
3. Am I stubbornly hanging onto a favorite scene, chapter, line that needs to go…or evolve?
4. What’s missing? Am I brave enough to consider something radical?
5. What’s holding it back from soaring?
6. Have I resisted the depth of research it would take to pull the story out of the ooze and onto solid ground? Is resisting fair to the story?
7. Am I tapping into the wisdom of others who have the story’s best interests at heart—a wise author friend, my editor, my agent, a mentor…?
8. Am I looking at the words I write as if they are untouchable treasures or as tools of storytelling? One will make them petrified. The other will make them pliable.
9. How far am I willing to let imagination roam in order to discover what the story lacks?
10. Am I thinking dangerously about this story, using words like “I’ll never” or “I can’t imagine it any other way”?

Just a few days from the launch of the novel that evolved when I was willing to ask questions like these, I’m grateful for the friend who challenged, “Then do it.” I’m grateful for the editor who said, “Go for it, but make sure all the threads of all three stories are tied up at the end.” And I’m grateful for a God who isn’t stingy with imagination, a God who decided creativity was one of the character traits we could share with Him, a God who cared about the story before I did and wouldn’t let me settle for half-formed.

If you pick up a copy of When the Morning Glory Blooms, try to picture it with any one of the three eras and three viewpoint characters missing. It wouldn’t be the same, would it?

When have you waded through a similar process in one of your own projects? How hard was it to give up the form you thought the story was meant to take in order to let it find its breath? 

Leave a comment about that process or your thoughts on these “evolution” questions so we can keep the discussion going, and I’ll enter you to win an autographed copy of When the Morning Glory Blooms.

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Nursing the Wounds of Betrayal

I can’t believe she did that! How could she have been so thoughtless? So cruel? So…fill in the blank.

We’ve all felt it, haven’t we? The sting of betrayal is like nothing else. If a stranger had said or done the same thing, it wouldn’t have hurt quite so much. But when you’ve given someone a closer look at the deepest parts of you…shown them the soft underbelly that isn’t for the world to see…let down your guard and trusted them enough to show your vulnerabilities… You don’t expect that person to poke at those soft places in your heart. And when they do? Well, that’s a pain unlike any other.

But what do we do with the feelings that follow? The Bible speaks of the limitless grace of forgiveness.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”. –Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

But…How, Lord? How?

There’s something to be said for understanding your reactions, for defining the turmoil that’s going on in your heart. Much like the physical loss of a loved one, there are stages of our grief after the betrayal of a friend or loved one.

Denial. No way! She never would have said/done such a thing. I must have misunderstood. Let me look at this again because it just doesn’t make sense. She would never!

Anger. Does she really think she’s going to get away with that? How could she have said/done that!?What is WRONG with her? Doesn’t she know…

Bargaining. I don’t want to lose the friendship we’ve built, so I’m going to have to figure out a way to deal with this. I’ll wait and see what happens. If she sincerely apologizes, THEN…

Depression. The reality is sinking in now, and I can’t escape it. My friend/spouse/sister actually said/did that. I just don’t know what to do with this. How will I ever move on? It’s hopeless…

Acceptance. Well. What’s done is done. It is what it is. I’m going to have to figure out a way to forgive and move on, even if it means moving on without my friend. Help me, Jesus.

And so – at last! – we fall into the arms of grace and allow our faith to begin healing our heart and mind. In times like these, I often wonder why I had to go through the grief process, why I couldn’t have just immediately turned to Christ and tossed my burdens at his feet without facing all those demons head-on. But I’ve come to believe it’s an important part of the process. As humans, it seems we have to make our way to forgiveness. As hard as we try, we just don’t have the same capacity for love as the One who IS love, and we have to navigate toward his light in order to reflect it.

Working our way through the muck toward healing and forgiveness takes a little time. But keep your eye on the prize, my friend. And try to remember that pain, resentment, anger…these are all temporary bricks on the path that was laid to lead us through grace to eventual forgiveness. We cross over them; and quickly too, because they have a pretty rapid rate of growth. If we stand there with them long enough, they’ll eat us alive. So we fight our way over them, knowing that He’s waiting for us on the other side.

In times like these, while I’m hacking at the jungle between me and the forgiveness that offers my heart’s healing, a song called Losing (by TenthAvenue North) ministers to my heart.

“We think pain’s owed apologies and then it’ll stop.
Truth be told, it doesn't matter if they're sorry or not.
Freedom comes when we surrender to the sound
of Your mercy and Your grace. Father, send Your angels down.

Oh Father won't you forgive them;
they don't know what they've been doin'.
Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them,
cause I feel like the one losin'.”

Pain, suffering, betrayal…These are the things that make up parts of our lives, whether we like it or not. Pleasant? Absolutely not. But no matter how broken your heart feels, working your way through the jungle toward forgiveness is the only way to the other side. And reaching the other side is imperative. There are no lessons taught, and no one suffers by your unforgiveness…except you. 

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Sandra D. Bricker is a best-selling and award-winning author of laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the Christian market. Her most popular series (that started with Always the Baker Never the Bride from Abingdon Press) will conclude this spring with Always the Baker FINALLY the Bride, which is now available for pre-order at Amazon.


Connect with the author on her website or on Facebook.

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