Category:

Peace in the Storm

9/14/2017

By Josie Siler

We live in trying times. The world around us seems to be falling apart, yet if you look closely, you’ll see people coming together. Neighbors helping neighbors, friends helping friends, complete strangers stepping up to help those in need; it’s a beautiful thing to witness, even from a distance.

I live in Wisconsin and today is a beautiful summer day. After a cold stretch last week, this week it’s back in the 80’s and the sun has come out to play. When I look out my window I see flowers blooming and dozens of butterflies flitting about from one bloom to the next. It’s peaceful and calm.

Yet I’m not untouched by the tragedies happening around the country and the world. I’ve been keeping my eyes to social media and the news, following the battles that friends and others around the world are facing.

While at work, I chatted with a customer who was visiting from Montana. As we stood in a children’s boutique watching her daughter play, she calmly told me her account of the fires raging out west and the air that is unbreathable. People are unable to leave their homes and so many others have had to be evacuated.

A friend living in Nepal shared about the monsoons and terrible flooding happening in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. Thousands have been killed and millions of people are displaced. If she hadn’t shared on Facebook, I would have never known.

Videos and photographs from friends and strangers alike have filled my screens as stories of devastation, survival, kindness, and miraculous rescues have been shared from Texas to Florida and so many places in between.

With tragedy striking in so many places in such a short period of time, it’s not surprising to hear people asking where God is and why He isn’t intervening. When you add in each of our own personal struggles and pain it’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed.

Friends, let me be perfectly clear. God has not abandoned His people. God’s words of encouragement to the Israelites are still true today.

But now thus says the Lord,
He who created you, O Jacob,
    He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:1-2, ESV

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you belong to God. You are His and there is nothing and no one who can change that. We are His, and there is no fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, monsoon, or chronic illness that can harm us.

“But how can that be,” you may wonder. I know, many people have lost their lives, so how can I say that nothing can harm us? I can say it with complete confidence because we are more than just our physical body.

We’ve been going through a series on what it means to be united with Christ. We’ve learned that when we place our trust in, and choose to follow Jesus, our spirit is united with His. We become one. We recognize that our spirit, united with Christ Jesus, died with Him, was buried with Him, and rose from the dead with Him. We are now seated at the right hand of God, in Christ. That my friends, that’s who we really are.

The thing that makes us special and unique, the essence of us, is our spirit, not our physical body. That’s why I can say with confidence that nothing can harm us. One day our physical body will die, but our spirit is already living united with the eternal Christ. That won’t change.

When we understand this, we can experience God’s peace in the midst of any situation. We can extend God’s love to those around us who are hurting and suffering as much as, or more than, we are. What an incredible gift!

I’ve been thinking a lot about the destruction and total loss that so many have recently experienced. It’s hard for me to fully understand because it’s something that I haven’t personally experienced. I think about all of the inheritances that have been destroyed, never to be passed down to children or grandchildren.

There is a lot of heartbreak there, yet what I’ve been hearing over and over is that stuff can be replaced. And even the things that can’t be replaced are nothing compared to the safety of a loved one. You see, it’s people who are important.

When I read Ephesians 1:11 (NLT) this week, I knew I had to share it. It says, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.”

What earthly inheritance could ever compare to the inheritance we get from God? To be chosen by God and united with Christ is the greatest gift we could ever receive. It’s the most important gift that can be given to friends and family, and it can’t be destroyed by fire, flood, storm, illness, or anything else.

So what is our response to the devastation the world is experiencing and that we may be experiencing? First of all, we remember that God isn’t surprised. He told us in His Word that we will experience these types of trials, yet He also told us that He is with us and will never leave us!

Second, we grieve and we rejoice. We grieve with those who are experiencing great loss and deep emotional pain and we rejoice with those who have seen miraculous provision.

Third, we do what we can to help. We offer a hand of assistance, a shoulder to cry on, and a listening ear. We donate needed finances and supplies as we’re able. We search out the most reputable organizations so the help we send gets to the people who need it the most.

Finally, and most importantly, we pray. We pray for rain, we pray for restoration, we pray for healing, and we praise God for all of the ways that He has already intervened and assisted. We praise Him because no matter what hardships we face, He is still God, He is still on His throne, and He is still worthy to be praised.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love,
a tender heart, and a humble mind.
- 1 Peter 3:8, ESV

4 Comments

The Power of Transformation

8/24/2017

1 Comment

By Josie Siler

Jesus is in the business of transforming lives; it’s kinda what He does! When I think of biblical examples of transformed lives, one person in particular comes to mind. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any greater transformation than what took place in the life of Paul, also known as Saul[1].

Saul was an Israelite; he was not only part of God’s chosen nation, he was from the tribe of Benjamin and had been circumcised when he was eight days old. He grew up to become a Pharisee, living in strict obedience to every detail of the Jewish law, and demanding the same of others. He was zealous in His faith, so when the church started to grow he did everything in his power to destroy it. (Philippians 3:5-6)

Saul was present when Stephen was killed and he fully approved of his death (Acts 8:1). He then traveled the area, literally dragging followers of Christ out of their homes, men and women both, and throwing them in prison. His intention was to destroy the church (Acts 8:3). Scripture tells us that “Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers (Acts 9:1, NLT).”

I can’t help but think that Saul thought he was all that and a bag of chips. People probably admired him, feared him, and/or wanted to be him. But then, one day, everything changed. Saul encountered Jesus in the most dramatic fashion.

He was on his way to Damascus, with permission from the High Priest to gather up any followers of Jesus he could find and deliver them to Jerusalem in chains (Acts 9:2). As he neared the city, a bright light appeared and Saul heard the voice of Jesus asking why he was persecuting Him. He was told to go into the city and await instruction. The light vanished and with it, Saul’s sight. He was blind. (Acts 9:3-8)

He remained blind for three days until Ananias, a brave follower of Jesus, obeyed the Lord’s command to go and lay hands on Saul so that he could regain his sight. When he did, scales fell from Saul’s eyes, he was baptized, and he immediately began preaching about Jesus. (Acts 9:9-20)

Wow, what a transformation! So, what really happened? What changed? Yes, there was a dramatic vision, but the real work happened in Saul’s heart. He encountered Jesus and He decided to follow Him. That was the real dramatic encounter, and it’s something we can each experience for ourselves.

We can go about our lives saying all the right things. We can be zealous in our faith by doing all the right things, but heart transformation isn’t about what we say or do, it’s about what Christ has done. True change and growth only happen when we encounter Jesus and decide to follow Him. We can read Paul’s own revelation about this truth in Philippians 3:8-9.

I once thought these things [heritage, zeal, and persecution of the church] were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. [Note and emphasis mine.]

Our own personal transformation occurs when we understand that salvation and unity with Christ are gifts that are given to us, not because of anything we have done, but because of what Christ has done. This can be hard to accept because we humans are all about “doing” and “earning” things. It’s hard to believe that we don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love and acceptance.

But really, what could we ever do that would be enough? God’s standards are so high that we could never meet them, not in a million years. But God knows this, and that’s why He sent His Son, Jesus. Through Christ, and our unity with Him, we’re reconciled to God. We’re loved, accepted, given new life, and are heirs with Christ.

When we encounter Jesus and decided to place our faith in Him, we instantly become royalty, a son or daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s why Jesus came. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:16-17).”

Do you believe, not just that God exists, but believe in Him? Have you placed your faith in Jesus and decided to follow Him? If so, rejoice in your unity with Him and remind yourself that life isn’t about what you do, it’s about who you know!

If not, you can do so right now. Pray with me, “Jesus, today I have encountered You and I believe in You. You’ve opened my eyes and my heart and I choose to place my faith in You and follow You all of my days. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me, loving me, and being my life. Continue to reveal Yourself to me as I follow You. I love you, Jesus! Amen.

“Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was!
He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.”
– Paul, 1 Timothy 1:14

[1] www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/no-saul-the-persecutor-did-not-become-paul-the-apostle

1 Comment

Can You Hear Me Now?

6/22/2016

0 Comments

By Josie Siler

Fear is a sneaky little devil. More accurately, fear is stirred up by the sneaky little Devil himself. We know we shouldn’t be afraid, yet it’s so easy to give in to fear. After all, there are so many things to be afraid of. In today’s world there is no scenario where we are ever perfectly safe. We’re in danger constantly – danger caused by other people, danger caused by the weather and natural disasters, danger caused by our own bodies and the diseases they hold…

I could go on, but I think you get my point. Danger is literally lurking around every corner. Yet God tells us not to be afraid. “Fear not!” He whispers in our ear. It’s hard to hear Him over the noise that is our everyday reality. So He speaks a little louder, “Fear not!” We still don’t hear Him so He shouts, “Fear not! I am with you!”

I’m reminded of the old Verizon commercials, “Can you hear me now?”

“Yes God, I can hear you. But I’m still afraid.”

What do we do when the fear won’t let up? What do we do when our brain tells us that we don’t have to be afraid, yet we can’t catch our breath and our heart tries to jump out of our chest? What then, God? How do we make it stop?

I don’t know about you, but I get really angry when I let fear win, when I let Satan win. He’s such a jerk! How can we get control over the fear and not let it affect us?

There are some practical things we can do when fear strikes. The first thing we can do is pray. Most of the time we’re not going to be able to overcome fear on our own. We need to ask God to help us to not be afraid. We need to ask Him to replace our fear with peace. Sometimes this will do it. Sometimes, God’s peace will so suddenly and completely fill us that it takes our breath away. Other times the fear hangs on, clinging to our insides and not letting us go.

When we can’t shake the fear, even after praying, it’s time to bring in the reinforcements. Asking others to pray for, and with, us is a powerful thing. You don’t have to live in fear alone. Ask a friend or family member – or several friends and family members – to pray as well. There’s power in petitioning God together, being united, and lifting each other up.

The second thing we can do is turn to God’s Word for encouragement, truth, and hope. God’s words of encouragement to the people of Israel are also words of encouragement to us today. Isaiah 41:10 (The Message) says, “Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.”

The last, and perhaps the most illogical, thing we can do is rejoice. The Apostle Paul encourages us in Romans 5:3-5 (NLT):

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

“We can rejoice.” We can. It’s a choice. We can choose to rejoice when something scary comes along because we know that God is in it, He is good, and He will help us get through whatever it may be. We can choose to rejoice and let God’s love develop our character and fill us with hope. We can choose to rejoice in the glory of God that will be revealed in the midst of our trial.

Are you living in fear? Are you ready to tell the Devil to “Shut the heck up!”? Let’s start by praying together.

Dear Lord God, I’m so scared. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am. I feel so helpless; things are spinning out of control and I can’t stop any of it. I don’t know what to do. I can’t breathe, I can’t function, I’m stuck. I’m stuck in this horrible place and I need You. I need Your help desperately God! Will You take the fear away and fill me with Your peace? Will you help me to remember that I’m not alone? Will You give me strength? Will You help me? Please hold me steady and keep a firm grip on me. Help me to endure this trial. Give me strength of character and a confident hope in You and the salvation found in You, Lord. Thank You, God, for loving me so much. I love You too and I trust You with my life and the lives of those I love. Amen.

0 Comments

When Self-Control Fails Us

6/8/2016

0 Comments

By Josie Siler

I’m convinced that june bugs are suicidal. As a biker chick I’ve been familiar with june bugs for quite a while now. It’s hard to forget the feel of a big, juicy bug thwacking against the soft, exposed flesh of your neck at 55ish miles per hour.

The only exposed flesh on my body while I’m driving my motorcycle is my neck, where the helmet doesn’t reach and the leather jacket doesn’t cover. In the summer my fingertips are also exposed out the ends of my fingerless gloves.

It never ceases to amaze me how a june bug can find those little pieces of exposed flesh and kamikaze dive right into them, killing themselves and leaving their juicy little innards behind. The first time I took a june bug to the neck I thought I’d been shot. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that extreme, but to say it stings would be an injustice to the june bug.

For years I thought it was my fault – that I was driving into their flight path. After last weekend I’m convinced they’re suicidal. It was my birthday and I was celebrating with family and friends around a large bonfire. Shortly after dark large somethings began whizzing by our heads. Soon we heard strange noises coming from the fire.

If you’re thinking kamikaze june bugs you’re right! They were drawn to the fire like a moth to a flame. We heard the whizz as the bugs flew by our ears. The whizz was followed by a sickening sizzle and ferocious flapping of wings before all was quiet…until the next suicidal june bug’s kamikaze dive into the fire.

We tried to warn them. It didn’t work. I sat there watching june bug after june bug fly into the fire. I thought about the ones who have given their lives on my neck, fingers, leathers, or windshield and said, “There’s got to be a blog post in here somewhere!”

I’ve been thinking about it, and this is my takeaway. People aren’t any better than june bugs. We all do things to hurt ourselves. We eat food that we know makes us feel sick because for those few moments it tastes so good. We don’t exercise like the doctor suggested because it’s tiring and we hurt when we try it. We stop taking that one medicine because even though it will be good for us in the long run, it makes us feel sick when we take it. We constantly do things that are not good for us because just for a moment we feel good.

We all have our weaknesses. Food, trashy movies, bad relationships, a secret sin, or maybe we’ve just given up. Self-control is hard, so hard. Add in sickness and everything that comes with it and self-control seems impossible.

Proverbs 25:28 (ESV) says, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” My paraphrase – “A man without self-control is like a june bug flapping in the fire and burning alive.”

Self-control is vital to living a holy and joy-filled life. When we can’t muster up self-control, we need God-control. Let’s face it, sometimes life is too hard and we don’t have the energy, strength, or even desire to try to control our actions. That’s when we need to reach out to God and ask Him for help.

When we ask God for help we stop living for ourselves and start living for Him. In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NLT) Paul says, “Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” With Christ we have died to the things that hold us back, to who we used to be and the things we used to do. We can live new lives in Christ and for Him.

God also gives us the Holy Spirit to help us. Galatians 5:22-23 encourages us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

With the Holy Spirit living in us, we can be confident in how we live our lives. 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) reminds us that, “…God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

If you’re in a kamikaze dive like a june bug flapping in the fire, there’s a way out. Ask God to help you. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. Even though it’s not easy, it’s a whole lot easier than going it alone and finding yourself in the fire with no way out.

Trust God, ask Him for help, and remember that living inside you is a spirit of power, love, and self-control!

0 Comments

The Future You Hope For

5/18/2016

0 Comments

By Josie Siler

I love trees. Trees are my friends. That’s why it was so painful when I had to say goodbye to several trees in my yard last year. I knew they had to go. They weren’t healthy and they were hurting the healthy trees that were close to them, but that didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

The hardest tree to say goodbye to was a big beautiful maple right outside my office window. It was huge and cast wonderful shade over a good portion of my front yard. The tree was beautiful, but it was unhealthy inside. Like many of us, it had an invisible illness. Only the trained eye of the arborist could see the disease.

The tree had to go. If we didn’t cut it down there was a good chance that it would break during the next big storm and fall right on my house. I understood why it had to be cut down, but I didn’t like it.

When the tree was cut down it left behind a big, gaping hole. We filled it with dirt, but the ground is scarred and ugly. Now when I look out my window I’m reminded of something beautiful that was taken away and turned ugly. It reminds me of my life.

I had a great life, a beautiful life. Everything looked great from the outside, but inside I was sick. Many years later I look back and see the scarred earth where my flourishing life used to be. It’s not a gaping hole anymore, but it’s not pretty.

I have big plans for that scarred part of my yard. It’s going to be beautiful again. This month is my birthday and for my present my parents took me to one of my mom’s favorite places, a place with lots and lots of rocks. I immediately spotted the best rock in the place and claimed it as my own.

This rock is a perfect sitting rock. It’s a huge rectangle with a perfectly carved out seat for sitting. The back area is curved and fits me as if God Himself carved it as a perfect match for my back. It’s going to be the centerpiece of my little sitting rock garden.

Along with my sitting rock I picked out a small square rock that will be my footstool, a big gorgeous rock that has shades of green (my favorite color), a large blue and grey rock that will complement the other colors and a small blue rock that was too beautiful to resist.

Soon these rocks are going to be set right on top of the scarred piece of earth the beautiful maple tree left behind. It’s going to be hard work to place them just right. It’s going to take patience to choose the perfect flowers to plant among the rocks, water them, and wait for them to grow. But when it all comes together it’s going to be beautiful.

Dare I say I think it’s going to be more beautiful and special than the maple tree was? There are still roots under what is going to be my sitting rock garden. Those roots are the foundation I will build upon. I have grand plans for that scarred piece of earth.

My dreams and plans for my sitting rock garden give me hope and remind me that God also has a grand plan. His plan isn’t for a small piece of land that’s as miniscule as a speck of dust to Him. His grand plans are for me – and you.

God knows that our lives haven’t been easy. He knows that things have been stripped away and we’ve been left scarred. But God’s plans are perfect and good. He has a plan to restore our lives to something even better than what we started with.

Jeremiah 29:10-11 (The Message) says, “This is God’s Word on the subject: ‘As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.’”

Most of us are familiar with verse 11, but verse 10 helps put it in context. The Israelites were in exile. They were wounded, scarred, and hopeless. Yet in the midst of that pain God comes in and says that He has plans to restore them, take care of them, and give them the future they hoped for.

God doesn’t rush things. He knows where we are right now and where He wants to bring us. God can turn our scars into something beautiful if we let Him. It will take trust, patience, and a whole lot of faith. But if we can do that, if we can trust God with our lives, He will be with us every step of the way. He will give us patience and help us believe in Him.

“…Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” ~ Mark 9:23-24 (NLT)

0 Comments

Confessions of the Living

3/24/2016

0 Comments

By Erin Elizabeth Austin

“Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday dear Erin! Happy Birthday to me!” Okay, I know I’m being a little silly at the moment, but sometimes, you need to cut loose and have a little fun. I have to admit, my past two birthdays, I forgot that. Thirty was that dreaded number where I didn’t want to think about no longer being in my twenties. At thirty-one, my attitude was blasé. I didn’t really care and treated my birthday like it was any other day. But today, I’ve decided to treat birthday number thirty-two differently. I’m alive, and that deserves to be celebrated!

I’m not actually supposed to be alive today. I know most people can’t say this, but more than one doctor has given me a life expectancy date. Shortly after I turned eighteen, I was diagnosed with lupus. Even worse, I was diagnosed with one of the most severe kinds of lupus there is – a kind where people don’t live very long. At eighteen years old, I was told my life expectancy was a maximum of ten years. Needless to say, being a senior in high school, I didn’t take that very well.

For a long time, I chose to ignore what the doctor said. I decided to continue on with my plans, and no disease was going to interfere. Less than a year later, I realized just how much I couldn’t control what my body decided to do. After moving on from the land of denial, I quickly fell into despair. Life wasn’t fair, and I had every right to wallow in self-pity. But that got me nowhere. From there, I became angry – at sickness, the cruelty of life, and especially God. Since life wasn’t fair, I decided that meant God was cruel. But all this did was cause me to struggle even more. I lost my joy for each new day. I needed God to survive what little time I had left to live. I didn’t want people to remember me as a bitter twenty-five year old. I wanted to be remembered for the ability to laugh and for being a blessing to others. So I stepped into the world of contentment – a choice one has to daily make when dealing with any kind of suffering. And that’s where I’ve spent the past seven years, choosing to be content.

Yet I’ve realized something over the past year. As important as it is to be content in life, it doesn’t mean we should be content to settle for less than God’s best. As we celebrate Easter this Sunday I’m reminded of the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection. As Christians, we always talk about how Jesus made it possible for us to have eternal life because of His death and resurrection. And it’s true! Don’t get me wrong. If you’re not sure if you have a personal relationship with God, please message me. We should all know where we will be when we take our last breath, but Easter is about so much more than guaranteeing our place in Heaven.

The whole point of Easter is celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. He is ALIVE!!! Easter Sunday is about Jesus making His victory – His life – ours. We should never be blasé about life. Jesus made life after death possible – that includes life after destruction, life after the diagnosis of an illness, life after divorce, life after pain and despair, life after tragedy, and life after brokenness. A relationship with Jesus is LIFE!

Our lives are often like Christ’s death on the cross. Bad things happen and our hopes and dreams are shattered. We find ourselves like the followers of Christ, who became so absorbed in Jesus’ death they forgot His promise that death wouldn’t defeat Him. Rather than celebrating the promises of the living God, we are stuck mourning all we’ve lost. We can become so focused on our pain that we become like the women who visited Jesus’ tomb. They were so wrapped up in their grief they completely missed the fact that Jesus was alive.

Just like Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome, we can miss out on the life God has promised because we are too self-absorbed in our problems. Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so we could have abundant life. Just because we are sick doesn’t mean our lives are over. Instead of treating each day like it’s Good Friday (the day of Jesus’ death), we should be acting like it’s Easter Sunday (resurrection day). Our story doesn’t end in death and destruction. Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have life. The choice is up to us whether or not it will be an abundant one.

It’s time to celebrate and join the living! Yes, we may have a hard life, but that doesn’t mean we should act like we’re already dead. We get one chance at life. This isn’t a dress rehearsal. Don’t waste today! Choose to live!

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~ John 10:10

0 Comments

The Fog of Change

3/22/2016

1 Comment

By Josie Siler

Last week the ice was coming off of the lake near my house and the whole thing had turned into a large bowl of fog. The air was warm and smelled like spring. Everything was shrouded in mystery. The fog rolled over the ice like waves skimming over the top of the soon-to-be gone frozen layer.

Spring is a time of change and as I walked around the edge of the lake my mind mulled over that word. Change comes, whether we’re ready for it or not. It waits for no one. We either accept it when it comes or we resist it, fight it, or run away from it.

We just celebrated Palm Sunday. Good Friday will be here in a few days, followed closely by Easter. These too are all times of change.

Palm Sunday was the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. John 12:12-15 (ESV) reads:

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!”

The people thought Jesus was coming to fight, to take His rightful place as King, and abolish the rule of the oppressive and hated Romans. Just a few short days later their shouts of praise turned into shouts of anger.

Good Friday was not a good day. It’s the day Jesus died. The same people who had just been praising Jesus turned on Him. They realized that things had changed and He wasn’t going to do what they expected Him to do. He wasn’t going to fight the Romans and they hated Him for it. In John 19:14-19 we read:

Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered Him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Can’t you just imagine the denial Jesus’ followers must have been in? Surely they hoped until the very last second that Jesus would rise up and fight. That He would save Himself. They didn’t understand that Jesus had to die, that He was the only one who could take the sins of the world upon Himself and die for each and every one of them – die for each and every one of us. Everything had changed and Jesus’ close followers didn’t know what to do. They felt lost and alone.

Easter Sunday was glorious. Jesus rose from the grave, conquering sin and death and saving us all. Sunday is what makes a Good Friday possible. Luke 24:1-7 tells us:

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.

So much change happened during that week so long ago, so many emotions were felt. Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a King, yet by Friday things had drastically changed. Friday was the lowest low of humanity. Friday all hope was lost. Oh, but Sunday! Sunday hope burst forth, leaving the tomb empty and our hearts full.

So often in life we feel as if we are living in the misery of that Friday so many years ago. Things have changed and our hopes have not just been lost, they have been crushed. We’re living in utter darkness and we know that something has to again change or we’ll never survive.

Dear friends, if you’re living in the fog of change or the darkness of Friday, please hold on. Sunday is coming! You don’t have to live in a hopeless world because Jesus, the hope of the world, is alive!

Jesus never promised that we wouldn’t have dark days, but He did promise to never ever forsake us. Cling to Him, draw strength from His pierced hands, and invite Jesus Himself to live inside you. Never give up – your Savior lives!

1 Comment

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

3/1/2016

2 Comments

By Josie Siler

Danny Gokey tells the story of a pastor watching a surgery. The pastor had convinced a surgeon who attends his church to allow him to observe a heart surgery. What the pastor saw was nothing short of amazing.

The surgeon completed all of the repairs and it was time to restart the heart. Even though everything was as it should be, the heart wasn’t beating. He knelt down and whispered to the woman. He told her, “We have fixed your heart. … There’s nothing wrong with your heart. … I need you to tell your heart to beat again.”

Her heart began to beat again.

Out of this incredible story comes one of my favorite new songs, “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” by Danny Gokey.

This song speaks to my heart on such a deep level. If you read my recent devotion entitled “Earl Had to Die” (http://www.erinelizabethaustin.com/blog/earl-had-to-die), you know that last month I went through some medical trauma. I’m still trying to recover from this, and to be perfectly honest, I’m having a hard time.

Technically I’m healthier than I’ve been in a very long time, maybe ever. Yet my body is still recovering, and so is the rest of me. I feel as if I’m stumbling along in a deep fog, lost and unsure of which way to turn. I’m so very tired, which is to be expected, yet incredibly frustrating.

I need to tell my heart to beat again. I need to start living again. Yet I’m terrified. I’m afraid it’s all a joke and I’m not really getting healthier. I’ve been here before. I’ve been “better” before, and then the “chronic” in “chronic illness” reared its ugly head and I was back where I started.

Is this time really going to be any different? What if I get sick again? What if the healing stops here and I don’t get any better?

Does it really matter?

Kutless sings a song called “Even If.” It’s about praising God even if the healing never comes. Even if the healing never comes, God is still God and He is good and He is faithful.

I know this to be true with all of my heart, and no matter what happens I will choose to praise Him. I know this in my head, but my heart hasn’t caught on yet. It needs a jumpstart. I need to get past my fear and tell it to beat again.

And so do you.

When we get sick one of our greatest fears is that we will never get back the person we used to be. We want our old life back and we want everything to be the same.

Friend, that can’t be. It wouldn’t be healthy. When we’re going through something as traumatic as chronic illness we change. As we look to God for hope, grace, and the strength to go on, we can’t help but be transformed. Truly, our old self has died. And this is a good thing because out of death comes life, abundant life!

In John 10:10 (ESV) Jesus tells us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Satan wants nothing more than to steal our joy, kill our bodies, and destroy our lives. But Jesus came so that we can live abundant lives, whatever our circumstances.

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

We can let go of the life we used to know. It has been crucified with Christ. It’s time to embrace a new life with Christ. The life we live in the flesh (healthy flesh or sick flesh) we live by faith in Jesus – the Jesus who loves us so much that He suffered and gave His own flesh to save us.

You may live with chronic illness, but that doesn’t have to keep you from beginning again. There’s so much more to the story of your life. God isn’t done with you yet. He has something special planned for your life.

But what?

I know. It’s hard. It’s overwhelming. Where do we even start? God is so huge and there’s so much we can do – but there’s also only so much we can do. I was recently told to look for that one thing. That one piece of God’s heart that He wants us to show to others. Once we find it, we’ve found our purpose.

I love this! For me it’s hope. God wants me to share with others the hope found in Him. That’s my purpose in life, and it’s something I can do healthy or sick.

Do you know what your purpose is? What’s that one piece of God’s heart that He wants you to share with others? Today, let’s tell our hearts to beat again and begin living our purpose. What an exciting life we’re beginning!

Watch the video below for the full story and the song.

2 Comments

A Rubber Band Life

2/17/2016

0 Comments

By Josie Siler

When I was a kid I used to play a game with my big brother involving rubber bands and fingers. You’ve probably played it too. You take a rubber band, loop it around your thumb, and hook it around your pointer finger. Aim at your sibling, drop your thumb, and – SNAP! The rubber band shoots across the room looking for an eye to poke out.

Of course this is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. It’s one of those great games that often ended in a big fight. There was another problem with this game. You just can’t trust a rubber band. There were times when I stretched the band so far that it broke, injuring myself instead of my brother.

The key to the game was to get the tension just right. Too little tension and it wouldn’t go far, too much and it would break. This took the right sized rubber band, a steady hand, and no shortage of bravery.

You know, sometimes I feel like that rubber band. I feel as if I’m living in a land of tension, being pulled thin and about to burst forth into my future, yet being held back by the thumb of God.

“Not yet,” He says. “Wait for iiiiiiiit…” He whispers, with a smirk on His face.

I know that God isn’t cruel. He’s not smirking because He enjoys tormenting me. He’s smirking because He sees the bigger picture. He knows what comes next and when the perfect time is to let me loose so I can shoot across the room and hit my target.

Life is full of tension. God’s Word is full of tension. It’s a balance of now, but not yet. It can be infuriating! But it’s also beautiful. I’ve discovered three keys to living in the tension of a rubber band life.

First, we must trust. We must trust that God knows what He’s doing and that He knows what’s best. We must trust His timing, and most importantly, we must trust Him. We don’t trust people we don’t know, so in order to trust God we need to get to know Him. We do this by talking to Him and reading the Book He wrote for us, the Bible.

Second, we must believe. We must believe God’s promises to us, and we must believe that He will keep those promises. There are literally thousands of promises in the Bible. Do you believe them?

Third, we must hope. Hope is such a glorious word. According to Merriam-Webster, “hope” means “to cherish a desire with anticipation.” It also means “to expect with confidence” – a definition which links back to the word “trust.”

When we trust and believe God, we can confidently expect Him to fulfill His promises to us. Promises such as:

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20, NLT)

Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14, ESV)

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27, ESV)

There are so many promises of God. Look them up, discover them for yourself, and treasure them! (Remember to keep God’s Word in context, read several verses before and after the promise to make sure you understand what God’s saying.)

When we remember to trust, believe, and hope, we can cherish our desires with anticipation. We can be confident that God will answer our prayers asked in His Name because He is faithful. This is more than adding, “In Jesus’ Name, Amen” to our prayer for a million dollars. These are prayers that align with God’s heart and His Word. These, my friends, are prayers we can cherish and eagerly look forward to being answered in God’s perfect timing.

I know it’s hard to wait, to live in the tension of a rubber band life. But it’s worth it. Oh the joy that will come when our patience and faithfulness has been rewarded! One day all will be made right. One day God will drop His thumb and we’ll fly through the air to the future He has for us.

I don’t know what that will look like for any of us. Maybe we’ll land in the lap of our future spouse, maybe we’ll land in the doctor’s office with a miraculous clean bill of health, or maybe our destination will be the lap of Jesus as we enter into the joy of Heaven.

We have a grand future to look forward to, but we also have today. We can’t ignore today because we’re too busy waiting for the future. After all, today was the future last month! Each day is another day God has given us to be alive, worship, and glorify Him.

When it comes down to it, I don’t know much – but I do know this: God is in control, He is good, and His timing is perfect. Do you trust Him? Do you believe Him? Will you choose to live a life of hope?

“But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable and opportune time; O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness, Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].” ~ Psalm 69:13 (AMP)

0 Comments

Confessions from a Weary Soul

1/28/2016

2 Comments

By Erin Elizabeth Austin

Have you ever been bone-tired, sigh-worthy, weary to the depths of your soul? I think we all get like this at one point or another. This is even truer for those living with a chronic illness or the caregiver of someone who is sick.

I was reminded of this the other week when I was playing with my nephews. For those who don’t know, I have three wild, very rambunctious nephews who are my pride and joy. Nothing brings me greater joy than being fun Aunt Erin, so I do my best to play with them whenever I get the chance, but that’s not always easy when you live with three chronic illnesses.

My nephews are incredibly understanding when it comes to my needing to take a break from playing and resting for a moment. But that doesn’t change the fact that I try to be as active as I can with them. I don’t want their memories of me to be sitting on a couch and watching TV. So we go outside, play ball, water games, and even the occasional game of tag. Of all the games my nephews like to play, nothing wears me out more than trying to catch three wild monkeys racing around the yard. It never takes long for me to start huffing and puffing like an out of shape asthmatic dragon. And without fail, whenever the boys return home after visiting, I immediately crash. My energy reserves are gone, and not even a huge chocolate bar and 16-ounce cup of coffee will make me get off my couch.

Just as we can become physically exhausted, we can also become this way emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Personally, I’ve experienced this several times over the past thirteen years of living with lupus, Crohns, and fibromyalgia. It’s easy to become soul weary when you’re fighting a daily battle like an illness. When our defenses are down physically, it’s easy to become lackadaisical and apathetic towards life. Life becomes common, and we can quickly lose the desire to persevere. In essence, we become stuck.

The Jews experienced this during the time leading up to Jesus’ birth. From the days of Malachi until Jesus was born, the Israelites endured 400 years of silence from God. Although He didn’t abandon them, He also didn’t communicate with them. And as time went on, more and more people gave up hope the long awaited Messiah would ever come. They became weary.

More often than not, we too become weary and give up hope God will ever intervene in our lives. We think because He doesn’t operate in our timetable or answer our prayers the way we want, that He doesn’t care. We give up hope of things ever changing in our lives. Yet we miss so much when we do this. Because we allow ourselves to give up, we miss seeing God at work.

Although becoming weary is understandable, it makes us become self-absorbed. We become so focused on ourselves, we are unable to see God’s miraculous power at work in our lives. Sometimes I wonder if the reason why God is silent in our lives is because we aren’t allowing Him to communicate with us. Think about it. When Christ was finally born, the majority of Israel missed it. There were signs that something huge had happened, but other than a few shepherds, wise men, and Simeon and Anna, no one knew the Savior had come. They were the only ones paying attention.

In Luke 2:25 we are told Simeon was in the temple waiting to see the Savior because God had promised him he would. Every time I read this, I’m amazed by the faith Simeon had to have. By all outward appearances God wasn’t working. Yet Simeon chose to cling to the promise God made, and God was faithful. Christ would have come even if Simeon had given up, but think of the blessing he would have missed!

The same can be said for us. No matter what is happening in our lives, no matter how dismal things appear, God is always at work. He doesn’t abandon us in our time of need, but we have to hold on and not give up, no matter how weary we may be. We are not left to our own devices when problems come. We have a Savior! He is waiting with open arms for you and me.

Can you see Him? Are you paying attention?

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” ~ Psalm 121:1-3