Refreshing Faith of a Child 4-18-11

“Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”

Matt. 11:25

Devotion to God isn’t merely following a set of spiritual disciplines. It’s a commitment of LOVE that permeates every facet of our lives. Perhaps this is just one reason children are so endearing to God?

Kids come to Him in open armed wide-eyed expectancy, believing His truths and promises at face value. Why? Because Jesus’ words ring true to what God has already placed in their little hearts, the same truths He’s placed in each human heart. It’s no wonder Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt. 19:13-14)

“O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of Your strength.” Ps. 8:2 “You have taught children and infants to give You praise.” Matt. 21:16

So what happens to the wide-eyed trusting small child in all of us? Life. Life happens. And some of us tragically have had to endure more heartache than average Joe. ~When we meet one of these individuals, one of the first things we recognize is, their joy seems to have been completely sucked out. It’s heartbreaking.

Do you know what Shaun and I do our best to do when we meet someone like this? ~When we find ourselves interacting with a nasty acting person, we’ve consciously trained ourselves to picture this person as an innocent young child full of wonder. (Sometimes this is rather difficult, but we try ;-)) …Then we ask ourselves, what’s his/her story? What must have happened to him/her to cause such distrust and bitterness? …Then we pray something short like this: “Lord, please give me Your eyes into this person. Help me to understand the pain he/she must feel (ugliness has pain at the root). Give me insight into this person’s soul, insights into what is really going on with him/her versus what he/she is “presenting”. Then, please help me to interact with this person how You would.”

Scripture tells us: “You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Cor. 3:3

Little kids get it. Aside from their built in sin nature (no one has to teach a 2 yr old to say, “MINE”.), youngsters have this uncanny ability to assess and render a trustworthy response, with virtually no political positioning. (That is unless the cookie jar is within eyeshot.) Currently, most every Tuesday Betsy watches 2 little girls, sisters ages 1 and 3. What joy they bring to the Cleary household! Aside from being irresistibly cute, they’re so refreshingly straightforward in their honest assessment of life!

Need a straightforward opinion? Ask a 3 yr old. ~~God bless us this week as we lean on Him to reveal what’s really going on in the hearts and minds of people we’re in relationship with!

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy 

Divine Empowerment 4-11-11

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Jn.13:35

Jesus promises Divine empowerment:

·       “…Don’t worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time. For it won't be you doing the talking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matt. 10:19-20

·       “All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you.” Jn. 16:15

Stephen experiences Divine empowerment:

·       “None of them was able to stand against the wisdom and Spirit by which Stephen spoke.” Acts 6:10

We each can experience Divine empowerment:

Personal example:

Last week while viewing an amazing mountain top sunset (with 4 teenagers in tow), God graced Betsy with a divine appointment with an Iranian Muslim man who was there watching this same spectacular celestial display. After some small talk, this man squared his shoulders, looked intently at Betsy, and with tender eyes and demeanor exclaimed, “You have the Spirit of God in you.” Betsy compassionately replied, “Yes I do. Jesus Christ put His Spirit in me nearly 28 years ago and changed my life forever.”

Longer story short, through God’s empowerment, spiritual conversation ensued and Jesus’ grace and love was communicated in a way this man embraced. ~~The 4 teenagers now stood quiet, watching with their mouth’s opened in amazement as this Muslim man warmly hugged this Christian woman and waved exuberantly on tippy toe as we boarded our vehicle and drove away.

~The ensuing conversation was rich, with this particular truth becoming quite clear: There is something built into the human heart that either desires the grace and love of God or because of pride, despises the grace and love of God. Only God knows who are destined to be His and who are destined to choose their own way. Our job is to prayerfully share/radiate His truths in love as He leads. God’s job is to do the rest.

·       “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. 2Jn. 3:1

·       “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Cor. 13:14

God bless you this week as you reach out and touch someone with His love and grace!

Much love,                            

Shaun and Betsy

Open and Closed Doors 4-4-11

“I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show You My power and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Ex. 9:16

Have you ever felt like the Jewish believers in this passage: “O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble! Why are You like a stranger to us? Why are You like someone passing through the land, stopping only for the night? Are You also confused? Are You helpless to save us? Jer. 14:8

Likened to these folks, undoubtedly, some of us are also feeling estranged, prostituted, misdirected or abandoned by God right now. (And no doubt, some of us who are feeling this way deserve it, because we have done some serious “straying” from God’s best for us.)… But what about those of us who are not being chastened by God’s loving hand of discipline? What about those of us who are seeking God wholeheartedly (Mk. 12:30) yet find ourselves struggling with “Divine abandonment issues”?

Despite what we’re sensing or how things appear, we are prudent to keep Divine focus and acknowledge what the Israelites acknowledged in the very next Jeremiah verse, “You are right here among us, LORD. We are known as your people." Jer. 14:9

Recently we Cleary’s had a proverbial door slam shut on us. In this particular instance, the situation was not one of personal perseverance and overcoming, but a life lesson produced by God for us to recognize that He was not in this thing and He was shutting this particular door. What was our response? Well, because we’d been seeking God during this entire process, when the door that we wanted closed, oddly, we got excited. Excited? Yep. ~Sure we could have stayed in the game and forged on in our own talents and strength, and perhaps we may have even experienced limited success, …but the tried and true principle that we Cleary’s have learned in our almost 30 years together is this, “If God ain’t in it, get out ASAP!”

And although God hasn’t given us clarity as to His reasons, nor has He opened another door, we truly have joyous inner peace as we lean on Him and wait in eager anticipation for what He will reveal in His perfect timing.

So how about you? When you get a figurative door slammed in your face or when things just don’t make sense in your life, what’s your response? Where do you go to gain perspective/understanding?  ~~ Do you first go to God and pour out your concerns, fears, anxieties, confusion, heartache or pain to Him like the psalmist in Ps. 57:2?  “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.”

Or is your and our first choice to pour out our thoughts to a friend? Go to work on our self at the gym, spa or hairdresser? Escape in a novel or a movie? Visit Internet sites? Perhaps ingest a substance to dull the senses or act out an “alter ego”? Etc., etc., etc. (10 to 1 our answer is directly related to the vibrancy of our relationship with God at the time of the crisis.)

This week let’s make it a point to remember:

·       “God has saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2Tim. 1:9

·       “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” Eph. 2:10

May God bless you and you live for Him!

Shaun and Betsy

Mocked now, but not for Long 3-28-11

“There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him.”  Is. 53:2

Our college boys were on spring break last week, and during one of our dinners with extended family, we got to telling “stories of ole”. One of the storylines centered on how our eldest son and friends used to tease younger brother Conner. Our eldest vividly recalled a story when he and one of his buddies regretfully mocked a ‘then much smaller’ younger brother to the point of running for their lives and locking themselves in a room for hours until Conner’s anger subsided. (Unlike Jesus remaining silent when mocked (Matt. 27:12), our Conner did have a breaking point when it came to the scorning of himself.)

Why was this story humorous? Well, a lot has changed these days. In short, Conner’s physical frame, emotional demeanor and spiritual depth have change drastically from those days of ole’. At 6’7” people (esp. his big brother) simply don’t mess with him much.

Why tell this story? Well, hopefully without sounding disrespectful, this remembrance reminded us of a much bigger story: Jesus’ story.

Despite Hollywood portrayals of a good looking muscular chap, have you ever considered that when Jesus walked on this earth as a flesh and blood man, society at that time likely described His physical appearance as an unattractive whippy scrawny dude vs. some kind of a super human hunk?  Check out the scriptures! The text clearly tells us that there was NOTHING about Jesus’ appearance that would have attracted us to Him…nothing. Jesus was mocked and discredited His entire adult life (Scorned in every area of His life, Jesus’ physical, emotional, and spiritual makeup was discredited. Rom. 1:21-22; Lk. 18:32; Matt. 27).

But all of that is about to change. Instead of going away to college and growing up, like our Conner, Jesus ascended to heaven and got Himself one kick-butt glorified body and all the power of the universe to boot. And one day shortly this same Jesus will once again reveal Himself to the world. And what will be her response this time? Shock, as she in horror realizes this Glorious Truth for herself, then recognizes and openly admits that she has been completely WRONG, as each one bends a knee and confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Phil. 2:6-11; Rom. 14:11; Rev. 19-22; Is. 45:22-25)

What does all of this have to do with us? Jesus tells us that if we are His followers, we too will be mocked and persecuted during this life (Matt. 24:9; Mk. 13:13). ~~We will be thought of as idiot-fools.

When this happens (not if), let’s remind ourselves of these truths:

·       “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” 2 Cor. 4:16-18

·       “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” 2Thess. 1:6-10

God bless you this week!  xoxoxo  ~Shaun and Betsy 

He Calms the Storm 3-21-11

“A fierce storm developed that threatened to swamp them, and they were in real danger.” Lk. 8:23

The first words spoken on our car radio this morning were “Have you got your neighbors picnic set in your yard? … Call it ‘the neighborhood swap meet’! …Damages from this weekend’s storm continue to mount.” ~~ We Cleary’s were out of town this weekend, but as we drove closer to our beloved Santa Barbara Sunday evening, we observed agricultural fields completely under water, the 101 freeway flooded and narrowed to less than 1 lane, 1 accident after another, trees down, debris everywhere, …then back at home, the creek that runs through our property now 40 ft. across and our yard quite rearranged/redecorated. What a sight!

And this morning, we find ourselves in a storm of a different kind with a dear family member in major surgery back in Walter Reed Medical.

We are reminded:

·       Is. 24:20 “The earth staggers like a drunkard. It trembles like a tent in a storm.”

·       Is. 25:4 “O Lord, You are a refuge from the storm. To the needy in distress, You are a shelter from the rain and the heat.”

When calamity overcomes us like a storm, when we are engulfed by trouble, when anguish and distress overwhelm us we are wise to remember, Ps. 107:29 “He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.”

God bless you this week.

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy

Spread the Fleece 3-14-11

“For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5:38-39

Dependence on God:

·       “As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.” 2 Chr. 26:5

·       “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.’ So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning (dependence on God).” Ex. 17:8-11

Dependence on self:

·       “You have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception…because you have depended on your own strength” Hos. 10:13

·       “But Moses said, ‘Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies’…Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah. Num. 14:41-45

Living life depending on God frees us! ~Instead of personally making something happen, when we sense God telling us to do (or not to do something), we’re wise to put in the work towards that end whilst watching God open and close the doors, thus allowing HIM to be in charge of the results.

Ask: What am I doing today in my own strength (no matter how noble)?

Next question: WHY? …Do I actually LIKE being stressed out and maxed?

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10 

Each of us has a unique call…a unique call for every moment of every day through a lifetime.

Question: Am I doing what I am called to be doing right now, no more or no less?

We Cleary’s are certainly asking ourselves this question as we “spread the fleece” in a few areas (Jdgs 6:34-40). Will you join us?

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy

Discerning Opportunities 3-7-11

“Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Eph 5:17
How to best discern opportunities in this life? Before tackling this BIG topic in one little page we’re wise to understand that God has lessons He is determined to have us learn in this life, and He will creatively use many vehicles to this end. Our personal opportunities aren’t as important as what we do with them and how we do it.

What we do with “opportunities” and our personal conduct is a direct reflection of what we truly believe. Question: Are our daily choices and bigger decisions based on eternal perspectives or are they primarily influenced from our temporal earthly vantage point?

In Num. 13:17-20 After promising the Israelites a extraordinary land of their own and before blessing them with it, God directs Moses to send some men to explore this land to gather information. Moses obeys God and sends a scout team on a 40-day venture into the heartland of enemy territory. The result? The scouts gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. (Like God promised.) BUT the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…the land we explored devours those living in it.” Num. 12:28; 32.

We can examine these verses from numerous angles, but the one we’ll highlight here is this: God promised His Jews this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And indeed, after gathering information (as we should do when we are discerning opportunities), this promise proved to be true. But, these scouts also discovered some very real obstacles standing between them and this divine promise.

~Where the Israelites failed was in their next move. Instead of wholeheartedly seeking God and transparently taking their very real concerns to Him (fervent prayer and seeking Godly counsel), they tragically chose to focus on the temporal obstacles and abandon the promise. 


(A side note: Discerning what is of God and what is not of God only comes through fostering a vibrant relationship with God Almighty. In our personal lives we are wise NOT to assume that every good opportunity is of Divine origin.)

Personal example: We Cleary’s are currently in a private time of ‘discerning opportunities’, but let us share with you a time in our past when we were given a divine promise, a promise that manifested itself so differently than what we’d envisioned, we almost missed it. ~This was our move from the Bay Area to SB over 14 years ago.

God made it indisputably clear that we were supposed to sell our business and move to Santa Barbara, but this was NOT something we wanted... or envisioned. (Can you believe this? Not wanting to move to Santa Barbara? Claw marks can still be seen all the way down the 101 from Betsy’s fingernails!) Thankfully we followed God’s lead and made this difficult move. The result? We have been amazingly blessed in so many realms, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But, please don’t assume that because we’ve found blessing, we did not experience hefty difficulty and heartache along the way. Be assured, we did.

The bottom-line? When discerning opportunities, cultivate a vibrant relationship with the Lord, gather information, seek divine counsel, and pray unceasingly for Him to reveal a divine thumbs up or thumbs down. And remember, God’s promise may not be the picture we’ve had in our head.

Much love this week as we walk in faith together,

Shaun and Betsy