Purposed Steps 8-15-11

“I run with a purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” 

1Cor. 9:26

As we distinguish then embrace our unique call we’ll find that we’re not as apt to rush into the plethora of opportunities that are not part of God’s individual assignment for us, no matter how righteous or urgent they appear. ~The “need” isn’t necessarily the “call”, as the saying goes.

“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

Personal example this week:

1) Yesterday morning, our eldest called from afar asking for help. He told us that his car had developed a major fluid leak, he’d just lost his power steering, the temperature outside was near 100 and climbing, and that he was going to start walking to the hospital for his first day on the job (~10 blocks away dressed in a suit)… And would figure out what to do as the day unfolded.

2) Minutes later we got another call that we were needed at an urgent prayer meeting….the caller was intent not to take “no” for an answer.

3) At the same time, the pot boiled over on the stove and the UPS guy rang the doorbell with a delivery.

What to do?

·      Choose to attend to all in an attempt to please all?

·      Choose to attend to one/some based on the perceived need/urgency factor?

·      Choose to attend to none and allow the other involved parties to “deal”?

·      …Etc., etc.

Well, because we’ve learned to discern and embrace our call in this season of life, the choice was relatively easy. ~As we prayed words from this simple prayer, “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by Your truth and teach me for You are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You.” Ps. 25: 4-5, God clearly directed our steps.  

Yes, we disappointed at least one person, but we’re confident that we put a smile on God’s face as we walked in His directed path. “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” 1 Sam. 15:22. ~~For even though it may have made us feel better to have surrendered our time and resources to meet all of the needs at hand, the Lord impressed upon our hearts that obedience is what He pleases Him, and we had choices to make.

Oh, may we walk in a manner that pleases Him!

God bless you! ~Shaun and Betsy

Confronting Our Inner Jerk 8-8-11

    “Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” Jms. 1:19

We don’t know how you are doing in this arena, but as we Clearys learn to daily navigate life’s circumstances and relationships in the Spirit vs. our flesh, we have been amazed at how depraved we are at our core. (“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” Rom.7: 18)

Sure, if we set the bar low and compare ourselves to the obnoxious person we just witnessed at the gas station, we can fool ourselves into thinking that we are doing ok. But in reality, we are simply too chicken or too prideful to confront our “inner jerk”.

God doesn’t grade on a curve.

So, even though we may “feel” like telling the person who just _____ed us, “You sick moron, what kind of slimy fissure did you just emerge from?” … DON’T.

Jesus sets the standard, and the standard is HIGH…perfection in fact. That’s why He gives us His Spirit within us to help transform us from the inside out.

But He also gave us free will. And in the heat of the moment, it’s our choice whether we heed His voice or our emotion.

Challenge: This week when someone frustrates the heck out of us, how will we respond? ~According to the His Spirit or according to our flesh? It’s our choice.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Pet. 1:3-4

God bless us as we struggle together arm in arm! ~Shaun and Betsy

Faithfulness and Rewards 8-1-11

“His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness.’”

Matt. 25:23

Remember the parable about the talents in Matt. 25:14-28? God gives His different servants different numbers of talents, expects them to invest the talents wisely, and later, upon His return, rewards them accordingly. As we’ve pondered this parable, we sense that what is acknowledged and rewarded in heaven may be quite different than our perceptions of what we think God will acknowledge and reward.  ~~For example, most of us regretfully esteem certain believers higher than other believers based on our personal perceptions of their “ministries” (inside and outside the church proper).

Think on this equation a minute:

·       Person A grew up in an amazing believing family, lived a fruitful life honoring God, was given 50 talents, but only used 32 of the talents God entrusted to him.

·       Person B grew up in a hellhole, was abused and unloved, yet found Jesus, was given only 5 talents, and used 4 of them very effectively.

·       Who do you think gets larger eternal acknowledgement and reward?

We speculate that it may go down something like this at the judgment seat:

·       “Esteemed Person A” did much with what he was given (but missed a lot too) and is rewarded accordingly.

·       “Unesteemed Person B”, despite all odds

o   found Jesus,

o   overcame his past

o   did what he was created for with what he was given…

o   his faithfulness is noted and his eternal reward is abundant…(perhaps more abundant than “Esteemed Person A”! ~Matt. 25:23)

As we Clearys seek to understand God’s heart better, we find that we are falling in love with the difficult people in our lives more and more, and we are not as quick to judge. (~~Perhaps this difficult person is an “Unesteemed Person B” and that we are evaluating them on an “Esteemed Person A” scale!)

~~God trusts us with His divine wisdom to the degree that we know His heart. The key is to draw near to Him so that we understand His heart more and more. Deception happens when we don’t seek to understand the true heart of God, but choose instead to embrace our ideas about the heart of God and our own feelings.

It’s not easy, but it’s so worth it. Will you join us in the challenge this week?

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy

WORK 7-25-11

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Prv. 14:23

Is this a universal principle or a specific promise?

Does “work’ mean physical labor at ones workplace or emotional and/or spiritual toil in ones life?

Does “profit” mean material money or something less tangible like relational abundance?

Does “poverty” indicate without money or does it denote the lack of something intangibly wonderful?

Let’s briefly look at these definitions:

“work”:`etseb: pain, hurt, toil, sorrow, labor, hardship, offense

“profit”: mowthar: means pre-eminence, abundance, profit, excellence

“poverty”: machcowr: means need, thing needed, poverty, lack

When we look at Prv. 14:23 in the context of the entirety of Scripture, we find that it means ALL these things, plus physical, emotional and spiritual manifestations, answered in both specific promises and universal principles.

Examples? With the 3 practical illustrations listed below, please keep in mind this simple truth: Until we’ve experienced life circumstances that test our faith to its core or find ourselves buried alive in the trenches of a trial, we will not know how to respond to what we may have embraced so easily during a comfortable Bible study! Living out a life of faith IS work.

1.     If we are diligently working at our relationship with the Lord, we can expect closeness with Him and blessing from Him. But if our relationship with God is merely talk, we can expect physical, emotional, and/or spiritual lack and loss on this earth and in heaven. E.g. “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Ps. 34:10

2.     If we are diligently working at our relationship with our spouse as God directs us, we can expect spiritual reward in heaven, plus joy in our heart and wisdom in our actions here and now (regardless of our spouse’s responses). However, if our investment in significant relationships is “mere talk and no do”, we can expect heartache and worse. E.g. “A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Gal.6: 7-10

3.     If we are diligently working at our job or career, in the long haul, we can expect excellence and abundance.  E.g. “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” Eccl. 11:6 Conversely, if we choose to be lazy or idle we can expect poverty: physically, emotionally and spiritually. E.g. Prv. 10:4 “Lazy hands make a man poor.”

Is hard work easy? Definitely not. Worth it? OH YEAH it is.~ Most aren’t up for it … We are, will you join us?

Much love this week,

Shaun and Betsy

Living in Liberty and Joy 7-18-11

“Make up your mind not to worry beforehand.” Lk 21:14

If we allow ourselves to fixate and worry, we create a cloud of obsession that obscures the breathtaking sunshine of God’s truths for us.

Question to ask ourselves: Do I desire to remain in a state of apprehension, anxiety or fear? If the answer is no, how about trying this: The next time we hear ourselves say, “I’m worried about such and such or so ‘n so”, change the wording to “I’m not trusting You Lord with such and such or so ‘n so.”  And then, make a decision to seek Him wholeheartedly, obey His promptings, and trust Him for the results.

Easy? No. But against all odds Abraham did it, Joshua did it, Ruth did it, Hezekiah did it, Mary did it, Jesus did it, … if we truly want to, we can do it too.

Is. 50:10 “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on His God.”

Much love this week; let’s choose to live in the liberty and joy He desires for us!

Shaun and Betsy

It's ALL Being Recorded

“The Books were opened.” Rev. 20:11

There is no greater foolishness than to know the great salvation of God, but to then go on living for oneself.

“Thousands upon thousands attended Him; 10,000 X 10,000 stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.” Dan. 7:10

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Rev. 20:11-12

As we venture out in our relationships and circumstances this week, let’s remember this: What makes one honored in heaven is by and large a stumbling block and unesteemed on this earth. Everything we do to pay tribute to our own desires will one day bring us the most humiliation.

In His love,

Shaun and Betsy

Awe of You 7-5-11

“He will guide you into ALL truth.” Jn. 16:13

WWJD bracelets…remember these? The letters stand for “What would Jesus do?”, the question the bracelet wearer is supposed to ask himself as he navigates daily life, picturing Jesus standing next to him guiding his words and actions. Super cool, but what’s is cooler is what Jesus Himself says about working in our lives. In Jn. 16:7 Jesus says,  “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” Incredible! Jesus appears to be telling us that we are better off that He is no longer physically with us.  What?

Jesus explains, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth….the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you ALL things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Jn. 14:16-17; 26

Ok, Ok, if we truly believe this, that the Spirit of the Living God is dwelling within us, then why by our words and actions do we deny His power? …When the rubber of our life meets the road of daily living, why do many of us appear to prefer a “magic pill” or an “easy out” answer to our situations and relational difficulties, opting for lip-service to God rather than seeking intimate relationship with God (thus denying His power within us)?

In our marriages, at our work place, with our kids, amidst an illness, and the like, what are we turning to for practical direction? What voice of influence are we listening to in the wee hours of night? Truth be told, if we’re honest with ourselves, all too often we’re attentively nursing the advice of our well meaning but foolish friends, society, Oprah, Phil, and self. ~~We want wisdom, power and direction, but we deny investing in a vibrant relationship with the One who gives it!

All significant relationships require diligent investment…why would one with God be different?

Our Lord continues, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into ALL truth... He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. 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…If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing… ” Jn.  16:13-15; 15:4-5.

 Then Jesus gives us this promise: “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Jn. 15:7

What are we waiting for?

This week we Clearys have been so blessed to host a man from Northern Nigeria, where the murder of Christian’s is an everyday occurrence. This man, his wife and 6 kids live in utter dependence on Jesus for their very breath each day. ~Friends and family sat around a bonfire, spellbound and in awe of God, as this man vividly recalled God supernaturally rescuing him and sparing his life from irate Muslim mobs intent on killing him on 2 different occasions recently. Praise You Jesus.

God, You are so real, so tangible for those who draw near to You.  Forgive us Lord for our unbelief.

~Shaun and Betsy