Lesson From a Son 5-28-13

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." Rev. 21:4

Have you ever wrestled with God over the death of a loved one? (Person or pet?)

"How come God makes people die?”… A question posed to one of our sons recently. Below is our son’s abbreviated answer:

“I'm very sorry to hear your aunt died. I can't tell you all the reasons why it happened. I do know that God promises that He is near to those who are hurting (Ps. 34:8). He cares very much about your pain. He knows all about what you are going through; it hurts Him, too….

The world is broken, and it's our fault, not God's:  God is good.

…The Bible says that God made people in His image and told them to take care of the world and each other. …God is life. He gives life to everything, and apart from Him, there is no life.

~What would happen if I decided that a rose bush didn't need water, tore it up by the roots, and left it to grow on the sidewalk? It would die.

And why should I be surprised?

 I took away the things it needed to live.

 That's what sin does to us; it separates us from God. …The Bible says we all have sinned, that we've all gone our own way, either actively rebelling against God or simply not caring (Rom. 3:23). We don't want God to be our King; we want to rule ourselves.

In reality, sin rules us, and sin always leads to death (Rom. 6:23). ~And it's not just death here; after we die, we either go to live with God forever, or are separated from Him forever. (“Hell”: a place we are totally isolated, cut off from God and everything that makes life good.)

God wants to give us life:

But God doesn't leave us in this desperate state. Even though we all turned against Him, He still loves us, and He doesn’t want us to die. He knows that no matter how hard we try to be good, it isn’t enough. …Jn. 3:16 says, "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

God sent His own Son, Jesus, down to Earth to die and save us from sin and death.

~Jesus lived the perfect life that none of us could, then took the punishment that we deserved. He died on the cross so that sin wouldn't stand between the Father and us anymore.

He showed us once and for all how much He dearly loves us,

and willingly paid the highest price to save us, His own blood.

And here's the really good news. Jesus didn't stay dead. After being dead for three days, Jesus rose again. And He offers His life to anyone who wants it. …Now, everybody has to make a choice. Do we accept Jesus' free gift, or choose to live life our own way?

But remember, even though Jesus came to save us from our sins, the world is still broken, and we lose loved ones to death … However, the Bible says that in the end, God will come to set things right, and there won't be anymore death or mourning or crying or pain for those who belong to Jesus. Rev. 21:4”

We pray this message of hope and life speaks to your heart. Death is tough; we just put down one of our pets last week and are still feeling the sting.

Living in Him; come Lord Jesus!   Much love this week,  ~Shaun and Betsy

Tutored by the Kids 5-20-13

“Fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”    Deut. 8:18-20

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old,

he will not depart from it.” Prv. 22:6

These days, what joy and blessing we (as parents) repeatedly receive from our adult sons as they personally experience the truth of God’s promise in Ps. 24:14:  

“The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.”

One profound yet brief example we’re honored to share with you is the finding from one of our son’s recent discoveries. (Although he’s not the only researcher to have mined this treasure, the Spirit revealed Truth to him as if he were the first. ~The same assurance God promises all who wholeheartedly search for Truth.)

• Utilizing research from 4 sources, our son studied the names of men cited in Genesis 5 and Lk. 3: 34-38         
• Next, he recorded these name definitions in sequential order.
•  His discovery: the names themselves tell the Gospel message.  What a God!

We thought we’d share this Genesis 5 Gospel message with you:

“Man (Adam) acquires (Cain) breath (Abel), and is appointed (Seth) mortality and sickness (Enosh). The Possessor, Purchaser, Blessed God (Cainan/Mahalalel), will descend (Jared), being dedicated to bring His death (Enoch and Methuselah). He will be made poor and low (Lamech). He will bring comfort, repose and consolation (Noah) to His people. His name will be renown (Shem), a “Healer, a Releaser” (Aphaxad) and “Purchaser” (Cainan). With outstretched arms (Shelah), He will pass across the great two parts (Eber). He will divide (Peleg) ‘the friends of the Shepherd’ (Reu 1) from ‘the evil and miserable’ (Reu 2), who will be bound as branches (Serug) to be burned (Nahor). The Spirit (Terah: dove, wind, breath, spirit) will rest on the father of many nations  (Abraham) – all those who are a part of the covenant of God.” (Abraham: the center of the name meaning ‘to cut covenant’; Abram was changed to Abraham in Gen. 17:5)

Our son’s exciting conclusion: These texts, written over thousands of years, is a divine message of love and redemption, written by the hand of God Himself (mere man could not have arranged this), to both a people living long before Jesus came to earth through our present day.

~What a humble privilege it has been to raise and launch 2 of our 3 kids into independent adulthood. …And what blessing God is now giving us by allowing these young adults to profoundly minister back to us.

He is coming soon, may we all be found faithful and ready!  ~Shaun and Betsy

Surprise! Prepared In and Out of Season 5-13-13

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." 
1 Chr. 1:19

Less than 14 hours after touching down from a week-long honeymoon in Puerto Rico celebrating Shaun’s 50 b-day, God afforded Betsy the opportunity of a “5 min. 1 on 1” with the renowned David Gergen.

“Be prepared in season and out of season; preach the word, correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Tim. 4:2

Gergen was a guest speaker at a Hospital CEO event in So Cal, addressing a myriad of “hot D.C. topics”, The Affordable Healthcare Act being a primary subject matter. (FYI: He was visibly taken-back by this well informed audience’s “reality check”).

With commanding authority and knowledge obtained through a half century of Beltway politics, Gergen, although remarkably informed, shocked us. -- It was as if he’d chosen to look at world events through the circumference of a straw instead of viewing events through a much larger, readily available, lens.

“The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

Ps. 119:130

Minutes after his talk, in a brief encounter, God allowed Betsy and Mr. Gergen to quickly established common ground, where from Betsy was then able to share current “classified intelligence”. Gergen inquired where she got her information and Betsy gently responded, “the Bible”.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have… do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Pet. 3:15

Then, responding to his look of confusion, she humbly answered,

“Sir, (pointing upward) He is batting a thousand. ~Start with Is. 17 and Ps. 83…the Middle Eastern countries you spoke of this morning are all mentioned.”

“I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you.” Lk. 21:15

~With this, their time together was up.

Jesus is coming for us soon. When given divine opportunity, oh, may we be diligent in and out of season.  Much love this week, ~Shaun and Betsy

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.” Is. 64:4

Promise with the King 4-29-13

"Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD.” Hos. 5:4

God, out of LOVE, calls us to live a holy life. (1 Thess. 4:7) As we better understand this divine love affair, we are much less likely to be seduced by “the show”.  

“The show”: Society’s theater, where in the masses blaspheme in matters they don’t understand. Like unreasoning animals their idea of pleasure is to carouse with eyes full of adultery, mouths full of empty and boastful words, appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, and enticing the vulnerable with promises of freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity.  (2 Pet. 2:12-14; 18-19)

Yet Gal. 5:1 encourages us: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!”

People frequently comment on the banner of blessing (vs. a yoke of slavery) that our family lives under. All we can say is thank you, Lord Jesus. The primary “secret”? ~Amidst inevitable difficulties of this life, we Cleary’s pray that we each will continually make personal choices that honor our Lord’s binding covenant with us.

This is a profound concept to understand, but likened to Jonathan and David’s example of covenant (1 Sam. 18:3-4), we too have exchanged our identity, our defense, our strength and our very life with Christ.

We exchanged our identity with Christ by choosing to take off our sin nature and put on His robes of righteousness … His character. (Jesus clothed Himself in our humanity and took upon Himself the sins of mankind, past, present and future. Out of LOVE, He paid the ultimate penalty for our sin --the cross--, and now sits at the right hand of the Father making continual intercession on our behalf.)

And we’ve exchanged our defense and strength with Christ by taking off our independent “me-me” life, putting on His armor (Eph. 6:10-18), then taking on our covenant partner’s (Christ) enemies, with His strength (His Holy Spirit within us), whilst trusting Him to take on our enemies, both tangible and intangible.  

~Praying this is making sense to you.

The cool thing is that this kind of faith and power is not limited. Through developing an intimate and trusting relationship with God by means of studying His Word, prayer, and obediently living out our days in the joy of His presence (no matter how difficult the circumstances), the flow of His blessings is limitless.

Living through the power of His love and strength this week,   ~Shaun and Betsy

Pseudo Love vs The Real Deal 4-15-13

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Jn. 15:12

Believers in America today too often believe “to love as Christ loves”, means we must accept, then embrace all of society's lifestyle choices and cravings.

Not long ago, we Cleary’s had a note placed on our minivan in the high school parking lot telling us that if we’re truly Believers, we would “love as Christ loves” and embrace a particular progressive movement at the school.

Question: What does Christ mean when He says, “love as I love”? Does Jesus mean embrace all lifestyle choices and cravings of sinful man? Or does He mean something quite different? 

Let’s explore what He says in His love letter to us:

First, Jesus tells us and shows us how much He loves us:

His unfailing love is as high as the heavens. His faithfulness reaches to the clouds. He is so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for His help. ...God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son (God had His Son beaten, scourged, forsaken and crucified), so that everyone who believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life. (Ps. 57:10; Ps. 86:5 Jn. 3:16)

Next, Jesus describes what love looks like:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and 
endures through every circumstance. 1Cor. 13:4-7

Then Jesus cautions us:

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 Jn. 2:15-17

The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world. Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” Jn. 15:19; Jms. 4:4

What love He’s lavished on us who believe.  Oh that we may love others in the manner He intends, and not via our own intentions in His name.

His is coming so soon.

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy

Eagerly Awaiting 4-11-13

These days, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven.

And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil. 3:18-21

What are some of the qualities produced when we genuinely “live with the expectancy of Christ imminent return”?

Development of a sense of self-examination and a commitment to “training”, where then the indwelling Spirit refines our character and transforms us into His image

Development and refinement of our unique “calling”, so we more effectively serve Him, plus realize a higher level of personal fulfillment

Development of a yearning for intimacy with Christ, where He then keeps our hopes vibrant and our spirits lifted

Development of dependence on the Spirit in us (versus dependence our own strength, intellect or feelings), generating freedom, joy and rich blessing

Development of inward groaning concerning sin and a yearning for our eternal home

Development of a sense of urgency to “get our house in order” and share Jesus’ love and truth with others

Development of genuine love to aide a loved-starved world (LOVE bred from the Spirit within and not our limited nature)

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 1Tim. 4:10

May we in everything set an example by doing what is good. In our teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose us may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:7-8

He is coming for us soon.

Shaun and Betsy

Clinging...to What? 4-1-13

“I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses”

2 Cor. 12:5

God makes us a powerful promise when He says, in 2 Cor. 2:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

~But what does this promise connote and how does it play out in our daily lives?

Looking up the meaning of this verse, we discover that His kids are actually possessed by His unfailing strength, unmerited favor, goodwill and kindness.  … ~We are actually possessed by His personal attributes when we make the choice to revere and adore God in our moment-to-moment life choices.

Further, this unfailing strength (His resources and ability, power for performing miracles, moral power, influencing power, and excellence of soul) is performed and accomplished when we are weak in ourselves, and strong in the Lord.    …

~“Weakness” resulting not only from infirmities/illnesses, but also, weakness in bearing trials/troubles, weakness in restraining corrupt desires, weakness in gaining understanding, and weakness for doing great and glorious things in this life.

This Easter week has challenged each of us Cleary’s in differing areas of weakness as we ventured in different corners of the USA. Choosing to cling to Him and not our own notions, we praise our Lord’s faithfulness in bringing forth unexplainable joy, peace and understanding into our diverse situations.

This is motivating. As we begin to truly understand the nature of God’s grace and power in our lives, and recognize what necessitates their ignition, we too join Paul and say, “I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses”.

But it’s a difficult battle. Our world system places her confidence in powers other than God Almighty, and demands we do likewise.

So the question for us this week is this:

Is my source of strength today GOD in me or ME in me?

(MY feelings, MY intellect, MY courage, MY might)

In this together,

Much love,

Shaun and Betsy