Don't Know What To Do? 8-28-13

“O our God, won't you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to You for help." 2 Chr. 20:12

2 Chronicles 20 details an overwhelming, distressing and frightening time for the people of God. Armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites had declared war on Jehoshaphat (their nation’s king) and were marching against them.

Today, wars, rumors of war, natural disasters, and the acceleration of progressive moral decay are causing God’s people here in the USA, similar distress.

God’s words to His faithful people in Jehoshaphat’s day are for us at present:

• Put our trust in the Lord (do not fear or be dismayed)
• Keep our eyes fixed on Him (intimacy with our Maker)
• Station ourselves (stand in our appointed positions as He directs)
• Face our enemies when and how He commands

'Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in Your Presence before this Temple where Your Name is honored. We can cry out to You to save us, and You will hear us and rescue us.”

2 Chr. 20:9

This is what the LORD says: "Be just and fair to all.

Do what is right and good,

For I am coming soon to rescue you

and to display My righteousness among you.

Is. 56:1

Stay true to the Lord. We love you and long to see you. Phil. 4:1

Loving and living in and for Him,

Shaun and Betsy

Nothin's Catching Him by Surprise 8-20-13

“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. 

This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” Eph. 1:5

The embodiment of foresight:

God decreed from eternity, deciding before the foundation of the world, to appoint YOU to be adopted into His family.

The embodiment of love:

According to His own delight and great pleasure, 
knowing that He would have to purchase your freedom with the blood of his Son, 
He chose you (and us) to be His precious child, His beloved treasure.

The embodiment of achieving ultimate objective:

At the right time God will bring everything together under the authority of Christ
—everything in heaven and on earth. (Eph. 1:10)

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?

If God is for us, who can ever be against us. (Rom. 8:31)

“You will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic.

Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.

 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.

But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed.

You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.

Many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other.

And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, 
so that all nations will hear it; then the end will come.”

Matt. 24:6-14

“The Righteous do not fear bad news;

They confidently trust the LORD to care for them.” Ps. 112:7

The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love Me.

I will protect those who trust in My Name.” Ps. 91:14

Amen and AMEN!  Big hugs this week, Shaun and Betsy

Bumpy Relationship? 7-30-13

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud.” Rom. 12:16

We Cleary’s have been helping out with a marriage conference, recently hosting a “couples adventure night” at the house. What a blessing. ~In talking with different individuals, it’s evident that every significant relationship in our lives is going to have “bumps”. But what appears to separate the good from the sad is in how we handle these bumps and grow (or not) in personal character.

God's ideals vs. the world’s ideals in marriage:

The world tells us marriage is about individual happiness here and now.

God tells us marriage, (the earthly “picture” of Christ and His bride), is about an individual’s holiness now and into eternity.

Pastor Evans says, “Society says marriage is about finding the right person. God tells us marriage is about being the right kind of person.”

Are you currently experiencing a bumpy relational road? Rather than continuing to pursue personal autonomy and rights, which ends with a 50+% divorce statistic, why not give God’s approach a try?

Two practical ideas that have worked for couples (and teens!) in disagreement:

Allow the person requesting “space” to have space (no disrespecting him/her by chasing after him/her just because you want harmony NOW.) ~Yet, with a respectful words and disposition, designate another time to meet to discuss.

Write down thoughts, and some time pass while praying over the situation and persons (self included) before adjusting wording as the Spirit leads. Then discuss written thoughts with the other person at the “agreed to” time.

Why don’t we scrap our egos, lose ourselves in loving and caring for one another, (“submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” Eph. 5:21), and gain the promises that won’t disappoint? (2 Pet. 1:3-4; 2 Cor. 7:1)

In this thing together! Christ’s coming for His bride soon…may we be ready for Him.

Much love, ~Shaun and Betsy

Unequaled Power 7-23-13

“He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Eph. 3:20

Do you want to experience more power in life?

If yes, let’s explore how:

2Pet. 1:3 His divine power (Virtue) hath given unto us all things that (pertain) unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him

that hath called us to glory and virtue.

Virtue: dü'-nä-mēs means strength power, ability, influence and resources residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, which a person or thing exerts and puts forth; moral power and excellence of soul

virtue: ä-re-tā' means a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action; moral       goodness; any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity

2Pet. 1:3 tells us that God’s virtue, His power pertaining to all things in life,

has been given to all Believers.

How do we tap into this power?  …Through purposeful intent and training.

2Pet. 2:3-10 tells us that will we experience more and more of His power as we grow   in:

*Godliness (reverence and respect towards God)

*Knowledge (deeper more perfect and enlarged knowledge of Jesus)

*Temperance (self-control…the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites)

*Patience (the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith, steadfastness, constancy)

*Brotherly kindness (cherish one another)

*Charity (affection, benevolence: the desire to do good to others)

In short, we will experience more and more of God’s power in direct proportion to

our reverence, respect, and knowledge of Him;

our cherishing others out of our love for Him;

and our mastery of “self-control” out of loyalty to Him.

Furthermore, as we train ourselves to bring every area of our lives into harmony with the Spirit’s life in us, we receive “a bonus”. In addition to increased power and influence, we become the “aroma of Christ”, exhibiting virtues characteristic of Jesus, becoming His loving, healing, tangible hands and feet. (2Cor. 2:15)

His is coming for us so soon. May we be ready!  Much love, ~Shaun and Betsy

Society vs. Almighty 7-8-13

“You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men,

but God knows your hearts.

What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

Lk. 16:15

What’s “highly valued” in today’s society?

Let’s look at a few societal ideals and contrast them with what God values:

Society: outward beauty and youth   

God: inward beauty and maturity (1Pet. 3:3; Matt. 23:27-28; Eph. 4:13-14)

Society: personal power

God: Spirit’s power and influence  (1Cor. 2:14; Acts 1:18; Rom. 15:13; Jn. 16:12-15)

Society: tolerance for anything and everything

God: love the person; hate the sin  (Rom. 12:9; 1 Cor. 13:6; 1Jn. 2:3-6; Mk. 12:30-31)

Society: calling evil good and good evil

God: good is good, evil is evil   (Is. 5:20-21; Jn. 3:20-21; Rom. 12:9; 3Jn. 1:11)

Society: ends justify the means

God: the “means matters” and we will give an account  (Heb. 4:13; Phil. 3:18)

Society: self-promotion and exaltation

God: a humble self-prospective (Lk. 18:14; Gal. 6:4-5; Jms. 4:6; Ps. 147:6; Is. 66:2)

Society: love of money

God: love of God and His perspectives regarding this world  (1 Tim. 6:10; Matt. 6:24)

Society: pleasure at all cost

God: following Jesus at all cost, trusting in His promises of blessing both today and through eternity (Phil. 2:21; Dt. 28; Jn. 10:10)

“A message from God concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.” Ps. 36:1-4

Dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. (Ps. 22:28; Ps. 33:12)

Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Pour out Your unfailing love on those who love You; give justice to those with honest hearts. (Ps. 36: 5 & 10)              Amen.  ~Shaun and Betsy

Witch to Christ 7-1-13

"How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked?” Ps. 82:2

“Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

The LORD looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.”

Is. 59:15

The deception is upon us. (2 Thess. 2: 11-12)

In a culture that embraces and honors relativism, there is this absolute: Jn. 3:16-21

“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 Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the Light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the Light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

A friend who is searching for God recently wrote us this:

“I've always believe there is truth in All religions and that spiritual contentment,

in whatever form, is whatever feeds our soul.”

In this particular situation, our response had to be short and to the point.

We answered:

“There is truth in all religions. This is because there is only ONE God; the devil knows this fact, and so he mixes truth with lie, making "it" palatable to the human psyche. ~Just as the devil deceived Eve by slightly misquoting God causing her to question God (Genesis 3), he continues to use partial truths to deceive man today. There are only 2 religions: man reaching to God and God reaching to man.

Jesus says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.’” (Jn. 4: 6)

This week, after a more lengthy discussion, we were privileged to lead

this person, a present-day witch, to Christ's joyous freedom. Praise You Jesus!

The deception is upon us. “With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching. … May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.” 2 Thess. 2: 11-17

May God bless and protect us as we “live and love” this week.  ~Shaun and Betsy

Is Everything Negotiable? 6-24-13

“You are in error because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.”  Matt. 22:29

The Bible is full of black, white and grey areas (the plumb line to a blessed LIFE here and eternity). If we truly seek truth and the power of God, then we’re prudent NOT to do the blacks, to DO the whites, and to use great discernment with the greys.

The tragic flaw in society today is there is no plumb line, everything is negotiable, and the term “love” is a cheap imitation of the real thing. (E.g.: If we allow our child to do anything he or she wants anytime he or she wants, any way he or she wants, is this real love? Some would argue yes...but what’s evidenced in real life results?)

We propose this: If I call something that is not loving, loving, I do a disservice to my affected friend(s)… And in reality, I’m not truly loving this other(s) at all.

Example of biblical love in action:

When Shaun and Betsy were dating, an unwed couple came to us for advice.

They were pregnant; she wanted to abort the baby, he wanted to keep the baby. After she left our get-together, this “manly man” was moved to a lake of tears. In between sobs, he described himself as a Believer who had “saved himself”… until “this once”, and now… he had a baby on the way. Then he proceeded to explain his torment and tears:

He was “a surprise pregnancy that was kept”, then raised alone by his teenage mom. His very life was a miracle. …And now, his girlfriend was facing the same decision his mom did, but his girlfriend was about to make a dreadfully different choice.

Shaun and Betsy’s response? We loved them before, and we loved them after, but during the abortion and few days following, we could not “love on” the girl the way she sought to be loved on. ~She wanted us to agree with and support her decision. We could not. But this did NOT mean that we did not love her.

Proof of genuine love?  She was a bridesmaid in our wedding party, and a couple years later, Betsy was one of her bridesmaids.

Oh may we remember, “It is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” (2Cor. 10:18) May we be continually alert, for just as Eve was deceived (Gen. 3), our minds may too be corrupted or led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ to “what’s politically popular” today. (Eph. 6:18; 1Pet. 5:8; 2 Cor. 11:3).

May we be found like Daniel who although he lived and loved others amidst a pagan society, he resolved not to defile himself with their ways or their philosophies. (Dan. 1:8) Why does this matter? Because God tells us that this is how it will be at the end of the age when the angels come and separate the wicked from the righteous. (Matt. 13:49)

Living for Him this crazy week. Much love, ~Shaun and Betsy