Messy Refinishing 3-24-14

“We are Christ’s handiwork.” Eph. 2:10

The hardwood floors in our home are currently being sanded to virgin wood.  The end result promises to be amazing, but before enjoying this gorgeous handiwork, we get the privilege of living through an enormous mess… every nook and cranny of our home covered in polyurethane dust. Furthermore, because we waited so long to begin this project, the sanding is all the more intense, the dust deposits are twice as thick, the stink is longer lasting, and the cleanup effort will be mammoth.

What does this have to do with my life you ask? Analogous to refinishing wooden floors, is God’s refinishing “the rough living spaces” in our personal life, a messy and inconvenient process. Let’s explore an example:

After years of oversight or neglect, Believer Joe-Mary recognizes an area that is in need of a spiritual overhaul. Joe-Mary earnestly comes to the Lord, fervently prays, and eagerly gears up for the “holy sanding”, fully entrusting life to the Master Craftsman.

The process begins and the inevitable “grime dust” gathers in every nook, seemingly affecting every area of life. As the dust mess gets thicker, Joe-Mary starts to lose sight of the end result and glamorizes former conditions.  As with the Israelites in the desert after God rescued them from oppressive slavery (Ex. 16), Joe-Mary becomes disheartened, starts to grumble, desiring to call off the whole exercise (after all, “the disheveled floors of my life weren’t really all that bad were they?”)

It is at this juncture, Joe-Mary has a choice: Truly trust God, the Master Craftsman, thus avail self to the Lord’s full makeover? Or trust the idea of God (Is. 29:13), and assign ultimate trust to self by simply quitting or reverting back to what’s comfortable? (Stated another way in the form of a personal question: Who’s on the throne of my life, God or me? …Am I abiding in His way or my way?)

God tells us:

“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life,

which is corrupted by lust and deception.

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy…

Think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”

(Eph. 4: 22-24; 1Pet. 1:13)

Hard process? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1Cor. 2:9

In this together.  ~Much love and hugs, Shaun and Betsy

Helplessly Confused? 3-4-14

“When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matt. 9:36

Today, do you find yourself confused?

We are all sheep in need of a shepherd, ask yourself “who/what am I following?”

“The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves.

We’re still trying to give orders and interfering with God’s work in us.” (A.W. Tozer)

Discipline breeds discipline. And…

Fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Prv. 1:17)

Self-indulgence breeds self-indulgence. And so…

Amidst this foolish self-indulgent society, navigating life IS confusing!

But there is hope:

 Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28

(“Rest” means to refresh, allow to recover, of calm and patient expectation.)

Tozer shares, “An infinite God can give ALL of Himself to teach His children.

He does not distribute Himself that each may have part,

but to EACH He gives ALL of Himself as fully as if there were no others.

…We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God.

He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.”

Fact: No one ever “arrives” in this life; challenges persist until our final breath.

We Cleary's have learned to embrace challenges instead of being defeated or jaded by them. For us, this equation proves powerful:

• God is sovereign, He’s in complete control, and He loves me dearly.
• God has my best in mind; hence, if God is allowing “this” in my life, He has an exceptionally good reason. (God does not allow things for no reason.)
• Amidst this particular “yuk” God desires me to grow/mature in some way for my benefit. (And perhaps for the benefit of others as well.)
• So then, let’s get on with it; Lord, I am glued to You and Your lead.

We love you and are so thankful for you. May we seek our true Shepherd together.

Shaun and Betsy

“Not that we are competent in ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

…Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” (2 Cor. 3:5, 12)

Swimming Upstream 2-10-14

“You are those who justify yourselves before men,

but God knows your hearts. What is highly esteemed among men

is an abomination in the sight of God.” Lk. 16:15

A.W. Tozer states: “ Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered.

God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men.

The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father,

struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Savior of whom

they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest.”

2 Tim. 3:1-5, 4:3-4 warns,  “In the last days there will be very difficult times.

People will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful.

They will consider nothing sacred.

They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others

and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.

They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride,

 and love pleasure rather than God.

They will act religious, but they will reject the Power that could make them godly.

…A time is coming when people will no longer listen

 to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and

will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

They will reject the Truth and chase after myths.”

Tozer adds: “We are not diplomats but prophets,

our message is not a compromise but an illumination.”

Study Scripture. When we apply ourselves, we discover that God’s Word is alive, relevant, and simply could not be written by mere man (divine).

Ask this question:

Am I choosing to view God through the lens of society or am I choosing the more difficult, but eternally blessed route: View society through the lens of God?

Why? Why study, why swim upstream?

God tells us this:

 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give a rich and satisfying life. …Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, I will give to each person according to what they have done…No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

(Jn. 10:10; Rev. 22:12; Is 64:4; 2 Cor. 2:9)

It’s nearly Valentines Day, may we adore the Author of Love in all we do this week.

Blessings, ~Shaun and Betsy

Death's Sting Swallowed Forever 1-27-14

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; 

and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, 

neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” 

Rev. 21:4

Each of us has experienced the pain of death’s sting to one degree or another, hearts wounded by the passing of a dear family member, friend or beloved pet.

We Cleary’s said goodbye to our dearly loved rescue pup this weekend.

~After an abusive initiation into this life by her 2 prior owners, our “chance meeting” caused hearts to melt and this dog’s life to change forever. We adopted “Cookie” into our Cleary pack, promptly renamed her “Kassi” (actually, “Kassia Agape” meaning Pure Love), and nuzzled one another a full decade. Her passing causes our hearts to be heavy, but we trust our faithful and loving Lord.

Isn’t it comforting to know that our Lord defeated death on the cross (spiritually) and will swallow up death forever with His eternal reign (literally)?

“Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Rom. 5:21

“He will swallow up death forever.” Is. 25:8

One day soon we will experience no more tears, pain or death forevermore.

Until this day, we reside in a world beset with hardship. Plagued yes, defeated, no.

Defeat or victory? The victor’s crown is determined by which one controls our mind. God promises, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom. 8:6     ~Life and peace AMIDST hardship and heartache.

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.” Is. 9:6-7

So, here are a couple tough personal questions to ponder this week:

• ·      If I’m not experiencing this kind of life and peace, amidst the hardships of life, who is governing my mind?
• ·      If it’s not the Spirit of Peace…why not?

Praying alongside one another, Christ loves us so dearly.

Big hugs,  ~Shaun and Betsy

Unseen Reasons 1-14-14

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of

 judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” Heb. 10:26-27

What is the difference between a sinful mistake, like the ones exemplified by Moses and Uzzah, and willful sin described in Heb.10: 26?

Let’s explore together:

Moses example of disobedience:

Num. 20:8; 11-12 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink…Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank….The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’” (the consequence of disobedience)

Moses' disobedience, amongst other things, "ruined" a divine pictorial God had teed up.

1 Cor. 10:4 tells us of spiritual water quenching our thirst (coming from Jesus our Rock, divinely exemplified in the rock that Moses was supposed to speak to, not strike) Hence, God had to punished Moses by not allowing Moses to enter the Promised Land ...that is this side of heaven. Seems unfair? Check out God’s grace in Matt. 17: 1-3! ~God views man’s earthly life through eternal lenses, hence His priorities on earth often differ from man’s.

Uzzah’s example of disobedience:

1 Chr. 13:9-10 (7-11) “And when they came unto the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.” (the consequence of disobedience)

Can’t you just hear our merciful God saying something like this?

"Ohhhh...no...no...no... Uzzah, don't touch...Don’t touch!.......OH DUDE, oh dear ……..Bummer.

Now, Uzzah, you know what I have to do. I have to, for My Name's sake, punish you. And understand Uzzah, people may think that this punishment outweighs the crime (as they did with Moses and as David has with you, but you AND MY people have to learn that I mean business. I will use your earthly "end" as an example for hundreds of thousands of MY saints now and throughout the centuries. And although you, my precious Uzzah, will die and earthly death today, I will usher you into heaven to be with Me and to reign with Me forever."…And God struck Uzzah dead.

Uzzah seems to have acted out of love and concern, not out of a motive of flagrant disregard for God's directive. Yet the action violated God's mandate.  For "divine pictorial sense"

God HAD to punish him, and He ushered Uzzah into heaven, into His eternal loving embrace.

Out of love, let’s choose to honor God’s commandments; His reasoning's are beyond us.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.

 So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Cor. 6: 19-20

Much love and hugs this week, ~Shaun and Betsy

Hope's Fire 1-6-14

“And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:20

It’s a New Year; everyone around you is filled with joyful anticipation, still going strong with their New Year’s resolutions, except you…

…You had a vision for your life, and circumstances are causing it to go in the opposite direction. So disheartened by the downward trajectory of your life’s present path, you find yourself questioning everything. You cry out, “Come on God, I’m trying to be faithful here…would You just give me a little something tangible to let me know You’re with me?”

Can any of us relate? Well, if you are feeling this way, you’re in good company with a lot of folks in Scripture: Joseph, Job, and Paul just to name a few.

~Let’s look at Joseph’s downward trajectory and discover some “hope”.

Joseph received a divine dream from God regarding his influential future, yet quickly experienced circumstances contrary to his idea of “the plan”. Young Jo found himself betrayed, abused, and abandoned by his own brothers, then sold into slavery, framed for rape, subsequently thrown into prison, an innocent man, and forgotten by the very person who promised to help free him. (Gen. 37-40)

~One or two of these circumstances would be disheartening, but all of them put together, one after another, is outright depressing! ~And some of you are relating.

Despite all, Joseph remained faithful. The Bible tells us that God was with Joseph, delivered him, and placed him in the position of influence that He had designed for Joseph from the foundation of the world. (Acts 7:9-10, Gen. 39:2,3 21,23, Eph. 2:10)

Like Joseph, God has a very detailed purpose and plan for each of our lives. Circumstances, negative and positive, challenging and easy, disheartening and joyful, are all weaved into our unique purpose and calling.

~From heaven’s vantage point, divine tragedy transpires when a precious heir of the King (each one of us) loses faith and succumbs to hardship/heartache.

Our Lord, Immanuel, is with each of His kids. Hope is here for us today:

Call on Me, come pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. Jer. 29:12-13

‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer. 33:3

“And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:20

May we diligently seek Him with all we are this 2014!  Much love, Shaun and Betsy

Merry Christmas dear friends.

Much love and big hugs,

Shaun and Betsy