Barbara Rainey's Blog, page 12

For An Audience of One: Truth Stands Firm

Just a few years after Jesus went back to heaven, those who followed Him began to be persecuted. In AD 202, the Roman emperor issued an edict against all Christians. Among those arrested was a young mother in her early 20s named Perpetua. Born in North Africa, Perpetua grew up in a prosperous family with the benefits of a good education and a happy childhood. Her mother was devoted to Christ and raised Perpetua and her brothers to love and follow Jesus.

Perpetua was tried and sentenced to execution, along with a group of other believers. Her father, who did not believe in Christ, begged her to renounce her faith. He reminded her that her baby boy would become motherless if she did not recant. She replied, “Father, do you see this water pitcher? Can it be called by any other name than what it is? So also I cannot call myself by any other name than what I am—a Christian.”

On the night before she was to be killed, Perpetua wrote of experiencing God’s comforting strength: “I saw that I should not fight with beasts but with the devil; I knew the victory to be mine.” The next day a group of Christians were marched into an arena. There before a crowd of cheering people, Perpetua and the others were killed by wild animals.

Perpetua, a beautiful young mother, knew that this life is only temporary and looked forward to the life that lasts forever in heaven. After her death, her chief jailer committed his life to Jesus Christ, so inspired was he by her confident faith. And the truth she died for became an example to her son that he, too, should stand firm in Jesus as she did.

Almost 2,000 years after Perpetua, there lived in the country of Germany a young pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer who also paid a great price for his faith. Dietrich was born into a prosperous family, and his godly mother taught him and his siblings to love and obey Jesus. Dietrich’s life was happy, safe, and secure until he reached his mid-20s. It was then that the ruling Nazi party under Adolf Hitler turned against those of the truth.

As Dietrich and his family and friends learned of crimes being committed against the Jews and the handicapped, they talked about what they should do. The majority of the Christians in Germany ignored the evil because they were afraid. But Bonhoeffer believed it was more important to obey God than men and that safety on earth was not as important as pleasing God.

After much prayer and careful study of the Bible, Dietrich came to the conclusion that he must help those who were trying to stop Hitler. And for this he was arrested and put in jail. In the period before his execution, he wrote about listening to God in difficult circumstances and then following God without reservation. He said that believers must be ready “to sacrifice all” and to be completely obedient and loyal to God alone.

Believing the truth may not always be easy. In fact, it will be extremely difficult at times. Knowing what God has for us is an individual matter. We cannot find God’s will by looking to what others are doing.

One day after the Resurrection, Jesus’ disciples went fishing in the Sea of Galilee. In John 21 we read that, after returning to the shore, they found that Jesus was there and had already built a fire to cook breakfast for them. After they all ate, Jesus asked Peter several times, “Do you love me?” Each time Peter answered yes, Jesus gave him a command: “Feed my lambs” … “Tend my sheep” … “Follow me.”

Peter turned his head and saw the disciple John and asked Jesus, “What about this man?” It is so like us humans to want to know what Jesus plans for someone else. We want to compare what God asks another person to do with what He asks us to do. But Jesus’ answer to Peter is also His answer to us: “… what is that to you? You follow me!”

Jesus asks each one who believes to stand firm in the truth, but He designs our circumstances uniquely. The faithfulness of believers like Perpetua and Dietrich Bonhoeffer cause us to ask ourselves, what will we believe when challenged by hard times? Will we stand firm in the truth as they did? Will we remember that it is God we must please?

Perpetua and Bonhoeffer knew they would stand before Jesus Christ one day and give an account (Romans 14:12). And so will we.

Questions about truth

What does it mean to stand firm for the truth? What kinds of things does God want to accomplish through those who obey Him courageously—including you?How can you stand strong when someone says that what you believe about Jesus is just a myth or a fairy tale?Dietrich Bonhoeffer faced terribly hard choices. Think about being taken to jail or even beaten as a result of your faith. What Bible verses would you read and follow? What would you do and say?

Truth in action

Draft a “Family Statement of Faith.” In one or two paragraphs, briefly summarize the truths of God’s Word that your family believes and will stand on, no matter what anyone else says or does. Consider memorizing this statement of faith together. Or post it somewhere in your home where family members can see it often and be reminded of the truth of the Christian faith.To learn more about the timeless truths that provide clear direction—and hope—for our future, read The Family Manifesto. You can find it here.

Praying together for truth

I pray that you, the One before whom we will stand, will help me remember the shortness of time and the nearness of eternity. May I never forget that Your eye always sees, Your ear always hears, and Your heart of love always seeks to save. May I fulfill that which You have created me to do and stand firmly in the truth until my last breath. Amen.

The post For An Audience of One: Truth Stands Firm appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

All the Children of the World: Truth Takes Action

Thomas Bernardo was small in stature—he stood a mere five feet and three inches—but he towered with commitment to share the love of Christ with the street children of London.

Thomas was motivated by the truth of Scriptures like John 21:17, which calls us to “Feed my sheep,” and Matthew 25:40, where Christ says, “… as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” He began homes and schools for children, putting a sign on the door: “No destitute child ever refused admittance.”

As he cared for these little ones, he also started a church to reach the adults with the truth of Christ. Next he went to medical school so he could address the health problems of the children. His wife, a nurse, formed a nursing organization to care for the sick and poor.

As a result of Thomas’ ministry—along with the efforts of many other men and women—the plight of the homeless children in England was reversed. But today a similar crisis has fallen on other countries like China, El Salvador, Guatemala, and throughout the continent of Africa. The most recent statistics estimate more than 150 million orphans worldwide! Once again the world needs people who will believe God and will take action to rescue the children.

Meet Katie Davis Majors, a nice middle-class American girl. At the age of 18 she went on a mission trip to the country of Uganda in central Africa. There she fell in love with the people of Uganda, especially the children.

The next year she returned to teach kindergarten for a year. As she walked some of her students home, she was surprised to see children along the road. She wondered why they weren’t in school. As she began to investigate she learned that schools in Uganda, though government sponsored, still charged tuition. And most families in Uganda were too poor to afford schooling for their children.

Katie took action. By raising money from friends, she was able to place more than 40 children that year in school at $300 per year per child. (And hundreds more since then.) This modest amount of money paid for tuition, books, meals, medical care, and spiritual training.

Katie saw more needs and kept finding ways to meet them. She began a nonprofit organization called Amazima Ministries, which seeks to meet the needs of the poor in Uganda. (Amazima means truth in the Ugandan language.)

Then she adopted three little girls. Katie wasn’t hindered by being single or by being young. Instead she was moved by the needs of these orphan girls, and she knew she could love them.

Remarkably, Katie’s ministry has continued to do even more—initiating a feeding program for children, offering measles and polio immunizations, building a nurse’s clinic, starting a new school, and much more. She adopted 13 girls by the time she was 23, and since marrying her husband, Benji, she has added two biological children.

Katie says, “People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me, ‘Good job.’ Well, here is the truth of it: I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Christ. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people.” It is God who has made Katie brave and strong and who has supplied all her needs as she cares for so many.

In her blog and in her best-selling book, Kisses From Katie, Katie writes about the glorious journey she is taking with God. One month she wrote:

We sit in the dirt, not worried about the red stains, and serve 400 plates of food to sponsored children on Saturday. I look into these faces and remember them nearly 4 years ago, destitute and hopeless and starving. Afraid of my funny white skin. We feed them lunch and we feed them God’s Word and we watch them transform.

Our family sits on the street corner downtown sharing ice cream and laughter. My daughter bends low to offer a homeless man her popsicle and as he cries that no one cares about him she looks straight into his face. “We will be your family,” she asserts, and she means it. We kneel on the pavement and we pray and people stop to look but we hardly notice because we were made for this.

Orphans are not just found in Africa, but all over the world. In America most orphaned children are in our foster-care system. Most of them have their basics needs met but they still are orphans, alone without a family to which they belong.

When we see the truth, really see it, we are compelled to act as Jesus did. 1 John 3:17 tells us, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” We are truly His followers if we do what He did.

Questions about truth

In what specific ways can your family help the orphans in your town?Are you willing to go wherever God calls you? What do you sense God calling you to do that you may be resisting?How would you respond if your son or daughter chose to move to a foreign country to care for orphans?

Truth in action

Go to Amazina.org to read more about Katie Davis Majors and the ministry she began. As a family, consider sponsoring one of the Ugandan children needing help. Or talk to your friends or church about sponsoring a child (or children).

Praying together for truth

Lord, there is greater joy, no deeper satisfaction, than to be fulfilling the purpose for which You made me. You are the Master, the Creator! To be about Your business … to be changing lives with Your love … is to display Your wonders to a broken world. May Your light shine, O Lord, through me today. Amen.

The post All the Children of the World: Truth Takes Action appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

A Mutineer and a Monk: Truth Brings Freedom

The book and film Mutiny on the Bounty tell the story of the notorious revolt that occurred aboard the English ship the Bounty. In 1789 the Bounty and her crew sailed across the Pacific Ocean on a voyage of exploration. After a six-month stay on the tropical island of Tahiti, many of the sailors decided they would not return to England, so they staged a mutiny, which is a rebellion.

Led by an officer on the ship, the sailors captured their captain and those who were loyal to him and set them adrift in a tiny lifeboat. Amazingly those men survived the 3,700-mile journey to civilization.

But the rebellion did not end well. The sailors kidnapped some women, took others as slaves, and then sailed the Bounty to the island of Pitcairn. There they lived lives of drunkenness and murder. Within two years, all the rebel Englishmen, except one, died by disease or fighting.

The lone survivor, Alexander Smith, was the only man left on Pitcairn with the Tahitian women and children. Then he found the Bible, a book that every ship carried on its long journeys. As he read it, he began to change. All else had failed him, but the truth of the Bible offered forgiveness and hope, something Alexander desperately needed.

Soon he was teaching the truth of the Bible to the women and children. Twenty years later when another ship finally landed at Pitcairn, those sailors were surprised when they found a community of Christians living together in peace and harmony.

Another man who was changed by the power of the Bible was Martin Luther. One day when he was 22, Martin was returning to his university when he was caught in a thunderstorm. Unable to escape, he was soaked to the skin and nearly killed by a lightning strike that took the life of his friend who was riding with him.

Martin was badly shaken. He was troubled that he survived and his friend had died. What did it mean? He began to think more about God and wondered, “How can I know God and have peace about life after death?”

For years after this event, Martin Luther worked hard to please God so he could get into heaven. He even studied to be a monk, someone who devotes his life to work in the church. But despite his good works, he felt no closer to God. Then Martin read a verse that changed him:

“The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17

Those two words, “by faith,” brought him the joy of discovery. “By faith” meant that having peace with God was not something he had to earn.

All of us know that it takes hard work to earn good grades in school. There are also rules to be obeyed in our communities, in the workplace, and in our homes. We can easily think that the way to please God is the same—keep the rules and work hard, and He will let you into heaven someday.

That’s what Martin Luther believed until he discovered “by faith.” The words mean that faith in God’s way of salvation through Jesus Christ was enough—no works, no report card, no “I hope I’m good enough.”

In the time when Martin lived, there was a very unbiblical practice in the church. Church leaders taught the people that not only did they have to obey all the church rules, but they also had to pay money to a priest to have their sins forgiven.

One day Martin had enough. The Bible did not teach that sins were forgiven for money! On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther made a list of reasons that this practice, called indulgences, was wrong and nailed the list on the wooden door of the church.

Everyone saw his list as they came to services the next day, All Saints’ Day. The church leaders were furious. They did not want to lose their money.

An order was given to burn all the books Martin Luther had written. The church leaders demanded that he sign a paper saying he had been wrong. He refused.

Sometime later he was taken before the emperor, who demanded that he recant. Instead Martin Luther replied, “Here I stand, I can do no other. May God help me!” He knew the Bible was the true Word of God. He would stand on the truth no matter what came as a result.

Today, those who believe as Martin Luther did are often called Protestants, a name that began with Luther as he protested against the lies of the church that day in 1517.

Questions about truth

Is there a verse or a phrase from the Bible that has changed the way you think about God and what you believe? Share it with your family.When Alexander Smith and Martin Luther discovered the truth of the Bible, they began to share it with others. How can you share the truth with others around you?Jesus taught that His followers were not to hide their light, or truth, under a bushel, but they were to let it shine so others could see and also believe (Matthew 5:15, KJV).

Truth in action

As a family, create a list of at least 10 people—family members, coworkers, friends—who need to hear the truth of Jesus Christ. Discuss specific ways you can share the truth with them. Then pray together for each person on the list, asking God to give you the opportunity and boldness to share His truth.

Praying together for truth

I confess, Lord, that it is so easy to forget to read the Bible, Your divine words to me. I forget that every word is inspired, alive, eternal, powerful, and able to change my heart, any heart. Your Word, the unchanging truth, will never change or fade away. Help me to treasure Your truth, to read it eagerly, and to be careful with how I handle Your book—to hold it reverently, for it is holy as You are holy. Amen.

The post A Mutineer and a Monk: Truth Brings Freedom appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Champion of the Cherokee

As children, we run into bullies who are often bigger and stronger, or at least like to think they are. They act powerful by saying mean things, pushing and shoving, hitting, or stealing.

Adults can be bullies, too. The hunger for power—seen often in adults through abuse of authority, angry speech, and manipulative behavior—is motivated by selfishness. The results are always hurtful.

It was a sad day in 1830 when the United States Congress passed a law forcing the Cherokee people and other American Indian tribes to move away from the land where they had lived for hundreds of years. The path of their exodus became known as the “Trail of Tears.”

The Cherokee and many other tribes—the Creek, the Seminole, the Choctaw, and the Chickasaw—lived in the southeastern portion of the United States. Many of them were farmers and cattle ranchers. They built towns, schools, and churches and published a newspaper. Many of them were Christians. In the early 1800s these American Indian communities were not bands of criminals who raided homes and killed innocent people; rather they were very much like their new white neighbors who were moving south by the thousands to establish their own farms and ranches

But there were powerful men who wanted the Cherokee land. Some held positions as governors or congressmen. They were not content with what God had given them and chose to ignore the 10th Commandment—“You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17)—and the Golden Rule, which tells us, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (Luke 6:31). These leaders manipulated laws to force the Indians to give them what they wanted. They were bullies.

Jeremiah Evarts, on the other hand, was the champion of the Cherokee. A godly man, Jeremiah was troubled that these people, made in God’s image just as he was, were being forced to abandon their ancestral homes.

The truth of the Bible was Jeremiah’s guide, and the Bible spoke clearly about living in harmony with one another. So how could he be silent while the Cherokee were being threatened?

God has children all over the world, and He has a plan for each one. The Bible tells us, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Jeremiah Evarts was created with the gifts and talents to fight for the Cherokee. He was trained as a lawyer, so he understood how to debate using facts and logic. He was a Christian, so he knew God’s truth. And God orchestrated his birth at the right time and in the right place for this work to be accomplished.

Those who live by the truth of the Bible, who do as Jesus would do, will not bully others. They will follow what God has given them to do and find contentment in doing God’s will. They will seek to live in peace with their neighbors, classmates, and family members. That is what Jesus taught.

Sadly, Jeremiah Evarts’ fight to protect the Cherokee failed. The Indian Removal Act, which passed by only one vote, was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, giving him the power to negotiate the Cherokee exodus to new territory in what is now Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears began in 1838 as the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama gathered militia to force the Indians to move.

Without compassion, without any love for “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV), soldiers burned homes and destroyed and looted property. The Cherokee people were then forced to begin walking west. And it was winter. Thousands died from the cold, from starvation, and from disease. Some were murdered.

Though this story does not have a happy ending, faith in God calls us to hope again. Jeremiah Evarts wrote near the end of his life, “At times I am exceedingly cast down as to the result. … It seems a most remarkable Providence, that the bill should pass, when a majority present showed themselves to be … opposed to it. This strange state of things should make us stand astonished at the ways of Providence … My comfort is that God governs the world.”

The truth of the Bible promises that God will make all things right one day. That is what Jeremiah Evarts believed when his battle to defend the oppressed Cherokee ended in failures. Though the truth does not guarantee success every time, there is a God in heaven who sees all and who is pleased when His children intervene for the defenseless.

Questions about truth

Have you ever been bullied or watched someone else suffer from a bully’s behavior? If so, what did you want to do? If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently?Think about the Golden Rule—“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (Luke 6:31). How does this truth change the way you act toward others?When God doesn’t make things work out the way we think He should, what are some truths that we can still believe?

Truth in action

Consider specific ways that your family can show compassion for “the least of these” in your community. For example, you could volunteer at a soup kitchen, donate items to a food pantry, or sign up to help at a local charity. Talk to your pastor to learn if you can participate in a church-sponsored mission or community outreach.

Praying together for truth

You have made me as I am, Lord. Every detail of size and intellect and talent matters to You. Nothing was by chance. Even my day of birth, my country, and my family were chosen by You—all for reasons I will never fully comprehend. But to know that You ordered it all is enough. As the Artist of my life, may You be pleased with how I use the colors You have given me. For the good of Your kingdom, I pray. Amen.

 

The post Champion of the Cherokee appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

The Barbara Rainey Podcast: Growing Together in Truth

It’s hard to believe summer is nearly halfway over! At least…for those of us in Arkansas, and probably the majority of the South. Dennis and I loved to use the summer as a time to teach our kids foundational biblical truths that were sometimes hard to teach during a busy school year.

A question Dennis and I get asked quite often is, “How do you teach the truth to your children?” That is the topic of today’s podcast, “Growing Together in Truth.” I tell a remarkable story of a woman named Elizabeth Payne. Standing up for truth cost her both of her parents during World War I. The astonishing part was she never questioned or blamed God. Her parents instilled in her a love for Christ and a commitment to stand up for Him, no matter the cost.

We also talk about two other stories of people who stepped into the light after being trapped in darkness. Learning the stories of those who have gone before us can greatly impact our own story! I encourage you to listen to the full episode here or on any major podcast platform. I hope you enjoy and are challenged to teach God’s truth to your children or grandchildren!

Ever His,

Barbara

The post The Barbara Rainey Podcast: Growing Together in Truth appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Lost and Found: Truth Shows the Way

Note from Barbara: This is the first in a series of posts taken from my book, Growing Together in Truth. These stories are designed to read individually or as a family. May you and your family always live according to God’s truth. And may your knowledge of the truth lead each of you to actions that will bring much good to the world in which we live.

In 1914, twenty-seven men boarded the ship Endurance under the command of Ernest Shackleton, bound for the frozen continent of Antarctica. This was Shackleton’s second journey to Antarctica; he knew what to expect. Or so he thought.

Five months later and only one day from their destination, the temperatures dropped dramatically. The sea became solid ice and they were stranded for the winter. Six months later—all without sunshine—the men had survived, but their ship had not. Slowly it had been crushed by the icepack, and it finally sank.

The men stripped the Endurance of her rigging and sails, provisions and, most importantly, her three wooden lifeboats. When the ship sank, they began walking slowly, day after day, hauling their supplies and salvaged hopes of survival across the frozen sea. Finally, in April 1916, with the ice beginning to thaw, they spotted Elephant Island and were able to row to land. After 497 days, they were on terra firma again. But the island was uninhabited; they were still lost.

Leaving 22 men behind, Shackleton set sail with five others in one of the lifeboats. They headed for South Georgia Island, 750 miles away, with only a sextant (an instrument for measuring latitude and longitude) to guide them. Accurate readings of the sextant were critical. A mistake of only one degree could take them off course by hundreds of miles. But they trusted the sextant and it guided them safely to their destination. A rescue from South Georgia Island was launched, and not one man from the Endurance perished.

Years later a little girl was lost in a sea of concrete at 25th and Diamond Streets. She knew how to find her way home; her problem was she couldn’t find her way out. The intersection of those streets in inner-city Philadelphia was the hub of the projects.  Gang infested and crime ridden, it was as unsafe for a little girl as the frozen ocean had been for the crew of the Endurance.

Karen remembers stepping over broken glass and smelling the stench of urine as she would climb the stairs to her apartment after school. Once inside, her home felt like a cage because of the metal fencing that closed off the small patio opening. She was in charge of her little brother because her mother was usually at work. Karen was only seven.

One year later, her mom got married and they moved from the projects to a suburb. Though her mother didn’t go to church, she insisted that her children attend. So Karen took her brother and walked to the church down the street every Sunday. There Mrs. Green—always dressed in a hat, gloves, and a fine dress—taught Karen’s Sunday school class. Little Karen heard words of truth and hope.

For Karen, church was an escape from the tension at home between her mom and stepfather, who seemed to fight all the time. In fact, all Karen had seen of family life was women marrying  young, divorcing young, and then moving on to the next man. But the people who taught the Bible at her church modeled family stability, and Karen wanted that.

During the summer of her 14th birthday, Karen decided to follow God’s plan for her life. She heard the words of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Karen recalls, “To know that God loved me, that His Son was a free gift for me, brought great security. I felt so loved, understanding that God wanted me, that I could go to heaven, that there was a place for me. I’d been in and out of a lot of different houses over my life, so this promise of a secure place where I could belong forever was my way out of an unhappy childhood.”

Karen found her sextant, the truth of the Bible.

In college Karen fell in love with a young man named Crawford who came from a fine family. Before she walked down the aisle in marriage, her grandmother whispered, “Karen, if it doesn’t work out, you can always come home to me.” The first year of marriage was very hard. She was tempted to run back to her grandma, but Karen had told God she wanted to live His way. She was committed to finding answers in the Bible, not her grandma’s house.

God rescued Karen because she trusted God’s truth to guide her just as Shackleton trusted the sextant to guide him. She believed His Word would set her free to live a better life, and it did.

Memory verse

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Questions about truth

The Bible says that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8. Even though people will change, God never changes. His Word is our GPS.

Have you ever been lost and needed someone to rescue you? Describe how you felt when you were lost. What was it like to receive help and guidance during that time?What are some of the things we sometimes depend on that might not always be reliable?

Truth in action

Go to a library or go online to read more about Ernest Shackleton’s adventure to Antarctica. One suggested book is Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing. Discuss how the perseverance and eventual rescue of these 28 men applies to the Christian journey.Discuss how Karen’s life might have been different had she chosen to ignore the teachings of the Bible.

Praying together for truth

God, You have always been the Deliverer. As You delivered Moses and the people of Israel from bondage, still today You are able to deliver all who call on You, to set their feet on solid ground and to set them free. You rescue those who are lost. Teach me to follow You closely that I may not trust my own way but only Yours. Amen.

 

The post Lost and Found: Truth Shows the Way appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Friends & Family June 2022

Every month, when I begin to write this letter to all of you, I’m amazed at how full the days of that month have been. Last month was filled with seminary class finals, graduations, and our grandson’s wedding, plus the travel for all these events. June began for us the morning after James’s wedding as we headed to the airport to fly to Budapest, Hungary!

Dennis and I went on a river cruise with Dallas Theological Seminary and had the opportunity to speak to all the guests on “Right-Sizing Relationships with Adult Children.” We enjoyed sharing with all the couples the many lessons we’ve learned mostly from our mistakes. Isn’t that how we all learn?

This is a photo of us with Dr. Mark Yarbrough, president of the seminary, who introduced us for our session on the ship.

There were many highlights from the cruise, of course. One of the biggest was the great conversations we had with several couples. Three of them we’ve known for years; one is the chairman of the Ever Thine Home board. Others were new friends, including a seminary prof. After getting to know him and his wife, I think I’ll be taking his class on the prophets. He’s from Canada originally and we really enjoyed hearing their stories.

 

Another highlight for us was the last city where we got off the ship and stayed for a few days. Prague is an amazing and beautiful city. Our son Samuel backpacked around Europe after college with a buddy and Prague was by far his favorite place, so I’ve been eager to see it for a long time. It didn’t disappoint.

Besides discovering quaint restaurants and cafes and enjoying all the gorgeous architecture, we went to an international church on our last Sunday before departing early Tuesday. It was Pentecost Sunday, June 5 this year, and the pastor began by saying they often ask for a roll-call of nations. Like the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, this church was filled with believers from all over the world including: China, Korea, Philippines, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Tanzania, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, Hungary, Germany, Canada, and more. The many languages spoken was a taste of what heaven will be like! It was really cool.

Flying home we missed our connection and had to stay in Amsterdam for a night, finally arriving in Little Rock about 24 hours later. Jet lag is real. And it is not my favorite thing!

Our first full day home was a fog but over the next few days we got our to-do lists in order, caught up on things like mail, laundry, grocery store, emails, pulling the millions of weeds that grew, and all the other agendas waiting for our return. A week later I still wasn’t fully back to normal. It just takes time.

Nine days after returning from Prague we flew to Colorado to babysit five of our grands for a week while their parents went on their own river cruise. I took my art supplies and a book to read to all of them at bedtime every night. The book is the first in the Inheritance Cycle, a book my grandsons read several years ago and loaned me to read. We read for hours while we were with them.

On Sunday, before Rebecca and Jake left, we went to visit their first-born Molly’s grave—what we call her “doorway.” A doorway is a term that comes from a poem by Calvin Miller that Dennis read at her memorial service. The line reads, “ … our graves are merely doorways cut in sod.” Molly lived seven days and made a mighty impact on many lives. Rebecca and I wrote a book about her life and our families’ experiences, which is sadly now out of print. I’m praying we can find a way to reprint it one day.

And one last memory to share: We went to dinner with Rebecca and Jake and we had a tiny celebration of our upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. After dinner we went searching for our first house; we lived in Boulder for our first year and a half of marriage and bought our first home there. We found it and had so much fun telling our kids all about it.

Our Ever Thine Home team is planning for our 50th anniversary in early September and our kids are planning a weekend for all of us to celebrate. So watch for announcements of our plans and ways you can be involved!

Happy summer everyone!

Ever His,

Barbara

Friends & Family June 2022 will be the last personal monthly letter from Barbara to appear on our blog page. Starting in July her monthly correspondence will be available only through email and only to our subscribers. So if you are reading this through our website be sure to subscribe for FREE here and don’t miss out on Friends and Family, weekly blogs, new products and offers or podcasts.

The post Friends & Family June 2022 appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

The Holy Spirit Is My Friend: He Is Always With Me

Today’s blog post is an excerpt from my new ebook, Who Is the Holy Spirit: How You Can Hear From Him. In this ebook I talk about the Spirit’s role as our Friend, Helper, Purifier, Teacher, and Guide. Be sure to download the entire ebook!

For many summers, Dennis and I attended annual training events in Colorado as part of our work with Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Cru). We took our entire family, and we usually tacked on a week of vacation in the mountains.

This conference supplied childcare and youth camps for all the kids, so I was usually able to attend all the adult meetings. It was a great gift to me as a mom of six. But normal family challenges followed us west every summer. I learned that vacations or trips away from home are never free from selfishness, sin, or childhood sickness.

One summer all our kids got chicken pox; every two weeks another one or two developed the tell-tale rash. It was a long summer for me.

On one of these days in the summer of 1985 I wrote in my journal:

“I really wanted to go to the meetings today especially because this is the day of praise and worship. But here I am in the apartment being a mother to a sick child. Mothering doesn’t stop. Their needs don’t stop. Once again I am isolated and my husband is not. I’m not feeling sorry for myself … this time. I know I can worship anywhere. I’m sorting out my feelings about how to know closeness with God as a mom.”

I was always inspired by speakers and missionaries who told stories of God’s work around the world. But on that day I began to wonder why I never heard a woman—specifically a mother—stand on stage and share how she experienced God in her life with her children, in her home. It seemed to be a void.

I asked, “If the Holy Spirit dwells in and with me and other Christian mothers I know, how do I see Him work in my life, in my sometimes very little unexciting world?” That question lodged itself in my thinking, and it began an ongoing quest to learn more about the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the Bible there are verses which mention the plurality of God—that He is One yet three persons. In the first chapter of Genesis it is written, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). His unity and oneness is again evident in the very next verse: “So God created man in his own image … male and female he created them.” The Spirit is a member of the Trinity … eternal and fully God, as is the Son and the Father.

The Holy Spirit was equally involved in creation, for it says in Genesis 1:2, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” His presence in the workings of God from these first pages to the end of the Bible is evident in many other verses.

But we learn specific details about Him when Jesus explained to His disciples what the Spirit would do for them after Jesus departed to go back to the Father. Many of those descriptors are found in the book of John in chapters 14 and 16.

Did you know that having the Holy Spirit is better than having the physical person of Jesus? That may sound strange to say, but Jesus said it Himself:

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).

Jesus was confined to a body when He lived on earth. He could only be in a single place at a time. But the Spirit is in every place around the globe where a believer is found, because when you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Spirit comes to dwell with you and in you (John 14:16-17). I find that truth amazing, stunning actually, that the Spirit of God who is eternal, perfect, holy, all-powerful, and all-knowing (among many other attributes) actually lives within me! Do you?

Because the Spirit is with us and in us, if we know Jesus as Savior He helps us walk with Jesus Christ and gives us the power or strength to choose His ways, to follow Him, and to serve Him. One of the ways he does this—one that is particularly meaningful to me as a woman, a mother, and a grandmother—is through is role as Friend.

My best friend on earth is my husband. We have shared life together for five decades. In that journey we have talked about everything together, suffered losses together, and loved each other in sickness and in health, in good and in bad times. We have proven we are committed to each other forever. We promised to never leave or forsake each other, and we have never wavered from those vows, even when our marriage felt impossible at times.

But even a great marriage is temporary. There is always the reality that one of us will die before the other.

But the Spirit is always with me.

What a delight to know I have a friend even closer than my husband! In John 15:15 Jesus says, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

When I received Christ as my Savior, Jesus came to dwell in me by His Spirit. Romans 8:9 tells me, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” Because I have the Holy Spirit Jesus sent living in me, and because He will never leave me, I know He is my dearest Friend! 

Pause and think about this for a second: the Holy Spirit, present at creation with God the Father and God the Son, who is Himself fully God and is one with Jesus, desires a friend relationship with you. A real heart-to-heart relationship where you talk to Him and He to you. Does that stun you with wonder?

Quite honestly, I felt a little odd at first calling the Spirit my Friend. It sounded presumptuous. But over the years I’ve talked to Him more and more, asked Him to guide me and reveal Himself to me, shared my life with Him, and asked Him almost everything. I’ve become increasingly comfortable calling Him Friend. 

He is not offended at all by my familiarity with Him because God is the One who initiated a relationship with us. He pursues us. He invites and desires a relationship. God called Moses and David His friend and Jesus called His disciples friends; so too the Spirit is our Friend.

The Holy Spirit whom Jesus sent on Pentecost can be your best Friend because He is always with you. Before I believed and gave my life to Jesus, I only hoped God was with me. I knew about Him but didn’t know Him personally. But when I surrendered my life to Him and invited Him to live within me, the Spirit of Christ came to dwell both in and with me! He has been given to be my constant companion.

When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, He said, “He will be with you forever” (John 14:16). So no matter where you go, He is always with you. You will never outgrow this friendship. You’ll never mature out of this friendship. You’ll never drift apart from this dearest of any Friend.

David said in Psalm 139:7, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” You cannot escape Him, because if you are a child of God He promised never to leave you.

Just as God the Father delights in us His children, so the Spirit delights in hearing from us. He listens to our challenges, our prayers, even our questions and doubts. This is how we experience God. And we moms understand this.

Moms know our children very well yet delight in listening to their faltering prayers to God, their questions … well, sometimes … and their exuberant tales of discovering and learning things we have known for decades. It helps me to think of myself as God’s child. He already knows what I’m going to say, but He wants me to ask and share anyway because He delights in me (Psalm 41:11), which encourages me to talk more, to share more instead of withdrawing into silence because He already knows.

The Holy Spirit longs to converse with you. He’s waiting to listen and be heard. Do you want to become friends with Him too?

Reflection

If the information in this chapter about the Holy Spirit is new to you, find a Bible and read these passages: John 14:15-21 and John 16:12-15. If you have time, read all of both chapters. They are the last words of Jesus and worth reading closely.What do you think about the Holy Spirit as your Friend? Is this a new idea to you? Do you want to be His friend? If you do, pray and tell Him how you feel about Him and that you’d like to know Him better.If you are like me, amazed that the majestic God of the universe wants to be with me and is in fact with me and in me, give Him thanks for this incredible privilege. And then if you want to explore this more, look up all the verses where God tells us He is with us. You’ll be equally amazed by how many times He promised us His presence!

If you were encouraged by this excerpt, be sure to download the entire ebook, Who Is the Holy Spirit: How You Can Hear From Him.

 

The post The Holy Spirit Is My Friend: He Is Always With Me appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

When Bad News Increases Our Anxiety, Where Can We Find Stability?

The bad news feels relentless right now.

Inflation is rising steadily, gas prices are ridiculous, and the ongoing supply chain problems keep popping up like the game “Whack-a-mole.” How unexpected and crazy that suddenly there was no baby formula on store shelves?

Worst of all is, of course, gun violence. We are shocked at every mass shooting, but we are also becoming a little more numb every time. The body can only absorb so much bad news, so it’s not all bad that we turn away sometimes from the onslaught. If we are near and can do something, we must. If we are far away we can pray and we must, but we can’t all carry all these heavy loads. Only our Father in heaven can do that and He has asked us to let Him carry our burdens. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Our calling is to walk in His Spirit listening to His individual leading in our lives. (For more on the Spirit-led life, look for my new ebook coming next week.)

Still those shootings that make national news, like the awful shooting in Uvalde, Texas, must be taken to God. Ask Him what He wants to teach you or how He wants to use you. But mass shootings aren’t the only ones. Many others happen weekly. And unless we keep up with local news via some reporting source we miss the single shootings or the overdose deaths which are no less tragic than a mass killing.

All this bad news leads to fear, anxiety, withdrawal, and anger.

We give voice to our outrage on social media, but at home in private we try to carry on as if nothing has changed. We pretend it doesn’t affect us. But underneath our confident exteriors, the fear still lurks.

In days like these I have learned to remind myself of several truths I know are unchanging.

We are not the first to live in anxiety filled days. I think back to the years of World War II and other eras of war and disease in history and remind myself God brought those people through hard times and He will do the same with me and my people. Many of those people were sure the world was ending, or at least that they were living in the last days. We may think so too, but only God knows. God has a plan and He is always working it. None of us can know what God is up to but we can know He is not asleep. Psalm 121:4 says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

God is not clueless. He is not absent. He is not forgetful or overwhelmed. Quite the opposite. Jesus told us “My Father is working …” (John 5:17). God is active and ruling all the time, even when we can’t see His hand and what we do see makes no sense. 

God will make all things right one day. He has promised He will settle scores one day, as He says in Romans 12:19: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” He has also promised “I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Therefore, I can relax in His promises to make things right and new one day.  Today is not the end of the story. There are days that feel earth shattering, days that feel like a gaping hole has opened beneath our feet and we are falling into an abyss of the unknown. But God reminds us, “even there your hand shall lead me” (Psalm 139:10), “nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17), and “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). We can trust Him. Period.

Another place to find comfort and stability in times like these is in the words of great hymns of the faith. Isaac Watts wrote the enduring hymn, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” which is based on Psalm 90 which begins, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations … even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (KJV).

Music can stick in our brains, and when the words point us to trust in Jesus that’s is a very good thing. Lyrics based on Scripture can remind us that our fears, though circumstantially different than those in ages past, are still the same as those faced by saints today. Here are three stanzas to this hymn by Isaac Watts which I pray will give you a sense of peace.

O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

 

Within the shadow of thy throne

Still may we dwell secure;

Sufficient is thine arm alone,

And our defense is sure.

 

Before the hills in order stood,

or earth received its frame,

From everlasting thou art God,

To endless years the same.

We all fear the loss of life, health, freedom, peace, and the unknown future. Though we bravely say as Christians that we do not fear hardship and even death, when its threat comes near our fears fly to the surface and force us to decide what we believe.

Like the terrorist’s bombs, the shooter’s bullets, or the constant shelling in Ukraine, none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.

But I do know who will be there with me! I do know He has promised to never leave me or forsake me because as Watts wrote, “From everlasting thou art God and endless years the same.”

The unbroken cord of three strands woven steadily through the fabric of time is Jesus, one with the Father and the Spirit, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

These words have been of comfort to me through my roller coaster experiences in life, including my menopause years when I felt crazy at times I reminded myself: He never changes.

When the next mass shooting occurs and my fears multiply with the frightening aftermath, I will remember, He never changes.

He is my comfort in times of trouble, just as He has been for His people for thousands of years.

He is my only hope for the years to come.

He is my shelter from the stormy blast.

He is and will be my eternal home.

When something happens to shake your life and world, where will your hope be? I’m so grateful for the words of Newton’s hymn, which often plays as background music in my mind, reminding me of His enduring, unshakable, eternal presence.

O God our help in ages past,

Our help for years to come.

Be thou our guide while life shall last,

And our eternal home.

He never changes!

As Isaiah 33:6 tells us, “He is the stability of our times.”

 

To find our designed printable of Isaiah 33:6, a key verse for our unstable times, go to our Etsy store .

If this article encouraged you, here are a couple additional articles Barbara wrote on trusting God in difficult times:

“What to Do With Unanswerable Questions About an Unknown Future” “In Times of War, Our God, Our Mighty Fortress, Is Still the Stability of Our Times”

The post When Bad News Increases Our Anxiety, Where Can We Find Stability? appeared first on Ever Thine Home.

Motherhood Is a Ministry

Note from Barbara: Last month The Joyful Life magazine ran an interview with me and I was able to talk about a number of topics relevant to young wives and moms. The following is an excerpt from that interview; you can read the entire interview here.

What is one thing younger mothers struggle with today that wasn’t a struggle when you were younger—and what is your advice to them?

I’ve had multiple conversations with young moms who have felt guilty that they didn’t have a ministry like other women they know, or know of, in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Because of Instagram, many young wives and moms have achieved instant celebrity status. It’s like being the most popular girl in high school but on a much larger scale. And the stakes are equally high.

All of these moms have told me they see other women starting ministries or writing books or blogs, and they feel their stay-at-home mommy job is inferior. My reply to all of these many young women has been the same.

First, I tell them I felt the same way; raising kids full-time was not regarded highly by our culture when I was a young mom, and the rush was on for women to return to the workforce.  Working moms were lauded and celebrated for being able to “do it all.” TV commercials and the media heralded these women for doing it all.  

But let me tell you, no one can do it all. We all have limitations and “for everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). To believe otherwise is to be seduced by the enemy of our souls who loves nothing more than to harm children, marriages, and families.

Two months ago I had a sweet conversation with a young woman, pregnant with her first child, working full-time in a ministry but about to resign. We had been discussing this topic in a larger group, and I shared that I worry about the marriages and children of these young moms who are being courted by publishers, running ministries, and absorbing the accolades of thousands of women.

To illustrate this trend, my book Letters to My Daughters was rejected by all the major publishing companies, and many smaller ones, because of my age. I am not a young, promising new author. And mine isn’t the only experience being rejected because of age. The pressure to produce is on young women today.

As I voiced my concern for these women, I said, “I’m afraid someone will pay; someone will suffer for a mom’s decision to have a full-time career or lead a ministry and have children and grow a thriving marriage.” I’ve seen too many failed marriages and lost children already. At our break, this adorable young mom-to-be said, “Thank you for saying someone will pay.” With her hands caressing her pregnant belly she continued, “I don’t want my baby to be the one to pay if I continued my job full-time.”

Secondly, I share with young moms my passionate belief that mothering is a ministry, a high and holy calling to raise and invest in the spiritual development of the next generation. No one can do that work but you. God gave you your babies, and He intends for you and your husband to be the primary influence in their lives for all of their first 18 years. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Nothing is more important.

But parenting is a season. It’s not the whole of your life. There will be time one day, unless Jesus comes back, to do all you dream and more. And if Jesus does return, God will fulfill those desires in heaven. He wastes nothing.

There is also great pressure on today’s young women to not just do it all but to have it all. Again, Instagram and other social media showcase homes that, in my generation, most couldn’t afford until their 40s or 50s or beyond. So many women, often encouraged or pushed by husbands, go to work to achieve a status of living that is born out of comparison.

Yes, there are women who need to work, but too often today “need” is defined very differently than it used to be. Too often, need today is not to put food on the table or clothes on your kids’ backs, but to earn more money to accumulate more things, more house, more status.

The temptation to compare is as old as Adam and Eve, who listened to Satan whisper that God hadn’t given them enough, that more could be theirs if they followed his plan. The same temptations continue today in a million nuanced ways. Compare. Conclude you don’t have enough. And compare again and again. Always Satan whispers, “You can have all this, do this, too.”

But God calls us to mimic His Son, not other fallible humans.

The pressure today is real and because it comes from within the Christian community, the urge to have a ministry feels more noble and right than a desire for just a job.

Choose to be okay with being unknown or unrecognized outside your community or church. Choose to invest in your children and marriage today knowing He will give you other opportunities in the future. Choose to wait on God’s timing for His plans for your life. These are courageous steps of great faith.

And I applaud all the unseen, unrecognized moms who are choosing to be content in those places. These women are living for the future. They are laying up treasures in heaven.

If you enjoyed this article, here are some more articles by Barbara on motherhood:

“The Phantom Mom” “It’s All About Our Hearts” “Dear Barbara: I’m an Overwhelmed Mom!”

The post Motherhood Is a Ministry appeared first on Ever Thine Home.