L.G. Westlake's Blog

Thanking God Always

You know you need to, but there’s just no way you can thank God for that person. Anybody but that person. Sure, you’re thankful for your bestie, your kids, your grands. You’re even thankful for the neighbor who picks up your mail while you’re out of town. No doubt God’s brought awesome people into your life including the driver who let you merge into that left lane. And for each, you are grateful. But …

Then there’s the situation. The situation. The maddening circumstance that developed just weeks ago. And now you’re stuck. You’ve given thanks for a lot of problems, but not this one because there’s no green light at the end of this emerging dark tunnel.

And the unanswered prayer. How could you thank God for not lifting His hand on the big one when you’ve asked a hundred times—maybe a thousand?

But you know this is the point. You truly trust God with all things. But it’s easier to ask Him to change people or circumstances than change yourself. It’s easier to grumble about the rain than to praise God when the thunder is so loud.

THE BENEFITS

But thank God, opportunities for attitude adjustments exist for our benefit. Take a look at the returns of having a grateful outlook:

Gratitude helps relieve stress. Research shows being thankful can keep our minds from slipping towards anxiety.*

Gratitude places a positive spin on your day. According to studies, a position of thankfulness releases dopamine and serotonin—two feel-good neurotransmitters.*

Gratitude improves your social life. Thankfulness increases empathy and reduces aggression.*

Gratitude reduces harmful psychological and emotional downturns. Expressing thankfulness can lesson symptoms of depression and anxiety.*

God created us in His all-knowing, all-understanding image. As His image bearers, we’re to reflect the truth that all things work to the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Knowing all things lead to God’s will of goodness, we can praise Him in our trials.

PROMPTING GRATITUDE

Try using these gratitude prompts to steer your mind into a space of thankfulness.

* When a situation turns difficult, stop and thank God first before moving into your own action plan.

* Start your day thankful. Not just for the good, but for the hard you will encounter throughout the day. Recognize God is in control, even of the difficult.

* Thank God your trials are not dead-end roads. He uses trials and difficult people to lead us to new heights of faith.

* Write down the things you grumble about. Take a hardship inventory and as you consider each difficulty, thank God.

* Make gratitude a spiritual discipline. Forming thankful habits will take time, so determine to go through your thankful exercises daily. Soon, your heart will catch up to your list and you’ll be truly grateful the Lord molds and shapes you into a vessel of honor.

The art of gratitude belongs to the warrior. It is the heroes who worship God in the fights of life—in the sweat, in the pain, in the loss. We can praise because we posses understanding—we’ve read the book and know victory comes.

You’re not a grumbling couch potato. You’re a warrior. Give thanks!

...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

*https://firstthings.org/benefits-of-t...

If I perish, I perish,

Laurie

Prepare ... But For What?

I don’t know about you, but I hear the word “prepare” from not just the conspiracy theorists in bunkers out there, but also from the national main-stream media. News of rolling energy blackouts, food shortages, and record inflation are hitting the airways, and I find myself browsing freeze-dried foods and solar-powered lights on Amazon.

But after two years of Covid propaganda, I’m not sure what to believe anymore. Sure, I am experiencing the squeeze of inflated gas prices and foods, and I sense our already fragile economy is in trouble. But after media hype and the so-called health experts getting 99% of the facts wrong about Covid, it’s hard to buy what the political powers at hand are selling.

And yet.

When I turn to the Word for clarity, the call to be prepared is clear. The following “prepared” verses are just a few among many, but these treasures pack a powerful punch.

Luke 12:35-38 – Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

1 Corinthians 16:13 – Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 Peter 3:15 – But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect …”

While these calls to readiness, I believe, are focused on our spiritual preparedness for all seasons, there is biblical merit to having our affairs in order and our courage intact.

The story of faithful Noah (Genesis 5:32 – 10:1) is an excellent example of resource preparedness for hard times. God instructs Noah to build a boat for a coming worldwide flood. The Lord also commands Noah to load the boat with supplies to sustain both his family and the animal kingdom (Genesis 6:21). Noah, obedient to God, prepared for the world’s biggest natural disaster to date. There are a myriad of ways the Lord could have destroyed the evilness in the world and placed righteous Noah in the position to repopulate. But for reasons we don’t completely understand yet, God wanted Noah demonstrating faith as he built the world’s first mega ship.

Joseph’s preparation for a time of great famine is another example of stewarding resources for future calamity. A man of God, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream of the seven good and seven hard years. He advised Pharaoh to store a fifth (20%) of the crops in the first seven abundant years. Because of this, Egypt survived the seven years of famine. Through this preparation, Joseph gained royalty and was reunited with his blood family. God used the famine and Joseph’s stored foods to further His purposes for the Jewish people.

There are at least a half-dozen Proverbs instructing the wise to be prudent and prepared, as well.

People and Their Points
Working in full-time ministry for more than twenty-five years, I’ve encountered Christians who are hard-core preppers with an army-sized ammo stock. I have also met Christians who shrug off the calls to beef up their battery inventories claiming God will provide.

I’m going to try and take a balanced approach to prepping, neither building bunkers nor sticking my head in the sand. And God’s glory—the reason we exist—is the reason why (Isaiah 43:7; Romans 11:36).

Here’s my take on bringing God glory by not only trusting His promises to provide, but also by demonstrating belief in His prophecies of hard times.

The Lord tells His children what is going to happen (Isaiah 46:10). Preparing is a physical demonstration of our belief in His Word.
Exhibiting a calm spirit shows the world our God is faithful. (Isaiah 43:2; 2 Timothy 1:7) Preparedness allows us to be ready in our spiritual boats when the floods come.
Our God tells us to be ready to give an answer for our Hope (1 Peter 3:15). If we’re in a panicked rush to find food, water, or shelter, we’ll blend in with the world. We must exhibit hopeful confidence so people will see our Hope and inquire of it.
We are commanded to share (Hebrews 13:16; Proverbs 19:17; Luke 6:38). If we are without the resources to meet other’s physical needs in a time of crisis, we miss the opportunity to be generous.

What’s Next
I encourage everyone to pray, read the Word (Matthew 24; Acts 2:17; 2 Peter 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:1), and pray some more. Seek the counsel of God when it comes to preparedness and your specific role(s) in these interesting times. Be watchful, alert, and expecting to see God at work as the enemy seeks dominion.

And keep building the kingdom. Having served in Crisis Pregnancy ministry for several years, I learned that when people face uncertainties, they are ripe for change. Many times I had the opportunity to lead a young woman in crisis to the Lord. It will be no different during food and energy shortages. God will use the horrors of the world to bring in His sheep. We must be prepared, ready at any given moment to share the Gospel, the Hope of Christ.

A Note of Advice
While living in the Congolese Rain Forest in Africa, we were trained to be prepared for political crisis and/or natural disasters. Taught how to survive in the jungle, evacuation could happen at any time. Preparedness also meant keeping a contingency box packed with water filters and three-days of food, medicines, and clean clothes. Living in rough terrain under an unstable government, we had to be equipped for the unexpected. I’ve continued with contingency prepping over the years and believe that this is being prudent with the Lord’s resources. I suggest everyone have at least a three-day supply of basic needs on hand. Should disaster happen, seventy two hours of food and water gives opportunity for calm prayer and wise assessment. Having family live through the power outages in Texas a couple of winters ago confirmed my sense that we need to expect the unexpected.

We need to be the stable port in the storm; the refreshment for the weary. Spiritual and physical preparation is building that port–the lighthouse for those battling in the squall.

I’ll leave you to pray and ponder.

If I perish, I perish,

Laurie

God Made

God made man; God made woman. Male and female, in His image, He created them.

There's no better time to be reminded of this than today.

It is hard to believe that in developed countries with advanced education systems and material resources available to all—a large portion of the population has found itself dissatisfied with a generous lot in life. Large parts of society have determined that to be truly happy, to live in freedom, to find the ultimate experience of life, fate must lie in the hands of not God, but man.

I think back to that original sin some six-thousand years ago. In a well-kept garden with all the needed amenities, there slipped in a serpent, a lie, and the course of mankind changed forever.

Purchasing Expensive Lies

I believe we’re buying the serpent’s lies again. Attempting to shed the holy image we were made in and shape an image of our own, we’ve again purchased the lie that we can be like God.

Right down to gender choices.

Which starts to look more like the image of Satan than the Holy Trinity, desiring to put man-made thrones in the high places of God (Isaiah 14:12-14).

The Truth
In his sermon on Mars Hill, the Apostle Paul throws down a dramatic truth to the listeners gathered, and I keep thinking this is a message we church-age believers need to hear again and again.

Paul said:

“The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist …” Acts 17:24-28

God not only gives us life, but he also decides in what geographical area and in what era or age we shall live.

This means—and this is the truth we’ve lost sight of—God is sovereign.

But the nonbelievers in our society don’t want to have anything to do with a sovereign God. They want to be God, not obey Him. Again, we’re mirroring the wrong entity these days.

In Colossians 1:76-18, Paul writes of Christ:

“… by Him all thigs were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

"All Things" Includes Intimacy
His supremacy over all things includes our intimate relationships.

A myriad of God-denying practices have cropped up in our culture. But when I look back at the garden incident, should I be surprised?
Probably not.

Satan will do anything in his power to discredit God and turn our heads, eyes blind, to his (Satan's) delusional glory. This is what gender preference selection, and sexual immorality is about. The enemies of God seek to convince the objects of God’s affection to not just turn from God, but to mock Him.

Sexual Immorality Mocks God

I believe sexual indiscretions strike at the very heart of our Maker. When you consider that in the Old Testament, God refers to himself as the husband of Israel (Jeremiah 31:32) and in the New Testament Christ is referenced as the groom of the church (John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2), truly the relationship of husband and wife is a shadow or metaphor of the relationship between our God and his people.

If we humans had not perverted the picture of the healthy physical act between a married man and woman, then what I said wouldn’t have initiated a wince.

But we have perverted the physical image of marriage and the meaning of sex. Just drive down the highway and glance at a billboard. Watch an "R" rated movie. "Listen to outlets speak of five-year olds getting sex education.

Looking Deep

If human brides and grooms are metaphors of Christ and his church, then what we have to learn is that the physical act of love represents the vulnerable connection between a holy God and his people in covenant. It’s not about the physical pleasure, although that’s the bonus part for man and wife, but it’s about the connection. God willingly wants an intimate relationship with you and he shows this to you and me through the spiritual bond of marriage.

No wonder Satan strikes hardest at the sexual gift given to men and women. In matrimony, husbands and wives are living metaphors to the unbelieving world around us.

Here’s the Deal

In John 10:10, we’re given the true motives of the old lie-selling serpent, the Devil. He comes to the pinnacles of God’s creation in order to steal and destroy life. Christ came for the opposite. He came to restore life and dwell among men and women in loving covenant.

All that is going terribly wrong around us is the work of a spiritual enemy. We wrestle not against our own humankind, but against the spiritual enemies lurking in the dark and unseen (Ephesians 6:12).

It is through turning to the Lord in passion and prayer that we will snatch our loved ones out of the snares that lie like mine fields all over our world today. There is always hope of redemption through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

There’s Work to Do

We can be like God, but we cannot be God. The efforts to control our gender or our destinies are futile and lead to a dead end. But, being made in his image, believers in Christ can reflect God to the world, overcoming the lies with truth, the hate with love.

Go forth friends and warriors. We’ve work to do and truth to proclaim!

If I perish, I perish,

Laurie

Read a chapter of Laurie's novel, Calculated Encounters, for free here.

A Biblical Take on the Russia Ukraine Conflict

I’ve hesitated to write about the caution I sense as I watch the whole world wave their blue and yellow flags in support of Ukraine from the safety of social media thousands of miles away from the conflict.

IS IT ME, OR IS SOMETHING UP?

I experienced confusion when I watched the recent State of the Union address and witnessed American congress men and women wearing Ukrainian colors and pins—jumping to their feet in applause as our government made bold proclamations from televised, albeit safe, platforms.

I’ve heard water-cooler speak of the heroic Ukrainian president that reminds me of a we-want-a-human-king-not-God biblical account found in 1Samuel, chapter 8.

While I too have searched through my news channels to follow the travesties of the distressed people of Ukraine, I continue to wonder if what I’m being fed isn’t sometimes propaganda at its best. And to be honest, I guiltily feel l am watching the Hunger Games, cheering from the sidelines as people destroy each other in a reality internet show.

Considering the last two years the main-stream source of our news has not just willingly, but passionately, heartily, vehemently shared changing and misinformation about the recent virus, I have doubts when it comes to trusting all of the information coming from the American media. Those guys will jump on a headline faster than a duck on a June bug. We forget that they are not reporting for the good of the people but the good of their dollars—these commerce outlets have ratings to reach and salaries to pay, after all.

A NIGHTLY CHECK

I’ve received that check in the spirit that keeps me up at night wondering about the bigger picture of all the chaos. What am I missing here and why am I uneasy? Why am I not creating hate posts against Putin and Russia?
The Lord reminds me that I, as a wee, little human on His planet earth am not seeing the reality of the situation. The reality, He tells me, is unseen. We truly receive only a glimpse of the truth because our earthly manner of sharing information is stunted. There’s a reality that is unseen.

Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

In this passage of Scripture, I’m told that the real war is in the heavenlies and not in Central Asia. In searching through the Word to scratch the itch of unrest, I found this jewel:

2 Corinthian 4:18 …as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Whoa. I am told not to seek truth in the short-sighted, agenda-filled media, but in the plans of my God. Then I found this verse concerning His plans:

Zephania 1:17 (ESV) I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

Walking like the blind appears to be an earthly curse. There are those among us who cannot or will not discern the truth—they are blind to spiritual matters. Here’s the proof of that truth:

1 Corinthians 2:14 -The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Jesus affirms this reality in this Scripture:

John 9:29 ESV Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER

In light of God’s Word, should it be maddening to me that untruths, false prophets, and propaganda abound in current world chaos?
No. As a believer, through the Truth found in the Word, I’ve been made aware, warned really, that the blind of the world will not discern the plans of Almighty God. But I am not as the blind or clueless. I have a discerning Holy Spirit that guides me.

John 16:13 -- When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

And this brings me back to some of the Scriptures I’ve written about, made videos about, and continually point to: Matthew 24:3-8

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

God’s plans are underway, my friends. And if these times and troubles are by His design, then we, as His children, have work to do beyond the flag-waving and thundering applause of our propaganda-spewing national leaders.

Isaiah 55:6-11: Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your way, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

From these Scriptures I can confirm that what my work in all of this worldly chaos is to pray the Word and share the Word with those in my influence. Working for an international ministry which shares God’s Word in the languages of the world, I witness, firsthand, the thirst for truth in these distressed countries. Remember the travesties of Afghanistan last year? Our ministry, under the radar of fanfare, discreetly advertised online Bibles in the primary languages of the area. Thousands upon thousands of Audio Bibles were downloaded, bringing truth to those fleeing the upheaval. We’re doing the same in other areas. I can testify there are believers inside areas of conflict sharing truth with seekers. Amidst the wars, people come to the Kingdom.
Spreading salvation hits the real but unseen enemy where it hurts.

We must pray truth. We must share truth.
If you want to do more that stand in solidarity with those fighting to keep their country, then do something dramatic—send God’s Word. Kingdom build. Find a ministry working on the inside and encourage, buoy their confidence with your support.
And pray.

FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT

I’ll wrap up with these encouraging Scriptures:

Isaiah 35:4 - Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution, he will come to save you.
Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Yes, I pray for the people of Ukraine. I also pray for the people in Russia, China, Afghanistan, and North Korea … America. I pray for the great harvest. This world will not last, and it is not where my hope lies.

My hope is in Christ alone.
Laurie

Trials and Purpose

Matthew 10:22 - And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

Philippians 1:27-30 -Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Key verse: Philippians 1:29-30; Matthew 10:22

Key words: For to you it has been granted … to suffer on His behalf; hated because of My name

God's Glorious Promises:
The promises of God—His eternal salvation; His shelter, His wisdom, His protective love, and His refreshing rest—to name but a few—are some of the assurances I call upon when facing the troubles of my day; my year; my seasons. Another promise that is important to me is found in Proverbs 22:6 where the poet tells us that if we train up a child in the way he should go then when that child is old, he will not depart from it. With children (now grown) that have pushed at what I believe should be the boundaries of good and common spiritual sense, this verse is one I call upon often. And by the way, It seems timely to mention that this verse is often misunderstood in it’s meaning. The word hanakh translated as “train,” in our English language, in Hebrew means “to dedicate” or “to consecrate.” The verse leans toward you and I committing our children to the Lord more than guilt-whipping them into spiritual shape through obligatory and deceptive faith works.

Promises on the Roads Less Traveled:
But the point of this blog is to discuss the less popular promises of God found in our key verses today. I think of them as the hard promises on the roads less traveled--the pathways we're to be seeking.

These are the curious and often overlooked promises of suffering and persecution—hard topics to tackle.

But we must accurately handle these promises because we are called to rightly handle the Word of God.

We are to be masters with our swords.

We are to be prepared in season and out.

And to rightly master the sword, we are to know where and why our troubles come from and not be tempted to blame God or circumstances, or even others when the suffering does come.

In a culture where love grows cold, it’s almost fashionable and certainly trendy, to place blame on people who and circumstances that do not up line up with our own ideals. I see it all around me ... but also in me. At work, when our international ministry is disrupted by travel restrictions, I’m guilty of saying, “Dang that Covid 19.” It’s true this horrible, possibly man-made virus is disrupting God’s work all over the world, and I should certainly pray against it. But my first reaction, according to James 1:2, is to thank God for the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop my godly character. When the government threatens to place medical mandates—with large financial fines for noncompliance—on nonprofits that wish to respect a person’s privacy, I become distrustful of the very leaders we elected. Here again, is an opportunity for prayer, asking for discernment but also thanking Him for the opportunity to be tested in my faith. Is my faith in the government or is it in Christ?

Why Trials; Why Me:
Jesus was clear when speaking of the reasons for trials: He’s shaping eternal life in you. And me. And all who belong to Him.

Because Christ and His disciples have warned us that persecution comes, we must take the bold step of laying blame to the side and accepting the coming trials not only with patience, but joy, knowing these trials have purpose. Look back at the Philippians verse. Paul wrote to the Philippians that suffering had been granted to them. Granted. The word granted brings to mind a privilege or an award. My dear Philippians, you have been granted to suffer and die! Enjoy your prize.
There’s no if attached to these promises. There is only a matter of when attached to these promises. As a child of God, you will experience sufferings and you will be persecuted. In the spiritual realm, this is to be considered a gift.

But take heart—there is a glorious reason.

Before jumping into my own limited ponderings on the glories of our trials, I looked up what the biblical scholar Matthew Henry had to say on these verses. This is good stuff and way beyond anything my wee brain could produce. Here is what Henry wrote in his commentary on Matthew 10, It appears plainly, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution; and we must expect to enter into the kingdom of God through many tribulations. And in his commentary on Philippians 1, he penned, Faith is God's gift on the behalf of Christ; the ability and disposition to believe are from God. And if we suffer reproach and loss for Christ, we are to reckon them a gift, and prize them accordingly.

In seeking to answer the why question that pops up in my own resistance to embracing the idea that suffering is a gift, I recalled what James had to say at the beginning of his epistle. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
From these Scriptures, clearly, trials and tribulations (sufferings and persecutions) are meant to mature us as Christ followers. The idea that our Christ cares to have you and me grow into the complete royal warriors He imagined when He envisioned the world says so much about the nature of our King. He cares for you. To the point of doing whatever it takes to bring you into the full glory of His own image.

Did he not suffer and die?

And yet, He made you in his image. The whole of His image.

In this, we have joy. Precept by precept, trial by trial, we are being made closer to the real deity deal.

But "why," my wee brain still asks.

And the Word answers me. For my glory.
In Isaiah 43, the prophet scribe records God’s promises to gather Israel together in a future time (Hello the rebirth of Israel in 1948), and in these promises, a small, but super powerful statement is revealed. Isaiah, writing on God’s behalf records, “… and who I created for my glory.”

God creates for His glory. You are on planet earth for His glory. And how does He do that? By making you in His image, and growing you up, through trials and tribulations, to prove your unfaltering faith. Your mature and steadfast faith brings Him glory. Your mature and steadfast patience brings Him glory. Your mature and steadfast trust brings Him glory.

There's more:

You standing bold when your will is weak brings Him glory. You standing faithful in the face of cancer brings Him glory. You speaking truth in a culture of lies brings Him glory. You marching away from the world’s temptations brings Him glory.

L. G. Westlake
(Laurie)

Suffering in Glory

Matthew 10:22 – And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

Philippians 1:27-30 –Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Key verse: Philippians 1:29-30; Matthew 10:22

Key words: For to you it has been granted … to suffer on His behalf; hated because of My name

God’s Glorious Promises:

The promises of God—His eternal salvation; His shelter, His wisdom, His protective love, and His refreshing rest—to name but a few—are some of the assurances I call upon when facing the troubles of my day; my year; my seasons. Another promise that is important to me is found in Proverbs 22:6 where the poet tells us that if we train up a child in the way he should go then when that child is old, he will not depart from it. With children (now grown) that have pushed at what I believe should be the boundaries of good and common spiritual sense, this verse is one I call upon often. And by the way, It seems timely to mention that this verse is often misunderstood in it’s meaning. The word hanakh translated as “train,” in our English language, in Hebrew means “to dedicate” or “to consecrate.” The verse leans toward you and I committing our children to the Lord more than guilt-whipping them into spiritual shape through obligatory and deceptive faith works.

But the point of this blog is to discuss the less popular promises of God found in our key verses today. I think of them as the hard promises on the roads less traveled–the pathways we’re to be seeking.

These are the curious and often overlooked promises of suffering and persecution—hard topics to tackle.

But we must accurately handle these promises because we are called to rightly handle the Word of God.

We are to be masters with our swords.

We are to be prepared in season and out.

And to rightly master the sword, we are to know where and why our troubles come from and not be tempted to blame God or circumstances, or even others when the suffering does come.

In a culture where love grows cold, it’s almost fashionable and certainly trendy, to place blame on people who and circumstances that do not up line up with our own ideals. I see it all around me … but also in me. At work, when our international ministry is disrupted by travel restrictions, I’m guilty of saying, “Dang that Covid 19.” It’s true this horrible, possibly man-made virus is disrupting God’s work all over the world, and I should certainly pray against it. But my first reaction, according to James 1:2, is to thank God for the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop my godly character. When the government threatens to place medical mandates—with large financial fines for noncompliance—on nonprofits that wish to respect a person’s privacy, I become distrustful of the very leaders we elected. Here again, is an opportunity for prayer, asking for discernment but also thanking Him for the opportunity to be tested in my faith. Is my faith in the government or is it in Christ?

Jesus was clear when speaking of the reasons for trials: He’s shaping eternal life in you. And me. And all who belong to Him.

Because Christ and His disciples have warned us that persecution comes, we must take the bold step of laying blame to the side and accepting the coming trials not only with patience, but joy, knowing these trials have purpose. Look back at the Philippians verse. Paul wrote to the Philippians that suffering had been granted to them. Granted. The word granted brings to mind a privilege or an award. My dear Philippians, you have been granted to suffer and die! Enjoy your prize.

There’s no if attached to these promises. There is only a matter of when attached to these promises. As a child of God, you will experience sufferings and you will be persecuted. In the spiritual realm, this is to be considered a gift.

But take heart—there is a glorious reason.

Before jumping into my own limited ponderings on the glories of our trials, I looked up what the biblical scholar Matthew Henry had to say on these verses. This is good stuff and way beyond anything my wee brain could produce. Here is what Henry wrote in his commentary on Matthew 10, It appears plainly, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution; and we must expect to enter into the kingdom of God through many tribulations. And in his commentary on Philippians 1, he penned, Faith is God’s gift on the behalf of Christ; the ability and disposition to believe are from God. And if we suffer reproach and loss for Christ, we are to reckon them a gift, and prize them accordingly.

In seeking to answer the why question that pops up in my own resistance to embracing the idea that suffering is a gift, I recalled what James had to say at the beginning of his epistle. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

From these Scriptures, clearly, trials and tribulations (sufferings and persecutions) are meant to mature us as Christ followers. The idea that our Christ cares to have you and me grow into the complete royal warriors He imagined when He envisioned the world says so much about the nature of our King. He cares for you. To the point of doing whatever it takes to bring you into the full glory of His own image.

Did he not suffer and die?

And yet, He made you in his image. The whole of His image.

In this, we have joy. Precept by precept, trial by trial, we are being made closer to the real deity deal.

But why my wee brain still asks.

And the Word answers me. For my glory.

In Isaiah 43, the prophet scribe records God’s promises to gather Israel together in a future time (Hello the rebirth of Israel in 1948), and in these promises, a small, but super powerful statement is revealed. Isaiah, writing on God’s behalf records, “… and who I created for my glory.”

God creates for His glory. You are on planet earth for His glory. And how does He do that? By making you in His image, and growing you up, through trials and tribulations, to prove your unfaltering faith. Your mature and steadfast faith brings Him glory. You mature and steadfast patience brings Him glory. Your mature and steadfast trust brings Him glory.

There’s more:

You standing bold when your will is weak brings Him glory. You standing faithful in the face of cancer brings Him glory. You speaking truth in a culture of lies brings Him glory. You marching away from the world’s temptations brings Him glory.

What’s Your Trial?
Make your own statement and fill in the blank. When I ______, I bring Him glory.

I’m convicted about the complaining I’ve done. With every word of bad news, I should pray first, then thank the Lord that I’m worthy to live in these days of wars and rumors of wars, and famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and deception. I am thankful to be worthy, by His love alone, to be molded and shaped into His likeness.

This is a big deal.

And you’re a part of it.

Let Him sharpen you and His sword. Let us all accept the challenges we face with grace and love and hearts firmly planted in His glory.

Amen.

If I perish, I perish.

Laurie

The Problem With Bucket Lists Part 1

A couple of weeks back, that oft-spoken moment happened again. I’d been talking up the rapture and how, with all the signs of the times, I couldn’t help but think we were getting close to that foretold, miracle. I’m speaking of the event when Christ returns for the bride, meets her in the air, and whisks her off to what I believe will be the wedding ceremony of the church and Christ, followed by a time in the marriage chamber for seven years.**

The gal I spoke with replied with something I’ve heard many, many times before.

And it makes me sad (and a little crazy).

She said, “I’m not ready for the rapture. I still have things I want to do here.”

In other words, she has a bucket list she hopes to fill before she dies.

There are two problems with bucket lists as I see it. This blog will deal with Bucket List Problem #1 and a subsequent blog will address Bucket Lists Problem #2.

Bucket Lists Problem #1:

I get having goals and plans and enjoying this amazing life we’ve been blessed with. Intentional living is living at the fullest. Having goals and dreams sets us on that course. The Word of God tells us where there is no vision, people perish (Proverbs 29:18). But what I don’t understand is how we’ve come to misunderstand that when death comes, life as we know it will cease to exist. This is true for this temporary body, but not for the soul.

Death being the end of life is not biblical teaching for the Christian. Death is the act of leaving behind the current vehicle we occupy and moving from one phase to another—either to eternal torment in hell or eternal bliss with Christ.

We Live in a Shadow:

Let’s view this life through a biblical lens.

Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that the festivals practiced by the Jews in biblical times were mere shadows of things to come. And Hebrews chapters eight through eleven speak of how Melchizedek is a priestly shadow of the coming Christ and the law given to Moses was a shadow of good things to come. These chapters in Hebrews drive home the ideas that God created the things of this earth to speak to us about heaven, further explaining that the state of what we live in now is a mere shadow of things to come.

Since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, we’ve been living in a less-than world, but a world that was created to resemble heaven.

Look at Romans 1:20:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

God created a world that spoke of His nature and His heavenly abode. He created a physical world to represent the invisible world. Right now we live in the physical, visible world which is a shadow of the invisible world. Once we die or are raptured, we will live in the invisible world that is the substance that our world was made to teach us about. We’ll be in the real deal then.

You’re not leaving what you’ve always known when you die. You are entering into a better condition of what you’ve always known when you die—as long as you are among the saved.

Let me put it this way, if a mountain on planet earth is a shadow of a mountain in heaven, then try to imagine the grandeur of the real thing. If music on earth is a shadow of music in heaven, what kind of emotional experience will live concerts be there? I think of it like a landscape painting. I can look at a beautifully painted canvas and try and imagine what it would be like to walk there or dine there, or live there. Right now, we live on the canvas. The real stuff the canvas was painted of is on the other side of death for the Christ believer.

Are you following my thoughts?

Bucket lists imply that there are things to be done on earth while we are alive that cannot be done in heaven when we enter that dimension. That’s a silly conjecture. If all things earth were made to teach you and I something about heaven, then all things heaven are not only going to be familiar, but better than the shadows we live in now.

Do you play a guitar here? Maybe you’ll master multiple instruments there. Enjoy snow skiing? Perhaps you’ll have the opportunity to slalom down a mountain the size of Everest there. Find your peace ocean side now? Wait till you walk a beach in heaven.

Perspective:

When another friend and I were talking about the mandatory vax cards needed to enter some countries, she mentioned that she might never make it to Israel now because of the restrictions. But I loved her attitude. She shrugged and said, “Oh well, I’m going to be seeing Israel during the thousand-year reign anyway. So I’m not missing out.”

Wow. That gal knew her Bible and because she did, she has the true understanding that dying is not the end of life.

Dying is an extension of life—the life God created when He first made you.

You aren’t made a second time. As a Christian you’re reborn, but not remade. The Word tells us that you and I were fully known and created in the womb. Our rebirth happens outside the womb, as a decision to believe upon the grace of Christ. So the same person God created in the womb will be the same core person living in heaven.

We are promised eternal life because your life, as a believer, doesn’t end. Your life continues. You will still be you, only better.

Mountains will still be mountains, only more beautiful.

Stepping into heaven (the invisible) will be like stepping into our true destinies.

So, to circle back to bucket lists—you can see that having these intentional inventories are not a bad thing but can limit our thinking. The bucket list can imply that our chances at getting to experience some of the wonders of this world end when we die. But if you’re a born-again believer, then I’ve got good news. Your chances of accomplishing your dreams are better in the next phase than they are here in the shadow lands where delusional spirits and menacing demons seek to kill, steal, and destroy.

When it comes to living the epitome of the abundant life, we’re just getting warmed up living in the shadow lands. Our true potential lies in the substance—the real life God had in mind when he made the human race.

As well, let’s not forget that after the Great Tribulation, Christ sets up a thousand-year reign here on planet earth. We’re all going to be back in the shadow lands ruling and reigning with Him and a thousand years is plenty of time for you to make that trip you haven’t been able to scratch off your dream list (lol). I don’t begin to think that everything will be exact copies and that life in heaven won’t take on spectacularly new dimensions. But I’m using simple ideas to get your imagination going so we won’t view death as an end to the lives we love. Death as the end is not the way we’re to view our lives.

We’re to be truth knowers, discerning the times (Luke 12:54-56) and loving his appearing (2Tim.4:8). Not frantic earth-dwellers getting our bucket lists filled.

So look up, your redemption draws near. Do not dread the birth pangs that come upon the world, but rather look—with great hope and expectation—for your Savior’s return.

Part 2 of the Bucket list coming soon.

If I perish, I perish,

Laurie

Check out my latest release, an award-winning Christian Suspense -- Calculated Risk

https://www.amazon.com/Calculated-Ris...

The Herdsman Angel

We’d had a rough second week—Steve tangled with malaria, all four of us had dysentery from eating one-week-old, unrefrigerated meat, and the nights were growing colder, making our outdoor bucket baths almost unbearable. Still, Mesa and I decided to make the trek to Sa’h, an African village some seven or eight miles on the other side of the mountain top knoll.

THE BACKGROUND

The year was 2002, and every missionary unit preparing for Bible translation work spent their last three weeks of African Orientation in separate villages. African orientation was a three-month introduction camp created to expose missionaries to all things Africa. We were in our last month and staying in Bi’h, a village of less than 500 people nestled in the northwest hills of N’du, an Anglophone area of Cameroon.

My husband Steve recovered from malaria in the dirt-floor, metal roof lean-to our Cameroonian hosts had graciously provided for the three-week stay. Our bed, an oversized, hay-stuffed plastic bag was not providing Steve comfort per se, but with malaria, bedding is not of primary concern. A body horizontal is.

Our eleven-year-old son, Sam, was out on another bird hunt with village boys. Sam seemed to meld into the culture wherever we journeyed. In Cameroon, he’d stripped half-naked and took up bird catching with organic glues pasted to tree branches—a village boy living the exotic life off the land.

Looking back at the walk to Sa’h, between my husband and daughter’s bouts with deadly malaria, I realize we’d let Sam become quite independent. His steadfast joy and rock-solid faith got us through the twists and turns of primitive missionary life for the year and half we lived in two African countries. I don’t think Sam knows that today, I still think back on the miracles, and marvel that God had a plan and I, honored as a mother, got to watch the Lord’s designs unfold.

So on this day of which I write, Sam had ventured out into the great unknown of the northwest African hillsides, and though I don’t understand how I’d come to let it happen, I indeed let him romp through these wild adventures at the tender age of eleven.

We’d received bad news from several fronts. The medical arm of Wycliffe in Dallas had sent word through the SIL arm in Yaoundé that our meningitis vaccines—taken while in Dallas—were discovered to be ineffective. A New Testament launch celebration had been planned in a village about two hours’ taxi drive away, and there’d been a meningitis outbreak in the area. We wouldn’t be able to go and dance or sing with the locals who, at last, received the life-saving words of the Gospel in a language they could understand. But considering Steve’s recovering condition, he wouldn’t have likely made the trip anyway.

That morning, as is the way in West Africa, we’d received news from the face-to-face telecommunication system of villagers passing along information that the woman of the missionary family at the next village closest to us, had fallen ill with malaria.

My nine-year-old daughter Mesa and I packed food and medicines. Then I sent Sam out with the village boys for that bird hunt. We checked in on Steve, who was well enough to tell us to be home before dark, and we walked out of our village to a winding mountain path, headed for Sa’h those seven to eight long miles away.

We didn’t know our trek would be a path of life lessons. Big ones.

THE ROAD TO SA'H

In the remote hills of Anglophone Cameroon hiking was not necessarily safe. There were the beginnings of what is now a civil war in Cameroon. Occasionally, clashes between the French-speaking government and the English-speaking secessionists broke out, even back then. As well, we had limited communication opportunities (no cell, no internet), and no vehicles anywhere except for one cab per day that showed up to shuttle five or six people down the mountains to the N’Kambe, a town with at least one hotel and two restaurants. And, among the traditional religious people based mostly on animism, there were sprinklings of Christianity but also Islam, practiced in this area by the Fulani people group.

In the area we lived for three weeks, Fulani herded cattle.

After about an hour on the road to Sa’h, I had moved downhill into the tall grass on the other side of a tree to … uh … use the … uh … outdoor potty when a group of Fulani women passed on the road several yards above me.

They stopped to gape at the two white missionary females squatting in the grass.

After I finished my business, we stood, hearts in our throats, and returned their stares.

Even eighteen years ago, tensions between Muslims and Christians were evident.

The Fulani women pointed. Whispered.

My circulatory system froze over. I grabbed Mesa’s hand and tried to swallow my heart back down where it belonged.

And like butterflies flitting among the flowers, the women, robes trailing in the wind, glided down the hill to get a closer look at the wide-eyed strangers in their grasslands.

The tall and lightly-colored Fulani gals stopped about ten feet short of a real face-to-face encounter. Giggles followed by more pointing, and one of the group surprisingly ran back uphill and rushed up the road.

I hoped she wasn’t going for re-enforcements.

As Fulani are neither Anglophone nor Francophone, but speak Fula, the hand gestures started. Somehow, with a few recognizable local words, Mesa and I communicated we were staying in Bi’h and heading over to Sa’h for a friendly visit with friends. They indicated they lived nearby.

But when the one who had rushed away returned, she carried an opened tin can in her long slender hands.

Now with the important can in possession, the Fulani women moved in closer.

One nodded and offered the tin to me.

“What’s in it?” Mesa asked.

The can, warm in my hands, held … milk. Fresh, Fulani cow milk.

We’d all already suffered from dysentery and thoughts of pathogenic micro-organisms swimming around in the unpasteurized milk did cross my mind. But. But. When Africans offer you the fruit of their hands, which, in this case, was milk, you don’t politely decline as this would be an insult. You accept and partake.

Our drinking their offering of friendship brought wide smiles and, evidently, the invitation to touch. As happened many times when in public, the women surrounded Mesa and began to touch her locks, mesmerized by the blond color and lack of tight curl.

After more hand gestures and giggles, and sighs of an all-round satisfactory experience, we all moved back to the road. Mesa and I headed southeast to Sa’h. The Fulani went north.

I figured we were running about 45 minutes behind, but I wasn’t completely sure. In Africa, you don’t use a watch. Well, many Americans in Africa wear watches but most Africans will look at your time piece and consider it your master and you … the watch’s slave.

It’s also a sure sign that you’re a tourist.

I had put my watch away months before.

The rest of the trip to Sa’h was pleasant. In the early afternoon, semi-arid mountain air, I pondered the unreal situation—I had just spent forty or so minutes with a group of women whose religion historically opposed mine and now, my daughter and I walked a along a path in the west African rolling hills alone. Unbelievable.

Once we reached the village of Sa’h, which was larger than Bi’h, we asked around and were quickly directed to the home that hosted our missionary comrades. Mesa relieved the malaria-sick mom by entertaining the toddler and the rest of the afternoon was spent lunching with her host family, listening to my friend’s African village challenges, and sharing my own. We shared our chloroquine and I, observing the low tilt of the sun, realized we were further behind in our schedule than I wanted us to be. Steve had warned us to be home before dark for a reason. Wandering around in the countryside at night would be dangerous.

BACK TO BI'H

We hustled along on the trip back to Bi’h, never stopping to admire the view or marvel at how we, two ordinary American gals were walking a trail in Africa.

With an estimated forty minutes left in our trek, we were tired, culturally spent, and with the light fading, hit a snag.

Or better said, we hit a herd.

Of cows.

At this point of the jaunt, the mountain side on our right sloped upwards, too great a degree to climb. To our left, the cow population stretched downhill creating too wide of an arc for us to traverse in the growing shadows.

A word on African cows: These are not your long-lashed Blue Bell dairy cow varieties. The African Zebu are colored muddy grey or red and both male and female host wicked-looking, curved-up horns. These cows are muscular, mean, and were not happy to see us approach.

The Zebu–all of them–shifted to face us. Unblinking, they stared. A couple shook their horns in warning.

Uh oh.

I gulped.

It was a face-off with African Zebu and the cows were set to win.

Meanwhile, the sun dropped a couple of feet in the sky.

The minutes ticked off, the cows growing confident. A couple of the giants stepped toward us.

Mesa and I stepped backwards.

More seconds passed.

Then she said it. My nine-year old daughter spoke the magical words. “Pray, Mom.”

Oh. Right. Pray. “Lord, we’re late, we’re scared, and we don’t know what to do. You are the great shepherd, please move those cows.”

We both opened our eyes and took deep, courage-seeking breaths.

I looked behind, thinking again, we should run back to Sa’h hoping Steve would figure we’d stayed the night for a good reason.

The cows didn’t move.

But then, as if they’d seen a ghost, the cows—all of them—flinched. Weirdly, the horned beasts bucked against each other.

Then? They ran.

The Zebu ran!

That’s right. Downhill they went. The massive cows scattered the hillside as the sun made its final descent.

Both our jaws dropped while we watched their hind ends disappear into the dusk.

Then I heard the whistle.

I whirled around to see a man, maybe six or seven feet behind us, staff in hand, and whistling a signal to the cows. He hadn’t been on the road when I had looked just seconds before.

And here’s the wild deal—the herdsman stopped his whistle but didn’t follow his cows downhill. He stepped around us, not saying a word, and continued on ahead. Quickly he rounded a corner of rock jutting into the road. Considering that our family had been the marvel of the village and not once had we encountered an African who didn’t either gape or attempt buoyant interaction, this man’s behavior seemed odd.

Mesa and I looked at each and then hurried to catch up, hoping that now it was dark, we could walk close to the man for added protection.

When we rounded the boulder corner, the road before us sat empty.

“Man, that guy is fast,” I stated, urging Mesa along. The sky morphed from murky grey to deep blue, stars sparkling.

We continued alone, eyes wide but with praises on our lips.

But where was our herdsman?

Another ten minutes and we saw a figure on the path a head, a flashlight in hand. As the outline of a man materialized, I realized someone walked toward us.

Had the herdsman come back to go and round up his cows?

OUT OF HIS BED

Closer … and … Steve came into view. Steve! He’d gotten out of bed when the sun began to set and he’d come to look for his wife and daughter.

We ran to him.

Group hug.

And I asked, “Did you pass a man on the road? He scattered some mean, awful cows for us.”

“No.”

“Just about ten minutes ago. Maybe you missed him?”

“No one has been on this road for thirty minutes.”

“Angel,” Mesa whispered. “He was an angel, Mom. An answer to your prayer.”

And so it was. A herdsman angel had appeared, keen to get us inexperienced first-world women off a dangerous road and into the arms of my husband.

We marveled. Pondered the miracle.

And just days later, Mesa fell incredibly ill with malaria, and we, though we almost lost her, received a second angel visit in the hospital where the meningitis outbreak had taken a toll. But that is another story for another time.

What I must never forget is that the Lord gives us just what we need just when we need it.

“If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” – Luke 11:13

Got nasty cows in your path? Pray for a herdsman. Your God will deliver.

If I perish, I perish,

Laurie

Why this Book Now?

I grew up in a small town in the big, loving heart of Texas. We didn’t lock our doors, went to church on holidays, and knew the mailman and the ice-cream truck driver by name. Mine was a charmed life—one I have come to appreciate more these days, not so much as I grow older—although that’s true—but as I witness a shift in our culture.

My now-adult children spent their earliest years in the same little town. But morals had already begun to shift, even back then. When crime stats increased, we began locking our doors. When sexual assaults and child abductions made the news, we kept our children inside. And when reports of junior high kids experimenting with drugs became common place, we introduced terrifying topics to young, impressionable minds.

Today, I live in the big city of Albuquerque, home to famous New Mexico cuisine and beautiful desert landscapes. I love our arid terrain flanked by alpine mountains. I enjoy the melting pot of cultures here and the unique architectures that are a nod to this state’s rich and diverse history. These are just a few of the good reasons my adopted state is called the Land of Enchantment.

Sadly, New Mexico also leads our nation in per capita heroin-related deaths. Albuquerque is a transshipment point for heroin destined for the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest. There are gang-infested parts of this town you don’t take your children to.

So when I started writing Calculated Risk, I wanted to spotlight the beauty of Albuquerque, but also the reality of the drug industry here. One of my grown children is a recovering heroin addict. I’ve lived the devastation that greed-hungry cartels have brought to our cites, our towns, our homes. Our family has walked a path I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

But yet, I wanted to write a book of hope, inspiring readers that the battle of good vs evil can be won … will be won because the battle belongs to the Lord.

The main character (Isa Philipps) is a forensic accountant with the Houston Police Department, and she is looking for answers to her husband’s death. He was supposed to be on an undercover narcotics assignment in Houston. But when his body was found in Albuquerque, she quit her desk job and heads to Albuquerque’s seedy drug underworld to find those answers.

During her journey, Christ and all things grace are introduced to Isa through a quirky, Indigenous American named Awena. From the Navajo tribe, Awena’s faith is couched in the culture of her own upbringing on the reservation.

Having served in both long-term and short-term mission projects, I came to understand that Christianity looks different in the backdrop of other lands. Though we serve the same God, believe in the same Christ, and are filled and taught by the same Holy Spirit, faith manifests itself through diverse cultures differently. While living in the Congolese Rain Forest in West Africa were everything about my life was challenged, I learned that much of my faith reflected American culture instead of Christ. And so it is through Awena’s character that I hope to introduce the idea that Christian fellowship doesn’t have to look like it does in the church building down the street. In a round hut in Africa, it looks like two hours of singing and multiple people sharing testimony and teachings. In the laundry mat in the inner city, it looks like unconditional support, even if you show up smelling like alcohol with your clothes soiled.

Because of Isa struggles with distrust from past relationships, I wanted Awena to be someone that challenged Isa’s logical mind but also offered simple, straightforward Christ-like love. I created Awena to be the home space Isa never had.

While I fear the realities of my own life may make you think this book is dark and heavy, it isn’t! There’s humor, knuckle-headed moves on the main characters’ parts, and a happy ending as long as you don’t expect everything to be completely neat and tidy in your endings.

Keeping it real.

And by the way and just because so many people have asked, a forensic accountant is an accountant who finds court-admissible evidence in white-collar financial crimes. Forensic accountants are those folks who love law and order and spreadsheets. In other words, nerds with guns.

I love that.

L. G. Westlake

www.LaurieGreenWestlake.com

Pathwalkers

Do you set your GPS on a highway only setting? Or when traveling, do you steer clear of the traffic and choose the backroads instead?

While on our spiritual journeys, our Holy Spirit GPS setting will determine whether we are developing into a mature, solid believers or folks getting by with the basics of faith. In my life’s wild and wooly journey, there have been times, I humbly admit, when I’ve chosen the easiest path possible. After all, efficiency matters, right?

Not always.

In chapter six, the writer of Hebrews admonishes us to “press on” to maturity, developing a mature spiritual nature. In contemplating this call to action, I took a closer look a the following verses:

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.“

Luke 13:23-25 “Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them. “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

Small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life? Broad is the road that leads to destruction? I need to reset my spiritual GPS to intentionally point me to the road less traveled.
Highways host clear instructions, ease of joining, and a smooth, fast ride. Highways are easy to find. You can even set your GPS into highway mode, making sure your journey is always one of convenience. As fast-paced people, we love our highways!

When I was younger and had never heard of a GPS, I’d have an idea of the general location of the concert hall or ballpark I intended to visit. I never worried about the exact directions because I knew I could follow the crowd into the parking lot, or to the ticket desk. Easy, peasy. I trusted all those people wanted to go where I wanted to go.

Let’s talk Black Friday 5:00 am sales. When driving to one mall, I’d pass another mall, see hordes of people lined up outside the store and think they knew something I didn’t. Making a hard turn, I would pull in and jump in line. Seriously. I was what my husband calls a sheeple – a crowd follower.

But paths. Paths are rarely traveled. Paths are more trails that tend to lead to places we aren’t sure we want to go. Unless it’s a state-park hiking trail, there are generally no rest stop signs or mileage markers letting you know how close you are to your destination. Paths are generally pot-holed, snaky, host unpredictable twists, and require well-working shock absorbers in order to travel. And paths, as a rule, don’t host overhead lighting for night travel. No wonder the number of folks traversing pathways are scarce.

And that’s just the point – paths are not traveled much. That’s why they are paths. Few people take them.
And according to our key Scriptures above, paths are not obvious. You can’t just hop on one at any junction in life. Jesus tell His disciples, “narrow is the road that leads to life and few find it.” He seems to suggest that we must hunt down this path that leads to life. We must search for it.

Once you do find it, chances are there won’t be a crowd to follow on this trail. Chances are, you’ll find yourself figuring out a few maneuvers on your own and may even be lonely at times. Again, this is the point. There isn’t going to be many people there.

And without road signs to point the way, you’re going to have to trust the Holy Spirit – not the car bumper in front of you — to be your guide. (John 16:13)

In these times of threatened persecution, confusing health messages, volatile politics, worldwide upheavals, and rumors of another wave of pandemics sure to come, I find myself being misunderstood, sometimes rejected, and needing to keep my mouth shut as current issues polarize not only good and evil, but folks I thought were on the same page as me.

I look around, feeling more and more like I don’t belong here.

Paths don’t sound convenient. Or safe.

But when did Christianity become about convenience and safety?

Again, paths can be lonely at times. Trusting someone I can’t see can be scary. And though the Word promises to by the lamp for my feet, there are times when I just don’t know what the next step is. If I’m not careful, I can be tempted to run back for the well-lit highways.

Pathways are not for wimps.

Pathways are for heroes. Unsung heroes.

I have to get on and stay on my path.

If you’re not currently on a ruddy path and stuck in the middle of a convenient highway with everyone else somewhere, get off and start looking for your narrow gate. That gate will probably have the sign “Trial,” or “Overcoming Fear,” or “Get Outside Your Comfort Zone,” hung above it. But you got this. Jesus is with you every step of the difficult way.

That crowd out there on the highway – they are headed for destruction. Become a pathwalker and find your way to true life!
L.G. Westlake