4 Mar 2014

W&BT: Found in Him

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Women & Books Together | 0

I think I love this book more and more – the further I get in it. Thank you Elyse!

“The glorious incarnation that we’ve been considering means that we will never be alone, never separated from God.” (155) This is such amazing truth. When our sin separates us from others: family, friends, spouses – know that because of the grace and the cross of Jesus – we can never again be separated from the One who saved us.

Ephesians 5: we had this passage preached in our wedding by our pastor Andy Davis. It was an amazing sermon. You would think I would know it by now – but each time I read it something else amazes me by it. Here is what stood out to me in this reading. Listen to how it starts: Christ loved the church. Do we live by love or by law? Do we live by grace or by “do this”?

There is a song by the Gettys “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” (that may or may not be the title)… and one of my favorite lyrics: “how great the joy before us to be his perfect bride.” Every time I’ve heard that song and especially that line I think, man, I want to live a more holy life, more according to the Word of God. How erroneous of my thoughts to start there.

I have to start where this passage in Ephesians 5 starts: Christ loved the church. It is Christ’s love that makes me His perfect Bride – not my good works.

“We are Christ’s trophy wife now.” (160). I’m by no means a trophy wife to Eric. I’m not a size 6. I’m not the perfect mother for our boys. I burn food sometimes. There is dust everywhere in our home. But, the joy to know is that Christ has made me HIS trophy wife – by the blood – and is continually sanctifying me!

This was a packed chapter. What did you get out of it?

24 Feb 2014

W&BT: Found in Him: Truths to Help Counsel Women

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Women, Women & Books Together | 0

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Here is where she gets into the main point of her book – our position in Christ is one of the most IMPORTANT truths we have to believe as Christians. If we don’t believe this – than our hope is not in the Gospel.

1. God bought us back from our bondage to sin (pg 138) He created us to be in a relationship with Him. Yes we chose and freely choose every day to seek and find comfort in sin rather than seeking Christ. I’ve been focusing on freedom in my life in Christ lately. That focus has led me to think about slavery. Why would a slave, who was freed, return to a harsh master? When there is a joyous Master waiting, why would that slave willingly return to Bondage. Is it because of fear of failure, is it to only stick with what you’ve known. Oh, but the joys of the Father are so much better than the narrow slave relationship and the shackles on your wrist.

2. Every sin that we have ever or will ever commit has already been paid for, not because of our good works or resolution to do better but because we were in Christ when he died in payment for our sin. (pg 139). No matter what sin we ever commit – if we trust and hope and ground ourselves in Christ and his finished work on the cross – that sin is paid for. It doesn’t make it any less heinous of a sin – or less hurtful to God – but it is paid for. Jesus Paid it All – is true – ALL! All is a great term. It is a comforting word. Let’s believe it! Don’t live in shame and don’t keep sinning.

3. I think this statement needs to be preached to every single woman in all of our lives: churched, unchurched, saved, lost, etc. Read this: Believe it. Preach it. Allow the hope to sink in! “We now stand before God alive, not dead, cleansed, not vile, whole, not shattered, and welcomed, not sent away. We stand in complete righteousness and holiness no longer dead in our trespasses but completely and eternally alive in him.” (pg 140) How can we lead ourselves and the ladies we minister to to believe this and walk in this truth?

4. We have been given Christ’s perfect record of always having obeyed, and second, we have been given a new heart, a heart like his, one that desires to obey out of love. (pg 143). If we tell ourselves or tell others that we obey out of law – than we are leading them astray. The only thing the law does, or legalism, is to prove that we are sinners. We will fail. And mostly likely we will live in that failure and continue the cycle of trying and failing, trying and failing.

This is a pivotal chapter in how we counsel our own souls and how we counsel other women. We can’t let them believe the lies that the enemy tells them – that they have to be perfect – that we have to be perfect. We will never measure up. But – we have and serve and love and our loved by one who measured up perfectly. Let’s always tell our women that truth!

11 Feb 2014

W&BT Found In Him: Chapter 6

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Uncategorized, Women & Books Together | 2

The beauty and glory of the Resurrection and how it impacts every moment of every day we live. I know, its not even Valentine’s Day and I’m already talking about Easter: but as I sit and watch my littler boy squirm as he tries to take a nap, basking in the warmth of the sun in our master bedroom, I know that the only reason that he is alive and breathing and cooing and sucking on his hand is because of the Resurrection. All living things found their start in Christ (Colossians 1, John 1)

Love Elyse’s mention of 1 Corinthians 15. Paul reminds his reads of the GOSPEL. We stand in the GOSPEL. And we are growing in Christ-likeness because of the power of the GOSPEL. All of life, from beginning to end, is about the GOSPEL!

Have you ever thought what it would have been like for Mary to hear her name from the very one who loved her, changed her life – but then had died such a horrific death? Can you imagine her heart as it started to beat faster and she turned to see the Master? Oh that we might know the dearness and the nearness of the One who has called us by name out of darkness into HIS marvelous light!

There is a whole blog post coming on our “believing God” but I wonder if the disciples fully believed Jesus? Often He had told them of his resurrection, still they doubted up until the time they saw Him that Easter Sunday. Do our actions do the same? We say believe God – but we worry, we are anxious, we don’t like correction, we mourn as those who have no hope. I know we live on this side of the empty grave – but still I wonder how our actions speak of our doubt – not our faith – in God and in His Word.

I had opportunity to share this one thought with a friend this week: we worry and become anxious over practicalities. We don’t actually believe God at his word that our worry can do nothing for the event – and our worry actually tells of our disbelief – not out belief. Mary and Martha – we see this. This speaks to me often. I worry about getting some place on time. If we are later or I don’t have everything in control – this is when my non-gentle and quiet spirit appears. And in reality it is always there – and I long for the Lord to re-create this part of my heart.

Do we let Jesus reign on our every day life – not just on Resurrection Sunday? How have you seen God reign in your every day?

5 Feb 2014

W&BT: Found in Him Chapter 5

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Women & Books Together | 0

I love small, simple reminders and this week I have definitely found them in Chapter 5 of Found in Him. Life is at times completely overwhelming. I don’t mean the big picture life – I mean the every day, every moment, will my husband ever get home, when will nap time come, can I please go on a walk and not freeze life. Do you know the one I’m talking about?

Then I read this. Calm enters. Waters still. Life becomes unhazy (though I might still need a nap).

The reminder that Christ died for me. That’s all.

The Gospel is not about self. Much of this world is – but the gospel isn’t. If you start with self – you’ve started in the wrong place. Start with God. That’s the best place to start. If you need a Savior (which all of us do) – you can’t start with yourself. That road will lead you wrong every time you go down it. “Take off all your self-protection, self-righteousness, hollow pride, excuse making, self-pity, and crass unbelief. This gospel, the true gospel, is not about you. (pg 96)

Another book I’ve been reading is the Maximize Your Life 31-day Devotional (online) – by Brian Houston (Hillsong pastor). I’m loving it so far. There was a sweet little time that these two books married for me this week:

“Rise my friends. Rise from your sleepy dreams of grandeur and your troubled nightmares of loss. Rise from your unbelief and from your guilty knowledge of your continual failure. Rise out of your doomed lineage and exiled wandering and stand with me. I am the new man. I have won. I will stand.” (pg 100)

One way we can learn to be like Christ is walking in humble obedience. Oh, this is very difficult. I want to cry and complain, or sit on my bed all day, or not pick up the toys. But, that is not like Christ. And I need the reminder.

27 Jan 2014

W&BT Found in Him: Chapter 4

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Women & Books Together | 1

When you see the word “sinner” do you readily consider yourself among those who sin? Do you consider yourself a sinner? Not “I’m a sinner and Christ died for me – a theological statement”. But, “I’m a sinner and Christ died for me – position of the heart and truth statement”.

When I first read the title to this week’s chapter I immediately thought “God does love sinners.” Then I thought “No, wait…he loves me. I’m a sinner too.” This is a very hard theological truth to come to. To realize that sin dwells within us – me. You. Not just in people who cut us off in traffic or get our order wrong in the drive-thru line or those really bad sinners who are on those “said” reality shows that we would never consider watching (hear tone of voice here). No, we have to come to know that we are sinners, too. And Christ died for us and is in the work of daily sanctifying us!

And what is our response when we are sinned against? Whether it is our husbands, children, strangers, friends? Personally for me, irritability. I get irritated at them. I don’t think “Lord, work in me as I am in relationship with them. Shape all of us according to the image of Christ and your holiness.” No, I usually sin in response.

“Love sinners? Me? Hardly. Sometimes I don’t even like them, but He never let the coldness or puniness of my heart stop Him from loving me.” (pg 78)

One of my favorite stories from the Bible is that of King David and Mephibosheth. Mephiba-who? 2 Samuel 9. Go read it. It will rock your world in terms of grace. We, just like Moses and Elijah (two Biblical rock stars) are “redeemed sinners welcomed into the fellowship of the Son.” (pg 81)

Having lunch with a friend today we were talking about glory seeking. So easy to do in this world of social media, blogging, etc. But, isn’t this the exact opposite of what Christ did while he was here on earth? And on his second return trip to earth (in the future) he won’t need to promote because the whole earth will be full of his eternal glory (Philippians 2).

Do we really think about the “condescension of our Christ” (pg 87)? That he stooped low, that he was a carpenter, that he served lost people, that he ate dinner with sinners (some of those people that he ate with surely wouldn’t be allowed in our churches today, right)? Sinners wouldn’t look like us, would they? What if Jesus had had dinners with impatient mothers, stubborn wives, over-the-speed-limit drivers, time wasters, gluttonous people? Then could you relate? I could definitely relate more. I’m not a tax-collector. But, I’m all of the above. And Jesus provided a way for me to have a banquet meal with him. For this, I’m grateful.
Jesus was everything we didn’t know we needed. I love this thought that I wrote in margin. He is good, isn’t he!

21 Jan 2014

W&BT Found in Him Week 3

by Kimberly | posted in: Bible, Books, mothering, Uncategorized, Women & Books Together, Worship | 4

This is a little late in coming because we were trying to get our home back in order after being gone for two weeks. Its gets harder when you have more clothes to wash (2 little boys and 2 weeks of travel). I definitely thought this was the richest chapter yet and it met the rest of my life as I was reading it. Here are my top thoughts from reading chapter three.

1. Sometimes I wish I had said something. I would never think to refer to the Incarnation – and all the parts of the whole – as an “exquisite mystery”. Maybe this is why I like Elyse so much. She knows how to pen her thoughts in beautiful packages. I was telling my Mister tonight about how the Incarnation seems to be getting more mysterious to me the more I read this book and think upon that doctrine. What parts are more of a mystery to you? The fact that he was God? Or the fact that He was human. For me, its that He was human. But, for me, all I need to know is written in the Word so that I might know Him – and in eternity I will know Him more.

2. This is specifically for moms: do you ever feel like no one knows what your days are like? Like no one really knows you or your trials? Like no one knows what you go through loving on your kids each day (and pulling bubble gum out of hair and peeling spaghetti noodles from the wall and scrubbing marker off of the baseboards? This was very encouraging to me: Jesus lived his whole life in faithful obedience – all 33 years – not just the three in public ministry. “if our understanding of his work pauses after a brief celebration in Bethlehem to resume only at his baptism in the Jordan, we rob ourselves of the comfort that his whole life of isolation, obscurity, and obedience are meant to bring us. Generally ignored, he toiled without complaint, suffering humbly. He wasn’t merely treading water. Jesus’ life of ordinary (yet spectacular) obedience changed everything. He needed to live a full life of joyous obedience in order to save us. He grew from blissful innocence to tested holiness in the crucible of daily life.” How is God shaping you and perfecting you in the crucible of daily life. My mentor and I have been talking about this the past few days. Knowing there is great reward in the daily – seek faithfulness and the glory of God.

3. God’s Word is reliable. Elyse says that – we can believe it. We can believe in the Bible’s reliability not because Elyse says it – but because God says it. Jesus knows the Word. He spoke the Word while He was on earth. God-breathed was the Word that he was quoting in the wilderness – and in many other instances in his earthly life. God gave it to us as a means to know Him – let us love this reliable word.

4. “The Lord Jesus had a practiced habit of exclusive worship of his Father.” Another one of those quotes I wish I had penned. What do you in the ordinary? How do you live your life daily? Do you wait for a trial to come before you pray? Do you wait until you need an answer before you read the Word? Do you wait till you have a Bible study lesson to prepare before you dig into the Scriptures? When trials come – what do you have to cling to? If you are in the practiced habit, like Jesus was, of daily walking with God, His and our Father, then your life will demonstrate that as you face the trials that all of use are going to face in this life.

5. “Recall the perfect obedience of the Son in your place and go on your way in faith.” There is an age old discussion about faith and works. What the Bible clearly says is that salvation comes through Christ alone – by faith alone (and that faith is a gift not of ourselves) and then we are to walk in the good ways that God has for us. So often though as believers, when we are failing and struggling in sin, our minds battle with our assurance of salvation. If we constantly look inward and look to ourselves and our good works as a measure of our salvation – we will never be sure of it. Because we will always be failing. We must look to, rely upon, and rejoice in the perfected work of Christ.

Happy reading!

6 Jan 2014

W&BT: Found in Him (Week 1)

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Women & Books Together | 0

Here we go again, ladies! I’m excited for those of you joining me in on a journey to read and discuss/study through Elyse Fitzpatrick’s new book, Found in Him, with me.
What I have found wonderful about this book is it takes the last season: Christmas, the Incarnation, and makes that doctrine come alive in our lives and our relationship with God the rest of the year.
So, let’s embark on this together. Each Monday I’ll post my thoughts on the chapter (this week is the introduction and chapter 1), and then comment, whether here, on fb, or anywhere else.
1. “Everyone struggles with feelings of alienation and isolation.” (pg 17) You always think that when you grow up and get out of high school, you’ll leave feelings of the “first day of school” behind. But…it doesn’t happen that way. You think that when you get married or have a family, that you’ll leave those feelings of isolation behind. But…you don’t.
Elyse has definitely written to people and counseled with ladies who need help handling feelings of loneliness. Lonely can happen at any stage of life and in whatever season of life you are in. Psalm 25.16 is an amazing verse. The Psalmist asks the Lord to turn to him and be gracious for he is lonely. The Lord is gracious in answering: friends, family, love. But most of all – He gives himself.
“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.”
2. The mystery of the incarnation: we are not alone. We have the God of the Universe. Literally. God sent His Son – the One who was the agent of creation – to earth to become a man. He came so we would NOT be lonely. Do you recognize this? Do you recognize this as an important part of the incarnation. God with us. The Word Became Flesh. Did you take time over the Christmas holidays to experience this wonderful aspect of the Christmas season?
3. Would you say you are stubborn? My husband would probably say there are things that I am stubborn about. But, do we allow the softness and the penitration of the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts? Do you desire to be like the Israelites who wandered in the desert all those years because of their stubborness? Or do you want to be a woman of God who God uses because of your soft heart toward Him and His correction? I hope I know the answer for myself – and for you!
4. Do you often read the OT in light of the NT? Do you read the Creation account and the flood and the psalms and the laments and the history found in the Bible all in light of Jesus and the incarnation and the fact that He died on the cross? The whole Bible reveals Him. I am going through the OT this year learning more about God – and keeping my eyes and heart open to seeing salvation on every page. I challenge you to read through the Scriptures that Elyse has in this book – and read the OT in light of the knowledge of the Resurrection. Oh, how that will radically change your view of the OT.

What did you get out of the Introduction and the first chapter? I look forward to interacting with you and hearing your thoughts on this book.

1 Jan 2014

On the Shelf: Found in Him (Fitzpatrick/Crossway)

by Kimberly | posted in: Books, Women & Books Together | 0

Now what? Christmas is over. New Years is passed. The Christmas CDs that we played throughout the month of December are back in their cases. So what do we do this Jesus – who came down from heaven in the form of a baby? What do we do with the doctrine of the Incarnation?

Well, I’m so glad you asked. My favorite author, Elyse Fitzpatrick, explores this very well in her new book Found in Him which came out in October. This is a heavier book (more theology study) then some of her other ones, but well worth the extra effort. She takes the meaning and truth of the incarnation and tells us how we need to know and love that doctrine so we can rest in Christ – because of what He has done on the cross.

Over the next almost 3 months, I’ll be doing a book study here on the blog with several ladies. Please join us. I’ll be posting on each chapter every Monday – starting with the Intro/Chapter 1 on Monday, January 6.

18 Apr 2013

Counseling with Hope

by Kimberly | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

“Hear my voice according to your steadfast love.” – Psalm 119.149a

This verse brought me much hope and rejoicing earlier this week. But, how do we do this in our counseling of one another.

King David, the Psalmist, had written just verses before about a fervency in prayer – day and night. In this verse he gives a clue as to why he liked to pray: he knows that God will answer him and hear his voice according to the LOVE and covenantal character of God. He wouldn’t listen and judge according to our sins.

This should be how we counsel with others. I’ve never had counseling training, so you may not think I know what I’m talking about, but I’ve been counseling girls (youth, college) and now women in mentoring relationships for about 20 years now. And I’ve needed counseling before. When I was in seminary, I can remember a conversation with a girl I’ve discipled through the years (now one of my dearest friends) where both of us had taken a spiritual gifts inventory and both completely failed on the mercy part. But, years later, after living much more of life, we had grown in that area because of the mercy God had shown on us.

So, here are some tips for counseling, or listening, to others:

1. Listen. That doesn’t mean formulating thoughts while they are talking. This is hard for me, even in marriage, but one I constantly need to work on.

2. Offer grace and hope. If we are to be little Christs, and we are often committed to be like God in his nature, than shouldn’t we start there? That is one of the reasons I love reading Elyse Fitzpatrick’s books on counseling. The person may be coming to you admitting their sins, or may need their sins pointed out – in a loving way. Learn to realize the difference or pray that God would show you wisdom in each conversation.

3. Deal with the sin at hand. Make sure that confession and repentance and pleasing Christ is the focus and goal of the session. There is a difference between just saying you are sorry or admitting your wrong and actually confessing it and wanting to repent of it. Make that the aim.

4. Center the counseling on our hope. Every person’s hope is Christ and Christ alone. If we don’t counsel well, it will hinder some from wanting to know more about Christ or ever finding hope in the Gospel. They will think they will only find judgment in the Bible and at the cross. Yes, God is a God of justice but His wrath for believers was covered by Jesus.

If I have had a chance to counsel with you and have not offered you mercy, please forgive me, I am a work in progress too!

Charles Bridges, a pastor of old, “And not less fully is my conviction of his judgment, in dealing wisely and tenderly with me, according to his infallible perception of my need.”

elyse

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