Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 23, 2024

One Day

“But according to His promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:13 (ESV)

“One Day” – we’ve probably all spoken those words. One day, I will take better care of my health. One day, I will get back to the gym. One day, I will tackle the mess in my closet. One day, I will take  a cooking class. One day……. You fill in the blank. We’ve all got our version of something we say we will do one day.

While we often procrastinate over those spoken words, our God is the keeper of His words. If He said He will do something then we don’t have to doubt it – He will fulfill it. After all, the power of His spoken words birthed creation in six days. The Garden of Eden was absolute perfection until sin made its entrance into our world. So now we wait and wait for the “One Day” when Christ promises to return, Satan is defeated and we live with Him for all eternity.

Have you ever allowed yourself to dream and wonder what that “One Day” will be like? It’s ever so easy to get discouraged with our world today and lose sight of reality – this is not our home. Life as we know it is short, brief in comparison to eternity in Heaven. “One Day”  this imperfect world will fade away and the blessings of eternity will unfold right before our eyes. Sweetest words ever from our Jesus: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3)

Sweet friends, Jesus has been preparing an amazing place for us for a long time and just in case we forgot the glories we will find there,  here’s a few reminders:

“One Day” ………

We will see our Creator face to face
God will wipe away all our tears
We will live in the house of the Lord forever
All wrongs will be made right
We will see all things from God’s perspective
Suffering will fade away
Pain will be erased
People from every tribe and nation will gather in unity around His throne
We will be completely changed
We will lay our crowns at His feet
Sin and death will be no more
Satan will be defeated
Mourning will be replaced with everlasting joy
All things will be made new
The glories of our eternal home are endless. Absolutely nothing we have ever seen before will compare to the pure beauty of Heaven. It’s the Garden we’ve never known. It’s the peace and tranquility we can’t envision. It’s undistracted worship and joy as we gather around the throne. The perfection God intended when He spoke the world into existence will be realized “One Day” for all eternity, and we can trust Him to keep His word.

 

“Father, ignite a passion within us to share our God story with others so that no one will miss out on the beauty of Heaven and eternity with You.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 20, 2024

When Strong Denies The Release of Weak

 

“For You (God) equipped me with strength for the battle; You made those who rise against me sink under me.” 2 Samuel 22:40 (ESV)

Ever experienced moments when being strong denied you the release of being weak? We do a great job at being courageous. We put on the happy face and preserve even in the toughest of storms. We hold the family together with our knees shaking beneath, and yes, we even tell ourselves we’ve got this covered. We keep pushing through claiming strong because admitting weak would take too much energy.

Wonder what we’re really missing when we don’t admit weak? When we fail to let go of the strength evaporating around us and attempt to keep doing it all, we miss out on all of these:

  •   God compels us to embrace weak because He is right there with us (Judges 6: 15-16).
    • God promises to strengthen our weak (Ezekiel 34:16).
    • The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and intercedes what we can’t put into words (Romans 8:26).
    • God chooses the weak over strong – those who desperately depend on Him (I Corinthians 1:27).
    • God promises to raise in power the weak (I Corinthians 15:43).
    • God’s power is magnified in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 11:30).
    • We are made perfect in our weakness – transformed by our loving God (2 Corinthians 12:9).
    • We can be content with weakness when we depend on God’s strength to sustain us (2 Corinthians 12:10).
    • God sympathizes with our weaknesses – He knows what we are facing (Hebrews 4:15).
    • Exercising faith infuses our weak into strong (Hebrews 11:34).

Loving these words of God today friends. Totally encouraged that yes, we can be weak. We can release our control and run into our Father’s arms. We can admit the struggle, remove the mask, unveil the unpretty and still be filled with His strength. Why? Because it’s not about us and what we can handle or take on. It’s all about His glory and power shining through our toughest battles and positioning us for victory. Today’s weak can be tomorrow’s strong if we plug into God’s power. And it all starts when we release our strong and chose weak.

“Father, You delight in transforming our weaknesses into beautiful displays of your power and grace. We are safely held in Your arms.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 19, 2024

And Let There Be Light

“And God said, ‘Let there be light!’ And there was light.” Genesis 1:3 (NIV)

I am a lover of light. If I am at home, I like to enjoy the brightness of those light bulbs. But there is nothing better than sitting and enjoying the light of the sun touching my skin, or watching the sun setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains. And then, at night, savor the splendor and shine of the moon and the stars. I often jokingly greet the light with the famous, legendary Biblical phrase, as spoken by God in the book of Genesis, “Let there be light!”

Light brings out the shapes and sizes of what lies ahead of us. It illuminates the path, so we can see what dangers may be imminent, such as a cliff or precipice, or what hurdles may be impending. the presence of light exposes anything or anyone which may be hiding or concealed from sight, awaiting to prey on us, taking advantage of the darkness.

Jesus said in John 12:35, “whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going.” Now, at the time He spoke those words, Jesus was speaking to the crowd that was attending the festival of tabernacles, and He was trying to prepare them for his eminent death. Jesus wanted the people to have a chance to choose between light and darkness, life and death, Him and the ruler of this world.

I was the first member of my household to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in June 1982. During my growing years, however, I witnessed my parents seeking God in all the wrong places, which involved my mother becoming a practicing medium in Spiritism. The meetings they attended took place in the dark, otherwise the “spirits” would not show up. As you can probably imagine, those practices infused terrible fear of the dark in my heart. I could never stay alone at home unless every single light bulb was lit; that was how badly I was afraid of the dark.

On the day I chose to publicly profess the Lord Jesus as my Lord and Savior all that changed. He filled the areas where fear indwelled in my life and gave me the assurance that even if physical light bulbs were turned off, He would be there in the dark with me. From that day forward I learned that the power that comes with the name of Jesus is way more powerful than anything else in the world and that if I want to be in light, I can simply call out His name, because He is light (John 8:12).

“Father, thank You for extinguishing darkness in our lives.”

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 17, 2024

Taking Credit

For what does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3

I love to study Paul’s letter to the Romans. In his brilliant lawyer-ese throughout this letter, Paul makes solid arguments—often submitting the opposing questions before they’re asked—and then, every time, slam-dunks the close. In chapters 1 through 3, Paul clearly demonstrates that all have sinned and fall short of God’s holy requirements, and that no one can be justified by good works. We cannot earn righteousness because it’s impossible to keep every law perfectly…but, in fact, justification is a gift of grace through the blood of Jesus.

And because these stubborn Jewish leaders he was talking to liked to claim their acceptance by God because they were descendants of Abraham, Paul uses their very argument against them by quoting Genesis: “Abraham believed God, and it (his belief) was credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). If there was such a thing as a mic in first-century Rome, it would have been dropped. Yep, this was a crystal-clear statement that justification is by faith—not works. In fact, Paul takes the financial concept of “credited” and runs with it (using this term 9 times in chapter 4 alone). Let’s take a closer look…

The term “credit” or “credited” denotes a one-way transaction. I have money, you have an empty-ish bank account. I deposit my money into your account, and now you have been credited what was mine and is now yours. You did nothing but gladly accept the new balance that pops up when you log in to your bank account. Paul was reminding the rule-pushing Jews, much to their chagrin, that their “father Abraham” didn’t actually DO anything to earn or deserve God’s righteousness credited to him. (And in verses 6-8, Paul also uses David as an Old Testament example for them, which you can study from Psalm 32:1-2.)

“Believing in Him who justifies the ungodly,” Paul summarizes in verse 5, “his faith is credited as righteousness.” Pausing here to tackle another oft-used term of our friend Paul, which is important to understand in the whole “crediting” concept: justification. This is used about 30 times in Romans, and it’s a legal term that declares the two aspects of Jesus’ work on our behalf: 1) It’s a pardon from the guilt and penalty of our sin; and 2) it’s the crediting of Christ’s righteousness to our account.

OK, so what’s this word-study exercise all about? Well, it delivers amazing, astounding, glorious news! When we surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior, we accept the free gift of grace that He offers to forgive our sins…by His death He paid the penalty on our behalf, taking the wrath we deserve. We are forgiven and rescued! But, as those TV infomercials used to shout, “Wait! There’s more!” Not only are we forgiven of our sin—past, present, and future—we are credited with the righteousness of Christ!

Going back to the whole banking analogy (which I’m borrowing from our pastor, who borrowed it from another pastor): If our massive, unpayable debt is cancelled, no cops are waiting to take us to jail, and we’re able to waltz out of the bank debt-free. Yay! But we’d still be walking out flat broke—we’d still have to get to work and start earning. But Jesus didn’t just rescue us from God’s righteous wrath. He credited to us His righteousness! In other words, the gazillionaire who paid off your proverbial debt also gave you access to everything he has—in fact, he adopted you as his child! So, now you will even receive an unfathomable inheritance one day.

Friend, THIS IS THE GOSPEL. By grace, through faith in Jesus—not by our works—our sin debt (yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s) is forgiven. We can’t earn it or get credit for our own efforts. But, in our belief we are in Christ, and the righteousness of Christ is credited to us. So, when God looks at us, He sees the perfection, beauty, and purity of His Son. So, what do you say? Are you ready to take the credit?

“Heavenly Father, I cannot earn my way back to You. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the penalty I owe, taking the wrath I deserve, and—amazingly—crediting to me His righteousness. May I never take this for granted.”

 For His Glory

 Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 16, 2024

What We Can’t See, Yet

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 (ESV)

“Happy Friyah!”  Those were the words echoing from my lips as I left the office. Everybody loves a Friday – sleeping in on Saturday feels ever so good to this working girl. Chilling, grabbing a great read and sipping on my fave iced tea – what could be better. Sounds too good to be true, right?

My “Happy Friyah” ended up being a mowing kind of night. You got it  – this girl was kickin it around the lawn. And when I made that final cut, I couldn’t wait to see how many steps I’d gotten in. One big problem, my watch didn’t record a single one; I was totally disappointed. Really?? Just because I couldn’t see any steps on my watch didn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Sound familiar? We do it all the time. We quickly doubt or dismiss what we can’t see.  The visible staring us in the face doesn’t resemble what we envisioned. Or perhaps, we’re simply afraid to look because deep inside we don’t see anything.

Growth is like that isn’t it? We don’t always see what God is doing around us and within us. Probably the exact reason why we minimize even tiny growth sprouts. When we become zeroed in on self work versus God’s work, we will always come up short.

Yet every moment in God’s presence, He is planting seeds within us. Like fertilizer for the soul, the daily reading of God’s word transforms us from the inside out. Every step of faith we take deepens our trust in Him. Like tiny little sprouts previously unseen by the human eye gently pushing through the soil of our hearts, His work within starts to break through. Our thoughts, actions, reactions and words begin reflecting the very heart of God – the one we were created to bear His image. A flourishing we didn’t’ even glimpse, yet one that was taking place day by day.

Sweet friends, consistency is key when it comes to growth and our enemy, Satan,  doesn’t want us to gain momentum or clarity. Defeat is more to his liking, so he reminds us and tricks us into thinking that growth is impossible. He uses discouragement to slay us when we don’t see significant progress. He uses disappointment to plague us when two steps forward results in four steps backward.

The enemy’s lies can definitely hinder and sabotage our growth, but he doesn’t have the final say. The decision to consistently soak in God’s presence, study His word, and take leaps of faith even when we can’t see growth will result in a deep soul work beyond our imagination. The old us will experience a major pivot as the new us flourishes. Can’t think of a better way to silence the attacks of Satan than to glorify God with the evidenced growth in our lives and reflect His image to our world.

“Father, help us to trust You with the work You are doing within us. Teach us to not give up but rather press through even when we don’t yet see all You are doing.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 13, 2024

Best Saturday Ever

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.” Psalm 84:10a(ESV)

Ever find yourself at the mercy of someone else’s urgent? Friday night, I planned out my Saturday. Several projects needed to consume my focus and distractions like shopping, running errands, etc. really needed to take a back seat. Snuggling under the covers, I committed myself to seizing every moment. Confident I would stick to my schedule.

Fast track to Saturday morning and my husband’s urgent took center stage. He needed someone to follow him to the Virginia Beach area where he was delivering a vehicle. Unfortunately, all his attempts to find someone failed and his urgent sat right in front of my eyes. My list kept rolling through my mind, yet I knew my husband really needed help. No brainer here – I got in my car and followed my man in the big truck to Virginia Beach.

Urgent stole away my list and my undistracted Saturday or so I thought. But God had everything totally under His control. While I cruised down the highway, prayers began to flow from my lips. Isolated in a vehicle for four hours just me and my God – sweet moments. Didn’t even realize I had so much to talk to Jesus about, but I did. Notepad by my side, every stoplight became an opportunity to jot down what God was sharing with me. Totally undistracted – best way to spend Saturday in the presence of God.

And that list I left behind well all those things actually fell perfectly into place in God’s timing. Someone else’s urgent ushered me into the presence of God – treasured moments concentrated on Him alone. Totally confident that my God knew I needed this time with Him more than I needed anything else. Convinced this wasn’t just a coincidence but a divine appointment – an opportunity to be totally His in a place where dirty dishes and piles of laundry couldn’t compete.

Love the way God loves us so much that He carves in time for us right when we need it the most. Love His tender mercies for all those other times when we ignored His call. Blessed to discover God is really all we need, and He is the One who can enable us to complete every item on our list. Grateful for moments at His feet where perspectives are changed and wisdom is poured out. Best Saturday ever!

“Father, You desire an intimate, thriving relationship with each of Your children. Help us to hear Your voice and welcome sweet moments in Your presence.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 12, 2024

His Words

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NKJV)

The encouragement, conviction, or support that comes from sisters in Christ as I read daily devotionals always seems to be just what I need.  But I know that in my own life, as in many others whom I talk to, there are wells of pain so deep that we cannot share them. Sometimes we feel so alone and overwhelmed.  It is here again that God’s Word shows its living, breathing, comfort as I struggle with situations where I have no control.

I read of Elijah, who confronted Ahab, only to go into a deep depression and hide in the desert–where I so often long to flee. I read of David, who was wounded by the betrayal of his friend, and felt so crushed. Paul had such a falling out with Barnabas that they split ways.  And Job’s ‘friends’ condemned him for hidden sins.  These examples are just a few from God’s Word that remind us life is not always going to be “good.”

There will be periods of hurting so desperate that only time and trust will heal.  No matter how dismal our outlook may appear, Satan cannot take away our salvation nor can he remove us from our Savior’s loving hand.  This is our greatest comfort and our Peace!

“Dear Father, again I lift up my day to You, laying once more at Your feet the burdens that are so heavy to bear.  I praise You that You are going to bring good out of all these situations because I can trust You, and Your love for me.”

For His Glory

Sandy Day
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 10, 2024

When Doing Good Goes Bad

“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16

Have you ever done something that you thought was a very good thing, only to discover it was not good at all? Or maybe you’ve created a pattern (or patterns) in your life that you 100% believe are getting you what you really want/need…only to later determine that they were actually harmful to you and/or others. You may even have been standing firm on the validity of your actions in righteous indignation that what you were doing was honoring to God. However, some wiser and more experienced person came along to gently share with you the errors of your ways, redirecting you with unveiled truths.

This has been my experience in the midst of all my recent health and medical revelations. I won’t go into the annoying details but suffice it to say that I certainly didn’t think that eating ½ bag of spinach for lunch every day would actually be harmful to me. Or that my dislike for meat (and therefore lack of protein) has also been contributing to my physical decay. In fact, before I saw the evidence, I probably would have mocked you if you told me I was “eating poorly.” After all, I was getting accolades from others regarding how it all looked from the outside. But with medical substantiation in hand and insights from wise and learned medical counsel, I’ve come to recognize that many of my “good” habits might look good on the surface but are—in reality and for the long-term—destructive.

Then the spiritual implications of this struck me hard. In fact, it brought me back to the days prior to my total surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior—days when I believed that doing good things was God-honoring and the key to a positive end-game outcome (especially if my tally of good surpassed the bad). Yep, good works earned my right standing and entry fee to eternal life in heaven. These activities look really good on the surface…they may align with God’s law and His Word. And said actions can make a good impression too, earning accolades from others based on how it all looks from the outside. But, in reality and for the long-term, these good works lead only to destruction.

Similar to my current health situation, we all need an inside-out transformation. Righteousness does not come from our good works—we cannot be “good enough” because the standard is perfection. In order for a holy God to look upon our sinfulness (because we’re all sinners—Romans 3:23) and forgo His wrath against us (because He is just—Romans 5:9), we need the imputed righteousness of Jesus. In other words, the life, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus paid the penalty for the wrath we deserve. So it’s by His scars (His good deeds) we are healed, rescued, redeemed (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24). We’re made new by Him—not by our efforts.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking doing good things in this life—in fact, the Bible is replete with calls to stop with the self-serving depravity and walk according to God’s law (love God and others). But this activity is a response to the grace we’ve been given through Jesus! And we can only rightly do them through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us as believers.

Are you working (and working and working) to earn the acceptance of God and/or the accolades of others? Beloved, stop striving. It’s already been accomplished (John 19:30), and all you have to do is accept the Truth of the Gospel (Titus 3:5-7). Then, you can “get to work” for Him and from victory—doing good out of His love, not to earn it.

“Father God, thank You that I don’t have to strive in earning a righteousness worthy of Your perfect standard. Jesus paid it all so that, in Him, I have the gift of eternal life.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 9, 2024

Why Linger Makes The Difference

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16 (ESV)

Ever feel like your life is on remote – just simply going through the motions?  We drive the same route to work and back without even thinking about which way to turn and sometimes wondering how we actually got there – our mind was on remote.  Or perhaps we were folding laundry and putting it away while our thoughts were a million miles away. We’ve probably all landed here in this place of familiar activity, effortless doing while our thoughts scatter.

If we’re not intentional familiar can slip in when we read and study God’s word. Oh, we know that passage or story well so we do a quick read and move on. However, lingering invites a deeper understanding and often an unveiling of pivotal truths God desires to bring to our attention.

Landed here myself recently while studying the familiar words of Psalm 23. Probably all of us could recite it from memory. We’ve heard it read at memorial services. We’ve seen it printed on program booklets. We’ve seen Pinterest graphics displaying these beautiful words. Yet, God took me to this familiar passage to remind me of His intentionality in being all I need – comforter, protector and guide.

Lingering over six verses for six weeks opened my eyes to a better grasp and understanding of the love and faithfulness of our Lord – our Shepherd. Reading those verses with no distractions broadened my perspective of His leading and guidance. Visualizing God’s presence surrounding me always, even in the darkest valleys, removed insecurities and deepened my trust in Him. Confidence washed over me as I was welcomed to the table He prepared for me. All sweet reminders that one day, I will see Him face to face and live with Him forever. Goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days.

What joys I would have missed if I weren’t intentional. Blessed by the deep truths God revealed to me from these familiar passages. Totally convinced slow, focused reading ushers in clarity and invites the Holy Spirit to highlight exactly what we need. It may feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but as we put into practice lingering over His words, we will be amazed at what He teaches us. Truth is, revisiting familiar is now one of my fave things to do.

Sweet friends let’s not live our lives on remote – simply going through the motions, especially when it comes to God’s word. Let’s carve in margin to remove distractions and resist the urge to allow complacency and familiarity to settle in. It’s the one choice we will never regret.

“Father, ignite within us a deep desire to know You and Your word more each day. Open up our eyes and engage our heart with Yours.  Reveal Yourself to us and show us how to walk in obedience one step at a time.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | September 6, 2024

Another In The Fire

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

There was a new law in the land. King Nebuchadnezzar had a statue made in the image of his dream. He was trying to defy what God had said about his rule ending. Everyone was summoned to the dedication of this golden image. They were commanded to fall down and worship the image when they heard the music playing.

It was considered treason to refuse to worship.

With thousands of people in the crowd, their failure to worship wasn’t visible to the King. They most likely were overlooked at first. But then someone noticed and accused them of not obeying the new law. No surprise there, the enemy of our souls is always making sure there’s someone to accuse those trying to uphold God’s word.

In Daniel 3 we read that the King threatened Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If they didn’t worship when they heard the music, they would be thrown into the furnace. These young men stood fearless. Responding with confidence that the God they served was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace. The King became enraged at their disobedience and turned up the heat seven times hotter.

They fell into the furnace fully clothed and bound.

The Septuagint says in Daniel 3:24 the King’s attention was caught when he heard the men singing praises. The King looks and sees four men in the fire, loosed, walking around – not burned.

“The fourth is like a son of God.”

They offered no excuses. “Everybody else is doing it. We will lose our jobs/our standard of living.” They didn’t let fear grip them. They just acted in faith. Completely willing to defy man and give up their lives instead of risking defying God.

In doing so, they changed the heart of the King that day.

Every day we’re faced with decisions -will we choose good or evil? Just because our culture tells us it is okay to do something – doesn’t mean that God’s Word says it’s ok. The enemy tries to grip us with fear that if we choose to go against the “popular” decision of our culture that we’ll be alienated.

We do not know if these young men knew Jesus was in the fire with them. The King saw, but did they? Sometimes, we are aware of Jesus’ presence in our trials and sometimes we feel He’s far away/not listening/not seeing what’s happening. We are reminded in Joshua 1:9 “Be fearless. You are never alone.” Regardless of what we feel, He is always there with us.

“Father, we see the enemy trying to make believers bow down to the idols of this world. Let us praise you in the fire. For you are with us. Help us to be fearless, and not compromise your unchanging Word.”

For His Glory,

Laura Holmes www.ephraimministries.org
TRBC Women’s Life

 

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