Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 9, 2024

What Will They See?

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 (NIV)

I have recently moved to a new city and community and, if I must say, the only people known to me in this new location are my son and his family. So, it was a surprise to me as I showed up to volunteer at the food pantry at the new church I‘m attending and one of the individuals who showed up to get some groceries (a lady) recognized me by my shoes. “What in the world”, right? Earlier that day I left home to run some errands, and one of those errands was to go to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to take a written test to transfer my driver’s license to the state of Indiana. From my errands, I went straight to the food pantry, as I had no time to go back home and change. Little did I know that someone in the area had noticed me because of my shoes!!

I was tickled that I was recognized by my footwear, At the same time, I thought it was something that could have told a different story about me had I been spotted at a location that didn’t represent well what I stand for in life.

We are called to be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13-16), and to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15). Therefore, our actions and our words, and in some cases – our shoes – will tell people if our walk really matches our talk. “I was at the DMV earlier today and I noticed when you walked in with those colorful high heels, all poised. Then you sat down, and I just kept on admiring them, and now I meet you here at church,” said that lady to me.

What about you? Are people noticing your footwear, jewelry or clothes? What about your vocabulary? What message are you passing on to them? Sometimes we are the only Bible people will “read.” Let’s ask God to help us to pass on the right message to them.

“Lord, thank You for using us to reach people for Your kingdom.”

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 8, 2024

Empty Thinking (The Earth Is Flat)

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8, ESV)

Standing there on the ocean shore, looking at the light fluffy clouds – all you can see is blue. The ocean touches the sky in such a way that it makes it hard to know where one begins and the other ends. If I didn’t know better, my viewpoint would have me believe that the earth is flat. Just looking at this picture provides supportive data for the claim. In fact, it’s easy to understand why our ancestors originally believed this theory – that’s what their perspective told them.

After traveling to Egypt to study the new constellation of stars, ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle was one of the first to provide empirical evidence that the earth was a sphere. Others have added their own scientific research over the centuries to support this. With all the scientific evidence available – one would think it’s safe to assume that everyone knows the earth is round – especially in 2024. However, there are still philosophers out there who will argue to the contrary. In fact, there’s a society that works to educate people on the – flat earth theory. There was even a movement from this group as recently as 2017 to gain support for more trips into space to prove this theory.

For those of us living in this present era it’s hard to fathom how anyone could be deceived by such a philosophy. Especially since we’ve all seen the views from outer space – we have the full picture now.

This was why the philosophy that was threatening the Colossian Christians was so dangerous. It wasn’t outright sinful and licentious. It came across as highly intelligent. An air of scientific backing that supported these human traditions that were being promoted.

Jesus Christ left heaven and lived on this earth. He was tortured and died on a cross. Yet he rose from the grave conquering death and hell. After His resurrection, He spent time with the disciples and was seen by over 500 witnesses.

If we’ve experienced the resurrection power of Jesus, then we have the full picture. Which means, we should not be embracing the “philosophies of life” that we see our culture doing.

Paul was warning the church then and now to be careful not to be led away as prey. Christians have received salvation from Christ freely. But there are people who will cheat us out of our blessings by perverting our minds and leading us away from the truths of Christianity. By telling us we need to do something else to earn God’s love. Or that there are other paths to God.

“Father help us to not fall prey to the empty philosophies of this life. Teach us to live by the truth of your Word daily.”

 

For His Glory

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

 

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 7, 2024

Raise ’em Up

“Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!” Psalm 134:2

Among Christians, there can be a big brouhaha about the musical part of Sunday worship. Some demand solemn hymns—anything else is irreverent, they say. Others want loud, contemporary praise that blows off the roof. Sometimes, the desire for “a good show” strips this portion of a church service of all worship, turning it into mere performance. The bottom line to know is this: Doesn’t matter your taste for tempo or volume, just be sure that the words coming out of your mouth directed at the Lord are Biblically sound. Your songs are prayers and are meant to be proclamations of truth, so do not compromise on this.

But another “oh-we-don’t-do-that” issue among believers is the physical action taken during praise and worship. Obviously, there’s a wide spectrum out there, from hands in pockets and mouthing words to running around the sanctuary with flags. But staying in the middle of this range, let’s talk about raising hands.

So, I’m totally stealing the following points from my pastor. But when I heard him give this quick-hitting list from the pulpit—as a total aside to the verses on Galatians he was teaching—it struck me as a must-share concept. He didn’t elaborate at all, but I knew I needed to. Here are the four reasons he gave why lifting hands is a must-do:

  1. “Victory!” If you’ve ever been to a sporting event, whether a pro match of some sort or your small child’s, you’ve done this: a score is made and the game is won, and your arms shoot up with a shout from your mouth. “We won! We won!” Well, friend, thanks to the victory of Jesus, having conquered sin and death on our behalf, we are on the winning team! We have eternal victory through Him…and that’s much better than a win by our favorite football team!
  1. “Daddy, hold me!” Think about a toddler—maybe you have one (or two) now, or you may have to recall those days. When they’re afraid, tired, or anxious, all they want is to be held. So, from their near-ground-level perspective, they look up and reach up—with words or without—to say, “Hold me! Pick me up!” What an awesome reminder to us as children of God. He is our Abba—Daddy (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)—and will comfort us when we look up and reach for Him.
  1. “Oooh! Oooh! I know the answer!” Not sure if you were this kind of student (or you mocked those who were), but I loved knowing the right answers in school. I’d raise my hand high in hopes of being chosen—had to make all that studying worthwhile. In times of praise to our Lord, all believers know the Answer! Jesus! He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Narrow Road. So, let’s raise our hands high in that knowledge.
  1. “I surrender!” Now, from my pastor, this was hysterical because our church is a “movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus.” And, we have a very wide swath of church fam. So, he could correctly point out that many of us would relate to raising hands in surrender when confronted by the police. But so can every single believer. We have all surrendered our lives—our wants, our desires, and our will—to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And we know the joy of that surrender. So, lifting our arms in worship is a simple reminder of this beautiful truth.
  1. “Help!” (This one is my own addition to the list.) Think about when someone needs saving—struggling in the water, having fallen and unable to get up, or frantically trying to get the attention of another to come give assistance. Arms up is a response of absolute desperation. Aren’t we all in this place more than we’d like to admit? Desperate for the Lord’s answers, comfort and peace? Let’s throw up our hands because He will provide—He is our very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

“Heavenly Father, I am so very grateful to be able to raise my hands to You in worship, whether recalling the victory I have in You, my surrender, or my absolute desperation…knowing You will always be there for me.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 6, 2024

A Slow Leak

“May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.” Psalm 25:21 (ESV)

“Your tire looks low,” was the comment I heard on a regular basis. Despite my constant trips to fill it with air, the tire was low within a week. No brainer here – something was wrong, but when the tire was checked no nail or defect was found. So the cycle continued…put in air…wait one week….tire is low. Frustrating to say the least; however, a closer inspection indicated the problem was with the rim encasing the tire. Never would have thought to check that but my husband did. The leak was coming from the tire bead, which is the edge of the tire resting on the rim. A slow leak destined to continue unless we solved the real problem.

Wonder if we have ever experienced the slow leak of our personal integrity? Little compromises left unchecked will gradually lead to bigger issues. Peer pressure isn’t regulated to middle school and high school years. As adults, we’ve all probably faced moments when we simply wanted to fit in and not stand out. Going along with the “group activity” rather than walking away leaves us susceptible to lowering our standards. Like a slow leaking tire, these compromises won’t cease unless we resolve the real issue at heart.

Guarding our thoughts is key to resisting a slow leak. By saturating our minds with the very words of God, we are placing a safety net over our decisions and actions (Romans 12:2). When we daily surrender our will to His, we position ourselves to accept His authority. Avoiding the temptation to allow pride to dominate our actions, we humbly recognize the potential threat compromise presents (Proverbs 18:12). Best solution is to surround ourselves with people who speak godly truth into our life. By welcoming accountability, we institute a failproof plan to avoid the loss of our integrity (Proverbs 11:14).

Sweet friends, we are all on the same team – God’s team. As believers, we form the body of Christ. What we do, what we say impacts the entire body. The sting of regret far outweighs the pleasure of even one small leak. There is no joy found in the slow leak of one’s integrity – simply put it should grieve our hearts and remind us of our own potential to land in the same.

Praising God for His Grace which abounds to all who seek His forgiveness. Restoration and redemption can transform our biggest failures and turn them around to glorify God. Best decision ever is to leave compromises behind and stand firmly on the truths of God’s word.

“Father we can easily be led astray if our hearts and minds are not surrendered to You. Cultivate within us a deep desire to know and obey Your truth.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 3, 2024

Why Fluctuating Emotions Don’t Serve Us Well

 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26 (ESV)

Ever had one of those perfect weekends? You know when the sun was shining, and the temps were warmer than expected.  The recent forecast was for cooler temps and cloudy skies, yet God orchestrated the most beautiful day.  So when I glanced at the forecast for Monday I assumed it was once again wrong and we would start our work week the same as Sunday. Wow was I ever wrong. Monday was dreary and extremely cool. Couldn’t believe it, but last week was filled with fluctuating temps – what happened to Spring?

From highs to lows, cold to warm, happy to sad; uncertainty reigns in the midst of the unexpected. Nothing like being on an emotional rollercoaster. We’ve all probably been there when situations caught us unaware and the spill over spun us from high to low. Keeping it real here, we’ve probably also been caught in the aftermath of someone else’s peace that quickly twisted into a raging hurricane. Not exactly a fun place to land.

Releasing the urge to allow emotions to spin us like a raging storm on a wave-tossed ocean requires great self-control. Our quick resolve to react can leave us reeling in a tide of fluctuating highs and lows. So what’s a  girl to do when unsteady, unpredictable and uncontrollable sends her emotions fluctuating in all directions?

There’s only one thing we can do – lean into the control of the Holy Spirit. Rest in His reassuring presence and desire to steady us even when life tosses us around. Pause. Pray. Reflect. Surrender. Pause so the ebb and flow of what we are feeling doesn’t dictate our words or actions (Luke 12:12). Pray so we can gain insight and strength as we acknowledge what we are feeling (Acts 1:8). Reflect on the solid truths of God’s word which steadies our feet even if the ground is shaking (John 14:26). Surrender our emotions to the control of the Holy Spirit so His fruit is evidenced in us (Galatians 5:22-23). And the glorious benefit of Pause, Pray, Reflect and Surrender is the overflowing, abundant hope found in the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Sweet friends, we simply can’t do life the way God intends by relying on our strength and resilience. Life happens and we will default to emotional ups and downs  – God already knows where we will land. He created us to be emotional beings, living and feeling.  Yet, God wants us to process, handle and express those emotions in a healthy and loving way. Exactly why He sent us the Holy Spirit to settle us, ground us and empower us to overcome our tendency to ride the fluctuating tide of our emotions.

“Father, You have given us everything we need to live in this world – help us to resist the tendency to attempt doing life relying on self.  Teach us to surrender to Your Spirit and reflect You to our world.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | May 2, 2024

Joy In the Midst

“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.” Psalm 100:1-2 (NLT)

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The end is near. And I cannot wait.

It sounds ominous, right? But I’m referring to the end of the school year. No more math tests. No more projects. No more research papers. No more slogging through daily assignments. We are so close to crossing the finish line into summer break I can almost taste it. Yes, “we” is the correct word in this case. While these assignments, tests, projects, and papers may not bear my name, they are painted with my sweat and tears just the same.

I will shout with joy at the finish line! Hallelujah! We made it! The psalmist doesn’t list a specific time we are to shout with joy to the Lord, though, does he? It’s easy to shout with joy when the work is completed, when the time for relaxation is here at last … when the painful circumstances are in the past … when the fear is no longer a constant companion. As children of God, we are to shout with joy at all times—in the midst of stress, fear, depression … when our circumstances threaten to drag us under.

How?

Part of Nehemiah 8:10 gives us our answer: “For the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Our key verse doesn’t ask us to sing with happiness before the Lord or to shout with happiness to the Lord. Happiness is an emotion determined by our surrounding circumstances. Joy is a state of being based on the indwelling Spirit that fills us when we surrender ourselves to God in Christ.

So, whether we’re limping through the last torturous days of the school year or truly grieving through heartbreaking loss, we can shout with joy to the Lord. The rest of the Psalm (verses 4 and 5) gives us reason to praise Him: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

“No matter our current situation, Lord, we choose to praise and worship You. Thank You for Your steadfast love and faithfulness in the midst of difficulties, pain, and grief.”

For His Glory

Tammy Randlett (http://staletoast.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | April 30, 2024

What Do You Say?


“How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?”

 Romans 10:14

At a recent church retreat I attended, the group was asked to write out a one-minute gospel presentation. The challenge was this: When you’re in conversation with someone and have the opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus, how would you go about it? As followers of Christ, this is something that all of us—new in the faith or long-time believers—are called to do. The Great Commission (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19) is given to every Christian (not just those with the “gift of evangelism”, as can easily be an excuse for not sharing). And although I’ve written out the gospel hundreds of times (literally), I struggled to find the “perfect” words that particular morning.

I hunkered down at a desk that faced a gorgeous sunrise over the river, sweatshirt hooded up to tune out my cabinmates moving in and out of the space for coffee and their own journal-writing endeavors. And I struggled. Not that I struggled with the truth of the gospel—it’s simple really: We’re all sinners. The wages of sin is death. But, while we were yet sinners, God sent His Son to pay the penalty we owe, so that we can have eternal life—no more condemnation. Believe and confess, and you’ll be saved (John 3:16; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:9)!

Easy-peasy, right? Um, not necessarily.

Although the truth of the gospel is straightforward and clear, each message receiver is in a different place. So, we must be cognizant of to whom we’re talking, discovering the “pain point” they’re expressing, and listening for an open door to tell them about our hope—Jesus. The bottom-line goal is to meet people where they are and help them take the next step toward Jesus (could be sowing a seed, watering, fertilizing, or reaping). The awesome news of the Good News is that it is not WE who do the saving. God does, through the Holy Spirit opening the eyes of their heart to accept Christ by faith. (This fact takes an enormous amount of pressure off, doesn’t it?)

Back to my retreat story. So, I labored over my journal pages for a long time, writing and rewriting…not really understanding why this process was so stressful. I did have a definitive place from which I wanted to start, so it was just about paving “the right” path to Jesus. In the nick of time, I finished. It was more like two minutes, but it was where I landed—ready or not. When we were in our small groups to share, I read it out. Looking up, I saw tears flowing from the eyes of several people. See, the Holy Spirit had me laboring over my words because HE had something to say—a specific wrapping of the gospel that someone needed to hear. He just used my pen. Although I had thought my two-minute spiel was convoluted, it was perfected by the Holy Spirit to be heard in just the right way for those who needed to hear what He had to say to them.

Again, the glorious thing about sharing the gospel (and I’m preaching to myself here, friends) is: The Holy Spirit knows who we’re talking with, where they are in the stuff of life, and what they need to hear. And He will do the work when we yield to Him. We just have to be ready (1 Peter 3:15), be bold (Romans 1:16), and open our mouths (or pick up a pen).

So, what about you? What do you say? I challenge you to write down the Good News—and then open your mouth.

“Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, make me bold and unashamed to share the Good News of Jesus with others, reminding me that it is not me, but YOU who does the saving.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | April 29, 2024

Why The Rhythm of Patience Matters

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”  Romans 8:25 (ESV)

Last summer, we simply couldn’t wait for vacation to finally arrive – I’m sure you’ve probably felt the same. The sweet anticipation of a whole week away from work and our normal routine. We plan, we pack and we get up early anxious to hit the road and land at the beach. The Martin duo (me and my husband) actually made it out of the house in record time.  No major traffic delays – just smooth traveling. Reaching our destination, we pulled into the ice cream shop parking lot across the street from our rental and waited for the “okay your house is ready” text message.

Did I happen to mention waiting is not my fave thing when it involves vacation, beach and fun in the sun?  But that is exactly where we landed. We could see our rental house, we just couldn’t enter the driveway, unload our car and hit the beach. So we ate ice cream instead. And did I mention we constantly were checking our phones to make sure we didn’t miss that all important text message? Two and a half hours later it finally came and our wait was over.

While our wait was really inconsequential, at the moment it seemed to drag by. And the longer we waited, the more impatient we became simply because we were focused on what we couldn’t have when we wanted it. Keeping it real here, but when wait is involved our first reaction is not exactly joy in the wait but complaint.

Webster defines patience as bearing pains or trials calmly without complaint. Being steadfast despite opposition. In the Greek, patience has a twofold meaning:  calmness of spirit and remaining firm under tests and trials.

How can we achieve this rhythm when we are accustomed to fast, instant gratification? Relying on ourselves, we will certainly fail. In our imperfect world, the temptation will be to give in, resist and exhibit our frustration as we zero in on what we don’t have right now. But if we rely on God’s Spirit which dwells within us, we can endure the wait without compromise. If we step back and view wait through His perspective then we will learn to welcome the very thing we don’t want.

Best example ever is the patience of our God. His kindness, forbearance and patience leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God doesn’t through up His hands, grumble or complain at our repeated delays of obedience.  While there are definitely consequences for our actions, God is long suffering desiring that we choose to walk in accordance with His commands. The Old Testament reminds us of God’s patience in holding off the flood while Noah built the ark giving more time for repentance (I Peter 3:20).  The New Testament reminds us that the delay in Christ’s return isn’t an indication of slowness on His part, says Peter, but of God’s longsuffering and unwillingness for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9)

Kind of puts patience in a whole new light doesn’t it? God bookends patience with an overarching theme of His love and great desire for a relationship with each one of us. So the next time we’re tempted to allow impatience to rise to the surface let’s purposefully rely on His Spirit living within us to birth forth patience we can’t produce. Let’s resist the grumbling and choose to be imitators of our Creator God whose patience never runs out.

“Father, our anxiety and frustration would melt away if we would only learn to welcome Your Spirit’s control and trust You when wait defines our journey. Help us to endure our seasons of wait without compromise confident You are working all things for our good.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | April 26, 2024

A Little Help From My Friends

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)

Us independent people, you know like me, usually have no problem doing life solo. We press though when times get tough, we anchor down when storms rage and we coast through the mundane. From a distance, we appear to be ideal – never missing the mark.

Couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite our picture of doing it well, we’re really a snapshot of those who cheer us on and keep us real. Solo may steer us, but the real driving force is found in those we do life with.

Reminded of this today when a sweet friend texted about studying God’s word together. We’re in different cities, hours apart, but that has never stopped us. While she thinks she is the one who needs the discipline and structure, I thrive in our conversations over God’s word. She asks big, deep questions, ones I usually don’t have the answers to. But knowing we will be wrestling it through keeps me disciplined, focused and dependent on God’s wisdom.

While one might feel they are the benefactor of our insight, real truth is we both bring a lot to the table. We all need a little help from our friends – iron sharpening iron. Whether you are a mentor or mentee, God polishes us all in the realities of life. God’s word and the Holy Spirit’s leading enables us to gain personal revelation. And when we lock arms with another, the potential for growth is multiplied.

Desiring to flourish in 2024 – who will you personally invest in? Who will you seek out to invest in you? We need to pour out and we need to receive. God is great at orchestrating the right person we need and uses us to simultaneously meet a need for them. Best win – win ever!

Life is simply too hard to imagine solo. My sweet friend and I have been doing Bible study together for years. We don’t always agree, we don’t always get our reading done in time for discussion. Sometimes the urgency of life totally redirects our conversation. Grace covers us and love binds us. Nothing sweeter than a little help from our friends.

“Father, thank You for the gift of friendship which sharpens us, encourages and spurs us on to be more like You.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | April 25, 2024

Being Intentional

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)

I was going through a season with numerous health challenges. Several things going wrong at one time. I was constantly in a doctor’s office followed by a visit to the pharmacy. Constant physical pain and not sleeping along with unwanted side effects of medications usually do not leave a person in a great mood. I was grumpy and less than social at my doctor’s visits.

At the same time, a new women’s Bible study was getting ready to start, and we were encouraged to invite new women.

One day as I was praying about my health, I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit about my attitude concerning my health –

This season in my life had a purpose and I should be intentional with it.

On my next trip to the pharmacy, I heeded the voice of the Holy Spirit. I was intentional about making small talk with the pharmacist and the pharmacy technician. Each time I came in, I made a point to try to connect with them in some way. In time, I invited two ladies from the pharmacy to Bible study and they came.

A few months after the women started attending Bible study, they shared with me that they both attended the same church I do. It’s a large church with several services so it’s not unusual that we hadn’t met before. My curiosity was piqued. What had kept them from coming to Bible study? The response was simple “no one has ever invited us before.”

Are you in a season of endless diaper changes, the days and nights are running together? Maybe you’re stressed trying to figure out ways to juggle your child’s school days versus school online. We all have seasons that we wished we didn’t have to go through. Seasons that seem to drain us. We may even tell ourselves that “this season is so bad, nothing good can come from it.”  Yet every season gives us an opportunity to witness for Christ.

Knowing this we must be intentional with everything we do – the mundane as well as the important.

Years later, I’m not only friends with those two ladies but everyone in the pharmacy knows my husband and me now. There are times I go into the store and don’t need anything from the pharmacy, but I’ll stop by just to check on them.

I gained friends and sisters in Christ all because I was intentional with my attitude and my time -while I was having a very unpleasant season.

Being intentional is the only way we will complete our assignment on this earth – spreading the gospel of Jesus to the world.

What opportunities are you missing to share hope with others?

“Father help us to be intentional with the opportunities presented to us throughout the day to witness for your Kingdom.”

 

For His Glory

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

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