Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | March 4, 2024

Our Great I Am

“You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees.  I am the Lord your God.  Keep my decrees and laws for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.”  Leviticus 18:4 (ESV)

I will readily admit there are some passages and books of the Bible that are harder to read and understand.  The past two weeks, I’ve been in Leviticus – you got it the book of laws, sacrifices, and all kinds of instructions about animal fats and burnt offerings.

Definitely not my fave to read; however, I have loved reading it from the lens of God’s love for His people.  Rather than view all those weird, lengthy and too much detailed instructions as boring (and not applicable today), I have gained a deeper and renewed sense of God’s love for His people.  For instance most of the guidelines for unclean and clean foods to consume protected the people both physically and spiritually.  Also they had no means to truly preserve food so leftovers were at a minimum.  And passages where I felt like God was cruel to make people leave the camp because of skin diseases, etc. (basic quarantine), these were all for their protection so everyone wasn’t infected.

One commentary even detailed God’s deep love for women and their time of the month.  They were declared unclean due to the issue of blood not because they were women.  Yet because of those seven days of being declared unclean, they couldn’t touch anything – which means they didn’t do housework, they didn’t clean or cook – they had total rest.  They didn’t travel by foot in the heat to the temple – they stayed at home.  Now that’s the tenderness of our God to know that women need extra care during those times of the month.

Yet my fave statement throughout Leviticus was God’s reminder “I am.”  He declares He is the great I am 90 times in Leviticus which is the most declaration in any book of the Bible other than the book of John where He declares “I am” 98 times.  Constantly, He was reminding the Children of Israel of his might and power as “Elohim,” the One who delivered them out of Egypt.

When I couple I AM with God’s deep love then I see how his passion for His people is beyond comprehension and it brings clarity and understanding to all those restrictions in Leviticus.  Bottom line our God – the Great I AM is always operating out of a place of love and devotion for His creation.  What we can’t understand and at times may seem even unreasonable is for our protection and for the ultimate glory of our God.

Thought For The Day – Do I view God’s restrictions as burdensome, heavy and unnecessary or do I see them as His divine loving protection poured out for my good?

“Sweet Jesus thank you for giving us Your word to teach us about how you love and care for your people.  We are so blessed to be living under Your grace and forgiveness – surrounded by the Great I Am.”

For His Glory

 

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

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Posted in Faith, Love, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | March 1, 2024

Why Capture Really Does Matter

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6 (ESV)

Taking the perfect picture has never been my talent. While I might have an eye for the best shot, my photos definitely don’t reflect any expertise. Don’t really know how I do it so imperfectly every time. Probably why selfies weren’t on my radar until I discovered this cool feature on my smartphone. Who knew you could simply say “Capture” and your phone would take the picture for you? No hitting a button. No trying to keep my hand out of the lens area. By changing the setting on my phone’s camera, my lack of photography skills has been revolutionized.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if capturing our thoughts was as simple as capturing the perfect pose?

Neuroscientists believe we have 60,000 – 80,000 random thoughts in a day. Our mind is constantly going; the only time our brain waves go to zero is if we are brain dead. From the moment we stretch and get out of bed, we realize our mind is soaring. For some of us it might be remembering our endless list of things we have to get done. For others it may be deep thoughts trying to unpack relationship issues. For some, the first thoughts we recognize in our morning could be fragments of a dream we had. And all these bombard us before we even hit the shower. No wonder we feel mentally challenged.

Positive thoughts centered on God’s word energize us, lift us up and encourage us. Filling our minds with the truth of what God says about us and our challenges. Focusing on His promises positions us to face even the hardest places with courage and boldness. These are thoughts we want to entertain moment by moment.

Sweet friends let’s keep it real here – positive thoughts are not what we get so lost in  – it’s our negative thoughts. It’s a daily struggle to short-circuit thousands of thoughts creeping in and stealing our joy. And the more we entertain unhealthy thoughts, the easier it is for our minds to settle there drowning out the positive. Creating pathways – grooves and ruts – which makes it easier for our minds to go in the same direction moment by moment.

God’s word reminds us in 2 Corinthians to take every thought captive, to seize our thoughts and ensure they are glorifying Him. Just like it took action on my part to program my phone to recognize “capture” when I wanted to snap a photo, we must take action to “capture” our thoughts. If we want our thoughts to serve us well, then we must be intentional in extinguishing negative and unhealthy chatter in our brains.

Speaking God’s truth out loud in the face of unwanted thoughts forces our minds to zero in on every word, thus ending the noise attempting to slay us. Coming up with a game plan in advance postures us for victory.  The past few weeks, I’ve mentally shouted “capture” at the slightest hint of a wrong thought. And my voice was constantly on repeat; however, I am finding I don’t easily entertain those negative thoughts to self like I used to. I’m finally taking captive what wasn’t serving me well.

Capture never sounded more beautiful….the perfect way to keep our thoughts aligned with God’s.

“Father, You have equipped us with minds capable of creativity, innovation and cultivating deep truths. Help us to actively capture any thoughts which don’t glorify you or serve us well.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

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Posted in Encouragement, Freedom, Hope, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 29, 2024

When The Going Gets Tough

“But Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17 (NIV)

When all you have is stripped from you, like Naomi, it’s easy to turn bitter and think God has forgotten you or has decided to punish you. After losing her husband and two sons, Naomi left the country of Moab and returned to her people. She had two Moabite daughters-in-law, and she told them to go back to their people. One of the daughters-in-law, Ruth, saw Naomi as her own family.  She wasn’t about to leave her; Ruth was going to be stuck on her like a Band-Aid.

Today a lot of things are disposable and the things that used to be valued are mere trial-and-error opportunities. If Naomi lived today chances are her daughters-in-law wouldn’t consider following her to the next town. Women are often abandoned by husbands who vowed to love and protect them, children are left in orphanages by their parents and the love that once seemed to be stronger than death simply disappears.  Too often, we are no longer setting our roots on the Rock, on the One who can help us, but rather on utopian realities that do nothing but devastate our faith. If we wish to be blessed like Ruth, we must deny self and follow after God regardless the cost.

 “Father, one young woman with such a strong faith and love that allowed her to leave father and mother and follow her mother-in-law to a new country shows us that You honor our faithfulness. Please help us to have faith like Ruth.”

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life

 

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 28, 2024

Walk Worthy

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10, ESV)

 My husband and I were enjoying a nice stroll along the beach.  Watching the waves crash against the shore, walking hand in hand as the wind blew through our hair.  Unfortunately, the sand started becoming harder for me to navigate.  Over 30 years ago, I was in a serious car accident that crushed my left knee and ankle – making my left side a little weaker with age.  Due to this previous injury, I soon found it hard to walk upright in the sand at times.  I decided to step back and walk behind him. Allowing him to go before me meant he did the hard work.  He laid the footprints and all I had to do was step into them.  When I walked in his footsteps, I was able to walk upright without any problems.  After 34 years together, it was easy for me to trust my husband to lead me on a safe path (I know his character).

Our spiritual walk is based on our knowledge of God and our understanding of His will.

Paul wanted the church at Colosse to be taught in the things of God.  As a Christian our first responsibility is to know God, what he requires of us (and what he doesn’t).

There were a lot of false teachings being spread throughout the town. The power of darkness was lulling those early Christians to sleep.  They were no longer focusing on Christ and the power of his walk.  They were falling prey to false beliefs – other paths to God.  No longer walking worthy of the sacrifice Christ had made on the cross. Resulting in their inability to bear fruit.

Walking in a manner worthy means we will make life decisions that line up with the Word of God.  We will be able to navigate life when the path before us becomes difficult.  Instead of becoming overwhelmed and going in the direction of our feelings, we will look to Him and walk in His footsteps. When we know His character, we will know that we can trust Him to lead us – even if we can’t clearly see the path before us.

When we have experienced a genuine relationship with Jesus, we will be better equipped to stay away from the other attractive paths, no matter how they may be packaged.

The only way we can bear good fruit (and thus fully please God) is by staying connected to Jesus at ALL times. (John 15:7-8)

“Father, help us to grow in the knowledge of your Word so we can walk worthy in Christ.”

For His Glory

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

 

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 27, 2024

A New Creation

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

When you meet someone new, how do you describe yourself? By your job? Your hobbies? Perhaps you share some notable personality trait. And what about the people who know you already—how would they portray you?

The most important perception—the only one that matters, really—is that of God. So, how do you think He sees you? Does the thought of answering this question make you cringe? Maybe you immediately begin thinking about where you’ve been in life and what you’ve done…and your head hangs in shame. There are choices you’ve made, whether last week, last year, or several decades ago, that you know weren’t in line with God’s Word. And even if you’ve accepted the grace of Jesus and know you’re forgiven, you can’t forget your past…and you believe God sees all that junk about you as well.

Sisters, here is the truth: When we trust Christ and surrender to Him, our sins are both forgiven and forgotten by our precious Father! “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). They are “cast in the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19) never to be drudged up—so let’s not do any fishing either.

Even more miraculous and wonderful is the fact that we are made new when we accept the gift of salvation. “The old has passed away.” Do you know what that means? When the Lord looks at us, He sees pure righteousness and perfection because of the blood of Jesus. No past errors, no bad habits, no dirty sin. We are made white as snow. New. And if someone were to ask God to describe you—yes, you—He would say this: “Oh, isn’t she beautiful? Because of My Son, she shines like the sun.”

So, think about this next time someone asks you about yourself. Or, better yet, grab onto that truth when the enemy of our souls, Satan, comes at you with all-too-familiar accusations, like, “Don’t forget about all your failures,” and, “You’ll never be good enough.”

Stand firm, sister, and respond with boldness. “I am a daughter of the King, and I am a new creation in Him.”

“Jesus, thank You for creating in me something brand new! Let me always remember who I am because of what You did.”

 

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Faith, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 26, 2024

Partnering With God

“Answer me, O Lord for Your steadfast love is good; according to Your abundant mercy, turn to me.” Psalm 69:16 (ESV)

Don’t we just love those verses like “Ask and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7).   Or how about the one “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith (Matthew 21:22.) Better yet, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).   We pray for it, believe it and we get exactly what we want – sounds like the best conversation ever, right?

Our obsession with getting exactly what we want can definitely take us down the wrong path.  One filled with disillusionment and disappointment.  Just keeping it real here – but we don’t always know what we need, what is best and what honors God’s will.  We view our requests with temporal pleasure in mind – what works for me right now.  But sweet friends, our loving Father responds with eternity in view. He answers yes, no or maybe with a transformative perspective aimed at birthing spiritual growth in us and ultimately glorifying His name.

What’s this birthing look like?  Well, I don’t know about you, but I know how it often looks for me.   You see we entertain prayer as moving God to do and act; we simply sit back and wait.  Experience teaches me that God works in and through me as part of the solution.  It may be an attitude adjustment. It could be I need to take a specific action on my part.  At times it has meant leaning in close and surrendering to the sacrificial role God wants me to play that I intended for others to fulfill.

Wow – that’s like really hard, isn’t it?  While praying strategically over a situation recently, I had no idea that part of the answer was me.  I was ready for God to move heaven and earth on my behalf.  Totally convinced He heard my pleas and cries for His help.  Before the sun began to rise, knees hit floors and scriptures were prayed claiming God’s divine love and mercy.  I had no lack of confidence in His ability to resolve  and intentionally line up all things in my favor.  Reality was, God wanted me to be one of the extenders of mercy.  He desired for me to not just pray but partner with Him.

Love this quote from Tony Evans: “We must have God’s perspective on our situations, not relying on our own. We perceive only the temporary.  God sees the eternal.”  The answer to my prayer was changing me from the inside out because God longs for my heart to align with His. He saw the eternal value in transforming my prayers from simple requests to deep spiritual growth.

How I love God’s deep abiding love for us.  Never settling to leave us the same, rather inviting us to gather at His feet, rely on His wisdom and partner with Him.  Can’t think of a better place to land than fully trusting and leaning on God.

“Father, how tempting it is to resist change in us  and seek our own solutions.  Help us to gather at Your feet and follow Your guidance trusting You completely for the best answer to our prayers.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Mercy, Prayer

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 23, 2024

Without Compromise

“The land we (Joshua and Caleb) passed through and explored is an extremely good land.” Numbers 14:7b (HCSB)

Standing strong, firm and unmovable in the face of opposition requires incredible courage. Delivering a message that contradicts with the crowd in the midst of thousands requires godly boldness. Unwavering in the promises of our God even when others doubt requires holy trust.

Joshua and Caleb met the test without compromising, shrinking back or going with the crowd. When Moses sent them with eight leaders to check out the Promised Land, these two men saw victory where the others saw defeat. The team of ten brought back the fruit of the land proclaiming God’s truth – the land was flowing in abundance. But then the report split with eight leaders filled with fear and warnings to the two who envisioned God’s deliverance. Only Joshua and Caleb were willing to look beyond what they could see. If God’s word was truthful about the good of the land then He was fully capable of handling the bad.

Easy statement to write – hard to digest. How often do we trust God for the good, visible and easy truths, yet abandon His abilities in our challenges? The enemy seemed larger than life to these leaders and often our enemies overwhelm our vision to the point that we minimize the largeness of our God. We shout His praise and faithfulness in the good, but lag and doubt when the battle gets hard.

Glorifying God, even in the face of the enemy, standing firm and strong will be the defining moment in our lives. Let’s be the one who doesn’t cave or give in – let’s prove to our world that we will not waver – God is able to do more than we ever imagined.

“Father, help us to be women who display incredible courage, godly boldness and holy trust – glorifying Your name always!”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

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Posted in Faith, Hope, Spiritual Growth

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 22, 2024

From Strength To Weakness

“God arms me with strength, and He makes my way perfect.” (Psalms 18:32 NLT)

Why would you want to be that? Why would you want to be strong? My, how the Lord had changed my perspective. I remember struggling over the very same issue. Moments of weakness that I wanted to run from drove a need to set aside weak and pick up strong. If only I could.

Barely a teenager, as one parent left and then the other, a teacher declared that one day I would be so strong. I equated that to work, and work I did. Picked up talents that I admired that were never mine to perfect. Studied for career heights that I couldn’t quite grasp. Thought travel, money and title would bring contentment; that didn’t. And with a mess I called my life, behind the façade of strength and accomplishment were disappointment and struggle. Slowly, my empire would tumble. And in the rubble of lost hopes, dreams and plans was my God.

My Bible teaches that God is strong: He is strength in times of trouble; all things are possible; God is the saving refuge of His anointed; vindication is in His strength. As I ran to Him in heart and attitude, I was markedly aware of my weakness. And in time, realized that my weakness was good. Good because it allowed Him to be strong. I was able to set aside my need for strength and rely on His abundant ability to be strength for me. And in His strength was the protection, peace and purpose which was the very place I had longed and searched for so long.

Now, this middle-aged woman sat before me detailing the events of a hard life of lack. She had lost much and found such pride in her strength. But, why would you want to be strong? I knew better. I knew the struggle. I knew the loss. But, I also knew that I am weak. My only strength that is lasting, sure and worthy of mention is the strength of my Creator who knew all about me and still chose to love; love to the point of death. As the world thrust its weaknesses on Him, He chose strength that would last into eternity and be indestructible.

“Father, may I be weak knowing that You are strong. May I let a lost and dying world know the One whose strength is the only answer to sin and selfishness.”

For His Glory

Kathryn Hayman
TRBC Women’s Life

 

 

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 21, 2024

Count It All Joy

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness, have its full effect,  that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 2-4 (ESV)

Many years ago, I had a pastor make a decision concerning me that was hurtful. It was so devastating, there was no way I could stay at that church and sit under his teaching. I left and went to another church. For years I replayed conversations in my head of things I would say to him if I ever saw him again. I had been wronged. I wanted to be vindicated for what he had done. Then one day many years later, I received a phone call from this pastor’s wife. She and her husband both wanted to apologize.

For a year prior to this hurtful thing happening, the Holy Spirit had been prompting me to leave. My husband and sons wanted to leave. We talked, prayed and debated over it for a year. But the hold up was me. Simply because this little church was my “comfort zone.” The people in this church had been more like family to me than my own biological family. This was all I knew. Fear kept me stuck in what was comfortable. Then this thing happened and leaving was the only option. When we started at our new church, my sons and husband fit in immediately. It took me a little longer to adapt. I felt so broken. I didn’t want new relationships I wanted to go back to my old friends and way of doing things

By the time the apology phone call came, I had already made peace with what had been done. An apology wasn’t necessary. While my heart hurt deeply over what had happened, the steadfastness of my walk with Jesus had produced peace in the pain. In time, I found the strength to reach out to others and start over.

I had come to understand what James was saying.

At the time it wasn’t joyful. My heart broke, and I cried for a long time over it. But years later I could see how I could count that trial as joy because it propelled me to move out of my comfort zone. And once I embraced that trial and significant change in my life, my life changed for the better in ways far too numerous to share. It was a catalyst for growth and a whole new life.

When God tells me to do something now, I do not allow fear to hold me back.

“Father, Your Word tells us our trials have a purpose. Help us to expect trials and when they come to not give up. Remind us that it is okay if we don’t know all the answers because You do. Help us to seek You for wisdom to handle the trials that come our way.” 

For His Glory

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

 

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Posted in Faith, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 20, 2024

Toddler Observations

“I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid.” Genesis 3:10

Although I’ve read Genesis many times over at this point in my walk with Christ, a wonderful Lent devotional I’m doing this year included Genesis 3:10, and four words popped out at me as if I’ve never seen them: “and I was afraid.” The devo author also noted (yet not even as his main point) that when sin entered the world, so did fear. He moved on, I did not.

It struck me to the core that there was no fear—and no fear of God—before sin. No shame, no hiding from God. No separation from God. Just a perfect relationship (with God and between Adam and Eve) of unashamed love and unabashed joy.

And then my mind leaped to what seems like a lifetime ago when my two boys were toddlers. Their unashamed love and unabashed joy (before their perspectives were filtered with the dimness of reality). Another toddler observation is this: when they do something wrong, they hide. Somehow (well, not really “somehow”, but because they’re made in God’s image with God’s law written on their heart—Hebrews 8:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3), they know two things: (1) that they did something wrong and (2) that there will likely be consequences/punishment for said thing. Because they are tiny people, the hiding is cute—especially when they think they’re “hidden” because they can’t see you, so in their little minds, you can’t see them (as by simply covering their eyes to become unseen).

Another toddler thing (not so cute) is this: when they want to do what they want to do, they run away from us parents who would say otherwise—or at least they’d try their best to do so. They pull with all their might to free themselves from mom’s hand. They struggle for release from being held in daddy’s arms (usually to keep them from harm or trouble). Oh, toddlers.

Oh…us.

Doesn’t this sound just like us in our relationship with our Father God? It all started in the Garden with our original earthly parents, but nothing’s really changed. We sin (because we’re sinners), and we hide from Him as if, like said toddler and his momma, God doesn’t already know where we are. And when we want to go our own way—to think we have a better plan than God does—we pull away (or run away, as the case may be). We pry our ignorant little hands out of the Father’s to pursue our fleshly desires at the altar of self-worship. Because of the fall in the Garden, this is our propensity as humans: to sin, to hide in shame, to try to be the god of our own life. The result? Fear and separation. Fear of judgment and punishment (even if subconscious), fear of being found out. And we create distance from the Creator who loves us and designed us for a perfect relationship with Him.

So (and this is where the toddler analogy breaks down), we can and must choose to run back to the Father. In confession and repentance—and forgiveness. Sin leads to fear. There’s fear of admitting our sin (confession) and then refusal to repent (turn and go the other direction)—usually because of shame or pride. And, friend, when our sin leads to fear and hiding and separation from God without stopping the cycle, our just Father will judge us. There are consequences for being out of a right relationship with Him. But when sin leads to confession and repentance, our Father is quick to forgive (1 John 1:9; Ephesians 4:32)! In this repentance that leads to forgiveness, fear evaporates (2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 34:4)!

As believers made right with God at salvation, we still do the above cycle to lesser and lesser degrees in our sanctification journey. (Until we’re perfected with the Lord, that’s our plight in this fallen world.) However, for those who have not yet surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, it’s an ongoing lifestyle, this fear and running. But it doesn’t have to be! All it takes is admitting there’s a problem, confessing that only Jesus can make the way of reconciliation, and BAM! Forgiveness and a new life of wanting to please God are yours! Again, there is the battle against the world system, the enemy, and our flesh on the road Home, but this walk can be fearless when we stop fighting Him to go our own way…and simply trust the loving, forgiving arms of our heavenly Father.

“Father, You are Good. And You are Just. But when we are in right standing with You through Jesus, there is no more judgment to fear (1 John 4:18).”

 

For His Glory

 

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Freedom, Hope, Mercy, Spiritual Growth

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