Friday, April 13, 2012

What To Do With Our Burdens




“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty had of God,
 that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)


               When we have a burden, a concern, or a worry, we have certain options we can pursue. We can fret and stew about it; that can lead us to getting physically sick or we can give it to God and let Him take care of our need.
            God allows us the choice. When we choose to ‘stuff’ our problems, we eventually get a lot of issues on our hearts. The modern psychologists refer to this as having a lot of ‘baggage.’ When I first heard this term, I thought of a person carrying a full suitcase on his or her back. This imaginary person, bent from the waist, couldn’t move with ease. That person carried the weight of all his misdeeds and hurts in such a way he couldn’t see the road ahead.
            Our scripture today tells us when we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up. Our being free of the burden might not come as soon as we want. It comes ‘in due time’, when God chooses to intervene and remove that concern from our hearts.
            Casting all your cares, I like this phrase. Being married to a man who used to fish, I get a mental image of a person stretching his or her arm over their head and letting the reel release the line as far away as possible. In the spiritual sense, I hear Peter telling his readers to hurl those woes onto the Lord God and not pick them back up again.
            While it is sometimes difficult to leave our requests with Jesus, when we learn to do this we grow in our faith.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Meet Sheryl Young, Read about her Devotional Book


Hello, today, I am doing something different. I am interviewing author Sheryl Young. We participate in a forum on LinkedIn. She has two books she has published. "God Am I Nobody? Yielding Our Desire for Success to God's Will for Our Lives" and "What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People Improving the Church’s Relations with God’s Original Chosen Nation."

What made you become a writer?

When God opened my eyes to the declining moral values in our country, I started writing letters to the editor of our city’s newspaper in rebuttal to other viewpoints. I sent so many, the newspaper started inviting me to do guest commentary columns, and that’s how it started!

What made you write this book?

Coming out of a theatre background where there was so much applause, I suffered from what I call "attention-itis" - the need for recognition. After accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior, it still took many years before I became conscious of giving all praise to God for my accomplishments…

One day at a Christian bookstore, I literally stumbled across 19th missionary Hudson Taylor’s sermonette, A Higher Calling, in a book that had fallen to the floor. It was all about giving ourselves fully to God and His plans, not ours. It helped me stop wondering when my ‘15 minutes of fame’ might come. So I wrote this book around Taylor’s piece and parallel Bible verses, hoping it will help others put kingdom work first.


 What style of writing do you prefer doing? Non-Fiction or Fiction?

Non-fiction, definitely. Although I currently feel God is leading me out of my season of life for writing, my main fire has been to do newspaper, magazine and website articles on politics and faith. My first book was the result of being a Jewish believer in Jesus, and answering questions from many Christians about the Jewish faith, culture, and sensitivities to the gospel. What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People, (Wine Press, 2008).


 What do you find is the hardest part of writing?

Abiding by the rules I’ve been taught that keep writing succinct and to the point! I could easily ramble all over. Aspiring writers can best learn these rules by writing for good editors, or by attending Writers’ Conferences.

What is the best time management skill that helps you?

I keep regular “office hours” for myself when writing, as if I were employed by someone to do it.

 When is your best time to write?

Early in the morning right after prayer time, and late at night when my husband’s gone to sleep!



 Please tell us about your family?

I’ve been married since 1984 to a wonderful Christian man, Jerry, who is an ordained pastor. We have one daughter who was a missionary in non-Christian Asian territory for more than five years (thus I don’t like to reveal her name too much on the internet), and has now embarked on a stateside career. Actually, I’m the wicked stepmom!



Links to Sheryl’s book, God, Am I Nobody?: Yielding Our Desire for Success to God's Will for Our Lives



Publisher, Treble Heart, in paperback or e-book: http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/MVSherylYoung.html


Amazon.com paperback or Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/God-Am-I-Nobody-ebook/dp/B006E88XRO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1327158082&sr=8-1


Nook:


Smashswords e-book: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/108317

Links to previous book, What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People Improving the Church’s Relations with God’s Original Chosen Nation:



Publisher, Wine Press, paperback: https://www.winepressbooks.com/product.asp?pid=1852
Amazon.com paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Christian-Should-Jewish-People/dp/141411074X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333559311&sr=1-1




“God, Am I Nobody?” Yielding Our Desire for Success to God's Will for Our Lives
by Sheryl Young




Sheryl Young has created a devotional booklet—just 17 short chapters in length—comparing the message of  Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, with both Old Testament and New Testament scriptures.

She begins by telling Mr. Taylor’s history. How he found the Lord at age 17 and just three years later departed from his home in England to journey to China to help spread the Gospel.

The basis for Mrs. Young’s devotional booklet is Hudson Taylor’s sermonette, A Higher Calling. She takes sentences or paragraphs of Mr. Taylor’s text, compares his words to scripture, and expands understanding of the original text.

As I initially read the material, I ran across a thought that made me linger over it and ponder.



"Things may not happen for us when we think they should, because we might be in the midst of a learning experience. Once repentance has taken place, or God sees us fit for duty, our mountaintop experiences may resume. 

Sometimes, waiting—just the waiting—is a form of His discipline, so that we can then 'run and not be weary' and  'fly with wings like eagles.'” (Isaiah 40: 31)



The next day, I shared the above thought with some of my close friends. Each of them, as well as myself, had not thought of this connection between waiting and discipline.

The devotional contains 17 short messages. It can be read by individuals as a daily quiet time exercise—one message each day. A small group could use it as a study on Christian living or on how to experience a deeper walk with the Lord. An individual whom God has called to the mission field would gain insight into what he or she may need in order to do the work God has laid out for them.



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Thank You, Jesus




Written Easter Morning April 8, 2012

Thank You, Jesus, yes.
I own You so much.
You took away sin,
From my heart and soul.

You blessed me with life
Everlasting by
Your act at Calv’ry.
That act did free me.

I deserved to die
A spiritual death.
But God chose the plan,
One of sacrifice.

He sent You to us,
Knowing how it would end.
All I can utter
Is, “Thank, You, Jesus.”

Because of Your action
Of giving up Your will,
I have a sweet peace
About my own life.

You asked Your Father
To ‘forgive them’ ‘cause
They did not know what
They brought about.

Please, Lord, forgive me
When I mess things up.
Help me live rightly,
Live for You each day.

You chose to follow
God’s plan for Your life,
So that I might be
With You someday.
© Quiet Spirit Writing Ministry
April 2012
  

Monday, April 9, 2012

Experiencing Fellowship





Read 1John 1: 1-4

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and
heard, so that you also may have fellowship
with us. And our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
1 John 1:3 (NIV)

            In legal terminology there is a term that attorneys use in defense of their client-hearsay. Simply stated a person has to see or be present when an event has transpired in order to give credible testimony-his or her witness. If a person passes on a thought about something he or she has not seen or was not present for, that person can not testify to that event.
            One Thursday night, in the mid 1980s, my son and I returned home from church. We stopped at the neighborhood convenience store for soft drinks. We sat in the kitchen drinking them when we heard a loud noise coming from the street. We got to the front door in time to see a car pulling away from where I had parked our car. What we had heard was the sound of impact of the two vehicles. I reacted in a strange way for me—I ran after that car, saying words I shouldn’t the whole half block to the railroad track.
            When the police came, a young neighbor drove up and waited until they were through taking the information from me. He had seen the accident. The police found the car abandoned at the junior high a few blocks away. My dad and stepmother advised me to not count on seeing my deductible returned to me. (In order to get it back, the driver of the other car had to be found guilty or confess to hitting my car and leaving the scene.)
            My son and I went to city court when the case came up. A while before it was time for our case, we got called out into a hallway. Some man dressed in a suit asked me “Did you see this man behind the wheel of the car that hit you?” I was furious. The policeman who worked the case stood off to my left and shook his head. Because, I didn’t SEE this man behind the wheel, the case was dismissed.
            As I write this, I wonder if I had thought to see if the young neighbor had been summoned to court, if it would have made a difference in how the court handled my case.
            John was present with Jesus as He ministered to the people of Israel. He saw the healings, heard the teachings-both those for the people and the ones the disciples were privy to. This member of the Master’s inner circle was present at Calvary and witnessed the carnage of the crucifixion.
            John reminds his readers of the eternal Word—Jesus lived among us; how He lived and walked among the people. His message is simple. This close follower of Jesus, possibly the last surviving one who walked with the Savior, chose to take a stand against the false teachers that had infiltrated the churches.
            John speaks of fellowship with other believers. “Fellowship must be grounded in God’s Word.” (1.) If this undergirding is removed, there would be no unity. “It is mutual.” (2.) For fellowship to be real there must be an exchange of thought. “It is renewed daily through the Holy Spirit.” (3.) This principle is the basis for daily devotions, prayer, and Bible reading.
            In order to grow spiritually, we have to experience fellowship with one another and with God.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...