Facets of Faith

Conversations about life, faith, and friendship.

The Lion and the Lamb: When I’m Afraid

by //

Welcome to Facets of Faith where, each month, you read about a single topic from three different perspectives. This month we’re talking about how to reflect Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb, in our lives. Tracy and Jen have share already –be sure to check them out!

Emma used to roar.

My sweet, somewhat mild-mannered little girl used to open her mouth and let out this most glorious sound.

I had forgotten she did that until a recent conversation I had with my mom. We often talk about Emma, but usually we share how much we miss her, how our hearts and arms ache to hold her. Emma died twelve years ago in a fire that destroyed our home. This year I chose to honor her life on the anniversary of her death through the release of a new book, and my mom was helping resurrect memories to include in it.

My little Emma used to roar whenever she felt afraid or uncomfortable. Normally, she was sweet and mild. Sure, she had a silly side typically seen only by those who knew her best. But when she was afraid? Watch. out. It didn’t matter who you were, she would stare you down, open her mouth, and release her emotions with a heart-felt roar.

Kind of like Simba from The Lion King. There’s a scene where Simba and Nala disobey Mufasa, Simba’s father, and travel beyond their protected land. They soon find themselves chased by enemies and before long, are cornered by the hyenas as they trembled with fear. Even so, Simba mustered up some courage and, with Nala nestled behind him, Simba stood firm and roared.

The hyenas merely chuckled at his pitiful sound. Do that again, they mocked. With a deep breath, Simba roared again but this time it was mighty and strong because the King had come to their rescue.

This King’s roar was a declaration of protection by Mufasa himself, Simba’s father. His roar sent the hyenas running away with their knees knocking and bodies shaking because they knew . . . they knew King Mufasa was strong and victorious.

Oh to stand in the face of fear like that, like Simba. Like Emma.

But we can. We can because much like Simba, we have an even greater Lion who not only stands with us, protecting and watching over us, and this Lion is victorious. He is victorious because He is also the Lamb who gave himself as a peace offering, restoring our relationship with God.

But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5, NLT

Jesus has the power to banish fear and triumph over death and sin. Jesus watches over you with his fierce protecting love. He demonstrated this fierce love as He hung on the cross, having laid down his life to take on the punishment for our sins and the sins of the world. The perfect Lamb of God. And there is nothing and no one that can snatch us away from him.

 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29, NLT

So how do we reflect the Lion and the Lamb?

We learn to roar like Emma. We stand firm and stare those fears and uncertainties right in the eye, knowing they are part of living in this broken world. Children die. Marriages end. Relationships wound. People disappoint.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33, NLT

But we don’t stop there. Read the end of John 16:33 again.

We take heart. That means we keep on keeping on, we plant our lives in truth, and we live encouraged because Jesus has overcome the world.

Jesus is victorious, and if we’re to reflect the fullness of His character, we choose to live in victory as well. We reflect the Lion and the Lamb when we choose to trust Him despite our feelings, our circumstances, or knowing the outcome. I believe we reflect Him most when we walk secure in His victory knowing He is with us each step of the way.

So while we may still feel the feeling of fear, let’s choose to stare fear straight in the eye and roar, knowing the Lion and the Lamb stands with us, protecting us believing His roar is louder and more powerful than anything that might come our way.

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 56:3-4, NLT

How can you choose to face your fears today to reflect the Lion and the Lamb? Join the conversation and jump over to our Facebook page or leave a comment below.

Loving a Friend Enough to Stand in the Gap

by //

How do you love a friend when it’s hard? That’s the question we’re answering here at Facets of Faith this month. Tracy and Jen started the conversation — be sure to check out their posts by clicking on their names.

For me (Kim)? Well, now it’s my turn.

I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my friends, especially those who loved me enough to stand in the gap when life got hard.

Sounds dramatic, but it’s true.

When my five-year-old daughter died from smoke inhalation in a fire that destroyed our home, and her dad lie in an ICU bed with injuries suffered from that fire, my world became the definition of a life turned hard.

Literally.

But my friends didn’t turn away from the destruction, they drew near and stood in the gap for me.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17, NIV

They loved me in practical ways like bringing diet pepsi and pretzels to a hospital 30 miles from home, simply because they knew I needed to eat and those were my favorite. They loved me as they spent the night in the waiting room of the hospital so I wouldn’t be alone if word came that my sweet Emma had died. They loved me as they told me it was okay to buy my favorite perfume to replace the one I lost in the fire, and then stood up for me after I chewed out a lady for not selling a particular perfume set that I wanted.

They loved me as they shopped with me for clothes my girls and I would wear to Emma’s funeral. Then, they loved me as they stood next to me as I stood next to her little casket.

My friends did more than those practical things . . . so much more. They comforted me with hugs and smiles and offered tender words of encouragement. They reminded me that I wasn’t alone, that I wasn’t forgotten.

My friends shared their strength as they sat and listened while I processed all that happened. They didn’t try to fix anything; life was simply too broken to fix. But they helped make it bearable, endurable, even if for a moment. They validated my tears and sorrow as they wept with me. When my life turned upside, they reminded me of all that was right-side up.

My friends prayed for me. They interceded and pleaded on my behalf, asking the Holy Spirit to minister to me in those deepest, darkest spaces where no one else could go, places no one else could see. Their prayers changed everything. They impacted my life in ways I won’t understand this side of heaven. I borrowed their faith when I had none.

I know this journey wasn’t easy on them. My friends were tired, downright exhausted. My life was messy, and that mess clung to them. There were days I wondered if they would give up on me, on the entire situation, days when they needed a break from the heaviness. I wondered because there were days when I wanted the exact. same. thing. A moment to breathe with the fullness of my lungs, without the weight of sorrow pressing me down.

There were days I longed for my weariness to end so my friends didn’t have to experience it with me. When I could pretend that life is okay and laugh away the minutes, all to give them a reprieve, to lighten their load.

But honestly, those days were few and far in between. Many days I didn’t feel like a very good friend. I felt, more often than not, I was that friend, the one who was difficult to love. Not because I was particularly difficult, but my circumstances sure were. And because they were, I didn’t have much to give back to my friends. I received so much more than I gave.

But these friends, these war buddies of mine, they didn’t give up even when it was hard. They stood in the gap and showered me with love — the life-giving, grace-filled love typically found in the pages of Scripture, but rarely in every day life quite like this. My friends? Oh, they loved me well. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, NIV

How do you love a friend when it’s hard? Have you ever been on the receiving end? Jump in and join the conversation below or over on our Facebook page.

The Ultimate Do Over – A Transformed Heart

by //

We’ve been chatting about the need for a do over here at Facets of Faith this month. Tracy and Jen started the conversation. Be sure to check out their thoughts! Now it’s my (Kim) turn but be sure to come back next week for a special guest!

I love singing and dancing movies. When my oldest daughter was little, we enjoyed many a rainy afternoon snuggled next to each other watching Sound of Music and Newsies, Meet Me in St. Louis and State Fair. Well, I sat as she sang and danced along.

So when news of Debbie Reynold’s death hit the internet a couple of weeks ago, my heart broke.

The unsinkable Molly Brown wasn’t so unsinkable after all.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown is, perhaps, one of my favorite musicals. It has all the makings of my favorite type of story: an underdog who gets a chance, an unlikely romantic match, and a huge obstacle that is ultimately overcome.

In this case, the obstacle was Molly Brown herself.

Molly needed a do over. She longed to fit in with Denver society but her past spoke louder than her manners and furthered the divide between herself and those with whom she longed for acceptance. So off she and her husband went to gain an education in Europe. She returned with new skills, new speech, new clothes, and even new friends.

The problem — you can take the girl out of the woods, but you can’t fully take the woods out of the girl. Her do-over ended up being skin deep, a behavioral change. When faced with choosing her old friends over some from Denver society . . . well, let’s just say the food fight was one of my favorite scenes. Afterwards, she became the talk of the town and was rejected . . . again. What she needed wasn’t a behavioral change, it was a heart change.

Have you ever done that? Known you need a do over, a second chance, only to find all you did was try to manage your actions?

You want to lose that last 25 pounds but work is so stressful, you cope with chocolate.

Your kids are in that season of constant need and attention and your frustration reveals its ugly head —loudly—more often than you care to admit.

That issue your friend last month, the one you thought was resolved? You heard she was talking about it with a mutual friend. Resentment crept in and you realized maybe you hadn’t forgiven like you thought. You had just kept quiet.

You know you need to make different choices. You try. You pray. You strive. You know you’re in need a do over but the idea of work is just. plain. exhausting.

There’s another story about a lady in desperate need of a do over, where her life, too, was the talk of the town. Rejected and avoided, she often traveled to the well outside of town at the hottest time of day just to avoid the whispers and looks.

But then she encountered someone who did more than try to manage her behavior, He changed her heart. The giver of the ultimate do over sat in front of her, asking for a drink of water, and she didn’t even see it coming.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19, NLT

But Jesus knew. He knew, He saw her, and He loved her enough to transform her.

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Luke 19:10, NLT

How did He create the ultimate do over in her life?

He spent time with her.

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’” John 4:7, NLT

He, a Jewish man, spoke to her, a Samaritan woman.

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.” John 4:9, NLT

He invited her to experience him.

But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14, NLT

He revealed her deepest secrets.

‘I don’t have a husband,’ the woman replied. Jesus said, ‘You’re right! You don’t have a husband – for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth.” John 4:17, NLT

He offered no condemnation but revealed Himself to her.

Then Jesus told her, ‘I AM the Messiah.’” John 4:26, NLT

Those words changed her life forever. She experienced the ultimate do-over. Jesus changed her heart that day by a simple encounter. No longer was she an outcast whom others avoided. “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possible be the Messiah?’ So the people came streaming from the village to see him.” John 4:28-29, NLT

Sure, some were curious. Maybe others went because they didn’t believe her and needed to see for themselves. Regardless of their motives, she experienced a do over because Jesus transformed her heart.

Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’” John 4:39, NLT

He offers this same encounter with us. All of it. Because a true do over in life is more than a behavior change, it’s about the transforming work that we cannot do on our own, in our strength. Only Jesus can.

Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT

Are you ready to allow Him to transform your heart?

Thanks for joining us this month at Facets of Faith. Comment below or check out our Facebook Page to start conversation threads there. Share the posts you love with your friends and family because that’s an excellent way to begin conversations in your personal circle!