Obedience Archives – Facets of Faith

What Do You Do When You Have a Giant Turkey in Your Life?

11.07.2017 by Tracy Stella //

Welcome to FACETS of Faith. Whether it’s your first visit to our pages or you are a regular reader, thank you for engaging! We pray God meets you across the pages of what He inspires us to write and share. Months in advance we ask for His direction. This month we felt led to explore difficult relationships. We all have them. How we handle them is what will define the amount of peace and joy we have in our lives. Since peace and joy is our prayer for you, our readers, we also pray God speaks to your heart and helps you have the best holiday season with friends and family!

Can you believe it? The holiday season is upon us. ALREADY. Someone told me the other day how many Fridays remain before Christmas. I won’t do that to you here. Who needs that kind of pressure?

As blessed as the holidays can be, aren’t they full of enough pressure all on their own?

Frankly, not everyone considers the holidays a blessing. Some wish it away like wind that brushes through the trees, stirring things up, desiring nothing more than for the leaves to safely settle back into place. When will this wind storm be over?

A number of years ago in a Bible study, I remember a person expressing sentiments like, I just wish the holidays were over already. I don’t like spending time with my family. They are full of drama, and the whole thing drains me dry.

Obviously, there is hurt and offense when that’s the place a person finds him or herself sitting. The Thanksgiving table (or conference room table) isn’t long enough to separate you from the person you perceive too difficult.

Your best hope seems to be to pray this thing will all be over. Quickly. Please God. Let it be over, so we can get back to normal life where we don’t have to deal with difficult people. Grin and bear it.

Can I challenge you a little on that?

Dealing with difficult people is a daily experience, because there are a lot of broken people in the world who often don’t even realize how they are impacting others.

If they do realize how they hurt others and continue to engage in that behavior, imagine how much they must be hurting inside to keep sabotaging relationships. The well of pain must run deep.

What does God ask us as believers?

If you call yourself a believer, we need to deal with people’s pain (including our own) in a different manner than that of the world.

Our flesh might want to fight back, to defend ourselves, to resist relationship because sometimes it feels too hard. But that’s not what God asks of us.

Actually, He’s not asking.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.─John 13:34 NLT

God commands us to love. Loving like Jesus calls us to isn’t easy. It’s not simple like buying a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Nope. More like being grateful that God has given us the capacity to love, because He LOVED US FIRST. Because He did and when we really grasp that, love gets a bit easier even through its difficulty.

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.─John 15:12 NLT

How has God loved you?

It’s an interesting question to consider: How has God loved you?

I encourage you to journal, asking God to help you explore all the ways He has loved you. Let’s each of us get His perspective on LOVE. Even those of us with the best of intentions on loving well, really can’t fully grasp how to love like God. Remember, His love is high and vast and wide and deep like it says in Ephesians.

But we can ask Him to help us understand and act in alignment with His love. He’ll hear it as a prayer and help us all learn to love one another better.

God wants that from and for us.

Why did He give Eve to Adam? God knew Adam needed a helper, someone to be in relationship with. But remember how they blamed each other when Satan and sin came into the equation? “It’s Satan’s fault.” “It’s Eve’s fault.” And where was Adam when he was supposed to be leading his family? Oh yeah, he wasn’t, and he didn’t take responsibility for his actions. Let’s not be like them. Finger pointing never helped anyone.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.─Ephesians 3:18-20 NLT

If there is one thing I’ve learned from my time here on planet earth, it is that most people do not grasp the love of Christ deep down in their hearts. If they did, people would act much kinder to one another. Kind even when we see life from opposite sides of the coin. Kind when we want to cry out. Kind when we wish our own heart wasn’t so broken. Loving each other doesn’t mean we will always agree. It means we’ll love each other anyhow. We’ll love each other with God’s power when ours is insufficient.

That means every day. Because no matter how huge your heart is and how motivated you are to love well, you just won’t be able to without God’s help. But rest assured, He’ll help you.

What is the relational game changer?

I believe the relational game changer is when we experience the love of Christ as Ephesians states. The EXPERIENCE of Christ is what allows me to love others. I don’t always execute on that perfectly, but my heart now is in the right place on that. And that’s a good start. I want to love well, because I have experienced the deep well of God’s love toward me.

Even as I understand His deep love for me, I want and need to understand it more. That understanding is important for me. It’s also imperative for everyone whose lives mine intersects.

God’s love is too great for any of us to fully understand. Too great! But I challenge you to try to grasp it anyhow. It’s a worthy pursuit.

Whose side are we on?

There’s power in loving well. When we love others well we take power away from the dominion of darkness. The enemy wants hearts to be full of hatred, anger, bitterness, enmity, offense, and unforgiveness. When we choose not to love well, we’re choosing to side with the enemy.

I know that statement sounds harsh. Sorry. Our behavior doesn’t change our position as a child of God. Our behavior doesn’t steal our salvation. But our lack of loving others well (or less than we are called to), does diminish our effectiveness for Christ. It also reduces the likelihood God can use us to the fullest of the potential He has placed within us.

What might be accomplished if we really grasped God’s love?

If every child of God more fully grasped how deeply God loves him or her, we wouldn’t have buildings large enough to house all the people flocking to get near our Shepherd. We’d be like Paul radically transformed by the love of Christ making impact beyond our imagination.

Isn’t that what the last part of our Ephesians scripture says?

through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.

Infinitely more.

What would happen in your church, your family, your community if you experienced God’s love more and then shared it with others? What are you imagining?

Now imagine infinitely more than that. Claim the promise. Infinitely more!

What does our experience of God require?

Once we grasp God’s love for us, our experience of His love requires a response. Our love for Him. Isn’t that how love works? A give and a receive needed from both parties invested in relationship. At its best, yes.

In Jesus’ words: “If you love me, obey my commandments.”─John 14:15 NLT

Perhaps when we love well (and when we don’t) God is showing us something about ourselves. Where are those places within each of us He still needs to touch? Is God showing you a past wound in need of healing? Is He showing you a place in need of restoration? Is He helping to equip you for a new assignment? Does He need you to look at something within, so He can use you and your gifting for more than you can think or imagine?

to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.

What blessing does God have for you this holiday season?

Are you willing to love well to find out?

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them .”─John 14:21 NLT

Do you desire to know God more? More personally? Do you desire God to reveal Himself to you? When we are busy loving others, rest assured He will reveal Himself to us.

When I seek Him with intention to love others well, He whispers loud. He leads the way. He says, “This will bless.” “This one will feel loved when you write this.” “This one needs a hug. Go give her one.”

If you want to see God more in your life, love others. He’ll be sure to reveal Himself. Remember, He’s always there, right next to you, within you, all around. But we can see Him best when we are looking in love toward Him and others. When we do, we are blessed in the process. His plan is beautiful.

My prayer for you is that you will live a blessed, beautiful life full of God’s love for yourself and that you share it with others. Sweet, pure, and powerful love. Love illuminates God’s glory. When we love God and love others well, perhaps there is no higher form of praise we can give Him.

I’ll leave you with Paul’s words to the church of Corinth.

Paul said, “I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.”─2 Corinthians 8:8 NLT

Are you eager to accept Paul’s challenge?

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

How Can We Say Yes?

10.04.2016 by Tracy Stella //

I (Tracy) pondered the question How can we say yes and concluded—it depends. How we say yes is completely dependent upon the season of life we are in.

How I say yes and what I say yes to isn’t the same today as it was six months ago, and it won’t look the same a year from now. Life isn’t stagnant; it’s ever-changing. God’s always doing something new and different, so I can’t get too stuck in my ways. I want to follow what I sense is His leading and step where He’s asking. I have to let go of routine and be willing to follow a different route.

Sometimes that’s scary.

Sometimes that’s exhilarating.

Sometimes it’s a bit of both.

I’m glad God looks at the heart and isn’t waiting to drop the gauntlet when I drop the ball. He doesn’t cry foul and sit me on the sidelines. Game over. Oh, if I were trying to pull a fast one, He might sideline me. We can’t get one past God. But His nature is merciful. He knows we’ll mess things up from time-to-time. He lets us take the shot anyhow. It’s how we learn. It’s how we grow. Experience is a good teacher.

I’ve said yes to God for big and little things. Not always, mind you. Fortunately, God has worked in my life in such a way that I want to. The desire to say yes to God wells up in my heart, like the joy that overflows when I follow Him.

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.—Acts 15:8 NIV

While God knows experience is a good teacher; more importantly, He’s given us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us along the way. We’re not left to flounder on our own. With the Trinity supporting us, there are definitely some long shots we can make. You know the kind. It’s an adrenaline-filled gym, the game is tied with only a few seconds left. A player thinks to herself, what do I have to lose? I’m going to take the shot. It might go in. SWISH! The buzzer goes off. The crowd shouts in exhilaration, celebrating the game-winning shot!

We’ll never miss the shot we don’t take.

On the other hand, we won’t make the shot either. We can live a lukewarm life, or we can live one sold out to all the adventure God calls us to. His imagination is limitless. He’s packed a whole lot of potential into His kids, each and every one. How that manifests looks different individually. The shot He has you take won’t be the same shot He asks me to take. God doesn’t need clones. He wants us to pursue Him and the unique calling He pre-established for each of us.

Did you catch what our verse said? He’s accepted us. Flaws included. They give us a little character is all. Our imperfections are part of what make us different from one another. They also serve to keep us humble and dependent on God.

It took me awhile to get to the place of dependence, and it took me awhile longer to begin to grasp what that means. Not knowing. Not feeling adequate. In over my head may just be the very best place to be. I know I can’t, so I cling to God.

Do you want to know what else? As great of a ballplayer as Michael Jordan was, he missed 12,345 shots during his NBA career.₁ But that’s not what he’s known for, is it? He was in the game. He took the shot. Even after he missed. Misses and makes, they’re both part of the game. Champions are willing to miss a shot in order to make some.

The clock is ticking. I have nothing to lose. Maybe I should take the shot. Am I right, ladies? We have a limited amount of time to bring God’s kingdom here on earth, and there will be plenty of others God will call to participate. However, our ability to engage in the activity is limited. Life may seem long, but in reality, the days and years slip past quickly. The image reflected in my mirror serves to remind me. Where did that fresh-faced 20-something go?

That image has been replaced by a woman who loves Jesus, doesn’t always know what she’s doing, has learned a few lessons the hard way, and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than right where she is today. I know that’s where God is—with me in this present moment. Immanuel.

I have wrinkles – some from laughing too hard, others are grief etched permanently on my face. All the lines intersect, making me who I am today: the woman who wants to say yes to Jesus. What He has for me is worth taking the shot.

How can we say yes to God? We can allow God to grow our desire to want to. Our ability to say “yes” is rooted in our heart. It’s where the will to want to is born. As God grows our desire to want to we’ll be motivated to say “yes” when He asks us to take a shot.

How has God helped you want to say yes?

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

₁ http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/10-players-who-have-missed-the-most-shots-in-nba-history.html/?a=viewall

How Is My Life Different Because Of My Faith?

03.01.2016 by Tracy Stella //

If there is one thing I (Tracy) have learned about my faith it’s this: God’s faithfulness helped grow it. He took me from a place of despair and called me to believe—to believe in Him. He asked me to trust Him, a difficult task in the beginning. Others had broken my trust. Would God too?

Much later I would learn and agree with George Mueller’s words: “I say—and say it deliberately—trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.”¹

Difficult circumstances led me to seek the Lord. My life added up to one miserable equation. Home sweet home demolished by a bomb that set off a chain reaction. I didn’t think I could withstand it. I wanted to throw in the towel and proclaim, “Game over”!

But God threw me a lifeline instead.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

One of my first big acts of faith was this: to believe there was something to hope for in my future. Circumstances said give up. God wanted me to keep going. Would I believe God and His Word when hope felt beyond my reach?

Hope feels brave when there’s no basis to believe it.

It is much more difficult to walk in faith those first early steps. I didn’t yet have years of God’s faithfulness to reflect upon.

Those first steps toward my hopeful future felt like they were taking me to the edge of a cliff. No parachute to help me glide to safety. What if faith stretched me so far out of my comfort zone I landed somewhere I didn’t want to be? Then what?

The “X” which marked the safe drop zone seemed far off. I couldn’t see it.

Faith has nothing to do with probabilities. The providence of faith begins where probabilities cease and sight and sense fail.¹

My life is much different because of faith. Somehow, seemingly impossible, here I sit enthroned with a crown of righteousness. The mere belief of righteousness in the face of my own sin an act of faith as well.

But that’s where faith gains traction. When we know we have right standing with God … that’s a game changer!

Right standing with God gives liberty to live our lives as God intended. We’re able to toss off all that hinders and stand with our head held high where once our eyes averted. If our eyes aren’t focused on what God sees, we’re focusing on the wrong image.

God shows me what He sees in me in a tender, merciful fashion. Faith has taught me that.

I have courage where I once held cowardice.

Because God is who He says He is, I can be brave enough to look my sin square in the face and deal with it. Before faith was forged in me, I’d never done that. Now I know if He asks me to peer into my sinful nature, it’s for my own good, and faith says, “Trust God. He is gentle in His reprimand when we are genuine in our repentance.”

I couldn’t change what I was unwilling to look at. Once I did (and do), I received deliverance. Sin no longer hidden brings freedom from what hinders.

Faith has given me courage to dream again. I have a beautiful life. It’s not without its difficulties, but God has shown me faith floods our lives with blessings too. He carries me from one adventure to another, and it’s so much fun. Contrary to what some in the world might think, faith is not boring. It is adrenalin filled when we are full of possibilities in Christ.

There are times in my life when I wonder What on earth am I doing and how did I get here? Walking by faith can lead us to some amazing places. It requires obedience to get to that spot God marks out for us. “X. Right here, My daughter.” Obedience isn’t always easy (even if it should be), but it gets easier the longer we walk in faith.

Beyond all those benefits of faith (and I know there are many I haven’t mentioned) God has shown me He was so very faithful to His promise from Jeremiah 29:11. He has given me a future far beyond anything I could have imagined.

Faith has helped me take bold action based on God’s wisdom. His power encourages me to do more with what He’s given. Not striving. In His strength, I carry out my calling.

Gone is the cowardly woman who often roared because of pain in her depths. In her place sits a lioness rising into her calling more each day. Today, I find myself stepping into a mission to penetrate the darkness.

Faith has brought me to a place where I will be fighting for God’s daughters against the oppression of human trafficking. I would never have thought I would be sent on that mission. But then again, that’s what faith can do.

Join the conversation. How has God asked you to step out in faith? How is God asking you to respond to His call to faith today? How will your life be different when you do?

¹Mueller, George, and A. Sims. George Mueller: Man of Faith. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2005.