truth Archives – Page 6 of 6

How has God Changed Your Perspective on…Yourself?

05.10.2016 by Jennifer Howe //

May’s question at FACETS comes for me (Jennifer) at the perfect time: How has God changed your perspective about yourself? I’ve recently spent extended time in reflection and self-evaluation. I recommend we all take that kind of precious quiet time to answer this question. Are you up for it? (I hope you are! And I hope you share links to your own reflections in the comments if you put them out there for the world to see.)

It’s incredibly difficult to escape my own perspective. I know I’d answer this question differently in each age and stage of life, and the responses would be flavored with the season I was steeping in. Or—maybe I can see more clearly for just a pair of minutes. How is that possible? (I’m pretty sure we’ve all got to get out of our own heads in order for it to happen.)

My first thoughts swirl through my mind. My initial perspective was that I hadn’t changed much, at least not in the ways I’d hoped or thought. Not all the bad habits were broken. Not all the good ones stuck. In a bad moment, I might wonder what “new creation in Christ” really means. When my mind goes there, I’m halfway home. To see things clearly, I need to find truth in the Scriptures!

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! 2 Corinthians 5:17 CJB

This translation helped clarify expectations. Somehow I thought I should be something of an Extreme Makeover (God edition). When my perspective required God to deliver on my perceived promises with a magic wand, there was bound to be trouble! Suddenly, there was a broken deal. There wasn’t some kind of “new Jen” from what I could see.

But look! I am “part of the new creation,” and I believe “the old things” and “new things” are laid out for me to discover in God’s truthful Word. That simply means the ultimate truth, the ultimate authority in life, is the truth from my Abba’s lips! (From his heart to the page to my mind and heart!) I begin with truth and add one thing more.

You may know I have written in my little corner of the Blogosphere at Fragrant Grace. There has always been irony in the name (I can’t smell scents very keenly, and I have always wrestled with black-white, not-so-gracious thoughts, words, and actions). When I took a deeper look at my perspective on myself, grace was the beautiful, bold-italic font the truth was written in. When I scrawled my own “truths” about me in my own handwriting, the problem was obvious: I vandalized God’s words with my own (minimizing or eliminating his truth and grace).

So, now you might be a little curious. What exactly did I hear during my time in the Word, from precious others, and from the Holy Spirit?

The whispers of my Father…

You are strong. Surviving everyday life sometimes requires endurance and a little muscle. The good, the bad, and the “Oh, my goodness!” moments in life change you. When you submit it all to Me, then I grant the strength you need. Remember “I lift my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD” (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV).

Your eyes are special. You see beauty where others don’t; you see beauty in the broken things. Beauty is actually woven into the “fabric” of Jen (creative graphics, drawings, and even your penmanship). You were created to see and unveil the beauty Abba has created. Isaiah 61:1-3 is real. Here or hereafter, there will be beauty!

You think. Continually. Sometimes you do that well, and when you do, that reflects the beautiful mind of God who knit you together before you had a single thought to think. When you taught Introductory Logic this year, you learned that “not all” means “some.” Some of the habits have changed. Some of the habits have stuck. That’s grace, baby!

Your yeses have often yielded amazing opportunities! When you see something I am doing (and participate in that), incredible things happen. You have learned to say YES! Years ago you gave more nos to protect yourself, your time, and your resources. You now look to see what the Spirit may be doing and what he may be saying. You’re learning to pause and try to find the yeses—the things I prepared for you.

And then the truth of the Bible speaks…

[Y]ou are precious and honored in my sight, and…I love you… Isaiah 43:4

Psalm 139 (Reminds me of how intimately he knows me, and how much he loves me!)

He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the execution-stake.
Colossians 2:14 CJB

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

It’s really true, and there is enough grace…

(There’s the perspective shift!)

I am made (“fearfully and wonderfully,” as Psalm 139:14 says) to love and be loved, to see and unveil beauty, and to find the yeses that will respond to what God is doing and saying in the everyday moments in life.

Stepping back, getting quiet, and reading the truth was the beginning of changing my perspective. Pausing and listening to others and the voice of the Spirit was the beginning of the grace infusion I desperately needed. The process has been an amazing experience. And the words have the significant weight of truth and the beauty of grace.

TRUTH and Grace.

And I can see me with fresh perspective.

Thanks for reading along, friends!

Why not answer the question, too—How has God changed your perspective on yourself? Share in the comments below or at our Facebook Page.

Scripture sourced from www.biblestudytools.com.

Growing Faith: Seasons and Perspectives

03.08.2016 by Jennifer Howe //

I (Jennifer) labored over the topic of faith for this post. I’m not sure how to describe the seasons and my ever-growing understanding of faith. I define it like this—

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. Hebrews 11:1 CSB

Faith can be as easy as sitting in a chair, knowing it will hold the weight; but it can seem as complex as stepping out of the boat onto the waves driven by strong winds (Matthew 14:21-33). How are these two scenarios related? It’s the unknown factor in both. The chair may not hold me. I may not walk on the waves; I might even drown. I’ve yet to suffer a panic attack over a chair, but the waves…those could terrify me.

My faith has been like that. Simple chairs. Crashing waves.

Faith requires following through when we can’t see the path we’ll take or the destination.

My experience of faith is like that. When I first began to live with God, I was happy to trust Jesus with my laundry list of sins. It was long and ugly. I had obviously offended God with my decisions if I just looked at the “Big Ten” in Exodus 20. My Bible showed every kind of proof that Jesus could be trusted with my sin. Through trust in Jesus’ payment at the cross I could have peace with the holy, perfect God.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 CSB (emphasis mine)

But, could I trust the Father with my “somewhere out there eternity” and my life? Life decisions are tiny and moment-by-moment—and they are monumental every so often. Can He be trusted with everything? This is all about the waves!

At the crux of it are two straightforward, difficult decisions: trust Jesus with your sins at the cross for the saving of your life and trust Him with more and more life choices for the direction and course correction of your life.

Having only a vague idea where each decision may land but making the decision based in biblical truth anyway—that’s faith. For some, that’s embarking on an exciting adventure. For others, it’s a frightening look at the waves, wondering if they will bear the weight. Faith is like that.

Something you should know is that I can be happy in the land of obvious, easy black and white. In one season of life I thought my faith was like that: things should fit neatly in the right-wrong or good-bad extreme categories. That feels easy when the discussion is about lying, stealing, and murder. It’s troubling when a beer, a tattoo, or junk food becomes the topic of conversation. I held strong, self-assured opinions, and I forced my perspectives and stark contrasts on others. I’m not proud of it. That had little to do with biblical faith.

And then God did something new.

One of many beautiful, golden threads woven into the fabric of faith is grace. Someone pointed out graceless words flowing from my heart, and I was stunned. Admittedly, my black-white paradigm was often unloving and uncaring when I talked with others.

“As a Christian, you can’t do THAT! You’re sinning!”

I couldn’t argue with the evidence. I had once cherished the grace upon grace I read about in the Bible, but I began to overlook the lovely gracious words to focus on the hard, “no wiggle room” truth. In my eyes, the scales of truth and justice became much larger than the distant, old, wooden cross.

Faith decisions only came out of extremes, rather than asking important questions—What does God have to say about this for me? What true and loving thing does He say about this for the people of God?

That season was longer and sadder than I’d like to admit, but by God’s grace I was drawn back to the Word of God again. Out of that precious time came a little known place in the blogosphere: Fragrant Grace.

That’s when faith, truth, and grace intertwined. So precious!

Then a new season began to take hold—the season I’m waking to and discovering now.

Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27a

When I remember Jesus’ incredible, loving sacrifice on the cross, it starts to get real. I accept the benefits of the blood of Jesus and His name as my identity confidently now and forever. As a daughter of God something in my heart, mind, words, and actions starts to look different (even if it’s far from perfect!). I’m not doing anything as if I earn points, but I do it because I love the One who assigned infinite value to my life by dying for me. I begin to want to live a life worthy of the God who saved me from myself and my sin. It’s a bit more bold and a little louder. Why? Because rightly placed and understood faith makes an eternal difference for me—and for every single soul on earth. And because I’m not sure the unseen, private faith turns out to be any faith at all.

Thanks for reading! Join the conversation about faith in the comments below. We’d love to hear about your journey toward a vibrant faith. Don’t forget to share FACETS on Facebook and Twitter!

Finding Hope in Life’s Storms

02.16.2016 by Kim Findlay //

Hi! Welcome to FACETS of Faith! We’re in the final week of sharing a brief glimpse into our life stories. It’s our hope that as you read through ours, God will reveal a thread of truth through your own.

I love stories. Moving a lot as a child, my books and stories were constant companions regardless of where I lived. I could plunge into a mystery with Nancy Drew or go on an adventure through the wardrobe with Lucy and her siblings. I even remember my very first favorite book. I was three and loved to read Hamilton Duck’s Springtime Story with my mom. It was a gripping tale of a duck who fell asleep under a magnolia tree only to wake and think he was stuck in a snowstorm right in the middle of spring. Hamilton eventually realized he wasn’t stuck in a storm, but (spoiler alert!) magnolia petals as they fluttered down from the tree.

I remember being pulled into the story, wondering alongside Hamilton how in the world it could snow in spring. My mom read the story to me so many times I eventually knew which words went with which pictures and could “read” it back to her. But even though I knew the story, I still felt joy with Hamilton when he figured out it wasn’t snowing after all.

I love when stories do that: when we’re pulled in by the details of the story and feel what the characters feel and see what the characters see. I’m surprised when they’re surprised and feel fearful when they’re afraid. It’s a thrill and yet dangerous all at the same time. I zero in on what’s happening, and often lose sight of the bigger picture.

Kind of like Hamilton.

Truth be told, that happens to me in life, too. I get so wrapped up in the details of my life that I almost miss the bigger story God is writing.

I look at my life and see very clear chapters . . . maybe volumes: my childhood, teen years, early mamahood, a blended family, until . . . tragedy struck through the death of my youngest daughter followed years later by a heart-wrenching divorce.

It would’ve been easy to stay stuck there, mired in those details. To gaze at that part of my story and only see the snow, just like Hamilton the duck. I could’ve remained in the sorrow and grief, allowing it to consume me, define me.

And yet . . .

Through those devastating years I learned there was an Author who had been writing my story all along, allowing the good and the bad as He worked to accomplish a greater plan.

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 11b-12a, NIV

“‘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

I learned that God is good, regardless of my circumstances. In fact the heartbreak, the sorrow, and the sadness all seemed to highlight His goodness, not as the world defines good, but as Scripture defines it.

“Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, NLT

And oh, how I have seen His goodness! No, my precious daughter no longer walks this earth, and my heart yearns to hold her once more. But until that day, the sweetness of God’s comfort through those moments of sorrow gives me the strength to wait.

He has provided deep friendships and loving relationships. He shifted my perspective from the details of my circumstances to see the bigger plan He is creating and how my story fits that plan.

He has gifted me with a heart of hope—not in circumstances but hope in believing God is who He says He is and will do all He says He will do. He allowed me to experience the darkest moments a human can: staring death through the eyes of my daughter, as He revealed His love to me even in that—the stuff of nightmares. His deep, abiding, lavish love that knows no bounds or limits.

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17, NLT

And now? Now He is redeeming those years of broken hearts and shattered dreams. He’s revealing the work He’s done in me in order to pour out His grace through me so I can encourage others to find hope and healing through seasons of loss. I’m able to create safe space for people to hear that facing our worst nightmares may be our reality but He is bigger, He is stronger, He is with us, and He is victorious!

Then one day, when the time on earth has come to an end, God promises that everything we hoped for, everything we longed for, all of our brokenness will be fully healed.

“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’” Revelation 21:3-4 NLT

And then we’ll see that the snowstorm in our lives just might become fluttering magnolia petals, just like Hamilton.