God relents when people repent

I just love the witness of the prophet Jonah. My favorite part of his experience is when, in utter anger, he told the Lord, “I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.” (Jonah 4:2) If you’ve read the Old Testament account, then you’ll know why Jonah was so upset. He basically accused the Lord of being a God who relents when people repent. He said, “I knew You’d do this. I knew You would forgive these Ninevites and show them mercy. That’s the very reason I didn’t want to come to this place and obey you.” In my humble estimation, the fact that God relents when we repent sounds like something to celebrate. But when the truth of God’s grace applied to a people Jonah despised (particularly after he prophesied God’s wrath against them at God’s own demand), Jonah despaired unto death. It can be tempting to despair when we see the blessings of God’s relenting in the life of someone we dislike (or someone who has wronged us). But our hearts should be encouraged when we see the favor of God on that person’s life. For in this we know that His heart is the same toward us. He stands ever ready to relent when we repent also.

What amazes me is how convinced Jonah was about the goodness of God’s heart. He had absolutely no doubt that God would be gracious and full of compassion. May we know such conviction! The Message translates Jonah 4:2 this way: He yelled at GOD, “GOD! I knew it--when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!”

Perhaps you need to be reminded today that God relents when you repent. He longs for you to run to Him, confess sin, and receive His forgiveness and cleansing. He desires to lavish His love on you every moment of every day. Nothing you have done, no matter how sinful, can separate you from God’s love. You can be sure of that!

Romans 8:38-39
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gracious Father, thank You that You always forgive. Thank You that You love us no matter what. May our souls ever rejoice in You, our Daddy God, who are slow to anger and teaming with love toward us. We bless You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Barb and Yerusha

The Heartbeat of God

A friend recently shared with me about a heart transplant surgery that she watched years ago on one of those real-life-in-the-E.R. shows. It was simply fascinating. As she shared, I visualized with a sense of wonder how the surgical team redirected the patient’s blood flow through a machine and removed his heart. Then they retrieved the “new” heart that had been preserved in a cooler of ice and connected it in the patient. After everything was reconnected, one of the surgeons leaned in close and began to tap the heart with his index finger. The surgeon tapped a steady rhythm on the heart to get it to start beating again. For several moments, the heart beat with an irregular rhythm. But as the surgeon continued his steady tapping, the heartbeat conformed to his rhythm. My friend commented that those moments were amazing and beautiful to her. The Holy Spirit ministered to her through watching this surgery that she needed Him to tap her heart to beat with the rhythm of His love for her.

Have you ever considered that God’s love has a rhythm, a heartbeat? His love’s rhythm is meant to be a steady influence on the pattern of our living. Just like our heartbeat needs to be steady for all things within our physical body to function properly, God’s love needs to be a steady influence within our souls for all things in our spiritual life to function properly. Scripture declares that God is love, and Jesus is called the Son of His love. Jesus taught that the greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Scripture goes on to say that we love Him because He first loved us. God’s ultimate destiny for our lives is that His unfailing love pulsate within us and influence all that we are, all that we feel, all that we think, all that we say, and all that we do.

I wonder what would have happened had the surgeon not tapped a steady rhythm on the transplanted heart. Would it ever have beat as desired? This surgeon knew that regardless of the many hours of surgery and the skill of the surgical team, in the end, the critical need was to retrain this vessel to beat as designed. And with the whole team watching, the surgeon calmly began the process of gently reminding the heart of its destiny. Patiently he tapped the life-sustaining rhythm into existence. And all celebrated!

Like this surgeon, God knows exactly what retraining is needed in each of our lives. We are vessels designed to house and minister His Holy Presence. Is the Lord leading you into a process of being gently reminded of your destiny in Him? Will you yield to His rhythm? Know that He will calmly and patiently tap the life-sustaining rhythm of His Love into your existence. And all will celebrate!

1 Kings 8:58 (Message)
May he keep us centered and devoted to him, following the life path he has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors.

(NKJV) that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.

1 Samuel 13:14
…The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart…

Blessed Father, I pray that You tap Your will into our life. We yield to our destiny in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Barb and Yerusha

Air

This summer, Tim, a 12-year-old friend of our family, joined us for a day of swimming. Although he was excited, he was extremely cautious about the deep end of the pool and would not use the diving board. Having once been a Life Guard, I felt compelled to provide a bit of instruction. I explained to Tim how when our lungs are filled with air, they behave like a ball. I demonstrated this lesson first by holding a ball underwater and letting it go. The ball darted to the surface. Air being lighter than water has to rise. Then I took a deep breath and dove to the bottom of the pool. While I stayed motionless, my body surfaced, lungs first. I also showed the effect of empty lungs, which is staying on the bottom of the pool. Armed with this information, the day progressed excitedly for Tim who demonstrated more and more confidence, eventually diving from the diving board!

Just when Tim thought it couldn’t have gotten any better than this (because now he’d be able to keep up with his friends in their local pool), my husband Bob entered the scene. As Tim watched Bob swim lengths of the pool underwater without coming up for air, he commented in awe about how long Bob could hold his breath. So Bob began to instruct him that while underwater, if he periodically released a small amount of air from his lungs, the air remaining in his lungs would last him longer. The reason behind this phenomenon, Bob explained, is that as you hold your breath, the oxygen gets converted into carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide expands the lungs and creates pressure to be released, hence the feeling that you have to get more air. I wasn’t really sure how much of all that Tim actually understood, but he was willing to give it a try. And when he tried, he DID in fact stay underwater longer, with much more ease than before. As Tim emerged from the water with a big smile, Bob congratulated him for his effort and said: “It’s all about how you manage the air that you have to breathe with.”

As I consider Tim’s two lessons, I am reminded of lines from a worship song that say: “This is the air I breathe, Your Holy Presence living in me. And I’m desperate for You. And I’m lost without You.” How well we navigate within the pools of life, and how much fun we have doing so, is all about how we manage the Air we have to breathe with. In John 20, we see Jesus breathe on the disciples and tell then to receive the Holy Spirit. Job tells us that the breath of the Almighty gives us life and understanding. As seen in the lives of the disciples and Job, sometimes circumstances can try to sink us to the bottom. These are the times when we take a deep breath of the Holy Spirit and rise above opposing forces. There are other times when we must maneuver for a season below the water’s surface, when we must engage a challenge head-on. In those times, we strategically exhale a little at a time so that the Air remaining in us does not become polluted pressuring us to end the quest prematurely. Consider how Jesus managed the Air He had to breathe with during His time on this earth. Remember when He was tempted in the wilderness by the adversary? Luke 4:1 says that being filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. In Matthew 4, we see the series of the evil one’s attacks on Jesus’ identity and devotion to the Father. Jesus responded to each attack by releasing Truth, a small amount at a time, ultimately overcoming the enemy’s temptations and being restored by ministering angels.

John 20:21-22
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Job 32:8
But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Father God, You are the air we breathe, and we are desperate for You. We are lost without You. Reveal to us, dear Lord, how to manage Your Holy Presence within us. Help us to trust that as we fill ourselves up with You, we will rise. Cause our days to progress excitedly as we demonstrate more and more confidence in the life and understanding that You faithfully breathe into us. In Christ’s Name, amen.

Barb and Yerusha

More Than Just a Name

When I check my email and I see the name of my covenant friend in my inbox, my heart tenderly flutters. Had I read her name on a page or heard someone say it before meeting her, it would have meant nothing at all to me. And had I received an email from her prior to our meeting, I would likely have deleted it without even reading it. But now that I’ve met the person behind the name, the name means something very special to me. And as I get to know her more, the name grows sweeter and sweeter to me. People could have told me how wonderful she is, but until I encountered her myself, my response would not have been remotely what it is since we’ve met. Now that I’m in personal experience with the person, I can attest to the wonder.

This is how it is with Jesus. To many, He’s merely a name on a page, or a sound on another’s lips. Reading the name on a page or hearing someone say it, before one has had a personal encounter with the Person behind The Name, it remains merely “a name.” Messages get deleted without even being read; and responses to testimonies about the Person are dismissive. I, for one, can personally attest to this behavior. I can remember completely glossing over comments about being healed and testimonies to His wonder. I can remember not caring one bit about such discussions and even going to some effort to avoid them. But I’ve had the experience, and I can now attest to the wonder. My heart has been opened to His love, and my responses have changed! I now know the yearning Believers can have to invite others into the Kingdom; and I know the disinterest that others can have towards being invited. I also know with certainty that this interest can and does change.

Once a heart personally experiences Jesus, wow! He becomes committed. She begins to trust. They learn to love. Their hearts flutter at His name. But before these things can happen, they must meet the Person behind “the name.” Believers can help whet the appetite for the introduction, and our Father assigns the Harvest. Only after encountering the Person will the name become The Name that inspires awe and changes lives. For we know that at The Name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Have you encountered the Person behind the name? Jesus is truly more than just a name. He is an eternal experience; and once you meet Him, you will never be the same.

Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Glorious Lord, may our hearts ever flutter at the wonder of You. Help us to go deeper in our experience of You and know intimately the Person behind The Name. In Your Matchless Name, we pray. Amen.

Barb and Yerusha

Mindless

Not long ago on a particular Monday, I was very busy trying to assemble things for an upcoming presentation. I had very much to do and was driving hard to achieve my goals. I needed my Administrative Assistant to help me with something so I walked out to her desk, but she wasn’t there. I stood there for a minute trying to decide whether to leave her a note or come back later. As I pondered my options (which lasted only a few seconds), I grabbed 3 peanut M&Ms from a big jar of “community” candy that she has near her desk. I decided to come back later and returned to my office. I was still chewing the M&Ms when I arrived back in my office and was instantly reminded of the mindless behavior that I had just exhibited.

You see, earlier this year I started a 40-Monday fast. (I am fasting all but water-based drinks for 40 Mondays.) It has been a good experience to help me refocus on Jesus at the beginning of each week. Any time I feel hungry, I think of our Lord and am completely sustained. In this instance, however, I didn’t think of Him or me or anything – I completely absentmindedly ate 3 peanut M&Ms. My behavior was totally mindless. I went about the activity with no thought about what I was doing what-so-ever. I was shocked that I could have done that. Then I wondered how often I do before I think, or more importantly, before I ask Jesus.

I recognized that I go about my days this way sometimes – absentmindedly. Instead of making a deliberate decision, periodically I simply respond to a subliminal impulse. If the Holy Spirit orchestrates our subliminal impulses, then it is good to obey without much thought. Scripture warns us, however, to be mindful of everything we do; for it doesn’t take much mindlessness for the enemy of our souls to gain a foothold in our lives. Let’s stay on guard and think before we do. And when we’re not sure of God’s will, let’s make sure to ask Him first.

Ephesians 4:17-19 (Message)
And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself.

Ephesians 5:16-17 (NLT)
Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 (Message)
At the same time, don’t be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren’t as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone’s feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.

Proverbs 13:16 (NLT)
Wise people think before they act; fools don’t and even brag about it!

Dear Lord, thank You that You give us wisdom and understanding. I pray that You will help us stay mindful of Your marvelous ways and think before we act. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Barb and Yerusha