God Makes Us Competent
And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. — 2 Corinthians 3:3-6
This piece of Scripture is something God showed me the beginning of the year when I was praying and fasting. As the year has progressed, I’ve found myself becoming dependent upon its reassurance that my competence in my ministry, in my writing, and in my marriage and family all come from God.
I fall short on a daily basis but knowing that my sufficiency (or adequacy) comes from God is such and relief and comfort! I don’t have to be perfect in order for God to use me in the lives of those around me.
Jesus writes the story of salvation on our hearts. That is the story He asks us to live out and share on a daily basis. And God gives us everything we need to do it.
I know I need constant reminding of this. I have this verse written and bookmarked in my journal for frequent reference as a reminder of who’s really in control and to use in my prayers asking God to help me meet the challenges in my life. This is part of the hope we have in Jesus. He is everything and all we need.
What piece of Scripture reassures you?
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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God’s Umbrella
One morning an interesting thought struck me. All our trials and sufferings fall under the umbrella of God’s protection, but beneath that covering they diverge into two areas: consequences and circumstances.
Consequences are the result of our poor choices. Sometime we just make mistakes. It’s inevitable. Sometimes God allows us to experience them in order to learn from our mistake so that we can make better choices next time. We don’t like being in this place, but we learn and grow. And our character is strengthened.
Circumstances describes those events that upon first glance seem to come out of the blue and can even seem unfair (think of Job). We did not cause the difficult situation by making poor choices, and we have little to no control over it. They just happen. God allows these times to mold us, to teach us vital understanding, emotions, and spiritual lessons, which He will call upon in the future. This is when massive connections are forged between past, present, and future. These are the experiences that God often uses to minister to others and bring comfort (2 Corinthians 1).
Both sides converge together in a metaphorical handle in the shape of obedience and trust. In the middle (at the shaft) both feel the same to us, and sometimes we are unsure which side we are on. Spending time with God and in his Word is even more vital at these times.
In the end, the results are the same no matter which side we’re on, and we’ll inevitably be on both sides at various times. But we have the promise that God works for our good regardless of whether the situation is due to consequences or circumstances (Romans 8:28). We can choose to stay under the umbrella and learn what God is teaching, or stray and get extremely wet, downtrodden, and lost.
So if you’re in the rain, run back under God’s umbrella. It’s the best place to find God’s grace, mercy, and unconditional love.
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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Character Builders
If you’ve even driven in California traffic then you probably know how frustrating it can be at times. I find myself most aggravated when I’m trying to merge onto the freeway and a car won’t let me in. Never fails to bring the ranter out in me. Do these people not know the rules of the road, which clearly state to yield to those merging into traffic?
Grrr….
Well, I had one of those days last week and my daughter was in the car with me. I got particularly vocal on this one and even punched my horn. That car just wouldn’t let me over and I was about to get forced to exit!
The only way in is to slow down and let the car pass me, which makes me even more nervous because merging in too slow is dangerous. Never-the-less, I finally get onto the freeway.
Our conversation about it went something like this:
“I hate it when people do that!” I glance over at my daughter, who’s 17 and sitting there with a rather serene smile on her face. Okay, what gives? Does she not see how unfair that was?
My daughter speaks. “Mom, I think God let’s that happen to you on purpose so you’ll learn to handle it better.”
Ouch… “Really? You think so?”
“Yeah, I do. I’ve noticed that lately. For me it’s people. God puts difficult people in my life a lot so I have to learn to deal with them better. I’m choosing to see it that way now.”
Um…wow…just 17, right? I told my daughter I believed she was absolutely right. God does allow those things that we struggle with to come into our lives a lot to bring growth. They’re character builders and God is most definitely interested in building our character.
This experience brought me to more reflection too. If you have adult or nearly grown children you may have noticed that they wind up facing challenges you may have tried to help them grasp, yet they just didn’t seem to get it.
They both have come to me with frustrations in dealing with a person or situation that was exactly what I had tried to deal with them. They now stood in my shoes whether they realized it or not. And I didn’t even have to say a thing. This just showed me how faithful God is and that he cares about our children’s character as much if not more than we do.
What an amazing circle life can be. Whether adult or child, God will use whatever He needs to build our character. He’s much more concerned about who we are than what we do for Him.
Deep food for thought…what ways do you see God trying to build your character?
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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A Universal Theme
One of my passions is writing fiction. In a writer’s world we are the masters of the pen (actually a computer keyboard but that didn’t sound as cool). We create these characters through various techniques and tell them what to do.
But then they take on a life of their own and begin to tell us what the story is about. This can be quite fascinating, like sitting at movie, watching the story unfold. Other times it’s frustrating because these life-like characters make bad choices or behave poorly (there’s always at least one), resisting our intended purpose for them.
When I think of writing like this, I wonder about what God must see. We are like the characters of His story, created with His purpose in mind. Yet we have free will and the ability to choose poorly or wisely.
God gives us that room, though I know we must frustrate him terribly at times. The Israelites certainly did. But part of the joy I experience in writing a powerful scene with my characters is seeing them grow and embrace God’s love and truth. There’s a sense of victory there even though these characters exist only in my head.
I remember as a kid imagining these scenes where the heroine (usually me) persevered and made this huge impact or discovery. I walked into the sunset as a new inspiration to my fellow underdogs (the theme of many teen movies).
The funny part of all this is, the longer I write and study the books and movies that are popular, the more I find a universal theme there—of a nobody discovering they have some kind of special gift that helps them save the day. A gift that comes from somewhere outside them and suddenly this feels-like-a-nobody character is someone unique.
Now the amazing part. This is a story theme that has existed for thousands of years. The one I like best? The one in the Bible.
Jesus was just an ordinary carpenter. He didn’t look like much to those who resented and envied Him. He didn’t appear a whole lot different from the men He walked with. He started out as a nobody in the eyes of those around Him. But to know Him was to know He walked in greatness and humility.
He walked this earth like a man, yet within He held a power to “save the day.” And every person who knows Him.
His is the story of the ultimate Messiah, the one true Savior of the world. He was and is the true Hero of the story—of the world and of our lives.
And the absolutely mind-blowing final part? Jesus lives in us, changing us from nondescript nobodies to uniquely gifted individuals created to fit into a true story.
His story.
What’s your favorite book or movie? Can you find a universal theme?
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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Read MoreOverwhelmed by the World
There’s a lot going on in the world today. I know it’s becoming a growing topic discussion at my own church. As Christians, we are taking notice of the seeming increase in wars and disasters in this world.
Earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, growing unrest and war in the Mideast, tornadoes in places normally not plagued by such occurrences or an increase in such…the list goes on and on.
I know for me it’s downright overwhelming. I don’t want to watch the news because I find myself over-sympathizing with those suffering or angry with the ones causing innocent people so much pain and suffering.
We can easily look at the world and wonder why and how we can make a difference. I know I used to and at times I would be terribly discouraged and confused as to what I could possibly do to have any impact.
Then I realized that’s exactly what the enemy loves to do—discourage us to the point that we’re ineffective. That’s his last resort for those of us who can no longer be touched by the threat of hell—to make us ineffective and unable to touch the lives of others. It’s the only way he has left to “win.”
In that reality and understanding, God helped me to understand something else. He’s not calling us to save the entire world. He’s not even calling us to save another human being. He’s already done that. He’s the one in charge of the big picture and it’s completely His burden to carry.
Our first and greatest calling is to love Jesus. Our second is to love others in the same way as we desire to be loved—love like Christ loves us through Him. God doesn’t say the whole world at once, He says others, one at a time.
When we are overwhelmed by the troubles and evil in this world, feeling like we can make no difference, step back and refocus your eyes from seeing the proverbial forest as a whole and pinpoint that one tree God is calling you to care for in that moment.
That is how we can truly make a difference in this world by making a difference in the lives of others. Even if we are only given a handful of people in our lifetime to share the love of Jesus, to minister to their broken hearts, or to help them rediscover their hope in God, then we have done all we’ve been called to do.
Our greatest impact in this world is when we walk in obedience to God and join Him in his plan. Then we can leave the big picture to Him, trusting that He is using us to be part of His greater plan to save the world.
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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