Along this journey of life, we encounter great ebbs and tides.  There are moments of great delight, abounding joy, beauty, and pleasures; yet, there are trials and questions that cause our hearts to tremble.  Sometimes, our dreams shatter into pieces, leaving us with despair; because, we do not understand.  We look around us to seek comfort and see a world of confusion, chaos, well-meaning fake narratives, philosophies, and ideologies which leave us less comforted than ever.  We want to withdraw into a cocoon of darkness; yet, because we have been there, we realize there is no hope or solace there.  God has proclaimed that He is Yahweh (I AM) and He bids we come to know Him, commune with Him and that there we will find peace, joy, and hope in every circumstance we face; because He is all we really need.

Over the course of this week I hope to show you that knowing this truth changes how we view everything else in life.  It is the crux upon which our faith stands.

HEBREWS 11:6

he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

So, let us begin there.  What does it mean that God is the Great I am?  In all my attempts to write this truth, I realized I fell short.  Then in my search, I found this explanation within the archives of John Piper’s sermons and wanted to begin this series by sharing this excerpt with you. Continue reading How to See God as Yahweh-the Great I AM →

When Christ walked upon this earth, division rose among the people.  He came to bring hope, peace, love and to present the only way of salvation.  As He went about performing miracles and drawing people to His ministry, there arose an opposition crowd who proclaimed throughout the land that He was evil.  They tried to diminish His ministry.  Because He cast out demons and healed the sick on the Sabbath, they wanted Him arrested.  He had upset the status quo.  We, His followers, are often met with this same opposition and resistance throughout our land.  Particularly, we are hated when we take a stand for righteousness; despite, our doing so with gentleness, kindness and a spirit of humility.

DIVISION GROWS

The division and opposition screams loudly against the voice of reason presented by the Christians.  The true Christian is meek and quiet in their response; allowing the loud, bold to out shout them from every corner of this land and earth.  However, we know that the victory is ours; because, Christ won that victory on the cross.  Yet, just as Christ; we are saddened and even angered within our hearts by the hardness, crassness and the rhetoric of the crowds.  At times, they rise up with violence and we cry out to God, “how long?” Still, as exampled by Christ; we are to press forward doing that which is right and good and kind in the face of their division and opposition. Continue reading How to Overcome Opposition and Division →

Tainted by our own feelings of self-worth; often, we listen without truly hearing the truth.  We see this played out every day in nearly every situation we face.  It is the screaming rhetoric surrounding the news talk shows; because, everyone is so busy talking they cannot hear or seek truth.  Furthermore, this is the problem blocking our human hearts from seeking God as He truly is.  We want to change the story to fit our own narrative.  Because we want to put our Creator, Almighty Sovereign God into a box of our own making, we fail to hear or spread the beautiful truth of the gospel story of Grace.

Even, those who follow Jesus want to change the story. That was true in the Old Testament.  It was true when Jesus walked upon the earth. And it remains true today. So, how do we get past our own self exalting, humanistic ideas to find and live at peace with the truth?  To help answer that question, let us turn to Matthew 26.

MATTHEW 26:1-2

 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Continue reading How to Truly Listen with Hearts That Hear →

Life is filled with encounters!  Some encounters are very brief; while, others intermingle with us for our entire lifetime.   Our encounters are varied and wide from finances to illnesses we must battle.  Then there are those encounters with other people that weave in and out of our lives.  The lady selling tacos on the corner stand in Mexico.  Co-workers, friends, family, taxi drivers, the young man at the checkout stand, the drive through attendant, law enforcement, and church groups all are people with whom we may encounter in our life time.  Jesus said that we are salt and light to the world.  But what could that possibly mean? How should that affect the way we see encounters in our life.

Paul advised the church at Colossae to beware of false doctrine seeping into their community.  He, then asked them for prayer that God open doors for Paul to continue teaching the truth of the gospel; that others might come to know Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, immediately after asking that the church pray continually; he then wrote:

Colossians 4:5-6

 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.  Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

WALKING IN WISDOM-ENCOUNTERS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Continue reading Encounters of Life as Opportunities of Grace and Truth →

One thing that life has taught me: God loves me with an everlasting love and every trial or sorrow I face is an act of His Mighty Grace.  It has been through the darkest valleys that I have found peace, joy and love; because, pain forced me to lay aside all my foolish desires and pride. There I came to know God, who is my greatest treasure.  He indwells me with His presence like an overflowing spring of joy, hope, peace, and love. So, out of the Ashes; I found Joy Abounding with hope, love, and peace within.

 Psalm 30:5,10-12

weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.  Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.

POEM: OUT OF THE ASHES

Out of the Ashes

By Effie Darlene Barba

I Cried to You, Lord; my heart broken in two

Why did he leave? My love tried and true

Had left me there rejected that day

With never a thought or pardon to say

Didn’t You hear my pleas and my prayer

Or maybe in truth, You don’t even care!

Chorus

Then, Gently, so gently you reached out Your hand

To cradle me there to help me to stand

Your Love did allow my pain and despair

That I might see You ARE my answered prayer

If I had not walked through the darkest of night

Then, would I have longed for Your glorious light

Until I was broken, my life undone

I loved from afar Your Precious Dear Son

There in my darkness Your love drew me in

A humbled and broken heart you did win

And then you unveiled this great mystery

The Love I had sought was inside of me

Out of the ashes to my heart’s surprise

A joyous love song began then to rise

Alone in the dark, the words did resound

No solace for me, the fear did surround

“It’s Cancer” he said, I heard him quite clear

“The best you can hope is maybe one year”

I Cried out to You, I don’t understand

How could this be a part of Your Plan

Didn’t I love You enough, Can’t You see

How could You let this happen to me?

Chorus

Then, Gently, so gently you reached out your hand

To cradle me there to help me to stand

Your Love did allow my pain and despair

That I might see You ARE my answered prayer

If I had not walked through the darkest of night

Then, would I have longed for Your glorious light

Until I was broken, my life undone

I loved from afar Your Precious Dear Son

There in my darkness Your love drew me in

A humbled and broken heart you did win

And then you unveiled this great mystery

The Love I had sought was inside of me

Out of the ashes to my heart’s surprise

A joyous love song began then to rise

How foolish to not have thought of Your Loss

When Your Son did die on that old rugged cross

Silly to think my life on this earth

Should be filled with only laughter and mirth

I see now my trials have been Your act of Grace

That I may turn from myself to seek Your Wondrous Face

Only then can true love fill all my heart

For Your love in me will never depart.

Chorus

Then, Gently, so gently you reached out your hand

To cradle me there to help me to stand

Your Love did allow my pain and despair

That I might see You ARE my answered prayer

If I had not walked through the darkest of night

Then, would I have longed for Your glorious light

Until I was broken, my life undone

I loved from afar Your Precious Dear Son

There in my darkness Your love drew me in

A humbled and broken heart you did win

And then you unveiled this great mystery

The Love I had sought was inside of me

Out of the ashes to my heart’s surprise

A joyous love song began then to rise

cONCLUDING TWEETS

[tweetthis]What appeared to be trials or pain I found were Gods Acts of Grace & Love[/tweetthis]

[bctt tweet=”When all is gone & God is all that is left; then, you find you are the richest of all” username=”effiedarlene”]

 

 

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2017

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post.  I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.