Why My Eyes Are Focused On The Future

Hey Friend,

With all the things going on in our world, including the election, now more than ever I have my sights set on the future - my eternal future.  I'm not going so far as to be, as my mother would say, "So heavenly minded that I'm no earthly good."

As I get older, and I've witnessed the atrocities happening in our world, I feel less and less like I belong here.  I see the Word of God being shoved farther and farther into a corner and the lump in my throat grows.  

If you feel at home, content, comfortable in this world....I challenge you to ask yourself if something is wrong with this picture??  We are not meant to feel at home here because, frankly, as believers, this is not our home. We are citizens of Heaven.

We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us.  Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.  (1 Chronicles 29:15)

Not that we aren't supposed to make a difference in this world, but we are not to treat this life like this is all there is.

Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and exiles (temporary residents), to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.  (1 Peter 2:11)

Let's face it - while we are on this earth we are continually at war with our earthly flesh and the temptations that beckon to it.  

So why do Christians rarely talk about the Rewards that await us in Heaven??

Contrary to popular thought, we will not be sitting around on clouds strumming our harps...there will be jobs to be done, commands to be carried out, and joy and fun to be had. Eternity is forever and I would certainly get bored with doing nothing for infinite days on end. God has great plans for us and He has a method in mind for handing out rewards and assigning jobs and tasks.  

No, we can't earn our salvation.  We know that "By grace we are saved by faith."  By believing that Christ died for my sins, His righteousness is imputed to me.  

But, once we are saved, this is not the green light to simply switch on cruise control.  

No, nothing will ever separate us from God or our salvation, but we are commanded to "work out our salvation".  

We want to buy into the popular concept that our righteousness is like filthy rags before God, which in a manner of speaking it is - if you are talking about righteous acts in order to earn our salvation. 

But once saved the rewards we will receive in Heaven can and should be a motive for our obedience.

But wait, shouldn't we just be obedient out of love for what Christ did for us?

Yes, but Paul states it quite plainly...

"But each will receive his own reward according to his own labor."  (1 Corinthians 3:8)

Believe it or not even Moses was motivated by rewards...

"He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (Hebrews 11:26)

We have been convinced that our obedience after being saved really doesn't matter.  We like "Once saved always saved" and so we rest on our laurels.  One day, however, we will need to stand before the throne of God and account for all our deeds (good and bad) and we will need to give an account of how we have labored to advance the Kingdom.  

God will look upon our acts of obedience.  Yes, we'll fall woefully short of His perfect standards, but the question will be did you try?  or did you simply do nothing?

Will our obedience and labor be despised in this world...you bet!!  Will we be hated and even persecuted....the Bible pretty much guarantees it.

But the rewards....the REWARDS!!! The Bible also promises they will be great indeed.  

The obedience of the believer really does matter...and Yes, God is watching.  The more we practice obedience, the more He unleashes His Holy Spirit to work through us, and I believe He will work in us that which is pleasing in His sight.

Be encouraged if you feel like this world is not your home...it isn't.  Be encouraged if you labor heavily in ministry and toil for the glory of God and the cause of Christ.  

Let Paul's word's resound in your ears:

"Your labor is not in vain."  (1 Corinthians 15:58)

And God will say:

"Well done, good and faithful servant!!"  (Matthew 25:21)

I can't wait to put on the crown of victory and glory knowing that I ran the race before me.  I did my best to be obedient to his Word.  I worked out my salvation and sought to bring glory to Jesus Christ.  

No, it won't be perfect (it can't be), but it will be pleasing in my Father's sight and that's good enough for me.

Do you feel "at home" in the world or do you feel like a foreigner passing through?  If you are saved, how are you "working out your salvation"?  What do you think Heaven is going to look like and how do you envision your role in eternity?

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you and thank you that you knew there was no way for me to earn my salvation (all my attempts are filthy rags) and so you sent your Son to die for me.  Thank you for guaranteeing me a place in the great, great House of God in Heaven for eternity.  Thank you for cleansing me through the blood of your precious Son, Jesus.  Lord, help me not to switch on cruise control. Keep my eyes focused on the future glory to come.  Help me be obedient to your Word and to love you and work out my salvation through obedience to you.  Like Moses, keep my eyes focused on the rewards to come...let that be the prize for which I run the race before me.  Grant me perseverance and hope as I walk through my days on this earth. I claim your promises you have given me in your Word.  Be with me now, O Lord.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Be blessed...

ps.  Thursday, Nov. 24th is Thanksgiving.  Friday the 25th is Black Friday.  Monday the 28th is Cyber Monday and TUESDAY NOVEMBER 29th is GIVING TUESDAY!!!

Instead of putting the focus on commercially driven buying and receiving, will you help us put the emphasis on GIVING??

If you'd like to donate to Redeemer Christian Foundation, Inc. by check or credit...

Click HERE to find out how to give...

A New View Of God

Hey Friend,

Ever since I was a little girl in Sunday School, I've always had a positive, warm and fuzzy feeling about Jesus.  I remember, vividly, in our illustrated Bibles, the picture of Jesus seated and beckoning all the little children to come and climb into His arms and His lap.  He smiled kindly as He spoke...

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them!"  (Matthew 19:14)

Exclamation points are not often used in the Bible, so the fact that Jesus made this a very emphatic statement has always stuck with me.

I have to admit that my way of seeing God, as being so kind, was through Jesus' statement to Philip...

"Anyone who has seen me sees the Father."  (John 14:9)

Okay, so if I see all the love that Jesus pours out - saving sinners from being stoned, washing others' feet, inviting doubters to touch his scarred hands, healing lepers, etc., then I could transpose those warm fuzzies from Jesus onto God.

Even still, I had this lingering doubt that God could be so loving and forgiving. After all, I'd read about the plagues, and His anger with the disobedient Israelites, and the Great Flood.  I could still envision God sitting on His throne, making hash marks on His great tally sheet of how many times I'd screwed up. 

You too??

Well then I invite you to join me in meditating on a segment of scripture that I've been allowing to sink in.  I encourage you to read it slowly and linger on the words I have put in bold print.  Let's look at it together...

Ephesians 1: 3-14:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us.  With all wisdom and understanding he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment - to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works our everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who ARE God's possession - to the praise of his glory. 

Look at what God, himself, has done...

He blessed us with every spiritual blessing...

He chose us to be holy...

He predestined us for adoption to sonship...

In Him we have redemption for our sins...

HE LAVISHED HIS GRACE UPON US....

I especially love the word choice here...He didn't give us His grace, no, He lavished his grace upon us.

Lavished (perisseuo in Greek) means:  to have in abundance, more than enough, overflow, to have an excess amount, to abound, to bless abundantly, to bless or excel. A great degree of excess!!

God, in His great love for us, drenches us in His grace.  Picture yourself standing under a rushing waterfall of His love and grace pouring down upon you... completely soaking you...blessing you abundantly and never ceasing.  Getting the picture??

He made known to us wisdom...

He purposed His good pleasure...

He brings unity...

In Him we were chosen, predestined, and included in Christ...

HE CREATED US SIMPLY 'TO BE' FOR THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY!!

Our simply "being" (no doing required) brings praise of His glory.

You were marked with a seal showing His ownership....

Your inheritance has been guaranteed...

You ARE His praise-worthy possession.  

Now and Forever...

I hope you see the smile on God's face when He looks at you...YOU, his daughter...his son, in whom He delights and takes great, great pleasure!

He rejoices over you with singing for YOU are His prized possession...so much so that He has marked you with the seal of the Holy Spirit so that no one, no thing can snatch you out of His loving hands.  

He didn't begrudgingly give, nor did He dribble or drizzle His love and grace upon you, no, He LAVISHED it upon you.  He poured out all of himself - the very blood of His Son Jesus - so that He could live with you forever in eternity.  

He sent His Son to die....rather than to live without YOU!!!

If this doesn't speak of a God who loves you, then I don't know what does???

What hinders you from seeing God as loving you?  How have you characterized God?  Do you believe that He loves YOU with an unceasing love?  If not, would you pray with me to receive the TRUTH of His mercy, grace, and love?

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for the misconceived notions I've had about you.  Help me to remove the human traits I've placed upon you. Help me to understand that you don't get disappointed in me.  You don't lose your patience with me.  You won't ever give up on me no matter what.  Thank you God that you are unchanging and that means your love for ME is unchanging too.  Enable the Truth that you want to LAVISH your grace, mercy, and love upon me to sink deep into my spirit.  Help me to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am your prized possession - your child in whom you are well pleased.  I claim a new view of you God - one that beckons me to come to you and one that holds me in your everlasting arms.  In the precious name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

Be blessed...

ps.  REDEEMER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL MAXED OUT AT 50 IN CURRENT FACILITY!!

Click HERE to help us move from our current facility to a larger location...

Lord, I Want A New Name

Hey Friend,

Lately, I've been intrigued with how, in the Bible, God and Jesus were continually giving people new names.  I've wondered - what's with all this new name giving?  Why do they do this?

Just a few characters in the "change of name parade" are:  Paul, Abraham, Sarah, Peter, Jacob, and Joshua.  Most of the changes are positive...but not always. 

Going all the way back in the Old Testament, God gave Abram (which meant many or multitude) the new name Abraham.  

"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called friend of God.  (James 2:23)

God called him Abraham because he was a friend to him.  God and Abraham shared a closeness and trust that only true friends share.  Abraham was loyal and dependable - certainly traits you want to have in a friend.

God often changed names to describe some NEW characteristic of a person.

The first thing Andrew did after deciding to follow Jesus was to find his brother Simon and tell him.  "We have found the Messiah" (that is the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  

Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John.  You will be called Cephas" (which translated, is Peter).   (John 1: 41-42)

"Cephas is Aramaic for "rock".  Jesus was calling Peter a rock - a rock on which He would build his church.

Ironically, Peter was anything but a rock; he was impulsive and unstable.  Yet, in Acts, he was a pillar of the early church.

Jesus named him not for what he was, but for what, by God's grace, he would become.

The last example I'll share is Jacob.  Deep-seated family hostilities characterized Jacob's life.  Jacob was considered by some to be ruthless.  He was a con artist, a liar, and a manipulator.  In fact, the name Jacob not only means "deceiver," but more literally it means "grabber."

Jacob tried to flee his troubles in Laban, but only more trouble lay up ahead. Jacob was a man full of fears and anxieties.  Jacob was struggling with fear, darkness, loneliness, vulnerability, empty feelings of powerlessness, exhaustion, depression, and relentless pain....anything sound familiar??? 

At one point Jacob falls fast asleep in the wilderness and that night an angelic stranger visited Jacob.  They wrestled throughout the night until daybreak.  It was then that Jacob knew what had happened:  "I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."  (Genesis 32:30)

In the process Jacob was given a new name - Israel - which means "He struggles or wrestles with God."

So what do all these stories have in common?  

When we encounter God...and I mean a "Saul-get-knocked-off-his- horse-on-the-road-to-Damascus" type of encounter...God gives us a new name. (Like he gave Paul).

When we encounter God/Jesus we are FOREVER changed...we are a new creation.

By God's grace we become something more than we already are.  God sees our potential.

Abraham believed God.  He trusted in the impossible.

Peter, through encountering God's grace, became the Rock on which the church was built.

Jacob struggled and wrestled with God.  His blessing inevitably followed the struggle.  Real growth experience often involves struggle and pain.

I am so very thankful that God is patient with me to go from disbelief to trust (Abraham)...He sees my potential and not my ineptitude (Peter)...and He's big enough to handle my fears, doubts, anxieties, and emptiness, and after I've wrestled with Him, he will give me a new name like Israel.

Oh, Lord, I want a new name.  I want to encounter you so closely, so personally, so utterly real that I cannot help but be changed.  

Lord, see the potential in me and call me out of my self doubt into a new awareness of my identity in you.

Lord may I wrestle with you as I confront my doubts, fears, and anxieties and after awhile, may you give me a gloriously new name like Israel.

For kicks, I looked up what my name, Beverly meant.  I was not too thrilled when the etymology revealed that "Beverly" is Old English for "beaver stream".  

Not too impressed, I read on...the beaver is the 2nd largest rodent in the world. (Really not impressed).  

He is an industrious builder of dams....okay, I'm industrious and I like to build things larger than myself...getting better.

As a child before braces, I kind of had buck teeth like a beaver and I'm sort of squishy around the middle like beavers are lol.

I don't know what new name God will give me???  But I DO know that by encountering God and His Son on a deeply personal level - perhaps encounters that involve struggle and pain - there is a conversion and a transformation. Behold I am a new creation - the old is gone!!

Through the gift of surrender, true freedom is found.  By cashing in the old, I allow God to lead me in the potential way that He has always seen in me.

By coming face to face with God, it builds my endurance, my faith, my trust, my courage, and my character.  

He sets me free of my fears and anxieties...in His power.

What new name is God calling you to?  What potential lies below your imperfect surface?  What are you wrestling with that God wants to bring a blessing from?

Let us pray together:  Oh Lord, give me a new name!!  And all His people said, "Amen."

Be blessed...

ps.  Redeemer Christian School Celebrates 2nd Birthday!!

We've maxed out of our current facility with 50 children...

Click HERE to expand to a new facility, add a teacher, and equip our classrooms...

How To Interpret God's Silence

Hey Friend,

I've heard it said that the Teacher (God) is silent during the test.  I'll revisit this thought in a moment, but for now let's go with that theory.

I'll tell you where my mind goes...straight back to Jr. High in Miss McDowell's English class.  Miss McDowell was an older teacher - an institution at Jefferson Jr. High School.  She was rather tall and quite sturdy.  Everyday she wore dresses, matronly pumps, and fiery red lipstick on her pursed lips.  

When she administered a test, there was no talking...no sirreeee.  There was no asking questions.  Even muffled paper shuffling would make per pause and peer over her reading glasses as she sat at her desk in front of the class.  "Is there a problem Mr. Johnson?" she'd ask with the warmth of the Spanish Inquisition.

I think sometimes that's how we perceive God when we are going through a time of trial or a test.  I know I have looked at Him that way in the past.

God is not a crotchety, silent teacher administering tests and waiting for us to fail.

My view of God has shifted over the years as I have come to believe the Truth about His character.  Here is a stance I have adopted...

When things are going well (or relatively so), I believe that we are to fill our minds with His Truth...meditating on it every day.

Then, when the trials come (and they will), I don't interpret God's seeming silence as indifference or turning His back on us...just the opposite.  I believe He says lovingly and with encouragement, "Bev (Name), okay now I want YOU to speak the Truth I've taught you into your circumstances."  

I believe He does this in the apparent silence so that we can profess and speak the only Truth that will bring any form of peace, comfort, hope, joy, and love....His Holy Word.  The Truth is what sets us free!

I may be all wrong, but I do believe that God gives us opportunities (when the rubber meets the road) to confess the hope that we have within us.  

We need to keep speaking into our circumstances and calling on our brothers and sisters in Christ to pray with and for us.

So back to the initial question...is God truly silent?  I do believe that if we are walking in disobedience, God is not going to shout the Truth at us.  I also believe that sometimes, due to our circumstances and emotions, God may appear to be silent and distant.  But, that is not in keeping with His character.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

God is steadfast which means He is unswerving, unalterable, He cannot be moved. His loved toward us never fails or falters.  It is changeless. 

God is as near as a whisper and He never goes "Miss McDowell" on us.  He may not be speaking to us in a way that we can hear at the moment, but He is always speaking - in His Creation, through His people, in His word.

Think about it - if we are going through a trial or test - God always gives us an "open book" test because His Word (Bible) is always available to us.  

"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."  (Psalm 

54:4)

God may not speak audibly, but He speaks and He sustains through His Word to us.  Our job is to meditate on His Word and to ask the counselor He gives us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to be our wise guide.  

There may be times that God seems to be silent, but I'm not certain that the apparent silence isn't born out of OUR circumstances, moods, disobedience, sin, or failing to seek Him first above all things.  

I'm so thankful that God is mindful of my sinful frame and knows I am but dust. I believe He is always wanting to speak life into my life, but sometimes my prideful agenda and self-sufficiency gets in the way.  

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

I'm no theologian, but I believe that God is always speaking in one form or another. When I look back at the times in my life when He seemed to be silent, I believe that I was the one who wasn't listening.

How about you?  How does God speak to you in good times?  In the midst of trials?  Has He ever seemed silent to you?  What Truth have you learned about God's character?

Dear Heavenly Father,  I praise you that you speak to me in so many ways...through the beauty of Your creation, the loving words of others, and especially through the love letter you have written to us - your Holy Word, the Bible.  Thank you for being a loving God who encourages us to speak the Truth into our circumstances.  I praise you that you are a God who coaches and encourages vs. chides and condemns.  Your will is that we would hear your voice and turn from our evil ways.  Grant me ears to hear you Lord.  Drown out the voice of the enemy.  I praise you that your steadfast love for me endures forever.  Praise be to your name. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Be blessed...

Click HERE to see some of the latest pictures of the precious children being helped through Redeemer Christian Foundation...

The Enemy's Lies Uncovered

Hey Friend,

Usually I save the "punch line" or the clincher for the end of my post, but this is so important that I want to give it to you at the beginning.  If you take away nothing else from this post, know this:

The enemy is real

The enemy has many calling cards and flaming arrows.  Some of his favorites are guilt, shame, fear, hopelessness, doubt, isolation, anxiety...

Thoughts and feelings lie

Just because we feel or think something doesn't make it true.  If you are experiencing any of the above...

It's not from God...you are under the attack of the enemy and what he is telling you is a LIE!!!!!

How do I know this?  Because I've been there...many times.  The Bible tells me that this is no small skirmish.  In fact, there's an epic battle going on not just here on earth but in the heavens.  Good vs. Evil.  Truth vs. Lies.  Jesus vs. Enemy.  

The Good News is that we know Jesus wins!!

In the meantime, let's uncover some of the enemy's lies.  Perhaps one or more of these will hit home?  Then, let's debunk it with the Truth.

*  I'm not good enough...Not true.  Your identity is found in Christ.  God sees you through the blood of His Son.  God sees you as pure as snow.

Romans 3:23 - For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and (ALL who believe) are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.  

*  Everyone has it all together except me (isolation)...Not true.  The Bible says that the enemy prowls about looking to seek, isolate, and destroy. If he can pull you apart from the herd and get you alone, you are easy prey.  No one has it all together.  Friend, if they say or act like they do...well they're either lying or deluding themselves.  

*  God is angry or disappointed in me...Not true.  Nowhere in the Bible does it ever say that God is disappointed in us.  I challenge you to find it in there because it simply doesn't exist.  It's a lie.  We mess up and we sin, but God's got that covered.

Romans 8:1-2 - Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION  for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  

*  You are alone...Not true.  The enemy wants you to think you are alone. Over and over again Jesus reminds us "Never will I leave you...Never will I forsake you...NEVER"  (emphasis mine).  

*  You or the situation is hopeless...Not true.  In the 23rd Psalm, Jesus says He walks WITH us THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death.  He promises that He will lead us safely to the other side.  He won't leave us stuck there.

More than any other subject in the Bible, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven.  Why?  Because He knows if we can just hang in there, the Kingdom Heaven awaits us and it will be something far greater than we can ever imagine. 

It will be worth the wait.  We will be free FOREVER of the chains that bind us.  But, while we walk through this blink of an eye life here on earth....He will walk with us and give us His peace.

It is said that the enemy will find our Achilles' heel (our weakness) and attack us there. I've experienced this to be true.  I struggle with OCD and depression. Boy, you better believe that the hungry enemy smells blood when it (OCD) flares. When I'm having an episode, the enemy uses that time to kick me when I'm down.  

It is truly hard to cling to the Truth when I am laid so low.  That's when I need others to surround me and remind me that even though I may not be able to "feel" it or "believe" it at the moment, God's Truths are FACTS.  

If you are ever feeling under attack.  Ask a friend, "Do you ever think _______? Do you ever feel _________?  See what they say and ask them to share the Truth with you.  We find strength when we corporately cling to the truth.  There IS power in numbers.

Also, Priscilla Shirer (Christian author and speaker) made a powerful statement when she said, "The attacks on our lives are more about who the enemy believes we can become than who we are right now."

Another writer, Holley Gerth, spoke of a light bulb coming on when she suddenly realized that the enemy is lying to us in the area of our giftings.

This really blew me away.  But, it makes sense.  If the enemy knows we are strong in a particular area, he is going to stop at nothing to render us powerless in the area of our strength.  

He will throw his strongest lie...his hottest flaming arrow at our area of giftedness because that is where we threaten him the most.  

I believe that is why some of the strongest Christians I know are under the greatest attacks.  Why?  Because they are a threat to the enemy.  If we're not about spreading the gospel, building the Kingdom, sharing the light and hope of Jesus Christ, then we're not much of a threat and chances are the enemy will leave us alone.

Hmmmm.....so the key is recognizing that you are under attack.  Some red flag questions I'm learning to ask myself are:

1.  Does it (feeling or thought) make me feel anxious?

2.  Does it make me feel fearful?

3.  Does it bring with it any other negative feelings (shame, guilt, any feelings of being "less than" or "not enough" of something?

If so....In Christ's name, call it what it is....a big, old, fat LIE!  

I felt strange at first, but I have learned to say, out loud, when I feel like I'm under attack, "Get behind me Satan.  In the power of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I command you to flee from me and leave me alone!"

Two reasons...

1.  The enemy can't read our mind (like Jesus can) but he can hear my words.

2.  The Bible says, at the name of Jesus, the enemy must flee.

Okay.  Go back and read the beginning of my post again.  Take in that all that negativity is a bunch of lies.  If thoughts plague you try not to argue with them, roll them around in your mind and contemplate them....NO, you have permission to slam the door on them - like you would an intruder trying to come in your front door.  Not in your own power, but in the power that comes from calling upon the name of Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for when I've let the enemy get a foothold in my thought life, but I praise you that you are mindful of my frame and know what these attacks do to me.  You are a God who sees and understands what I'm up against.  Give me wisdom and discernment to know when thoughts are simply not from you, but are the work of the enemy.  Give me the shield of faith and truth, with which, I can extinguish the flaming (lying) arrows of the enemy. Remind me to call upon the power found in the name and person of Jesus.  At His name the enemy must turn and flee.  Help me to be in your Word so that when the enemy hits me with his lies (which he will), I can uncover them with your Truth.  Be with me Lord...I need you.  In Jesus precious name I pray.  Amen.

Be blessed....

ps.  Praise and Good News...Redeemer Christian Foundation, Inc. has an anonymous corporate sponsor who will donate $10 for every person who joins the private RCF, Inc. Facebook Page UP TO 300 PEOPLE OR $3,000!!

Here's how you can help.  

1.  If you haven't already, Friend me on Facebook (Beverly Senter Rihtarchik)

2. Message me "Add me" and I will add you to our page and $10 will go into RCF's bank account. (We will not clog your news feed...2-3 updates per month maximum)

Proceeds are going toward equipping our classrooms with much needed desks, tables, chairs, computers, projector, furniture that a classroom needs.  We are also at maximum capacity and need to enlarge our space.  Will you help us??

Click HERE to visit our website...

RCF, Inc. is a registered 501c3 non-profit ministry

Being In The Word...I Can Do This!

Hey Friend,

Welcome to my new digs.  My blog site got a face lift...now for its writer lol. It's kind of like that feeling you have after getting a fresh new hairstyle...you have a little bounce in your step.  I hope you will always feel welcome here and feel like kicking off your sandals and taking a walk along the shore!  Okay, let's go...

I was looking at my tagline scripture below my blog title.  

Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.  (Psalm 119:105)

This line from God's Word is so very true, yet I struggle some, no many, days with being in His Word.  Oh how I want to have a heart like David's.  I believe God called David a man after His own heart because David LOVED the Word. 

Oh how I love your law!  I meditate on it all day long.  (David speaking in Psalm 119:97)

Over and over again in the Psalms, David talks about his love for the law...for God's Word.  It's like a drug that he can't get enough of.  Oh how I want to be like David!  

Sometimes, for me, making time to read the Bible is like making time to exercise.  I know God tells me to do it.  I know it's good for me.  I know after I do it, I feel great and I wonder just what it was that kept me from doing it in the first place.  Do you ever feel like that?

Nothing is so fulfilling to me as  having a session with God...communing with Him in His Word...digging and mining His Truth for nuggets of gold...yet I hesitate....Why?

I know that in this world there is always a struggle between good and evil.  This is no minor struggle, it is an epic battle.  

The enemy would like nothing more than to isolate me from God and destroy me.  

The enemy delights when my attention gets caught up in some other "shiny" object - the TV, Facebook, internet surfing, my phone, you name it.  

Every minute he pulls me away from God's Word, he pulls me closer to destruction.

So what is one to do to not be a deer in the headlights when it comes to being in the Word regularly?  

If you're like me, you gotta have a plan.  I need a road map...you too?  Google "Bible Reading Plans".  You will find chronological plans (read the Bible in 90 days, 1 year, 2 years), historical plans that paint the landscape of our spiritual heritage, in depth chapter studies, studies that combine some of the Old and New Testaments each day, Word studies that dig into Hebrew and Greek roots, studies with commentaries...  My point being is there are a myriad of ways to study the Bible.  (Other than the open the Bible and see which page you land on method).

Have a plan.  Have a daily plan.  Make an appointment on your calendar with God and keep it.  (I am talking quite frankly to myself here!!!)

Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is One.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind then on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9)

The following points are from excerpts of a message I heard at church...

The hand of the Lord is with us when we are....

1.  Taking in the Word of the Lord.  

For the gracious hand of his God was upon him.  For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes in Israel.  (Ezra 7: 9b-10)

God's hand on Ezra had something to do with God's Word being IN Ezra.

I noticed how Ezra didn't stop at taking in the Word of the Lord....he did it....and he taught it.  I am gently convicted by God to not stop at just taking in God's Word.  No, there's much more.

The hand of the Lord is with us when we are...

2.  Walking out the Word of the Lord.

For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.  (Ezra 7:10)

Study it>> Do it >> Teach it

I am seeing, more and more, that understanding comes from obedience and true transformation comes from obedience.  

Obedience is taking a step of faith.

God commands me to be in His Word.  He does this not to just be bossy.  He wants to commune with me.  He wants to breathe fresh new life into me.  He wants to transform my life....if I will just do it!!  (Think Nike swoosh)

I can do this.  I can take a step of faith knowing that God is good, and loving, and merciful and He has only my best in mind.  There is a life-giving reason He wants me in His Word daily.  The question is:

Will I be obedient to Him and just DO IT?  

I am starting a daily reading plan on the New Testament.  The focus of this plan is none other than Jesus!!  Will you pick a plan and join me?

What keeps you from being in God's word?  What benefit could you reap from studying scripture?  What detriment could there be for not being in the Word?

What works for you?  I'd love for you to share...

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for all the excuses I give for not being in Your Holy Word on a daily basis.  Please give me the determination to want to be obedient to you - to want to commune with you in the best way you've given me - The Bible.  Help me to turn away from distractions that the enemy sets before me.  Keep my eyes from turning away from your Word.  Teach me, O Lord to LOVE...really LOVE being in your Word.  Help me to not only take it in but to walk it out - to study it, and to do it, and to teach it.  Enable me to become more like Jesus (your desire for me) by setting my heart on your precious Word.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Be blessed.....

ps.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU for putting the Word of God into the hands of the orphaned and impoverished children that attend Redeemer Christian Foundation's school in the Middle East.  Each child has a Bible in Urdu - their native tongue.

THANK YOU as well for putting a computer in the school (the Director's laptop was getting a real workout).  Thank you for giving these children hope through getting to know the love of Jesus for them and having the chance at an education and hope for the future.  

Here is Kajol doing some independent study on the computer...

Click HERE to contribute to our computer and technology fund...

We currently have just one computer for nearly 50 children learning on multiple levels.  Would you help us put another computer in the classroom?

What True Friendship Is All About

Hey Friend,

I apologize for not being more regular with my writing.  My work with Redeemer Christian Foundation, Inc. keeps me pretty busy full time.  I truly do miss my time writing and communing with you, my readers, and also reading the musings of my writing friends.  

Perhaps the first rule of friendship is bearing with, and forgiving others when they don't measure up to our expectations or their own expectations??

That being said...let me delve into this subject...

I remember, vividly, heading down the highway from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in our white mini-van.  The moving van had already started out ahead of us.  Our children, ages 9 and 4, were watching (or more exactly) arguing over what movie to watch.  It was a beautifully sunny, crisp, fall day in early September.