Leah Rade

Christian Joy

My devotional was so powerful this morning & very appropriate in light of pastor Dave's message last Sunday, that I thought I'd take time to share.  It's from Living the Message, Daily Help For Living the God-Centered Life.

"It is clear in Psalm 126 that the one who wrote it and those who sang it were no strangers to the dark side of things.  They carried the painful memory of exile in their bones and the scars of oppression on their backs.  They knew the deserts of the heart and the nights of weeping. They knew what it meant to sow in tears.

One of the most interesting and remarkable things that Christians learn is that laughter does not exclude weeping.  Christian joy is not an escape from sorrow.  Pain and hardship still come, but they are unable to drive out the happiness of the redeemed.

A common but futile strategy for achieving joy is trying to eliminate thing that hurt: get rid of pain by numbing the nerve ends, get rid of insecurity by eliminating risks, get rid of disappointments by depersonalizing your relationships. And then try to lighten the boredom of such a life by buying joy in the form of vacations and entertainment.  There isn't a hint of that in Psalm 126."

And now, God, do it again— 
      bring rains to our drought-stricken lives 
   So those who planted their crops in despair 
      will shout hurrahs at the harvest, 
   So those who went off with heavy hearts 
      will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing. Psalm 126:4-6

     

21-Day Fast & Fasting Resources

For the next 21 days our staff members have committed to fasting and praying along with pastor Dave. We encourage you to join us in prayer.  Whether you've fasted before, or if this is your first time, please consider the information below before beginning.  We feel privileged that you would pray with us.

Daniel Fast

The Daniel fast is a great model to follow that proves to be extremely effective for spiritual focus, bodily discipline and purification in the body and soul.  It is probably one of the most commonly referred to types of fasts, however within the term “Daniel Fast”, there is room for broad interpretation.  In the book of Daniel, we find two different times where Daniel fasted, once in Daniel 1 and again in Daniel 10.  Daniel 1 states that he ate vegetables and water, and in Daniel 10, while the passage does not give a specific list of foods that Daniel ate, it does state that Daniel ate no rich (or choice) foods as well as no meat or wine.  So based on these two verses, we can see that either of these, or any variations in between constitutes a fast.  Again, there is nothing “inherently spiritual” about one type of fast as opposed to another.  It is important to seek God in prayer and follow what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.

Here are some links that provide some suggestions of what a Daniel fast can look like as well as some recipe options.

Daniel Fast - Ed Young

Daniel-Fast.com

Juice Fast

A juice fast is when no solid food is consumed and instead involves the intake of vegetable juices, fruit juices and water.

Juice Fasting

Duration & Extent of Your Fasting

Our 21-day fast is intentionally designed to be flexible.  As with choosing what type of fast you will be undertaking, it is important to also decide ahead of time how long you will be fasting and to what extent you will be fasting.  Some people may choose to fast at one level all 21 days or culminate with a special 3 day fast at the end.  Others choose to fast one week out of the 21 days, or even fast once or twice a week throughout the 21 day period.  This is a personal decision and one that should be prayerfully considered.

Check back daily for recipes, devotional links, as well as encouragement.

Great Women's Bible

Several years ago my husband gave me a gift that ended up meaning more to me and had even more of an impact on me than what either of us expected.  He gave me the NIV Women's Devotional Bible.  Our kids were in elementary school and I was working more than full-time at the Museum of Life and Science; while trying to balance motherhood, serving at my church and being a good wife.  Over 300 devotions in this now classic version met me at my need as a woman. 

This Bible meant so much to me that when the "New" version was introduced, with all new devotions; a friend presented it to me, knowing how much I would love it.  This Bible lives on my night stand and is the Bible I read first-thing in the morning, knowing that each one of over 300 devotions will speak to me at my need as a women.

The devotions are written by noted women of all ages with biographies of each contributor included in the appendix, where you'll also discover a one-year Bible reading plan.

Got a birthday coming?  Christmas will be here before you know it.  Put this Bible on your wish list.  You'll be glad you did.

Grateful For Your Spouse

I read the book of Philippians tonight.  Don't be impressed, as all four chapters took only several minutes to read.  Besides, I read Philippians at least once a month, especially when we haven't seen the sun in days on end.  I especially love how Philippians begins:

Read
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:3-6 [Message]

Think
On a scale of 1-10, 1 = infrequently / 10 = frequently, how would you rate your prayer life?  How would you rate the amount of time you devote to praying for your spouse?  What would it take to rate your prayer life a 10?

Pray
If you don't have a picture of your spouse where you can see his/her image frequently, place his/her image where you can see it throughout your day.  Every time you see it, pause and thank God for the person he/she is and who He is forming him/her to be.  Remind yourself that God who began a great work in him/her will "keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears."

Live
Tell your spouse daily how grateful you are for him/her, then tell your spouse you're praying for him/her daily.  Pray with your spouse and tell God how grateful you are for your spouse during your prayer time together.

I have several photos of Mike placed where I can see him throughout the day and every time I look at him I feel so grateful and thank God for the amazing man and father that Mike is.  You'll be surprised at how excited you'll be when you see your spouse each night after praying for him/her throughout your day.  I'm more excited to see Mike than ever.  After all, we've been praying for each other daily for 20 of the last 26 years.  That's roughly 7300 prayers...times two!  

Invest & Invite

Our evangelism plan at NHC is Invest & Invite.  Who has more influence over your unchurched, unsaved friends and family than you?  And, it's biblical too.

Read
^10-11Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew's house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus' followers. "What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?"

 ^12-13Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."

Matthew 9:10-13 [Message]

Think

Think about how and when you received God's gift of salvation through Christ Jesus.  How does it make you feel to know that Jesus hung out with imperfect people, rather than "religious" folks?  Do you remember how great it felt to be forgiven?  Who was involved in introducing you to Christ?  Was it a friend?  Family member?  Neighbor?  Co-worker?  Teacher? 

Pray

Meditate on your memory of the moment you began your relationship with Christ.  Thank God for those who were instrumental in introducing you to Christ.  Ask God to reveal people in your life whom He wants you to reach out to and invite to church.  You may even need to ask for repentance for becoming an "insider" who expects to be coddled.  Ask Him to burden you for the lost...for the "outsiders."

Live
After God reveals two or three people who need Him, invite them to church.  Or, invite them to your small group.  Easter is April 12th, a perfect inviting time.

He Canceled the ENTIRE List

Many of my weekend and sometimes weekday conversations go something like this, "Leah, if you only knew how bad I've been, you'd see that God can't really forgive me."  Or, "There's just some bad stuff that I know God can't forgive."  Or, "I know He's forgiven me for the first 28 things on my list, but 29 through 41 are really, really bad sins...I just don't know how He can forgive those...if you only knew, you wouldn't like me either."  These conversations are with people who sincerely have asked Jesus to be their Savior.  They are just carrying so much guilt because they haven't forgiven themselves, preventing them from fully receiving God's forgiveness.  I spend a lot of time assuring people of God's forgiveness.

During my quiet time this afternoon, I came across a powerful verse which I share with people who are struggling with guilt.  However, because I was reading, not studying (very different disciplines), the verse jumped off the page at me as if I discovered it for the first time.  I've been meditating on it all day, thanking God for canceling my extensive list...every last number on the list.

He canceled the record of the charges [list] against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

Begin With The End In Mind

There is a story in the Bible that has impacted my life greatly with regards to letting go of worry, stress and fear.  The story is found in Mark 4:35-40, where after a day of teaching, Jesus, needing some time away from the crowds, gets into a boat with his disciples and tells them, "Let us go over to the other side."  Jesus proceeds to go under the deck to get some rest after a long day.  A storm comes up and the disciples freak out, wake up Jesus and ask him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"  Jesus quiets the storm, then rebukes his disciples, saying, "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have not faith?" 

Jesus began with the end when he told his disciples they were going to the other side.  Amazingly, they lost site of that stated goal as soon as the waves became choppy.  We're like that too.  We keep our eyes on Jesus...until a life-storm comes up, when He already tells us about the end, about how He's not giving up on us.  One verse that I mediate on during my quiet time is Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  The Apostle Paul tells us that God will continue to do a good work in us until He is finished...when Christ returns.  When I begin with the end in mind, I am able to let go of worry, fear and stress and keep my eyes on the goal and promise that God is continuing his work in me until Jesus returns...God is always with me, always working with me, until I am with Jesus.

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"  Mark 4:35-40

 

Sweet Assurance

I'm a huge A. W. Tozer fan.  If you've never read any of his works, I highly recommend any of them.  I'm currently reading The Knowledge of The Holy.  I spend a great deal of time assuring people of their salvation and was struck by this passage and wanted to share:

How unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely.  No talebearer can inform on us; no enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling our of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 [NIV]

Thanksgiving Hymn

My "traditional" side tends to show up during the holidays and today I found myself humming an old traditional Thanksgiving hymn, We Thank We All Our God.  M. Rinkart, 1586-1649.  This hymn has been even more meaningful after learning several years ago that Martin Rinkart wrote the hymn after enduring the horrors of plague and famine during the Thirty Years War and ministered to thousands of sick and dying people, presiding at funerals, including the funeral of his own wife.

May you find joy, comfort and a gratitude through his words:

We thank we all our God
With heart, and hands, and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who, from our mother's arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

O may this gracious God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us,
Preserve us in his grace,
And guide us in distress,
And free us from all sin,
Till heaven we possess.

The Mask

No, I’m not referring to the Jim Carrey movie, I'm referring to the “veil” or mask that some Christians eventually put on.  Moses actually was the first to wear the veil.  Exodus 34:34-35 & 2 Cor. 3:13 tell us about how Moses, after spending time with God would appear with a radiant face, but soon would cover his face with a veil as the radiance diminished. But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD  . . . to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.

 

What causes Christians to put on the “mask”?  Complacency and busyness are typical reasons.  Christians have all experienced that close relationship with Jesus, where our lives reflect this close relationship.  However, when we become complacent or too busy to spend time with Him, the reflection begins to fade.  Just like Moses, we don’t want people to see the fading, so we put on the “mask of righteousness” in order to convince everyone that we’re still close to Jesus.  The real danger of wearing the “mask” is that while we’re busy trying to convince others of our relationship with Jesus, we deceive ourselves.  While we might talk like Christians, we cease growing in our relationship with Christ.  If we neglect our friendship with God by failing to live in His presence, His glory fades out of our lives, forcing us to live by our own power.  Pastor Dave calls this “being on our own” vs. living in the “blessing zone”. 

 

The gravest danger of wearing the “mask” and living “on our own” is that we stop bearing fruit because we have disconnected ourselves from the vine.  Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. John 15:4

 

So, how do we remove the “mask”?  We can begin by examining our hearts and ask ourselves, “Am I displaying an outward righteousness without demonstrating the inward attitude of obedience?  Do my actions demonstrate my understanding of God’s Word? How much time have I spent today in God’s presence?”  Disappointed by your answers?  God isn’t.  When we remove the mask and admit our mistakes to God, He doesn’t condemn us, He restores us.

 

But when a person changes and follows the Lord, that covering is taken away. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  2 Cor. 3:16-18