Educational

What are You Feeding on?

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What Goes in, Comes out

Oh, just give it a break! I want to relax and just veg out for a while.

Vegetate means to relax in a completely passive or mindless way.

“I am so weary and tired. I can’t think straight. Just need to refuel and restore.”

These are such common phrases. Our jobs, families, schools, and ministries are demanding and pushing us to perform, even through stress and discomfort. No wonder we have a desire to veg out.

May I please alert you‼️

When you are vulnerable and passive, there is danger lurking. Yes, you do need to rest and restore, but be careful how.

Whatever we passively allow into our minds will actively affect us. It goes into the database of the soul, our minds, and begins to influence us.

“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.”

Proverbs 15:14

Feeding as Meditating

We are what we think about.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:“

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)

But the motivator for what we think about is our heart. We think what we think because our hearts want what they want. The heart determines what we feed on in the idle moments. Sometimes it’s not bad. We just need to check it.

Absent strong medication, most of us can’t go into a state of just not caring. The mind will receive input even if we are not seeking to actively acquire knowledge.

The area to continually check is our hearts. What do I really want in my heart?

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Proverbs 4:23

News?

For so many of us, conditioned for years by 24-hour news and social media, our hearts want us to be informed. Many don’t want to find out the latest shocking events one or two days later. AI evaluated a number of sources to report where 18-24 year olds get their news.

Fascinating!! What you read and see surely will color the way you perceive something.

In the olden days, it was the town crier calling people out into the town square to share news.

That is where we get the word for “church.” Ekklesia means “called-out ones” – people called out of their homes and businesses to gather together in the town square to hear the news and official announcements.

When Jesus came as the true Messiah, many had not heard the news. The news of the gospel was to be proclaimed everywhere. That news is still being shared all over the world. One by one or in big groups the gospel is declared.

As Western culture moved into the 18th century, the printed page became popular as a source of news. People would buy gazettes and then newspapers.

Whatever was printed in the newspaper or broadcast of the radio hourly was carefully curated and presented to us as objectively as possible. What we read or heard in those days we took at face value. It had authority.

Today we have a superabundance of ways to get information, and in this populist era, everyone has a voice, and mainstream legacy media outlets, discredited as authorities, are seen as just a few of thousands of biased voices with hidden agendas. No one can be trusted. Difficult as it may be, we use discretion in the selection of our sources, and be careful of our level of daily intake.

Guidelines for the Mind

Our Father in heaven who has created us and controls all things, has given us guidelines for how to walk worthy in the Christian life.

He encourages us to renew our minds often.

” Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:2

Firstly, we need the fresh water of the Word of God every day to satisfy us and renew our perspective (John 4:10). I have a morning appointment with the Creator … like at 6 am at the breakfast table, He is waiting for me. I need to talk with Him and hear from Him before jumping into news or texts.

Secondly, we need to view current events with the glasses of thinkfulness. God has given us His Word as an anchor (Hebrews 6:19) and light for our path (Psalm 119:105). He says to think thanks for everything.

“… giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Ephesians 5:20

Thirdly, build up your “big God” belief system. Have you compared the amount of time you spend getting news with the amount of time spent on a sovereign God who is orchestrating all of those events in the news towards fulfilling His plans and purposes (Daniel 4:34-35, Acts 17:26-27)?

Many Christians have a “small God” – a God who is overworked and distracted and not paying sufficient attention to some details. They are more oriented horizontally than vertically. They care a whole lot more what people around them think about something compared to what the Lord thinks about the same thing. God warns us that the fear of man brings a snare, but whoso trusts in the Lord will be safe (Proverbs 29:25).

We need to move to a “big God theology” and to a vertical orientation, confessing what is true from heaven’s standpoint. God is infinite mind (never misses the smallest detail). God has steadfast love and faithfulness toward His children (micro-orchestrating every detail in our lives, struggles, and deaths for our good and His glory). And God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent (ruling over the affairs of men and nations – those that are war-torn and those that smugly feel they have achieved utopia).

Recently I was made aware of how trusting completely in God’s sovereignty actually helped two friends of mine who had gone through the loss of a spouse. They grieved, but there was hope in that God was working a plan, and His peace and plan eased their suffering sooner than others around them. We cannot always see His plan behind the path that He chooses for us, but He asks us to trust Him (Isaiah 43:2).

Fourthly, roll over your soul-weights and anxieties on the Lord, with thanks. When the Lord tells us not to be anxious in Philippians 4:6, He gives a way to process our concerns. He encourages us to bring our burdens and troubles to Him wrapped up in thanksgiving.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Remind yourself that God CAN be trusted in every detail. Give thanks for the Lord delivering us from the dominion of darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption (Colossians 1:13-14).

Fifthly, be discerning. How can a person know where to “feed?”

  • First of all, pray that God would give you wisdom and guide you.
  • Seek godly counsel from trusted mentors.
  • Curate your feed. Unfollow accounts that bring anxiety and follow accounts that edify.
  • Limit your time and platforms.
  • Turn off notifications.
  • Engage in real-life activities.
  • Consider a tech Sabbath – no phone from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Colossians 3:2

Eat healthy!!

God’s Journal

/ thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Thankful Remembrance

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.”

Malachi 3:16

God is God. He doesn’t need to write something down to remember it. But this passage states that God is listening to certain human beings. He listens with interest and delight as believers who are in awe of Him talk about Him and think of ways to honor His name. He has ordered that a “book of remembrance” be written about those believers. It seems that this is His ongoing journal covering centuries of conversations between believers.

There are a few verses that talk about books in the Bible:

  • Exodus 32:32 says that Moses referred to God’s book
  • Psalm 56:8 refers to a book where the Lord keeps count of our tears
  • Psalm 69:28 references a book of the living
  • Daniel 7:10 says the books being opened
  • Daniel 12:1 mentions names being written in a book
  • Revelation 13:8 mentions the Book of Life
  • Revelation 20:12 mentions the books being opened
  • Revelation 20:15 The Book of Life and the books are opened

It is interesting to note that ancient kings, like the kings of Persia, had books to keep track of memorable deeds that needed to be rewarded.

On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

Esther 6:1-3

In Malachi, God is dealing with Israel because of their sin. He addresses their empty, hypocritical worship, teaching error, adultery and murmuring. But then as a great encouragement He says that He has been listening to the faithful ones. Of course nothing is hidden from the Lord. He sees our hearts and motives. He knows us better than we know ourselves. But He has apparently directed an angelic scrivener to keep an ongoing Book of Remembrance about the faithful ones and their conversations.

God is thinking thanks!! What!?

The Lord states that He remembers. He even says that those who feared the Lord and spoke to each other about God would not only be remembered, but also be His own special and treasured possession, like jewels were in ancient times.

They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Malachi 3:17

The Lord God doesn’t need to thank anyone. He is the author of all! He deserves the praise, the gratitude, the worship. That is why it is so fascinating that He, God, would “write down” the names of the faithful ones.

Searching For My Name

But … is my name in His journal? If I could do a word search, could I even find my name? If so, what was the quality of my words, and were they unmixed with self-interest? How many times has He listened while I spoke to others about Him with joyful amazement and high esteem?

Or have my sentiments about the Lord and His works just been private and kept to myself? Private feelings don’t get recorded. A journal entry requires the Lord to hear us talking to each other about Him.

Your Book

To be “godly” is to be “god-like.” God keeps a journal of people and conversations He is thankful for. Do you have a book of remembrance? Do you write down things for which you are remembering to think thanks?

I also wonder if those words in Malachi 3:16-17 were written for us to remember that God will reward righteousness. The Bema Seat is coming. And the beauty in all this is that whatever we thought, said, or did that was pleasing to the Lord we could do only with His help. Yet, He says that we will be spared as a man spares his only son.

The Lord Jesus exhorted His disciples to rejoice because their names were written in heaven (Luke 10:20). In Colossians 1:12-14 the Lord exhorts us to give thanks because He has delivered us from the domain of darkness.

“… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.“

Delayed

God’s reward is delayed. It is like the student that works hard all year and then at graduation is granted an award. The Israelites in Malachi had grown weary from waiting on the Lord. They felt like He didn’t see, He didn’t really care. They grew envious of the wicked.

We, too, can begin to grow weary and feel like it doesn’t really matter. “The Lord doesn’t see what I do, what I think about and treasure in my heart.” But that is a LIE! He does see. He does know all things, and nothing can be hidden from El Roi (the God who sees).

Be encouraged, you who fear, esteem, and converse! The Lord knows who you are, faithful ones. He will remember and reward. He wants us to keep on keeping on till the end. Even our precious Lord Jesus kept the end in view.

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:2

Start them young!!

Josh Sullivan’s Miracle

/ thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

A Kidnapped Missionary

When Pastor Josh Sullivan was knocked in the head and kidnapped right from the pulpit in his church, he had no idea of what lay ahead for him.

Josh and his family came to serve the Xhosa people in South Africa. They learned the language and sought to share the good news of the gospel.

The township of Motherwell where the Sullivans ministered was a high risk area. The people there were well acquainted with theft and unsafe conditions.

The Sullivans knowingly came anyway. They loved the people there.

On April 10, 2025, Josh had just started to speak when four men entered the hall. At first it was not clear why they had come, but it did not take long before their purpose became evident. The men had guns and proceeded to confront Josh. They asked him if this was his wife after grabbing Meagan. They then hit Josh over the head and he fell down almost blacking out. Meagan was also pushed to the floor. Their children and the rest of the church were left alone, just staring eerily.

Josh was forced up, down the aisle amid the whimpers of his children, and out of the building into his own car and they drove away.

The Wait

For 122 hours everyone waited. Josh also waited in a distant house as his captors let the authorities know their demands for money. The news hit social media and then the mainstream media, and people all over the world prayed earnestly for God to protect and free Josh. They prayed for safety for Meagan and the kids. They prayed for God to be glorified through this very difficult, challenging situation.

The authorities were working behind the scenes. The kidnappers were trying to negotiate a ransom for Josh’ life. Some were starting to gather funds.

This is a very tricky problem in mission work. Most mission organizations don’t pay ransoms. It opens up a whole can of worms. If money can be acquired through this means, every missionary in the country becomes a target, and there’s almost no end to the nightmares that could flow from that. We, as fellow missionaries, were praying for great wisdom for the negotiation team, hoping that law enforcement would find Josh before money was paid.

Josh’s feet and hands were tied, and he was hooded. He was kept in the back room of the house. They threatened him, but did not harm him. They offered water and food, and allowed Josh to use the bathroom.

The Miracle

On Tuesday, April 15th, the kidnappers told Josh that he needed to get to the car.

Josh had noticed they were cleaning a lot that day, washing and wiping things down. As they moved toward the garage in the darkness, Josh fell two times. One time it took a while for him to get back up. Three of the men got in the car, two in the front and one in the back with Josh. Josh had a hood over his head and had his head down in the lap of the guy in the back seat.

Josh realized that there were two other guys outside. One opened the garage door. The car pulled out into driveway. Then the car stopped as someone opened the gate at the front wall. At that point, Josh heard the three guys jump out of the vehicle and 20-some shots were fired for about 2-3 minutes. Then everything was quiet.

Josh heard footsteps approaching the car and he prayed to God that it would be a “good guy.” The door opened and the policeman was shocked to see Josh there. He paused, a bit confused, and then said, “Are you the American pastor?” Josh responded that indeed he was. Josh got out of the car, fell to his knees and prayed and cried thanksgiving to God.

The miracle is that the four policemen who pulled into that exact driveway were actually lost and trying to turn around. They were following a tip on a vehicle, but had made a wrong turn. When they pulled into the driveway, they were shocked to see three men get out of their vehicle and begin shooting. The other two guys that were in the garage and opened the gate got away, but the three kidnappers were killed.

The next day when Josh was being debriefed by the South African police and the FBI, that same initial policeman came up to Josh. He wanted to tell Josh that he knew he was a praying man and that it was a work of God that they happened to be there exactly at that time. So, Josh tripping two times on his way to the car, was all part of the perfect timing of our incredible God. This was a fine-tuned rescue by the Sovereign God.

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=josh%20sullivan%20kidnapping&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:3df28323,vid:kMr5H-kwNsc,st:0

Thinkful

As the world watches this news story and the TV interviews that followed with great interest, both Josh and his wife Meagan want to be very careful to give thanks to God. This was not the FBI or the CIA. This was not even “just a coincidence” as humans might try to call it. This was an answer to the prayers of thousands of people.

God rescued Josh!

We thank Him that it was His will for Josh to be released. We know that God is good all the time, and would be good even if there had been a different ending to this story. But this time God chose to free His servant and let him rejoin his wife and children. We thank Him. We praise Him. We rejoice in the gospel message going out all over the world through this event.

“Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.”

Psalm 142:7

Let us continue to pray for Josh and his family. Processing trauma takes time.

  • Pray specifically that they will hold their thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
  • Pray for them to think on truth and not on “what if’s” (Philippians 4:8)
  • Pray for God to receive much glory from this miracle (Psalm 145:3)

Thankfulness – The Firstborn Child

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A Triple Command

GOD: “My child, I want you to have joy all the time, pray without stopping, and think thanks for everything!”

ME: What? Non-stop? Sounds a bit unrealistic, don’t you think? How can you ask that of me? You know how difficult, irritating, and frustrating life can be? How dreary and mundane routines can seep all my strength down to the bones?

The Lord is kind to us. He knows our frame. He remembers we are dust (Psalm 103:14). He also knows the power of being renewed in our mind to think on truth, so in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, He gave us one of the two most direct commands to be th(i)nkful in all the New Testament.

A Closer Look at the Three

REJOICE ALWAYS. Rejoicing is the outflow of joy inside. Joy is my calm enthusiastic confidence in the presence of God’s face shining on me, the goodness of God’s character, and the perfection of God’s sovereign plans generally and for me specifically. As part of the fruit of the Spirit, it comes from His help inside my heart and mind no matter what is happening around me (Romans 5:3, 2 Corinthians 6:10, James 1:2).

Happiness is tied to happenings. Joy comes from the faces of precious people – this is a theme throughout Scripture. When you spend more time on your face seeking His face, you realize that our struggles are for a host of greater goods – developing character and steadfast consistency, drawing us closer to Him and each other, giving us a chance to advance the gospel, etc. There is not one thing that God does to us because He is evil or angry with us. Every good or bad thing – always – is from His love for us and His desire for our Christlikeness.

PRAY CONSTANTLY. This carries the idea that you practice God’s presence beside you, as though you are in an ongoing conversation with Him throughout the day. Don’t stop praying. Don’t imagine He is not there. See your good health, or your stumbling upon a great sale as gifts from His hand. When the tire goes flat, or the bride abandons the wedding, immediately ask what He wants you to do or say. Your life, your days, must be an ongoing conversation between you and your Creator-Father who doles out enormous wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5, Luke 18:1-8).

GIVE THANKS IN EVERYTHING. When you have a “big God theology,” believing that God is the author, orchestrator, and fine-tuner of every circumstance of your life – AND you have a calm enthusiastic confidence that His face is shining on you, AND you are talking to Him non-stop as you move through your days – you see things not just as good, but from the One Who is good and defines good. They might be little things like smelling blooms or big things like getting pregnant after a decade of waiting and praying. You are not just “thankful for” these things, you are “thankful to” Him. This thankfulness also loops back around and gives you more joy.

Thankfulness As A Firstborn Child

Here is what the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“The more we pray, the more we rejoice. Prayer gives a channel to the pent-up sorrows of the soul; they fly away, and in their place, streams of sacred delight pour into the heart. At the same time, the more rejoicing, the more praying. When the heart is in a quiet condition and full of joy in the Lord, then also will it be sure to draw near to the Lord and worship. Holy joy and prayer act and react on each other.

Observe, however, what immediately follows in the text: ‘give thanks in everything.’ When joy and prayer are married, their firstborn child is gratitude. When we joy in God for what we have, and believingly pray to him for more, then our souls thank him both in the enjoyment of what we have and in the prospect of what is yet to come.”

Putting It into Practice

Recently it was discovered that my dear husband needed a three-hour delicate surgery. It was a rare disease that had affected his ear. As we readied ourselves to travel seven hours to the city that offered this operation with an expert in this area, our hearts felt a bit anxious and overwhelmed. There was some warning that this cholesteatoma could break through the lining of the brain.

What a perfect opportunity for us to put into practice what we know to be truth! We indeed tried to pray without ceasing – a constant awareness of walking with the Lord and talking to him. The rejoicing was a byproduct of realizing that God loves us and is in control, no matter the outcome. We could rejoice in His promise to never leave, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

As they wheeled David back into theatre (surgery) I was able to think thanks by beginning to write down things for which I gave praise to God.

As the hours went on, my list got longer.

David made it through the surgery and they were able to remove the disease and spare the lining to the brain. As we returned to our little room close to the hospital where we spent 10 days of healing before the follow-up appointment, David wanted to add more the thinkful list. Truly we had so much for which to think thanks.

Now, let me make it clear, that everything is not a bed of roses. In the past week, we had a precious young mother, age 33, pass away in our church. Difficult and dark times may be the corridors God has for us to walk. But as we walk, step-by-step, we can trust His character and promises – our sins are gone and His face is shining in favor on us. We need to practice His presence and talk with Him about everything. And we need to thank Him because everything in our lives has purposefully come from Him.

Creating Pearls

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An Irritant???

Have you ever become annoyed or frustrated at something that irritates you or ruins your normal comfort and just won’t go away?

Like if a little stone gets in your shoe while you are walking … and you think, “whoa, what got in there?” But you try to keep going … then reassess, “ugh, it’s not going away; this is irritating.” You try and shake your foot around as you’re walking to get the pebble to a more innocuous spot … only to realize you’re being watched by other curious people. So, you stop and sit down; you’ve got to address the irritation and get it out. With that tiny bit of God’s creation removed, you are just so thankful for the change and the relief.

What if you couldn’t get the irritant out? What if you needed to accept the truth that the irritant would be present longterm? Neither your will nor your arms could remove it?

The Making of Pearls

An oyster is part of the mollusk family. When they sense an irritant, like a parasite or piece of grit, that has lodged in their shell, they have no arms to remove the irritant. But God has exquisitely designed them to slowly secrete layers of aragonite and conchiolin (the rainbow-like iridescent coating often called nacre) to coat the invader. In time, those secretions day after day turn an irritant into a pearl.

The oyster or mussel slowly secretes layers of aragonite and conchiolin, materials that also make up its shell, to form nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the irritant and protects the mollusk from it.

Natural History Museum

How incredible is that?? Something that irritates and causes frustration is dealt with using a process that in time creates a pearl, a gemstone of great value. Only God!!

Irritating People

I have been musing on this concept. Could I respond like an oyster to irritating things in my life? Weather conditions, financial conditions, or health conditions that are outside my control? That’s hard!!

People can also be an enormous source of irritation or frustration in life. Perhaps you are thinking of someone right now? They may be within your immediate family, extended family, in your church, or a colleague at work. Perhaps you avoid the irritation by simply avoiding contact.

We live in South Africa, a nation with a history of apartheid (1948-1988), which could be simplistically described as state-enforced separation of people who were irritating to each other. There are eleven official languages and even more cultures here. There are many people-groups supposedly trying to live together in harmony, but the irritation breaks through far too often.

As humanity, we are very much in the same boat: God created us all in His image and likeness, and we are all fallen, sinful, and broken. Similarly, the Bible is for all people groups. It transcends eras, cultures, and individual preferences. And the two-fold Great Commandment, woven throughout its pages, is to love God supremely and your neighbor (created in His image) as yourself.

Nacre of the Spirit

Could we respond like the oyster when irritations occur? What if we did our own “nacre” around irritating challenges? If we have idols in our heart where we love control, love comfort, and love people-pleasing, then we will not respond well to irritants or irritating people. Idols create a “no-nacre zone.”

Loving someone means either overlooking their faults, praying and searching for subtle ways to help them work on their faults, or committing to help make up the difference where their faults may cause a problem. Loving someone is using my own Spirit-enabled internal resources (nacre) to absorb their oddities, prickles, and dysfunctions, and not let them irritate me. I stay when I could walk away. Love is accommodating someone’s weakness while you are thankful for, and celebrate, what is good. This applies to relatives. This applies to orphans. This applies to witchdoctors. This applies to people in other political parties.

Here is a for instance. In your office you need to closely monitor a coworker from a very different culture … different morals, a different work ethic, and different views of authority. They look different and they value things that are totally out of your orbit. Irritants abound!

BUT….. there are some very beautiful things about them as well. What if you choose to search for ways to think thanks to God even for them? You might express one thing that you are thankful for in them each day.

  • You could express your thankfulness for them in prayer to God (as you also ask God to fix them … and fix your heart so that you can show selfless love to them)
  • You could write your thankfulness in your th(i)nkful journal, or even better …
  • You could express your thankfulness to the coworker for something you have noticed in them!

When we choose to meditate and express our thanks for those beautiful things, it is like applying nacre in the making of the pearl. Perhaps I need to get into the pearl-making business! May I learn to put th(i)nkful nacre around my irritants, especially humans that God has put in my life for a purpose. I could become very rich with all my pearls!

Thanksgiving Connected to Peace?

/ thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Philippian Exhortation

A few weeks ago David and I visited a new gathering of God’s people, Redeemer Community Church. We knew of people that had joined this new work, and wanted to visit one day; then the opportunity arose. It was so good. Refreshing and edifying. Pastor Erik shared from Philippians 4:4-9. He emphasized how we are to rejoice in the Lord ALL the time (verse 4).

But, how is this done, practically speaking? How do I rejoice when I see the earth or my country destabilizing? How do I rejoice with my recent medical diagnosis? How do I rejoice when my loved ones are making the decisions they are? How could Paul write this while sitting in prison?

The key is simply this: Rejoicing, or having joy, is a calm enthusiastic confidence in 1) the goodness of God’s character, 2) the reliability of God’s promises to His children, and 3) the absolute perfection of His sovereign plans. So many of us begin with the unspoken presumption that God’s job is to protect my world, keep me comfortable, free from sudden downturns in health, finances, and relationships, and to slowly carry me to a peaceful death at some ancient age. But God is not “about us” and has made no such promises.

We can rejoice when we choose not to be anxious (let go of our expectation of our world going as planned), but instead, through prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING (affirming His choices in our circumstances), we take our requests to God (verse 6). Only then can we experience God’s overwhelming peace, described in verse 7.

God’s Peace Follows Prayer with Thanksgiving

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:7

Have you ever meditated on what that verse is really saying? It’s pretty amazing to experience peace … like when you find one of God’s lovely places far away from tech and humanity. But what about a peace that surpasses all our understanding?? A peace that causes others to scratch their head, or accuse me of being in denial of my circumstances?

I really WANT that peace. I want my heart and mind to be “kept” or guarded. I want God to carry through on His perfect plans, even if it means hardship for me. I am determined to keep my eye on Him because I know His eye is on me, as Peter when he walked on the stormy waters.

Perhaps I should ponder how to discipline myself to pray with thanksgiving?

12 Monthly Verses

I am choosing the theme of “Peace” this year and am memorizing a verse on peace each month. I want to know these verses so well that I can pull them up in my mind and meditate on them at any time I want. OK, I cheated and started in December.

John 14:27 is urging us to receive His peace, not worldly peace, but God’s peace.

So you may say, “that sounds wonderful, but you don’t know what is happening in my life. There’s everything but peace. I have sorrow, worries, fears, and pain … physical pain, emotional pain, spiritual pain. The road to experiencing peace is too gnarled. Not sure I could ever get to peace, much less peace that passes my understanding.”

Well, I am here to say that you can! It is not dependent on your circumstances. It doesn’t have to do with that. It is dependent on something else!!

Because of what Christ did on the cross when He paid for our sin, and when He defeated death, sin, and oppression by rising again, we too can “defeat our circumstances” by trusting in the character of God to work things together somehow for our good, our becoming like Jesus. Romans 8:28-29 states that is what God desires in our lives. Like a great sculptor with a rough rock, He is chiseling away in my soul anything that doesn’t look like Jesus. He has to use different “tools” such as pain and sorrow to make that happen. And it takes time.

Thinking Thanks is Part of the Journey to Peace

To envelope our burdens and challenges by choosing to think thanks about them, and in the midst of them, is a path of hope that leads to peace, God’s peace.

To identify gifts from the Lord right in the hardships is vital. Thanking God for His presence, His wisdom, His sovereignty is a good place to begin if you feel at loss to know on what to think thanks.

May God fill you with His surprising PEACE this year as you set your mind on Him.

You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is set on You.”

Isaiah 26:3

Th(i)nkful for Emmanuel

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God Became Man

There is only one time in history that a multitude of angels gave praise to God before a human audience. Just one time. It wasn’t when God appeared to Moses on Mt. Sinai, or at the parting of the Red Sea, or when the Temple in Jerusalem was dedicated by Solomon. It also wasn’t when Jesus walked on water, or when He died at Golgotha, or even when He rose again triumphing over sin, death, Satan, and hell.

It was on the evening that Deity stepped into humanity and was born to walk among us; the night Emmanuel was born. The single angelic announcement of the birth of the only Savior of the entire world was not made to Caesar, nor to a Roman governor, nor to the Jewish High Priest nor the leaders of the Jewish faith. In today’s terms, there was no social media blitz.

This singular event of seeing an angelic multitude shouting out praises to God was reserved for a group of humble shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem on the night that Emmanuel was born.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14

God With Us

Holiness with sinfulness. Wholeness with brokenness. Perfection with fallenness. God with us.

One of the greatest truths that defies our understanding, and one of the reasons we love God most, is because He has a desire and a commitment to be with us. He created us to be with Him. We then betrayed Him. We defected to another kingdom and joined the rebellion. Our communion with Him had to end. The Garden of Eden was closed for good. Paradise was lost.

But the story was the Author’s still and from the beginning, God had made a plan to be with us … so that we could be with Him. While proclaiming the curse upon the woman, God said that a serpent-crusher would one day come, a male child born of a woman but not a man.

God used Isaiah to fill in the picture a bit. He prophesied that a virgin would conceive and bare a child and call him “Immanuel,” God with us (7:14). Isaiah also wrote that this child would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). Clearly, this child would be Deity in human form.

But how would He secure our salvation? Isaiah also wrote what is called “the Gospel in the Old Testament” in chapter 53. This God-Man would die a terrible and lonely death in our place and for all of our sins. Hundreds of years later, Jesus was born, and after four years of amazing ministry and teaching revealing who He really was, “God with us” became “God instead of us.” The Creator allowed Himself to be killed by His own creation … so that we could be forgiven and once again be back together with God. We think thanks!!!

Thanks for Never Leaving Us

As Emmanuel prepared to finish His work here and return to heaven, He gave several precious promises to His disciples. He said He and the Father would send His Spirit to indwell them as a comforter and guide (John 14:16-18, and 16:6-15). As He commissioned the disciples, He also said, “I will be with you to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). While He is not physically present with us as believers, His Spirit within us is our constant companion. He is still Emmanuel. “God with us” is now “God within us,” and He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us … never (Heb. 13:5).

In time, our physical separation from the Lord will be over. A few hours ago this precious lady, our dear friend Sarah, went to be with the Lord. She loved Him so much. God was with her through her walk on this earth, and now she is with Him in a fuller way. Faith has become sight. Her spirit has left her body and is present with the Lord. We will miss her, but we are so happy for her. She is more fully realizing her Emmanuel.

The Culmination of All Things – God With Us

Jesus said that one day He would come back for His own. “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). Notice that Jesus isn’t saying I will come take you to heaven, but rather take you to be with me – more Emmanuel talk.

Paul said that this return will involve a first and second step, a split second apart. Immediately after the resurrection of the justified, “we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.“

It is said that some Christians would want to go to heaven even if Jesus wasn’t there. But heaven is incidental. Our God wants to be with us; it is part of His very nature and character, and for this attribute of His we need to give Him our extreme thanks this holiday season!

May this Christmas season be a time of reflecting on Emmanuel coming to be with us and may you receive His perfect peace as you become conformed to His image.

PS. The explanation of the two different ways of spelling is that Immanuel is used in the Old Testament and Emmanuel is used in the New Testament.

Can You Thank Me?

/ thinkfulkarin / 2 Comments

Helen’s Story

Helen Roseveare was being forcibly pushed down the corridor of her simple Congolese mission home. The Rebels had attacked. Now it was her turn. They had smashed and demolished her home, saying they were looking for something.

As she was being physically abused, her mind called out to God, “Where are you?” Suddenly, she felt His presence and it was like He was asking her a question:

“Can you thank me for trusting you with this hard experience even if you don’t know why?”

The way we view God says everything about us.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

A.W.Tozer

Helen Roseveare was a servant of the Most High God who had given Him her life, her everything. After graduating from Cambridge Medical College she wanted to spend her life serving God as a missionary. She studied tropical medicine and French, and then took off for the Congo.

The Lord allowed great suffering in her life, but she was able to process her trauma as a privilege to enter into the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

Grace Infusion

My husband and I are serving in KwaZuluNatal, South Africa. We are involved in a rural ministry called 7 Rivers Outreach based out of nearby Grace Baptist Church in Amanzimtoti. Recently we began building our first Community Centre called the Thola Centre. It is so exciting to see the walls being built and to imagine the ministry that will take place within those walls. We, too, are looking to build a health clinic at that site. It will not be a hospital or even close to what Helen Roseveare was involved in, but it will be a start.

When I read about Helen’s attitude when she went though such hardship, my heart was pricked. Would I have responded in that manner? I am not sure I would have. I marveled at the way she was processing things that could have completely destroyed her. Even when enduring the gruesome act of rape, she said that she had given her body to the Lord and that when they hurt her, they were hurting the Lord Jesus. If you are interested in learning more about Helen, click on her name above.

When we go through different kinds of “hard,” there is a grace infusion into us that is not normally there. With the trial comes the grace. I can walk with my God, my Abba, my Shepherd today and know that He will never leave me, nor forsake me. He has promised to be with me to the end of the age. Helen’s faith enabled her to download that grace infusion to process her trauma with His help.

Can You Thank Me?

But with a great trial and His grace-infusion rising in equal measure, God at times communicates inaudibly to your soul. Amidst all the noise and jostling, she heard Him ask her something. She later wrote about His puzzling question:

“Can you thank me for trusting you with this hard experience even if you don’t know why?”

There is a big difference between thanking God in the trial and thanking God for the trial. When we fully are able to see God as completely sovereign and trustworthy, we move into a different category. God would give both a sense of His presence and His grace to mentally-emotionally process the trauma she would go through. Like Israel, God would send her through fire and deep waters, but He would be with her.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Toward the end of his trial, God communicated with Job, not answering why he was suffering, but describing His own creative genius and power such that Job was left speechless. When Job got this inside and over-the-top view of who God really was, he was able to process his trauma differently. Instead of accusing God, Job put his hand over his mouth (Job 38-42).

God is God, and I am not.

“Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.”

Psalm 135:6

Lord, help me to trust You even when I don’t understand all that You are doing. Help me to walk by faith and cling to Your grace and peace.

Helen went home to be with the Lord at the age of 91. The Lord was faithful to her to the end. He didn’t shield her from harsh difficulties, but He helped her through them. She was even able to be thinkful, to think thanks for the most gruesome happenings, because she fully acknowledged the control and unknown purposes of her Master and Savior (Isaiah 55:8-9) and she entered into the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

The Gratitude Tree

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The Tree – A Common Miracle

The seed is planted. The tiny little capsule that houses great potential is placed down into the porous earth and patted still.

The seed is watered. The water seeps in around the little seemingly dead shell and provides needed moisture.

In time, the kernel germinates. The miracle of reproduction has begun as designed by the Creator, and slowly new growth forges out from the cracked pod reaching for the surface.

As the sun shines on the tiny seedling, the plant pushes up towards it. Little by little the seedling develops. Its roots sprout downwards to gain ground and the top of the plant reaches upward towards the sun. It is interesting to note that the root system for a tree is usually 1.5 times the crown of the tree. It takes a strong foundational anchoring network to assure that the tree gathers nutrition and stands firm even in strong storms.

Trees differ greatly in how fast they grow depending on their species and climate. Some trees in the heat of the equator can grow over five meters in a year while other trees in colder climates grow much slower.

The Tree – An Uncommon Illustration

The Lord uses the visual of a tree in Scripture. A physical illustration can help us understand abstract ideas. There are so many parallels between the structure and functions within a tree and the spiritual life, that one almost wonders whether God created trees chiefly for that purpose.

In Psalm 1, David describes a man delighting in the law of the Lord and meditating on it day and night, like a tree whose roots drink from a nearby river. This tree produces fruit in its season without the leaves ever withering. In Jeremiah 17, the man whose trust is the Lord is like a tree that flourishes even in heat.

“rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.“

Colossians 2:3

The th(i)nkful logo is a tree. I chose that logo because it is only possible to think and express thanks when a person is fully rooted in the belief that God is sovereign and can trust His character to do what is best in our lives. Only when resting in His promises, can we confidently choose to download grace/strength to think thanks in every circumstance we face.

Th(i)nkful (adj) describing people who choose to download grace/strength from the Lord to think thanks about every circumstance in their life and to express that thanks orally or in written form.

thinkful.blog

The Tree – An Idea From a Sister Counselor

We are three sisters from different mothers.

Debbie, Roxanne, and I served together in South Africa. We are all biblical counselors that seek to speak truth into counseling situations that God gives us. We get together online since we are now often on three different continents, and pray together and give each other good resource ideas to help with new challenges.

Recently, one of us had someone dear go through a difficult challenge. Hard circumstances were flooding this person’s life. The difficulties were not easy to fix, but she was confident she could trust our Lord’s sovereign plan. Then, she came across a great tool – a Gratitude Tree.

This is actually a product that you can purchase online. You put together the plywood pieces for the trunk and branches. You then use the green slips of paper to write down things for which you are thankful and place them on the little tree form. What a great idea, especially for moms and teachers! After some time, the little tree has lots of green, thankful leaves that produce a visual of the many things you are thinking thanks for.

I wanted to write and highlight this idea because I am always looking for ways to help people develop th(i)nkfulness. Sharing clever ways can inspire someone to action. Maybe you?

You don’t need to order the Gratitude Tree, but how are you promoting gratitude in your family? You could design and make something yourself. The beauty about using a tree visual is that it illustrates that it is a process. Just like how the tree has to be firmly rooted and connected to life-giving resources to produce leaves, so we have to be rooted firmly in our trust that God is in control and has “got this.” It is then that we can choose to think thanks about our current situation in light of our dear Saviour’s work in our life through our pain.

The Tree – Your Spiritual and Mental Health

So if you were to describe your level of gratitude as a tree, how would that tree look? Do you have a healthy brain neural pathway in place that kicks in with thankfulness when the storms of life come your way? Are you daily nurturing a good root system in God’s Word and His character for your gratitude tree so it can be put into action quickly?

We don’t have to develop thankfulness just for self-improvement, although that would be an admirable objective in and of itself. We strive to think thanks as a spiritual discipline in obedience to our God who has the goal of conforming us to the image of His Son. As our Creator, He has exhorted us to give thanks in all circumstances (I Thessalonians 5:18).

“Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.”

James Clear

Th(i)nkful to be Worthy

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Stripped and Beaten

“The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

Acts 16:22-24

This photo is the alleged site in Philippi in which Paul and Silas were thrown into prison.

Paul and Silas had been obeying God and had shared the good news of the gospel with the people of Philippi. The Lord had opened one lady’s heart to the message; Lydia repented and believed. This was a new type of city for Paul on his missionary journey. He was trying to stay in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), but God had miraculously led him to cross over to Europe, to Macedonia. Philippi was the first stop. They didn’t even have ten devout Jewish men in that city to justify a Jewish synagogue.

Lydia, a business woman who dealt in purple fabric, was the first European convert. On the other end of the social spectrum was a slave girl who was demonized, and through the Apostle Paul’s prayer and rebuke, she was set free. These two were certainly very unlikely beginnings for a missionary’s church-planting strategy on a new continent. God works in mysterious ways. His ways are so much better than our ways.

But then Paul and Silas, in God’s providence, were taken captive and abused. This was illegal since they were Roman citizens. But the LORD was working out His plan through the stripping and beating and imprisonment. He loves His children, but often uses their suffering in this fallen world to accomplishes His greater purposes. Think Jesus.

Worship is Responding to God’s Sovereign Control

This is one of my favorite accounts in scripture. Paul and Silas were so convinced of the Lord being with them and working through their hardship that they reacted with worship!!! Can you believe it?

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them …”

Acts 16:25

They were thinking thanks. They were th(i)nkful! They were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake. They followed the example of the other apostles in the first church in Jerusalem (Acts 5:40-41). Perhaps they thought, “We are privileged to suffer at the hands of religious and government leaders … just like our Lord Jesus. We must be doing something right, and God must be doing something good!”

When we encounter hardships, do we have this kind of reaction?

It is interesting to note that the other prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas praying and singing. Who sings in prison? They were pondering these echoing words of worship, which had to be sincere because there was no visible audience, and most prisoners would say that their god was punishing them or had failed them because they were in prison. But not these two.

The other prisoners also witnessed the miracle that God was about to perform.

God Intervenes

“… And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.”

Acts 16:26

The LORD God chose to intervene and send an earthquake and break the chains. This resulted in the Philippian jailer believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. His family also believed when they heard Paul speak. They were baptized right then. Wow!

How Does That Affect Karin?

On July 2, my husband and I arrived in the US after a long 43 hour trip from Amanzimtoti, SA. We were weary from a very full and demanding week of our first 7 Rivers children’s camp. Switching cultures can be exciting, but also draining and difficult when you are bone-tired. We felt low. It was even David’s birthday and I felt I had not properly prepared enough to express my deep, deep love and gratitude for my dear husband.

Sleep is a very good thing! The next morning we both were encouraged to keep on keeping on. Then I listened to a message that our son Joshua had preached the day before. It was on Acts 16:11-40. As the Spirit spoke through His Word and through our son, my faith was edified. I started to meditate on Paul and Silas praying and singing in that prison. I started to think about how God uses weak things to do His work….. like using me. He is the One that deserves all the glory. He delights in our weakness so that His strength can be made perfect in us.

Thank You, my Father, for helping me look to Jesus. This world is passing away. We must have ETERNITY stamped on the back of our eyelids. We look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame…. (Hebrews 12:2).

How Does That Affect You?

Do you respond to whatever is difficult in your life like Paul and Silas did in the yucky prison in Philippi? They saw God’s hand in their circumstances, and they practiced God’s presence by singing to Him.

God is micromanaging the good and bad circumstances in your life. Bad things happening has nothing to do with the way God feels about you if you are a true born-again believer. Jesus lived in near constant heat and discomfort without running water, electricity, or wifi, pressed by the crowds, traveling constantly, sleeping under the stars often, verbally abused and gossiped about by leaders, misunderstood by His disciples, and eventually betrayed by one of His own. This is the type of life the Father chose for the Son of His love.

God is not primarily our friend. He is the Author of history who is working out His infinitely complex plan. He is our Father. He is our coach putting us through structured suffering at times. And God is watching. And God rewards. Think thanks to God that you are loved and part of His plan, that He is in control, that His character is fully trustworthy, and that His mercies are new every morning.

“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love.”

Psalm 33:18