"Sweet Side of Suffering": A Book Review

Have you ever had a book come at the precise moment the message is needed? 

This has been happening to me a lot lately.

Here lately my books for review have a running theme: 

SUFFERING

Each book has dealt with suffering and how we should react when...

Notice I didn't state "IF" suffering happens.   

"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, 

but also to suffer for His sake" Philippians 1:29

Esther Lovejoy bared her heart and struggles in her own times of suffering throughout the book. 

"I've gotten to know God through my own times of struggle is that sometimes He will withhold what we think we must have for life in order to give us what He knows we MUST have for godliness. It is not always a comfortable exchange, but it is always a worthwhile one."---Esther Lovejoy (emphasis mine)

Lovejoy, a pastor's wife for nearly 30 years, who was active in church activities and preparing for her leadership roles realized "she had better start reading the Bible not to prepare and give out" would be her greatest need in her own life. As one who has been in leadership, this resonated with me. 

Many times when in leadership, we fall into the belief that preparing to teach and lead counts as our own time in the Word. It is only when we realize preparing is not spending our own time with God and His Word. Each one of us needs our own time in His Word. 

"For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in His steps..." 1 Peter 2:21

Only through suffering with Christ can we comprehend and experience the fellowship of suffering with our Lord and Saviour. Lovejoy expounds, "It's not enough to just know about Christ's suffering. We need to....fellowship in His sufferings."

However, we must make the conscious decision to "allow our pain to identify" with Jesus.

Therefore, "Sweet Side of Suffering" shows the reader how to find the proper attitude and understanding of suffering in one's life. The thing this blogger likes is Lovejoy does not only focus on how one can find the 'sweet' side of suffering, but how our suffering will "overflow onto the pain of others, we can truly offer them the sweetness of shared suffering~the gift of efu."

I discussed 'efu' and how the church of today is failing this concept here.

**The publisher provided a preview copy of the book in return for an unbiased review of the book**

Walk in your healing....

I originally wrote the following blog post in August 2010. With all the commotion and excitement of my parent's home rebuild, I have been quite busy. I have made a couple revisions to the original post. May each of you have a blessed week.  

This is what it looked like on Monday

On Tuesday it was like this...

On Wednesday, funny thing when I left I shut the front door :-)

Church: What does it mean to you?

The Lord gave me an acronym for the Church. The interesting thing is He gave me the beginning of it in 2002 but didn’t finish it until the early hours of the morning today. Here is the Acronym:

  C: Christ

    H: Healing

   U: Unruly

        R: Rebellious

     C: Children

H: Here  

The interesting thing to me is I have been waiting 8 years for the last part of that acronym. Then as plain as day my Loving Heavenly Father told me that is what His Church should be doing walking in our healing HERE.

We all have been unruly, rebellious children. Yet, Christ has set us free. Yes, 

  some of us are still being pretty unruly and rebellious...

that will be a blog for another day. 

Why are we not walking in our healing here today? 

We have bought into the lie that our healing will not happen until heaven.

What is this Healing?

 ~It is Healing from being separated from God. 

~Healing from the world

~ Healing from bondage (emotionally, spiritually, and mentally)

However, we are used to being in bondage. 

We literally don't know how to walk in the freedom and healing

 that Christ has provided.

 A Pastor friend's son broke his leg. The Dr. stressed to the family how important it would be for him to use his leg once the cast came off.  The Dr explained his leg had been bound for so long his body and leg became use to it being bound. If the young man didn’t use his leg, the leg would become nonfunctional. 

The initial moving of the leg would be painful but vital. The family would be responsible for reminding him of the TRUTH about his leg.

It was HEALED! 

Just like this young man's broken leg,  

each of us have areas in our lives where we are bound. 

Some have been bound so long that even when Christ heals us, 

we are resistant to walking. 

We must retrain yourselves to understand we are not bound any longer.  

We need walk in the freedom our Savior Jesus Christ has given. 

Will it be painful? Yes, at times for we will have opposition. 

This opposition will be from both inside and outside. 

Our own minds, will oppose the new thinking of walking in freedom. Remember the broken leg of the Pastor's son. We are comfortable being bound. Nobody wants to admit this truth. Being bound is comfortable, walking in freedom and healing is uncharted territory and scary territory. 

Are you walking in your Christ given Freedom? Or are you still living bound? Are we reminding one another of your healing? 

Make the decision today to walk in your freedom. 

Remind someone today of their healing.

Excuse me did you say 'efu'...

Photo Credit: Dew Photography VA

I want to give a forewarning. This blog will be seen controversial by some. My intent in writing came from seeing a deficiency in our ranks. How can we search for an answer if we don't see the problem? Only when our eyes are opened can we go to our Loving Savior and seek His Face on how to become more Christ-like. 

The idea and birth of this post came while reading Esther Lovejoy's book, "The Sweet Side of Suffering" and her discussion of the concept of 'efu'. 

EFU??? What is EFU???

Lovejoy explains 'efu' as "shared suffering, an act of expressing concern and empathy for a person who is dealing with something".  Sounds really nice doesn't it? My thoughts unfortunately didn't travel to how nice and sweet 'efu' is. No, instead my thoughts kept wandering to the fact that in today's church and society, we see a different mindset...
one of 'FU' instead of 'efu'. 

Sure, in the beginning of hard times, people in your community, church and circle of friends (Our C's) are usually kind and polite. Think Job's friends sitting with him in silence for seven days. A true display of 'efu'. 

Yet, if the issues goes on the kindness and politeness start to slip away. Our C's will start to look more like Job's friends. After seven days of silence, Job's friends began their dissertations and reasons for Job's issues. This is when 'efu' began a downward slide to 'FU' Then, if the problem, illness or situation goes on longer...

Then 'efu' turns into full-blown 'FU'

I don't believe Our C's do this intentionally. We have failed as a whole. None of us have been taught how to deal with issues for longer than a short period of time. Who determines how long PTSD, Depression, Family Conflicts, or even a Mental Breakdown should last? According to the majority of our society, if it can't be resolved within a few weeks then we must not want to have a real remedy. 

 Once again, I say all of this not to condemn the church, community or circle of friends. My reason for sharing is because we can't change if we don't understand there is a problem. 

The next time healing doesn't come within our time frame...

Remember God has called us to 'efu' and don't fall into a mindset of 'FU'

It is your turn. Have you ever felt like Our C's (community, church, or circle of friends) have either intentionally or unintentionally shown you  'FU' instead of 'efu'? Do you have an example of 'efu' to share? 

The Irresistible Table: A Book Review

Mary Demuth's latest offering became available today. This cookbook has some sweet recipes in it. 

When Mary gave me the cookbook, as a preview, her only request would be to make a recipe or two and give a review. 

Sweetie got to be the recipient of the Espresso brownies. I did adapt the recipe to be gluten free for my Sweetie. His review...

"These are awesome. They were good."

HE ATE THREE BROWNIES IN ONE SETTING.

He did say that because I made them gluten free they were more of a cake-type brownie.

In all honesty, I will probably use the cookbook mainly for the dessert recipes. 
However, I will adapt them to be gluten free for my Sweetie.

Even if the buyer only made the dessert recipes from the cookbook; which I am sure most people will use more than this one section, the book would be worth the price.

Treats in the book that aren't recipes:

~ Mary sharing why she loves to cook
~ Mary sharing her favorite cookbooks and why she likes them

Overall, "The Irresistible Table" is a great buy.

You can purchase the book today over at Amazon.

Disclaimer:  This is an affiliate link. However, I do not endorse books that I myself would not purchase. 

Letting God Have Control...

Father: Thank you for bringing me to this point in my life. A point where my desire to have more of You each day grows stronger. For You to be in control of every aspect of my life. Am I there yet? Letting You have complete control...How I wish the answer could be a definitive, 'Yes', but we both know that would be a lie. 

Someone makes a comment...it gets in my crawl, rubs me the wrong way. I want to not let it bother me. God is the one in control and His opinion of me needs to be the only one that mattters to me.Yet, almost a week later and my mind still wanders to a person's off-hand comment. Who is in control? 

Help me Jesus.  

“When we willingly accept our lot in life, welcoming all that God is trying to teach us through it, we lose the drive to over control, to micromanage in an all-out attempt to appear perfect and ensure everything is “just so."" Pg 54 "Let It Go" 

The Gospel of Yes....A Book Review

"The Gospel of Yes" by Mike Glenn kept popping up. Online friends were doing bible studies, others were reviewing it. However, I kept avoiding it. My thought: "the bandwagon for the title just wasn't my cup of tea." Initially, I had judged the book on title alone. The title screamed, "Name it and claim it" or "cotton candy" theology. Neither of which interest this blogger. 

Then the day came. Upon entering one of the sites where I obtain books to review, only a few titles were available to me. "Gospel of Yes" received its day of being downloaded to my Kindle. 

My decision became to read with an open mind. Then deal with the review when the time came. Here is the kicker...the book so far is not what I thought. I am still reading but have not seen anything along the lines of theology that I had suspected. Instead, the author has been discussing how God has gifted each of us with certain gifts. We need to take time to understand what they are and to limit our "yes" to the things within our gifts. Don't be a person who says 'yes' to everything which looks good for good does not mean God designed us to be the person for that thing. 

My one thing learned...

Don't judge a book by its title.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review. However, all reviews are the opinions of blogger and not influenced by the publisher.

Disconnected in a Connected World...

I absolutely love how God works things out for us. 

Today's guest poster, Tammy Karasek wrote the perfect post for the "Let It Go" Blog Hop. 

The amazing part is she just wrote what God put on her heart, not knowing (to my knowledge) about the blog hop. 

Photo Credit: Dew Photography VA

How Can We Be So Disconnected in Such a Connected World?

            Have you ever given much thought to how many ways we are “connected” to people these days? Think about it. If we can’t walk over to someone’s house, we can drive. If we can’t drive, we can call. If we can’t call we can text. If we can’t text, we can write a note. If we can’t write a note, we can send an email. It’s enough to make you dizzy thinking of the many ways we can reach out and connect.

           

            Yet, sometimes even though we can do something, doesn’t always mean we do. Often someone will come to my mind and I think, “Oh, I need to call her.” Then I realize I can’t call right now because I don’t have time to talk long. So I’ll think, “I’ll just run upstairs, fire up the computer and send her an email.” But I will remember that I have to do X-Y-Z before I run out the door. I’ll just have to do it tonight when I get back in.

            And it never happens that night. Or the next, for that matter.

            Last year, I was feeling very overwhelmed of all the “doing” I was attempting and never quite feeling like I was accomplishing a thing. It was as if every time I crossed one thing off of my list, three were added before the ink was dry. I kept meaning to slow down and reconnect with friends. Really, I did.

            As the year continued on, the same scripture verse kept re-appearing boldly and in places I would not expect. Whether written on a painting, a sermon on the radio or even someone sharing it in a Bible study.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

                                        Psalm 46:10a (ESV)

            Time went on and it became more and more evident that there was no way I was going to be able to “Be still, and know…” with all of the noise in the world. I kept thinking of people I wanted to connect with and trying to figure out how to squeeze it in. But I was so hooked on my electronic gizmos and gadgets, that there was no possible way I would ever be able to “Be still, and know…” Then it dawned on me. I was not connecting with the very One who craved my fellowship most.

           

            There was a huge decision to be made, something iHad to do and soon. It was that iHad to turn off the iPod, iPad, iPhone and iMac and turn on the Word of God. I needed to have communication with Him. It was “the” one that I was neglecting the most.

            To be able to re-connect with Him, I needed to return to praying. Not just praying every now and then when I remembered, but continually praying. The kind of communication that Paul tells us to do in I Thessalonians:

“pray without ceasing,”

                                                       I Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV)

            Since praying is how we communicate and connect with God, how in the world did I expect to be doing so when my mind was always preoccupied with all of my electronic devices sucking the life out of my brain and the time out of my day.

           

            Do I have it down perfect? No. Am I striving to fill more time with a sweet communion with God? You bet. My prayer for you is that you re-arrange your day around your electronic communication gadgets and let God take first place in communication and sweet fellowship.  And I’m working on re-connecting with friends face to face as well!

Meet Tammy: 

You can find Tammy seeing humor and laughter in every aspect of life and then telling all about it on her blog: http://tickledpinktammy.com.  Tammy’s rough childhood as a lonely, only-child who received much criticism from family is the driving force of her passion to always encourage others and make them smile.  She is a Christian who resides in Ohio with her husband of 31+ years, Larry.  They have a grown daughter, Kristen.   You can also connect with Tammy on her Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.karasek), twitter @tickledpinktam or e-mail: tickledpinktammy@gmail.com

Immediate Answers from God...

"Lord, I don't want to say I read through the Bible in a year chronologically but not be closer to you. Don't let it be about crossing off a to-do list, without being brought closer to You."

God answered my prayer. 

Why does it still astonish me when He immediately answers...

Why do I doubt Him answering...

These are just a few of the ways My Savior is still working on me. 

I shared on my personal FB that God showed me a part of Job, 

which had not been fully comprehended before and today I share with you.  

 "Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.  Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job."

Job 32:2-3 (emphasis on 'wrath' mine)

The word, wrath, jumped out at me. Elihu had not spoken until know. Remember he starts by saying, "he was young" we all can normally recall that part of his speech. Yet, wrath not so much. What does wrath mean? Also, wasn't God the only one in which the word, wrath is normally used?

Dictionary.com defies it as a strong, stern, and fierce anger. What caused Elihu to have such anger?

It was two things, according to verse 2 & 3:

~ He had wrath against Job, who justified himself rather than God

~ He had wrath against Job's friends for finding no answer. Yet, condemning Job

Have you been in either of these places? Where you justified your actions instead of God? 

Things such as: 

~ If God had been there I wouldn't have fallen into that temptation

~ God didn't stop me therefore, God is to blame

Or have you been condemned by others even though they had no answer for your trials?

~ Like Job's friends, stating their must be guilt or sin for you to be in such a trial

~ Or being told you didn't have enough faith to bring you through

We could list many more but I believe we get the gist. Elihu was "aroused to wrath" but what did he do with his wrath? This is where our journey takes us next...

I thank God for answering my prayer immediately. Share in the comments how God immediately answered a prayer for you. This is a community and we love to interact with each of you.

Spiritual Simplicity: A Book Review

This past Friday, I finished a preview copy of Chip Ingram's new book, "Spiritual Simplicity" which released on January 8th.

My first reaction while reading:

"Where was this book last year when I needed to hear these words?" 

Then slowly and lovingly God revealed to me, a year ago, I would not have received the words and wisdom written by Ingram in his latest offering. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have finished the book. Ingram is raw, real and relational as he writes about our attempts to:

~Be it all

~ Do it all

~ Have it all

and how this as Ingram states, "..has created a complex world that"

~ Moves too fast

~ Delivers too little

~ Demands too much

Ingram's words stung for this blogger, as he explained, we may not say these words out loud or even consciously try to live these "all's" but we are doing exactly that..."trying to live the all's" to the fullest.

Why did his words sting?

 Because this blogger was there. I was one of the busiest people for God out there. Deaconess, Sunday School teacher, Media Director, you name it and I was doing it for God. I held a degree in doing more. 

Then came August 2011. When my 'major life event' happened.

Ingram explains, in the book, how it is usually some type of major life event... for me a breakdown (insert your own major life event here) 

which opens our eyes to the fact we are trying to 'be, do, and have it all'. 

Here is the great part...Ingram doesn't leave us there. 

He uses the rest of the book to show us how "loving people" is what matters. 

The main concept of the book is "Love More and Do Less." 

Many of you are thinking right now, "That would be nice but not possible in my life!" 

That is where I was when in the throws of life before August of 2011. 

Then my major life event happened. 

My life changed and is still changing each day as I learn to "Love More"

I have not arrived, but I am learning to "Love More and Do Less." 

Does this new lifestyle of "Loving More and Doing Less" ruffle the feathers of some? 

The people who are still tying to be, do and have it all. For some yes. They feel as if I have given up and am doing nothing for God. This is farthest from the truth.

 God has more of me know then He did 18 months ago. 

Ingram's major life event...when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. 

He shares, "When Theresa was diagnosed it was easy to say, no. No, to the speaking engagements. No, to anything that would take me away from Theresa."

I leave you with these words from "Spiritual Simplicity":

"Whatever you are doing with your time and life, you're wasting it if you're not loving people."

I would give "Spiritual Simplicity" by Chip Ingram 5 out of 5 stars.

**The publisher provided a preview copy of the book in return for an unbiased review of the book**

Resolution for Accountability: Michelle Lazurek

Today's post is from a She Speaks Sister, Michelle Lazurek. 

Michelle challenges women to live out their stories. 

I am blessed to have her guest post on Dawn's Dialogue. 

Visit her website from the information at the end of the post. 

A Resolution for Accountability

As we celebrate the New Year, we always think about resolutions. Normally those resolutions revolve around losing something: losing weight, quitting a bad habit, etc.  Sometimes it involves starting something new: exercising more, drinking more water, cleaning up your credit card debt. We do these individually, expecting that we will meet our personal goals by ourselves. 

But how successful is that?

Do you know which weight loss program is by far the most successful? Weight Watchers. Why? It is not the food, or counting points, but it is the meetings. The meetings give members the ability to achieve their goals through the accountability factor. Once a week, each member steps on the scale and weighs in publicly. No opportunity to make excuses, fudge numbers or slip out the door.  We can say we have worked hard to lose weight, but the number on the scale tells the true story. 

If accountability is so successful in other aspects of life, why don’t we utilize it in our church lives? As Christians, we do things individually. We think spiritual growth is achieved alone. Yet, statistically, members lose more weight attending the weekly meetings than they do at home. In order to grow in Christ, we need to bear each other’s burdens.

So, how do we achieve accountability within the church body?

Attend small groups- Small groups help people share their burdens, display spiritual gifts and achieve relational intimacy necessary for a vibrant walk with God. Meeting weekly establishes trust among members and makes it easier to share struggles and personal prayer requests.

Be hospitable- Jesus spent a portion of his ministry eating at others’ homes. So should we. Hospitality helps acquaintances become friends. 

It breaks down walls and lets people experience the joy of fellowship.

Find a prayer partner- If larger groups make you feel uncomfortable, find one person to pray with you each week.  It does not have to take a lot of time to pray with someone. You may find someone else has similar struggles.

As we approach the New Year ahead, make a resolution to become accountable with someone in your church body today.

Michelle S. Lazurek is a pastor's wife, a mother, an author, and a speaker. She has been published in numerous publications, including www.womensministry.net, and christiandevotions.us. Please visit her website at www.michellelazurek.com

 Today, I have the wonderful opportunity to share over at one of my favorite places

 ENCOURAGEMENT CAFE!

Come and learn how the concept of One Word became introduced to me. 

My One Word for 2013 is "Diligent" and I shared more about this word here. 

Go ahead...jump on over to Encouragement Cafe to learn more about One Word. 

ENCOURAGEMENT CAFE

Thanks to all the staff at Encouragement Cafe for giving writers the opportunity to write for them. 

Hi My Name is Dawn...

Hi My Name is Dawn...

In August 2011, I had what would be termed as a mental/emotional breakdown.
The events leading up to the break down are not what is important at this time. 

What is important...

I have learned a lot about myself and my JESUS since then. 

Jesus has shown me ...the breakdown does not define me but it has changed me.

Jesus has declared on multiple occasions:

My status as His Yahweh Young-un is what defines me. 

Therefore, the question becomes how have I changed? Are they good changes or bad changes? 

The answer to these questions may differ depending on who you ask.

These are some of the changes Jesus has revealed over the last few months:

~I am not STRONG. 

It is Christ who is STRONG.

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, 

so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2nd Corinthians 12:9 ESV

There will be no more of me always being the strong one. The one who has to handle everything. I will admit to my weaknesses and let Jesus handle them. 

~ I am a DIFFERENT person. 

This has been the most difficult aspect for people to come to grips with over these last 18 months. 

Even after moving back to VA, reconnecting with friends here has been challenging. 

Plugging in with people, talking to strangers, or even socializing is no longer easy and simple. Actually, it never really was but I played an "extrovert" role for so long that I almost lost who God created me to be. For now on there will be more embracing the personality to God gave me.

Upon telling my Sweetie, since I am no longer the woman he married it would be totally understandable if he left me.

 His response, "I meant the vow spoken when we married and am here until death do us part." 

Yes, my Sweetie is a GREAT GUY!!!

~ I am an Introvert

For years, I saw this as a weakness and did everything in my own power to be an extrovert. Our society looks down on introverts. Jesus is showing me there are introverts in the Bible. He wants me to be who He created me to be. This means I am not at every event anymore. I take time alone to refuel. 

As I learn about being an introverts, it is becoming clear why the perspective and passion of this blog, "Connecting in a Communcation-saturated World" is so dear to me. 

Jesus is teaching me everyday what He is doing in me. He is preparing me. My job is to trust Him. 

Thanks for being here as I journey through this adventure with my Jesus on Dawn's Dialogue.

Beautiful Purpose: A Book Review...

One thing I strive for in my book reviews is honesty. When first starting to read Susie Larson's, "Your Beautiful Purpose", my thoughts were not what would be considered complimentary. 

HOWEVER, as I have continued reading the book, my click and highlight section in Kindle is growing. Larson may have started out slow but she definitely doesn't leave it there!

Her Chapter on "Face Your Fears" is one of the strongest written on the topic of understanding the enemy is a loser and God is working HIS PLAN in each of us.

Here is one nugget of truth shared by Larson, 

"Peace isn't ultimately a place. Peace is ultimately a Person. And the Person of Christ has an ultimate purpose in Christ---just for you"

Larson tackles some of the following:

 ~ Jealousy and she shares a prayer for Sisters in Christ that is inspiring

~ Facing our fears 

~ Realizing Relationship is what Jesus wants with us

This only names a few of the topics covered.

You may be thinking haven't other books covered these topics?

The answer is "YES..." 

BUT...Larson has a way of bringing them into a fresh perspective. 

Therefore, I can and will recommend this book to others. 

Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review. However, all reviews are the opinions of blogger and not influenced by the publisher.

God is still Good...

People seem to be improving and then die....

GOD IS STILL GOOD!!

Houses burn...

GOD IS STIL GOOD!!

Innocent children die...

GOD IS STILL GOOD!!

Job's wife wanted him to curse God...

"His wife asked him, 'Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse God and die!'"

Job 2:9 GW

 However, Job stood fast and replied:

"You're talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that God gives us. 

Shouldn't we also accept the bad." 

Job 2:10a GW 

The next part of verse 10 is what trips this "Yahweh Young un"* up:

"Through all of this Job's lips did not utter one sinful word."

Job 2:10b GW

Job was diligent. 

Read the second half of verse 10 again..

Here is how it reads in The Message:

"Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God."

Job's loss included all his fortune, all his children and his health. 

Yet, he did not utter one sinful word or say anything against God. 

In my lifetime of 45 years so far: 

~ I have experienced the loss of one child through miscarriage, 

~ Never had any fortune to lose

 ~ Have been battling with various health issues for the last 18 months

Yet, unlike righteous Job, I can NOT say:

I have NOT "uttered one sinful word"

God is slowly revealing to me this is the reason "diligent" is My One Word for 2013. 

JOB WAS DILIGENT.

Diligent is described in the following ways and these are all qualities and characteristics in Job,
which I want God to put in me:

~ Marked by persevering, painstaking effort

~ Persistent and hard working

~ Characterized by a steady, earnest and energetic effort

Job understood Joshua 22:5:

"But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

In adversity Job, cleaved to God and served Him with all His heart and with all His soul...

Job knew that circumstances, whether good or bad, did not change one specific REALITY...

 GOD IS STILL GOOD!!

Are you walking in circumstances that have caused you to forget GOD IS STILL GOOD?

You are not alone, I have been there. 
Yet, today I choose to have the mindset of "Diligent" Job and cry out:

GOD IS STILL GOOD!!!

**Yahweh Young un: One of God's children.** 

The Dividing Wall: Guest Poster Shelly Hollis...

Today's guest poster is Shelly Hollis from SHINE Ministries. 

"In a word, Shelly is a teacher. She has a passion for studying the precepts of the Bible and has taken Ezra 7:10 to heart: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” STUDY~PRACTICE~TEACH – that is her calling." 

To learn more about Shelly or her online Hebrew Inductive Bible Study

 click the corresponding links below:

SHINE Ministries

Hebrews Online Bible Study

Enjoy Shelly's guest post and show her some love.

I am going to ask you a very personal question in this post, friends. Is there someone in your life with which you are not at peace? Something happened – something little – that slowly built a wall of hostility brick by brick by brick.

When the “incident” first happened, you didn’t think too much of the first brick, or even the first row of bricks, that was laid down. As a matter of fact, you may have even supplied some of the mortar that is now keeping that wall in place. But now – oh now – you have a massive brick wall blocking the view and separating you from someone you once loved.

You have prayed for peace in the matter, but it just has not come. You have pounded on the wall, but it has not fallen. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:14 that Jesus Himself is our peace and that He broke down “the barrier of the dividing wall.”

What wall was Paul referring to in these verses? The reference is to a very real wall in the temple that separated the Gentiles into the “outer” court. It was also called the middle wall of partition.

The Jews fully believed that Gentiles would defile the temple if they entered. They even posted a sign that threatened death to any Gentile who was bold enough (or stupid enough) to enter. It was truly a dividing wall of hostility that separated two nations of people.

But Christ abolished that enmity in His flesh by dying on the cross and brought forgiveness of our sins. The cross was not just a great equalizer of Jews and Gentiles, but rather, it created a whole new breed of people - Christ followers. In one felled-swoop, Christ symbolically knocked that dividing wall to pieces, “thus establishing peace” (Ephesians 2:15).

Goodness, don’t you wish Jesus could do that for you right now? Newsflash – He can! The enmity and hostility that built that dividing wall between you and a loved one was built brick by brick. But when you are submissive to Christ, He can demolish that wall immediately for both parties.

What does it take? It takes a lot of humility – maybe even some facedown time before Christ. You see, pride so often keeps one or both parties from allowing Christ to abolish the wall.

The choice is yours…you can choose to continue to hold the grudge or you can choose today to reach across that wall and extend forgiveness with all humility and then watch that wall crumble.

If Christ was able to reconcile two nations into one new man, surely He can reconcile your relationship with your spouse, a friend, or a family member. Choose forgiveness today and let Christ be your peace and your demolition crew!

Note from Dawn: The subject of this guest post hit hard for me. Bricks seem to sneak in and build the dividing wall quicker than I like to admit. Thanks to Shelly for the reminder of where I need to go to have the wall removed.