faith at work – The Jesus Chick

Posted in Life Inspiration

This is a Test of the Emergency Faith System

Written by talk2shari Published September 12, 2014October 10, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trialwhich is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

I’m not sure they even do it any more, with no more television than I watch I very well could have missed it. But if you’re of any age at all you remember the feeling when that high pitched sound would come on along with the colorful test patch during your favorite show and it was the longest 60 seconds of your life. You’d be just on the edge of throwing a fit and it would end. Well…I’ve been just on the edge of throwing a fit lately as God’s allowed me to go through my own little test patch.

As a kid I felt as though that emergency broadcast test was put there just to annoy me. What possible purpose could a high pitch noise and a rainbow serve?

It’s time for peace….

Tests and trials of faith generally spring forth without warning and can be on a number of levels depending upon what the Lord allows. Mine seems to be more on the dull ache side, not the extreme. The extreme would be what a family in our community is now facing; the loss of a husband, dad, and granddad to a tragic tractor accident yesterday, that’s the ultimate test. Please pray for them in the upcoming days, I’m sure they could use it. The point of the matter is we’ve all had those times when the sirens have alarmed and we’re warned that we’re under attack. The Holy Spirit speaks sweet peace to the soul when those siren’s sound; but the Spirit is quiet… you have to slow down and listen. Satan will scream louder and louder, sit quieter and quieter. Get in your closet and prayer, get in your Bible and read.

It’s time to prepare, not panic…

Satan loves it when he can get you panicking over something. Because it’s a fact if you’re running around in solo survival mode you’ve got your eyes off Jesus. We need to stand behind God, not in front of Him flailing our arms, God already knows what you need By making a spectacle of yourself you’ve just alerted the enemy and anyone else that you’re not trusting God.

It’s time to remember the promise…

That rainbow patch can certainly serve as the reminder that God gave to Noah at the end of the flood. He placed the bow in the sky as symbol, a covenant of Grace… although I have to wonder if sometimes He’d not like to tie a knot in that bow and scratch the idea of preservation. But unlike man God’s Word is faithful and true. Regardless of the circumstances around us, the people who let us down, the chain of events that befall us… God’s patch of protection covers us all.

Short and sweet blog today… just needed to reassure myself that God has me covered.

Posted in Christian Service, Life Inspiration, Life's Failures

Trust Issues

Written by talk2shari Published August 19, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

T.R.U.S.T. – Total Reliance on Something Tested

I use my cell phone as an alarm clock, and as it goes off in the wee hours of the morning there are usually message popping up on the screen as well, it’s certainly not uncommon. But an encourager in the faith who occasionally and very randomly messages me awoke me this morning with that acronym, a word of encouragement and scripture from Psalm 44. He didn’t know that I needed it. Only those very close to me knows that I’m facing another time of uncertainty in my life. And Satan, who has been trying very hard to discourage me, has been thwarted at every turn by the Lord. I’m so humbled, because my weak faith certainly doesn’t deserve it.

Over the past few days I’ve been meeting my past. Memories, people, things… and as I walked across the campus of Glenville State College I happen to run upon a previous boss, that I loved, and in my frustration I ask “God why is this happening? Why now, when I need encouragement, am I meeting past failures?” And as sure as my name is Shari, He spoke to my heart and said those weren’t failures, those were provisions. Those were times when you had nothing and I gave you great things. Why do you always depend on yourself?” So I reflected again on the people and the places of my life… and sure enough there it was as He had said. Provision, and not of my own.

Psalm 44

His Work

1-8 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

²How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

His Weapons

³For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

⁴Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

⁵Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

⁶For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

His Worship

⁷But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

⁸In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

His Word

In the scripture, and through the message of another child of God he encourages me to praise Him today, for He alone is faithful. My secular job ends September 30^th. In these very uncertain times not having a job can be an issue. I’ve been here before, several times… And each time God did a miraculous work! I’ve been here since the day I told God “no” to full time ministry in 2010. Do you think that’s a coincidence? Me neither.

For those who do not know the story, I did not tell God “no” in disrespectful rebellion (though it was rebellion.) I told Him “no” because I really couldn’t see the “how.” After jobs kept “mysteriously” ending I stopped asking “how” and began asking “when?” I’m still waiting for that answer… rebellion comes with a price.

Posted in Uncategorized

Meat & Potato Faith!

Written by talk2shari Published April 11, 2013April 11, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Psalm 119:131-134 ~ I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.

I look back on my life and so much of it has been wasted under the oppression of man. I would let others define my day, be it good or bad. If my work pleased my master’s (note the small “m”) then it was great day, if it didn’t I would fret over it for days. I would rehash again and again what I could have done differently. As I’ve grown in the Lord I’ve changed. I won’t tell you I don’t have moments of relapse, but they’re temporary. I strive to live for Christ, and if man gets pleased along the way then that makes for an awesome day. But if I do all I can do in my ministry or in my secular career that has to be enough. And life is too short to waste it eating hash.

Hash is a meat and potatoes dish that I love, and these verses in Psalm 119 remind me of the “meat and potatoes” of Christian faith.

Longing for God’s Word

If you do not have a desire in your heart to read the Word of God, you are already defeated. Mark it down this day… you lose. Because as one who’s been there I know, I have a whole closet full of those shirts! You have got to make time in your day for the Word of God because in it is the wellspring of life! Proverbs 16:22 says it ~ Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

To understand that the Bible is a living document is key. I can guarantee, because my God is faithful, that if you open the Bible up and begin reading anywhere in it there is a word for your day. It’s shocking sometimes how spot on the Bible will be in my life, and yet it shouldn’t be. If I believe what I say, then why would it shock me? So… Do you have that longing in your heart? I have no doubt that you do, you may have mashed it down beneath the load of care you’re choosing to haul around by yourself today, but it’s in there.

Looking in God’s Word

David said that he wanted God to order his steps. He said earlier in Psalm 37:23 that “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” David knew that the only way to find happiness and contentment in life was to follow the path that God had designed. It’s not always obvious, but there are always clues. You may be asking “So what does that mean when you live and work in a world that is not God conscious?”

Just because those around you don’t acknowledge God in the equation doesn’t remove Him. It just means that they don’t get to enjoy the favor of God. If you go to work looking for God, He’ll be there. It may be in a small way, or it may be huge! It begins with you going to work to please God, not those you work for, although they’ll be pleased in the process. I’ve been blown away lately by the way God has been working with me on my job. My thoughts are clearer, my direction more defined both spiritually and mentally because I spend my day seeking Him in whatever I’m doing. I know that if I seek to please Him, I will do my job in a manner that will please my employer. And if I fall short (as I often do) God’s mercy has me covered!

Leaving behind the false word

David said he wanted God to “Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.” If you are trying to live a God focused life, it’s almost a given that Satan will send someone to blindside you. David knew that it would not be easy to keep the principles of God because he’d fallen so many times before. The oppression of man is the coercion of others to get off track.

They can do this in a number of ways:

DISCOURAGMENT: how many times have we heard “that won’t work.

DOUBT: How many times have we heard “are you sure you want to do that?”

DOOM: “No matter how you do it, it still ends up bad”

LEAVE THEM BEHIND!

Focus on God’s Word, it’s guaranteed truth!