Month: March 2019

I am so excited. I recently finished the manuscript for a Bible study called Valiant.  It’s an in depth look at how a believer can live with resilience in the face of opposition, trials, and the regular everyday “stuff” of life.  The answer lies in a deeper understanding of the valiant love God has for us. From Genesis to Revelation, God has revealed His deep, radical, passionate love for us in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  As we come to more fully know God’s unstoppable love, we develop the grit to face whatever trials come our way with confidence. To love as we have been loved.

Recently someone in the publishing industry kindly gave me some guidance on how to begin the process of getting the book from my computer into your hands.  He gave me lots of practical advice. And he also was very honest that the odds are against a publisher printing the work of a first-time author.

Now in the past there’s a very good chance I would have read his message and been discouraged. If there’s no chance, why even bother trying?  But not this time. Because I’ve learned some things along the way in preparing the Valiant study.

From the publisher’s viewpoint, I am completely unqualified.  I’m an unknown, a nobody, a risk.

But what I’ve learned is that this scenario is actually completely perfect.  If I were qualified, the book wouldn’t be worth reading. It’s God who qualifies me.  It’s God who has called me, identified me as His, given me a purpose, and made me His daughter and an heir of His Kingdom. He did this all for me in spite of the fact that I was completely undeserving.  It’s all because of His matchless, marvelous grace that is completely sufficient for every obstacle I face.

As a matter of fact, in God’s economy, the less I have going for me, the more perfectly I set the stage to highlight His grace.  To live in grace acknowledges that we aren’t enough on our own. It makes no pretense about having ever been enough. Instead it trusts wholly in the truth that Christ died for the ones who don’t have what it takes, and His work is to qualify and equip us to do what God created and saved us to do.

This is why I’m so excited.  Because I’m completely insufficient for this task, and God’s grace is perfectly sufficient.

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need (it’s completely sufficient). My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, comment added

 

If you’d like to be a part of helping get Valiant published, would you please like the Bellissiwarriors page and share a favorite post?

 

“When you were a baby, you didn’t know how to use a spoon.”

I used this illustration three times the other day.  Each time was in response to someone who was incredibly frustrated by their inability to do something, their shortcoming, their failure.  “When you were a baby, you didn’t know how to use a spoon. But then you practiced and practiced and got better and better. Now you’re an expert at using a spoon. It’s easy for you. You don’t even have to think twice about it.”

It’s true, we aren’t born knowing how to use a spoon.  Or drink from a cup or put on clothes or do algebra. We don’t know how to play the piano or shoot a basket.  We don’t even know how to speak our native language yet. What comes right out of the box isn’t all that impressive.  The Bible puts it this way – “We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger” (Ephesians 2:3).

This is our natural condition and it’s pretty pathetic.  But it doesn’t have to be our permanent condition any more than a baby has to be content to never learn to use a spoon.  As a matter of fact, the Bible says that when we’re born again in the Spirit, we’re given a “brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as [we] learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within [us]” (Colossians 3:10).

Paul goes on to describe the characteristics of this new nature – mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love (Colossians 3:13-14).  I guarantee none of these come naturally. These are qualities we have to be trained into through repeated practice.

Fortunately for us, God patiently teaches us, just as the parent teaches the child. He will go over it again and again until these qualities become second nature.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Babies don’t beat themselves up about their lack of knowledge.  They get on with the work of learning. Sometimes they’re frustrated, but they persist.  Growth is necessary for life. When something stops growing, it dies.

If you’re frustrated because you don’t have it all together yet, let this thought encourage you – once you didn’t know how to use a spoon, but now you’re an expert.  So, too, will you be trained in godliness until it’s second nature, your renewed nature made in the image of Christ.

Train yourself to be godly.  1 Timothy 4:7