‘God is a fraud’

Parashat Beha’alotecha (Numbers 8:1-12:16)

BY RABBI PAUL KIPNES

In this week’s parasha, Beha’alotecha, Moses faces the fragility of life as he watches his sister, Miriam, struggle with tzara’at, a dangerous skin disease. Overcome with anguish, Moses cries out to God. His five-word prayer, the shortest recorded in the Torah, beseeches the Holy One: El na r’fa na la (O God, please heal her). God hears, and miraculously Miriam is healed (Numbers 12:1-16). For some, this parasha provides comfort that, indeed, our prayers for healing work. And then there are people like Sarah.

Sarah walked into my office, sat in a chair and confessed, “My mother doesn’t know me anymore.” Tears began streaming down her face. I recognized that a while had passed since I had seen her around the synagogue. She continued, “My mother sits in the convalescent home, weeks now after her fall. Her hip is on the mend, but her mind continues to deteriorate. I tell her, ‘Ma, it’s me. Your daughter.’ Sometimes she looks confused. Sometimes she smiles. Then … then it is as if she’s gone. She just doesn’t remember me.”

God Restores Order to Our Lives

Mel Lawrenz in “Everything New”: God Restores Order to Our Lives

I’ve been giving Mel Lawrenz’s most recent Everything New devotional some thought this week. In “Putting the Pieces Back Together,” Mel provides a powerful description of the order with which God originally imbued Creation—and the subsequent loss it suffered as a result of the Fall.

Eden was a place of perfect harmony. But as soon as we—in the persons of Adam and Eve—took our lives into our own hands, that harmony was disrupted and we were plunged into a new reality of brokenness:

Life would be easier, wouldn’t it, if all its pieces held together. If they always made sense. If nothing ever broke off. If no part were ever lost, or twisted, or detached….

Imagine life in Paradise. Eden was the wonderful opening chord of life, complete harmony with nothing in excess, nothing missing, nothing broken. But when that break did happen (and what an awful shattering sound it made), when human beings said, “we think we can do this on our own,” all creation shuddered and cracks spread throughout.

Our only hope from then on was that someone, somewhere would help us put the pieces back together.

Faith That Pleases God

Written by Jack Hayford

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1

Faith is the essence of our relationship to God and the instrument by which the gift of salvation is received: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus, in teaching the lesson of the withered fig tree (Mark 11:20-26), demonstrates that faith is the key that releases the resources of heaven into our situation. He tells the astonished disciples, "Have faith in God...whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (vv. 22, 24). Strong's defines this kind of faith as conviction, confidence, trust, belief, reliance, trustworthiness, and persuasion. In the New Testament setting, it is the divinely implanted principle of inward confidence, assurance, trust, and reliance in God and all that He says.*

Beyond the Ashes … The Journey Back to Wholeness

Ministry wives who limp along the dark and lonely path of their husband’s moral failure share a common desire — to find healing for their broken hearts.

By Trisha Matthews*

I dedicate this article to the ministry wife who might be limping along a dark and lonely path carved by her husband’s moral failure. This failure can create issues that range from the inability to fulfill one’s role in ministry to the shame that accompanies moral failure. One thing is certain: Those who limp along this path share a common desire to find healing for their broken hearts.

No other pain can rival the pain of a broken heart. Details surrounding the events that brought the pain etch themselves into our memories with uncanny distinction. Even the feeblest trigger has the power to bring to mind the intricate elements that surrounded the proceedings of that day.
In a moment we remember the meal we shared. We recall the clothes we wore and the order of the errands we ran. We reawaken to the sensations we endured the moment we learned the devastating news.

How to Get Godly (if You've Got the Guts)

Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Roger Barrier's book, Got Guts? Get Godly! Pray the Prayer God Guarantees to Answer, (Xulon Press, 2011).

God listens carefully to all of your prayers, but you usually can’t predict how He will choose to answer them. There is one prayer that God always answers “yes” to, though: praying for spiritual growth.

Since spiritual growth always reflects God’s will for you, you can count on God helping you when you let Him know that you’re willing to pursue spiritual growth at any price. Your willingness to do whatever it takes to become more spiritually mature invites God to work in your life in powerful ways.

Here’s how you can pray for spiritual growth and work with God to mature in your faith:

You Must Be Broken To Be Whole

          

          Are You Ready To Fall Apart?

http://jpfinn7.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/will-israel-and-iran-go-to-war-in-2013/

Broken Cups

"But this precious treasure - this light and power that now shine within us - is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own."    2 Corinthians 4:7, TLB

I was Spring-cleaning with a friend the other day. While reaching into the recesses of the cupboard, she accidentally dropped a cup. It didn't shatter, but the fall to the counter was enough to cause a crack. I wondered whether to save it, but in the end decided to trash it.

God, on the other hand, saves broken cups. In fact, broken vessels are often His most useful tools. The verse for today reads like His fix-it manual. It tells us God pours His treasure into fragile vessels that are prone to shatter. That way everyone will know God is doing the "living" in us.

Sampaguita in the Street

A woman in rags, cradling a baby, was selling stranded sampaguita flowers in a street of Metro Manila.

Suddenly, a police squad car appeared and the policeman at the wheel shouted at her, “You have been told that it is prohibited to sell your goods in this street! Give me all your sampaguita. Otherwise, I will send you to jail.  Hurry up!”

In a burst of tears, the woman lifted her baby and said, “Sir, if you take all my sampaguita please take my baby also. It is for him that I am trying to earn a living. My baby and I are sick, and I do not have any money to buy medicines. If I cannot sell sampaguita, my son will not survive the cold and the hunger tonight. Please take him with you. He will die anyway with me.”

Call it Grace

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Original Air Date: August 22, 2012

With: Lysa TerKeurst

Trusting God

Radio Hostess: Lysa Terkeurst

What do you call it when a woman finds freedom in prison? Hi, I’m LysaTerKeurst for Proverbs 31 Ministries.

I sat in a hushed courtroom, tears rolling down my cheeks, as my dear friend learned she’d be going to prison.Tina had been caught up in a real estate scheme she never fully understood and would pay a steep price. This precious mother of two was now prisoner number 4579942.

But, beauty came from brokenness.

All Things

Written by Barbara Alpert

Are you confused and not sure what to do or where to turn? Let us pray for you.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:28-29)

My husband enjoys Saturday mornings because I usually make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. He has no clue what the required ingredients are but he knows it will taste good when it’s done. The ingredients by themselves would not be appealing to have for a special morning breakfast. Chances are he would gag while eating the dry mix and frown trying to gulp down oil and raw eggs. The only enjoyable thing would be the chocolate morsels, but he’d get sick if he ate a plate of them. However, when all the ingredients are mixed together and cooked they form a delicious stack of chocolate chip pancakes.

Finding Healing After Divorce

Living the Dream 

“You’re supposed to have Pine Sol here. Is that so hard?” Running a home seemed like a piece of cake. After all, many young girls dreamed of just that: a perfect husband, loving children, and a peaceful home to run — a happy every after fairy tale. 

Why Do Christians Suffer?

by Joyce Meyer

As Christians, we like the thought of sharing in Christ's glory, but what about sharing in His suffering? Jesus took care of the death penalty once and for all so we don't ever have to worry about that again. But the Bible teaches that we must suffer times of trial if we are to share in the glory. Is it worth it? Read what Paul says in Romans 8:18: ...For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!

Acting Right When Things Are Wrong

Many of us think we suffer because of our circumstances. We believe that if our circumstances would change, we'd be able to act right. But God wants us to become so mature and stable that we act right even when none of our circumstances are good. There are different levels of faith, and most of the time we want to use our faith to get rid of a problem. But sometimes God's plan is for us to exercise a higher level of faith that will carry us through life's challenges. This requires even greater faith than being delivered from a situation.

Too often we marvel at the delivering power of God and overlook His keeping, strengthening and enabling power. Although there are many reasons why Christians suffer, I would like to address what I believe are eight of the most common reasons why there is suffering in our lives.

Built By Brokenness

Written by admin

Broken…..and into the trash it often goes, in our disposable society. In years past broken things were not so quickly thrown out, but rather repaired when possible.

Consider for a moment a broken human life. Are we apt to discard that? Consider the difference when brokenness is acknowledged and brought to the Master. Can He remake the pot? Can He rebuild a life? Sure, it takes time and effort to repair or rebuild anything broken. Take this study to learn about the possibility of brokenness and its results in your own life and the lives of those around you.

Broken on the Back Row

Written by Sandi Patty

In the backseat the younger three kids—toddler Erin in her safety seat and the kindergartner twins, Jonathan and Jennifer sitting beside her—were quiet for once. They didn’t understand why yet another change had to happen in their lives but they trusted me to keep them safe and make things okay. Beside me in the front seat my oldest child, Anna, a second-grader, kept up a cheerful running commentary speculating on which friends she might see that morning.

I gripped the steering wheel with one hand and chewed a fingernail on the other a little nervous about what I was doing but knowing it was necessary. In that season of my life I felt very far away from God. It was not a comfortable place to be but it was nobody’s fault but my own. Wrong and sinful choices do that, they move you further away from God.

Trusting God With Your Tomorrows

Gwen Smith, www.GwenSmith.net

Editor's Note: The following article is excerpted from Trusting God: A Girlfriends in God Devotional, by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, & Mary Southerland (Multnomah Books, 2011). This selection is written by Gwen Smith. Used with permission.

On the far side of a desert, high upon the mountain of God, a voice called out to Moses from within a curious, fiery bush. He had been tending the sheep of his father-in-law’s flock, minding his own business, going about his normal day-in-day-out tasks when God spoke to him from the flames. On the day that God called Moses to a fresh and fiery mission. A mission of deliverance.

Once a noble prince of Egypt with the world at his feet, Moses had become a lowly shepherd with dust on his sandals. His crown had been traded in for a staff. The palace days were far behind Moses now. He fled them because of what he had done. Glancing to his left and his right to be sure that no one would see what he was about to do, Moses took a horrible situation into his own hands and killed a man. He had murdered an Egyptian and covered the body with sand.

Fear and shame bombarded his heart so he fled — away from his dream-filled, royal future to a desert place of humble hiding. The door to his yesterdays was closed. Moses had moved on to a new place. His past was his past and he had no intention of returning to it. His life was different now. Normal, not noble.

Then God interrupted Moses’s new normal. He made it undeniably clear that His plans for Moses were different. Bigger. God’s intentions were for freedom — the freedom of His people, the Israelites, who were captives, slaves to Egypt. God called Moses to face the pains of his past so that the Israelites could face a future of freedom. His plans of emancipation required that Moses obey Him, listen to His voice, follow His instructions, and trust Him.

Moses quivered and doubted. He made excuses about why he couldn’t do it. He felt completely unfit and unqualified for such a task. It was risky. But God met Moses at his doubts. He called him to courage and went on to use Moses as an instrument of deliverance, truth, power, and freedom. Yes, Moses made mistakes along the way, but God was powerful in, through, and in spite of each one. Through it all, God led as only God can. He led with power. He led with purpose. He led with love. And through Moses, God led His people to a new place of promise and freedom.

On the far side of Charlotte, North Carolina, high upon a mountain in a retreat center, a voice called out to me from within a curious and fiery story. I had been tending to my husband and children, to the laundry and the dishes, writing songs and leading worship at women’s events, minding my own business, and going about my normal day-in-day-out tasks on the day that God spoke to my heart through the testimony of another woman. On the day that God called me to a fresh and fiery mission. A mission of deliverance.

Once a sold-out, dream-filled God-girl, I had become a grace-embracing yet disqualified-for-anything-big-because-of-what-I-had-done God-girl. My use-me-in-a-big-way-Lord prayers had been traded in for average can’t-have-a-dream-anymore faith-living. My God-dream days were far behind me. I had fled them because of what I had done in my junior year of college. Glancing to my left and right to be sure that no one would know what I was about to do, I took a horrible situation — an unplanned pregnancy — into my own hands and killed a baby. I robbed life from my own child when I had an abortion, and I covered over the death of my precious child with sands of compartmentalization and reason.

Fear and shame bombarded my heart, so I fled — away from God, away from my dream-filled, royal future to a desert place of heart-hiding. After a season of brokenness, God brought me to a place of beauty, forgiveness, and healing. I was restored and redeemed by scandalous, merciful grace. The door to my yesterdays was closed. I moved on to a new place in Christ. My past was my past and I had no intentions of returning to it — or to the God-dreams that swelled my heart when I was a young, sold-out Jesus lover. My life was different now. Normal, not dream-worthy.

Then God interrupted my new normal. He made it undeniably clear that His plans for me were different. Bigger. God’s intentions were for freedom — the freedom of His people, the women who were captives,slaves to their life-wounds. God called me to face the pains of my past so that my Girlfriends in God might face a future of freedom when they hear my testimony. His plans of emancipation required that I obey Him, listen to His voice, follow His instructions, and trust Him.

I quivered and doubted. I made excuses about why I couldn’t do it. I felt completely unfit and unqualified for such a task. It was risky. But God met me at my doubts. He called me to courage and is using my broken-into-beautiful story as an instrument of deliverance, truth, power, and freedom. Yes, I make mistakes along the way, but God is powerful in, through, and in spite of each one. Through each surrendered day, God is leading as only He can. With power, with purpose, with love. And I pray right now that this story — my story — will bring you to a new place of promise and freedom through the grace of Jesus Christ.

What fresh and fiery mission is God calling you to trust Him with, friend? Let me encourage you to stop with the excuses. I’m living proof that God will free anyone from her shame and can use anyone for His purpose. Step up to the burning bush — into God’s presence. Listen to His voice. Obey. Follow. Take courage. Trust Him with your past and with your tomorrows. Allow His grace and love to decide what your mission should look like.

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16)

Let’s Pray

Dear God, with a trembling heart, I approach Your throne of grace today in reverence and humility, fully aware that You are holy and I am not. Speak, Lord. Show me the plans You have for me. Bind me to Your Word and to Your strength so I will have the courage to obey. May my brokenness be restored for the beauty of Your glory. Please help me to trust You with my today and my tomorrows. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.

Gwen Smith is a co-founder of Girlfriends in God. She’s also a popular Christian speaker, author of Broken into Beautiful, songwriter, and worship leader. Be sure to connect with her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/GwenSmithMusic or on her website:www.GwenSmith.net.

Adapted from Trusting God by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, & Mary Southerland by permission of Multnomah, division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Publication date: January 17, 2011

http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/trusting-god-with-your-tomorrows.html

Masterpiece in the Making

Gwen Smith, www.GwenSmith.net





And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. ~Philippians 1:6, AMP

It took four years of fresco painting for the Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, to finish the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Commonly known as Michelangelo, his time painting was mostly spent alone, on his back, lying on scaffolding. (How painful!) The painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of the most remarkable in the history of Western art. One thing is for sure: the process that altered a ceiling from plain to fabulous required a lot of time, great discipline, and the hand of a master artist. The same is true for us. The journey from broken into beautiful is a lifelong transformation that requires both discipline and a Master Artist.

As Michelangelo was working, I’m sure that lots of people came through the corridors of the chapel and stood in amazement. As they looked up at the beauty of his work, I bet they said things like, “That is the most fantastic work of art I have ever seen!” or “Extraordinary!” To which he might have said, “It’s not done!” But did the unfinished state of the project negate that parts of the ceiling were beautiful? No! The parts that were complete were still extravagant and breathtaking.

Maybe this is the way God and others see our lives. It’s common for people to notice the work God has done in us and comment on the beauty. And even though compliments are nice to hear, I’ve been known to resist them. (Admit it, you probably have too.) It’s not so much a humility thing as it is an “I-don’t-see-myself-as-beautiful” thing. From my limited perspective, I can see only the unfinished work. But in truth, my vantage point doesn’t negate the beauty of the work God has done and is doing in my life.

Real beauty isn’t about a finished or flawless product. It can’t be. It’s not possible on this side of eternity to have completed beauty. Our restoration will be complete in the presence of God when we see Him face to face.

Now, you might be saying, “But Gwen, I can’t be beautiful! You don’t know what I’ve done…or what I’ve been through…or what I’m going through!”

Friend, God knows where you have been, what you have been through, and where you are now. He knows what your flaws are and loves you in spite of your imperfections. His tender love is far-reaching and complete.

Your past sins do not define you.

Your painful scars do not define you.

Your present sufferings do not define you.

They are just shards of brokenness that God will use to lovingly refine your beauty. The transformation from broken into beautiful is neither easy nor instantaneous. It demands a yielded heart and can be quite painful, but it comes with great reward. God will need your broken pieces—your scars, shame, insecurities, disappointments, betrayals, and failures.

Do you have some of those?

Are they tucked away in a safe, do-not-enter part of your heart?

You might find it hard to hand over hurts. I get that. It’s hard for me too. But difficult as it may be, it’s time to hand them over and let our masterful Lord create a stunning work of beauty in you. And He’s going to need all of your broken pieces to complete the restoration.

Holy Father, I am humbled by Your willingness to love and forgive someone like me. Please take the broken pieces of my life and don’t allow me to have them back. I surrender to Your healing. Mold me and shape me into a beautiful reflection of Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/masterpiece-in-the-making.html

Q : Why can someone who is a true Christian die this painfully ?

Answer: 

Christians get the same diseases that non-Christians get. It has to do with the fact that we don't live in the Kingdom. 

We live in a disordered, broken existence, and this brokenness includes our bodies. No exemptions have been granted -- not even for Christ, who had to suffer and die. 

The only difference and comfort for a Christian is that death doesn't have the final word.

No one knows why anyone, Christian or non-Christian, has to go through that much pain, why the brokenness has to express itself in ways as terrible as terminal cancer or AIDS. 

Don't believe anyone who says they know, because they're liars. I'm not being evasive by saying it's a mystery, I'm just saying that humankind has such limited knowledge that the only thing we really know is that our deepest parts scream that it's not right. 

That's a good indicator that God agrees with you, and is working on it, in tears.

gotquestions  http://www.spirithome.com/suffering.html

What Is Original Sin ?

Original sin is not about infants having dreams of evil. 


It's not about how creative we are at sinning (it's all pretty much a variation of what's been done before). And it's not about turning us into a miserable pack of whiny sad sacks moaning, 'Woe is me'.Original sin is the start of the brokenness of the human relationship with God. 


Because of original sin, even the best of us turn away from God in some way (theologians used to call this fact 'depravity'). Even the best of us at our best is in the same basic dilemma as the worst of us, and even the holiest of us at their tippy-top is a universe distant from God's holiness. 


No one is born with faith; it is poured into you by the Spirit as you live. Original sin and depravity do not mean we're basically all evil monsters (God originally created us good, says Genesis). Instead, it means there's some 'monstrousness' in all of us, and it affects everything we do. And, there's a bit of this monstrousness in whatever way we gather together -- clubs, teams, parties, unions, companies, cartels, ethnic groups, nations, governments, and churches. 


We each add a bit of our own monstrousness to the group, and we take into ourselves a part of the group's monstrousness. (We also add and take on goodness.) 


Our monster isn't something we created recently. It is rooted in our origins, in the very beginning of the human race, hence, it is 'origin-al'. But each of us gives it another twist.

gotquestions  http://www.spirithome.com/sinner.html#original