The Best Benefit Package of All

It was Christmas evening and we had finished a wonderful dinner at my daughter's home.  My grandson, Brandon, was stretched out comfortably in an easy chair with his feet propped up on the oversize ottoman. Reyna, my six-year-old great-granddaughter, nestled in the crook of his arm, obviously enjoying the security and contentment of being close to her daddy.

Meanwhile, the rest of us pitched in to clear up the dishes. That's when Reyna twisted around to where she could see her grandmother and called out, using the German endearment for grandma, "Oma, thank you for making such a good daddy!" I was amused and touched by Reyna's expression of gratitude for the blessing of her daddy's special love and attention. In her young mind, her grandma was the reason she enjoyed the benefit of a good daddy.

Reyna's comment made me think about how important it is to express my gratitude for the benefits I enjoy. I praise God for the many benefits with which He has blessed me, which include a loving family, provision of all my needs, and a church where I can enjoy God-anointed worship and Bible study. But what if some of these benefits were removed? What if I did not have the resources for some of the necessities of daily life. Suppose I could not worship God or read my Bible openly, as in many countries. Would I still be grateful? Would I still praise God if the benefits I enjoy were restricted or withdrawn entirely?

These days, a chaotic economic environment and forces hostile to our values and beliefs threaten the security of our country and the world around us. Many people are depressed and nearing panic over the changes that are taking place and wonder what the future holds for them. They realize that no matter what benefits are offered by the powers that be, they are subject to being changed or eliminated.

In Psalm 103, I have found some benefits that will not be eliminated. They are not dependent on the whims of those who think they know what is best. They were promised and enacted before the foundation of the world by our Creator. These benefits include forgiveness for ALL our sins, no matter how grievous (v.3); healing and deliverance from destructive bondages inflicted by Satan (v.4); the lovingkindness and mercy of our God (v.4); good things that truly satisfy our body and soul (v.5); a renewal of our body, mind, and spirit (v.5).

As we approach Easter, I thank God for the greatest blessing and benefit of all, the gift of eternal life. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for you and me when He hung on the cross and died for our sins. Have you signed up for the best benefit package of all, one that you can enjoy for all eternity? Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart, forgive your sins, and be your Lord and Savior? If not, won't you ask Him now?

                                                                                                 © Laura Allen Nonemaker

Seaside Surrender

The setting was out of a travel brochure, with waves rolling onto the sun-drenched sand, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and seagulls piercing the air with their shrill cries. It was the annual retreat of the women's ministry at Sundial Resort on Sanibel Island. One hundred women from First Assembly of God, Fort Myers gathered last weekend to reflect, refresh, and connect with God..

The theme this year was "Seaside Surrender" and Pastor Connie had prepared a series of teachings that brought us quickly into the center of what God wanted to do in our lives. She used the amazing chambered nautilus shell to demonstrate what God wanted from us this year. First, she showed us the outside of one of these exquisite shells. Then she held up a cross section of the chambered nautilus, which, true to its name, was divided into many compartments, each progressing in a circle towards the outer opening of the shell.

Pastor Connie explained how the inhabitant of the shell begins as a microscopic sea creature. As it grows, a larger chamber is created to accomodate its size. By the time it outgrows one compartment, a larger one has formed and it moves in. This process continues until it is mature.

A unique characteristic of the chambered nautilus is that each time it moves into a new chamber, the previous one is emptied and sealed shut.That means that it cannot move back into its old residence. It must continue to move forward in its spiraling journey toward completion and freedom.

The chambered nautilus holds a valuable lesson. If we stay mired in regret for the mistakes and pain of the past, we cannot experience living fully and successfully in the present. We are prevented from moving on to the next step in our journey to fulfill the call of God on our life.

Isaiah 43:18, 19 says, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth..." NKJV. Only when we willingly and intentionally surrender the baggage from the past can the Holy Spirit heal our wounded spirits and open up the next "chamber" of our life. Then we are free to move unencumbered toward our destiny in Christ.

As we surrendered our hearts to be cleansed, healed and renewed, God gently moved us to a new place in our walk with Him and we were set free to become the godly handmaidens He desires us to be.

                                                                                       © Laura Allen Nonemaker

A Summer Walk

I walk and ponder.

Watercolor vistas

Beckon to my senses.

Evening comes

And bathes me

In its fragrance.

Like velvet to my cheek,

His Spirit gently falls.               

I nestle in the wonder of His love.

        ©2011 Laura Allen Nonemaker

Lesson from a Fearful Feline

When worry and free-floating anxiety assault us, it is crucial to reject them immediately. In most cases, what we worry about will never happen and worry won’t help anyway. Instead, it can keep us from dealing with the situation in a balanced, decisive way. Anxiety is definitely not from God. It saps away our productivity and joy and is a frequent tool of Satan. It can enlarge into a phobia that traps us in a fear-filled world and limits our contact with others.

A story is told of the cat that disappeared from home. One day it returned, only there was something different about it. One side of the wayward feline was completely devoid of fur. There was nothing but bare skin. Something else was strange, too. While the cat previously spent most of its time outdoors, now nothing its owner did could coax it outside. If he tried to pick it up and put it outside, it bit him.

A short time later, the cat’s owner was sharing the situation with his neighbor. “I’ll bet I know what is wrong with your cat,” he said. Then he told him about a snake called a pine snake that emits a scent similar to catnip. When a cat smells it, the snake opens its mouth wide and swallows the animal. “It sounds like your cat ran into a pine snake,” said the neighbor.

The encounter with the snake so traumatized the cat that it decided that going outdoors was not safe. The same thing happens to  some people. Because of a traumatic event, they decide that a certain person or place is unsafe and they wall themselves in.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6 that we are not to be anxious about anything, but in everything turn to God with thanksgiving and prayer and he will provide the peace we seek. We are to pray and turn the situation over to God, and then trust him to work it out.

                                                                                                   ©2011 Laura Allen Nonemaker

Discipleship and the Kingdom Life

Too many Christians live in a state of nagging angst, longing to experience the abundant life spoken of by Jesus in John 10:10. They reach intermittent high points of victory along their Christian walk but frequently exist in emotional and spiritual doldrums. They are missing the inner joy and fulfillment they long for.
 

When we consider those who have fulfilled a God-ordained destiny, such as a Mother Teresa or a Billy Graham, it is tempting to assume that some divine force field dropped over them that protected them from emotional and spiritual  fluctuations. The truth is that usually we see only the high points in the lives of these disciples of Christ. We are not privy to the behind-the-scenes struggles they faced as they lived out their calling. Hidden from our eyes are their Gethsemane’s, when they chose to lay aside their own desires to submit fully to God’s will.

Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (NKJV) The last thing the enemy of our soul wants is for us to grasp fully the connection between first living a discipled life submitted to God and experiencing the abundant life. He does not want us to make the daily sacrifices necessary to follow Christ faithfully and without compromise. He waves earthly pleasures before us and goads us with our own desires for gratification until  the goal of kingdom life is a hazy blur.

Sally Hill, author of Living from the Life of Christ, says, “To be a disciple is to be devoted to Jesus Christ in total abandonment to His purposes for your life.” Discipleship requires that we be willing to subvert our own desires and inclinations to God’s way of doing things. Romans 14:17-18 tells us, “...for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.” (NKJV)  When we make the daily choices to live God’s way in front of God and man, we are true disciples. This is the kingdom life, which is the abundant life Christ promised.

                                                                                                            ~ Laura Allen Nonemaker

I Had No Idea!

With the observance of Good Friday, reruns of The Passion of the Christ, produced by Mel Gibson, are being shown on television. I am reminded of my reaction to it when it first came out in the theaters several years ago. I always react emotionally to depictions of the passion, whether in the movies or live theater. It  was particularly difficult for me to watch this extremely graphic portrayal of our Savior's scourging and crucifixion.

We had taken my Aunt Gertie, who was 90 and a recent Jewish believer in Yeshua, to see the movie. She had become a completed Jew just three years earlier.  After many years of praying on her behalf, the veil had been lifted, and she sought answers from me concerning Jesus and my faith in Him. When I explained the plan of Salvation, she embraced it whole-heartedly and with joy. Now she was being confronted with a detailed visual account of His passion and it shocked her. After watching it, she exclaimed, " I had no idea He went through all that!" Two years later, Aunt Gertie went to be with her Messiah. She now knows in full the significance of the price He paid for her to be reconciled to God and gain entrance into her  heavenly home.

The suffering that Jesus endured was brutal. Yet He did it willingly and laid down His life for us. The most dramatic demonstration of the goodness and love of God is the sacrifice that Jesus made to deliver mankind from the penalty of sin. This same gift of forgiveness for sin and joy in heaven for all eternity is available to all who will acknowledge their need of a Savior and ask Him to come into their life.

                                                                                                   ~ Laura Allen Nonemaker

From Glory to Glory

Looking in the mirror this morning, I saw a face that is changing daily, and with increasing speed. It is not that I am neglecting my appearance. Anyone who would dare to peek into our bathroom could tell that from the full basket of “jams and jellies” sitting on the vanity. However, in spite of my best efforts, time is leaving its indelible imprint on this pot of clay.

I am reminded of when my dear mother came to visit some years ago. I was in my thirties, she in her sixties. We were preparing to go out to dinner and she looked with dismay into the dresser mirror and said, “Oh, Laura, where has the time gone. I look so old.” She fussed with her makeup.

“Here Mummy, let me help.” I picked up the eye shadow and applied the light blue pigment to the lids of her azure eyes, still her most striking feature. “I think you look beautiful,” I said, and gently dabbed at her fragile eyelids. You will always be beautiful to me, I thought.

Now, many years later, I understand how she felt. It gets more and more difficult to hold back the hands of time.  Of course, that is an exercise in futility, anyway. Because of sin, these earthly bodies are programmed to gradually self-destruct. We don’t live in the Garden of Eden, and our flesh is relentlessly bombarded with free radicals and countless other substances that age us.

Increasingly, I find myself looking for encouragement to the passages in the Bible that speak of the blessings promised to us as we grow older. Psalm 92:12 (NKJV) tells us, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.” While I don’t think this passage tells me the lines around my eyes and mouth will disappear, I believe it does say that as I root myself in the Word of God and honor the Lord with my life, I can be an influence for good as long as I live.

I have had the privilege of meeting older Christians who, although their bodies are aging, have a peace and joy that radiates through their eyes and speech. We read in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 

My ultimate desire is to lift up the Lord Jesus in all I do and reflect Him to the world around me. As we move closer to that promised time when our physical bodies will be changed into heavenly bodies that will never age or die, may we allow the precious Holy Spirit to transform our spirits from glory to glory.

                                                                                                     ©2011 Laura Allen Nonemaker

Don't Let Satan Entertain You in His Parlor of Offense

The Lord gave me an "illustrated sermon" last night. We attended a concert at church by a well-known gospel performer. I was moved deeply by his music and insightful ministry, especially in the area of relating to our family members in spirit and in truth.

After the concert, I hurried back to purchase his newest CD, which contained most of the music he had sung. Then I got in line to have him sign it. I was standing behind my neighbor, who was concerned that I not get left behind in the crowd, so I hooked my finger around her purse strap, like a little kid hanging on to mom. Before I knew it, the crowd had pressed in and somehow we got separated. A large man elbowed his way in front of me, holding his CD high in the air and causing me to fall back in the line. I felt some irritation and stood my ground where I was while he posed for a picture. Finally, I was at the front of the line, when a woman in back of me brazenly waved a photograph over my shoulder to be signed. I could hardly believe it!

All this time, the singer looked past me, interacting with people behind me, seemingly oblivious to me standing right in front of him. What was I, chopped liver? Maybe it was because I am what people refer to as "tiny" in stature and he is extremely tall, so I was out of his line of vision. Whatever the reason, eventually I was able to grab his attention with a few well-directed and heartfelt words of appreciation. With a flourish, he penned the word "blessings," followed by Mark 10:25 and his signature, across my CD.

As I rode home, thoughts of offense against those who had elbowed in front of me crept into my mind. How could Christian people so quickly degenerate to rock star groupies? Little by little, Satan lured me into his parlor of offense and a cloud of unrest enveloped my spirit. It was as if the book by C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, was coming alive as Satan assaulted me with resentful thoughts and feelings. I was ashamed of myself and knew I must break the hold he was getting on my emotions. Then it occurred to me that the incident could have been a test to show what kind of a Christian I truly was. How would I handle this?

Once home, I popped in the CD from the concert and listened to the title song, Breathe Deep. That was what I needed, to breathe deep of the Holy Spirit, think his thoughts, and flush out the toxic messages flooding my mind. The scripture in Hebrews 12:15 came to mind, "...lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble..."  Also, James 4:7, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  I lay in bed, allowing the Word of God to shine it's light in my heart and mind and eventually got up and wrote this message. I pray that the Lord will use this illustrated sermon to alert you to the danger of letting Satan entertain you in his parlor of offense.
                                                                                            
                                                                                                             ~ Laura

Celebrating Jesus

I've been thinking about the Reason for the season. It's easy at Christmas to get swept up in the buying mode. All around us, advertisers are clamoring for our attention and our dollars. Before we know it, we become one of those grim-faced shoppers racing around the mall looking for the "perfect" gift for everyone on our list. Some may actually end up putting their families in debt as a result of the buying frenzy.

Let's remember that Christmas gift-giving is meant to remind us of the best Gift ever given, God's only Son, lovingly sent to us by way of a manger in a Bethlehem stable. The forgiveness He purchased for us on the cross is free, no strings attached, to all who will receive it. As we celebrate Christmas, let's celebrate the gift of Jesus.

                                                                                                                                 ~Laura