Rayni Risher

God’s Redeeming Power

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I want to share with you a powerful and miraculous true story of God’s redeeming power in the life of someone who had “lost it all” due to her own destructive actions.

Many of you know the Christian writer and speaker Beth Moore. Her sister, Gay, is a recovered alcoholic and Gay’s personal story is shared in seven moving installments right here on Beth’s Living Proof Ministries Blog. I have linked to the final installment…once you get there you will see how to read each post in the order they were written.

Whether you or someone you know struggles with alcoholism, or you simply want to read about a life transformed by Jesus, please take some time to read it.

One of the main things Gay shares that she learned is that God kept giving her opportunities to recover, but she had to do her part in that recovery effort. Once that clicked she was able to move out of her addiction and into freedom!

John 8:34-36: “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (NIV)

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The Sheltering Tree of Friendship

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“The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once described friendship as ‘a sheltering tree.’ What a beautiful description of that special relationship. As I read those words, I think of my friends as great leafy trees, who spread themselves over me, providing shade from the sun, whose presence is a stand against the blast of winter’s wind of loneliness. A great sheltering tree; that’s a friend.” -Chuck Swindoll

Friendship As a Sheltering Tree
I love that description of friendship being a sheltering tree. Over the years I have so often felt sheltered by friends as I’ve experienced difficult, sad and confusing situations. My friends are so wonderful and faithful…there to listen, encourage me and offer wise advice. I feel protected by my friends. I feel sheltered by them. And I also shelter them, as well. Just like it is a relief to retreat under a big tree on a hot summer afternoon, it is truly a relief to be cared for and protected by a friend. But what about those times when we are in a transition, find that we don’t have as many “real friends” as we thought we did, or simply have a hard time forging the bond of friendship?

Be a Friend!
Several years ago when I moved to a different state and was the “new person in town” looking to make friends, a close friend challenged me that if you are looking to build new, meaningful friendships, you should focus on being a friend first. He said, “So many people are looking for a friend to meet their needs. Stop looking for a best friend and be a best friend to someone.” I like that. Often it’s easy to feel like a victim if people aren’t reaching out to us. Yes, we all want to be reached out to and feel special…and in a healthy friendship there is mutual caring and giving….but during those times when we are forming new friendships and not many people seem to be reaching out to us, take the initiative to reach out to others. Take the time to be a friend.

Showing Honor in Friendship
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13 NIV.) Jesus demonstrated ultimate friendship when He laid down His life for His friends…us. When He was living on earth He would continually demonstrate love for His friends and show them honor by sharing His entire life with them. He was open, vulnerable and was Himself with them. He also spent time healing them, listening to them, encouraging them, lovingly correcting them when necessary. Jesus did have healthy boundaries where He spent time on His own, but He really took the time to invest in the people around Him, and to become close friends with many of them. I am convicted that I dis-honor my friends when I am slow to respond to them, don’t return phone calls, and don’t make an effort to keep up with their lives. I have noticed this recently with people who don’t live locally and who I have been friends with for a long time. It is easy to take them for granted and to be lazy in a friendship, but I really want to make a commitment to continue to honor them and maintain our friendships.

Jesus Offers Us His Friendship
Shortly before Jesus went to the cross He told His closest friends on earth, “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.” (John 15:11-13, MSG.) Not only is Jesus teaching us how to care for one another, He is naming those of us who follow Him as “friends”….and He cares for us.

So…
+What can you do to reach out and be a friend to others?

+Are you friends with Jesus? Is there something holding you back from accepting His gift and offer of friendship?

+Have you become complacent in keeping up with long-time friends? What can you do this week to show them honor and to reach out to them?

Prayer
God, thank You for creating friendship! It is so special and truly is a sheltering tree. Help me to reach out to others to form new friendships and to be intentional about honoring my friends and staying a part of their lives. Help me to take time for friendships. Most of all thank You for Your personal and precious friendship and for demonstrating through Jesus how to be a true friend. Amen.

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How Does Your Heart React to Jesus?

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Everyone has a very definite heart reaction to Jesus. You see this all through the Bible and all around us today. Some hearts rejoice at the sound of His name…others despise Him or don’t believe He even exists. As I was reading the Bible last week I came across two distinct accounts of people’s heart reactions to Jesus. In each account we see that there is a cost to following Jesus. But the people in question had two very different responses. First let’s take a quick read through Mark 5: 1-20. This is one of my very favorite accounts in the Bible because we see Jesus set a man free from torment!

Story One: The People and Their Pigs

You can read the entire story here, but to paraphrase the first part…Jesus and His disciples come upon a man who is possessed by many demons. For a long time the man has been living in a cemetery naked. He regularly screams, wails, and cuts himself with stones. He is not physically or mentally well, to say the least. The local people have tried to restrain him but he overpowers them. He is a lost cause….until Jesus comes along. Before He casts them out of the man, the demons ask Jesus to send them into the herd of pigs nearby. Jesus agrees and as the demons invade the pigs, they become crazed and run over a hill and die in the sea.

Picking up the story in Mark 5:14-17:

“Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man. Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back.” (The Message)

The Heart Reaction

-The people were in awe at how Jesus completely healed the demon-possessed man and at the authority He demonstrated over the demons….until they realized that their income was affected because of the drowned pigs….and then their heart response was to get mad at Jesus. Never mind that a man was now sane, healthy and set free form years of torment! The fact that this man’s healing COST THEM SOMETHING made them angry enough to tell Jesus to get lost.

-What if someone’s else’s healing, salvation, freedom in Christ costs you something? Is it worth the cost to you?

Story Two: True Repentance & God’s Power

Look at the different response of the people in Acts 19. An event had just happened that left no doubt in the minds of the people of the power and authority of Jesus.

“When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 drachmas In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” (Acts 19:17-19)

The Heart Reaction

-50,000 drachmas was a considerable amount of money. Once source says that 1 drachma = a day’s wages….these people burned possessions that cost them a lot. But they didn’t care. They merely heard about the power that is in the Name and person of Jesus, and in their hearts they revered Him, respected Him, stood in awe and believed; so much so that many of them began renouncing the activities they were involved in that didn’t bring glory and honor to God. Their heart response was, “I want to be close to You, Jesus, and I am willing to get rid of these unhealthy practices in my life that would keep me from You in any way.” Vastly different than the earlier story about the pigs.

So…
+What has Jesus’ presence in your life cost you? Your job? Relationships? Following your own will in every situation? Your reputation? Giving up a sinful “pleasure” that you enjoyed?

+Now, what have you gained from following Jesus that is more important than what you lost? A few things I would list are salvation, freedom from habitual sin patterns, always-present peace, true joy even in difficult circumstances, knowing that God is for me; that He is working for my good; that I will never be alone. Those are just some of the ‘benefits’ I have found following Jesus. What about you?

+Is the cost worth the benefit?

Prayer
God, You are worth more than anything I could ever give up to follow You. And even as I do surrender my whole heart and life to You, You give me more good things than I could ever dream of. Thank You for filling my heart with joy, peace, love and grace as I seek You. I pray that my heart reaction to You is always one of love and surrender as I trust You, the only One with perfect wisdom, with my life. Amen.



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Bring Everything Impossible in Your Life to the God of The Possible

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I believe that God has wired into all women and men a desire for adventure. A desire to triumph over intense adversity. A desire to be a key part in overcoming evil; in triumphing for good. Sure, some of us aren’t as outwardly adventurous as others but isn’t there at least a little something inside you that wants to be the hero? That wants to do something that seems impossible?

Recently I re-watched the end of the latest movie version of Alice in Wonderland. This movie is inspirational to me because it is about a young girl with a calling. A calling to rise up and find courage deep within; to confront fear and doubt as she comes against the biggest obstacle of her life….killing the evil Jabberwocky (an enormous & fierce dragon) to set an entire land of people free. As the Jabberwocky draws near with designs to kill her, Alice, clad in armor and wielding a giant sword, has this short conversation with her friend, the Mad Hatter:

Alice: “This is impossible.”

Mad Hatter: “Only if you believe it is.”

Alice: “Sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Mad Hatter: “That is an excellent practice.”

As Alice walks into seemingly certain doom confronting the fierce Jabberwocky, she tells herself to count six impossible things, in an attempt to stir up her courage. She starts to list them off one by one, the first five being things that seemed absolutely impossible…but they already happened…which proves they were not impossible at all. The sixth item she lists off? Slay the Jabberwocky. Which she accomplishes as it flings her up into the air, allowing her to descend with great force upon it, cutting off it’s head. The evil is gone and the people are free…thanks to one courageous girl who believed the impossible. It is quite reminiscent of David and Goliath.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because with God even something that seems impossible is possible. And not only is God able to do the impossible in your life, He wants to accomplish these impossible things with you, through you, so He will be glorified. One of the most powerful scriptures in the Bible talks about the God of the impossible triumphing while partnering with us:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV).

I also like how The Message says it:

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.”

God can do anything on His own. But isn’t it amazing that He usually doesn’t want to do it that way? He would rather partner with us to accomplish something for His glory. The Bible says that, as followers of Jesus, the same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is living in us. (Romans 8:11) Imagine that awesome, all-powerful resurrection power living inside of us!! Working within us to accomplish the impossible!

So…

+ What, in your wildest dreams, do you want to do for God?

+ What in your life seems impossible to overcome today?

+ What does God want you to believe is possible? Because it is possible with Him.

+ What are you waiting for?

Prayer

God, You are all-powerful and You are infinite. You are able to do far more than I could ever imagine or guess or request in my wildest dreams! And You want to do it partnering with me. Nothing is impossible for You. Show me what to dream, what to ask for, what is important to You today. And give me courage to be the person you have created me to be, to walk out the calling You have given me, while we partner together to accomplish the impossible and glorify Your name. Amen.

 

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Where Does Your Strength Come From?

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Do you have a favorite Bible verse that really speaks to you but it isn’t one of those well-known verses that everyone else always quotes? I do. Whenever someone asks me what one of my favorite verses is, I often tell them Psalm 33:17, “A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.” This inevitably throws the other person off because either they have never heard the verse…or they think I’m weird for getting a little too excited about something so ‘obscure’. But once we delve deeper into the meaning I think you will like it, too.

Psalm 33:16-19, “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” (NIV)

It is obvious from these verses, and surely from our own life experiences, that a horse, or anything/anyone other than God, is a vain hope for true deliverance and strength. It amazes me how often I think that I know better than God in certain circumstances; how I subtly try to coax Him into my way of thinking about something rather than the other way around. Or how I think I can rely on my own mental or physical strength to accomplish something or to endure a difficult situation that really is beyond me. Even when I can get by on my own strength for a while, I quickly crash if I do not tap into God’s strength. God is very clear in His word that He is our deliverer, that He has limitless strength to offer on our behalf and that it comes as a result of fearing (revering, respecting, standing in awe of) Him; letting Him be our focus.

I like how The Message puts it in Psalm 147, “Our Lord is great with limitless strength… He’s not impressed with horsepower; the size of our muscles mean little to Him. Those who fear God get God’s attention; they can depend on His strength.”

One of my very favorite people in the Bible who lived this truth is David. In Psalm 59:9-10 he writes, “You (God) are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely…” (NIV)

This was written by David (who God called a man after His own heart), when his enemies were hot on his trail, plotting to kill him. David was a mighty warrior who was celebrated among the people. They even sang songs about how many enemies he killed! One might think that a man known by all of Israel to be the greatest in battle, who killed Goliath even, would be sufficient in his own strength and wit to route the men who sought his very life. But David’s victories didn’t come because he…or his horse…or his army were so strong on their own….his victories came because God was with him, demonstrating His strength, routing David’s enemies. And as you read through the psalms, David, more than anyone, knew this without a doubt. God, and only God, was David’s strength and fortress (high place, refuge, retreat). These verses in Psalm 59 highlight to us that not only does David understand that God is his strength and protector, he also is watching and waiting for God to show up. David is expectant that God will come through for him in his great need; that in the midst of David’s weakness, God will meet him with His limitless strength.

God always wants to draw us to Himself. He desires for us to fully rely on Him. He wants us to give up our control to Him. So He will allow certain situations to come into our lives that accomplish just that: coming to the end of ourselves and our own strength and abilities; not having control over a circumstance; having to fully lean and rely on and trust in Him for deliverance. That can be a tough thing to do until we fully accept that God’s way of doing things will always come from a place of infinite wisdom. His ways are higher than ours. And His strength is highlighted in the midst of our weakness.

So…

+What are you attempting to do in your own strength that has left you exhausted from trying?

+What isn’t working in your life because you are in control of it, holding it tightly and trying in your own strength to make a specific result, rather than opening your hands and surrendering control to God?

+Who are you desperately trying to save by your own strength, when salvation comes only from God?

Let’s be conscious of putting our heart and mind in a continued posture of surrender to God. In a posture of reverence, respect, and awe. God promises that when we do that and rely on Him, He will come through for us with His strength, which is limitless. His strength in that difficult conversation we need to have; His strength in the midst of a stressful work environment; His strength in the middle of sleepless nights with your child; His strength in your illness; His strength to meet your every need when you feel like you can’t keep going.

Prayer

God, You are mighty, powerful, loving and kind. You are my only source of true strength and You are forever my deliverer. I surrender myself completely to You and I let go to You every situation and person I am trying to control and all that I am trying to accomplish in my own strength. I trade my limited strength for Your limitless strength working through me, so You will be glorified. In Jesus’ Name.

 

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