Looking Back

 

Regrets only clutter the mind and drain spiritual energy, for once we repent God forgives us and forgets our sins (Psalm 103:10-12). Resolutions seem to be a type of foolish vow that may be broken due to our own lack of discipline or an unanticipated turn in events (Deuteronomy 23:21-22; Judges 11:30-40). 

Resting in God is far better (Joshua 1:13; 1 Chronicles 23:25; Psalm 37:7), remembering His faithfulness (Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 10:13) and realizing that He is infinitely good and infinitely great (Psalm 143:10, Matthew 19:17; 2 Samuel 7:22; 2 Chronicles 2:5; Nehemiah 1:5, 8:6, 9:32; Job 36:26; Psalm 77:13,86:10,95:3, etc.).

As the moments of 2023 dwindle away, I find myself reflecting on God’s blessings not only this year but throughout my life. Reviewing how God has prepared each of us for our own unique ministries helps us to appreciate how He not only equipped us with gifts and talents appropriate for His calling on our lives (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13), but that He engineered our trials and even our weaknesses for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 12:9).

When God uses a timid, stammering man like Moses to deliver His people (Exodus 4:1-13), a disobedient rebel like Jonah to spread revival that saved Nineveh, and even a Christian-persecuting Pharisee like Saul (1 Timothy 1:12-15) to write most of the New Testament, He gets the glory. He operates in the supernatural, and not in the limited plane of man’s abilities or expectations (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:27; Ephesians 3:20).

Looking back on how this blog came into being, I remember way back to high school when I dreaded the daily English class assignment of “Responses.” Every day, regardless of our mood or the press of other assignments, we had to write a brief essay, poem, or story that reflected our mood, thoughts or circumstances. That discipline, seemingly unneeded at the time, no doubt helped to generate a weekly blog post even when I am preoccupied with life’s distractions.

Decades later, and a few months after I was saved, my husband and I were flying to Japan to perform in dance shows. I was hoping to sleep on the long, crowded, flight, but God laid it on my heart to dig my laptop out of the overhead bin and to write about His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. I felt truly foolish as I started this task, thinking that I really knew very little on this subject; that I desperately needed the sleep as we would start rehearsing the day we arrived in Osaka; and that if I were going to write anything, I’d be much better off working on medical stories that were due once we returned home.

But I followed His lead and wrote about His attributes, the words springing to mind and leaping onto the computer screen with surprising speed and clarity. As soon as I had completed the essay, the battery died, and I settled into a peaceful sleep, knowing that I had been obedient in this assignment. Although I didn’t know it at the time, it would turn out to be a trial run for writing blog posts in the still distant future.

In our lives as amateur and then professional ballroom dance performers and competitors, God began preparing my husband Richard and me for our dance ministry long before we were saved. And the variety of beautiful songs we heard in our daily practice later helped inspire me to write Godly lyrics to these secular tunes.

But i might not have started writing song lyrics had it not been for our son Brendan, gifted in piano among his other God-given talents. Shortly after he was saved, he wanted to compete in a Christian musical competition by playing a Chopin prelude. But the rules were that any music played had to have Christian lyrics, so his youth pastor asked if I might be able to write words suitable for singing along with this piano accompaniment.

So I did, marking my debut in writing Christian lyrics, a passion of mine to this day. And when I provided a recording of my singing these words to my son's playing, his youth pastor asked if I could sing specials in church. So God worked these events together (Romans 8:28) for my good and His glory, opening the door for me leading to two new ministries!

One Sunday a few years after I was saved, I prayed my usual quick afternoon prayer to be Spirit-filled and yielded while singing in choir in the evening service. I sensed that God was saying, “Yes, but there is something else I want you to do.” So I prayed that He would reveal it to me, and literally moments later I bumped into the associate pastor in the hallway. He asked if I would consider teaching a weekly ladies’ Bible study class, as their teacher was moving out of town.

Despite my lack of formal Bible training, I agreed, after praying on it. I found that my knowledge and understanding of the Word grew far more quickly and in depth than it would have had I been only a student and not also a teacher (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 4:2). God was and is always faithful to lead me to Scripture verses, sermons, and other readings (including many of your blogs!) to encourage and guide me in teaching and in writing (Psalm 119:11,105).

But the class suffered many setbacks, including illness and trials of several members, and other circumstances resulting in their leaving the class. Some weeks I was teaching only one or two ladies. I became discouraged that the time and effort I was putting into my weekly lessons was reaching so few people and thought that a weekly blog of these lessons might be a way to reach more.

I knew nothing about blogging, but God had equipped me with computer skills needed for my occupation as a freelance medical journalist. As I began my blog on Memorial Day weekend in 2011, I wondered if anyone would read it. But God sent encouragement my way in a strange format – the movie “Julie and Julia,” in which the writer of a daily blog sees no activity or comments on her blog for six months, followed by an exponential and rapid growth in readership.

Looking back on all this, I am thankful for God’s provision, as the statistics, rankings, and followers continue to grow. But it’s not about the numbers, and if seeds planted in this blog lead even one soul closer to Christ, it would be well worth the effort. The blog has taken on a life of its own, covering topics independent of the Bible study class.

The greatest blessing is comments indicating that readers were blessed by the post. I am so thankful for each and every reader, and for the relationships with new and dear blogging friends all over the globe. I pray that God would continue to use me to spread His Word in this way. 

As time went on, my Bible study class again began to grow, not only in numbers but in fellowship with the ladies of all ages. I was thankful for this blessing, but God was leading my husband Richard and me to consider serving at another church. Sometimes God tests our obedience by leading us to a different ministry even when things are going well where we are,

The church we had been attending was about a 20 minute drive, yet every day we passed by another Baptist church just a few minutes away from our home. 

"I wonder if God might be calling us there instead," Richard mused one day. That Sunday our preacher used Acts 1:8 as his sermon text, stressing the importance of first witnessing and serving in Jerusalem -- metaphorically speaking, your own back yard. 

Richard and I sensed that this was a confirmation that we should explore our neighborhood church -- Fowler Ave. Baptist. We first visited on a Wednesday evening when no services were scheduled at our home church, and were blessed by meeting the Pastor, by discussing spiritual matters with him, and by his sermon with a clear exposition of God's Word. 

Shortly thereafter we visited Fowler Ave. on a Sunday morning, praying fervently that if it were God's will for us to serve there, that He would make it very clear to us. As we pulled into the parking lot, the Pastor was just getting out of his car, and he greeted us enthusiastically.

"I know you haven't decided yet whether we should be your church home," he said. "But if you did join, would you be interested in teaching a ladies' Bible study class?"

"Why, yes," I answered in surprise. "Do you by any chance also have any openings in your music ministry?"

"Would you like to sing a special today?" he offered.

As if these signs were not sufficiently clear, our jaws dropped as we entered the sanctuary for the first time (the Wednesday service we attended was held in the Fellowship Hall). There on the back wall of the sanctuary was a huge banner with the full text of Acts 1:8 !

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Could God be any clearer in His confirmation that it was His will for us to serve at Fowler Ave.? We joined a few weeks later, and I immediately started a ladies' Bible study. Praise God, this has grown over time, not only numerically but spiritually. It is such a blessing to teach a class of women so devoted to wanting to know God better, and His plan for their lives, and to supporting one another in fellowship and in prayer.

I am also blessed to have the opportunity to sing a special in most services, including the Christian lyrics I have written to secular music. Richard and I are both blessed to serve in several capacities and to know that we are fulfilling Acts 1:8, not only by witnessing and serving in our neighborhood, but even around the globe, as our church supports about sixty missionaries in foreign countries. Praise God for His direction and faithfulness!

But as 2024 approaches, may we not be preoccupied with the past, but instead live in God's will in the present moment and look forward to His unfolding plan for us. As the apostle Paul wrote:

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

In closing the post and 2023, a New Year’s blessing to all of you:

Philippians 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives, edited and expanded 2023

A 9/11 Warning

To my readers: As we approach the anniversary of September 11, 2001, with its horrific attacks on the Twin Towers in Manhattan and on the Pentagon, our thoughts and prayers are with all whose lives were forever changed by this unimaginable event. I am reposting this from the archives in hopes that it may be a reminder to follow God's Word and seek His guidance at all times.

As I was walking toward our front door about two weeks ago, I noticed three long, thin, dried up oleander leaves lying on the walkway in a distinct formation. As regular readers of this blog know, I am intrigued by patterns of three, in Scripture and in nature, as reflections of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19). So these leaves caught my eye, especially since they were aligned to form the Roman numeral for “9” – one leaf vertically by itself, to the left of two leaves crossed in an “X” pattern, the three leaves clearly displaying “IX.”

Odd, I thought, and wondered if God might be sending me a message, although I had no idea what it could be, until I stepped inside the house and turned around to shut the door. At that point, I was viewing the leaves upside down from my original vantage point, so I now saw them as “XI,” or the Roman numeral for “11.”

9-11: the telephone number to call in case of emergency. Since September 11, 2001, these numbers have always evoked even more dire warnings of terrorism, death, and destruction. I also felt that the oleander leaves spelling out 9-11 may have had additional significance. The oleander is a beautiful evergreen tree with colorful, attractive blossoms, but all parts of the plant are highly poisonous. What seems attractive at first glance is often not what is best for us (Proverbs 23:31-32; 31:30; 1 John 2:16).

So I thought God was sending me a warning, but about what? I had a sense of restlessness in my spirit, and although I prayed about it, I had no clear answer. But God, Who is not the author of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33; Isaiah 26:3) kept getting my attention with various other references to warnings.

At a Bible study one night at our church, the Pastor’s message was about those who disobeyed God’s law and pursued their own will instead, at their own peril. Because they did not “observe to do” His commandments, He removed His blessings and allowed curses instead (Deuteronomy 5:32; 6:25; 27:8-26; 28).  

God’s Word serves to “admonish,” or warn us (1 Corinthians 10:1-14) by giving us examples of those who disobeyed God and succumbed to idolatry, meaning not just worshiping statues, but having anything stand between us and our relationship with God. The devil can trap us and destroy our testimony and ministry (1 Peter 5:8) even when we are saved and want to fulfill God’s perfect plan for our life (Jeremiah 29:11; 33:3). However, Satan’s power is limited by what God allows (Job 1:10), and once saved, we can never lose our salvation (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:39).

Later that week I heard a Charles Stanley sermon about listening for God’s voice so that we can hear Him and obey. Most often He speaks to us through our reading or hearing of His Word (Psalm 119:105), which can correct, instruct, and encourage us (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 4:2-4),

If we take time to be still (Psalm 46:10), He may speak to us in our quiet time (Jeremiah 29:12-14), or even through dreams (Daniel 2:19; 7:13; Matthew 2:12,22; etc.) or nature (Psalm 19:1). Sometimes God speaks to us through fellow Christians who warn us of behavior that displeases God (1 Corinthians 4:14; Colossians 1:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:14).

When Dr. Stanley said that sometimes God wants to give us a warning, that surely caught my attention! He related an incident in his own life when he was a seminary student and had planned to spend the summer working in his church’s missions’ office. One day he tripped, hitting his head, and he felt God was sending him a warning. He became restless in his desire to know what God had planned for his life, when one day in prayer He clearly felt God telling him not to work in the missions’ office that summer, but to vacation in a small town in the mountains instead.

At first he dismissed this idea, thinking it was just his own selfish desire to relax over the summer rather than providing needed service to his church. But he also clearly felt God asking him to trust and obey Him (1 Samuel 15:22; Isaiah 50:10). So he did, and the first week he was there, the church where he had visited asked him if he could fill in the following week by preaching for the pastor who was unexpectedly called out of town. After he had preached there several times, the church invited him to be their new pastor and was even willing to wait for him to complete his final year at seminary!

He ultimately accepted the position; the church grew; and his ministry expanded astronomically to the point that his sermons and messages are now broadcast on television, radio, and online around the world. None of this would have happened, and he would have fallen short of this amazing plan God had for his life (Ephesians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:14), had he not listened to and followed God’s call to do something that made no earthly sense at the time (Isaiah 55:9).

God often works that way, with miraculous results when we obey! Servants poured water into pots at Christ’s command and watched it drawn forth as the best wine (John 2:7-10), and armies marched silently around Jericho and then saw the walls come tumbling down at the sound of the trumpet! (Joshua 6:1-11)

In my own quiet time, I had been asking for God’s guidance about financial issues, and how to balance these with time and resources to be spent in ministry and in fulfilling His perfect plan. Soon I sensed that the warning God had for me was in that vein, that our earthly life is but a vapor (James 4:14), and that it will soon be the time when we can no longer use it to serve Him (John 9:4).

He does not want us to waste our mental energy on worry (Philippians 4:6), for perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and we can cast our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7). Rather, He wants us to find joy in Him and in our salvation (Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 21:1; 35:9; 51:12). Every day is a gift from Him, and He wants us to rejoice in it (Psalm 118:24), for we are not promised tomorrow (James 4:14).

As we left our house one morning a few days later, we heard sirens, then spotted an ambulance at a neighbor’s house, followed by two police cars, and soon thereafter by a medical examiner’s car and hearse. This neighbor had worked very hard for many years to take an early retirement. He had purchased the vacant lot next to his property, built his dream house there to live in, and gave the house where he had been living to his son, so that he could watch his grandchildren grow up.

But he had lived there only a few short months when he unexpectedly died in his sleep, and he could no longer enjoy all that he had worked so hard to achieve.

So now I feel I understand the warning – our time here is short; we can’t take our earthly possessions with us; and only those rewards we have stored up in Heaven will have eternal value (Luke 12:15-34). Work is necessary to provide for our families (2 Thessalonians 3:10), but overemphasis on wealth, albeit admired by the world, is a distraction that can keep us from God’s best (Proverbs 23:4-5). 

Sadly, I don’t know whether or not our neighbor was saved, and now the opportunity is forever gone to witness to him. I’m ashamed that I never took the time to knock on his door and tell him that we are saved only by our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). But it’s not too late to give his widow a copy of God’s Word, a plan of salvation, and an invitation to visit our church.

May we always heed God’s warnings before it is too late, for the night is fast approaching when no man can work. The numbers 9-11 in my special warning may have had yet another meaning: if we commit our lives to God, He will give us more time to serve Him in joy, peace and love. 

Proverbs 9:11: For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

© 2016 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

For Such A Time

 

"Queen Esther" by Hugues Merle

Next week begins the Jewish feast of Purim, which commemorates saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an evil official of the Persian Empire under king Ahasuerus who planned to exterminate all of Persia's Jewish subjects.

Thankfully, Haman’s plans were foiled by Queen Esther, favored wife of Ahasuerus, herself a Jewess whom God had placed in this position of influence “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). She was an orphan adopted by her uncle Mordecai, who realized that God had orchestrated her unlikely rise to royal status so that she could help save His people.

He had wisely advised her to conceal her Jewish identity until it was needed to fulfill God’s purpose for her life. But now that her people were threatened, she could appeal to the king’s love for her to deliver all of them, and even to defeat Haman in the process, who ended up hanged on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai (Esther 5-10).

It would not be the first time God had placed an outsider in the enemy’s camp to protect or deliver His chosen people. Joseph’s eleven brothers, consumed by jealousy, sold him into Egyptian slavery. But what they intended for evil, God used for good (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph’s eventual rise to most trusted advisor to Pharaoh, despite a tumultuous course of events including false imprisonment, ultimately allowed him to provide for his family during the severe famine, leading to a surprising reunion and preservation of his brothers, who gave rise to the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 37-50).

God spared the life of Moses, a baby condemned to die under Pharaoh’s cruel edict to kill all the Hebrew male infants born in Israel, while their older relatives were held captive for slave labor. God carefully arranged all the details so that Moses would be nursed by his own mother, discovered by Pharaoh’’s daughter as a basket carrying him floated by the river Nile shore where she was bathing, and raised as her own son (Exodus 2).

This position of great privilege in the Egyptian court, while Moses retained his loyalty to his fellow Hebrews, gave him a tremendous advantage years later.  In a moment of anger, Moses murdered an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave, and fled into the wilderness, where he spent years in exile. God spoke to him from a burning bush and announced His calling (Exodus 3). Moses would return to Egypt and deliver God’s people from captivity, ultimately leading them to safety as God parted the Red Sea for their escape, then reuniting the waters so that the Egyptians pursuing them would perish (Exodus 14).

Nehemiah, trusted cup-bearer to pagan king Artaxerxes, was in a unique position to lead the rebuilding of the wall fortifying Jerusalem. When he heard of the wall’s destruction, he convinced the king not only to give him time off to supervise the project, but also letters ensuring his safety while traveling and even construction supplies (Nehemiah 1-2).

Through God’s grace, He had lifted up Esther from the Babylonian captivity into a position of influence in the king’s palace, just as He later would elevate a humble young girl, the virgin Mary, to the honored position of being the mother of Jesus Christ, the promised Savior of the world.

God chose and exalted Mary despite her modest position in life because she was willing to obey Him and follow His perfect plan, considering herself to be the handmaiden, or servant, of the Lord (Luke 1:38; 46-53). This is in keeping with God’s ability to humble the mighty and wealthy while giving riches and power to the poor and helpless (1 Samuel 2:4-8), just as He did for Esther.

These Biblical examples, and many others, remind me that we as Christians, who have been saved by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), may also have been placed by God into our unique sphere of influence “for such a time as this.” Surely the signs of the times, with wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in unusual places, false prophets, wickedness, all increasing in frequency and intensity like labor pains, point to us living in the End Times (Matthew 24), that period before Jesus returns to gather His children at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

Not all Christians are missionaries facing hardship in foreign lands, but all of us are pilgrims, passing through this world that is not our home, journeying toward the Promised Land of Heaven. En route, God allows all of us to undergo trials, for our ultimate good and His glory (Romans 8:28). He has equipped each of us with spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12), talents, and resources, and has placed us where we can grow (Jeremiah 17:7-8) to fulfill His unique purpose for us, which He knew since before the beginning of time (Ephesians 2:10).

Jesus Christ Himself was the only One Who could ever fully complete the work God set out for Him to do (John 17:4). Sadly, each of us will fall short of perfect fulfillment of God’s designated mission for us, but the degree of our success will be based on our faith, obedience to God’s call, and character. If, by yielding to the Holy Spirit, we can emulate the integrity, compassion, dedication, perseverance, devotion and humility of Esther, Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah, and Mary, we are more likely to accomplish our Divine mission. 

In these End Times, may we recognize that we have been positioned in God's Kingdom "for such a time as this" and follow His perfect will, living with faith, integrity and purpose until He comes again!

© 2023 Laurie Collett

 

I

Views of the Peak

Photo by Kar Gupta 2014

May you enjoy this repost from the archives!

Through His Word, God shows us His general plan for our lives, which includes abundant life here and now, and eternity with Him in Heaven if we have a personal relationship with His Son. Nothing the world has to offer can compare with that, and if we place our faith in anything else, it will lead to our destruction (John 10:10).

I had a beautiful dream of walking at sunset, as though God were leading me along a quiet path, winding up through a mountain pass, where He could show me a glimpse of what He intended for me. A refreshing, gentle wind brushed against my skin, and in the distance I could see a single, majestic, snow-capped mountain, dusky blue, but lit from behind by the rosy light of the setting sun.

I was truly content and filled with a sense of wonder at God’s love. But then I felt Him directing my gaze downward, to the side of the road, which surprised me as I was so drawn to the view of the peak above. Thankfully, I listened, as almost hidden in the lush, green vines carpeting the path were two miniature orchids, delicately floating in the breeze like dancers swaying in embroidered ball gowns of lavender and white. What an exquisite reminder that He attends to every detail in our lives!

I awoke feeling overwhelmed by His love, and realizing that we are blessed not only by our ultimate destiny in heavenly places with Him (Ephesians 1:3; 2:4-7), but by so many expressions of love He places along our daily journey to bring us joy in Him as He rejoices over us (Zephaniah 3:17). If we race ahead with no thought to our surroundings, we may miss His subtle whispers of love that encourage and uplift us.

It would be a blessing if all my dreams were peaceful epiphanies like these, but there are lessons to be learned even from the more mundane and frantic dreams. The next night I again dreamed I saw a mountain peak, but the setting was very different. This time I was riding in a small car on the track of an amusement park ride, and the mountain peak was a poor representation of God’s natural creation. It was the focal point of the ride and the color scheme was similar, but it was a cheap imitation in plaster of Paris with flaking paint. At the base of the peak was a dark vortex of churning water that the car was meant to pass through to descend to the next part of the ride, ominous and foreboding as the final destination was hidden.

I felt so cheated as I looked up at the fake mountain, refusing to believe it was not what I had experienced before. Surely if I could look at it longer, it would somehow transform into the heavenly creation representing the glorious city on the hill (Psalm 48:1; Ezekiel 40:2; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 2:1-3). So I took matters into my own hands, grabbing the sides of the car and derailing it just before it was swept into the vortex. I struggled to push it back, away from the force of the whirlpool, only to find myself confronting oncoming traffic from the cars that were still on their preset course, and headed for a multi-car collision.

What a relief to awaken, and to realize that nothing the world has to offer can compare with God’s gifts of love and peace that satisfy us completely (Ephesians 3:14-17). Cheap imitations leave us hungry, frustrated, and unfulfilled, and spending more time with them only aggravates the emptiness rather than relieving it, because they keep us from spending time with Him (Matthew 6:19-24).

Why would we want to waste our time with man-made distractions when He speaks to us daily through His Word (Jeremiah 15:16; Luke 8:15; Colossians 3:16), His creation (Psalm 19:1), the counsel of brothers and sisters in Christ (Proverbs 27:9,17), and in so many other ways? It is far easier to keep ourselves out of worldly places where we should not go than to escape once we are there, as the momentum of others caught up in the same fate will pull us down, resulting in disaster (Proverbs 7:4-27; Exodus 23:33).

May we keep our eyes on the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24), our feet in high places (2 Samuel 22:34; Psalm 18:33; Habakkuk 3:19), and our life in Him (Acts 17:28) as He leads us safely on our journey, lavishing His love and joy on us along the path and preparing an amazing destiny for us in Heaven (1 Corinthians 2:9). He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

© 2012 Laurie Collett