Inspiring Women Every Day MAR/APR 09 march Resting in God Shelia Jacobs april Esther Celia Bowring Plus Special Article, Ministry Report and CWR Events Page
sheila jacobs Sheila Jacobs is the author of a number of Christian novels (including Watchers, 2003), one of which won the CBC Gold Award for Published Children s Books in 1998. A freelance writer and editor, she has been involved in the Christian publishing world for some years, and has edited over 100 titles to date. Born in High Wycombe, Bucks, she currently lives in rural north Essex and is a member of the Elim Church, Braintree. Sheila became a Christian in her twenties, and studied with LBC (now London School of Theology) for a Diploma in Theological Studies before becoming a published writer and editor. She is single, and loves the countryside, dogs, walking, and chatting to people. Celia bowring Celia Bowring works in the heart of Westminster alongside her husband Lyndon, Executive Chairman of CARE. She has written two books one about early childhood and We re In This Together, especially for wives of Christian leaders. Celia has also written numerous magazine articles and Bible reading notes, besides the regular CARE Prayer Guide, a unique resource encouraging Christians to pray about issues facing society. Although Celia grew up on the south coast and sometimes misses the sea, she and Lyndon love living in West London with their grown-up daughter and one of their sons the other is married and works as a close-up magician! Copyright CWR 2008. Published by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK. Tel: 01252 784700 Email: mail@cwr.org.uk Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered Limited Company No. 1990308. Front cover image: Getty Images/Photonica/Lisa Wyatt. Concept development, editing, design and production by CWR. Printed in England by Linney Print. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Other quotations are marked: The Message: Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. NLT: Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, revised 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
weekendmar 1 Resting in God For reflection: for anyone who enters God s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. (Heb. 4:10) This month we will be looking at the idea of resting in God. That is, letting go, letting God, and simply not striving any more. Is this a radical concept? No. It s freedom. But how many of us live in that freedom? How it must grieve the heart of God when, after receiving His wonderful free gift of salvation, we then try to do His works in our own power. Why do we act like this? Well, I think it s because we so often fail to grasp the idea of grace God s free, unmerited, unearned favour. So what does it mean to rest in God? Does it mean that we accept Jesus as Saviour and then sit back and do nothing to help further the kingdom of God in our own lives and in the lives of others? No, of course not. Truthfully, resting in God is the first step to moving in God. Do you want to move? Then rest! Optional further reading Sit, Walk, Stand by Watchman Nee (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1994. First published 1957).
Mon Mar 2 Matthew 11:28 30 Come to me and I will give you rest. (v.28) For prayer and reflection Dear Lord, I am weary of striving in [name the area]. I give this situation to You now. I m sorry I haven t let You have Your way before. Thank You, Lord. Are you weary? I was in my mid-twenties when I became a Christian. A feeling began to grow inside me that God had a work for me to do, but I didn t know what. I studied with the London Bible College (now the London School of Theology) by extension studies and then went into youth evangelism. But I was ill with what was later diagnosed as Ménière s disease. I couldn t work, I couldn t do anything, and I was distraught. I just wanted to work for You! I wailed to God. And He said: I don t want you to work for Me. I want to do My work in and through you. This challenged and changed my whole way of thinking and it was at this point I really began to let go and let God. One of the things I d always wanted to do was to write and publish a novel. But no one was interested in my fiction! So right then, I let it go; I gave it to God. And I had total peace about it. Amazingly, within six months my first novel, Aliens and Strangers, was accepted for publication, followed by seven more. It was then I really began to get it it s only when you let go that God can do His work. What was the hindrance? Me. We can so often get in the way of something God wants to do in our lives. Sometimes He waits for us to be exhausted and ready to give up and then He says, Can I take over now? What a shame we have to get to that point before we let God do what He wants to do. Are you at that point now? Are you weary of striving and trying? Let God step in and take over. Enter into the rest Jesus promises. You won t be sorry.
Relax! Tues Mar 3 What did God do on the seventh day? And what did Adam do? God had finished all His work and rested but, for Adam, this day of rest was his first full day alive. What a lesson for us resting before we even begin! But that is the way it works in God s kingdom. God invites us to enter His Sabbath-rest, where we can see and understand that all has been done; all has been finished. The work is completed. Everything we need for salvation, being made right with God and then living to please Him, has been accomplished. God has done it all. We see an interesting picture of our attitude to God s finished work in the story of The Lost Son. He can do nothing to save himself, so he returns knowing he is dependent on his father s mercy (Luke 15:11 32). The father rushes to him and can t wait to put the robe and the ring on him. The young son receives these things in humble gratitude; he hasn t earned them and he doesn t deserve them. But look at the elder son s attitude he s been slaving for his father for years and he seems pretty bitter about it. That s grace versus works, isn t it? Free, unmerited favour versus joyless slaving! God longs to clothe us, to equip us, to bless us with His favour. He doesn t want us to spend our Christian lives slaving miserably for something He has already freely given us; something that should just be received with joy, as we let Him equip and empower us. Ask yourself whether you are like the prodigal or the elder brother. And if you realise that your Christian life is more like that of the elder brother, what can you do to begin to change today? Hebrews 4:1 11 anyone who enters God s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. (v.10) For prayer and reflection Reflect on the fact that you don t have to do a thing to make yourself right with God. He has done it all. Just receive what He has done and thank Him for His wonderful love.
Wed Mar 4 Ephesians 2:1 10 not by works, so that no-one can boast. (v.9) For prayer and reflection Meditate on the cross and on what Jesus has done for you, then thank and praise Him. The greasy pole Cathy says: In my family, it was all about achievement. I passed the 11 plus, and everyone was so pleased with me. Then my cousin Amelia passed and went to a better school so she was the favourite. But she slid down the greasy pole of approval when she failed her GCSEs. So I was at the top, especially when I went to a good university. Then Amelia married a really wealthy man. So she was top. It was so performance-related. You were loved and accepted because of what you did, not because of who you were. Obviously, this kind of upbringing will affect a person s idea of what God expects of them. So, aren t you glad that God is not like this? He accepts us because of what His Son did, not because of what we did. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing. And He rose from the dead, His sacrifice accepted, and gives us power to live in Him and for Him. Ephesians 2:8 9 tells us it s not by works, but by grace God s free favour. Our sins made us His enemies (see Rom. 5:8 10) but He prepared a rescue operation even before we knew we needed rescuing! The restoring of our relationship with Him was His idea, not ours. Of course, this doesn t mean we can then sit back and do nothing once we know and believe in Jesus. James 2:17 says that faith without works is dead; actions show what the heart believes. The reason we do things for and in Christ, trusting in His power, is because we are grateful and we love Him not because our works make us acceptable. Do you ever feel accepted only because of what you do? Know that if you did nothing more for Jesus, He would love you just the same.
It s all about Him Thurs Mar 5 One thing that changed my thinking forever was really understanding the fact that Jesus is my righteousness. All His righteousness is transferred to me! That s how God sees me clothed in Christ. Because of Jesus, I am seated in the heavenly realms with Him (Eph. 2:6). That s where I am and that s who I am. Philippians 3:9 says that my righteousness comes from God and is by faith. If my righteousness is Christ s, not my own, that brings me to an even bigger thought. It means that anyone can be saved, no matter how evil, how terrible, how far away from God they are if they turn to Him, they will receive His righteousness. I remember listening to a speaker who d led a very bad life before coming to know Christ. Someone muttered, Look what he s done! He shouldn t even be out of prison, much less sitting here with us. But what you ve done cuts no ice with God. Jesus didn t die just for the little sins comfortable sins we don t mind confessing to. It s the big stuff too; the stuff we don t like thinking about. So no one is beyond God s reach; He has done everything necessary for them to be saved. Is there anyone in your life you can t quite believe could ever become a Christian? Remember: Jesus righteousness is a gift; righteousness isn t something we can work for or work up. Again it s a case of resting in God, accepting what He has done. Don t be disheartened pray for the ones you love who don t know Jesus. Lift them up to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to them and to turn their hearts to Him. Nothing is impossible for God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 31 Christ Jesus has become for us our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (v.30) For prayer and reflection Thank You, Lord, that Jesus is my righteousness, holiness and redemption and that His righteousness is available for us all. I lift [ ] to You. Praise You that nothing is impossible for You. Amen.
Fri Mar 6 Isaiah 43:1 5a you are precious and honoured in my sight I love you (v.4) For prayer and reflection Read through Isaiah 43:1 5a again, taking in the fact that these are God s words to you. Precious and honoured Do you realise, my friend said, even if you just sat there and did nothing for Jesus ever again, it wouldn t affect His love for you? He just wants to be your friend. I needed to hear those words when I was so ill that I could hardly move, let alone work for God. But those words were key in the process of my finding freedom, as they set me free from the thought of having to work, work, work to gain God s approval. One of the loveliest passages of the Bible is Isaiah 43. This is like God s personal love letter to each one of us. We are redeemed, so we needn t fear. We are known by name; we are His. Jesus said we would have trouble in this life (John 16:33) but in those tough times He promises to be with us (see also Heb. 13:5b). He will make sure that troubles don t swamp us. To be known, with all our faults and failings, and loved anyway, is a wonderful thing. I remember as a child doing something my mum didn t approve of. I didn t do it again because I didn t want to grieve her. I loved her and, although I d let her down, I knew she loved me. That kind of acceptance is God s acceptance. Think of the person you love most in the world and remember: this is how God loves you and much, much more. It s of course good to have an attitude of gratitude and to want to please Him. But we don t need to do anything to try to gain what is unconditionally given to us His love and acceptance in Christ. Today, rest back in His perfect love for you, knowing that you are precious and honoured in His sight. Believe it? You should. He said it. Are you feeling challenged by what you have read so far? Would you like to know Jesus better and be able to really rest in His unconditional love for you?
CWR Ministry Events Please pray for the team Date Event Place Presenter(s) 3 Mar Tools for Growth Waverley Abbey Andy Peck House, UK 5 Mar Leaders ReUnited WAH Philip Greenslade 5 Mar Closing the Back Door of the Church WAH Ron Kallmier 6 8 Mar Preparation for Marriage WAH Mick and Lynette Brooks and Andrew and Lynn Penson 9 13 Mar Introduction to Biblical Counselling WAH Angie Coombes, Richard Laws and Team 16 20 Mar Principles of Biblical Counselling Singapore CWR Team 18 Mar Women s Spring Day on Prayer WAH Anne Le Tissier 21 Mar Designer Living Streatham, London Jeannette Barwick and Lynette Brooks 28 Mar Men s Breakfast Help, I m a Husband! WAH Ron Kallmier 27 29 Mar Bible Discovery Weekend WAH Philip Greenslade Parables of Matthew/Mark 31 Mar Caring God s Way WAH Mick Brooks and Lynn Penson 2 Apr Meeting Pastoral Care Challenges WAH Ron Kallmier and Andy Peck 21 Apr Mentoring Others WAH Andy Peck Starts 21 Apr Bible Discovery Evening Classes WAH Philip Greenslade (8 Tues eves) Ephesians 24 Apr Myers-Briggs Workshop WAH Lynn and Andrew Penson 28 Apr Rising Above Low Self-Esteem WAH Chris Ledger 29 Apr Navigating Life s Decisions WAH Philip Greenslade, Andy Peck Please also pray for our tutors and students on the ongoing Certificate and Diploma of Christian Counselling at Waverley and at London School of Theology. For full details phone 01252 784700, international +44 (0)1252 784700 or see the CWR website for further information www.cwr.org.uk
Mar 7/8 weekend It starts with resting For reflection: Trust in the Lo r d with all your heart (Prov. 3:5) In Watchman Nee s excellent book Sit, Walk, Stand, he uses the example of a drowning man to help us understand the concept of letting go and letting God. A drowning man can only be saved once he has stopped struggling, or else he will drag his rescuer under the water too. God is waiting for your store of strength to be utterly exhausted before He can deliver you, says the author. Once you have ceased to struggle, He will do everything. Do you keep mentally and emotionally beating yourself up because you feel that you always let Jesus down? STOP! Quietly say to yourself, He has done it all, and I can enter into it. Trust Him to live His life in and through you. When it s all Him, and not us, who gets all the glory? Precisely. So let go and let God do what He wants to in Your life. And remember He really, really loves you. Yes, YOU! Optional further reading Luke 15:11 32 Read through the story of The Lost Son. If it helps, imagine that you are the lost child and God is the loving Father. Luke 23:32 43 Consider that the criminal being crucified alongside Jesus could not lift a finger or take a step towards his own salvation, and yet Jesus accepted him.