The Love of God

As I anticipate the flurry of activity of family arriving over the next few days to celebrate Christmas, I enjoy this quiet moment with my cup of tea and the tree lights sparkling softly.  My heart is full of joy and gratefulness as I reflect on the event that happened over 2,000 years ago that brings us together as a family in celebration.  The birth of my savior, Jesus Christ. A birth that changed the world and changed my life.

I reflect on the young woman Mary who receives a message, from an angel that totally changes her life as well.  She is young, engaged to Joseph and looking forward to the next season of her life as a married young woman, planning, envisioning, thinking how it will be to leave her mother and father and become wife to Joseph, to have their own home and perhaps a family someday.  She is going about her normal routines of life and has a supernatural encounter with an angel who speaks to her words she can never forget.....she will carry in her womb, the Son of God, the Savior of all mankind!  How does a young woman-child  from Nazareth wrap her mind around that?  Mary, at first frightened by the appearance of the angel, nonetheless, quickly shows her heart of faith.  She hears the angel tell her not to fear and then he explains God's plan to use her to bring the Messiah, the promised one to this earth to save. Amazingly, and with far fewer questions than I would have asked, says "So be it unto me, just as you have said"!  She, possessing the faith of a child, embraces the message, setting her heart to do God's will!   Something that occurs to me here is how well God KNEW Mary, had heard her prayers, and recognized in her the kind of faith and character that He was looking for in the young woman who would become the one to bear and mother His only son.  God does know us and know what we are capable of!  He knows that some of the things He asks of us will stretch us farther in our faith than we have ever been stretched before.  He knows who to ask to do His will because He knows who will depend upon Him for the strength and perseverance to see it through.  He knew these things about Mary, and I think that was part of the encouragement and comfort she carried to sustain her through the pregnancy. She, Mary, was asked by God to bring His son into this world. She was humbled I am sure to realize how intimately God really knew her and trusted her character and faith to ask such a thing of her!   Each day of her pregnancy must have been a jolting reminder of the day the angel visited and of the wondrous miracle that she was chosen to be a part of!  What thoughts must have run through her mind as she felt God incarnate kicking in her womb as she went about her daily chores.  How to wrap the mind and emotions around such a thing?  How did she hold her tongue and proceed in humility when others taunted and condemned her for  her "sin" when in actuality she was bearing the one who would come to forgive them of their own sins?   How amazing that Mary at such a young age could entrust her emotions to her Lord, especially while pregnant!  And can you imagine the trip to Bethlehem to register for the census with Joseph in the last days of your pregnancy when the way was rugged and you would be traveling upon a donkey?  Knowing the risk of giving birth before returning to Nazareth had to be on Mary's mind, yet she forged ahead by faith that God would surely protect His son.   How much Mary's faith must have had to be as much reality in her life as the rising of the sun was each morning!  She had to choose to live by faith and not by sight, something Christians today are constantly challenged to attain to.  Yes, Mary's life was radically changed that day by call of God on her life!

My life has also been radically changed by the call of God on my life when I was a teenage girl of sixteen.  However, I was not a young woman of faith, I was a young woman of fear and emotional woundedness and even depression. I did not really know God or understand that He had a plan for my life.  I had huge questions about life  and why I was even here.  I did not feel I belonged.  I did not feel I was capable or worth much.  I did not feel anyone was proud of me or thought I would amount to anything.  But God changed all that, in of all places a little town in Germany called Baumholder where my Dad who was in the Army was sent when I was sixteen.  I started attending church there for the first time ever on a regular basis in my life and when I heard the gospel and understood that God not only knew me and loved me, but had a plan for my life.  I literally became a new person, changed by faith in God!  I left Germany alone at l7 and moved to Ohio to start college and I was able to do this full of confidence in a God who I knew would somehow help me to begin my "new life" in Him and continue to teach me and show me how to become the person He had made me to be.  He was my protector, my provider, my parent, my brother, my friend during those years of transition into young adulthood.  I look back in amazement at how He took such good care of me and how He even called me on further from Ohio to come to Chicago to go to Moody Bible Institute to train for ministry! 

The Love of God is so powerful, it can transform us and help us through the transitions and callings upon our life.  As we look at the story of Christmas and see Mary, surrendered to God's call and will, may we know that is the safest place for us to always be!  May you be in the center of His will for you this Christmas and into this new year.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!





CELEBRATE THE TRUE HOPE THAT BRINGS JOY TO THE HEARTS OF ALL!

Since I was a little girl, I have always had a special love for Christmas. Even before I really knew the true meaning of Christmas, I was so drawn to this season because of all the sparkling lights and decorations that captured my heart and all the "good will" that seemed to appear for the weeks surrounding Christmas, and of course the sharing of wonderful foods and gifts being given to family and friends.  It seems like I've always had a deep heart's desire to celebrate life and hope especially at this season of the year.  My home reflects my love of this season. I try to make it warm and inviting and full of light and color and sharing and giving. I love having friends and family over for a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate as we share our dreams, hopes and prayers for our families near the Christmas tree.  I want my home to be an oasis of hope and love for all who enter. I seek to be an ambassador of the gospel of peace all through the year ahead.

 We have gone through many rough times in this great country in our relatively short history by the grace of God. We face another such time now with record unemployment, many more homeless than ever before, and much frustration and uncertainty about our economy.  Americans this Christmas may yearn even more for peace within our own borders as we tire of the political machinations and corruption of some of our elected officials who seem more bent on maintaining their positions and material perks rather than maintaining a climate where men and women can work and provide a decent living for their families.   All around us we have friends and family who are struggling to provide the basics that we all took for granted just a few short years ago. We all have family and friends struggling with life issues that are causing broken relationships and hearts. Many are also discouraged and depressed from a lack of hope for the future.

Even with all that said, I have tremendous hope during this season of love and grace, because I know that God has said, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land."( II Chronicles 7:14 )  I believe the church in America is being called to step up and out and lead the way to real healing and hope in America and we are responding!  We must humble ourselves by not aligning ourselves with unbelief or belief in "systems" of thought that leave God out of the equation. We must ask God to forgive our sin of not sharing the most glorious message of hope and love that exists, His gospel of peace, because we are afraid of being labled "intolerant" by sharing what Christ said about himself.  He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father except by me."  We have allowed ourselves to be intimidated by a culture that shares some of the most indecent ideologies as"Truth" and yet, labels those who believe in Christ and His message as "haters" and "intolerant"!  May God forgive us and help us to lead the way to real "CHANGE" in America. The kind that begins in the hearts and souls of men and women who have truly been blessed with the greatest gift of all: true HOPE.  Not hope in ourselves, but HOPE in the God of heaven who loves us and has a proven "better way" for us to live.  We are offered the most amazing gift and it is ours for the taking. It is a gift that changes hopeless to hopeful, fearful to fearless, joyless to joyful, and lost to found. It is a gift that came in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger! Hope incarnate!

I wrote this poem several years ago and it was published in an anthology of poems. It still resonates in my heart this Christmas as I think of the beauty of God's sacrificial and gracious gift to me and all mankind.  It is a gift freely given, but of great cost to God, the Father. It is a Gift that I desire to see always remembered by America!

The Gift Remembered

by Teresa Jobst

The Gift of Love

was first thought of

by God the Father, the Holy One

when He sent His dear and precious Son.

A baby crying in the manger

borrowed from a kindly stranger.

This amazing, pure gift of love

from the heart of our Father above.

The Gift was costly: God's very own Son

sent to proclaim that He is the only one

who can fill the void that's deep within

the simple shepherd or the wisest man.

The Gift was given to be received.

God's desire is that we believe

in the Son whose birth was marked by a star

long ago in Bethlehem far.

The Gift grew from babe to man,

He said that to the Father anyone can

come if they but accept the One

who sacrified His life to fulfill the plan.

The Gift, the Christ, the promised one

died upon the cross, t'was done

that I might know true freedom

provided by the Father, through His Son.

We give gifts of love today to represent

the  greatest gift ever sent.

May we with each gift recieved or given,

thank God for sending His best from heaven.







                                                                           

As I am approaching my 33rd Anniversary tomorrow, I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 4:l2 which  says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of THREE IS NOT EASILY BROKEN. 

My adult children have commented to me that many of their friends and aquaintances do not have parents who are still together!  Divorce seems to be the new "normal".  I am so thankful I have a husband who not only loves me, but "has my back" and who prays for me every morning before he leaves for work.  You see our marriage is made up of three: My husband, Me and Jesus!  A cord or rope braided with only two cords will easily break or unravel, but a cord of three is not easily broken!  Don't get me wrong, we have had things come against our marrige over our 33 years, but Jesus has seen us through! As we've looked to Him, we have found strength for the inevitable trials in life, marriage, and parenting three children. My husband protects me by praying for me. He supports and encourages me when I grow weary.  He has worked hard to provide for our 3 children and me.  He puts us before himself.  He rejoices and delights when good things come our way. He has been an awesome father.  He isn't easily offended and he readily forgives.  He seems to have an amazing storehouse of patience and believe me, the kids and I have tested it!   He makes me feel like I am the most special woman in the world.  Even after 33 years, he tells me he loves me and that I am beautiful and that he is proud to have me as his wife.   He is gentle and has a great sense of humor.  He still likes spending time with me.  He has brought healing to many of my childhood wounds over the years by his unconditional love for me.   He has been all these things and more for me and the kids because of his relationship to Jesus.  I have been truly blessed to have both a Heavenly Father and a husband here on earth that have loved me sacrificially.  What more could I want or need?
Thank you honey for all your love and care for me. Thank you Father God, for all your love and care for me.  You both make me feel like I am a precious jewel to you.

Here is a poem I wrote years ago and have shared with a couple of different young couples as they got married.  It is dedicated to my bridegroom, Jesus and my husband, Matthew.

 What Love Is This?

What Love is this

that makes my heart sing

that fills me to overflowing

that consumes me so totally?

What love is this

that stirs such joy in me

that whispers my destiny,

that fuels the passion in my soul?

What love is this

that can endure and readily forgives

that seeks for me abundant joy,

that never abandons nor forsakes?

What love is this?

It is God's love poured out in you

and spilling over onto me

that seeks to build a firm foundation

for our marriage, home and family.

                                                                                   by Teresa Jobst

In The Garden

It amazes me that even as our world seems to be filled with so much inconsequential nonsense and hype, the power of God's creation still speaks volumes to a hurried, worried, fractured world. I recently took this picture while strolling through the Chicago Botanic Gardens (a taste of heaven on earth for me).  I had come off a busy week and was taking some friends to see the fall colors and everywhere we walked was a picture that spoke louder than any sermon about God and His love, mercy, grace and comfort to us world weary travelers.

I love how just walking through a field or grove of trees or beautiful garden, immediately recalibrates my mind to focus on the truly important things of life and to feel gratitude and peace well up in my soul. God says in Romans that His creation speaks loudly of His existence.  I concur. I often walk these garden paths and imagine myself in the Garden of Eden where God walked with Adam and Eve in the "cool of the day", communing with them.  I have often walked through the Botanic Gardens and seen birds, chipmunks, butterflies, geese, swans, deer, and even wooly caterpillars, and every imaginable plant and flower,  and felt my spirit stirred by the magnificence of almighty God.  And always I remember a song my grandmother used to sing, I have a copy of it on my prayer room wall, "In the Garden".  I've always loved this song and it has become a theme of  sorts in my life the last l5 years or so.  I feel like God has worked in me a bountiful  harvest of peace and joy and that I am happy to "bloom where I have been planted" for this season of my life.

The words to this song will always speak to me of God's walking through life with me.  He walked through life with my Grandma Brady and as she walked with Him she prayed for us, all her grandkids and great-grandkids, just as she had for her own eight kids! She was a gardener, a tiller of soil, a harvester. I was always amazed at the bounty that could come from her vegetable garden and nourish us so much when we sat around her table, just as her prayers nourished us.  I think she learned a lot about God's nature and faithfulness by working in her garden planting seeds, pulling weeds and waiting for harvest while depending on the Good Lord for sun and rain. She, too,was one who walked with God in the garden in the cool of the evening ~  thinking and praying over the needs of her large family whom she loved so much and thanking Him for caring for us all.

I can hear her singing in her little kitchen as she's rolling biscuit dough with her apron on and her hands dusty with flour:

I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses
and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
And he walks with me and he talks with me and He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.  

Now I hear her singing as she stands beside me in the little white church by her house across the creek.  We would visit her in West Virginia from our nomadic lifestyle as a military family.

He speaks and the sound of His voice, is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
and the melody that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing
And he walks with me, and he talks with me and He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

The Garden, a theme that has run through my life and brought me joy. The irony is I don't have a green thumb at all like my grandmother or even my mother who could grow anything! But I have been able to grow in my faith that God planted in me at l6.  I found out a few years ago that my name, Teresa, means harvester!  Just as my grandmother and many wonderful mentors have planted seeds in my life, I love to plant the seeds of God's word and watch them grow. I have planted seeds in the lives of students as a teacher, I have planted seeds in the lives of friends and other women that God has called me to as a mentor, and I have planted seeds in the lives of my own children in our home. I have not been a perfect gardener by any means, but I have walked with the Master Gardener and asked him to send water and sunshine on those seeds that there might be an abundant harvest to His glory. I sometimes think of my reunion in heaven with my grandma....I want to sing "In the Garden" with her
as we walk with God "in the cool of the evening".

Galatians 6:8b-9 He that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap everylasting life. Be not weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap a harvest if we faint not.

Embracing Who You Are

Often as women we do not embrace who God made us. Watch the following video and be inspired to thank God for all that He made you to be. Let it encourage you to embrace who you are and live for Him confidently.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FFCC2JNU

 

Often, as women, we spend many years believing the lies of the enemy about who we are.  Since the creation of Eve, the enemy of our souls has been determined to rob us of our special place in the heart of God.  He wants to destroy our confidence and make us believe we are worthless and ugly and are "never going to be enough" for God to use us. God made woman the crown of creation, and satan has been jealous and angry about it every since and has determined to destroy us.

This story of Christopher so encouraged my heart because it reminded me that God is the one who speaks truth about who we are. God is the one who has a plan for our lives. God is the one who delights in us and finds us precious to Him.  God is the one who so wanted fellowship with us that He sent His own son, Jesus to die for us.

Christopher could have believed all the lies spoken about him and had a very different outcome, but Christopher obviously had an awesome mother who embraced who Christopher was and that God gave him to her. She must have taught him that he is only as disabled as his thoughts let him be. He is amazingly well educated and capable of communicating despite his disability.  After watching this I couldn't help but cry over the beauty of Christopher. He is a brother whose light shines brightly here on earth and I can only imagine the crowns that will be bestowed by our Father on him for embracing who God made him to be.

Will you and I continue to believe lies about who we are? Will we keep repeating the tapes from our past that say, "you're incompetent," "you're ugly", "you're useless", "you're too emotional", "you're
not smart enough",  "you're a failure"....any of these sound familiar?  We must choose to stop the lies as soon as our enemy begins to play the CD in our thoughts. Take those thoughts captive to Christ and allow Christ to show us the truth about ourselves and then embrace who we are and thank God for what He is doing in us!   Who we are is not about our dress size, wardrobe, abilities, disabilities, education, title, or age.  Who we are is about who God says we are. He has called us His children.
He has said that we are co-heirs with His son, Jesus. He has said that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He has said we are His jewels. He has said we are His delight.

We are able to embrace who we are because of His great love for us. His love has bestowed great value upon each of us. We are each unique and precious and irreplaceable to Him! Let us rejoice in this truth and be set free!

Thank you Christopher for showing us the love of God so magnificently that we might embrace who we are too!

Flourishing Garden or Wasteland?

Just as in the natural world there are obstacles to growth, so there are obstacles in our lives to our spiritual and emotional growth.  In the natural world if there is not proper food and water a plant will not grow. In the natural world if there are weeds and they are not tended to, they will overtake and choke out the life of the plant.  In the natural world light is a necessary element to most plants.

In our life as Christian women, there are obstacles to our spiritual growth and to enjoying the life that God has given us. God delights in us according to Zephaniah 3:17, and Jeremiah 29:11 says he has plans for us to give us a future and a hope!  That sounds like "abundant life" was on his mind doesn't it?

 

But sadly many Christian women aren't experiencing that abundant life, and many are even living rather chaotically and far from the peace that Christ died to bring to us.  Many women have been sidetracked and sidelined by obstacles that the enemy of our soul has thrown at us, many of us, have let "weeds", "drought", and "lack of nutrition and light" impede their growth.

To be healthy we need to drink deeply of the "living water" that Jesus says is in him. We need to stay close in relationship to the Lord. We need to spend time just being refreshed by soaking in His presence. That takes a commitment of our time and will. Will I find a quiet place to just play some praise music and give my attention to adoration of Him. Will I thank Him? Will I confess my need of Him?  We need to purposely choose to make time for Him, to be refreshed by being in the presence of the living water instead of going through perpetual drought.

We need to also be feeding on the right things in order to grow. Have you seen tomato plants and other plants that are given special plant food or fertilizer? They thrive and grow awesome vegetation and flowers. We must overcome the obstacle of starvation of our spirtual life.  "Man doesn't live by bread alone, the scriptures tell us, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Most of us don't miss too many meals, we wouldn't let ourselves go hungry or eat only junk foods, yet we often starve our spiritual life, choosing to fill up on the junk food of life like entertainment, possessions, and status.  We must feast upon God's word and take it in so that it might change our attitudes, deal with our woundedness and pain, and strengthen us for life in a fallen world.  The fruit of our lives will evidence what we are feeding on.  I want to feast on the truth of God's word, not the "wisdom" or cheap substitutes of this world.

Weeds can also destroy a beautiful garden.  Wrong attitudes and motives, complaining, murmuring, being judgemental and critical of others, having perfectionistic, unrealistic expectations, being disobedient and prideful are all like weeds that grow and choke the life out of us and rob us of the beautiful plans God has for us.   Murmuring and complaining cost the Israelistes 40 years of wandering around the same mountain instead of taking possession quickly of the promised land.  Weeds need to be plucked out of a garden regularly to keep it vital and growing, the same is true of the "weeds" our enemy has sown in our lives. We must apply the "weed killer" of God's truth to the weeds in our life.  We need to ask the Lord to show us what weeds are growing in our life and to seek from His words the truths that will kill those destructive weeds.  It takes persistent application!

How about light? Are you letting the light of God's presence and His word move through you to others?  All around us there are people who are like limp, dying plants that are planted in the darkness and need to be transplanted into the light.  As the Light of the World has shone on you and given you a new life and encouragement and brought freedom, so God asks that we function as light bearers in the garden of  His world.  We are to shine the light of truth, encouragement, and love on those God has put in the circle of our influence.  Darkness is an obstacle to growth, and can lead to death. Jesus said we are to be in the light as He is in the light. We must battle the darkness that tries to encroach upon our lives. What we see and hear and give our attention to can bring darkness into our life.  We don't want to give place to these things that darken our minds, hearts, and souls. Remember Jesus said that we are the light of the world and that's because if we are in relationship with Him we bear His light to this dark world. His is a Kingdom of Light!

The Bible says we are to be rooted and grounded in Jesus to have an abundant life in this world and to overcome pain and loss. We get to choose whether our life is a beautiful, flourishing garden or a weed infested, wasteland. God has given us a free will to make that choice. He has given us the tools we need too. He says he is the vine or root and we are the branches.

  I choose to seek that my life becomes a beautiful, vibrant, colorful, butterfly filled, aromatic garden, don't you?

"My peace I Leave With You"

It's amazing how peaceful I feel when I walk through the woods or a garden and take in all the beauty of God's creation. I love walking and talking to the Lord...kinda like the Garden of Eden.  Somedays though, I am confronted over and over with reminders that "we ain't in Eden anymore, Dorothy". It can be just turning on the TV and hearing a news cast or seeing the "junk" that passes for entertainment.  Things can sometimes look pretty bleak and very un-peaceful in the world around us.

Jesus said in John 16:33..."In the world you will have tribulation, and trials and distress and frustration, but be of good cheer{take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted}for I have overcome the world. {I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.} Amplified version.

I am so thankful that we have God's word in times like these, when we look around us and there is so much corruption, lack of integrity, low or no values, greed for power, violence and mockery of  God and Godliness. God's word helps me to keep things in perspective. I know there will always be these things until Jesus returns and reigns in victory.  I am glad that we can love and serve a God who delights in righteousness and who deals mercifully with us. He is patient and He will continue to even woo the mocker. However a day is coming, the Bible tells us, when all will see Him in His glory and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus, alone, is the Lord of heaven and earth!

I find I can have a supernatural peace being in relationship to Christ. I don't feel I have to give in to the anxiety and stress of the world around me.  I can "take courage, be confident, and undaunted" by what I hear on the nightly news or from those who are fearful around me. Why? Because I KNOW in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to deliver me.

God says He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn't change. That is a comfort and peace when we find ourselves in the midst of a time when bad things are being called good, and good things are being called bad.  I'd rather be found standing with God and what He has said than be standing with ANYONE "in power"who has gone along with every "whim and wind of change" when that "great day" of Christ's return comes. Wouldn't you?