It’s time to take time

Summer is almost here and it’s time to slow down, rest, and make plans for the remainder of the year. For the next several weeks, I will be taking a break from writing the blog so I can move into a new home, take a long-awaited anniversary trip with my husband, and tape next year’s Bible study on the book of Matthew. We will be highlighting some of my all-time favorite blogs over the years. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

I love what I do. While definitely work, this work is also my ministry. I love the opportunities to serve the Lord by sharing his word with others.

Life has been complicated this past year as well as joyful, difficult, fulfilling, and blessed. Stepping away from some of my work to rest in the Lord and refocus my thoughts on the future is right and good.

A new self

I was reading some familiar verses in Ephesians when I saw the passage in a new way. If you have lived a Christian lifestyle for most of your life, this may give you some new thoughts as well. ALL of Scripture has purpose in our lives, and these verses spoke a word to me.

Paul was writing to the Ephesian church, encouraging them to move away from the sinful behaviors of their past, pre-Christian lifestyles. He said, “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:20–24).

I’ve taught those verses before, but usually from the perspective of first-century issues. In doing that, I applied these verses only to our lives before salvation. I want to be clear, that is what Paul was teaching the Ephesians. But are these verses only about that?

An old self, redefined

Most of my readers have been Christians for a long time. I was raised in the church and truthfully, my pre-Christian years weren’t dramatically different from the life I lived after choosing Christ as my Lord and Savior. Passages like the one from Ephesians kind of seemed like verses for someone else. 

But what if Paul wanted to teach these verses to people like most of us, who have lived as Christians for the vast majority of our lives?

Are there times we need to “put off our old self” too? There are times we step away from our “former manner of life” even if it isn’t necessarily “corrupt.” Sometimes our former way of life is simply outdated. There are times we need to step into a new day, a new calling, or new circumstances. Paul’s instructions are key for those moments as well.

When a renewed self is needed

I never want my relationship with God or my ministry to grow routine, uninspired, or stale. Teaching God’s word is always relevant and rewarding. But isn’t it easy to continue doing what we have always done, even when the Lord might want to plan a “new thing”?

Paul told the Ephesians that after they had stepped away from their “old self” there were things to do if they wanted to be renewed.

First: we need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds

We need to think differently, discover new ideas, and simply learn to know God at newer and deeper levels. We should never be finished “seeking” God. Our spiritual lives are eternal, and we can measure our success by our growth. We are not finished growing until we have become an eternal soul in heaven.

Second: we need to put on the new self

I know this originally meant to step into the life of a person who has been born again and filled with God’s Holy Spirit. We all remember the wonder of waking up with the knowledge that we had become an adopted child of God. But should our wonder fade? Shouldn’t we make the choice to put on our new self every day? 

Third: we should evaluate our spiritual lives by the standards of Christ

Our renewed lives should continue to make us more like Christ, with each passing year. We were created after the likeness of God. We were made to be truly righteous and live holy lives.

A new home, a new path, and a new heart

There is a LOT that is new in my life right now, and it is exciting. I have so much work ahead of me in the next few weeks, but I look forward to getting on a plane and leaving it all behind. I will enjoy as many sunsets on the ocean as I can before returning home to work some more.

I am taking my soul on this vacation and asking God to renew, refocus, and redirect my life – in whatever ways he would choose. It’s a new day, and I want to be whoever the Lord calls me to be for this next season of life. 

Whatever that might mean, I know this: I want to keep growing and keep serving the Lord. I want to be more like Christ next summer than I am this summer.

It’s time to take time

It’s time to take time to rest, think, pray, and respond to God’s guidance. I’m excited for a few weeks to “be still and KNOW” the presence of my Lord. 

Rest is good! I pray each of you will be able to find time to sit at God’s feet and “reason together.” Could God have a new plan for your life as well? One thing is certain, we are never finished growing into someone who is more and more like him.

I’ll be back soon…summer blessings!

Out of the desert and into God’s purpose

A note from Janet: One of my great blessings in 2020 was the addition of Trace Kennedy to our ministry team. Trace is the Brand Manager for the JanetDenison.org brand and has been an invaluable asset as we expand the outreach of our ministry. Trace will be guest writing for my blog for a couple of weeks while I am away. I know you will enjoy her thoughts. Thank you, Trace, for everything you do!

The evidence of spring is everywhere in central Texas, with a heavy emphasis on green and yellow. (As a Baylor parent, I like to think it’s a shoutout from God to the Baylor Bears’ basketball championship title.) 

I have to admit, I’m embracing this spring with a deeper gratitude than in years past. The weeklong winter storm of Texas was enough to make me beg not just for warmer temps, but hot temps! 

Soon enough, the mild temperatures of spring we’re enjoying will be replaced with the blazing heat of summer. Streets and sidewalks will appear wavy, the new, fresh foliage of spring will be limp and tired, and regular walkers will resemble their panting dogs. The once welcoming enthusiasm of summer will be replaced with the longing for more refreshing, fall-like temperatures. 

Inevitably, seasons outlast their welcome, and most of us are always ready for the refreshing or relief that comes with the season that follows. 

AN EMPTY NEST LED TO EMPTINESS 

Spiritual seasons are similar. 

In recent months, I have come through a summer, or “desert,” season in my faith walk. A few years ago, when God led me into it, I reveled in the “sweat” that was involved, knowing that the Holy Spirit was moving in me, changing my direction, and shifting my purpose. 

When my last child went off to college, and I became an empty nester, I suddenly found myself with a whole lot of time and not a whole lot to do from a meaningful standpoint. At first, I embraced it, excited to see what God was going to do with me. But then, the waiting and wondering led to wandering. 

It’s easy to get discouraged when it seems like God isn’t answering, doesn’t it? 

Where in your life do you feel like God may be stonewalling you? Maybe it’s in situations, circumstances, or relationships you have prayed about, yet it seems as if God isn’t answering, or really even listening. 

We’ve all had seasons that start out full of promise and new beginnings, only to stagnate and foster discouragement, impatience, and restlessness. 

JESUS NEEDED GOD’S RESTORATION, AND SO DO WE 

I’ve been studying Luke 4:1–13 extensively for the past several weeks, researching the temptations of Jesus for a work project. My initial thought was how easily Jesus fended off Satan’s attacks. Reading just those verses, resisting the devil genuinely seems like a walk in the park for Jesus despite his physical hunger from forty days without food or water, his emotional fragility due to desolation and isolation, and his spiritual battle to glorify God by remaining in his perfect will. 

But Matthew’s gospel reveals something crucial to Jesus’s desert experience that Luke doesn’t mention. Matthew 4:11 says, “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” Here, Scripture points out clearly that resisting the Enemy wasn’t easy for Jesus; in fact, it was so difficult he needed divine help to recover and be restored. God allowed the hard time in the desert to show us that Jesus was strong enough to withstand what the Enemy threw his way, but Jesus didn’t do it without being depleted. Before Jesus left the desert and returned to Galilee to begin his Spirit-powered ministry (Luke 4:14), God had to refuel and refresh him. 

Isn’t that a beautiful picture of God’s tender love for us? 

He wants us to know that when we walk through the desert seasons of life, experiencing scorching days where we become like wilted plants oppressed by the heat, we are going to need a divine refreshing—not relief the way the world relieves, which is temporary and unsubstantial, but Spirit-powered sustenance that strengthens and endures and readies you for what he is calling you to do. 

THE DESERT JOURNEY 

For over two years, God allowed me to walk, sometimes stumble, and oftentimes crawl through a desert season. Frequently, I took matters into my own hands, believing that my way was a more comfortable and convenient way to where I thought he wanted me to go, only to end up deeper in the desert and even more desperate for relief. 

Isn’t that just like human nature? We seek out our versions of a mirage, hoping it’s the oasis we are looking for. We pursue short-term solutions, make impulsive decisions, or seek worldly comforts thinking they will give us long-term relief and direction.

But, in reality, worldly resolutions fade quickly and can often leave us feeling unworthy, hopeless, restless, and frustrated. In desert seasons, it’s so easy to relate to Paul in Romans 7:15: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” When we are exhausted, thirsty for something satisfying, and hungry for genuine spiritual food, why do we tend to seek our own solutions instead of God’s? 

Much like the Israelites who wandered around and around in the desert, I felt like God had me in this holding pattern with no clear exit plan. After sharing this thought with a wise friend, she told me that I was perfectly positioned to receive God’s replenishment and ultimately his plan—not the world’s. In that moment, I realized I was doing the exact opposite of what Jesus had done in his desert time: focusing on the Father, trusting in the strength of his word, and relying on him to meet all of his needs. 

EXCHANGING MY WILL FOR HIS 

When I stepped into faith, humbly surrendered my will to his, and began walking obediently behind him, the Lord restored my soul. 

My former pastor has often said that the most miserable people he knows are believers living outside the will of God. Is it because we choose to settle in the desert, preferring temporary relief through worldly comforts? Relief and departure from the heat only came when I chose the restoration that only Jesus can supply. 

When we position ourselves to receive all God wants to give us, God is able to bless our lives and use us for his divine purpose and plan. My former Sunday school teacher and longtime Bible study teacher has continually instilled that truth in me over the last fifteen-plus years. And over and over, I have seen this truth played out in my life. 

Never would I have imagined that one day she would be my boss and that I would be working for a ministry that has been instrumental in my spiritual training and maturity. 

OUT OF THE DESERT, READY TO SERVE 

This last year of COVID has been a long and trying season. 

Many of us are probably weary from battling the extreme ups and downs, and we are parched for fellowship and hungry for anywhere but home! This year may have left you feeling anxious, lonely, depressed, or worried. Maybe you ate too much, drank too much, watched too much TV, or spent hours wandering on social media. In the moment, those solutions probably offered some level of comfort and relief, but they ultimately just created more dissatisfaction and a thirst for something more enduring. 

I pray that as you make plans to embark and enjoy this much anticipated season without all the restrictions COVID created, you will first allow God to tend to those places of your heart in need of refreshing. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). 

Jesus walked out of his desert time, restored and replenished by his Father, and entered into his calling that changed the world. Because of his high calling, we as believers now have the very same power that God gave him indwelling us. 

When we surrender to his divine plan and choose to follow him in humble obedience, he truly is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20–21).

Work and rest: God meant both for joy

If King Solomon wondered about something, we should too! 

If you have been reading my blog posts for a while, you know I am a big fan of King Solomon. I’m not unaware of his weaknesses; I am just a huge fan of his wisdom. 

King Solomon asked, “What gain has the worker from his toil?” (Ecclesiastes 3:9). Solomon wrote those words at the end of his life. Most people who have studied his life would probably wonder why he, of all people, would write those words! One article estimates that King Solomon would have a net worth today of $2.2 trillion!

Again, why would he write “What gain has the worker from his toil?”

BUSY WITH BUSINESS 

King Solomon answers his own question by saying, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with” (v. 10). 

The best way to understand King Solomon’s words is to interpret them for the era in which he lived. I’ve often said, “I was born at the right time.” I earn a living with my computer. I fill my refrigerator by making a trip to the grocery store. If it gets dark, I flip a switch. If the clothes are dirty, I push a few buttons. If I want a cup of coffee, I reach for a coffee pod. I could keep going, but you understand my point. 

God’s children have always been busy, but we aren’t as busy today as we think we are! After the fall, God told Adam, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Adam and Eve had enjoyed the garden because, bluntly, they had it so good. Don’t you know there were days after the fall when they turned to God and said, “It was just one bite, Lord!” 

One of the results of the fall is that we will always be busy. Even with all the luxuries today, that is still true. Solomon said, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.” We will always be busy with business. 

Was that God’s judgment—or his provision? 

GOD’S PLANS ARE BEAUTIFUL 

Solomon’s next statement in Ecclesiastes is one of my favorites. He wrote, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). 

All of us spend our lives working until we find we can’t work any longer. We get tired and we get tired of our work. Then we often miss the work, along with other things, when we get older. We are funny creatures, and God is good to put up with us! 

But then, God understands because he made it to be this way for a good reason. After God judged Adam and Eve, he caused us to work, to age, and to need rest. He had a good reason. Solomon’s wisdom provides a perfect perspective on the nature of our lives. This whole process of life is God making everything beautiful in its time. 

I’m going to try to remember that as I age. QVC was selling a potion that makes you look ten years younger and I told Jim, “If that comes in vats, I’m buying it.” What does aging have to do with this verse? 

God caused it, God made it, and God made it beautiful. 

Because, at the same time, God also “put eternity into man’s heart.” God planned our lives so that, as we age, we can rest from our busyness with business and more often consider the things of eternity. 

IT’S ABOUT JOY 

King Solomon wrote, “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man” (Ecclesiastes 3:12–13). 

God made us to work and made us to be busy with the things of life. Our work is what earns us the ability to enjoy things we have worked for. I would love to hand some of our political leaders the wisdom of Solomon. The most important thing we can do for the self-esteem and for the souls of our citizens is enable them to work. Everyone deserves the chance to know the joy God wants them to have. It was his gift, and we should be careful to help people receive that. 

WHAT GOD DOES ENDURES FOREVER 

I love my work. I’ve just finished writing the Bible study for next year from the book of Romans. Many have asked if I plan to continue to do the video format. The answer is yes. Stay tuned and we will tell you how to download the study later this summer. I will also teach in person and continue to write this blog post, among other things.  

I love working with and teaching God’s word. I’ve spent some time during the past year listening to historical sermons from people like Charles Spurgeon. His messages are amazing! I’ve discovered a website that makes old sermons downloadable. (My podcast of choice!) 

King Solomon said, “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14–15). The sermons I’ve been reading and listening to are just as remarkable today as they were when they were preached to congregations. 

“Whatever God does endures forever.” 

RESTORATION IS WORTHY WORK AS WELL 

As you might have read, I’m a big fan of home restoration shows. I love watching older, out-of-date homes become cleaned up and ready for a new family. That said, I also love that the people who lived in the home before it was all fixed up still called it home.

I’ve often told Jim that I cringe sometimes when the young people complain about the old carpet, parquet floors, and clamshell sinks. (That was a hint about my décor!) But, I’ve also learned that brass fixtures are coming back in style. If we live in this house for another decade, we could become officially “retro” instead of just “old!” 

But, keeping up a home is a lot like keeping up our lives. Everything needs restoration once in a while. 

I love my work and am grateful for this job. I stand in full agreement with King Solomon. My work gives me joy because my subject is God’s eternal word. But, my business is busy. That has been especially true this past year. Our ministry didn’t slow down during 2020. In fact, it grew a lot!  

That is a huge blessing, and we are grateful to all of you who have helped that happen. But, last year Jim and I celebrated our fortieth wedding anniversary with a takeout steak dinner in Styrofoam boxes! (I did light a candle, but that was about all I could do to fancy up our COVID anniversary.) 

Now, we are fully vaccinated and, for the first time in a long time, we are packing our bags! It’s time for our much-delayed anniversary trip. I’m leaving my computer behind, and I’m headed for sunsets over the Pacific Ocean. Because restoring our souls is worthy work as well! 

The Brand Manager for janetdenison.org, Trace Kennedy, will be writing this blog post for me for the next couple of weeks. I will be soaking up warm air and sandy beaches and reaping the joy of hard work and God’s blessings in our lives. I’ll come back to my parquet floors and clamshell sinks, and they will look good to me because I’m home. 

I hope all of you are planning that first, post-COVID break as well. We all need the restoration that God can provide. Thank you Trace for helping me to travel with joy. 

And to all my readers, I’ll be back to work in a couple of weeks. Until then, “Aloha!” 

Yep . . . sunsets, beaches, fresh pineapple, and joy! (At least we made it before we hit our forty-first anniversary!) 

Blessings to all of you . . .

You’ve Been Upcycled

Football season has come to a close and, chances are, you have a little more free time on Sunday afternoons. Next Sunday, you should check out a show called Flea Market Flip.

People compete by shopping for things at a flea market and then upcycling those items into a new and more relevant table, chair, lamp, or whatever. It’s an interesting show, but I don’t blog to give television advice. (Although it can be a side benefit!)

The point is this: in many ways, Flea Market Flip could serve as a parable for each of our lives.

God’s in the restoration business

A lot of people visit a flea market and only see a bunch of unwanted junk. Maybe that stuff was nice in the beginning, but, over the years, it has been dinged up, broken, rusted, faded, or just used up. Most people look at those piles of discards as useless.

But God visits flea markets and sees the potential.

In one episode, two women bought a couple of rusted patio chairs with dirty cushions. The chairs were sitting off in a field, covered by dirt and only worth a few dollars to the seller. By the end of the program, those chairs had been soldered together to become a brightly painted bench with a fancy new seat cushion. Those two old chairs were upcycled and then priced at a much higher value.

Do you ever feel like those rusted chairs?

Maybe the hard moments of life have made you feel useless or less valued. All of us have to weather our share of storms. But God is in the restoration business.

Israel became a world power under King Solomon’s leadership. They had prominence, power, wealth, and wisdom. But later, after most of the nation had been decimated, Jeremiah wrote these words to the remnant in Judah: “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast” (Jeremiah 30:17).

Judah would be taken captive by Babylon, and the once beautiful and opulent city of Jerusalem was reduced to ruins. God’s people were enslaved and called outcasts. But God knows how to upcycle what has been cast aside. God restored his people, not to their former glory, but to rebuild something new, with greater potential.

A new creation

I am amazed at the creativity of the people who transform their purchases on Flea Market Flip into things I never could have imagined.

  • Two women took an old ladder and a few old frames and turned those things into a shelving unit to display photos.
  • A husband and wife took an old chicken coop and created a beautiful coffee table.
  • A mom and daughter duo took an old door and two rusty stools and created a kitchen table that could hang on the wall of a small kitchen and then transform into an eating area when needed.
  • And two men turned an old, wooden wheel into a beautiful clock.

Paul was teaching the church in Corinth that Jesus could transform their lives. Corinth was known for their decadent culture and immorality. I’m sure some of the people in that Corinthian church thought they would never belong in a group of “holy” people. But Paul taught them that Jesus had given his life for everyone and could forgive every sin. Jesus is able to upcycle any life into something new and amazing.

Paul wrote: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Do you ever wonder what your life would look like if you had lived it without Jesus? Do you ever imagine what the lives of those outside the Christian faith could look like if they chose to make Jesus their Lord?

Jesus would love the chance to continually upcycle our lives and the lives of those around us.

Jesus turns our junk into treasure

At the end of every episode of Flea Market Flip, one of the competing duos receives $5,000. That prize goes to the people who make the highest profit on their upcycled items. Most of the time it is a close race. On one episode, the difference was just a penny, but, occasionally, the difference is several hundred dollars.

The $5,000 prize is the same, regardless.

Every Christian is a child of God and has been given the same promise. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24).

That prize is yours, regardless.

You’ve been upcycled

Maybe it’s time to take a fresh, new look at your life.

Do you notice the battle scars of your life, or do you see yourself as restored? You are a child of God, upcycled to a person of great value to your heavenly Father.

Maybe you haven’t fully recognized your potential. When Jesus came into your life, you were given a new purpose and a new usefulness. You have been upcycled by the Holy Spirit as a gifted disciple of Christ. You are a new creation. Jesus can transform junk into treasure.

And, finally, you are guaranteed to win the final prize.

The apostle John was an elderly man who had developed an amazing ministry in Ephesus. He was captured and exiled to the prison island of Patmos. I imagine he wondered if his life and ministry had been discarded as well.

Instead, he started a church there and began a brand new ministry in his older years. And Jesus appeared to him on that island and said he wanted John to write a few things down!

We call those words the book of Revelation.

Our ultimate purpose

All of us will need to be constantly upcycled on this side of heaven. This life is a journey, and, let’s face it, our witness gets a little dinged up and rusty along the way. But, Jesus told the apostle John that all of us would be winners in the end.

In Revelation 21:1–5, John wrote: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”

In heaven, no upcycling will be needed. There is never anything that looks like junk.

Everything and everyone is eternally made new!