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Monthly Archives: November 2023

A Miracle in the Mess

Are you having problems with your job, your finances, or a relationship? Are you suffering from an illness? Is your heart aching for a loved one who is far from God? Could you summarize the situation by saying, “My life, or the life of someone I love, is a muddled mess!”? The good news is that your mess can be God’s means to bring a miraculous blessing into your life.

Your situation may seem overwhelming, but in every mess a Christian encounters, there is a miracle in the making. Most of the time, we look at trouble as something bad. But when we overcome a difficult situation through God’s grace and power, our victory is an opportunity to receive glory (greater blessings) and give glory (praise and thanks) to God. We also have the great privilege of reflecting His glory. A little trouble can yield a heap of glory.

God says your afflictions are light compared to the heavy blessings they can bring into your life: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Who in the natural would think that financial problems, sickness, or any other difficulty could be a benefit? But in God’s supernatural world, afflictions can lead to glory. God wants to use the very thing the devil works against you to bring glory into your life.

God has a process to bring His glory into your life; if you grasp the process, you’ll receive the glory. The way we handle hard times and deal with difficult moments provides a foundation upon which God builds a beautiful life. Joseph is a good example of someone who grasped this process. God turned a mess into a miracle in Joseph’s life, and He can work a wonder in yours, too. So, let’s look at how you can get God’s glory in your situation. Consider these four keys.

  1. Focus on the Word of God: “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Look at what God says about you and your problems. No matter what others say or how things look in the natural, look at the invisible.
  2. Confess the Word. Don’t just read the Word—speak it, confessing the invisible. If you have spoken negatively into your situation, ask for forgiveness and begin to speak positive, Bible-backed confessions.
  3. Have patience and faith. Hebrews 6:12 says that it is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God. Patiently walk by faith. Some people want their glory now. They don’t want to wait, but God needs to work on us first to prepare us for the glory to come.
  4. Take hold of joy. While you are waiting for your victory, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Look at your mess the way Jesus looked upon His excruciating death on the cross as the means to a miracle: “For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross . . .” (Hebrews 12:2).

When problems arise, focus on and confess God’s Word. Walk in faith and patience while you take hold of joy. Your mess is merely the means to your miracle. Your glory is on the way!

Today’s post was excerpted from Marilyn’s devotional, Beautiful Inheritance.

2023-11-01T14:34:10-06:00November 27th, 2023|

Thanksgiving Brings Endurance

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 16:24-26, NIV)

Forever. Beyond the measurement of time.

It’s difficult for us to comprehend a love that literally has no beginning and no end. But that is the love God has for us.

God is so good. He wants His best for each of us.

We fail Him. Every day.

His love never fails.

We seek after our own way. We ignore Him. We reject His wisdom and advice.

Israel repeated this same cycle for hundreds of years. They had the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle as reminders of God’s miracles and laws. The ark and the tabernacle were mobile, carried across the wilderness for years. Set it up, worship, break it down, and move on. Repeat.

Finally, Israel had taken possession of the promised land and David was king. Jerusalem was established as God’s place on Earth, and the ark and tabernacle were finally home. As David and the priests gathered all of Israel to celebrate this great moment together, He offered a song of thanksgiving. David concludes this song of praise with a thankful heart, proclaiming: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever.”

God’s love endures forever indeed. It has no end, and it is available to you right now. Give thanks to God, for He is good. He is everlasting.

May you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Today’s blog post was taken from Marilyn’s new book, Treasures of a Thankful Heart.

2023-10-04T16:20:07-06:00November 20th, 2023|

Sanctification through Him

Isabell Bowling, Guest Blogger

Isabell is the daughter of Sarah Bowling and the granddaughter of Marilyn Hickey. She graduated from Oral Roberts University with her bachelors in Historical and Philosophical Theology and received the award for Theology Student of the Year upon graduation.

She is excited for what this next season brings and is looking forward to learning and growing under the tutelage of her mother and grandmother. In the future, she also hopes to continue her educational journey by seeking a graduate degree in Europe.

We pray Isabell’s blog post blesses you today!

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:17

Have you ever wanted to be holy? Not holey like Swiss cheese, holy like Jesus is holy. Here’s the good news: we are already sanctified! Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of God’s truth and live like we know that we’re holy.  I love the idea of sanctification, because it’s so final and it’s completely out of our control. Sanctification is the process by which we become holy. It is a process, but the good news is we have already begun it.

First, we enter into sanctification when we give our lives to Christ. We are set apart because we need to be in order to house the Holy Spirit. We are all temples for Holy Spirit to sit and dwell within us, so there’s step one of our sanctification. We just have to say yes to Jesus living in our hearts.

The second step is continually choosing to set ourselves apart. We do this by living righteously and meditating on the Word. Oh man, this part is so tricky! I know especially in high school, I did not want to believe that my physical actions had consequences on my soul, but the truth is that they do. When we are not kind to ourselves or others, this has a wholistic effect on our being. Here’s an example: when we gossip, it can have negative side-effects on our relationships here on Earth, but it can also be poisonous to our Spirit. God tells us not to gossip or slander, so when we act out of disobedience, it is sickness to our spirit, which is designed to be in equilibrium with the Father. This can sound scary, and unrealistic, but the truth is Jesus said, “Now you are already clean [sanctified] because of the word which I have spoken to you’.” (John 15:3) He has called us clean, holy, and set apart. That—more than any sin we may commit—is the truth.

The third part of sanctification—where we live righteously and meditate on the Word—comes from a proper understanding of the truth of who we are. We are already holy and set apart, so our actions need to reflect that. In my own life, when I am wrestling with fleshy sin, I can get really down on myself and very critical of myself. Other times, I see someone else struggling with sin and I see their sin first. But, when God sees us, He doesn’t see the sin we are struggling with, He sees us. The sanctified temples that He loves. When we shift our attitude about ourselves and others and bring it into alignment with what God says, we start to have a proper understanding of just how valuable we all are. C.S. Lewis in his book Weight of Glory says, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” (C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory. P46) People are important. We are important. But this importance comes from the weight of significance that God puts on us.

Let’s remember today that we are holy. We are sanctified. Out of that knowledge, we choose to live our lives in a way that reflects the truth of who we are. Let’s love well, respect people, and seek God in everything we do.

–Isabell

2023-10-04T16:25:12-06:00November 13th, 2023|

Sanctified in Truth

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:17

Jesus spoke these words during His prayer to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. Up to this point, Jesus had imparted to the disciples everything God expected—His Word and an understanding of His character. Like Jesus, the disciples were set apart from the world. Their affiliation with the living God (rather than the dead works of the law) would draw hatred from those who did not know Father or Son (see John 16:3).

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (John 17:14-16)

Jesus asked the Father to protect His own from the enemy. His request was essentially, “Don’t let his snares abort their mission.” Note that:

  • Jesus did not suggest that they should be removed from the world.
  • In order to fulfill the call of God and glorify Jesus (see John 17:10), the disciples had to remain in the world.
  • Keeping the disciples in the world was a sign of Jesus’s love for the world.

In difficult times, Job, Moses, Elijah, and Jonah each prayed to be taken out of the world. Their prayers were not answered. Our relationship with the world should reflect the love of Christ: we are here to bring the Word to the world. Some will receive it. Some will not.

To remain in the world and yet not be part of it, the disciples would need sanctification—to be “set apart” through the Word of God.

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. (John 17:17-19)

Ephesians 6:14 says, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.” The disciples would be fortified by the truth and by feeding on the Word, they would think, speak, and act differently than the world. Instead of being absorbed into the world, they would stand out from it and bring glory to God.

This sanctification was Jesus’s final request to the Father on behalf of the disciples. Jesus spoke of His own sanctification in John 10:36, but here He states that He will sanctify Himself for the disciples’ sake. The Anointed One had always been set apart, but here the consecration of the sacrifice rather than preparation for a task is implied. The Living Bible states it this way:

Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth. As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world, and I consecrate myself to meet their need for growth in truth and holiness. (John 17:17-19 TLB)

Because Jesus was sanctified when He entered through the veil, we too can be sanctified by His Word. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil” (Hebrews 6:19).

Next week, my granddaughter, Isabell, will be posting on what sanctification means for us today!

Today’s blog post is from Marilyn’s master class, John: The Gospel for Real Life. For more information, please visit https://www.mentoredbymarilyn.org/

2023-10-04T16:16:18-06:00November 6th, 2023|
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