Faith and “Senior” Life

March 22, 2024 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

Even in old age, they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The Lord is just! There is no evil in him!’ Psalm 92:14. NLT.

What an amazing promise! Our church has been blessed to be growing. There are many unfamiliar faces between our two services. One day, as I was praying and worshipping during the service, I noticed some of our long- time members. I thought, these are the faithful who were there when the building was built. I know some of their amazing God stories, but these new people probably don’t. I knew it was their time, treasure, and talent that physically and spiritually helped lay the foundation of this church almost fifty years ago. It was a humbling thought.

I did not want them to go to their grave, not knowing they were not only seen, but appreciated. Even more, I want them to know they are still useful to His church. Their abilities may have changed, but they have much more to give. I spent more time in prayer and contemplation, then broached the subject with our pastor. He sent me to do some investigation on the needs or desire of such a ministry. There was an overwhelming sense of “yes.” So Senior Life Ministries is beginning.

Many seniors feel invisible. I, myself, have experienced the feeling of invisibility. For example, my daughter-in-law accompanied me to a doctor’s appointment. I was a new patient. As I was filling out the forms, the receptionist kept looking at her for my answers! It was noticeable to both of us. Her attitude made me nervous and question my own competence! The great news is no matter what our age, we are not invisible to our God, nor should we be to His family.

I admit, I can’t do some things I used to do. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reminds us: therefore, we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. Compared to some seniors, not even close to my age, my outer self has not wasted away as much as it could have! But, no matter how much we easily tire, or struggle to have the strength to open jars we must not lose heart. We must not let our bodies’ failures cause our soul to become discouraged. My dear ones, old and young, God has a desire and need to use you for His Kingdom’s sake, no matter your age.

Wisdom is found with the elderly and understanding comes with long life. Job 12:12. Sometimes, we assume people know what we know, or people don’t want to know what we know. One of the goals for our Senior Life ministry is to work cross generationally with our Next Youth program. Plans are already in the works to pray with them. To successfully cross pollinate, us seniors need to walk with God’s grace and humility. We can’t develop impactful relationships with a haughty, judgmental attitude. We need to make sure we’ve dealt with any bitterness, unforgiveness that would taint our influence. We need to put away the “grumpy” old man and lady persona and show them how to age with grace. We have things to share, but we must be careful they are God’s thoughts, not our thoughts. We don’t want to cause discouragement, disillusionment but hope and truth. The Jesus we want to share with them is the real Jesus, the loving powerful Savior that walks with us and talks with us. Discipling, teaching, mentoring are so needed for this next generation. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your p0wer to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me. Many Bible scholars believe David wrote this Psalm during a time when he was under the crisis of Absalom’s rebellion. You can hear his desire, “let me proclaim your power to this new generation”. Is that your desire? Begin to ask the Lord for these doors. It may start with a friendly “hello” at church. Or asking a young person about their life. My senior friends, God has a job for you to do. Just ask Him. Don’t give in to the devil’s lie, that you have nothing to offer; or nobody wants to hear from you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, work in your heart and put you to work! Remember, the harvest is ripe but the laborers are few.

If you are still breathing, God can use you. As a Senior, you already know life isn’t easy or necessarily fair. My prayer, when my husband had his stroke, was “Father, you better get everything you can out of this, because it is hard”. I’ve watched Him use my story to help others. Those hard things you’ve gone through can help someone else.

Father, I thank you for helping every Senior reading this article to open their eyes, their hearts and their hands for your use. I ask you to open the eyes, hearts and hands to younger folks to receive those gifts. Make room for them in your body, dear Lord. Stir up our hearts to be about our Father’s Kingdom no matter what our age. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Faith and a Circumcised Heart

March 14, 2024 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. Deuteronomy 10:16 ESV

These past few weeks have been very busy. I have been spending time with the Lord and His Word, but I felt a separation from Him. As I prayed this morning, I asked Him for grace to receive from Him whatever I needed to connect. My daily reading schedule brought me to this verse, but I read it in the New Living Translation. Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn. I thought, wow, that’s pretty clear. As read through the footnotes, it talked about uncircumcised hearts. In nature, foreskins, which have been removed, do not grow back. Unfortunately, our spiritual hearts can grow calloused, hard and unfeeling, which can lead us to unreceptiveness to the Holy Spirit. This effectively, separates us from our God.

Walking with the Lord in this life exposes us to not only our own thoughts and experiences but also those of our friends, family, co-workers and even our governmental leaders. Our heart is then subject to the abuse and challenges of life. The question is, what are we going to do with the disappointments, discouragements, and unmet expectations that we encounter? Whether or not we acknowledge it, it affects our heart (soul).

In this section of Deuteronomy, Moses was trying to prepare the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. He wasn’t just interested in their bodies entering, but their entering in with an understanding of whose they were and the whys. He spent some good amount of time reminding them of their shortcomings, and God’s grace. He rehearsed the mess up with the Golden Calf and how he had to go back up to the mountain with God a second time. He shared with them how he interceded for Aaron and the lives of the Israelites. I believe his heart was to help them understand the importance of making a decision to serve the Lord and Him alone, no matter what lay ahead.

I think he was speaking corporately, but in order for a nation to serve the Lord, every individual needs to make that decision. It is the same with the Body of Christ, we each need to decide to make Him Lord. And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. Deuteronomy 10:12. So how can we love Him, with all our heart and soul, if our hearts are hardened? If we have grown calloused? We find part of the solution in verse 16. Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn. Circumcision of the heart implies submission and humility. It is acknowledging, God is God and we are not. It is choosing to walk in His ways not our ways.

When things don’t go our way, our fleshly tendencies rise up, and we want to take control. Maybe we look around for other “gods” to follow? My friends, the best thing we can do when we find ourselves in these scenarios, is yield to Him and His ways. Take the time to pour your heart out to Him and listen. Heartache is inevitable, but He binds up the broken-hearted. When we allow Him to comfort us in our sorrow, our hearts stay softened.

If you find yourself with a hardening heart, go to Him, not away from Him. Lean in to Him and His ways. Stay in His Word and take time to worship Him. These are all softening agents. Maybe confess your story to a trustworthy friend and ask them to pray with you. Expect God to respond. Release your faith. He is ready, willing, and able to help us through any difficult struggles. What joyous fellowship when we return–even if we have only strayed a little way. Take the time to allow Him to search your heart for all the “no’s” you might have said to Him. That is the beginning of a hardened heart.

Father, I thank you for helping us to walk with humble, soften hearts toward you. I ask you search our hearts for areas where we may have allowed anger, disappointment or discouragement to seep in, hardening our hearts. Remind us of your loving care. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Faith Trust · Uncategorized

Faith and “Reminders”

March 7, 2024 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’, says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6. NKJV

Let’s get a little background on this scripture. Zechariah, was a postexilic prophet–called to encourage the returning Israelites to complete the Temple. The people were discouraged. They had begun a good work, but due to lack of funds and leadership they had drifted to dealing with their own lives. The Temple rebuild had come to a stand still. These people had returned with enthusiasm from Babylon, but opposition from the Samaritans and other distractions took its toll. Have you ever felt discouragement try to whittle away at your God given assignment? Are you fighting doubt or your own discouragement? You might need this reminder: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Zechariah 4:6. NLT.

Zechariah (whose name means Yaweh Remembers) was sent to encourage Zerubbabel, the leader that was sent to restore the Temple. This was the fifth vision, Zechariah had. It was a vision of a golden lampstand and two olive trees. The golden lampstand had a bowl of oil on the top surrounded by seven lamps, each having seven spouts and wicks. I appreciate Zechariah’s forthrightness. “What are these, my Lord? What do they mean?” Don’t you know the angel asked. No, my lord, I don’t. The he said to me, This is what the lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I keep repeating this scripture, because most things we are facing we can’t fix. But He can. It is a reminder of how much we need the direction, power and strength the Holy Spirit can give us.

I am sure Zerubbabel struggled with the weight of the task he was sent to do. The exciting expectation that the returning Jews had, waned. They began with great strength, but now they had stopped working on the Temple. The angel continued talking to Zechariah. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerrubbabel sets the final stone of the temple in place, the people will shout: “May God bless it! May God bless it”. Then another message came to me from the Lord: Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. Zechariah 4:7-9. What an encouraging word to Zerubbabel! He would complete the re-building. I want to encourage you today. He that has begun a good work in you, (and subsequently) through you, will complete it. It may not look like you expect at this time, but it will be what He plans.

The angel was not finished. He went on to say: Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand. God rejoices when we begin, no matter how small. He rejoices when we do not grow weary in well doing. He rejoices in the small attempts we make. Zerubbabel still had to rally the workers to finish the Temple, but having the word of the Lord to boost his confidence was priceless. My friends, do not forget His Presence, just like the lampstand is there to give light. He wants to show us the how, when most times we are so busy asking the why we don’t proceed to the how and when. Zerubbabel already knew the what. The restoration was completed in 515 B.C.E. God’s promise was fulfilled. Keep walking my friends, your promises will be fulfilled as well, if we surrender and partner with the Holy Spirit. He is our power and might.

Father, help us to remember that Your work in us begins with Your Holy Spirit. You want us to rely on Him. He will lead us and guide us in all things. Help us to keep our eyes open to see what you are doing in the midst of discouraging situations. Help us to listen to Your voice and share its encouragement with those around us. We trust you, dear Father. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Faith Trust · Uncategorized

Faith and Conversation

February 29, 2024 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

The tongue can bring forth death or life, those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Proverbs 18:21. NLT

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words. Proverbs 18:21 AMP

I want you to use your imagination. Pretend you are back in the Old Testament times. About one year ago, you are part of a scene where God miraculously helps you and at least 600,000 fighting men, their wives and children and foreigners who escaped with you from the bondage of Egypt. Together you walk across the Red Sea on dry land. Look up and see the cloud by day, leading you and the others and the pillar of fire leading you at night . More miracles are happening as you are called to pick up manna for food every morning. Can you taste its sweetness? Are you one of the women who try different recipes? Which tribe are you with? Did you willingly contribute to the items needed to help construct the tabernacle? Or are you one of the artisans that worked with gold or spun the fabric? These were real people embarking on an amazing journey.

How exciting, scary and a bit overwhelming it must have been. The joy of the escape, the blessing of God leading them must have been so awesome. I can hear them discussing the miracles over and over. But we know no matter how many amazing miracles they saw and participated in, the excitement began to fade…and grumbling began. Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. Numbers 11:1. NLT. This seems pretty extreme, doesn’t it? I think it reveals God’s thoughts about grumbling and un-thankfulness. I know He is gracious, merciful and kind, but reading this story is sobering. God does not like grumbling.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. After the fire, we find the foreigners who left Egypt willingly; began to grumble as well. Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh for some meat!” They exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetite are gone. All we ever see is this manna! Have you noticed that all it can take is one person to begin to grumble and complain or be critical and others begin to pick it up? It’s like a contagious virus! Like physical virus’s that get spread through a classroom with immature immune systems, the complaining “virus” can be spread through young believers–or even older saints can be infected if they haven’t been immunized with joy and thankfulness. After the foreigners began to grumble about the food and journey, the Israelites began to complain for meat.

Poor Moses. Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining. Don’t think your leaders don’t know when their sheep complain and are grumbling. It makes their work harder. And the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. My friends, emotions happen. We can get frustrated and upset, but it is what we do with them that matters. Moses handled his aggravation by talking with the Lord. We can see he is quite clear on how he is feeling! And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, “Give us meat to eat!’. I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far to heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!” Wow, that is an honest conversation! And it brought some great solutions.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. (verse 16) They will hear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone. (verse 17b). When we have a true complaint (or even a perceived one) the right thing to do is take it to the Lord, in faith, trusting Him to bring solutions.

We find the grumbling, criticism and complaints spread to Aaron and Miriam. God defended Moses, but Miriam came down with leprosy. My friends, God loves us to encourage others. He loves for us to speak words of life and to do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17. The book of James reminds us of the problem our tongues can cause. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! James 3:8-10. NLT.

We are no different than the Israelites, I am afraid. We can start fires or we can put them out by our words. My friends, the other day as I was praying for our church during a time of intercession, in my minds eye, I saw a bunch of fire buckets sitting around. I asked the Lord, what are they for? He said, I want my people to put out fires of division, disunity, gossip and grumbling.” God has been moving amazing in our church. I haven’t heard of any rumblings, but I felt it was a preventative move. Are you willing to be a fire bucket in your sphere of influence? To guard your heart and tongue from the wiles of the enemy? Can you graciously with loving mercy, correct someone who is stumbling in this area? Let’s determine to guard our conversations. Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19.

Please don’t think this is a small thing that doesn’t matter. We can either speak life or death. We can speak faith or we can speak doubt. We can encourage others or tear them down. Maybe your very word of encouragement will help someone else make it another day.

Father, I thank you for helping us in this area. It is so vital we grow in our ability to guard our hearts and what we meditate on concerning our brothers and sisters and our leaders. Help us to talk to you about our concerns, trusting you will give us wisdom and understanding. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Faith Trust · Uncategorized

Faith and His Promises

February 22, 2024 Martha Rodman2 Comments

Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles. Psalm 119:49-50. NLT

I am so so grateful for God’s promises. I am grateful that He is a promise keeper. He is faithful to His promise, when I am not. Today I am feeling a bit distracted and stuck. Trying to press through and spend time with Him, but it isn’t working too well. So I put on some worship music and tried to settle in. Still a struggle.

Spent a bit of time kneeling prostrate before Him, humbling myself and realizing our God is hearing me, no matter what I am feeling. He sees my heart and struggle to meet with Him. As I quieted my heart and just rested in the knowledge of His presence, peace came. I began to feel restored and strengthened. I found the above scripture and was comforted by His promises, once again.

Why do we make it so complicated? He longs to have a relationship with us. He paid the costly price of restoring our relationship to Him. What a joy for Him when He sees us wanting to be with Him, surrendered and waiting.

I love that His promises are personal. I can claim them, and so can you. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us (one of my favorite promises!). I read there are over 7,000 promises in the Bible. Take a look at your concordance and read some of them. They are refreshing and comforting. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. Psalm 145: 13

We find a marvelous example of what happens when we believe His promises in Romans 4:20. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. Om fact, his faith grew stronger and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. When we continue to grow in our faith in God’s promises (His word), we bring Him glory. The Holy Spirit wants to help us grow in this area. What promises are you trusting in today? Keep on my friend, keep on believing. Do not let the enemy steal your hope. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Romans 15:4-5. NLT. Abraham and Sarah waited a long time to have their promised child. I can only imagine how difficult it was for them to keep trusting. (We know it wasn’t easy, because we have the story of Hagar and Ishmael).

Take time to renew your hope in His promises by reading His Word. Remind yourself of the stories (testimonies) of those who have gone before us. Remember that He who has begun a good work, will go on to perfect it. Philippians 1:6. If you need to remind yourself that He forgives when we ask–read Matthew 6 and the Lord’s prayer. Oh my friends, do not let a gap develop in your relationship with Him. No matter what season you find yourself in, He is present, able and willing to meet with you and me.

I find so much comfort in His promises, don’t you? Today, as I finally reminded myself of His promises I was able to enter in and find the rest He promises. It took some time, but it was so worth it!

Father, I thank you for your promises. I thank you that they are faithful and dependable, even we feel we aren’t worthy of them. I thank you for helping us trust in them and like Abraham, bring glory to your name. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and Asking

February 15, 2024 Martha Rodman1 Comment

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. James 4:2 NLT

This morning, I was praying for my friend. A few weeks ago, her car was stolen and destroyed so much the insurance company considered it totaled. So, she needs a different one. I realized, that I have not asked her what kind of car she would like! What is she believing for? I know what I think she needs, but that may be far from her desire.

Many years ago, our family was a one family car. I don’t quite remember the make, but it was a blue van. It was very useful for both carrying people and things. But, if Darryl needed it, I was stuck at home. It is not bad to have to coordinate schedules–it keeps the communication open, for sure. But our season of life was changing as our oldest daughter was beginning school and it wasn’t convenient to always work around her schedule. So as I was praying, I saw myself driving around in this little red car. I began to thank the Lord for this car.

We did not have the funds for an added car, but we did have the need. This was the first major purchase God put on my heart first, before Darryl in our marriage. I went to him, and said, “We need a second car. This is what God has shown me.” I think he was a little skeptical–but that was ok. I kept praying. We didn’t share it with anyone. A few months went by, and my mom called me and said, “Martha, I want to buy you a car. I can only give you $3,000.” I was so shocked! She had never, ever offered me anything like this ever before.

What a joy to go car shopping! I kept the picture God gave me in mind. As we told the salesman what we were looking for, I spied a little red VW Rabbit on the lot. I just knew it was the right car. Next to the Red Rabbit, was a green one. We drove both. The salesman tried really hard to put us in the green one, but I just didn’t like it. Long story short, we drove off with the Red Rabbit without paying him a dime! My mom had yet to send the funds. He trusted us to come back and pay him. We also negotiated it down to exactly $3,000! How I loved that car, mostly because it was a symbol of God’s provision and grace. It became our only car when we lent our van to a missionary family (it was gone for six months!). This blessing gave us the freedom to help meet our friends need before we even knew they needed it!

The first part of James, chapter 4, Paul asks why are there quarrels and conflicts among God’s people. Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. James 4: 1-2.NLT.

I think most of us are too refined and civilized to physically fight, but how many “conflicts” and “quarrels” have you fought in your own mind about the blessings others may have while you feel left out? The car my friend had stolen, was actually a gift to her from our church several years ago. I am sure, when she was selected, others may have felt disappointed because it wasn’t given to them. My friends, we must learn to rejoice with those that rejoice! We must learn to celebrate and trust our God is a God of both. He can bless you and me at the same time.

Even if these are internal or quiet jealousies, they will grow and cause separation between each other if we don’t deal with them. We must confess them to the Lord and allow His perspectives to become our perspectives. Last week I took a vacation with my daughter Elizabeth and her family to Disneyland. We had a wonderful time in the torrential rain!

There may be some who read this and become envious, but I hope not. This was a trip they had prayed and believed God for. It was a testimony to their children of God’s faithfulness. My grandchildren asked if I could come along! We made memories and it was a very special time. Please rejoice with us. So many times we settle for less, because we don’t even think there could be a way for us to do something. When those thoughts descend, you stop dreaming, much less praying. Begin to ask the Lord for His will and plans for you–maybe even outside of spiritual things. This trip stirred my faith to see what one man dreaming could accomplish. Many times getting out of our environment opens up greater vision.

While I was on the plane, God began to talk with me. He told me that He had given me the gift of faith, not just to my husband. As I began to think about the amazing things faith had accomplished through our lives, I was humbled. Looking on the horizon facing me–I have thousands of dollars of home repairs (more than when we left!), a new ministry to lead and some health issues to release my faith and see Him move. Boldly asking for provision, wisdom and healing brings peace as well as hope. Do I believe He is able to do all these things? Yes, He is more than enough. He is not only a God of both, He is a God of many facets.

Our testimonies lead to more faith and more testimonies if we let them. Of course there are new challenges which must be met with increased faith. Don’t stop growing in your faith, my friends. Remember, He is a good God, doing good things in and through our lives–yours included, if we don’t get stuck in unbelief or fear. There was a reason God told Joshua several times “be strong and of good courage”, it takes both those things to press forward in His ways. I want to remind you–it is worth it. Don’t give up.

When I see my friend, I am going to ask her what kind of car she is believing for, and then I will join my faith with hers and watch our God show up!

Father, teach us how to release our faith in these days. Teach us how to apply Your Word to those difficult situations and to take the time to ask you for things, not just whine because we need them. I thank you for loving us, teaching us and helping us grow in these areas. Forgives us our jealousies, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and Songs of Celebration

February 8, 2024February 3, 2024 Martha Rodman1 Comment

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurdled both horse and rider into the sea. Exodus 15:1 NLT

The book of Exodus is quite an adventure story. We have the story of Moses’ birth, his subsequent flight into the desert, his calling back to Egypt and the encounters with Pharoah. So many highs and lows are imbedded in the beginning chapters.

But we finally come to chapter 15. As I read this wonderful song of thankfulness and celebration I was overwhelmed and so encouraged. The first thing I noticed in the song is the very first word-I-! I will sing. Not my brother not my sister, my mother or my father or friend, I will sing. My voice is important to Him. He wants to hear me celebrate and worship, and He wants to hear your voice.

Verse 3 continues with: The Lord is my strength and my song. A similar thing with the (I) ! The very act of personalizing the fact that the Lord is my strength brings it substance in a real way. The Lord is my song. Will I choose to sing a song of lament, or a song of victory? It is much easier to sing a song of celebration when we remember He is our Lord.

He has given me victory. Once again, we can look around and see others victories, but declaring and understanding that I have victory is so encouraging. It makes the trials and tests seem much more doable!

This is my God, and I will praise him. Again, personalizing He is MY God changes our perspective in so many ways. Try it! You might find you like it! If you do this all the time, you know the blessing. If you are nervous about declaring He is your God, remember He adopted you into His family. He is your father as well as your God.

This song celebrates the victory after the Israelites walked across the Red Sea on dry land. They had just witnessed God destroying their enemies right before their eyes! Oh, my friends, we need to celebrate more often both the big and small victories we see our God do–not only for ourselves, but for others.

One of my father’s favorite songs was “Victory in Jesus”. He sang it with such gusto and declaration that you just knew he wasn’t simply singing songs, but was testifying of His God. When he declared, “my savior forever”, you knew he knew Him. Maybe you aren’t a songwriter, it doesn’t mean you can’t adopt one. One of my favorite go-to songs when I find myself in a hard place, is another old fashioned chorus “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness”. Declaring “MY” Lord sets me on the path of releasing my faith and reminding me “all I have to do is follow”. If you are unfamiliar with this song, google it! It is catchy, simple and full of encouragement even though it was written around 1951! It is not nearly as elaborate as the one in Exodus 15, but it works.

My friends, if you are going through a harder place right now, I am sorry. Can I encourage you to read this scriptures aloud? There is something powerful that happens as we hear our own voices declaring God’s truth. Often it breaks the power of our head voices and those lies that try to keep us imprisoned inside our own minds. If you are brave, set it to your own tune.

Father, I thank you for these amazing stories we find of your power, might and promised victory for your children in the book of Exodus. It gives us hope that we too, will receive our own victories. Thank you for teaching us how to celebrate every victory. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Faith and a Testimony of Thankfulness

February 1, 2024 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. Colossians 1:11-12. NLT.

January is finally over. This new year brought so many challenges to so many of my friends and family. Some of them are still ongoing (like the passing of loved ones), while fortunately some will soon be forgotten (my plumbing issue). This post is to simply thank God for His work in and through my life. I hope it encourages you to take a moment and thank Him for what He is doing in and through yours.

For several months, as I looked around our church, I saw many of the pillars from the past aging and unable to contribute as they used to. It bothered me that they seemed to becoming invisible without people knowing their contributions. So I began to pray and then made an appointment to speak with our pastor about this need. I envisioned a ministry that would encourage and help the Seniors at our church. When I shared my heart with him, I could see it touched his heart as well. With a very humble heart, we began this journey. I am very thankful for his open and caring heart.

What I didn’t know at the time, was how this would stretch me. How I would be confronted by my own sense of inadequacy as this task began to take on a ministry with a much bigger scope than I ever imagined. I saw it as a giant octopus with so many legs that were flailing around. How could we ever tame the beast and make it work? For weeks I wrestled with the overwhelming task. Why did I take this on? I am thankful for this wrestling. I am thankful because I am/was forced to seek Him in new measures. I am thankful because He gave me the compassion to continue when I wanted to quit. It seemed overwhelming and it was very uncomfortable.

Thankfully, God began to send team members with like-minded hearts. We came together and began to brainstorm and dream. Our accumulative strength, faith and grace gave me the courage to press on. For this I am so very thankful and grateful to our Father.

It is still a very fledgling ministry, but I have confidence that it will grow and develop to touch many lives. Do I know how it will all work? No. After much struggle in prayer, I realized one of my missing pieces. We were trying to develop a “program” based ministry, but I realized through the Holy Spirit, it needed to be relationship based, because that was how it was going to be built. Then we could discover the real needs that need to be met. When that revelation took place much of my struggle ceased. I began to see Jesus and His ministry was relationship based. He didn’t have programs! The young church in Acts developed feeding and caring programs, which came after they were in relationship and saw the need. How simple and obvious it seems now. But I am thankful for the struggle I went through because it reinforced it was not my idea to work this program, but it is God’s plan. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn this lesson yet again!

As we move toward our public (church wide) launch March 3, I am getting excited and I feel much more confident than I was when we began. I am thankful for teammates who compliment my skill set, but I also know I need to set myself to learn some new software admin type stuff. I am grateful because the Lord has helped me understand I can rely on Him to quicken my mind so I am not afraid of tackling it. Do I expect to mess up, probably. But understanding you are ignorant in a scenario does not mean that God won’t challenge you to learn something new. I am so thankful for courage to learn. Do you need some fresh courage to learn or step out in God’s assignments for yourselves? Ask Him.

Once again I have been confronted to believe God and His Word in fullness, not just in my mind. Is His Word true? Of course, then act like it! Sounds simple, but He understands how the process of renewing our mind works. I am thankful I can see and sense a change in my own soul in these areas. My faith is growing in Him, not myself. Sometimes we are not aware of how much unrest we carry, until He brings His peace. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3: 15. Faith is released more when we are have peace. It is interconnected. He is working in all our lives to bring this about and we can trust Him to do it!

My friends, God is such a good God doing good things in our lives. I encourage you to look around to see how He is working in your life and thank Him for it. Thank Him for even the hard parts. They will work out for your good, He promises!

Father, I thank you for your faithfulness to work in our hearts and lives. To bring us to places we could never go ourselves. I thank you for helping us learn how to let your peace reign and rule in our hearts so we can be free to accept your challenges and opportunities! You are so amazing, thank you for not leaving us as we are. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and His Faithfulness

January 25, 2024 Martha Rodman1 Comment

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Psalm 36:5 NLT.

2024 is 25 days in. Life still keeps me on my knees and looking upward! It is amazing how in the midst of so many challenges God proves Himself faithful. I mentioned last week about the mess in my back bedroom. More issues were discovered and in some places, we are down to studs and the outside brick wall. But as I trust Him, and my wonderful contractor, it will get restored. All that takes is money, supplies and hard work. God is faithful to provide.

But what about other things, the harder things that money won’t fix? Can we trust His faithfulness during those times? Yes, we can. Here is an example of His faithfulness in one of life’s most challenging situations.

This past Sunday, my dear niece, Anne Hardy passed into the loving arms of our Savior. Anne is the oldest daughter of my oldest biological sister. A sister my triplet sisters and I were not raised with due to my parents personal issues. It was God’s faithfulness that brought each of us back together in person, when we were about 28. It is amazing how God re-connected our lives. His faithfulness was demonstrated through the prayers of our Aunt Freda; a dear precious believer who prayed our family would be reunited due to our adoption. (After our birth, the state became involved and some of our sisters were placed in foster care). My parents had eight children. My sister Betty is twenty years older than we are and is an amazing woman in her own right. Anne’s full name was Elizabeth Anne–the same as my daughter! (Because I only knew her as “Anne”, I didn’t know her full name!)

Anne’s last several months was filled with hospital stays as she battled pancreatic cancer. We watched God’s faithfulness as He strengthened her and blessed her. The outcome was not on our agenda, but His faithfulness was so manifested. Early on in the process Anne had a dream. In this dream she was in heaven. She saw many angels around the throne and it was beautiful. There was one angel who had the Book of Life, and said, “no, it’s not time for you”. Then she was escorted back to earth. I remember the peace and hope that came as she shared this dream with me. Yes, God was going to heal her!

Later on, she had a second dream (shared to me by her sister Debbie). In this dream, Anne wrote her obituary. As she finished and re-read it, she said, “you know this was a pretty good life!”. Debbie wasn’t happy about that dream. As it became obvious her time here on earth was short, the immediate family gathered in the hospital. Her amazing husband Doyle was at her bedside holding her hand. She had been through so much and Doyle exemplified God’s faithfulness in so many ways. Anne loved music. Doyle put on a Gaither song, “Mansion over the Hilltop” and as they listened to this promise, he leaned over and told her she was free to go. Her pulse and breathing ceased. Then Doyle felt a touch on his shoulder. As he turned to see who touched him, no one was there. It was as if Anne gave him one finally touch.

Someone asked Doyle how he was feeling. He said, “pure joy”. Only our good and faithful God could do that. Our God is so faithful. We need to trust Him more, and not let the enemy rob of us of who our God really is. These dreams and this final story are helping our family walk through these days. I know Anne has left some big holes in the lives of her mom, her brother and her sister, but our God is faithful and able to bring His comfort.

These two seeming polar opposite stories (my room issue) and Anne’s passing are examples of God’s faithfulness in my life this month. There are so many more. I want to encourage you to look out for them in your own life. I have found walking in thankfulness, brings me even more aware of His faithfulness.

Father, I thank you for Your dependable faithfulness, which not only reaches past the clouds but into every area of our lives, if we let You. I ask You help us to open our eyes in even the hardest places to find you, because I know you are there. Thank you, my dear Savior. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and Seen

January 18, 2024 Martha Rodman1 Comment

Therefore, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me”. Genesis 16:13 NLT.

As I read this scripture yesterday, it struck me once again that we are people who are seen. Not only seen but seen by a powerful God who can do something about our situation. Hagar, an Egyptian slave girl did not have an easy life. We don’t know how she became a slave to Sarai, Abrams wife, but she was in their midst. I wish I knew her backstory.

Most of us know the story, but let’s go through it again. God promised Abram a son, even though they were well passed child bearing age. Sarai got impatient and following a tradition suggested that Abram father a child through her maid Hagar. Hagar had no say in the matter. Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named, Hagar; so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children, Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

From the advantage of hindsight, we can see all the problems with this choice. God had promised them children, but Sarai is blaming the Lord for keeping her from having children. I think every month Sarai did not conceive brought her more and more despair. By now, Abram was about 85 years old which made Sarai 75 years old. I can see why their faith might have struggled, can’t you? So Sarai comes up with this plan for her to use Hagar in hopes she could build a family through her. This was a common practice in their culture, but not God’s plan for their legacy.

Reading this story always makes me take a pause and pray, “Father, please help me to find and follow Your will, not my good ideas. Help me trust You and Your plans, no matter what”. I want to encourage us all to do the same. God’s ways are always higher than our ways and usually don’t look like our ways.

So Abram slept with Hagar and she conceived. Instead of the happy family Sarai must have pictured in her mind, Hagar began to hold Sarai in contempt. Sarai then blamed Abram! Then Sarai said to Abram, this is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong–you are me! Abram replied, “look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away. Genesis 16:5-6. NLT. This triangle relationship did not work on any level!

Not one of these people really did the right thing. Abram, as the husband and the one God had spoken to, should have said ‘ no, that’s not what God said, we are going to trust Him.’ Sarai did not think things through when it came to her own heart. Her heart wasn’t in the right place to enlarge it to encompass Hagar as a pregnant sister wife. Hagar acted very immature in her attitude toward Sarai–all things we can and should learn from.

So Hagar runs away into the wilderness. There is a surprise twist to this story. Neither Abram nor Sarai go after her. But she has the most amazing encounter. The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. He not only found her, but he encouraged her. He began to instruct her to go back to Sarai and submit to her authority. You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means God hears), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. How amazing. I think it is interesting that Hagar got to name her son, instead of Abram. But the angel went on to tell her a few more things about her son, that I don’t know if she really wanted to know! This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey. He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives. I am sure this is something she pondered in her heart.

My friends, God see you. He sees your circumstances and He is moving on your behalf, as you participate with Him. Hagar went back to Sarai and hopefully they both treated each other with a bit more respect. Sarai only had the promise of a child at this point. It would be 14 more years till she bore her own child. What a test. We do know that after Isaac was born, Sarah demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. Genesis 21 tells the story of Hagar’s next encounter with the God who sees. He doesn’t forget her, nor does he forget us. Please be encouraged, no matter how many times you hear this story, let it go deep into your soul. Take encouragement also from Colossians 1:23. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Father, I thank you for seeing us. Let the fact You, the God of the Universe sees them and is helping them make a difference in their hope and faith today.