Tag: restoration

Bekah's Heart, Bible Journaling, Devotional

Reflections on Ezra and Nehemiah

Rebekah Freed

“HE IS RISEN! ALLELUIA!”

These words echoed through the halls of churches all across the world this past Sunday. However, when I look around our world, we still see so much hurting, pain, and even death. I saw it in the eyes of a friend, in words across Facebook, in stories of suffering splattered all over the news. I’m guessing each one of us can look back on this past week and find at least one moment where the reality of sin in this world seemed, if only for a split-second, bigger than the resurrection.

I read a blog post earlier this week in which the author described her struggle to believe the resurrection of Jesus. She resonates with the Jesus of Good Friday because suffering, she knows; new life is just too distant of a concept. She said,

“… I found I couldn’t even envision a risen God. A victorious living God.

A suffering God? A dying God? An oppressed God? Yeah, I could see that.”

– Sarah Moon in “Resurrection and the Surviving God”

While I may come to different theological and personal conclusions on some things than Sarah, I very much appreciated her insights. Her view into the struggle we all face sometimes in reading God’s Word claiming ‘new life’, ‘resurrection’, ‘victory’, and then look around our world (or even our own life) seeing destruction, suffering, and pain made a lot of sense to me. I loved the concept she presented that sometimes resurrection simply is the power to get up and walk through another day here on earth. She shared:

“I didn’t single-handedly defeat depression and the pain from my past when I rose off that floor. I didn’t defeat the powers of evil or anything like that. But I survived.”

…

“Today, I’m going to embrace the idea of resurrection as this: Fellow survivors, God is with us.”

These are the thoughts I had on my mind as I began reading Ezra and Nehemiah this week. These books of the Bible (likely originally one book together) set up a pretty bleak situation. Exiled for years… these people were slaves… their city and place of worship in complete ruins.

In the midst of it all God calls some people to begin rebuilding. It wasn’t glamorous. It didn’t happen overnight. There was a lot of pain along the journey. Enemies rose up in every situation. At one point God’s people were forced to even stop rebuilding work on the temple for about 20 years! Later on in the story as they each worked together rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem, they had to have their work tools in one hand and keep a weapon in the other in order to defend themselves. This promise of restoration wasn’t feeling much like a reality right then.

There, in the midst of all of that, this verse in a prayer of confession stood out to me:

“We are slaves, but you have never turned your back on us. You love us, and because of you, the kings of Persia have helped us. It’s as though you have given us new life! You let us rebuild your temple and live safely in Judah and Jerusalem.” (Ezra 9:9)

Even as the people turned their back on God, they recognized that their God never had, and never would, turn on them. They saw His love. They saw new life.

They survived. They got up and did what they needed to do for another day. While we live here on this earth, sometimes that’s exactly what new life and resurrection look like: power to get up and do it all again another day. Right there in the middle of death and suffering, illness and disease, violence and hopelessness, we have hope to take another step.

We have hope because one day, none of those things will be there. A true Resurrection Day is coming, one that will destroy death FOREVER! God is rebuilding His world and there we will live fully in safety, never again as slaves, only as beloved children.

Revelation 21:3-5 says it this way:

“I heard a loud voice shout from the throne:

God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are goneforever.

Then the one sitting on the throne said:

I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. my words are true and can be trusted.” (CEV, emphasis added)

That’s the resurrection Jesus made possible in His own death and resurrection. That’s the resurrection that begins in little ways even now amid the death, suffering, crying and pain: God making His home with us and giving us power to get up again and again each time one of those things beats us down. That’s the resurrection I long for. That’s the resurrection I believe in.

He is alive! Alleluia!

Bekah's Heart, Devotional, The Exodus Road

But what can I do?

Rebekah Freed

Tonight at a Bible Study I attend we were talking about the book of Nehemiah. One of the things I’ve always loved about the story of Nehemiah leading the people to rebuild the walls of the city, comes in Chapter 3. There it talks about how they were able to accomplish the task by simply working on the part of that wall that was right outside their home. Together they were able to complete this incredible task in only 52 DAYS!!! Even those that opposed them were scared as they realized God’s hand at work in accomplishing the impossible.

Like Nehemiah, we live in a world that is broken. Everyone can see it. And often times the issues we see in our world seem too big to accomplish and building a huge wall around a city in 52 days while being attacked by outsiders seems like a piece-of-cake compared to the enormity of the brokenness.

One of these issues is human trafficking. A few days ago I mentioned that God was calling me to “build my section of the wall” by joining “The Exodus Road Blogging Team”. At least once a month, I can use this space on this blog to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. To tell their stories and pray for their restoration.

Today, on the 20th day of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, I invite YOU to do YOUR part in building the wall and restoring the brokenness in our world. Below you will find MANY ways to join in the fight for the 27 million who can’t fight for themselves. Find a way that works for you. Together we can restore brokenness! (And let’s encourage each other in the process. Post in the comments what YOUR part of the wall looks like! How are YOU going to help restore what’s broken?)

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WAYS TO FIGHT!

PRAY!
God’s Word makes it clear that His heart breaks for the broken and oppressed. He also makes it clear that when we pray according to His will, His heart, He WILL hear and He WILL answer. Let’s bang on the doors of heaven on behalf of those who find themselves enslaved. Here are the top three prayer requests right now from The Exodus Road:
1. Safety for our investigators– especially as they start an intense month-log operation with many nights of surveillance back to back.
2. Unity among the communities where they are working. For continued strong relationships with government and NGOs on the ground so that work can move forward.
3. Hearts and healing of rescued victims, currently in after-care facilities.

PUT THIS PHONE NUMBER IN YOUR PHONE!
Human Trafficking is not just something in “some other part of the world.” Sadly, it happens in our own communities everyday. My heart breaks to think that some of the youth I work with could end up caught in some form of sex slavery, but the reality is there. Another organization that works to fight human trafficking including efforts in the US is called the Polaris Project. One of their resources is a 24 hour resource hotline. You can call this hotline to report a tip, connect with anti-trafficking services in your area, or just to request training or anti-trafficking resources. It only takes about 30 seconds to put this phone number in your phone. You never know when you might be in a position where you might need it. You might save someone’s life just by having this phone number accessible!
1-888-3737-888

GIVE!
Because The Exodus Road has had successful connections in the last few days with local police in the area of SE Asia where they are working, their anticipated workload is multiplied GREATLY. While this is GREAT news, it also means that they will need more funds in order to make the raids a reality. Here are a couple ways to give to The Exodus Road:
* Buy an awesome t-shirt. ($22.50)
* Sponsor an investigator for a night ($35)
* Donate any amount.

LEARN!
My guess is that one of the biggest ways human trafficking has become such a big issue is because we’re just uninformed. We’d rather turn our head the other way or maybe we just never heard about it. Here are some ways to get informed about the issue and begin to advocate for those suffering.
* If you’re in the Buffalo area, come to the University at Buffalo this Friday night for an event called “Unbound” that will talk all about the issue of human trafficking.
* Read the stories and facts on any of the following websites:
The Exodus Road
The Polaris Project
* Explore what organizations are fighting this issue in your own state, and see how you can get involved.

So how are you joining in the fight? Share it in the comments as a way to encourage others and to remind us all that together we can make a difference!

Crossroads, First Trinity, Internship Highlights

Collision: Mend the Broken

Rebekah Freed

Well we did it!  We survived the first “road trip” planned by Bekah. :)  As promised yesterday, I wanted to share a little bit about my experience this weekend at Acquire the Fire in Cleveland, OH with 16 teens and 2 other awesome adult leaders.  The theme this year for this conference was Mend the Broken.

 

DSCF7078 I guess I’ll just go through the weekend chronologically to give you an idea of what we experienced and learned.

 

The first session on Friday night started with worship led by a band called School Of Worship.  They led us in worship all weekend and it was always an amazing time to just enter into God’s presence and give him praise before hearing Mike Guzzardo share God’s Word with us.  FridayDSCF7088 night Mike shared with us that our lives are kind of like broken down cars that need refurbished.  First we have to let God take us out of the junkyard so that he can begin to take us a part and clean every little part of us…. it takes time and he has to get into every little deep place, but then, once we’re clean on the inside, he can begin to rebuild us in a way where we can think and live how he originally intended us. 

 

The night ended with a Newsboys Concert during which we got to be a part of the video recording for a music video.  They said they only use a live audience DSCF7060for a music video once every 2 or 3 years and they picked Acquire the Fire- Cleveland, OH to be that audience.  Watch for their video for the song “Miracles” coming out soon and see if you see any of First Trinity Crossroads group in  there!

 

After that we headed back to Lutheran High School West in Rocky Road, OH which was gracious enough to let us use their facilities to sleep and shower this weekend!  A youth group from Hosanna Lutheran Church nearby also joined us Friday night at Lutheran West.

Saturday morning started bright and early (for high schoolers) at 8:00 am and was broken into three sessions all including worship, a message, and part of a drama that continued all throughout the day. 

 

The first session Saturday tackled some difficult issues that teenagers (and all of us) face today regarding pornography, sex before marriage, same sex attraction and more. Teens were challenged to join “The Resistance” when they struggle with these or any sins in their lives committing to purity in heart, mind and body.  An organization called CovenantEyes.com also provided students with a 30-day trial of an internet filtering and accountability software that they produce.

 

The afternoon session was about failure and how we deal with it.  We were reminded that just because we’re Christians doesn’t mean we won’t fail (see Proverbs 24:15) it means that God helps us get up when we fail and that we don’t have to be defined by our failures. 

The afternoon also included 2 concerts, one by Young Joshua and the other by Jimmy Needham. 

 

After dinner we went back for the last session which was about how our world tries to get us to focus on The Me-World .. my problems, my stuff, my fun.   God calls us in our new refurbished  life to focus on the HE-World …. the things of God’s heart… whether that’s serving your neighbor next door or going overseas, we all can start now making changes in our lives to shift and “get away from ME”.

 

Our weekend wrapped up by attending St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, OH on our way back to NY.  They were very welcoming, had a beautiful sanctuary and there was some AMAZING scenery on our drive  between the high way and the church.  Think, curvy hilly roads with gorgeous houses lined with trees still dressed in autumn colors yet covered with snow.  BEAUTIFUL!  Definitely added meaning to the term “scenic route”. 

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Overall it was an AWESOME weekend filled with fun and, I pray, spiritual growth.  Those of you from First Trinity, take a chance to ask one of the kids about it… them sharing with you is one thing that can help continue the growth that began this weekend. Thanks again for your prayers and support!

 

 

 

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Here’s a video summary put out by the Acquire the Fire organization. (You can see some of our group members at around 1:42).

Bekah's Heart, Devotional, Joy

Joyfullyblessed… with HOPE!

Rebekah Freed

Hope.  We use this word so often that I think it has lost some of it’s meaning. 
“I hope it doesn’t rain today.”
“I hope ‘such-n-such’ sports team wins their game.”
”I hope I did okay on my test/work project/etc.”

 

But truly, hope is a much greater concept.   When we really look at hope, we realize that often it is all we have… and that is is more than enough… that is, when our hope is found in something bigger than if someone notices our new outfit or we succeed in whatever we do today.

 

To not have hope is truly a horrible thing… a scary thing… a DANGEROUS thing.  BUT to have true hope, is beautiful beyond words.

“God did this so that… we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. …” (Hebrews 6:18-19a)

An anchor.  Something stable.  Isn’t that what we all really want in life… isn’t that what we all really need.  HOPE.  And not just some flimsy half-hope as if wishing for something that probably won’t happen.  In this crazy, chaotic, painful, confusing world, we need hope that anchors us to the Unchangeable, Immovable, ROCK… Jesus.

“… [Hope] enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf….” (Hebrews 6:19b-20a) 

Just as an anchor on a ship holds the boat firm in the wind and the waves, this anchor, hope, settles in to the deep love of Jesus and holds us firm and secure no matter what life brings.  What a beautiful picture to know that we can set our hope in Jesus.

 

I could end here but my heart yearns to go further… what about those who have no hope or have tried to place that anchor in things other than Jesus.

 

Have you ever known such a person?  I have.  The darkness in their souls goes so deep.  Their pain becomes unbearable and hope is “lost”.  Maybe you not only know that person, maybe you ARE that person.  And I guess the question begs itself… how is hope restored?

 

And strangely enough, on this chilly October day, my thoughts shift to a well-known Christmas carol, “O Holy Night”:

Long lay the world In sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d And the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks A new and glorious morn.

Pining.  Longing.  Yearning. To hunger.  To ache.

 

I believe this really describes that person who has “lost” hope.  I believe this really describes each and every one of us at one point in time or another as we are caught in our “sin and error”… we’re left longing for more.

‘TIL HE APPEAR’D! 

 

That’s the key… THAT’S the transition… that’s… the HOPE!

 

Only when we see Jesus can our soul feel its worth.  “I’m worth something.”  That’s what the the hopeless soul needs to be reminded of.  Suddenly a thrill of hope appears and not just hope… but JOY as well… suddenly breaking through the deep shadows of a soul comes a newness… restoration… LIFE.

 

Hope is restored when we set our eyes back on Jesus… when we admit that we’re not in control… when we realize our weariness … when we recognize that self-effort just doesn’t cut it.

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives STRENGTH TO THE WEARY and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall;

but those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength.

  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

~ Isaiah 40:28-31 ~

 

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