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Thank you.
From My Heart To Yours
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
The Remnant Shall Return!
I returned
to Scotland several times and always ministered to the Messianic fellowship represented by the women with whom I met in the restaurant.
Shaare Yeshuv
consists of some Jewish believers in Yeshua and many non-Jewish people who love
and appreciate their Jewish roots. Shaare Yeshuv means “The Remnant Shall Return” and is based on the
promise that God always has a remnant. No matter how far they stray they WILL
return to Him.
One
particular year I was making plans to go again to minister to Shaare Yeshuv. Despite
the number of times I went, each time was a faith-walk in the area of finances. My husband has always forbidden me to use any
household money for my ministry. Household money included my own paychecks. I was
simply not to use any money that we had earned for these trips. So—there I was
every year, knowing I had the call, and having no idea where the money was
going to come from. Now, in case you think that was awful, it was NOT. I
learned HARD how to lie before the Lord, how to stand, how to believe, how to hope, how to respect the CALL, how to
expect.
But this
particular year I was tired and almost gave up, collapsed, say ‘I
missed it’ and tell the group who had already printed up fliers that I wouldn’t
be coming. I did write to Dorothe and said, “Please pray. Not sure what is
going on but the finances are not available to me to come.
I sat down for my prayer and Bible reading time and jotted a note to the Lord. “Maybe I’m
just not to go.” I opened my Bible to the place where the bookmark was, the
spot scheduled for me to read.
Since 1980 I
had been systematic about my reading. Old Testament, New Testament, A Psalm and
a Proverb. So I opened to Isaiah 10. I
started to read then sat up straight, flung
my head back and gave a whoop!
Isaiah 10:21 “The remnant shall return, even
the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God”.
I gave my
Bible a squeeze and a hug—maybe a kiss, put it aside and grabbed my computer
mouse.
“Dorothe I
am COMING. THE REMNANT SHALL RETURN! Isaiah 10:21!”
Has God ever
spoken to you through His Word when you least expected it.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Barely Got Into Scotland
Shortly before Lee Cedra and I went into Scotland I had attended a
conference in St Louis led by a man whose ministry included gold appearing in the service , even having new gold
teeth placed in people’s mouths. I wasn’t
interested in the hype but I knew the pastor before he had fallen, repented,
and been restored so I went and was touched by the sweetness of the worship. I
couldn’t stop crying. I told some of the women from Women with a Vision about
it. One woman sniffed and said, “Cheryl you are SO dramatic and emotional. That’s
why you cried. And that is the LAST THING I NEED! A BIG GOLD TOOTH IN THE FRONT
OF THIS BLACK WOMAN’S MOUTH! ” So she came the next evening to prove that I was over-the-top in
the touchy feel-ly department. But she wasn’t prepared for the effect that the
worship had on her. She was sobbing and broken. At the end of the service she even went up when
prayer was offered and the pastor gently said to her, “Sister, open your mouth,
wide.” There in the far back of her mouth was a molar which seemed to be made
of silver and gold. She subsequently went to her dentist who confirmed that
there was no way any man could have created that molar. That was a gift from
God.
So with this fresh on my mind we boarded the plane for Scotland. Before leaving the U.S. I had contacted Jews for Jesus international and was
given the names of two Jewish women
in Scotland who were heads of Messianic ministries. Lee and I settled into our B&B in Bridge
of Allen, visited a Church of Scotland which, interestingly, had a woman as the
speaker that Sunday morning. We toured, saw the Wallace Memorial, rode a bus on The Royal Mile. But we knew we
had not hit the heart of what God wanted for us on the journey. I had tried, and
failed to phone the two women. But finally, 2 days before our departure,
SUCCESS!
Sonya Addleman of Edinburgh answered the phone and
immediately, upon hearing my brief testimony, agreed to get the entire board of
their ministry together the following day for lunch at a restaurant. Lee and I
got there, sat down and as always, I just started chattering away. I told them
about the most amazing experience our friend had getting a gold/silver tooth.
Little did I know that I was sealing the door shut on any chance of ministry
there because this group was totally horrified by EXCESS and SHOW and SIGNS.
One board member, Dorothe, had taken a liking to me and later told me the
problem.
“Well it wasn’t MY tooth. I didn’t do it! I was just THERE!” I wailed.
Dorothe talked the board, begging them to give me a chance and the following year I was invited to Edinburgh to do a conference for their ministry. It was a solid love-relationship ever since and I’ve returned to Scotland many times, ministering in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Auchenblae and I never get enough! I'm so glad Dorothe gave me a chance!
The photo is Dorothe. Impatient with watching Neil try unsuccessfully to give Star, the baby Clydesdale an apple which kept falling on the hay, Dorothe plucked it up, took a big bite out of it and handed it to the horse. She is a hero!
“Well it wasn’t MY tooth. I didn’t do it! I was just THERE!” I wailed.
Dorothe talked the board, begging them to give me a chance and the following year I was invited to Edinburgh to do a conference for their ministry. It was a solid love-relationship ever since and I’ve returned to Scotland many times, ministering in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Auchenblae and I never get enough! I'm so glad Dorothe gave me a chance!
The photo is Dorothe. Impatient with watching Neil try unsuccessfully to give Star, the baby Clydesdale an apple which kept falling on the hay, Dorothe plucked it up, took a big bite out of it and handed it to the horse. She is a hero!
Q. Do you think I was wrong to tell about that experience?
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
I FORGOT TO PRAY!
Here I am sitting at my computer in a dither because I don’t know how to use my website! I don’t know how to add content, add photos or add events. I have been aggravating my web creator who is, after all, artistic–not a teacher of someone 66 years old who needs step by step explanations. I’ve googled self-help ideas, asked friends, considered taking my laptop up to the local high who could teach me.
Five minutes ago I was scrolling down the titles of books on the variation of the theme: “Websites for Numbskulls/Dimwits/Old Folks”.
Then I thought, “I forgot to pray!”
Philippians 4:6,7 (from the ESV) says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
So–since I’m a step-by-step person I’m going to take those scriptures step by step!
1. STOP BEING ANXIOUS and repent, “Forgive me Lord for allowing myself to be anxious over what You already have covered. I just need to let You uncover it for me.
2. Pray! Tell God what is wrong. “Lord I cannot figure out this website! It is worthless if I can’t use it!”
3. Supplication. Tell him what I want or need. “Lord I want to be able to easily and fluently add text, photos, and events, regularly and efficiently in a way that women can access and participate in the ministry.”
4. Thanksgiving “Thank You Lord for sending me Jez to create this beautiful website. Thank you for the full and glorious ministry you have given me. Thank You for the women whose lives it will touch in a greater way when they can participate from so far away in their lonely spaces.”
5. My request: Please send me the right person or resource, Lord, who can help me using my learning style and has a heart for the ministry.”
6. Peace that passes understanding. “Ahhhhh!”
How about you? Are you anxious? Try those steps. They haven’t failed me in all the 30 years I have used them.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Cleansing Relief: Roll Away the Stone of Protection
A Study
Written by Cheryl Samelson Skid
Based on
Psalm 51
Cleansing Relief; Roll Away the Stone of
Protection
Psalm 51:6
and 7
Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know
wisdom.
Psalm 51:7 Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Getting to
Know Ourselves and Each Other through God’s lens
1.
Can you remember a time that you had to come
clean after telling a lie that was so detailed, so like a spider web that even
you started to believe it? How did you decide to come clean? What was the
process and what was the end result? If
you are still struggling with a lie that you are afraid to make right, let this
lesson reach the inside of your heart and see the value the Lord puts on truth.
2.
Part of the definition of truth (emet)* is
reliability, steadfastness, faithfulness.
Sometimes singles look for people who are fun, life of the party,
exciting. They may feel cheated by a partner who seems to be ‘boring’. But God
values the faithful, steadfast servant. How about you? What do you look for in
partners or friends?
3.
Do you know people who seem to hide? You can’t
find the real them because they are so covered by layer after layer? Do you
sometimes think you don’t know who you are anymore because you assume different
identities depending on your environment?
4.
When we hide things as in the word hidden (sattam)**
we are purposely putting a rock in front of the hole so that the hidden thing
cannot be seen. We have heard horror stories in the news about people who have
kidnapped children then hid them away in cellars or caves, or unspeakable
places and then covered the opening so no one could ever find the victim. We do
that with lies. We cover them up so that no one can see the truth about us. Are
there things about yourself you don’t want anyone else to know?
5.
We have all heard about learning styles. We each
learn differently. It’s true in the spiritual walk as well. For instance:
a.
What have you learned from another person that
has become part of your Christian walk?
b.
What have you learned from good, healthy
experience?
c.
What have you learned when you came to the end
of yourself and hit bottom?
6.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Original
Language
Desire חפץ chafetz desire, take pleasure in, delight in, bend
down. Imagine God bending down toward us when we please Him!
*Truth אמת
emet faithfulness, truth,
reliability, stability, truth
Inward
parts טחה toochah inward parts, hidden regions, after taking
off layer after layer after
layer the inward part is at the very very deepest hidden place
**Hidden
סתם sattam stopped up, closed, made secret, hidden
on purpose
Know
yada yadah know, perceive, discern
discriminate, know by experience, recognize,
admit, acknowledge, confess, (the verb form indicates
to make known, rather than to know. So
God is making
this known to His child who is hungry to learn and to change. Yad in Hebrew is hand. Ah signifies stretched upward. So
our posture in crying out for knowledge is hands stretched to
God when we come to the hard conclusion that
true knowledge
comes from Him.
Purge
חטא khatah to cause to sin, bring to judgment,
and purify
Hyssop
אזוב ezoov an aromatic plant from the east,
like mint
Clean
טהר taher this isn’t the word for clean
that would be used as in something
washed with soap. But it is ceremonially clean, free
from disease, purified, morally clean.
Wash
כבס kavas this isn’t the washing of the
body. Rather it is the scrubbing that
one would apply to filthy rags or a dirty rug putting in lots
of effort on a very soiled cloth or object.
Searching the Scriptures
These two verses are the
only ones in the Bible that mention the hidden parts of the heart. Does that
mean that David is the only person who ever struggled with secrets of the heart?
Consider the following
names from the Bible. Take a look at their lives. What do you perceive as
possible secret struggles? Beside each name I have written one possibility but
there are many!
1.
Abraham
(Read Genesis 17)
2.
Moses
(Read Exodus 2)
3.
Esther
(Read Esther 2)
4.
Peter
(Read Matthew 16-19)
5.
Paul
(Read Acts 15)
6.
Jesus
(John 18)
Let’s first talk about
Abraham. Do you think he struggled with himself? _____________ How might his inner conversation sound?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Moses had to struggle
with a dual identity. _____________ Can you identify a time when Moses had to
choose one identity over another? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Might Esther have lost
sleep over a decision she had to make? ________Explain.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do you think Peter knew
his own heart? ________What did Jesus do to prove that Peter did not?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paul had an immediate
and dramatic conversion. Unlike the others who grew up with Jesus Paul was
overcome. Tell about his struggle on the road?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jesus was fully God and
fully man. Do you believe that ever caused him struggle? _____If so why? _______If
not why not?____________________________________________________
Jesus’ famous struggle
was in the garden. Once he settled his heart, he didn’t struggle on the
cross. What implication does that have
for us? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do Work
Take account of your
heart this week.
* Are there areas that you have a hard time revealing to
those close to you?
*What do you tend to hide?
*Find one person you trust and share a little area of
your heart you have tried to protect. *Write about it.
*What is happening as the days go by since you shared
with that trusted person?
*What correlation do you see between hiding information
from people and attempting to hide information from God?
*The more time we spend with someone, the more
information we share. We learn more about them. They learn more about us. Can you
put in your own words what this phrase means: “spending time with God”?
During World War II and the Viet Nam War before email or cell phones, separated lovers
would write letters to each other, sometimes daily. How about writing a daily
letter to God and tell Him everything that’s on
your heart and let Him talk to you!
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Call Stood Up
The Call Stood Up
In 1983 I was called as a mouthpiece to the nations. But
life didn’t cooperate. In 1988 in a
missions meeting at Faith Fellowship Church in Florissant, MO I stood up, eyes
closed and head bowed. “Lord, I give up
this call. I relinquish it to my daughter, Amy. I am too old, too broke, and too trapped to
fulfill the call.”
But in 1992 someone fierce broke inside me. I knew I could
go no further until I stepped onto foreign soil and spoke to the nations. There
was still no money. But the call inside me stood up and claimed me. At a
missions conference at Latter Rain Ministries in Litchfield, IL.I bent over as
if hit by a torpedo in the gut. Standing, I declared, “I am taking my children on
the mission field.” I had NO confirmation
from anyone. In fact some could have discouraged me by saying, ‘you can’t know
you’re called until you know the nation to which you are called.’ But I needed
no one’s confirmation or affirmation. I had the call and it was upright, strong
and unyielding.
The first nation to which the Lord pointed was Guatemala and
that was through my ten year old son, Nathan. We went in 1994 as helpers. I
cooked, washed, and helped with homework. At one point Mario Barbarczy founding
director of Hearts in Action, asked me, “Do you have something to say?” I
opened my mouth and consequently taught in the Great Commission Conference in Guatemala
seven consecutive years.
From then on every year I received only the name of the
country. Denmark. Denmark? I believed by faith and made plans to go. As I researched
the nation I discovered that Denmark saved their Jews during the Holocaust. By
the time I went to Denmark the queen no longer wanted Denmark to be remembered
for the Resistance. I went from one elderly man and woman to another, listening
to the stories which they, at first hesitantly and then with more confidence,
shared. I thanked them for saving my people. So many nations: Sweden,
Scotland, Switzerland, Austria, Cyprus, Kenya, Israel, Portugal, Italy, France, Suriname,
Spain, China. Always only the name, and then
the Lord opens up the nation! Oh How He blesses
and rejoices over us! He woos us and brings us and sends us and elects us and
trains us and equips us and LOVES US!
In 1988 when I told the Lord I was too old, too broke, and
too trapped I was 46 years old. I am now 65. I am jubilantly buoyant! I am as
prosperous as I need to fulfill the call and I am FREE!
Friday, February 24, 2012
You! Under The Rubble
YOU
Under the Rubble
"Look
at this!" Who isn't excited when, digging through things at a second hand
shop or a yard sale we find a treasure---something we've longed to find? We all
love treasures, especially when they're found in unexpected places.
If we
look through the yard sale that is our life we start to realize that those
randomly placed circumstances have been carefully hiding a treasure that is
your life!
"Why
me!" Oh, who hasn't said that when
disaster strikes? The pat statement now is, "Why not me?" But really,
do we really feel terrific that we were the one selected for the tornado to hit
or the dryer to break or the, God forbid, middle of the night phone call?
If we
really look at our lives---REALLY look, we'll see that the character traits
that matter most, that pull us through, that minister to others, that inspire
others to keep going were developed under heaps of pain, heaps of rubble. The
dictionary defines rubble as coming from the word rubbish and it originally
meant broken bits of stone.
Stone.
Does your heart feel like stone when disaster strikes? I can still feel that
ice that seemed to run through my veins at sudden shocking news. The thesaurus
gives synonyms for rubble: debris,
ruins, and wreckage. RUBBLE. It's over. It's finished.
In
1956 Nate Saint, Jim Elliott and three other American missionaries when to
Ecuador to bring the gospel to the Auka Indians. There were the wives at the
mission station when the word came; the Indians had killed their husbands. The missionaries
had desired to develop friendships with the violent tribesmen and were killed
shortly after their mission had begun. Can you imagine? All the men were
slaughtered and here were the wives in a country where they were hated. The
End of the Spear and Through
Gates of Splendor are movies about
the surprise ending; the jewel beneath the rubble. Rather than ending in
bitterness the rubble has become an inspiring story of true love. Two of the
wives ended up going back to live among
the savages several and won the tribe to Christ. Five generations of
slaughtering even each other ended when the love of Christ swept over the men. One
woman stayed with her children two years, but the other lived there the rest of
her life there.
I have
read that occasional failure leads to
resiliency. The person who has many opportunities to stumble and get up seems
to be more resilient than the one who
has had smooth sailing. Consider Job. Job 29 sees him was remembering the past.
There was no sign of wreckage in his life and no hint that any was coming. He had never suffered and triumphed over
adversity. He did not have the opportunity to learn that when we're beneath the
rubble God is there as the Master of the Search Team, the Excavator who can
search beneath the rubble and lift us up. Who didn't cheer in the recent Haiti
earthquake when on day 2, day 3, 4,5,6,7,8 a survivor was found and brought out
alive? God will always bring us out
alive--because even when we are absent from the body we are present with the
Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Job 29:2--just because Job didn't sense God's
presence doesn't mean He wasn't watching over him. To this point Job had judged
God's presence and blessing by the circumstances in his life that were
favorable. But the fact is: difficult circumstances
may very well be part of that training in that season of our lives. The woman
who is pregnant one minute is just as pregnant as she is in the 9th month. But
in that first minute, hour, week the work is done in secret. Oh! A great work
of God is done in secret beneath those pebbles, stones, rocks and boulders that
make up the rubble of our lives.
In Job
29:4 Job spoke of those times of victory, respect and adulation as being in his
prime. But, oh! if we could only begin to see that we are always in our prime!
God's eyes are always on us! (2 Chronicles 7:16.) His eyes and heart are fixed
on us perpetually! 2 Chronicles 16:9 says that God's eyes are on us when we are
perfect. That does not mean that we dot every i and cross every t. It means
that we are continually acknowledging God as the one that can help us. We cry out to God and
His help comes. God LOVES showing Himself strong to the one who knows he is
weak without Him. God looks for us in that rubble and He doesn't have to depend
on luck, or dogs, or any special instrument. There is nothing that can block
God's eye from seeing you and loving you. As we continue to read Job 29 we see
that he was a man of excellent deeds and character. (12) He considered and did
something about poverty. (17) He fought cruelty of those who oppressed the poor
and needy. But (16) He thought things would always go this way. He thought he would
be honored and revered all his days.( 21) No one would dare interrupt him.( 22)
He always had the last word. 24 When he encouraged someone he made that person
feel that she could walk on air. His smile lit up anyone's life that it landed
on. (25) He helped people make crucial decisions in their lives.
But
then came the day--the very first day of adversity for Job when EVERYTHING came
crashing down around him. He was at the bottom of a heap of rubble. He lost his
family, his finances, and his reputation in a day. His friends could not see
Job--the child of God, the apple of God's eye. They saw the rubble.
What
is our rubble? What is your rubble? Are you buried under the pain of
grief? anxiety at work, infidelity of a
spouse? rebellion of children? What is
your rubble? What makes up those pebbles, stones, and boulders that are burying
you? They may be burying you from eyes of so-called friends who think they're
better than you are. They may be burying you from your family who sees you as
the black sheep, the odd-ball. They may even be burying you from yourself. But
they don't bury you from the eyes of God. God's grace will go down the tiniest
hair fracture and will smash the strongest blockage. He will lift you out.
What
of our heart? Can our heart TRULY cry out to God for help and also hold resentment, jealousy, hatred? We
are limited. God is unlimited. He can hold every person in the earth in His
hand and heart. But we are limited. I cannot hold unforgiveness and the love of
God in my hand at the same time. In fact Mark 11:25 tells us that when we pray
we have to forgive every single person against whom we have any grievance in
order for God to forgive us. 1 Peter 3:7 tells men that they need to honor
their wives or their prayers will be hindered. They must see them as equals in
partnership and treat them with respect. Does it say their prayers will go
unanswered? No. It says their prayers will be hindered. Holding anyone in
disdain creates a hindrance between--not us and God--but us and that desired
answer to a prayer.
God is
sovereign. What does that mean? It means He-- not some test score, not some
human relations evaluation, not the scale, not a diagnosis-- will determine the
end and scope of your life. The second scripture I ever memorized--and I don't
even remember the version or the book and verse---but I remember the concept; (you
see it doesn't matter if we can recite the Bible. It matters how much of it we
believe.) The scripture concept was, "Nothing can thwart God's plan for my
life." He holds the keys to the outcome. That was the second scripture I
ever memorized. The first was "I am safe as if I were in God's pocket, and
my enemies fall like stones from a sling." Both of those concepts are
concepts of God's sovereignty. You cannot determine if I succeed or fail. That
is entirely in God's hands...and His hands LOVE me.
Psalm
13 is the heart cry of the man or woman under the rubble. Maybe it is your heart cry. What was the psalmist's
comfort? His comfort was in remembering the steadfast love that he had
EXPERIENCED before this time of trial. Because he had experienced it before,
the psalmist could say with great conviction, "My God DEALS (present tense)
bountifully with me."
Dear one, our consciously remembering times
that God showed His lovingkindness toward us in the past will give us the
ability to say today, beneath the rubble of our lives, rubble so thick and
hard, rubble that hides all light, rubble that is suffocating--it will give us the
ability to say, "My Father will find me here and bring me out." The
truth is, His eyes never left us. God never left YOU under the rubble.
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