A baby. In a feeding trough. In the middle of the night.
We make it look all pretty, don’t we?
But the rough, raw truth of it – a young teenage girl traveling miles on a donkey to a town she didn’t know with the man who wasn’t yet her husband to give birth with animals in the dirt is as simplistic as it gets. No hotel with room service. No service at all. Just some straw. No midwife or hospital. A young woman giving birth with no one to attend her except a man. At that time, in that culture, the entire situation would have been embarrassing.
Can we say “awkward”?
Why a baby?
Why didn’t God sweep down from his heavenly throne and announce himself with trumpets so we’d be sure to recognize him? Why enter the world on a donkey with a donkey to a girl, not a queen?
God uses the simple things to confound the “wise.”
He wants us to love him not explain with our human reasoning why and how he can’t possibly exist. We’re intelligent. Created in his image means we have the capacity for so much creation, discovery, and understanding if we are yielded to him. But when we rely on ourselves, we miss all there is thinking that we know all there is. We only see a small part of who God is and become puffed up in pride.
I know this. I can do this. I have to figure this out. I can tell you what’s best.
Or maybe it’s as simple as God bringing Jesus into the world the same way he began the world.
What if he knew we would never be able to love him, ourselves, and others without us receiving his love first? What if Jesus coming to us humbly as a baby without claiming his creative, God rights was to show us how simple it really is to receive his love?
His love that makes a way for us to be in relationship with him for eternity – because he is beyond time.
If so, you can get this story that begins in the little town of Bethlehem. A young mother whose baby boy is slaughtered when soldiers come looking for Messiah to kill him struggles with her grief and despair.
It’s easy to read stories in the Bible and think they are just stories, but those people lived real lives just like us. What would you do if your child was murdered?
Rachel’s story takes us through unimaginable pain. She can’t find comfort anywhere she looks. And to make matters worse, the one hope she had in life, the coming of Messiah, is tainted by the fact that he is the reason he son is dead.
What does it take for Rachel to finally forgive the Forgiver?
Two young men said the same thing to me as I led them at separate times to the restroom to change after being baptized at our church last weekend. It was my group’s task and privilege to direct the soaking wet people to the facilities so they wouldn’t get lost. I congratulated them again before pointing out the basket for their towels sitting outside the restrooms.
As we walked, both said they had been running from God for years. One said it had been a decade. They both knew God was calling out to them, pursuing them with his kindness and love. I don’t know either one personally, but at our church, each week we celebrate each person who decides to start a relationship with Jesus. Then, every couple of months, we have baptism Sunday during which time after our services, believers choose to be submerged in water to show publicly the choice they made in their heart. It’s an incredible time of hearing how God has loved his children into his arms through his grace.
I don’t know if you’ve been running from God or you know him and have just been running from something he’s told you to do. Maybe you didn’t even realize you were running until reading this, but now you feel a tugging at your heart, and you know that it’s God.
Both young men described the place where they finally let go of trying to figure out things their own way and gave in to God. Their radiant faces and excited voices proved they were so glad they did.
Another young man being baptized said he’d been in a state of deep depression for ten years. I’m not sure how old he was (everyone looks young to this aging lady now), but I thought how sad he had struggled through what appeared to be his teen and/or young adult years. He showed up at our church only a few days prior to this, said yes to Jesus, and for the first time in years was free from the heaviness of depression.
We cheered with him.
I later learned that one of the guys I walked with had been a serious gang member before he quit running and gave in to Jesus. A woman shared how she lost her son and so many other things in recent years. After turning to Jesus, she found love and peace, a community to be a part of, and the man who she claimed is the “love of her life.” The truth of this showed in the way he stood with tears in his eyes, supporting her and celebrating with her.
Story after story of young, even children, and old—a woman closer to my age who knew Jesus but had never been baptized—told of how they just said “yes.”
It’s that simple.
God created and loves all of us. He won’t stop pursuing us with that love even if we turn to a life of crime, ignore him, or think we aren’t worthy. He doesn’t want to shame us or condemn us, he wants to cover us and draw us into a close relationship with him. Jesus took all our sin on him to make the way clear for us to enter into the holy presence of God.
It’s as simple as stopping our running, turning around, and running into his arms.
If you’ve been running, you can stop now and tell him you’re sorry, you need him, and you want him to change your life with his forgiveness, grace, and presence.
Nothing existed outside of “I AM.” No human being, no single celled amoeba, not a star that we know of. And if it did, how would we know?
If the Bible is in fact, God’s explanation to us of everything, then we can take him at his word when he says that all things came into existence by him, through him, and for him. Nothing existed that he didn’t create.
What does that make you and me?
Very small.
We observe the vastness of an ocean, the height of the tallest mountain, or the planets beyond ours and have a desire to explore them, understand them, or conquer them.
What if that innate longing is actually our spirit calling out to know our Creator?
When our lives are reduced to a 9-5 job, daily monotony, complications of a declining economy, or social media stories and battles between those who comment on them, we reduce our smallness into a very tight, confined place. All the while believing that our little world is the beginning and end of all there is. Focused on ourselves, our thoughts, our beliefs, our opinions keeps us in complicated chaos.
We truly miss the bigger picture and the simplicity of it all.
In the Christmas song, “Joy to the World” there is a line that says “his law is love, and his gospel is peace.”
Most of us think (or have at some point) that the Bible is a bunch of rules we must adhere to and get right so we can please God enough to maybe escape hell – if we acknowledge there is a God and hell. But if we have to be some perfect being in order to appease God then why would we want to embrace him or the Bible?
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
His law is love.
If we examine the ten commandments, they all are based on love.
Love God.
I am the only one who can do anything for you so don’t look to other gods that are worthless to you. Don’t try to make your own gods. I love you with such great love – you are mine because I made you. I will act jealously in protecting that. Show your love for me by not using my name disrespectfully.
Love yourself.
I rested after making the world, and I want you to rest in the same way. Take time to celebrate your work and remember that I’m the one who made you able to do so. Keep a day set aside to recognize this and spend time with me. I want you to have rest physically and in your spirit. I also want life to go well with you so show honor to your parents. Their union brought you into this world just like I as a Father created Adam and Eve. Honor that and you will live long.
Love others.
Don’t kill anyone, or steal from them. Don’t lie about someone or take their spouse as your own by sleeping with them. Having sex with someone you aren’t married to is taking another person’s spouse. Don’t look at what other people have and decide you should have those things for yourself. I will give you whatever you need. If you refrain from these things, you show love to one another.
God is love and wants us to love his created beings who are made in his image.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
The world is a complicated mess. That’s not going to change for the better. As a matter of fact, “All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.” That’s in Isaiah. In the Bible. Telling of what will come some day…soon. (Chapter 34 if you want to read it.)
It’s a little hard to imagine. But maybe that’s because we as humans are pretty full of ourselves. We believe we’ve discovered, created, and figured it all out. How much we think we know, but how limited our knowledge is.
We complicate things with our discoveries, philosophies, and our opinions of them. If we just think this way or say that thing, we can make it so. It’s that master of my own universe thing.
But what if we’re wrong?
What if we were are simply created by a Being that gave us characteristics like himself, little replicas of his Divine existence?
If there is a God who existed before time as we humans know it, and he decided to created a universe in which planet Earth is circled by a source of power he made to sustain it, and then he chose to share that incredible, beauty with beings he formed to be like him, with the desire that they would care about him the way he loves them, how would that change the way we think?
The way we act? The way we live and treat others?
What if the Bible was God’s letters to us that explains it all with deep, hidden mysteries easily found by those who are willing to think outside our human box of understanding?
What if “I AM” is actually before the beginning and after the end?
If you’ve been waiting to read the rest of our story, you can get the e-book now. For 5 days, November 28 – December 2, it will be FREE on Amazon before it goes up to the regular price.
If you’re waiting for the paperback version, pray. It’s been a 3 day nightmare of formatting issues I’ve never experienced before. But, God will prevail and I’ll keep you posted for the print version too.
Not only can you get the NEW RELEASE free, but I’ve made The Miracle of Us: Confessions of an Online Dater FREE through this Thursday so you can refresh your memory or read the beginning of our story for the first time.
If you read our story years ago and need a refresher of hope or if you’ve never experienced what trusting God for next steps is like, you can read our incredible story here. FREE this week only. November 27 – December 1
We pray you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of beautiful memories. May these next weeks leading up to Christmas draw you into the hope, peace, and joy of Jesus as we anticipate celebrating his birth.
In spite of the messiness of the world right now between election issues, shootings, floods, hurricanes, etc., nothing changes my love for Jesus and the fact that every day God provides multiple areas of thankfulness. If I were to list them all, I could write volumes of books. I’m sure everyone could. Here are a few of mine…
Jesus, my Lord and Savior is always at the top
My husband
My children and grandchildren
My family – mom, dad and my brother’s family
My dear friends
My pastors and church family
Music
Nature – ocean, flowers, animals, blue skies, and thunder storms
Books
Teaching
My current state’s leaders
Little things every day that remind me God is always with me
I’m also thankful that Beyond the Miracle is finished and ready for readers. The ebook will be out next week, but if anyone is interested in an advance reader copy, I’ll gladly set you up for this Thanksgiving weekend. Let me know in the comments below or send me your email address to laura@laurabennet.com
I’d ask that you be willing to grab a free ebook copy when it releases on Amazon and write a review – even a few words. If you don’t do Amazon, you can review it on Goodreads.
I’m thankful I get to write.
Thirteen years after the miracle meeting, courtship, and fairytale wedding of the author and her husband, Laura Bennet shares the raw and real story of the unforeseen and sometimes devastating trials they experienced, and how God used those challenges to heal and grow each of them and their marriage. Heartfelt encouragement and caution for couples ready to tie the knot or for those who have come undone and wonder if there is hope. The miracles don’t end when you say “I do,” but they may not look like what you expected.
I pray you have a gratitude-filled Thanksgiving and reflect this week on some of the little things you might forget about during each day. I pray for God’s peace to cover you, and his love through Jesus to fill you. Nothing earned, simply received.
Do you believe in heaven? An eternity in a glorious place with God our Father and Jesus, our redeemer and friend? Eternal beauty, love, kindness, and all things good?
Or do you believe that when we die, we disintegrate into nothingness? Life over means nothing more than done—game over? Two years, a hundred years, or any space of time in between equals zero for eternity?
Either way, what happens to every situation we’ve lived through? What about every bad thing done to us? Every mean word spoken? Will we take with us into eternity or oblivion all the awful, hurtful, damaging actions and works we experienced over the years?
As a believer in Jesus Christ, I accept what the Bible says about Jesus coming back to take us home to heaven for eternity. I look forward to the day I will stand in the glorious presence of my God. No more pain. He will wipe away all our tears. (Revelation 21:4) I also believe that hell is a real situation where anyone who chose to dismiss or curse Jesus will get to live out their desire to not be bothered with or subjected to anything of God. Eternal separation from him.
I also believe that according to the Bible, each of us will give an account to God for every word and act. I’m grateful that Jesus died for me because I could never do everything right enough to stand in the presence of Almighty God.
But regardless of what you believe, will it matter?
If your life ends in nothingness, will you care about the mean things spoken to you by a classmate, neighbor, or parent? Will you remain in pain from the abuse or evil inflicted on you?
If you, like me, believe in heaven as a follower of Jesus, do you really think your concerns over anything bad in your life will be your focus? Or will you be in awe of and enthralled by our Savior?
Every day, we hear or read stories of terrible things done to people. Or we experience something cruel done to us. In the moment, it’s reasonable to feel hurt or anger, and we need to grieve and process those situations.
But in the end, will they matter?
If we can admit that they won’t, then how long would we hold a grudge? Why would we retaliate? How might we act differently than what we’ve chosen up until now?
Eternal separation from God means an existence of torment. God gives us that choice. Perhaps, in that case, we will be tortured every moment by every harsh word spoken to us, or that we’ve spoken. Each hurtful thing done might replay over and over in front of us. Maybe every bad thing we’ve participated in will be a daily anguish to relive. I guess it might matter then…
The way I see it, letting it go, forgiving it all makes sense no matter what you believe about the future.
We all love the “fall in love” romance, but at some point after the honeymoon (or maybe during it), we’re faced with the reality of making this thing called marriage work beyond the wedding.
For most relationships, past messes, sin, and broken places in our hearts get triggered by our spouse causing misunderstandings. Without proper help, those can lead to situations that make the marriage seem doomed. Maybe we end up in a season of not being able to communicate without hurting each other more deeply. Or perhaps one spouse, or both, have sought other situations or relationships that have broken the trust of their spouse.
No matter what your current situation or how devastated you feel, there is hope for rebuilding.
God is always about reconciliation, redemption, and restoration of relationship. He created that for us through Jesus and will make a way for us in every relationship we have.
When my husband and I separated due to multiple circumstances that led to us inflicting constant pain on each other, God helped us find our way into coming back together in a healthier, stronger way.
Here are some steps that helped us navigate the restoration and supporting verses:
Decide on a brand-new start. Start at zero to rebuild trust. Recognize, confess, and address the problems that got you to this place. Nothing hidden, covered over, or minimized. It’s okay if you still need to work through some issues, but be honest about what they are—whether they are seemingly small (little “white” lies) or something significant like addictions or affairs. (Gal.1:1-10 & 6:15; Eph.5:11)
Begin rebuilding by renewing your friendship. What is the foundation of your relationship? Sex can’t sustain a relationship. Both of you being committed to Jesus first and then each other will lead to a solid foundation. Look at this time apart as a courtship. (2 Cor.6:14-18; Eph.5:25-27; I Thes.4:3-8)
Speak the truth plainly and in love. No distortion or manipulation of words—not your own, each other’s, or God’s. Recognize that the enemy is the accuser and deceiver and choose to take no part in any form of exaggeration, misrepresentation, or deception. (Gal.2:3-5; 2 Cor.4:2; John 5:39-47; Eph. 4:15; Col. 3:9)
Each of us are responsible for our own relationship with Christ. That relationship has to be the first priority. Neither one can judge or control the other one in this either. This isn’t a place to try and impress each other with what you aren’t really doing, or decide you know what the other one should be doing. Share only about your journey, and what will bless your spouse. (Gal.1:15-24 & 2:6-10; 2 Cor.5:9-10; 1 John 1:4 & 3:9-10; James 5:16)
Confession and forgiveness. We have to own our own mess and be willing to confess it as well as repent of it. Change within us and in our relationships only occurs when we can honestly see the bad and have a sincere desire to turn around and go a different way. We should be quick to apologize to our spouse when we are in the wrong and not wait for them to have to point something out. Not to say that when they or someone else we trust sees something hurting us or others and gently points it out, we shouldn’t be open to receiving their insight. If we are confronted with something, accept it and pray about it. If there is a question about whether our spouse’s perspective is accurate, ask a couple of trusted, objective parties like a pastor or friend to confirm or help us see if there is truth to their perception. When our spouse is the one admitting faults, we should extend forgiveness freely. Jesus has forgiven all of us so we must learn to forgive ourselves and others just as he has done for us. (Col.3:13-14; 2 Cor.10-11; Gal.4:15-16; I John 4:6; Jude 10))
Be sincere. When we do something positive with or for our spouse, it has to be from the heart and not simply a way to gain their approval, affection, or reciprocated behavior. (Gal.3:1-4; 4:18 & 5:1-3; Col. 3:17; I Tim.1:5)
Use kind, quiet, gentle words. Be respectful of each other, family members, and others. If either of you feel your heart rate increase in frustration, take deep breaths and ask for a few minutes (or as long as it takes) to calm down. Make sure you specify when you think you can continue so as not to leave your spouse hanging and feeling abandoned. You might say something like, “I think I need some time to calm down and sort out my thoughts and feelings. Can you give me fifteen minutes?” Or “Can we try again after dinner?” (Eph.5:19-20; Phil.2:14; I Peter 3:7)
Be accountable to someone you both trust outside your marriage so that you each know that another person is on the journey with you and with your spouse. (Col.1:28 & James 5:16)
Be partners in action by discussing finances, parenting, household, etc. (Phil.2:2-4)
It might help to repeat the declarations below regarding the process. Good boundaries help both spouses know what to expect for themselves and from the other.
“I am willing to pursue a friendship and see where it goes. I am willing to spend ______ time with you each day/week. I am willing to get outside help from our pastor or a counselor. I am willing to encourage you, pray for you, and seek God’s direction for our relationship. I will obey whatever God directs or instructs. I am willing to implement these actions and read the accompanying verses.”
You can add or take out whatever works for you and your spouse. Make it your own personal declaration based on the areas you need to outline.
Regardless of whether or not you’ve separated, you can use these tips to grow and strengthen your marriage every day. Soon, you’ll be reveling in the romance once again.
That was then, this is now. 2022
Coming Soon…
Beyond the Miracle: When the Fairy Tale Collides with Reality
Thirteen years after the miracle meeting, courtship, and fairy tale wedding of the author and her husband, Laura Bennet shares the raw story of the unforeseen and sometimes devastating trials they experienced and how God used those challenges to heal and grow each of them and their marriage. Heartfelt encouragement and caution for couples ready to tie the knot or for those who have come undone and wonder if there is hope. The miracles don’t end when you say “I do,” but they may not look like what you expected.
If ever there was a time in which we must cling in faith to the unseen God—YH WH, Yeshua—by the power of his Holy Spirit in us, it is now.
But why?
Unless someone has absolutely no contact with the world, the events all around us from natural disasters to various forms of political unrest, are obvious. We have entered a time when no one is immune in some way or another to many forms of destruction of property, finances, beliefs, families, etc.
And while there is nothing new under the sun, according to King Solomon’s words in the Bible, the challenges experienced by millions over thousands of years have escalated and compounded in recent years.
So what holds people together? What is it that makes us persevere in the face of multiplying hardships?
Faith.
Every night most of us go to bed without questioning whether we’ll wake up the next morning. We sit down on our favorite chair not imagining its collapse. For many, turning on the shower or lights doesn’t make us hesitate and wonder if they will go on. Every day we exhibit some form of faith.
But if we engage in all those daily activities without giving a thought to having faith, what do we do when faith actually makes a real difference in how we think, live, and treat others?
According to Hebrews chapter eleven, it’s by faith that we understand this world was created and is sustained by God. A loving God who made each of us so intricately that science is still just figuring out how it all works.
People all through the ages have sought God and listened to him instruct them in his ways, many of which seem crazy.
By faith, Noah built a massive boat to save his family from rains that had not yet been experienced. Abraham and Sarah had a child at the age when most people have already passed away. Moses raised a stick to split a sea to save his people. Rahab believed in a God she had never known and saved her family when Jericho’s mighty walls crumbled. David, as a young shepherd boy, slew a giant with a sling shot and stone, and became a king.
That’s only a few of the countless stories passed down through the years.
Some might say “tall tales.” But I’ve seen God do enough crazy and miraculous things in my life and in the lives of others to know the truth of what God will do when we have faith.
That same chapter says that people have conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained promises, shut the mouths of lions, stood in the midst of flaming furnaces, and escaped death. They routed armies, fought various battles, saw their sick healed, and some even experienced loved ones raised back to life from the dead.
In every case, their weakness or fear was turned to strength and courage because of faith.
We can certainly use some of that today, don’t you think?
Imagine if each of us had faith enough to believe that giving a bottle of water or a hug to someone might change their life. What if we gave a few extra dollars to help buy someone’s groceries or a meal? Maybe faith looks like traveling to a disaster area to help pull people from fire, flood, or rubble. (We’re seeing that happen here in Florida right now.)
Faith might be worshiping God in public to offer hope, praying for a neighbor, or running for an elected office. Even simple social media posts created in faith encourage thousands, or millions.
It’s true that some have been and are currently being tortured and killed because of their faith. Persecution is real and not only happening in Ukraine, Armenia, or China. Those who choose faith in Jesus are empowered by God so that even if their body is harmed, they will live forever.
God tells us that those who put their trust in him will never be disappointed. He will never leave us and is always faithful to us whether we are faithful to him or not.
There will come a day when we will each be in the presence of Almighty God. He knows whether we believe what his written word, and his living word, Jesus, says to us. We’ve either responded to his love for us by putting our faith in him, or we’ve turned our back in disbelief.
If now is the time for faith, that day will be the one that matters most.
Laura Bennet - Author 