The Love of Jesus: Heals Broken Hearts, Sets Captives Free

by Chalis Butler | Jun 7, 2023 | Devotional, Heal, Inner Healing, Love Letters, LoveLetters

The Love of Jesus: Heals Broken Hearts, Sets Captives Free

LoveLetter June 2023

Hi Friends!

It has been awhile! This year has been a ‘year of fallow ground’ for me…I have not written anything since last August. And I have needed that more than I realized. God is so good, right? He brings us in and out of seasons according to His purposes and timing.

We don’t always know what He is up to, but I have felt Him doing good things in my heart, and I have at times known only that I am meant to rest in not knowing all the reasons why. That can be hard, but there is a letting go of the need to know. Also the need for approval or acceptance—from others, yes, but also from God.

Letting Him take us into a ‘hidden’ season tends to remove the external affirmation—sometimes we start to lean on these affirmations as a ‘gauge’ of how we’re doing, or at least I can. Am I ok? Well, everyone is saying I am, that’s good. Am I significant? Well I’ve been productive this week, so yeah, for sure. Am I loved? Well, look how many people ‘hearted’ my post! For sure I’m loved!

God has been revealing to me some of my deepest fears of losing His approval based on my ‘doing’ or ‘not doing.’ What have I deep down believed about His Love? Does He approve of me because I make good choices and do the right thing? Or because of my service to Him? What happens if I don’t serve anymore? Does He still love me then? (Of course!) Ok but what about His approval? Surely He stops approving when I stop serving.

Can anyone relate? I am learning that He still loves and approves of me and is pleased with me, even when I am not doing anything special at all. And that’s Truth!

This year has been interesting because of three things in particular… One, we got a labradoodle and named her Molly. That was the easy part, of course. The rest has been waaaay hard and has pushed me to my limits. We have had a ‘rehoming’ conversation multiple times, but somehow… we still have this golden girl!

Two, I homeschooled both of my kids full-time for the first time this year. That was hard too, but not so hard as the dog situation.

Three, I started a little bookstore, White Butterfly Books, which resulted in an overabundance of books in our house. I should have called it “Books Everywhere” because for awhile there, the books had taken over our house a *tiny bit* …It’s a little more under control now, but not by much!

Word of Encouragement

As I pray today, I hear these words…Rich in love and life. As a daughter of God, I am rich in the love of Jesus. It is an ocean of Love He invites us into! And I am rich in life because God has given us everything we need for life. Life in relationship with the Creator, being in communion with Him, His Spirit to my spirit, is worth a joyful belly laugh!

Life with Him is amazing! He is constantly aware of me, whether I’m paying attention or not. But particularly when I stop and turn my attention toward Him, I can come so simply into awareness of His presence and His affection for me… He is right here.

We are so loved, we live in the bounty of His favor, and with ‘open eyes’ we can see the love of Jesus all around us. Every day I can look around and see Jesus—in the beauty of my backyard garden, in the delight my children bring, in the generosity and thoughtfulness of my husband, in the sweetness of a friend’s encouragement.

These gifts are easy to find in seasons of peace and of plenty.

What About the Suffering?

However, I know that for some right now, you are looking around and seeing a desert, a wilderness; you may be seeing or experiencing pain, suffering, or brokenness. Some of you may feel abandoned by God; some may even believe that pain and suffering are evidence that there is no God or that if there is a God, He doesn’t care. Yet even in our pain or in witnessing the pain of others, in injustice, in suffering, with open eyes, we can find Him.

Suffering is a part of life because life happens here in the broken world. But that doesn’t mean God does not care about us.

I spent quite a bit of time in Psalm 84 last year, and it has become one of my favorite Scriptures. It speaks to this question of suffering. What does God say about our suffering? Psalm 84:6,7 says As they pass through the valley of Baca (a Hebrew word that means ‘weeping’), they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.

How can our ‘valley of weeping’ become a spring? It seems impossible; in the natural it doesn’t make sense, but that’s God. When we experience grief, pain, or suffering, Jesus’ love comes right into the middle of our pain. He comforts, strengthens, and walks with us through our ‘valley of weeping.’

He leads us right up to the edge of the spring, where we are able to drink, and be refreshed. We can become a living testimony of the love of Jesus, His compassionate mercy, His power to heal, and His forever goodness.

Here’s more encouragement from this passage in Psalm 84

Luke tells a story about Jesus teaching in the synagogue. Jesus stands up in the synagogue to read. He reads from the book of the prophet Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because the Lord has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’

Then He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ (Luke 4:18-21)

I’m guessing that was a ‘pin-drop’ moment.

Imagining that moment… wow. Wow for us!! What a gift. Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Because of the love of Jesus, Restoration and Redemption. Because of Him, everything has been, is being, and will be restored and redeemed! All things.

This Scripture Jesus read from in Isaiah goes on to say…[He has anointed me] to comfort all who mourn…to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

God is not absent, and He is not unaware of our pain. Jesus declares publicly that He has come for this covenant exchange: to exchange joy for our grief, beauty for our ashes, a garment of praise for our heaviness. Thank you for this amazing love, Jesus.

And the most beautiful part of it all… that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified. This is redemption. I love this.

Our Need For Him

When our hearts are broken, we see our need and we have the chance to reach for God and to encounter the love of Jesus. The mundane has a way of lulling us into thinking we are just fine; that we don’t need God, and we don’t need a Savior.

Yet face to face with the unexpected, with our own frailty, maybe with realizing we have no control, we are given the gift, like a blessing in disguise, of a chance to consider Him, to return to Him, or even to cry out to Him! Psalm 34:17,18 says The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

God also says to Israel, and to us, in Isaiah 43:2 Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flames scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Scripture is full of this truth that God’s love through Jesus, His grace, and His compassion are overflowing toward those whose hearts are hurting today. I love the lyrics of this song…(so worth a listen!)

O How He Loves Us

He is jealous for me.

Love’s like a hurricane. I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory.

And I realize just how beautiful You are,

And how great Your affections are for me.

And, oh, how He loves us, oh.

Oh, how He loves us.

How He loves us, oh

Prayer

Lord, as I have prayed and sought to know Your heart, I have remembered the grief that so many of Your sons and daughters are experiencing right now.

I lift each of them up to you, I pray for comfort during this hard season; I think of David’s prayer in the Psalms when he says ‘You’ve stored my many tears in your bottle, not one will be lost. For they are all recorded in Your book of remembrance’ (Psalm 56:8).

Thank you Holy Spirit, for being our Comforter. I pray that Your hope would rise in the hearts of Your sons and daughters, like the sunrise comes after the night. Hope, rise up within! Like a sun rising up over the waves of the tempest deep… Your boundless deep calls to the depths of our longing hearts. Call us to come to You on the water, even amidst the raging storm, Lord.

Thank You for Your numberless, precious thoughts toward us, frail as grass, cracked clay pots releasing your light through every crack and crevice, I pray Your rivers of living water will flow out from within us, as You redeem every moment of our pain.

A Psalm of Comfort

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it…Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You. (From Psalm 139)

I have known no greater source of comfort in times of grief than the truly accessible presence of the Holy Spirit, and the words He offers us in Scripture. If you are grieving, know you are loved. The Lord remembers you today!

If you are reading this and you are in a season of peace and plenty, please join with me in praying for those who are grieving. And if Holy Spirit brings someone to your mind that could use this encouragement today, please share this letter with them using the ‘Share With a Friend’ button below.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

Love,

Chalis

Psalm 84: Beautiful Redemption in the Valleys of Our Pilgrimage

by Chalis Butler | May 18, 2022 | Devotional, Foundations of Fatih

Beautiful Redemption in the Valleys of Our Pilgrimage

A Restful, Refreshing Retreat

Almost three weeks ago, I had the joy of attending a four-day retreat called Abide hosted by Sixty-One Acres (SixtyOneAcres.com) and Spacious Place, a retreat center in Okeechobee, Florida. It was such a beautiful, refreshing time. There were thoughtful lessons, amazing home-cooked meals, stunning sunrises, lots of laughter, sweet surprises, and best of all, a lavish amount of personal time just to abide with Jesus. One of the Scriptures we read was Psalm 84. Here are some things the Lord has been showing me as I have continued to meditate on this Scripture.

Psalm 84:5-7

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5-7

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You…

We are blessed if we know and believe that our strength is found in God alone. If we understand and acknowledge that all of our physical, spiritual, and material strength, our wealth and prosperity, our health and well-being, our inner-fortitude, integrity, and confidence is in Him, and sustained by Him.

Acts 17:28

For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

He strengthens us, He helps us, and He upholds us.

If God is the one upholding us, we experience what it means to be blessed. When we have God’s blessing, He is offering us His favor, His protection, and His peace. When God’s favor is over my life, I can see His hand in everything. I see Him working within me, in my relationships, in my circumstances—every aspect of my life.

Whose heart is set on pilgrimage…

A pilgrimage is a journey. When we are a part of God’s kingdom, our understanding of ‘home’ changes. We begin to understand that this is not home… we are sojourners, people who are on a journey. But we are not on a wandering, aimless journey. Our journey is like a pilgrimage. We are walking this journey with Jesus, and we are partnering with Him to bring forth His Kingdom here on earth. Our journey is not without purpose and destination.

Inherent in pilgrimage is movement. We are in motion, we are not stagnant, standing still, or settling down. Knowing there is purpose in our journey, we continue forward with definite direction toward our destination. Yes, it’s tempting to settle down into being satisfied with our ‘creature comforts.’ But when my heart is set on pilgrimage, I can’t settle or stop or quit. So I stay the course, listening for Holy Spirit to direct my next steps.

Don’t misunderstand me—we need rest, and we need a house to live in, and we can call that place “home.” But there is an eternal Home that we long for when we embrace God’s Kingdom reality.

The Lord is drawing us, inviting us to set our hearts on the pilgrimage we are taking with Holy Spirit, and to live as sojourners, traveling through a ‘foreign land.’

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring…

Most translations will provide a footnote giving the meaning of Baca which is “weeping.”

And we know that a spring is a source of water, which is sustenance and life. Spring here is also defined as a ‘source of satisfaction.’

So …

As they pass through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a source of satisfaction.

How can sorrow and weeping be a source of satisfaction?

We must all, at times, travel through the Valley of Weeping, where we experience challenges, difficulties, and loss. Pain and grief are part of the human experience.

In His great kindness, doesn’t the Lord meet us in times and seasons of grief? He journeys close beside us, even carrying us at times. He comforts us, He counsels us, He reminds us of all the ways He has brought us through before. In these times He may also be revealing hurts or wounds we are harboring from the past. And in fact, He may be wanting to heal our hearts of more than just the pain of our current loss.

Intimacy With Jesus

When we journey with Jesus through seasons of pain or hardship, the intimacy we experience with Him becomes our source of life, our source of satisfaction.

My healing journey was this to me. Three years of counseling and inner-healing was a long season of grieving. Yet through the grieving and the healing that I found in the process, I was given back my life. And I wouldn’t trade that season for anything. My Valley of Weeping became a life-giving spring to me… and as that living water flows out from within me, it can become a source of strength and encouragement to others.

In the Valley, Not Beyond It

Note here… that this Scripture does not support the idea of “putting the past behind us” without first facing it, as I have often heard people say. The spring is made in the valley, not beyond it, and I believe this is very purposeful language. We don’t ‘move on’ to happier times to find the spring.. They make it (the Valley of Weeping) a spring.

The place of weeping is the very place where the spring is birthed… the place of weeping is where we meet the Lord… and where the Lord meets us. It is a place of reconciling ourselves to truth. The place of weeping is where the life is, because it is where we are choosing to face our pain, accepting what is real; we are acknowledging what has been lost, and allowing Holy Spirit to minister to us in our grief.

At times, it is the place where He wants to reveal “truth in the inward parts” — to show us the reality of our inward condition. Maybe we have harbored bitterness or unforgiveness; maybe there are idols we have made of certain pictures or relationships or things we think we can’t live without; maybe we have been living with unhealed wounds that He wants to heal.

The Fires Of Sorrow

John 12:27-28

Oswald Chambers writes about ‘the fires of sorrow’ based on Jesus’s words in John 12:27-28 …what shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name…

Chambers writes:

“Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow… We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, we are foolish…Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me…The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrows…You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you…if you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.”

Surrendering All to God

Blessed is the man who turns to the Lord in his dark hour, his Valley of Weeping, and invites Jesus into his pain, asking Him to reveal Himself in that very thing that hurts so much… who invites Holy Spirit to minister in the midst of heartbreak, who submits himself to Gods sovereign power and His ways. Like Job, he can say, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.

The Passion Translation translates Psalm 84:5 this way: Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain.

The rain also covers it with pools…

Early Rain

The Hebrew word for rain is also translated, “early rain.” The early rain is the rain that falls to soften the earth before the plowing. It signals to the farmers that its time to plow. The early rain also helps the seeds that are sown to germinate and begin to grow.

In our Valley of Weeping, the Lord sends His early rain to soften our hearts so that the seeds He sows within us are able to germinate and begin to grow.

Interestingly, the word for rain is also translated teacher.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit as our teacher—softening our hearts, leading us, guiding us, revealing His ways to us in the midst of our Valley.

The word for pools refers to a blessing or benediction, and prosperity.

So in our Valley of Weeping, as we invite Holy Spirit to walk with us through it, comforting and counseling us, He sends His early rain to soften the soil of our hearts, that we may receive what He wants to plant there and be receptive to what He wants to teach us. Over all of this, He is covering us, providing pools of blessing, which means His favor, provision, and peace.

They go from strength to strength…

Here the Hebrew word for ‘strength’ is different than the word for ‘strength’ in verse 5. Verse 5 (ʻôz or oze) is more about the strength of our being—our well-being, the strength of our inner-man, and the strength of our resources and security.

Here in verse 7, the Hebrew word for strength is chayil, which is more about ‘force,’ particularly in terms of men, means, or other resources. Some of the words in the explanation for chayil are: army, wealth, virtue, valor, substance, train.

So chayil is more about the strength of ability to move forward or to advance, like an army, or a train.

Think: Advancement of God’s Kingdom. Forward movement (like pilgrimage). Taking ground.

When we are journeying with Jesus, this is our promise:

They go from strength to strength.

They take ground and then they take more ground, and then more.

They are advancing like an army against the enemy, and they advance again and again.

Each one appears before God in Zion…

Deuteronomy 16:15-17

In Deuteronomy 16:15-17, We find this same phrase:

Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all you produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. Three times a year, all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as He is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.

These instructions were given to the Israelites as a way to observe and acknowledge God’s constant blessing and provision. It was a way to continually remember where their provision came from, and to offer back to God their reverence, thanksgiving and praise.

Each one of us ‘appears before God’ every time we come to Him, and we don’t come empty-handed, because He has been our strength, and has blessed us, protecting and and providing for us.

But we will also appear before Him in the final judgement as it is written in Revelation 20. If our names are written in the Book of Life, we will live with Him forever.

Revelation 21:3-5

Now, listen to what we are promised:

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:3-5

God is Our Destination

God is our destination! We are blessed if we find our strength in God, if we set our hearts on pilgrimage. We will walk through the Valley of Weeping, but it will never be in vain. It will make our love for Him deeper, our life with Him richer, our strength in Him stronger. On the other side, we will know His redemption of it, and we will not stop thanking Him for it.

He never leaves us for a minute, but walks with us on our journey, offering His favor and blessing to keep us and sustain us. With Him, we will advance His Kingdom purposes again and again, continuing from strength to strength, victory to victory, until we meet Him face to face, and He has made all things new.

A Heart of Good Soil: What it Means and How to Cultivate It

by Chalis Butler | Feb 11, 2022 | Devotional, Faith, Gardening

A Heart of Good Soil

Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13

In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, Jesus teaches us about having a heart of good soil. In this story, He mentions four kinds of soil: the wayside or hard ground, the stony places, the thorny ground, and the good ground or good soil. If you are not familiar with the parable of the sower, you can read the full parable here in Matthew 13:3-9.

Later, as Jesus is talking with His disciples, He gives the interpretation:

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:19-23

They Didn’t Have Ears to Hear

The “word” in this parable is the Greek word logos. It is widely taught that logos refers to the written word of God, and this is true. But logos carries a much deeper meaning within itself. For the purpose of this passage, we could say that the logos is referring to the message of the kingdom that Jesus carried. It is the same logos message that we carry as believers.

The seed represents the logos message of the Kingdom. And we, as believers, are the sowers of the seed.

Now, Jesus knew that the people He was talking to were not going to understand. As He finished speaking, he said to them “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” And as He shared this parable with the multitude, He was talking to them about themselves, but they didn’t get it. This is ironic because He was basically saying to them— you all won’t understand what I’m talking about because you don’t want to hear it, or maybe because there is no deep soil with strong roots within you, or maybe because earthly cares and riches matter to you more than the message I bring.

So he was telling them why they wouldn’t get it, but since they didn’t get it, they wouldn’t be able to understand why they didn’t understand. (Huh?)

Matthew 13:11

Later his disciples asked why He spoke to them in [cryptic] parables. And his answer was, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of heaven, but to them it has not been given. (Matt 13:11)

Isaiah 6:9

He also told them that it was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah who said: Hearing, you will hear, and shall not understand, and seeing, you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Isaiah 6:9

It’s All About the Heart

Ultimately, both in the parable, and regarding the multitudes who could not ‘hear’ it, Jesus was talking about the heart. Having ‘ears to hear’ is all about the posture of the heart. And it is only a heart of good soil that is able to hear and receive the logos.

What does it look like to have ‘ears to hear’ and a heart of good soil?

- Unlike the heart of “hard ground,” the heart of good soil is humble, repentant, open, and soft. It is not hard.
- Unlike the heart of “stony places,” the heart of good soil wants the truth above everything else. It is willing to receive truth even when it’s hard to hear.
- Unlike the heart of “thorny ground,” the heart of good soil says Yes to the logos. And it is willing to say No to anything that wants to take its place.

The Posture of a Heart of Good Soil

Matthew 7:14

But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and only a few find it. Matt 7:14

The gate is not narrow because we have to be really good to get in, and that’s just too hard. No, that’s not it.

The gate is narrow because recognizing that the logos is a priceless treasure is all about the posture of the heart. In truth, many today are living numb and on auto-pilot, having no thought for matters of the heart. Yet even for us who consider matters of the heart infinitely important, we can never completely know what’s in our hearts. The depths of the human heart are only truly known by God.

1 Chronicles 28:9

King David, a man after God’s own heart, tells his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you…

1 Kings 8:39

And receiving this, at the dedication of the temple Solomon prays, “and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men)” 1 Kings 8:39

We cannot purify or change our own hearts, or even know what needs changing. But we can posture our hearts toward God in humility with an openness to receive His logos. And it is the logos of God working within us that purifies and changes us. In this, we are empowered to co-labor with Holy Spirit to bear and produce much fruit!

God’s Spoken Word: Purposeful, Prosperous, Powerful

by Chalis Butler | Jan 12, 2022 | Devotional, Faith

God’s Spoken Word

Isaiah 55:10,11

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10,11

When God says so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth… this is about God’s spoken word. This is not a general reference to the entire written Word of God here — the Bible— as we think of it, but about His spoken word that goes forth from His mouth. God’s spoken word is purposeful, prosperous, and powerful!

My kids and I have had mixed results with planting seeds and seedlings. Most of the seedlings that have died just did not have consistency with watering, or got the wrong amount of sunlight—too much or too little. It’s not hard to get seeds to grow, but it is hard to be consistent. I’m glad God is more faithful than I am.

Here is something to think about: God is consistent and intentional. He is always—consistantly— at work, and He does not speak a word carelessly or by accident. The rain comes down when God sends it. It doesn’t come “like clockwork” but it comes when God sends it; it refreshes and relieves because it brings life-giving nourishment to the seeds and plants that are in the soil.

God’s Spoken Word is Purposeful

In the Hebrew, “word” is:

word דָבַר dâbar, which can mean to speak, answer, appoint, bid, command, commune, declare, destroy, give, name, promise, pronounce, talk, teach — and there are many more, not listed here.

These are purposeful words! God’s spoken word might be an answer. An appointment. It might be a command or a communion. He might be making a declaration or a promise. Or it might be a specific teaching. But whatever He speaks is purposeful.

The word that goes forth from His mouth is the word that we need to hear in this hour. It is the word that God wants to deposit within the ‘good soil’ of our hearts (think about the parable of the sower) at any given time, and He may do it by any means, through any person, conversation, book, podcast, sermon, song, devotional, story, prophetic word, or Holy Spirit whisper. It is about God depositing a specific word, or specific aspect of His Truth on the inside of us. And it is this powerful just-for-you-word that accomplishes His purposes.

God’s Spoken Word is Prosperous

Furthermore, “it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Prosper: צָלַח tsâlach means to push forward, break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be profitable, cause to prosper

So God’s spoken word not only accomplishes His purpose, but in this, His purposes are being pushed forward and advanced. As His word soaks into the good soil of my heart, the word is doing its work within me, and advancing His purposes and plans in me and through me. This same word prosper can be translated “rush” and is used to describe “rushing into the enemy camp.” And when God’s plan is prospering and pushing forward, we are definitely on the offense—rushing into the enemy camp.

God’s Spoken Word is Powerful

Hebrews 4:12

Remember that the word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It’s powerful. The powerful, living and active word of God will penetrate the soil of a willing, understanding heart. His living and active word will water the seeds that are already growing there, and like the rain that comes, make what is inside ‘bring forth and bud (there will be good fruit that comes up), giving seed to the sower (fruit that multiplies, what we now have to sow into others) and bread to the eater (their spirit can receive as nourishment).’

See how His word is accomplishing His purpose? God’s Kingdom Truth is being planted and harvested and multiplied and spread in us and through us.

Hearts of Good Soil

If we want that purposeful, prosperous, powerful Word of God in our lives, we keep our ears attentive to Holy Spirit and we keep filling ourselves up with good spirit food. We can be intentional with our time, and keep an open, ready heart for the living and active word that God is going to deposit there.

Learning to Dance: Letting Holy Spirit Direct Our Steps

by Chalis Butler | Jan 12, 2022 | Devotional, Faith

Making Plans with Holy Spirit

Proverbs 19:9

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 19:9

I like to to make plans. I like lists, I like dreaming things up, and I like writing down an elaborate plan. But I have to admit, I am not always listening for what the Holy Spirit might be wanting to say to me in the process. In the verse above, the heart speaks of many things, but one thing it implies is motive. The hidden motives of our heart (at times, hidden even from ourselves) will direct our thoughts in making plans.

Have you ever committed yourself to something, a project, a personal endeavor, a ‘great idea’ you’ve had, and you’re trying to make it happen? You’re working really hard, pouring hours and hours and energy and money into it, but it feels like you’re wading through molasses and getting nowhere? I have. If I stop long enough to listen, the Holy Spirit will ask, ‘Why are you doing this? Whose idea was this?’

Holy Spirit Leads Our Steps

Steps…this word is actually giving us an insight into how God wants to work with us. In steps. Not miles, not years—steps. If we are listening, we can learn to recognize the leading of His Holy Spirit and to flow with Him, one ‘step’ at a time. Sometimes it’s one hour at a time, or one moment at a time. Flowing with Holy Spirit is like a dance. We move as He moves. He leads, we follow. We are in step and in sync with HIm.

I took salsa lessons on and off in my twenties. I danced with many different partners, and I noticed that when someone was an experienced, strong lead, even though I was a little clumsy, it was usually pretty easy to get in the flow of following them. When we dance with a parter, there are tiny cues that take place that let us know our next steps. As we practice and get familiar with the style of dance, we learn those cues and learn to follow closely and flow easily with our partner into the next turn or the next move. If I try to anticipate what will happen next, I make a mess of it. The one who is leading decides what will come next. My job is to let my partner lead, follow his cues, and dance!

Dancing with Holy Spirit

Flowing with Holy Spirit is a lot like this. We don’t have to be anxious. We don’t have to anticipate what’s going to come next. Instead, we are learning to recognize the ‘tiny cues’ of Holy Spirit as He drops words, impressions, or a sense of ‘knowing’ into my spirit. He wants me to pray for someone or reach out to them, so He brings them to my mind. Sometimes I only recognize His voice after I’ve already started doing the thing I’m not really supposed to be doing, and then figure out that it’s not going well… there is no flow. It’s that feeling like I’m spinning my wheels, and there is no grace for it.

One really wonderful thing about living in a flow with Holy Spirit is that I become much more present. I’m not worried about what’s coming next, and I’m not anxious about getting things done or being ‘productive.’ I find that my heart is at rest, and I can enjoy the moment I’m in. I’ve enjoyed time with my kids more this way. I’ve enjoyed time with my husband more. And I think they are probably enjoying me more.

Becoming OK with the Unknown

But here is the hard part: flowing with Holy Spirit means being OK with not knowing what’s around the corner. It’s easier just to make my plans and my lists, and just get into go-mode. That way I have control of my day and my time and what gets done. But that’s my agenda, isn’t it?

Isaiah 55: 8,9

My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8,9

Oh, how I want to learn His ways. The more I learn to follow His cues, the more I recognize how different His ways are from my own. And how very different His agenda is from mine. In John 5, Jesus talks about doing only what He saw the Father do. Jesus didn’t even have His own agenda. I want to be about the Father’s agenda, not my own.

Psalm 25:4

Psalm 25:4 says Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. This is a simple, but powerful prayer... Show me your ways O Lord, teach me your paths. Show me how I can partner with what You are doing. Please direct my steps! Holy Spirit, You lead, I’ll follow.

Birth of Jesus Ushers in New Era of Hope

by Chalis Butler | Dec 21, 2021 | Devotional, Foundations of Fatih

The Birth of Jesus and the Bigger Picture

More To The Story

Something I’ve been learning lately is that there is always more to the story that what we first get. I have found that my ‘enquiring mind wants to know’ the More. I want to understand that bigger picture. So I ask for revelation and understanding, and God says Great–let’s go! and He takes me on a journey. This month, as I was in Isaiah, reading the Messianic prophesies foretelling the birth of Jesus, I started wondering. What was happening when Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah? The Holy Spirit took me back into the chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah.

In the Days of the Kings of Israel

After the time of king David and his son, Solomon, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. There then became a Northern kingdom (Israel), and a Southern kingdom (Judah). The pattern in recording the reign of each king reads:

In the ___th year of King Thus-n-Such, king of ______ (Israel or Judah), So-n-So became king of _________ (Judah or Israel). And King So-n-So did what was _________ (right or evil) in the eyes of God.

Now there were lots of evil kings and there were some kings who did the right thing, or tried. but even the good kings were often only kind-of good. They were not always passionate to obey God’s instructions. Maybe they were just trying to be good human beings, but they didn’t really have a heart that was toward God and wanted to truly please Him.

For example, some kings “did what was right in the eyes of God” but didn’t bother to take away the high places, so people continued to burn incense and make sacrifices on pagan altars. Or the king did right for a time, but then turned proud, and turned away from God. And whatever the king was doing, the people were mostly following him. If God wanted to have a working love-relationship with people, this was not a very reliable system.

Moses Tried to Tell Them

Deuteronomy 10, 11

Listen to how Moses addresses the children of Israel as they prepare to go into the land God promised to give them:

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil…

If you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—then the Lord will … put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread…

Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. (Excerpts from Deuteronomy 10 and 11)

Notice any repetition here? Moses was emphasizing this over and over: If you will just love God and obey Him.

God Gave His Law Out of Love

We love our kids and want to see them succeed and live meaningful, prosperous lives and have loving relationships and compassionate hearts. And just like us, God wanted that for His children. If we didn’t give our kids any instructions, if there were no consequences for misbehavior, if we let them decide what’s “right for them” and let them make their own rules, so to speak, without interfering…we would not be loving them. In fact, this would be the opposite of love—this would be neglect.

God didn’t give the people rules because He was a mean, angry tyrant. Rather, He gave them rules because He loved them—instructions that would lead them to life. Rules like “don’t murder” and “don’t steal” and “don’t commit adultery.” But no matter how fervently or how often they were instructed to love God and follow Him, they could never seem to keep it up. And as time went on, the people got more and more lost. They just could not get it right. God’s instructions were good, and for their own good. The Law was good and right and just, but it could not keep men good, righteous, and just. It could only reveal the hopeless plight of men trying on their own to be good, righteous and just.

Isaiah 60:2

Over time, things got very dark. And those whose hearts were toward God understood that the darkness was only getting darker. Isaiah prophesied, For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people. Is 60:2.

The Days of Isaiah the Prophet

It was in the days when the kings were doing evil in the sight of God and the people were following the kings instead of following God, and things were not going well, and getting very dark, that the prophet Isaiah lived among the people and watched what went on, and spoke and wrote down what he heard God say.

I’d imagine he experienced many of the emotions that God had through this time. He probably felt broken-hearted and angry at their wayward hearts, and their betrayal. And He probably felt saddened at the depravity they were subjecting themselves to, hardening their hearts and embracing evil ways.

God was sticking with them though because He had made a covenant with Abraham. I don’t think He was caught by surprise that things were going to happen this way. It is hard to watch people you love turn away from light and truth and blessing, toward ways of darkness, and depravity. But He knew it would happen.

Isaiah Prophesies the Birth of Jesus

So, as people were becoming more and more depraved, as they were giving themselves over to deception, as they were rejecting God and His ways, as they were closing their ears and eyes to truth and wisdom and justice, and embracing evil, when it seemed like the light was going out and darkness was beginning to cover the earth and deep darkness the people, in the very midst of this, God deposited these beautiful, hope-filled words into Isaiah’s heart and onto his lips:

Isaiah 9:6,7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined…for unto us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over Him kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6,7)

Prophecy of Zacharias About the Birth of Jesus

Luke 1:76-79

Isaiah lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus. When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, a priest named Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied about Jesus. After the birth of his son John, Luke records that Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been since the world began …

And you, child, [John] will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:76-79)

The Birth of Jesus Brings Our Dayspring

God’s tender mercy toward the people of Israel, and toward us, meant Jesus came as our Dayspring—our heaven-sent Sunrise. The Hebrew word for Dayspring is Anatole (a rising of light or dawn). It can be traced back to two Hebrew words: Ana which means “into the midst” and telos which means “the end to which all things relate, the aim, the purpose” (as in a goal). Today, the word Dayspring is used to mean ‘a new era’ or ‘a new order of things.’

So today, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are remembering the ‘Dayspring from on high’—the rising Light (sent from Heaven) that dispels the darkness and brings a new order to things. We might even say that with His arrival, the Most Important Thing (the end to which all things relate —the purpose of all things) has come into our midst.

And the darkness within us that deepens—with our sins and failures, our unsatisfying successes, and the reality of our emptiness apart from the Life-Giver—that darkness is dispelled as we invite the Dayspring in—in the very moment that we admit our sin and our need for saving. In that moment, God floods in with His love, His forgiveness, His truth, His hope. A heaven-sent Sunrise breaks in and gives us a brand new beginning.

Thank you Father for Your tender mercy toward us, and your great love. My heart wells up with love for You! Thank You for coming into our midst. Thank You for making a way for us to have a Life-giving Love-relationship with You that will never end.

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people. Luke 1:68

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