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We are pleased to announce, the first YouVersion traslation released this month! The Fight for Radiance was translated in Czech! Please allow me to introduce our translator, Zdenka Davidova. Zdenka is a resident of the Czech Republic. I became acquainted with her through some missionary friends who knew we were seeking out translators.
Zdenka came to Christ at a young age. Her parents became believers when she was a baby, so she grew up learning and growing in church. She gained experience working in translation with seminars in child behavior management classes, with students from the USA. Today she works in translation through her church with English Camp for kids in Prague.
A typical day...
I asked her what we would find her doing in normal day-to-day life. She downplayed it with, "Oh, it's boring, you don't want to talk about that." (I liked her immediately!) Isn't that like the rest of us? Most of life is made up of normalcy. But because you and I are nosy... and we want to know what kind of "boring" things a woman in Prague who loves the Word of God does, I thought I would share Zdenka's normalcy with you.
Each week is much like ours. Work weeks are generally five days; with weekends spend for relaxation or some family activities. Either she and her family visit her parents or they go on a trip to visit her husband's family. She also really loves to make beaded jewelry and working on whatever translations come her way.
We are very thankful to God for bringing Zdenka our way. We are now able to reach women in a country across the globe with equipping and challenging encouragement in the Truth! She is most definitely an answer to prayer that we began requesting from the Lord a few months ago.
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For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
Matt. 18:20
Do you have a prayer need?
E-mail: info@sheyearns.com with your need. Each week the staff and volunteers will meet together and pray over the needs and requests received. If you would like to join us, we will be praying this summer at the same time each week.
Fridays, 9:00 A.M.
Central Standard Time
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The Zealous, Burning, Serving Believer
“Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11
Paul is passionate about encouraging us to live this Christian life with everything we’ve got. Not only are we to love sincerely (vs. 9) and deeply (vs. 10), but we are to approach life with a godly zeal and intensity. The Spirit within us should not only be recognizable to others, but conspicuous; and the non-negotiable expectation is that each of us will be continuously serving the Lord.
What does this look like today?
A life characterized by fervent intentionality in what is eternal.
There are two major phenomenon that will keep us from the kind of passionate living Paul encourages in this verse: indifference and selfishness.
Scripture makes no room for indifference in the life of a believer. In fact, we are warned about it in Revelation 3:16:
“So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!”
He wants you to be all in. To yearn for Him. And if you don’t, pray – even beg- for more desire and longing for Him. He will give it. For even right now, your Savior waits for you to want Him.
But sometimes it’s not indifference. We lag in zeal toward Christ because of our own selfishness. We don’t want to live lives dedicated wholly and completely to the Savior. We have our own agendas.
Every day you and I must choose to forfeit our desires and our agendas for His. What does that look like? Being intentional. According to the wisdom and experience of Charles Spurgeon, he could confidently say, “No one meanders into the Kingdom of God.” It’s not just going to happen. Instead, it is a series of daily choices that place His desires above my own. Your choices may look different than mine. Nonetheless --fervent intentionality is the bottom line.
A life characterized by diligence in the duties and affairs of life.
You and I both have dirty laundry and dishes to wash. We have to shop for food and other necessities. Other people depend on us. We have haircuts, job responsibilities, and all sorts of activities required of us. It may feel very ordinary and pointless at times. At other times, we wonder how on God’s green earth we are going to accomplish all He has set before us. Where is the balance? What would God have us do in the normal course of living?
A couple of months ago, I very much struggled with this balance. My roles and responsibilities exceeded my capabilities and availability. I can normally balance a lot of penguins on my iceberg, but this was different. It was penguin-overload on a melting iceberg.
When I took all that was in my heart before the Lord, His response was simple and can be summed up by the sentiment of J. Radford Thomson:
“Work as if all depended on you; pray as if all depended on God.”
A life characterized by a conspicuousness of the Holy Spirit.
Paul is using a word that conveys a burning within of the Spirit. One commentator noted that this word applies to water that is heated to a boil. He gave a wonderful example. Suppose the water reaches a roaring boil, but nothing is done with the water. What happens to it? The water simply evaporates. But suppose the boiling water is poured into something like a steam engine? Instead of evaporating, the water vapor is channeled, giving power to make the steam engine move and travel great distances.
So it is with us, as we spend time with the Lord, placing our lives on that imaginary altar as living sacrifices. Our offering gives the Holy Spirit the power to move and act in ways we could not even imagine.
A life characterized by selfless service to Christ.
Often, our selfless service to Christ is primarily offered through service to our immediate family. But a trend I see within the current culture is service to family superseding service to Christ. We are trying to out-do each other in the “most awesome mom” or “most awesome grandma” departments. Family time and family experiences are unashamedly taking precedent over all else. But at what expense? What is the younger generation really learning from this kind of example? I fear they are learning exactly what is being taught.
Our families need us to be selfless servants of Christ. They need to see us live out trusting Him when we don’t know how it’s going to turn out, witness our handling of difficult situations, and catch us in the same place at the same time – reading our Bibles and praying. Time and time again conversations should take place about how Scripture is relevant and applicable to their very situation. They need us to worship with them regularly, and with other believers. They need us to lead by example, how to serve within the Body in ways that reach out toward a lost community and world.
Yes! There is work to be done that extends beyond the immediate family. And you don’t have time to do it. But the truth remains: our hearts should yearn to be a part of the saving and transforming work He wants to accomplish using your own local church body. He has placed each one of us where we are – at just this time. It’s not simply to take it all in. Your age or stage in life matters not. The expectation of Paul is that we WILL be serving the Lord.
Cheri
These devotionals are exclusively for subscribes and can only be found in the She Yearns Newsletters. If you would like to know more about Shoulder to Shoulder, click here, for a blog that will give you an overview in case you missed it.
Discussion questions for this edition can be found at On Beyond Ordinary by clicking here.
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Cheri's Favorite Summertime Recipe!
(We prefer more corn to black beans)
Ingredients
1 can black beans
2 cans corn
1 can Original Rotel
4 Tbsp. lime juice
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cilantro
Directions
Rinse and drain the black beans in a colander. Add the corn and Rotel to drain. Pour into a bowl. Add the other ingredients and stir together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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