Posted on by Renee Meyer · 1 Comment

When you’re feeling trapped and there’s no way out…look for the way through (No Fear)

Do you feel trapped, like there's no way out? Read this {No Fear} devotional about trusting God to lead you on the way THROUGH.

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today… The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

Our story today finds the Hebrew descendants of Abraham enslaved in Egypt, crying out under oppression. God heard their cry and raised up a deliverer in Moses. Moses famously demanded of Pharoah, “Let my people go”, and after the trauma and death of the plagues, Pharoah let the people go. And they went. They went all the way to the Red Sea, where they realized Pharoah had changed his mind about releasing the slave population that made life in Egypt possible.

So the Hebrews found themselves trapped, between Pharoah’s armies and the deeps of the sea.

As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. (Exodus 14:10)

Do you relate to that feeling?

Have you found yourself between a rock and a hard place? At the end of your rope? Between the devil and the deep blue sea?

Do you know what it feels like to be trapped?

Read more

Posted on by Renee Meyer

Bankrupt Without Love {14 Days of Love}

How would you define love?

Is love a feeling? A choice? Is love weak or strong? Can we live without love?

Bankrupt Without Love: Day 1 from "14 Days of Love: A Devotional Journey in 1 Corinthians 13" (click through for your free PDF!)

 

Our culture (even within the church) idealizes and idolizes romantic love. The love Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians is agape, the love of God (“for God so loved the world…”) and our response of love to God and one another (“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another…”).

My expository dictionary’s entry on Agape says: “Love seeks the welfare of all, Romans 15:2 , and works no ill to any, 13:8-10; love seeks opportunity to do good to ‘all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith,’ Galatians 6:10.” (Hogg & Vine)

In your life and history, which have you valued more, romantic love or this agape love? Why?

 

 

Think about the different activities that take up your time throughout any given week. Your job, your classes if you’re a student, errands you run, tasks you accomplish, relationships in which you invest.

What does it look like when you’re doing those things

With love?

 

Without love?

 

 

And maybe the most important question I could ask:

Do you believe you are worthy of being loved? Really loved, unconditionally, success or failure, for who you really are? Why or why not?

 

Taking a break today from the NO FEAR series to post day 1 from “14 Days of Love: A Devotional Journey through 1 Corinthians 13.” Get your free copy when you sign up for the Reemail, my weekly update newsletter.

Spend a couple of weeks thinking about God's love, and asking how you can RECEIVE God's love and OFFER love to others.

Posted on by Renee Meyer

Looking for Love in all the {RIGHT} Places

Happy first day of February!

LOVE is in the AIR!

I want to spend some time in this, the month of love, looking away from the Hollywood version of love, love that can be summed up in chocolate candy hearts and over-priced red roses.

When I was in college and a brand new believer I had a poster of 1 Corinthians 13 (now that I think about it, it might have been my first Christian-ese, Family Christian Stores type purchase?) I loved that thing, but after a while I came to see 1 Corinthians 13 as kind of trite, commonly chosen as a reading for weddings by people who may or my not have known anything about Jesus. In other words, I got snotty and decided I was too advanced for Paul’s words about love in 1 Corinthians 13.

OH THE HUBRIS.

1 Corinthians 13 Printable from reemeyer.com

I have repented and returned to this beautiful description of love in the years since those young & prideful days. But I’ve never studied them in depth, I’ve never worked my way slowly through it. So this February, that’s what I’m doing.

Want to join me?

Each day of the devotional focuses on one aspect of love from 1 Corinthians 13. Most days include other verses on that topic, and some have a few thoughts from me. Every day there are a series of questions to think about and some practices to try, in order to RECEIVE love from God and OFFER love to others.

The content is appropriate for men or women, married or single, happy or sad in your love life. I am a sucker for romance, and I love love – but the point of this devotional is to think about real love, not romantic love, or the Hollywood version of love. I think you’ll enjoy it, wherever your love life finds you in this present moment.

The cover art is pretty & feminine, because I love these particular graphics & have been wanting to use them, and because LOVE. I know this  devotional will be read by men as well as women, and I don’t want to scare the fellas away with all the flowers. I thought about using something less feminine…but really there are not a lot of love-related graphics that aren’t floral or overtly valentinesy. And then I remembered that women read and study books with masculine covers all the time, and we can handle it. I’m sure our gentlemen friends can handle the reverse.

It’s a PDF, so you’ll get the devotional all in one download (I don’t have time to set up daily emails like I did for the Advent devotional right now, but if that is something you would prefer, let me know for the future!)

14 Days of Love is a FREE GIFT when you sign up for my weekly Ree-mail (I still can’t type that without laughing – too cheesy??)

When you subscribe to my REEMAIL list (hee hee), you’ll immediately get an email with a link to download YOUR FREE COPY! Click the pretty graphic below and you’ll find yourself in the right place!

YES! I want a copy of 14 Days of LOVE!

Posted on by Renee Meyer · 4 Comments

Heard & Seen: A Message for the Ones Who Feel Invisible and Disposable (No Fear Devotional)

No Fear Devotional: Heard & Seen: A Message for the Ones Who Feel Invisible and Disposable (No Fear Devotional)

Throughout my childhood and early adulthood I battled feeling invisible in my family, in school, and in my first jobs.  My preferred method for dealing with hard things tends to be to handle them myself rather than speaking up, and I think it’s important to own my own participation in areas where I don’t have a voice. I have learned to speak up (to the point where now I’m told – by some people- that I can sometimes take up too much space. I’ve now grown a lot of shame around the idea of being too loud, too opinionated, too much.), but I still relate to the feeling of having no voice and being invisible.

And I hear the stories of women who feel invisible, weekly. In their families, in their marriages, in their jobs, in their friendships, women are under attack, and the lie being thrown at us is INVISIBLE. You’re not heard, you’re not seen, you don’t matter.

Make no mistake: Invisible is a LIE.

We have a God who sees, a God who hears.

I was so happy to be reminded of this truth in my search through the places in God’s Word where He says, “DO NO FEAR.” When I am afraid, the reminder that God sees me and hears my cries is balm to my soul. Read more

Posted on by Renee Meyer · 6 Comments

Fear Not: Willing to Wait

Join me on a devotional journey, looking at the many times God says, "DON'T BE AFRAID." In today's devotional, we look at Abraham's life for lessons on learning to "fear not..."

“Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1)

As God’s story unfolds in the Bible, Abraham is the first person to hear “Do not fear…” from God. Let’s sit at Abraham’s feet and see what we can learn from his life about freedom from fear.

We meet Abraham as Abram in Genesis 12, as God says to Him,

“Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Abraham’s is a story of faith, and Abraham’s is a story of promise.

God says GO, and Abram goes. Abram goes in God’s promise to make him a nation, to make his name great, and to make him a blessing. Abram becomes the father of Israel, and through his descendant Jesus, all the families of the earth are blessed. Every promise Yahweh made to Abram was kept.

Abraham’s story is a story of faith and promise. But those promises of a nation and a prosperity and a blessing are given when Abram is 75, and childless. Without a child, Abram could not father a nation, or have a great name, or bless all the families of the earth.

At 99, Yahweh repeats His promises to Abram, and gives him a new name, one with the breath of God inserted in the middle. Abraham’s story is a story of faith and promise. But Abram waited for 25 years before a son was born to him, before he had even a glimpse of God’s plan, the keeping of his promise.  Read more

Posted on by Renee Meyer · 2 Comments

Fear Not: The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

I feel God calling me right now, to something new or different. I don’t want to be melodramatic, so let me be clear: I don’t know how new, or how different, and I suspect that the new or different isn’t what I expect. I also don’t think He’s calling me to something bigger. I’m guessing it is something smaller, actually.

But I do feel like He’s calling me.

That sounds pretty romantic, but the truth is that I am scared to death. I trust God, but I don’t like change, and my life already has plenty of change coming, thankyouverymuch. I’m scared.

Afraid of mis-hearing God, of making wrong decisions.

Afraid of disappointment.

Afraid of failure. (Really, really afraid of failure.)

I’m afraid.

I decided a long time ago not to make decisions based on fear, but I’ve found that fear leads me in super sneaky ways.

So I’m going back to my roots, Bible study wise, and I’m doing a Word study. I’m going to look at every place the Bible says any version of the phrase “fear not” or “do not be afraid.” I think I’ve read somewhere that “fear not” is the most repeated command in the Bible, so I’m guessing this will take a while.

I probably won’t write about every single verse I find, but I tend to learn more when I  communicate what I’m learning. So I’m inviting you to join me on this journey. Most Tuesdays you’ll find some “fear not” thoughts here, as I work out this truth in my life. I’d love to hear what you’re afraid of, and the areas where you need to hear God’s invitation to “fear not.”

I’ll probably study in chronological order because that makes the most sense to me (Hi, I’m Renee. I like to go in order.) But my verse of the year is from the middle of the story, and it’s another return to my roots (as this is something of a life verse for me.) Read more

Posted on by Renee Meyer

Welcoming 2018: A Prayer

This is the year the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I welcome You in this new year, Lord, and I want more of You. Remind me of how much I need you. Make me small in my own eyes, but remembering I am greatly loved. Keep me close to you, always.

I receive this new year from you, Lord. I welcome all it brings, whatever it brings.

I trust you. Whether this year holds that which looks good and easy, or that which seems hard and harsh, I trust You.

I release my thoughts, plans, and expectations for this new year. I release my illusions of control. I release my tendency to manage outcomes (for myself and others). I release even my hopes and dreams.

I welcome Your control, Your outcomes, Your hopes and dreams for me and for the world around me.

In this new year I welcome unexpected twists and turns. Not my will, but Yours be done.

As I walk the path of 2018, let me walk in love. Let me walk in faith, not fear. Responding rather than reacting. Gentle with myself and others.

And let me walk in hope. Not hope in my plans or desired outcomes, not even in the hope that You will do what I want.

In 2018 let me walk in the great hope that you are with me, always. And let me walk in the hope of redemption: that your goodness is big enough to bring goodness even in things that are not good, in all this year holds, whatever this year holds.

Amen.

Posted on by Renee Meyer

How to Carry Christmas Spirit Into the New Year

Some years I am still in the mood for Christmas carols well into January, and others I’m ready to pack up the holiday festivity and jump into a clean new year moments after the last gifts are opened. This year, as the candles were lit and the words to “Silent Night” filled my family’s Christmas Eve, I realized how badly I need “the dawn of redeeming grace” with me as we head into 2018.

In that moment, words from the Christmas story came to mind, words I’d been reading and thinking about over the course of Advent. Specifically, three verbs. Read more

Posted on by Renee Meyer

Waiting Patiently on God

Waiting Patiently on God

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him… Psalm 37:7

Does patience come easily to you, or is waiting a struggle?

My patience is subjective and situational. Now that my daily life doesn’t involve 3 year olds who insist on doing everything themselves, I find it easy to wait on a toddler who wants to zip her own jacket.  It is harder, but I choose to be patient with my kids (most of the time) when they’re acting their age. And I try to practice patience when waiting in line, as a driver, all the normal patience-testing parts of being alive.

But I am not so patient with myself. I get frustrated and discouraged to struggle with the same issues year after year. I know I’m growing and changing, but it’s so much easier to see how far I have to go, rather than how far I’ve come.

And it’s never actually occurred to me that I need to be patient with God. But that is the command in Psalm 37: Wait patiently on the Lord.

The instruction to rest in the Lord and wait patiently on Him sounds quite passive to me. But the psalmist isn’t telling us to sit out of life and do nothing. The Hebrew words translated here are active words. The word for rest does mean to be silent and still. But the word translated “wait patiently” has child-birth undertones: travailing, bringing forth. Birthing is definitely not a passive image of waiting.

What are you waiting on God for?Are you waiting patiently?

I think about the things that make me anxious. Things I’d like to manage or control, outcomes I’d like guaranteed. I think about the unknowns in my future, about the uncertainties in my present. I think about advent and the kind of Christmas season I’d prefer to have (but may not even be a reasonable expectation, given my family and circumstances.)

In those things, what would it look like for me to be silent before God?

In those things, what would it look like for me to wait patiently on God to work, like a mother bearing down as she gives birth?

I don’t necessarily like my answers to these questions, and I don’t love the idea that waiting on God is like childbirth. Because birth involves pain, and silence doesn’t come easily to me.

However.

If I really believe that what God is doing in my life is good… If I believe in His presence and goodness, if I believe the outcome of my waiting is new life, joy, relationship, love…. If I trust God, can I choose to wait patiently?

The people of Israel waiting for generations for the promise of the Messiah to show up in the person of Jesus. Are we willing to wait?

Open up before God, keep nothing back; He’ll do whatever needs to be done:

He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day  and stamp you with approval at high noon. Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. (Psalm 37:5-7, The Message)

 

Journaling Prompts:

How do you respond to the idea of patient waiting as being work, active, like childbirth? Is this helpful imagery, or hard to get your mind around? Why?

What are you waiting on God for? Is it easy or hard for you to be patient in this waiting? Why?

What in God’s character and your history with Him helps you to wait patiently on HIm?

 

This is today’s devotional from Waiting on God: A 4 week Advent Devotional, which started last week. If you’re interested: You can purchase the Ebook here, or SIGN UP HERE to receive it for free via email (starting with tomorrow’s devotional).

I’ve been amazed and encouraged that so many have purchased or signed up, it is such a gift to be on this journey with so many!

Posted on by Renee Meyer

Waiting on God in Silence

Waiting on God in Silence (1)

My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation… Psalm 62:1

Historically Advent is a season of quiet waiting. God’s people wait in stillness for His arrival, His coming, God-With-Us. We will conclude Advent singing of silent wonder. It is one of my favorite memories of Christmases past and present: A quiet church with voices, and perhaps candles, raised, singing “Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright.”

The irony of that song in what we’ve made of this season never fails to get my attention. Sometimes it is funny and sometimes heartbreaking. Silent Night, Holy Night? If I want any quiet at all during the Christmas season, I have to fight for it, and fight hard.

Because Christmas can be LOUD.

This season is a cacophony of lists, lists of things we want, lists of things to buy, lists of good deeds to do, lists of gatherings to attend. December clangs with the music of parties, the raised voices of maybe more family time than anyone needs, the strident call of all the obligations and expectations we put on ourselves. For some of us, this season is also loud with the wail of unspoken pain. Lost loved ones, lost hopes and dreams, loneliness.

What would it look like, in the midst of this loud season, to carve out some quiet for your soul? Can you choose a regular daily time to step out of your lists, to turn off the noise, to take your pain or your joy and sit in silence with God?

Can you reserve some moments at the beginning or end of your day to sit with Jesus and wait? Perhaps over your lunch hour, or your littles’ nap time?

I am convinced our souls need more silence than this loud world provides. Don’t wait for Christmas Eve to enjoy a silent moment.

I invite you to join me during this season of Advent, to set aside time to intentionally, purposefully wait on God, in silence.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.

He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. (Psalm 62:5-8)

Journaling Prompts:

What feels loud in your life right now?

As you step into this advent season, where can you set aside some time to be quiet, to be with Jesus and learn to wait on God?

What is your hope this Advent season? What do you want from God, for what are you waiting?

 

This was day 1 of my 4 week Advent Devotional: Waiting on God, which started on Monday. If you’re interested:

You can purchase the Ebook here, or

SIGN UP HERE to receive it for free via email (starting with tomorrow’s devotional).

I’ve been amazed and encouraged that so many have purchased or signed up, it is such a gift to be on this journey with so many.