Living | Paula Wiseman

Unity – The Most Difficult Thing

A few weeks ago, I posed a question – What is the most difficult thing about living a Christian life?

I got several responses through the site and Facebook, and I was surprised to see a common thread. In my nonscientific informal survey, the most difficult thing we face as believers is… other believers.

We are each other's biggest difficulty. How does that happen?

We get satisfied.

We lose grace.

We have more self-righteousness than Christ's righteousness.

We become prima donnas, more concerned about being served than serving Christ or others.

We forget what were saved from.

We forget that we are fellow soldiers and not empire builders.

We prize our agenda about the Kingdom.

Or a host of other possibilities…

It reminds me of a poem my husband heard his pastor quote when he was a kid-

To live above with saints we love,

O, that will be glory.

To live below with saints we know…

Now, that's a different story.

In the hours before Jesus' crucifixion, He prayed that we would be one. Not that we would be the same, but that we would be united. Jesus knew all about our foibles when He saved us, and He intended for us put those to work for Him. His own disciples wrestled with this. Simon the zealot belonged to a political party sworn to assassinate guys like Matthew for being Roman collaborators. They worked it out because they bought into a greater vision.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: Psalms, unity

Delighted

By Paula 4 Comments

One of my favorite Psalms is number 18. Buried within it, in verse 17 is a line that says "He delivered me from my strong enemy." You see, I have a strong enemy. Its name is depression. It slips in, and usually I don't recognize it until it's settled in and made itself at home. I've struggled with it my whole adult life. In fact I'm struggling now.

The battle is exhausting. It saps my energy and creativity. It distracts me from every good thing in my life. That's its strategy- to pull my focus away until I'm consumed by what I feel. Maybe you can identify.

I've learned a few things over the years. Medication can be helpful. Caring, praying friends are priceless. My husband is a Godsend. But Truth… that's the key.

Here's what I know, also from Psalm 18-

"He delivered me, because He delighted in me." (v. 19)

That's what I'm working on, sometimes hour by hour, immersing myself in that assurance. In spite of what it tells me, depression is temporary. Truth, especially the truth in Psalm 18, is eternal.

Have you or a loved one ever struggled with depression? What helped?

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: depression, Psalms

What is the most difficult thing about living a Christian life?

By Paula 1 Comment

This isn't like my typical posts, I know, but I have a question for you.

Introducing a study of Romans, I asked my study group:

What is the most difficult thing about living a Christian life?

Keeping God's commands?
Staying focused?
Meeting expectations?
Discouragement?
Witnessing?

I don't have an answer. At least not an overarching, one size fits all kind of answer.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: Christian living, Romans

Some Reasons to Visit Another Church

By Paula 3 Comments

Christmas Eve, my family and I attended a church service at another church in town. If you don't get a chance to visit other churches periodically it can be a really good thing. Here's why-

You get to just to "be" in a worship service, and maybe even sit with your family. We attend a small church and most of us are busy during the worship services. Visiting gives us a break.

You stay engaged. Face it, when you know it's a welcome, two songs, offering, two songs, special and sermon it's easy to disengage. Or at least it is for me.

You don't know everyone's backstory. They're just fellow pilgrims, worshipping Jesus, just like you.

You learn things. There's no one right way to do ministry or to do a worship service.

You remember it's not about you. The focus shifts from the role you're supposed to perform to the Savior and Redeemer you've come to worship.

What happened the last time you visited another church?

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: Christmas Eve, church

Needing Recharged

By Paula

After Wednesday, and the end of NaNoWriMo, I'm mentally exhausted. 54,000 words in 30 days. (74,000 in 40 days.) I'm not sure I could string 3 creative words together today. It's a good tired, though. A satisfied tired. This was a tremendous book. I learned so much from it, and it touched me deeply. Perhaps more than any of the others. It was meant to be. I look forward to sharing to with you.

It's so very easy in our culture to pour ourselves out and never take the opportunity to recharge. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks leading up to Christmas when I can regroup, reconnect and relax. Then with my fingers, eyes and brain recharged, we'll be ready to tackle major edits on the first book in a new series.

So I have a few questions for you-

How do you know when you need a break?

How do you recharge?

Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. Psalm 116:7

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: NaNoWriMo, Psalms, rest, Word count