Inspiration for Today: The Importance of Yielding

"We cannot be filled with the Spirit until we are prepared to yield ourselves to be led by the Lord Jesus — to forsake and sacrifice everything for this pearl of great price." 

(Andrew Murray)

Yield. There's an unloved word. It means to relinquish. To give up, as to superior power or authority. To surrender.

Any volunteers?

Counter-intuitive and difficult as it is, yielding our wants and desires is a path to life — the abundant life Christ offers.

As we yield, we give up our right to forge our own path. We step aside to let Another lead. And as we surrender the illusion of control over our lives and destinies, we discover a freedom previously not even accessible to the self-centered, self-actualizing existence.

Yielding involves forsaking and sacrifice — no doubt about it. But the pearl of great price is more than worth it!

Yield!
Dr Mari

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16

Ash Wednesday Reflection: You Are Perfect ... Really?

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. 
(Romans 12:2)

Today is Ash Wednesday. As we begin a journey to a deeper understanding of and closeness with Jesus, here's a great mystery to ponder about what he accomplished on the cross, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14).

I don’t know about you but, when I look at my life, I don't see perfection at all. Yet, the Word tells us that we have been made perfect, even as we are “being made holy.” 

Really?

When we look at our lives, we see neither perfection nor complete holiness. We see victories and brokenness; we see mistakes and success. We see our humanity. And, though at times we feel redeemed, we don’t always act like it.

Yet, by God’s grace, the reality of our lives as Christians is redemption, restoration, and growth in holiness. It is impossible to stay with Christ and remain unchanged. It is not possible to behold Christ’s holiness and continue to willfully sin. The Holy Spirit living in us is always at work, as it was in Jesus. Jesus’ presence changes us—we begin to crave his righteousness. God’s promise of maturity in Christ is accomplished in us as we stay close to him.

Our destiny in Christ is not one of doom, gloom, and persistent sinning. Our destiny in Christ is to mature in him and grow in holiness. 

If we’ve been stuck in a rut feeling like we can never do what God calls us to do, our thinking needs to change. We need to fill our minds with the truth of God’s Word, which reminds us that we are not our own, we were bought with a price, and God’s plan for us is good. 

Lent is a wonderful time to dwell in God's Word daily as a new spiritual discipline. Reading the Bible helps us not conform to the pattern of this world, which can so quickly become our default in life. God's Word renews our minds and transforms us, making us more and more like Jesus. God’s Truth empowers us to surrender to His perfect will—like Jesus did. And His will is that we should be holy.
    

Ponder with me: Are you resisting God's will to make you holy in a particular area? Why?

Pray with me: Heavenly Father, strengthen me with power through Your Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith (Ephesians 3:16-17), and help me grow in holiness.

Have a blessed and meaningful Lent, 
Dr Mari 

This excerpt was adapted from my study of the book of Hebrews (The Radiance of God's Glory) published by Bible Reading Fellowship in the current edition of The Journey.

Healing Hearts: The Power of Prayer

This month, my 25-day study of the book of Hebrews is included in The Journey, a quarterly publication of Bible Reading Fellowship. Here is an excerpt from one of the reflections I wrote this summer for the latest edition of The Journey.

As I headed for work earlier this week, I was sad, missing our sweet dog that just died. But more than my pain, I was suffering over the sense of loss in my children's young hearts. My soul needed to find its green pastures even as I helped them heal.

In the family medicine clinic where I worked that morning, I start each day by praying with our staff. We spend a few minutes sharing our hearts and our needs. We then pray together, acknowledging God as our provider and healer. We ask to be Christ's hands and feet, to have His compassion, and to stay close to Him while caring for people.

That day I showed up with such a heavy heart that I didn't even feel like praying. But as I saw my coworkers' faces, my heart softened, for I know their struggles and hurts, too. Some of my pain began to melt as I considered their needs.

Somewhat reluctantly, still, I asked if they wanted to pray. They did, so we prayed, and lightness returned to my soul. As I share in my book, Walking with Jesus in Healthcare, God does draw near to us when we draw near to Him (James 4:8).

The first couple I treated that morning spontaneously shared what God was doing in their lives. They were excited to tell me about a mission trip that was coming up and all the ways God had provided for them. After addressing their medical needs, I asked — with renewed joy — whether they wanted to thank God together. As we offered a prayer to our faithful God, I felt like I'd been healed. My heart was no longer heavy at all. It was light and full of joy! I had experienced once more the fruit of faith: living in God's presence, where healing, restoration, and joy are never far.

Are you living in a valley where even praying is hard? Tell someone you trust, and ask him or her to pray for you. Offer your pain and your losses to God. He can do anything.

Joyfully,
Dr Mari

For more inspiration, read My New Promotion: A Life of Grace.

Learn more about Bible Reading Fellowship here and visit my author website for information about my devotional for healthcare professionals and caregivers.

Encouragement For Healthcare Servants

I am so thankful for every opportunity I get to support, encourage, and empower healthcare professionals and caregivers in their critical roles. If you are a physician colleague navigating the many changes in healthcare that continue to impact your life and work, stay encouraged! People need your medical and technical skills and, especially, your gifts of attentive listening, compassion, and love.

These are challenging times, so remember to keep your cup full so you can give out of the overflow of your heart. Learn to identify the signs of burnout and compassion fatigue in yourself and your coworkers so you can be proactive, stay healthy, and continue to serve others.

As you know, music can be not only therapeutic but also a way the Spirit of God ministers to our deepest needs. So I'm posting a link to two songs to encourage and strengthen you right now: Mandisa's Overcomer and All Sons & Daughters' Oh How I Need You.

If you find this helpful, consider sharing this post with someone else.  

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

(1 Thessalonians 5:11)

In Christ's Hope,

Dr Mari

Whatever challenges we face today, whether in our personal lives or while caring for others, God says to you and me, Pray. Stay with Me. Do not give up. I will answer. Pray. (Walking with Jesus in Healthcare, p.186) 

"Ask and it will be given to you; 

seek and you will find; 

knock and the door will be opened to you. 

For everyone who asks receives; 

the one who seeks finds; 

and to the one who knocks, 

the door will be opened."

Matthew 7:7-8

My Radio Interview with Connecting Faith Live

Yesterday I was blessed to join Jo Rathmanner as a guest on her live, call-in radio show, Connecting Faith. It was a real treat to share about my book, The Ultimate Girls' Body Book: Not-So-Silly Questions About Your Body. Coauthored with Dr. Walt Larimore, the book is set to release later this month by Zondervan.

Follow this link to hear highlights (or the entire interview), and consider sharing the link with your friends and loved ones with tween/teen girls.

This book will help equip girls and the adults who love them during the change-packed years of puberty and beyond. From pimples to bras to girl-boy relationships and what makes a good friend, we cover it all with fun stories and humor, providing accurate medical information from a Biblical perspective. My goal is to help girls and the women in their lives see themselves through God's eyes, beautifully and wonderfully made for a great purpose.

For You created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

(Psalm 139:13-14)

Please join me in thanking God for the privilege of speaking into the lives of young girls and their moms. I also ask you to pray for me as I continue to speak on this subject in the coming months. Thank you so much, and have a blessed and purposeful 2014!

Joyfully,
Dr Mari

My New Book: The Ultimate Girls' Body Book!

Publication Update: My new book, The Ultimate Girls' Body Book: Not-So-Silly Questions About Your Body, released in January! Published by Zondervan and coauthored with Dr.Walt Larimore, the book helps equip girls and the adults who love them during the change-packed years of puberty. Full of humor and fun stories, it is written from a Christian perspective to help girls see themselves through God's eyes as they grow into the women God created them to be. 

Having spent Thanksgiving with one of my BFFs (of more than thirty years!), I love thinking that the stories of true friendship I share in the book will help growing girls make wise choices. We cover everything from periods to pimples to bras, healthy boundaries with social media and much more! A panel of experts and mother-daughter teams helped us write a relevant, accurate resource. I am very thankful for each of them. 

Please join me in thanking God for the blessing of speaking into young girls' lives and pray with me that God will be glorified through this meaningful project. And, if you have a few minutes, learn more about the book by listening to my interview with Jo Rathmanner from January 3rd on Connecting Faith Live. And thank you for helping me spread the word!

Joyfully,

Dr Mari

 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)

For more on my books as well as testimonials, please visit my author website. 

To read a tribute to my beautiful and inspiring mother, go to Lessons I Learned Watching Mom.

Blessed Christmas!

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; 

on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned....

For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders. 

And he will be called 

Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God, 

Everlasting Father, 

Prince of Peace." 

(Isaiah 9:2,6, Old Testament)

The prophet Isaiah wrote the words in Isaiah 9 hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. 

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to many people, and the New Testament is filled with accounts of His saving acts while He walked the earth and, later, 

through those who believed in Him. 

Christmas means the Light of Christ has dawned in our dark world, making the way to eternal life available to us. Like the wise men, we want to follow that Light, for it leads to Life.

 

This is why we rejoice ... Christ's birth means Hope! 

Here's what the apostle Paul, a man transformed by the love of Jesus, believed about Him,

 "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, 

visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; 

all things have been created through him and for him. 

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

And he is the head of the body, the church; 

he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, 

so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, 

whether things on earth or things in heaven, 

by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." 

(Colossians 1:15-20, New Testament)

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!

(Luke 2:14, New Testament)

Have a blessed Christmas season full of the joy, hope, and peace that come from knowing, believing, and following Jesus, our Savior and Lord!

Joyfully,

Dr. Mari