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What’s Your Sign?

March 31, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

photo credit: The Gorilla Foundation

Back in the eighties, it was common for young people to ask each other, “What’s your sign?” They honestly believed that everyone’s “sign” revealed a lot about them.  I never bought into any of that, but I did learn a lot about people by just watching them. I’ve always believed that non-verbal communication often speaks louder than words.  Perhaps that understanding is one reason why the Lord called me to deaf ministry.

My sign today (or should I say sign language) is A.S.L, which stands for American Sign Language. I love the ability to communicate with hearing impaired individuals, and I enjoy watching the expressive way they “speak.” Knowing sign language has come in handy many times; sometimes in rather unexpected ways. For instance, I recently had a unique experience with a gorilla. Of course, we didn’t carry on a lengthy conversation, but he did tell me he was sick.

Let me first explain, some gorillas do know sign language. Have you ever heard of Koko? She is a Western Lowland Gorilla who was born at the San Francisco Zoo in 1971. Placed under the tutelage of scientist Francine Patterson, Koko has learned over one-thousand signs in which to communicate with humans. She wasn’t the first gorilla to learn sign, but she has certainly excelled at it. Because of Koko’s accomplishments, scientists continue to pursue inter-species communication through the use of sign language and they are having good success.

Whether or not the sick gorilla at our local zoo had ever been formally taught sign language or not, he was clearly communicating with sign. Every time I visit the zoo, I linger at the indoor gorilla enclosure for a while and sign to those intriguing primates just to see if I can actually elicit an understandable response.

One day, as I stood there signing “How are you?” one particular gorilla caught my attention. He fixed his gaze on me and I am almost certain he was frowning. “How are you? I asked again. The gorilla then clearly signed, “Sick. Stomach-ache. Headache.” To be sure I had understood him correctly, I signed back to him, “You sick?  “Sick- stomach ache- headache,” the gorilla repeated. A closer look at the precious gorilla revealed that he did have a runny nose and puffy eyes.

I wanted very much to find one of the zoo keepers, but there wasn’t one available. As the next best option, I gave the information to one of the general staff. The message probably never got passed-on, which saddened me greatly because this gorilla was asking for help and I couldn’t give it.

There have been several times I felt that way while at my children’s high school. At one particular event, I took the time to really ‘see’ those teenagers. And rather than being disturbed at the obnoxious hair colors and styles, piercings and tattoos, and the repulsive clothing, I was able to see them through the same eyes with which I watched the gorilla.

Many of these young people were desperately trying in their own way to communicate. They weren’t using sign language, but with their body language and body image, they were clearly shouting: Look at me! I’m hurting neglected, scared and so on. I stood there wondering, how many of us are really “listening” to these young people.

Koko has many critics who insist that she may have learned to imitate some gestures but has no concept of their meaning. Likewise, there are lots of adults who look at today’s teens and think, they are not conveying any particular message; they are just a reflection of their culture. That may be the case with some, but there are a great many that are desperate for someone to notice –someone to care.

There are also countless others out there who seem to be happy and have their lives in perfect order, but looks can be deceiving. If we looked through God’s eyes, it is quite probable that we would see everyone quite differently.

When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).

As God’s children, we are to have the same love and compassion as our Heavenly Father does. I pray that we all continuously strive to gain a slightly different perspective; one that will cause us to alter our perceptions in such a way that we are more aware of the needs of those around us.

Most importantly, when we do detect that someone is hurting neglected, scared and so on; may we always be quick to show them the love, mercy and compassion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The world can sometimes be a very dark place, and there are times when we all need a ray of light to bring hope.  Jesus is that light!  Will you be the one He shines through to brighten the lives of others?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlRK1vqcuvg

postscript: Koko has her own website. You can learn all about her and the Gorilla Foundation here:
The Gorilla Foundation -Koko

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Fruit of the Spirit, Humility, Long-suffering, Love, Meekness, Obedience, Servanthood, Teen Read, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

“Not Yet”

March 29, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

On a personal note:

This time last week I was preparing to meet my Maker. Let me be honest and share something personal with you. When I went for my yearly mammogram a few weeks ago, I had that inward ‘knowing’ that it would not come back normal. It didn’t. But that was the least of my concerns.

I had been having headaches for a few weeks, but a few days after the mammogram, it turned into a constant, agonizing pain towards the middle of my head, right side. Even a pain killer would not alleviate its intensity. I wasn’t too concerned at first. But the headache got worse –and my lymph nodes swelled on the right side. I thought about seeing my physician but the weekend was fast approaching and it is difficult to be seen then. Plus, I wanted to have the second, diagnostic mammogram done before I saw him, so I waited. That proved to be an unwise decision.

Even so, I was at total peace. I wasn’t sure if the suspect mammogram had anything to do with the pain issue, but either way I knew something was seriously wrong. I’ve been through some really difficult health challenges before, but I had never experienced anything like this. I absolutely know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God heals (I have experienced His miraculous healing many times) and I usually stand in faith believing for it. This time, however, I had that same inner ‘knowing’ that I was going to go through something very difficult and there would be a purpose in it.

It occurred to me that IF I had breast cancer and IF that was related to the splitting head pain and swollen lymph nodes, it would probably mean that I would be going home to be with my Lord rather quickly. I prayed, “Lord that is entirely up to you –whatever you desire. My children are almost grown and I am ready to go home whenever you are ready for me.” It’s not that I wanted to leave my family, but I wasn’t afraid to either.

The day before my diagnostic mammogram/sonogram (Sunday), I laid on the couch making a mental note of the things I needed to wrap-up just in case. Let me stress again, I was completely at peace. Even the thought of a mastectomy didn’t bother me. And I knew that even if God called me home (and I honestly believed He might), He would certainly take care of my family. This is what comes of knowing that your relationship with Jesus Christ is right and your future with Him is secure. However, as I was thinking about all the things that I needed to hurriedly finish, the voice of the Lord spoke very clearly to me. He simply said, “Not Yet.” That’s all — just a quiet, reassuring, “Not Yet.”

Okay, so it wasn’t my time to go, yet my symptoms were getting worse. Bright and early Monday morning I called for an emergency appointment. The pain was still severe, and I had developed several more symptoms. These included, but were not limited to, blurred vision and nausea. My whole body hurt and by this point it even hurt to touch my skin.

I couldn’t even drive myself to the doctor. Normally it would have been easy to find someone to help out, but on that particular morning I couldn’t. I thought, I’ll just have to drive myself, but then I heard the Lord speak with stern rebuke, “Absolutely not! You cannot drive!” So, I called my husband away from his work to come get me. He wasn’t close to home and he was in the middle of an important job, but he was able to get me to my appointment on time. I know the Lord was looking out for me.

Long story short: I do NOT have breast cancer and the other issue I was having, while rather severe, was completely treatable. Between the potent medication and the prayer offered on my behalf, I felt like a new person within twenty-four hours of seeing my physician and continued to improve daily. It only took three or four days to feel normal again.

This is all very personal, so why am I sharing all of this with you? There are at least three thoughts I want to offer today which I truly pray brings hope and/or comfort to someone.

1) God does speak to His children. Whether He speaks to our hearts, or through His word, He will instruct us in regards to our individual lives if we take time to listen. And, in knowing that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose (Romans 8:28), we can face every challenge with absolute peace and full assurance that God is in control so we don’t have to be.

2) There is an appointed time for a person to die. —To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die… (Ecclesiastes 3:1 -2a). If it is not our time to go, we won’t. Therefore, we don’t need to worry when we face rather serious illness or disease if we put our trust in God because He IS in control.

3) Even if it is our time to pass from this world into eternity, we can face death with perfect peace, knowing that we needn’t worry or fear so long as our relationship is right with the Lord Jesus Christ. You (O Lord) will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV) –even unto death

In closing, let me say that I did go through a very difficult and painful ordeal. But true to His word, God used the situation to accomplish something important. For the sake of another’s privacy, I won’t share the details, but suffice it to say that the Lord God used my situation for that person’s benefit. I don’t believe that God puts sickness and disease on His children –He is too loving of a Father for that – but I wholeheartedly believe that He finds opportunity to prove His love through every circumstance of life. Furthermore, every trial you face is just another opportunity for you to see that love.

I have several friends, strong of faith, who are currently enduring difficult physical battles and I see in them the same peace and assurance I experienced –that peace which comes from knowing that God is in control. On the flip side, I have seen several folks who do not know Jesus as Lord, suffer through much anguish and fear through their infirmities.

Let me assure you, God cares about you and He cares about your health. It hurts His heart to see you suffering or hurting no matter who you are. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior, and have never felt His peace, He is just a prayer away. Call out to Him and He will reach down to you.

Postscript: This is my second abnormal mammogram, but I was miraculously healed the first time. You can read about it here:
There’s Nothing There?

Posted in Devotional, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision, Healing | Leave a Comment »

Sinkable? Unthinkable!

March 24, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

Is there any greater tragedy than the loss of human life, especially if that loss could have been prevented? Let’s revisit history for a moment.

The magnificent, “unsinkable” Titanic, the world’s largest passenger steamship of its time, quickly sank into the icy waters of the Atlantic on April 15th, 1912 after its encounter with an iceberg. More than fifteen-hundred lives were lost including those of innocent children. The scars of this devastation were only deepened when it was made known that so many of those lives could have been spared.

Several mistakes had been made, all of which contributed to the profusion of death and destruction –any one of which could have been easily corrected. For example, there weren’t enough lifeboats to accommodate all the people on board, and those lifeboats that were employed were not filled to capacity. There has been a lot written about those various mistakes and what could have –should have– been done differently, but I would prefer to focus for a moment on the heroes instead.

We may not be familiar with their names, but there were many people aboard Titanic that gave their lives in order that others might be saved. The men in the engine room, for example, never abandoned their posts; they worked feverishly to keep the ship afloat as long as possible and keep the lights on so others could find their way to safety.

That is a rather good picture of the church. We’ve seen the news. Our world is being ravaged by turmoil, famine, pestilence and war. These devastations are sweeping over every continent like a tsunami, and people are beginning to drown in the despair of it all. It is our duty, therefore, to keep working till Jesus returns (Luke 19:13) and to keep the gospel light burning in order to give direction to those who are perishing.

According to survivor reports, there was a minister aboard the Titanic who gave his life doing exactly that. After placing his daughter in a lifeboat and saying his final goodbye, Reverend John Harper returned to deck helping “Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!”

Even in his final moments of life, he continued to do God’s work. Once in the icy waters, Reverend Harper swam from person to person searching for the unsaved so that he might lead them to Jesus. His last words before sinking into the ocean’s depths –he had given his life vest to another—was “Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!”

A few years ago, our local science and exploration center hosted a Titanic exhibition. Hollywood may have capitalized on the untimely demise of fifteen-hundred people, but the exhibition humanized it. Until then, it was easy for me to think of the sunken Titanic as just another heart-breaking historical event. But when I placed my hand on the display wall which had been cooled to the temperature of the icy Atlantic waters into which the terrified passengers were plunged, the whole catastrophe became more real to me. I was then able to view the various other displays from an entirely different perspective.

The personal belongings exhibits, for example, were very sobering. The ship’s victims were not just statistics; they were real people. Beyond that, the immeasurable loss of human life seemed all the more grievous when viewing the actual photographs of several passengers. Putting faces to the names of those who died, especially, made everything more relevant.

I thought about the survivors too. How many of these people carried the burden of guilt to their graves? Yes, mistakes were made. But rather than pointing fingers of blame, we should instead learn from those mistakes and not repeat them.

Most of Titanic’s mistakes were made only because it was believed by the vast majority that the Titanic was completely unsinkable. Likewise, many people today think that regardless of isolated global disasters, the world as we know it will never be destroyed. The body of Christ knows better. Scripture foretells what will befall this earth; and we know the destiny of those who do not accept Jesus as their Messiah when it does. These people are, as one old hymn says, “sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore –very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more….”

I ask you again, is there any greater tragedy than the loss of human life, especially if that loss could have been prevented? Absolutely not! To stand-by and let someone perish without trying to save them is unthinkable. I pray that we, the Body of Christ, never become apathetic to the plight of those who are lost.

Like Reverend Harper, we must be diligently about the Father’s business until the very end. The world learned of the Reverend’s unfailing devotion from the testimony of a Titanic survivor. He was floating atop debris when the Reverend swam up to him and asked if he was saved. Not only did the young man reply ‘no,’ he refused the offer of salvation. Reverend Harper then removed his life vest and gave it to the young man. “Then you need this more than I,” he said, and swam to the next person.

Shortly before he sank to his watery grave, the reverend swam back to this young man and offered him one last chance to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior. Deeply touched by Reverend Harper’s act of compassion, the young man softened his heart and accepted Jesus. Of the fifteen-hundred people that went into the icy water, only six were rescued; he was one of them.

I can only imagine how that man must’ve felt the first time he heard the words to the aforementioned hymn, “….But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I. Love lifted me… When nothing else could help, love lifted me.”

I wonder, is it possible that after such a miraculous rescue the man’s faith was sinkable? Unthinkable!

Posted in Devotional, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision, Obedience, Servanthood, Titanic | 1 Comment »

Sour Lemonade

March 10, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

photo credit: Joell Ortiz

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!” Hats off to the clever optimist that first coined that phrase, but I think he forgot something. If you don’t put any sugar in that lemonade it is going to be unbearably sour –what’s the benefit in that? And as we all know, life seldom hands you lemons and sugar at the same time.

Take Tuesday morning for example. I woke up with all those flu-like symptoms that lets you know life will be on hold for the next twenty-four hours or so; no getting out of bed. Then the first call came. “Mom, I’m sick and I have a fever. You need to come get me.”

A short time later my husband called. “Are you sitting down?” he asked. (Don’t you just love phone calls that start like that?) After he told me the reason for his call I felt even sicker. “The car’s ready to be picked up” he said, “but it’s going to cost more than we thought. The bill is one-thousand dollars.” Who would’ve guessed that the car would’ve cracked its head gasket at the same time we were having fifteen-hundred dollars worth of repairs done on the van. Oh well, the car would have to be picked up later, I thought as I crawled back into bed.

My son and I both spent most of the day in one of those deep, illness-induced sleeps so I didn’t have much time to think about all those sour lemons, not that I really wanted to anyway. After several hours I moved out to the couch awaiting my husband’s return. I figured he would want to discuss the household needs for that evening if nothing else, but he didn’t. He simply cared for me then gingerly kissed my forehead. Feeling quite loved at that moment, I drifted off to sleep knowing that he would take care of everything.

Then, a few hours later, I awakened to the sounds of my beloved in the kitchen making dinner. And this was after picking up the car, chauffeuring kids and running a few errands. I figured he would be stressed at best and probably even moody and irritable. But there he was joyfully humming. I strained to hear the tune. Yes, he was definitely humming Be Thou My Vision.

This beautiful Irish hymn was written in the eighth century and later versified in 1905 by Eleanor Hull. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this touching song, the words are as follows:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

His humming was comforting so I put on some music and lay immersed in the lyrics of beautiful hymns. Some of them, like Be Thou My Vision, focused on God himself, others focused on His Word. My body wasn’t healed that very moment but I felt greatly strengthened because:

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)

Scripture also says: How sweet are your words (Lord) to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalm 119:103)

This explains why my husband was joyful and at peace even in the midst of sickness and financial burden. We had been given some pretty sour lemons that day, but he knew that our heavenly Father loved us and that He would take care of everything –and that my friend, is sweet!

Bryan had chosen to turn our lemons into lemonade. That is to say, he made the decision to ensure the expensive repairs were all made so that his family would have safe, dependable vehicles to drive. Then he sweetened that lemonade by focusing his thoughts on the Lord –allowing Him to be his best thought by day or by night. And I’m sure, my husband rested in God’s comforting promise to supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

What about you? Has your lemonade been sour lately? Remember, if you drink sour lemonade –you’ll wear a sour expression. Just a little food drink for thought.

Posted in Contentment, Devotional, Endurance, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision | 2 Comments »

Mostly Dead

March 9, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

Wesley died and all hope with him. His true love would now be forced to marry the disdainful prince and live unhappily ever after, or so it seemed. But as fate would have it, the hero of The Princess Bride was not really dead. He was, we are told, “mostly dead –there’s a big difference between dead and mostly dead!”

Granted, it is easy to sometimes think that some of our hopes and dreams have withered and died. We have probably all faced that at some point. Mark Twain said, “Lord save us all from… a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.” Perhaps he was referencing Proverbs 13:12: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

When I think of that scripture, I think of a natural tree. It remains dormant in the bleakness of winter –its branches bare. However, when spring arrives, the tree bursts forth with abundance. Solomon said:
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Likewise, the fulfillment of hope also arrives at its appointed time.

Always remember, circumstances might be such that hope has seemingly died, but there is a big difference between dead and mostly dead. All it takes to revive hope is one simple prayer. Then, in its proper season, that hope which has been deferred will burst forth with fulfillment.

May we all find comfort in knowing this.

~postcript: The devotional featured above is a sample from my Polished Pearls blog. All of the devotionals on this site are very short nuggets of inspiration. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can click here:
Polished Pearls

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Relative Truth

March 7, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

photo credit: Forbes.com

Have you ever had one of those relatives whose very name made you cringe? Mine was a particular aunt. She always came to visit for a week or so without her family, but boy did I know all about my cousin Kathy even though I had never seen her in person.

Auntie dearest always sang Kathy’s praises
Ad nauseam, and they went something like this:

“Kathy is prettier than you! Kathy is smarter than you! Kathy is the closest thing to an angel this side of heaven.”

Then one day it happened; I finally got to see Kathy.

Laughing out loud would have been rude so I restrained myself and laughed silently. This was Kathy? This was the princess whose beauty could hardly be surpassed? Well, I guess love really is blind.

Kathy wasn’t overly intelligent either. Nor was she more creative, better at cooking, nor anything else I had ever heard about her. In fact, the only attribute in which Kathy seemed to be superior was ego.

After all those years of resenting my “perfect” cousin, I found myself feeling rather sorry for her. She might even have been likeable if she were not so self-centered. To her detriment, she had been conditioned to believe that the world revolved around her and should bow down to her. If Kathy had any natural beauty, I couldn’t see it through her ugly self-exalting (and mother-exalting) vanity.

A great many years have passed since I stepped out of Kathy’s shadow into the light of reality, but I have encountered others very much like her and her mother along the way. I pay them no heed and I certainly don’t allow myself to feel inferior to them no matter how superior they present themselves.

You and I need never compare ourselves to others because our heavenly Father doesn’t. There is no question we are all terribly flawed and markedly lacking, but we are children of the King (of Kings) and as such will one day be perfected.

Furthermore, each of us is special and unique. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light
(I Peter 2:9).

Though we are never to be puffed up in pride because of our heavenly status, we can certainly walk confidently in it. After all, our heavenly Father doesn’t care how brilliant our minds are. He cares only that we love him with our whole heart, soul and mind. And, He is not concerned about our physical appearance. When he looks at us sees only our heart (I Samuel 16:7). God is not even concerned about our ability –He is only interested in our AVAILability.

Satan, on the other hand, forever lost his heavenly status because of his puffed-up, self-exalted pride. No wonder he takes his fierce wrath out on God’s children. This deceiver also has a song that he sings Ad nauseam. Its lyrics go something like this:

“You’re not good enough. You’re not spiritual enough. God can’t use you! Did God really say that?”

If that weren’t enough, Satan wants us to live in the shadow of his child, whose name is condemnation. But the reality is that there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1).

We might have to tolerate some unbearable relatives now and then, but we never have to tolerate the lies of the accuser of the brethren. And that’s the truth!

postscript: Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10) and he is the father of all lies. (John 8:44) In fact, Satan is not really his name, it is his title. In the original Hebrew he is called hasatan, which means the (ha) deceiver (satan).

~ p.s.s. Kathy is not my cousin’s real name. Furthermore, these events took place more than thirty years ago while we were still quite young. We haven’t seen each other since, but I assume that “Kathy” is now a very down-to-earth person and I hope to see her again some day.

Posted in Condemnation, Devotional, Forgiveness, God's Faithfulness, Judgement | Leave a Comment »

God’s Revenge

February 28, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

The man was not home when they came to assassinate him for his faith in Jesus Christ, but his family was. Why they did not kill his wife is uncertain. Perhaps they thought it a far crueler “punishment” to kill his sons and force their mother to watch as they were shot to death by bullets which were far less steely than their own hearts. And so they did just that.

“When will you flee this place?” the woman was asked after this life-shattering tragedy.

“Not until I see God’s revenge on these men,” she answered. “These were my children; I changed their diapers I fed them and nurtured them. I loved them, and I had hopes that they would grow to be pastors or doctors; men who would help our people. And now, their lives have been cut off –they will never grow to be men.”

Concerned, her fellow Christian asked, “What do you mean by God’s revenge? What revenge?”

“I need God’s revenge!” she reiterated. “Please ask the churches to pray God’s revenge on these men that killed my sons — I need to see these men go to Heaven. I want the churches to pray for their salvation!”

Her statements seemed odd to me at first. Then I realized what she meant: our Lord said, Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” (Romans 12:19 NAS). This mother knew that God would avenge her sons’ blood and was therefore seeking mercy on their behalf. She had forgiven those men and prayed that God would as well. Like Jesus upon His cross of crucifixion, she was pleading, ‘Father, forgive them; they know not what they do!’ As I listened to this account of the persecuted church, the Lord spoke to my heart. “Would you – could you –forgive even this?”

I wanted to say, without hesitation, “Yes Lord!” But the truth is, I am not certain whether I could or not. One never knows what they will do in certain situations until faced with it. My childhood and adolescence was excruciatingly painful, yet I learned to completely forgive my tormenters. However, my own experiences pale in comparison to those of the persecuted church in other lands. How would I handle this kind of agony – the cold-blooded murder of my precious children? Could I truly forgive and ask that God’s revenge for them be salvation and eternal life in Heaven for their murderers? I pray so.

Then, I listened intently to the speaker’s own powerful testimony. He was born and raised in the same hate-riddled part of the world as this woman was. In fact, it was he who encouraged her to flee. He managed to do so himself, but not until he was imprisoned five times and inflicted with such inhumane tortures as being hung upside down, beaten with metal cable, and having boiling oil poured on his feet.

Yet he more than forgave –he learned to see them through God’s eyes and love them as He does! For the past thirty-plus years of his life, this man has been involved with an evangelistic ministry and continues to minister to the people in and around his homeland – even those barbaric non-believers who torture and kill Christians.

As he recounted his own sufferings, I couldn’t help but smile every time he said, “We must continue to have the faith of Jesus!” You see, with his still-thick accent, he pronounced the word faith as ‘face.’

Yes, my brother, we desperately need the face of Jesus! I was reminded, as he spoke, of Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

It is only by the grace of God, by His countenance upon us, that we can ever find healing for a heart that has been shattered. It is only by forgiveness that we can find true peace. And it is only by loving our enemies that we can pray with utmost sincerity, ‘Forgive them Father; they know what they do.’

May we, the body of Christ, never forget to pray daily for the persecuted church AND for those who persecute us!

Posted in Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Emotional Healing, Endurance, Faith, Forgiveness, Healing, Long-suffering, Persecution, Servanthood | Leave a Comment »

Tasteless Fruit

February 23, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

About the only time I experience the manly phenomenon of being “compartmentalized” is when I am in cleaning mode. I’m not talking about the fifth round of counter wiping and floor sweeping. Rather, I mean the all-out offensive war on grime.

Some of you women know what I’m talking about. When in that mode, we rigorously clean and sanitize everything in sight including the dog if it gets in the way. We are focused!

My son once caught me in the middle of one of those cleaning sprees and asked if he could have one of the apples on the table. They were wooden apples and he knew it, so this was obviously his cute little attempt to pull one over on mom while she was preoccupied. And he did.

“Go for it” I said, calling his bluff.

I stopped scrubbing sticky stuff long enough to watch him bite off a big chunk and chew on it with glee. Normally his ear-to-ear grin would have given him away instantly, but I was focused. It took a short while for my brain to process the fact that he had earlier switched the fake apple for a real one.

Having succeeded in his endeavor to make me laugh, he really enjoyed that apple and I’m glad he did! After all, he gets his sense of humor from his mama so what can I say?

Today was kind of the opposite. I picked a nicely colored apple –a real one — and bit into it expecting the sweet flavor of apple. I might as well have bit into one of those wooden look-alikes though, because it probably tasted about the same. Even caramel wouldn’t have helped this one.

Oddly, the same kind of thing happened this past week. While grocery shopping, I noted how paltry all of the produce looked. Nevertheless, the nectarines looked pleasing enough so I bought one to nibble on while making dinner. What a disappointment! When I bit into that pitiful thing there was zero taste. None!

I said to my husband, “Well, they finally did it; they managed to geneticallly engineer something which resembles fruit –but they forgot to give it any flavor.” He took one bite and realized I was not exaggerating the least bit. Then, wanting to check-out this peculiarity for himself, my youngest son took a bite. Even his taste buds manifested their confusion through the expression on his face as he tossed the remainder of the ‘nectarine’ into the trash.

Later that evening, I was thinking about that flavorless piece of ‘fruit’ and bemoaned the fact that I haven’t enjoyed a really good apple, pear or peach for many years. certain types of fruit have retained some of their flavor but certainly not all.

Then it hit me! Is any of my spiritual fruit tasteless? The fruit of the spirit, according to the fifth chapter of Galatians, are these:

Love * Joy * Peace * Patience * Kindness * Goodness * Faithfulness
* Gentleness *Self-control

Notice these nine attributes of fruit, according to scripture, are singular. This is significant. If someone is living according to God’s word, they shouldn’t exhibit only some of these attributes in their lives–they should exhibit them all.

I truly desire that my own fruit basket be overflowing with every one of the tasty, nutritious fruit of the Spirit. But truthfully, I have to admit that some of my fruit is less flavorful than others. I trust that none of my fruit may be likened to a wooden decoration but even so, real fruit is of little value to others if it is merely a tasteless hybrid.

Heaven forbid that any person every be confused by my testimony of faith because they realize that the fruit I attempt to share has absolutely no flavor. But how do I ensure that my fruit is really good?

First, I am willing to confess to myself, and to you, that some of my fruit is not fully ripe. Therefore, I ask my heavenly Father often that He cultivate me in whichever way He sees fit until my fruit is all HE desires it to be. Once it is, I must be willing to share my fruit with everyone I encounter. After all, fruit is meant to be consumed not merely displayed. The more fruit we share with others, the more they can see God’s goodness –that should be our focus.

My son’s fun little prank helped me learn an important lesson that day. We should all honestly examine our own fruit baskets to see if the fruit is real or artificial. After all, when someone comes to us expecting to find tasty, nutritious fruit, we don’t want them biting into wood.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:8)

Posted in Devotional, Fruit of the Spirit, Long-suffering, Love, Meekness, Servanthood | 2 Comments »

Peanut Butter and Jellyfish

February 15, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

Photo Credit: yhsBiology

What do peanut butter and jellyfish have to do with each other? Nothing really, but I thought it made for a catchy title. Although, people do eat jellyfish –even here in the good ole U.S.A. –but I cannot imagine why. I’ll just take God’s word for it that jellyfish is not food and steer clear of it altogether!

I have had jellyfish on my mind ever since I read a really fascinating article in the Smithsonian 40th Anniversary edition magazine entitled The New King of the Sea by Abigail Tucker. She starts by reporting that 40 million people lost their power in the Philippines in December,1999 because “Some 50 dump trucks’ worth (of jellyfish) had been sucked into the cooling pipes of a coal-fired power plant, causing a cascading power failure.”

Jellyfish, it seems, are becoming so prolific that they are literally taking over the oceans. I couldn’t help but think back to my high school days when the term jellyfish was the popular dig to taunt a coward. But there weren’t too many jellyfish in high school. Back then you never heard reports of the oceans’ “Jellyfish Gone Wild” either (National Science Foundation Report 2008).

There are many theories as to why the oceans are now teeming with jellyfish to the point that the waters are no longer safe and these mobs have become unmanageable. The most logical explanation seems to be the ever-increasing pollution of the waters which cause ‘dead zones.’ Most marine life cannot live in a dead zone but jellyfish can thrive there. Sadly, the number of coastal dead zones, according to Tucker, has doubled every decade since the 1960’s.

After reading the magazine article, I couldn’t help but compare myself to a jellyfish during the days of my life before Christ. Not just because I was afraid of my own shadow, but because I fit the general description of a jellyfish. These creatures are not only boneless, they are also brainless. They don’t think about where they are going but rather drift aimlessly at the mercy of the currents and simply survive. Yes, I was a jellyfish, living in a dead zone.

But Jesus said I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10). I am living proof that He does just that. The very moment I accepted Him and His free gift of salvation, he changed me forever. And if He did that for me, He can certainly do it for you as well.

However, too many people today –those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior — are frustrated and frightened. They are watching helplessly as our world plummets into the depths of despair and becomes more unmanageable all the time. And they, like jellyfish, seem to be drifting aimlessly without hope, without courage. But we have the answers to the problems they face and it is our responsibility to share them.

Now, more than ever, the world needs to find the house of God in order and free of this world’s pollution. The Bible speaks metaphorically of people being a ‘sea.’ But much of the sea is polluted and therefore the spiritual dead zones are multiplying just like the physical ones are.

That is why God’s people have been commissioned to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

Real jellyfish cannot ever be anything but jellyfish; they will never be more than a dangerous nuisance or a piece of sushi on someone’s plate. People, on the other hand, can most assuredly become a new creation.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tucker stated that “Jellyfish reproduce and move into new niches so rapidly that even within 40 years, some experts predict “regime shifts” in which jellyfish assume dominance in one marine ecosystem after another.”

Sadly, we are beginning to see regime shifts in America as well and we will lose our power if we are not careful. We used to be a Christian nation that sent missionaries to foreign countries to preach the gospel. To our shame, missionaries are now coming to America to preach the gospel to us. We must never let down on our foreign missions endeavors, but we must also march boldly into America’s dead zones and reclaim them for Jesus Christ!

The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37 NIV). Let’s go round-up some jellyfish but rather than eating them, let’s feed them the words of life so Jesus Christ can make them into a new creation. Who’s with me?

footnote: Tucker, Abigail. The New King of the Sea. Smithsonian magazine, 40th Anniversary edition. July/Aug 2010
photo at http://yhsbiology.wikispaces.com/Scyphozoa
~~For those of you who are interested in nature, the article is very informative and well-written; the website is a wonderful resource to learn about jellyfish.

Posted in Bread of Life, Devotional, Faith, Guidance, Obedience, Religion, Servanthood | 2 Comments »

“Self, I said…”

February 10, 2011 by Susan Shimkovitz © 2010 - 2021

Genevieve was without a doubt one of the most eccentric characters I had ever met. This Seventy–year-old woman would frequently recount details of her past exploits, which were every bit as strange as she. Every now and then she would tuck tufts of bleached-blonde hair back into the nest piled atop her head then gently reshape it. Heaven forbid she should recap an adventure without looking as august as possible.

There was nothing stately about her voice though; it grated on me. She spoke with the hoarse voice of a smoker and her laugh was just as raspy. Even so, her stories always amused me, especially the parts in which she began with the words “I said to myself –Self, I said…”

At this point she always waved her quellazaire slightly as though she were a Hollywood celebrity. I never actually saw her inhale smoke from the thin brown cigarette it held, but I must admit, this little ploy did add to the dramatic effect and held my attention. I was always interested to hear what she said to herself and how those words impacted the decisions she made in the midst of her then current exploit.

Truth be known, I never considered her talking to herself to be one of her eccentricities. I do it all the time. (I even answer myself, but don’t tell anyone). It’s true I occasionally mumble to myself about trivial stuff but mostly I encourage myself in the Lord. Hey, King David did that, so I figure I am in pretty good company (I Sam 30:6).

There is little doubt the Apostle Paul did too. In fact, he told us to be filled with the Holy Spirit — Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19). He goes on to say that we should always be giving thanks. Elsewhere, he says to rejoice always. I don’t know about you but I do a lot of that out loud.

The general populace might think I’m a bit crazy but I’m not always talking to them anyway so what does it matter? Sometimes I am talking about them though. For example, “Bless that person Lord,” or “Praise God, it is so good to see someone with such good manners in our day and age!” They don’t usually seem to mind that sort of thing.

Let’s not forget that the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life (Proverbs 10:11). That being the case, perhaps we should all talk to ourselves (and to others) a bit more. We should be reminding ourselves constantly about what God’s word has to say. After all, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17).

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “All truly wise thoughts have been thought thousands of times; But to make them truly ours we must think them over again honestly (and long enough), until they take root in our personal experience.”

I don’t know about you but I learn the written word best by hearing it, which is why I read my Bible out loud and/or listen to the Bible on cassette. I even pray better out loud. I agree with von Goethe’s statement though I prefer to hear what I am thinking.

You should try it sometime. These days you don’t even have to feel like a nut to do so. If you are in public and a scripture or a prayer comes to mind, don’t be afraid to say it out loud, people will just think you are talking on some kind of hands-free device or something anyway. I do recommend, however, that you not answer yourself in public — that might draw a stare or two.

Finally, here is a fun little perk for you to try the next time someone asks you something like, “That must’ve been awful. How did you manage to get through it?” Look them straight in the eye, smile and say “I said to myself –Self, I said….”

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, Spiritual Strength | 1 Comment »

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