Laura Mullenix - writer, speaker, women's ministry

Hello, dear friends! I'm going to be compiling some of my devotions for a book to come out, Lord willing, in time for Christmas. I will be using the series of Real People in the Bible, and how their stories affect our stories. They will include men and women in all walks of life.

I need a name for it. I would like to give a prize away, so let me say this - if I use your suggestion, I will give you 5 free books. Let me know what you think of this idea. It will take some work. The devotions are written, many of you have received them, but editing them for a book will be a different matter.
(Picture included simply helps this post go further, for some reason and FEEL FREE TO SHARE!)

Evening thoughts: As I was reading Scripture this morning, Stephen’s words in Acts 7 hit me again. I’ve thought about this passage oodles of times, but here we see once more that heart change is required.

Following and obeying Christ is easier now because the Holy Spirit lives in us once we accept Jesus and are baptized. He empowers us to live for God. However, it also becomes more challenging because Jesus requires heart change. Our flesh battles inside of us, and we have an Enemy who wants to destroy us.

No longer is it adequate to please God by what we “DO” per se. In other words, just going to church, doing good deeds, and being nice is not enough. We’re called to change the core of our beings.

Not committing adultery on the outside might be easy for some, but how difficult is it to stay away from lusting?

Most of us wouldn’t even think about murdering someone. In fact, we might be able to trudge our way through with people we don’t like by smiling and being nice for a little bit, maybe even a few hours. On the other hand, we sin if we continue to hold onto bitterness or if we refuse to love. The smiles on our faces and the cordial greetings mean nothing to Jesus. He requires fervent love from our hearts. Without that sincere love, we are no better than murderers. That can be a tough pill to swallow.

By the way, hate described in Scripture is not always vitriolic. It can be as simple as considering someone less or not esteeming them. Jealousy may eat us alive inside as we appear good on the outside.

We may not harm someone physically, but are we honoring them? For example, our mothers and fathers? Are we following the precepts of Jesus Christ? “Honor (esteem, value as precious) your father and mother (and be respectful to them) – this is the first commandment with a promise.” (Amplified)

As Stephen put it, circumcision is no longer a matter of outward circumcision but that of our hearts.

Our hearts must change. God searches our hearts, and Psalm 139 gives us a great prayer, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Our Father is safe…We can allow Him to search our hearts with complete assurance that He will lovingly tend to them.

Good morning! Here's the insidiousness of Satan, and unless you are aware of spiritual warfare, you may not understand it, but maybe this will help. I had a breakthrough in something in my life....a shame I've carried for years, but it keeps getting reopened by accusations from others, nebulous things that attack my person and are cruel but nothing specific.

I had this breakthrough during worship Sunday morning, and almost leaned over to Tom to say I had just turned a corner, but I didn't want to disturb what the Holy Spirit was doing in my heart.

Now, I know the enemy well enough to know he wasn't going to leave this alone, and sure enough, he didn't.

Satan is the "accuser of our brothers" (Revelation 12) and he will stop at nothing to destroy us. For some reason (think Job in the Old Testament), he seems to pick on some more than others. I don't know why...I wouldn't even venture to guess, but I've lived my life and I know what I've experienced. Shaming and rejection are his greatest tools with me.

I'm just here to testify that he won't win over me, no matter what. I thank God that I have a loving husband, whom God gave me specifically as I prayed for a father for my child. I praise God for some friends God has put in my life and just last night, I was messaging with some who are excited for us about an upcoming trip. Friends who encourage me, build me up and defend me in Christ.

I'm here to testify that Jesus died for me, that He has made me a beautiful woman of His, and I will keep on loving and living and being me in the Lord.

I am a simple person, but I have feelings, and it amazes me how that simplicity has touched others. I don't have eloquent words to speak, wealth to impress, beauty to wow, or anything the world offers...just me.

Jesus raised me out of a pit of destructive behavior, but God. I should have had no hope, but God. I should be … so many things, but Jesus Christ redeemed me, and I’m His daughter, and that shame is gone. Jesus took it.

Finally, the pain of rejection and shame has given me empathy toward others I wouldn’t have. Has it been fun? No. Did God do it? No, but He allowed it to shape me and form me into the loving person I am. Having said that, I have been working on setting boundaries toward those who inflict judgment by means of rejection and shaming. It’s taken me a long time to realize that I am a wonderful creation of God (Psalm 139), and how dare I believe lies.”

Friend, you can’t “outsin” God, you can’t shock Him, He knows everything about you. You are loved and He showed that love on that cross…all we must do is receive it, repent and turn to Him. When we’re baptized, our sins are washed away, we are raise to new life with Him. It’s not difficult, but it does mean giving up our will and I realize that is a hard thing.

As Paul said, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…”

Good morning! Next week we look at the God's characteristic of being loving.

Magnificent Ways We Share in God's Glory!

I felt like this was so important, I wanted to share it with everyone I could. If you're interested in my devotional studies, please contact me. I chose the picture because it's reflecting the sun. We reflect God's glory.

Recently, I was reading in 2nd Corinthians 3-5. We’ve probably all had it happen – when something suddenly jumps out at us that we never saw before, and powerfully impacts us.

In chapter 3, Paul describes the differences between the glory of the new covenant compared to that of the old. He states in verses 8 and 9, “Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!” (NLT) AND…verses 10 and 11, “In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way.”

Follow through with me – Paul writes to Christians in verse 18 of how we reflect God’s splendor! It can be a mind-boggling thought, so ask God to help you take it in. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

When we look at Who Jesus is and become more like Him, His fullness is seen in us more and more. When we are transformed by Him, people notice, it’s impossible to hide. AND THIS – is more glorious than what Moses experienced. People…I pray we can understand this truth. If you have trouble understanding it, take a few minutes to read Exodus 33:15-23, and compare it to the verses above.

There’s another truth that sometimes is confusing. Keep in mind something I have said repeatedly: God often does not make sense (as we know it), but we should be glad about that! One would think that we would need to be perfect for Him to magnificently show Himself, but no. Even though God’s word leaves no room for us to remain unchanged, He still uses imperfect people. He also makes it quite clear that He is our glory, and we are simply fragile vessels. It’s a beautiful cycle of love, redemption, and obedience. Paul continues:

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God…”

We know what we are, with our failures, weaknesses, and inconsistencies. We live with our own day-to-day struggles of trusting or living out God’s precepts. We battle certain sins or indifferent attitudes we might have, and though we are often victorious, there are times we are not.

I am good at beating myself up. I know I shouldn’t, but the expectations I have for myself are far more stringent than for anyone else, to the point of being self-condemning. Paul addresses this in chapter 4. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay…” (we are the clay jars).

Do you know what a clay pot is? It’s a pot that’s been baked from dirt. Plain, breaks easily, and is often ugly. However, when it holds beautiful flowers, it becomes a significant vessel. Like those pots, we are fragile and weak. We break easily and often aren’t pretty, and yet we hold the greatest and most beautiful treasure of all – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Is it not mind-boggling to think that God chose this method, us, to give the greatest gift of all to the world?

Just a self-note to share with you: I struggle with depression, and it has drawn the ire of many Christians. I have prayed, given it to God, and begged for deliverance, and yet God seems to answer me as He did Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I cannot tell you how many people I have helped because of this “weakness. I’ve had a ministry to women with a focus on pastors’ wives for 20 years. It boggles my mind that God could even use me at times. But He has been my glory for over 50 years.

God shines through in what the world calls foolishness and weakness.

God's Wisdom Through The Foolishness of Man

I know I probably have many friends who will disagree with me, but I’m sticking with God’s word. His love does not condone evil. We’re in a month of pure evil from the world.

Sin is almost a taboo subject, even in the Christian world. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied,” but too many Christians believe it’s more loving to allow sinners to wallow in their unrighteousness. Grace and mercy have been used to the point that they mean “anything goes.”

We preach tolerance and acceptance but relinquish God’s word in Hebrews, “Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.”

We mercy and grace people to death, and want them to believe it’s all about them, and it’s easy. That’s a lie. Many refuse to tell any sinner (you, me, anyone) that there is true life in Jesus Christ, Who said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

“Come as you are,” has taken over the command of “Go, and sin no more,” and “ And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Stop playing around with the world, and its pleasures. John warns us in 1 John 2, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

My heart breaks for our country, but my heart breaks even more for our churches and Christians who are accepting and adopting the lies.

WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS CURRENT TURMOIL IN OUR COUNTRY? WHERE DO WE TURN? WHAT DIRECTION SHOULD WE TAKE?

King David walked this path many years ago, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - he poured out his heart for us to listen and think along with him.

There is a specific type of person that God is particularly close to - one who the Lord is willing to guide - a person who fears God. Taking God Seriously opens the door for a deep relationship with the Creator of the Universe. (Covenant refers to a committed relationship based on loyalty).

Schedule some time to focus on Psalm 25. Absorb its ups and downs and walk away with this truth... Our God wants to be very involved in the lives of those who humbly Take Him Seriously.

It is heartbreaking to watch our society melt down morally. What can we do? Step One - Take God Seriously. Then find others of like mind.

If you agree with the concepts of this post, please join the "holy relay" and share it. Those who fear God need to get off the sidelines and get involved.

Joplin, Missouri...Tornado and My Picture

I can't think of one woman in Scripture who had it easy. It's NOT a matter of putting on your big girl panties and being tough, it IS to BE STRONG IN THE LORD, ladies. Don't minimize the strength of God with something so silly.

Many people choose words or Scriptures for a new year, and I often wonder how they're doing with that mid-term. No judgement. I think it’s wise to recalibrate at times, but it’s super easy to get caught up in the craziness of life and even forget those things on which we resolved to focus.

I have been camping with “Speak Truth” lately. As soon as I say that, someone else will chime in with, “But you have to be careful and do it in love.” It’s like Love and Truth can’t co-exist, when, in fact, they can’t operate separately. At least in God’s world they cannot.

If we speak Biblical Truth, according to how God wants us to, it will be bathed in love. AND, if we love people, we will want them to know Truth, because Jesus is the True Life, He is Truth and He sets us free.

You’ve heard the analogy but for simplicity’s sake, consider this: You can take a fish out of the water and place it on the beautiful grass, with crisp clean air all around it, and say, “Here, enjoy this wonderful grace of air and beauty,” but we all know the fish will die, and die soon. What about that grace? That which was not truth, but a lie that the fish would be better off out of the water, will kill the fish. So it is with us.

Satan lies to us and tells us that we can enjoy God’s grace in the beautiful worldly environment (sin) because God’s grace will save us. First, as I said, this is a lie straight from Satan. He twists the Scriptures (Truth) to have us believe we can live in sin but jump back into the water of God’s grace anytime we want.

Titus 2:11-14 gives us a clear picture of how God’s grace operates. It instructs us to leave sin, to live righteously and to hope in the coming of Christ. Jesus gave Himself and died for us, to purify us that we would live for Him. His grace is the beautiful water in which we live, the Living Water of Jesus Christ, His laws, precepts, and love. They all go together.

God set parameters, precepts, laws…first for His glory, and secondly for our good. We want all things to, “work together for our good,” but we must be in a place that can happen. And that is in the middle of His will…not our own.

Hebrews 10 warns us concerning trampling underfoot the Son of God and insulting the Spirit of grace. “How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

If you’ve read this far, I go back to “Speak Truth.” This is my mantra for now, “Boldly speak truth in love, but speak truth!”

God Bless The U.S.A
Grab your coffee…this got a little long. I know many write long eloquent words concerning this, these are just some of my thoughts.

Ronald Reagan spoke the words, “If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under.”

Similarly, Abraham Lincoln said, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”

More importantly, consider God’s words and precepts from the Psalms. “The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not rescued by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who wait for His faithfulness.”

It seems that Christians have done a pendulum swing from the hell, fire and brimstone preaching years ago. Who has it right? God does. We avoid using the word “fear” because we want to believe that God is just a loving God. We forget that God, in all His wisdom and glory, can require fear of Him, while loving us at the same time. They not only co-exist, they feed one another. We have reduced the Holy One to a god of our choosing, with our finite and simple minds.

John Newton wrote it well in his beautiful song, “Amazing Grace.” One verse sings, “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.”

The only way I can describe it in personal testimony is this – when I was deep in sin and had a frightening experience, I was scared to death of facing God in my sin. I knew if I didn’t change, I would die. and I might possibly go to hell. That fear turned me to God. It was at that moment I faced His love and mercy. When we study these 2 precepts of God (Fear and Love), we come to understand how they do co-exist. I can only say that it’s a miraculous spiritual experience. It’s one of His oxymorons that is difficult to explain until we experience it. These 2 traits of God are life-giving and give us purpose.

My husband wrote about the fear of God every day in the month of June, and He could have written more. The fear of God is all through Scripture. Some might reconcile that by labeling “fear” with “reverence.” Unfortunately, as Tom has said over and over, we don’t even understand reverence anymore.

Back to God blessing the U.S.A. Consider God’s words in Psalm 67:7, “God blesses us, so that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”

We consider being blessed as with immediate, good and tangible things. We forget that God’s blessing can come in the form of discipline and hardships. In fact, these are huge blessings, as many times they are where we find God the most…in the valleys. Our greatest blessing is to know Jesus Christ.

There was a time that the United States led the world in sending missionaries. Our money was respected all over the world. People wanted to hear from Americans. We had a platform and could use our voice, time, and money for the Lord. We were blessed, and much of the earth feared God because of our godliness.

My prayer is that God would bless us once again with fear of Him, holiness, and righteousness, so that we might in turn might be blessed with His saving grace, and take that blessing to others.

Have you ever trusted someone, or had a friend you confided in, who turned on you and you feared that some of your deepest and darkest secrets would be exposed? How did you feel when they betrayed you? Or has someone simply discarded you because they found something in you they didn't like. Perhaps they went on to "greener pastures." There are many scenarios I could describe but you get the picture.

There is ONE, dear friends....ONE Whom you can trust implicitly. Psalm 62 is a beautiful Psalm of a Father Who can be everything we need. In fact, He wants it that way. It doesn’t mean we’re not to care about others because all the letters to the churches and Christians show us that God intends for the church to be a safe, abiding place for us as His children. However, we all know that people are fickle at best, and sometimes imperfect to the point that we can’t trust them. Family can disappoint us also, or even reject us.

God wants to be our All. In Psalm 62 we find: “My soul waits in silence for God alone;
From Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken…For my hope is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my refuge; I will not be shaken. My salvation and my glory rest on God; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.”

Get the picture? He is everything we need. When the world turns on us, when friends we thought we could trust betray us, when family rejects us….HE is there. HE is everything. HE is the One we will find this kind of assurance, Psalm 62 goes on with, “…Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us.”

When He says , “Pour out your hearts before Him,” He means it. All the good, bad, ugly, praise, disappointment, complaints, pain, joys, and thanksgiving. ALL of it. Pour it out with tears, with glee, with trust to a Father Who loves you and wants you to come to Him. He’s done everything we need. Jesus died for our sins and bids us come to Him. Our Father holds our tears in a bottle. He will cleanse us from unrighteousness. Sin is serious, but there is One Who wants us to love Him, fear Him, and abide in Him. Seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? But until you have faith and experience it, it doesn’t make sense. That’s our God.

HE WILL meet you there.

I had a dream about my Mother last night. The first one since she went HOME, and that was 13 years ago. Goodness, I can't believe it's been that long. Well, as you know (if you've followed me long) it doesn't take much to put me in a reflective, and sometimes melancholy, mood. It was a good dream, but I can't remember most of it. It has made me focus on the brevity of life. I know, I know - here we go again, right? Well, a childhood kid that I used to play war with when I was a little girl (and I always had to be the German :) ), died this week and he was 3 years younger than I am. I lost one of my best friends almost 3 years ago, she was about 65 (2 years younger than I am now). Our graduating class has lost so many from it. I don't know the number but I know it's high in comparison to many at this point.

The point of this isn't that so many have passed away, or that I miss them, but that so much time gets lost and wasted in life by unforgiveness, grudges, personality conflicts, refusal to care about others, and more. So. Much. Time. And then, all of a sudden there is very little or no time left. Grandchildren are left with no memories, regrets plaque minds, and hearts wrestle with the, "I wish I had..."

I don't know the solution to this, because it's been a dilemma since the first bite. I've heard many people say these same sentiments at the end of their lives. Yet, life goes on, grudges continue, indifference fills hearts, bitterness ensues, loneliness builds, and the results are broken marriages, families....and hearts. Hearts get broken. That is so sad to me.

How do we fix it? The answer has been around for thousands of years - turn to God. Allow Him to soften our hearts, give us the strength to overlook things, and to love once again.

Family brokenness is the worst thing there is in life. Family unity is the best.

Friendships bonded, especially in Jesus, are the next best thing. Proverbs tells us that it is to a person's glory to overlook an offense.

Don't let time be wasted anymore. Love. I know it sounds so simple but I know it's hard sometimes.

We live in a hurting world, and there’s a lot of pain. I’ve struggled a great deal in my life, and have plenty of hurts, some that I carry even now. I was thinking today of how to help one another. These are just some of my thoughts, but I do believe I’ve had a lot of experience in helping others, listening, caring and leading others to the throne of grace. So, here goes and feel free to share:

Go ahead…ask the questions. Ask how people are doing in their tough situations.

One of the main reasons I hear that people don’t ask more is they don’t want to upset the other person or bring it up if they’re not thinking about it.

I speak for myself, but I believe many others as well. If I’m going through a very difficult situation or have a problem; if I’m feeling rejected by someone, or someone I love has died, or I’ve lost my job…or whatever – I AM thinking about it. To have others not ask makes me think they don’t care about me, and that just adds to the pain and my hurt.

Here are some ways to care:

Ask. Care. Listen. Love. Forgive.

Preface your asking with, “Please don’t feel like you have to talk about it, but how are you doing with____?” Give them time to respond because so few people ask and really want to hear. Be prepared to listen, because listening has become a lost art and I’ve had the most reserved introverts open up for hours at a time because someone cares, when it’s just the two of us.

Be a safe place when you ask what seems like awkward questions. Tell them you won’t talk to others about it…and keep your word!

Be a safe place…and don’t judge! When people are going through difficult times, or grieving, anger is a natural emotion. Language may slip out, or they may exhibit anger – perhaps even at you!

Be a safe place…and be prepared to hear secrets of their own doing, or of families, or anything else. Pain drops guards and inhibitions, and people may share things of a personal nature.

Be a safe place…and don’t offer advice or ask if they’ve prayed about it or give trite answers or cliches.

• If their loved one was a Christian, they know they’re in heaven. The problem is – they’re not with them.
• If they’re hurting in any way, they don’t need to hear that God is in control. They know He is there and all they need to ask is for help, blah, blah, blah. God may want YOU to help by just being with them, letting them talk, and caring. (I don’t know how many people have sent me books to fix me).
• PLEASE do not tell them God has a plan. First, they don’t need or want to hear that at the moment. They just hurt. Those types of answers are harsh. In fact, death is an enemy.
• DOUBLE PLEASE – do NOT tell them to quit having a pity party. Let me ask…do you see that phrase anywhere in Scripture? Is it in any of the accounts of how Jesus cared for people. That’s double cruel.
• ALSO, PLEASE – do not talk about God’s timing. For example, if someone is rejecting them, or needs to come to the Lord, or repent – NOW is the day that person needs to change and quit hurting them. God will take care of the timing…we don’t need to remind anyone.

One thing that I’ve always thought would help me, but has rarely happened, is for someone to say, “No matter how long it takes, I’m going to be here with you, believe in you, and pray that the situation changes,” “It doesn’t matter what you ever do, I will always love you.”

Please share, and follow this page for more updates. I'm pleased to announce the dates for the next BethNuah Ministries retreat for pastors' wives, to be held in Branson, Missouri, January 23rd - 26th, 2023. These 3 night retreats are offered AT NO COST to pastors' wives. They include private accommodations, meals, retreat material, personal sessions with me, group time, plenty of time to spend with the Lord and also opportunities to get to know other pastors' wives in sweet fellowship. You will be loved and cared for. I receive registrations and these are offered on a first-come/first-serve basis, with need taken into consideration. Feel free to contact me with questions you might have. The registration form is found on my website. www.bethnuahministries.com.

https://mailchi.mp/3203a418ce86/a-devotion-from-laura-mullenix-16240876

Hold On and Trust, My Dear Friends

Psalm 23 is a beautiful picture of God's loving care.

Our Shepherd, Bummer Lambs and God's Faithfulness