RESTORATION BEFORE COMMISSION

By Suzane Avadiar | @suzaneavadiar

On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Peter struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. Despite knowing the horrific events that awaited Him that night, Jesus FIRST took the time to reach out to heal and restore the servant's ear and reprimanded Peter for his action (Luke 22:50-51).

Truth be told, Jesus had a bigger fish to fry that night. He was just hours away from fulfilling His biggest Commissions – to complete what He was sent to do. The night was just getting started for Him but Jesus always did what He saw His Father do (John 5:19).

Even in the midst of conflict and turmoil, God will always restore relationships and heal wounds; that is simply the kind of Father He is. That is how important restoration is to God.

It is never God's will to bring His plans and purposes to pass by creating discord because He believes in unity and love.

We cannot effectively accomplish God’s work with fractured relationships all around us or when our soul is bruised. That is why God spends time working in us, as much as around us, before He sends us out to accomplish His work.

Restoration before Commission.

There are times when I have looked back at my life and wonder if I will ever regain all that I’ve lost… All those years robbed by disappointments, loss, bad choices, rebellion, pain… All those years that I spent fruitless and away from God…

But, in Joel 2:25, God promises: “I will restore the years that the locust has eaten.” It’s a powerful promise made to His people, who suffered a complete destruction of their harvest to swarming locusts, and I believe that our lost years are not unlike those “locust years” in the Old Testament.

God did indeed restore their loss - over and in abundance. He reminded his people He was in their midst and said, “I am the Lord your God” - Joel 2:27.

That's who God is; He can use every destruction in our life and turn it around because "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" - Romans 8:28

Psalm 23:2-3 says “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

It is God who finds us the green pastures to lie on and it is He who gives us the peace of the Holy Spirit. When God begins to restore our soul, He does not want to merely piece us back together again.

God wants us restored and transformed inside out so we begin to live a life that mirrors Jesus Christ.

It is for this reason that God never gives up on any of His children. He will lead each of us away from our prodigal paths and back to Him - restored to be holy and righteous as He made us.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). His invitation is for ALL of us to come to Him. That invitation is found repeatedly throughout scripture.

Why is God always coaxing His children to come closer? Because above all, He wants to first restore the intimacy that was lost in the garden.

God wants to walk shoulder to shoulder with all His children again, just as Adam once did. The key to this restoration happens in the quiet; simply “draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” [James 4:8].

It is only when our intimacy with God is restored can we fully step into what He has called us to do. We cannot fulfill our commission without God leading the way.

Restoration before Commission.

Jesus died so that we can have intimacy with God again. When He died on the cross, the veil was torn and the intimacy, which was stolen from us because of sin, was restored.

Initimacy with God is your portion. You belong to God. You were created to walk closely with Him, as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

Nothing “can seperate you from the love of God that is in Christ” (Romans 8:38) so it’s time to claim back your inheritance!

Restore that Perfect Fellowship; He’s longing for YOU!

Suzane Avadiar is a writer, blogger and avid traveller from Malaysia. Over the last 18 years, she has written extensively for various publications in the global marketplace. Writing is not only her passion but also her instrument of worship. 

Suzane has a deep desire to reveal the Father’s heart through her writings so that every reader cultivates a deeper intimacy with Jesus and steps into their God-given identity. She believes Intimacy strengthens Identity! 

Suzane also writes devotions on social media for her church, Destiny C3 Subang. She recently completed her first book, Sent To Journey – Devotions for the Traveller, and is pursuing publishing opportunities. Contact Suzane through her website at www.suzaneavadiar.com or on her Facebook page.

Restore, recycle, let go.

On my recent trip to Europe I was reminded again of a concept I often wrestle with.        What to hold on to, maintain, restore, and what to let go of?                                                     

We saw so many amazing buildings throughout Europe, as I know others have done. Many travellers comment about seeing too many castles, churches, fortifications and palaces. Some are just ruins, left as reminders of past times, or restored in part so tourists can see and experience some of the history and see the architecture. Some have been restored and are being used as hotels, youth hostels, guest houses. Some are maintained at enormous cost, and have mostly become tourist attractions. Money raised from visitors is used to repair and restore. The amount of gold, marble and art works in some of these is mind bending. Some beautiful churches are still used for worship, which was wonderful to see, even though so much of the church’s resources still goes towards maintaining the buildings and icons. Many palaces and other lavish buildings have become museums; housing extravagant artworks, statues and furnishings from past eras.

I was torn between admiring the beautiful artistic works and architecture, and being appalled at the extravagant expenditure, both originally and presently, to maintain some of these structures. No matter how beautiful, they spoke mostly of wealth and power, of times past and priorities which are questioned in today’s society. It was interesting to hear some of our fellow traveller’s discussing how the money used to maintain and restore these structures would be better used to care for the needy or simply to improve the utilities and services for the local communities.

So what to do? Let the buildings fall down? Strip out the useful elements and recycle? Turn them into more useful structures? Keep using a huge proportion of resources to maintain them and charge the tourists highly for the privilege of gaping. I’m sure there must be such discussions at local council meetings if not at higher government levels.

I was almost amused to come home and hear the news that there’s a campaign to save the Melbourne Palais Theatre which needs 32 million dollars spent on it. Is this an appreciation of Australian’s history? Or nostalgia? Or is this just more resistance to change and reluctance to let go of anything that links us to our past or represents our achievements?

 

These reflection took me to my own values. What in my life has become an icon of the past, but too costly, or no longer useful, or even safe? How am I maintaining my real treasures and do I regularly examine the relevance and importance of what I hold onto?

I really love and appreciate history and what we can learn from it. I believe we need to remember, appreciate and learn from our own history. But I don’t believe we should be stuck in it, and I’m not sure we need to maintain expensive and extravagant representations of it, unless they serve a good purpose in the present.

Sometimes our finances dictate what we maintain in our lives or let go of. (Tourists wouldn’t pay to stroll through many parts of my life.) Our health and physical bodies will certainly shape what we can and cannot still do. My 25 k bike ride in Vienna was a reminder of that! I paid for it for days. Time can often regulate what we fit into our lives. Our best selves will be prayerful about what is still serving a Godly purpose, what is cluttering our homes, our minds, our relationships, our time. But in many instances we choose what possessions to hold on to, what kind of ‘palaces’ we really need, what practices to maintain, what attachments are important. Even what paragraphs or chapters to leave in our manuscripts!

Once we have created something, begun something, accumulated something, can we then let it go when it no longer relevant, or when it is not adding value, but rather taking up valuable space or time that something more appropriate and useful needs?  Certainly our lives will need some restoration at times. Definitely some regular maintenance. But sometimes maybe what they need most is a really good edit!

Still thinking about all this. . .

Carol Preston   

Carol writes historical novels based on her family ancestry in Australia from the First Fleet. They include the Turning the Tide series; Mary’s Guardian, Charlotte’s Angel, Tangled Secrets and Truly Free. Her earlier novels, Suzannah’s Gold and Rebecca's Dream have been re-released by EBP. You can see more about Carol and her novels on her website  

www.carolpreston.com.au

www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston

www.facebook.com/writingtoreach

 

Book review by Carol Preston: Tumbledown Manor

 

 Cover blurb    Life’s going down the gurgler for romance writer Lisa Trumperton. The deadline for her next novel is looming, her daughter won’t eat but has a new tattoo each week, and now her Wall Street trader husband has run off with a woman at work. Lisa makes a quick escape, home to Australia, where at least her girl-magnet son seems to be making hay. Determined to grow older gracefully, she turns her back on a trim and tidy townhouse that is close to shops, aged-care providers and her bossy older sister, instead buying a grand old house in the country that once belonged to her great-grandfather. But like its new owner, Trumperton Manor has seen better days. Crumbling, filthy and possible haunted, the old house defies Lisa’s attempts to restore it. Add flood, fire and family secrets, plus a stray cat with attitude and an overly familiar handyman, and the cracks being to show. Richly observed and laugh-out-loud funny, Tumbledown Manor is for anyone who believes it’s never too late for a makeover.

My review

A few things drew me to read this book. One, I wanted to try an Australian writer I hadn’t yet read. Helen Brown grew up in New Zealand. She now lives in Melbourne and has ancestral ties to rural Victoria, where this story is set. Two, I liked the idea of reading about a writer’s life, plus the historical flavour of the blurb and the idea of restoring an old house with family secrets all drew me in.  For the most part I was not disappointed and enjoyed the story. It is entirely from the point of view of the main character, Lisa, who not only finds herself in a disappointing marriage but has undergone serious surgery at a time in her life when her self-esteem is waning, and she is living in a country which is not her own and far from family. Her coming home, rediscovering her roots in rural Victoria, restoring an old family home, rebuilding her broken life, and resuming her writing career, as well as finding out she is very loveable, evokes a sense of hope and renewal. While there is no indication that this is written from a Christian perspective, there are images and themes which parallel a spiritual journey to restoration.

The author has an easy style of writing which flows at a good pace. She uses many (perhaps a few too many) analogies which evoke humorous and colourful images and keep the story entertaining. A romance blossoms with handyman, Scott, who is an engaging character. However, this does not overpower the essential core of the story which is about restoration, letting go and moving to new chapters in life.  There are times when the cat antics are a little too much. Not being a cat lover perhaps I miss the tenderness which the cat is meant to add to the story. The family history which slowly comes to light is intriguing and adds an interesting twist. While struggling with many other challenges, Lisa is trying to complete a series of novels based on the Bronte sisters, and this in itself is an interesting side story, which I think other authors would find stimulating.

I was a little disappointed that, added to everything else Lisa faces, she has to come to terms with her son revealing that he is gay. While this is a very real issue today, and it was handled sensitively, I sometimes feel that a gay relationship is put into many stories, TV series and films, more to be politically correct and open-minded, than to represent reality. This relationship only becomes evident quite late in the story and I didn’t feel it took the focus away from Lisa’s self-renewal.  Lisa’s daughter has an eating disorder and she herself is dealing with breast cancer, so the story touches on numerous issues that provoke the reader to reflect on how they might deal with these personally.

I think Lisa is a character many women in the second half of life will identify with. She faces her challenges with maturity but also a vulnerability that is very real. 

Tumbledown Manor is available on Kindle through Amazon.

 

 

 

 

 

Carol writes historical novels based on her family history, set in the early colonial days of Australia. You can see more about Carol and her novels on her website, Amazon page or FB page. 

www.carolpreston.com.au

www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston

www.facebook.com/writingtoreach