Pressing In

Our puppy, Snickers, sticks to me like velcro. Somehow bred into his Havanese DNA, he goes where I go, sits where I sit, and sleeps next to me as closely as possible. When visitors arrive at our house, or we visit our grandchildren, he begs me to hold him. I’m his place of peace and security. My husband and I often remark how we need to press into the Lord in the same way Snickers presses into us.

When I think of the perilous times in which we live, Romans 15:13 comes to mind, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.” My joy and security come when I press into my Refuge and Strength in pure and simple trust. However, unlike my pup, I need constant reminding. Each Breaking News headline threatens our peace and security. The Holy Scriptures warn us: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come!” (1Ti 3:1).

Covid-19 ushered in unimagined global changes seized upon by a heinous puppet-master to control humanity by fear, hate, and division. Fear keeps us in our homes and at odds with our friends. We feel hopeless, fearful, and torn apart. Forced lock-downs, no work, and no social interaction lead not only to economic disaster, but to fears of personal tracking, reporting, and prosecutions. This whole scenario no longer speaks about a virus, but division. Evil forces take away our freedoms one at a time with invisible mental and emotional enslavement controlled by fear!

Jesus said wars and rumors of wars, would characterize the last days of our world. Nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines, earthquakes in various places, and persecutions of Christians. Today we see Satan’s rage as his followers burn buildings, properties, churches, flags, Bibles, and crosses in the mystery of lawlessness. People betray one another and hate one another, false prophets arise and deceive many. Love grows cold as parents sacrifice their unborn children on the altars of pleasure, irresponsibility, and convenience.  

Despite all the evil, Jesus gave His followers the responsibility through the power of the Holy Spirit to share the good news of the kingdom (Acts 1:3). The good news is about God, who “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (Jn 3:16-17). When this good news is preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, Jesus said, “then the end will come” (Mat 24:14).

We face a fearful and uncertain election this November, yet the God of hope fills us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him. Our hope remains in God’s love, power, and promises, for “as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jhn 1:12-13). 

To these blood-bought children, “the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1Th 4:16-18).

Paul, continuing under divine inspiration, writes, “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night… destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day… since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (ITh 5:1-11).

Beloved, we know the Bible says the day of the Lord comes suddenly and unexpectedly to the world. I find that even some people of faith live in denial and think life will go back to normal once everyone has vaccinated against this pandemic. Do we believe the hired terrorists and globalists in this country will sit back if our president wins another four years? If he does not win, do we think Christians can live in a socialistic, globalist society without borders and abortion on demand?

Now is the time to press into Jesus, my dear friends, as never before. He alone provides a protective place of peace and safety. Only as we place our trust in Him will His joy and peace give us the hope we need to run with endurance the race He set before us until He comes to rapture us to glory!

And now, “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13 NIV).

Roses Have Thorns

When I write to encourage others, God usually brings a trial through which He reveals Himself to me, which gives me something worthwhile to share with others. Well, last week He didn’t wait long to show me that roses of relationship have thorns. I received an email response to what I considered encouragement that put me in a tailspin! In my rapid descent, the enemy accused me, crushed my spirit, and tormented me with fears. This email disagreed with my long-held view on the process of salvation, seemingly a valid theological difference.

After a long day, my husband and I settled down to watch a movie. Yet my heart carried too much turmoil to concentrate, so instead, I explained my struggle to my husband. Always a good listener and insightful counselor, he said, “Maybe you’re grieving.” Tears suddenly surfaced. Maybe my pain had little to do with theology. I actually feared a loss of relationship with someone I held dear because we no longer agreed on a theological issue.

Where could I turn but to the Lord? The Psalmist says, “My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’ And my heart responds, ‘LORD, I am coming’” (Ps 27:8). In His sweet grace, the Lord often uses people to deliver His comfort and truth. After my husband and I talked, and I admitted my misplaced security, we asked for God’s healing presence, and the battle ended.

Instead of turmoil, a quiet peace came over me. Releasing my desire for validation from this person brought peace, but I also noted a deep sense of loneliness. Agreement produces a feeling of relationship. To let go of agreement, left me feeling relationally isolated. I knew my next step. I asked God to fill that emptiness with more of Himself. In Philippians 3:7-11, Paul says that whatever he gained, he considered a loss for the sake of Christ. In fact, he considered everything garbage compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. If loss gives me more of Jesus, I gain more than I lose!

In Isaiah 30, the Lord said, “Woe to the rebellious children,” who went to Egypt for security instead of the Lord, who trusted in idols, instead of trusting in the true God. God released me from my “idols” to trust only in Him, which produces the security I need. The truth set me free from anxiety to love even more deeply, the one with whom I disagreed. God empowered me to send my email reply with loving gratitude for the time, effort, honesty, and courage it took to write in the face of disagreement.

God also says, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa 30:15-16). He offers to deliver me from my fears when I return to Him for security and validation. After all, God paid the highest price in the universe to reconcile me to Himself through Jesus Christ. He also promises to give me strength when I shut my mouth and trust confidently in His faithful provision to do what I cannot do by human wisdom or effort. A gentle and quiet spirit gives me the strength to respond with love and acceptance.

Isaiah 57:15, says, “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.’” My Abba Father reached down from His high and holy place to break my will and revive my broken heart. Though relationships bring pain, they are still worth gathering. God heals the wounds they produce and gives us more of His beautiful self.

So, I’m writing blogs again, but with holy fear. As C.S. Lewis says, “Aslan is not safe, but he is good.” I don’t mind asking you to pray for me in the weeks and months ahead, that I will see and hear clearly what the Lord wants to show me to share with you. May you be strengthened and encouraged with me, and may He reveal more and more of Himself to us.

With love and prayers,
MarJean

My Story

NAMES mean something. All through the Scriptures, God gave people particular names for a reason. My husband’s name, Conrad, means bold and wise counselor, which played out in his life over and over.

I struggled with the meaning of my name because Mar means bitter. “Naomi said, ‘Don’t call me Naomi… Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me’” (Rth 1:20). Then I read about Myrrh, which also means bitter in Arabic. The resin of this shrubby desert tree gives a bitter, pungent taste and a sweet, pleasing aroma, which incidentally covers the odor of a dead body. I remember singing, “Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume Breathes a life of gathering gloom….” When the Israelites came to a fountain of bitter water in the wilderness, they named it Marah. Divinely directed, Moses cast a certain tree into the water to take away its bitterness (Exod. 15).

Jean, in Hebrew, means the Lord is gracious. So, MarJean becomes, Bitter Grace. The capital “J” represents “Jesus,” whose wooden cross makes bitterness sweet. At times I wanted to say with Naomi, “Call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. Yet, because of the power of Christ’s death and resurrection, His sweet Holy Spirit makes me the fragrance of Christ, which turns bitter things sweet. Therefore, MarJean becomes Fragrant Grace.

God calls me to live a life filled with His love and grace, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. So we thank God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ. To those perishing, the aroma of death, and to those being saved, the aroma of life (see Eph 5:2; 2Cor 2:14-16).

WHAT DEFINES ME? At this age? I suppose what I’ve always been… creative, optimistic, goal-oriented, determined (most of the time), and too sensitive, unless I use it to encourage others through my writing, poetry, linguistic metaphors or artistic illustrations.

I’m also a wife of fifty-two years to one amazingly sweet man, mother of four wonderful kids (3 sons, 1 daughter), and their loving and gracious spouses. I’m also grandmother to seventeen of the most precious children in the world.//I published “Courage for Bush Ministry Women” each month since 2005 for Arctic Barnabas Ministries until our retirement in August of 2019. I’m still passionate to encourage others to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts (Acts 11:23).

Yet, if I should lose all that seems to define me at any age, my true identity remains in Christ who purchased me with His blood. I am His, and He is mine forever. I possess no identity outside of His amazing grace.

A Short Biography

From fruitful California deserts to the balmy San Francisco Bay area, north to the frozen prairies of Saskatchewan, and back to Central California, God carried Conrad and MarJean in His Everlasting Arms. Their journey continued into the lush green of western Oregon to the desert sage and vineyards of eastern Washington and into the rainforests near Seattle. Their adventures launched them into the far north of Alaska to fly in bush airplanes across vast the tundra, rugged mountains, deep valleys and winding rivers into isolated villages. Finally, they landed near the golden wheat fields and fruit-laden orchards of Spokane, Washington.

While in Alaska, they taught God’s design of personality brain dominance to individuals, couples, at retreats, seminars, church classes, and mission groups. Their heart for people, marriages, and the Bride of Christ still compels them to offer this practical tool to increase love and understanding for one another and gratitude and reverence for their Creator/Designer.

Their ministry to encourage missionaries and pastor’s families in remote Alaskan and northwest Canadian villages through on-site visits, publications, counseling, phone calls, and e-mails began in 2005. Since the spring of 2013, MarJean continues to write and edit for ABM from Spokane, Washington. Conrad represents the mission in the Pacific Northwest.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Conrad grew up in a pastor’s home and spent his teen years in the San Francisco Bay area where he attended Western Baptist Bible College. He also took a year at Moody Bible Institute. He graduated from Fresno Pacific University and married MarJean in 1969.  

MarJean, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, grew up on a farm near Carrot River. She spent her teen years in Dallas, Oregon and graduated from Fresno Pacific University with a BA degree in art and literature. After graduation, she and Conrad moved to the Portland area where she taught high school art, and Conrad received his M. Div. from Western Baptist Seminary in 1973. Their three sons and one daughter grew up in that rich diversity of geographical places, cultures, and adventures. Seventeen precious grandchildren continue to enrich their lives.