Author: Kayla Mahnken

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Image Redeemed

Dearest sister,

While reading Genesis I was sweetly reminded that we are made in the image of God. Not only this but God breathed into man the breath of life. Everything else He simply spoke into being. But Adam He breathed into life. Wow! Living in the garden, Adam and Eve enjoyed unadulterated communion with the Lord God. They talked with Him, walked with Him, and were unashamed before Him. Just imagine what that must have been like!

But as we continue reading Genesis we come to a pivotal point in the narrative. The serpent approaches Eve, deceives her, and Eve falls (along with her husband) into sin and darkness. Now when they hear the Lord’s voice they are afraid and hide from Him.

Dear sister, let me share with you a situation that arose in my life that reminded me of how far I fall short of reflecting God’s glory. On Thursday I drove a perfectly suitable car with a clear view out of the windshield to and from work. That night I heard a loud crashing noise right outside my window. I opened the front door only to find tree limbs at my doorstep and a giant tree trunk on my car! Thankfully, there was no structural damage but my windshield was completely shattered.

Just how in one moment I went from being the proud owner of a drivable car to bumming a ride to work the next morning, so too did Eve go from perfectly reflecting the image of God to reflecting a shattered image that could not be distinguished.

Because of Eve’s disobedience, the image of God that we still bear is now tainted with sin and its consequences of guilt, shame and fear. We can no longer see Christ clearly through the temples that the Lord designed for us.

Thankfully we are not without hope. In order to redeem His image in us, God sent His Son Jesus to perfectly reflect God’s character—a feat we are unable to accomplish because of sin. Now, those who have Christ in their lives are new creations. And as we are cleansed from our unrighteousness, we are becoming more and more like Christ.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And Romans 8:29 assures us that “those whom [Christ] foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

These two verses state two truths. 1) we are new creations, and 2) we will be conformed to the image of Christ because those in Him have been predestined to become like Him.

Let us look forward to this new year as we lean on Him to produce in us a character that reflects the perfections of Christ.

Your Sister in Christ,

Kayla

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Yes, We Need a Little Christmas

Dear sister,

Having moved to a new town I have been in the process of seeking out a new home church. Every Sunday I have been to a different church and the sermon I heard at this Sunday’s church was on how Christmas is about productivity. Now you’re probably raising your eyebrows, but I urge you, dear sister, to keep reading.

During the hectic holiday season it is easy to get lost in family dinners, Christmas decorations, and checking off everyone’s Christmas lists. But this is not the kind of productivity the pastor was getting at. He furthered explained that Christmas is about the productivity that was established in the very beginning.

In Genesis 1:28 God commands Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply.” This verse is not simply referring to reproduction but to the very kind of life the Lord purposed his creation to live. He created us in order to accomplish the work he had prepared for us. He created us to be productive. But what happened? As you’ll remember, Adam and Eve rebelled against God, plunging all of humanity into the deep darkness of sin.

As a result, we now struggle to live productive lives. We struggle to accomplish the things that, before sin, would have been completely natural to do. It is this barrenness that brought Jesus into the world. He came to restore us to the kind of fruitful and productive life that God created us to live.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is singing Christmas songs but much of today’s popular Christmas music has nothing to do with Jesus or the reason for Christmas at all. “Silver Bells” (now on my list of hated Christmas songs) speaks of Christmas being “Santa’s big scene” and “We Need a Little Christmas” demands tinsel on evergreen boughs, fruitcake, and stockings so that we can feel like it’s Christmas time.

But none of these things give us what we need. Santa isn’t the star of the show. We are in desperate need of restoration so that we can live lives of productivity for Christ as God purposed for us before He even laid the foundation of the world. This is what Jesus brings. This is why we celebrate Christmas—not because Santa Claus is coming to town.

So, yes, we do need Christmas. Without it we remain dead and barren. Christ accomplished what we could not. He did what the Lord had assigned to him and he did it perfectly. Praise be to the Lord that He did too. For there is no other name in which we find life, no other name by which we are saved and no other name by which we can be called sons of God.

Merry Christmas!

Your sister,

Kayla

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Triumph Over Trifling

My dearest sister,

There are not too many things these days that people would consider evil. Abortion is a widely accepted practice and homosexuality has even become acceptable in some branches of Christianity. Not terribly long ago, these issues were tangled up in shame and guilt. Our culture is ever progressing toward a “do whatever feels right” and “tolerate everyone” mentality. Add to this the increasing influence of the secular media, in movies and music particularly, and it’s no wonder that our society is on a steep moral decline.

So let’s face it. We’re Christians living in a post-Christian world. As such, it is easy to become discouraged in our Christian walk. Trying to please God in a world that doesn’t care about God is no easy feat. So how do we deal with the evil that we are so often bombarded with in our day-to-day lives?

Ephesians 6:16 says, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” God has given us our faith (Ephesians 2:8) as a defense. The author of Hebrews describes faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Our faith is what allows us to believe that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He promises to do.

This faith is sure; this faith is steadfast; this faith is strong. With it we can “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Because of it we can now run from the evil we were once enslaved to and turn to Christ (Romans 6:18) who will be faithful to preserve us. Satan simply doesn’t stand a chance. No matter how evil this world becomes Satan has only the appearance of victory. The Lord will return and on that day He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31) and because His holiness demands it He will crush the wicked (Psalm 145:20).

So, dear sister, if you are feeling discouraged by the weight of this evil world, stop and remember that YOUR God is the God who made the universe and rules over it. Take comfort that God’s omnipotence is not threatened by Satan’s trifling pursuits and have faith in the word of the Lord. For His faithfulness endures forever. (Psalm 117:2)

Under His wing,
Kayla

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you where you go.–Joshua 1:9

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No More Lonely Charades

Dear sister,

I have oftentimes felt lonely during certain seasons of my life. I have felt like I couldn’t be my true self because I was convinced that those I most wanted to be accepted by would reject me. This view of others was not a biblical one; it was not even a realistic one! It was only a fear that I allowed to be developed within my own heart.

In the summer of 2010, I spent two months away from home at a summer training program in Pigeon Forge, TN. I was with a group of like-minded believers from schools all over the southeast. There were lots of new faces and I felt lost among them. I felt like they wouldn’t accept me because I was raised differently, went to a different kind of church, and wasn’t as cool and comfortable around new people as others seemed to be. At that time, I was shy and very much NOT comfortable in my own skin. Now add to that an already introverted personality and you’ve got the recipe for feelings of loneliness.

I feared rejection and feared letting these new people into my life. As a result I tried wearing a mask that showed I was cool and confident, secure in Christ and ready for any adventure. It worked for a while, but by the end of the first six weeks (and , were only eight) I was weary of the charade.

In Genesis 2:18, God declares, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” Up until this point, everything that God had made he had declared good but it was not good that Adam had no companion. So God brought the creatures to Adam to have him name them but “there was not found a helper fit for him.” (Gen. 2:20) As humans, we need more than just a dog or a cat to keep loneliness at bay; we need to be experiencing intimate relationships with other human beings.

That summer was a breakthrough for me in that the Lord became my confidence and Christ became my identity. I no longer had to fear what people thought of me because I knew I was accepted by Christ—and isn’t that all that really matters when you have eternity in view?

Dear sister, if you are struggling with loneliness, take these truths to heart. You are accepted by the King and He loves you intimately. He loves you so much that He gave up His only Son for you so that He could claim you as His own. You are 100% secure in Christ and you cannot be lost. Never let fear of rejection or feelings of inadequacy triumph over this truly amazing love that Christ has for you. He will not give you up.

Under His wing,

Kayla

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Él es Bueno

Dearest sister,

As I read Colleen’s letter, I realized how I often forget that God is good. I know He is holy, merciful, and omnipotent (and many other things) but I seldom think about God’s goodness. As I stop to reflect on the reason for this neglect, I quickly am displeased with myself. I find that it’s because I often do not take adequate time to dwell on the person of God and all that He is. So let us dwell on it together.

Goodness is an attribute of God. Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (see also Ps. 106:1; 136:1; 118:1). Now for some reason when I read the ‘is’ in this sentence I was reminded of when I learned the difference between the verbs ser (rhymes with hair) and estar in Spanish class. Both verbs mean “to be” but which verb you use depends on the permanence of what is being described. (This is something we don’t see in English.) I learned the jingle: For how you feel and where you are always use the verb estar. Feelings and your current location are temporary. However, where you are from, what you do, and what you are like is permanent. For these descriptions you use ser.

The psalms exhort us to “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.” In Spanish, “Alabad a Jehová, porque él es bueno.” (Psalm 107:1) Es is a conjugation of the verb ser, the form used to describe permanent characteristics! This means that God is inherently good; it is part of His unchanging character. It’s permanent. God is good and His works are good.

Sister, are you struggling to find God’s goodness in your life? Do you question how God is going to work something out for your good? I promise that you are not alone in your fears. During these difficult times, remember that the character of the Lord never changes, “for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13) His goodness will never fail, even if you can’t see it.

Keep pressing on,

Kayla