His Heart’s Desire News – January 2022 - His Heart's Desire Ministries

Happy New Year, everyone!

I’m normally not awake when the calendar year changes, but I was New Year’s Eve 2021.

Even though I went to bed a little before 8, I woke up at exactly 12 midnight and thought, “That’s cool!” and went back to sleep.

I enjoy the end of each calendar year because it naturally lends itself to reflecting on the past year and wondering what God might have in store for the coming year.

At the end of 2020, I had no idea the major changes that were coming our way in 2021.

If you’ve read our last three news letters, you already know that, in March 2021, my husband, Steven, left his job of over twenty-two years and started working in the water department for the city of Perryton.

At that time, I was struggling with the possibility that I might have to return to teaching secondary math full-time after being out for 15 years.

I really didn’t want to, knowing that I probably wouldn’t finish writing my seven-book Song of Solomon series if I did.

In July 2021, the provost of our local community college reached out to me to see if I might be interested in working part-time.

When I read her message, I had an immediate inkling that God might be behind this.

After talking to Steven and then finding out what the job would entail, we believed strongly that this was God’s leading, and I accepted the position.

Last semester certainly had its challenges, but I really enjoyed refreshing my mind with College Algebra, connecting with new people, and helping students learn.

This semester, I will be teaching two classes and doing some private tutoring.

Even though my writing time will be limited, I will still have more time to write than I would if I was teaching full-time.

And I’m excited to let you know that I recently finished the final week of Volume 2 in my study series: His Banner over Me Is Sustaining Love: An Intimate, Interactive Study of the Song of Solomon, Chapters 3–5.

I’m currently working on the front and back matter, so my goal is to have it published within the next three months.

While the overriding theme for the first volume was experiencing God’s pursuing love, the overriding theme for this second volume is experiencing God’s sustaining love in the midst of suffering.

There are many different ways in which believers can suffer, but the main type of suffering that I focus on in this study is the suffering that comes from religious abuse:

The bride has endured her most intense suffering as a result of religion. We live in a fallen world where many things can harm us. But when harm comes to us through religionists or believers who struggle with religionistic flesh patterns, the wounds seem to cut deeper. This is because our expectations of those who appear to be honoring God are naturally greater (2 Tim. 2:19). After all, aren’t God’s people supposed to be nice?

From this point forward, in order to avoid the repetitive use of the phrase “religionists or believers who struggle with religionistic flesh patterns,” when I use the term religionists, I am referring to either or. Only God can judge between the two. It is not our place to presume.

Religionists strike and wound others in overt and covert ways. Overt religious abuse is harm done to others that is clearly seen, and covert religious abuse is harm done to others that often goes under the radar. Sadly, in many cases of both types of religious abuse, the perpetrator sincerely believes they are “serving the Lord” or “speaking the truth in love.”

Over the years, there have been countless heartbreaking news reports of victims of overt religious abuse. How could we forget the ghastly, gut-wrenching damage done through both Jim Jones and David Koresh? And hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear about the mental, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that goes on in various religious institutions.

It is beyond the scope of this book to communicate all of the ways in which overt religious abuse happens. My intention is to simply emphasize that the breeding ground any kind of religious abuse is the law (1 Cor. 15:56). When anyone, whether they are a believer or unbeliever, puts themselves under the law of “Thou shalt not …” in order to obtain righteousness, they can expect sinning of every kind (See Rom. 7:5–13).

Of course, the antidote to overt religious abuse at the hands of unbelievers, first and foremost, is for them to be united with Christ by grace through faith (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8–9; 1 Cor. 6:17). Then, in order to personally experience freedom from sin’s power, they must realize that they are not “under the Law,” they “died to the Law,” and “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Gal. 2:19; 5:18; Rom. 8:2; 10:4; 1 Tim. 5:22).

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Now, let’s turn our attention to the subject of covert religious abuse. I will not sugarcoat the truth: Covert religious abuse is rampant among churches, regularly dispensed from pulpits and in Sunday school classes all around the world. You might think I’m being extreme by describing what is commonly being taught by pastors and teachers as “covert religious abuse,” but we need to call a spade a spade.

The verb abuse means “to treat so as to injure or damage.” When a believing congregant or student is fed a distorted gospel—lies about who God is and who they are in relation to Him—mental and emotional abuse happens (Gal. 1:6–7).
Excerpt from His Banner over Me Is Sustaining Love

In this second volume of study, you will find Christ’s bride enduring and overcoming painful circumstances through continuing to draw on His sustaining, never-leaving love.

If God leads you to do so, I would appreciate your prayers as I complete this book.

As soon as this book is published, I plan to write a fifty-day devotional spin-off for it like I did for the first study.

And then, I plan to write the third and final study, along with its fifty-day devotional spin-off.

To complete my seven-book series, I plan to write a prequel in which I will share my grace story and how we come to know and continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ as our Spiritual Bridegroom and who we are as His flawless bride (John 3:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; 11:2; Rom. 12:2; Eph. 5:22–32; 2 Pet. 3:18; Rev. 19:7–9; 21:2, 9; 22:17).

Beyond my plans to continue writing and teaching math part-time, I don’t know what God has in store for us in 2022.

But I’m not anxious about it.

Regardless of what happens in our external circumstances, I know that both Steven and I are already and forever held in the arms of the One who loved us first and loves us most.

We experience great rest in knowing that Christ simply wants us to continue to focus on and trust Him, to experience a greater reality of His unchanging love for us and our newness in Him, and to partner with Him in loving the people He puts in front of us, day in and day out.

Before closing this newsletter, I invite you to check out my Living Loved archives and my books to read more about your new heart union with Christ.

You can also follow me on social media.

If His Heart’s Desire Ministries has blessed you in any way, would you prayerfully consider giving a one-time donation or becoming a regular donor?

We are trusting in His provision to keep this writing ministry going!

Regardless of whether or not you are able to give financially, we would appreciate your prayers for the ministry.

We would also love to pray for your needs, so please contact us.

Together, we can reach many with the Good News of the gospel of God’s amazing grace and help others live loved in Christ through understanding their flawless identity in Him!

Living Loved in Christ,