Iron Rose Sister Ministries

I can be my own worst critic and my own worst enemy. I know most of my flaws intimately and often recognize them just after they have raised their ugly heads. Then, I beat myself up for having hurt others through my own failings.

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Keenly aware of my shortcomings, the “falling short” aspect feels like a two-year-old trying to jump as high as a seven-foot basketball player and falling way short.

The beautiful thing is that no matter if we are two-foot-two or seven-foot-two, God makes up the difference. The blood of His Son washes over any and all of our sticky parts, shortcomings, failures, thorns in our flesh, or missteps. And His love is what compels us to learn from those mistakes and strive to do better in the future (2 Cor. 5:14-15). His sacrifice makes it possible for us to be seen by God as blameless and pure (Heb 10:14). He is even able to cleanse our conscience (Heb. 10:22)!

Christ’s crown of thorns eliminates the shame from the thorns in my life.

If the thorn in your life is a sin, yes, it needs to be removed. But God can still use you, through your confession and repentance to bring Him glory. He can use your testimony about that thorn to draw others to Him.

If the thorn in your life is a challenge you wish you didn’t have to face, remember that His grace is sufficient for you and that His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Own and boast in your thorn, not in a prideful way, but in a way that allows God’s power to shine even brighter through your life.

When we are dealing with our “sticky parts,” remember that God loves you, sticky parts and all. He sent His Son to redeem you, cleanse you, and usher you into a sanctified life through Christ. His mercies that are new every morning mean that we are not treated as our “sticky parts” deserve. Rather, through His grace, not through our own efforts or merit, or as a competition of who has fewer sticky parts, God offers us a free gift of redemption, cleansing, and freedom. May we find rest in those promises when we are overly critical of our “sticky parts.”

And if you do not yet know the freedom found through the sacrifice of His Son, we would love to put you in touch with someone who can study the Bible with you locally or virtually.

Written by Rayne Gomes, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Salvador, Brazil

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Lk 6:36 NIV)

At my job, we provide services to a public organization responsible for granting benefits to citizens. It’s a normal day for me to serve dozens of people who have had their benefits denied, even though they have every right to receive them. Therefore, they contest the decision because, from a human perspective, everyone should receive what is due to them and it is unfair to not give someone what they deserve.

The spiritual perspective of mercy consists precisely of not granting something that is deserved. For us, this is a tremendous blessing because if we take into consideration what we deserve to receive due to our sinful nature, there would be nothing left for us but eternal condemnation.

The writer of the book of Hebrews talks a lot about the mediation and granting of this mercy in our lives. In chapter 2, verse 17, he states: “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God.” It is interesting to see the emphasis that the author puts on the fact that when Jesus came in the flesh, He experienced the same situations as us and lived through the same reality as all humans. However, we know that He did not subject Himself to sin. Therefore, what would make someone turn God’s wrath onto themselves and receive the sentence that we deserved? M-E-R-C-Y.

When we deserved death, condemnation, and eternal distance from God… Jesus came and took our place so that we would not receive what was due to us. What a true relief!

Not only that, but Christ also destroyed that which could disable us eternally, brought us back to the family of God, and can claim that He knows exactly what we go through because He experienced the same pains, temptations, and trials so He could help us while we are in this life. And because He has also experienced this same life, He truly has compassion for us.

We can rest assured that, enjoying this immense benefit provided by Jesus as followers in His steps, there is nothing more important than imitating Him in our lives by also offering mercy to our neighbor. Of course, the application will be different. We cannot make atonement, nor do we need to, because Jesus has already done so, once and for all. However, extending a merciful hand to our brother or sister in forgiveness, love, and empathy leads us to an attitude of mercy, an example left by the Teacher who instructed His disciples in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Take a moment to reflect: How can you be better at expressing your mercy towards others?

Remember, Christ has already done the hardest part, and He will help you along the way!

Kim, please introduce yourself and tell us about your family.
My full name is Kimberly Faith Solis (previously Kershaw, but now married to Raul Solis). I consider myself from Portland, Oregon, though I have only lived there for 8 of my 48 years. I was not raised in the church, but came to Christ and was baptized the summer after my senior year of high school thanks to my best friend, who invited me to church.

Two years later I went through the Adventures in Missions program in Lubbock, Texas, and went to Toluca, Mexico, to work with the missionaries there for two years. Well, at least I thought it would be for two years, but it was there that I met my husband Raul! Three children and 25 years later, we have temporarily moved back to Oregon to take care of my mom and work on getting my husband’s US citizenship.

Our three kids are: Diego (age 23), Isaac (21) and Angie (19). Raul and I work for the Instituto Latinoamericano de Estudios Bíblicos (ILEB) in Toluca. We both write and teach courses and I manage the online learning platform for the Institute.

What does obedience mean to you?
Wow! This is a really huge question. I am learning that obedience is EVERYTHING. We often think that the goal in life is to be happy... we want to live “happily ever after.” But I have learned that our goal should be to simply be obedient, and let God work out the details of our joy (which is so much deeper, and not dependent on circumstantial happiness.)

I think obedience is doing what we know God wants us to do, forgive, love, accept, serve, even when we don’t understand why, don’t agree, or don’t even want to. It’s doing these things even when we think God is being unfair or too demanding. It’s trusting in His will and reason, and not in our own.

What has obedience looked like in your life?
I really have struggled with what to write and what to share. My road with obedience has been an interesting one, especially when doing what God says has not been easy. There are many people who hurt us in our lives. Perhaps they disappoint our expectations, they reject us or abandon us in times of need, or they don’t treat us as we should be treated.

In one such situation, I felt called to forgive someone who hurt me deeply in many ways. I felt the Word showed me to place the relationship in God’s hand, instead of taking care of matters myself in a vengeful way. This was hard. For years I struggled to forgive. What I really wanted was to separate this person from my life, but God kept our roads crossing, time and time again. I made a “deal” with God. I challenged God saying, “The only way I’ll let you continue to let him be in my life is if he becomes a Christian.”

God is amazing. He didn’t strike me down in anger. I believe he understood not only my broken heart, but also the broken life of this person and it wasn’t too long later that my husband baptized him into Christ! Now I had to keep my part of the deal. I finally thought I had forgiven only to find, a few years later, that I still harbored resentment and anger deeply buried in the recesses of my heart.

The culmination of my obedience came when this person became very ill. When I heard the diagnosis, my first reaction betrayed the truth I had tried to hide. “Finally! He’ll be gone,” I thought, and instantly felt guilty. I had obeyed faithfully throughout the years and allowed this person to continue to be a presence in my life, and yet I had not been able to do so completely with a forgiving heart. It was then that God began to challenge my willingness to truly obey, especially when it was extremely difficult to do so.

As his illness progressed, I went to visit this person and was presented with a difficult situation. The person who was taking care of him needed to step out and I was the only one there to help out while she was gone. God was asking me to serve him, to serve the one who hurt me, to obey His command to love... even our enemies.

To be honest, I didn’t want to do it. I even yelled at God in my heart, “You’re asking too much with this one! I don’t want to serve him.” But I knew I couldn’t say no, not to God. I bit my lip, held my breath and served... and something really amazing happened.

A couple of days later I was preparing to head home, he (who never expresses his emotions, who rarely really spoke about anything personal, and who had never said anything about what happened between us) looked me in the eye and said, “You really didn’t have to come.” I knew that behind those words was an apology for all the pain he had caused me, a thank you for never shutting him out of my life, an acknowledgement that, of all the people in the world, I was the last one who should be serving him in his time of weakness.

I left and got on a plane home, crying the entire trip. A tremendous weight was suddenly lifted off my heart. I no longer asked for his death, but asked God to spare him or to at least give him peace in his last months. I also sent word and asked someone to relay a message to him in case I didn’t get to see him again. I asked them to tell him that I forgave him, completely and sincerely. The message was given, and I was told he just wept like a baby. I did get to see him before he passed, but we did not have the chance to exchange words; he was not conscious enough to carry on a conversation. God even granted me my last prayer that I had said that day flying home, the tears washing all my anger away... I got to sit with him in his last moments, singing hymns and asking God to take him into His presence with mercy and love.

Several years have passed. I understand now that forgiveness is a road, sometime a very long one, but one that can only be traveled in obedience. I search my heart for any lingering anger or pain and only find sorrow—for the life that gave him such emptiness and desperateness for control, and for the impact that had on me and my family... and I also find a lot of peace.

Peace that only comes from God. Peace that surpasses all understanding.
And peace that only comes through obedience.
If I had not obeyed...
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.
Forgive one another, as I have forgiven you.
Love your enemies. Serve one another.
Not my will, but yours be done.
I would not have found peace and healing for my soul. And for his.

Is there a Bible verse that encourages you about obedience? Or a Bible character you admire for his/her obedience?
Several. I think the main one is Hebrews 12:1-2:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

I admire many Bible characters for their obedience... perhaps my favorite is Peter who, tired from fishing all night with no luck and then cleaning his empty nets, is told to row out to deep waters and cast once again. He must have thought Jesus was crazy. He must have thought it was a waste of time. He could have simply refused. But he didn’t. He trusted. He obeyed. (But at Your word I will let down the nets.) And, he reaped a great reward.

What most helps you be obedient?
Remembering who it is that is asking me. God is not just some human authority. God is He who knows all, sees all, and who loves me with His entire being. I owe Him everything. I cannot deny His will.

What most hinders you from being obedient?
Me. I hinder me. I am often too busy and distracted to hear His subtle voice and therefore I miss opportunities to obey. I have made a promise that when I feel nudged by His Holy Spirit, I will obey what I am being nudged to do, but I also have to keep my mind in tune to hearing those nudgings. That is hard to do if I am not communing with the Spirit daily in His Word and in prayer.

What blessings have you received through obedience?
So many! But, like I mentioned previously, the biggest has been the gift of true forgiveness and reconciliation before it was too late.

Written by Beliza Kocev, Brazil Coordinator for Iron Rose Sister Ministries

“Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (Jas 2:13b NIV)

I grew up in a very strict environment. The achievements, rarely celebrated, were seen as “she did no more than her obligation.” On the other hand, failures brought many punishments and were often remembered again, and again and again…

At the beginning of my Christian life, someone explained to me the difference between God's grace and God's mercy. In short: Grace—receiving something we don't deserve—salvation and eternal life. Mercy—not receiving something we deserve—punishment for sin and eternal death. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:4-5).

We win on both sides! This didn't come for free, although it is for us! But not for God! “You were bought at a price” (1Co 6:20a). John the Baptist presented Jesus as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29), and, by taking away our sin, He promises us eternal life (1Jn 2:25).

God's greatest mercy is to free us from eternal death, which is the consequence of our sin, and that in itself is a reason for great joy and celebration. But God's mercy is inexhaustible (La 3:22), and He gives us the chance to rewrite our story, and to live a new life here on earth! Yet another reason to celebrate! Although we need to deal with the consequences of our actions, we have the chance to live here as new creatures and feel the transformation of God in our actions, words, and even wills.

And part of celebrating God’s mercy is extending that mercy to others: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). The parable of the unmerciful servant teaches us a valuable lesson: our failure to do God's will— our sin— is more serious than any offense anyone could commit against us (Mt 18:21-35).

“You wicked servant… I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (Mt 18:32-33). Part of the Christian life is showing the world the light of Jesus. When we are merciful to the people around us, we show our gratitude to God and celebrate the mercy He has given us.

Another way to celebrate is to proclaim this mercy so that other people can also experience it. Living with God, knowing that His goodness and mercy are with us, changes our lives. After all, it is impossible not to have your life transformed by knowing Christ, with eternal life in perspective! “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Ps 145:8-9). In a world full of evil, knowing God's goodness and mercy brings us comfort, encouragement, and purpose.

Another way to celebrate God's mercy is to remember it! When we know God and become aware of our sins, God's mercy touches us. We feel the love of God, expressed in His mercy in sending His only Son, the love that compels us, that led Him to become flesh so that we could be with them eternally. Gratitude and remembrance of God's mercy should not only be in our hearts at the moment of our conversion. They should be a significant part of our ongoing walk of faith. And so, in moments of failure and stumbling, when guilt and shame overwhelm us, let us remember that we can go to our merciful Father. May the memory of His open arms, full of mercy, bring us the courage to not move away from His path after falling.

May we be aware and rejoice in the mercy we receive from God, may we cry out for His mercy in the valleys of our lives, and may we proclaim to everyone how this mercy can also reach them!

In Psalm 89, the psalmist feels so grateful. He contemplates the wonderful actions of the LORD and has a clear intention: “I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations” (Ps 89:1).

How will you celebrate God’s infinite mercy today?