Cindy Finley

Archives for May 2012

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How to Have Character Like Jeremiah

Can you identify with Jeremiah?  Jeremiah’s life was hard.   He was called by God.  He was close to God.  But God didn’t make his life easier.  Instead, it seemed that the more courageously he obeyed, the more hardship came his way.  

But he didn’t shrink back.  


I want to be one who doesn’t shrink back.  I want character like Jeremiah.  I’m guessing that you do to.

So,  I want to come alongside you in the midst of your pain.  I want to listen, and pray, and pull out the Kleenex.  And then I want to ask you some hard questions.  Questions that will help you develop character like Jeremiah.  


  • Will you go to God, rather than to this world, to find your identity?  

Like Jeremiah, you were knit together, known by God, and created in the image of God for Kingdom purposes. Genesis 1:27;  Jeremiah 1:5;  Ephesians 2:10 


  • Will you take your questions to God first, rather than to the internet, or your spouse, or your friends? 

 First of all, he is the one with all the answers.  Secondly, he opened the way for you to come to him. He welcomes you into his arms, just like he welcomed the little children. He is not offended by your questions, by your emotions, even by your anger.  You don’t have to pretend with Jesus.     Jeremiah 1:6-7; Hebrews 10:19-22;  Mark 10:13-16; 


  • Will you find courage in God’s presence with you in the midst of your struggle, rather than get angry with him because he doesn’t relieve you of your struggle?

Just as he stood with Joshua, he stands with us.  On the edge of the Jordan River, God urged Joshua to great courage as he faced the great conquest.  But God didn’t tell Joshua to simply work up courage on his own strength, but to rely upon the promise of his presence.  Joshua 1; Jeremiah 1:8. 

 

  • Will you trust in God’s word as you make life decisions?

Reading the Bible regularly and intentionally enables you have HIS word light your path. If you need a plan for reading your Bible, I have two plans for you here and here.  The goal is to learn to hear God in his word and the only way to do that is to prayerfully read it regularly.  Jeremiah 1:10-11; Psalm 119:105.  

Jeremiah didn’t shrink back from his call.  He didn’t draw back from his relationship with God.  Rather,  he pressed into God and found him faithful to accompany him throughout.  I want character like Jeremiah.  Do you?

Let me know how these questions help you.  Perhaps there’s someone in your life who needs you to listen, pray, pull out the Kleenex, and ask these hard questions.  Leave me a comment, if you’d like, or email me at cynthiafin@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing from you!

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Not an Easy Life, But an Accompanied Life

Yesterday, I introduced you to Jeremiah.  A man whose purpose in life, whose call by God, was to bring bad news to people.  For his trouble he was attacked, beaten, rejected, and most likely killed.  But, through it all he did not shrink back.  In spite of every obstacle he faced, he persevered.  He stuck to message.  And he did what he was supposed to do.  

How did he develop such character?
  • He rooted his identity in God.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
  • He took his concerns to God.
I don’t know how to speak, Jeremiah said, for I am only a youth.
But the Lord said to me,
Do not say , ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
  • He found his courage in God
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord

  • He received his call from God
Behold, I have put my words in your mouth
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.  
Regardless of what Jeremiah faced in his life,
attacked by his brothers,
beaten and put into stocks by a priest,
imprisoned by the king,
threatened with death,
thrown into a cistern by government officials,
opposed in the public arena by a false prophet,
he didn’t shrink back.
He didn’t shrink back because he knew
  • who he was,
  • where to take his concerns,
  • where to find courage,
  • what he was called to do.  
So when the going got rough, he pressed into God more deeply and found him faithful, not to make the going easier, but to be with him in the midst.  
This is God’s promise for us too.  He doesn’t offer us an easy life, but he does offer us an accompanied life. 
Join me here tomorrow, when I take this message home with questions for you to ask yourself.  Questions to help you develop character like Jeremiah.  

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Is Your Life Hard? Meet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had it rough. 

From a small town within a stone’s throw of a metropolitan area, his job was to tell people what they didn’t want to hear.  He was the bearer of bad news. His message was unwelcome and unpopular.  

Essentially, he told the people that they needed to change their way of life.   But, not only did they need to stop doing bad things, they needed to start doing good things.

But, even that wasn’t the crux of his message.  The core of his message was this,  

Above all, your heart is desperately sick.  You can’t just change what you are doing.  You need inside-out change.  You don’t just need information and inspiration.  You need transformation.  Jeremiah 17 (my paraphrase)

Jeremiah saw his nation sliding toward ruin.  He had the answer for them, 

Turn away from yourselves and your idolatry, and turn to God.

But people wouldn’t listen to him.
  • In the temple he was rejected (Jeremiah 7:1-8:3; 26:1-11)
  • In his hometown he was refused (Jeremiah 11:18-23)
  • In his ministry he was reviled (Jeremiah 20:1-6; 37:11-38; 43:1-7)
He never married, only had two people respond favorably to his message, and most likely died in Egypt where he was taken by his countrymen after all that he predicted actually happened.  
Jeremiah had it rough.  The key characteristic of his life was not one of success, not in the way that we typically think of success.  The key characteristic of his life was perseverance.
Jeremiah would not shrink back from God’s call upon his life.  

Perhaps you can identify with Jeremiah.  Perhaps your life seems particularly challenging.  Perhaps it seems like you hit crisis after crisis.  Would you like to develop character like Jeremiah?  Character to weather the storms of life with confidence and peace?  Meet me here tomorrow and I’ll let you in on how Jeremiah developed the character to persevere through the trials of life.  

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Why I Suggest You Unsubscribe From My Blog

The sheer number of emails in my inbox pushed me over the edge.  Little bit by little bit my subscriptions to wonderful, wonderful blogs drove my daily intake to the tipping point.  I have reclaimed my inbox.

I have unsubscribed from blogs which truly bless me.  Rather than pressing the “pause” button on my very real life when an article from an amazingly gifted writer arrives in my inbox,  I now visit their blogs on my time.  Their website addresses are now safely located in my Bookmarks so that I can visit these dear friends, glean from their experience, soak up their wisdom when I actively choose to do so.

I have unsubscribed from Loft, Old Navy, Gap, Staples, SwimOutlet, and every other business to whom I gave my email address.  And, I have committed to never, ever giving a business my email address.  Not only do I want to reclaim my inbox, but I also need to not be tempted by compelling offers.

I have unsubscribed from coupon companies, companies like Groupon (which I already cancelled because of my customer DISsatisfaction) and Plum District.  They tempted me with deals I don’t need.  If I’m looking for a coupon for a “Hardcover Photowrap Photobook,” I can easily find one with a quick search.  But, if fabulous deals for Eco-Friendly Bath, Beauty, and Home Products arrives in my inbox, I might impulsively decide that I just have to have them rather than responding to the real needs that arrive in our household.

I have unsubscribed from newsletters from organizations that I support.  I have moved their website addresses to a file in my Bookmarks  so that I can visit them and catch up with the great work they are doing on my time.

I have reclaimed by inbox and I suggest you do the same, even if it means that you unsubscribe from my blog.

So, how’s your inbox?  Is it overflowing, well-managed, or somewhere in between?  I’d love to hear your strategies for managing your email! 

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When Your Marriage is Cracked

Today I head to Charlotte, NC to minister with my friend, First Lady Twanna Henderson. Twanna serves alongside her husband, Rev. Dr. Michael L. Henderson, Sr., at New Beginnings Community Church in Matthews, NC.

Bill and I connected with Michael and Twanna years ago.  They’ve stood with us through both the victories and the challenges of ministry and marriage.  They are wise, and they are real, and we love them.

About six weeks I got a phone call from Twanna asking me if I would lead a workshop for a Women’s Conference she was planning for her church.  She shared the theme of the conference…

Crowns of Beauty in the Hands of the Lord
Isaiah 62:3

I love it!

  • I love helping women to root their identity in Christ as women created beautifully in the image of God. 
  • I love helping women to cultivate deep relational intimacy with Christ.
  • And I love helping women to find their unique niche, their ministry fit, their place in the body of Christ where they can impact the world through Christ.  

I love helping women see themselves as Crowns of Beauty in the Hands of the Lord.

As Twanna continued to share she said, “Now Cindy, your workshop will be titled Cracked Crowns:  Recovering the Broken Pieces.”  

“Cracked Crowns … Hmmm… Not quite the victory dance of Crowns of Beauty,” I thought. 

“Keep talking, Twanna.” 

“Well, Cindy.  This workshop is for married women only.  And I want a workshop that’s real.  A workshop that help women whose marriages are experiencing real struggles.  And I thought of you.”  

Remember that I told you that Michael and Twanna have stood with us through challenges in ministry and marriage?  She knows that Bill and I have been through real struggles and quite frankly, it’s only because of Jesus that we’ve made it through.

So, in just few hours I leave for Charlotte, NC where I will worship, and laugh, and most likely cry with Twanna and my sisters at New Beginnings Community Church.  We’ll answer questions like:

  • What cracked your crown?
  • Where are the broken pieces?
  • Who will you trust for recovery?

We’ll talk about cycles of sin and slavery and entaglement, crying out for help, seeking God in the wilderness of exile, and finding Him to be the only source for deliverance.

We’ll consider the real threats our marriages face, the reality of marriage in a fallen world with an enemy, a roaring lion, whose deepest desire is the steal and kill and destroy us as individuals, but also our marriages.   John 10:10

We’ll gain hope as we recast our marriages as opportunities to image forth the grace of God in our world and the hope of ultimate deliverance which comes at the return of Jesus.

And for women whose marriages are truly beyond a point of recovery, we’ll come alongside and help them find Jesus in the midst of the pain and the loss and even the anger.

I’m excited, but I’ve got those pre-conference butterflies.  And I’ve got the tapes rolling, “You have nothing to share.”  And I’m thinking of all the things that could go wrong…

So, would you pray for me?  And would you pray for the ladies of New Beginnings?  More than anything I want to see some women whose  marriages seem cracked beyond repair turn to Christ for hope and deliverance.   And if you have stories of how God has recovered the broken pieces of your marriage, I’d love to hear from you, either in the comments or at cynthiafin@gmail.com.