Truth – Abigail Rehmert

25 Things I Learned In My 20s

Published on March 27, 2023March 28, 2023 by Abigail Rehmert2 Comments

I’m deeply grateful for the layers of discipleship I’ve received from my parents, my siblings, my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, my Sunday School teachers, my college professors, my husband, my husband’s family, my church family, my friends, and my co-workers. What a gift it is to know an “abundance of counselors” (Prov. 11:14).

We’re teaching all the time in how we live our lives, and I’ve learned so much from people who probably didn’t even know they were teaching. Here are 25 things I’ve learned and maybe can encourage another young person.

1. God’s Word brings balance. I’m not that old, but I’ve seen “movements” pendulum swing, as individuals major on the minors or deconstruct their faith entirely. Safeguards and correct alignment come from diligently studying the Bible over time. The more time you spend in the Word (and understanding how to rightly handle it in context), the more balanced spiritual maturity you’ll have. Lord, keep us humble and aligned with truth!

“For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

Acts 20:27

2. This statement is true: “What if the passage you study today is preparing you for a trial ten years from now? Study faithfully now, trusting that nothing is wasted, whether your study time resolves neatly in thirty minutes or not” (Jen Wilkin). Learn how to study the Bible.

3. College isn’t necessarily for everyone, but gathering up as many skills as you can with your spare time will equip “your tool belt” with gifts to offer others. And truly it is, “More blessed to give than to receive.”

4. Two impactful books I read in my 20s — Just Do Something (Kevin DeYoung) to demystify decision making. Also The Transforming Power of the Gospel (Jerry Bridges) to help you understand how we can conquer sin.

5. Save all the money you can, even if you don’t know what it’s for yet. A house? A car? A wedding? A trip of a lifetime? Even if you don’t know, just SAVE!

6. Don’t ever assume because someone is in the same context as you that you agree on all the heart issues. Always be gentle, don’t haphazardly vent about random topics, not knowing the struggles and temptations your “like minded” friend may have.

7. Don’t say “I could never” say “What can I do?”

8. Ask for advice. Wise people don’t usually give advice without being asked.

9. “You don’t have to feel like it in order to do it” (Alison Lumbatis). Do the next thing, and motivation, and perhaps even momentum will follow.

10. Cooking is not a mathy, strict rule-following thing; it can be art! But learn as much cooking science as you can to build a foundation for your creativity.

11. Health knowledge can seem like a fascinating, overwhelming bottomless pit, but at the end of the day, the best things for you are free. Going outside, moving, drinking water, even praying. Trusting God and living in confession of sin will impact your health.

12. Love people deeply but hold them loosely.

13. You don’t have to finish reading a book you’re not enjoying or benefiting from — it’s not a moral issue.

14. Long-distance dating is very hard, but certainly worth it.

15. Childbirth is truly amazing. So is motherhood and marriage.

16. “Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will direct your path” (Proverbs 5:6). ABSOLUTELY TRUE, and I often thank God for directing my path, even away from what I thought was best at the time.

17. The gospel never gets old. It’s like a diamond ring, you can examine and admire it from all angles and in all different lights.

18. Your family culture and heritage is something to be appreciated, observed, and learned from. Respect and learn from the different sub-cultures of other families, too.

19. Have an “easy come, easy go” mindset when it comes to possessions. That way you’re not upset when something breaks.

20. Read The Hiding Place every few years.

21. Use teacups as much as possible.

22. “What’s ordinary to you is magic to someone else” (Brian Dixon). Never underestimate how you can learn from a variety of people and how things you may think are obvious are profoundly impacting others.

23. As opportunity arise, travel as much as you can, and let it sharpen what you can bring to home. When you can’t travel, read about faraway nations in missionary letters and books.

24. “We often (conveniently) judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions.” Instead, be gracious.

25. Boldly speak truth to your own heart. Be one who, in Christ’s strength, “walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2).

The Place is a Person

Published on January 16, 2023January 17, 2023 by Abigail Rehmert2 Comments

We call it Jump Creek — a thread of water nestling along rocky brush to a pebble-lined pool. At the end of the hike beside the creek, you’ll duck under a boulder and see the source. Stony walls guard a delicate waterfall from all sides. Last autumn, the shielded cove held a hush, a beauty in its hidenness. If you gazed at the unbroken foothilled horizon from afar, you’d never imagine the desert’s secret, cut into the canyon.

Perhaps Jump Creek once shielded someone running from danger. The clear water and rock-chilled shade maybe offered a respite for a moment.

Unlike King David, I’ve never needed to hide in a cave in serious fear for my life. There is a different hiding place I’ve craved. One that would cover what you could not see — my soul.

The immaterial in us doesn’t require something tangible like a waterfall’s chamber. Instead, our secret place is a Person. Simply abiding in His presence archives perfect escape. You remember the discomfort of crouching in a hide-and-seek spot, while your heart beat faster and you breathed louder, as the pursuer counted to ten and drew near? It’s not like being an anxious lump in the curtains as you listen to warnings and the discovering of other kids one by one.

Instead, while hiding here in Christ, you will hear sounds of deliverance. A song with a melody of triumph and a harmony of hope. You could search the earth over and never find the stillness and quietness that fills your soul in the presence of the One who can do all things well.

“You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

Psalm 32:7-8

There is no need to strain for footsteps approaching in pitch darkness. No need to fret over the woes of the wicked and the sounds of deceptive threats from the Accuser. Tucked into this hiding place, you will hear sweet instruction. Direction, counsel, and love.

Trouble and bad news can plague our weary bones. But in the midst of evil, injustice, loss, persecution, temptation — our soul waits and rests in love and feasts on promises.

“The sorrows of the wicked are many,
But the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”

Psalm 32:10-11

Yes, our flesh experiences the corruption of this world acutely. But our soul can never suffocate in prison. We will sing and worship in a hiding place. The soul can’t be destroyed by principalities and powers. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3)

The Psalmist in chapter 11 stated the LORD was his refuge. But others advised, “Flee! Flee like a bird to your mountain.” They seemed to think a location change would be the key to avoid the arrows of the darkness.

Often we wanted to flee the physical pain, and escape our obstacles by spending time, money, and every human effort to cope. We indulge in the flesh to feel something physical, but this isn’t true secret refuge.

The refuge is the Lord. Not the absence or altering of a circumstance. Will we not flee to this permanent safety and forever joy?

“One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 91:1

When danger threatens, when heartache throbs, see how the shadow of the Almighty brings shade from the heat. How His shelter brings a bedrock dwelling of security and nourishment. When everything in you says FLEE, God says, “Rest here. Know my protection. My loving eye is on you. Hear my instruction and counsel.”

Therein lies the hope.

“You are my hiding place and my shield;
I wait for Your word.”

Psalm 119:114

Will He not always shield us from all sides with His goodness? Hope waits for you to open God’s Word.

There is a place that is a Person — who serves as our covering, our shelter, our secrecy and protection. God’s enemies will not know how we are sustained by songs of deliverance. They can not understand how His words of instruction prompt deep, otherworldly hope. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but those who are sheltering in the Most High will rejoice. He is the one fighting for us!

To-Do: With Love

Published on October 20, 2022 by Abigail Rehmert5 Comments

Do you ever conquer your to-do list, but forget to do the things — like scramble eggs for breakfast or host a small group — with love? For love? In love?

After studying I Corinthians 13 this summer, I’ve been face-to-face with convicting encouragement. It doesn’t matter how impressive the day’s work, if it’s not accomplished with love, God considers it profitless.

If I mop all my floors and bake sourdough – but do it with an irritable heart toward another, it profits me zero. If I give my best efforts only when I feel like it, or when it blesses me, then what will this accomplish? If I share my possessions with the needy, but am impatient about it, this counts for nothing.

If we can exegete Scripture and discuss heady doctrines around the dinner table, but secretly rejoice when someone is humiliated for their sin, the mysteries I understand have not pierced my heart.

If I check all the “good Christian” boxes, but boast and insist on my own way, trampling others’ feelings and preferences, then how will unbelievers or believers see Christ?

If I become a clanging cymbal in the 20 minutes before guests arrive . . . then I’ve sent a message that it’s not really about the people in my home, it’s about my put-togetherness.

Others do not feel loved by noisy gongs. I often forget, as Myquillyn Smith said, “Hosting is never about the host, and hospitality is never about the home.” I have been deeply ministered to by imperfect hosts with Christlike, gracious hearts.

One of my favorite homes belongs to my sister who demonstrates a special gift in hospitality. If you’ve been in her little house, you know. She creates the perfect personalized coffee, iced or hot, but also asks the deep questions to glimpse how my soul is doing. I enjoy both edifying conversation and a landscape of curated art and timeless style. I know both she and her home are a work in progress. I know she sacrificed to prepare for my company, and the dancing candle is only one sign. But, if I drop by without giving her much notice, I still receive a big welcome, a listening ear, and a love that shares all she has been given.

Yes, love pursues excellence with all the energy God’s gifted, but the ministry of presence is effective even if there’s food in my drain, junk mail on the counter, or wilting plants on the shelf. Love is the ingredient needed for lasting meaning in our ministry of hospitality and service, and it starts with a willing, abiding heart.

So do I have to do something perfectly for it to “count?” No, nothing we can do will ever earn Christ’s love. If I’m not in Christ, I gain nothing, I am nothing. God is love, and if we are not in Him, we are a dead branch, unable to produce. But if we are walking in the Spirit, these fruits of love and patience will blossom in our attitudes and actions. Our entire motivation changes.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all.
2 Corinthians 5:14

When you’re tucked into gospel-love, success and even completion look different. His imperative and invitation is that we abide in love, so it’s not a doing, it’s a being. It’s not really about a to-do list, but being compelled by our love for God to walk in the homely or beautiful works He prepared for us.

He always desires a heart posture, not a show. When we have guests for dinner, I sometimes go to the lengths of making a garlicky, basil dressing from scratch. After the prayer for our meal, my sweet husband will get up from the table and begin to offer our company the ketchup, BBQ sauce, and bottled dressings.

To be honest, I’ve wanted to chide him later: “But honey, I had everything on the table that we needed! And the salad was already dressed.” But even more than striving for the aesthetic image, I appreciate the way my husband displays his deep care for people and desire to serve them. And do you know what? A troupe of condiments always makes guests feel more at home. Chick-fil-a sauce never fails to produce a laugh, a symbol of down-to-earth commonality. And, I must admit, the potato wedges taste a lot better with it.

Whether you’re called to love others with dressing homemade or bottled, let Love compel you to walk for His glory alone. As we strike items from our to-do list, or share our imperfect homes, let’s aim for eternal profit. The Spirit’s kindness, patience, and joy will shine through as we abide in Him.

Life after Tomb

Published on April 14, 2022 by Abigail Rehmert1 Comment

“Even the icebent daffodils and crushed violets, the trampled crocuses and the battered hyacinths glittered like jewels in the muddy farmyards. Thomas caught his breath. He had never seen anything so beautiful. He passed the cemetery. The gravestones, too, twinkled in their shining gowns of ice. And the church bell began to ring.”
Lori Walburg

This paragraph from The Legend of the Easter Egg, shows a glimpse of Thomas, a boy who spends the week before Resurrection Sunday at a friend’s home because his sister is very sick. While there, he grasps the beauty of new life — eternal life. He learns death is no final separator for those who belong to Christ.

Our little church in Kansas overlooked the town’s cemetery. I would play with the other children outside after Sunday and Wednesday services, the charming trees towering over the tombstones a familiar sight. I saw the flowers come and go, the beaming American flags posted on Memorial Day, and a list of fallen veterans etched in a memorial stone.

We weren’t allowed to play in the cemetery, but we still knew the shapes and some of the stories of the ornate graves, and could sense the history. It stood a constant reminder of the realness and certainty of death. There were names from the 1800s, little graves for babies, and even fresh graves of a few from our own congregation.

It didn’t really bring fear, just an impression. A respect that it was appointed for man once to die.

Once I asked my dad where he’d like to be buried one day. I personally thought under the shade of a sturdy tree would be nice. He said, “Doesn’t matter where they’ll bury me. I’ll be gone.”

I pondered this, and I agreed. I, too, would be gone, in a place better than anything conjured up on earth.

“It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.”
Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is important to remember death, because in its bitter sting, we know what it is to truly live a born-again life. We know the opposite of death. We taste victory, because we were buried with Him and raised to walk in newness of life.

Over and over Scripture declares to know Him equals life, in the fullest, sweetest, deepest way.

This weekend I’m looking forward to the choir declaring life, my husband’s sermon, my new dress, cinnamon rolls, and hearing the bells ringing, “Hallelujah.” Like little Thomas in the story, I still have questions, but they are resting in the hands of a Risen Savior.

Death is a reality and certainty, but it is no master of the saints. It is the wages of sin for sinners, but it is no victor over God’s people.

He conquered death, and He defined eternal life right in John 17:3.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

The next time you see a cemetery, be it shining in gowns of ice, stones faded from all the sun, under trees or a forest of flagpoles, remember to acknowledge death in the light of Christ’s own death, burial, resurrection.

Enjoy this poem my friend Madelyn shared with me–

“Gain after loss,
Strength after weakness,
Crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter,
Hope after fears,
Home after wandering,
Praise after tears.

Sheaves after sowing,
Sun after rain,
Sight after mystery,
Peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow,
Calm after blast,
Rest after weariness,
Sweet at last.

Near after distant,
Gleam after gloom,
Love after loneliness,
Life after tomb;
After long agony,
Rapture of bliss—
Right was the pathway leading to this.”

-Frances Havergal

Illustrations by James Bernardin, The Legend of the Easter Egg

Turn Up the Sound Doctrine

Published on January 11, 2022January 11, 2022 by Abigail Rehmert1 Comment

I recently introduced my husband to my favorite book, The Hiding Place, and we haven’t been able to stop talking about it since we listened to it together on our holiday road trip.

What I love about the Ten Boom family is their lack of fuss. They simply read God’s Word and sought to apply it even while their home country decayed in the WWII German occupation. They intimately knew God’s voice and leaned on Him for courage.

The Ten Booms knew they held no value to the Nazis. They weren’t young, rich, or cutting edge, just one wrong move away from prison or worse. They fixed watches for a living and loved the disabled people, the strays, the beggars, the homeless, anyone who knocked with need. In aligning their view of other image-bearers with God’s, some of them paid the ultimate sacrifice for their diligent obedience to the Lord.

Wanting Ears Tickled

For all the things that will be hard next year, there is something that will be all too perfectly easy for us. It will be easy to skate around the Bible instead of studying it. Even silencing it by listening to the believer’s three worst enemies instead.

1) The Deceiver subtly seeks to feed us lies, or even half-truths, suggesting we question God’s goodness like Eve did. He’ll try to make us ashamed of both Christ and the words of His mouth.

2) The World blasts anything that will sell for its own fat profit and cleverly hide the true price tag.

3) Our Flesh will crave the things the world offers because of its raging appetite.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.”
2 Timothy 4:3

It’s easy to accumulate teachers who tickle or scratch our ears because we don’t even have to leave our couches to hear and read them.

The Worthiest Voice

But God’s Word equals the brightest light and the source of sound doctrine. Our God is sufficient for our needs, and He speaks the raw truth. Our ears need it in an enormous amount so we can discern everything else we hear.

I’ve seen the slow fade in my life. By giving my time, attention, and priority, I twist up the volume of other platforms. Perhaps of gifted writers who weave things that sound good, are mostly true in some contexts, and who emphasize the trending mantras. I have to be wary, lest I’m desensitized to deceptions cloaked in lovely prose. Humans are good at convoluting truth, one catchy phrase at a time.

Am I tuning into any influencers/teachers/writers/celebrities/church leaders who speak into my own fleshly desires? Who are easy to look at and promise enlightenment, but serve sickly-sweet flattery and feel-good stuff? I never want to stay informed of the culture at the cost of opening my heart to deception.

Can we endure sound doctrine? The Piercing Lamp, volume turned up?

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
‘Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus, –Louisa M. R. Stead

We would do well to follow in the footsteps of the simple Hollanders from The Hiding Place, just obeying what “saith the Lord” in daily tasks and stewarding opportunities for sacrifice with courage. Sound doctrine was their light in the hellish concentration camp. Sound doctrine spoke louder about their value than the guards who called them only by their prison numbers. Sound doctrine gave strong promises of God’s care and kindness in the absence of their basic human rights.

In war-torn hunger, Jesus still proved the Bread of Life. While they had threadbare blankets in the cramped barracks, His Word is called a fire. When Corrie and her siblings were weak, His Word is known as a hammer. Their earthly bodies shriveled, but God’s Word stood as a mirror to their precious souls. They were defenseless, but the Nazis could not take away the Sword of the Spirit.

It’s so sweet just to take Him at His Word.

As we venture into 2022 — be it easy or hard times — take up this Light. This Mirror. This Sword. Let’s delight in rather than wander from His commandments. Refresh ourselves with the accuracy of God’s own account of Himself. Turn up the sound doctrine so we can see our path.