Unexpected Hope

 

     The rainbow after a storm. A baby’s cry after the pain of childbirth. The first real smile after a time of mourning. Healing after a battle with cancer. The unexpected hope of Jesus. Life is full of surprises and miracles. Are you looking up with hope?

     I have watched as Jesus worked through times of depression, hopelessness, grief, loneliness and despair. I have witnessed a deep and abiding joy in the lives of Christians through the difficulties of life. There is unexpected hope of heaven just beyond the earth. The unexpected love of a Savior. I pray we will witness the transformation of those we love to witness the glory and light of life with Jesus. He changes everything.

…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They shall be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. Isaiah 61;3

     Allow Jesus to bring hope to you. Praise Him even in the pits of despair. He will turn your suffering into hope and bring joy after your mourning. The unexpected hope of Jesus. He will lift you up.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

Jesus,

Bring unexpected hope to those in need. You will lift us up when we need it most. We place our hearts and our hope with you forever.

Amen

 

Love and Grace

 

     Critical judgments, holding onto guilt, blaming others and holding ourselves and others to a rigid and rule-oriented standard are exhausting and worthless. All of the above will keep us from a more intimate relationship with God. But, with God, theycan be overpowered with love and with His word.

     When you want to hurl a stone of hurt or gossip, Jesus says:

“But I tell you love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”  Matthew 5:44

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most-High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked”   Luke 6:35

     Jesus forgives us and others. When we want to blame ourselves or others, holding onto or offering guilt, again we are asked to love.

 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.  Proverbs 10:12

Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.  Proverbs 17:9

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  1 Peter 4:8

     Jesus accused the law keepers of pride and hypocrisy. Holding ourselves and others to too high a standard and putting on a show for others to see, takes a toll on our spiritual, emotional and physical health. Allow your heart to find Jesus. Move the knowledge of His grace from your head to your heart. He sees through our lines of defense and the outer trappings of our lives. Rigid rules and rituals have been replaced by grace.

For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

Lord,

Thank You for opening our hearts to You. You offer love and grace, forgiveness and salvation and you offer us freedom from all that binds us. Remove all of the heavy chains we carry around with us and reduce us to love.

In Jesus name,

Amen

     Back on Monday! Enjoy the weekend!

 

    

Lawmakers

 

     Jesus used His harshest words on the religious leaders of the day. They knew the law, every jot and tittle, every crossed “t” and dotted “i.” They tested Jesus, daring Him to do something wrong. What they didn’t know? Jesus wrote the law. But beneath the regulations, He came to fulfill the law and bring freedom and grace.  He came for our hearts.

     The rituals, rules and religiously righteous believe we have to behave a certain way, believe a certain way, perform a certain way. And then came grace. And the Pharisees did not understand. And our kind, compassionate, sinless Jesus said these words to the keepers of the law:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”  Matthew 23:27

     Whoa! You can feel the anger of the Messiah. This is just one verse of many in this chapter accusing these leaders of greed and self-righteousness and pride, of placing heavy burdens onto others without lifting a finger of their own. The heart matters to Jesus.

     I want my heart to yearn more and more for intimacy with Him. He will guide us into obedience, not because we have to, not because of rules and regulations or guilt, but because we want to follow Him. Why? Because of His love and sacrifice. I want to love the Lord with all of my heart and all of my strength and all of my mind. And all the rest will come.

Dear Lord,

Your anger is against false piety and putting ourselves before others, vying for attention and caring only for ourselves and the way we appear to others. Change our hearts to be like Yours and help us to stand for mercy, faithfulness and justice.

Amen

 

Guilt Finders

 

     We blame ourselves. We blame others. We blame God. There’s plenty of guilt to throw around. We don’t have enough faith for healing. They deserve the suffering. Job suffered more than most. He lost his children, his home, his livelihood and his health. His so-called friends and even his wife blamed him. What did you do for God to punish you like this?

     As believers, we might wonder the same. Why do we suffer? There is danger in believing we will be prosperous, healthy and blessed every day of our lives. God walks with us through our suffering. He may walk us through, steer us around, or miraculously deliver us.  Our suffering can draw us closer to Him, making our faith even stronger. Job did what we need to do. He looked up.

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21b

     Even the disciples questioned Jesus about a man blind from birth.

His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  John 9:2

Jesus answered:

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”  John 9:3

     Here we are thousands of years later reading and discussing both Job and the blind man. The man born blind was used to show the healing power of Christ. Job’s suffering was used to show the possibility of trust even when everything is taken from us.  Get rid of the guilt and look up. The one of your heart is there in the midst of it. We just may be used to display the works of God.

  Dear Lord,

Our suffering has meaning for You. Take away our guilt or the temptation to blame others. You meet our needs whatever we do and wherever we are. Comfort those in grief and doubt today with Your presence. You have the grace to cover it all.

Amen

 

Stonethrowers

 

     The law of Moses was clear. For certain offenses, there were stones to be thrown. Judgment cast. Stone throwers called to the courtyard. Our stones may not be physically thrown these days, but our stone throwing still packs a punch. Shaking our heads at certain sins. Can you believe? Did you hear?  

     Gossip and critical judgments come so easily and make us feel just a little better about ourselves. We certainly would never do that! Or that! Or even that! The aim is easy when it’s thrown at others. Let’s look back There they were; the stone throwers of the day, ready to hit and kill the woman accused of adultery. And the keepers of the law tested Jesus.

“In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ John 8 6

 When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  John 8:7

     Jesus does that, doesn’t He? He stops us in our tracks just as we are about to throw out another stone. All of us fall short of the glory of God. All of us. Each and every one of us. And He looks at us with compassion and deep sadness, willing us to look at Him and believe. He suffered it all, from a white lie, to adultery, to a murderous thief and everything in between. Soon it is just Jesus and the guilty woman. And it is just Jesus and me, Jesus and you.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus answered. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  John 8:10-11

     Jesus never condemns. He loves and listens, forgives and leads us out from our sinful natures into His glorious light.

Dear Lord,

You love us despite all of our flaws. Lead us from our lives of sin. Show us how to live the life You prepared for us before the beginning of time. The life of inner joy and peace, filled with Your undying love.

Amen

He is Risen!

 

     There is no other faith under heaven and earth that offers eternal life as a free gift of God’s grace. Only Jesus. And Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with a living God. There are religions that believe we can get to heaven on our own. Others believe we need to come back and live more lives before we achieve a heavenly state. Others believe they need to pray a certain number of times each day, to follow the rules, to live a “good” life or to keep working and meditating to achieve a deeper peace.

     The truth is, none of us are good enough to work our way to heaven. The God of the universe is holy and perfect and just. And we are not.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

    Don’t buy into rules, regulations and religion. Jesus offers us the finished work of the cross. He paid the price for all of us and all He asks is the faith to believe He came, He died and He rose again. To believe He is the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:9-10)

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him, will not perish but will have eternal life. John 3:16

He is not here. He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Matthew 28:6

     Come and see! He is risen!

Father,

What a gift. It is amazing grace. After the darkness of Friday, there came a Sunday, full of light and hope. The gift You have given us in Your one and only Son. He paid the price. He took on the suffering that we deserved. He took on our sin, all of it. We believe.

In Jesus name,

Amen

I wish you the blessings of the resurrected Christ this weekend and every single day to follow. . Happy Easter! Hallelujah! He is risen!

The One Within

 

     The enemy of our souls prowls around like a lion ready to pounce (1 Peter 5:8) He accuses us. (Revelation 12:10) He disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) He knows our weaknesses and knows how to discourage us. He wants nothing more than to discredit our witness.  If you are working for Christ, he is your enemy. The best thing for us is to recognize the enemy and his wily ways, but to understand, we have the resurrection power of the almighty God within us.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

     The power of the Spirit of Christ within is greater than our enemy!

Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

     Recognize your foe with no fear. He has to flee from us!

Father,

Thank You for Your protection and thank You for the Holy Spirit that resides within us. He is mightier than the one in the world. Keep us steadfast in the faith, submitting to You.

In Jesus name,

Amen