Belonging to Christ

     How are you holding up this week? I have started with praising God all four days so far. It’s a start! I definitely want to invest in making this a habit; waking each morning with a grateful heart and a recognition of my need for God.

     Looking for the unexpected blessings and humbling ourselves before Almighty God will bring joy to our hearts. I pray you see God’s beauty this last long weekend of summer. I will see you right back here on Wednesday morning. My husband and I are going to enjoy some days of relaxing and refreshment, including rides in our convertible and a trip to the State Fair.

     One of our vacation days will begin with a funeral. Our friend’s dad passed away last week after a few years with Alzheimer’s. He was 91. Life happens as we plan our days. Sometimes the blessings come in our ability to share a hug, to offer sympathy, to lend an ear.

     I’ll leave you with some words of comfort about this life and the next. We have Jesus in both.

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may be together with Him.  1 Thessalonians 5:10

Jesus,

We belong to You today, tomorrow and forever. Make us aware of Your presence with us each morning as we welcome You into our lives. Whether we live or whether we die, it is for You.

Amen

Humble Love

     One of janitor Denny’s sayings reminded us to stay humble, not “thinking less of ourselves,” but “thinking of ourselves less.” God raises up the humble and rebukes the proud.

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the way. Psalm 25:9

For the Lord takes delight in His people. He crowns the humble with victory.  Psalm 149:4

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.  Luke 14:11

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Ephesians 4:2

But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says, “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6

Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up. James 4:10

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherift the earth. Matthew 5:5

     Meekness is not weakness and humility keeps us from thinking more highly of ourselves than others. It allows us, like Denny, to put others first, to see everyone as dearly loved by God. After all, we have Jesus and don’t you want everyone to know Him?

Dear Father,

Keep us humble in spirit, willing to put others first and to offer kindness where none is deserved. When we humble ourselves before You, You lift us up with love.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Kind Blessings

     I started out to pray and walk yesterday morning, thinking about the words I had just written. My heart was heavy with concern for family and friends going through struggles, but I began with praising God for the breath of life and for the sunshine and for His ability to work in all things.

     God chose to bless me in unexpected ways on my walk. It was the usual 2 mile walk. Since I don’t drive anymore due to my eye disease, I take the same course around a small lake near our home. I ran into a friend from church; the first unexpected blessing. Next I saw a young man with two huge dogs coming my way and he showed me a small turtle he had picked up a couple of blocks away from the lake. He took the time to return the little guy to a safe environment.

     As I turned onto 86^th Street about halfway around, an SUV pulled up next to me and said, “It’s me, Denny! How the heck are you?” It was the janitor from our prior church, a friend I had not seen in almost a decade! His ministry continues to go way beyond his job description and he added so much to our congregation in a myriad of ways, including single handedly changing a young boy’s life.

     Tom rode his bike around our church parking lot as a very young boy and Denny befriended him over the years, until Tom finally joined our flock. He grew from a scared young boy in a very dysfunctional family into a hard-working, (now married) young man. Denny and I spoke of our families and the years that had gone by and he left me with these words, “God is so good, and he made us friends.”

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

      We, like Denny, can stop with a kind word, to offer help to a young, lost boy and to remind us of the servant’s heart. May God bless you today!!  He has made us friends.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the day brighteners around us. Open our eyes to appreciate them, the turtle saviors, the church ladies, the ministering janitors among us. You are so good.

Amen

A Plan, A Hope, A Future

     What if we bagan each day praising God for His creation, (including us) for the fact that He is in all things, understands all things and holds eternity in His hands.

For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him.  Colossians 1:16

     With that in mind, beginning our day with praise lifts us out of ourselves into something bigger than ourselves.

     What if we give Him all of our issues today? Give Him our irritations, our criticisms, our jealousies, our hopes, our dreams and desires and ask Him to work them all out for His glory? If He created us and knows us better than even our spouses and if He knows where we live, in which century we were created to live, and how our lives are planned to affect those around us, what if we let Him guide us every single day?

     I know, I know. Life is busy. We are distracted. We have interruptions and those people we work with!! How do we concentrate on a loving God with all of it? How do we make Him first?

     We can discipline our minds to think of Him first, giving our days to Him, asking Him to use us, to choose us, to allow us to be the ones to plant a seed, to change a life, to offer hope, to give love where none is deserved. Jesus did that for me and you. He knows us.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Dear Father,

Turn our minds to You first and take the lead. You have plans for us, a plan of hope and a future. We give You our lives today and every day hereafter.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Eternal Hope

     Our ultimate hope is heaven. Our spiritual lives should become more and more vibrant as we age. Our lives can reflect our maturity in faith, our trust in Jesus, our hope for heaven. The older we get, the privilege of growing older only brings us closer and closer to our real home. We will see Jesus in His full glory, receive our eternal bodies and live forever!  I believe we will remain the essence of ourselves, know each other and we will serve and use the gifts we have used in the here and now.

     It will be glorious. We are only here for a little while. As the Bible reminds us, our lives are like a vapor or a blink and then they are done. One of my favorite worship songs is, “When All is Said and Done.” When all is said and done, will we have lived the lives planned out for us before the beginning of time? My hope is that we all find our pure joy in Jesus. He has given us the kingdom, forever and ever.  Our eternal hope.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  Titus 3:4-7

Dear Father,

We struggle and strain and wonder and grieve. We laugh and cry and find joy and despair. Through it all, we have You and the hope of eternal life. We are heirs to the kingdom! Remind us that each day draws us nearer to the hope of our salvation, to eternal life. We wait expectantly. Show us a bit of the kingdom here on earth.

In Jesus name

Amen

Peservering Hope

     The waiting and the watching are endless. We try to be patient and persistent in our prayers. But where is God? Has He heard us? When will an answer come? And will it be the answer we believe is the right one? Is there healing? Will she come home? Is he safe? Will they turn their lives around? Will I find a job? Is divorce the answer? How will I go on without him or her? Can we keep hope alive?

Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:30-31

     Hope when we are weary. Strength when we stumble. The Bible even goes so far as to count our trials as pure joy. According to Scripture here is the progression of our faith during a trial.  (Wish it always worked this way)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.   James 1:2-4

     The Scriptures today give me hope. All of us stumble and grow weary. Putting our faith in our Lord brings strength until we can walk and even run again. Test your faith. Is it in the power of Jesus? He has more than enough to spare and the Holy Spirit can fill you with peace and joy and hope in the very middle of the trial you are facing. Trust His goodness. The maturing of our faith takes time. When the persevering is done we will be complete, not lacking anything. I want that. How about you?

Dear Jesus,

Give us glimpses of hope today as we persevere through our trials. Give us patience and the peace that passes understanding. We put our trust in You, the author and finisher of our faith.

Amen

Finding Hope in Despair

     Psalm 42 is filled with words of despair and heartache and cryingout to God. God can take all of our feelings and fears, our worries and weakness and there we find hope. As we read through the Psalms and hear David’s voice in the singing, the praises, the despair, the cries for forgiveness, we hear the humanity of life.

     Even in the midst and, most often, near the end of each Psalm there is always a turning to God, with phrases like, “even now,” “and yet,” “I will yet praise Him.” And in the middle of David’s cries, see how David turns again to his God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturned within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5

     Wherever you are today, praise God. Even if you feel hopeless and helpless, praise Him. Praise Him for His creation, for His love, for His forgiveness, for the hope of eternity. Sometimes praise is sacrificial. It may seem impossible. The writer of Hebrews understood this.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually ofer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.  Hebrews 13:15

   God honors our praise as we trust Him through the darkness. The sacrifice of praise will give you hope when there seems to be none.

Dear Lord,

We praise You for Your Son, for Your unending love, for Your understanding heart, for Your compassion. For all of these things and more, we praise Your holy name.

Through Jesus, our Savior

Amen