Invested in Hope?

Invested in Hope?

I invest money in an account that has existed since I was about 30. When I send those funds off to my 403 (b) account, they ‘disappear.’  Would I enjoy hanging onto those dollars right now? Sure. But, I keep on sending funds there each month as I have done for many years. Why? Because I can ‘see’ a future when I will no longer produce an income. I am trying to prudently prepare for an era that still is over the horizon of time for me.

There are two quite similar phrases that have very different meanings.  We are urged to ‘live in the moment,’ to enjoy this day and the opportunities that present themselves. We cannot re-live yesterday. Tomorrow does not yet belong to us. Some suggest that we ‘live for the moment.’  That is a recipe for disastrous decisions. People who forget that there is a tomorrow become reckless and/or foolish. Jesus told a parable of a man who enjoyed a windfall of prosperity.  He forgot about God and eternity, living for the moment.  He decided to “Take life easy; to eat, drink and be merry.” (Luke 12)

Christian, does an active hope of Heaven shape your choices today, or are you foolishly living for the moment?  Jesus was willing to endure the Cross because of the ”joy that was before Him,” the promise of Resurrection and restoration to the Father’s Presence.  Faith is the line that connects our decisions in the present us to the anchor of God’s promise of eternal life!  Hebrews 11, the Bible’s Hall of Faith, reveals the secret that kept people like Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and Rahab living in a way that pleased God. "Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16, The Message)

The things we hope for in this present life, the plans we make with the best intentions, may be frustrated by circumstances over which we have no control.  But, the hope of Heaven is secure and nothing can keep us from that which He has prepared for us.  Do you want to live most wisely today? Then, understand God’s eternal promise!  "Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:20-21, NLT)

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In Christ Alone

In Christ alone, my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song.

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ, I stand!

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me.

From life's first cry, to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny!

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand.

‘Till He returns or calls me home.

Here in the power of Christ, I'll stand!

Keith Getty | Stuart Townend

© 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Off the Interstate Highway?

Bev and I mused about the ways in which our lives are changing as a result of her illness. We are working toward understanding that life will never be what it was, that we are in a time of transition, and that a new future will open us as we accept each day from the Lord.  It’s so much easier to write those words than it is to live them! I want to race through these hard days. I want to find a way to make it go away, but God and His grace are found in the process.

Gordon MacDonald says that God sends ‘disruptive moments.’  They allow Him to reclaim our attention creating new ways for us to experience His purposes fully. He takes the American road system as a parable! The Interstate highways let us drive 70 miles per hour, traveling with efficiency.  Stoplights on an interstate highway? No way!  Curves are long and sweeping so as not to slow traffic.  

For the sake of ‘fast’ all the towns that make up America are by-passed. If you want to experience these United States, you have to travel  on secondary roads.  “They wind through small towns and villages … you see things on them, even though it takes more time and caution to travel them.  Secondary roads do not promise unhindered passage. Sometimes they are poorly maintained.  … Each town has one police officer with a radar unit designed to raise revenue. … Be prepared for the inevitable slow-moving vehicle that keeps you crawling along for miles in no-passing zones. … There are many potential disruptions along the way.”  (The Life God Blesses)

Most of my life I lived in the way of the Interstate Highway. I was focused on efficiency in reaching goals that precluded stops to experience people and places to their fullest. Perhaps I am poorer having missed the opportunities that might have emerged in a slow conversation over a cup of coffee that was not scheduled on my full agenda! God, in His infinite wisdom, has detoured me onto a secondary road at the present. Some destinations and dreams are now out of reach as the trip will be slower.  I pray for faith to accept that this new normal teach me how to live a richer, fuller life, more accessible to others and loving better than I have in the past.

Are you open to the Lord’s ‘disruptive moments?’ 
Can you allow for the fact that your recent job loss may be His call to a new way of life along lesser traveled paths of deeper intimacy with Him? 

Could it be that what you have resisted so ferociously is actually His persistent urging to a life more centered on His Way?

That painful situation you have resented so bitterly could be an invitation to greater faith and to a new dream.

 Here’s the word from the Word. May it bless you with His peace this day.  Paul experienced disruption and pain. The Spirit showed him the purpose. "To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said,
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." (2 Corinthians 12:7-9, NLT)

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Blessings

We pray for blessings,

We pray for peace, comfort for family,

Protection while we sleep.

We pray for healing, for prosperity,

We pray for Your mighty hand

To ease our suffering.

And all the while You hear each spoken need,

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights,

Are what it takes to know You're near?

And what if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom,

Your voice to hear.

We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.

We doubt Your goodness,

We doubt Your love,

As if ev'ry promise from Your Word is not enough.

And all the while You hear each desp'rate plea,

And long that we'd have faith to believe.

When friends betray us,

When darkness seems to win.

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not this is not our home.

It's not our home.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights,

Are what it takes to know You're near?

What if my greatest disappointments,

Or the aching of this life,

Is a revealing of a greater thirst,

This world can't satisfy?

And what if trials of this life,

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights,

Are Your mercies in disguise?

Laura Story

© 2011 Laura Stories (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Jesus knows!

When I bowed my head to pray there was only silence.  What could I ask that I had not already asked?  No words were able to express the content of my soul, the anguish of heart, that I felt. Ever been in that place, overwhelmed by pain or sorrow?  Job was!   

The ancient prince, who story is told in one of the oldest books in the Scripture, was laid low by sickness, crushed by tragedies, broken by rejection.  As his friends offer their counsel, they insist that he is responsible for some sin that is causing his troubles.  They see life as a direct line of cause and effect.  The good and just live in God’s blessings without exception, they believe. 

Job knows that he has faithfully served God, but he cannot convince his friends. In frustration, he cries out:  “God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength." (Job 9:32-35, NLT)   If only there were a mediator.  For us, there is One!

Christian, we have a Meditator!  Jesus knows our humanity. He was fully Man!  He now represents us in the Presence of God. “Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6 NLT)  When life reduces us to quiet groans and tears, He knows what we feel.  "So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NLT)

We do not need to construct eloquent prayers or persuasive arguments in our prayers. We do not have to try to convince the Almighty to hear us. We have a Mediator and He is well acquainted with our situations. Grieving? He wept.  Alone? He prayed in the garden alone. Feeling abandoned by God? He cries out the same. Struggling to find faith to accept the trials of the day? He did, too!  Now, exalted in Glory, at the right hand of the Father, He is our advocate.  Even if the only words we can find are mumbled cries for mercy, He knows the deeper need.  Moreover, He has taken away our guilt and given us confidence to come into God’s Presence.  When I pray sometimes I think of Him standing alongside of me. I am shabby, without beauty, but this Lord of Glory puts His arm ‘round my shoulders and says, “Father, meet my brother!”  Yes, Christian friend, that is the truth. 

"So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word." (Hebrews 10: 19-23, The Message)

Jesus knows!

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Before The Throne Of God Above

Before the throne of God above,

I have a strong and perfect plea,

A great High Priest whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart,

I know that while in heav'n He stands,

No tongue can bid me thence depart;

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there,

Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Saviour died,

My sinful soul is counted free,

For God the Just is satisfied,

To look on Him and pardon me;

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,

My perfect spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I Am,

The King of glory and of grace.

One with Himself I cannot die,

My soul is purchased with His blood,

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ my Saviour and my God;

With Christ my Saviour and my God.

Charitie Lees Bancroft | Vikki Cook

© 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing (IMI))

CCLI License # 810055

Working with joy?

Most people probably would not put the words ‘joy’ and ‘work’ in the same sentence unless they said something like, “I was full of joy when I left work on Friday.” Do you ever dream about finding a source of income so that the daily responsibilities could be left behind, once and for all?  I do not expect much applause for the next couple of lines.  Nobody will write to after reading this and say, “Jerry, thanks! That word was just what I needed to get through this time in my life.” But, here goes anyway.

Your work matters to God!  Regardless if you’re a laborer, a teacher, a homemaker, or a preacher – God takes an interest in your life. A person known to be a disciple of Christ who goes to work and carries his responsibilities well is a credit to the Kingdom! Other than outright hypocrisy, nothing else brings more disgrace on the Name of Christ than those who fail to do their work with excellence and diligence.  

In the Bible we find this encouragement. It was originally addressed to the slaves that had come to Christ but the principle applies to all us who work for others. "Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free." (Ephesians 6:7-8, NLT)   Another passage repeats and emphasizes the same point: "Don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work." (Colossians 3:22-25, The Message)

Genesis tells us that because of sin, our efforts never produce all the results we desire.  The gardens we plant will develop weeds. The strategies we so carefully construct will be frustrated by unforeseen problems. But, still we work, not just to produce an income but, as the Word says, to please God!  Our boss will not always reward our effort. Others may claim the credit for the good we do. We might even have to work for lazy supervisors who make us to what they should be doing, but God knows, He sees, and His rewards and commendations are perfectly just.  If we have been diligent, we can anticipate standing before our Lord and hearing this: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" (Matthew 25:20-21, NIV)

Struggling to work with excellence? Finding it difficult to perform at a consistently high level?  Let me recommend a book that’s been around a while. It’s not a “Christian” title, but the principles in it are rooted in spiritual truth.  Stephen Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.  It is simple wisdom that will change your life if you take it to heart.  The Christian who weds this wisdom with the powerful encouragement of the Holy Spirit becomes a force for good. Really!

Take a second look at your work. Commit what you do and how you do it to Christ Jesus, prayerfully bringing Him to work with you.  Ask Him to help your life in the workplace to honor Him and side effect will be greater joy for you. I know it!

Father, the world in which we live frustrates us.

There is such an emphasis on leisure and pleasure,

There are so many unfair and unjust situations

That we are sometimes tempted to join with the

Complainers, slackers, and minimalists at work.

Help us to see that our work matters to You.

Teach to work at what we do wholeheartedly, and

Prosper the work of our hands.

We pray in Jesus’ Name.

Amen