Grow through it!

Each Friday morning, I find a newsletter called Friday Update in my email from a pastor - Mike Woodruff- who collects news of note, adding his comments and wisdom. Today he opened with this good thought. “We can learn much about ourselves, God, and life by suffering. Many say as much. The tuition is high, but some go so far as to thank God for it — i.e., for cancer, unemployment, and similar challenges. Not everyone, of course. And we need to be clear: not everyone gets better via suffering. Some simply get bitter. Growing through suffering requires the right conditions, starting with reflection, humility, and faith.”  .  (click here for a free subscription)

If your life is full of sunshine, love, and plenty - give thanks to God and enjoy it. Know this - sunny days will give way to rainy ones. Because we live in a world where there is sin and brokenness, we will inevitably run into hard times; some the result of our own choices, many simply because things like aging, illness, economic cycles, and imperfect people are part of the world in which we live. How we walk through those days, the choices we make, can make us better or bitter.  I really like Mike Woodruff’s line.  If we want to grow deeper and stronger in life, “the tuition is high,” but the result is so worth it, my friend. Faith grows. Love flourishes. God comes nearer to us. The Psalm says -“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” (Psalm 119:67)

The value found in suffering is revealed in so many of the stories of the Bible.

Joseph would never have become the salvation of his family and the Prime Minister of Egypt without the horrific trip through slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment.

Daniel might well have concluded that his life was over, before it even started, when the Assyrians took him from Jerusalem to become a servant of the court of Babylon, but God turned a slave into a counselor to kings, changing history. Daniel did his part by doing what was right and godly, even when it looked as if he had no reason to do it.

David walked into a face to face challenge that looked ridiculous, a hero on the other side named Goliath, and he, a teenage shepherd from a backwater village. Mocked by the champion, David showed his heart. “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you.”  (1 Samuel 17:45-46)

Jesus was taken down from the Cross, buried by dispirited friends who thought it was over. I would like to know what the conversation among those disciples was like on Saturday. Regrets, perhaps? Recrimination?  But, God was not finished. His Son had entrusted Himself to the Almighty and on Sunday morning, the earth shook, the stone rolled away and death was conquered.

Paul was beaten up by life, opposed by enemies – spiritual and human – and his rivals dismissed him as just a ‘big talker.’ In city after city after preaching the Gospel of Christ he found himself rejected, arrested, and sometimes in peril of death. In Corinth it got so bad that he concluded his life was over. But, God was not finished with him. 

Reflecting on that time later in his life, he wrote -  "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." (2 Corinthians 1:8-11, NIV)

From my own experience, I can tell you that God is faithful and that He accomplishes His purposes in us when we are willing to wait, to trust, to humbly accept His will, and to lean into His love.  I barely recognize the man I was three decades ago. Success found me early. God blessed me with a beautiful wife, wonderful children, with a fulfilling life that overflowed with good things.  Sadly, I allowed myself to think that somehow I had made it happen.

Pride overtook my heart and choices I made led me into a wilderness I did not seek. But God was there and I grew to know His grace in a way that I could not have known until that time in life. A decade ago, the awful diagnosis of cancer came to my wife, my love, and in 20 months her life here came to an end. It was the worst blow I had known in my life - emotionally and spiritually. But God was there; leading and loving me.  And I know this- I have not yet graduated from the school of discipleship!

Our strength is not blind faith. It is Christ-centered faith. We are not fatalists fumbling our way to the finish. We are people of purpose, called to follow the Spirit, assured of His promise and our ultimate place worshipping eternallly around the Throne of God. So, let’s go make a difference. Finish the game, for the glory of God.

The word from the Word:  "I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 1:16-20, NLT)  And He "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." (Ephesians 3:20, NIV)

Let’s grow on!

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

Be Thou My Vision

 

Be Thou my vision

O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art

Thou my best thought

By day or by night

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light

 

Be Thou my wisdom

Be Thou my true Word

I ever with Thee

And Thou with me Lord

Thou my great Father

I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling

And I with Thee one

 

Be Thou my shield

And my sword for the fight

Be Thou my dignity

Be Thou my might

Thou my soul's shelter

And Thou my high tow'r

Raise Thou me heav'nward

O pow'r of my pow'r

 

Riches I heed not

Nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance

Now and always

Thou and Thou only

Be first in my heart

High King of heaven

My treasure Thou art

 

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart

Whatever befall

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all

 

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

The Most Excellent Way

Yesterday, while I was returning from a trip to Home Depot, I noted that the driver in the right lane paused for a few seconds before making a turn on red, simply being cautious.  A blaring horn announced the anger of the driver behind him who apparently found his caution a source of irritation. She gestured rudely while shouting words I can only imagine were not a blessing. Her flare-up of anger is not uncommon, is it?

Road rage contributes to a significant portion of traffic accidents and deaths on our highways. Aggressive drivers who crowd others, who drive too closely, or even who use their vehicle as a weapon are showing up on our roadways every day and every where. About a third of drivers self-report to experiencing road rage at least occasionally. Why is this happening?   Sociologists point to several factors. Among them are increased levels of general stress in life, feelings of isolation and being disconnected from a larger community, thinking of one’s self as anonymous and therefore unaccountable, and more crowded highways.

Let’s widen the lens on life.
Are you an angry person, quick to offense, meeting life with clenched fists?
Do you struggle with unresolved hostility, always ready to ‘defend your turf’ because you perceive a world that is hostile towards you or yours?

Paul was inspired by the Spirit to teach us as Christians to live differently!   “And now I will show you the most excellent way.  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:1-7, NIV)

That passage makes clear the absolute necessity of love in our Christian practice.  We learn that without love eloquence is just noise. Without love spiritual gifts lose their ability to accomplish God’s work in the world. Without love personal service and devotion is without reward. Without love great knowledge becomes worthless.

Love is not just a syrupy emotion for special moments. It is not reserved for a select few, for children, or the sentimental. Love is a way of life that is vigorous, powerful - ‘the most excellent way.’   Authentic love is bold, engaged with the world, taking on difficult people, refusing offenses, actively going after what is best all of the time.  When we take time to process that passage, especially the second part, we find that love is never passive. It shapes each and every part of our lives and will make us radically different in this world.

So, how do we come to love in the ‘most excellent way?’  We will never achieve it simply by determination or discipline. Love begins with love!  John tells us "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:15-16, NIV)  By faith we accept that “God loved the world so much that He GAVE His son to save us”   The Spirit lives in us and reveals God’s love to us. Like the wayward son of the story of Luke 15 we turn towards home and find the arms of our Father open wide, ready to receive and forgive.  Loved, we learn to love!  Friend, let me underline this fact - God loves YOU.  His love is not limited or conditional.  He loves us from His essence, which is love. His grace is given to us, costly to Himself, free to us for the receiving. This is the start of becoming loving.

Then, we begin to live in love. 
We choose forgiveness because we are forgiven.
We refuse pride because we know we are “God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)  
We learn to live patiently because He is patient with us in our failures. 
We live outwardly focused because we know that He holds us secure in His grasp into eternity. 
We refuse to keep score in life because His love is the best affirmation we can ever know.

We feel no need to hide from the truth because we know that the ‘One who knows us best, loves us most!’

Choose love. It is ‘the most excellent way.’   Love pays rich dividends now and in the future with God.  I hope you will let Him love you to life.

The word from the Word is worthy of our meditation today. Jesus says "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35, NLT)

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

God So Loved (Live At The Wheelhouse)

Come all you weary

Come all you thirsty

Come to the well that never runs dry

Drink of the water

Come and thirst no more

 

Come all you sinners

Come find His mercy

Come to the table He will satisfy

Taste of His goodness

Find what you're looking for

 

For God so loved the world that He gave us

His one and only Son to save us

Whoever believes in Him will live forever

 

Bring all your failures

Bring your addictions

Come lay them down at the foot of the cross

Jesus is waiting there

With open arms

 

For God so loved the world that He gave us

His one and only Son to save us

Whoever believes in Him will live forever

The power of hell forever defeated

Now it is well I'm walking in freedom

For God so loved God so loved the world

 

Praise God praise God

From whom all blessings flow

Praise Him praise Him

For the wonders of His love

 

For God so loved the world that He gave us

His one and only Son to save

 

Bring all your failures

Bring your addictions

Come lay them down at the foot of the cross

Jesus is waiting

God so loved the world

Andrew Bergthold | Ed Cash | Franni Cash | Martin Cash | Scott Cash

© 2019 Angie Feel Good Songs; Bay19; Capitol CMG Genesis; Capitol CMG Paragon; Scott Cash Publishing Designee; We The Kingdom Music

For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com

CCLI License # 810055

Hope

Last Saturday I stood in an old cemetery in Dunmore, PA where I was leading a graveside burial service, I was surrounded by hundreds of monuments, some dating back more than a century.  I spoke the familiar words - “we commit her body to the earth in the in the certain hope of the Resurrection through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.” 

On the drive home, I thought back to Friday evening when I was called to pray with a man near the death. I stood in the presence of grief with his family, anointing him with oil, confronted with the ugly reality of dying.  In prayer, I invited the angels to lead him through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ to his home with the Lord.  The grim darkness of the cemetery, the heavy sorrow in the room of that dying man, starkly contrasted with the joy of Resurrection Sunday worship a few days previous when we sang - “Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!”

Death seems an implacable enemy, doesn’t it? We ignore aging, move quickly through the rituals of mourning, and too often attempt to smother the grief that comes after the loss. We may ask questions of our faith, wondering if our hope is real. Those stones with names etched on them, the grimness of a vigil at the bedside of the dying, can make the promise of life eternal hard to grasp.

Yet, I do have hope and so can you! "But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:20-21, NLT)   That whole passage invites us to faith.  Paul reminds us that the Resurrection is based on solid witness testimony. "I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles." (1 Corinthians 15:3-7, NLT)

But what of those graves filled with bones of those now long dead, we might ask? 

There will come a time when God will call them from the grave, when He will miraculously and mysteriously give those who now live in His Presence, new bodies, eternal bodies, imperishable bodies.  The bodies long decayed into dust will somehow be raised, but new and beyond the death of mortality.  "It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die. Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power. They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies." (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, NLT)

Those who have left us do exist in the Presence of God even now.  We are told that "when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. … we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. … God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:1-8, NLT)  Those who die slip beyond our reach but they remain ‘alive’ in God’s Presence awaiting that moment of final Resurrection, the end of this old earth and the expectation of a new creation!

This is our hope, assured by the Resurrection of Jesus, who is the evidence of what is to come. Do we understand it all? No, we do not. By faith we only see the outlines of the Promise. The veil between this world and the next remains impenetrable for us at the moment. So we look to Jesus and we pray, “I do believe, help me overcome my doubts!”

Are you grieving, dear friend? Seek the comfort of Christ Jesus, focused on the promise of Heaven’s home.

Do you live in fear of dying? Hold onto the assurance of the gift of life that is provided freely through Jesus’ grace, purchased by His death at the Cross.

Hope!  We know it, by faith, and find strength to live, though we are indeed now in a mortal body that will surely die!

The word from the Word urges us to the best life, lived in the light of Eternity. Let this truth own your mind and your heart.  "For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. When this happens—when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:53-58, NLT)   Add your Amen!

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

 

Graves Into Gardens

I searched the world but it couldn't fill me

Man's empty praise and treasures that fade

Are never enough

Then You came along and put me back together

And every desire is now satisfied here in Your love

 

Oh there's nothing better than You

There's nothing better than You

Lord there's nothing

Nothing is better than You

 

I'm not afraid to show You my weakness

My failures and flaws

Lord You've seen them all

And You still call me friend

'Cause the God of the mountain

Is the God of the valley

There's not a place

Your mercy and grace won't find me again

 

You turn mourning to dancing

You give beauty for ashes

You turn shame into glory

You're the only one who can

 

You turn graves into gardens

You turn bones into armies

You turn seas into highways

You're the only one who can

 

Brandon Lake | Chris Brown | Steven Furtick | Tiffany Hudson

© 2019 Brandon Lake Music; Maverick City Publishing Worldwide; Music by Elevation Worship Publishing; Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

I hope you dance!

It is my privilege to work with several good and generous people who give hours to the food pantry ministry of Faith Discovery Church. Yesterday, feeling silly, I did a little dance proclaiming “I have a song in my heart!”  One of my friends joked - “Well, it’s not in your feet!”  That is so very true.  I cannot find a nicely coordinated way to move in anything resembling an actual dance, but I wish I could. But, I ‘dance’ anyway, when I feel joyful. Many years ago I thought that a class might help me so I enrolled Bev and I in one that met an evening each week. The instructor did her best to convince me that the only thing standing between me and real dancing was self-consciousness. Bev had a great time. I never did master the steps! 

Do you dance? The question is not about your physical grace or rhythm.
The real issue is do you allow yourself to feel and express joy, giving genuine thanks to God for life and the blessings He gives?

It is so easy to see only the pain in life which is real, to take note of what is ‘not right,’ which is common in our broken world, and yet to miss the small graces that find us each day- a beautiful sunset, a child’s giggle, a friend’s encouragement, or a song that touches our soul.  In those moments, I hope you dance!  Let your soul be free before Him!

Others may not dance with you, nor may they even appreciate your joy in the Lord.  David, the shepherd king of Israel, was bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to the Tabernacle. It was the symbolic dwelling of God among His people and the event was celebrated with joy. Overcome with his emotions the king started to dance in the street. He was not just tapping his toe with the music. The Bible says "David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly tunic." (2 Samuel 6:14, NLT)  Forgetting his position and his pride he was leaping, dancing, and shouting the praises of God. His wife found his enthusiasm embarrassing, disgusting evecn. "Michal, daughter of Saul, watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart." (2 Samuel 6:16, NIV)   

Coming to his palace, David expected she would share his joy. Instead, he found contempt poured over him like acid, as she spat the words - "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

Ah, friend, allow yourself to feel joy. Thank God for Who He is, for the blessings with which he has graced your life. Dance if you feel like it!  Many will not appreciate the joy, criticizing you for your joy in the Lord.  But, if we spend too much time looking around  for encouragement  we will cease to love God as we could. Instead of dancing for His applause we will become slaves of the opinions of others.

Oh, I am not making an excuse for selfish expressions to impress others or that become a distraction. Joy is not an excuse to ignore the needs of others by doing your own thing. In balance we remember that Jesus told us that our best expressions of love and prayer would be private. He pointed to the public piety of the Pharisees and sternly warned against making prayer and worship into a performance designed to impress others. Heaven falls silent when we start to dance for the crowd!  Never the less, when we are lost in His love, when we release ourselves to the Spirit of God: our songs, our choices, our prayers may well appear to be foolish, childish expressions. 

When the critics sneer, we remind ourselves that is God we serve and we ask, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10, NIV)  The blessings and approval of the Holy Spirit are enough. When David’s wife mocked his joyful worship that led to his dancing in the street, he told her: "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel-I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." (2 Samuel 6:20-22, NIV)

So- dance, cry, sing, serve, love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Remember - He is Lord of the exuberant dance as well as the quiet reverence.  I hope you dance!

Here is the word from the Word.

"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!" (Psalm 30:11-12, NLT)

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

House Of The Lord

 

We worship the God who was

We worship the God who is

We worship the God who evermore will be

He opened the prison doors

He parted the raging sea

My God He holds the victory yeah

 

There’s joy in the house of the Lord

There’s joy in the house of the Lord today

And we won’t be quiet

We shout out Your praise

There’s joy in the house of the Lord

Our God is surely in this place

And we won’t be quiet

We shout out Your praise

 

We sing to the God who heals

We sing to the God who saves

We sing to the God who always makes a way

'Cause He hung up on that cross

Then He rose up from that grave

My God’s still rolling stones away

 

('Cause) We were the beggars

Now we’re royalty

We were the prisoners

Now we’re running free

We are forgiven accepted

Redeemed by His grace

Let the house of the Lord sing praise

 

There is joy in this house oh yeah

There is joy there is joy

And we won't be quiet

We're gonna shout out Your praise

 

We shout out Your praise

There is joy in this house

There is joy in this house today

We shout out Your praise

We shout out Your praise

 

Jonathan Smith | Phil Wickham

© 2020 Be Essential Songs; Cashagamble Jet Music; Phil Wickham Music; Simply Global Songs

CCLI License # 810055

What would you do differently?

Last Sunday afternoon, in a conversation with my nephew, Justin asked questions about our family history and my life. Near the end of our talk he asked, “What would you do differently if you could?”  It did not take a great deal of thought to answer his question. As I mused about a cross-roads moment in my life, now decades past, I told him how maturity has changed my perspective, how I now understand those choices and what  I might have done in a different way!  We all have those kinds of memories, don’t we?  We wonder what might have been if we had taken the other side of that fork in the road of life.

Here is what I also know -
God is the Restorer, the Healer,
One who is able to take the messes we make
and use them for His glory.  

What should we do with yesterday’s mistakes and sins? 

We need to confess our part honestly to God, and where approprate, to others.
When we own our choices, without excuse or attempts to justify ourselves, coming to Jesus in humility, we find His arms open, His love without limits. John says that “He is faithful to forgive… to cleanse us.”  What a wonderful assurance we can know that God forgives. The ancient preacher, Micah, asks - "Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!" (Micah 7:18-19, NLT)

We need to make things right wherever possible and appropriate.
Wise counsel can help us see where we need to go to another and offer restitution. A sincere apology can go a long way to heal a soul wound that happened as a result of our choice. Jesus taught us not to to paper over our sins with pious words. He said “if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God." (Matthew 5:23-24, NLT)  

We can face the future without the need to wallow in regret!
Like Paul, my focus is not what was, but what is and what will be! My prayer is that God will show me how to live today as I advance toward tomorrow- be it here on earth or in His heaven!  In his early years as a Pharisee named Saul, he hated Believers in Christ and worked to destroy the Gospel message and those who followed Jesus.

But God, in amazing grace, met him on the road to Damascus. Saul believed that day and was changed. The transformation was so profound, he even took a new name! Had he lived in perpetual regret, he might have faded into obscurity, making tents in some Roman town, sorrowful 'til death for his persecution of those who loved the Lord. Or, he might have settled down to pastor the church in Ephesus, where his message met with great success and tried to hold onto a moment of triumph.

But, he did neither of those things. Why? He tells us. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV) He knew what he was called to do and kept at it – faithfully. He left the sins in the grace of God, celebrated the triumphs, and anticipated the glorious future.

We cannot try to erase the past or to rewrite history nor are we wise if we allow nostalgia take us hostage.  Today is full of opportunities that God provides, so when we awaken let us say - "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24, NIV)  

In our youth we tend to live too much in the future.
As we age, we are tempted more and more to live in the past.

God works in the present! He is the Lord of this day.

Are your eyes open to what the Spirit is doing today?

I leave you with this word from the Word, Jesus’ appeal to his friends to see what God was doing right now. “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (John 4:34-35, NIV)

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

 

All The Way My Saviour Leads Me

 All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside
Can I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my Guide
Heav'nly peace divinest comfort
Here by faith in Him to dwell
For I know whate'er befall me
Jesus doeth all things well
For I know whate'er befall me
Jesus doeth all things well

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father's house above
When my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages

Jesus led me all the way
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way

Fanny Jane Crosby © Words: Public Domain

Anguish

Good Friday is an awful yet wonderful day.  Our sins, our failures, our longing for healing are met by love evidenced in God’s Son willingly dying this Day for a purpose! 

“Good Friday?”   It was a day of treachery, cruelty, cowardice, and bloodshed.  Judas sold the Man with whom he had walked, talked, and shared life -  Jesus - for just 30 pieces silver.  Hardened soldiers took sadistic pleasure tormenting Jesus.  Pilate expediently condemned Him to execution!  His death was beyond horrible as He hung on a Roman cross:  naked, beaten, alone. Yet, we all it  good? 

His humiliation and death was the ultimate identification with humanity, broken by sin.  "He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross." (Philippians 2:7-8, NLT) Good Friday was allowed by His Father in heaven to finish the work of saving the world from sin.  Easter’s joy would not exist without Friday’s darkness.

Jesus stands alongside of us. He does not gaze down on us with pity, nor does He stand apart from us, pointing in judgment. He stands with us- the Sinless One becoming sin for us!  With His obedience to suffering for the mysterious purpose of God, He invites us to renewal, to hope, to holiness, to a noble life of purpose. It is true!

If stupidity,  selfishness, or just plain old human choices have brought the world crashing down ‘round your head, He knows the depth and will lift you up.
If the cruelty of another has broken you, seeming to steal your life, He can restore.
If the evil of this world has come to crush you, He can rescue you and empower you.

Will you invite Christ Jesus, the suffering Savior, to come and stand with you?

Will you pray for faith so that you will stand steady while you wait for the fullness of His salvation?

There is another choice.  You can join those who hated Him.  It is not likely we would abuse Him but if we treat His love with apathy, that too is a form of hatred.

Those who choose that road, deepen the darkness of evil. They become part of the evil conspiracy to steal hope.  They feel the desperation of despair seeking relief in ever more sin.

The Scripture paints this grim picture of sin’s ‘progress’ if Christ is rejected. "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen." (Romans 1:21-25, NIV)

“But God,” the Bible says. “But God, who is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2.4) stepped in. Jesus came to us, God in flesh. He walked with us. He died for us. He rose to lead us to life.  Resurrection Sunday will come but let’s not rush past Good Friday. That dark day has its purpose.  Remember, and live! 

Make this word from the Word a thought for this day. "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven." (Colossians 1:19-23, NIV)  Oh, What  A Savior!

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

Alas and did my Savior bleed

And did my Sov'reign die

Would He devote that sacred head

For sinners such as I

 

At the cross at the cross where

I first saw the light

And the burden of my heart rolled away

It was there by faith I received my sight

And now I am happy all the day

 

Was it for crimes that I had done

He groaned upon the tree

Amazing pity grace unknown

And love beyond degree

 

- Isaac Watts

My Anchor

Tuesday, in the early morning, a container ship lost power in the harbor at Baltimore and drifted … with tragic consequences … into the Key Bridge which collapsed. Adrift, without power, the ship’s captain was helpless, sending out an urgent distress call.  No anchor, no power, no direction - then tragedy! 

Are you adrift today?
Are the currents of life carrying you along without any anchor, with a sense of emptiness, perhaps even hopelessness?

Natural hope flickers and dims when life is filled with trials and sorrows and brightens when the crisis is past. But there is a greater hope, an enduring hope to which we are called.

I love Holy Week because it takes us back to revisit the reason for our Christian hope. As we move from Palm Sunday, towards Good Friday’s Cross, through the darkness of the tomb on Saturday, and then into the glorious celebration of Resurrection Life I find renewal of the basic reasons for my hope. We cannot over-estimate the importance of that hope, my friend.  One of the most powerful forces in life is hope. The dictionary defines hope as:   A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment,  something that is desired,  the theological virtue of hope is defined as the desire and search for a future good, difficult but possible to attain with God's help.

The writer of Hebrews tells us "Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." (Hebrews 6:16-19, NIV)  In His covenants, God has made a promise, confirmed by His unchanging nature of absolute Truth, and holds out the hope of life eternal to us.

That hope is our anchor, keeping from the rocks that can make us a wreck, holding us in place when wind and wave are temptuous!  There is such peace found in that anchor who is Jesus. Do you know Him, love Him, trust Him?  God gives us the ability to choose the object of our hope! Some choose to pursue the ‘good life’ formed around around financial security and material possessions. Others shape are given hope by the love of family. Some work at securing recognition and/or success.  Can we acknowledge that those things will not always hold us steady? 

Economies cycle through seasons of ‘boom and bust!’ 
Treasures can be stolen, lost, and eventually decay. 
Death inevitably comes to us all.
Our best success is eclipsed by someone who is faster or smarter.

That is why we are counseled by Peter to "set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:13, NIV) Hope that is built on the gift of eternal life through Christ will never be disappointed, nor lost! Nothing can steal the hope that is found in God’s gift of restoration to a relationship with Him and the resulting promise of a home in Heaven. Yes, this is an anchor that will hold, growing even stronger in the storms.

Choosing the right hope is critically important because what we hope for not only brings us comfort, our hope shapes the way we live day to day. John illustrates this wonderfully saying, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:2-3, NKJV) The hope of being received by the Lord Jesus, seeing Him in His glory, produces a vision that draws us to a holy and noble life.

On what or whom have you set your hope?  
Let the amazing facts of Holy Week - Christ’s offering of Himself at the Cross to reconcile us to our Father and His emergence from Tomb that brings us assurance of ultimate victory over death become your hope.  

This word from the Word is worthy of our meditation. "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17, NIV) "Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!" (Psalm 42:11, NLT)

____________

(Video of this blog at this link)

Living Hope

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished the end is written
Jesus Christ my living hope

 Who could imagine so great a mercy
What heart could fathom such boundless grace
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ my living hope

 Hallelujah praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus Yours is the victory

Jesus Christ my living hope
Oh God You are my living hope

Brian Johnson | Phil Wickham © 2017 Phil Wickham Music; Simply Global Songs; Sing My Songs; Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055