Hope Does Not Disappoint

We started a series for Christmas at church entitled "The Gifts of Christmas"  The first gift we focused on was hope.

The thing that strikes me, and I think I am reminded of this each year at Christmas is the parallel between the ancient Jewish nation and the present day church.  Like them, we await our Messiah. Thousands of years of waiting.  Centuries of hoping, "will this be the year?"

The promised Messiah came as a helpless baby.  He came to sacrifice Himself for all of mankind, to open the gates of heaven to God's fallen creations.  God's promises were fulfilled in Him.  The Father's word was kept...and this is what fuels our hope now, what gives us not just hope, but assurance....my Pastor called our hope a "know so."  And so we know, as we await His return as the victorious King of all, that He will return again.  We too, like the Jewish people before us, wait thousands of years for the glorious coming of our Messiah and King.

Our hope does not disappoint.  It assures and fills us with peace, even as we long for His coming. And Christmas is always a reminder of God's plan fulfilled, His faithfulness to His promises.  I look at the world around me, chaos, pain, sadness, hate, and darkness....and a deep yearning for His return fills my heart....but the hope Jesus gives is the anchor that holds and steadies me.

Isaiah 7:14  All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign.  Look!  The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means God with us) 

Hebrews 6:18-19  So God has given both His promise and His oath.  These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.  Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the HOPE that lies before us.  This HOPE is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.  It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary.  

The first, a promise that has been fulfilled,  assures that the God's plans for the future will also be fulfilled.  God's visit this day was the assurance, once again, that His work and plans are still on track. And a reminded of what our focus is this Christmas season.  He came to us a couple of thousand years ago, He will return again in the future....both times physically, but now He is with us each and every day in the person of the Holy Spirit.  He never leaves nor forsakes us.  Past, present and future....Immanuel.

God thank You.  Thank You for being faithful.  Thank You for focusing our hearts on the beauty and hope of Christmas.  I forget so often, this hope that You give.

 Study "hope" today.  Let it be the anchor that holds you and the light that guides.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Among the feasting and togetherness, parades and parties, take time today to say thank you to the one who blesses us with all good things, especially our salvation and His love.  Thank You Father, Son and Spirit for all that You are and all that You've done and do.  We love and praise You this day, and always.  Amen.  

Enjoy one or all of these songs, reveling in the presence of the Holy God who loves us!  

Blessings, Madeline

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving!

Among the feasting and togetherness, parades and parties, take time today to say thank you to the one who blesses us with all good things, especially our salvation and His love.  Thank You Father, Son and Spirit for all that You are and all that You've done and do.  We love and praise You this day, and always.  Amen.  

Enjoy one or all of these songs, reveling in the presence of the Holy God who loves us!  

Blessings, Madeline

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The Train

I had the funniest picture pop into my mind recently.  It all started with a devotional reading Paul entitled "Living Above Circumstances."  This came from the Charles Stanley monthly devotional book, which I love, btw.   But this day's kind of brought me down a bit and irked me a bit more.  It talked about how even though Paul was imprisoned, most likely chained to a Roman guard 24/7, he remained joyful, and at peace, and even was a blessing to others by writing many of his letters to the churches, letters which remain in our Bibles today.

So, here goes the train pulling out of the station., my emotions starting out as the conductor.  "Well that's fine for Paul.  His sufferings and trials had purpose.  He was a great spreader of the Gospel, working for God day after day." went the thoughts of the engine.  Chugachuga chugachuga....the train is working up speed here. Next car:  "My trials are trivial, purposeless....they seem to accomplish nothing, in me or in the world around me....what's the point???"  Okay, now we are really building up steam ....and then the Holy Spirit comes along side the conductor....and asks for the wheel...He decides to change direction and add His own cars to my little train, effectively putting the breaks on this downward spiral in my mind.  Click!

Car Romans 8:28 hooks up. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."  Hmmmm, everything purposeful?  And then the next car hooks up....Loaves and fishes....Matthew 15:32-37.
The people were hungry, tired....they had continued with Jesus for days.  And He fed them.  He nurtured them.  In the middle of nowhere, He cared for them....and there was more than enough! Leftovers even!  Enough to share when they went home!

All my trials, my struggles, even the annoying day to day pricks and prods are purposeful in God's economy. Nothing is without use or meaning, nothing is wasted. And He blesses even when I feel like I am in the wilderness.  His care goes over and above whatever I could imagine.  My job is to stay with Him on this train called life, and let Him handle the controls!

What a ride.  LOL  What a funny impression that day.  God is so amazing and creative.  I love it.

Lord, thank You....that's all I can say is thank You.  Help me keep this in mind always.  You have purpose.

Trust God today, trust that nothing is wasted in Him.

Matthew 15:32-37  Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.” The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?” Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have? ”They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.” So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.

You Are What You Eat

I wrote this prior to election day here in the US, and I was supposed to add it to the blog, but evidently I went on to other things, lol.  God has His timing and I will go along with it....even though the election has come and gone, the unrest and angry words continue, people still feed on the ugly, the junk, and the corrupt.  So I'm thinking the message of watching what we "eat" is always relevant.
I had one of those "verse jump off the page" moments the other day.  I know these are God visits because it's never what you were looking for, or as in this case, it wasn't even the book I was supposed to be in.  For some reason (hahaha) as I was looking for one place in the Bible, it opened up to Proverbs.  The verse was Proverbs 15:14  A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.  

What a cool verse!  With all the negative, all the angry, all the sensual....there is so much junk out there to feed on.  And most of it appeals to our baser natures, but it's ugliness, junk food as it were.  I think of our own political goings on right now, and whenever you go on social media or turn on the television you see angry words going back an forth between candidates and their supporters. Television shows have become more and more crass and irreverent to the ways of God, some are downright hostile to Christianity.  You can't pick up a newspaper without being bombarded with corruption, scandals, pollution, killings.....

Sometimes it's hard to turn our eyes away from this stuff....but wisdom tells us we have to.  Wisdom tells us to be hungry for knowledge.  Not knowledge of the world, for we are told in James 3:15-17 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.  For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  It is the knowledge of God, looking toward things that bring joy, bring peace....stories that uplift, that share goodness and blessing.  I am hungry for this knowledge!!

I'm starting to have a new rule in my life.  If something I am reading, watching or seeing is churning up anger, negativity, or hatred in my heart then it's something I need to turn away from. There is a line between being informed and being transformed.  I want things that bring peace to me and joy to my heart, things that glorify God and show His work in the world.  It may be a little harder to find, but it's worth looking for.  All this from just one verse!  Isn't God amazing!!

Once again, thank You Lord for sharing Your heart with me, for leading me in new ways.  Help us to see the good, look for the honorable and chase after, long for the knowledge of You and Your heart. The best place to start is the Bible.  And I thank You for it.  Lord, put more of a desire in our hearts for You, for Your Word.

God on the internet today and look for good news!!

Blessed Be His Name !

Resurrection

I feel like I've always known God.  From the time I was a small child, going to St. Rita's Elementary School in Astoria, NY,  I've been introduced to Him and taught about Him, prayed to Him and desired to please Him.  I don't feel there was a time in my life I was not His child....yet there were many times, many years in my life I didn't walk with Him.  I went my own way, did my own thing, lived to please my flesh, and have a good time (whether it actually was a "good time" is highly debatable!). And then I got committed.  His life, His Spirit renewed mine and off I went on this journey of living for Christ.  I was made alive in Christ.  Or remade, as it were.

Philippians 3:10  I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead.  I want to suffer with Him, sharing His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!  

Hmmmm.  EXPERIENCE this power.  How do I do that?  This is what popped off the page as I read this passage a few days ago.  I can EXPERIENCE the power of Christ's resurrection.  But how? Where?  As of right now in the United States, I am not asked to physically die for Christ. I don't suffer persecution or mistreatment for His name's sake.  So how do I suffer for Him?  Do I miss out on the blessing of knowing this power, of experiencing this resurrection from the dead because I live in a "free" society?  And then God opened up the Scripture to me.  The light bulb went on in my heart and mind.  It was and is a spiritual suffering I am called to now.  I know, many of you may already know this, and perhaps on some level I did too, but it came to me anew in this last reading and I am so excited about this!.

Whether it's dying to pride (a big, big, big one for me) at work....my rights, my fairness, my, my, my, me, me, me or dying to overeating or overspending....I want more, more, more....whether it's giving of my time to do for another....laying down my needs, my cares, my wants....it all hurts my fleshly thinking, takes me out of my comfort zone and self focused, self fulfilling, self protecting box and brings me to the Cross.  But as I suffer through the laying down of self centered living, I am renewed and resurrection and made alive in Christ.  I share in His suffering and experience the power of His resurrection.  How awesome is that!  And my life is transformed, bringing more glory to Him.  The layers and layers of self are peeled away, left behind in the tomb like the grave clothes Christ wore. The more layers that are shed, the brighter His life in me shines.  I'm really loving this!!

Again, God takes the time to make His will known to me, to us.  To share His heart and remind us of the direction we are to be heading.  Last night I read something in a devotional about taking small breaks to check in with the Holy Spirit as one goes through their day.  And what a great way to see where we are in the "dying to self" thing.  Small visits with the Lord to check our direction, our reactions and get empowered to share the light of Jesus.

Lord, thank You for Your constant renewing of my mind.  I am so grateful, as always that You are the greatest teacher, the most patient of Fathers and the uttermost Savior.  Send me and all of us forward today, living for You, listening for Your voice and experiencing this resurrection power as we strive to live for You.  Holy Spirit make Yourself known to us throughout the day, each and every moment, lead us and empower us to be salt and light in a tasteless and dark world.  Thank You.

Take Spirit breaks today!!

God Grant Me....

A friend sent me a photo of the serenity prayer recently.  I just recently completed 22 years of being clean from drugs and alcohol, thanks the the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am well familiar with the first few lines of this insightful prayer, but the rest not quite as much.  I felt compelled to share it here, and a newer "version" as well.  There are so many things going on around us....crazy, evil, hurried, hate-filled, average....all types of fears assail us as we see the rise of hate, terrorism and division. Everyday life comes with its own challenges and difficulties.   Physical battles, spiritual battles.  I'm thinking a little serenity and a lot of trust in Jesus would go a long way right now.  So I include these two prayers, hope you enjoy and meditate on them, and that they bring you a new peace, and renewing your focus on and trust in the Lord.  He is always on the throne!

The Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer authored by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). The best-known form is: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. (from Wikipedia)

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

And for a new, slightly humorous take on this old favorite, I go to the Jesuit Post.org and find a great version that takes us in another direction. I think its pretty right on!

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the people I cannot change,

which is pretty much everyone,

since I’m clearly not you, God.

At least not the last time I checked.

And while you’re at it, God,

please give me the courage

to change what I need to change about myself,

which is frankly a lot, since, once again,

I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.

It’s better for me to focus on changing myself

than to worry about changing other people,

who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,

I can’t change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up

whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter

than everyone else in the room,

that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,

or that I alone have all the answers.

Basically, God,

grant me the wisdom

to remember that I’m

not you.

Amen

James Martin, SJ

Two great prayers.  Living in peace with the circumstances of the world, and peace with other people around us.  Giving everything and everyone over the our all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful, loving Father.  Can you just imagine living each moment like that, entering into each encounter at peace because my focus is not fearful of circumstances or problems, not on the faults (and these may only be in my mind) of others, but on God.  

Lord, I ask for You to make these prayers, or something like them part of us each and everyday so that we may live with at peace with You, our circumstances, our world and the people we interact with.  Let Your wisdom guide us into Your peace and let this peacefulness be a conduit of Your love. Thank You for the divine talent You gave these men in writing these beautiful prayers.  They are an inspiration.  Truly, give us wisdom and courage to change what we can and should, but also let us remember Your plan may not always be what we would choose....for us or for others.  

James 1:5-6  If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking.  But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone, Do not waver, for a person with divided. loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  

Proverbs 2:2-3  Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.  Cry out for insight and ask for understanding.

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Prayer

Praying for this nation, these Untied States today.  Lord, Your will be done.  No matter who gets elected Your are still on the throne.  I do pray that You would give us leaders that are godly, leaders that will steer us towards righteousness and not further away from it.  Lord, please bring this nation back to You.  We are lost, but there are still many here who call on Your name.  And I join with them in prayer today for Your presence and Your hand to be our guide, and our mainstay.  Lord, You are in control, You have the perfect plan.  We need You!  I know You hold the future and that all will be well because Your good plan will always prevail.  Thank You Lord that we have that hope.  Please help this country.  Guide this election.  Lead us again.  In Jesus name, amen.

Just For Us

Sometimes I feel like it's hard to "see" God where I live.  I mean, this is suburbia, right....land of closely built houses, strip malls,traffic, and pavement.  I feel like if I lived in the majestic mountains, at the awe inspiring seashore or with a beautiful view of a serene lake I'd see God all around, feel His nearness on a whole different level.  That is one of the reasons for this blog, to get me out of that mindset and to encourage all of us to open up to God's presence in our lives wherever we are.  The Lord reminded me of that on Sunday.  He is here!

I drove to church on Sunday morning after a battle with myself over whether I felt up to going or not. I was tired, I had a headache, a hundred things I needed to do....but I really wanted to be in church as well...back and forth the argument went in my head.  Luckily for me getting dressed, getting out and getting church won  because I would have missed a beautiful God visit on a crisp clear Autumn day.

The day was bright, cool but not cold with a bit of wind. I pulled out of my driveway and looking around saw the colorful leaves dancing across the pavement.  It looked like they were racing each other down the road!  I was lovely to watch!  Dancing, running, skipping across my suburban street, the leaves seemed filled with joy and energy!  I was delighted with this little display.  Perhaps that seems silly to some, but I felt my heart smile out loud!  As I drove I took notice of this and then as I lifted my eyes from ground level, I looked up to see the stunning contrast between the blue sky and the orange, yellow, and red leaves which adorned the trees.  It was brilliant and I thought what an awesome, creative, artistic God we have!

All this swirling around me, and then God's voice..."I did this for you,"  I felt Him say.  He created all this beauty for us to live in.  And it is everywhere around us, whether you live in the most crowded place on earth or the remotest mountain top....God's beauty is there.  Sometimes it's just a little more looking for it.

Genesis 1:26-31  Then God said, "Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind--livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals."  And that is what happened.  God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind.  And God saw that it was good.  Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.  They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground."  So God created human beings in His own image.  In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.  The God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply.  Fill the earth and govern it.  Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground."  Then God said, "Look!  I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.  And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground--everything that has life."  And that is what happened.  Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that is was very good!  And even passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.  

God created this whole planet, solar system, universe, as a place for us to live and have fellowship with Him.  He made it beautiful and made us to enjoy it and His presence.  I'm so glad that He opened my heart Sunday morning to the simple, yet stunning beauty and delight around me so that I could glorify Him and share it with you all.  God visit !!!

Lord, open our hearts and eyes each day to see You.  Sometimes it's so dark, feels so utterly devoid of anything good, but even then You are there.  There is beauty in Your presence and in Your creation.

Help us to see and be made glad because of it.  Thank You for this special visit.  I love You.

Stop and look around today with a heart that expects to see God.

A New Creation

Rest

Sometimes we just need to sit back and let God's healing flow over us.  And that is today's God visit. Just resting in His presence, letting the words of godly music wash over us in waves of His love.  And love us He does.  In spite of the circumstances life brings our way, beyond what we feel, above what we think or imagine....God's love is eternal.  It is true.  And it surrounds us even when we feel a million miles away from the Lord.  It is sure, even when we are not, constant even when we run from Him,

Jeremiah 31:3  Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.

Lord, we may not always believe You love us, I mean, how could You right?  We see our sin, we see our yuck, we look at our circumstances, believing You don't have a good plan, maybe we don't deserve Your good plan and that is why Your love looks like, dare I say, uncaring or meanness....but those things are not true.  We are not You and You are not us.  Help us to not put You in a human box. The Cross is enough to prove Your love.  Lord, it's hard  to believe You love us when it hurts, when life seems so wrong and every door we go through brings more heartache, it's hard to love You back too....but You say an EVERLASTING, UNFAILING love is ours.  You tell us in Isaiah 55:8   My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  Lord teach us to believe through the pain and the rain.  To trust Your love more than our feelings or what goes on around us.  Give us Your peace to comfort, Your Spirit to guide, Your hand to hold when all around us is darkness.  Thank You Lord, that You do not depend upon us to love us, to keep Your plans together and going forward.

Let God love you today.

Our God is Greater

I am finding many gems as we go through the book of Joshua in Sunday morning Bible Study.  The Lord connects events, even if they are years or decades apart.  He brings them together in our studying so that we can learn, deepen our understanding, and grow up in Him.

In chapter 14 we see Caleb coming to Joshua to ask for the land that was promised would be for his family by Moses.  He tells Joshua, "7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, 8 but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. 9 So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’  10 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”   Caleb brings us back to the days when only he and Joshua trusted the Lord's strength and promises to conquer the Promised Land.  Numbers 13:30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”  His attitude when he was in the wilderness just beginning to scout the land God had in store for them, was the same as when he was in it and looking forward to finally occupying his portion.

No matter how big the people who lived there were, no matter how strong and fortified the cities, no matter the wildness or harshness of the terrain...Caleb trusted God.  Caleb saw God's power not the weakness he may have had, not the magnitude of the task ahead of him, not the strength of the people he had to fight.  He saw the God who was able to conquer.  He saw the God who was stronger than anything we have to face.  He saw the God who was and is faithful to His promises and to His children.  This is what Caleb saw and this is the attitude I want to have.

Some days there seem to be so many giants to face.  It's overwhelming to the point where I just want to go back to bed and hide under the covers, lose myself in a good book and not face reality.  And truthfully, there have been days where I've just shut down.  I didn't go to work, I just sat...it's as if I couldn't face life, let alone conquer any problems or situations that came up or even those I live with on a day after day, year after year basis.  In the shadow of heartbreak, I often lose sight of the light that is Jesus our Savior.  Our God is greater than anything that comes our way.  God wants all of us to hang on to that fact and live in the rest He offers.  This visit, I feel like God was telling me, "Relax, I got this!,  With Me by your side and leading the way, you will prevail."

I'm praying we will learn to rely on the strength of God, and forget our weaknesses.  Lord, help us to see You and not fretfully look at the problems we face.  Because of You we can overcome.  But we need Your help to see and to believe.  Please help us.

Find one promise from the Lord today.  Make it your focus for the day.

"Our GOD is Greater" lyrics video (Chris Tomlin)