Beyond Ourselves
Will You Trust Your Prayers to God
Are you hurting, struggling, or stressed? Is being self-isolated wearing on you? If so, are you crying out to God? That’s what David did. Psalm 86:10 records his words, “You are GREAT and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.” His words are not mindlessly spoken. Rather, they are heartfelt and spoken in the midst of his afflictions and needs. When David says, “You are great and do wondrous deeds,” he is professing his trust in God’s GREATNESS. He is looking at the heavens and saying, “You alone are God. I know nothing is too difficult for You. I know You can help, so do!” Today, we can re-affirm our faith in God’s GREATNESS. We can pray the words David prayed. Join me in praying for our nation to turn to God during this time of national crisis and that His will be accomplished. Pray for the needs on your heart. Believe that your great God hears you. Walk out your belief with a hopeful heart. He does hear you and He loves you so very much.
Heavenly Father, we believe in Your greatness. We know You see us and hear our prayers. Please forgive our sins, for ways we have strayed from faithfully loving You and following You. Show us the way You want us to walk. Increase our hunger to daily study the Bible so we walk in Your will. We love You.
The Right Person for the Job
Are you familiar with the saying, “I’m your huckleberry”? Several summers ago, my husband and I visited Glacier National Park. Right outside the park, we stopped at a restaurant that had everything huckleberry. Huckleberry pie, huckleberry pancakes. Huckleberry coffee. And, for those of you who know Keith, you won’t be surprised that he couldn’t keep from buying me a purple huckleberry teeshirt that says, “I’m your huckleberry.” I wasn’t sure what I was wearing so I did a little research. To be one’s huckleberry is “to be just the right person for a given job or a willing executor of some commission.” What does any of this have to do with Jesus? Colossians 2:9 says about Christ, “…in Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” Many today are struggling. People are overwhelmed. Some who have gone to church their whole lives are striving to do and be what they think God wants. But, friends, we can never live the Christian life in our strength. In Christ, all the fullness of God lives. HE is “just the right person for the job,” for fulfilling all righteousness in us. To the degree that we understand this, we’ll live a life surrendered to Christ.
Lord Jesus, You and You alone are the One in whom ALL the fullness of DEITY dwells. May we be continually mindful of living surrendered to You.
God Himself Will…for You
Do you sometimes wish you were stronger in your convictions and more consistent in your walk with Christ? Do you ever wonder how God could love and forgive you? The answer to our questions is summed up in one word: GRACE. First Peter 5:10 explains: “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” The God of All Grace, who gave His Son to die for our sins, the God of All Grace who ransomed us, the God of All Grace who transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son, that same God of All Grace will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. Praise HIM, we don’t have to rely on our goodness to be approved. Reread this incredible grace gift: “God Himself will.” Say those words out loud –
God Himself will perfect me, confirm me, strengthen me, and establish me. The God of all grace has forgiven my sin by the sacrificial death of Jesus.
Glory in this truth. Celebrate Christ’s resurrection – proof that God, who called us to His eternal glory in Christ, will by grace, complete what He began in us. Praise the God of ALL grace.
GOD of all GRACE, we love and praise you. Thank You for calling us to eternal glory in Christ. Jesus, thank You for sacrificing Your life so that we can live eternally in Your glorious presence. Thank You, God, of all grace, for perfecting, confirming, strengthening, and establishing us in Christ Jesus.
Another Cloud is Watching Us
Have you ever considered how much Jesus despised the shame of the cross? Yet, He suffered through it in order to not only give us a start in our Christian walk but to also make sure that our faith is perfected, complete, and finished. Hebrews 12:1-2 calls us now to follow Christ’s example “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and PERFECTER of FAITH, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We have a race to run even as Jesus did. We may not like it. We may, in fact, despise it. Yet God has set before us the joy of heaven, of being reunited with loved ones, of living in eternity where there is no sin, no shame. We may feel like we’re all alone as we self isolate. But, let’s not be fooled. There is a “great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” What are they observing? Are we pouting or worshipping? Is our face fixed on Jesus and so our countenance is lifted up? Or, are we succumbing to ideas of worst case scenarios and walking around with a downcast spirit? This is our time to shine forth for Jesus – for the joy set before us. What is the great cloud of witnesses observing about us today?
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FINISHER of OUR FAITH!
#BibleGateway Blogger Grid Member
Do You Know What It Is to Be Greatly Loved
Many people do not know what it means to be loved. But we do. We are the recipients of God and Jesus’s great lovingkindness towards us. Psalm 145:8 clearly states His great love, “The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” Say those words out loud. “God is slow to anger with me. God is GREAT IN LOVINGKINDNESS toward me. God the Father has proved it by sending His Son to earth to atone for our sins. Jesus has proved it by His death on the cross. God is slow to anger. God is great in lovingkindness. Praise Him! Serve Him. Tell others.
LORD, we rejoice in and are humble by Your GREAT LOVINGKINDNESS!
What to Do in the Silence
Can you imagine the deafening silence that those who loved Jesus experienced after His marred holy body was placed in a tomb? What can be said in desperate hours and days of silence? How do followers fill their hollow hearts when it is weighed with loss or burdened by sin? Nehemiah 9 shows us. It’s a chapter that recounts people who are in sackcloth, fasting. It’s a chapter of people who, in desperation, read the book of the law and confess and worship. We’re privy to their prayer. Nehemiah 9:5-8a, “Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all the blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before you. You are Lord God, Who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him…” What do we do in times of desperation and when God is silent? We bless God’s glorious name and recount His goodness.
NOTE: During this time of self-isolation, take time each day to think through your life or even that day and write down how God has been there for you. If you have a spouse or children at home or friends or family who can be reached by phone or Face Time, you could do this together. It will remind you that God has been there for you in the past, He is with you now, and will be with you tomorrow.
It will strengthen your resolve to trust Him as you refresh your memory with His faithfulness.
“‘O may Your GLORIOUS name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise!’” Nehemiah 9:5
Where Is Jesus Now?
Around Easter, Christians focus on the weeks prior to Jesus’s crucifixion. Resurrection morning, we celebrate that death couldn’t keep Jesus in the grave. But, where is Jesus now and what is He doing? Hebrews 6:20 tells us where Jesus is. “Jesus has entered as a forerunner (in heaven) for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Jesus is in heaven and He’s praying for us. How do we know He’s in heaven? He told His disciples before His crucifixion that He had come down from heaven to earth and He was returning to heaven. People saw Jesus rise from the earth and ascend through the clouds into heaven. Angels assured those watching Jesus rise in the air that what they thought they saw, they truly saw. Yes, it’s true. An airplane defies gravity and ascends beyond our eyesight into the clouds. An airplane’s power is minuscule compared to Christ’s power. All is well, friends. Christ, our forerunner, has gone ahead of us to heaven. He made it safely there. We will, too, where we’ll be united with loved ones and the Lord forever.
Lord Jesus, forerunner of all who put their trust in You, thank You for safely seeing us through the travail of death and bringing us to heaven’s glory.
Could You Use Some Gentleness to Pass to Others?
When you think of Jesus, do you think of Him as gentle? In Matthew 11:29, it’s one of the ways He describes Himself. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” What does Christ mean when He says He is gentle or meek? It is often defined as “power under control.” Although I don’t fully understand this great combination of attributes, I see them in my husband. Keith has great strength of character, yet he stoops down to pick a tiny flower amidst a field of grass in order to gently hand it to me on our walks. Christ, while holding infinite power, offers us His gentle heart where we find rest for our souls. He invites us to walk closely with Him and learn from Him. Who in your family or home need Christ’s gentleness expressed to them through you?
Lord Jesus, You are both strong yet GENTLE. In these days of stress, help us pray and yield to Your gentle Spirit so that we bless others as You bless us.
Comfort in Dire Moments
Recently, someone messaged me the following regarding Covid-19:
Make no mistake. When loved ones are removed from your home by ambulance because the virus has hit them hard, you are not going to be able to follow them there, sit by their hospital bed and hold their hand. You are not going to be able to pop in at 7.00 pm for visiting hours. They are going to have no one other than exhausted and brave hospital staff to see them through days or weeks of barely breathing through a ventilator until they either die or recover. They are not going to be well enough to text you. You are not going to be able to phone the ward to check in on them regularly (staff will be too busy for that). During that time, they will be completely alone, while you sit at home waiting to hear whether they have made it . Imagine that person is someone you love dearly. Because it’s going to be a reality for many in the coming weeks. And if that person in the hospital happens to be you, going through that ordeal completely alone, it would be nothing less than terrifying. Please stay home and only go out if absolutely necessary. Social distancing is imperative right now for your family and mine.”
Grim? Absolutely. The worst to think about. However, we who have placed our faith in Jesus have this blessed assurance. In Isaiah 9:6, we’re told in relation to Jesus that among His many names, “ETERNAL FATHER, Prince of Peace” are listed. Charles Ryrie explains that Eternal Father literally means, “Father of Eternity; that Messiah is eternally a Father to His people, guarding, supplying, and caring for their needs.” There could be no more comforting thought in response to the above message. We have a Father of Eternity who is present with us and our loved ones in our alone moments. He is present – guarding, supplying, and caring for them and us. This is a blessed assurance. Who do we need to share the good news of Jesus with today?
ETERNAL FATHER, our hearts are overwhelmed with Your provision for us in Christ Jesus. Move every one of us who calls Jesus our Savior to boldly speak the truth and hope that we have with everyone in our sphere of influence.