Month: October 2014

RENEWED HOPE

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I cried out, “I am slipping!”
But Your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
When doubts filled my mind,
Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalm 94:18-19

Have you ever felt totally hopeless? I have. I can remember times in my life when I thought it would be a blessing to go home to be with the Lord. I was physically sick and emotionally drained. I just wanted to rest. I felt like that old commercial that the younger generation won’t remember…“Calgon…take me away!”

In those times, my love for my children kept me going. Now mind you, my children were grown and had children of their own, but still my love for them had not waned in the least from the time they were born until now. I thought, “I need to be here for them. I need to be strong for them. I need to be available if they need me. I can’t leave my children. I will never forsake my children!”

I made that statement a little dramatic at the end to make a point. If we, as human parents, feel so strongly about our relationship with our children, how much more does our Heavenly Father feel about His relationship with us, His children…His creation. Do you realize that God Himself breathed into Adam to give him life? “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

This is what the Paul, the Apostle says in Hebrews 13:5, “For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] (Amplified Version) Wow! That’s how much God thinks of you, His child. Think of a father crossing the street, holding the hand of a young child. That child may try to pull away, but the father has a firm grip on him. He will not relax his hold…no way! If you are a born again believer, you are a child of God and He will not let you down. He WILL NOT relax His hold on you! Be totally confident in that today!

OUR MACRO GOD!

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God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
      toddlers shout the songs
   that drown out enemy talk,
      and silence atheist babble.

 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
      your handmade sky-jewelry,
   Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
      Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
   Why do you bother with us?
      Why take a second look our way?

  Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
      bright with Eden’s dawn light.
   You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
      repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
   Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
      even animals out in the wild,
   Birds flying and fish swimming,
      whales singing in the ocean deeps.

 God, brilliant Lord,
      your name echoes around the world.

Psalm 8:1-9
The Message Bible

When I read this passage of scripture, especially this poetic rendition from The Message Bible, my heart swells with excitement and awe! Why? The psalmist is talking about my Heavenly Father and His unprecedented, unequaled love for me. The brilliant God who made the macro vastness of the universe cares for micro me!  And in His eyes, I am not micro, but macro also. He loves me so much that He made me in His image and put me in charge of His glorious creation.

I know you’ve often heard stories of kids bragging on their dads. Each one thinks his dad is the greatest! What about the children of famous actors or football stars? Well, let me tell you, they have absolutely nothing on us! Our Father is not just world famous, He is universally famous. His power and influence extends to the far reaches of the earth, the universe and beyond. His exploits are renowned to every people group that inhabits the earth. Even creation itself proclaims His existence with voices loud and clear! And we have the awesome privilege of saying, “That’s my Father…that’s my Dad!”

THROUGH THE FOG

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…Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our 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. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.  You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin [temptation or trials].

Hebrews 12:1b-3

“This too shall pass.” How many times have you heard people speak those words when they are going through hard times. Or maybe someone has spoken them to you in that situation. Actually the words hold only small comfort if we aren’t looking to a better future after we have made it through. I know you’ve heard the old saying, “They’re just jumping from the frying pan into the fire!” In other words, folks are just passing through one bad circumstance only to encounter something worse! I’ve known people whose lives seem to reflect this philosophy. They never seem to get a break!

When I lived in Florida, some years ago, I was recuperating from a physical and emotional breakdown. I was diagnosed as having Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Sounds dismal doesn’t it. Well, it was! My future didn’t appear to be very promising in the natural. But I refused to look at the natural. I spent my days focused on the Word of God and His promises to me. I kept my eyes looking toward Jesus and I knew that He wanted to bring me through. I considered the fact that He endured many things such as I was going through and much, much more when He was here on this earth. And the Bible tells us that when He was on the cross, He took all of our sins and sicknesses upon His body. This is not figurative, it is literal! That means He felt every pain that we would ever feel…physically, emotionally and spiritually. He even ended up losing His life…and I had no where nearly gone that far! He also promised me this…”No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 The Message Bible)

After I was well on my way to recovery, my pastor, a lady who was also my good friend gave me a framed photo that she said reminded her of the trial I was passing through. It was a photo of a pier extending out into the water in Cedar Key, Florida where we had visited several times. The boards of the pier, especially toward the end, were broken and in disrepair. You couldn’t actually see the end of the pier, for over it and the water beyond, was a dense fog. If you were walking on it, each progressive step would be a step of faith into the unknown. There was no way to see through it to the end. You just had to trust that your steps were ordered by the Lord…and “look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.”

Pastor Retha gave me the picture to encourage me at that particular time in my life. And every time I looked at it, I pictured Jesus there with me, holding my hand, guiding me through the fog of an uncertain future. But I must tell you I’ve never completely gotten through the fog. The life of faith is an on-going experience. There may be a time when the fog lifts temporarily, but it will always come back, as long as we’re living on this earth. And when it does, we have to reach once again for the Master’s hand and take one step at a time, totally trusting in His guidance to see us through. We should never worry or fret, but rest in the fact that He has gone on before us and He knows the perfect way for us!

YOUR WORD, MY HOPE

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You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Ps. 119:114

Do you remember the time when a man’s word was his bond? I do. My father lived by that motto. If he told you he would do something, you can be assured it was as good as done. Not only so, but in those days (what my children called the “olden days”) men often shook hands on a matter in lieu of signing a bill of sale or contract to close a deal. I experienced the fruits of that method when my parents passed away and I had to get properties surveyed and lines confirmed. I ran into such things as, “Well, Mr. Jones and your dad shook hands and agreed that this road would be a common property.” But kids and grandkids of Mr. Jones knew of no such arrangement and some concessions had to be made. Sadly enough, those kinds of agreements are things of the past. Now days one has to have everything in writing, notarized and signed by two witnesses!

But, thank God, He is still a man of His Word! The Bible says in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” And the answer to that would be a definitive “No!” “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (II Corinthians 1:20) Whatever God tells us in His Word, we can consider His bond and we can say “Amen” to it. Amen means “so be it”. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she was to birth the Messiah, her words were, “Be it unto me according to the Word of the Lord.” She was saying, “Amen, so be it!”

The Bible is filled with promises that are written to us, His children. But if we are unaware of them or don’t believe them, they will be of no benefit to us. So if you’re having a difficult time in any area, find a promise that applies to your situation, go to the Father with it, and picture Him shaking your hand and saying, “My Child, consider it a done deal!”

You know with all your heart and soul

that not one of all the good promises

the LORD your God gave you has failed.

Every promise has been fulfilled;

not one has failed.

Joshua 23:14

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!

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  Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

  But those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV

Do you ever find yourself so tired you feel as though you can’t take another step? Or maybe you’re just weary in your mind and feel like you will certainly faint if you have one more decision to make or one more obstacle to present itself. Hey, I’ve been there… more times than I’d like to remember! Sometimes I think to myself, “I’m old enough now that life should be getting easier!” Then why isn’t it? Because we live in a world that is filled with a continual stream of challenges and choices…some that we make ourselves and some that others make for us. The bridge to one of my songs says, “I wake up every morning and I must decide. Will I follow Jesus or believe the devil’s lies?” The devil delights in bringing things across our pathway that would cause us to lose hope. But the devil is a liar. The choice to continue to hope in the faithfulness of the Lord is one that we must make at the dawning of each new day and maintain throughout the day. You may say, “Well, how do I do that?” Meditate on verses that encourage you and build hope. And remind yourself of God’s faithfulness in times past.

To keep an eagle from flying, you only have to clip its wings. We must not allow the hardships of life to clip our wings of hope and keep us from rising above the difficulties. Proverbs, the Wisdom Book says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) Don’t let the enemy of your soul defer your hope! Let’s quote the title verse again with a little modification. We’ll call it TPV (The Personalized Version).

“Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

  But I hope in the LORD!
That hope will renew my strength.
I will soar on wings like eagles;
I will run and not grow weary,
I will walk and not be faint.”

Wow! My faith is fueled by that verse. I can feel my wings of hope spreading and the winds of the Holy Spirit lifting me above the cares that would vainly try to weigh me down!