Being Thankful

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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought we would pause in our “Lessons From Jonah” study and take a moment to think about what it means to be thankful.  It’s true, we should give thanks every day for every blessing, but many of us just don’t.

“Season of Thanks” was first published on my blog in 2010.  A lot has happened in our world over these past five years; a lot has happened in my life and I would imagine you could say the same. While I’ve dusted off and made a few tweaks to the original post, the message hasn’t changed.  That’s one of the things I love about God’s word, no matter how our world or our lives change, we can count on His word, His message to remain the same.  Reading this article again has given me a lot to think about as I prepare for the holiday, I pray you will find some inspiration from it as well.

 

Season of Thanks

yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. (Habakkuk 3:18-19)

The above verses are called “A Hymn of Faith.” As I read the words of this scripture, I feel proud that I can claim them as my own testimony faith. Do I rejoice in the Lord? Of course I do! Do I take joy in the God of my salvation? You bet! I believe that God is my strength, that He makes me sure-footed and makes me walk on the high places. So, I guess my faith is in pretty good shape, pretty solid. I imagine that most of you would read these verses and join me as I proclaim “amen and praise the Lord”. But, to borrow a phrase from Paul Harvey we have “the rest of the story”; or should I say “the first of the story?”

We need to back up just a bit, back to verse 17. You see, Habakkuk begins his Hymn with these word –

” For though the fig-tree shall not flourish, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls:”

Hmmm. Question.  If we include verse 17, can we still claim verses 18 and 19 as our testimony? Do we really praise the LORD when there is no fruit on our vines, no food in our fields? How about when we get a bad report from the doctor or a pink slip from our boss? What if our marriage is struggling or our child is rebelling? During those hard days and dark nights, do we find our joy in the God of our salvation? Do we still proclaim “I will rejoice in the LORD”? If we’re honest with ourselves, probably not, however rejoice is just what God wants us to do. When we’re living in verse 17 and struggling to believe verse 18 God asks us to trust Him to fulfill verse 19.

The LORD wants us to learn that our joy doesn’t come from our blessings, our joy IS our blessing. As we enter into this season of thanksgiving and as we focus on the many blessings God has bestowed upon our lives, let us remember that even if all that we give thanks for were to be taken away, we still have cause to rejoice. He is I AM and no matter what comes against us – God is able. He is our strength. He has planted our feet on the Solid Rock of Calvary and because of Him, you and I can freely say “Amen and Praise The Lord!”

 

Until next time,

בּרכה Sandra

Lessons From Jonah

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AnchorAnd the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jonah 2:10)

Lesson 4 – Forgiveness Redemption.

And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jonah 2:10)

Way back when, I titled this lesson “Forgiveness”.  As I sat down to write this post, I pondered over what I wanted it to say about forgiveness.  I finally came to the conclusion that this part of Jonah’s story goes past forgiveness all the way to redemption. And so, I’ve renamed the lesson “Redemption”, and what I want us to talk about, using Jonah’s experience as our launching pad, is the source of redemption – The Word.

Jonah rejected God, rebelled against God and ran from God, yet in spite of all of Jonah’s sin, God saved him.  Yes, there was a season of discipline, we saw that last week, but Jonah repented and God delivered him.  And, (here’s the good part), He did so with His spoken word.

Are you wondering what a prophet who was swallowed by a fish some 3,000 years ago has to do with you?  I mean, as far as we know, in all of history, this is the one and only time anybody ever got swallowed by a fish so chances are, God is not going to put you or me in the belly of a fish, right?  Well maybe, but if you have ever spent a season of doubt and worry – about your job, a family member, a health issue, a relationship – you have probably come pretty close to knowing what it was like for Jonah in the belly of that fish.  I know I can relate.

And the LORD spoke.  We’ve seen in other scripture accounts what can happen when God speaks; everything that exists, came into being when God spoke.   The dry land on which Jonah was set upon, God spoke into being on the third day, the fish that God commanded regarding him, is the same fish God spoke into existence on the fifth day.  While we’re on the subject of creation, let’s look at another Genesis moment, another redemptive moment:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)

There it is, there’s the connection we were looking for.  The word saved Jonah and the Word saved us!

The eternal Word.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

The powerful Word.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

The Word that sustains.

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”(Matthew 4:4)

The Word that sanctifies.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)

The Word of righteousness.

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. (John 15:3)

The Word of salvation.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, (Ephesians 1:13)

The Word of life.

holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:16)

Final Thoughts

As we consider all that we’ve read today, let us be reminded that we serve a powerful God, when God speaks, all of creation must obey.  Let’s be reminded that we serve a loving God, no matter how often or how deeply we fail, God’s love never fails.  Let’s remember that we serve a merciful God, no matter what trials and tribulations we face, His mercies are new every morning.

And always, let’s remember Jonah.  If God can put a man in the belly of a fish, then cause that fish to vomit him out onto dry land, don’t you think God can fix your problems?

Courageous Praying

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Anchor Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. (Psalms 26:2)   

I thought last week’s blog was all I had to say on prayer, especially since we did a prayer series a little over a year ago.  But, as my Mamma would say, I thought wrong.  This year I have devoted a portion of my daily quiet time to praying a psalm and I have to say, it’s been a growing experience and a real blessing.

◊Psalms 26 is one of the Davidic Psalms.  If you’ve read many of his Psalms, you know that David was not shy before the LORD.  Throughout David’s writings, you can see his boldness, his weaknesses and his vulnerability; David is a great example of how to get real before God.

Anyway, Psalm 26:2 was the verse of the day recently and it was like cold water in the face.  Ever heard the saying “be careful what you pray for”?  Psalms 26:2 might be a good place to which you apply that saying.  Don’t misunderstand, it’s certainly a prayer we need to pray, as a matter of fact, it’s a prayer that eventually, every Christian must pray.  However, praying Psalms 26:2 will take courage, conviction and commitment.  When you pray it, you better be sure you mean it and that you’re ready for God to answer because this is a prayer that is going to bring some testing. Can I get a witness?

The Message

Let’s look at the words of Psalms 26:2 and see exactly what you’ll be asking God to do in your life.

Examine me – Examine is not a word that means to simply look over or give a glance to, it means to scrutinize. Not to be a sexist here, but it makes the point so I’ll go ahead and say it – ever watched a man buy a used car (or a new car for that matter)?  It’s an amazing thing to behold.  They lift the hood, jiggle all the wires, tug on all the hoses, check the oil, kick the tires, I mean they go over that thing with the proverbial fine toothed comb; that’s what it means to examine.  When you pray this Psalm, that’s the kind of examination you’re asking God to do on you.

“Lord, do I meet Your standard?  I know I may not be the best car on the lot, but will you check me out and see if you can use me?”

 

Prove me – To be proven is a term used in the processing of metals, especially gold or silver.  I won’t go into all the details of how metals are tested, you can find a number of articles on the internet, but needless to say, the process is not a pleasant experience for the metals that are being proven. It is not an easy, one step process, but in the end, what remains is pure. After all, isn’t that what we all want? It’s clearly what God wants, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)

“Here I am Lord.  Put me through the fire.  See if I’m real. See if I’m strong enough to hold up to whatever is coming.”

 

Try me – Ever had someone try you? (she asked redundantly).  Our children try us, our husbands, our bosses, folks on the highway,coworkers, the dog – lets face it, life is trying. But I would offer that we don’t know what it means to be tried until we’ve been tried by God. Daily trials of life are but for a moment but the trials God gives us (yes, our trials from God are a gift), they change us.  Always.  When God tries your mind, it changes how you think.  When God tries your heart, it changes how you act.  The length of the process used is pretty much up to you, determined by how you respond to the trying [note:  if your response is not consistent with God’s ultimate objective, you should expect to repeat the examining and proving steps]. Are you up to the challenge?

“God, I’m willing.  Try my mind, try my heart! God I want for my life the things you want for me. I trust you Lord and know that whatever trials you bring will be for my good. I know You love me.”

 

Perspective:

◊  John Gill commentary on Psalms 26
Psalm of David. The occasion of this psalm seems to be the quarrel between Saul and David, the former listening to calumnies and reproaches cast upon the latter, and persecuting him in a violent manner. The argument of it is the same, in a great measure, with the seventh psalm, and is an appeal made to God, the Judge of the whole earth, by the psalmist, for his innocence and integrity; Theodoret thinks it was written by David when he fled from Saul.

More Perspective:

Before we finish up, I would like to take a quick look at another prayer from scripture.  It’s found in the gospel of Luke.

The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. (Luke 18:11)

Big difference between what the Pharisee prayed and what David prayed. David had a true desire to know where he stood with God.  He evidently had done a self-examination, and like the Pharisee, he thought he was right before God; unlike the Pharisee, David wasn’t satisfied with what he thought.  What mattered to David was what God thought.  That’s what has to matter to us as well.

In Closing:

If you take prayer seriously, which I trust that you do, asking a Holy and Just God to examine, prove and try you is a prayer that takes great courage.  You can be sure that changes are going to come.  But, if you want to experience the fullness of God’s grace, mercy and love, if you want the joy of seeing the power of God in your life,  it is a prayer that must be prayed, it is a prayer you will offer with great anticipation.

A final word to encourage you:

If you’re feeling doubtful or fearful about praying 26:2, just remember –

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

בּרכה Sandra

Let Us Pray

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Anchor“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalms 6:10)

Last Saturday I saw the movie “War Room”.  It was a really good movie, one that I highly recommend.  After the movie, my SICs (sisters in Christ) and I went for a meal and discussed what we had seen, we each shared something we took from the movie that we felt would enhance and empower our prayer lives.  For me, the takeaway was “just do it”.

Prayer is an amazing and powerful gift from God.  I don’t know why prayer is difficult for many of us, but it is.  There have been thousands maybe even tens of thousands of books written that tell us how to pray, what to pray, when to pray, where to pray.  Yet, in spite of all this advice, many of us are prayer deficient.  We western Christians are suffering from what we’ll call PDS (Prayer Deficiency Syndrome).  Here are some of the reasons we give as the cause of our PDS:

  1.  “I don’t understand prayer”. Scripture tells us to pray (Philippians 4:6), Jesus taught us to pray (Luke 11:1), and the Spirit empowers us to pray (Ephesians 6:18). But,  our human minds tend to neglect, even reject, those things we don’t understand. We often think that because God is sovereign and has already determined what will be, our prayers won’t make any difference.

Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. (Daniel 10:12)

2.  “I just don’t feel it.”  We are created as emotional beings, our emotions from sorrow to joy, are a wonderful gift from God.   But, if you haven’t already learned, you will learn, that we are on dangerous ground when we allow our feelings to dictate our decisions (Jude 1:10).  Many blessings are missed,  because of someone waiting on a feeling.  A lot of mistakes are made because someone follows a feeling.  Most tragically, souls are being deceived because someone is counting on a feeling.  Next time you don’t feel like praying, pray anyway.

But even if we don’t feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:20 CEV)

3.  “My mind wanders.”  That’s ok,  eventually it will wander over to Jesus.  If you will just wait on the Lord, His Spirit will come in and change your wanders to wonders.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
(Romans 8:26-27)

4.  “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to pray.”  We think there is some special formula (all those books) we’re supposed to follow when we pray.  Consequently, if we don’t stick to the “program”, we question if we’re doing prayer right; we keep trying to get it right, until finally we get frustrated and give up.

And He [Jesus] said to them, “When you pray, say: “(Luke 11:2a)

“And when you pray” (Matthew 6:5a)  “But when you pray” (Matthew 6:6a)  “And when you pray” (Matthew 6:7a)  “Pray then like this: ” (Matthew 6:9a)

What’s the cure for our prayer deficiency, how do we become strong women of prayer?  Since formulas seem to be the thing these days, (all those books) I would like to suggest a formula that I found in a book.

Ready?  Here you go.

Be.  Show up.  Every day.  You show up for your job, your nail appointment, lunch with the girls.  Set a time, set a place and then be there!  Turn off the phone, lock the door, pretend you’re not home, whatever you have to do.  I mean, do we really want to keep Jesus waiting?

Be still.  Stop, look listen. Are you one of those who doesn’t feel it? Be still – 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes.  If nothing happens, don’t worry about it.  Tomorrow is another day (see above and be still).

Be still and know.  Know that God is there.  Know that He is glad that you are there.  Know that He cherishes this time with you.

Be still and know that I AM.  I AM listening, I AM your answer, I AM your hope, I AM your peace, I AM all of your tomorrows.

Be still and know that I AM GOD.  God on the mountain, God in the valleys, God in the fire, God in the storm. “I AM the Lord your GOD and there is none holy like me, there is none greater than me”.

Good stuff huh?

Before we go, let’s have a look at the final words of our anchor verse.  Think about it.  Here, in these few words, God answers every single one of our prayers – “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” What else could you ask for, that pretty much covers it all.

From my heart to yours:  My dear sisters, I know that you want quality, effective time with the Lord or you wouldn’t be reading this. You and I look at the hurts and struggles of our family and friends and we want to fix it for them, we want to make everything better.  Listen, we don’t have the cure, I’m sorry.  In our own power the very best we can hope to do is put a little ointment and a band-aid on the wounds.  But, when we give it to Jesus, when we give it to Jesus, when we give it to Jesus…  Next time you get a case of PDS, think back on all we’ve talked about today, enter your prayer place humbly and with boldness – standing, kneeling, bowing, resting on the promises of God.

Just pray.

 

εὐλογία,

Sandra

Perfect Peace-As “Easy” as 1-2-3

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In just two fairly short verses of Philippians 4, Paul gives us three steps to peace beyond understanding. With all the turmoil going on in our nation and around the world, I thought this might be a good time to see what he has to say.

Step 1  Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything.

With these words, Paul makes it sound so easy doesn’t he?  I sometimes feel as if I was born to worry.  I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this, I’ve heard from too many of you not to know that you probably worry as much as I do.  Of course, we don’t call it worry, we call it “concern” or maybe “a prayer need”.  And so we pray.

Step 2  With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.

What does it mean to have a thankful heart? Our hearts are to be thankful for a God we know to be faithful. The God Who has heard and answered our prayers in the past, so that we have no reason to doubt that He will hear and answer again. Our heart is thankful for what God has done and what we know He is going to do.  A thankful heart is the fruit of faith.

Step 3  Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

This is the sticking point for many of us. We’ve done steps one and two but we just aren’t getting step three. Where’s the peace?  Peter has a word for us concerning peace in 1 Peter 5:7

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you  (1 Peter 5:7 ESV)

To cast means to throw, to place upon.  Peter is telling us that because God loves us, He wants us to throw, to put all our burdens on Him.  Think about it this way; in a baseball game, when the pitcher throws the ball, the minute it’s released it is no longer under his control, it comes into the hands and under the control of the catcher.  There are times though when a pitcher goes through the motions of throwing the ball but, for whatever reason, he doesn’t let go of it – this is called a balk. A balk is an illegal play that usually results in the ball being declared dead.  If you’re not getting the peace promised in Philippians 4:7, ask yourself – am I throwing or balking? I’ve illustrated what a balk is, let’s look at what it means to “throw”:

  • It means hands up – surrender it to Christ.
  • It means knees bent – pray without ceasing.
  • It means watch and wait – expect God to act.

In all of my 65+ years, I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone, Christian or otherwise, who would say they wouldn’t like more peace in their life.  It’s too bad, because if you are a child of God, and if you will replace self-sufficiency with Christ’s sufficiency, it really is as easy as 1-2-3.

Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. (Philippians 4:6-7)

בּרכה  Sandra

* Except where noted, all scripture is from the CEV bible.

Dear God – I have a question (or two or three)

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But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.   Psalm 5:11

 Dear God,

Three simple acts – trust You, love your name, be joyful in You.  No problem, I got that. Although, now that I think about it, I’m not so sure I do.

Trust you?  To a point I guess.  I always intend to trust you but if the road gets too long and the burden too heavy, I’m likely to give up, try it my way.  Sure, experience has taught me my efforts just make things worse but how can I just sit by and do nothing?  After all God, aren’t there times when need an answer now, situations that can’t wait?  It is only in those times my faith slips and my intentions fall by the way.  I trust You the rest of the time.

Love Your name?  The lovely name of Jesus.  It’s such a pleasant name to say.  When I speak it, the letters seem like they roll off my tongue in a sweet, soft whisper.  Yes, I love Your name.  Well, at least I love what it represents; hope, peace, comfort, forgiveness, and so much more.  Can I say though that I love the One to whom the name belongs?  You gave up the glory of heaven for me, what am I willing to give up for you?  You suffered great shame for me, how much pride am I willing to put aside for you?  You died for me, what would I choose – die or deny?

But that final thing, that’s an easy one:

Be joyful in You.  I have joy.  I laugh a lot, have a good time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family.  People who know me would say I’m a pretty happy person most of the time.  But, I have to wonder, could it be I am only fooling myself with a kind of “surface joy”?  What’s really going on in my heart?  I sing praises and lift my hands to heaven, but is my heart filled with the praises I offer up?  Is my heart tender for the hardships and sorrows of others or does it only break when I’m the one suffering?  Do I fall to my knees to give You thanks for Your daily blessings , or do my knees get dirty only when I want or need something for myself?

No God, guess I’m not there yet, I still need some help.

I need Your help Lord.  Make me complete in You.  Help me to make these truths my truths. Make me to be a doer of Your word, not just a hearer.

Teach me to trust, to love, to be joyful.

“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:32)

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On the table next to my bed there is a picture of my Mamma and me; it was taken in 2010, the last Mother’s Day we spent together.  It’s all so confusing.  In some ways it’s unbelievable that in a couple weeks it will have been five years since we made that picture. The memory of her is so fresh I can almost hear her laughter;  and yet, the emptiness in my heart feels like an eternity.

I can’t help but wonder if things would have been different if I had known then that if would be our last Mother’s Day. Would I have lingered just a little longer before saying goodbye?  Would I have given her one more kiss, held her hand for a minute more, told her one more time I loved her?  Of course, we can never know about those things, it wouldn’t be right to know.  I can only hope that in spite of all that Alzheimer’s had stolen from her, that she knew she was my Mamma.  I hope she knew what a special lady she was and how much she was loved and admired, .

One of my favorite devotions, written for her that same year she passed, is “The Red Purse”.  I like to share it each Mother’s Day in honor of her and as a reminder of how blessed I am to have known her .  I pray you will be blessed.

The Red Purse

Sandra Bivens Smith

©2010

Turning 60 had a profound effect on me. It seemed that everything either sagged, wrinkled or just plain quit working. Aside from the changes my body experienced, I notice some changes mentally as well. Thinking more about today and worrying less about tomorrow became easier; after all as one gets older, it becomes a fact of life that today is pretty much all you’ve got. And, I bought a red purse. Now, you would have to know me to appreciate what a big step that was. As I am pretty much a black, white, and navy blue kind of gal, purchasing a big red pocket-book was a bold move. Over the past couple years, that red purse has become a dear friend. As constant companions, we have come to know and depend on each other. Like me, she is becoming worn in spots and more than a little frayed around the edges. Her zipper doesn’t work quite as smoothly and her lining is ripped.

My daughter constantly mentions that I need to replace my red purse. “I like it” I tell her, “there is nothing wrong with my purse”. “But Mom”, she says, “the stitching is coming loose and the leather is worn down. It’s all worn out.” She’s right. It is all worn out. But in spite of how frayed it is on the outside, my red purse still serves a purpose. I can still put all my treasures inside with confidence that they will be secure. It still carries my eyeglasses, phone, tissue, lipstick, and a myriad of other “necessities”, and rarely complains about the strain.

We live in a world where the new and improved is mostly preferred over the old and proven. It’s like that with people as well. The world looks at those who have become frayed and worn on the outside and judge that their usefulness is spent. But, if they would just take the time to look on the inside, they would discover treasures. They would find a bounty of experience, wisdom, counsel; and wealth that can only come from living.

This attitude toward the aged is not new. As King David was in the later years of life and faced his son Absalom’s rebellion to take over the kingdom, David prayed, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent” (Psalms 71:9).

My Mamma now lives in a nursing home with many others who, like her, have lived out the better part of their lives. She has advanced dementia and can barely speak in sentences. Her eyesight has failed so that she can barely see and her legs are so weak they can hardly support her frail frame. It would be easy to spend a few minutes with her and conclude that she has nothing to offer. I know better. All those years of living, learning, and experiencing are still inside her mind. Just because she has lost the ability to express her wisdom, doesn’t mean she no longer has it. Thinking back to Mamma’s advice through the years, advice which most of the time, (regrettably) I ignored, I wish with all my heart, I could ask her just one more time what she thought. You see, it’s now clear; Mamma was right about most everything. It is no longer possible to ask her for her thoughts, but it is not too late to seek her advice. How Mamma lived, how she loved, has taught me more about life than all the world could ever hope to teach me.

Do you want to know what’s important? Spend time with those who have actually lived life. Do you want to learn how to get through the trials of life? Visit with someone who has gone through season after season and survived the storms that came with each one. Do you want to be wise? Watch and learn from those who have gained wisdom that can only come from the experiences of living through good times and hard times.

Start your own “Red Purse Society”. Seek out those whose leather is worn and whose stitching is loose; look inside and I promise, you will find great treasure.

Parting Thoughts

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“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  

            “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

            “Woman, behold, your son!”  “Behold, your mother!”

 Read the final words of Jesus.  Think about all He had suffered, just before He spoke them.  In the garden, sweating blood as He anticipated the agony of what lay ahead.  The betrayal of His closest friends.  Merciless beatings, severe enough in and of themselves, to have caused His death.  Scorn from those, who just days earlier, had honored and praised Him as their king.  The humiliation of being mocked, spit upon, and stripped naked.  The torture of being nailed to a cross and finally, bearing the full sin of all mankind upon His sinless body.

Read Jesus’ words again.  Do you see it?  At His height of suffering, Jesus prays for the ones who drove the nails into His feet and hands.  In the midst of His agony, He offers eternal assurance to a repentant man.  He ignores His horrific pain, to insure His Mother will be cared for.

 It is only after He has seen to the needs of others that He turns His attention to His own suffering.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

            “I thirst.”

Even then, as Christ desperately cries out to His Father, I can’t help but wonder if He wasn’t thinking about us.  Are there any of us who have not, at some time in our lives, called out to God “why have you abandoned me”?  Haven’t all of us been through a dry season and longed for a cool stream to refresh our parched spirits.

Jesus’ pleas were heard.  And so are ours as He declared, once and for all…

“It is finished”

Nothing more to be done.  Nothing else needed  All the requirements fulfilled.

Final words, final assurance.

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” 

To anyone who has ever stood by the bed of a loved one as they took their final breath, these are words of comfort.  They promise us that He who knit us in our Mother’s womb is there, waiting to receive our spirit.  These words confirm that Jesus has defeated death.  We can have confidence that His spirit, having returned to the Father, will live eternally and so will ours.  In this final statement, we have God’s ultimate promise and our ultimate hope.

At no other time in recorded scripture do we see Jesus’ humanity so evidently revealed.  In the final hours at Calvary, we see Jesus, fully God, fully man.  The One who knew no sin, became the embodiment of sin.

Seven statements from the cross. Parting thoughts.   Thoughts of you and me.

In Jesus’ last words, we have the entire gospel message.  The message of forgiveness, eternal life, love for one another, His righteousness imparted to us.  It is a message important enough for Jesus to die for; shouldn’t it be important enough for us to live for?  Knowing He did all this for us, how can we do less for Him?

Blessings,

~Sandra

Father, never let us forget what the Easter season is really about.  Keep us mindful of the horrors of the cross and the sufferings we have been spared because Jesus suffered for us.  Always remind us that even in His final hours, we were never far from Jesus’ thoughts.  Above all, place deep within our minds the truth of the victory that was won for us that day at Calvary; and deep within our hearts a desire to share the message with those who remain lost.  Amen.

Christ died so we can live.  His sacrifice at Calvary is for everyone who will come and follow Him.  Have you made that commitment?  Have you knelt at the foot of the cross and surrendered your heart to the One Who died for your sins?  If you haven’t, there will never be a better time than now.

All you need to do is pray:

Confess to Jesus that you are a sinner who needs salvation

Believe in your heart that He is only One who can save you

 Ask Jesus to forgive your sins

Surrender your life and your will to Him

Ask Him give you a new heart, and a new spirit

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9

The Planting Season

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For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.(Isaiah 61:11)

Folks who have a green thumb have always impressed me. I have such warm memories of my grandmother Bivens who each summer had a bountiful vegetable garden.  She would put the green beans and tomatoes into Mason jars to carry her through the winter months; and oh those pickles she made! Grandmother Lingerfelt amazed us at how she would take just a sliver of a plant and grow a beautiful new specimen. In my yard is a cutting of a cutting of a cutting from one of her hydrangea bushes. My husband has the gift of gardening as do both of my sisters; sadly, I do not. But I do like to think about it – preparing the soil, putting the seed or young plant into the hole that’s been dug and then carefully covering it with cool, rich dirt. I think of how he tends the garden and when the season comes, his joy of seeing the fruit of his labor and knowing that God has used his hands to bring new life. Wow!

As spring approaches, and I see farmers preparing their fields, I’ve been thinking a lot about the planting season. I’m reminded of another kind of gardening that those of us who belong to the Lord have been given to do.  Planting this garden doesn’t require a green thumb, only willingness, commitment and obedience.

We’ve been given all the tools we need.  We turn the rocky soil of a wounded heart with the tiller of compassion. The seeds are sown with words of kindness. We make way for the tender sprouts of new life by pulling the weeds of bitterness with acts of love and grace. We water with words of hope, prune with encouragement and keep away the insects that destroy the tender plants with our prayers. And when we’ve done all, the harvest comes and the Lord of the harvest is well pleased.

Just something you might want to consider.

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to end out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)

Love Speak

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I really wanted to have this post done before Valentine’s Day but time and space just didn’t permit it (or to put it another way, I allowed too much empty space to fill my time). But, better late than never as they say, and since the message is timeless I figured let’s go for it and see what happens.  So, without further adieu, here it is.

Some Interesting Facts:

  • Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day around 498 A.D.
  • Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine’s Day in the U.S.
  • 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.
  • Around 3% of pet owners prefer to give Valentine gifts to their pets, as they are more grateful than humans.
  • Physicians of the 1800’s commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love. (This is my personal favorite!)

Several years ago,(1992) Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book called “The 5 Love Languages”.  It was printed in 38 languages and sold around 6 million copies.  In his book, Dr. Chapman tells us that there are five basic love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service and Physical Touch.  He advises that if we want to meet the needs of our loved one, we need to learn what their unique language is and cater to it.  It’s actually a pretty good study and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to enjoy better relationships with a spouse, children, friends – pretty much any human relationship could benefit.

There is another book about the language of love that I would recommend even more highly,its author is the highest authority on the subject of love.  This book has sold more than 6 Billion copies and has been translated into more than 531 languages..  In this book the author also teaches us 5 love languages, but unlike Chapman, the love language He teaches is not either/or, it’s all or nothing.

You say you love Me?

(1) Language of Obedience – Keep my commandments

(2) Language of Adoration– Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind

(3) Language of Grace – Love others as you love yourself  (even when they are unlovable)

(4) Language of Discipleship – Feed my sheep

(5) Language of Hope – Tell the whole world Who I AM

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12:30-31)

An Amazon search of books about love and romance will return around 257 thousand results; clearly we are a people who are looking for love.  Our problem is that too many of us search for love in all the wrong places.  We  look to others to fill our need for that perfect love and when we don’t find it, we settle for something that masks itself as love but is anything but. The truth is that God created us in His image, He has put His love in our hearts that we might seek Him.

As Christ has loved us, we are called to love others.  Sharing the Gospel message with those who have nothing in which to trust, giving words of encouragement to those who have been beaten down by the world, speaking the message of hope to those who are hopeless,  –  this is the ultimate Language of Love.

~Sandra