The Gift of Encouragement – Week of February 26, 2012

February 26, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

To live a life with Jesus is to be certain that everything you experience, He experiences.  Whatever sorrows and challenges you face, He is there with you.  To know that one is not alone in times of grief and loss is a great comfort.  Jesus is the certain presence when loss strikes, and He is the One who will always stay no matter how life hurts.

Grief is part of this life.  A most difficult and painful part.  Jesus knows that.  To believe in Him is to be assured that He will remain with you in a season of grief.  He will stay with you when He does indeed turn the night of mourning into a morn of joy.  It will come.  Jesus promised.  Trust His reliable and faithful heart.

Lord Jesus, sorrows in life come in ways we cannot predict or avoid and in ways so terribly painful.  Lord, help us to rely on Your ever-present love and strength to see us through seasons of sadness.  You are the God of all time and place and we trust You in all the days of our lives.  In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of February 19, 2012

February 19, 2012 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Small steps. Sometimes this is what constitutes a leap in the realm of grief. The weight of grief can be so dense after a significant loss that to take small steps to accomplilsh routine tasks reflects good strides in healing. Everyone goes through times of grief. Grief weakens. However, Christ Himself strengthens.

Jesus in in those small steps. Jesus makes them possible. When our strength fails, His does not. His strength cannot fail. Trust this. Jesus wants you to rely on Him and His strength to go through life’s challenges. His love is strong. It is His love that will uphold you in the small steps and into the larger ones. Jesus stays. Know that He will support your small steps to live again with hope.

Lord, You know how painful losses are and the weakness they bring. Lord, Thank You for Your steady and strong arm to lean on in life’s sorrows. Thank You, Lord, for being our certainty when life hurts. Oh, how we need Thee, Lord Jesus. Oh, how we love Thee, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of February 12, 2012

February 12, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

Where is your hope today? Is in in yourself or in Jesus? Think about your answer. Believers in Jesus may respond as a reflex and think, of course, it is in Jesus. However, human tendencies can sometimes mar the faith it takes to really put the full weight of hope in the Person of Jesus. Especially when circumstances in this world are painful and complex, and seem to require a human touch to fix them rather than the Divine Hand to guide them.

Hope can ebb and flow. Even for Christians. There may be seasons in life that deplete hope; often these are seasons of sorrow and challenge. But God in Christ assures us that we are not allow in these seasons. Jesus stays. Jesus soothes. The Holy Spirit inspires and instructs. Where is your hope today? If it is firmly in Jesus, praise Him. If it is in yourself, seek Him. He wants to carry you and your needs in His loving care. Let Him.

Lord Jesus, to follow You is to be sure by faith that You steady those in times of challenge. Thank You, Jesus for Your calm presence. Thank You, Jesus, for Your unending hope. All fountains are in You. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of February 5, 2012

February 5, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

The wonder of God goes far beyond what blesses us based on our desires.  The wonder of God is that He can bless us in times when life is not at all as we desire.  To continue to follow God’s beloved Son, Jesus, is to develop a trust in the Lord who promised to be with you no matter what you face in life.  When life is good and easy, trusting God is easy.  When life brings challenge, loss, and pain, trust is far harder.  But it is only in times of trial that one can truly know the faithfulness of God’s presence.  Often, it is not until one is well out of a season of trial that the consistency of God’s presence is most clear.

To follow Jesus is not so much rooted in our steps as in His.  To follow Him is to put full confidence in what He said He would do–Be there.  He promises to be with you no matter what life brings and what life does not bring.  To follow the Star that is Christ is to be certain by faith that He is not going to weaken His hold on you, even if you weaken your hold on Him.  He will be there, abiding in His steadfast love for you.  Will you accept that love?  No matter what?  This is what true love is all about.  Believing that One will be there always.  Jesus will.

Lord, You promised.  To be there.  To stay there.  Guide the hearts of those who need to feel the comfort of Your promise.  Soothe those who doubt.  Thank You eternally, Jesus, that You promised.  In Thee, Amen.

Transitions – February 2012

February 1, 2012 in Transitions of the Month | Leave a comment

LOVE ABIDES  

And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three but the greatest of these is love.     1 Corinthians 13:13

To think that love abides in the throes of loss is most difficult to reconcile.  Pain is not often equated with love.  When loss comes and grief follows, love is challenging.  Hope is weak.  Sorrow stays; for a time.  In a society that emphasizes the euphoria of love, the truth of love’s abiding presence even in sad times seems impossible.  Because of Jesus, all is possible.  Because of Jesus, love abides.

Love does not leave when loss comes.  It abides in a different form.  It lives in memories, character, witness, and possibilities.  A range of years or a speck of experience in love moves to transform, better, and ennoble love’s recipients.  When love is known in Jesus, love has a supernatural quality that transcends human knowledge and feelings so love can thrive in a new way.  This may be difficult to see, feel or believe in times of sorrow.   But Jesus is the reason why love abides and reveals itself in new ways.

If you or someone you know is going through a season of grief that is painful and is seems as though all hope is gone, know that the Lord understands this grief.  Better than the griever.  Grief brings a maze of emotions and can confuse thinking and blur perspective.  The Lord can and does make meaning out of loss when He is invited to do so.  Asking Jesus for help and healing is to receive it.  Although it may be a long walk through a season of grief, Jesus will be your companion through it.  Jesus Himself will be the steady source of strength to uphold you.

Loss may make people reticent to love again, care or be cared for.  This is normal for a time.  But hope in Jesus is life-giving.  And for as long as life continues, it is the hope of Jesus’ heart that love will abide. While grief’s stay brings its web of challenges, grief does eventually ebb and leave.  When it does, love in its new form is clear.  Love, as promised in God’s Word, does abide.

Lord Jesus, You are the strength in times of human weakness.  You are the One to make meaning out of love’s mystery.  Thank You, Jesus, for being the reason why and how love abides—no matter what.  Kindly bring hope to those who need to be reminded again of Your sustaining touch and renewing Spirit.  In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of January 29, 2012

January 29, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

There is a difference between grief and mourning.  Mourning is outer i.e., what is done publicly in rituals that signify an ending.  Grief is inner; the emotional pains borne as a result of a loss.  While these are different expressions of a loss, sometimes grief can take its toll physically if one experiences lack of sleep, appetite fluctuations, mood swings that bring about angry outbursts or crying spells. Because grief is a volatile experience, one may not know how it will show itself.  Whether grief is visible or worn inside on the heart, Jesus knows every nuance of your personal experience of grief.

Jesus knows everything.  He has complete awareness of what you are feeling as you mire through the grief and its unpredictable emotions.  Yet, He Himself stays the same to create an equlibrium for you that can only be the result of His divine presence.  Whatever you are feeling that is obvious or concealed, Jesus knows all you are feeling.  He will uphold you.  Even if you feel unsteady, His Hand and His strength are sure.  Do rely on Him to carry you through.  He wants to.  He love you so.

Lord Jesus, grief is so deeply painful.  It is a foreign experience if it has never been know yet it is a universal experience.  Jesus, Thank You for being the steady strength and support this reader requires to carry on by the support of Your endless love.  In Thee, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of January 22, 2012

January 22, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

There is little controversy when it comes to wanting to be happy. Most people desire happiness. As a framework for life; as a goal. When life’s circumstances do not produce happiness, faith can wane. God never intended for that to be. When grief has its season in our lives, emotions can slump and faith can dim. But faith in the Lord is something that can increase in times that are unhappy, if His glory is sought in all.

Sufferings in life bring us closer to Jesus. If suffering comes due to deaths, health problems, relationship challenges, and various other human experiences, the presence of the Holy Spirit and a continuous desire for the Lord to be in the center, will produce something beneficial. It will not be happiness. But eventually, ever so incrementally, there will be a washing away of sorrow and a replacement of peace and purpose. This may take a long time to reach. Following Jesus is a life-long process, and in every season of life He will indeed make something meaningful out of sufferings. He promised. Will you believe in His promise?

Lord Jesus, trust is a word bandied about yet that is what You ask followers to do. By faith we are to follow You, trust You, and then watch to see Your presence and Your hand in our lives to make meaning out of that which can seem meaningless. Thank You, Jesus, for being our constant companion, and for always making good on Your promises. In Thee, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of January 15, 2012

January 15, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

We form dreams in our heart and give them to Son of God so that by faith we can expect to see them come to be.  The Lord knows our hearts and He knows the hopes that live in us for He Himself is the Maker of hope and Giver of dreams.  But when loss strikes a life, it can seem as though the God of Israel in Whom we have trusted subtracts rather than adds to personal or mutual splendor.  In God’s economy everything is exponential.  Everything has value.  Part of the mystery of God is that those things that strike the heart create a place for Him to fill.

Grief takes but Jesus replenishes.  Sorrows exhausts but Jesus refills.  Going through a time of barren days and blank views does not seem purposeful let alone productive.  With God, somehow it is.  We do not see the meaning in a time of deep sadness due to tradegy, poor choices, and painful consequences.  God does.  He sent Jesus to be proof that in Jesus and because of Him, hope will rise again.  That there is still purpose in the wilderness times of life, and that the shadows of grief eventually give way to a dawn of meaning.  Whatever you are experiencing right now that is painful and seemingly without intent, know that the Lord is with you and He will lead the way to resotration and meaning.  He will lead the way for HE is the way.

Lord Jesus, You abide, in Your presence, in Your Word.  You stay with those who hurt and You still extend hope and meaning even when life hurts and dreams are shattered.  Because You live to comfort and redeem, there is hope for better days and for purpose that only Your living Spirit can provide.  Thank You, Lord, for all You continue to give of Yourself in times of loss.  In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.

The Gift of Encouragement – Week of January 8, 2012

January 8, 2012 in Devotion of the Week | Leave a comment

Expectation is either exhilierating or limiting.  It depends on who is in control–God or us.  The choice is ours.  To expect based on human desire is to limit Diviine hope.  Human expectations tend to be governed by human wishes.  Conversely when one gives expectations over to Divinity to fulfill, the best outcome is sure to result.  Even in times of grief, Divinity is at work seeking to fulfill expectations.

Sorrow can and does get the better of us when loss strikes.  But Jesus came to enter the world and to enter hearts such that all–all–in Him will be infused with a redemptive quality.  Grief can blind that truth.  Feelings can paralyze that truth.  Jesus fulfills that truth.  Even in sorrow, may we possess a grain of faith to let Him.

Lord, expectations placed in You can only result in something purposeful and new.  Help us, Lord, to give to You all of our expectations for the results You pray we receive.  In Thee our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

Transitions – January 2012

January 1, 2012 in Transitions of the Month | Leave a comment

BEGINNINGS

                 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.     Psalm 111:10

At Epiphany we remember the three wise men; the three kings who journeyed far to bring their gifts to the Lord Jesus at His birth.  These kings, considered wise and high in stature, came to the Lord in reverence and fear to bow before Him.  They knew He was holy.  They did not tremble before Him but knelt before Him, knowing that Jesus is the One in possession of all power and wisdom.  Their recognition of the Lord Jesus as King over kings illustrated their smallness before Greatness.  With quiet fear and holy love the wise men followed the star to Jesus.

Are you following Jesus today?  Loss may be part of your life this season, and therefore, conscious following of Jesus may not seem to be part of your daily course.  Serious loss may have come unexpectedly or anticipated loss that you could not prevent.  Human fear may be stirring in you as try to cope, carry on, and plan for tomorrow without whom and what you had yesterday.  To follow Jesus may be difficult because focus on anyone or anything is hard right now.  But the mere whisper of Jesus’ Name brings comfort and healing.  Letting His Name be on your lips brings assurance to the heart.  Fearing Him and concurrently trusting Him to be with you and to hold you in a time of loss are signs of wisdom.  It means you are following Jesus even if you do not feel you are doing so.  He understands. He loves you.  Completely.  Trust His love for you.  It is perfect.

The Lord created us for fellowship with Him.  He wants to go through everything with us.  The beautiful bridge of prayer at any time or place allows us warm and ready relationship with Jesus.  Prayer fosters closeness with God in Christ.  As we turn the corner from 2011 and enter into a new year of God’s grace, 2012 will hold its share of uncertainties.  The unknowns include the people we will meet, relationships that will develop, relationships that will conclude in one form, places we will go, inspiration that comes, and differences we will make in God’s world for Christ’s sake.  The next generous portion of time God gives to us will include matters new, wondrous, and maybe perplexing.  But the God of Israel will be in the center of it all.  If we recognize the fluidity of His power at all times and all places, we will fear Him yet trust Him, and be endowed with more wisdom.

Fear as a beginning! How can it be that fear leads to something beneficial—the gain of wisdom.  But in God’s Word it is clear that fear of God is the beginning of  wisdom.  How much wisdom do we want?  It is measured by how much we want God and desire to know Him through His Word.  May His coming year find us filled with more wisdom from the Lord and greater love for the Lord.

Lord, to fear You is to know Your power and yet be wrapped in Your love.  May every beginning bring us closer to You.  In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.