Tag: Hope

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Restorer of the Breach

The Message: Isaiah 58: 9-12
“If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.

I became so excited when I read this chapter I had to share it with you.  The chapter focuses on God telling the house of Jacob He was not pleased with their worship, and the fasting rituals. The people thought they had a lock on God’s favor, because of “their position”, and the fact they fasted and studied his word. But God informed they were wrong.  God was seeking compassion, generosity, and integrity from them, and a willingness to serve others.  True worship meant more, much more.
God wants a full-bodied worship from us as well.  Our worship should demonstrates our connection to Him.  If we truly love the Lord with all our hearts, mind, and body, then we give as He gave, and do as He did.  The result is a full life – strong – glowing with the power and love of Christ.  We become restorer of the breach.  The community will seek us out because the word will spread that we are healers, fixers, deliverers, renovator, and those dark, dirty, dank places will become communities of life, light, and love.
I love watching HGTV where restore the old and make it new and better. Our God did the same thing with us. He took the “old man” and restore him with firm muscles, and strong bones ready to build “new life” from the rubble of  the past.

Look at the verses again.  Read them out loud. Let the words remind you of its infallible truth.  God promised to give us a full life in the emptiest of places.  Like a spring which can never run dry; refreshing; giving life to those around us such will our lives be.  Beloved friends, it is time to come out of the shadows into the light of Christ, and take our rightful place as restorers of the breach.  God promises to show you exactly where to go, and He does not lie.  It is time to take the mantle as Restorer of the Breach.

 

 

http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/?action=getVersionInfo&vid=65

 

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What is God Doing?

Boston, West Texas, Colorado, Columbine, Newtown, India, Iran, Iraq…..

What is God Doing?  The following is an excerpt from a daily reflection written by Eugene Peterson.  With all that has occurred during the past week, its message is quite fitting.

“What is God doing?  He is saving; he is rescuing; he is blessing; he is providing; he is judging; he is healing; he is enlightening.  There is a spiritual war in progress, an all-out moral battle. There is evil and cruelty, unhappiness and illness.  There is superstition and ignorance, brutality and pain.  God is …against all of it.  God is for life, love, hope, heaven, and against death, hate, despair and hell. [paraphrased].  There is no neutral ground in the universe.  Every square foot of space is contested.  [The enemy wants it all.] 

Just as Jeremiah was chosen as a combatant on God’s side [before his birth], so are we all.  No one enters existence as a spectator.  We either take up the life to which we have been consecrated, or we traitorously defect from it.”     We cannot say, “Hold it. I am not quite ready. 

We are at war.  Our God is in continuous and energetic battle against the forces of darkness.  What is God doing?  He is doing everything for his beloved.  

This was taken from Eugene Peterson, “Living the Message.” Harper Collins 1996

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Prayerful Life

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.” Brother Lawrence

Praying without ceasing is one of those key instructions for the believer. But to live a life of continual prayer would mean living on our hands and knees forever, right? No, my friends. God created us to communicate with him. So, prayer is natural for us because God desires a deeper relationship with him, one that strengthen the bonds between us. A relationship where we dive in, and dig deep. A relationship where we tread upon shallow waters or raging seas. A relationship where we see His glory in the first bud of spring, or in the laughter of a child. A relationship when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, or face a “Goliath”. Therefore, prayer is connection with the divine source – with our heart source; our mind source; our spirit source; our body source. When we speak to/with God, and listen to Him hope springs eternal. All the gaps in our lives are filled with Him. We receive the peace that passes all understanding. And so much more.
Brother Lawrence lived in a constant state of awareness of God’s presence. A prayerful life involves giving the sacred room to invade the secular. To become more aware of God, as a believer in every aspect of daily life. There is a sweetness knowing that God is, and that consciously having conversation with him we become more His sons and daughters. A prayerful life is also about being still and listening for him. So that the directions we take are in alignment with His divine purpose for our lives.
A prayerful life is finally one anchored in the reservoir of the sacred, where the trials and tribulations of the world are deposited, and we experience the matchless love of Christ.

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“May the God of…

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Do you remember these lyrics, “There is no secret what God can do, what He done for others, he’ll do for you?”   This song is not sung that often in today’s churches, however the meaning is true.  Our God is no respecter of person.  He showers blessings upon us each day.  He grants forgiveness to his beloved yet wayward children who frequently mess up. And yet, in His infinite mercy and grace God fills us with His spirit.  We are the recipients of divine hope, immaculate grace, priceless joy, and unmerited love.  Our most wonderful Lord provides us with peace that passes all understanding if we trust in His word. 

Rest in the holy and comforting knowledge that this day you are the recipient of God’s hope.  And may that knowledge strengthen you.  

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Yea, thou I walk

The events of December 14th have touched the hearts and souls of the world.  Sorrow, anguish, horror, sadness and pain for those lost, and for those left behind to cope with their journey through the valley of the shadow of death.

Lord, paint our souls with a picture of you, so Your divine light can be seen in this dark world. Paint our hearts with your love to enable us to show what real love really is. Paint our spirits with your peace so we become vessels of calm in troubled waters.  Paint our minds with your wisdom, and our bodies with your strength and mercy, so that we show your amazing grace to the world.

Help us Lord, to walk with these families and others through this time.  Their journey through these dark days are beyond comprehension.  And like others before them, remind us all that our personal journeys intersect with theirs right now, and as your servants we have a work to do them.

Lord, let them know they are not alone, for you are with them.  Your rod and staff will comfort them, and the table you’ve prepared is anointed with your healing oil.  Remind them You are filling their cups with your loving comfort, like the gates of heaven.

Lord, be with these families whose children, and loved ones are gone and with those who are providing care, comfort, support, aid.  Give us the strength and courage as a nation to help, really help those who need it.  Amen

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I’m Still God

The heavens declare my glory.  I’m still God.

My loved one has died. I’m still God.

I lost my job.  I’m still God.

My business is failing.  I’m still God.

This is our wedding day.  I’m still God.

Our daughter graduated.  I’m still God.

I went on a mission trip to Haiti.  I’m still God.

Our home was destroyed. I’m still God.

It’s a boy!   I’m still God.

My candidate won.  I’m still God.

The team lost.  I’m still God.

Dad doesn’t remember me.  I’m still God.

He ran away.  I’m still God.

They loved my new book.  I’m still God.

Lord,  I’m lost.  I’m still God.

Lord, thank you.  I’m still God.

God is still God regardless the common property of our everyday experiences. Whether delight or despair, triumph or tragedy God is and always be.   This knowledge should strengthen our faith that no matter the circumstance God is and will always be.

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Remembrance

Our son Shawn would have been 42 years old.  Travelling the road marked grief is long, and sometimes very lonely. The journey is different for each person. Although the stages – markers have been identified, no two individuals walk in the same direction, the same manner and pace.  And the imprint left by the loss is different as well.  You are changed at the core of your physical, emotional and spiritual DNA.  And those changes will either cloud or clarify how you look at life, your relationship with others, yourself and God.  As you recall the memories of your loved one, you will make a choice to move toward hope and love or not.

Remembering can hurt, but it does not mean constant pain.  John 16:32 [HCSB] records, “I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”    We have a Savior who understands, and is with us. He is our present help at all times.  Because he knows and understands, we can go to him anytime with our grief, our sorrow, and our pain.  He is our Shalom-our precious peace that passes all understanding.

I can celebrate Shawn’s life and legacy, and thank God for the time given us.  Resting in His glorious peace provides hope when the road seems cloudy.

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Can We Save Them?

Junior Seau, former NFL great found dead in his home of a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound.  He is the eighth member of the 1994 Chargers team, which reached the Super Bowl, to die before age 45.  He leaves a mother, children, and former players, coaches, fans and league officials in shock.  Questions about the enormous physical toll the game takes on players, as well as how much the league does to assist former players, once their active playing days are behind them will once again be raised.  As words of sympathy roll in from all over the league, these questions while valid did not come close to an answer to this tragedy.

We can all speculate on what we believe was the real reason for his decision to take his life, but we will never know.  Or do we know? As tragic as this situation is, and my heart goes out to his mother, family, and most of all his children who will spend much of their lives negatively impacted by their father’s decision.

We all must be alert to those around us who are suffering inside, and who appear like Junior to be strong,invincible, and yet feel like there is no hope, no reason to go on when one season of life is over.

Winslow Townson/AP
http://www.bing.com Taken in 2007

What we sometimes fail to realize is, there is always another plan-a better plan waiting for us. God’s divine plan is always better.  It is filled with love, joy, peace and hope.  And there is always hope.  Not hope in what this world offers, but hope in our strong tower, in our mighty fortress, in our refuge, our Strength, our salvation and in our God.  A God who said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”  So when we come to the end of our journey, the fork in the road, God will be there leading and guiding all the way.So let us resolve to do more to share the message of hope for all those caught in the tangled of web of despair.

Let’s do it for the Junior Seaus’ of the world, their families, and others like him.

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All Things New

The film by Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ on earth.  If anyone who has seen the film can’t help but be moved by the gruesome, horrific scenes.  However, there are some poignant ones.  One in particular tugged at my heart.  Jesus’ mother running to get closer to Jesus as he’s carrying his cross.  Followed by a disciple and the other Mary, she stopped with tears dripping down her face, frozen in time as her mind floats back to a earlier time.  
Caught between two moments in time, she remembers,when he was a child and had fallen and she ran to comfort him, and now this moment her son now a man has fallen to the ground, bloody, bruised, beaten.  She runs to him again and gently touches his face when he speak to her in whispers, “See mother, I make all things new.”  Sorrow and hope wrapped in precious blood surrounded by sneers, taunts, whips, angry voices.  Abundant life slowly, straining with every painful step through Via Dolorosa to create a new, bright shiny life for the world-for you and me.

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Possibility

If all things are possible with God, then all things are possible to him who believes in him. Corrie Ten Boom

I read during my Saturday devotion about moving forward. The devotion was entitled Keep Going, and it described when God instructed the children of Israel to break camp and start moving because they had stayed at Mount Horeb too long. How ironic it is that as people we become comfortable in place and within circumstances even if it hurts. We don’t want to venture beyond our surroundings because we don’t know what’s out there.

We stay on a job too long until force to leave. We endure painful relationships for so long because it appears nothing can be done to rectify or resolve it.
We’ve been told to move along, get moving, try something new, or change our perception from fear to possibility, but can’t seem to gather enough momentum.
God told the nation to keep advancing, and do not veer off the path He established. He has told us the same thing; move forward and experience the fullness of life, but we chose to stay too long at Mount Horeb.

If God-the creator and sustainer of all life, told you [us] to keep going into the realm of possibility, what is holding us back? Fear, lack of faith, people? Whatever we call it, it all boil down to, we don’t believe God.
To get away from the mountain requires grasping the truth of God and his character. He is God, and nothing in the universe is more powerful. In the beginning He created life, and gave us the power to live and live it[life] more abundantly. God created possibility and also sustains it. Circumstances, situations, lifestyle changes, whatever you want to call it, does not surprise, frighten or cause God any alarms. He has all of life firmly, securely and lovingly in His hands. He can handle any situations you and I encountered, as well as any opportunity with the same competent, all-powerful and loving manner in which He created the universe.
If we lack anything, Jesus said seek and you shall find, knock on the door of God, open it and there you will discover what is needed to keep moving into the bright, clear air of possibility. Like the songwriter said, Just a closer walk with thee is all it takes.

It’s time for us to move away from the mountain, and keep walking into our destiny. It’s time to shed the skin of what is now and embrace the light of what is possible. Corrie Ten Boom said, All things are possible with God, but only for those who believe in the All Possible God.

Do you believe?