In His Presence

A prayer petition from God's Minute (August 10): "..We pray for the blessing of Thy Presence through all the tangled pathway..."

Galatians 1:4 - "He gave Himself for our sins, that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the Will of our God and Father."

An excerpt from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (August 10):   "Relax in My Healing, Holy Presence....Time spent with Me not only increases your trust; it also helps you discern what is important and what is not...."

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

God would have us be rescued from the tangled pathway of earthly life.  He brings His Presence to us courtesy of Jesus, our Savior and Friend.  Hear the inviting words of Jesus:

Relax in My Presence

Stay in My Presence

Enter into My Presence

Soak up My Presence

Experience My Presence

Live in My Presence

Embrace My Presence

Abound in My Presence

Be filled with My Presence

Receive My Presence

Unburden yourself in My Presence

I guess it all comes down to His Presence!  

May you be surrounded by His Holy Presence this very day, this very moment.

 

 

What's holding you back?

John 7:50 "Nicodemus...came to Jesus by night.."

Matthew 26:58 "Peter followed Him (Jesus) at a distance.."

Proverbs 29:25  "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe."

John 6:37  "Jesus Said 'The one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.' "

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

What is it that makes us hesitant to come to Jesus?

Skeptical?

Curious?

Wondering?

Staying in the shadows?

Keeping at arm's length?

Not ready to commit?

Torn?  Vascillating?  Unsure?  Questions?

Guilty?

Unprepared?

Needy?

Scared?

The Good News is that Jesus is approachable.  He is non-condemning.  He is welcoming.  Jesus is always about invitation - Come and see!

Sarah Young shares in her book, Jesus Calling, this excerpt from July 31: "...When you feel flustered and frazzled...remind yourself that...I am with you at all times." 

Let all arguments, fears and hesitations fall away.  Be bold.  Be brave.  Be received into His open arms.

Go for the "W".....Jesus is a Win!

GO FOR THE "W"......
GO FOR THE WIN!

On May 30, 2020, the devotional "Christ in the Home" shared this verse and thought:

"Psalm 33:20 'God is our Help and Shield'

...Do you carry the Shield of God into your day?...On days when God's Presence is harder to perceive, be mindful that God's faithfulness to you doesn't depend on you.  It's not about what you believe or feel, see or sense.  Even when everything -- including God - feels uncertain,  God is still with you, providing..............
NO MATTER WHAT."

Then from a little prayer book entitled, God's Minute, there was this petition:
"Give us a faith that will not waver, worry, whine, nor wrangle 
but a faith that will wait, watch, wrestle and always win!"

Hebrews 7:25 "He (meaning Jesus) ALWAYS lives to make intercession for them (meaning us!)"

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

WONDERFUL!  What is left to say?

WHEN I have Wavered, Worried, Whine and Wrangled -- and may I add           Wandered far from the peaceful shore --  my Gracious Savior

WHISPERED sweet Words of love to me,

WENT into the darkness to rescue me,

WELCOMED me with Words of invitation to draw me near,

WANTS me to know of His everlasting love and the life He has prepared for me.

WHAT a Friend we have in Jesus!  

Let us WORSHIP Him and be a WITNESS of His great Love!

He's a WIN!!

I will wait...

I will wait....
A devotion during this Covid time, during this protesting-rioting time, during this unsettled and turbulent time.

June 2, 2020


James 5:7-8
"Therefore be patient until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rains.  You also be patient.  Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand."

A petition from a prayer found in "God's Minute" for June 1:
"Keep us calm while all about us is turbulent.  Keep us patient when conditions are most trying."

A quote from devotional book, "Jesus Calling:"
The Lord Jesus says "I am involved in each moment of your life....Because the world is in a fallen condition, things always seem to be unraveling around the edges.  Expect to find trouble this day...As you trudge through the sludge of this fallen world, keep your mind in heavenly places with Me."

*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Patience.  Trudging.  Waiting.  Unraveling.  Turbulent. Trying.  Troubles.
I get tired just reading these verses.  I am weary. 
The turbulence and daily troubles weigh on my mind, my heart and my body. 
I need renewal, refreshment and hope.  A good, good dose of hope.
And so I wait.  Standing in the need of prayer.
I wait. 
I wait on the Lord Who never slumbers nor sleeps.
I wait on the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.
I wait on the Lord Who knows me and my frame and remembers that I am but dust.
I wait on the Lord Who is always with me.
I wait on the Lord Who calls me by name for I am His.
I wait on the Lord Who is a Promise Maker and a Promise Keeper.

I am not forsaken, nor abandoned.
I am treasured and sought after.
I will not be afraid.
I will wait.  I will be patient.
I believe in the love of God and in His mercy and His grace.

Heavenly Father, Descend with Your host of ministering angels to this hurting, struggling world.  Blanket this world with Your peace.  Attend to us all and rise up in every nation Peace Makers who will go the distance.  Thank You for Your faithfulness.  Be ever near.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Ida, A Woman who Fears the Lord

Psalm 31 begins verse 10 with:
"A wife of noble character, who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies.  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life...She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy....She makes coverings for her bed...She makes linen garments and sells them...She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come...Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her...Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised..."

A woman who fears the Lord.  That would be Ida.  Ida came to live at the nursing home almost eight years ago and the one thing all the staff knew before too long was that Ida was a woman who feared the Lord.  Her faith was strong.  She was assured that the Lord was with her and that He had all eternity waiting for her.  Ida, a true woman of God.

Ida talked to God every day in prayer....in Norwegian.  She thanked Him for family and friends.  She recited the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with joy.  Ida was a delight and a witness to all who cared for her.  One day the new chaplain came to visit.  She asked if Ida had any favorite hymns.  Ida's face broke into a beaming smile and she sang, accapella, "God Will Take Care of You," the refrain being:

"God will take care of you, through every day, o'er all the way

He will take care of you.  God will take care of you."

 God and His love were never far from Ida's mind and heart.

The nursing home staff will always hold dear their memories of Ida in her night cap, her cups of soup she enjoyed so much and Ida's caring family.

May the Lord comfort and strengthen the family of Ida.  May the Lord continue His diligent care of Ida and may He also fulfill the end verses of the 31st Psalm, "Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate," now and forever, Amen.

Jean, A Witness to Hope

A Letter to God as I sit in Room 116

Dear God,
As I sit here this early morning in Room 116, I sit beside the now still body of Jean.  The grieving family and their pastor have held each other with prayers and tears and have now left. Their grief is great.

I sit in the early morning silence and contemplate death.  Jean's death was so quiet.  No trumpets.  No fanfare.  No indications that this would be the last morning.  Her death was so quiet.  

Life, on the other hand, was so noisy!  Jean's life was busy and full.  Her last months were complicated but always each day was lived, each day was completed.  Now, this day, this day will begin without Jean.  Today she begins her new life, a life of freedom, a life of wellness, a life prepared through yet another death, that of our Lord Jesus the Christ Who rose from death to conquer it once and for all.

Death is conquered.  That is our hope as believers.  And hope is a mighty force.  God knew that a world that included sin could not be fair.  And as sin abounds in this world, so do accidents, tragedies, illness, poverty, violence and general chaos.  What could God do short of starting over?  What could God do this side of eternity?

God could send His Son.  God could send Jesus into the world to not only experience the pain and injustice but also to conquer that which is wrong and to have victory.  And victory brings more than success - victory brings hope!  Hope for all people.  

Hope is strength.  Hope is encouragement.  Hope is tomorrow!  Hope is incentive to try.  Hope is reason to believe.  With hope we can trust.

Jean was a woman of Hope.  If she were not, long ago Jean would have given up.  But Jean did not give up.  Jean saw hope in each day, in each hour of each day.  Jean saw hope in her family.  Jean saw hope in love.  Jean saw hope in those who cared for her every day.  Jean saw hope in hymns and prayers.  Jean saw hope in life.  And now, Jean is living completely in the Hope that only Jesus can give.   

Psalm 61 could be Jean's Psalm: "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.  From the ends of the earth I call to you.  I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.  For You have been my Refuge, a Strong Tower against the foe.  I long to dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.  For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your Name."

Dwell in the Tent of the Lord, Jean.  Take refuge under the shelter of His wings.  Go to the Rock that will be solid ground.  Receive the heritage of Eternal Life with the God of your Hope, the God in whom you trust.

And, Dear God, thank You for sending Jean to us.  Thank You for allowing this woman of Hope to touch the lives of the staff and residents.  We have been blessed.

The early morning light is beginning to fill Room 116 now.  Help us to hope and trust in You, Lord.  Like Jean, help us to hope and trust in You, now and forever more,  Amen.

Reflecting on a man named Leroy

The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes has much to say about the every day and at the same time remind us of God, our Creator and Sustainer.  This is where I began when reflecting on Leroy and the scope of his almost 80 years of life and specifically the 18 months he lived at the nursing home.

"..A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.  This too, is from the Hand of God for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?....There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot;
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build;
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance;
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them;
A time to embrace and a time to refrain;
A time to tear and a time to mend;
A time to be silent and a time to speak;
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace....
God has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil -- this is a gift from God."

Leroy will always be a witness to me of faith in God.  Leroy came to our nursing home family in January of 1995.  He wasn't the shy, retiring type and it didn't take long for every staff member to become a part of Leroy's life. Leroy was accustomed to creating the direction of his life around him.  He had made decisions.  He had worked hard.  He was his own man just like the Ecclesiates' verses talk of -- a man who finds satisfaction in his work.  Leroy's stroke and health problems were not part of Leroy's overall plan.  I don't even believe they were a part of God's plan, but our Lord's Presence never left Leroy.  Leroy was not alone.

Leroy gave a vivid example of storming the gates of heaven.  In his pain and inability to live his life as he had, Leroy just wanted to go home.  To go to God.  To be released.  For as much as Leroy was a decision maker and hard worker, he still knew who was in charge. God.  God was in charge so Leroy daily plead his case before the Almighty.

Leroy wasn't afraid to die.  Leroy fretted more about living than dying.  Leroy wasn't afraid because he knew the future would continue with God in heaven .  A heavenly future is a little unknown, but Leroy's faith -- a faith that said 'I Trust,' wasn't worried or concerned with the unknown.  Leroy knew Jesus.  He believed in Jesus.  He trusted Jesus.   Leroy's faith was simple and uncomplicated.  Believe.  Jesus is Who He says He is.  The Bible tells us so.  Believe.  No great theological essays, no deep probing analytical thesis, just believe.  And if you believe, then trust.  It is that simple.

"..there is a time to mourn, and there is a time to dance."  Somehow I feel that Leroy would want to see us humming along and tapping our toes.  

To the family of Leroy, may God bless you, comfort you and release you from grief so that you may continue your dance of life, now and forever more.  Amen.

(August 1996)