John 8:15-26 “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
Those who come to the breakfast table daily realize you have sought in vain for even a whiff of coffee or plain toast and jam, certainly no bacon and eggs since March 14th, and fixings were a little on again off again before that for several months. Well, it's true. Life is hard sometimes, and then all of the sudden when you least expect it, it gets a lot harder. Two weeks ago, Dad was down with a bad lower back problem, so I, Mom, took over for a while, despite ongoing health issues and a few new challenges. This week a new bug joined the existing infection and resulted in pneumonia, leaving no choice but bed rest, and another chance to trust the Lord and to thank him for his faithfulness, goodness, mercy, and grace.
In any and all situations, we can joyfully declare that Jesus is Lord: He is who He said He was in the temple courts. We can arise as soon as possible, turn back to the book of John, at the next verse in sequence, and say, "Yes, the Father who sent the Son is reliable; the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit is reliable. We have learned throughout our lives to give thanks always to God, for He is faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, Psalm 111:7) No matter where we are or what is going on, we are known of him, and He is nigh us, with us, in us. He is Lord of all! (Mentioned 8 times in the NIV) Yet that choice is always ours to believe, to acknowledge that hope, to accept that reality, and to hold it deep in our hearts and rest in the comfort and knowledge of his loving kindness and tender mercy. He knows our names. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) Jeremiah wrote this so well, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart . . . (Jeremiah 1:5)
When you are undone, when you feel hopeless, when your thoughts center on you and your needs, when you lose sight of Jesus and his Word, when you stop singing praises and praying for the needs of others; listen to the still small voice of the Lord. God is always speaking, but we do not always listen. Paul was constantly reminding the church to get up, put on their armor and stand fast like soldiers of the cross. He said, in a hundred different ways in all his writings, we are not like the rest of men, who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Dad and I want to encourage you with the same hope that Paul held in his heart, the hope that Christ was enough, always enough, that because Christ gave himself up for us and shed his blood and sent the Comforter, we are more than conquerors through him and all things are possible to those who believe. We pray the prayer he prayed for the church at Thessalonica: May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:13) I also want to share a poem God gave me yesterday morning that encouraged our hearts and lifted our spirits.
Grace Comes
Grace comes freely
Unexpectedly
From the heart and soul
Flowing gentle rain
Covers the terrain
Hovering above beckoning
As soft summer clouds
Powerful as a hurricane
A jubilant whirlwind
Yet soft as a mother’s caress
Warm sunrays sparkling
In the day and in the night
Grace enfolds and seals
Spots intruders from afar
Whispers I’m here,
Not going anywhere,
Not now, not ever
Steps forward, not back
I’ll lie down beside you
Wrap my love around you
Enfold all of you
The whole of your parts
I’ll listen while you sleep
In terror and in laughing
Smiling, rejoicing, singing, dancing,
Touching, moving, healing, hoping, rising,
Caring, believing, watching, laughing, freeing,
Redeeming, staying, expecting, holding, everlasting,
A whisper of hope, an eternal promise: Grace Comes!
Jacqueline M. Bursch
March 18, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment