Perhaps…

Hope.

Is it worth fighting for?

What happens when hope fails? What is left but anguish?

Like all good gifts, hope can be misplaced. Misplaced hope will result in unfulfilled expectations. Unfulfilled expectations bring disappointment. Frequent disappointment leads to sorrow. Continual sorrow turns to despair.

Is it better then, to abandon hope? Must we settle into cold indifference to avoid such pain?

May it never be! Hope is a beautiful gift from God!

If we do find ourselves in despair, it is because our hope has been misplaced. Where then, should our hope rest?

Our deepest hope should never rest in possessions, circumstances, or even other people. Possessions will be stolen, broken and lost. Circumstances will be painful and unstable. People may fail and will eventually be taken from us.

Nor is our deepest hope in potential answers to prayer, for even in our prayers we can set our expectations on how God will respond. Sometimes God doesn’t answer in the way we want.

Our deepest hope is in Christ. In Him is where the true beauty of our faith lies. Our confidence is in God’s character. Through His Word we know God to be loving, faithful, good, kind, and true. He is powerful and mighty. He raises the humble and delivers the helpless. He hears the cry of the afflicted and promises justice. He is a God of mercy and miracles. A God of forgiveness. Jesus is a God of love, gentleness, and compassion. Our God is a God of salvation. A God who works all things together for good. We can be sure His plan is best. His plan is perfect.

Because we serve such a God, we pray to Him. We make requests. We speak to our God in detail. We pour out our hearts before Him! He may not answer our prayers when or how we want, but who knows? Perhaps today He may grant our requests. Should we concede to determinism, give up on sharing our heart with him and let God “do what He wants?” No, that isn’t the kind of God we serve! We must keep interceding! He always hears.

But even when our desires and prayers are not met the way we want, we still trust Him. He is a loving Father, near to the broken hearted! As we face new difficulties, we must always go to God in prayer. He may answer with a “Yes” when we least expect it, but even if He doesn’t, we rest in Him.

Like He did for Paul’s request for relief from a constant thorn, when God calls us to suffer trials, which seem beyond our ability to endure, He will supply the grace necessary to carry us through. We may not receive it before or after, but when needed, His grace is present. His power will be perfected in our weakness.

Where can stability be found in trials? The same place it should always be found. In Christ. We don’t hope in this world, but for a glory that is to come. A promise that will never fade. A savior that will never fail.

True abiding hope is set firmly in Christ: our hope of glory. Amidst the storms of life, He is the anchor of our soul.

Day by day I will continue to bring my specific requests to Him. Perhaps God may answer them. I am sure He hears me. Even if God doesn’t act the way I ask, though I may not fully understand, I am certain: Jesus knows my name, He knows my pain, and He is coming to get me. He is worthy of my praise!

Soon I will see my king.

That is my hope. And it is worth fighting for.

Helpful Verses:

Ps 31:24—Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 130:5—I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.

Lam 3:21–26 —This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

To the person who seeks Him.

It is good that he waits silently

For the salvation of the Lord.

Rom 5:1–5—  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Rom 8:24–25— For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Rom 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Eph 1:18–19—  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

Col 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1 Tim 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

Heb 6:17–20 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

1 Pet 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Infinity

Try to explain it.

Seemingly non-existent, yet truly undeniable. Eluding all attempts to be understood, infinity has regard for no man. The reality of eternity demands exploration, yet refuses to be touched.

As a child, I would often lift my eyes toward the night sky inquiring how far empty space could extend beyond the stars. With no answer sufficient to satisfy my curiosity, I was tempted to concede. My efforts to find sense beyond time and space revealed obvious mental limits. But something in me wouldn’t let go.

Even today, it requires every ounce of my brainpower to ponder eternity longer than it takes for me to say the word. But I believe it is always worth the effort.

Because in that moment… I see it.

Like a lamp plugged into an overcharged socket, I intellectually short-circuit on every attempt at comprehension. A light in my soul sparks for an instant, flickering out the moment it appears. Yet in that fleeting moment, I always see a glimmer. A sight that leaves me in awe. More than a sight; a recognition.

A recognition of the glory of God.

Psalm 19:1—The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Final thought: This is a daily exercise. Instead of hurrying over Psalms speaking about God’s power and might, do the hard work. Dwell on his wondrous deeds. Don’t stop until you see His glory. Don’t keep God in the box you created, read His word and ask Him to show you His glory.

True Blessing

True Blessing

How blessed are those who ask and see the results of faithful prayer!

Truly, one of the greatest gifts we can receive on earth is offered to us freely; no wait, promised to us!

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

Matt7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Yet, too many believers go days, weeks, months, years, even decades without experiencing the joy of seeing a loving, heavenly Father answer their petitions.

Truly, there is great joy in praying alongside brothers and sisters, watching the Lord work in amazing ways. And a special joy results from seeing God answer prayer after we have struggled many nights alone with Him.

Receiving blessings is like procuring choice fruit from a tree.

Imagine three small children walking through a field. After a few hours, they happen upon a tree full of beautiful healthy apples. Weary from the walk, the children catch a glimpse of the shiny red orbs and dash towards the tree.

All three children quickly discover the lower branches are out of their reach; and realize there are only three possible means of acquiring this fruit.

Wait

Some, longing for the blessings from God, succumb to the excuses of weariness and busyness and just wait for His blessings to happen upon them, relying on His sovereign benevolence.

Yes; with a measure of faith they look upwards casting brief requests to heaven, uncertain if their voices are heard. And as they go about life, they find many blessings to fall, believing “God is good” but feel they receive mere coincidental benefactions of his kindness.

Hit the Tree

Others, also trusting in God’s goodness according to their measure of faith, will, occasionally, pray purposefully. When a pressing need is presented, they hit the tree of grace, hoping God will hear. After the apple falls, and God answers, they knowingly believe “God is good to me. For not only have I received blessing, but I received in accordance with my request. When I go to Him, He hears me.”

Though this child does receives blessing, there is, perhaps, the tiniest doubt that another apple may not fall were they to strike the tree a second time.

Shake the Tree

Yet others, in accordance with their faith, grip the tree of grace and shake with all their might. Deciding to fully realize every blessing the tree has to offer, they are willing to expend all their energy even if they receive nothing. As time progresses, and the blessings fall, they know “God is exceedingly good to me. He hears my cries and I have found Him to be good, all my days.”

Psalm 6:9 The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer.

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications.

Are you waiting, hitting, or shaking? What is your measure of Faith?

Something Greater

Now, even though God answers prayer; the specific fruit (blessing), for which you ask, may not be given. Though God answers with a “No”, He certainly hears. Is that enough for you? Consider this:

Many are not merely one step away from deepest blessing, but two. I propose, there is something even more rewarding than an answered request for physical blessing.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

Spiritual blessing. Made possible in Christ. Though there are many spiritual blessings (read Ephesians), lets observe one.

Consider a father and his son. Every Sunday, a son asked his father if he could drive the car home. At fifteen, perhaps the young man was not yet mature enough for this privilege. Yet he made his heart known to his father. “Dad, can I please drive the car today?”

“When you are ready” was his reply.

Each Sunday the son would ask and receive the same response. But one occasion, while walking out to the car, before the son said a word, their eyes locked in a moment of silence.

His father handed him the keys and asked, “Son, would you like to drive today?”

The moment they shared was beyond words.

Though there is great joy in an answered request, would you not agree, something more valuable than a car was given in that exchange? Something eternal.

The deep and abiding love found in a relationship with the giver is more enriching than any physical gift we could receive.

Sometimes, we are not ready for the blessings He wishes to give, and He waits patiently as He prepares us, but knowing God and experiencing His love is infinitely more rewarding than receiving his earthly gifts.

The greatest blessing is communion with the Father; made possible by Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:8 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Worship moment: this should cause us to wonder what it cost Christ to forgo that communion with God and be forsaken on our behalf. No one has ever been more alone than Jesus; forsaken by man and God.

Isaiah 53:3-5 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their faceHe was despised, and we did not esteem Him.Surely our grief’s He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Shaking the tree of Grace is true faith (Heb 11:1).

Following Christ in sacrifice is true worship (Rom 12:1).

Feeling God’s pleasure is true reward.

Matt 25:23 Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.

How are you?

Consider your most recent conversation:

Them:    ”How are you?”

You:       “Tired” or “Busy” (accompanied by a deep sigh)

Them:    ”How come?”

You:       “[enter complaint here].”

When asked how we’re doing, our replies and non-verbal expressions often provoke people to inquire “What’s wrong?”

Sometimes we excuse our self-pitying replies by claiming a desire to uphold honesty. “I don’t want to lie” we say, “I don’t want to be fake.”

Good point. Don’t lie. Congratulations, you are sincerely tired and busy. Every day.

I know I definitely need God’s forgiveness and patience regarding this issue.

It’s not a sin to be tired or busy, and it’s not a sin to share this with others. But we need to exercise wisdom and selflessness with our responses. Sometimes life is discouraging (that’s o.k.) but what are we known for? How often do people see our joyful smile and ask “Why so happy?”

We should view our interaction as an opportunity to show selfless love. But too often we are victims. In reality, we are saying “I don’t have enough within myself to give to you. In fact, I could use some of your energy.”

Now there will be times when we are especially tired; and other times can be unusually busy (Side note: Everybody is busy. Busy isn’t necessarily bad. When we say you are busy are we really saying anything? Or are we just complaining?), but our problem is far worse than a full schedule and lack of sleep.

When we offer discouraged answers, we are revealing our heart. In our heart we are discouraged. I think we are discouraged too easily because we are focusing on the wrong things. We are looking to the physical rather than the spiritual.

We are not reflecting the truth of our standing before God because we are failing to realize the truth ourselves.

What is the truth? For the believer, there is a plurality of awesome truths. I have chosen 5:

1. I know I have eternal life and God hears me when I speak with Him.

1 John 5:13-15 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

2. Jesus is preparing a place for me and He is coming to get me.

John 14:1-3 1“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

3. Jesus is my hope. He entered into the inner sanctuary before me, on my behalf. I will follow.

Hebrews 6: 19-20 19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

4. I am not under condemnation. God is my father. I am an heir of God and I will be glorified with His son, Jesus.

Romans 8:1 1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:14-17 14For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Romans 8: 18-19 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

5. I have the peace of God. It is guarding my heart and mind.

Philippians 4:7 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Think about the realization of these hopes. If someone were to ask then “How are you?”, how would you respond?

I’m guessing your response would be substantially more uplifting than “Tired.”

Our responses truly do come from our heart, and our consistently weak and selfish answers reveal our shallow view of God’s truth and are lack of concern for others (Phil 2:3-4). We have weak answers because we have a weak relationship with God. We need God more than we need sleep and free-time.

I’m not saying anyone who says they are tired and busy is sinning.

Don’t look down on people when they are tired. Encourage them and build them up. (I know I need much forgiveness for I complain often!)

I am saying we need to display God’s glory and selflessness in everything we do. Put the focus on Him; especially when you are tired and busy.

Invest yourself in prayer and in reading God’s word. Fill up your soul. Don’t leave God till your soul overflows.

Next time someone asks “How are you?”:

• Turn it into an opportunity to give grace.
• See it as a chance to recall to mind your standing before God.
• Remember God’s truth and let it wash your soul with gratefulness.
• Respond in a way that reflects you are a thankful child of God, with an eternal hope.
• Turn it into a call to prayer.
• Turn it into an opportunity to witness.
• Answer with selfless love.
• And smile.

~Father, I am convicted of this and need to change. Change me first and please help your church to reflect your truth and glory in everything we do.

Thankful

25 things I’m thankful for today (not in order of importance):

1. When I am wrong, I am a forgiven man

2. When I am right, I am still a forgiven man

3. Answered prayers

4. A job

5. Patient friends

6. Loving parents

7. Acts 16- sometimes God’s will is not what we think, and thats ok

8. Great carpool rides

9. The faithful prayers of others on our behalf

10. Tacos

11. Orange Juice

12. The Holy Spirit’s effect upon my heart

13. I can learn (for now)

14. Family

15. Seeing a child’s awe when receiving an unexpected gift from a parent

16. God’s patience and gentleness

17. Phil 3:3- I can worship with “no confidence in the flesh . . .”

18. 1 Samuel 16- “Man looks to the appearance, but God looks at the heart. . .”

19. Laughter and tears

20. Jesus is coming quickly; but even so, He is with us always, even to the end of the age

21. Christians suffer for a reason

22. Romans 8- “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . . .”

23. Music that makes me ponder the beauty of God

24. Beautiful sunsets, clouds, and stars on a quiet walk

25. A gentle breeze.

Thank you God.

Home

 

I miss it.

Wisdom from Gilbert Keith Chesterton

“Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.” – ILN, 5/5/28

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” – Chapter 5, What’s Wrong With The World, 1910

“War is not ‘the best way of settling differences; it is the only way of preventing their being settled for you.” – ILN, 7/24/15

“When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws.” – Daily News, 7/29/05

“The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice.” – A Defense of Humilities, The Defendant, 1901

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” – Everlasting Man, 1925

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” – ILN, 4/19/30

When people cease to believe in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.

“Savages and modern artists are alike strangely driven to create something uglier than themselves. but the artists find it harder.” – ILN, 11/25/05

One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.

It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.

There is no such thing on earth as an uninteresting subject; the only thing that can exist is an uninterested person.

“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.” – On Running After Ones Hat, All Things Considered, 1908

A woman uses her intelligence to find reasons to support her intuition.

We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbor.

“I believe what really happens in history is this: the old man is always wrong; and the young people are always wrong about what is wrong with him. The practical form it takes is this: that, while the old man may stand by some stupid custom, the young man always attacks it with some theory that turns out to be equally stupid.” – ILN 6-3-22

“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.” – A Short History of England, Ch.10

“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.” – Orthodoxy, 1908

“A detective story generally describes six living men discussing how it is that a man is dead. A modern philosophic story generally describes six dead men discussing how any man can possible be alive.” – A Miscellany of Men

I am not absent-minded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.

Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – ILN, 1/14/11

Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.

Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.

Decisions. What is God’s Will?

“I’ll flip you for it.”

Give a child this option and they gladly allow fate to decide. Until they lose. Then they want fate to decide again. And again. Until they win.

Whether it’s riding shotgun or the last piece of bacon, there’s a strange sense of exhilaration when we’re asked to leave things to chance. Yet, if the decision isn’t in our favor, instantly we feel a sense of disappointment and injustice.

What’s wrong with this picture?

We know “the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Prov 16:33). We believe God is in control, and making decisions by chance is foolish. Or do we…?

When it comes to deciding God’s will, our lives often betray our lips. We may not cast lots, but if we are honest, we look to some strange places for direction. Here are four principles  to remember:

Interpreting Circumstances Can Be Deadly

1 Samuel 24

Saul was pursuing David to kill him, and while fleeing and calling on the LORD for deliverance, David finds an opportunity to slay his opponent in a cave.

4 The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. 5 It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.  6 So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.”

The stars are aligned! It must be the will of God. Or so said David’s companions.

Yet David recalls God’s previously revealed word that Saul is the LORD’s anointed. He determines God’s present will by His clear past commands. God will remain consistent to His Word and it takes an exercise in discernment and discipline to decipher between what is His will and what appears to be His will.

Accommodation is Not Approval

“It was a good thing I dated him, Dad!” a girl says to her Father. “He got saved after a couple of months!”

Just because God allowed someone to date a non-believer and displayed patience, does not mean that He condones the decision. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 makes it clear that we are not to be “unequally yoked with unbelievers”. If that non-believer became saved in the course of the relationship, it still does not mean God approved.

God may work in spite of our bad decisions, but we are responsible to walk according to His revealed will. His past graciousness does not imply present approval.

Praise God He has worked through our bad decisions, but if we want to know His will, we can’t be fooled into thinking our decisions have been honoring to Him because he allowed them to happen .

Description is Not Prescription

Judges 6- Gideon put his fleece out to confirm God’s will. But was this honoring to the Lord? Should we do the same?

Notice Gideon says, “If you will deliver…as you have spoken…”(v. 36). This sounds very close to Satan’s words to Christ “”If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written…” (Matt 4:6)

Just because an activity is described in the Bible does not mean it is prescribed for us today.

Jesus battled Satan’s prescription of an out of context passage, with a clear command:“Jesus said to him, ‘On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.‘”

Lies and deception will look almost identical to the truth; this is why the Christian must understand the clear teaching of the whole council of God. Though it is described, casting out fleeces is not the principle prescribed for believers to determine God’s will.

Interpret narrative passages in light of clear teaching passages and then look for God’s will where you know it can be found. His written word.

Feeling at Peace Can Be Deceiving

After big decisions, we look within ourselves for some type of peace. But, is it not possible that sometimes the will of God does not include our immediate physical peace?

Jesus, Prince of Peace, was perfectly within the will of God as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, yet we read, “…being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (Luke 22:44) .

Did He doubt God’s will for Him to go to the cross because he was in agony?

Watching friends make bad decisions all around us; we call them on it and hear the words, “Well, I have a peace about it”. Other friends are trying to honor God and have no ‘peace’. How can we speak to that?

Bring them to God’s word. Sure, they could be right. Or they may be terribly, terribly wrong.

Though God may graciously grant us peace, we should not look solely within for confirmation of our alignment in God’s will. Remember objective revelation trumps the subjective.

What is God’s will?

God’s will is laid out for us in scripture. In those gray areas, he has given us principles. Our responsibility is to know His Word well and let it guide our every decision.

Psalm 19:7-14

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

(Disclaimer: The author is indebted to a TMS chapel message from Pastor Smith for this material. The points may be adaptions from his message on Judges 6.)

Where is God?

Some days are full of joy, while others drift from memory. Weeks pass without our considering what was gained or lost. But some moments command our attention.

This week, I saw something special.

On Monday, my friend and co-worker, Karen Richardson, passed away and went to be with the Lord. Karen discovered she had cancer seven months ago, and now she is in heaven with her Savior. She left behind her husband, Kent, along with three children: Lindsey, Preston, and Kailey. In these times, one truly understands what it is to be ‘at a loss for words’.

Our lives consist of everyday tasks interrupted by times of happiness and of great sorrow. Most can only hope occasions of happiness will overshadow the times of sorrow and pain, but for those who know Jesus, there is something better. Not hope in a good life, but hope in a great Savior.

Christians do not experience less pain, in fact the Bible reminds us that we will suffer, but we do posses something. Something profound. In times of trial, Christians posses the Peace of God. Of God. Even in the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil, because He is with us. He comforts us. And we will dwell in His house forever.

This week, in the face of death, I saw that ‘something’. We saw a glimpse of God. I saw Karen trust her life into His hands. I saw a powerful example of faith. Karen did not fear and was comforted, even in death, because God was with her and now, she is with Him.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Writer’s Block

Slightly more formidable than anticipated.