Apr

30

Got thanks?

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Thanks. A simple one-syllable word. It’s expressed when someone does something pleasing and when credit is due. It’s not hard to say, and while only a word, it’s meaning encompasses so much. When we thank people, we’re expressing not only our appreciation but also our heart’s gratitude.

If there’s one entity in the world that deserves our utmost thanks, appreciation, and gratitude, it’s our blessed Creator. When things go swimmingly for us, it’s easy to express our thanks. When God chastens or chastises us or allows something to occur that is not of our choice, the thanking may grow quiet.

Some would say they cannot thank God for the storms in their lives. However, if God allows “all things to work together for good to those who love him and who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28), then he is there in the midst of the storms and allows them for a purpose. Out of love for us, God works in ways that are beyond our comprehension. We can thank him for being in control of the storm and for sustaining us while in it.

There have been scientific studies, including one from Harvard, indicating that giving thanks and having gratitude lends positively to human lives. As Christians, we already know this. Giving thanks is rewarding not only to the recipient but also to the giver.

In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Apr

23

He reigns

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If there is anything we can be assured of, it’s that God is real and not fiction. He’s alive and always was. His reign knows no beginning nor end. In our finite minds, it’s impossible to capture the awesomeness of the nature of God, for how can our limited minds fully understand the complexity of an infinite God?

Everything he’s made has an order to it—whether small or large. The atoms that make up matter…the path of the earth as it revolves around the sun…the natural design of a man and a woman—all are governed by his superior creative intelligence.

God’s works are immeasurably beyond awesome. Whether in the heavens or on earth, in the quiet of a starry sky, or the melodies of a tiny song sparrow, he is not so far removed from his design as some would believe. No, he’s closer than that. In the sunlight of the early dawn bursting on the horizon or the sharp peels of thunder, his power and presence are all too real. His creation is beyond inspiring.

The next time you take notice of the newly sprouted trees and flowers in your backyard or along the roadways and hillsides, consider how the lilies of the field grow…yet not even King Solomon in all of his glory had ever been clothed so well as these.

We serve an awesome God!

The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork ~ Psalm 19:1

Apr

17

A time for everything…

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The wise words of Solomon in the third chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes are:

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heaven… A time to be born and 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…

Through God’s grace, we are given time on this earth. Rather than cutting off life at the first sin of Adam and Eve, he graciously extended his hand to take care of them even outside the Garden where they’d been banished. Despite their rejecting God’s simple command to not eat of the fruit, God continued his care for the two sinners and allowed them time to live.

Generations later, God is still on the throne. For those who’ve come to know him personally—the days, weeks, months, and years he’s allotted—we now understand are given to us to do his will. Our time is lent to prioritize and utilize constructively, remembering always the days are fleeting, and what’s not done to glorify him is time wasted.

While we know our days are numbered here on earth, in the time given to each of us, may we always say as with the Psalmist, “This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it” ~ Psalm118:24.

Apr

11

He has risen! Yes, indeed!

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What Jesus endured while on the earth is incredibly stirring because what he suffered on that cruel Roman cross should have been the fate of every one of us. Pierced, bruised, and crushed—an innocent lamb led to slaughter.

The compassion of God is truly greater than anything we’ll ever know. The more we dwell upon the flogging…the stripes upon his back…the nails in his hands…and the crown of thorns on his head, along with all of the mental grief and anguish of being briefly separated from his Father, the more we can appreciate the magnitude of what Jesus endured. Within the selfless act of dying for all of mankind, he also said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” ~ Luke 23:34.

It’s a case for us as human beings to sometimes neglect to forgive someone over an infraction we may have endured—a cross word or a misunderstanding. Maybe we bury the pain and ignore the situation, or perhaps forgive only when it suits us. But Jesus looked beyond the scope of what suited him and fulfilled his Father’s command to die, insufferably. All for you and me.

The greater meaning of it all, we’ll understand in heaven, but for now, we can rest in the truth of God’s word that these things were designed from the beginning for good. The prophet Isaiah tells us:  By His stripes we are healed.

We take medicine for our physical ailments, but the only medicine to cure our sinful souls is the blood of the perfect lamb.

Apr

02

His triumphal entry

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On his way down from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode on the back of a donkey. He chose this docile creature rather than a gallant horse because his purpose was not one of a warrior’s grand entrance into battle. No, our humble Lord strode on the back of a gentle beast of burden so as to come in humbly. No pomp and circumstance. No, this was not the time for his coronation—not yet, anyway. Some wondered just who he was among those who waved their palms in the hopes of being liberated that day. But Jesus had other plans—for now.

At seeing the people, Jesus was disheartened to the point of tears because he knew their fate…the imminent suffering that would soon befall the city at the hands of the Romans. While some were excited and shouted, “Hosanna to God in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”; others were not so pleased…namely, the chief priests and Pharisees.

This day was among the last before his crucifixion. Sadly, even the apostles didn’t quite understand the prophecies that were being fulfilled and that this was not an earthy victory march but a heavenly one. Most everyone there did not understand that Jesus was preparing to die for them.

The Lord’s victory march is still to come. Then all will see that he is, indeed, victorious. This will come later when he comes back to earth to receive his own and dwell with us throughout eternity. What an exciting day that will be! Maranatha, Lord.