Grace and Hope Banish Fear and Doubt

My husband and I attended one of the worship services at our church this morning, and it was clearly God's plan for me to hear the particular sermon and the music this morning!

I told my husband that I came home feeling as if I wanted to delve more deeply into God's Word and that the scripture read and sermon delivered really "hit the bullseye" for me. The sermon was based on the Lenten study at church this year--The 24 Hours That Changed the World by Adam Hamilton.

The sermon included brief video clips of the author in the Holy Land - in the actual locations of Christ's last hours on earth -- Gethsamane, the walk to stand before the high priest, then to Pilate where His earthly fate was sealed.

I was reminded of the human emotions Jesus must have experienced--fear, anguish, perhaps even hopelessness(?). I found myself deeply grieved by the shallowness of my own fears and anguish, frustration and yes, hopelessness at any given time.

To read the story of the end of Jesus' life, it is impossible to doubt that we worship a God who understands us and all our emotions, our weaknesses, our shortcomings. Our scripture today was Mark 14:53-72. Peter's denial of Jesus is included in this scripture. Peter loved Jesus so much and yet he denied knowing him! I can't help but recall all the times I chose the "easy path" in my faith walk. I understand Peter. Fear is a compelling emotion. So is doubt. So is hopelessness.

Isn't it amazing how words written so long ago - about events that took place so long ago, could still speak to the very core of who and what we are? Isn't it amazing that God loved/loves us enough that He chose to become like us - and yet never like us. Jesus walked to the Cross as a man. He felt all the same emotions a human man would feel. His choice gives us hope, reassurance and courage.

Jesus died for us. God's grace conquered our fear and doubt once and for all. Because He rose, we can have hope. Because of Jesus.

And that is all I need to know!

Blessings on your journey,

Mary

Overcome fear and discouragement with the "three J's"

In the midst of all the snow and due to church services being canceled today, we did some "channel surfing" to find some spiritual programming that might take the place of our attending our own church.

I was not disappointed! Pastor Zachery Tims of New Destiny Christian Center talked today about how we can overcome fear and disappointment with the "Three J's."

The first "J" was Joseph. Pastor Tims reassured listeners not to be afraid of their current circumstance--no matter how hard it is. "But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them." (Genesis 50:19-21 NIV).

The second "J" to which Dr. Tims referred was Job. "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing" (Job1:20-22 NIV).

The third "J" was Jesus. "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith( Philippians 3:7-9 NIV).



Blessings on your journey,
Mary

Thanks for Listening, God!

"He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them" (Psalm 145:19 NIV).

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14 NIV).

I think it was past time to post something a bit less "whiny" here! Last week was one of those weeks for me! You know . . . I took on the weight of the world and didn't let go! I clung tightly to the illusion I fall into believing sometimes: that I'm in "this" by myself! I don't know why I do it, but I do. I am ever grateful -- beyond expression -- that God allows me to vent, whine, etc., and then welcomes me back into His loving arms when I'm 'over myself.'

The previous post may have been a little more honesty than you wanted me to share! I apologize if that is the case. However, it is a side of me that springs up sometimes and I really do believe that God wants us to be completely authentic--in our wisdom and strength as well as in our struggles and challenges. I've known people who never wanted to talk about what was good and right in their lives--but I've also met some who would never open up enough to share what wasn't going so well too.

Anyway, I think I'm over my little tantrum. I finished typing my God's Wonder Woman column that will be posted at Take Root and Write on Wednesday, July 1. That helped me get back on track. The theme this time is about rearranging our "to do" list! Pretty appropriate and timely for me. I hope it will be for others as well.

I would say I am ashamed of myself for being negative, but I guess I'm really not. Everything in my life is not perfect. God knows that. But I don't like to complain about my own circumstances. I am blessed beyond anything I ever dreamed. I am humbled and grateful by the ways God is opening up my life to Him and to His world.

I think the "woes of this world" felt especially burdensome to me lately because the vision God has given me for my life is HUGE!! And I get tired--a lot! I forgot to trust in God's wisdom. I wasn't willing to lean on His strength. I couldn't make myself rest in His power. I spent much of last night giving it all to God and this morning I'm committed to allowing Him to make the way He sees for my future--and my present.

How about you? Are you feeling burdened lately? So much is going on in the world and it's easy to internalize it all. If I don't catch myself right away, I can spiral into the mix of it all and lose my footing. That's when I find I need to go to scripture. The words there are timeless and divinely-inspired. God's word is what we need to drown out the noise of what's going on in the world.

"I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King." This is what the LORD says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:" (Isaiah 43:15-17 NIV)

"This is what the LORD says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen" (Isaiah 44:2 NIV).

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4 NIV)

I pray you hear God's word above all else and that you trust Him, lean on Him and rest in Him as you go through your day today.

MONDAY MANNA!

Welcome to Monday Manna. The purpose of this meme is to get together and get to know Christ more through His Word. The first and third Monday of each month, anyone who wishes can post their thoughts on a verse Joanne introduced at her blog the Thursday before. It doesn't have to be a long post -- just a few thoughts, a picture you feel helps express it, a poem, a short story, a devotional. Today's verse is:

Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:11

The word "fear" in this context refers to reverential awe--a fitting emotion and state of mind when serving our Lord! All our service should be as if we were serving God in the flesh. That means that every person we meet should be treated as we would treat the Lord. Every interaction we have with everyone in our lives should be the same as we would have with God.

That is very convicting! I fall short of this on a regular basis--daily, even hourly! If I worshipped a lesser god I could not possibly rejoice with trembling. This phrase also refers to an attitude of reverential awe. We rejoice with this type of gratitude because of the God we worship! He is so incredibly merciful and grants us grace in spite of all the ways we fall short of His desire for our lives!

Reverential awe: that is indeed a fitting posture before the Lord.

Fearless!

.

Romans 8:38-39

38. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39. nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Philippians 4:6-7

6. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Well . . . do I really need to add anything to these two hopeful and uplifting passages? No matter what is going on in our lives, we have the assurance that God is in it; He is with us and walks through every moment with us. That’s not always easy to remember when we are in pain, experiencing a difficult time in our lives, or have lost a loved one. To my mind, those are the times we need the reassurance of these verses the most.

I read the Philippians to mean that once we have prayed and presented our supplications to God, we need to let it go. Once we give it our Heavenly Father, we can be assured that everything will happen as he has planned out of his wisdom and grace. In a time of tragedy, mourning, struggle or fear we may not feel very close to God. Those are the times we actually need to seek Him out. That’s when we need to read and pray upon the Romans verses.

Because of Christ, we have assurance that God has our present and our future in his hands. There is nothing we can do, nothing we can experience that is stronger than God’s love. Think about that for a minute! Beyond our own daily lives and our personal future lives, He holds the world! No war or revolt, no acts of genocide, no words of hatred, no earthquake, volcano, tsunami, drought or flood is beyond the depth and breadth, the height or the power of God!

More, in spite of our own sins and the sins of the world, God values us tremendously. He jealously oversees our actions and knows our thoughts. He loves us anyway—individually as his precious ones, and as a people. We are all His Own, his beloved. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Cross won for us eternity in heaven. That’s why we are not to be anxious, to fret, to be afraid. No traffic light color of alert level will change our future. We’re going to heaven!

I think it helps to step back and reframe our own little lives, and all the things going on in the world from that perspective. Since we are going to heaven, all we need to really be concerned about is taking as many with us as we can, and being the best person we can possibly be. It’s a cliché, I know. But it is true, and it is the answer to how to have the best life possible—a grace-filled life of abundance and blessings. Death is not the final word. Nor is warfare, natural disasters, hatred, military power or living in fear.

Because of Christ we are fearless! We are not afraid, and so we are free to share the Good News and to live abundantly and fully into the promise sealed for us 2000 years ago on Calvary. Rejoice! We have nothing to fear! We are God’s beloved and His precious creations. He waits for us!

My prayer today is that you fearlessly go out into the world intending to be Christ to the world. And that you live the rest of your life with reckless abandon!

Mary