Positive.  The word no one has wanted to hear this year.  We test, we wait, and then we have tried to move forward with all that “testing positive” has meant.  

Perhaps like me you are sharing the pain and grief of a loved one lost.  Maybe you are burdened by the major adjustments that have had to be made.  You’re trying to handle the separation, the isolation, the sanctions in place.  There has appeared to be no rhyme or reason at times to much of what this year has brought.  Juggling it all has been exhausting.  

Society is not functioning the way it has been, and it may never again. 2020 changed everything.  How do we respond to that? How do we move forward?  The emotions are raw, the frustration is real, the pain and grief can be overwhelming.  

But wait. God has a “positive” that works in our favor. Grabbing hold of the Truth of His great love for us will get us through.  It overshadows all the negatives and envelopes us in peace. His love has given us great Truth and beautiful, powerful promises that make a way.  

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  John 14:27 

Be comforted.  Be encouraged.  Be expectant!  This is the time to lean into Jesus and see Him do some amazing things. We are living in unprecedented times.  But it only means the time for Jesus to come for His children is nearer than ever.   These times may bring great persecution, great suffering, great confusion.  But they can also bring great joy!  

Don’t be deceived; be discerning.  Allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to guide

you and provide the wisdom needed to see things clearly and respond in the way God

would have us to.

 

Don’t be afraid; be full of faith. Do not allow yourself to believe that God is not aware, is

not at work, is not with you, just because you may not be able to always see it or feel it! 

It’s just not true. Give Him every chance to make His peace and presence known.  

Don’t dismiss all the other “positives” that have come out of this time...look for them, dwell on them.  They’re there if we open our eyes.  Focus on being grateful.  

Don’t just resign yourself in defeat and discouragement to something you cannot 

change.  God has a bigger and better plan. Choose to search it out and seek Him in it 

all. 

His peace is available.  And we need it...peace for the “positives”. For those of us that have trusted Jesus, He is our peace.  Make it a reality every day.  Live in it.  Share it.  Praise Him for it. Let it settle your heart, calm your fears, and bring you renewed hope and resolve in 2021.   

That’s a positive we can gladly accept and rest in.  

America the Beautiful

I listened to a song this morning, a beautiful and moving song...a recent rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” with Home Free and Air Force Singers.  I found myself praying as I listened, “Oh God, we need your blessing on this land more than ever before in my lifetime!”  

As the chorus sounded -
“And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free”..., well, pride wasn’t what I was feeling.

I’ve never sensed an egotistical arrogance in these words anyway, but rather, much like what a parent would feel as he looks at the wonderful man his son has become.  He beams, and his heart floods with joy to see the hard-working, loving individual that cares and provides for his own family and others, unselfish and good. He sacrifices and gives back, grateful for who he is and all he has. He loves God. He loves people.  And the parent is “well-pleased”, proud.  

The Father expressed this for Jesus, His only beloved Son, at Jesus’ baptism. God the Father spoke from heaven saying:  “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17). It brought joy and honor to the Father to know that the beloved Son was willing and committed to fulfil His plan and purpose in providing redemption for all mankind, even though it cost Him dearly.  It was love personified, and the Father was “well-pleased”.  

That’s the emotion that the song had always stirred...thoughts of humility and blessing and gratitude. You could say I was proud, or “well-pleased” with my heritage.  I didn’t do anything to deserve being born in this country. Yet I was, and I have enjoyed and appreciated so much of it’s beauty and opportunity, it’s freedoms.  I was taught to appreciate them.  Maybe some have not been.  Or maybe they’ve only seen a side of America that doesn’t foster that sentiment.  

But this morning an array of emotions stirred in me.  Humility, gratitude, sadness, anger, shame, bewilderment.  I was more perplexed than pleased. This year, 2020, the year the world went mad, it just all seems so surreal.  So much change, yet so little change.  So much prosperity and greatness, yet so much poverty and perversion of justice and everything that is right and good.  So much opportunity and possibility, yet numbers still hopeless and disadvantaged.  Such shows of sacrifice and courage and consideration and healing, yet so much hurt, hostility, and unrest.  I hate the division and destruction.  I hate there are those that don’t know peace, only anger and bitterness.  I hate there are those that cause it.  

Yet at the same time, I love the show of the human spirit. Love is powerful. Forgiveness is powerful.  Mercy is powerful.  And I believe God is moving as people allow these powerful forces of God to be at work in and through them. When it is easy to look around and be afraid and confused and disheartened, I want to see that God is doing a great work in all of this. His Word promises that “He works all things together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose”(that all-famous Romans 8:28).  And He also proclaims that His purposes will be accomplished; “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24).  

I want to be a part of that work of faith over fear, of a compassion that compels merciful actions, and a love that just won’t quit because someone doesn’t want or understand my love for them.  

The problem is not the American ideal. The problem is the human heart.  And the human heart needs a Savior no matter the country.  And even the person that has experienced the love of Jesus needs a fresh perspective every now and then, a fresh measure of the great grace of God to wash over us and open our eyes and ears of understanding.  We need patience.  We need to listen.  We need supernatural, divine intervention.  We need God’s protection, God’s provision, God’s wisdom, God’s immeasurable, unexplainable, undeniable love flowing to us and through us to others.  We need His grace and mercy moving in our own hearts to be able to show it to others.  We need His ways and His wisdom like never before guiding the choices we make and the actions we take.  It is not an easy time to be a believer.  To be black.  To be white.  To be a Native American.  To be Asian.  To be Muslim.  To be Jewish. To be hispanic.  To be mixed.  To be human!  

But it can still be all that God would have it be.  It can still be beautiful.  As followers of Jesus, we have a stewardship in the country, in the place in which we live.  God would have us be faithful in this stewardship, being responsible and respectful, prayerfully aware of our world and its great need, trusting Him to see us through what He brings us to.  We may be called on to sacrifice and submit to the authorities over us.  We may be called on to contend for the faith and freedoms that are God-given...and we MUST know what those are and aren’t.  It’s time to think about what it means to be Human...not just American. 

My mother-in-law said this morning when I wished her a Happy 4th of July, “I shudder to think what next year’s Independence Day will be like.”  It may be very different. I may have to make some adjustments, ones I don’t like.  I may have to do things a little differently.  I am grieved to think that I may not be able to worship and fellowship freely, share Christ openly.  Even though the reason it is happening is supposed to be for the greater good, the way I worship and fellowship is being affected, changed.  The way I live my life, the way I work and shop and enjoy family and community events is changing. It’s a strange feeling that makes me uncomfortable. Is it temporary?  Time will tell. In the meantime, Satan is often getting the upper hand in the division and distance and disunity being created.  

In Luke 7, Jesus was moved with compassion when he saw a grieving widow about to bury her only son.  Without being asked or sought out, Jesus approached the pall, touched the man, and he lived again.  “Then fear came over everyone, and they glorified God saying, A great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people” (v.16). God has visited his people!  Some versions render this, “God has come to help His people.”  What a wonderful, glorious thought!  Oh God, visit your people again.  Bless your people once again.   

How I need it, a glorious, powerful visit from God bringing help and healing in a troubling time. I pray for it, look for it. Jesus brings true freedom and blessing.  And I celebrate it, today and everyday.  But today, enjoy all the food, the family fun, the fireworks, all of it ...I am.  But also take some time to reflect, be grateful.  And pray.  Pray for others.  Pray for peace and unity.  Pray for protection of freedoms.  Pray about how you can be involved in making a positive difference. 

Pray that God will visit His people again.   

In A Battle

From Lysa Terkeurst

"Make no mistake — we are in a battle. A daily one. Darkness is trying with all its might to overcome the light. Satan will even go so far as to disguise himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Thankfully, knowledge is power. If we can recognize Satan for who he is when he tries to show up in our lives as light, then we can call him out on it and reach for the true light of Jesus.

So, how do we tell the difference? If something looks like light, how can we know if it is really light or if it is counterfeit light? 

To tell if something is truly the light, we must hold it up to the light of God’s Word. 

We must keep testing our decisions against Scripture. Our world tells us that we don’t need God’s Word, that the Bible is out of date. It’s certainly not popular. So, the tendency is to let it fall by the wayside and simply go with what we feel is right. Any time we feel it may be easier to go it on our own and not bring a decision back to God’s Word, we must recognize that thinking for what it is — a lie from Satan. 

The Word of God is our handbook for living. Let’s keep it close and use it as a light unto our path every day."  

This is so true, and to her admonition to "test our decisions against Scripture", I would add, our thoughts, attitudes, actions and reactions as well.  

We're to have the mind of Christ, and to reflect Him and His great grace in our lives. And that doesn't always look like some would think. It doesn't always have "all the feels" that as an emotional creature I would be more comfortable with. Jesus' actions didn't always set right with the religious crowd, because it ran counter to their way of doing things, their goals and agendas, and threatened their positions. He often called them out on their hypocrisy. Even the disciples were often confounded as He corrected and taught them. Remember Jesus saying to Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan!"? 

         "Jesus turned to Peter and said, Get away from me Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view and not from God's."  Matthew 16:23

In the moment, Peter's emotions were running high, and they were blurring his perspective and understanding. He actually rebuked Jesus, questioning His plan! Been there??

Part of the personal battle is to not allow satan to have victory in the hurts, disappointments and failures of my life. It's so easy to throw stones, to place blame, to pass judgment, to begin comparing my situation with another's, to defend and justify my own actions and reactions, all in an effort to lessen or avoid pain, change, or the undesired and sometimes unavoidable realities of life altogether. This too must be brought back to the Light of Scripture so that the true condition of our hearts can be revealed.

If satan can gain the upper hand, keeping us from seeing and acknowledging our true heart condition, he has succeeded in moving us a step away from Jesus. Without even being aware of what's happening, our priorities change, intimacy with Him is lost, and He is no longer first place in our lives, we are. We are going our own way, having what we believe is still a right relationship with Him.  But it's really one that suits our own terms and conditions and placates our emotions. It's not the oneness with Christ we should have. And it's not the Lordship in our lives He should have. 

Everything that comes into our lives, everything He allows to happen, we have to be able to accept and embrace with faith and grace and humility as from His hand. This is hard, and definitely a battleground for the mind and emotions. 

"Make no mistake---we are in a battle". The "counterfeit light" might try to make us believe that the enemy is our situation, if it would just change; other people, if they would just meet our expectations; or even other believers! (we're all perfect though, right? so how could that be!) But again, the enemy is satan, waiting to devour us as we wallow in our wrong attitudes, our negativity, our unkind, selfish thoughts, or discontentment with what life is handing us right now.  The Light of Scripture shows us the way back, reveals the deception of the "counterfeit light", and keeps us close to the Savior, right where we need to be. 

Shipwreck

I was reading in Acts 27 this morning of the Apostle Paul’s shipwreck experience. My breath halted when I realized I was saying to myself, “Yes, this ship is definitely sinking.”  The parallel…. of situations and struggles currently running rampant in my life right now... to a sinking ship in a storm, was too close. 

Your emotions can get so raw, your thoughts so scattered and tired, and it just feels like you’re going down.  

I won’t elaborate.  I don’t need to. The details don’t matter nearly as much as the Truth we both need in those times. And when it’s how I FEEL vs what I KNOW, His Truth is what I need to know.  His Truth will carry me through. It will carry you through too.  

God revealed to Paul that the ship was going to sink.  But He also told him that if everyone just stayed on board and did not try to abandon ship they would ALL survive. They all reached the island shore safely. Please take time to read this amazing account.   

The natural tendency and easiest thing to consider when life gets too much is to “abandon ship”; find a way to avoid the inevitable, escape the pain somehow.  Trusting God for the way of escape, which may mean seeing the ship go down so to speak, and just grabbing hold and hanging onto His promises, is not so appealing and doesn’t always make sense.  God told Paul in this instance it was exactly what everyone needed to do. But how do we do that exactly when life’s blows hit us hard and heavy? When decisions are weighty and we don’t know which way to turn?  

The promises of God are so very real, they are trustworthy and strong, timely and relevant.  We have to determine to hold onto them, believing that God’s way is what He will honor and is what we most need.  He could take our circumstances and certainly could intervene in so many ways. But there are so many lessons to be learned in it all.  Christ wants our full attention and obedience to His word and ways. There is always more of Christ to know and love, and our hearts and hurts need to heal.  

        “So take courage!  For I believe God. It will be just as He said.”  Acts 27:25

Do you grasp the power in those words?!  Paul was able to say, with a literal shipwreck looming, I BELIEVE GOD!  IT WILL BE JUST AS HE SAID. Those that could swim were told to jump and swim when the ship started to break apart.  Application? There may be something He equips you to DO that will make a difference. It will direct you, help you, heal you.  Do you pray? That’s certainly something we can all DO. Others that could not swim were told to find a fragment and hang on. They would float to safety. Application?  Resting in His Divine providence for us, staying in His Word, waiting for His healing work in us, will bring safety and assurance. He will carry us to the place we need to be.  

Sometimes it is pretty evident that a shipwreck is looming in a life that will change it forever --a sudden death, a terminal diagnosis, a struggling addicted child, a job loss or financial disaster, false accusations or work-place bullying, a declaration of divorce.  Do I blame God? Do I abandon God? Or do I believe God, that His good purposes in me can and will be accomplished (Philippians 1:6)?

No, we do not always escape suffering and loss. But help and healing for our hurting hearts is where God’s unfailing love is so evidenced. I have found myself at times, sitting in my front room in the quiet, with just the glow of soft light, letting Him love on me.  I can’t say anything. But I listen, and wait. Sometimes in tears, sometimes numb, His word begins to come into my thoughts, it rises up in my heart and memory, these promises and Truths I have read and cherished...and I let them wash over me.  

Let this fill you with peace and comfort and enabling grace today.  Jesus has you. We have His words to cling to. They are profound and powerful; life-saving, life-changing, soul-settling.  They are the way of escape from the torment of all the turbulence of life’s storms.  

Pray with me...Oh God, it’s time for You once again to stretch my faith, increase my confidence in Your word, strengthen my resolve to praise You in my storm, and keep me ever leaning into Your grace!  Jesus, if all is lost, You are enough. Your unfailing love is overwhelmingly enough. Your word is life and light. Your joy is unspeakable. Your presence with me is peace.   

The ship may be sinking, but there is a quiet calm shore just on the other side of this storm.  

And Jesus is already there.  

Promises for the New Year

As my faith journey takes me into another year there are some thoughts that encourage and comfort me, and I don’t know about you but I need that.  This past year was not the kindest, but it held all God allowed and His grace was sufficient to carry us through to this point. At different times yesterday as I sat down with my Bible and various devotional books, these truths spoke volumes to me.  As I move into all the tomorrows God will give this new year, I cling to them.  

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”  1 Samuel 7:12  

What a wonderful verse to end and begin the year!  The NLT says, “Samuel then took a large stone...and named it Ebenezer (which means ‘the stone of help’), for he said, ‘Up to this point the Lord has helped us!’”  He literally found a large stone and placed it in a specific location as a visible reminder that the Lord had brought them by His help to this point. I love that old KJV word “Hitherto”.  The entirety of the past is held in that one word. I can look back over this past year in its “unkindness” and yes, see the hardship, the hurt, the loss and grief. But I also see a great and good God, faithful in every way, having guided, protected, provided and answered both personal prayers and prayers for others.  I think especially of a friend that saw her Dad come to know Jesus at age 92 just hours before he died. God honored and answered prayers and broke the strongholds that had hardened his heart toward God. What a glorious work of grace! I have no reason to doubt that God’s grace and mercy will follow me into this new year because He is unchanging.  He will continue to be faithful to Himself and His Word, and that means I can count on His faithfulness and unfailing love to me. I will continue to have His help, not because of who I am but because of who He is.  

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

It was as if the Lord shouted when I read this, “Pay attention!! You need to be looking 

forward with excitement and anticipation...and faith! Because I am doing something new. And it’s going to be like a way being made in the wilderness, where there seems to be no way; or like a river of life-giving water would be to a desert.  Look back, but only to be reminded of His faithfulness to this point, not to lament and labor over things that can’t be changed now. They’re in the past. I want to be greeting each day with a keen perception of God’s presence and what He may be doing in my life at any given moment.  This year will bring change, some unexpected and even unwanted, just like last year. But not without the blessed hand of God in it all! So I will take courage and rejoice in that, and look forward to all this year holds, not dread it or fear it. It is no doubt we will experience disappointment, but God never disappoints when I choose to see things through His eyes.

“And when He puts forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know His voice." John 10:4

The Psalms tell us that “we are his people and the sheep of His pasture" (100:3). We follow a Great Shepherd that leads us with care and compassion.  But in this particular verse I am comforted to know that as I move into this new year, He has already gone before me! I am not being thrust into the great unknown without a careful and compassionate Guide!  There is uncertainty for sure. Life can change and change drastically in a moment. And some change is inevitable. But He is leading. I will follow. And again...I will keep saying it!!! He is great, and good, and faithful.  

I have had His help to this point, I will have it as I move forward.  He is doing something new and I will see it as good or trust Him to bring good from it because He is great and good.  And, I can know that whatever it is I will face, He has already gone before me, and I can embrace it by His grace with courage and confidence because He is faithful.  

Find your “Ebenezer” today, and Happy New Year!