Month: June 2024

“But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy,

he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us

through Jesus Christ our savior.”

Titus 3:4-6 (NAB)

I often write about mercy, because it’s an infinite topic, like the God who embodies it. The official definition of mercy is: 

“the compassion shown to an offender who is subject to one’s power to punish.”

It makes me appreciate God’s mercy and also wonder how I can do better in showing mercy to those who offend me.

What would happen if everyone in the world prayed for the gift of seeing others through God’s eyes. Think of how different we would see things and people, if we had a glimpse through His eyes of mercy, especially toward those who persecute us. 

When it comes to the residents at the Nursing home, showing them mercy is a no brainer. The residents there are humble and appreciative of any kindness, so it’s pretty easy and natural to see them through God’s eyes of mercy. 

Last week, I had an unusually negative encounter with a certain social worker on staff at the Nursing Facility. The social worker I’m referring to, is not a supervisor, nor was she assigned to counsel anyone in that day room. She came there purposely to tell me that I can no longer bring the residents any treats. I was stunned, since over the past seven months, no staff person ever prohibited me from bringing them treats. 

A few residents overheard her and objected, saying that she has no authority over them.  Since the majority of the residents have no visitors, my visits and treats are the only ones that most of them ever receive. To stop it would be like robbing them of a simple joy.

Then it occurred to me, that each resident is given an amount of cash in dollar bills each month, which they are free to spend on any treats from the vending machines throughout the facility. So I asked the social worker why the residents are allowed to buy a treat in the vending machine, but would be prohibited from me bringing them packaged treats at my own expense. 

She could not give me an answer, nor could she tell me who her supervisor is, or who sent her to speak to me. It was all very strange.

I said nothing more but went home and wrote an email, addressing it to the head administrator of the Nursing Facility. My email was respectful, yet covered every point. 

The next day I received an answer from that administrator assuring me that she would speak to that social worker, and take care of everything. She did not prohibit me from continuing to bring the treats to the residents. 

I admit that at first, I was upset with that social worker. I may never know what motivated her, but I forgive her because the Holy Spirit reminded me that God has mercy on all people, whether they are kind or not. 

Scripture says the sun shines on the just as well as the unjust. Since God is merciful to all of us, I need to be merciful to her, just as she should be merciful to those residents. God has established a natural rule, that mercy reaps mercy. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”(Matthew 5:7)

I’m thankful that the administrator overruled the social worker and I am free to continue my visits with treats. 

If only we could all look at people through God’s eyes, instead of our own personal feelings, reactions or judgements, what a different world it would be.

Mercy defies all logic. God shows mercy to people who do not deserve it and Jesus said we must be merciful to others in order to receive mercy. We show mercy to those who mistreat us, because Jesus did. He also assured us that if we are persecuted for doing good, then we are blessed. All of these teachings go completely against our human nature, but that’s because God wants to transform our nature. 

God desires all who believe in His son to be conformed to the image of His son, but we first need His help to see people through His eyes. There is no one like God, so merciful and patient, and there is certainly no human being who can show patience and mercy without His help. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but we can do nothing without Him.

Lord, give us the grace to see people through your eyes and to show mercy to our enemies. Thank you for constantly transforming us to become more like Jesus. Amen

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

Psalm 130:5-6 (NIV)

After we have cast all our cares upon Jesus, and resolved to trust Him with all our concerns and requests, there is a waiting period. David wrote that he waits for the Lord with his whole being, putting all his hope in God’s word. I wondered if there is anyone in the stories of scripture who waited with their whole being, besides David, and there was. Her name was Rhoda.

When Peter was imprisoned and the disciples were fervently praying for a miraculous release, an angel came and appeared to Peter, walking him out of prison, putting all guards into a deep sleep. Peter didn’t have to do a single thing. The angel did all the work, and Peter walked up to the house where the disciples were currently praying for him. 

When he knocked on the door, a woman named Rhoda was the first person to jump up and run to the door. She was overjoyed to see  Peter standing at the door. She didn’t know how he escaped from prison, but she had been praying with the group, waiting and hoping with her whole being that their prayers would be answered. 

She quickly told the others but no one believed her, telling her she was out of her mind. (Acts 12:15)

Although the disciples were praying for a miracle, they didn’t seem to expect one. I can’t criticize them because I have often found myself praying for a miracle, and still not truly expecting it. It seems to be easier to believe God for someone else’s miracle than for my own. 

The scripture tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, because He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 

(Hebrews 11:6)

In Rhoda’s situation, diligently seeking God meant listening for the sounds of Peter’s footsteps or his knock on the door. Rhoda had hope that God would hear the prayers of all the believers, and bring Peter back. She waited in hope for the miracle that they all prayed for, and when it happened she was the first to hear Peter knocking and see him standing at the door. 

David writes in this psalm that his whole being waits for the Lord, and all his hope is in God’s word. Whatever it means to wait for the Lord with our “whole being”, Rhoda had what David was talking about. Waiting with her whole being is why she jumped at the slightest sound of someone at the door. She had an enthusiastic faith, believing God is a rewarder of all who seek Him diligently. 

Today, waiting with our whole being might mean expecting some good news about a medical test. When we ask God for a miracle, like Rhoda, we need to anticipate the answer, waiting and hoping with our whole being, that Jesus is with us and the answer is coming. 

As we leave all our worries and doubts on the altar, trusting that God hears us, the next step is to tune our hearing in with hope for the knock on the door, a phone call, text message or an email, with the answer we have been hoping for. 

I rarely experience such expectant faith but when Jon fell out of his bed last Saturday, and the nurse called me, I felt an inexplicable confidence and expectation that he would have no injuries from the fall. 

Waiting with a sense of expectation,  is a good thing. We expect Jesus to be present when we go to church. We expect Him to hear our prayers. We expect Him to speak to our hearts through the scriptures whether we are reading or hearing it read to us in church. Living with a sense of expectation as Rhoda had, is like adding wings to our faith. 

Yesterday I picked up the disc of the CT scan of Jon’s brain and neck, that was performed the night he fell out of bed. I brought the disc to drop off at his surgeon’s office. Instead, they told me to wait and the surgeon will read it and give me results in person. I was called into the exam room and the surgeon told me that he was very happy with his CT results. There were no new injuries to the brain, and his enlarged ventricles even looked a slight bit smaller. Hearing the doctor’s good report in person was like seeing Jesus knocking on my door. 

Lord, help us to wait for you with our whole being like David and Rhoda. Give us the grace of having faith with expectation, always looking for you to show up since you promised to be with us always. Amen

“Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside meand said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”

Acts 27:23-24 (NIV)

Paul’s guardian angel appeared and stood beside him, assuring him that God will keep all who are on the ship with him safe. Paul repeated the angel’s words to the Roman guards on the ship. They were all enroute to Rome, with other prisoners, to stand trial before Caesar. The ship was being pummeled by a violent cyclone storm on the Adriatic Sea, called a Northeaster. It was so bad that everyone on board was sure they would die. 

The storm lasted for days and after two weeks, no one had eaten, both from fear and seasickness. Paul took bread, prayed over it, blessed it, and gave it to everyone on board. The total number of prisoners and guards on that ship were 276 people. After Paul prayed, they ate, and were all encouraged.

The ship finally got wedged into a sandbar and wouldn’t move any further, meaning they would all have to swim a short distance from there to an island. The Roman guards decided to kill all the prisoners rather than risk that they would escape while under their authority. One centurion stopped them, because he wanted to save Paul, and probably came to trust in God, so no prisoners were killed. The mangled ship landed near an island called Malta. It was all part of the providence of God as circumstances will soon reveal. 

The natives of Malta were very hospitable and gave the shipwreck survivors food and shelter. Divine providence caused the ship to stop on the side of the island, owned by a wealthy man named Publius. It so happened that the father of Publius was very sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. Publius was not only grateful, but believed. After this took place, the rest of the sick people on the island came to Paul and were all cured.

God obviously wanted Paul to evangelize the people of Malta, and that cyclone storm and shipwreck were part of His plan to get Paul to that particular side of Malta. In the process, Paul also evangelized all the people on the ship. It wasn’t by chance or luck that Publius decided to buy them every provision they needed to set sail again. 

God always has a plan during and after every storm. In Paul’s case, it was to lead him to people who needed to be healed and saved through faith in Jesus. God even had a plan on how to get the 276 people back to their original destination of Rome, by sending the wealthiest man on the island to provide for all their needs, in gratitude to Paul for healing his father. 

God not only had a plan, to lead Paul to the right people, at the right time, through the right circumstances, but He had great compassion on all the men aboard that ship, by speaking through an angel, to console them, promising no life would be lost, and it came true.

Sometimes God’s divine purpose is accomplished through frightening and upsetting situations. The guards almost killed every prisoner, but they didn’t. They could all have been lost at sea, but they were all saved. They were all in the perfect place at the perfect time for God’s perfect will to be done, to reach the people of Malta with the gospel. 

He also comforts us when we are in distress through the breaking of bread and prayer. He leads us to the right people, at the right time, through the right circumstances,  because He also has a plan for us after the storm. That is our God, so loving and compassionate, and He is still the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Lord, help us to trust your divine providence, and your perfect will, despite the storms, threats or shipwrecks of life. You are supreme, and almighty, yet full of compassion, and we place our lives in your hands. Amen

“After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you.”

Acts 22:17-19 (NAB)

Jesus appeared to Paul while he was praying, and told him to leave Jerusalem at once. Paul tried to convince the Lord that he could handle the anti-Christian mobs, since he used to be one of them. 

Jesus listened to him but insisted, 

“Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.” (Acts 22:21) 

Paul was fearless, but Jesus knew that Paul would not be accepted by the brutal authorities in Jerusalem, and He had better plans for Paul, to send him out to minister to the gentile world. That became Paul’s unique calling, as an apostle to the gentiles. 

God has a calling and a purpose for every believer. We might not even recognize our calling at first. To have a calling doesn’t mean we are to be missionaries, teachers or preachers, like Paul. The Lord simply places us in specific places at specific times, to shine our light to specific people. 

If it shines and touches one soul for eternity, it’s a success, since all of heaven rejoices over one single soul. There is peace and joy in knowing we are exactly where we were meant to be, whether it’s our job, school, church or neighborhood. 

When the apostles received the  mandate to spread the gospel to the world, they each had a uniquely different ministry from each other. Peter went to Antioch, which is present day Turkey. Thomas was called to India. James stayed in Jerusalem, and Andrew was known as the apostle to the Greeks.

Each apostle served their purpose, even though times were perilous for all Christians. In time, they were all martyred, except for John, who had the unique calling to write the book of Revelation while living in exile, on the island of Patmos.

We are all chosen by God, for a unique purpose, and made for more than a common mortal existence. We are immortal beings, and as we continue to offer our lives in service to Jesus, He places us in the right place at the right time, because He made us for so much more. When we live with a sense of identity and purpose in Christ, we will impact someone else’s eternity. 

I remember a Japanese friend I had in college, during the time when I was excited to share my faith with anyone I met. Yoshi was raised Buddhist, and never really understood the Christian gospel message. I used to talk to him about Jesus and invited him to my church a few times. 

Life went on after college and we never saw each other again. “Fifty years” later, a relative of mine met Yoshi, and told me that Yoshi credits me as the person who introduced him to Jesus. He became a believer ever since, and I never even knew I had any impact on him, and that he was living a Christian life all those years.

We never know how we or our words  can influence someone else’s life. Everywhere God leads us has some divine purpose. When I started my career in health care, I was fixated on the idea of working at Northwestern Memorial hospital. I sent a resume and prayed so hard for that position, but it never came to pass. 

Instead, Lutheran General called me for an interview, and I was hired and worked there for over 25 years. I may not know what influence my life had on anyone else, but I do know that many of the people I worked with, resulted in lifelong friendships. They will all be in my heart forever. 

It was through the hospital that I learned about the volunteer ministry with the chaplain department, and I have continued that ministry into my retirement, which is very fulfilling. 

God is always a step ahead of us. 

I once heard a preacher say, “Instead of asking God to bless what you are doing, do what God is already blessing.”

We want God to bless our plans, but sometimes He wants us to know that where we currently are, is His plan. He made us for more than just a mundane mortal existence. He wants us to partner with Him in making an impact on someone else’s life, which will last eternally. There are greater blessings ahead for us, but it starts by serving Him right where we are.

Lord, help us to know that we are loved and called according to your purpose, to serve you faithfully by shining our light on others, wherever you have placed us, and lead us in your will, instead of our own plans. Amen

( I’m sharing a song that fits these thoughts.The words are so beautiful)

Made For More (Lyric) – Josh Baldwin, feat. Jenn Johnson – YouTube

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

When the Lord spoke these words to Joshua, he was overwhelmed with his new responsibility to replace the  leadership of Moses, after he died.

Replacing Moses certainly seems like a formidable task. After the death of Moses, God spoke to Joshua many times. Many times God told Joshua to be strong, and that He was with him in leading the people to the promised land. 

After forty years of wandering across the wilderness, the Jordan River would be the final boundary to cross, in order to finally enter the promised land. The Israelites had the ark of the covenant with them, which was the gold covered chest, containing the sacred relics of Manna, Aaron’s rod and the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ark represented the mighty presence of God who was with His people. 

God gave very odd but specific instructions, that only the priests from the priestly tribe of Levi were allowed to carry that ark of the covenant. In fact, they had to carry it without directly touching it, holding it with poles on each side, like handles. 

God told Joshua that as the priests  carried the holy ark of the covenant to the Jordan River, the moment their feet touched the edge of the river, the water would part. Joshua directed the people to do as God commanded. It was during the March-April season of harvest, right after winter rains and melted snow from the mountain filled the river to its highest point. 

God reassured Joshua that He would be with him in the same way He was with Moses. God told Joshua, 

“Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” (Joshua 3:7)

Joshua’s strength came in following every detail of God’s instructions. As his priests carried the ark, and their feet touched the edge of the Jordan River, it parted and the people walked across. Later his army encircled the fortified brick walls of Jericho, just praising God, and the walls collapsed on the seventh day.

All these amazing stories of scripture left historical evidence behind throughout the holy land. One of the most influential archeologists of biblical sites is Kathleen Kenyon, who found the actual ruins of Jericho, where those 13 ft. walls came tumbling down that day. 

The parallels between Moses and Joshua are amazing. As God parted the Red sea for Moses, He parted the Jordan River for Joshua. God  validated Joshua as a leader through that miracle, proving that He was with his leadership as He was with Moses’. 

Whatever we are going through, we can trust in the instructions that God has given us through Jesus and we can trust that God is saying to us, as He said to Joshua, 

“Be strong and courageous, for I am with you wherever you go.” 

We can learn something else in Joshua’s strength, that he also knew how to show kindness to strangers. Rahab was a harlot, who was not part of the Israelite community but lived within the city of Jericho. She heard of and came to believe in the God of the Israelites. She helped Joshua by hiding some of his spies, before they conquered the city. She asked Joshua for kindness and mercy in return, and Joshua gave orders to spare her and her entire family’s lives, when they invaded Jericho. Rahab had a turning point of faith and later married an Israelite man, and became a part of the genealogy of Jesus. 

Joshua had strength, but his strength increased by following the unusual orders given to him by God. He did everything God asked him to do despite how strange it might appear. The priests carried the ark of the covenant into the Jordan River, his army marched around the fortified walls of Jericho seven times, praising God. 

He showed kindness to a harlot, who was not a part of their people, but whose changed life later gave birth to the Messiah. Joshua’s strength came from believing God, and then obeying some strange requests, and in the end, God was glorified through it all.

God gave many unusual orders in the stories of scripture, but He put His strength within every person who would believe and receive those orders. He commanded His people to circumcise every male child on the eighth day of their life, and when He sent Jesus, He told us to believe in Him and be baptized in water. Then He told us to practice communion, doing it in remembrance of Him. By believing and receiving the instructions given to us by Jesus, we all have His strength within us. 

We learn from Joshua that it’s not always necessary to ask, hope for, yearn or beg for God’s strength. There is a time to just stand in the strength that He has already given us, follow His instructions and remember to show mercy and kindness to others. 

Lord, bless each reader today with a renewed sense of strength that has always been within us by abiding in Jesus and His commandments. Help us to show your kindness to others through this strength. Amen