Month: September 2024

“Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

I’ve always focused on the last part of this scripture only, that “the joy of the Lord is our strength,” but in the first part of this verse, I discovered a a meaningful message as well.

Nehemiah was a governor of the province of Judah. He obtained permission for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, after the Jewish people had been exiled for seventy years. They were finally given permission after all those years to worship in their holy city, Jerusalem. They didn’t have all of the land yet, which God once promised them, and they didn’t possess their own nation, but they were presently given access to a city. That was a start and a great blessing, after living in exile. Nehemiah’s advice was to celebrate in that present moment.  

That is the message that I received,  to rejoice in the present moment, instead of dwelling on the things we or our loved ones do not have yet. Nehemiah’s people did not have their own nation, but they had Jerusalem. He told the people to eat choice food, and drink sweet drinks to celebrate, which is symbolic of cherishing the present. To eat, drink and celebrate isn’t a selfish behavior, because Nehemiah told them to share it with others who had nothing, and they did. 

This story gave me a new and different outlook in how to find my joy in hardship or difficult situations. Especially in dealing with a loved one who is disabled in some way, whether it’s due to dementia, disease, addiction, birth injury, or traumatic brain injury, if we meet the person where they are, and love them for who they are, we find the blessings in the moment, which leads to real joy.

We can become so anxious, looking for any sign of improvement or progress, that we miss out on the present human connection with someone. If we become so wrapped up in who they once were, what they lost or what they can achieve and become in the future, we might be missing the joy in the present moment. When we miss out on the present moment, we are not eating the choice food or drinking the sweet drinks that Nehemiah said to do. If we let go of all our expectations, our heart can open up to the human bond of love here and now. 

We don’t have to be injured or ill to want to be loved for who we are, with all of our faults, flaws and infirmities. No one wants to feel that they have to get better first or reach certain milestones to please the one who loves them. 

The same goes for how we respond to an ill or injured loved one. Whether their illness or injury is physical, mental or emotional, we meet them where they are here and now, because love is patient, enduring and it fully dwells in the present. 

Love is unconditional and does not remain in a state of gloom and depression over past illness or injury. It embraces the present moment.

If we knew that today would be our last day with our loved one, how would it change our way of interacting with them? We would probably forget about everything else, except showing love to them and finding joy in that last moment. To treat each day as if it is the last day with someone is a real game changer. When we dwell on watching for signs of improvement, we are no longer enjoying them as they are, and they can sense it as well.

I never thought about this before and it was not a theme that I planned to write about, but my last visit to the Nursing Facility taught me a new outlook regarding my expectations. 

Jon wouldn’t eat much, and he wasn’t trying to talk much that day either. He just sat and stared at people. Some days he is more active than others, but I tend to always visit him with the same intense searching for signs of progress. 

I looked at how sad he looked sitting and staring at people, and decided to go and just put my arm around him, cheek against cheek, hugging him. Then he lifted his good arm up and put it around me, to hug me back, which was a first. I wish I had a picture, but it gave me a moment of joy to know he could and did express love in return. Some residents sitting nearby saw it, and I could hear their gasps of excitement in seeing that moment.

That was my present moment of eating choice food and drinking sweet drinks, which was also shared with those onlookers. It taught me that treating each day as our only day, changes everything. Jon might not eat or talk some days, but he can and does receive and express love. 

If we metaphorically compare our situation to Nehemiah’s, we may not have the entire nation yet, but we can find joy in having the holy city of Jerusalem. By treating each day as if it is our only day, we find blessings in the present moment, as we realize love outlasts everything else. 

Instead  of grieving over what a loved one lost or does not have, because of illness or injury, we can celebrate here and now, by loving them for who they are, and sharing our joy with others. That’s how the joy of the Lord gives us our strength. 

Lord, help us to cherish the present with all of our loved ones, especially those who are ill or injured. Give us patience to learn to celebrate and live in the moment and to share the love that we have with others. Amen

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

(Hebrews 13:2)

We can show hospitality to angels, unknowingly. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we may encounter angels in disguise without ever knowing it. I’m writing about three true stories that were shared by honest, sound minded, and reputable men, related to the topic of meeting angels in disguise.

A doctor from a small town in the southern U.S., who had a deep faith in God, once flew to Chicago for a medical conference. When he arrived, he decided to take public transportation instead of a cab. He took the el train and after he got off at his stop, he realized he got off at the wrong stop. Like a marked man, he stood alone and vulnerable on a strange street in a dangerous Chicago neighborhood. Wondering what to do next, and standing there in a suit and tie, holding a briefcase, he realized he was being watched. 

A nefarious looking bunch of individuals spotted him, and began walking towards him, and the doctor had a feeling something very bad was about to happen. At that moment, a cab pulled up and the driver said, “Get in, you don’t belong here.” He got in the cab, escaping the glaring onlookers and was driven safely to his destination. After thanking the driver, he took his briefcase and got out of the cab. As he turned around to pay the driver, the cab was gone, as if it just disappeared. 

We can think of other explanations, but I personally think that an angel in disguise of a cab driver was sent to protect that doctor, because it was not his time yet.

Another Christian man who is 92 years old recalls how he had lost his job in the mid 1960’s and he went through a really hard time financially. Many other trials were happening in his life at the same time, and his faith was being tested to the max. 

One day as he was driving, he saw a hitchhiker, and decided to pick him up. The hitchhiker didn’t say much but seemed to be in great need so the man gave him a $5 bill (which was worth a lot more in the 60’s) and then dropped him off at his destination. The quiet man thanked him and got out of the car. 

As he started driving away, he glanced in his rear view mirror, but the man was gone. He stopped the car and backed up, looking in all directions but the man was nowhere to be seen. He believed it was an angel sent to test him, to see if he would still show kindness and generosity, while going through his own financial problems. He was glad he showed compassion to that hitchhiker. 

Another man told me that many years ago, he was driving down Route 83 in Mount Prospect, in my own neighborhood, where there is a railroad crossing. The railroad crossing lights were off and he and the car in the lane next to him were about to drive across the tracks, when a stranger in white clothing ran into the street out of nowhere and waved his hands telling the cars to stop. He and the man in the lane next to him both stopped and got out of their cars to see why the stranger was stopping traffic. 

As soon as they stepped out of their cars, a speeding train whipped by so fast even though no warning lights ever went on. The stranger told them that the warning lights were not working. Before they could ask the stranger how he knew that the lights were not working, the stranger in white was gone.

If angels are not sent to test our faith, they are sent to protect us from evildoers, to warn us of danger, or to guide us in the right direction. 

What a gift angels are to the family of God. I ask angels to surround me every day, and I don’t need to encounter an angel in disguise in order to believe in their constant protection of us. Since scripture tells us that we may encounter an angel while unaware, it’s a good reason to show kindness to strangers. 

The book of Hebrews further explains the purpose of angels here in our human world:

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”  (Hebrews 1:14)

Angels are sent to minister to us because we are the heirs of salvation. Their role is to help us stay safe in order to live the number of our days so we can grow in our faith in God. Angels know whether it’s our time or not, and they will intervene to save us from life threatening circumstances. They work invisibly along side us, doing their part to help us get to heaven and to help us do our part in bringing others with us. 

They occasionally take human form to accomplish their mission, and we never know when we are showing kindness to an angel in disguise. Whatever they do is to advance God’s purposes here on earth through us. 

Lord, you are so good to us by sending all those wonderful angels to protect us, guide us, to test our faith and to bless us. Please continue sending angelic help to fulfill your purpose in us, as we help others to find eternal life. Amen

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (RSV)

Paul wrote this in a letter to Timothy, who was like a son to him. It was his last letter written from prison, before he was martyred. He writes about fighting the good fight, keeping his faith to the end, about crowns and awards for all who love to see the appearance of Christ on that day. 

It’s all beautiful to meditate on, but we can get the impression that Jesus is far away from us, living in a far off kingdom of heaven. 

It’s easy to think that way, while we function in a very material world all around us, but the kingdom of heaven is also all around us. Jesus lives within His people and works through His people, who are among us. He is doing His will here on earth, according to His will in heaven, each time we pray, “Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

God sends us heroes of the faith, through the church or through those who lived before us, and left their inspiration by example. The heroes of the faith might be our own parent or a grandparent, a minister or the saints who lived and died for Christ, centuries ago. It might be those who wrote sacred scripture under the Spirit’s inspiration, which builds up our faith to this day. These heroes of the faith deserve to be honored, and Paul, the apostle, was just one of them. 

Historians tell us that Paul traveled 10,000 miles over his lifetime, and preached for a period of 30 years, while he wrote 14 out of the 27 books which compose the New Testament. That’s a lot of miles, a lot of writing and a lot of the kingdom of heaven brought to earth, through one man, for the glory of God.

A film was made in 2018 about the life of Apostle Paul. It was filmed on the island of Malta, and starred James Faulkner as Paul and Jim Caviezel as Luke, his companion. The movie is called “Paul, Apostle of Christ”.  Seeing this movie was like unwrapping a gift. It shed so much truth on how valuable Paul was to the early church at that particular time in history. 

The movie merged church history and scripture with some fiction, in order to tell the story of Paul’s life. One of the fictional aspects in the film, was of Paul having flashbacks to the days in his life when he was Saul, when he used to hate and persecute the church. 

He is reminded of an image of a little girl’s face, who he saw being martyred along with her family. This flashback continues through the film and builds up to a powerful ending later. 

The early church suffered under Nero, who hunted down and killed many Christians during Paul’s ministry, but character and virtue develop out of adversity, and the early church was a unified family, faithful to Christ even in the threat of imprisonment or death. The believers who survived Nero, worshipped in secret underground churches. 

Paul constantly preached love and forgiveness, leaving all vengeance to God only. Some believers left the church and formed a resistance group, becoming obsessed with fighting the oppressive Roman government. Paul tried to warn them that this was not the good fight that he wrote about. Hate breeds more hate, and Paul taught to “not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.”  (Romans 12:21)

He preached that to live is Christ, and to die is gain, so that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Paul lived all that he preached, and the fruit of his ministry was how he encouraged others throughout his life, even through his letters from a jail cell. Jesus still brings the kingdom of heaven to earth, by living in the hearts of all believers today. 

He asks us to pray for one another, encourage one another and stay unified in Spirit by loving one another.

Paul died by martyrdom, shown at the end of the movie, and was instantly transferred to heaven, and welcomed by a large throng of believers who died before him. 

Suddenly, a happy little girl ran out from the heavenly crowd to greet him with open arms, and Paul lifts her up and hugs her. It’s the little girl from his many flashbacks, who was once martyred along with her family. 

The movie ends with the look of overwhelming joy on Paul’s face, surrounded by believers in heaven, as he turns around and sees Jesus standing before him.

We owe it to honor those throughout history who suffered for their faith, who led us by example, and fought the good fight of faith. We also owe it to uphold in prayer, all who are suffering for their faith today in other nations around the world.

Thank God for the heroes of the faith in the early church, like Paul, Peter, Luke and all other apostles and leaders. May we carry on their legacy of choosing to overcome evil with good, and fight the good fight of faith to the end.

Lord, thank you for the saintly examples you send to us, and for great leaders you have raised up in the church to spread the faith, and for sacred scripture, which inspires us to fight the good fight of faith, so that we may meet you, our victorious Savior in heaven one day. Amen 

“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”

Matthew 8:23-26

Sometimes I would prefer to be the one sleeping in the boat and let Jesus handle all the storms in my life, but He wants us to exercise our faith, which might be the whole reason that Jesus slept during that storm. He fully equipped his disciples with all that they needed to handle the storm. 

Right before the incident of the boat in the storm happened, Jesus met and praised a Roman centurion for his great faith. He was so pleased with the Centurion, who trusted Him to heal his paralyzed servant without coming to his house, just by saying the word. The Centurion was in the midst of his own personal storm, but he had faith in the presence of Jesus and spoke words of faith to Him, and his miracle happened. It was this example and message of faith, that led to what happened next.

Right after meeting that Centurion, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat together, where He fell sound asleep, just in time for a violent storm to shake up the boat. The whole scene sounds like a set up to me. 

I don’t think Jesus just happened to fall asleep while the storm just happened to rise up. Jesus wanted His disciples to use what he had been teaching them about great faith, and He equipped them to face the storm. He hoped they had learned from the Centurion to stand and speak in faith, knowing that Jesus was right there, with them on the boat.

He wanted them to have faith in His presence, even if He was asleep. Instead, they cried out that they were going to drown, and failed a test of faith. 

When something happens in our life that frightens us or stops us in our tracks, we probably need to remind ourselves that we are not alone. Jesus is in the boat with us, and He equipped us to face every storm in our lives. He knows we can handle the storm and He is with us even when He appears to be asleep. 

He wants us to stand on our faith and ask in His name. Trusting in His presence and speaking to the storm in His name brings us through our test of faith.

The Centurion believed in the presence and the word of Jesus, before He even went to the cross. 

We have His presence, His word, and the power of His blood. How much more can we do by faith in His shed blood, which has won the victory over any evil that comes against us?

Scripture says that we (all believers)

have conquered the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. 

(Revelation 12:11)

Different scripture versions state this verse using the words “triumphed, overcame, or conquered,” but every version uses the past tense of the word, because the victory has already been won at the cross.

Maybe Jesus wanted the disciples to withstand the test of faith, by praying against the storm, knowing that just having Him in their boat was enough. He wanted them to believe in the power of His presence, just as that Centurion did. He was so proud of the Centurion’s words of faith, and He wants His church to live with that same kind of faith and trust. 

We can trust His presence is with us through all of our storms, whether it feels like He is asleep or not. Jesus has equipped us with all we need to speak to our storms in His name, since He made us more than conquerors through His blood and the word of our testimony. 

I can just imagine Jesus in that boat, hoping to wake up and see that the disciples stood their test of faith, trusting in His presence and united in prayer together, speaking against the storm. He would rather praise people for their great faith than call them men of little faith. 

In all of our tests and trials, Jesus wants to reward our faith and say to His church, 

“Well done, your faith in Me is great!”

Lord, help us to please you by growing in the faith you have equipped us with, as we trust in your presence and your word, strengthen us to speak to and overcome every storm we face. Amen