Faith of gold

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 (RSV)

I love these scriptures because everyone can relate to being tested by fiery trials. Scripture doesn’t say that believers will have an easy road to heaven. Instead, we are told that our faith is going to be tested like gold, which will endure the purifying fire of tribulations. 

Faith that is totally reliant on Jesus, can withstand the intense fiery heat of what most would consider unbearable. I can think of several people and friends in the faith, who have developed the endurance of a tested faith, that is golden. I want to share one person’s story today. 

Tawana is a recent acquaintance and a most interesting person. Her grandfather was Bob Jeter, who played for the Bears and Green Bay packers in the 60’s and 70’s. 

She is a woman of faith, who has so much joy and love for everyone, but I learned that she has gone through some intense fires in her lifetime. 

About 28 years ago, her husband stopped after work, with his friends to have a drink at a neighborhood bar. For whatever reason, a shooter walked in and killed every single person in that bar. Tawana became a widow that day, left with a three year old boy, while pregnant with twins, that were due any day. The day after her husband’s funeral, she gave birth to her twins, a boy and a girl. 

One twin had a heart problem and spent a longer stay in the hospital, but he survived over time and with prayers. In one day, her life totally changed because of a senseless act of random violence. As a widow, she raised her children, trusting in the help of God, her relatives and her church. She told me she could never have made it through those difficult times without faith and the family of God who kept her lifted up in prayer. Her three children never knew their earthly father, but Tawana made sure they would know their heavenly one. 

Decades later, when her children were grown and caring for their own children, Tawana had a stroke and couldn’t talk. With therapy and prayer, she eventually recovered and was able to speak again. She was grateful, since to this day, she calls each of her children every day, to stay in touch. 

Some years after that, she began to have headaches and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and was told that the tumor was cancerous. After she underwent brain surgery and chemo treatments, Tawana was sent to rehabilitate in the Nursing Facility that my son is currently living in, and that is how I met her. 

With such an upbeat and joyful personality, I could never have imagined what Tawana has been through. Her mind is sharp and though she walks with short shuffling steps, her overall health is now good. Yesterday was Karaoke day and she selected the song, “Oh Happy Day.”She shared her words of hope and faith with everybody in that room, by singing the words, 🎵 “Oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away… “

She’s an inspiration of a tested and enduring faith of gold.

Tawana’s prayers are still being answered. She just learned that she is now cancer free and will soon be going home to live with her son, daughter in law and grandchildren. 

I’m thinking of all those who are also struggling with a fiery trial right now in their life. I want to encourage them to keep their trust in Jesus, who loves us and suffered in all ways that we do. We can learn from people like Tawana, that total reliance on God brings us through trials with a faith of gold. God will turn every situation around for good, and there will be better days ahead. 

Lord, thank you for all the good you bring out of the lives of those who totally rely on you. Help us to have a persevering faith of gold, that withstands all the fiery tests and trials of life. Amen

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Mockery, dignity and standing in the gap

“All who see me mock me;
 they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
 “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
 since he delights in him.”

Psalm 22:7-8 (NIV)

1,000 years before Jesus ever appeared, David wrote of the mockery that the Messiah would suffer. The description in the Psalm above fits with the gospel of Matthew’s description below:

“Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:39-49)

Jesus suffered intense mockery from the time of His arrest to His death on the cross. I have always been affected by watching the crown of thorns placed on His head in movies.

The crown of thorns was a laughing matter of mockery to the soldiers, as sharp thorns pierced his scalp with violent blows. It was such an intense form of both mockery and physical abuse. Jesus, the King of kings, has always been ridiculed by those He came to save.

Mockery and ridicule of anyone is a violent blow to a person’s God given dignity. It is also an insult to God, in the same way mocking artwork is an insult to the artist. 

I learned a lesson last week, as I was visiting with the group who sit at the table next to Jon’s chair. They started telling me stories about bizarre things that some residents at the Nursing Facility do. They told me about one person who occasionally walks out of their room completely naked, and another person who spits on people with no warning and for no reason. 

They were laughing as they related different stories to me. My first reaction was to laugh along with them, until I realized we were laughing at people who cannot help themselves. 

I quickly felt bad and determined not to participate in a conversation that mocks residents, ever again. 

Despite their state of mind, they are all created in God’s image, and like the rest of us, we’re all meant to live life with dignity and faith in Christ. People lose their God given dignity and their faith, for various reasons. Even though they don’t have sound minds, they do not deserve to be mocked. 

Each person in that Nursing Facility has their own story. Some have a substance abuse history and some have brain injury, either from birth or from trauma. God knows every person’s story from the beginning. He knows what led to the state of mind they are in, and He wants to restore human dignity to every outcast of society. I do not judge them, but I’m not going to mock them either. 

As I thought about the conversation later that day, I came to a conclusion that mockery is very diabolical. The mockery that Jesus suffered was incited by Satan himself, and so is the mockery of any human being. Satan’s scheme is to continue to make a mockery out of the pearl of God’s creation, humanity. 

Paul warns us not to be ignorant of Satan’s schemes, and one of his schemes is to steal from, kill and destroy what God made. If he cannot do it in a physical way, he attacks their dignity.  (2 Corinthians 2:11)

It’s amazing how much dignity has already been robbed from humanity. We see it each time we observe a homeless person who has been living on streets for decades. We see it when we hear of a drug addict, so desperate for the next fix, that they will do or sell anything. I see it in some residents of the Nursing Facility, who have confessed to years of substance abuse, and now are abandoned by their adult children. Some others are the wounded victims of abuse, by factors outside of their control. 

Whatever the story and whatever was robbed or lost, I believe that there is a fountain of mercy that flows from the throne of God, to gather, cleanse and forgive every person, whatever they’ve done, turning no one away. Jesus paid a great price to restore our human dignity. 

He knows what it is to be mocked and abandoned. He told the story about going out into the highways and byways to invite every outcast to the banquet of a great king. We all know a person, who is living on the highway or byway of an estranged life, who doesn’t yet know that there is a king or a banquet. They have been separated from society by a gap. That gap is the distance between the life they are living and the life of dignity that God intended for them.

The Lord once said: “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap…” (Ezekiel 22:30)

God is looking for people who will stand in the gap for Him and pray for those outcasts. As we recognize the schemes of the devil, and the ones who were robbed of their dignity, we will know what God is leading us to do, while we are standing in the gap for them. I know now, who the Lord is asking me to pray for. 

Lord, you have touched our hearts, as we read how you were mocked, abused and abandoned. Help us to stand in the gap for those who need to find their dignity in you. We pray today for all the outcasts to discover your redemptive love and endless mercy. Amen

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A day’s portion

“Then the Lord said to Moses: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion…”

Exodus 16:4 (NIV)

There was a specific portion that God sent to the Israelites, which appeared on the ground each morning. It was the perfect portion that could fill their stomach for a day and fully nourish their bodies as well. They were camping out in a barren wilderness with no other food to eat, while passing through to a better land, promised to them by God. 

In that new land, there would be an abundance and variety of food available to them. There, they would dwell in their promised land, with all the conveniences and comfort of home. Joshua and Caleb even brought samples of the huge grapes that grew in that promised land, but for the time being, God sent His people manna, a highly nutritious daily bread from heaven, to sustain them.

There is so much for us to learn from this miracle of sustenance, sent from heaven. Whenever I read this story, I learn something new. God’s word is inexhaustible, and so is His grace and love for us. I see it throughout scripture, but especially in the story of the manna, sent to the Israelites. 

All that the Israelites went through collectively as a people, we go through individually in our personal walk of faith. Every believer experiences some type of wilderness period. It’s a part of our journey in life, but not our permanent dwelling. They were saved from their enemies and freed from the oppression of slavery in Egypt. God saved and fought for His people then and He still does today. They had many good times of dancing and rejoicing with thanksgiving for that miraculous deliverance.

We have had good times and given God thanksgiving for the deliverance and blessings we received. We have danced and rejoiced in the joyful times of our life, but we have also faced trials, similar to being in the wilderness, where we hunger for God’s provision in many different ways. God sees everything we go through, He hears us every time we call upon Him and with abundant compassion, He answers His people. 

It’s the way God sometimes answers us, that is hard to understand. The Israelites asked for food, but God sent them manna. It wasn’t the food they imagined. It wasn’t the roasted lamb with herbs, fresh veggies, or the breads they used to bake. It was a strange looking thin sweet wafer that appeared on the ground each day. They were instructed to gather as much as they wanted to eat, as their daily portion of food. 

God knows what we need, and can do anything, so His daily provision is always what we need. The manna tasted good, satisfied their hunger and contained every nutrient the human body needed for the day. Some have called it the bread of angels, and Jesus referred to it later, calling Himself the new bread from heaven. 

The miraculous manna sustained them, but they were warned against hoarding it. Some people tried to store enough to last longer than one day, but whatever they hoarded, became rotten. God intended for them to gather it once a day, as much as they could eat, but only day at a time. It was their daily portion, provided by God, who loves His people. 

We are also expected to gather our daily portion from God. The daily portion can be applied to so many areas of our life. We see this message of daily provision throughout scripture.

In the story of the widow who received a miracle provision of oil and flour, she also received it one day at a time. Jesus taught us not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34) 

He was basically reminding us that our needs will be met, one day at a time. 

One day I asked the Lord why I have to ask each and every morning for that day’s inspiration, to write a meditation. Couldn’t He just give me a week’s worth of ideas at once? After I asked that question, a thought came to my heart saying, 

“I want you to come back every day.”

I learned through the stories like the manna and the widow’s oil and flour, that God wants each of us to come back and talk to Him every single day. He is saying to everyone, 

“I want you back.” Whatever God provides for us, He wants us to return to Him for more the next day. When we ask for our daily bread, we will receive our portion of His provision for that day. 

It can apply to whatever we need; a daily portion of physical well being, or peace of mind, or our spiritual nourishment for the day, and even meeting our financial needs. We also receive the daily portion of patience, mercy and endurance needed for the day. 

God loves us too much to give us a lump sum and have us come back once a week. He loves us so much, He wants us to communicate with Him every day, as He provides us with our daily bread.

Lord, thank you for our daily portion of sustenance and for loving us and providing all that we need today. We will come back each day and stay in communication with you, our daily bread. Amen

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The joy of childlike faith

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)

Although we cannot see or touch the Lord, living a life of faith is so much about believing without seeing. Peter writes that, although we do not see Him, we receive inexpressible joy in believing in Him, and as a result, obtaining the salvation of our souls. 

Jesus made it clear that we must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. Young children are totally reliant, trusting in their parents. They are shaped by their parents and can be easily convinced to believe in things they cannot see. Children also find joy in any circumstance. When I was very young, I remember the time our basement flooded, and we put on our boots and walked around as our parents frantically bailed the water out. For them it was a disaster, but for us, it was fun and exciting. 

By the time we grow to adulthood, it becomes more challenging to trust those we see, much less the One we cannot see. We struggle to maintain our joy amidst the dark, negative panic stricken world around us. It’s easy to forget that our invisible God is a loving Father, who extends His hand toward us every day. 

We become what we fill our minds with, so we must intentionally search for faith filled true stories, filling our minds and feeding our spirits with hope and faith. We can do this through reading Christian literature, watching Christian TV and listening to Christian radio. It lifts our spirit into a different realm, where we rediscover the childlike joy that comes from the Lord, who is our source of joy and strength. 

To believe in what we cannot see, as through a child’s eyes, is what Jesus encouraged us to do. To help us become like a child again in our faith, it helps to recall pleasant childhood memories, especially one that takes us back to that earliest moment that God seemed very real to us. 

I have a memory from my childhood that still inspires me, each time I think of it. It was a vivid childhood dream I had at the age of five. Since I wrote about it before, I apologize if it sounds repetitious to some. 

I dreamed I was in my school which was on fire. People were running in all directions, and before I could decide where to go, someone took hold of my right hand and walked me peacefully through the hallways, around each corner and finally out of the burning building, unharmed. When we stepped safely outside the front door together, I looked up, and it was Jesus standing beside me, holding my right hand. He wore a white robe with a blue cloak, but He never said a word to me. He just looked at me, holding my right hand, and then I woke up. 

The memory of that dream became a divine life lesson that I would later recall through good and bad times. Whatever age I am, that memory places me back into the mindset of being a child, with the image of Jesus still leading me and holding my hand. That image will stay with me to my last breath. 

Life is like a school, where we sometimes have to walk through  fiery hallways. We don’t know what’s around the next corner, but if we keep our hand in His, He will lead us safely through all the fire exits. 

The fiery trials in our lives are like our personal “school of life.” It’s a school that does not produce scholars, but saints. Jesus never promised to put out all the fires in our lives, but He is holding our hand and He knows where all the fire exits are. If we keep our eyes of faith on Him and our hand in His, He will lead us through all the doors of our lives, in peace and safety. 

By faith, we can believe and love Him whom we have never seen. A child’s heart believes without seeing, and finds joy in the strangest places. If our hand is in His hand, we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us and restores our joy. 

Lord, give us childlike hearts, to trust and rely on you in all our ways. As we keep our hand in yours, lead us through all the right doors and restore to us the true joy of our salvation. Amen

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Breathed on or breathless?

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.”

John 20:21-22 (NAB)

The breath of God was breathed into Adam’s nostrils and he came to life. The resurrected Jesus breathed on his disciples and they were filled with boldness and empowered with love to spread the truth of the gospel. 

Whenever the breath of God breathes upon people, He brings them new life and equips them with whatever was lacking. 

With so much to do and think about some days, it’s easy to forget that God’s Spirit is available to equip us and enliven us in all that we are lacking. What makes Christianity unique is that God comes to man. We aren’t expected to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We call on the name of the Lord and He comes to save us, but sometimes we simply neglect to call on Him. 

Yesterday, I had one of those days. I had appointments to schedule, phone calls to make, multiple obligations to meet, and by the end of the day, I felt more breathless than breathed upon. 

I felt drained after going back and forth all day, forgetting to ask for His help before each phone call or errand. Later that day, I felt kind of down and breathless. I knew then, that I needed His Spirit to breathe on me. 

Everyone has their own way of praying when they feel like this. I ask the Holy Spirit directly, to fill me with more of Him. Paul understood that our inner being needs the breath of the Spirit, when he said, 

“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being.” (Ephesians 3:16)

The Spirit works deep within us, and helps our weaknesses, when we don’t even know how to pray. We only need to ask Him to come inside. His intercession goes beyond words, and His breath revitalizes us when we ask. (Romans 8:26)

The divine breath of the Lord renews, strengthens, empowers and revitalizes our innermost being. It sounds like a song, but it’s also a prayer when we ask, Come Holy Spirit and strengthen me within. If we ask, He will show us how He is breathing on us today. 

Holy Spirit, breathe new life into every reader and their loved ones today. Fill us with your holy breath that strengthens, revitalizes and equips us to go throughout this day in perfect peace. Amen

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Finisher of all good

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

We go through many different stages of our spiritual life journey, and while some people are steady and faithful, others have spiritual ups and downs. Then there are those people who totally abandon their faith during periods of their life. 

I tend to dwell on my son, Jon’s stage of rejecting his faith, the state of mind he was living in, prior to his accident. He abandoned the faith of his youth, and was living as a proclaimed atheist at the time. 

I knew I was becoming too focused on the negatives, but I started to find it difficult to see anything positive about him or his situation. It became like the Achille’s heel of my faith, the one place where my hope was the weakest.

As I was praying about this, asking God to help me believe and to see things and people through His eyes, I heard a speaker on a TV devotional program, mention that in the book of Genesis, God kept repeating that everything He created was good. He said it over and over, throughout that chapter. Everything God created was called good. That thought stayed with me, as if I heard it for the first time.

Yesterday, while I was looking for something, I accidentally came across a folder that was tucked away in my nightstand drawer. It was filled with letters, cards and poems, written by my two boys when they were younger, so I pulled it out and started reading the things they wrote. On the left side of the folder were Michael’s letters and cards to me, including the 23rd Psalm that he wrote, as a teenager, in an excellent first attempt at calligraphy. 

On the right side of the folder were Jon’s letters and many poems he wrote. He showed an early interest in writing, and at 16, he wrote letters to friends and relatives, as well as writing many poems to me. My friend gave me back one of his letters to keep, since it was so nicely written. 

Then I found a letter he wrote to his pastor about how he was surrendering his life to Jesus. The pastor also gave me back that letter to keep, since it was so special. 

I forgot about it, and as I read the two page letter, it brought back memories of Jon’s early commitment of faith to the Lord, as a teenager. Then I spent time browsing through all the poems he wrote, which were saved in that folder. I was looking at a collection of memories, of the good work God began in him, kept in a folder for the past 27 years. 

It was a needed reminder of how his heart was once open to God, and I’m sure I was meant to find those letters and poems to refresh my memory. It was the answer to my prayer, being able to see the good that God once began in his life. That journey was interrupted by choices he made, but I received a glimpse of what God can do, and I have renewed hope that He can finish the work He began in him.

It changed my perspective as I read the memories in that folder. Instead of focusing on the negative, I focus on the goodness that God began. My perspective needed to change more than I first realized. I forgot how dedicated Jon once was, but Jesus didn’t, and He wants to finish the good work He started in him.

He may be a 43 year old prodigal, but he is still Jon. Even though he lost his way, His good shepherd knows that he was once a part of his sheepfold. In reading those letters and poems, it felt as if Jesus was saying to me, “This is how I see Jon.” I know that Jesus wants to continue His good work in him, right where He left off.

Jesus is calling Jon back, and He is calling all of us back in some way, even if it’s a call back to a memory or a vision of hope and truth that we have somehow forgotten. He calls every prodigal back to repentance, but He also calls believers back to trusting in Him, and renewing our hope that He has more good to do in all of us. 

God called everything that He made, “good”, and there is a reason for it. We can be confident that He is still working His good in our lives, as well as in our family and our children’s lives.

Lord, we believe you have plans to finish every good work that you began in us. Open our hearts and minds in recalling where you left off and help us to envision how good your completed work will be. Amen

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You alone, Lord

“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”  Psalm 4:8 (NIV)

No one and nothing can give us the sense of safety or security that the Lord Himself gives us. We are not able to see the invisible world of angels or the Holy Spirit, who works on our behalf, to guide, shield and protect us from what we cannot see, minute by minute, day after day. 

Of all the security systems, burglar alarms, types of devices, weapons and tools of protection, the safest place to be is in the shadow of the Almighty God. The Lord alone, makes us dwell in safety, by sending His angels or other people, at the right time and place, to keep us safe and protected.

When I was involved in a church youth group many years ago, a young man in the group shared a true story. He offered to drive a teenage girl home one evening after youth group. He dropped her off at her apartment building in Chicago, watching as she walked into the front hallway of the building. As he started to drive away, before getting to the end of the block, he felt a very strong compulsion to go back and check on her. He went back and as he walked into that front hallway, a man had her pinned against the wall, but then he quickly fled out the door. 

Some would say the young man listened to his gut by going back, and others might say the Holy Spirit led him to go back. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit who places those feelings within our gut. Either way, God was looking out for that young girl that day. 

A missionary, living in Brazil, once shared a true story. He was asked to speak at a school in a high crime neighborhood of Sao Paulo. It was three in the afternoon, and as he was driving home afterwords, about 8 motorcycles started following his car, with two men riding on each cycle. A Brazilian native, who was in the car with the missionary, told him that it was a gang of car thieves, and was a very common crime trend happening there. 

The missionary, seeing the motorcycles approaching closer to their car, began praying out loud, and said “Lord, you promised to protect us and we need you to honor that promise now.” He kept talking to God and praying, as the cyclists rode alongside them for about two more minutes. As they looked at them, all the cyclists suddenly slowed behind them and left. The missionary believed that they probably saw or felt something to dissuade them from continuing. 

Trusting in God’s miraculous protection may sound hard to believe, but God gives us many scriptural examples as well as verses  to inspire our trust in His protection. 

Young David prayed before he faced a 9’9” man who had been terrorizing the Israelite army, and he defeated him with one little stone. 

A den full of starving lions, suddenly lost their appetite, had no interest in eating Daniel, as he stood before them, praying and worshipping.

God loves us and we are never alone. Nothing is impossible when people pray, Whether we lie down to sleep or move around during a busy day, we will be surrounded by His helpers and led by His Spirit.

The God we serve, is the omnipotent King of the universe and it’s enough to know that His son, Jesus, told us to ask for the impossible….

“Jesus looked at them and said, with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

(Matthew 19:26)

Lord, I pray you give each reader a new awareness of the invisible hedge of protection that surrounds us every day. Our safest place to dwell in, is in You alone, where nothing is impossible, because you are an ultimate source of all kinds of security. Amen

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A willing spirit

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence,
and take not thy holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

Psalm 51: 10-12 (RSV)

Throughout scripture, there are many examples of the Spirit of God calling people to do something. He cleanses us, corrects us, and restores our joy. Then He calls us to do something and to work with Him, in some way. It’s a call deep in our heart, and if our spirit is willing, the desire to answer His call grows. Whatever He calls us to do, He will wait patiently until we respond.

There is nothing that God cannot do, since He is all powerful, and yet He chooses people to work with Him, to further His kingdom. In the last line of this scripture, we are invited to have what the inspired psalmist calls 

“a willing spirit.”

God needs no one. He invites us to participate with His plans because He loves us. He doesn’t need us but He wants us, simply because we are loved by Him. 

God asked Isaiah who He should send, as a messenger to His people, and Isaiah volunteered himself, saying, “Here I am, send me!” 

He called Samuel, but waited for him to respond, by saying “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

If Mary hadn’t responded positively, the Holy Spirit would never have forced His entry into her womb. She is the prime example of someone with a willing spirit. She chose to cooperate with God’s plan of salvation, bringing Jesus to all of us. 

Throughout scripture, the Spirit of God politely asks, invites, and gently beckons. He never forces His way upon us, He waits for us to respond positively, and with honesty to Him. 

Just as we wouldn’t want someone to befriend us under compulsion, God is looking for a positive, but truthful response to Him.

When my mother once had a small stroke, she was admitted to the hospital where I worked. I knew the neurosurgeons in that hospital, so when the surgeon on call that day arrived to the ICU to see my mother, he was surprised to see me there.

He told me that her scan showed a  very small bleed in her brain. He didn’t recommend surgery, saying that the bleeding would eventually be reabsorbed. I remember having only one question to ask him, and I said, “If this was your mother, what would you do?”

He looked directly at me and said, 

“If it was my mother, I would not recommend surgery.” That was all I needed to hear. An honest response leading to the right treatment was enough. She did recover and was able to speak and walk again without a problem. 

There is comfort in knowing we have received an honest response. A positive response is valuable, but more so, when we believe it to be truthful. The examples in scripture show us people who had both a willing and truthful spirit. A willing spirit is also referred to throughout the Old Testament regarding free will offerings to God and His temple. 

Therefore, a willing spirit leads us to service as well as to giving. When we open our heart to give in every way to God, He will restore the joy of our salvation. 

Lord, open our hearts and uphold in us a willing spirit. Lead us to respond in any way that you have been calling us or patiently waiting for our response to your invitation. Amen

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Reaping in due season

“And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”

Galatians 6:9 (RSV)

My family is from Chicago, but after my widowed mother, retired, she relocated to Huntington Beach, California. My brother was already living there, working for Boeing, and she decided that it would be a sunny, warm place to spend her retirement years. She lived there for 29 years, made great friends, and we had many enjoyable visits over the years. 

She enjoyed a 90th birthday party, in her California home, joined by family and friends who flew in to celebrate that day with her. She continued to live independently and in good health. 

She was doing so well until one day, she tripped and fell, while walking to the nearby grocery store. She broke her wrist and then became fearful and hesitant to venture outside after that. It wasn’t long after that injury, that my brother and I noticed a change in her mental status, and  she was starting to become confused. 

For some time, she was a recipient of a daily meal from “Meals on wheels.”One day, on a minor holiday, no meal was delivered to her, since they don’t deliver meals on holidays. In her confusion of not receiving a meal, she dialed 9-1-1, urgently reporting to the dispatcher that no one brought her meal that day. 

The Huntington Beach police department sent two officers to her home. I learned afterward that those officers came to her door, and asked her what she would like to eat. Taking note of her requests, they left and returned minutes later with a cheeseburger and french fries. 

(She declined a beverage, because she had cold beer in her refrigerator.)

My mother was unaware that she received a service that was far beyond the norm of a 9-1-1 call. In her dementia, she had unrealistic expectations of her local police department, but they came through anyway. When I later heard the whole story, I was so touched by their kindness, that I wrote a letter to the Huntington Beach police department, thanking them for the thoughtfulness of those officers.

As her health worsened, we moved her back to Illinois, where she lived with my husband and me. We gave her a 92nd birthday party in my home, and four months later, she passed away peacefully in her sleep. 

That was eighteen years ago, but I will never forget the kindness of those police officers who went the extra mile that day, far beyond their job description, for a total stranger. As today’s scripture says, those who do not grow weary in doing good, will reap in due season. I trust that those officers reaped a blessing for their kindness to my mother, and to many others.

Throughout her nine decades of life,  my mother never missed a chance to serve or care for others, because she was also a person who routinely went the extra mile. I believe she reaped her blessings in due season. 

God establishes these natural laws of life, the sowing and reaping of acts of kindness, for rewards in this life as well as in Heaven. It’s beautiful to see it manifested in such a simple example, as this one. Stories like this, teach us to push on, not to lose heart, since we all have moments of growing weary in doing good. There will be a day of reaping for all, in due season.

Lord, thank you for going far beyond the extra mile for us, by offering yourself for our salvation. Reveal to each of us how we can sow seeds of kindness and not grow weary, that we may reap blessings later in life, as well as in heaven. Amen

New wilderness, new treasures

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Matthew 13:44 (NAB)

The children of Israel went through extensive humbling while they wandered through the wilderness. They were hungry, thirsty, hot, bitten by snakes, missing all the comforts of home, like their own bed, their favorite foods as well as the lack of abundant drinking water.

Despite being freed from the oppression of slavery in Egypt, they thought the wilderness was the worst thing they ever went through. God separated them from their familiar environment, because He was setting them apart for a new purpose, but they lost sight of the promised land ahead of them. They were inwardly focused, missing the treasures hidden in that wilderness.

The wilderness was only part of their journey, not the final destination. Everyone goes through some kind of wilderness, through a trial that separates them from the comforts of their familiar lifestyle. About five years ago, I went through a stage of feeling completely isolated. I became a widow and the following year was the Covid pandemic. My church closed for months, I was furloughed from my job, and I didn’t see much of friends or family at all. 

During that time, I started asking God if I had any gifts and how to use them during this downtime. I read scripture each morning, wrote down what I learned, and then I started writing daily meditations. I never sent them to anyone, but one day I mentioned to my friend Laura what I was doing, and she asked me to send the meditations to her. I did, and it gradually spread to many more people. Until then, I never even knew I loved writing. 

The most important lesson I learned in that wilderness of isolation, was to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit. I began to ask Him specifically for direction, wisdom, gifts and inspiration. When I asked, He answered, by using a friend, and I discovered hidden treasures as new adventures began. I constantly need to remind myself to stay in that relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

I recently entered a whole new wilderness last year, when my adult son, Jon, had a serious motorcycle accident.

He went through brain surgery, two weeks in a coma, lying in intensive care and is now living in a long term care facility. In addition to his traumatic brain injury and unknown prognosis, I often feel pushed to the edge with the ongoing frustrations of dealing with the State and my legal guardianship. I have to constantly surrender every situation to Jesus, asking Him to take care of everything.

That’s when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and I found the treasures hidden in this new wilderness. As I looked around, I saw people in that Nursing Facility who are completely alone, they have no visitors, no hope and no attention from anyone. The treasure I found is in becoming a friend to the friendless, to give a bit of hope to the hopeless, and simply sharing small gestures of kindness with each of them.

We need to remember that we are journeying through a wilderness, but it’s a journey, not a final destination. As I ask the Holy Spirit to show me the hidden treasures, I look around and He points out people with souls, and their needs. As long as I am visiting regularly, I focus on what I can share with those souls at the Nursing facility. For some, it’s a hug, or listening to their story, having conversations, or sharing a tin full of butter cookies and just playing music for them.

I’ve learned that finding treasures,  requires looking outside of myself. 

If I only look inward, I would dwell on my own frustrations and problems, and feel only despair. Jesus gave us His Spirit to comfort us and to reveal a mission within our own personal wilderness. We were meant to surrender everything to Him and then look around us. The treasures will no longer be hidden once we look in the right direction, which is outward.

I heard a story about an older man who always remained in church looking at the altar, praying long after services were over. He was asked one day by his pastor, “What are you praying for?” He answered, “I just look at Jesus and He looks at me.” 

What a sweet spirit of adoration. Prayer doesn’t always have to be filled with frantic requests. If we look at Jesus, and let Him look at us, He shows us what to look at next, and it’s always going to be something outside of ourselves. That’s the Spirit of Jesus. He went to the cross, looking outside of Himself, and the hidden treasures of His wilderness are each one of us, who abide in Him. 

Whatever kind of wilderness we are in, by looking outward, instead of inward, His Spirit is speaking to us about what we can do for others.

Holy Spirit, as we surrender all of our stressors to Jesus, open the eyes of our heart and show us who or what you want us to see, so that we can find the treasures hidden in our own wilderness. Amen

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