Category: Sister Judy (Page 6 of 267)

Perhaps it is like us as well, for we have seasons in our lives when we are not as active and seemingly not as productive. But maybe we are being prepared for what God has for us next. It is a time to be patient and put deep trust in the Lord because He is at work, even though we are not sure what He is up to. We might call it our preparation time and we must humbly wait on the Lord, trust His timing and know He has purpose.

God knows what we need in the future and will put us in places and situations to prepare us. In Al’s pastoral ministry, we went from having large churches to smaller ones to get us prepared for the retreat ministry for pastors at Canaan’s Rest. Al had to give up the big deal, and we learned the problems that pastors were having in not only the big churches but the smaller country churches. Although we didn’t know at the time, as we look back we see how God was intentionally getting us ready for pastors and wives who came from all kinds of church situations.

Maybe right now you feel like work is rather frustrating, but God is teaching you to handle big and little problems as He is going to put you in a position of more authority. Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a season for everything and a time for every matter under heaven… a time to plant and a time to pick up what is planted… a time to break down, and a time to build up, etc. Even if right now life seems rather mundane, know that your Father knows best what season you are to be in and wait for what comes next.

Hope you had a lovely weekend and time to relax. We enjoyed time in Mora with Board members who are friends we have known for so many years. Today I am going to Aldi’s and then Al and I are taking friends from the lake out for lunch and to celebrate their birthdays. 

Recently I read what author Debra Fileta had to say about Jesus being in touch with His emotions. I guess I haven’t thought about Jesus being emotional and in tune with His feelings, but she brings out over thirty-nine different emotions that are written in scripture that Jesus expressed while He was on earth. He felt joy, as He says to his disciples in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in your, and that your joy may be full.”  We know that He experienced grief when He wept over Jerusalem and also at the time of Lazarus’ death. He also showed righteous anger, calling the Pharisees and scribes hypocrites, serpents and a brood of vipers. We know He got weary, sitting by the well when the Samaritan woman came along; also there were times he went away from the crowd to pray to His Father. We read often that He was filled with compassion when He saw the crowds, healed them and taught them.

Debra writes how Jesus recognized his feelings and chose to react in a positive way. Of course, that can’t be said of us all the time for we may react instantly, express anger or frustration and say things we will later regret. Or it could be we just shut down and withdraw and try to numb our feelings. But let us remember that feelings are not bad or good but are signals to let us know what is going on inside of us. It’s how we respond that is important. Instead of immediately reacting, we can stop and think of what they mean and pay attention to what they are saying is below the surface. Maybe we need healing, or maybe we need to set boundaries or need relief from stress. But whatever it is, may we consider feelings as our friends, tune into them and respond in Jesus’ way.

When we were in the parish, I often went with Al when he gave communion to the shut-ins who were unable to get to church. It was a special time to receive in a tangible way the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. How thankful those receiving were and often it was preparation for when they would soon go home to the Lord.

Another couple wrote, “Taking communion took on a deeper meaning last fall. We were on a mission to be with my husband’s aunt as she had been put on hospice. They lived in Nevada close to the California border. There were no children so we felt we needed to support them. We had not seen them in many years…we prayed about it and felt an urgent need to be with them. We spent three days with his aunt and spent time with her husband. (We had our RV in their yard and his aunt was in a small home setting with caregivers.) It was a beautiful time of sharing gospel, hymns. On the third night my husband felt the need to take communion to his aunt (there was no chaplain or pastor). His aunt radiated light that evening. I read from the Bible and we shared communion. It was so meaningful as his aunt knew the scripture and said it, too. During the night his aunt passed away. We then ministered with his uncle for the rest of the week. Taking the sacrament of Communion is more real and Jesus is near. God’s grace! We felt God’s hand leading us.”

May none of us take communion lightly, but receive, rejoice and give thanks for the sacrifice Jesus made for us. He gave His very life.

We can’t change things that happened to us long ago, but we can change our future by forgiving the person and moving on into what the Lord has for us next. If we hang on to hurts, we will not be able to go forward. Our hearts are very deceitful and we can make excuses for our behavior, but we will not experience freedom and transformation if we are unwilling to change. But how wonderful it is when the Holy Spirit brings conviction and we respond to let Him do the work in us! Change may happen little by little, but we can know God’s plan is to prosper us and give us hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11).

The Bible is full of examples of people who were radically changed. We might think of the apostle Paul, for he was cruel and persecuted Christians. But when God touched his life and his eyes were opened, he was saved, preached Jesus and brought so many others to the Lord. I also marvel at how Peter was changed from an impulsive fisherman to a powerful preacher.

Can God change us? Of course He can, if we are willing to face the truth of ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in us. Then get ready to be changed and to be more like Jesus, which may surprise those around us.

Most all of your reading this have experienced communion or the Eucharist which means thanksgiving. When we take the bread the priest or pastor says, “The body of Christ broken for you.” Then either the bread is dipped in wine or we are given a tiny cup of wine to drink and the pastor says, “The blood of Christ shed for you.” God is then doing a cleansing work within us, renewing us and transforming us as we partake and we may say “thanks be to God.” Something tangible is being taken in to help us grasp the spiritual reality of being forgiven and cleansed. We are experiencing the physical world connecting with the sacred. Jesus uses this physical means to help make God known to us in a visible, tangible and accessible way. We don’t know exactly how to explain how God uses the sacraments as a means of grace and it will always remain a mystery. Our part is to receive them and the grace that God promises us through them. It is important that we don’t miss what God is desiring to do within us and just casually dismiss it. Jesus suffered and died in our place to give us forgiveness and to transform us to be more like Him.

Let us not forget that Jesus came to reveal to us God in material form. He wants to share His life with us and it says in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Let us live in faith as we experience the mystery and the promise.