Category: Whispers (Page 1 of 174)

We may like to think of ourselves as independent, self-made people, but the truth is we are made for communion with God and to care and love one another. We become whole together, not as separate beings. A Scottish professor of theology, John Swinton, writes how Adam lost a rib to make relationship possible with Eve. The first incision was made from love not caused by sin, and it was the cost of communion with another.

Not all people are healed and their suffering is very real, but not without hope, for one day Jesus will wipe away all mourning and pain will cease. (Rev. 21:4). We wait for the day when we will all be whole, living without pain and suffering. But in this life Jesus didn’t always choose to heal, and He Himself had scars from his crucifixion. Swinton, a former nurse and mental health chaplain, recognized how disability doesn’t negate our belovedness as a person. The message from the church sometimes has been that people with disabilities are a problem to be resolved and often they feel excluded. But even when included, they want to be received as part of God’s good creation. Others can learn from them, seeing God’s power made perfect in weakness. (II Cor. 12:9)

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord how you can help others be included in the Body of Christ and what you can learn from them.

Recently, a good friend whom I have known for many years went home to be with the Lord. She could be described as one who always showed up. I met Florence when we lived at the lake and both of us worked at Share and Care, a place where people come to get clothes and house goods very cheaply and visit the food shelf. No matter when I helped there, Florence was always there working tirelessly and helping others get what they needed. When I asked her for something specific that I needed, she searched on all three floors and always seemed to find just the right thing. Even after we moved away, she sent things to me through our daughter.

Florence didn’t have an easy life, and yet was aware of the needs of others. Her son and granddaughter were living with her when I first knew her, and she provided a place for them, babysitting, etc. When Al retired, we went to the church where she had been a member for many years, and whenever there was a gathering, Florence was there and usually behind the counter serving. She came early and was often the last one to leave, and I don’t remember her ever complaining she was tired, not even after hours of making lefse! Whatever the need was, whether it was to help with the women’s group, quilting, or decorating the church, etc., we could count on her showing up. She had a great sense of humor as well, and could be seen in style shows, and fun skits, etc.

Florence had some health needs, and there many times through the years I thought she wasn’t going to make it, but somehow she would recover and be back serving others. We often referred to her as the Energizer Bunny. In life, our importance is not in an office we hold, or how much we accumulate, but to serve however the Lord directs. I will always remember Florence. She was an example to me of a faithful servant of the Lord who always showed up and one day will hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master.” (Matt. 25:23)

One day I had just finished reading from Mark 4, about Jesus being by the lake with his disciples when crowd gathered to hear Him and he spoke to them in parables. The disciples didn’t get it, and couldn’t understand the meaning of the parables without Jesus teaching them. It reminded me of the words in a song: “Jesus calls us o’er the tumult of our life’s wild, restless seas; Saying, ‘Christian follow me.’”

When the Lord seems to change how He relates to us, it may seem like a restless sea, and yet He is teaching us in a more hidden way to follow Him so we need to pay attention. He calls the shots not us, and His presence can’t be judged by our feelings. In a way, it is like walking through the desert wilderness to the Promised Land. The Lord begins to unveil things in our lives that we shouldn’t ignore but give our attention to if we truly want to grow. It is a gift to see the truth so we can lay down those things that separate us, that we can be transformed more into His likeness. We may find we are self-centered and maybe unaware of some idols we have.

As the song continues: “In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease, still He calls, in cares and pleasures, ‘Chrisitan, love me more than these.’”

Let us hear His call and prayerfully say or sing, “Give our hearts to your obedience, serve and love you best of all.”

Too many times, our hearts are divided as we choose to pursue earthly glory. Jesus sought the will of His Father, saying in John 5:44, “How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes only from God?” When we care more about what other people think than to do God’s will, we are seeking glory from man. But the thing about that is that man’s opinion of us can change from day to day. If we don’t do what they want us to do, or think the way they think, they may cancel us. We hear of more families that are divided just because they don’t agree on everything. How sad!

Whatever we seek in this worldly life is so inferior to what matters in light of eternity. The enemy likes to keep us focused on many things that distract us from the Lord. Teens especially may feel they have to have a certain look and need the right clothes to fit in. Adults may seek a prestigious job or luxury cars. But we can’t take anything with us when we die. I have never been to a funeral where they said the person dressed right or had a fancy car, but rather how they served and loved. Let us put our focus on the Lord, be rich toward Him and pursue what is lasting.

Hope you have a great weekend!! Today is Party Day here and Al and I will be going to Costco to get the Birthday cake and setting up. 

We each have deeply ingrained messages we learned from our family: some things were spoken, but also unspoken rules. As I was reading Pastor/Dr. Peter Scazzero’s book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, I see we can’t move forward in our Chrisitan lives if we aren’t also willing to go back to see how the past impacts our present. If we are unwilling to do that, our baggage will be passed on to our children and their children’s children as well.

Joseph grew up in a blended family, number 11 of 12 children. He was favored by his father and hated by his brothers, who sold him to become a slave. Yet through the hard circumstances of Joseph’s life, he recognized God’s hand on his life and though he grieved, he was able to forgive his brothers who had betrayed him. He saw that God had used him to save the lives of many, including his own family, during the years of famine. He named his sons Hebrew names that meant “forget” and “fruitful,” for he knew God had rescripted his life.

No matter what kind of a family we come from it doesn’t determine our future, for when we know the Lord we are adopted into the family of God and loved by Him. We learn from our past but in a sense, we are re-parented by the Lord. We experience more and more freedom when we are willing to examine and intentionally work on our past and move forward in Christ, letting Him direct our lives.

Hope your day is lived in His power. We had a good message from a lay person at our Lenten service last evening and a yummy soup supper. Today we have Bible study and I hope to get into a new book that Al ordered and came yesterday! 

God many times sends angels and they are mentioned more than 300 times in the Bible. I have heard from friends who give accounts of what certainly seems to be an angelic visitation. In our Bible study on Acts, Paul writes about how and angel of God stood beside him and told him not to be afraid. (Acts. 27:23-24) Angels are messengers and also powerful warriors. I memorized Psalm 91 and especially like verses 11 & 12, “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Missionaries tell stories of not being robbed and beaten, as those who intended evil have seen a host of warriors around their car.

We don’t need to fear when we keep our eyes on the Lord. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for protection, but our eyes are to be on the Lord and not dwelling on the enemy. There are times I recognize the enemy’s tactics, as things get blown out of proportion and people’s responses are so magnified. It is good to just stop, pray to bind the power of the enemy, and ask for God’s protection. Sometimes I even sing a song about the blood of Jesus or call out his name. Yes, there is an unseen world around us, but we have a mighty God who hears our cries and responds in power and authority.