Who holds your future?

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21:4-6

It’s a new year – a time when everyone takes time to look back and look forward. Self evaluations bring hope, fear, depression, excitement – the gambit of emotions. Somehow we feel the necessity to celebrate a new start, a new beginning, another chance at our dreams and goals. The parties go on all over the world.

But Father Time goes on without knowing it’s a new year. Not even God takes note of our man made milestones. The significance of newness is not measured by what we hope the future will hold. What will 2010 hold for us? What is our 5 year plan for life? Where do we want to be in 2020? What do we have to look forward to in our distant future?

The answers to these questions might be very important to us for our lifetime. But what about the question of eternity? What does that hold for us? There will be no marking of time then. We will not be looking back anymore, and we won’t have to deal with old issues or problems. Behold, all things will be made new! No more sorrow or pain, no broken lives, no insecurities, no fear of the future. My thirst will be forever quenched – how about yours?

It will be a new beginning that will never end. Now that’s a party I don’t want to miss.

Whom will He use?

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His followers asked him, ‘Teacher, whose sin caused this man to be born blind – his own or his parents’ sin?’
Jesus answered, ‘It is not this man’s sin or his parents’ sin that made him be blind. This man was born blind so that God’s power could be shown in him.
…he spit on the ground a made some mud with it and put the mud on the man’s eyes. Then he told the man, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.’ So the man went, washed, and came back seeing.”
John 9: 3, 6 & 7

We all want to put blame somewhere when there is tragedy in someone’s life. Whether it be injury, death, infirmity or poverty. It seems impossible to us that these things could have come about only to give glory to God. Surely, someone must be at fault. Surely sin has taken its toll.

But here Jesus says that not only was the infirmity not born of sin, but it was designed to give glory to the Father. How shocked his followers must have been to hear those words. Our human minds cannot comprehend that God’s plans supersede any reasoning we may have about a given situation.

Then, to top it off, Jesus makes mud with his own spit and uses it to bring about healing for this blind man. Why, mud? Why not just speak the word and call it good? There may be several explanations for this, but I would like to suggest that perhaps Jesus wanted us to see that even the lowliest of tools could be used to accomplish God’s will. Formed from the dirt to make the healing balm, the mud - when given power by Jesus, worked the miracle everyone needed to see. God received the glory, and the people were taught a valuable lesson.

Let us not sell ourselves short. If Jesus can use the dirt to touch lives, He can use us and our talents. The goal is to give God glory, and we can be the tool He may use to do it. It doesn’t matter who or what is to blame for the infirmity. It needs to be fixed, and God will use us to fix it – if we let Him.

Jesus, use me to accomplish your will. Help me to see where I might be formed into a healing balm for my brothers and sisters.

Come and be faithful

O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
Come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels.

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n
Glory to God, all glory in the highest.

O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.


Yet another carol of proclamation and invitation. The proclamation that Christ was born – come to us as the King of Angels. The invitation is to come and adore Him, to worship Him as Christ the Lord.

The invitation is ongoing – not just at Christmas time but every day of our lives. When we neglect the invitation, we miss out on the awesome opportunity to join the chorus of all those who worship Him. It is interesting that God not only invites us to worship Him, but makes it a commandment. He is holy and sovereign, and demands and deserves our adoration and attention.

We have free will to decline the invitation, and unfortunately we exercise that free will too often. It’s easy to remember the call to worship when the whole world is decorated and primed for a celebration of Christ’s birth. But what we do with the invitation all the other months and days of the year is really what loving Him is all about.

Jesus came to serve, but He also came to be worshipped. Follow the star, go the distance, bow before Him each and every day.

Jesus, we celebrate your birth. We come before You to adore and worship. Thank you for the blessed invitation.

Christmas Carol #1

“He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, wonders of His love.”

Last verse of Joy To The World


This beloved Christmas song is one of the most popular Christmas carols. This cheerful tune tells the world to rejoice and celebrate the birth of Jesus, the King. Its message of hope and salvation encourages us to take heart and be happy in the gift of Jesus. It inspires optimism and…well, joy!

This is a sentiment that should be on our hearts all year round. The miracle of Jesus’ birth and the promise of his return is the reason we worship – not just at Christmas – but even in our everyday lives. The song of our life should be Joy to the World. Through trials, danger, flood and sorrow, our voice should be heard above the rabble of the downcast.

Perhaps if we read the words of this Christmas carol once in a while, we would be reminded to “repeat the sounding joy.” We have so much to be thankful for – our hope and faith that came when Jesus came.

Thank you Father for sending your son that first Christmas day. Help us to share the joy of knowing him to a lost world.

Jesus Loves Me This I Know

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 9:38-39


Can anything separate us from the love of God? Is there anything we can do to cause Him to stop loving us? This scripture says an emphatic no. I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite wrap my head around this. I know it is true, because the word says so. I know God well enough to know his character would not allow Him to let go of us. His parenthood is a bond that cannot be broken.

As the mother of a prodigal child, I find this scripture comforting. To know that the Father still watches over, cares for, chases and waits for my child is what every parent stands on – especially for those who are separated indefinitely from that loved one. Even though I don’t fully understand the depth of meaning for this fact, I know I must cling to it.

The truth is that God does not love with human love. There it is in a nutshell. We measure God’s love with human love and come up so short that we can’t comprehend the depth. You can only measure God with God. Nothing else makes any sense. So we live by faith that He means it when He says his love is never ending and all encompassing.

Father, I live by faith and rest in the knowledge that you will never leave or forsake me or my beloved child. Help me to understand your love for us.

Jesus Loves Me This I Know

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 9:38-39


Can anything separate us from the love of God? Is there anything we can do to cause Him to stop loving us? This scripture says an emphatic no. I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite wrap my head around this. I know it is true, because the word says so. I know God well enough to know his character would not allow Him to let go of us. His parenthood is a bond that cannot be broken.

As the mother of a prodigal child, I find this scripture comforting. To know that the Father still watches over, cares for, chases and waits for my child is what every parent stands on – especially for those who are separated indefinitely from that loved one. Even though I don’t fully understand the depth of meaning for this fact, I know I must cling to it.

The truth is that God does not love with human love. There it is in a nutshell. We measure God’s love with human love and come up so short that we can’t comprehend the depth. You can only measure God with God. Nothing else makes any sense. So we live by faith that He means it when He says his love is never ending and all encompassing.

Father, I live by faith and rest in the knowledge that you will never leave or forsake me or my beloved child. Help me to understand your love for us.

Give Honor To One Another

“Love each other like brothers and sisters; Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves.” Romans 12:10

Here’s a tough one. It’s not hard to do, just hard to remember to do it. Giving others more honor than we give ourselves. Just as Jesus gave honor to the Father, we are to esteem others higher than ourselves.

I don’t believe this necessarily means just with words of praise or compliment – words can be said loosely and without meaning. I do believe it’s the attitude of the heart that overflows into honor and respect for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and in the world. And the simple truth is that it’s a commission from God, not an elective service.

I have only a few friends and acquaintances that I can always count on to have a word of praise or encouragement that I know truly comes from a genuine attitude of honor. I am usually pinched with a reminded when I see them- a reminder that I fall short of this gift. All I need to do is to ask the Lord to give me this change of heart and He will do it. The rest is up to me to develop the behavior that goes along with a new attitude.

Troubles and trials may consume us, and if we let them, will draw us back to the preoccupation of self. It is only through commitment to the vision of true love for others that will keep us mindful of our commission. When we sign up with God, we sign up for a lifelong job of caring for those we come in contact with, and the equipment we use for the job is the Holy Spirit in us and the word of God.

Yes, it’s a tough one – only because we make it so.

Dear Lord, forgive me for failing to give honor to those you have placed in my life. Remind me daily to work on changing my heart.

Can You Hear Him?

And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! John 5:37-39

Have you ever opened a cupboard door to look for something and can’t find it. Then you step back and take another look. It was right in front of your face. You may have expected the item to look like something else, or you may have been distracted by the package of Oreos on the shelf. It could be that you didn’t really think the item would be there, and so you skimmed right over it.

It can be that way with seeking and hearing the message God has for us. Jesus said we search everywhere to find the message, but often come up empty hearted because we have no faith. Or perhaps we have been distracted, or think that God’s message will come a certain way in a certain form. It’s too easy to miss out on the message unless we truly believe there is a message to be heard. God seeks us out to commune with us. Are we too distracted or busy or skeptical to hear Him?

When we are born again, our spirit is joined with God. We are then programmed to be able to hear the voice of God. He whispers to us, and even if we don’t recognize it, He guides us in our spirit.

Tune your ears to Him so that you may hear his personal message to you. He desires to build you up with his words and point you to Christ.
Father, help me to hear. Point me to yourself, and teach me how to live.