"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
American missionary Fanny Crosby was one of the most prolific hymn writers in history, writing more than 5,000 hymns and gospel songs. She was also blind. At the age of six weeks Fanny caught a cold which resulted in inflammation of her eyes. It's believed that the treatment she received caused her blindness, however it may be have been congenital. Of her affliction Fanny said, “It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life,
"Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost."
Revelation 21:6
Water is essential to life. Plants, animals, humans all need life-giving water. Scientists tell us that a person can survive weeks or perhaps months without eating under certain conditions, but only about three days without water.
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." John 17:17
I must confess that when I hear the phrase, "Speak your truth," it sets my teeth on edge. The implication is that truth is whatever you believe it to be. If I don't believe it, it's not true for me. And so there is no absolute truth, there is only relative truth. I love Gotquestions.org's take on this: "But no one really believes that all truth is relative. No sane person says, 'Gravity works for you, but not for me,' and proceeds to jump off tall buildings believing no harm will follow." (gotquestions.org - Is Truth Relative?)
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Throughout the history of the Church there have been people who refuse to accept the authority of scripture. Paul warned that this would occur. We live in a time right now when the number of people who compromise the word of God is increasing, even among professing Christians. They look for teachers who will say the things they want to hear and support their personal views rather than God's views. Sadly, there is an increasing number of churches with pastors who are happy to oblige.
"And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Luke 24:5-7
"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:17-18
As we enter Holy Week, I'm reflecting again, on the astonishing love of Christ. A love so great, so deep, that Jesus willingly accepted the horror of the cross in order to save the lost. This obedience made the Father love Him even more.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15
Three weeks ago the world lost a sweet soul without warning; a woman of God who shined brightly, who loved deeply, and whose laugh alone could light up a dark room. A woman who at the age of ten wrote an essay about how she would like to be a missionary so that she could "tell others about God's word." Her grandmother had told her that many people had never read the Bible, and that made her sad. At such a tender age she had a sweet love for the Lord and other people, and that love never wavered. And although instead of becoming a missionary she would eventually marry my brother and go on to become a mother of three sons, she is remembered as a woman who shared her faith in God openly, believed in the power of prayer, and accepted all the tragedies in her life with grace and dignity.
Sue came into my life when she was fifteen and I was thirteen, my big brother's girlfriend who became my friend, my confidante, and one of my bridesmaids. We enjoyed long talks (many of them over the phone since for most of our lives we were separated by long distances). We laughed, we cried. We weren't simply sisters-in-law, we were sisters in Christ. When my husband passed in 2007, my brother and Sue came from Florida to Ohio to offer their comfort and support. I will forever be grateful for that. I wish I could have done the same for my brother, but I was scheduled for oral surgery in just a few days and couldn't travel.
Since Sue's passing from earth to her eternal home, my brother and I have had several talks. He's a strong believer in Christ, and although he is grieving the loss of his wife of 63 years, he is comforted by the knowledge that she is at peace with the Lord, no longer in pain, and that one day they will be reunited. This is the blessed hope that Paul speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. We don't grieve as those who do not know Christ. We have the promises of God to encourage us and help us move through loss. What a gracious and merciful Savior we have! To Him be all the glory.
One day every one of us will face death. It is inevitable. As a Christian we can carry on with life knowing that our true home awaits. Our forever home is not here. We may call the earthly home of our dreams our "forever home", but that is an illusion, and I believe we need to think beyond pretty houses and lush gardens, and make sure we are ready to face the Lord. Make certain we have put our trust in Christ for eternal life. John 3:16 isn't just a verse displayed by certain fans at football games, it's the truth of the gospel of Christ: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. That whosever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Sue knew this and received it, my brother knows this and has received it, and I know it and have received it. I pray you have, too.
Today's music video I Am Not My Own by Keith and Kristyn Getty is a song that celebrates our relationship to Christ when we make Him our Savior. There's great freedom to live this life on earth and look forward to our eternal home when we have this settled in our heart.
I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4
(Today's devotional is a repost from May 21, 2022. I'll be back next week!)
I know that many of you who read this blog are in need of comfort. You are suffering with physical pain, or perhaps the loss of someone very dear to you -- a spouse, a parent, or a child. Life is full of events that break our hearts, and sometimes we feel completely alone in our pain. However, there is One who is aware of every tear we shed. Psalm 56:8 tells us that our Heavenly Father collects our tears.
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10
(I will be out-of-pocket for the next two weeks. Today's devotional is a repost from May 22, 2023.)
Years ago I participated in a women's Bible study that required daily homework. One day the assignment was to personalize a particular scripture; to put my name in place of the pronouns in the verse. It's an exercise I've done before, and its very effective in helping me make God's promises in the Bible my own.
"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:8
Recently a Christian co-worker asked me what I do to grow closer to God. She was preparing for a women's get together at her church for which she was tasked with answering that question for a discussion they had planned, and so she was first asking that question of others. The answers she had received up to that point were all good, and certainly necessary for an intimate relationship with the Lord. Pray. Worship. Confession. All are important, and I practice all those things. However, my immediate answer was "read His word." That is the one discipline I have found most effective in getting closer to God. Let me explain through an analogy.
I've mentioned before that I enjoy reading books written by Elisabeth Elliot. She's a superb storyteller, and often uses anecdotes to get her point across. In The Path of Loneliness ( a book I've mentioned before, and which I'm re-reading again because it's just that good), Elliot recounts a time when she received a letter from a college classmate whose husband had just walked out on her. The woman wrote of the loneliness of coming home to an empty apartment with no one to greet her. And how although she had friends and family who cared about her, she was truly alone for the first time in her life.
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