“My hope is in you Lord, all the day long. I won't be shaken by drought orstorm. A peace that passes, understanding is my song and I sing, My hope…
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” ~~Philippians 3:13-14 (NAS)
“Today,” my friend said as we had lunch, “I give up on my New Year’s resolutions. I tried as hard as I could, and all I accomplished was failure. I messed up last year and now this year is already a disaster.” The date she declared it over? January 4th.
Do you ever feel this way? That you might as well not even set goals? I know I do. However, I think God wants us to formulate objectives and then reach for them. And, a new year rolling around can be a perfect time to do that. Instead of establishing my own goals, I need to pray and ask the Lord to help me to write down, and then accomplish, the plan He has for me. Putting my intentions down on paper is important—that way I have a tangible reminder.
“. . . I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~~John 10:10b (NAS)
You know the type. The woman had been in church all her life. She was of the mindset that every time the doors were open, you should be there. She could recite the Bible “till the cows came home,” as she told everyone. She tried her best to be involved in every possible aspect of the church, every committee or function or ministry. But, when people were around her, they felt a heaviness—a spirit of drudgery. She seemed to merely survive, void of any joy in the journey of living.
Okay—so I made up this character, but she could be real. In fact, maybe all of us have been in her shoes at one time or another. Or, we know someone like her.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)
The familiarity of this verse and the frequency in which we’ve heard it almost causes the truth of it to pass right over us. The implication is clear and, yet, do I really grasp the power behind this passage?
Many years ago a friend told me during a difficult time in my life, “God loves you so much.” I wondered—does He really? Her statement made a lasting impression on me. I went back to it many times and found comfort in that maybe, just maybe God does love me. The above verse certainly says it’s so. But, comprehension of this wonderful promise may take a long time and can be challenging.
This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us . .” (I John 3:16, The Message) (more…)
The neighborhood kids ran down the sidewalk carrying baseball bats and gloves. He stood in the front yard and watched them laughing, doing what friends do, and being 12-year-old boys. He’s sure they saw him. How could they not? But, they didn’t act like it. And, they didn’t ask him to go with them to the park where there was a game every day after school. He had not played in one. His new glove stood posed on his hand, in plain sight, and ready for an invitation.
Left out. Alone. Again.
Do you ever feel this way? Like you are an outcast of a group and not invited to the party? Maybe it is your workplace or school or family. It can even be within the seemingly-friendly circle of a church congregation.
People can certainly make us feel excluded, as if we are not worthy of being included in their “club.” The fact is this: unless you are a living on some deserted island, you will have this happen in your human relationships.
The neighborhood kids ran down the sidewalk carrying baseball bats and gloves. He stood in the front yard and watched them laughing, doing what friends do, and being 12-year-old boys.…
“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows but Jesus.”
~~old African American spiritual
Sunday morning church. A few, a hundred, or maybe even thousands of people sitting together in one room—each with a different story to tell and each with a different path traveled. A man sits alone in the back row because he doesn’t want anyone to see the tears appear now and then. A woman sings along with the worship songs, her face luminous with joy. What has brought the man to be downtrodden? What has the woman navigated through to be able to sing with such exultation?
It occurred to me, while sitting in the service one week, that no one really knows everything that has happened in my life to bring me to the place where I am. And, in the same way—I don’t know the whole story of that person sitting next to me. It’s so easy to look on the outside of a person’s life and assume so many things—good or bad. We can become judgmental of why people do what they do without having all the facts. Every journey is different. Think about it—no two lives can be compared equally. There are just too many variables with backgrounds, personalities, childhood influences, experiences, etc. During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was very clear regarding our assessment of other people’s lives:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1, NIV)