This day …

“The LORD'S lovingkindnesses, indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-24, NIV)

  As we open our sleepy eyes to begin another day, we gaze into the new day. Depending upon the time of our awakening we are peering into the fleeting dimness and darkness of the fading night or squinting tentatively at the brightness of light announcing the arrival of this new day. Actually this new day is quite an amazing thing.  We are freely and gracefully given the gift of this new day without any hesitation from the Giver of the day or without having to gather up any qualifications before we can take possession of it. As the morning dew shimmers and sparkles on every blade of grass or the icy capture of vapor reflects and refracts on every tiny crystal of snow; this new day bursts upon us with immense  potential overflowing with promise and full of possibilities. This new day not only sparkles in the freshness of new potential but it also shines in the beckoning prospects of redeeming the broken, the failure, the loss and aching with the possibilities of starting over in our most intimate and our many varied relationships with forgiveness, acceptance and grace.

  

      It is in the grace of God that we find the gift of each new day.  It is in His new mercies, that this day and every new day are freely given to each of us as a new day. God’s faithfulness comes to us without the possibility of failure because of His great love.  His compassion and love are steadfastly fixed upon us, thus His mercies come in the gift of grace in giving us a truly new day, each and every day of our lives.  We live saved, redeemed and constantly transformed by His grace and as we gracefully extend His grace; new days begin in the lives of those around us.

  

     In this new day we have been given by God’s grace … we can joyously embrace the celebratory, tentatively step forward with humbleness in redeeming the disappointments and the disappointed, give greater attention and dedication to our tasks, pursue with abandon our dreams and quests, admit our failures and start over and courageously embark on any twist or turn laying before us in this new day. The potential and possibilities for this new day are as numerous as the rays of the light on a sunny day or endless as the droplets of moisture in the clouds as they fill the sky on a dreariest of days.  The elements that color each day do not determine the day but it is what we make of the sun and the rain in the day, that will condemn the day to failure or redeem the day unto life and hope.  May we be filled with gratitude for this new day and may we grasp this day with fervor, fully giving it our devotion and commitment, thus filling it up with life and hope.

     Heavenly Father in Heaven … We thank you for giving us new days, new starts, new chances and new moments in your grace.  We thank you for the gift of this day in your amazing grace to us. We thank You, for the joy in this day and for the gift of beauty in this day. We thank You, for the gift of relationship with others which will bless and strengthen us in this day.   May we shine in this day, as your compassion, grace and forgiveness flows in us and through us.  May your Holy Spirit give us direction and convict us our sin in this day. May You, fill us with courage to forgive on this day and the humbleness to ask for forgiveness on this day,  so this day can be redeemed by your grace.  Thank You, for this day and for our salvation on this day.  May the power and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord be in us and over us on this day, Amen.

Comforting one another …

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV).

  When I was a young blond kid with the famous crew-cut from my youth, there were many ways people came together in fellowship at the old country  church on the prairie in rural Minnesota.  Of course there was a Christian fellowship built around the common promises of Bible verses, blessed hymns and the strengthening words of the preacher.  This was the common bond bringing people to gather and come together in this place for encouragement.  Still there were other types of fellowship happening in the relationships amongst those who gathered there.  There was a kind of connecting fellowship somehow strangely nurturing when a group of men and few tag-a-long sons dug graves in the church cemetery whenever someone passed from the earth.  There was a certain kind of cheerful fellowship that was reserved for only girls, mothers and grandmothers and remained secret because I was never invited to hear about since I was a boy. Boys hung out on the porch attached to the parsonage where we were given our crew cuts amongst a half dozen old men who told wonderful stories of buggies and wagons pulled by horses with names like Jack, Buster and Red. There was a kind of fellowship in the winter that included snow balls fights, being allowed to start the car with your best buddy to let it warm up and taking your turn at shoveling the sidewalk alongside the church.

           

      In the summer when school was finally out, along came a different kind of fellowship amidst the church softball games, the Vacation Bible School time and the hot summer picnics when the ice cream would have  the texture of thick sweetened lukewarm milk. There was a certain kind of Midwestern fellowship that took place on the large rounded sloping fenders of the old Chevys and Plymouths and the new crisp lines of the Ramblers and Fords. There was a certain kind of uniting encouraging conversation which always followed the services when weather and corn crops were connected in the hearts and struggles of the farmers while little boys were generally encouraged to “run along.”  There was a certain kind of fellowship that took place on any trip to camp or church meetings in those same cars without any hint of air-conditioning on hot summer late afternoons.  There was a certain kind of enduring fellowship that took place when people bought food over whenever there was any kind of heartbreak or loss in your family.

    

    There was also a certain kind of fellowship that came about when people spoke in hushed tones about difficulties with their finances, farms and families and were seeking some extra funds, a little harvest help and even some possible encouraging words.  There was a certain kind of nurturing fellowship that came from all the grandmas directed fondly to both mothers and children, both related and unrelated, as they took them under their watchful and protective eyes.  Finally there was a special comfort which came from a hearty laugh and massive arm wrapped around your shoulder brightening a difficult day as a reluctant smile came over your face.

           

     We are a generation removed from those times.  The car brands have changed, we have remote engine starters, air conditioning almost everywhere we go and the ice cream is usually frozen when we get together. What has not changed, is our basic need for encouragement and our need for fellowship and connections with people around us. We all need love, support and help from time to time.

     We could change the details in this little piece and give accounts from the early church, the middle ages or even a modern version with computers, cell phones and cars from numerous countries with various names but in every age; people need each other and people need encouragement. God has comforted us and we need to comfort each other with the comfort He has given us because we all need encouragement. “So encourage each other and give each other strength …”  (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

The treasure you have ...

 The treasure you have

 in 

 Jesus Christ 

The Lord,

 

 You have been …

Blessed with every spiritual blessing,

Chosen to be His,

Made holy and blameless,

Predestined to be His child,

Set apart in His pleasure and will,

Given glorious grace,

Redeemed by His blood,

Forgiven of all sin,

Lavished with graceful wisdom,

Given understanding and revelation,

Commissioned with the mystery of life,

Made part of the mission of God,

Chosen to do His works and His will,

Filled with hope,

Sealed by the Holy Spirit,

Given a glorious inheritance as God’s eternal possession.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Adapted from Ephesians 1:3-14

Suggested Reading ... Ephesians 1

No one loves me and even my God has forgotten me …

“I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:9-10, NLT).

  It is excruciating lonely and achingly sad set of sensations, when we find ourselves in a place of feeling forgotten and cast aside.  If we are completely honest, there may be times in our lives when we end up feeling rejected because of our own poor choices, failures, sin and selfishness.  On occasions, circumstances and life or health changes merely come against us, shoving us into the ditch of loneliness and sadness. Other times, we don’t why we feel useless as we are locked into our hopelessness by a mixture of our unique body chemistry and the mystery of why things happen to each of us in different ways.  The ditch is slick, slippery and sticky and it is hard to climb back up out of it and unto the pathway of being needed and wanted. In our own mind we are buffeted by the projections from others and our own harsh self-evaluations from the deep part of us as to our usefulness and the sense of being wanted and loved. Many times, it seems like there is a bully standing at the edge of the road pushing us back in the ditch seemingly to be discarded with the other unwanted items littering this roadside. Sometimes even the ones that pass by including the road workers, travelers, police officers, ministers, Good Samaritans and even the justice system can become the bullies dressed like helpers but because of greed or corruption, they will not be of much help to you. Other times there are those that truly care but the extent of the caring hands is just out of our reach.

    Good people can find themselves in this ditch where they feel that they are unloved, unwanted and forgotten.  Bad people can find themselves in this ditch. Prodigals can find themselves in this ditch.  Victims can find themselves tossed violently into this ditch. Abused and neglected persons can find themselves confused and wandering alongside the road to health in this ditch. Terminated people can find themselves in this ditch. Sick people and well people can find themselves in this ditch.  Mean and vengeful people can find themselves in this ditch. King and considerate people can find themselves in this ditch.  Depressed people can find themselves in this ditch and even happy people can wear a mask as they slog through this ditch.  The list of people that can possibly find themselves in this ditch is endless.

     Eventually we struggle so long from the muck and mire in the ditch and we are badgered and beaten up by the bullies real or imagined who torment us from alongside the road that we just fall down and weep. At this point, we may even feel so lonely and forgotten that is seems like our God has forgotten us.  This is not true, no matter what it feels like to us.  He knows everything about our desperation, sadness and loneliness.  In fact, that is why He sends His Son our Savior, to help us. Our Savior knows every sensation and nuance in what we are feeling. It is our Savior who felt every thing we feel and knows every place of sadness we find ourselves traveling through. He knows these places because He has journeyed through every one of these same places as He lived out His life on this same earth. This is the Savior who comes to walk beside us and help us in our need and desperation.  No matter how we end up in the ditch of being seemingly unloved, unwanted, unneeded and forgotten; God has not forgotten us nor has He ever cast us aside.  God comes for us, He loves us and He can lift us out of the ditch of despair by His victorious right hand. He does this through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Suggested Reading … Isaiah 41