Category Archives: Hope

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Looking to Heaven

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“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”  Revelation 22:1-4

Our four-year-old grandson stayed with us overnight last week so we got to spend a day together.  One of the things that he loves to do is play the game Mouse Trap.  While my wife and I both enjoyed the original game as children, we both find the current version rather tedious.  As Liam and I were playing a third round of the game, I began to feel a bit cranky and the hard floor we were sitting on wasn’t helping.  His elation and my crankiness caused me to consider the varying views that people have about heaven.  You can get a bit of an idea of someone’s spiritual maturity by their expectations for eternity.  Similar to the assumptions regarding what a loving God would include in our lives, many consider the wonder of heaven to be the eternal enjoyment of things that brought them pleasure in this life.  In that sense, what is reward for one person may be punishment for another.  Fortunately, that is not the case.  While I generally avoid conversations about heaven and the subject of eschatology because people tend to assume things that scripture doesn’t speak to as well as attempting to predict what God’s word tells us is unpredictable, I would like to touch on a few fairly clear characteristics of heaven.

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God in His Mercy

Part 3 Compassion

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“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ”  Ephesians 2:4-5

“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.  For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”  Psalm 103:14-15

In the last two posts I discussed my mother’s ability to forgive her father and the relationships with him that it permitted.  I also discussed her stewardship, hospitality and integrity and how they encouraged me and benefited others.  These are a very few of the high points or strengths in her life.  However, as Christ warns us in John 16:33, my mother also bore a fair amount of pain and suffering.  Over the years, I watched as my mother endured physical illness, emotional pain and spiritual trials that God included as part of her life.  One of the complaints that I often hear from people who are suffering is that they are very alone or have little to no help.  Thankfully, I believe that this is the exception in my church home, but within the larger body of Christ, this seems to be a prevalent problem and it was certainly true for my mother.  In my mother’s case, she was seen as an outsider as she was not reared within the denomination and she came from an unchurched family.   Further, she did not feel called as the pastor’s wife to run the social programs of the church and she suffered from depression.  Therefore, for the most part she was condemned for a lack of faith and godliness and, but for a few exceptions and like many, found no real support within the church body.

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The Comfort of God’s Love

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“For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.  For He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men.  Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?  Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?”  Lamentations 3:32-33, 37-39

As I lay on the doctor’s exam table over 25 years ago, I was hard pressed to reconcile what I had been taught about the love of God with the extreme pain that I was experiencing with no definitive cause.  The physical pain was intense, but the spiritual pain greatly exceeded it.

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Dropping the Ball

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“Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord on account of Midian, that the Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land.”’”  Judges 6:7-9

It’s that time of year again when we move from one calendar year to the next and anticipate the dropping of a well-lit ball atop a skyscraper in New York City.  While some see the change in years as a new beginning, the reality is that it is a continuation.  Many of the New Year’s memes reflect the idea that 2017 will be better than 2016.  Overall and statistically, it will be roughly the same because, as Solomon put it, “there is nothing new under the sun”.

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Pregnant Words Pt. 2

The Message

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“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  And she cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?  For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.’  And Mary said:  ‘My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.  For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.  For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name.  And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him.  He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.  He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.’”  Luke 1:41-5

As one might guess, the title for these two posts carries a double meaning.  The words exchanged above are between pregnant women but they also carry much weight.  That weight comes in the character of the women as discussed in part one as well as the content, which is belief, God, and the acts of God.

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Pregnant Words Part 1

Character

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“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  And she cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?  For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.’  And Mary said:  ‘My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.  For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.  For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name.  And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him.  He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.  He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.’”  Luke 1:41-55

I have a wife, two daughters, a mother, a mother-in-law, five sisters-in-law, seven nieces, and three great nieces.  Add to that friends’ wives and daughters and the fact that the majority of the people that I have supervised were women, I have heard my fair share of conversations between and about pregnant women.  First it’s the joy (or surprise) of pregnancy, then the trials of pregnancy, than all of the things that are needed for the baby, then the labor symptoms and finally upon the baby’s arrival comes the vital information i.e. sex, name, weight and length (and pity the poor guy that doesn’t get all of the pertinent information).  However, never have I ever heard a conversation even remotely similar to the one between Elizabeth and Mary recorded for us in Luke 1.  While they may have gotten around to the details of pregnancy later in their visit, their first priority was to acknowledge the works of the Lord.

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Relax

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“‘Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”  Psalm 46:10-11

We have raised two daughters and have the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with our grandsons.  As a result, we have plenty of experience with children fighting sleep…especially when they are overtired.    They fight and fight until that moment that they are so worn out, that they can no longer stay awake and suddenly their little bodies go limp. 

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The Blessing of Social Media

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With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:18

When I sang in our church choir, there was an unexpected benefit to facing the congregation.  Sometimes it was while singing and at other times it was while waiting for the announcements to be completed. 

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Devoted to Prayer

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 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit”  Ephesians 6:18

My prayer life is currently under reconstruction.  It’s not that I’m uncomfortable praying or don’t see the need, it’s just that my focus is lacking and too often I’m just not sure what to pray. 

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Comfort In Affliction

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For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  Romans 8:24-25

I love music.   One of my first memories is being cradled by my father as he sang me to sleep…something I would later do with my own children and occasionally with my grandchildren.  Music energizes me.  It helps me refocus when my thoughts start spiraling out of control.  Aside from God’s handiwork that has brought to my knees in worship, few things stir my soul like great music.  In that light, I’d like focus my discussion around “When My Heart is Torn Asunder” by Phil Wickham.  It is a song that has blessed me on many occasions.

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