Category Archives: Hope

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The Lion and The Lamb

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And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.  Revelation 5:5-6

This morning one of the devotionals I read was about God the Father’s joy in Christ as both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God.  Later as I was working around our house, my IPod shuffled to “Come Unto to Me” (by Nicole C. Mullen) which is a favorite of mine.  Consequently, throughout the day I pondered these two images of Christ and what they mean for us as Christians.  On the one hand, we have the powerful conquering Lion while on the other we have the meek, yet perfect Lamb of God. 

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Hope Leading to Peace

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Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.  Psalm 42:5

Today was one of those days.  I woke up defeated and just didn’t feel like fighting anymore.  My body was tired, my soul was frustrated and my mind kept waffling between moving forward and giving up.  Additionally I had a medical test that required an hour and a half of driving and two hours for the test…I had a migraine and other tasks I preferred to spend my energy on.  Needless to say, getting ready took effort (not the least of which was the mental hurdle) and when I got to the door of our house I just didn’t want to open it.

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Acceptance – Part One

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”

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“I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.  God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.  Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”  Genesis 45:4-8

When trials hit, our lives are often turned upside down.  What once was, is no more.  We mourn our loss, we wonder how we can continue, and we are anxious about both the present and our future.  In our frustration, we often focus on survival and the disruption of our plans rather than godliness.  We think that knowing what God knows will help…that somehow our small finite minds can adequately evaluate the vast, all knowing mind of God.    In the end, if we are honest, acceptance is really about giving up control.

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When God Calls

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Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.  Psalm 116:15

God pointed me to this passage many years ago when my college roommate died of colon cancer.  We were both in our mid-30s.  I had just learned weeks before that we had both been enduring many similar GI tests during the fall.  While my illness has added difficulty to my life, his disease took him to be with our Lord. 

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Teaching Our Children

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Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6

I realize that many who are facing the challenges of chronic illness may not have children or have children that are grown, but that fact does not diminish our impact on the children around us…even the grown ones.  Training the generations to come, is not limited to parents only.  Many people without children of their own have nieces and nephews, are teachers or have friends with children.  My point is, whether or not we have children of our own, we have an impact on those coming up behind us.

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Rejoice in the Day

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“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Psalm 118:24

As I write this, I am enjoying a lovely day.  The air is clean after a summer rain, it is warm, the sun is shining, there is a nice breeze and the birds are singing.  So far, it is quite easy for me to rejoice and be glad in this day.

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God’s Peace

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“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

Throughout our lives there are many issues that are sources of stress and conflict.  Our normal tendency is the “fight or flight” response that brings with it anxiety and frustration.  Yet as Christians we’re called to be peaceful and encouraged to seek peace.

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God is Enough

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“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.  Lamentations 3:24-25

Like Peter walking on water in the storm, those us who trust in God may become distracted by threats to our security and begin to sink.  Chronic illness can be like that, especially when normal often keeps changing.  New symptoms, diagnoses, or infections can cause us to lose focus.

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God is the Strength of My Heart

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My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26

Strength is one of those things that waxes and wanes, varies from person to person and can be considered in terms of physical, mental and spiritual attributes.  No matter what aspect is being considered, at the core of this discussion we must remember that any form or degree of strength that we have is provided and sustained by our Heavenly Father in Christ.  

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God Of All Comfort

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“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.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”    2 Corinthians 1:3-5

We have all experienced times when we needed to be comforted.  Sometimes it’s physical, emotional or spiritual pain, but more often than not, it is a mixture.

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