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Posted on 01/01/2024 3:15:48 PM PST by luvie
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My doggos have passed some very odd things, like some neon green tennis ball coverings. We don’t even let them be alone with a tennis ball anymore. Apparently trying to rip the cover off is enjoyable to them.
Better OUT than IN.
Jim has been battling a motor neuron disease for more than a year. The neurons in his muscles are breaking down, and his muscles are wasting away. He’s lost his fine-motor skills and is losing his ability to control his limbs. He can no longer button his shirt or tie his shoelaces, and using a pair of chopsticks has become impossible. Jim struggles with his situation and asks, Why is God allowing this to happen? Why me?
He’s in good company with many other believers in Jesus who have brought their questions to God. In Psalm 13, David cries out, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?” (vv. 1-2).
We too can take our confusion and questions to God. He understands when we cry out “How long?” and “Why?” His ultimate answer is given to us in Jesus and His triumph over sin and death.
As we look at the cross and the empty tomb, we gain confidence to trust in God’s “unfailing love” (v. 5) and rejoice in His salvation. Even in the darkest nights, we can “sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to [us]” (v. 6). Through our faith in Christ, He’s forgiven our sins, adopted us as His children, and is accomplishing His eternal good purpose in our lives.
What questions do you need to bring to God? How has He shown His goodness to you, even in your darkest night?
Loving Father, thank You that You care for me. Please help me to trust that You’re making something beautiful of my life.
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May God bless you Jim. I struggle with my own challenges every day although I know your challenge is greater. I and others are happy that you’re still here with us and I pray that we can endure whatever God has planned for us.
It will be over day and we won’t even remember the misery. Hug!
Isaiah warned that God would discipline the Israelites for their idolatrous unfaithfulness. He prophesied about one hundred years before the destruction of Jerusalem, their temple, and their seventy-year exile in Babylon (Isaiah 39:6-7; see Jeremiah 25:11-12). Isaiah also prophesied that God would bring His people back, restore them, and bless them (chs. 40-66). In Isaiah 48, the prophet affirmed that whatever God had purposed for His people, He would bring to pass. For He’s the only true, everlasting God—the almighty Creator who chose them to be His people (vv. 12-15). He’s also the “Redeemer” (v. 17) who will teach and guide them (vv. 18-19).
In 1939, with the recent outbreak of war for Britain, King George VI sought in his Christmas Day radio broadcast to encourage citizens of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to put their trust in God. Quoting a poem that his mother found precious, he said: “Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. / That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.” He didn’t know what the new year would bring, but he trusted God to “guide and uphold” them in the anxious days ahead.
The image of God’s hand appears in many places in the Bible, including in the book of Isaiah. Through this prophet, God called His people to trust that He as their Creator, “the first and . . . the last” (Isaiah 48:12), would remain involved with them. As He says, “My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens” (v. 13). They should put their trust in Him and not look to those less powerful. After all, He’s their “Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (v. 17).
Whatever we face as we look toward the new year, we can follow the encouragement of King George and the prophet Isaiah and place our hope and trust in God. Then, for us too, our peace will be like the river, our “well-being like the waves of the sea” (v. 18).
As you consider the new year, what situations or relationships could you entrust to God? How does the image of His hand speak to you?
All-powerful God, You created the heavens and the earth and yet You cherish me. I place my trust in You.
It is SO good to see you! God bless and keep you and I hope the New Year is bright for you and yours! (((hugs)))
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Happy New Year’s Eve!
I hope that one year from tonight, we will look back at many great things that happened in 2025.
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I too hope that we have a wonderful 2025!
Hey Lady! Hope 2025 is a great year for us all. Hug!
Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year! May 2025 be the best year ever!
Many scholars believe that the apostle John, the author of the gospel of John, also wrote the three letters that bear his name. He wrote 1 John to refute false teachers who taught that Jesus is neither God nor human and points to His incarnation to show His humanity: “[Jesus] was with the Father and has appeared to us” (1:2). John had personally heard, seen, and touched the man Jesus (vv. 1-3), demonstrating that Christ is a real human person.
To prove that Jesus is the preexistent creator God, John begins his letter with the words “that which was from the beginning” (v. 1), echoing Genesis 1:1 (“in the beginning God”) and John 1:1 (“in the beginning was the Word”). Jesus is “the Word of life” (1 John 1:1), who “spoke” life into every living thing (Genesis 1; John 1:1-2). He’s “the eternal life, which was with the Father” and He’s “[God’s] Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:2-3), the promised Messiah.
Most people have never heard of Kate Hankey, but she was a remarkable woman. A teacher, evangelist, school organizer, missionary, and poet, she faithfully served Jesus in 1800s England. In 1867, Kate contracted a serious illness. During her recovery, she penned a lengthy poem in two parts: “The Story Wanted” and “The Story Told.” The poem expresses in a very personal way her relationship with Jesus and the events of His life.
All Scripture points to Jesus and tells His story. John begins his epistle reminding readers how they had personally experienced Jesus: “That which . . . we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim” (1 John 1:1). Because of our experience of Him, the apostle writes, we’re telling the Jesus story: “The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it” (v. 2). Later, John makes the fascinating comment, “The word of God lives in you” (2:14). In other words, the Jesus story is our story too. We’re called to tell the story of Christ in light of our own experience with Him.
This is what Kate Hankey did in her poem. Eventually, the two parts of her poem became these beloved hymns: “I Love to Tell the Story” and “Tell Me the Old, Old Story.” Perhaps we might, like Kate, find our own words and share our Jesus story with others—the unique way in which He loved us, came to us, and rescued us.
What is your story with Jesus? How did He come to you and rescue you?
Dear Jesus, thank You for rescuing me and doing Your loving work in my life. For further study, read Jesus Is in the Room.
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Someone was having fun! :)
Indeed! :-)
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