Blog Archives
Unfailing Love
As we near Good Friday and Easter, Christians’ thoughts often go to the incredible sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We are filled with HOPE in spite of all the tragedies and trials of the world around us. We know WHO is in control of ALL things.
God showers us with His UNFAILING LOVE when He gave us His Son …
For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. Here’s the point. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction.
John 3:16-17 The Voice
Praying you experience God’s unfailing love through the grace and blood of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. ~ Faye
Meditating, Memorizing, Meaningful
I’ve said in previous posts that Psalm 62 especially verses 5-8 have really spoken to me in the past year. I have decided to take up memorizing these verses so I can meditate on them day and night. All my years growing up in Christian school I was required to memorized passages from the Bible. I have always visualized the layout of each sentence and that helped me to remember it. Recently, I thought about the photos I post here and realized I could make it visually stimulating to help me with the memorization and recall.
One technique for deeper understanding of a Bible passage has been to read it over many times, each time emphasizing a different word. This has provided richer blessings as the meaning has soaked in from different perspectives. You may want to try that.
Something else I noticed is that when I originally copied this to my mirror, to begin and end each day with this reminder, is I omitted the word quietly. I know it is supposed to be there but on different days I may change wait quietly to intentionally, patiently, joyfully, hopefully, excitedly, humbly … the list goes on. It has been a good reminder for me to be completely focused on how I see God and how I interact with Him.
The next couple of posts will be from these verses. I hope you can enjoy time to meditate, memorize and be filled with God’s meaningful word.
May God continue to abundantly bless you ~ Faye
Waiting with Hope
Another year begins with all its uncertainties, expectations and anticipations. It is another year we will need to decide how we react to life’s challenges and blessings. Blessings are obviously much easier to accept than challenges.
Living in the Midwest, it looks like we will face incredibly cold temperatures this weekend (-24° with windchills predicted -40 to -50°). This is the time of year we start hoping for Spring and the January thaw. We look at the ice on the river and realize that we don’t know what type of spring we will face this. Last year we had some flooding and with memories solidly in our minds from 2008 devastating floods we can easily let our minds dwell on worrying what will happen. We can become totally overwhelmed with the negatives even to the point of missing the beauty God breathes into the ice formations around us.
An interesting story occurred over Christmas. A Russian ship filled with 22 crew and 52 passengers (scientists and tourists) became stranded in the thick ice of Antarctica. Three icebreakers were initially dispatched to try and crack their way through the thick ice surrounding the ship, but all failed. After more than a week, the passengers were finally airlifted to a Chinese icebreaker by helicopter. The trapped passengers and crew had to stamp out a landing pad in the snow/ice for the helicopter to land. The helicopter had to make several trips to ferry the passengers to freedom.
Watching video clips posted by some of the passengers showed them making the most of their trial. They weren’t despondent; crying “where is help coming from?”. They made the most of their time performing more science experiments and having fun with their circumstances. WHY? They were stranded in subfreezing temperatures, away from family at the holidays and initial rescue attempts definitely were NOT encouraging when the first ice-breaker became stuck as well. They chose to enjoy the days filled with HOPE and JOY.
We all have trials we will face in the year ahead whether they are health, finances, relationships or whatever. I recently knew I would likely face the holidays without hearing from a loved one. In the past this has been a difficult challenge for me. During one of my devotional times, God placed the following verse on my heart from Psalm 62:5:
Let ALL that I am WAIT before God, for my HOPE is in HIM!
I have this verse written on my mirror where I see it every morning and several times throughout the day. I have taken it apart word by word, emphasizing different words and phrases. God has blessed me incredibly through these words. No, I didn’t hear from the loved one, but because of God’s assurance, I continue to WAIT in HOPE. I have chosen to HOPE as I WAIT before GOD. God is working in this person’s life and in mine. I will WAIT with HOPE that the work God is performing in each of us will be in accordance with God’s will and for His purposes.
I pray that God will fill you with His HOPE as you WAIT before God in the year ahead ~ Faye
God's Abundant Blessings! 