Excitement of Spring

Good morning. The sun isn't up yet but I do not hear the rain that was predicted. It feels like spring is really here. We are halfway through the month of April already so surely spring is here to stay. The garden centers are bursting with everything a gardener might need. Though I don't know what the temperature of our soil is, it is beginning to warm. And we received a wonderful rain this week and more is forecast for today.

Farming has been a profession since the beginning of time. Here in Iowa agriculture is our livelihood. I grew up on a farm, the true farm of the past that featured tilling the ground, raising a few of every livestock animal, chickens, and a big garden. Those farms made each family independent and self-sufficient.

Over the decades, farming has gone to huge fields with few livestock. However, of late, there has been a trend of more small farmers with a variety of produce and animals. Perhaps the family farm will again be common practice.

"Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil? When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? His God instructs him and teaches him the right way," (Isaiah 28:23-26 NIV).

God is the farmer's guide. Even back in the time of the prophet Isaiah, the farmers depended on God's direction. Farmers still need the blessing of the Lord on their fields and crops. As they move to field work this spring may God be with them and bless them with safety and weather that allows them to plant in due time.

Lord God, be with us this spring and guide us in our preparation and our planting. Watch over us and our seeds. Make them grow and flourish with Your sun and rain. Help us care for Your plants to reap bountiful harvests, of field crops, of flowers, of vegetables and trees. We thank You for all good gifts You bestow. Amen.

 

Do Not Be Shaken

"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken," (Psalm 16:7-8 NIV).

 Life doesn't always go the way we plan it. 

We encounter bumps in the road that make life difficult. The only way we make it through is by prayer. Sometimes I wake up early, even before the alarm goes off and my heart is heavy. I slept but I awaken with the burdens I had the night before. Did I fail to let go and let God take over? Even in my sleep I held tight to the concerns I prayed about the night before.

My worries are out of my control, yet they weigh so heavy on my heart. How do I accept what I do not want? How do I move on in a situation that is not of my choosing?

Jesus sits at the right hand of God. God sent the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us. Jesus promised this while He was teaching the disciples.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid," (John 14:26-27 NIV).

Lord, I need Your peace today. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me counsel. Remind me of Your promises and give me Your peace. Help fix the trouble I feel in my heart and help me be not afraid. I give You my praise and my worship, Lord, and I trust in Your counsel, today and every day. Amen. 

Tenacity for God

Sometimes we must be strong and courageous. In the midst of struggles and strife, our only hope may be in prayer. Our communication with God is an open pathway, a two-way street of hearing and listening. God is so gracious to us. He knows our every fear or pain and He responds with His peace. Prayer is the only way I know of to open our hearts and receive the messages of guidance and grace that God has for us.

"For your Father knows what you need before you ask him," (Matthew 6:8b NIV).

Still, we need to speak our prayers, making them real to us. God wants to hear from us. He longs for our communication with Him. He loves us so much that our relationship with Him depends on our words spoken from our hearts. God is listening, always.

Although we sometimes don't hear an immediate answer from God, we have placed our need in His hands and we can rest in His presence and attention. When we pray we allow God to work in and through us. Knowing God takes tenacity. "We need to persist in pursuing God," (NIV Study Bible notes for Matthew 7:7, 8.)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened," (Matthew 7:7-8 NIV).

Lord God, hear our prayers today.  Let us be confident and calm as we wait. Speak to us Your answers and remind us to not give up on our prayers. Give us focus and faith as we continue to pray and wait. We are so thankful for Your presence in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Sometimes a song comes into my head and I end up singing it all day long. Does that ever happen to you? That's why I love music so much. The melody can repeat over and over and the words of a song can ring so true to me. That is especially true with Christian music.

Here we are just one week after Easter. He is Risen! Scriptures tell us that Jesus walked again on this earth. He appeared to two believers on the road, to the disciples behind locked doors, to the disciples again with 'doubting' Thomas, to the disciples while fishing, to Peter, to give the Great Commission, to the disciples in Jerusalem, and when He ascended into heaven. Jesus lives!

Paul reminds us in Philippians that Jesus came to teach us to be like Him in both our minds and our actions. Jesus is the precious name that calls us to bow on our knees and praise Him.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV).

The song that entered my head this morning is:

There's Something About That Name

by Bill and Gloria Gaither

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name.
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name."

Heavenly Father: May this scripture teach us and this song repeat in our minds today, reminding us of the attitude of Jesus that we should try and emulate. Help us to remember all that our Savior did for us and give thanks. His name is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Amen.

Finding Hope

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more," (Psalm 71:14 NIV). 

Over the past few weeks, my prayer list has gotten longer and longer. There are so many in need. My heart is heavy for those who are suffering, anxious, waiting for healing, enduring treatments, or grieving. We have to have hope to get us through.

But sometimes it is hard to have hope. Our fears get in the way. Our hearts are lonely for those we miss. We feel crushed by the weight of our burdens. We get impatient and want answers and results right now. 

Our Risen Savior is our hope.  In Him we put our trust and lift our hands in worship. In Him we have true hope. Who can rise from death to life? But Jesus. Who can give us the hope of the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead us and save us from ourselves? But Jesus. Who can sit at the right hand of God? But Jesus.

In Him we have our hope.

"Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again," (Psalm 71:20-21 NIV).

Oh, Blessed Lord God, we ask You to hear our cries for mercy, for forgiveness, for grace and comfort today. Touch our aching hearts and give us Your hope. Replace our concerns with solid trust in You. Hold us close, Lord, so we can feel Your presence and rest in Your arms. In You we find our hope. Thank You, Jesus.  Amen.

In His Hands

"I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;" (Isaiah 49:15b-16 NIV). 

On Easter Monday we still rejoice in our Risen Savior because He remained with His disciples and walked on the earth again for forty days before His ascension. He is alive! His hands will forever bear witness of the nails on the cross. Jesus carries the scars in His hands, His feet, on His back, and in His side. There is no denying that He was crucified on a cross and was laid in a tomb. He left the grave on the third day and lives again!

Jesus' resurrection was foretold many times in Old Testament Scriptures, even in some of the Psalms that David wrote. It was God's plan for Jesus, but also for us. We, too, have the promise of eternal life. As believers we will live forever with Him.

"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand," (Psalm 16:9-11 NIV).

Lord, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to save us from our sin. We are so grateful for the wounds Jesus bore for us and the scars that remain in His hands. Help us to live our lives forever in His hands. We pray in our Risen Savior's name. Amen.

The Rest of the Story

Today is Maundy Thursday, the day of Holy Week that we recognize Jesus' holy acts of washing the feet of the disciples and sharing His final Passover meal with them. When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, it displayed His overwhelming humility and He taught the disciples to do the same for others.

Remembering this day of Jesus' life brings me to my knees. I imagine being in that upper room with Jesus' closest friends and one who would betray Him. The disciples couldn't imagine that their Mentor and Savior would no longer be with them in but a few days. If only they had realized. 

Thankfully, the story doesn't end on Good Friday with the crucifixion. We know the whole story and the power of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. We know that Jesus' humble acts changed our lives forever. 

"Before we can walk in newness of life, we must also die to sin. Just as the resurrection gives us Christ's power to live for Him, His crucifixion marks the death of our sinful nature. We can't know the victory of the resurrection without personally applying the crucifixion." (NIV Life Application Study Bible, notes on Philippians 3:10).

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead," (Philippians 3:10 NIV). 

One of my favorite old Easter hymns is "I Serve a Risen Savior" by Alfred H. Ackley, 1933. The words are so applicable today.

"I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today; I know that He is living, whatever men may say; I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He's always near. 

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.  

In all the world around me I see His loving care, And tho' my heart grows weary, I never will despair; I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast, The day of His appearing will come at last. (Refrain)  

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King! The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind. 

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart."

May you have a very blessed Easter.