Grace Filled

 

Grace – the free and unmerited favor from God.  I certainly need grace!  Mercy and grace are two words I have heard throughout my Christian life.  Today’s focus on grace points to my life as a sinner.  When I look at the ten commandments and look at my life this past week, I could give myself a ‘thumbs up’.  I didn’t covet my neighbor, didn’t kill, didn’t commit adultery, etc.  Yet, my life certainly had sin in it.  Not just one sin, but a multitude of sins throughout the days.  Our sinful nature, no matter how hard we may try to ‘be good’, is part of who we are.  We may want to pin all of this on Adam and Eve, yet the result is that we are sinful beings.  The result of sin is death – pure and simple. 

Unless . . . .   Unless you believe our Lord and Savior died for our sins and that by believing this in your heart & soul, you will be saved!  When Jesus died on the cross, our sins were wiped away.  Not just the little ones, but the big ones; the conscious sins and the unconscious sins.  The only way we can find salvation is through the belief that Jesus died so we have eternal life.

As our verse for today shares, grace is tied directly to our sin.  Grace is unwarranted by us and undeserved by us.  There is nothing we can do to receive grace other than to believe in Jesus.  What I love about the definition in the beginning of this post is that grace is FREE!  It costs us nothing other than believing.  You cannot pay your way for grace.  You cannot work ‘really hard’ for grace.  You cannot give up worldly possessions for grace.  It is free through believing in Jesus.  I know that rings music to my ears and fills my soul for there is nothing that I can do or give that can provide salvation, other than Jesus.

Today is Reformation Sunday.  It is the day we remember when Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses which, in part, stated that the church shouldn’t require monetary payment to absolve one from sins.  Luther focused on faith in Jesus and grace from God.  Being a lifelong Lutheran, this has always been how I viewed my faith.  This philosophy, that it is through grace, solely grace, that I am saved has brought me comfort throughout my years.    Today’s verse emphasizes that.

The truest and most important belief for all of us is to know that Jesus is our savior.  Our sins are great, my friends.  Reflecting on that can bring heaviness to our hearts.  Let your heart rejoice!  Our faith is centered around the wonderful grace our Lord has given to us. 

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace.  Without the grace you have given to us, we would be lost in despair.  Having faith in our salvation through Jesus, your grace falls gently to us.  We are eternally grateful.  Amen!

Bring the Light

 

We drove along as the rain pelted against the windshield. We had been looking forward to this weekend getaway ‘up north.’ In New Hampshire, this typically means north of Lake Winnipesaukee. For us, it meant Jackson. It is a quaint small village outside the town of North Conway. During peak fall foliage season, this area sees bumper to bumper traffic as people from across the country flock to see the beautiful colors of the White Mountains. It is a sight to be seen. We were arriving past peak. The crowds would be long gone, but the muted colors could still be seen.

Although the rain lasted from Friday afternoon through Sunday, it did not stop us from doing the things we loved – taking a walk on the Jackson oval, shopping at the local outlets, taking a train ride through the woods, and driving through the mountain roads. At one point, the trees created a canopy over the small country roads. The dark, dismal, dreary day seemed to take a sidestep to the canopy of yellow that covered our path. It was amazing! The total aura around us changed from darkness to brightness. It was as if the yellow leaves of the trees were brightening our dark drive, reminding us that there would be brighter days ahead.

This moment quickly reminded me of our verse for today. Our lives can be filled with darkness. The darkness can stem from the world around us. Warring nations, violence, corruption, and death can create days where darkness seems to be at every turn. The darkness can also be closer to home. Tough medical conditions, difficult relationships, financial dismay, our sinful nature, and a death of a loved one can bring darkness to our days as well. It can be daunting to find any type of light when our world is so dark.

My friends, our world has light! The light we need is found in the word of our Heavenly Father. There, we can hold close His promise for light in our darkness. God shares with us a path that brings us hope, joy and love. So often, it can be hard for us to see that light. We wake up in darkness and go to bed in darkness.

When my days are filled with darkness, I go to the One that brings light to our darkest days. I can find Him in many ways. I can open the Bible and read a favorite verse that brings hope.   I will turn on a Christian station that shares music to lift our souls. Sometimes I call a friend to gain encouragement.  Siting in a church pew and looking at the cross also brings me light.  The greatest moments of light are usually found when I fold my hands and talk to God.

During moments of darkness and despair, our hope can only be found in the One that gives us everlasting hope, God.  Share with Him your darkness. Share with Him your despair. Give to Him your rain and watch him enfold you in a canopy of yellow leaves, bringing you light and love!

Dearest God, thank you for giving to me the light I need in the darkness. Help me to call out your name so you can shine your light and let me know my hope is in you. In your everlasting brightness I pray, Amen!

Worrier to Warrior

 

I’m not proud of it.  I am improving but haven’t arrived at the desired place.  I’m sure I have plenty of other things to do yet I still go there.  I worry!  It used to be my number one past time.  If there was a situation placed in front of me, I would take the opportunity to find how I could worry about it!   As with any of us, we have many situations placed in front of us so, well, you get the picture.  It’s not just the big things I worry about, but it is the little daily things that I worry about.  My best time to worry?  At night when I can’t sleep.  Did I set my alarm early enough to ensure I’m at work to make that meeting in the morning?  Did I remember to pull out the ground beef from the freezer for dinner tomorrow night?  These are simple questions but then I continue to spin them in my head repeatedly, creating a ping in my heart of worry.

We don’t know what the future holds, and worry can become an overwhelming part of our lives.  Worry can weigh on our hearts and our minds.  I spoke of the little things above but then there are the very large situations that can overcome us with worry.  We can worry about the health (physical and spiritual) of our children.  We can worry about our relationship with spouses.  We can worry about the health of family members.  We can worry about job security.  We can worry about our own health.  This is where I took a nosedive and where God rescued me.

It was 24 years ago this past week that I was diagnosed with cancer.  Yes, that brought about a fair share of worry in my life – and for a worrier – it consumed me.  With God’s grace and many wonderful doctors, nurses, family, and friends, I made it through that year.  One would think, “Yea, thumbs up.”  For me, that was the beginning of worry.  I have, and continue, to do all the things to try and ensure it won’t come back but as we all know way too often, stuff happens. 

Entering the picture is the One, the only One, who can turn me from a worrier to a warrior.  Our Dear Lord.  He has provided for me, for us, the opportunity to turn our worry over to Him.  He ASKS us to stop worrying and let Him handle things.  Today in our verse, He tells us to not worry about tomorrow.  He has provided for each of us our todays, tomorrows, and our eternal future with Him.  That is all we need to know.  With that in mind, our days can be lighter, and our worries can be lighter.  The heaviness can be gone.  He says, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28.  The good news is He means it!

Move from being a worrier to a warrior in Christ.  Let yourself and others know that your worry can be light because we have a God who takes care of us.  Our job is to TRUST Him.  Trusting God should be easy!  How many times have you given things to God, only to take them back and begin worrying about them.  When we become a warrior for Christ, and put Him front and center, we are constantly reminded of His power, His grace, His mercy, and His love!  We don’t have time to worry because we are too busy focusing on His greatness and all that He has given us.  When I stopped worrying about cancer coming back, I began to live in the moment I was given.  Those moments have added up to many years that can only be given to me through the grace of God.  Stop being the worrier of tomorrow – be the warrior of today!

Dearest Jesus, we thank you for taking our worry from us.  Help us to release it and to trust you solely to take care of our situations.  Guide us to answers and peace.  Amen.

Same & Different

 

I’m a leaf connoisseur.   I admit it.  I have a true obsession with autumn and in autumn I mean the changing of the leaves.  This obsession started long ago, but it hasn’t waned as the years have passed.  In fact, I believe it has become stronger.  I watch, with an eagle eye, trees from the middle of August on.  You can ask my husband, I will point out the ones that start early, the ones that are late, the ones that have vibrant colors and ones that are more muted.  This year is no exception, except that the colors seem to be even more vivacious.  I can’t even explain to you how it excites my heart!

This year, as I examine each tree and that tree’s leaves, I’m noticing something a bit different.  Not only does one tree have different color leaves on it, but there are also same leaves that have different colors on them.  It happens some years and seeing it this year brings a newness to the entire autumn celebration.  Trees that you may expect to shine with brilliance in yellow seem to have their own radiant yellow, orange, and red hues.  It is God’s paintbrush at its finest!

Same and different.  The thought brought me back to the Holy Trinity.  All are the same God, yet they are all different.  God as the Father, God as the Son, God as the Holy Spirit.  God presenting himself in three ways to fill our souls and free us from sin.  Same, but different.  Not an easy concept to grasp and there are certainly still times when I struggle with it.  One thing is true – God is ever present in every part of the Holy Trinity. 

It may be a reason why today’s passage filled my soul.  God that is with each of us can present himself differently among us.  The distributor of gifts and blessings gives to each of us.  We don’t all receive the same gifts.  We don’t all receive the same blessings.  We aren’t all asked to serve God the same way.  The one God, the same God we all believe in provides differences to us – in who we are, what we do and what we have.  Same, but different.

I know I have asked myself several times throughout my life, “How can __________ be blessed in this way, but I’m not?”, “How can _________ receive this spiritual gift, but I don’t have that gift?”  These questions can come to mind in many experiences throughout life.  When I turn to God for answers, these verses come to mind.  We have One God who shares blessings and gifts.  Those blessings and gifts need to be different to accomplish his work.  The joy comes in the same – the same God that loves us, the same Jesus that forgives our sins, the same Holy Spirit working within us.  Same and different, living in perfect harmony.

When we find our minds wandering about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, may it all come back to the same God in different forms.  May we delight in the differences we all have with each other, knowing it all comes from the same loving & eternal God.

Dearest God, thank you for always being the same, yet different!  Knowing you will always love us, forgive us, and rejoice when we enter heaven’s gates, yet provide us with difference experiences helps me to know you are always with me.  Amen!

The Return

 

Yes, it is that time of year!  I’m sure you were waiting to hear me speak about autumn - I won’t disappoint you.  It is coming – the return of the leaves turning their incredible colors of red, orange, and yellow.  I anxiously wait for this time of year to revel in the beauty of fall.  As I sit on our deck on this incredible autumn day, I breathe in the air that tells me fall is here.  The warmth of the sun plays nicely against the breeze, creating an environment of peace and tranquility. 

Waiting for ‘the return’ of autumn reminds me of how I feel about many ‘returns’ in my life.  Waiting for my husband to return after a trip, waiting for my children to return for the holidays, waiting for my mom to return to her hospital room from surgery.  The list goes on and on.  As many will agree, the waiting can be the hardest part.  I know it is for me – especially in the heat of the summer when I wait for the crispness of fall.  The waiting can also be hard as we wait for the people, we love to return to us.  Often the wait is rewarded by the return.  Those returns can certainly fill our hearts and souls.  Whether it is the return of the changing leaves, or the return of a loved one, returns can be so fulfilling.

Friends, we are in a waiting phase.  We are anxiously awaiting the return of our savior, Jesus.  As with other aspects of our lives, the waiting can be the hardest part.  Maybe we are going through a certain trial, and we want Jesus to return to take our pain away.  Maybe our faith is waning, and we just want to see Jesus’ face to provide us hope.  Rest assured; our Dear Lord will return to us at His coming.  As with everything that concerns waiting, the return will be in Jesus’ time, when He believes it is the right time.  I believe the waiting is the most difficult, certainly as we know Jesus’ return will be a wonderful day. 

Be certain that the return will be more joyous than a loved one returning from a trip and EVEN more joyous than the return of the beautiful leaves.  Jesus’ return will be filled with a joy that we have not yet known.  Until then, live in hope!  Just as we wait in hope for all things that bring us happiness, know that your hope in Jesus’ return will bring you everlasting joy.  

The wait is always worth it – as the return, Jesus’ return, will be filled with joy.

Dearest Jesus, we know that any return is the results of the wait.  As we wait for all the goodness you bring us, may we know that the most precious return, your return, will be the most joyous!  Give us hope in all of our waiting.  Amen!

No Comparison

 

Have you ever looked to the right and left of you and wonder, “I work so hard, and they seem to get all the reward?”  Maybe this has crossed your mind at work, while speaking to neighbors or even at a family dinner.  There are many times in my life where I believed I may have worked harder at things, but never ‘reaped’ the benefits of that hard work.  During those reflective times I would compare my life to others, what I had and what I didn’t have.  I tried to rationalize why my life may have been so difficult and why their lives seemed easier and more fruitful.

No, I am not proud of those moments in my life.  God teaches so often throughout His Word that our works do not get us a place ‘in the front of the line’ at heaven or an easier life.  He makes it abundantly clear that we cannot earn our way to Him through our works.  These loving verses noted above shares with all of us that the only way we gain salvation is by faith in Jesus and the gift of His grace.  This gift of salvation, which we do not deserve, is not something we can earn.  We can’t work our way to heaven. 

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work hard and that we shouldn’t behave as Jesus has asked us to.  It is a very clear reminder, though, that putting work in front of God will not secure our place in heaven.  For many, we can compare this to the Mary and Martha syndrome.  When Jesus visits the home of these two sisters, it is Mary who sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to Him speak while Martha scurries around the home, ensuring a nice dinner will be served, and becoming infuriated with the lack of help from her sister.  Jesus calls out Martha saying, “Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

It is important for us to do our very best, whether we are serving at church, at work or at home.  Yet, it is also important to remember that this work will NOT get us a better seat in heaven, or more riches than we deserve.  Our eye should be on filling ourselves up with the riches of grace, mercy, salvation, and love that our Savior so freely gives to us.  All Jesus wants is for us to believe in Him, and that alone, clears our path to heaven.  My friends, do your best, but let us not compare ourselves to others, or judge others.  Join me when our thoughts take us there, to turn our eyes on Jesus, and smile saying, “Thank you God, for your give me all that I need, your gift of salvation.”

Jesus, help me to remember that my work doesn’t define me as a child of God, but my belief in you defines me as Your child.  Hold me close to you in times where my thoughts may wander and bring me back to your grace and mercy.  In your name I pray, Amen.

Roadblocks

 

Traffic!  Haven’t met a person yet who says, “Oh, I just LOVE traffic.”  As I was driving to work this past week, going along at my normal pace, I observed a sea of red lights in front of me.  Immediately, my thoughts race, “What’s causing all this traffic?”, “Am I going to make it to work on time?”, “What is my contingent if I’m going to be late for the meeting?”  Traffic was getting in the way of my morning – and I certainly wasn’t ‘loving’ that feeling! 

It made me think of how life has its own ‘traffic’.  There are many roadblocks that could stall us from where we want to go in life.  We could be travelling along life and a health situation could stop us in our tracks.   Maybe we are driving along an open highway with someone, and relationship issues come up.  There is also the road of employment that could stumble along a barrier that stops us from attaining career goals.  The road of life has certainly put up many roadblocks in my life, and I’m sure you can relate.

The roadblocks of life can be frustrating.  When life is moving along and suddenly there is traffic, it can be hard to see what is causing the situation, are we going to attain our goals, or the one I can be very good at, how am “I” going to fix this!  We are human.  Often, we need to find the root cause of the stumble in our life and then move in ‘our’ direction to ensure we achieve what we want.  Friends, it may be time to get off of our highway and get onto God’s highway!

Self reflection on this topic has led me to recognize that many times, when life offers me a stop on my highway, I don’t always turn to my Lord and Savior for help and understanding.  I work hard and try to determine all the answers to the above questions on my own.  The reality is that when I finally decide to go to God in prayer, He provides the clear map of why I shouldn’t be on my highway and why I should be on his!  Through HIS eyes, I can see where my life should be headed – and many times it is not how I was intending.  Often, the goals that I may have set for myself are not attained and certainly not in MY time.  Yet, the highway God has for me is so much better.  His goals in His time makes my life richer. 

Give it a try!  The next time you hit a roadblock in life, immediately turn off to the God Exit!   We may not always understand the cause of the roadblock, but the new highway can be so much more scenic and rewarding.  How could it not?  You have the best co-pilot – God!

Heavenly Father, when our lives hit roadblocks, help us to turn to you for help.  Please guide us on the highway you want us to take and provide a clear road to get there.  May we see our road as a gift from You and gladly take it, knowing that it will lead to our heavenly home.  In your guiding name we pray, Amen!