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My God is…supporting you 1 Peter 5:10

27 May

1 Peter 5:10 – And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his mother-comforting-sonseternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.

And after you have suffered for a little while

No one likes to suffer. Suffering stinks. It’s not fun, it can be frustrating, and it can even challenge our faith. When believers (and unbelievers too) go through really hard things, you’ll often hear them saying things like, “If there was a God, why would He let this happen to me?”. It’s not a bad question to ask really. Why would He? Maybe to give you pause as to what you’re doing in life. To turn you away from a destructive path you’re on. To point you in a direction you never would have taken without a major life change. Maybe so that you would come to rely on Him fully instead of trusting in your own ways. There are so many things that can change out of tragedy. Sometimes they heal families, sometimes they free us from oppression of our families. Sometimes struggles help us to see God’s hand in things so that we may trust Him more fully. Sometimes it helps us to let go of trying to be in charge of things we cannot actually control. We don’t always understand, but that doesn’t mean that the Lord won’t use it for our good. I also want to remind you that not all suffering comes from God. Some are a result of sin and the devil. The devil wants nothing more than to make you question the Lord and His love for you. That’s the devil’s goal, to separate you from the love of God.

The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ

So the devil’s goal is to separate you from the love of God, but God’s goal is spelled out in this verse. He, the God of all grace, has called you to His eternal glory in Christ. He wants you to spend eternity with Him, and provided His only Son as the way to make that possible. That we might forever give Him the glory. We might always point back to Him in our thoughts and actions. One of the things I love about this verse is that it says “you”. He has called you, not us. You are His focus. Yes, He cares about the rest of us, but if it was only you, He would still feel the same way. You are important to Him. He has called you.

The God of all grace will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you

God isn’t going to abandon you when you’re going through those hard times of suffering. Instead the God of all grace (what a great title) is going to restore you. He’s not going to destroy you, He’s going to build you back up. He’s going to support you. Like a mother on the sidelines of a game, He’s going to be there cheering you on, providing you with snacks and encouragement to keep your spirit and your strength up. He’s going to give you the strength you need to carry on and continue to point to Him in all you do, bringing Him the glory at all turns. Showing a reflection of Jesus to all who you meet. He’s going to establish you. He’s going to set you up. Not to make you rich necessarily, but to make you a man or woman after His own heart. Establishing your place in Heaven for all eternity. He wants only good for you.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. Jeremiah 29:11-12

Who can you count on to support you?

 

 

 
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Posted by on May 27, 2013 in 1 Peter, My God is supporting you

 

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My God is…ransoming my soul Psalm 49:13-15

15 May

Psalm 49:13-15 – Such is the fate of the foolhardy,ransom-note
the end of those who are pleased with their lot. Selah
 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend, 
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home. 
 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me.

Such is the fate of the foolhardy

What happens to those who choose not to believe in Christ as their Savior? They have the fate of the foolhardy. The act foolishly, and are bold and adventurous. They ignore what they hear about the Lord, because they do not want to live by what the Lord says. They don’t want to have to change their ways. They use every excuse to ignore the tug and pull of the Holy Spirit on their hearts. Those who are content and pleased with how life is going without God are in the worst position. Those who have much often figure out that no matter how much they get they are not satisfied. It is those who have just enough that are really doomed. They don’t think they need the Lord. They think that they’re doing fine on their own and that even if it’s true (the whole God thing), they don’t need Him. But this is foolishness.

Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away

Their future is bleak. They are doomed to death. There is no hope for a future for them. Sheol is their future. The place of the dead. Their bodies will decay. Some say that’s just the natural order of things. There is nothing beyond death, and because they believe that, for them there is truth in that statement. But for those of us who do believe, we have hope. We have the joy in knowing there is more to life after death.

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me

I am not doomed for a life in the place of the dead. I am going to the land of the living where my God will be waiting to receive me. How am I getting there? How do I rate such an upgrade? Not because of anything I did, but because Jesus Christ ransomed me from my doom. He paid the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that I could one day live with Him in heaven. That I would not spend eternity apart from Him, but that He would receive me. That He would meet me at the gate and treat me like one of His own. I have a hope and a future, beyond tomorrow, but forever.

Do you have hope?

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2013 in Psalm, Uncategorized

 

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My God is…giving eternal life John 10:28

03 Jan

John 10:28 – I give them eternal life,and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. hope-clouds

I give them eternal life

Jesus gives us eternal life. What does that mean? It means that because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we’re able to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Though we die bodily, we’ll live on with God. Why does this matter? It’s what gives hope to the hopeless. Without the promise of a better existence after this one, our lives would have little meaning, and our actions would be temporary and futile, but because we are not thinking of this time alone, we can also think about the time that is to come. We don’t have to be stuck in our current circumstances, but instead focus and cling to the promise of a better future with our Lord.

Perhaps your health (like mine) is not all you would like. Perhaps you have something medical going on right now that scares you half to death. Perhaps you’re afraid because of death, or the threat of death. Cling to the Lord, knowing that this earthly life is temporary, and when you get to heaven you will have a perfect body.

No one will snatch them out of my hand

God has you in His hand. You put your faith in Him, and He doesn’t fail. Those who put their faith in the Lord will not perish (at least not their souls). We will forever be with the Lord in heaven. There are so many things in our lives that the devil uses to try to draw us away from the Lord, but with our eyes firmly fixed on Him and our faith and hope resting in God, we need not fear. God never deserts us. He is with us always. Even the word Immanuel reminds us of His omnipresence. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a](which means “God with us”). (Matt. 1:23)

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Corinthians 3:12

Because of the love our Lord has shown us by sending Jesus that we might forever be in a close relationship with Him, we are able to be bold in our faith. Each moment of our life is an opportunity to do things differently than the rest of the world. To choose the way of the Lord over the worldly ways. Some of it seems like nonsense to those who don’t know Him, but don’t be dismayed, for you are storing up your treasures in heaven.

Are you bold?

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2013 in God is My Hope, John, My God is giving eternal life

 

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My God is Sufficient 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

11 Dec

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect inJesushuggingcryinggirl weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

My grace is sufficient for you

Do you ever feel like all the bad stuff happens to you? Do you feel like everything would be perfect if you could just change that one thing? Paul could relate. He had a very close relationship with God, and had gone through a lot of hardship for the Gospel. These are things Paul felt he could justifiably boast about if he wanted to, but the Lord had also given Paul a thorn in his side. Something that reminded him of his humanity. We’re not sure what that thorn was, some say it was a stammer, others have their own ideas. What we do know is that it kept Paul humble. It kept him looking to God as the source of all goodness, and it was the way he was able to reach most people. It was through his weaknesses that the Lord used him.
For my power is made perfect in weakness
Have you ever noticed that the people you grow closest to are the ones with whom you’ve shared your innermost secrets. Those you have share your intimate, deep thoughts are the one’s with whom you bond the most. In our Bible study on Tuesday nights, you sometimes will have someone share something that you can tell is very painful for them. They share it, not because it was a great experience or that they come out sounding important or great, but because they learned about the Lord through their experience. When these kinds of stories, that show our weaknesses, are shared, others can identify. We have all felt weak, helpless and at the Lord’s mercy. Sharing how the Lord worked through those times binds us together as believers.
Boasting about your weakness
Boasting about your weakness is a very unusual thing in our society. Americans are taught to filter out the bad stuff and only tell the good (most of the time). We don’t like to sound weak, and we don’t like others to judge us, so we avoid telling them about our alcoholism, our struggle with obesity, our pain from the loss of our unborn child, the hurt we feel when being abused by those who are supposed to love us. We don’t like people to know that we don’t have it all together. We often see the mom with three beautifully dressed kids and think we want her life. What we don’t know is all the pain she feels because she is in a loveless marriage or the debt they’re incurring because of her overspending. We don’t know about what’s really going on with others, they’re trying to put their best foot forward, just as we are most of the time.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
How can we delight in these things? When we live our lives to bring God the glory, our weaknesses, the insults, hardships and difficulties are all opportunities for the world to see us respond differently than those who do not believe. We’re able to point our lives back to God, resting on His assurance to us that His grace, given to us by Jesus’ death on the cross, is sufficient for us. We can trust that all things will work for the good of them that love God (Romans 8:28), and that we will one day be with Him in heaven. This is our hope and our future. Spending eternity with our Lord who loves us and uses our weaknesses to draw others to Him and to increase the depths of our relationships with others.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We are strong when we are weak, because when we are weak, we submit ourselves to the Lord’s will. We no longer are looking out for ourselves, but turn our eyes towards the Lord for our salvation in the moment and for eternity. And knowing where you’re going to be for eternity strengthens us and gives us hope. We are encouraged, strengthened and can persevere. We grow closer to others and the Lord through all of these humbling, weak moments.
Are you weak or strong?
 
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Posted by on December 11, 2012 in My God is Sufficient

 

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My God is My Guide Psalm 73:24

28 Aug

Psalm 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Why is everyone else better off than me? 

Does it ever seem that way to you? It does to me, and it did the writer of the Psalms too. In Psalm 73, you’ll hear the Psalm writer going off on those who don’t believe in God. Why do they get to have all the good stuff? They don’t know God and yet it looks like they get all the rewards.

Here’s how it reads in Psalm 73:3-12 “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;  loftily they threaten oppression.
They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 
And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.”

They get away with everything

It seems like the rich, the worldly, self-seeking people get what they expect; riches, fame and fortune. And that may be true. They get those things here on earth, but if you don’t put your faith and trust in God, you wont have that for long. “For they have no pangs until death”. 

Until death

They have no pangs until death. But when death comes, those who do not believe in God as their savior will not know about the riches and blessings those of us who do believe will receive. Death is the final say. You know, “you can’t take it with you”!

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

I think this is really interesting. The Psalm writer says it’s hard to understand why the unbeliever, the spiteful towards God get to have it so well here on earth. Where did he go to figure it out? He went to the sanctuary of God. Then it was revealed to him their ultimate end. We too need to go to the sanctuary of God to help us discern the things that are spiritually weighing on us. We need to meet Him in His house and talk with Him. We can talk to our pastors or priests, pray and worship God. In His sanctuary we will have His truths revealed to us so that we too might be reminded of our end – in heaven. We can walk away knowing where we’ll end up when we put our faith and trust in our Lord.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Fortunately when we are still and when we are in His sanctuary, God guides us with His counsel. He tells us through His words and sacraments what we need to know so that we might have a full, rich life in heaven with Him. As we remain in God’s counsel, we can rest assured that we will be received by Him in glory. We may not always have it easy here on earth, but this is not our home – Heaven is our home.

That reminds me of an old Hymn – I am but a stranger here – I especially like the last verse where it says, “Whatever my earthly lot, Heaven is my home;”. 

I’m But a Stranger Here
By: Thomas R. Taylor

I’m but a stranger here, 
Heaven is my home;
Earth is a desert drear, 
Heaven is my home;
Danger and sorrow stand
Round me on every hand;
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven is my home.

What though the tempest rage,
Heaven is my home;
Short is my pilgrimage,
Heaven is my home;
And time’s wintry blast 
Soon shall be over past;
I shall reach home at last,
Heaven is my home.

Therefore I murmur not,
Heaven is my home;
Whatever my earthly lot,
Heaven is my home;
And I shall surely stand 
There at my Lord’s right hand.
Heaven is my fatherland, 
Heaven is my home.

Actually – After reading these lyrics again and singing it to myself, I think I want this played at my funeral. I love it! And I want everyone to sing really loudly and with conviction! Praise God for the promise and hope of a future in heaven!

Where is your home?

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2012 in My God is a Leader, My God is my Guide, Psalm

 

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My God is My Hope 1 Peter 1:3-9

07 Nov
Praise to God for a Living Hope 1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The World Can Seem Hopeless

There are so many things going wrong in our world. It’s hard to think of things getting better. I was watching “Idiocracy” the other day, and sadly it doesn’t take much of a stretch to think that horrible way of life could be where the human race is headed. (As a side note, there is a lot of swearing and lude behaviors in this movie, so I’m not necessarily recommending it, just referencing it). In “Idiocracy”, we’re introduced to the horrible life humans have because they never questioned anything, valued education or hard work. It is a strange movie, but one that makes you wonder where the actions of this world might lead.

If we trust man, we’ll be disappointed

We can’t count on man to get us through in this world. The advice we get from the world is self-centered. Take care of yourself, do what’s right for you, and more of the same. We’re not to care about others more than ourselves. We need to look out for our own self interests, and sometimes people take that to the extreme. Robbing and killing often happens because someone wanted something someone else had.

We do have a hope

Even though the things of this world get us down: politics, job losses, health issues and family squabbles, as Christians we have a hope that surpasses all understanding. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. Through His resurrection, we have been adopted into the new family that isn’t dysfunctional, is healthy and not political. God wants us to look past the bad things of the world and keep our focus on Him. And when we have to suffer grief or trials, we’re able to bear them knowing that God is still with us and our promise for eternal life with him in heaven is ahead of us. He draws us close that we might snuggle in and feel His arms wrapped around us, protecting us from the evils of this world.

Are you hopeful?

 
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Posted by on November 7, 2011 in 1 Peter, God is My Hope

 

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