Answers to our distress

Marsha’s meditation on Answers to our distress

Scripture:

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the Name of the God of Jacob protect you. 

Psalm 20:1

Meditation:

We all have days when things don’t go as we expected, days when we need an attitude adjustment, days when the problems of the world seem overwhelming - basically, we have days of distress. Who do we turn to when we are in distress? The God of Jacob is also the God of you and He is always listening to those who call upon Him. He will answer us and protect us. When we put our trust in Him those things that cause us distress become His problems and His Spirit will help us deal with our troubles. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.”

Prayer:

Dear God of Jacob and me, I thank You that I can call out to You in my distress. Whatever distress I may be experiencing I know that I can depend on You to protect me. You are bigger than any problem I face and I praise You for helping me to be an overcomer. Thank You! Amen

God So Loved The World

Marsha’s meditation on God So Loved the World 

Scripture:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

John 3:16-17

Meditation:

It’s easy to understand that God, as the creator of all things, would love His creation. And for Him to offer His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the entire world goes beyond that love. Not only has He made a way for us to be forgiven, but He also wants us to join Him in eternity. It’s impossible for us to wrap our minds around eternity, but God has so much more to show us. He wants to reveal His glory to us forever - now that is love!

Prayer:

Glorious God, Your amazing love for us is beyond our comprehension - thank You for giving us Jesus and the forgiveness He offers. We are looking forward to the day when we will see Your glory and share in the wonders that await us throughout eternity. Amen

The Word

Marsha’s meditation on The Word

Scripture:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 

John 1:1-3

Meditation:

John, a disciple of Christ Jesus, has a beautiful way of describing Christ as the Word of God. As I think back to Genesis and realize that God spoke everything into existence, it amazes me that His speaking was Christ, the Word of God and all things were made through Him and by Him. Just think of it - Jesus, who created all things stepped into His creation when He agreed to be born as one of us. It is beyond our comprehension and yet that is exactly what happened.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, we offer our praise to You and are in amazement of You. Your creativity is beyond anything we could imagine and the power that You have as You speak gives us a holy awe. You truly are our God and King. Amen

Spiritual Weapons

Marsha’s meditation on Spiritual Weapons

Scripture:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Meditation:

We, as Christ followers, know that heaven is our home, but we are living on the earth. We live in this world for the time being and have to deal with the ways of this world. That being said, there are many struggles we have to face on a daily basis, but the battles we fight are not won with earthly weapons. We are fighting a spiritual war because we have God’s Spirit within us and the enemy, the devil, is trying to steal from us, kill us and destroy us. God’s Spirit gives us the power we need to stop the enemy from harming us. What weapons do we use against him? The Word of God, praises to God and the love of God are our best defenses. We just have to learn how to use them to stop the enemy. 

Prayer:

Dear God, we are so grateful that Your Spirit is alive and active in our lives. We give Your Spirit permission to use us and help us each day. Give us wisdom to know how and when to use the weapons You have given us to stop the enemy in his tracks. Be glorified in the lives of Your children as we wage war against the devil in this world. Amen

God works for our good

Marsha’s meditation on God works for our good

Scripture:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 

Romans 8:28

Meditation:

Many people love to use this verse to prove that God always works things out for good, but some of those same people fail to notice that God works out things for the good of those who love Him. If we love God and are seeking to know His purpose for our lives, He will work things out for our good. He wants to bless His children and He also wants His children to live out His intended purpose for our lives.

Prayer:

Father God, we love You as the one who created each one of us for a specific purpose. How amazing that You had a plan for our lives from the time we were formed in our mother’s wombs. Thank You for being involved in our lives and thank You for Your Holy Spirit who points us in the right direction. Amen

Renewing our Spirit

Marsha’s meditation on Renewing our Spirit

Scripture:

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing Spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:10-12

Meditation:

As much as we try to maintain an ongoing relationship with God, our busyness and our daily routines seem to take precedence. We find ourselves slipping away from God but He is never far away from us and we can cry out to Him to renew and restore our relationship with Him. He really wants us to come to Him and He longs to renew that relationship too. Beloved, if you have drifted away from God all you need to do is ask Him to restore you. He wants that even more than you do.

Prayer:

Faithful God, we praise You today. You know that we are weak and prone to wander and yet You are always ready to renew our spirits and restore our relationship with You. When we realize that we are unable to maintain our faith and get caught up in busyness, come to our rescue. We thank You that You never give up on us. Amen

Jesus is the Way

Marsha’s meditation on Jesus as the Way

Scripture:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:6-7

Meditation:

Jesus, who is God in the flesh, has made a way for believers to have access to God, His Father. When non-believers say that Christians are narrow minded because we insist on Jesus as the only way to heaven, we can point them to this scripture. As believers in Christ Jesus, we take Him at His word. He is the only way to God, what He speaks is truth and He alone offers eternal life. He took on the form of a human to relate to us and His life was a reflection of His heavenly Father so all that we read and know about Jesus shows us God and His nature.

Prayer:

Father God, we praise You and thank You for coming to earth to make a way for us to come to heaven. Your great love for mankind was reflected in the life of Jesus and we are in awe of You. 

Be still

Marsha’s meditation on Being Still

Scripture:

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Meditation:

Ponder this, even though many people and nations do not seek God or recognize Him as the creator and sustainer of life itself, there will come a day when the nations will exalt Him and the earth itself will exalt Him. God will be known by all. We can know Him now if we will just be still and focus our thoughts on Him.

Prayer:

Holy God, we praise You as the maker and creator of all things. You deserve our praise because You have put Your breath in each one of us. It is You who have given us life and You provide for all our needs, not because we deserve anything, but because of Your great love for us. We do exalt You and we thank You. Amen

Created by God

Marsha’s meditation on Being Created By God

Scripture:

For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

Meditation:

We are not accidents, everything about us, our skin color, hair color, our physical attributes and deformities, our capacity to reason; all these were created by God. And each one of us is different. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by the hands of a loving heavenly Father. When we realize this truth we have something to celebrate. God doesn’t make mistakes, we aren’t a mistake. We are each a one-of-a-kind creation.

Prayer:

Holy God, we praise You today for making each one of us unique. Forgive us when we complain that we’re too short or too tall, when we grumble about our body shape or our particular aches and pains. Keep us mindful that You created us just as you wanted us to be and help us to realize that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Thank You for Your creativity and Your wisdom. Amen

Workers in God's Field

Marsha’s meditation on Workers in God’s Field

Scripture:

When He (Jesus) saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.” Matthew 9:36-37

Meditation:

Sheep without a shepherd, that was us before we accepted Jesus into our hearts. He harvested us when our hearts were ready to receive Him. Someone, a worker in God’s harvest field, shared the good news with us. Jesus hasn’t changed, He still has compassion on those who are harassed and helpless and He’s still telling us, His disciples, to ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers. That would be us too.

Prayer:

Dear sweet, compassionate Jesus, we are so grateful for each and every worker in Your harvest field. Thank You for sending workers into our lives at just the right time. Today we ask You, as Lord of the harvest, to accept each one of us as workers. We are ready and willing to go into the harvest fields. Send us where You know the harvest is ready. Amen

Trusting God

Marsha’s meditation on Trusting God

Scripture:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Meditation:

As we submit our lives to God and we put our trust in Him, believing that He knows what is best for us, an amazing thing happens. He directs our days and uses us to bless all the people we meet during the day. We can be assured that we are in the right place at just the right time for divine encounters.

Prayer:

Holy God, we praise You and thank You for being a trustworthy God. Today we offer our lives to You and look forward to all that You have planned for us because we know that You direct our steps out of love for us. Thank You!

Knowing God's will

Marsha’s meditation on God’s Will

Scripture:

Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Meditation:

Want to know God’s will for your life? Paul tells us that by renewing our minds we can be transformed so that we can know the truth. How do we renew our minds? By focusing our thoughts on our creator and what His word has to say to us about any given situation that we encounter through our day. Seek Him and He will be found by you.

Prayer:

Creator God, we want to know more about You. We want Your truth to be imparted to us so that we don’t conform to the ways of the world. Transform us into Christ-likeness so we can be at the center of Your good, pleasing and perfect will. Amen

The death of a faithful servant

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His faithful servants." Psalm 116:5

 My sister Rosie died last month after battling stage 4 lung cancer for 11 months. She never smoked and it's hard to understand how she got lung cancer, but as she said throughout her sickness, "It is what it is and God is in control."
     The amazing thing about her during her treatment, her hospice care and then sitting by her bed when she died was the fact that her faith in Jesus just seemed to grow stronger each day. She was such an encouragement to everyone and she never lost her zeal for life. God was merciful and she was never in much pain although she was on oxygen for most of those 11 months. She never complained, but seemed to take it all in stride.
     Rosie always called me her big sister as I am 3 years older and since I have a hearing loss and live 100 miles away we kept in touch through messaging. As her cancer progressed, I wrote to her almost every day to let her know that I loved her. We would send funny notes to one another and she always shared her faith that Jesus was with her and that God would take care of her. She read her Bible faithfully and believed it when Jesus said. "My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?" John 14:2
    Rosie was the life of the party from the time she born. She was always coming up with fun things to do and sometimes got in trouble for doing them. She married a man who had loved her from their junior high days and he remained devoted to her to the very end. He took her anywhere she wanted to go and helped her with her oxygen, wheelchair and all her physical needs. He loaded up her large oxygen tank each week so that she could attend church. She went to her grandchildren's sports events with regularity, seldom missing their games and other events they were involved in even though she had to take her oxygen tank with her.
     Rosie was also a wonderful baker. She loved to make pies and was famous for her chocolate chip cookies. When she arrived at family dinners and reunions there was always a mad dash for her bowl of cookies.
     My husband and I visited with her on Monday before she died and learned that she had fallen the day before. Her oxygen level was so low that she could no longer stand up without passing out. Hospice informed her that she was going to have to stay in bed and they delivered a bed to her house the following day.
     As I was praying for her the next day God's Spirit within me said that I should go stay with her and help her husband since she was now bedridden. So on Thursday I arrived to see if I could help and she seemed grateful for my being there. Her husband and 2 sons took care of most of her needs and I asked her what I could do for her. The next 2 days we spent picking out the clothes for her funeral, writing a message from her for those who would be attending her funeral and tying up loose ends as she thought of them. Since she had known that her death was imminent she had planned out her funeral down to the smallest detail.
     During the time I stayed at her home I was blessed to witness a steady stream of visitors. She was so pleasant with everyone and wanted to take pictures with them and post them on Facebook. She was just so grateful for each person who came and was always so cheerful. She cried with each of us and asked each of us for permission to go "home." She reminded all of us that she was going to be with Jesus soon and trusted Him to be merciful.
     The hospice staff did a wonderful job keeping her comfortable and instructing her family just what to expect in the days to come. Being a witness to all of this was a bit overwhelming, but it created some wonderful memories of my little sister. Watching the way that she responded to all the love from family and friends was a blessing for me and each of them.
     On Saturday night her two sons, their wives and all of her grandchildren had a pizza party with her. There was a lot of laughter, a few tears and many memories were shared. Before they left that night she had her grandchildren, one at a time, come join her in bed and she spoke to each of them very privately. It was amazing to watch her with them and judging from their reactions, she was speaking words of encouragement to each of them.
     On Sunday morning she was in good spirits, ate a little breakfast and then told us that she was going to catch up on her devotions. So her husband and I watched as she read her Bible. When she closed it she told her husband that it was time for her to go. She asked for some morphine, said she was tired of fighting and closed her eyes. She then pulled the oxygen tube from her nose and tossed it on the bed.
     We sat with her and held her hand as her breathing became more and more labored. I sang a few familiar songs about Jesus, I read highlighted scripture from her Bible and reminded her that Jesus was waiting with outstretched arms for her. Within an hour she raised her hands as if going to meet Jesus and was gone.
     My husband was one of the pastors to speak at her funeral and he had asked her when we visited with her on Monday to make one more batch of cookies. So her children and grandchildren, under her direction, made a huge batch of cookies. As he spoke about her love of baking and especially her famous cookies, her two sons passed around containers full of her last batch of cookies. With tears streaming down our cheeks, we all ate one more cookie from Rosie at her funeral. It was so typical of the way she lived her entire life, it was a celebration of a life lived abundantly to the very end and she will always, always live in our hearts.
     Watching her depart from this world was a difficult thing to do, but knowing that she is now with Jesus, that she no longer needs oxygen to breathe and that she has rejoined our parents and other loved ones is such a comfort for all of us.
     "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
     Rosie's hope was in Jesus, our hope is in Jesus, is your hope in Jesus?

Keep watching and waiting...

     I am a student of Bible prophecy and am fascinated by the fulfillment of prophecy in my lifetime. People have been waiting and watching for the return of Jesus ever since the day He ascended into Heaven, but never has His return been as close as it is today. I believe we are living in the end times as the scripture says, "For creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." (Romans 8:19) This explains the strange weather - hailstorms, flooding, drought, heatwaves, etc. It explains the odd behavior of animals - locust plagues, animal diseases, strange behavior of creatures. It explains the unusual movements in the earth - volcanic activity, earthquakes, fires. All creation is waiting to be liberated from the bondage of decay - to be restored to the beauty which God initially created it to be.

     When we hear of climate change and all the arguments about it, we really shouldn't be alarmed because it's all part of God's plan and will take place in His time and in His way. Those who don't believe in God are filled with fear and dread and think that we, the human race, can alter the world by doing something about it. Although God has given us stewardship of the earth and we need to be diligent in our management of it, He is sovereign over His creation and will ultimately do just as He sees fit to do regardless of what we do.

     These are perilous times that we are living in, but we have the very words of Jesus to help us understand what we're dealing with and how to conduct ourselves as we wait for His return.

Matthew 24:4-14 The Message (MSG)
4-8 Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.
9-10 “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.
11-12 “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.
13-14 “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

     Yes, all of these things are happening around the world today, persecution of Christians is at an all-time high. Never in the history of the world have we been deceived by so many people to the point where we just can't believe anything we hear or read anymore. Even within the church there are lying spirits who are denying the truth of God's word and leading Christians astray. That's exactly why we have to read the word for ourselves and ask God's Holy Spirit to guide and direct us each and every day. God's Spirit will always, always point you to Jesus and the truth.

     When did Jesus say the end will come? After the gospel has been preached in all the world with witnesses in every country. Why? Because Heaven will have people from every nation residing there. Revelation 5:9 explains it this way, "They took up a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slain, and by your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation. The blood of Jesus was shed for every nation, every tribe, every people group, people of every language and He will not return until people throughout the world have had a chance to hear the gospel message and repent. 

     So what do we do as we wait for His return? We, as the church, the bride of Christ, have a duty to Christ. The last thing He told His disciples before He ascended into Heaven is recorded in Matthew 28:18. "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

    We, the church, have to share the good news, we have to remain firm in our faith, we have to keep praying for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to continue reading God's word and encouraging one another. Don't be fearful about the things happening on the earth or be led astray in these last days but keep watching for the return of Jesus and waiting for the day when we will meet Him in the air and forever be with Him.