Immanual

Today is Christmas. Blessed Christmas to you all!  For some of us, Christmas presents are already unwrapped due to an early Christmas celebration.  Perhaps, for some of you today is the big day for opening presents.  For others you do not plan to celebrate until later in the month or even into the new year.   In all the celebrating let's not forget the real meaning of Christmas on this special day.  

For all of us, the year 2022 is almost over.  Year 2022 certainly has had it's challenges, but there has also been huge blessings.  Now we look ahead to year 2023 with it's challenges and blessings.  Psalm 62 talks about trusting the Lord at all times.  Psalm 62:8 says, "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge."   Psalm 62 tells us that in God alone we find our rest, hope, and salvation.  He alone is our rock, refuge, and fortress which can not be shaken.  He is a strong and loving God.  

Circumstances may be difficult, and people may fail us, but God will always be with us.  We can always trust the Lord. The Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament calls Jesus, Immanuel, which means "God with us."  (Immanuel is also sometimes spelled Emmanuel.)  

God is with us because Jesus came to this earth as a baby.  He was God incarnate revealed to us.  He then lived a perfect life for us that we can't live and finally died to pay the penalty for our sins.  He rose again and is now in heaven, but He is still present with us through the Holy Spirit.  So the book of Matthew begins with a promise that God is with us.  The Gospel of Matthew also ends with a promise that God will surely be with us "to the very end of the age."  What a precious promise! 

Let's carry that precious promise with us as we seek to live out the last days of 2022, and as God ushers in the new year, 2023.

Gifts

 

What kind of Christmas do you anticipate this year? Perhaps your Christmas will involve a lot of extra work for you in addition to the challenges and responsibilities of other life activities, or perhaps you are feeling isolated and ignored and all alone this Christmas in your daily burdens. Instead, however, perhaps you will experience Christmas this year as a reminder of your blessings and as a blessed respite from the drama of life's challenges.

Whatever we experience this Christmas and with every gift we receive at Christmas or at any time of year we have to open our hands to receive the gift; or the gift does not benefit us or give us any joy. The gifts we receive which are eternally precious, however, are the gifts which God wants to give us.

The Lord first offers us the gift of salvation which is what Christmas and walking with the Lord is all about. He further offers us the accompanying gifts of joy, peace, and hope. They are ours for the taking; and yes, they can coexist with the pain and heartache which often are present in life. Further, the Lord promises us a happy ending. That happy ending is eternal life. Christian reader, the heartaches that sometimes come in life are but a comma in your life story. They are not the end of your life’s story. They are not the end of your loved ones' life stories either.

We also can all receive other gifts. We can receive the gift of trust in God and letting Him control our lives. We receive this gift by resting in Him and by letting go of anything which we are holding onto too tightly or trying to control.

We further all have to let go of feelings of unforgiveness for people who have not been there for us. We further have to receive the gift of forgiveness for ourselves.  We have to bring to the Lord any true wrongs, and ask for His forgiveness. Further, we often carry around a lot of false guilt about things beyond our control. So whether false guilt or true guilt, we need to let it go. We need to give it to the Lord. Trust and letting go are great gifts to have in our lives.  Receive the gift of releasing it to the Lord.

One great gift we can give ourselves is the gift of acceptance of our situation. We often waste so much energy wishing circumstances were different, but we can rest assured that we are right where we are supposed to be in our lives. Dear Reader, your responsibilities may be emotionally overwhelming at times, but in the measure that you can accept where God has placed you now in your life you will find joy. It is a great gift you can give yourself.

Yet another wonderful gift we can give ourselves is the gift of being still in the presence of God. (Psalm 46:10) Doing this helps us grow in peace, wisdom, and insights. Finally, we can give ourselves the gift of gratitude. When we are grateful in spite of our circumstances our joy and blessings will multiply and resentments will flee.

Would not these be wonderful gifts to have in your life? These are wonderful gifts not just for Christmas but all year long!

Christmas Hope

 

December is the month that we think of Christmas and hope.  Is your life weighed down with care and worry this Christmas season; or is it filled with hope?  During the holiday season we are reminded of the birth of Jesus Christ. Over two thousand years ago before Jesus was born most of the people were living without very much hope. Then in Luke chapter two of the Bible we read that an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was being blessed by God's grace in becoming the mother of Jesus. Jesus Christ was coming as the Savior of His people!

Mary's response to this was openhearted acceptance (Luke 1:38).  Mary would suffer many immediate problems being the mother of Jesus.  She would experience many heartaches in her future. Because Mary now had hope, however, she was willing to accept God's will for her life with joy.  A life secure in the Lord's hope can move with confidence through life in spite of difficulties and challenges.

Life can be very heartbreaking and challenging.  There are times when the circumstances of life can be overwhelming.  But like Mary in the Bible we too can have hope no matter what our circumstances. Dear reader, rest your heartaches with the Lord. Know that He is the source of strength and hope.  His hope is not a wishful thinking type of hope, but it is a hope based on His certain promises in the Bible. His hope is secure and will never leave you.

Beyond the Weariness

 Do you ever feel overwhelmed with or weary from a situation or circumstance in your life?  Perhaps you are the caregiver for a loved one which requires much of your time or energy.  Perhaps you have a serious illness yourself.  Perhaps you have a situation at work which is overwhelming.  Perhaps you have a family member who is requiring much encouraging and counseling, and you find this emotionally draining.  Perhaps you have yet another very difficult situation in your life, and you feel weary with it all.  

Yet you can know that God has placed you exactly where He wants you to be at this moment.  He wants you to be a tool in His hands for the benefit of someone else.  So you and I must stay the course and persevere in what God had called us to do.  This task that God has called us to do may only be something we can fulfill through God's strength and will.  We can also pray for each other, as we persevere in the tasks God has given us.  I ask for such prayers from you.

If you have not had chance to read my blog post of last week on joy, click on this link: https://christiancaregiving.blogspot.com/2022/11/joy_26.html 

Joy

 

In the early morning I love to spend time in God's Word.  As I am having my devotions I enjoy watching the darkness outside turn to light.  Morning is one of my favorite times of the day.  Sometimes the morning awakens with a brilliant sunrise.  More often, it is a more gentle awakening with light becoming more and more evident in the lower sky.

The psalmist said in Psalm 143:8-9, "Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You.  Show me the way that I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.  Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in You."  David, the Psalmist, was looking to the Lord for light and guidance in His life struggles. 

Even though I enjoy the beauty of early morning, I also sometimes I struggle to wake up to a new day with its issues and problems.  Currently I have a sister with a terminal illness.  This illness with its prognosis that she is facing breaks my heart. I was able to visit her and other family members about a week ago.  My family members live about 500 miles away.  I can testify that my sister's faith remains strong and is fixed on the Lord.  Our time together was one of sharing burdens and grief, but also joy and gratitude.  As my pastor recently said lament often comes before gratitude, and they often comingle together.    

I have other struggles and laments in my life as well.  Yet spending time in God's Word and watching the new day unfold always reminds me of the joy the Lord wants me to experience in spite of life's struggles and sometimes because of them.  

The night before Jesus went on the cross He spoke to His disciples of the joy He wanted them to experience.  That joy is found only in the Lord and not in the things, circumstances, or even people of this world.  Jesus said to His disciples that they would find joy in Him alone.  This is true of His disciples today, as well.  Jesus also said that no one will be able to take away our joy (John 16:22b).  He further said, "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).  Jesus said that He promised the things He did before He died, "that they may have the full measure of My joy within them." (John 17:13b)  Jesus wants us to have overflowing abundant joy in Him even in the face of obstacles and deep trials. 

With His joy we can live with courage and with inner confidence.  We can't produce this confidence in ourselves.  It can only come by abiding in Him and by the Holy Spirit in us.  Jesus called Himself the Vine and called us His branches.  He said, "I am the true vine---Remain in Me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me." (John 15:1-4).

Joy can be found in Him in spite of circumstances!  Joy can be found only in abiding in Him!  Joy can be found only in seeking His glory and living for Him.  Joy can be found in Him in the deepest night of trials and by rejoicing in His light!

Grace That Will Keep Us

I had not intended to post this week, because of some events happening in our extended family which has greatly saddened my heart.  Yet this morning in church our choir, of which I am a part, sang a song which greatly encouraged me.  Perhaps it will encourage your heart as well, if you are going through some extra difficult times.

The name of the song is "Grace" by Carolyn Hamlin.  Here are the words for that song:  "Lord, as I seek Your guidance for the day, I find my thoughts unyielding, confusion crowds my way; but then when I  bow to You, the challenges You guide me through.  Your promises are ever new. I claim them for today.  Your will cannot lead me where Your grace will not keep me, Your hand will protect me.  I rest in Your care.  Your eyes will watch over me, Your love will forgive me; and when I am faltering, I still will find You there.  Each new day's design is charted by Your hand and graciously revealed, as I seek your master plan.

Keep my steps faithful when from You I go.  Return me to the joy that Your blessings can bestow.  Your will cannot lead me where Your grace will not keep me, Your hand will protect me.  I rest in Your care.  Your eyes will watch over me, Your love will forgive me; and when I am faltering, I still will find Your there.  Your eyes will watch over me, Your love will forgive me; and when I am faltering, I will still find You there."

If you are hurting today, as I am, may this song bless your heart.  God is always there to comfort and to guide.  His grace to us is a wonderful blessing.  His will does not lead you where His grace cannot keep you.

Trusting God When It Is Difficult

 

This week with her permission, I am going to use the words of a Facebook friend of mine.  She recently posted the words below on her Facebook status.  I got to "know" Rachel in a widow's group online of which I was a member a few years ago.  When Rachel became a widow she and her first husband were missionaries in Mexico.  Rachel too has remarried.  I have much respect for Rachel Chatham and share her words with you below:

For all of my life I've read about the story in the gospels where Jesus calms the storm and rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith.

The complex aspect of this is: Why did Jesus consider it a "lack of faith" for the disciples to be concerned and afraid of the storm?

Commentators say that it is because they weren't trusting in Jesus to take care of them. But the situation is much more complex that that easy answer.

Only two chapters prior to this storm, John the Baptist was thrown in prison for proclaiming the gospel and then later he was killed. Nowhere in scripture is there a guarantee that if we follow Jesus we will have happy and safe boat rides in a turbulent sea.

And yet, Jesus corrected the disciples for their lack of faith.

We all know that I watched my husband die on the mission field all the while his only desire in life was to serve Jesus and to preach the gospel. Isn't that what the disciples were doing in the boat? Weren't they proclaiming the name of Jesus?

When the storm raged It doesn't seem unreasonable for them to be afraid because they all eventually were martyred for their faith.

How did they know that they wouldn't die serving Jesus on a boat as they died later on in proclaiming the gospel? Paul was later shipwrecked, possibly on this very sea, and experienced much suffering because of the cause of Christ.

I think where the problem lies in our thinking is that "God would never..." God would never let our baby die. or God would never allow us to walk through poverty or the loss of a career. and finally, God would never allow my husband die on the mission field........"

Often times, when we approach the encouragement from scripture to "do not fear" it can seem to be based on an assumption that painful tragic things do not happen to God's people.

The encouragement we typically believe is that we are to trust God to calm the storm. Yet, tragic things very much do happen to God's people. The storms aren't always calmed and godly people do literally die in them.

Fear can almost seem reasonable and a normal healthy response, even while trusting God because we don't see in scripture a guarantee of safe travels and protection from tragic events.

What God has shown me in these years of widowhood and painful times, is to trust him, like Daniel, whether we live or die. We trust him whether we are in poverty or blessing, whether we watch our husband die or celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary, whether our baby dies of a life threatening disorder or whether God spares his life.

What God has shown me in the various suffering of my life, is that no matter what happens God is in control and he is good and loving.

I have found the answer to be a whole hearted yielding and surrendering to Jesus no matter what the outcome and having faith in his character that God is good and he's got my back.

II Corinthians 11

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."

II Corinthians 4:17

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs our troubles. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."