Tag Archives: blessed

Time Reminders

picture

Facebook does a good job of reminding us of the passage of time when they show us pictures that we posted 3, 7 or 11 years ago. Seeing my “past me” can be quite jarring at times. Sometimes I can remember exactly how I was feeling at the moment that picture was taken, and other times I have little or no memory at all of the entire event, though I obviously was there.

Viewing these pictures from the past provides me with a small time of introspection. Was I happy then? Am I different now? What have I learned? The Psalmist likes to look back and reflect too.

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! (Psalm 25:7).

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent (Psalm 71:9).

Teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart (Psalm 90:12).

The Psalmist, like most of us, would rather God not remember our early years when we were perhaps wayward and reckless. Many a Facebook pic from the past we wish could be erased. Though Facebook may remember the errors of our ways, our God will not remember them. As the Psalmist says: “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered” (Psalm 130:3-4).

Looking at pictures from the past may make us feel old and may make us wonder about what the future holds in our advancing years. But we need to recall that just as God was with us in these snapshots of our lives gone by, he will be with us in the picture-worthy moments of our lives yet to be. As the writer to the Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Our God-With-Us will never forsake us, no matter what year we are in.

The pictures from the past on Facebook instantly make us want to treasure the days God has given us on this earth. We shouldn’t take a second for granted. We are truly blessed by God with experiences and interactions with others that help us to grow as his children and cherish the gift of time. Days may seem to go by faster and faster, but that does not mean that we cannot use the time well to the glory of God, by serving and loving and living for him, as Christ did.

Watch for the next Facebook memory photo to pop up and let that time reminder renew your trust in the God of All Time.

A Desolate Place

desolate place

He would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Luke 5:16

The Bible tells us that Jesus would get away to desolate places in order to pray. At first blush, it sounds a little counterintuitive. Shouldn’t Jesus be out and about with the people and doing miracles all the time? That is what many expected of him who kept following Jesus wherever he went. But we must remember that Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine. He needed time away to regroup and be inspired and filled up again, just like we do.

It is alright to take a break, to get away from it all, to be by yourself for a while to talk to God and get recharged for service in Jesus’ name. We can’t do everything and there are only so many hours in the day. We need to be realistic and practical about what can and cannot get done in a day. The Spirit will guide us to what needs to be done first and foremost and what can wait until later and when it is time to stop and care for yourself and your own needs. It is called self care and it is not being selfish. It is being kind to yourself when you are running on empty and it is allowing yourself the chance to be renewed by the Lord is your mission and purpose.

Consider today where your “desolate place” can be and when you should escape to there to be blessed by rest in the Lord.

Go and Tell John

Go and tell JohnOne of my new favorite choral pieces is a song called “Go and Tell John.” It is based on the Scripture passage in which John the Baptist sent word from prison to Jesus through his disciples, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2). Jesus’ response is the text of this song: Take a listen.

What I like about this song is the energy and excitement of the various voices passing on the good news that Jesus is the one who is to come. The overlapping voices and the repeating of the word tell help to capture how the message of Jesus is spreading fast from person to person.

What is the evidence to confirm the Jesus is our Messiah? The lame walk. Lepers are cleansed. And the deaf hear once again. The dead are raised up. Good news preached to the poor. And blessed is he who believes in him. This evidence is the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 29.

What I find interesting about Jesus’ response, too, is that it is personal. Go and tell JOHN. The music highlights that in the end when it crescendos on the name John. It is a reminder to us that the message of Jesus is a personal one to each one of us as well. Jesus wants the good news to come to each of us personally. Go and tell Sue, go and tell Will, go and tell Taylor.

This is not some broad statement but something for you to take to heart in your own life and your own situation. The figurative and perhaps literal blindnesses in your life will be lifted. Messages that you had been deaf to literally and figuratively will be heard. When you die, Jesus is assuring us that we will be raised to life in him. We who are poor will become rich with blessings through him.

This is definitely something to share over and over again with others and sing about again and again. Think of who you would like to “go and tell” about Jesus today!

Blessed Are You NOW

blessedIn a recent article in Living Lutheran magazine, author Tiffany C. Chaney makes an interesting observation about the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12. She writes,

“The text doesn’t say ‘Blessed are those who used to mourn or those who were poor in spirit or those who made peace before.’ The blessed are in the midst of serving God now; they are deep in the trenches. They are being persecuted and reviled and more, even now. And yet they are blessed” (“Living Saints,” Living Lutheran magazine, November 2017, p. 23).

The present-tense reality of being blessed in the midst of trials really struck home to me. I realize that in the midst of struggles, I often look toward to some future time when blessings will come my way. But the fact of the matter is that blessings come when I am feeling sad, when I can feeling a lack of spirit, when I feel far from peaceful.

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Agents of Blessing

hands of blessingWhen my niece was confirmed several weeks again, I as her godfather was asked to place my hand on her, along with her parents and godmother, as she was being confirmed by the pastor. Then last week, to mark the 20th anniversary of my pastor’s ordination and his 10th anniversary as a pastor at my church, the assistant pastor asked everyone in the congregation to reach out their hands in blessing to him as the assistant pastor prayed over him.

Both instances proved to be particularly emotional for me as I considered the passage of time and what God was doing in the lives of my niece and my pastor. And the mirror events recalled for me the calling that we all have to be agents of blessing in this world.

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