Delighting In God When It Hurts

Delighting in God when the world appears to be falling apart seems almost impossible.

People who are unsaved might say something like this:

We’re supposed to what?

I can never praise God as long as there is evil in the world.

As the remarks demonstrate, these folks are deeply hurt, and we need to pray for them. I understand their anguish as they desperately search for answers.

So, how can we delight in anything when people are murdered, like what happened during the mass shootings in Las Vegas recently?

Las Vegas tragedy 2017

Gaining Perspective

As Christians, we know that we are all sinners in the sight of God. We also know in our hearts that evil people do evil things.

The breaking news is devastating. It isn’t easy to wrap our finite minds around evil in its brutal form.

We see it, we hear about it on the news, and our tears are flowing.

Political parties, the media, even late-night talk show hosts want to pass blame – it’s gotta be the guns themselves, they say, or they blame who is in the White House.

I’m not buying into that, and I hope you don’t either.

Ultimately, this is a sin problem.

What does the Bible say?

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. – 1 John 1:8-10. NASB.

Our life vest in every storm is the saving grace offered by Jesus Christ. Jesus, as the only Way, is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. In that, we can rejoice.

In the meantime, we have to contend with sin and its ramifications. Unfortunately, some misguided people don’t even want to talk about it.

Ignoring Sin

Some Christians, sometimes churches, won’t talk about sin anymore because they’re afraid nonbelievers might get offended.

But, what they don’t seem to get is that not talking about sin and forgiveness takes away from the beauty of God’s gift of grace.

Please watch this short video highlighting one of the many problems with the Emergent Church.

Hurricanes and Fires

What about the recent storms?

How can we delight in anything when people from south Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico are still suffering after the devastating hurricanes?

We also can’t forget about those awful fires that quickly spread in the western United States.

Wildfires in the West

Why, God, why?

It’s natural to cry out to God in our distress.

We hurt for these victims.

Some people will look at tragedies and foolishly claim that God doesn’t care.

But, He does care.

We can’t even imagine the entire depth of how much He cares for us.

God has nothing to prove, including His love.

The Bible tells us the ending. As Christians, we can delight in the future return of our Lord and Savior and an end to our suffering. He is our only hope.

Seek Truth in Scripture

There are difficult times up ahead, much like what we’ve already seen the world. Scripture tells us that it will get worse.

Sugar-coating what happens in the end times helps no one.

There’s an urgent need for the preaching of the gospel.

People need the Lord.

Have you heard the Casting Crowns song called, “Just Be Held”?

I wanted to post it here.

Our prayers for peace may seem unanswered, but there is only One who offers true peace. Our peace comes only from Jesus Christ.

The world is not falling apart. It is “falling into place.”

Delighting In God When We Hurt

rose for the fallen

Most Heavenly Father, we love You.

Thank You for Your infinite grace.

We pray for the victims of these horrible tragedies.

We also lift up their friends and families and ask for Your peace

and comfort for them during this sad time.

Thank You, Father, for handling these spiritual battles

that we can’t fight on our own.

We don’t completely understand the reason for every trial,

but we know that You do.

The enemy wants to confuse us

and stir us up to reject Your promise of salvation

through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Help us, Lord, to continue to trust You

when the world seems like it’s falling apart.

Amen.

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Our Exceptional God

Do You Need To Laugh?

September 26, 2017 Gracie

Do You Need A Break From It Too?

I don’t know about you, but I need to laugh.

There’s a lot of joy kill going on.

And, if you’re not careful, it can ruin your day pretty darn quick.

Can’t we even watch football anymore just because we enjoy the game?

Maybe it’s time to take a break from Facebook for awhile.

Anyone else needs a break from all the madness?

Here’s what Solomon, the son of David, said about a joyful heart in the Book of Proverbs.

*A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones. – Proverbs 17:22, NASB.

God Created Laughter

Understandably, it’s hard to feel joy when stress levels are running high. A continuing crushed spirit can wreak havoc on your body.

There’s so much more to be grateful for than there is to bring us down.

Sometimes We Need To Laugh

In the spirit of trying to lighten things up a bit, I thought a few cute videos might take your minds off the News for awhile.

I’ve mentioned Christian comedian Tim Hawkins before in another blog post. If you haven’t heard of him before, he is downright hilarious.

I love his take on married life.

Did you ever see the movie, “A Few Good Men,” with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson? It’s an oldie (1992), but a classic for some of its memorable movie lines.

Remember this one: “You can’t handle the truth!”

If a couple of funny Tim Hawkins videos didn’t give you at least a chuckle, aren’t you glad God didn’t make you an Alpaca?

And I thought I had bad hair in the morning.

Do you need to laugh

Thank You, God, for laughter and the joy that it brings.

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Our Exceptional God

I’m talking about the Hollywood celebrities who feel the need to bash our President at their multiple awards shows, on their “glorify me” twitter accounts, during talk show interviews, on their Facebook fan pages, and websites.

Legends in their minds

Seriously?

Reportedly, the Emmy Awards became yet another opportunity for some high-profile celebs to trash our President.

Did we expect anything less?

My husband and I didn’t watch the show. We knew what it was going to be like and happily watched something else.

Of course, not all celebs act this way, but the ones who are acting like brats sure can take over an awards show.

One of my favorite inventions ever?

The TV remote.

By the way, how many awards shows exist to honor celebrities? I’d try to guess, but the number seems to go higher every five minutes.

Wink, wink.

Feeling Powerful

The absurdity is ongoing.

In fact, one actress is very concerned that Mother Nature is ticked off that people in our country voted for President Trump.

Those devastating hurricanes that hit the southern United States recently, according to this actress, are Mother Nature’s revenge.

Again, seriously?

You can’t make this stuff up.

Many of the voters who voted for President Trump are Bible-believing Christians.

So apparently we Christians can, along with “Mother Nature”, help stir up the weather by voting for the candidate Hollywood doesn’t like.

Hmmmm. That’s good to know because I would like a nice weekend.

Controlling the weather

I will now attempt to control the temperatures for the rest of September to a pleasant 70 degrees. (smiling).

Good grief, people!!

I find it ironic that the celebs saying these things act so devastated by the election results and yet, don’t even give a second thought to the deadly embrace of their party line towards Planned Parenthood.

It’s a shame that Christians get shut down every time the abortion issue is raised. It’s happened to me.

I’ll remain pro-life, no matter what name I’m called.

Keep on keeping on. 🙂

Prayers Needed

Can we agree how lost these actors and actresses are, and in need of prayer for their very salvation?

If you’re not praying for the future of our country yet, now’s a good time to start.

We don’t know what the immediate future holds in store. Everything is in God’s timing.

In the meantime, we can be ready, pray, and we can arm ourselves with God’s Word.

And, our TV remote.

Keep our eyes on the prize, trust God, and delight ourselves in Him.

The following verses are from Psalm 37. Not cherry picking here. We can learn from David how we can respond when life seems upside down.

We can pray and submit to the Lord and rest in the assurance that when He comes back, He will judge righteously.

In other words, pray, don’t stress.

The battle is the Lord’s.

^*3Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
⁴Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

– Psalm 37:3-4, English Standard version (ESV).

God bless

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Our Exceptional God

In My Seat

September 11, 2017 Gracie

Today, September 11th, 2017, I woke up as usual, but my thoughts focused elsewhere.

Those horrible images of the terrorist attacks in the United States came flooding back.

The tears still come to my eyes.

Has it really been sixteen years?

9/11 attacks

*Photo by Robert on Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

In My Seat – a film that brings perspective

If you have just 15 minutes today, please watch the following video.

It’s a film about 9/11 from the perspective of American Airlines First Officer, Steve Scheibner.

Scheibner was scheduled to pilot American Airlines Flight 11, but he was later replaced by a more senior pilot.

Can you even imagine?

Flight 11 was one of the hijacked planes which flew into the World Trade Center.

Scheibner spoke at our church recently. His words were unforgettable.

We Have A Purpose

With so many alarming things going on in our nation, and in the world right now, “In My Seat” puts things into perspective.

As he says in the film, Steve Scheibner lives his life with a “sense of urgency.”

I agree with him wholeheartedly.

Shouldn’t we all be living that same way?

The fact that we are even walking around today is a privilege.

We are created to glorify God.

Sadly, there are people in the world who won’t accept this truth.

They are oblivious.

Or, they are defiantly ignoring the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the Cross for all of our sins.

In My Seat

Heavenly Father, on this somber day of remembrance for 9/11,

we are in mourning again for those who lost their lives on that day.

May we never forget that, to You, every life is precious.

May we also never forget that, although we deserve eternal death,

You allowed Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place for our sins.

Father, give us the urgency to spread the good news of the Gospel.

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*Photo by Robert on Flickr, 11 September 2001. North face south tower after plane strike 9/11 [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Created 11 September 2001.

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The Hands And Feet Of Jesus

September 6, 2017 Gracie

Walking Examples of Grace and Mercy

I hope you all had a blessed Labor Day.

It certainly was newsworthy.

*Photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez. Port Arthur, Texas, August 31, 2017. U.S. Air National Guard.

The devastating pictures of Hurricane Harvey’s path of destruction in South Texas, plus the threat of two new storms, Irma and Jose, has a lot of people on edge.

It’s understandable to ask God “Why?” and “When are things going to calm down?”

I wish we had all the answers right now, but life doesn’t work that way.

The Hands And Feet Of Jesus

Thank You, Jesus, for what we DO know.

hands and feet of Jesus

Guaranteed, in the midst of this tragedy, His light is seen in the darkness. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.

A big thank you to the dear people from all over the country who are donating money and supplies.
Thank you to the convoys of trucks, cars pulling u-hauls, and boats headed to the flood zones with food and necessities. (A shout out to the Louisiana Cajun Navy. I’d never heard of them before, but I’m now a big fan.)
Thank you to the emergency responders working non-stop and putting the lives of others above their own.
Thank you also to the churches and individuals who prayed and are continuing to pray for the relief efforts.

If any of these bullet points describe you (and I bet one of them does), you are not just a bullet point.

In these instances, you are acting as the hands and feet of Jesus. One of the best ways to delight in God is to serve others. Your selfless actions do not go unnoticed. The following verses from the Apostle Peter were written to encourage Christians of that time to use their gifts for serving others. Peter’s message also rings true for us today.

^**10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: ¹¹whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. – 1 Peter 4:10, English Standard Version (ESV).

Glorifying God, Despite the Odds

Sharing the love of Christ to those in need glorifies God.

But, how can we glorify God when we are the ones who are suffering and in need?

The hands and feet of Jesus serving others

Share the love of Christ with those in need

Fear about our circumstances is emotionally painful, and we don’t understand why it’s happening to us.

Someday we will know, but in the meantime, blaming God is never the answer.

It may be hard to grasp this, but suffering refines us into a deeper fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus, who suffered more than any human being on earth, understands our pain.

As you pray, ask for His comfort, strength, and peace.

As you walk with Him through your difficulty, no matter how long your emotional or physical pain lasts, you will have a testimony building of His grace.

I believe Nick Vujicic is an excellent example of this. Nick was born without arms or legs. And we think we have difficulties?

Instead of giving up and blaming God, Nick uses his challenges to magnify God’s purpose for his life.

Look Around

Whatever you are experiencing, you don’t have to go through it alone.

Please don’t let your suffering and self-doubts swallow you up inside.

Pray your own prayers to God, ask Him for His mercy and guidance going forward, and reach out to your Christian friends for support.

Support and love from those acting as the hands and feet of Jesus can be a lifeline as we wait for His glorious return.

Jesus is our only Hope.

God bless

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*South Texas flooding photo, courtesy of SC National Guard (170831-Z-AH923-081) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez.
**Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
***Video clip, courtesy of “Heart of the Artist.” Uploaded by Storytelling Pictures. Published Friday, April 12, 2013. Online video clip. Vimeo. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/63902097. Web.

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