Hope ~ Lent 2010

Rejoice in our confident hope.  Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
Romans 12:12 NLT

Henry Nouwen writes:
The pains and struggles we encounter in our solitude thus become the way to hope, because our hope is not based on something that will happen after our sufferings are over, but on the real presence of God's healing Spirit in the midst of these sufferings. from Bringing Solitude into Our Lives

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Find a moment of silence - somewhere, somehow - and find Hope! ~ dho

Worthy ~ Lent 2010

He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes.
Deuteronomy 10:21 NLT

This season we have been thinking about a way to offer a sacrifice of praise as a way of remembering Christ and His Gift of Grace.  One of my older daughter's favorite hymns is Worthy of Worship.  Consider some of the words:

Worthy of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of honor and glory;
Worthy of all the glad songs we can sing, worthy of all of the off-'rings we bring . . .
Almighty Father, Master and Lord, King of all kings and Redeemer,
Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend, Savior and Source of our life without end . . .
You are worthy, Father, Creator.
You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer.
You are worthy, worthy  and wonderful;
Worthy of worship and praise.
words by: Terry W. York

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Lay down the relentless idols that shout for attention, idols that crave worldly worship and demand empty praise.  For God alone is worthy, worthy of our worship and praise. ~dho

Soul ~ Lent 2010

As the Holy Spirit descended to the gathering of followers that would be the beginning of Christ's church (Acts 2), Peter stood and began to remind the people of the prophetic telling from Joel.  He talked about the wonders that were now known, about Jesus the Messiah, and recounted King David's testimony.

You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence [Ps.16:8-11].
Acts 2:28 The Amplified Bible

I happened upon this quote by Alexander Solzhenitsyn:

The meaning of earthly existence lies, not as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.

Reading more about the Russian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, I discoverd a few facts from his autobiography (see link below). He always wanted to be a writer but circumstances directed his studies toward physics and mathmatics, all the while he studied history and philosophy and literature on the side.  He graduated Rostov University with a degree in physics and mathmatics only days before WWII began.

Imprisoned for eight years for having political differences with Russia, he was exiled for another 3 years.  All this time he taught mathmetics and physics, claimed this "rescued me from death."  In time, Solzhenitsyn would be recognized for his writing, his long awaited dream.  He wrote, "It is almost always impossible to evaluate at the time events which you have already experienced, and to understand their meaning with the guidance of their effects. All the more unpredictable and surprising to us will be the course of future events."

A lesson to take away is that God has a plan for the world ~ Christ, and God has a purpose for each of us ~ redemption.  God wants to renew the soul of each person.  The way this is accomplished is through our faith in Christ, the Son of God, the Savior, the Redeemer.  God's purpose through us is revealed in many ways ~ through His design.  Our limited minds cannot know the reasons or understand all that happens.  We must trust that God will use us, if we seek the True and Living God.  Through God's plan we are rescued from death. Our future through Christ is eternal life, and this is sure. 

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Stand in the presence of God, ask Him, "Holy One, diffuse my soul with Your Joy!"  This is true "soul-shine! ~dho

Link to autobiography: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1970/solzhenitsyn-autobio.html

Design ~ Lent 2010

If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies.
1 Peter 4:11 NKJV

Reading Max Lucado's Volume II of Grace For The Moment inspirational daily thoughts today, I found a thought very worthy of sharing.  It is an excerpt from Lucado's Cure for the Common Life.  He reminds that God has shaped each of us according to our purpose.  All of us have certain abilities such as, the "ability to diagnose an engine problem by the noise it makes, to bake a cake without a recipe."  Lucado gives other examples that describe specific interest in particular topics or the ability to remember names.  He asks, "How do you explain such quirks of skill?"

The answer is God!  Knowing Israel would "need a code, He gave Moses a love for the law."  With other examples in the New Testament to demonstrate this, Lucado writes, "He designed you.  And His design defines your destiny."  We conclude that any ability, any strength, any gift we have is from God.  Designed by the Master Designer, we are to minister to others with the talents He provides.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Designed by God, use this ability to touch the lives of others for Him. ~dho

Faith ~ Lent 2010

Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him here." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you."  Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus.  And answering him, Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!"  And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.  Mark 10:46-52 NASB

Jesus is always calling to us; He desires that we have a relationship with Him.  I wonder how many of us are really like this blind man?  Do we desire the mercy that Jesus offers?  Is our faith truly evident?  And maybe most of all, I wonder, do we really KNOW what we want from Jesus?  And, if we know, do we boldly ask?  When Jesus answers us, do we respond like this man with new vision?

 

Our sacrifice of praise ~

Ask Jesus for new vision ~ and follow Him on the road! ~dho

 

Father ~ 4th Sunday of Lent 2010

When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come.  Glorify and exalt and honor and magnify Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify and extol and honor and magnify You.  John 17:1 Amplified Bible

The 17th Chapter of John is a well-known prayer that Jesus prayed before His crucifixion.  Many times in the New Testament we are given examples of Jesus praying, an example He set for us.  E.M. Bounds wrote these words in his book on "Prayer":

What mystery that the Son of God should be under the law of prayer . . . How strange that the blessings that came to Him were impregnated and purchased by prayer.

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Like Jesus, pray that your life gives glory and honor to the Father. ~dho