Walking With Jesus

Heaven Is Richer

“Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:54-57 NLT)

A few days ago, when I learned that my precious sister had died, I realized that I now have a greater investment in heaven than ever before. I have a greater incentive to share the good news of a loving Savior because God’s Word has once again proven trustworthy and true. She passed peacefully and gracefully from this life to the next because she was filled with hope in the Name above all names – the Lord Jesus Christ!

The last words I heard Patti speak were “Jesus, please take me soon,” and He did! While my heart is breaking, even as I write I sense God’s presence giving me assurance that He does all things well and His clock always keeps perfect time.

We can question God’s timing and second guess His will, but in the end, it’s not about us. It’s only and always about Him. From future perspective we’ll see that all the pieces of the proverbial puzzle were aligned, and Patti’s passing was as the flow of the ocean gliding upon the shore, only to return to the “Ocean” from whence she came.

In His kindness God loaned my sister to us for nearly 80 years (on right in above picture). God alone knows how many lives He touched through her life; how many souls will be in heaven because of her sensitivity to the Lord’s leading. The Holy Spirit flowed in and through her kindness and compassion as she walked with others through the very process in which we find ourselves today.

She faithfully served in her church’s Grief Share ministry and in other ways opened her heart and life to others, enabling them to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Why do I share these things with you, most of whom have never met Patti?

Because, while she had feet of clay like all of us, she was able to maintain the sweetest, most contagious display of the fruit of the Spirit of anyone I’ve ever known. I want to be more like the Jesus I saw evidenced in and through her life. Of course, she wasn’t perfect, but as she aged, the closer she walked with Jesus, the more her life reflected the heart of her Savior.

That’s what I want for me. That’s what I want for you. Some believers I’ve known say they’ve walked with the Lord for “X” number of years, but all they’ve done is live the same life over and over every year. There’s no significant increase in fruitfulness, no intentional effort to grow in their likeness of Jesus. Same language, same habits, same level of infancy spiritually. That wasn’t the case with Patti.

My sis loved Jesus and loved His Word. She walked faithfully with her husband, who came to Christ as a result of her love and faithfulness. She walked faithfully with her brothers and sisters at her local church as long as her health allowed. She was a giver, not a taker. Even in her death she donated her eyes to help someone see again.

Every life she touched was better for it. She was among the gentlest, kindest, most compassionate persons I’ve ever been privileged to know. She was my most faithful “cheerleader” for my blog. She not only read my posts, but she also printed them and put them into a notebook.

Please pray for my nephew and niece. A huge hole is now in their heart because their mom is no longer physically with them. They’re grieving differently but both need the Lord’s light and life to guide them in their healing process.

I’m so grateful for those of you who read these posts so faithfully. Thank you for your prayers and your kindness. May the Lord bless and use you to His honor and fame, as He used my precious sister.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Quietness After the Crash

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT)

Recently, while on my way to the hospital to visit my sister, I passed a multi-car accident that had just happened a few moments before. People had stopped to help, so I kept going, knowing my sister was in critical condition. I didn’t know it then, but I later learned that there were multiple fatalities because of that crash. People on there way someplace, just like me, never expecting their next stop to be their last.

I’ve been in a few accidents. One second laughing with your child, the next the screeching of tires, the sound of breaking glass, and mangled metal. If you’re fortunate enough to live and be awake, the next thing you hear is nothing. Complete quietness. It’s like time is suspended and you’re given a few seconds to try to wrap your mind around what just happened.

It’s like that in life sometimes. You answer the phone without a care in the world, to learn the test results were positive. Or the doorbell rings and you wonder why there’s a police officer at your door. Or the boss calls you into their office and you learn you’re no longer a “good fit” for the job you loved. These and a thousand other scenarios come “crashing” into our lives, often leaving us speechless and frightened.

It’s in times like these that I’m glad I serve a risen Savior! My precious sister, whom I love with all my heart, went to the emergency room a few days ago because of discomfort. She’d fallen a few months back and had fractured a couple ribs, so she thought it might be related to that, but learned what she thought was a hematoma was a malignant tumor, and the cancer had spread to her bones and vital organs.

That’s when Jesus’ words “Come to Me” are so critical to hear and obey. Where else can we go? Doctors? Medicine? Where’s our hope in times of crisis? If it’s anyplace but in Jesus, we’re setting ourselves up for a big disappointment. And please don’t misunderstand, God certainly does use doctors, nurses, and medicine, and they’re often able to help, but they’re limited and whatever positive results they’re able to get are temporary.

If our vision is focused on this earth we’re heading towards a tragic end. I’m comforted knowing that many of my family members who have passed are with Jesus, not because of their own goodness, but because of their strong faith in Him. And now my only other sibling is under Hospice care, but I know she’s in the Lord’s loving hands.

Without Jesus there’s no hope of an eternal home in heaven. My sister was devoted to loving and serving Him. She has told me multiple times in her weakened condition how she longs to be with Jesus. He’s the only One who can help us bear our pain, sorrow, and grief. He’s the only One who can share our load and give us rest from our burden of care.

Dear friend, please don’t wait another second before you yield your life and allegiance to Jesus. It doesn’t matter how bad you’ve been or how good you think you are, if you haven’t knelt at the Savior’s feet and sought His forgiveness, you’re trying to carry the weight of your sin alone. Please click on the link below and find out how you can respond to Jesus’ invitation to eternal life. Let the uncertainty of your burden lead you to the quietness of the arms of Jesus. He will not disappoint you!

The Bridge to God | Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.

Blessings, Ed

The “Thing” We Need Most

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT)

Family is under attack in our modern world like never before. Why is Satan so intent on destroying the family as God designed it to be? What is his “end game?” What is he trying to accomplish that is so destructive to life as we have known it?

John Stonestreet of the Colson Center wrote: “Family is not merely a “name.” G.K. Chesterton called the family a “triangle of truisms,” with the three sides of father, mother, and child. “The love of man and woman is not an institution that can be abolished, or a contract that can be terminated,” he wrote. “It is something older than all institutions or contracts, and something that is certain to outlast them all.” It always requires one man and one woman to make a child, and civilizations always require the birth of new children to survive. While we can use whatever words we like to describe this triangle, we can’t take some other shape and call it a triangle. That would be like calling a daisy a rose and then expecting it to grow thorns.”

Family is God’s idea and He designed mankind male and female for a very specific purpose – to bear children. To “be fruitful and multiply.” But this process wasn’t to be simply a “mechanism” to populate the earth. God’s idea was for the family to be the seedbed of spiritual discovery by creating a loving environment where children could be instructed in how to know and love God.

The role of parents, then and now, isn’t simply to provide “things” for their children. Yes, of course, children need shelter, food, and a sense of security, but the most important “thing” they need is Jesus. They need a mom and dad who not only love each other intimately and conspicuously, but who love Jesus boldly and courageously.

God designed men and women uniquely and with specific qualities that would complement one another, providing the perfect environment in which to nurture, instruct, and love their children. However, effective parenting is contingent upon the creation of a setting in which love is not only explained but given visibility through the way moms and dads love one another.

How do we most effectively learn to love? Through God, who IS love, and by having a meaningful and personal relationship with Him made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As important and vital as words are, they pale in comparison to the value of a clear “picture” of God, lived out in the lives of a mom and dad who dearly love one another and who are both committed to walking faithfully with Jesus.

If Satan can drive wedges between parents, as he’s obviously doing very effectively in America, the “fallout” of broken homes is broken people, including broken children. Add to our brokenness the confusing and controversial issues of same sex “marriages” and gender dysphoria and you have a nation on the edge of extinction.

Stonestreet wrote: “to deliberately create family brokenness by pretending we can change the definition of family. Breaking our vows to our spouses, rejecting our responsibilities to our children or parents, or pursuing same-sex or non-monogamous relationships while expecting to find health and flourishing for ourselves and our children is futile.”

The one thing we most need in this world that is filled with brokenness is a Savior-Healer who not only knows who we are and why we feel as we do, He knows how to fix our brokenness and heal our bodies, minds, souls, and spirits.

If we’d only learn to trust Him!

Blessings, Ed 😊

What’s Eating You?

“While He was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. (Mark 2:2b-3 NLT)

Love for someone can cause us to do unusual and unexpected things. Mark shares a story about a paralyzed man who couldn’t get to Jesus on his own, so his friends carried him. Can you “hear” the conversation the four men had with their paralyzed friend?

It wouldn’t surprise me if their friend objected at first. “No, come on guys, don’t make such a fuss. I’ve been to many doctors, and they all say the same thing – I’m incurable. There’s nothing anyone can do. You’re wasting your time. I’m sure this Jesus is a very good preacher and a good man, but I don’t think it’s worth bothering Him. Besides, you know how painful it is for me to move.”

In my mind’s eye I see one of them finally say: “We’re taking you!” So, they took their friend to Jesus. But the problems didn’t stop there. The crowd was so large they couldn’t push through. So, they came up with a plan to lower their friend down in front of Jesus by removing part of the roof of the person’s house where He was.

Talk about gutsy! Whoa! How in the world would you get a paralyzed man on the roof in the first place? Then keep him still while you removed a section of the roof? What if the whole roof caved in? What if…?

Sometimes in our efforts to be of help to someone, we give in to the “What if’s.” We allow satan to defeat us before we get started. I believe one of this man’s friends was the catalyst to get the proverbial “ball” rolling to take their friend to Jesus. He was visibly disturbed, so his friends asked him: “What’s eating you?” One thing led to another and before long, refusing to be deterred, their friend was lying in front of Jesus.

Can you see the smile on Jesus’ face as pieces of the roof begin to fall on peoples’ heads? Can you hear the excitement of the crowd as they murmur questions of varying kinds to one another? Then the Bible says: “Seeing THEIR faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’” As a result of the faith of these four men, their friend was not only healed, but forgiven.

Ron Hutchcraft told this story: “I was meeting with Bill. He was a championship high school football player, but he was in rehab the second time for cocaine addiction. He learned about God’s help through the 12-step Narcotics Anonymous Program. I asked him, ‘Bill, did you learn how Jesus could be your helper with your addiction?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Did you know that addiction is not your problem?’ He said, ‘It isn’t?’ I said, ‘No. Sin is your problem. Addiction is your symptom. You need now to find out how He can be your Savior from your sin.’”

Until the Spirit begins to stir in our heart and mind, and the desperate need of someone close to us begins to “eat” at us, they may never come to know their deepest need is forgiveness. They may be sick physically, emotionally, financially, relationally, or in any number of other ways, but the core problem with which they need to come to grips is their sin sickness.

While we’re not told how long the man who was healed had been paralyzed, the probability that he would ever have been healed without the intervention of his friends is likely zero. Whose sin sickness will likely never be healed unless and until you take them to Jesus? That journey begins in prayer and will one day come to fruition by your faith and God’s forgiveness, if you’re willing to exercise the faith of these four friends in the Bible.

Please don’t let anything keep you from getting your friend to Jesus. Do you need to elicit the help of a few brothers or sisters to make that happen? Let the Lord lead, He will point you to the right people and the right way to help your friend or loved one get to Jesus. He’s the only One who can forgive…and heal!

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Hope of Glory

“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory.” (Colossians 1:27 NLT)

As you think about what you’re hoping to achieve in this life, what, for you, would be your most glorious outcome? To be an Olympic athlete? To compete against the best athletes in the world? To own your own business and have all this world has to offer? To have a loving spouse with whom to share your life? To have a child? To be a teacher? Coach? Actor/Actress? Musician? Dancer? The list of options and opportunities are literally endless.

When we’re young and full of hope our minds can quickly fill with dollar signs. Our hope is to have an easy life in a job we love, with someone we love, that affords us opportunities to travel, to see and experience the world. And those ideas aren’t evil or bad in and of themselves. It’s just that like anything else of this world, they’re temporary and fleeting. It’s not enough to satisfy us long-term.

My dad was in the Army and served in Germany during the Nuremburg trials. While there, he and one of his Army buddies rode a motorcycle with a side car through the beautiful countryside of Switzerland. His dream was to one day return, and my dream was to take him. Our dreams didn’t materialize. Parkinson’s disease took his mind before I could put the funds together for us to go.

The good news is, while he didn’t make it to Switzerland, he did make it to someplace even more beautiful – heaven, with His Savior. Grant Osborne said: “Athletes shine for a moment and then are forgotten; after our race is won, we will share the joy with Jesus forever.”

Life on planet earth can be frustrating and disappointing. Things happen over which we have no control, yet we can rejoice in all circumstances because our hope isn’t in anything this world has to offer. Our hope is alive, active, and in control of all situations we’ll face in this life and the next. Our hope lives in us, abides with us, and works through us, not only to bless us, but that we may honor and bless Him.

We learn to see and better understand “the riches and glory of Christ” as we invest ourselves more fully in knowing, loving, and making much of Him. The reality is, it will take, not only this life, but the life to come, because the heights, depths, and width of His glory and riches are unfathomable. The insights He shares with us in this life are like a drop of water compared to the oceans of the world.

Think of the vastness of that which He has created. We can’t see it all with our most powerful telescopes, nor can we comprehend all we’re able to see with our strongest microscopes. In our bodies of clay, we’re never able to maximize the unlimited potential of our brain, however, some scientists believe we can expand the use of our brain through “exercise,” eating well, and other practical ways.

Like our bodies, our minds and spirits are subject to disease and deterioration, but while we’re able, we should constantly challenge ourselves to learn more, love more, experience more avenues that will enrich our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

The longer I live the closer I want to be to Jesus. He’s sharing ideas and insights in this season of my life that I never dreamed possible. I want to challenge you to make time to read, listen and experience things that will not only inform you, but inspire and enable you to see the Lord Jesus in ways you’ve never seen Him before.

His glory and majesty are incomprehensible, yet, to the extent we can open our hearts and minds to His Spirit’s leadership, to that extent we’ll begin to bask in the wonder of His presence living in and through us. Which deepens our assurance that one day, sooner than we can possibly imagine, we’ll share His glory . . . FOREVER!

HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Ready for God to Move?

“We wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:13-14)

*Please read carefully and be attentive to the Holy Spirit as you read this devotional by Sylvia Gunter. This was just too good not to share. Also, If Sylvia’s material blesses you as it’s blessed me, you are invited to purchase material at the bottom of the page. Used with permission.

Before every major new thing God did in the Bible God would tell His people “Consecrate yourself, purify yourself, repent.” Over and over, God showed new revelations of Himself or a new unfolding of His glory to those who prepared the way by purification. Study for yourself and see how many times God said, “Consecrate yourself, for tomorrow I will (or you will).”

• Before leaving Egypt—Exodus 12:15, Luke 12:1, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

• Before God met Moses in holy glory on the mountain—Exodus 19:10

• Before crossing the Jordan—Joshua 3:5

• Before God revealed sin in the camp—Joshua 7:13

• Before God’s new king was anointed to bear the lineage of Jesus—1 Samuel 16:5

• Before bringing the ark of the presence of the Lord to the place He prepared for it—1 Chronicles 15:12

• Before Hezekiah’s revival—2 Chronicles 29:5

• Before God pours out His Spirit—Joel 1:14, 2:15

• Before the entrance of Jesus into the world the message was “Repent to prepare the way of the Lord”—Matthew 3:2-3

• Before Jesus went to the cross—John 17:19

• Before the King of kings and Lord of lords reveals His omnipotence—Revelation 2-3

We all long to love God from a pure heart, but we are easily distracted and give our love to other things. Sometimes we don’t even realize it. God knows our weakness and loves us anyway. His constant encouragement to consecrate and purify ourselves is an act of a loving Father that knows what is best for us. God is jealous for the spirit He has put in us (James 4:1-5). He wants us to partner with Him in the things He is doing.

Consecration should begin with us. It is so easy to point the finger at other people who “need to get right with God.” Before praying for others, our church, community or nation, first we need to pray for ourselves. Titus 2:13-14 says, “We wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Are you willing to pray, “Jesus, thank You for redeeming me. Work in me Your redemption from all wickedness and purify me for Yourself for Your own possession, eager to do what is good.”

Movements of God are birthed in prayer and holiness as God’s people humble themselves to seek God’s face. The primary purpose is to seek God. To know Him and align all of who we are with who He is. Seek God’s face with humility and repentance, because God is the only answer to the urgent needs of our personal lives, our families, His church, the nation, and the world. Ask God how you are to seek Him.

Based on Seeking God’s Heart With Prayer And Fasting 40 Day Calendar from Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence Volume 1 © 2008 by Sylvia Gunter. An archive of past devotionals is available at www.thefathersbusiness.com

40 Day Calendar: Seeking God’s Heart With Prayer And Fasting

This 40 day calendar is taken from Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence Volume 1. It is not date specific so you can start it anytime God leads you to seek Him in prayer for 40 days. The front has specific topics and verses to pray each day. The back includes a biblical foundation for praying and fasting. This is a great tool for prayer groups to use.

$2.00 each, 10 or more $1.50 each Click here to learn more and order

Life’s Last Turn

“Look, I am coming soon, bringing My reward with Me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:12-13)

It’s about an 18-hour drive to visit my daughter, and though we break it up into two days of travel, it’s always a relief when we make that last turn into her driveway. Life is a journey that includes for every person a last turn. What will that turn look like for you? Will it be a long-awaited and welcomed end as your Savior welcomes you home? Or will it be a much-too-soon arrival at a destination that alarms and terrifies you?

Over the past week two separate stories have crossed my desk regarding what it’s going to be like when we die. Both persons had “near death” experiences and both told, at the end, of the peace they felt and the light that shone so brightly. As I listened to their stories, I kept asking the question: “Where is Jesus in this story?” Yes, we as Jesus-followers, often think of Him as “Light,” and that’s biblical, but if someone isn’t familiar with the Bible, what are they to conclude?

Yes, I’ve read books that tell stories of “dying” and coming back, but I’m cautious about believing anything that doesn’t align with Biblical truth. Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light and his business is lies and deceit. If he can persuade people to believe death holds no fear because everyone will enter a place of “light and peace,” many are going to be eternally lost.

The only way to know with certainty that our life’s “last turn” into eternity is positive and good, is to know Jesus. He alone is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). The Bible affirms in Acts 4:12: “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Anna Kay Scott, a missionary to China, said: “I shall never lose life’s zest, because the last turn in the road will be the best.” With every “turn” in my life my confidence increases in the Name above all names. The closer I get to heaven the stronger my conviction that apart from Jesus there is no eternal life, there is no heaven without Jesus.

Jesus said in Mark 13:21-22: “Then (in the last days) if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.” One of the easiest ways to deceive someone is to make them comfortable believing a lie they already believe.

There’s no commitment required if I believe when I die, I’m going to see a bright light and have peace. One man who told his story even declared he believed there was a god. That’s admirable, but it’s not saving faith. James reminds us in 2:19: “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.”

Here’s the bottom line, at least for me: I believe we’re living in the last days. What does that mean? It means I believe that Jesus could literally come any day. But the plot thickens because He doesn’t have to come for everyone, He can just come for me. Worldwide roughly 160,000 people die every day. Studies have given evidence that a very high percentage of those who die don’t know Jesus.

That grieves the heart of God and the hearts of those of us who know Him. Too many people in our spheres of influence aren’t sure they’re going to heaven when they die. If you’re a Jesus follower, please pray, as I pray every morning, that the Lord would do what only He can do in the people’s hearts and minds that I know, but I also pray that He’ll give me understanding as to what only I can do to help them know Him. I don’t want anyone I know to make their life’s last turn without Jesus, and I’m quite certain that if you’re still reading this, you don’t either.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Christ Be Magnified (Cody Carnes)

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” (Philippians 1:20 KJV)

In this season of my life, I want the above verse to be my heart’s cry., and I believe the message of this verse has been beautifully expressed in Cody Carnes’ song Christ Be Magnified. Few songs have gripped my spirit like this one. So, rather than reading my words today, would you click Magnified below and either follow along as Cody sings, or sing along as an offering of worship to our risen Savior. May this become our theme song for the rest of our days and throughout all eternity. Blessings, Ed 😊

*Please note: If an ad pops up you can delete it in a few seconds

Christ Be Magnified

Were creation suddenly articulate
With a thousand tongues to lift one cry
Then from north to south and east to west
We’d hear ‘Christ be magnified!’

Were the whole earth echoing His eminence
His name would burst from sea and sky
From rivers to the mountain tops
We’d hear ‘Christ be magnified!’
O! Christ be magnified!

Let His praise arise
Christ be magnified in me
O! Christ be magnified!
From the altar of my life
Christ be magnified in me

When every creature finds its inmost melody
And every human heart its native cry
O then in one enraptured hymn of praise
We’ll sing ‘Christ be magnified!’
O be lifted high, Jesus

O! Christ be magnified!
Let His praise arise
Christ be magnified in me
O! Christ be magnified!
From the altar of my life
Christ be magnified in me

[Bridge]
I won’t bow to idols, I’ll stand strong and worship You
And if it puts me in the fire, I’ll rejoice ’cause You’re there too
I won’t be formed by feelings, I’ll hold fast to what is true
If the cross brings transformation then I’ll be crucified with you

‘Cause death is just the doorway into resurrection life
And if I join You in Your suffering then I’ll join You when You rise
And when You return in glory with all the angels and the saints
My heart will still be singing and my song will be the same

Looking at What’s Left

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Gratitude is rarely, if ever, learned in good times, times of plenty or when your heart is light and you’re happy and carefree. Gratitude grows out of times of hunger and deep sadness; times we would never choose for ourselves.

There have been seasons of my life when nothing made sense; when God seemed far away, and prayer seemed useless. Faith was hard because my heart had grown cold. Fear and anger reigned and the tunnel of darkness in which I sought to find my way seemed unending. Those I once called “friend” were nowhere to be found; I stumbled under the weight of my debt, and love seemed a distant memory.

It was impossible for me to look at what was left because in my mind there was nothing but debt, darkness, and desertion. And the catalyst of my misery was assuming the blame was all mine. It’s impossible to “talk sense” into someone when nothing is making sense.

Rick Warren wrote: “How does gratitude develop your faith? It happens when times are tough—when things don’t make sense, when you can’t figure it out, when your prayers are unanswered, when everything is going the way you didn’t want it to go. It happens when you can say in those circumstances, “God, I know you’re in control. I know you love me, and I know you can bring good out of this. I’m thankful that you’re bigger than my problem.”

I wish I could say that that’s the way I responded, but it took time for me to figure it out. I had to run out of options and get to the very end of myself. I remember sitting by my bed wondering when this nightmare would end, complaining to God that I’d lost everything. I was exhausted, literally begging God to let me die, when God spoke. It wasn’t in an audible voice, but no less clear. He said: “You haven’t lost everything because you haven’t lost Me and I’m all you need.”

My circumstances didn’t immediately change, but I did. I learned to trust again, to love again, to believe again. Suddenly my empty cup was beginning to fill with evidence that God was with me and for me. It took time, but, as Dr. Robert Schuller often said: “Inch by inch, anything’s a cinch.”

Today I take nothing for granted. I give heartfelt thanks for everything the Lord gives me. Every second I have with Him, with my wife and kids, every meal, every house payment, utility bill, gift to the church, every time the Lord provides resources for the things we need from day to day. I’m learning that I don’t want anything unless the Lord makes it clear it’s from Him.

It’s difficult to give thanks for what’s left until you realize that you ALWAYS have, not necessarily some-THING left, but if you love Jesus, you always have some-ONE left. He will never leave or forsake us; He’s a very present help in times of need; He’s the Friend who’s walking in when everyone else is walking out; He’s the One who sticks closer than a brother.

I have no way of knowing what you’re going through right now, but I know this with absolute certainty, if you’re not grateful when times are good, you’ll not be able to give thanks when times are hard. Like Habakkuk in the prayer above, learn to be joyful in God your Savior and whatever happens you’ll always have some-One to which and for which you can be grateful. If you find one day, He’s all you have left – He’s enough!

Blessings, Ed 😊

You WILL Run Again!

“Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins!” (Isaiah 53:4 NLT)

While in high school I played basketball in a summer league. While jumping for a rebound I came down wrong on my ankle and involuntarily crashed to the pavement. I’d never in my life experienced pain so severe. In that moment I wasn’t thinking about basketball, I was wondering if I’d ever walk again.

We feel like that spiritually at times. Guilt and shame drive us to the ground, and we find ourselves groveling in self-pity, wondering if we’ll ever rise again. Like Peter, we fail the Lord in ways we never dreamed possible, then find it difficult to conceive of ever being able to move beyond our failure.

God enabled Isaiah the prophet to see hundreds of years into the future even as he was enmeshed in the pain of his present moment. In Isaiah 24:16-18a we read: “We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One! But my heart is heavy with grief. Weep for me, for I wither away. Deceit still prevails, and treachery is everywhere. Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth. Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.”

Our lives feel that way at times. We see the lawlessness of our world, where sin is rampant, and we seem powerless to do anything about it. Fear grips us as mass shootings increase, we’re afraid even to go to the grocery store. We know that one day God promises an end to all of this, but when? Our heart cries: “Lord Jesus, come!” But almost before the words are out of our mouths we think of our lost loved ones and friends.

Our failure is compounded by our deep desire to be useful in addressing the needs all around us, but if we can’t get up ourselves, how can we help anyone else? Satan’s strategy is to defeat us before we can get a foothold. If he can cause our thinking to be distorted, he can render us helpless in fulfilling the plans of God. If he can keep us from running our race, he can essentially eliminate whatever good we might have done.

That’s when we need a fresh anointing of God’s Spirit. That’s when we need to allow the Spirit’s voice to rise above our doubts and failures to enable us to see with fresh eyes all that God has done in and through our mighty Savior Jesus to equip us for victory. We CAN get up! We CAN run this race of faith victoriously – but not by ourselves.

It begins with allowing the Lord to refocus our attention, shifting it from our weakness to His strength; from our inability to forgive or heal ourselves, to His healing virtue released through His Spirit who dwells within; from all the things we’ve done wrong to all the things He did right! It’s not about us! Never was and never will be!

Jesus is our Victor! He’s our strength when we are weak! He’s our Redeemer when we feel like a throwaway! He’s our healer when we’re sick to death of our sinful bents! He’s our all in all when we’re worn and lame from the race of life! He undergirds and strengthens us when we feel useless and alone!

Listen child of God – JESUS IS ENOUGH! I’m not. You’re not. But HE IS! He’s your sufficiency! He’s your energy! He’s your lifeline that enables you to rise up when you think you can’t! He’s with you and for you, so hold your head up high and see your salvation coming at just the right time, in just the right way!

You WILL run again – with HIM!

Blessings, Ed 😊