Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow

As we live in this world, we often go through patches of problems. It seems like they come in bunches sometimes! So the other morning as I was praying, I prayed for “strength for today and hope for tomorrow”. And the phrase made me sit up and pay attention! I had no idea where it came from except as a need in my heart and life at the moment. I have since discovered it is found in a hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, verse three.

Since then I have been thinking about these two things God gives his children, strength and hope. It is a blessed comfort to know that God cares about what is burdening our hearts, whether they be big or small; whether there be one or many. God is there to help us.

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”

Psalm 118:14, “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 33:2, “O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our strength every morning, our 

salvation in the time of trouble.”

Isaiah 40:31, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen; aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, goal, plan, design; a feeling of trust

Psalm 42:5, 6a “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” The psalmist says, “My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Verse 7, “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.”

The psalm ends with a repeat of verses 5 - 6a “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

Ephesians 1:18, “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.”

Psalm 40:1 is a psalm of thanksgiving that recounts the suffering of an individual whose hope was realized. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

Psalm 130:5, –“ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 7- O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.”

Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” If you are going through a tough time, a trial or feel burdened down with the cares of this world, use this three part exercise – rejoice in hope, be patient in the midst of your problems and be constant in prayer.

Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

A very familiar and beloved scripture is found in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” And the next verse is so important: Vs 12, “ Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.” What an awesome promise from our God! He will hear us when we call upon Him!

My prayer for you today is found in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Grace for Each Day

“Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.” Thomas Merton

A friend of mine posted this thought on Facebook this morning: “The day is fresh with no mistakes in it. Thankful for grace this morning.” This made me think of a phrase another friend quoted to me a few months ago: “Every day is a new story!” Do you carry burdens from one day to another? Do you berate yourself for mistakes you made yesterday and continue the lament into today? You don't have to do this! Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. And He will supply you with grace for today. II Corinthians 12:8, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Ephesians 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.”

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

If you are not a Christian, today is the day to begin a life free from sin. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Isaiah 1:18 “ . . .Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” When we have asked Jesus for forgiveness from our sins, and accepted Him into our heart and life, then we know this truth found in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself . . .”

Most of us have needed a place of beginning again, whether it was from some big sin or just a terribly bad day. If we have sinned, then our Savior is waiting for us to repent and come back to a right standing with Him. Ephesians 2:13, “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. “

Sometimes we need a fresh start. Do you suffer with regrets? Bitterness from being treated wrongly? Wrong choices? Isaiah 43:18-19, “Remember not the former thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” And in Philippians 3:11-14, “Brothers (and Sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

James 4:6, “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Verse 8 tells us to “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

A song from long ago just came to mind made famous by Evie Tornquist, Give Them All which you can listen to HERE. As you go about your life, every night, give all your burdens to Jesus and then you can begin anew in the morning!

Give Them All

Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows

Are you tired of spinning round and round

Wrap up all the shattered dreams of your life

At the feet of Jesus lay them down

CHORUS

Give them all

Give them all

Give them all to Jesus

Shattered dreams

Wounded hearts

Broken toys

Give them all

Give them all

Give them all to Jesus

And he will turn your sorrow into joy

VERSE 2

He never said you’d only see sunshine

He never said there’d be no rain

He only promised a heart full of singing

About the very things that once caused pain

The Funeral of a Saint: blessing and celebration

I recently attended the funeral of a dear saint in our church whom I also considered a friend. He led a life pleasing to God and made an impact on his family, church and community, even to foreign lands. The service was labeled, A Celebration. And it truly was.

I have always found it interesting who shows up at a viewing or funeral. Often it is people I know but I didn't know they knew the deceased person. It is intriguing to note how our lives touch other lives and we are all intertwined together here on earth.

Somehow I always feel blessed at a funeral! That sounds strange to some, but I guess it is how my mind works. I sing the hymns that speak of heaven and being with Jesus and I remember the sometimes long and painful journey of the deceased and I know that that person is finally free from pain and enjoying the wonders of heaven with Jesus. But it is more than that. I believe it is the Spirit of God in my soul responding to the hymns, and the living Word of God and the words of comfort in the message.

It is a time of rejoicing within my heart for the plan of salvation whereby I have a hope of heaven. A thankfulness to be part of the family of God. And also a gratefulness that I responded to the Holy Spirit's call to be saved over 51 years ago. I am so amazed at the awesomeness of our God who knew we as mankind would need to be redeemed and that he had a plan from the foundation of the world, that His Son, Jesus, would come to earth, live a short 33 years and then die on a cross so that we all could have our sins forgiven, we would become new creatures in Christ, and we would have eternal life and the hope of heaven when we die. This makes a funeral of a Christian a time of rejoicing. And my heart responds to these thoughts as I sit in a “celebration” service.

We sang a number of contemporary Christian songs which were favorites of the family. One song was, “You 're a Good, Good Father” (Chris Tomlin) which is another of my favorites. It is a song of love back to Father God thanking Him for being such a good father to us.

You're a Good Good Father

It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are

And I'm loved by you

It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am.

The Saints Sing Hallelujah was sung with joy and exuberance as we realized that we are saints because of the shed blood of Jesus and we have every reason to sing Hallelujah!

The Word of God is a living epistle as Jesus said in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So when scriptures are read during a funeral, that Living Word connects with the Living God, Jesus, living within our hearts and we rejoice! A few well known verses include:

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

I Thessalonians 4:13-14, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

Of course we are human and we grieve for our lost loved one. But it is a grief with hope. Praise be to God! We know we will see that person again in heaven if each of us has prayed for forgiveness of our sins and asked Jesus to live in our hearts. We are told in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” So we cry with those who are grieving but we rejoice with them that their loved one is in heaven!

At the end of the service we sang, It Is Well With My Soul. What a glorious ending as nearly 300 people raised their voices in praise to God. It is such a comfort to know that it is well between the Almighty God and we who have accepted the free gift of salvation. It is a reminder or just a glimpse of what it will be like some day when all the saints will be in heaven, singing around the throne of God, and we will be able to praise our Redeemer like never before.

I will never forget the funeral of a dear saint in Virginia over 40 years ago. The widow asked my friend and I to sing, Then Sings My Soul. When we sang this third verse, she burst out in shouts of praise, because she knew that Jesus had come to take her husband home to heaven.

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and lead me home,

 what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow with humble adoration And then proclaim, my God, 

How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, 

How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, 

How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art.

Labels and Lessons Learned

Labels: carrot top, poor kid, gopher, four eyes, ugly, just . . . These are some of the labels Phil wore as a young school boy. It made me think of my elementary years and the labels I wore. When I was in first grade, we had first and second grade together for the first half of the year while an addition was being built onto the school. This was a good thing for me because when she was teaching the second graders, I heard them reading and reading came easy for me and that teacher was a very good teacher. Then we first graders went down to the new classroom and even though the teacher was very nice, there was at least one incident that labeled me. I remember when we were learning to tell time and I answered a question that it was 45 minutes after two and she said I was wrong, that it was 2:45. But my parents had taught me to tell time this way and I felt rejected and dumb.

In second grade I broke my arm and I recall the teacher fussing at me for scratching my desk. She didn't say anything till I almost had my cast off so she could have remedied the situation earlier. But I felt chastised and guilty. Third grade was the worse! The teacher had two sets of students and we knew we weren't her favorites being on the blue team. During an oral book report, I was nervous and mistakenly said the Big Bad Wolf was a different animal. The teacher said, “You go sit down. You haven't read the book.” I was mortified and ashamed. And I felt dumb. Fourth grade was probably the best year as the teacher was a lot older and kind. I don't remember anything negative! But fifth grade was humiliating. The teacher was determining where we were going to sit with two desks being against each other. And she paired the students together until it was just one boy and me remaining. No one wanted to sit beside him because he smelled bad. But I was made to sit with him. This made me feel devalued and ostracized. I also remember being called out of class by the principal because my mother hadn't sent a doctor's excuse for one of my foster brothers. I was a child! And I should not have had this burden put on me. I felt scared. Also that year, because we didn't have a phone, the second grade teacher threatened me that if my foster brother didn't bring in a library book the next day that I would be in trouble. I felt treated unfairly and was afraid of authority figures.

Sixth grade was a blur. The teacher didn't teach much and was out of the classroom often. But I can see now in looking back that I had leadership qualities as I wrote a letter of thanks to the PTA for our class trip to Gettysburg and signed it from the class. I also learned that I could sing! I missed being in county chorus because I was sick the day of the tryouts. Lesson learned: I was more than the labels put on me.

Also during these years, I was always the last person picked for playing ball and genuinely felt like a shadow, unseen by most. During recess, the teachers made us go outside and then they would circle the building with their knitting in hand, walking without being present to what was happening on the playground. I was also taunted and made fun of on the way home from the bus stop. What wounds children inflict on other children! Such a sad state of the human heart.

So I determined when I went to seventh grade that this was my chance to become popular. To get lots of friends in a new environment. But I ended up escaping to the library and reading all kinds of fiction books. I read a book a day most days! But my studies suffered and I failed seventh grade. So my new label was failure. This turned out to be a good thing as it opened my eyes to reality and also landed me with a different group of friends. And as the years progressed, I progressed in learning. I found out I wasn't dumb! Lesson learned: education was a positive and I could learn.

We all know children can be cruel but it is unconscionable when adults hurt a child. I don't think these kinds of things happen in our schools today, at least I hope not. But since I experienced being the odd one out and not feeling wanted, it helped me later in high school to reach out to others in those situations. There were two boys on the school bus that no one wanted to sit with and they would each choose the two front seats. So I decided I would take turns sitting with each of them. This was my way of making my earlier wounds produce the fruit of kindness. Lesson learned: compassion.

A lot of labels are hurtful but there are many that are not. Think of . . .beautiful, lovely, smart, cute, awesome, handsome, graceful, kind; and many more.

The little boy named Phil from the beginning of this blog is Phil Cross! He is a successful singer/songwriter. He continues on to say that he met a Friend who has a book and He wrote his name in the book. And Phil's new label is – I am Redeemed! He wrote a song with this title and you can see the video clip HERE of him recounting his labels as a young boy and then hear his song, I Am Redeemed.

I am so thankful that I also found this Friend, Jesus, as a sixteen year old! It was then I realized that I was loved, cherished, a daughter of the Almighty Father God, a member of the Family of God, a child of God, and I could also take on this new label, I am Redeemed!

I hope my recounting these early childhood wounds will not come across as whining but will serve as an encouragement that we can overcome these types of labels and replace them with the true things of who we are as a person. But most of all, we need to release the things all those kids said to us in elementary school and (re)learn who we are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”