Faith

Getting Back in the Boat With Jesus

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And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Matthew 14:32 NKJV

This seemingly insignificant verse from Matthew’s gospel held a promise for me that I had overlooked till I desperately needed it. My mother was just 62 when she died of breast cancer and her passing left me feeling like I had been run over by a truck. The years struggling to rebuild our relationship, the prayers and the conversations were suddenly over. I felt as if I were locked in a room with barely enough air to breathe. I sleep walked through months of guilt and regret for what had never been. I had often thought about God challenging me as He had challenged Peter to get out of the boat. At other times I had been comforted knowing that just as Jesus had reached out his hand to save Peter He would take my hand in the middle of a crisis. But it was just as important for me to learn that Jesus wanted to help me back into the boat and restore calm when this storm had passed. I do not know how it happened but gradually light began shining in the dark places of my heart. I woke up to find that though I might never understand the why behind the pain, just knowing that God knew had become enough. Do you struggle to see God as more than just challenging or rescuing you? It is a wonderful surprise that waits when you realize that He is also delighted to help you back in the boat and calm the wind to a hush.

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Your Kingdom Come

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Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10 ESV

How many times have we prayed this prayer wondering how or when we might see God’s kingdom without considering that He might be most interested in it coming in our home? Maybe that is because we are more accustomed to think of God’s kingdom as only a heavenly place with gold streets and pearly gates. But that part of God’s kingdom is not in need of coming; it already is.

When Jesus taught us how to pray it was all about worship and change. We worship our Father in Heaven, then item by item we pray for Him to change our hearts to be like His.

The title of the well known hymn “I surrender all” is exactly how we should come to the Lord’s Prayer. Why not start a surrender list this morning something like this; Your kingdom come your will be done in my choices relationships and schedule, as it is in heaven? We will be amazed to see what our day may be when it all belongs to Him!

Growing Older With Jesus

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I am grateful to my friend Robert Keller for his guest post today. Recently as he was recovering from a medical incident he spent three weeks in a long term care setting. That experience put him in the same kind of situation I see every week as I visit in facilities around our community. It is easy to forget that residents in long term care are no different than any of us on the outside. But God remembers! Here is my good friend’s perspective on growing older and learning to lean more and more on the Lord.

Robert Keller

 

As we grow older, we become painfully aware of our increasing physical limitations.  Although outwardly there is a slow decline which results in restricted activity, inwardly the Spirit of God is carrying on an amazing process of revitalization and transformation that results in an ever-increasing freedom unlike anything we experienced in our youth.

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It gets harder and harder to make out what friends are saying to us in a noisy restaurant, but our hearts hear the Shepherd’s voice more clearly than ever. We find that our legs cannot carry us as far or as fast as they used to, yet our walk with the Lord is strong and steady and it leaves us energized instead of exhausted. Our minds are now slow to process new information, but through the Holy Spirit, we are gaining a progressively deeper understanding of the truths found in God’s word. We do not see as well as we once did, but spiritually, our eyes have grown keener and we clearly see the hand of God moving in marvelous ways. Life in this world may become increasingly difficult as our bodies wear out, yet our hearts are filled with peace, hope and joy because

As we focus on the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. (2 Cor 3:18)