Faith

Comfort and Joy

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

In the church my dad attended years ago they loved singing:

The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from Heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found—
The Comforter has come!    Frank Bottome 1890

God is near to comfort. But if we look to friends, activities or work in order to quiet the chorus of grief and loss we feel we will miss out on a living relationship with Him.  Maybe the past is clouding your vision of the path just ahead. Hurt, pain and the empty chair across the table are shouting out, while God whispers in His still small voice. Jesus promised to send us Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit to come and sit by our side. In His presence are quiet waters to drink from that heal and restore our souls. Once we drink from His stream we can go on with a cup of comfort to share with anyone in need along our way. Then we will know with Paul that the greatest joy is found, not by searching for it, but by asking, “Who can I comfort today?”

 

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What are Your Plans?

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I loved the scene from the film “Evan Almighty” when Evan (Steve Carell) tells God “But I have my plans!) then God (Morgan Freeman) laughs and responds, “Your plans?”

I laugh every time because it is a conversation I have silently had with God on so many occasions. “But I planned to sing a song, make a friend or start a new job”. Those were my plans! But God in His infinite love and mercy pulls out His schedule, glances down and shakes His head lovingly. “Nope! Pete…You’re just going to have to trust me with this.”. Ever notice how our Heavenly Father loves to put the ball back into our court and then waits to see our response? Here are a few folks from the Bible who also had plans:

Job would have liked to stay rich, safe and blessed.

Mary was planning what to wear to her wedding

Elisha just wanted to finish ploughing his father’s field

Peter wished he could catch a few fish.

But God had other amazing, astonishing and challenging plans they could never have even imagined. God also has awesome plans for you and me. What are your plans? What might God be calling for in your life today? Whatever it is we know that His plans are way better than anything we could dream!

Where are you going?

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Today is our big moving day however unlike Abraham we do know where we are going. We are truly thankful for all the help of our brothers and sisters who have helped us be ready for this time. We are launching out in faith a lot like Abraham and though we do know where we are going we have no idea clearly of what God has for us there. We do sense He is calling and today we will take our first few steps on that journey. Maybe we should all pause more often to ask ourselves the question: where am I going today? And our faith can answer – God knows the destination!

y faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/heb.11.8.NKJV