walking by faith

Hitting the Pause Button

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 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.          Mark 6:31 NKJV

I need to hit the pause button on writing for a little while. I need a quiet place though the above passage actually didn’t work out because by the time the disciples and Jesus got to that other shore there were folks waiting to meet them! None the less I cannot but believe that it is His will for a time away; and more importantly a time to refocus on Jesus. I will be posting weekly on my companion blog “New Beginnings” for those of you interested in Nursing Home Ministry.  Obeying the Lord in coming aside precludes knowing when He will say it is time to return if ever to what went before.  May God bless all of you who have read, followed, or liked praise2worship. May you follow close behind Jesus and you step into 2020!

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Seeing 2020

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While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.      2 Corinthians 4:18 KJV

One day Jesus sat down for dinner with a wealthy Pharisee named Simon. During their meal the pleasantness of the scene was harshly interrupted by a weeping woman. She burst into the room and began kissing the feet of Jesus and wiping them clean with her hair. Simon was shocked! It was well known in his community what flagrant sins this woman had committed. How dare she enter his house, and furthermore how could Jesus (If He really were a prophet) allow himself to be touched by someone like her?

Yet Jesus saw the circumstances quite differently than Simon. Jesus didn’t look at the fine tableware or the expensive furnishings. Jesus hadn’t at all been impressed by the beautiful columns or the hand carved door at the entry of Simon’s home. Instead Jesus saw the coldness of Simon’s heart. He had noticed that Simon had not given him the customary kiss on the cheek, or offered water for his feet to be washed. Jesus saw quite clearly the depth of repentance and gratitude of this woman and treasured her acts of love and friendship.

God does not see things as we see them and as we enter this New Year my prayer is for God to give us His 2020 heavenly vision. I ask that we can see the value that Jesus sees in others and how worthless so many things are to which we so tightly cling. The challenges that we meet this year we be better met when we can see and treasure the invisible things of God’s eternal worth.

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God’s Point of View

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And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6

I learned a few valuable lessons during my time as a tree surgeon that has helped me in my climb of faith. Tree climbing can be dangerous but our perception of that danger depends on whether we are standing at the bottom or the top of the tree. God is in the business of changing our point of view!  KIMG1816

The first thing we learn is to not look up. In fact the first thing to do is to simply assemble your gear. While I collected my rope, saddle, long pole and ladder I didn’t have time to worry about how much of the tree stood above me. In the same way our walk of faith begins each day by asking for mercy and grace. When we do that; then God comes and fastens His forgiveness around our waist and He pulls us up by His rope of love. We cannot make progress if we worry that His love and mercies will fail. But as we trust God’s equipping then He slowly but surely helps us to climb up towards Him. Secondly we need a ladder to help us get off the ground.  That is what God does when He sends His Holy Spirit. His Spirit comes in and lifts us up daily towards Jesus.  We can’t figure it out or work it out; we just have to keep climbing by faith. Last of all when a climber gets to the highest point in the tree he ties in, sits back and then looks out.

KIMG1845That is God’s promise. He will raise us up so that we can look out and see all of His amazing plan and know that our entire climb has been by grace. We will finally understand that because He has loved us He has brought us up to heaven and seated us right next to Jesus Christ!

 

 

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