Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

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Face to Face with Jesus

Monday, February 11th, 2013

On Saturday, I attended Margaret Bayne’s memorial service at Camp Homewood. Hers was a 96-year life well lived. The tributes paid to her proved it.

For me, a highlight was the singing of the old hymn “Face to Face.” Margaret was a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. She spoke about Him with every opportunity that came her way, encouraging others to acknowledge Him as Savior and to be His disciple. No doubt she could hardly wait to meet Jesus face to face, and now that longing has become reality.

The lyrics of the hymn—one of Margaret’s favorites—moved me to tears. The beauty of heaven no doubt surpasses anything our human imaginations can fathom, but meeting Jesus…words can’t adequately describe what that will be like.

Sometimes life gets so crazy busy that we fail to reflect Jesus, who He is, and what He’s done for us. We forget that He emptied Himself of everything that was rightfully His to take on human form. We forget that He became a man who experienced thirst, hunger, fatigue, grief, and temptation. He suffered scorn, beatings, and death on our behalf because He loved us even though we didn’t deserve it.

And now Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand in heaven, and He prays for us. He’s also preparing a place for us so we can spend eternity with Him.

Jesus is real. He’s not a fairy tale, nor a figment of someone’s imagination. He’s the risen Son of God—alive and well and deserving our love and obedience. He is our breath, our life. He quenches our spiritual thirst and He satisfies our spiritual hunger.

Those who have placed their trust in Jesus alone for salvation will someday spend eternity with Him. Someday He’ll wrap His arms around them, and all the pain experienced while on earth will fade away. Someday they, like Margaret, will see Him face to face. What a moment!

Do you know Jesus? If not, you can do so right now. Acknowledge that you’re a sinner in need of forgiveness. Accept His free gift of salvation, and you will have eternal life. It’s really that simple—“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I made the decision to follow Jesus when I was eight years old. That was just the beginning of my faith journey. Life has thrown me a few curveballs, but Jesus has been there for me all the way. I can’t imagine living life without Him. And I don’t want you to live without Him either.

Questions or comments? Let me know if I can assist you in any way.

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Christmas and Connecticut

Monday, December 17th, 2012

A community in Connecticut, nay, the world, wrestles with unimaginable grief and shock. The scope of what happened a few days ago cannot be comprehended. The emotional pain of those who lost their loved ones cannot be fathomed. And the trauma of those who survived, and of those who study the scene for clues cannot be imagined. The fact that it happened during the Christmas season, when carolers sing of silent nights and joy to the world, intensifies the pain.

A tragedy of this scope boggles the human mind. We ask “why” and we search for answers, but we find none. No doubt, the void may cause some to grow angry with God and blame Him for the mess humanity’s made.

May I offer these words? Heaven forbid they sound like easy platitudes. That’s certainly not my intent. I offer them with a broken heart—one that weeps with those who are weeping today.

The truth is, God’s well aware of humanity’s mess. That’s why He sent Jesus—the Messiah—to bring hope and healing. More than two thousand years ago, a prophet spoke these words: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NLT).

The prophecy came true in Bethlehem when a tiny babe was born to a young Jewish couple. That baby was Jesus—God in human form. God reached out to mankind, becoming like one of us yet without the inherent evil we possess. He did this so He could experience the same things we do—hunger, thirst, fatigue, sorrow, joy, temptation, anger, even death. Imagine! He became one of us—He entered our messy world—and then provided the way to survive the messes we make. Think of it…

Jesus—Wonderful Counselor—wants to encourage, strengthen, and bring hope to those struggling with grief, shock, and anger today.

Jesus—Mighty God—longs to turn this tragedy into something good and show His healing power to the people in Connecticut.

Jesus—Everlasting Father—invites the grieving to run to Him, crawl into His lap, and bury our faces in His chest. He longs to put His arms around us, hold us tight when we cry, and wipe the tears from our eyes.

Jesus—Prince of Peace—takes our turmoil and turns it to calm when we invite Him into our lives.

I published this prayer on Saturday, but I’m doing it again in hopes that more readers will join me in praying for those who grieve:

“Heavenly Father, we do not understand what happened in Connecticut. Our hearts break, as does Yours, for the senseless loss of human life. We cry to You on behalf of those who lost their loved ones and for those who survived the trauma. Please bring comfort. Please, God, erase the memories that could instill fear and nightmares. Erase the terror and replace it with peace that passes human understanding. Flood them with hope and healing, beginning today. And bring something good from this tragedy as only a miracle-working God can do. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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What Brings God Joy?

Friday, January 6th, 2012

On Monday I wrote that my special word for 2012 is joy. Wouldn’t ya know it—that  word pops up nearly every time I open my Bible now.

JOY…….JOY…….JOY

I love it when God crystallizes the lessons He wants me to learn. And I enjoy processing those lessons by blogging about them. Writing about the nuggets He gives causes me to slow down and ponder, not merely skim and rush off likely forgetting everything I just read.

Because my word is joy, be prepared for lots of ponderings on that theme. This week, for instance, I realized my focus on joy revolves mostly around me: What brings me joy? What does God say brings joy? Am I prepared to learn joy in the hard places of life? But then I read a New Testament story that caused me to think about joy in a different light.

The story concerns Jesus’ baptism. The Scripture says, “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy’” (Matthew 3:16,17).

I linger on the words who brings me great joy. They captivate me as I think about their meaning. Imagine—Alpha and Omega, King of the universe, Creator of everything seen and unseen, the great I AM—experiencing joy, too. What was the source? Jesus, His only Son.

As a mother of three, I can relate to His feelings. Precious little brings me as much joy as my kids and grandkids—especially when we’re together sharing meals, playing games, enjoying good conversation—and knowing that they’re doing well in every way. Perhaps you can relate.

Now imagine the God of heaven experiencing similar joy. Why? Because we’re His children. Imagine Him smiling on us, taking pleasure in us, expressing delight in us. The thought warms my heart. So does Zephaniah 3:16,17—“Don’t be afraid! For the Lord God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

What brings God joy? We do. Let’s resolve to keep it that way. Let’s live in such a way that we bring a smile to His face and a song to His heart.

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It’s All about Jesus

Monday, August 29th, 2011

My blog will look different this week ‘cause I’m away from my office for a few days. Enjoy!


“God will never, never, never let us down if we have faith and put our trust in him. He will always look after us. So we must cleave to Jesus. Our whole life must simply be woven into Jesus.” (Mother Teresa)

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God Loves YOU!

Monday, June 27th, 2011

It's true!

The countdown is on. Within a few days, our British Airways jet will be wingin’ its way over the North Pole and landing in London enroute to Budapest. From there, we’ll travel by van into Romania. Only God knows what’s in store this summer as we once again have the privilege of loving and learning from teens and young adults with seriously compromised immune systems.

I wish you could all meet these young men and women. To call them courageous is an understatement. They face incredible odds, have few or no physical and medical resources, and still they laugh. They also worship in a way that could put most North American believers to shame.

I also wish I could post pictures so you could meet them via the internet, but that would risk confidentiality and potentially cause them undo hardship. And so, I’ll blog when I have internet access and try to describe what we’re doing and learning while being sensitive to my “kids’”situation. Honestly, I can hardly wait to give each one a great big hug!

Please pray for our team as we go. We have four women and three men. We’ll be teaching the Word, enjoying crafts, playing games, and becoming experts at the ministry of “hanging out.” It’s possible that we’ll visit infectious disease hospitals and do some ministry in outlying villages as well, although we haven’t heard those specifics from our career staff yet.

My to-do list is ‘way too long right now! I’m still working on a book proposal that needs to be turned over to my agent before Thursday and doing a gazillion other things, so I’m simply going to leave you to ponder two verses that really encouraged me this morning:

“The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love, ” and “The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness” (Psalm 145:8,17).

You know what grabbed me when I read the verses? They share one common word: filled. The visual image is a goodie. Imagine—God is filled with both unfailing love and kindness. If Divine love and kindness were measured by the cup, it would overflow. There’s nothing skimpy about those qualities in His character.

This is the God who adopts us into His family. Can we trust such a One as this with every detail of our lives? Absolutely. Need we fear when we cannot see or understand? Never.

Have a great day, my friend. Know that this God, the One who’s filled with love and kindness, goes with you.

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See the Opportunity

Monday, June 6th, 2011

"God, give us spiritual eyes to see opportunities to speak about You."

Traveling by plane as often as I do provides lots of opportunities to speak with fellow passengers. When I engage in a conversation, I’ll admit that my spiritual antennae are up, looking for ways to share God’s love. Often, the other person makes a comment that makes for a perfect lead-in. Last December, a lady seated next to me asked, “I’m on a personal quest for peace. Have you found it yet?” One usually only dreams of such obvious openings.

As believers, we need to go through life looking for and recognizing opportunities to present Jesus. Peter did so, specifically in Acts 3:12 when people showed their amazement upon seeing him heal a lame man. He seized the moment to direct their attention to God, whose power made it possible for the man, born lame, to walk and leap.

“Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd,” says Acts 3:12. Let’s ask God to give us eyes like Peter’s. Let’s ask Him to enable us to see divine opportunities to share our faith, the reason for our hope, the source of our joy and peace.

Those opportunities might happen on the city bus. They might come at the hair salon, or in a restaurant, or at the gym. We don’t know how God is working in other people’s lives, but we know that He is. And we just need to be alert, keeping our spiritual eyes open to see those opportunities when they come.

Question: Describe a recent opportunity you’ve had to share Jesus.

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The Pathway to Peace

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

A couple of months ago, God placed a 30-something woman in the seat next to mine on a flight bound for Minneapolis. The woman slept for the first hour or so, but when she woke from her nap, she immediately engaged me in an amazing , God-ordained conversation. Here’s how it started:

“What do you do?” she asked.

“I write magazine articles and books, and I co-direct a non-profit organization that focuses on Eastern Europe.”

“You write? I’ve always wanted to write a book,” she said.

“Really? What would it be about?” I asked. The woman fell silent. She seemed stymied, so I gave her a prompt: “If you could write what’s on your heart, what would your message be?”

Her face lit up. “I’m on a personal quest,” she said. “I’m searching for peace. Have you found it yet?”

Wow. I shot an arrow prayer heavenward, asking for wisdom and the right words. I told her about Jesus, the Prince of Peace, and how He has enabled me to face very difficult situations with a confidence that’s impossible on my own. She asked numerous questions, and again, I prayed for right answers. Our conversation lasted until the plane landed and we parted ways. She didn’t place her faith in Jesus that day, but I know spiritual seeds were planted in her heart. God will water them and bring them to harvest.

Since that day, I’ve noticed several articles written about peace. Their titles usually read something like, “The Quest for Peace,” “Five Steps to Peace,” or “How to Find Peace in a Chaotic World.” Regardless of their title, their content is similar, offering readers specific strategies to find calm in the storms of life.

Sometimes those strategies are empty fluff; sometimes not. In my experience, I’ve found the most meaningful acknowledge Jesus as the gate leading to the pathway to peace.  Luke 1:78,79 confirms this:

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Jesus – the morning light from heaven – came to earth 2,000 years ago. Titled “the Prince of Peace,” He alone can grant us true peace in the midst of chaos. Granted, there are specific steps we can take to promote peace in our lives, but He is the foundation.

On Friday, I’ll list several specific strategies we can take to find peace. Until then, marvel in God’s tender mercy as shown through His sending the morning light from heaven to shine on us.

Question: What’s your secret to peace in the midst of a difficult situation?

Image: Sujin Jetkasettakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Heaven — More Than Wishful Thinking

Friday, August 28th, 2009

My father-in-law’s death last month naturally caused sorrow because we’ll miss his presence in our lives. Despite the grief, however, I’ve experienced an undeniable peace and even a sense of celebration. This man, age 90, lived a good life and was ready to take up residence in heaven – a promise fulfilled because he’d placed his saving faith in Jesus Christ. Earthly pain and struggles are behind him, and without doubt, he’s now with his Savior.

His passing reminded me of my father’s death a year ago. As his body slowly shut down, he whispered precious words to my mother. They were words that brought comfort in our loss, words that brought hope, peace, and that same sense of celebration. “It’s so beautiful there,” he gasped. “I see Jesus.” (more…)

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Peace Be With You

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

I posted a day early because I’m heading out of town for speaking engagements and not sure whether or not I’ll have email access while I’m away. Blessings on you, my friend. Here’s the next devotional…

Huddling in a room behind locked doors, Jesus’ disciples reeled from the events they’d just experienced. They’d witnessed their beloved leader being crucified like a common criminal, and now they feared for their own lives. The atmosphere was sullen, the mood grim. But not for long!

Suddenly Jesus – the risen and victorious Son of God – stood among His disciples! His first words to them were, “Peace be with you.” As He spoke, He showed them the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side. Then He spoke again: “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19,20)

Why did He speak these words to His followers? And why did He show His wounds to them at that moment? Perhaps it’s because He recognized their shock and sorrow at His death. He also knew their fear of the future. He wanted to reassure them, to comfort and soothe them at their deepest point of need rather than leave them in their distress. His words and His wounds – visual evidence of His deep love for them and of His power to overcome all things – served that purpose.   

Let’s remember this encounter between Jesus and His followers when we experience situations that leave us feeling lonely, abandoned, hopeless, or afraid. Jesus is the risen and victorious Son of God! We can know His peace when we remember who He is and that His presence is with us.

Can you recall a time when He met you at your deepest point of need? How did He do that?

“Thank You, Jesus, for being my peace no matter what life brings.”

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Recuperating from Trip

Friday, April 10th, 2009

It’s April 10, and we’re home! It’s great to be back despite the waves of jet lag fatigue that roll over me as I unpack, do laundry, sort the mail, answer emails, and run errands.

I’ll jump into the devotional blogging again on Easter Monday morning. In the meantime, enjoy the weekend – celebrate Jesus, the risen Savior who gives hope and meaning to life!

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