Memorial Day

“…In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted

and You delivered them…” Psalm 22:4

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is a holiday in our country that is set aside to remember the dead service men and women of all wars. This gives us an opportunity to honor those who have died in our nation’s service, a time when we can remember those who shed their blood for our country’s freedom. These men and women lived and died for a cause. They believed in freedom for a place called the United States of America.

This year we also honor and remember one of our own fallen hero’s; 20 year old Army Private Andrew Krippner. Andrew was one of our youth that just graduated last year and was in his first month of his first tour of duty when he lost his life on the battlefield in northern Afghanistan earlier this week. Andy was loved and will be missed by many. Please say a prayer for His Mother and Father as they have now lost their only child.

Father God made the establishment of memorials a regular part of the Israelites lives. Memorials were set up so that there would always be an understanding and acknowledgement of what God had done.

We experience that every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper together; remembering what our Lord Jesus has done for us in His death. We are also partaking in memorials every time we come together to worship. As we worship together, read scripture, meditate on devotionals and sing songs of praise written by men and women of God who lived and died serving their King we look into and remember the events that God brought them through. We also get a glimpse into what God did in and through them to pave the way for what we are able to experience today.

The list of people is great: Moses, Isaiah, David, Peter, Paul, D.L. Moody, Fanny Crosby, Oswald Chambers, Keith Green and many more.

Remember, freedom isn’t free. A life is always required to be sacrificed. As a part of your day tomorrow and in the days to come, let’s do two things: Thank Jesus for His sacrifice bringing offering eternal freedom from sin and the penalty of sin. And secondly, thank a soldier for their commitment and sacrifice providing you and me with the freedoms we enjoy freely today.

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Look at the birds of the air;

They do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

And yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Matthew 6:26

As I sat and took in the morning breeze one day, I noticed a dove perched on a telephone wire. It looked perfectly healthy and seemed to not have a care in the world. That dove came back to mind later that day. Where was it? Did it get food? Where will it go if it were to begin to storm? How will it protect itself from danger? It seemed that I worried more about this bird’s welfare than it did for itself.

As I thought about this, however, I was reminded of one of my favorite songs, that Ethel Waters used to sing, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” That song reminds me that, even though I have a huge advantage over a bird to take care of myself, I am just as dependent on God for my welfare and survival as that bird is.

Neither that bird nor I have any clue as to our destiny for the day. However, both of us have a God who created us for a purpose and has faithfully provided for us each day of our lives, and He will continue to do so until that purpose is completed.

As your week begins, you may feel like a bird on a wire, wondering what you will do, where you will go, or how you will make it emotionally, physically, etc. Take that burden and give it to the Lord. Remember that if He cares and provides for the birds of the air, then He will most definitely provide and care for you. Don’t think that He can’t handle your burden. He carried the weight of the world on His shoulders, so He’ll have no problem caring for you.

Don’t forget to give a special “thank You” to Him for that today through your praise and worship.

Gratitude

O Thou, whose bounty fills my cup

With every blessing meet!

I give Thee thanks for every drop-

The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,

And for the riverside;

For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,

And all Thy grace denied.

(Jane Crewdson)

Who Am I?

Every once in awhile it’s good to take a moment and reflect on how God views His children. This helps us go through our days and our circumstances, whether good or bad, with the proper perspective on life and of our God. When our perspective of God is correct our perspective of life is made clearer. Here’s a reminder of who we are in Christ. Let’s be encouraged and thankful.

I am accepted…

John 1:12 I am God’s child.

Romans 5:1 I have been justified.

1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body

Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I am secure…

Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28 I am assured that god works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He stated in me.
Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me without God’s permission.

I am significant…

John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ the true vine and a channel of His life.
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
I Corinthians 3:16 I am God’s temple.
Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Look deep into that mirror today and let’s give Him praise!

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day. As those words are read there are probably as many different emotions that go along with it as there are people reading it.

This is the day, we send cards, buy gifts, have special dinners, and more to celebrate and honor this person whom we call, mother, mom, mommy or “Maaaaaaaaaa”.

I realize today that for some of you, that word, that title, mother, mom, mommy, brings with it, not a celebratory feeling, but rather a sad and possibly angry sense that you’d rather not deal with.

You might be asking what talking about Mother’s Day has to do with worship. Although many of us have wonderful memories of our mother’s and remember from an early age the special times and hold on to the precious heritage that our mother’s have provided for us, there are some of you that the only thing your mother ever gave you was life. For some, you see the pain and heartache that she gave you and it’s hard for you to even allow the though of her to cross your mind.

Whatever your particular situation, here is how I believe that we all can worship God and give Him the praise for our mother’s, no matter what our experience with or without her may be.

The one common gift each of our mother’s gave to all of us is the gift of life. With that gift of life comes one other common opportunity. That is the opportunity to have a relationship with the Living God. Without that gift of life, you would not be here today. If you were not here today, you would not have the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as Savior and be a child of God Almighty.

Scripture tells us that God formed us in our mother’s womb. He knew us by name even before we were born. It also tells us that God knew everything about us, even where we would live! The joy in the pain, the sunshine in the rain, the good in the bad of whatever your situation may be, is that God has ordered your steps right to this moment. He is here today and wants to meet with you and wants to walk the rest of your life from this moment on hand in hand with you; loving you and letting you get to know Him better and deeper each and every day. The person who God used to get you here was in large part, your mother. That is something to thank and praise God for and no matter what your history, to honor your mother for.

Pressed on Every Side, But Not Crushed

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed,

but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NIV)

Today’s headline: “Scores Die in Epic Tornado Outbreak”. Throughout the day and evening yesterday violent storms bulldozed countless homes in 5 states, forced a nuclear plant offline and left over 200 people dead and more missing.

It seems today that those kind of headlines are almost becoming common place. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring and one almost wants to sleep with one eye open.

My friend, today Father woke you up one more time for you to know that you are not defeated, that you are not alone. That doesn’t mean that you’ve never experienced loss, or that you’ve never failed, but it does mean that it’s not over and that today is a new day, a day for you to, in the midst of your circumstances realize that reality goes beyond what you can see and that as you begin to look at things from His perspective that it puts a new light on everything that you’re going through.

Scripture is a great example of seeing things from God’s perspective. We have the privilege of reading things after the fact, when in reality that is how God saw them all the time. God is not confined to time and space so everything is here and now in His eyes. Abraham could have felt defeated as he raised the knife, but God saw the ram. Job could have felt defeated as he scraped the boils off, but God saw the double portion of blessing in chapter 42. Mary could have felt defeated and crushed at the foot of the cross but God was already at the resurrection. Daniel could have felt defeated as the lions approached, but God was already telling the lions that a better meal was coming a bit later.

Whatever your present circumstances, my friend, whatever situation you find yourself in, the Holy Spirit wants to remind you as He did as He opened eyes of Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6:16-18, to remember that "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

Let’s praise Him together today and thank Him that He has already won for us and if God is for us, who or what can be against us? (Romans 8:31) And remember to pray for those who are going through the “storms of life” right now.

MJ