Don’t Give Up!

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from June 17, 2011]

Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord’s angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. Now hurry! Tell his disciples that he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. That is what I came to tell you.”

The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”              Matthew 28:2-10 (CEV)

I am a very visual person. When I was in college and required to memorize all the bones in the body and veins and arteries, I had to write them all down. I could not just read and memorize. When I saw The Passion of the Christ a few years ago, the Scripture passages that related to the passion became real to me. I saw a more tangible glimpse into the depth of the love that God has for us. His love was manifested in vivid color of blood and sweat and I saw what my sin did to Him, and yet He still loved me.

I have read this passage many times and yet, today, I am struck by the work of the angel. Why did the angel roll away the stone? Did God need help exiting the tomb? No, Jesus was already gone out of the tomb. The angel rolled away the stone to let the women in.

And then there are the women. I have had some days of discouragement. These women are discouraged. They were the ones who stood near the cross, never leaving Jesus alone when so many had deserted Him. They were there to anoint His body for burial. Despite their grief, they got up and came to anoint His cold body. Tired, profoundly sad, and even frightened of the Romans and what they might do, these women went faithfully and obediently to do this task. Was it going to change the world? They had no hope. They were not being paid. They would receive nothing in return. They were going to the tomb to give not receive.

There are times that God asks the same of me. I am asked to give, faithfully complete a task without seeing or receiving any payment. Obedient service because I love Jesus. This is what discipleship means.

And like the women, there are times in my life, when God rolls away the huge stone that blocks my vision from seeing into His plan, and I get a look into the miracle that He has allowed me to be a part. Or He may suddenly appear in my life with a message –

DON’T GIVE UP!

That is what He has done again today. He has encouraged me and shown me again how very much He loves me. And so I will get up again today and be obedient to the task(s) that God gives me today. I will count on Him taking care of tomorrow, knowing that He commands angels and is alive.

He’s Alive written and sung by Don Francisco

 

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Be A Blessing Carrier

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

A blessing: to bring or speak holiness.

Three women came to our home last night. They came to bring blessings to our new home. They brought and spoke holiness into our home.

It is a simple thing to bless someone. God wants to spend time with His children so to bring or speak blessings – well, all you have to do is be willing! God will do the rest.

When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him.12 Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.      Matthew 2:11-12 (CEV)

After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James bought some spices to put on Jesus’ body.2 Very early on Sunday morning, just as the sun was coming up, they went to the tomb.      Mark 16:1-2 (CEV)

Bringing a blessing to others can be a joyous experience like that first baby shower for Jesus that the three Magi threw. It is about being God’s hands and feet to carry Good News to someone else of encouragement, support, and love. When I am willing to be open to God’s timing and wisdom, there can be a tremendous bonus in which God communicates His knowledge of their need and His compassionate answers.

I prayed for a woman one night who spoke no English and I spoke no French. She came forward during a service with her husband who did speak English and said, “She wants you to pray for her.” I hesitated because, as I said, I did not speak her language. And then I thought that the One to whom I was going to pray knew how to communicate with both of us. My prayer asked God to reveal to her His father-love and forgiveness. As I prayed, she began to weep. When I stopped praying and just held her hand, she turned to her husband and spoke with many tears. Her father had died two weeks prior and she was feeling much grief and was lonely for her dad. God allowed me to bring His blessings to her, communicating a prayer to me and she said she heard my prayer in her own language! Am I willing to be a carrier of blessings?

There are times when bringing God’s blessing can be difficult like that morning for the three women going to Jesus’ tomb. Most of us would say that going to a funeral or reaching out to people who are grieving over the loss of a loved one, whether from death or divorce, is not our favorite way to spend a day or evening. We don’t know what to say. The truth is, there is nothing that can be said that will make the pain all go away and return their life to what it was before. But when I am the weakest and most clueless, God can really bring the blessing that the person needs.

The ladies that came to our home last night brought some lovely gifts. But the best gift that they brought was their presence and their prayers. The time we spent in prayer together was like God coming in and pulling up a chair to join us and give His blessing to all of us. Our home is well and truly blessed!

Let us be a blessing to someone today. Begin today by asking God to bless you with whatever He knows that you need. Receive that gift with joy! Then open your heart and hands and tell God that you would be willing to be His blessing messenger today.

Blessed Be the Name of the LORD/All Hail the Power written by Andy Park/Edward Perronet and sung by Lindell Cooley

 

 

 

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Home is …

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

A very common saying is “Home is where the heart is,” and that is very true. And most of us would agree that home is more than a building or geography. There are smells, voices, music, and even foods that remind us of home and can bring up feelings of comfort and love. Home is a destination for all of us on journeys. There are those who believe that the journey is the important factor in the trip. I don’t agree.

If I was in a plane flying from Atlanta to London and the pilot suddenly came on the PA and said, “We will not be landing in London. We have an unending supply of fuel and so we are just going to continue to fly around. There is no final destination.” Most of us would be pretty upset.

All of us have a final destination. Unless Jesus returns first, we are all going to die. No one is exempt from this. It is the most democratic of events. Rich or poor, old or young, Democrat or Republican, we will all die. In God’s plan for me, this life is just the first chapter in my story.

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven!4 Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with him and to be his holy and innocent and loving people.5 God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God’s own adopted children. 6 God was very kind to us because of the Son he dearly loves, and so we should praise God.

7-8 Christ sacrificed his life’s blood to set us free, which means that our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because God was so kind to us. God has great wisdom and understanding,9 and by what Christ has done, God has shown us his own mysterious ways. 10 Then when the time is right, God will do all that he has planned, and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.            Ephesians 1:3-10 (CEV)

God has this wonderful home for me. It is everything that I want. I am not even fully aware of the things that I want in this home that will make me feel loved and cherished. God knows and He has prepared such a place. And He has also created me with a desire in my heart to be in this home with Him. It is why that nothing in this world can truly satisfy me. It is normal for me, as God’s child, to feel out of step and never completely comfortable with this life. I am not truly home – yet

The celebration of coming home will be beyond any words I can put down here. Scripture has many who have tried to put it into words. The apostle, John, in his pastoral letter called Revelation uses the word “like” many times as he tries to describe what it was to be reunited with Christ and what it will be when God’s promises are all fulfilled.

The song that I am sharing today is one that makes me tap my foot and smile and then the tears come. I remember a woman named Katie and a man named John and a day that I was part of a choir and sang this for Katie’s homecoming. I can’t wait to sing this song again, with no tears and with all the Saints when we come together – home with our Father.

Swingin’ with the Saints written by Mark Hayes & sung by the Suffolk All-County Choir, Edward P. Norris III, conductor

 

 

 

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Labor Day

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from September 6, 2010]

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”     Matthew 11:28-30 (WEB)

Every year on this day, I think of my father. He worked very hard in his life. He grew up on a farm. I am not sure there is harder work than that which is demanded of a family 24/7, 365 days out of the year. Livestock do not understand a 5 day work week and fields do not thrive on 8 hour days. After leaving the farm, he worked in a shoe factory, a local gas station, and a trucking company both on the dock and as a driver. Both of his children went to college which was not provided to either him or my mother.

Labor Day is holiday for a few people. For many, it is a regular work day. This Scripture is for all of us. Whether we labor as my father did or we are blessed to have some holidays, all of us labor and carry burdens that are not meant to break our backs or our spirits. Jesus wants to give us rest that is better than anything from mattresses made from fancy foam or magic numbers!

Whether you are working today at your job or working at home or enjoying a holiday, take time to give God thanks for His provision and trust Him for blessings to come. Rest your concerns and worries on His shoulders because He loves you so very much.

At the Cross written and sung by Brian Doerksen

 

 

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Be Blessed

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

4 Marriage should be honored by all,and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.                               Hebrews 13:1-8 (NIV)

Lectionary texts: Jeremiah 2:4-13, Psalm 81:1, 10-16, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:1, 7-14

The texts for this week are pretty straight forward. Sometimes God just makes a list and says, “Do this. Do that and it will go well with you.” But even when the passage seems obvious, I still have to take it in context with the whole of it and who God is.

God is always looking at the Kingdom. He is thinking about how His children will one day come home to Him and there will be no sorrow or tears (Revelation 21:4). While I do believe that my Heavenly Father is involved in my life now and sees my tears, my joys, my struggles, He keeps me guided to the eternal celebration and the rewards that will come and never end. And God is always using me to bring others home to Him and encourage others to keep their faith wrapped around them.

Jesus came to teach and show us The Way. He did not come to raise up an army against Rome and restore a kingdom here on earth. He came to raise an Army of Warriors who would fight to prevent the enemy from taking hostages and leading the Father’s children astray with a “quick fix” and “instant rewards.” I struggle as Paul did to be content with what I have and trust God for all that I need. I have found in the last ten years that I need much less than I think I do. I have found that I truly have all that I need. I have life with God for all eternity and I am encouraging as many as I can to make the same choice.

Jesus. Faithful and true to His promises and teachings. Yes, I am blessed. Be blessed in Jesus’ name.

Put Your Hand in the Hand written by Gene MacLellan and sung by Ocean (1971)

 

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He Carries Me

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Only you, Lord, are a mighty rock!
Don’t refuse to help me when I pray.
If you don’t answer me, I will soon be dead.
2 Please listen to my prayer and my cry for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy temple.

3 Don’t drag me away, Lord, with those cruel people,
who speak kind words, while planning trouble.
4 Treat them as they deserve!
Punish them for their sins.
5 They don’t pay any attention to your wonderful deeds.
Now you will destroy them and leave them in ruin.

6 I praise you, Lord, for answering my prayers.
7 You are my strong shield, and I trust you completely.
You have helped me, and I will celebrate and thank you in song.

8 You give strength to your people, Lord,
and you save and protect your chosen ones.
9 Come save us and bless us.
Be our shepherd and always carry us in your arms.            Psalm 28 (CEV)

The psalms can be really interesting when I think of David having this conversation with God. I can identify because I have asked God if He is ignoring me. Does a parent ignore a child? (Don’t feel guilty, of course we have!) But God is a parent with infinite patience and love and so He does not ignore me but instead He often is answering with His perfect timing.

It’s beginning with verse 6 that I engage and add my voice to the psalter’s cry. Isaiah said that before I even call out to God He is working on my cry (Isaiah 65). God is so involved in my life that He anticipates my needs. He knows my heart so well that He is always ahead of me.

It is the statement in verse 7 that strikes my heart: I trust you completely. Do I? Do my actions reflect that level of trust in God? The Prayer Journal that I keep has been a huge help as well as spending time with God reviewing the day each night when I lay down. These are ways that God has suggested to me to keep my focus and spend time acknowledging what He has done in my life.

Footprints by Margaret Fishback Powers

One night I dreamed a dream. I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints.
I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
“Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.“

Here is a wonderful meditation today, thanking God for the many times that He has carried me. Thanking our LORD that He carries those we love in their difficult journeys. Asking God to carry someone we know who needs a lift. And then thanking God again for carrying our loved ones, carrying ourselves, even before we ask.

Before You Call written and sung by Daphne Rademaker

 

 

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My Priority

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked,
8 who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.      Psalm 12 (NIV)

We still have not physically moved. We hope this will happen sooner than later this week. I thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts and hope to be back next Monday (August 19) with our daily devotion time.

I have been reading a psalm each day and the one for today has immediately touched me with this question: What is to be my daily focus? Am I paying attention to the words of God or the words of men? Am I spending more time every day reading God’s Word or reading online news sites and/or listening to the morning or evening news shows? I’m going to pay attention to these questions this week. How about you?

Thy Word written and sung by Amy Grant

 

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“For Thine is the Kingdom”

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from March 23, 2012]

Then Jesus replied to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of birth pains…

Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only.”      Matthew 24:4-8, 36 (HCSB)

“…these events are the beginning…”. Only the beginning. The time that Jesus spends speaking of the “end times” has a three point message for me no matter what gospel I read.

There will be deception. Jesus says there will be “many” deceivers which warns us to test and discern the truth that will line up with what Jesus has taught. It is His example, His standard that we are to hold ourselves and all others to.

And the events of this world will get “bad” with war, famine, natural disasters bringing great destruction upon this world. Again, it is on Jesus that I must keep my eyes focused and my life following so that I will not be led astray. It is in a close relationship with Jesus, surrounded by a body of Believers who will encourage and challenge me to study, pray and live in His Way.

No one – NO ONE – knows the time of the end. Matthew, Mark (13:32), and Luke (Acts 1:7) all relate that Jesus said that no one but the Father knows the exact time that He will return. It is not where Jesus wants me to put my focus: finding out what the timeline is and where we are in that time. Jesus talked about staying connected and building my relationship with Him, being a servant, and making disciples(John 14-17, Matthew 28). I need to live and be obedient to what I do know about what Jesus wants me to be doing as His disciple.

Jesus will be with me. No matter what may happen in this world: threats, persecution, suffering, even death – Jesus will be with me every step of the way. He will always be leading me through (Psalm 23:3). He doesn’t cheer from the sidelines but walks in the path, rocky road, even the steep mountain trail.

Lent is a time of repentance. It is a time to intentionally seek the Holy Spirit to make any course corrections in my life and ask forgiveness for any and all sins that have separated me from my LORD. It is a time of restoration that sets me up for great rejoicing and thanksgiving on Easter for the great love that my Father has for me. It is His perfect, extravagant love that is the real deal that will take me through the end times.

The Lord’s Prayer by Albert Hay Malotte (1935) Sung by Andrea Bocelli and The Morman Tabernacle Choir

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Playing It Safe

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.”
14 Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?”
15 Then he said to the crowd, “Don’t be greedy! Owning a lot of things won’t make your life safe.”     Luke 12:13-15 (CEV)

Lectionary texts: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23, Psalm 49:1-12, Colossians 3: 1-11, Luke 12:13-21

Many, if not most of us, grew up in a middle class home. We had one or two parents who worked and provided us with food, shelter, education and more than the necessities to more than survive in this life. Maybe you had a “season” like I did when I was pretty young. My father was a truck driver and was laid off work for about year. My mother who had been a stay-at-home mom went to work as a sales clerk at a local retail store. It was a difficult year for my parents, though I wasn’t aware of the day-to-day cares. It was weird having Dad at home all the time but other than having a few “interesting” lunches, it was OK. Christmas that year was – not much. My mother made some clothes for my doll and I was happy with that but I suspect my looking for “more” did bring a tear to my parents’ eyes because there just wasn’t money for more.

My upbringing brought me into adulthood expecting that whatever I might need would be obtained. I went into my first marriage with little thought to ideas like budget or separating wants from needs. If there wasn’t enough money from our two jobs, well, we got a credit card – or two.

When I first read Matthew 6 about storing up my treasures, it cut right to my heart. I am grateful now because it prepared me for a time in my life, after I was divorced, to understand that neither I nor my children needed all that we thought we did. And the week without electricity – we survived it with only a bruise to our egos. Since then there have been several times that I had $25 for a week’s groceries and my son and I haven’t seen each other except on Skype in three years because there isn’t money to travel across the country. Is it hard sometimes? Yes, it is. Do I question God about it all? Yes, I do. But then I begin to think about what I do have. My husband and I and our children and their spouses and children love and know the LORD. We will all be together for eternity. It really doesn’t get better than that! I have finally learned what will keep me and my family safe. It is a relationship to God.

What makes us feel safe? Is it having money in the bank or an IRA? Is it having a full-time job? Is it having a home and car debt-free? The scenarios in which all of those can be gone in a moment are numerous. Nothing in or from this life is a sure, safe thing. It is the intangibles like faith, trust, love, hope, and mercy that promise more than we can imagine. In the intangibles I will find safety from all that this world may throw at me. Will they prevent pain and suffering? No, of course not. But with God I can live through all things; live well.

You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. 2 Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.3 You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God.4 Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.

5 Don’t be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don’t be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don’t be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. 6 God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things. 7 And that is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. 8 But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. 9 And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.

10 Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. 11 It doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

12 God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.13 Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.14 Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.    Colossians 3:1-14 (CEV)

Count Your Blessings written by Irving Berlin and sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney

 

 

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THE Wedding

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Then I heard what seemed to be a large crowd that sounded like a roaring flood and loud thunder all mixed together. They were saying,

“Praise the Lord! Our Lord God All-Powerful now rules as king.
7 So we will be glad and happy and give him praise.
The wedding day of the Lamb is here, and his bride is ready.
8 She will be given a wedding dress made of pure and shining linen.
This linen stands for the good things God’s people have done.”       Revelation 19:6-8 (CEV)

I am Jesus! And I am the one who sent my angel to tell all of you these things for the churches. I am David’s Great Descendant, and I am also the bright morning star.
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
Everyone who hears this should say, “Come!”
If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It’s free!     Revelation 22:16-17 (CEV)

The summer months are often the favored time for weddings. There are hours and hours and hours of preparation to make that “special day” what the bride and groom dream to be special. How does that translate into the wedding day that John describes in Revelation?

Do we think about Jesus being the bridegroom that we love more than any other? If you are a guy, is that concept just a bit too far to stretch your imagination? This passionate love that brings feelings of unparalleled expectation and desire to be with that One that you love is an important aspect of our relationship with our LORD. It is a facet that gives us a look into the heart of God and His love for us.

There is a book in the Bible, the Song of Solomon, that is eight chapters long. It is a love sonnet. It is about love between a bride and groom. It is a wonderful reading that can lead you into seeing the vision that John shared in Revelation. I hope you will take the time to read the Song of Solomon this weekend. It will be better than the best movie you have ever seen. Allow your spirit to communicate with God’s Spirit and step closer to Him.

When I allow God to teach me and show me the depth and passion of His love, my relationships with everyone will change. I will have a new understanding of unconditional love. I will know compassion as well as passion. And I will know that this love from God is never-ending and enough for me.

The Spirit and the Bride written by Tom Dickson and sung by Lindell Cooley

 

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