Rest Well

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.    Psalm 127:1-2 (NLT)

What is on your schedule this week? Sometimes we think of the many items on our schedule and minds as “having a full plate” or “burning the candle at both ends and warming the middle.” For me, the phrase that covers it is “just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean ‘they’ aren’t after you.” It helps me to justify all the many things that I have on my plate. I believe them to be legitimate. But are they?

It is rest that often eludes me. I get sleep but rest – that is about complete relaxation of the body and mind. What can keep me from rest?

Worry and burdens. No surprise that the primary reason I might not be resting would be worry about the many things that are running through my mind. No day passes without prayer requests for people who are battling cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses. The journey that these people and their families are navigating is very familiar to me. Then there are those who are struggling to pay bills, keep a home, educate their children, and care for their aging parents. Bombs are going off at sporting events, explosions in factories, rivers are flooding and destroying homes, and earthquakes are leveling cities and killing hundreds and thousands. So much pain and suffering that has no respect for age, sex, ethnicity or how much has already been endured.

Then Jesus said,“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”     Matthew 11;28-30 (NLT)

Jesus did not intend for me to carry heavy burdens. If I feel the weight of worry and burdens then I am carrying something that was not in God’s plan. I am being disobedient to do so.

Awake for a reason. Sometimes I am restless and unable to sleep and it comes to my mind, “LORD, is there someone who needs prayer?” I have been astounded at the names that comes to my mind. It is not unusual for it to be someone who has not been on my mind or even in my life for some time. And so I begin to pray. So many times, when I turn myself to prayer, my LORD faithfully hears and takes the petition and I turn easily into rest.

It is also not unusual for me to be guided into a time of prayer for myself. If I have not taken the time to ask God for His forgiveness and remove the burden of sin from my life, rest will not come easily.

How wonderful it is to know that no matter what, I can take my cares and my worries to the LORD in prayer. Sometimes adults, parents or bosses or owners believe that they are who they are because they take responsibility and must always have all the answers. The truth is – the older I get and the more I learn – the more I do not know. It is God with whom I can trust everything that I am and all that I have. It is God who wants the best for me and so I can trust Him to guide me with His wisdom and direct me with His knowledge and in His great love.

Isaiah the prophet said,
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.     Isaiah 40:28-31 (NLT)

So the next time I cannot rest instead of getting frustrated or counting sheep, let me turn to Jesus first. A chat with Him may reveal the obstacle to rest and conclude with that sweet peace that brings His rest.

I’ve Got Peace Like a River an African American spiritual sung by The Morman Tabernacle Choir

 

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God is my Pilot (not the co-pilot!)

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

– Henry Neufeld

[reprinted from November 3, 2009]

1You come out justified, YHWH, when I make a case against you, yet I will present my causes to you.
Why do the wicked prosper, and treacherous people live in peace?
2You planted them and they become well rooted. They grow and bear fruit.
They are always talking about you, But they are never thinking about you.
3But you, YHWH, know me. You see me! You test my heart’s devotion to you.
Lure them away like sheep to the slaughter. Set them apart for a day of killing!
4How long must the land mourn, And the grass in every field be withered?
Because its people are so wicked, The animals and birds have been finished off.
Because they said, “God doesn’t see where we’re going.”
5If you have run with the footmen, And they have worn you out, How can you compete with the horses? If you’re in safe country, and you fall down,
What will you do in the rough country by the Jordan River? — Jeremiah 12:1-5 (HN)

Those who actually want to be prophets ought to read a bit of Jeremiah. He has been called the weeping prophet, but I’d like to suggest “complaining prophet” as more like it. Not that he didn’t have plenty to complain about. I think if I had lived back then and received his call I might have asked God if he couldn’t just go ahead and let the Babylonians kill me. It would have been much easier.

But there are a number of interesting things about God’s friends and servants. They’re quite a varied bunch of people. You could hardly find two people more different than Jeremiah and Moses, for example. Moses can get angry, and when he does he says some things he’ll regret. But Jeremiah was always stewing. He doesn’t have those great bursts of anger. He just has a constant simmering of complaints.

When I set about to look at all the prayers of the Bible several years ago, I learned a number of interesting things. The main one was simply that just about everything I thought about prayer was off target in some way. If you think prayers should be long, you’ll find short ones in the Bible. Short? There are some long ones. Do you like signs? You’ll find some stuff that’s pretty negative about them. Negative about signs? You’ll find some of God’s servants asking for them and practically living on them. Do you think prayers should be polite? You’ll find plenty of challenging, angry prayers. Open, honest, and informal? You’ll find some that are quite formal and very polite, even flattering.

And then there’s Jeremiah, whining his way through a prophetic mission. Just look at the prayer in our scripture for today. Might I paraphrase? “Lord, you’re not actually going to listen to me, because you’re always right, but I’m going to complain anyhow. The wicked always prosper, and it’s your fault! You set them up and they prosper. Here’s what I want you to do: Have a massacre. Kill them all! Look, I know we’re in trouble because of the people’s sins, but how long is this going to last?”

Does that give you permission to complain? I would suggest it does. But many times the answer to your complaint is not going to be to make things better for you or to do things your way. Think about a coach for a runner. The athlete complains that he is tired out and doesn’t have this one more race in him. Does the coach say, “OK, I know you’re tired. Go get some rest?” Well, there are times he will, because that’s what’s necessary. But sometimes it’s going to be more like, “You’re going to let a little thing like being tired beat you? Get out there and do it, or you’re not the athlete I thought you were.”

God lets Jeremiah complain. But his answer is more like the second one. “Look, Jeremiah, you’re in the easy stuff right now. It’s like racing with guys on foot. Later, you’re going to run against horses, and what are you going to do then?”

The answer in Jeremiah’s life was that he stuck with God, and he did live through much greater difficulties. Will you voice your complaints but stick with the divine coach as well?

The Shout of El Shaddai written and sung by Paul Wilbur


 

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The Past – Gone Forever

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea. 2 Then I saw New Jerusalem, that holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

3 I heard a loud voice shout from the throne:

“God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people.4 He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.”

5 Then the one sitting on the throne said:

“I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. 6 Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”    Revelation 21:1-6 (CEV)

The past. I’m not one to look back. There is a lot of pain in my past so maybe that is why I don’t dwell on it much. I do remember very clearly the night that I opened my life to Jesus and how I did remember so much and asked Him to forgive me. I don’t know how to put into the words the feeling of Him entering into me and all the muck and junk that had been just hanging on the walls of my life and clogging up everything was just – whoosh! and gone. I felt so new and bright. I thought of a very familiar phrase in that moment, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” I began to know what that meant because my sins were wiped away like words on a blackboard.

John tells me in this passage that there is going to be another “new” in my life. Some day I am going to see all as new. It’s going to be permanently new. This new heaven and earth will never decay. Flowers won’t die. Animals won’t die. There won’t be wars or pollution. God won’t be “out there somewhere” but living right with us just like our neighbors do now. There won’t be presidents or kings or dictators. God will be GOD in the hearts of everyone. There will be no tears of grief or pain. There will be no regrets or loneliness or despair. The past will be forever not a part of the present.

I don’t know how to wrap my mind or imagination around what the “new” will be. I don’t know exactly what I will be doing in heaven. Will it look like the Gulf Coast or the green hills of Tennessee or the mountains of Montana or the quiet of Arizona or will there be all that there? Will I know my great-grandparents or great-grandchildren that I never met? Will I greet people that I never met but know their names any way? I don’t know. I just know that I can look at a flower or a starry night and, knowing God made that, I know that whatever heaven will be – is beyond words.

Take some time right now and go to Psalm 148 and just read some praises to God. Think of it as “practice” for the time that is coming when what we see is so extraordinary that we just cannot hold back the praise! The songs sung throughout John’s visions were simple and sung over and over.

The past is gone – all is new!

We’ve Come To Praise Him written and sung by Lindell Cooley

We’ve come to praise Him
And lift His Holy Name.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD
You oughta praise the LORD while you have a chance!

You oughta praise Him
And lift His Holy Name.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD
I’m gonna praise the LORD while I have a chance!

I’m gonna praise Him
And lift His Holy Name

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Love Like Jesus

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”        John 13:34-35 (HCSB)

Lectionary texts: Acts 11:1-18, Psalm 148, Revelation 21:1-6, John 13:31-35

I hear so many debates about various points of theology. People get very tense and even feel it is their “duty” as a Christian to convince others that their understanding of creation, sin, salvation, and heaven is the correct understanding. It’s interesting to me that when Jesus spoke about commands, His commands were about love. “Love each other as I have loved you.” If I made that my “duty” every day, I would be, according to Jesus, obedient to His command. How am I doing with this “love command”?

Love those who do not love me. I have a friend who has expressed deep concern for the young man who is charged with the Boston bombing. She is concerned that no one has ever spoken to him about Jesus. That raised a question in my mind: Are there people that I would dismiss from sharing about the Jesus I know? Maybe I think they are beyond saving? Do I think they are too evil to save? Is that my judgment call to make?

In my every day life, there are people who are snotty, mean-spirited and yet Jesus does not qualify who I am exempt from loving. In His life the only ones Jesus treated harshly were the Church leaders who were prideful and used their religion like a whip and chains to put people in bondage. Since Jesus did not tell me I have options, I had better just love and leave the judgment to Him.

Love those with whom I do not agree. There are some people that are just “way out there” from what I believe, whether about my faith or political views or parenting or any number of subjects. Jesus extended His love to the Romans, the tax collectors, the adulterers, and even those who betrayed and deserted Him. He saw the “Peter” in them while they were still a Simon. He saw the way they could be and loved them into that path.

Jesus’ love is more than theory. When Jesus commands me to love others as He did, that is a verb, not a noun. He expects me to put some action into that love, not just nod my head and agree that it is good theology. So here are some tough questions for me to consider:

  • Do I pray for the President and Congress or do I just see how many snide remarks I can make about them? Praying blessings of God’s wisdom, protection, and obedience to His guidance is an active way to show my love.
  • When I see someone who has made choices that has led them into a destructive path, do I still love them or reject them? Even setting boundaries is about love, which makes it so important to seek Jesus’ wisdom on those boundaries.
  • In my devotions, blogs, and discussions with people, do I still reflect the love that characterized Jesus’ life? That doesn’t mean homogenizing my beliefs but it means I do not attack someone personally for their beliefs.

Psalm 148 is a wonderful song of praise. And God loves to hear my praises. But I cannot praise my LORD and at the same time speak unloving about one of His children. And make no mistake that everyone created is God’s child. And every one of us needs God’s love.

What the World Needs Now is Love written by Burt Bacharach and sung by Dionne Warwick

 

 

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Imitating My Heavenly Father

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.           Ephesians 5:1-10 (NLT)

This is one of the passages in the Bible that I would like to be able to say is complicated or that I don’t understand. But it isn’t complicated and I understand it very well. And if there are passages that I am not sure about or that I think are too obscure – then I need to turn to this passage and follow it. If I spent the rest of my life here on earth seeking to follow Jesus after the example of this passage, I would have plenty to do!

I am God’s child. A child represents their parents, whether they want to or not, and for good or ill. My Heavenly Father has a good name. Do I magnify His name and reputation or distort and muddy it? Do I allow the Father’s love and compassion flow through me, a conduit that does not taint that love or do I portray God as miserly with His love, giving only under the “right” conditions?

I have heard discussion about the next verses but it is interesting to me in all the discussions I have heard only finger-pointing at people who have sexual sins (of which those who are doing the pointing do not have those kind of dirty sins!). I have never heard any discussion about greed. There it is. Greed. Right in the middle of all those other sins. What is greed? It is a desire to have or possess something and keep it for yourself. It is selfish and destructive. Certainly it can be an object but it can also be something abstract like knowledge of God and His love.

It was Jesus’ desire that we “Go…and teach…and make disciples.” Those with greed cannot do that. Jesus gave all that He had. I can do no less. Give all the knowledge about Himself that He has given me to whomever He brings into my life. Open my hands and freely give what He has freely given me. Jesus gives to each of us different gifts (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12). The gifts that He gave me are not for my glory but for His glory. If God has blessed me with wisdom or languages or comfort or even wealth, it was not His plan that I keep it for myself but to give it freely for His Kingdom and His children.

And the last line in this passage – telling me to find out what pleases God. How do I do that? Ask. Listen. And whatever God tells me will line up with His commands to love and worship Him and love others as I love myself. God promised that if I need His wisdom, He will give it (James 1). So when and where and how to give – God will tell me. I have no excuse not to give except my own greed.

Be an imitator of God. A good order for today and every day.

 

In the Secret written and sung by Andy Park

 

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Family of God

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

About that time King Herod cruelly attacked some who belonged to the church, and he killed
James,John’s brother, with the sword …

So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was being made earnestly to God for him by the church.    Acts 12:1-2, 5 (HCSB)

Family has been on my mind this week. I’ve been praying for two families who have experienced deaths. To say it is difficult in the weeks and months following the death of someone you love is a grotesque understatement. It doesn’t make me a weak Christian to say that in that first year (at least!) the pain and sadness frequently comes unexpectedly and sharply. Family is so important. And as I had that thought – another came immediately after. Family is not defined by blood relations.

Luke shares often in the book of Acts about how the Believers prayed together, worked together and had formed a close community. To me it builds on Jesus’ words as He defined who was His mother and siblings (Matthew 12:48-50). Who are my family?

Family invest time. Life today is fas t-paced and there are so many people and things that make demands on our day which does have only that finite 24 hours in it. So what do we give our time to? Why do we choose to give our time to those things? I have often heard that we make time for those things that are important. It is simple but it is also true. I have been surprised by the people who have made time in their lives to hold out a hand to help or pick up the phone to call or their pen to write a card.

Family invest their hearts. Family do not put conditions on their love. They just love. It seems to flow easily and well from them. I suspect they are plugged into Jesus and make sure they are receiving love so that they have plenty to give away.

Family invest their goodness and kindness. Family want to build each other up. They aren’t about criticism. Yes, they love me enough to want me to grow and become better but they do that in a constructive way with goodness and kindness and compassion.

As I considered these characteristics, I thought of who I think of as my family. Some of them are blood relations. And some of them have come to me during times in my life when I needed support and care – and they were surely “sent” to me. And children have come into my life, becoming children of my ‘heart’ and enriching my life. I begin to see a family of God, given and formed by Him in various ways that produce priceless blessings.

The family of God in Jerusalem was under tremendous persecution. Death came frequently. Prayer was an activity that wasn’t done once a week in church or even once a day at meals. It was continuous and brought the family closer together with God’s strength. We of the 21st century might learn something from them. Prayer together is the best way to lift each other’s burdens and give them to the One who can best handle them.

And sometimes we laugh together
Sometimes we cry
Sometimes we share together
Heartaches and sighs
Sometimes we dream together
Of how it will be
When we all get to heaven, God’s family “God’s Family by Lanny Wolfe

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell, sung by The Hollies

 

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Every Day with Praise

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted from November 20, 2009]

– Henry Neufeld

1A praise song, for David.
I will exalt you, my God and King,
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2I will bless you every day,
I will praise your name, forever and ever.
3YHWH is great and fully deserves praise.
No one can fully comprehend his greatness.
4One generation praises your works to the next,
They tell of your heroic deeds.
5Of splendor, honor, and majesty,
Of your marvelous deeds I will sing! — Psalm 145:1-5 (HN)

The Psalms are a wonderful book, not only for the many things we can learn from them, but because they provide us with something to read or to pray for almost any mood and any occasion. When we’re down, there are laments (Psalm 28). When we’re up, there are short, lively praise Psalms (Psalm 150). In trouble, we find prayers for safety and rescue (Psalm 140). Ready to meditate? Look for Psalms of wisdom (Psalm 104), telling you of God’s power (Psalm 29), his law (Psalm 19, Psalm 119), and his covenant (Psalm 89). Angry? You can even find some Psalms with a tone of vengeance (Psalm 137). Overcome by temptation? There are Psalms of penitence (Psalm 51, Psalm 32). (The Psalms in parentheses are just examples.)

There is a time and place for all of these things, and there are ways for us to bring our joys and our sorrows to God on all those occasions and more. God can handle the way you’re feeling and can help to lift you up from wherever you are to place your feet on a rock.

But there is something that we find easy to leave out of our life, and that’s praise. I know some of you will wonder just what I mean. After all, you praise the Lord in church on Sunday. Perhaps you play praise music in your home during the week. I know some people who leave songs of praise on the CD player 24/7. That’s not a bad thing.

But have you ever come to a time of prayer when you have a hard time finding something for which you can thank God? Maybe you are having one of those days in one of those months in one of those years, or at least it feels like it. The idea of expressing praise to God seems hypocritical in some way. You’re not feeling thankful, why should you speak thanks? If you’ve never been in such a place, I envy you. If you understand what I’m talking about, read on.

Even when you don’t feel thankful, there are things to be thankful for. I recall sitting down to eat one night recently after a day in which almost everything went wrong. I did not feel like praising God or thanking anyone. I started my prayer by saying, “Lord, you know I’m not feeling thankful right now, but I’m going to thank you anyhow.” Once I had said that, I started to remember things for which I really was thankful. There were blessings the day before, and I knew there would be blessings the day after, and at a minimum, I could thank God that I had a roof over my head and a meal to sustain me while I yelled at him!

There are Psalms for your bad moods. Take advantage of them. Realize that you can be honest with God. But remember the Psalms for all the time. “I will bless you every day!” Yes, even on the bad ones. Even on the day of your death. “Of splendor, honor, and majesty . . . I will sing.” God’s splendor, honor, and majesty don’t diminish when I have a bad day.

There may be a duty here, a duty to praise, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the benefit of praise. If I deny myself the opportunity to praise God when I’m down, I’m going to stay down. Things are going to get worse, not better. I need to praise, because I need to get out of the pit and get on with life. Psalm 145:1-5 gives me that opportunity. These things are not things that change with the moment. They are there all the time. You can honestly praise God, no matter what.

“I will bless you every day!” Call that a plan!

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord written & sung by Matt Redman

 

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What Am I Afraid Of?

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

Have pity, God Most High!
My enemies chase me all day.
2 Many of them are pursuing and attacking me,
3 but even when I am afraid, I keep on trusting you.
4 I praise your promises!
I trust you and am not afraid.
No one can harm me …

You have kept record of my days of wandering.
You have stored my tears in your bottle and counted each of them.

9 When I pray,Lord God, my enemies will retreat,
because I know for certain that you are with me.
10 I praise your promises!      Psalm 56:1-4, 8-10 (CEV)

Today was a beautiful spring day in Boston, MA, perfect weather for running a marathon, I’m told (because I will never be running one!). Thousands ran. Thousands lined the streets. Among those laughing, happy people were some who were there to do evil. Bombs blew. People were injured. People were killed. People are frightened. Is there a name for our fear?

My life as a child in the 1950’s and 60’s in Midwest America was not as idyllic as Mayberry with Sheriff Andy and Aunt Bee and Opie but I do remember sitting on the front porch on summer evenings and knowing everyone who strolled down the street by name. I did not know what bigotry and prejudice was because we all went to school and church together. My first introduction to bigotry was in high school. I liked a boy named Randy. We’d walk the halls holding hands. He invited me to a church service one night and I went. It was a revival. I had never heard of a revival (I was Catholic) and the service was very different to me but I liked the music! The next day Randy ignored me in the halls. Two or three days later his best friend finally told me that Randy’s mother told him that he couldn’t date “someone like you, a Catholic.” I was very hurt and confused. I didn’t understand the differences between us for another 30 years. My father was Lutheran and I just didn’t understand why some people saw differences as such a negative, horrible thing. Didn’t we all believe in God?

Fast forward to September 11, 2001 and I am hurt and confused to realize that there are people in this world that believe their way is the only way and all other ways should be annihilated. Do we all believe in God? No, not everyone does or if they say they do, the God they believe in is intolerant, not compassionate, and condemning instead of convicting. What am I afraid of?

I am afraid that we who profess to know and serve Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will turn to our own reasonings and rhetoric instead of turning to Jesus, humbling ourselves, and calling out to Him to protect us, teach us and guide us in the way that we should go. Instead of posting prayers and God’s promises on our Facebook page, we post our angry paragraphs and inflammatory cartoons against those we believe are the cause of our wars, taxes, bombings and high gasoline prices! Is that what Jesus did? If legislating morality or appointing Believers to be governor was the answer and more powerful than prayer, do I not think Jesus would have done that? Do I doubt the power of God or think He “missed” the bombings this morning in Boston? Do I not know that He was right there to take that eight-year-old child home with Him so that he wasn’t afraid?

There is evil in this world. Terrible, horrible things happen in this fallen world. God sees and records every tear that falls. One day there will be an accounting of all that has happened. It’s called Judgment Day. That is God’s job. Our job is to pray. Prayer is for our benefit. So let’s do it!

What if His People Prayed written and sung by Casting Crowns

 

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My Shepherd

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

You, Lord, are my shepherd.
I will never be in need.
2 You let me rest in fields of green grass.
You lead me to streams of peaceful water,
3 and you refresh my life.

You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths.
4 I may walk through valleys as dark as death,
but I won’t be afraid.
You are with me,
and your shepherd’s rod makes me feel safe.

5 You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch.
You honor me as your guest,
and you fill my cup until it overflows.
6 Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life,
and I will live forever in your house, Lord.         Psalm 23 (CEV)

Lectionary texts: Acts 9:36-43, Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-12, John 10:22-30

Arguably the most read Old Testament passage, Psalm 23 is frequently read at funerals. Today the version may not be familiar to us but I like taking a familiar passage and reading it in a less familiar translation because it causes me to slow down and think about what I am reading. New words may spark a different “revelation” from my LORD.

Acts 9:36-43. The passage in Acts this week tells me that Tabitha, a wonderful servant of God, has died. Peter is notified of her death and asked to come. He does respond and is led by the Holy Spirit to pray for Tabitha and she returns to this life.

My initial reaction to this story is to wonder “why” everyone who dies prematurely is not revived when we pray. I ask the “why” at the same time that I know that Tabitha did eventually have to die in order to live her eternal life with Jesus. What I take away from this story is that there is no fear in death. Jesus is with me. He was there at the moment I was conceived in my mother’s womb and hasn’t left me since. He will be with me when I make the transition from this life into my eternal home with the Father. The “streams of peaceful waters” run right through the valley of death where there is no fear because Jesus is LORD even here.

Revelation 7:9-12. The promises given in Psalm 23 are for all of God’s children. Every member of every tribe of people, no matter what language they speak, are His children. There are no step-children or grandchildren. All who love our LORD and desire to have a life with Him will be together worshiping and feasting together in the home He has prepared for us. Oh Happy Day!

John 10:22-30. Another wonderful passage this time Jesus my Shepherd says, “ My sheep listen to me and know my voice and follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never die. No one – NO ONE – can snatch them away from Me! They are in My hands!”

Psalm 23 and its promises are not just to be affirmed at the end of my life but every day of my life. No matter what each day brings, my Shepherd is there to lead me through.

It Is Well With My Soul written by Horatio Spafford and Phillip Bliss, sung by The Blenders

 

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Last Will and Testimony

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Jody Neufeld

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all! But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life. I pray that honor and glory will always be given to the only God, who lives forever and is the invisible and eternal King! Amen.       1 Timothy 1:15-17 (CEV)

I watched a movie this week, Mrs Miniver. It was made in 1942 and tells the story of a middle-class English family and their life during World War II. There are no famous historical people. No royalty, no generals. Just small town people who lived, and died, during a time that they never imagined could happen. Their homes and churches were bombed. They learned to reach out and help each other, encourage each other. I watched the movie twice. I believe it prompted me to think often this week about what is really important in this life and am I transparent and real to my children and grandchildren about what is important.

I am not perfect. I think it is often a difficult thing for parents to admit “I don’t know” or “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” Do we really think that our children are shocked that we don’t know everything? And if I am not willing to apologize and admit I am wrong, how can I expect that from my children? I am a sinner. If I wasn’t a sinner, I wouldn’t need a savior. Is the problem that I do not want to show my children that I am dependent upon Jesus? If I live my life as if it is dependent upon me and what I do, then I am teaching my children to do the same. I tried living the first 40 years of my life like that and it didn’t work very well for me. I want my children to choose to live their life more wisely.

I have chosen Jesus. There are no grandchildren in God’s family. Everyone of us is His child. My children will not get to heaven because of my choice. They have to make a choice for themselves. Does my life reflect the reasons why I chose Jesus? Do I preach to my children or follow Jesus’ example and teach and try to live my life as He did?

This is the best of what I can give. When my time here in this world is done, what am I leaving my children and grandchildren? Jesus said that I should store up treasures that are not destroyed by moths and rust and can be stolen (Matthew 6:19-21). The best legacy I can leave to my children and grandchildren is the testimony of my faith. I don’t have silver or gold to give to my children but what I do have is much, much better – eternal life through Jesus Christ. It will mean that death has no ability to destroy our life together. We will live together in Paradise with our Father.

I was given the gift of eternal life freely. And freely I give it to my children and grandchildren. Jesus’ gift is free of condemnation because in Him they are brand new – just like me.

Through Heaven’s Eyes from the movie, Prince of Egypt, sung by Brian Stokes Mitchell

 

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