In Times of Trouble

"Yes, the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly Kingdom.  All glory to God forever and ever! Amen"  2 Timothy 4:18

Sometimes the Lord doesn't deliver us from troubles in the way we think He should.  We want to be completely removed from the situation.  In the case of my Mother, I want complete healing from the Alzheimers disease.  But that is not what God has intended at this moment and I am assured according to His promises that He will heal her once she reaches heaven for there will be no sickness there.

I journal.  I write my prayers, thoughts and devotions to God and as I was looking backward on past entries, I came upon an entry from March 13.  The devotion I read was from Charles Stanley's In Touch magazine.  The devotion sheds light on thinking about adversity and pain and asked us to take a different look at adversity from God's perspective and not ours.  Think upon these questions:

 1. Which is a greater demonstration of the Lord's power changing something around me or changing something within my heart?

2. Which is the greater faith builder, seeing God's deliverance for every difficulty or experiencing  His presence and strengthening in the midst of trials?

3. Which is greater, the immediate relief from discomfort or a tested and refined faith that will result in praise and glory when Christ returns?

4. Which answers to prayer is greater, that God has removed something and given me extended peace or that He's left me in a trial and given an internal peace that nothing can steal not even my circumstances?

God uses our trials, pain and adversities to grow our faith and trust in Him.  Father, give me strength and wisdom in the midst of trials to remember who You are and that You see the complete picture and I only see the moment. 

My Mother has Alzheimers

My Mother has Alzheimers.  She was diagnosed with moderate Alzheimers disease in February 2004.  My Dad passed away in October 2001.  The disease has progressively gotten worst.  I hate this disease.  It robs you of memories and all those things that make up who you are.  One of the hardest parts of this disease is for family and having a Mother who doesn't remember who you are.  My Mother and I had a special mother-daughter relationship.  We were close and so it hurts.

Mother and Daddy took me to church and taught me about Jesus.  I asked Jesus into my heart when I was twelve years old during a revival.  My Mother accepted Christ when she was a teenage girl and my Dad was older when he accepted Christ as Savior.  I know she loves the Lord because she told me so and she also modeled the love of Christ in her life.  She was not perfect and neither am I.  She is my Mother and I love her.

When you forget who you are or who your family is,  do you remember Jesus?

The answer to that question is yes I believe you do.  As the disease gets progressively worse, you may not be able to express it but perhaps somewhere inside the presence of Jesus is even stronger.  Since the Holy Spirit lives within each Christian until the day we die, He is still there because His promise says, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

The Lord allows me to see glimpses of His presence in my Mother on occasion. The other night, I spent the night with Mother while my sister who is the primary caregiver went to a woman's retreat.  Mother and I had a pleasant evening and I thought she remembered my name although she never called it.  When she went to bed, I asked her if she wanted to pray.  She did and begin to pray, "Dear Father".  She prayed a very sweet prayer and even prayed for this "sweet lady that was staying with her tonight".  And then she spoke to God in these words as she ended her prayer, "I love you, I love you, I love you.  Amen."

Thank you Father for allowing me to see You through her and thank you for your care for your children even when our mind doesn't remember.

The Image of the Invisible God

"He is the image of the invisible God"...  Colossians 1:15

I am the firstborn of my mother and through the years I have been told on numerous occasions that I look like her.  I admit that it is true and the older I get, the more the reflection in the mirror tells me so.

While you can see me in my physical body and Mother in hers, God is invisible.  How do we know what God looks like?  How do we know who He is?  How do we know His nature and His character?  There is only one way.  That is through the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is God in the flesh. God Himself took on flesh and was born as a baby.  He lived.  He walked among us as a human.  He died on a cross for my sins and yours.  He was buried in a tomb.  He rose from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and He is coming again!

How do we know what God looks like--look to Jesus and you will know.  How do I look to Jesus?  Open the Holy Bible and you will find a wealth of information about this God who became man.  This man who died on a cross for our sin.  This man who was with God and was God before the foundation of the world.  This man who was firstborn over all creation and the firstborn from the dead.

We do not know what Jesus looks like physically but we do know His character and His nature.  He himself said that He is the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father but through Him.  He provided a way for the forgiveness of sin.  Won't you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior right now?

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

While physically I look like my mother, my greatest desire is to look like Jesus.  I can only do that through the power of His saving grace as I journey through this life.

A Reflection of His Glory

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.




Paul wrote about reflecting God's glory in this verse.  Imagine being transformed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  What do you think that would look like?  Would your face reflect love and compassion for the lost?  Would your face reflect humility and submission to the will of God?  Would your face reflect grace so that your mouth would speak words of kindness, compassion and love to others?  Would your face look like Jesus?

When you look into a mirror from a distance, the image is not clear.  Only as you stand a few inches from the mirror can you see a clean, clear image that define the lines of your face.  The source of the reflection is so near that you can see yourself clearly.  The closer you get to Jesus through daily prayer and Bible study, the more you will be transformed into His image.

Use me for Your kingdom's Glory, Father and make me a reflection of Your Son Jesus.

Humility Through Jesus

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalms 16:11

Paul had a personal encounter with Jesus on his journey to Damascus. (Acts 9) It was such an incredible experience with the Lord that he was blind for three days and could not eat or drink anything.  From that point on, Paul whose name had been Saul served the Lord Jesus all his life.  Paul had an enthusiasm for the Lord and a genuine desire to please Him.  If you look closely at Paul's life, you will see Paul's growth in the faith.  At the beginning of his ministry, Paul wrote in Galatians describing himself as "an apostle".  Five or six years later when he wrote Corinthians, he described himself as "the least of the apostles".  In Ephesians after another five years, he referred to himself as "less than the least of all God's people".  In Philemon a year or so later, Paul called himself "a prisoner of Jesus Christ" and near the end of his life in Timothy, he called himself "the worst of sinners".

Why did Paul describe himself using more humble words as he journeyed the Christian path?  Was he a worse sinner than before his conversion when he executed Christians? I believe with each day that passes as a Christian matures, we begin to realize and appreciate who we are and who God is and what He has done for us.  When we realize the holy nature of God, our prospective changes.  We no longer see ourselves as the important prideful person that our human nature tells us we are but that our Holy God is mighty and powerful. This Great God, Creator of the universe made me and you. I am but nothing except for His grace and love.  He alone is worthy of praise.  This God provided the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.  This Jesus, who is God and with God provided the ultimate sacrifice for my sin.

^"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.  ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3

It is only through Jesus that we can come to the Father. This is the path of life.  It is only through Jesus that our sins can be forgiven.  Paul was humbled by that sacrifice as he drew nearer and nearer to His Redeemer.  And so am I.

Be Strong and Courageous

"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:7-9

We as God's children are called to be "strong and courageous", obey God's Word, and do not turn to the right or the left in order to be prosperous and successful.  Being strong and courageous is not easy.  In fact sometimes we can be so full of fear that we can not take the next step forward.  But in these verses, God promises He will never leave you nor forsake you.  In fact, He commands us to not be terrified or discouraged because "He, the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go".

It is comforting to me to know that I worship a God who cares and loves me and He is with me every step I take.  Being strong and courageous then does not depend on me in my fleshly strength but depends on my trust in the living, risen Saviour Jesus Christ.