Category: Hebrews

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Construction Zone

I’ve heard it said that hope is our blueprint and faith is our building materials. We need both, working together to achieve a desired result.

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 NLT

As I was thinking about that this morning my mind came up with several examples of hope and faith working together. The first example comes from God, Himself. He had a blueprint, a hope, for the world He was to create and by faith He spoke out the words and the world was framed. Light be and light was.

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Hebrews 11:3 NLT

Then there was Noah – God gave him the blue print for the Ark and Noah brought the materials together and made it just as the Lord told him. Moses did the same thing with the tabernacle in the desert. Solomon built the Temple according to the plans that the Lord had given his father, King David.

Peter built the church, the body of believers according to God’s blueprint. Jesus said “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”, that was the blueprint for world evangelism. Then he told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and “Wait for the power of the Holy Spirit”, that was building material. As soon as Peter received the proper material (the Holy Spirit) he went out and started building, preaching. And that first day 3000 people gave their lives to the Lord, that’s a good first day of construction no matter what project you’re working on.

“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability…Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.” Acts 2:1-4, 37-41 NLT

From there on out God gave His word, the blueprint for our lives, to those who wrote the Bible and He also gave us the building material we need, the Holy Spirit.

What is it you need to build? It is peace, joy, strength, forgiveness, healing, victory, understanding, etc. Find the blueprint for it in God’s word and then let the power of the Holy Spirit construct what God has promised.

“He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life. 4 Through His shining-greatness and perfect life, He has given us promises. These promises are of great worth and no amount of money can buy them. Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now that you have gotten away from the sinful things of the world which came from wrong desires of the flesh.” II Peter 1:3-4 NLV

God’s plan or blueprint is ALWAYS good! I am determined to let God design and build my life according to His plan.

“Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone that people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored. 5 And now you are living stones that are being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God.” I Peter 2:4-5 CEV

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The Big Stuff

Trusting on God to handle the “big” stuff in our lives seems appropriate, right? But then we try to handle the “little” things on our own – surely we can handle them. No need to bother God!

Have you ever asked yourself “What’s big to God?”

Big things might appear to be cancer, divorce, terrorist attacks, destructive weather, who knows? While smaller things are the day to day occurrences; a broken washing machine, repairs on the car, problems at work, the kids’ friends, too much month and not enough money. These are the things we try to handle on our own; coming to our own conclusions; working out our own answers.

But what is “big” to God? He is the one who created the universe, who has been ever present from eternity past to eternity future, who mapped the planets, the sun, moon and stars; He created the earth and everything in it. What is “big stuff” to Him? Our “big” things barely make a blip on His radar screen however He tells us to bring everything too Him, that we may find help in time of need.

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 CEV

Two key words in this verse are anything and everything – that’s what we are to bring to the Father with thankful hearts knowing that He has a plan.

God has never been caught off guard by any request – He knows before we ask but He still is waiting for us to ask. He’s never leaned over to Jesus and said “Boy, I didn’t see that one coming. That’s a surprise to me; I wonder what I’m going to do.” No! He knows exactly what we need and how to get it to us.

He wants to be included in every aspect of our lives; the big, the small and the in-between. He will bring peace to the devastated and joy to the heart broken, He will heal the headache and the broken toe. He will give you wisdom as you develop a new project and He will help you balance the household budget. Give Him the large, that you can’t handle and the small, that you shouldn’t handle, let Him have it all.

“We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. 15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:14-16 CEV

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The Face of God

Do you remember when you were a kid and the local television station would sign off for the night? No?

It used to happen like that – after the last program of the night, the announcer would come on and declare the stations call letters, soft music would play in the background and then a man with a comforting voice would quote the poem “High Flight” and the television screen would go dark. Broadcasting had ended for the day.

High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

This is a brief biography on the author of the poem. High Flight was composed by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee,  Jr., an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was born in Shanghai, China in 1922, the son of missionary parents,  Reverend and Mrs. John Gillespie Magee; his father was an American and his mother was originally a British citizen.

 He came to the U.S. in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale, but in September 1940 he enlisted in the RCAF and was graduated as a pilot. He was sent to England for combat duty in July 1941.

In August or September 1941, Pilot Officer Magee composed High Flight and sent a copy to his parents. Several months later, on December 11, 1941 his Spitfire collided with another plane over England and Magee, only 19 years of age, crashed to his death. His remains are buried in the churchyard cemetery at Scopwick, Lincolnshire.

A young man of 19 was so touched by what he experienced in the heavens he had to record his feelings and give glory to God!

I was reminded of this poem this morning as I was reading in the Book of Revelation – the final book in the Bible. This book of Revelation does just that. It reveals how things on this earth will culminate and how we will spend eternity. The Lord wanted John to write down the things he saw and heard in heaven; the glory, the majesty, the worship.

John recorded the words of the songs of praise that the heavenly elders and the angels, millions upon millions, were singing around God’s throne. When we join them, those of us who have accepted Christ, we will be joining that chorus. We will be in the presence of God. We will sing:

“These living beings were giving glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. And every time they did this, 10 the 24 elders bowed down before the one who sits on the throne. They worshiped him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and said,

11 “Our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. You made all things. Everything existed and was made because you wanted it.” Revelation 4:9-11 ERV

and then…

“As I looked, I heard the voices of a lot of angels around the throne and the voices of the living creatures and of the elders. There were millions and millions of them, 12 and they were saying in a loud voice,

“The Lamb who was killed  is worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength,
    honor, glory, and praise.”

13 Then I heard all beings in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea offer praise. Together, all of them were saying,

“Praise, honor, glory, and strength forever and ever to the one who sits on the throne
 and to the Lamb!” 14 The four living creatures said “Amen,” while the elders knelt down and worshiped.” Revelation 5:11-14 CEV

Each morning as I see the sun christen the day with golden rays and hues of pink I am in Awe of Him, my Father God, who sits on the throne. And each evening my heart is stirred when I see the sun nearing the horizon; streaking it rays through the clouds. They turn from brilliant gold to fiery red and then to gray as the sun vanishes from sight. My heart is filled with the majesty of God.

I know why those in heaven spend their time singing – He is worthy to receive honor and glory and power forever!

God, who is worthy to receive all honor and glory is the same one who invites us to come boldly into His throne room when we are in need and there we will find help in every situation. He is the God of the universe, maker of all things but He is my father and He wants my relationship with Him to be personal.

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLV

Like Pilot Officer John Magee, when I look at the heavens in all their splendor I am wonder-filled and know that I have reached out and touched the face of God.

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Death’s Valley

Seems the last few days the Lord has me encouraging you to stand strong during the storms. Some of you must be battered and weary or could it be that the Lord is giving us advanced warning of something that is coming so we can take shelter and remain safe?

A couple weeks ago a dear friend of ours died. He and his wife had provided worship music for us when we started Christian Cowboys Association. We met them one night after a “Cowboy Cathedral”, our Friday night cowboy church service, in Scottsdale. It was right about the time of our first year birthday. We found out they sang cowboy gospel music and so we invited them to join us for that celebration and asked them to do some music. That was it! God put us together and for the several years Don and Ann were at every cowboy campmeeting, rodeo service and most of the Cowboy Cathedrals. We were together several times a week – what a sweet couple and wonderful fellowship.

When I became pregnant with our youngest daughter we asked Don and Ann to take the ministry and continue the outreach to working cowboys and the kids in the youth rodeos. They did. And they continued to share God’s love with those special people for many more years.

I tell you that as background for what I’m about to say.

This morning I woke with the words of a song filling my heart and my head. It was one of the songs that I had heard Don and Ann sing at nearly every Cowboy Service. Their harmonizing was what I heard and as I sit here quietly, if I close my eyes I can see them singing and hear their voices. Ann playing stand up bass and Don playing guitar. I knew I had to share the words with you.

I feel the touch of hands so kind and gentle,
They’re leading me in paths that I must trod;
I have no fear when Jesus walks beside me,
For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.

So let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise,
They won’t worry me for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God;
He walks with me and naught of Earth can harm me,
Sheltered safe within the arms of God.

Soon I shall hear the call from Heaven’s portals,
Come home my child, it’s the last mile you must trod;
I’ll fall asleep and wake in God’s new Heaven,
Sheltered safe within the arms of God.

So let the storms rage high, the dark clouds rise,
They won’t worry me for I’m sheltered safe within the arms of God;
He walks with me and naught of Earth can harm me,
Sheltered safe within the arms of God.

Sheltered safe within the arms of God! lyrics by Dottie Rambo

I’ve been silently singing along and I thought of Psalm 23 and the particular phrase “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear for You are with me”. Shadows can be scary. If you don’t think so try walking through a dark alley or a cemetery at night. Your mind will play all sorts of tricks on you and you end up seeing so many things that aren’t real, they are just shadows.

The image I used this morning is a picture that was taken in Death Valley. It’s a hot and desolate place. You can see for miles and there is nothing but more desert, more emptiness. To be lost out there is almost certain death, hence the name. Almost nothing grows there and in the summer time it’s as hot as an oven. There in the shadow of its rocky crags you are in the “valley of the shadow of death”.

But…

We’re not alone! We are sheltered safe within the arms of our loving God and heavenly Father.

“The Lord is my Shepherd. I will have everything I need. 2 He lets me rest in fields of green grass. He leads me beside the quiet waters. 3 He makes me strong again. He leads me in the way of living right with Himself which brings honor to His name. 4 Yes, even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid of anything, because You are with me. You have a walking stick with which to guide and one with which to help. These comfort me. 5 You are making a table of food ready for me in front of those who hate me. You have poured oil on my head. I have everything I need. 6 For sure, You will give me goodness and loving-kindness all the days of my life. Then I will live with You in Your house forever.” Psalm 23 NLV

Fear of the unknown – fear of the storms – fear of failure – fear of being alone – fear of financial ruin – fear of divorce – fear of death…all of these and more can be devastating. They are daunting shadows, they are the “what if’s” of life. But remember, we are not alone; do not fear!

“Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good.” Isaiah 41:10 NLV

“God has said, “I will never leave you or let you be alone.” 6 So we can say for sure, ‘The Lord is my Helper. I am not afraid of anything man can do to me.’” Hebrews 13:5b,6 NLV

Fear not!

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Washed by Love

I was reminded this morning of something that happened when our son was little. We had friends who owned a dairy. We took the kids down to see the new calves and were helping bottle feed the ones that couldn’t be fed by their mothers. Our son was running down the lane between the pens when he stumbled and fell.

When he stood up he was sobbing. I was concerned that he had hurt himself and I ran to see what was wrong. I got to him and he was looking at his hands saying “get it off”. His tears still flowing, I was trying not to laugh. He wasn’t hurt but he was distraught because his hands were dirty; they were covered with mud and other such things as you find in a calf yard.

Of course, we got him to the nearest water spigot and washed him up.

That’s the way it is when we come to Jesus.

I only washed our son’s hands but Jesus cleanses us completely.

“But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away.” I John 1:7 CEV

“The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth.” John 1:17 CEV

Both these verses were written by the same person, John. He wanted everyone to know that Jesus had washed ALL our sins away; we are cleansed because of what He did. He brought us undeserved kindness, or in other words Jesus brought us grace.

Every once in a while I find myself looking at my “dirty hands” and bursting in to tears. In fact, I used to let the dirt of my sins overwhelm me! But the more I studied God’s word, the more I learned about grace. And the more I learned about grace the more insight I got into the Father’s love.

I’ve been cleansed! God gave me His word to cleanse my thoughts of guilt.

“Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. 23 We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised.” Hebrews 10:22-23 ERV

The cleansing agent that removes our sin is the blood of Jesus and grace is the washing that applies it to our hearts. We don’t have the power to clean our own lives but by grace we have been cleansed.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. ” Ephesians 2:8-9 ERV

Thank you Father for washing me with grace!

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No Middle Man Necessary

Yesterday I was reminded again of the importance of proper communication. I do work for a man who lives in California. I get up early and go to bed somewhat early. He gets us late and stays up until past midnight. The difference in our schedules have caused us to come up with an alternative method of communicating – we found that the best means was by use of fax.

Several months ago I noticed that I wasn’t getting his fax replies to my inquiries as quickly as I normally had. I called, we talked and I found that he had been faxing but for whatever reason I wasn’t getting his communication. After testing my fax line, I changed the number hoping that would correct the problem but it didn’t. We needed to find an alternate means.

We began using a third person to transmit his messages to me. I would fax him, he would respond, give his replies to his secretary and she would then forward them to me…I know. Far from a prudent means of communication but it was the best we could do.

Last night I talked with him and I asked him to try my fax number again. He said he would and then he would call me right back to see if I had received the transmission. I waited, anxiously, no fax and then his call came in. We talked a bit and then – there is was. I was thrilled!

Direct communication.

The problem? A wrong number. Months of going through a middle man as it were. Now we, once again, had an open line of communication. We could “talk” one on one.

Hallelujah!

Do you realize that’s how it is with the Lord? We can talk to Him one on one without a middle man. I love it when folks ask me to pray about something, I believe in the power of prayer. And I believe the Scripture that tells us we should ask for others to pray for us and with us. However, having someone pray for you is not the same as one on one communication with the Father. He wants us to come direct.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Hebrews 10:19-23 NLV

Because of the sacrifice that Jesus made to pay for our sins we are able to come boldly to God with a clear conscience filled with hope. No middle man. In the Old Testament people had to go through the priest or the prophet to speak with God but Jesus changed all of that!

I spend a lot of time in the book of Hebrews. It is a comparison/contrast to the way things were in the Old Testament before Jesus and how they are now, after Jesus paid the price for sin. A new way – a living way – a personal relationship with God the Father.

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT

No wrong fax numbers, no third party transmission! Come boldly, we are invited to open communication in the throne room!

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Coming Home

It’s hard to think of a day in my life without the Lord. Almost impossible! Even during the days when I wasn’t serving Him, when I was being the prodigal – I knew He was there!

Doing things my way, trying to find the “best” way without Him only brought frustration and disappointment.

“Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths. Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life. 12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart. I will honor your name forever! 13 You have such great love for me. You save me from the place of death.” Psalm 86:11-13 ERV

By now you know that the story of prodigal son is one of my favorites. I use it often; I am still, after all these years exploring the depth of that Father’s love for his son; for both of his sons. One was wayward in his life style, the other was wayward in his understanding.

The son who left was decadent, rebellious and immoral. The son who stayed appeared to be hard working and loyal but his heart was filled with resentment and bitterness. The one son saw his need for repentance and his broken spirit brought him home. The other, although home, felt like a distant outsider because he had never really developed a relationship with his loving father.

I have been like both of these sons.

I’ve been rebellious and walked far from my Father’s home and I have been close in appearance but distanced because of a hard heart and religious mind set. Is it any wonder that I love this story?

Is it any wonder that I love God’s word?

It is His word that has revealed to me the depth of my Father’s love and the expanse of His forgiveness.

“This is the agreement I will make  with my people in the future, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts. I will write my laws in their minds.”

17 Then he says, “I will forget their sins and never again remember the evil they have done.” 18 And after everything is forgiven, there is no more need for a sacrifice to pay for sins.

19 And so, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place. We can do this without fear because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus. 20 We enter through a new way that Jesus opened for us. It is a living way that leads through the curtain—Christ’s body. 21 And we have a great priest who rules the house of God. 22 Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ.” Hebrews 10:16-22 ERV

Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can experience forgiveness and a depth of love we have never known before. Our sins are completely forgiven, He paid the penalty of sin with His life. No further sacrifice is necessary.

We are free to come to the Father; freed from a guilty conscience, free to live confidently in His presence, free to find help in our time of need. Free from the penalty of sin!

Coming home! What a joy to know the Father is always waiting with arms open wide!

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Learning From Others

Yesterday morning after I had shared with you, I read one of the blogs I read each morning. I am always encouraged by the simplistic outlook that comes from Max Lucado’s writings.

His blog yesterday was entitled, “Grace is God’s Best Idea”. Imagine that. God giving His best. There’s just no way around it; that is what God has always done, given His best.

He gave us Jesus – His best. He gave us forgiveness – His best. He gave us relationship with Him – there is no better. Everything that we receive the Father is the best; love, joy, peace, kindness, mercy and grace.

Grace – receiving from God what we don’t deserve. Definitely the best.

So this morning I want to share with you what Max shared with the world. I know you won’t be disappointed.

“Your dad makes you come to church, but he can’t make you listen.  At least that’s what you’ve always muttered to yourself.  But this morning you listen because the preacher speaks of a God who loves prodigals, and you feel like the worst sort of one.  You can’t keep the pregnancy a secret much longer.  Soon your parents will know.  The preacher will know.  And the preacher says God already knows.  You wonder what God thinks.

Could you use some grace?  You know, grace is God’s best idea.  Rather than tell us to change, he creates the change.  Do we clean up so he can accept us?  No, he accepts us and begins cleaning us up.  What a difference this makes!  Can’t forgive your past?  Christ can, and he is on the move…aggressively budging you from grace-less to grace-shaped living.  A forgiven person who forgives others.  This is grace.  Grace is everything Jesus!“

We all need to allow ourselves to receive God’s grace. It’s our help in time of need.

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLT

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Planning for a Trip

If you remember, back in April I showed you a picture of our new tent. We had been talking about camping for a long time and we wanted to be able to take the little grandkids with us, helping them learn about the great outdoors.

Our budget didn’t have the funds for a 5th Wheel Trailer or RV so we decided to go with a tent. It’s no ordinary tent; its big with 2 removable walls, LED lighting, oversized cots with memory foam mattresses, two RTIC ice chests, pop-up canopy for over the picnic table and a couple of anti-gravity chairs. Yep, we are “geared up”!

If you know me very well at all, you know I make lists for everything. Camping is no different. The picture on today’s blog is my actual list of things I need to know I have when we go camping next week. I’ve been over that list several times now and the things circled are the items that still need to be added before we leave on Tuesday.

There is another list besides this one. It has things that still need to be done around the house before we leave; spraying weeds, watering plants, laundry and then those “day of” items – packing the ice chest, turning off the a/c, lowering the hot water heater, taking out the trash…

To have a successful trip, there needs to be thorough planning!

What do you plan for? A big project at work, a wedding, kids college fund, exercise regime, retirement, dinner next week with friends…

I asked myself this question, what did God plan for? He planned for a life with us!

“The plans of the Lord stand forever. The plans of His heart stand through the future of all people. 12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord. Happy are the people He has chosen for His own.” Psalm 33:11-12 NLV

From the beginning He desired to have a relationship with us and when Adam chose his own way and rebelled, God immediately began planning to restore us.

“We were weak and could not help ourselves. Then Christ came at the right time and gave His life for all sinners. 7 No one is willing to die for another person, but for a good man someone might be willing to die. 8 But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Now that we have been saved from the punishment of sin by the blood of Christ, He will save us from God’s anger also. 10 We hated God. But we were saved from the punishment of sin by the death of Christ. He has brought us back to God and we will be saved by His life.” Romans 5:6-10 NLV

Unlike our camping trip, Jesus didn’t bring anything with Him. He came as a baby; he laid aside all that He had in heaven and limited himself to the confines of a human life.

“It is true that we share the same Father with Jesus. And it is true that we share the same kind of flesh and blood because Jesus became a man like us. He died as we must die. Through His death He destroyed the power of the devil who has the power of death. 15 Jesus did this to make us free from the fear of death. We no longer need to be chained to this fear. ” Hebrews 2:14-15 NLV

He planned to be like us and provide the way for our relationship with the Father.

“We have a great high priest who has gone to live with God in heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us continue to express our faith in him. 15 Jesus, our high priest, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted, but he never sinned. 16 With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:14-16 ERV

I am so thankful that the Father made a plan for me and I’m so very glad that Jesus was willing to make the trip!

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It’s Important to Cuddle

We knew our kids would be heading home right after lunch yesterday. We visited and played for most of the morning and then it was time to gather things up and start moving them out to the car.

I was putting out lunch in the kitchen, the little ones were playing, Kaci was packing and Stephen was loading out. Kristine was doing fine until her Daddy carried out her shoes. She followed him to the door but she had to stay inside. Her Daddy was gone and so were her shoes.

Kaci picked her up and put her in the high chair so she could eat before they left. Brother Sam was already eating. She wanted nothing to do with that, she just kept looking at the door and then the tears started to fall. It’s hard to imagine what might have been going through her little mind – I’m tired and I just want a nap; are they going to leave me; why can’t I go outside too.

I lifted her out of her high chair and began to rub her back. She started to calm down and cuddle in. I held her as her Momma and Daddy sat down to eat their lunch with brother. She snuggled in more as I sat down and then she fell fast asleep.

This scene replayed in my head this morning. And then I read this verse as part of my morning reading.

“You know that we treated each one of you the way a father treats his own children. 12 We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we told you to live good lives for God. He calls you to be part of his glorious kingdom.” I Thessalonians 2:11-12 ERV

We could almost replace that word “comforted” with the word cuddled. Paul had learned from the Lord the importance of comforting and encouraging. That’s what the Father does for us – He doesn’t abandon or desert us. When we feel vulnerable He is there to lift us up and give us peace.

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

Maybe you need a good cuddle today, come boldly to God’s throne. He’ll pick you up and provide peace. Or maybe there is someone you’ll encounter today who is having a rough go of it; God might use you to act in a “fatherly” way to bring them comfort and encouragement.

Just remember, sometimes we could all use a good cuddle!

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