So, chosen by God for this new life of love,
dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you:
compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.
Be even-tempered, content with second place,
quick to forgive an offense.
Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you.
And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.
It’s your basic, all-purpose garment.
Never be without it.
Colossians 3:12-14MSG
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
Living in world full of people, we experience many things in life. As followers of Christ, we are always compelled to respond with our faith and trust in God. No matter what the situation, its magnitude and size, our Heavenly Father is greater than anything we face. Some challenges arrive on our doorstep, as a heavy load that burdens our hearts and minds. The weight sometimes clouds our vision and moves us in the wrong direction. I believe heavy loads are God’s area of expertise to help us. We can cast our care on him for He loves and cares for us. The all knowing God is able to work things out for our good. Our Father also provides a God-given peace along the way. Whatever we face today we can turn over our problems, our cares and even our heavy loads to God and leave them in His capable and loving hands.
Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls. For My way of carrying a load is easy and My load is not heavy. Matthew 11:29-30
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.
Isaiah 26:3-4
We seek peace in our hearts, minds and souls. I am so thankful that we serve a God that keeps us in a state of peace even when difficulties come to our door. This internal peace has a strong sustaining power despite the unfathomable. We experience it when we keep our minds on the Father. We want to fix our minds on all of His goodness, all of His righteousness and all of His power. We see the power of our focus in the scriptures in Isaiah 26:3-4 and also in Philippians 4:8-9. We can fix our thoughts on things that are true, honorable, pure, lovely and excellent in exchange for our problems and our shortcomings. Our God is faithful to provide peace, when we focus on His goodness and put our trust in Him.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me-everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4: 8-9
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
He is our refuge. In the midst of a storm, He is a place where we can find peace and protection. A refuge is a place of safety, when trouble seems to surround us. In Him, we can find a place of covering for our hearts and minds in every situation. We thank you Lord for you are our refuge.
He is our strength. His strength is perfected in our weakness. We can look to Him for the added strength we need to face what is ahead. He gives us the renewed will and power to face the challenges of the day. We thank you God for your perfect strength.
He is our present help. The Lord provides help that is complete. His blessings provide for every need. He supplies all of our needs. Healing, deliverance, salvation and guidance are all available to His children. We thank God for His present, right now help.
We are seeking and praising you for your refuge, strength and present help today and for the days ahead.
And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 AMP
The “one another” instructions in the Bible are powerful. They often refer to our relational world of how we are to connect to each other. We know examples – love one another, pray for one another, encourage one another. Our passage today is a reminder of our need to be kind, compassionate and forgiving of one another. At first glance, when we read these instructions we may be quick to give ourselves a pass recalling all of the past ‘”nice” things we have done. On learning more about this scripture and what God desires of us, I realize I have more work to do. Being kind is more than a smiling face. It reflects a giving spirit and a desire to be useful and helpful to one another. Demonstrating loving-hearted compassion shows our genuine concern about each other situations. Forgiving one another freely and quickly for big and small things as our Heavenly Father does for us. Kindness, compassion and forgiveness are outward expressions of who we are as God’s children. They reflect who He is and as His children we should carry His identity and His likeness in our care for one another. Carefully considering how we respond to one another and seeking to demonstrate His example puts our relationships on higher ground. More kindness, more compassion and more forgiveness in the world are reflections that will shine bright in a hurting world.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT
Like many places of worship my home church has Bible Study on Wednesday nights. It is a special time of sharing with our Pastor about the Bible, its meaning and purpose in our lives. It is a discussion and journey of seeking to understand all that the Holy Scripture has available to God’s people. Our church, like other churches spend Wednesday nights seeking, learning and exploring the rich treasure of the Bible.
This morning my heart is heavy, thinking about the men and women gathered for Bible Study at the Emanuel African-Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. On a Wednesday evening, they gathered for studying God’s Word and 9 people lost their lives to senseless violence; a Pastor and parishioners murdered by gun fire. My heart is heavy. There will be no plausible explanation except that evil and hate is a pervasive sickness that continues to kill and destroy. Even during this morning of mourning, I think of the families, friends of the victims and the whole congregation and the stinging grief that has come to their community. I also wonder about the power of love and how it can take even this tragedy and transform it into something for our good. I am thankful that even in the midst of the unthinkable, we can turn our hearts and minds to God. We can seek peace and understanding in prayer. We can pray for each person impacted by this tragedy and that peace and love will surround this South Carolina community. So we pray….
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
II Corinthians 1:3-5.
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9 NLT
Show me what you want me to do. You are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me over level ground. Lord, let me live so that people will praise your name. Show me how good you are and save me from my trouble. Psalm 143:10-11 ERV
I want my steps to be guided by the Lord.
I seek His Holy Spirit to lead me.
My heart, mind and soul need His guidance into places of righteousness.
His thoughts are higher than my thoughts.
His ways are higher than my ways.
His leading takes me to places of peace and level ground that keeps me in good stead.
Lord, Lead me today.
This day belongs to the Lord! Let’s celebrate and be glad today. Psalm 118:24
Our experiences in life come one after another. Being fully present in the blessedness of now requires focus. This time and this moment will never come again. Today is an opportunity to use all of your senses – eyes, your ears, your sense of smell, your touch and your heart to absorb, what is happening around us right now. Not what has happened in the past or not even what tomorrow will bring but focus on the blessing of this moment – in this time and in this place. It is easier said than done with the hurried pace of our living. We can rush through the blessings of love and life or slow the pace of our minds down to realize that now is the perfect blessing before us. So many guided steps and unearned favor allow me to breathe in and out and to be conscious of His blessings. The Lord is good to each of us. His mercy, His love and His grace make this moment possible.
Even in the most difficult circumstance, we can be glad that we serve a God who is with us. Our Heavenly Father is so faithful, so caring and so loving to shield us and to undergird us even when we believe that our hearts will break during the circumstance of the day. The blessing of now may be disguised by difficulty but we are still here, we have faith in our Heavenly Father, we are still on the path and God is still leading. We can rejoice in that blessing alone.
My mind is clear that embracing now is my charge for today. This is the day. This is God’s day for me. I am glad to experience it fully with a grateful heart and attitude of praise for this time and this place.
Terri in Barcelona
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.
Proverbs 3:5-12
Terri's Wellspring 