Tag: hopeofthisworld

Stress

Got Stress?

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Recently I have been reading in 2 Corinthians from The Modern Life Study Bible. In 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 Paul talks about dealing with stress. There is a little commentary in the margin that I had to reread a few times. Let me just preface this by saying I am not disagreeing with the following, there were just some things that made me go hmmmm.

“Tension, conflict, weariness and suffering are common place in our world but some hold out that God will bring life struggles to an end. They assume that a relationship of Christ ushers us into peace, even prosperity… as long as we live on this earth we will experience the unbreakable connection between trouble and hope. It may not be pleasant but it brings lasting benefits… James challenges us to find joy in our various trials because they produce patients which in the end makes us mature (James 1:2-4).  As long as we attempted to obey Christ we can count on having to deal with stress but whatever strain we feel today reaps riches to enjoy for eternity.”

The Modern Life Study Bible, Thomas Nelson 2014

I agree with some of this, “Tension, conflict, weariness and suffering are common place in our world but some hold out that God will bring life struggles to an end.” Hmmm, well shouldn’t we hope that God will one day end all the strife in the world? Perhaps I am not reading that correctly. Maybe not this side of heaven but God will end all suffering when Jesus returns. I am looking forward to that day. Shouldn’t we hope that God will end our whatever current crisis we are enduring? Shouldn’t we hope that God will put an end to the chaos and craziness in our world? 

I also agree with, “They assume that a relationship of Christ ushers us into peace, even prosperity…” Regardless if we walk with or without God, if we are in a relationship with Him the rain, the stress falls on the just and the unjust. Being a believer, Christ follower, Child of God, a Christian doesn’t mean a life prosperity. So I’d rather have the stress with God then without Him which I believe there is a peace maybe not so much ease and prosperity but with God there is a peace, He is the Prince of Peace. John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Just because we have a relationship with God doesn’t mean we won’t encounter hardships here on earth. John 16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Even Jesus encountered some rough times. I can think of one very rough day. 

“…the unbreakable connection between trouble and hope.”

The Modern Life Study Bible, Thomas Nelson 2014

Hmmm, not sure what is meant by that. The now and the not yet? That is a difficult place to be. But I believe there is always hope in any situation.

There are some benefits to following Christ.

Matthew 16:24,25 – If we lose our lives for His sake we will find them.

Hebrews 12:8-11 – We are God’s children and when He disciplines us that is evidence we belong to Him as His chlidren.

James 1:2-4 – James encourages us to find joy in our trials, for trials produce patience. We don’t need to ask for patience when we have enough trials in front of us to help us cultivate patience.

1 Peter 4:12,13 – Facing these trials can cause us to waiver in Christ. Trials in this life are pretty common but they can produce some great results. We can experience the suffering of Christ so that we can also experience His glory.

God never said it would be easy to follow Him, He never promised that. But He did promise that He would never leave us or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:8 – “
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” He said in Philippians 4:19 – “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The conflicts, tension, and weariness won’t come to a complete end until Jesus returns. There is always hope, Jesus is our only hope, He is  the only hope this world has. So if there is going to be conflict and stress in this world, I’d don’t want to take another step with out God by my side. After all He has overcome the world.  

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September 13, 2021 – Isaiah 54:10

The Kedge Anchor

Memorize Monday – free coloring page – Isaiah 54:10 “Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Setp 13Isaiah 54:10
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All Things Work Together, Even Our Brokenness – Part 1

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When God created us He had a purpose in mind. Like like an artist has a plan for a piece of art. An artist is usually inspired by something to create a piece of art and has a plan and a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is to just add beauty, or it may be more functional to hold flowers or utensils, or something from which to drink, maybe to carry light.

God uses the imagery of a potter sculpting a piece of pottery. “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (NIV). God formed us in His image, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, …” Genesis 1:26 (NIV). And He has a plan for our lives, “For I know the plans I have for you, …” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).


When the potter takes a block of clay, or a lump of clay it has no aesthetic form. The clay out of the package is moist and pliable, it can be easily formed and molded into anything the potter wants.


But before the potter begins, the potter has a plan, a design and a purpose in mind for the pot. The clay is slapped down on the potter’s wheel and is pounded. It is kneaded like bread to get the air out. The potter does this for a few minutes and as he does this kneading process, the clay becomes warm and softer. The the clay is slapped down one more time on the wheel and as the wheel begins to turn the potter wraps his hands around the lump of clay and begins to give it form. The clay can get a little dry from the friction of the potter’s hands, so the potter wets his hands and adds water to the clay and continues to shape and form the pot.
Now comes the time to add more pressure, this time from the top to make an opening, hollowing out the inside. By adding pressure at certain points on the outside, the potter can create grooves and curves giving the pot some interest and design. The potter is almost done. The lip of the pot is formed and smoothed out, he gives the it one final spin on the wheel, checking it, looking it over. The wheel stops and he takes a piece of string, slides it under the newly formed pot and lifts it off the wheel.

Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; …”

Isaiah 64:8


He takes it to a shelf with other pieces to dry for a few weeks. That clay, that lump of clay has been through a lot, pounding, kneading, spinning, pressure from all sides, from the top, emptied out, now resting on shelf, in the stillness, nothing happening, no movement, other pieces come and go, it’s still there just resting until the potter is ready to bake it.


The days pass and the potter takes the pot off the shelf. It is dry now. It is ready. It is ready to be baked in the kiln. The temperature in a kiln gets between 2124 – 2264 degrees Fahrenheit. The pot will bake for up to ten hours in the kiln. When the firing is complete and things have cooled down the potter takes the pot and gets it ready for its desired use.


The potter’s room is square like most rooms and as a matter of fact everything is square in the room, pictures, windows, furniture, books, bookcases, area rugs, tables, everything is square. The pot is round and will add contrast to the square room. (sometimes a contrast could be a compliment, opposites do attract). It will be obvious of it’s roundness. The pot will also have several uses. It will first hold fresh cut flowers. When the flowers fade the potter has another use, to hold paint brushes , pens, and pencils.


But one day the pot falls and breaks into several several pieces. Still, the potter loves this little pot and puts it back together. The cracks form an interesting pattern and the potter paints the cracks into a pretty motif. He adds more fresh flowers and water. The pot is holding water again. The pot is more beautiful with it’s pretty painted motif. It’s adding more beauty to the room, standing out even more.

How much like that pot are we after we are broken and healed? How have you experienced brokenness? Have you healed? Are you the same? What has changed for you?

Pause and think about your brokenness, where has it brought it you? How have you healed? Maybe you haven’t healed, maybe you’re in the process. There is hope and there’s more to this story, like there’s more to our brokenness. Stay tuned for next week.

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Homeostasis

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Homeostasis hō″mē-ō-stā′sĭs

n. A state of equilibrium, as in an organism or cell, maintained by self-regulating processes.

n.The ability and tendency of certain systems to maintain a relatively constant internal state in spite of changes in external conditions; this ability is achieved by the presence of feedback mechanisms which can adjust the state of the system to compensate for changes in the state caused by the external environment. It is exemplified in homeothermal biological systems, such as animals which maintain relatively constant blood temperature and composition in spite of variations in external temperature or the composition of the food ingested.

n.The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium; such as the ability of warm-blooded animals to maintain a constant temperature.

-American Heritage Dictionary

Back in 2020 our world changed. Our daily lives practically came to a halt, routines changed, nothing was normal. Everything from terminology, commutes, conversations, travel, work, statuses, relationships, everything that we once new as normal changed, disrupting our lives.

Homeostasis is what our physical bodies do when it encounters change in its environment. When it’s cold outside, our bodies form goose bumps raising the hairs on our skin to form a layer of air between the skin and the hair to keep warm. Our bodies are always trying to stay in a constant state of balance, equilibrium.

Why don’t our minds have a homeostasis or do they? When our environment changes in any way, we can perceive it as a threat. Back to it being cold outside, we can be outside enjoying a warm day and then a cold wind can sweep in a cold front and suddenly we are cold and we get goose bumps. But what about our minds? How can we keep our minds stable? Like when our environment effects our minds our spiritual walk can be affected as well. What about spiritual homeostasis?

When the pandemic hit and all these changes happened, how did it affect you spiritually? How easy was it for your mind to feel lost, go in a million directions, forget your routine especially when it came to your time with God? Don’t know about you, but for me it seems like that is the one of the first things to take a hit. Why is it so hard to stay consistent? Daniel in the Bible was abruptly taken from his home, his family and friends. He was taken away from all that he ever knew and thrown into an environment that went completely against what he believed. Babylon was beautiful. Imagine the most beautiful community, manicured lawns, adorned passage ways and buildings with every possible convenience right outside your door. Now there’s nothing wrong with those things but those things have their place (another post for another time).

Daniel was consistent with his walk with God. He remained faithful in praying three times a day to God (Daniel 6:10-17) and remained faithful to his Hebrew culture by continuing to eat healthy and refusing the choice foods from the kings table (Daniel 1:8-16). He resolved to continue to live as he had before he was kidnapped. He was anchored in God’s Word and it was because of his obedience God allowed him to be favored by the king (Daniel chapter 1). For myself, I find comfort in routine. Kinda like in RainMan where Dustin Hoffman playing the part of Raymond Babbit, an older brother with autism. No matter where he was he had to watch Judge Wapner. His younger brother Charlie Babbit played by Tom Cruise, somehow made it happen. He went to the great lengths of knocking on doors of strangers asking if they would let him and his brother in to watch TV. When Charlie recreated the routine or the environment for Raymond, things were good, otherwise Raymond couldn’t cope.

Think about it. How often do you find yourself out of your routine and your time with God gets derailed or pushed aside. Some days it can’t be helped but then one day turns into a week and then two weeks then you can’t remember the last time you spent with God reading His Word. How do we keep a spiritual homeostasis when our routine changes? I find it hard to cope without spending time with God each day. Some days it may happen later in the day, some days it may happen before the sun comes up, depending on what’s on the agenda for the day. But it has to happen so that when the environment changes, I can be consistent with at least one thing and remain faithful to God.

What are some things you do to keep that spiritual homeostasis? What helps you keep an equilibrium when your routine and environment change? Share your thoughts and comments and please like and share.

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Love Can Be Simple

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Love can be complicated. So can life. God commands us to love, to love Him and our neighbor. What God asks of us is summed up in one simple four letter word, love. Galatians 5:14. 1 Corinthians 13:13 – Faith, hope and love… the greatest of these is love. How hard can those two simple commands be? For us humans, it can be pretty hard sometimes. What is it that makes this one simple command so hard sometimes?

The answer is simple. We can only love one thing at a time. Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13 explain that we can’t have one foot in the world and one serving God.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” as Matthew 6:24 states.

We may be living in this world but we don’t have to be a part of it. We can still enjoy most things in this world, they have their right place in our hearts and our lives. And how we use those things determines where our hearts are.

When our heart is divided it makes choosing difficult. Choose to love one another, choose to love God over the things this world has to offer. It can be tempting to want some things of this world, but Jesus knows all about being tempted – Matthew 4:1-11, but God has overcome the world – John 16:25-30. When we choose love now we are choosing something that will last into eternity.

Keep it simple, choose love, choose God first.

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April 12, 2021 – Philippians 3:10

The Kedge Anchor

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Philippians 3:10

“…becoming like him in his death, ” I used to wondered exactly what that meant, until I read in a foot note in a Bible. Death doesn’t sound very victorious. For the Christian, Christ’s death on the cross, is a victory!!! Jesus rose from the grave on the third day!!! When we die to self we are victorious in Christ. He gives us the power to overcome giving into sin and giving into our fleshly desires. He has won victory over the grave; Jesus Christ’s death represents victory!!!! So when we are becoming like Him in Hie death, we aren’t dead. Quiet the contrary, we become VICTORIOUS!

Download the image to your phone or electronic device as wallpaper or print it out to keep in front of you to help you memorize scripture.

To download, click on the image, click file, click save. Save anywhere on your device and go into your wallpaper settings on your device it’s that easy. : )