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I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord. Wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. Psalm 27: 13-14

Recently as I was reading a book, I ran across the story of a river in Texas named Los Brazos De Dios which translated means “The Arms of God.” Spanish accounts say it received its name because it provided water to many very thirsty parties in 1842. The water saved their lives, and they saw fit to give the glory to God.

We seem to be living in a time which has driven or is driving many of us to the point of despair. Bad news seems to come every day, and it is testing our ability to remain faithful and give the glory to God. It reminds me how quickly things can change from day to day.

As Jesus rode triumphantly through the streets of Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday, He was greeted with shouts of Hosannah, but that quickly changed to shouts of “Crucify Him” later in the week. Although we know He was carrying a heavy burden of the impending week, He rested in Los Brazos De Dios.

During these unprecedented times, we begin to ask questions like, “What am I supposed to do when I am at this point of despair? How long can we take this? Why does God allow this? ” When I was small, I had constant fever and illness associated with tonsillitis. I still remember the weakness and despair even all these years later. What did I have to do? I had to lean on the shoulders of my parents, the doctors and those who lifted me up in Los Brazos de Dios. All you can do is lie still in the Brazos de Dios as a little child would and trust Him.

God is always using situations to teach us the way of pure faith. He teaches us the trial of faith, the discipline of faith, the patience of faith, and the courage of faith. We have to often pass through many stages before we arrive at the victory of faith.

There are so many of us who need to feel Los Bravos de Dios at this moment. We need to wrap our medical workers, our President, our nation, our world, our leaders, our community officials, our firemen, our policemen, our pharmacists, our EMT personnel, our grocery store workers, our small business owners, our mailmen, our teachers, our ministers, our churches, our elderly, our children, our parents, our friends, and our loved ones in the Arms of God.

When we remain unswayed from our stance of faith, even in difficult situations, we grow stronger on every level. These are times that try our soul but they can be times of enormous spiritual growth and faith development.

Hosanna in the highest! We need to rest in Los Bravos de Dios.

Hosanna in the highest, that ancient song we sing; For Christ is our Redeemer, The Lord of Heaven our King. O may we ever praise Him with heart and life and voice, and in His blessed presence eternally rejoice. Hosanna, Loud Hosanna by Jeanette Threlfall

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Anyone who has tried to hold a conversation in a crowded restaurant or a bustling environment knows how difficult it is to understand what someone is saying when it competes with background noise! Researchers have found that familiarity offers an advantage in these situations. In order words, a voice with whom you are familiar is often so much easier to understand. I began to think of all the voices, which in a crowded room or unexpected place, I could recognize immediately. My question then was, “Could I recognize God’s voice if He were speaking to me amid the confusion of this world?”

The Bible confirms that Abraham heard the still small voice of God on many occasions. He didn’t know where he was going, but it was enough for him to know that wherever it was, he went with God. Not only was he willing to follow God, Abraham was also willing to take his idea of what the journey would be like and tear it into tiny pieces. He was smart enough to know that nothing on the itinerary will happen as expected.

What do we do when our life as we know it seems blocked? We can’t retreat, go forward, turn left or right. I think the still small voice of God would have us do a few things. The first thing is to Stand Firm and listen only to the sweet voice of Jesus. Don’t give into despair, impatience or doubt. Just remember, God will not only do something – He will do everything.

During a time of adversity, the world tends to speak of providence with a total lack of understanding. What the world views as providence they see as occurrences of fate which reduces God from His position as our powerful and personal Savior. The time of trouble is the place where He preserves us not the place where He fails us.

I’m a firm believer in the still small voice of God not only in trouble, but in good times as well. During the coming days, we will undoubtedly have many occasions to demonstrate the art of Standing Firm in our faith and trusting God to bring the Easter message to everyone with whom we come in contact (social distancing of course).

Let us remember, it is in our crisis time that the “still voice” of the Lord speaks to our troubled hearts, and if we listen, it saves us. George Weagba

He speaks and the sound of His voice, is so sweet the birds hush their singing; And the melody that He gave to me, within my heart is ringing. And he walks with me, and He talks with me; And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there; None other has ever known. This sweet and precious song is verse 2 of In The Garden by Charles A. Miles 1913.

Stand Firm.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Circumference is defined as the enclosing boundary of a geometric figure, especially a circle. The key words here are enclosing and boundary. In life, the word circle, can be used to describe many different things such as: groups of friends, small groups, neighborhoods, Christians, organizations, churches, businesses, and many other things. The idea of a circle can be positive or negative depending upon whether you happen to be on the inside of the circle or the outside of the circle.

These past couple of weeks have been filled with panic, fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Although this is a strange time, there are so many examples of people who could build a circle around themselves, their assets, and their health, but instead are reaching out to extend their circles to include those who need help. It was encouraging to see posts where people can place their “needs” on social media, and those who are able will try to see that those needs are met.

Today as I was waiting in line at Starbucks, a young girl who was ahead of me in line, hopped out of her car and began to do cheers outside her car door. Obviously, she was a cheerleader and missing out on try outs or practice. At first, I thought, how ridiculous – she’s making me wait longer in line. Then, I realized she was just trying to use some way of making others smile, and it worked. Instead of holding others at arm’s length, she was expanding the circle to include others.

I learned an interesting fact from an article sent to me by a friend this week. The huge redwood trees that grow in the forests of California have a unique growing method. They grow in circles, and this methods shields each of the tress from strong winds. Whereas most trees just grow wherever they are planted or in no particular pattern, these trees are unique as they help each other or lift each other up.

We live in a lonely world which is getting lonelier each day as so many are quarantined, and daily we rely on Instacart, Uber Eats, on line ordering and banking, and so many other conveniences which isolate us from our community. During this stressful time for all of us, it is so heartwarming to see so many widening their circles to include the elderly, the needy, the sick, and the lonely.

Instead of building a circle around ourselves, the best thing we can do is make a circle to draw folks in. Edwin Markham said it best in his poem, “Outwitted”: He drew a circle to keep me out; Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout; But love and I had the wit to win; we drew a circle that took him in.

Our Father included all in this world, and I believe He would want us to check on the needy, the sick, the elderly, and the poor. Do unto others as we would have them do for us. It’s a wonderful thing to watch the circle of Christian men and women demonstrate their faith by their works and deeds.

Paul Hammer writes, “In the Bible, faith is never a matter simply for an isolated individual. It involves a community of persons that stretches back into the past, embraces people in the present and anticipates a fellowship in the future. Faith involves a cloud of witnesses to God’s continuing faithfulness.”

Do not let your adorning be external, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which in God’s sight is very precious. 2 Peter 3:4

A few months ago Randy and I had the opportunity to visit St. Petersburg, Russia. Among the beautiful palaces, gardens, and scenery we saw there, one of the most interesting things was the Faberge egg collection. The beautiful egg was first created for Czar Alexander III on the occasion of the 20th year anniversary of his marriage. Although the egg itself is beautiful on the outside, the surprise is on the inside. The original one contained a gold egg inside and inside the egg was a golden hen. Maria, his wife, loved it so much that she commissioned others to be made. I brought a souvenir egg home as a reminder of the collection.

Our lives can be likened to the Faberge eggs as it’s not so much what’s on the outside but rather what we find on the inside that counts. These past two weeks have proved that to our family. We have watched a dear member of our extended family die suddenly, and in the same week gathered to participate as a dear friend’s daughter happily married her love. What two emotions could be further distanced from each other, yet be beautiful each in its own way.? God received a new saint into heaven, and He also blessed a marriage.

Now, our country and world is dealing with a virus which seems to have driven us all to a mild panic. All this happening at one time is proof to me that God can take a situation or a nation and endow that person or nation with strength enough to make a profound mark upon the history of their time. In God’s strength, we can take the loss of a loved one, the joy of a marriage, or the epidemic that threatens us, break it open, and discover a precious level of grace inside.

Grace is defined as “free and unmerited favor”. God has looked down upon our family, our friends, and our country by making us stronger than our circumstances and helping us turn each situation to our good. Christ is building His kingdom with all the broken people and situations on this earth. There is nothing that He can’t take and restore to a glorious place of blessing and beauty.

We are so grateful and thankful for lives well lived, for new beginnings, and for strength. It’s something beautiful to see God at work.

Something beautiful, something good; All my confusion, He understood; All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife; But He made something beautiful of my life. Bill Gaither

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

In the years of teaching kindergarten, we usually had helpers each week who were chosen from the children in the class, and each child got a chance throughout the year to do each of the helper opportunities offered. These included jobs such as, line leader, lunchroom monitor, paper passer, and the ever popular door holder among other things. The kids loved it when it was their turn to be a classroom helper because it seemed to give them a sense of responsibility and importance.

A disciple is defined as a follower and a learner. Sometimes I even hear children refer to the disciples as helpers, and I think that’s a good description. There were twelve of these helpers, and Jesus took three years to train, teach, show, and transform the men he had chosen to be with him. When he was through, He then commissioned them to spread the Gospel throughout the earth.

These helpers were there to follow Jesus, to learn from Him, and to exemplify Him in all areas of their life. They knew if they wanted to follow Christ, they would have to follow Him into a life which involved sacrificing their own life to live more Christlike. They lived with the mindset that the life they had in Christ was worth the loss of the earthly life they would have without Him. They also realized they would have to surrender their own personal agenda in order to deny themselves and follow Him.

It’s interesting that the word disciple or helper doesn’t just apply to the Apostles who followed Jesus during His time on earth. The word applies to any one of us who follow Jesus and his teachings today. Anyone who professes to be a Christian can be a helper.

Instances of people being helpers happen every day all around us. During the years that Jesus walked the earth, He lived a life of compassion, and He clearly expected His followers to be concerned about the needy, the poor, and the distraught.

We, as helpers today have the opportunity to offer hope to those who need it, wait for miracles, and be prepared for the ways God can work in our lives and those of others. In short, be a helper of Jesus.

You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want. Zig Zigler

I‘m asking God for one thing, only one thing : To live with Him in His house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate His beauty: I’ll study at His feet. The Message Psalm 27:4

One of my favorite movies is City Slickers starring Billy Crystal and Jack Palance. In the movie, three friends set off on a cattle drive to “get their smiles back”, and they meet Curly, a grumpy old trail boss.

There are many things the guys learned from Curly, but I think the best exchange comes between he and Mitch. Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? This (he holds up one finger). One thing, just one thing. You stick to that and the rest doesn’t matter. Mitch: What is the one thing? Curly: That’s what you have to figure out.

The phrase one thing is mentioned sixteen times in the Bible in different chapters and situations. That one thing may be something different to each person, but I like what Frances Ridley Havergal once said. “Every year I live, in fact nearly every day, I seem to see more clearly how all the peace, happiness and power of the Christian life hinges on one thing. That one thing is taking God at His word, believing He really means exactly what He says, and accepting the very words that reveal His goodness and grace without substituting other words or changing the precise moods and tenses He has seen fit to use.”

This says to me that God wants to be within our reach and honor all the promises He has made to us. Our job is to be specific in our prayers and petitions, and stand firmly on His promises. When we do that, we can obtain enough power to throw open the gates of heaven and take those promises by force!

Many people don’t use checks anymore as debit and credit cards are the new way to purchase items and pay bills. My parents religiously paid their bills with checks. I still use checks a lot because there’s something about filling out a check for a definite amount for bills and purchases, and signing my name to it. It is something tangible and it helps me remember the exact amount I just spent.

Likewise, when we pray and petition God for something specific, it’s likened to taking a check to the bank and knowing we will receive exactly the amount for which we asked.

John Wesley said it best, God has written it down in a book. O give me that book. At any price, give me the book of God. Here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be a man of one book.

Wouldn’t it be exciting to have that one thing at the top of our agenda every day? It would revolutionize our lives.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

This week begins the season of Lent, a forty day (excluding Sundays) time of repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimate celebration. On Ash Wednesday we will begin to remember the forty days Jesus wandered in the wilderness where He fasted, was tempted, and rebuked Satan. He painted for us a beautiful masterpiece of how life can be for each one of us.

I am so in awe of those people who can take a blank canvas put it on an easel, grab some paint, look at a picture or out their window, or remember something special, and paint a beautiful picture or masterpiece. Webster gives some synonyms of a masterpiece which includes words and phrases like: a showpiece, success, a gem, jewel, treasure, and a piece of the master. I especially love the synonymous way a masterpiece is equated with a piece of the master.

We are so fortunate to have Jesus as our role model which means to me that every morning we can paint a new masterpiece of our life on our canvas. I like to see it visually, because to me it says that everyday when we get our brand new canvas upon which to paint our life, we have a choice whether it’s beautiful and light, dreary and dark, complicated and hard, or just plain and simple.

During the Ash Wednesday services years ago, Randy would have us take flash paper, write our sins on it, and at the end of the service burn them. The paper and the sins were gone in a “flash”. That’s how I like to look at our lives. Jesus forgives us just that quickly and offers us a chance to start again with a brand new canvas.

I begin to ponder a question. If we had to paint a picture to describe us and our lives, what would it look like? Would it honor Him? Would He be disappointed? Would it be a picture of service? Would it reflect His love?

Although each day contains the same twenty four hours, every day presents a unique set of circumstances. If we don’t try to force fit today into yesterday’s mold, we can be open for God to show us all he has prepared for us on this brand new day! We can paint a masterpiece.

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet. Dr. Steven Gunter

I am the vine, you are the branches; if you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

We use labels all the time in our everyday lives because the labels on the outside tell us what’s on the inside. People, however, are different. We can’t always “judge a book by it’s cover” when dealing with others.

We are often quick to label people and situations in this world today. Isn’t it strange how quickly that happens and how we begin behaving according to our understanding of that label?

In the world of education and teaching, most teachers work very hard at not labeling the children who come through their classes over the years. Each child is unique, as is each person, but when children are passed from grades and teachers each year, it’s hard not to listen to the former teacher’s assessment of them. I have heard many teachers say, “Please don’t tell me any weaknesses or strengths or any labels, I want to look at the child with fresh eyes.”

Just as in classrooms, labels can limit us, so when someone tries to label us it immediately makes our world smaller. If we begin to accept that label, we find that we start to believe that’s who we are and that we’ll never amount to anything more than that. It begs the question, “Who am I?”

The question in life is not, who am I, but rather whose am I? Until we resolve the question of whose we are, we can’t really find out who we are. We can base our identity on a thousand different things, the degrees we’ve earned, the positions we’ve held, the salary we make, the friends we have, but if we base our identity on anything temporal, our identity is a house of cards.

At this point, it’s good to go to God to find out whose we are. God created us. God redeemed us. God calls us, He equips us, He empowers us, and He rewards us. No one can tell us who we are except God. So, when people try to limit us, we need to let God step in.

Where in life do we place our security, our strength, our loyalty, our hope? If it is in something other than God, that’s where the problem of who am I begins. The truth is, God loves and accepts us, and His approval of us trumps everybody else’s labels.

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11

Randy and I have been fortunate to travel to some pretty spectacular places, and no matter where we are, we usually try to schedule at least one guided tour.  Most of the guides are knowledgeable and usually end up educating you far better than you could ever do on your own. 

If the guide is experienced, they usually begin the tour with an introduction of themselves, a overview of the tour, and a plea to be prompt and please stay close to your guide. 

The main problem guides encounter is that tourists get caught up in what they are seeing and they wander away.  For this reason, many guides carry large sticks with different colored flags or numbers on them so tourists can find them in the crowd.  In large crowds, their constant plea is please watch for pick pockets and stay close to me.

While the guides are focused, experienced, and familiar with their surroundings, tourists are often none of these things, and when they tend to wander away from the group, the guide must bring them back. 

As Christians, it’s easy to wander away from the values we have been taught and the life we know is the right one.  It’s almost like a pickpocket comes and steals away some of our dearest values, and we don’t even realize they are gone until it’s too late.

If we don’t stay close to our guide, we can suddenly find that our faith, our love for God, and our peace is gone.  We’ve let ourselves wander away from the teachings of the Bible, our prayer life, and our inner peace.  God asks us to “return to the Shepherd and Guardian of your soul.”  (1 Peter 2:25)

In this crazy world of ours where so many things compete for our attention, we can find that, like the tourist, we look up and find that we’ve lost God in our lives.   The comforting thing is that God hasn’t gone anywhere, He’s right there, but we have to find Him again in the midst of all that’s going on around us.

When we set out on a tour, often times we don’t know as much as we’d like to, but the guide will give us knowledge as well as guidance.  Likewise, we as Christians don’t know all we should, but if we stay close to our guide, He’ll be glad to teach us.  Just like the tour guide who begs us to stay close, God tells us that He will show us the way back to Him if we will only watch and listen.  

The point is best illustrated in the verse from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love; Take my heart, oh take it seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above.                                                                                                                                         

Stay close to Your Guide.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

During my growing up years, one of the most popular and fun things to do on a hot summer evening was to catch lightning bugs. We would get a Mason Jar, punch holes in the lid, and set out to see how many of the critters we could catch. They are easy to spot because they light up like a stars in a dark sky.

Lightning bugs are curious insects and are part of the beetle family. They don’t bite, don’t attack, don’t carry diseases, they aren’t poisonous, and they don’t even fly very fast. They talk to each other through their light, they don’t have a long lifespan, their eggs glow, and they live on almost every continent. If they don’t really do anything, then I wonder why God made them?

There is always a purpose for one of God’s creatures even if it is to give kids a wonder to put in a jar! I think he also uses them to illustrate the wonder of His power. In the words of one of Charles Martin’s characters, Unc, “If God can make a lightning bug’s rear end light up like a star, then almost anything is possible.” I love that explanation because it illustrates the point that nothing is impossible for and with God. Nothing is impossible within the providence of God.

When we are facing problems, situations, illness, or death, it’s comforting to know that with God at our side we never face them alone. The key here is to watch for the strength and protection He sends and provides. If we fail to receive it, it’s usually because we aren’t watching the horizon for evidence of its approach and aren’t ready to open our hearts up so it may enter. There is an old saying, “Unless you put the water jars out when it rains, you will never collect any water.” So, unless you grab a jar and head out to catch lightning bugs, you probably will never collect any.

When God shows us a new path or opens a door, we are supposed to take it or walk through it. We can’t stand around asking “why” or “should I”? Give God the gift of a willing heart and mobility, and He will always guide us to where we need to be and what is needed.

Even the doors that don’t open, the opportunity we don’t get, or the call that never came can be as much God’s leading as those that did. What God prevents is as much divine guidance as what He permits.

If we know we can’t stay where we are right now, it may very well be the starting point for God’s leading in our lives. We need to take the stirring or restlessness in our soul and just ask, “Where are you leading me, God?” Anything is possible.