Category: Faith

The Unseen Hand

5/28/2013

For a number of years, a large black and white portrait of me was displayed inside my childhood home. Regardless of the many houses we lived in, that picture could be found along with other family photographs either hanging on a wall or else sitting on top of a table somewhere in the house; many times in a prominent location to afford guests the opportunity to view it as well.

In this picture, a months-old chubby me is sitting upright on some type of thick towel-like material that had been arranged in such a way that a wide mound of it was immediately behind me. I always thought that it was the photographer’s way to add further dimension or interest to
the picture. It was not until many years later as my mother and I sat talking around the kitchen table that she shared the story of the events surrounding this photographic session.

The photographer had wanted me placed in a specific pose, yet I was still too young to sit upright on my own. To get the effect he wanted, the photographer had my mother place her hand underneath the mounded material behind me to steady me and give me support long enough for the camera shutter to be snapped.   Her hand is not visible to anyone who views the end result, yet her unseen steadying presence made me appear stronger than I was.

God’s unseen hand does the same for His children as my mother’s hand did for me in the photograph. He strengthens and helps us.

Isaiah 41:10 “I [God] will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

He watches over and guides us.

Psalms 32:8 “I [God] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

And He cushions us from the jagged parts of reality that threaten to harm us.

Psalm 32:7 “You [God] are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

While we may not be able to see His hand in our current situation, we have the assurance that He is always with us.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

If we really take a look back to the times when we have come through difficult circumstances, we can see the evidence of God’s Hand in these many situations that we have encountered and have somehow – impossibly – come through only because of the strength, protection and guidance He steadily gives us.

THE UNSEEN HAND
By A.J. Sims

There is an Unseen Hand to me
That leads thru ways I cannot see
While going through this world of woe
This hand still leads me as I go.

I’m trusting to The Unseen Hand
That guides me through this weary land
And some sweet day I’ll reach that strand
Still guided by The Unseen Hand

His hand has led through shadows drear
And while it leads I have no fear
I know t’will lead me to that home
Where sin nor sorrows e’er can come.

I’m trusting to The Unseen Hand
That guides me through this weary land
And some sweet day I’ll reach that strand
Still guided by The Unseen Hand

I long to see my Saviors face
And sing the story saved by grace
And there upon that golden strand
I’ll praise Him for His guiding hand.

I’m trusting to The Unseen Hand
That guides me through this weary land
And some sweet day I’ll reach that strand
Still guided by The Unseen Hand

This assurance of His unseen hand is available to you, too.  The choice is yours. He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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When You Can't, He Can

5/1/2013

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In the aftermath of any life-altering event, it’s challenging to think or hear clearly in the never- ending din of society; when the return to life-as-normal has to be resumed though your soul cringes at the merest thought of it and huddles in a corner while it whimpers
that it isn’t ready to face reality just yet. Even so, you gradually unwind from your huddled position and slowly begin to press onward as you go through the motions of taking care of routine business matters: bill-paying, grocery shopping, yard work, etc. All the while, you share a half-hearted shallow discourse with others who cross your path, using pat, non-committal phrases as you ensure yet another well-meaning soul that you are doing ‘okay.’ (Doesn’t that word speak volumes?!) You return to work only when you have to and thankfully end up losing yourself in the many familiar details of your job. Here
at work, people cannot see the numbing pain that is masked by your smile and your diligent – though rote - productivity, yet they could see it if they chose to look closely into your eyes.

Resuming life-as-normal is a daunting task after any traumatic event. Life was already challenging to deal with when it did not contain a life-altering event. Inundated with high emotions and stress, we look to have our life made easier by the electronic products that
we have grown accustomed to. Yet the more our lives have been flooded with them and all the knowledge that comes with it, the more our vision has been clouded to the point where life feels more complicated and overwhelming than ever. The technology we look to every day that was meant to give us more free time and greater ease of living while supplying us with the means to draw the world-wide community closer to us has instead made us a society rife with pseudo relationships, enslaved us to apps and social networks, and created a Pavlovian response in each of us so that we immediately reach for our phone whenever we hear a ding, or bell, or some other (usually annoying) sound announcing that we have been sent a text, an email, or a push notification relating to a breaking story, all the while hoping that it’s someone reaching out to us in this turbulent season of life who will lend us comfort or supply at least one answer to the many questions we have. For all of our communication capabilities, we struggle to find even one person to turn to in time of need and wonder if anyone anywhere cares that we are struggling each day to simply survive.

When you can’t deal with life in all of its craziness, what should you do?    Return to the basics and begin by trusting in the One who will not disappoint.

When you can’t find where you fit into life, Jesus will never reject you when you come to Him.

John 6:37 (AMP) “All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me [Jesus] will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me].”

When you can’t find inner contentment or tranquility, set your mind on Christ.

Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) “You [God] will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.”

When you can’t clearly see the direction to take or the decisions to make, He will guide you.

Isaiah 42:16 [NIV] “I [God] will lead the blind by ways they have no known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

When you can’t see how you can pay the bills or supply clothes and food for you and your family, He will provide.

Philippians 4:19 [AMP] “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

And when you can’t calm the anxious thoughts that race through your mind, share them with Him.

1 Peter 5:7 [AMP] “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him [Jesus], for He cares for you affectionately and cares
about you watchfully.”

When you can’t see how sense can be made of this mess, He will make it all work out, somehow and in His time.

Romans 8:28 (NIV) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Trust in the One who will never leave you to handle this life on your own.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

When you can’t, He can.  The choice is yours. He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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The Story Behind the Headline

3/5/2013

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We are surrounded by news reports.   Practically everywhere we go newspapers, televisions and electronic
devices broadcast streaming news headlines 24 hours every day to keep us updated on both local and worldwide events.   While it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, the consistent, steady exposure to the many accounts of horrific events has left us inured to it.

“Mother; 3 children missing”

“Body found”

“Massive pile-up on highway”

“Budget cuts”

“Major storm”

Headlines such as these have become commonplace to us; so much so that we are either no longer moved or moved very little by the words we read and hear.   Unable to have our emotions stirred, we are unable to feel any compassion for the victims or the victim’s family members, and as a result give little thought as to the extent this life-altering event has had on them.   Truth be told, it’s more common for people now to grow tired of hearing a news story that remains at the forefront of reporting agencies for too many consecutive days. We want to hear something else – something new – as we struggle to deal with the pains and tiredness in our own existence.

Both bad news and the weariness of the constant barrage of it are not modern day inventions.
Think about the following in comparison to our own current day society and see if you can’t notice some similarities.

In Jerusalem around the time of Christ, Jews had to pay 50% or more of their income to the government in taxes; slavery was common, with slaves either born into it, forced into it as a prisoner of war, or else they sold themselves into it to pay off debts; there were riots and uprisings against the establishment; rich people comprised roughly 5-7% of the population while around 70% of the population struggled to survive as they lived in poverty conditions.

Politicians tried to side-step tough issues or uncomfortable situations and opted to take the easier path (for them, at least and usually only for the short term), or else would detour it altogether by turning the responsibility over to someone else, who would in turn either return it to the initiator by refusing to accept it, or else pass it along to another (usually lesser-in-rank) politician to deal with it. Finally, they would grudgingly implement an act when they were forced into it by a well-timed threat of being reported (usually to a higher political authority) and would invariably accompany their decision by placing the blame and the repercussions for the act onto the heads of those who had demanded it in the first place.  (Read about Pilate in Matthew 27 to see this process played out.)

For all of our technological advances, society surely has not changed much in the last two thousand years.   And yet in the midst of all of this poverty, oppression and hopelessness, something new did happen that changed the face of mankind forever.

Luke 2:10 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

What was this good news?   Christ, the Messiah, was sent to free us, to heal us, to release us from subjugation, and to show us the way of salvation.

Luke 4:18-19 (AMP) “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].”

Talk about good news!  You would think that such incredible news would be widely and enthusiastically embraced by this hurting and hopeless population, yet that was not the case. While there were those who did eagerly accept it, there were many more people who did not. Some refused to accept a Messiah who did not come as a conquering warrior with His legions of soldiers to rout the Romans who had oppressed them for so long so that a new kingdom – a Godly kingdom – could be set up in place of Roman rule.  Others who had only known a life full of hardships could not believe that they truly could be free, and instead chose to ignore this message of hope as they continued on in their life of never-ending despair and drudgery. And still others, who were used to the religious traditions with its many hundreds of laws and rules that must be followed, could not believe that salvation could come to them as easily as believing on the Christ. These individuals could not see the story behind the headline and missed out on the “great joy” the angel spoke of that is for all of us.

Colossians 1:19-20 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Peace; hope; healing; freedom; salvation.  God, through Christ, offers us all of this and so much more than we could ever imagine.

John 10:10 (KJV) “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I [Jesus] am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

This Good News story will never grow old and is available to us all. The choice is yours.   He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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Thanksgiving

11/19/2012

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This week, many across our beloved country will be busily preparing a Thanksgiving feast for their family and/or friends this Thursday. It’s an exciting time of traditional recipes, or for the more daring, new recipes that we hope will turn out picture-perfect and become a new favorite. In addition to all of the food we will overindulge in, there are football games to enjoy – “Please, God, if you’ll just let my team win, I’ll thank you from the bottom of my heart!” – as we head into ‘Black Friday,’ the day that usually begins in the wee hours of the morning for many die-hard shoppers so that not one door buster sale is missed.

Yet Thanksgiving is so much more than overeating, watching too many football games or spending more money than we can repay before Christmas the following year. In our state of bountifulness, it is easy to think that everyone else is also experiencing the same level of plenty. The truth is that many of the holidays on our calendar can be painful to people who are alone, feel forgotten, or who do not have the opportunity to feast and spend as others do. For all of us, regardless of where we fall on the ‘plenti-meter,’ Thanksgiving is an attitude that begins in the heart.

Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your
wonderful deeds.”

What wonderful deeds has the Lord done for you? Or do you have a difficult time recognizing any of them because you haven’t received what you think you should have by this stage in your life? If you are having a hard time seeing them, then start simply and thank God for Who He is.

Thank Him because He gave us life.

Revelations 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their
being.”

Thank Him for His love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

Thank Him for the wisdom …

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

… and for the strength He offers to us.

Psalm 18:32 “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.”

Thank Him for His constancy.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

And, best of all, thank Him for the gift of eternal life through His Son.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Start a new tradition this Thanksgiving and take time to thank God for all of the good He has given to us, for “apart from you [God], I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16:2) You will discover that the more you give thanks to Him, the more you will find to thank Him for. He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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Fear or Faith

11/15/2012

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Fear.   It’s felt across the land and is daily reinforced by the news of current events. Our minds are fed a
consistent diet of negativity as we read (or listen to) the accounts of numerous natural disasters, crimes, and acts of terror. People have isolated themselves behind the closed doors of their home, or sit inside their locked vehicle, both of which are armed with security devices that are supposed to act as a deterrent to those who may wish us harm.   Hoping to feel better – safer - the ‘protected’ have become the imprisoned ones. We live in bondage, yet the fear has not been stilled.

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, one definition for the word fear is: 1a. An emotion of alarm and agitation caused by the expectation or realization of danger.

Many times we fear what could happen as opposed to reacting to what is happening.
This fearfulness is not something new to the modern age and is a tool that Satan used, and continues to use, to keep us from living the life of freedom that is ours through Christ.

Cities designed and built in the modern day are quite different than the architectural structures contained within or around the cities of yesteryear.  So too have the weapons of war changed over the centuries as mankind has developed ‘new and improved’ ways to fight battles and bring the most harm to their enemies.   Our God has not changed, however, and the Psalms paint beautiful pictures of His protective attributes towards His children.

Psalm 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””

What is a fortress?  It is any place of exceptional security.

Psalm 91: 4 “…his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

We know in a general way what a shield is from watching movies of the Roman era, but what is one really? It is a piece of personal armor that is meant to intercept attacks.

And what of a rampart?   That’s hardly a word that we have a reference point for in today’s world. Quite simply, it’s a defensive wall that is used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors.

Psalm 17:13 “Rise up, O Lord, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword.”

A sword is something that we are probably more familiar with than the other implements of war and protection listed above. It is another weapon of warfare with a long blade for cutting or thrusting.  It is an instrument of destruction.

When these definitions are strung together, a more personal image comes to light about God’s protective nature towards us. He is our place of exceptional security; He intercepts attacks and defends us from potential aggressors; and He brings destruction on the wicked.

One definition of the word fear from The American Heritage Dictionary was given above, yet there is another definition of fear that is vital to grasp: 2. Extreme
reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.

God is the most supreme power and by virtue of that fact, we should profoundly adore and respect Him, in complete awe, simply for who He is. This is a holy fear and the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and, once we accept it, the avenue that leads to the freedom that we have through life in Christ (Galatians 5:1).

Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my
fears.”

What is it that you fear today? God longs to set you free from every one of them. Fear or faith. Which will you choose? He’s waiting for you.

(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord, see How
You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)

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The Unseen Hand

When You Can't, He Can

The Story Behind the Headline

Thanksgiving

Fear or Faith

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