Trust The Lord Above All

Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

                                                                           (Jer 17:5-8 KJV)

A confession for this morning:  As I child I trusted just about everyone. As a young adult, who got burned many times by others, I began to trust no one. But, as I grew to know the Lord I began, once again, to trust others. I could trust others not because humankind is so trustworthy or good; but, because God is. Too often human beings will take the road that they think will benefit them no matter how much it might damage others. But, the Lord does not. He who loves us and cares for us was willing to die that we might be forgiven for the very sins that we commit against our neighbors out of selfishness and greed. 

I trust the Lord to take care of things that I cannot control and the things that others would take control of to the detriment of not just myself but humankind as a whole. I have been able to regain trust  in others because above all my faith, my love, my trust is in the Lord. While others would lead us to useless salt lands the Lord will make us to lie down in green pastures and lead us beside still waters. (Psalm 23)

I have learned the lesson, though, that when others willfully go against God's good will for others it is not the time to sit back and allow them to have any type of authority over myself or anyone else. There are times that we must stand up for what is good and right even if it requires a sacrifice on our part. God; after all, often does work through his people. 

We can live and work and even play with others because before them all we trust the Lord who loves us and gave himself for us.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord "for he is good and his mercy endureth forever!" (Psalm 136)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

He Is Everywhere And Hears Every Prayer

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’   (Acts 17:24-28 NIV)

Every now and then I get this notion to question how God can possibly hear my prayers and the prayers of so many others all at the same time. He not only hears them; He answers them. The short and only answer is this: "I do not know!"  

I do not know how. But, I do know that He is everywhere and hears every prayer and according to His good will for all people He answers those prayers. I know this because scripture assures me of this. I know this because He has answered my prayers and the prayers of multitudes of His children since the beginning of creation.

God the Creator; God the Father; God the Savior is not far from any one of us. In Him we live and move and have our being. We cannot say how that occurs, either. But, we believe it. We experience His presence. We know Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J