Hope, Peace, and Joy

Romans 13:15; Romans 5:1-5 KJV; May the God of hope fill us with joy and peace through faith.

The Meek Shall Praise Him

 PSALM 22:22-30 KJV

I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.

All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

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Did our Lord Jesus not tell us in his sermon on the mountain that those who are poor in spirit are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is theirs? Did he not say that the meek shall be blessed for they shall inherit the earth?  (Matt 5:3,5)

When things are looking down then rejoice and praise the Lord for God has a good plan for all who love Him. (Rom 8:28)  The Lord of heaven and earth is with you always with a plan for your good; with a plan for peace and not for evil. (Jer 29:11)

The persecution and crucifixion of Jesus was not the end of him. He was raised from the dead and lives and reigns at the right hand of God the Father. If by the hand of God the dead can be raised then trust that it is but a little thing for Him to be able  to raise up the one who has fallen down!

Look to the good and not for the bad. Keep your head up. Keep your chin up and praise the Lord for all that he has done and continues to do!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

I Will Not Fear!

I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (Psalm 118:5-6 KJV)

What, indeed, can man do to us that God cannot fix or heal or whatever needs to be done for our good!? There is nothing. We may be persecuted, hated, attacked; but, God has a plan for those who love Him. 

There have been times that my husband objected to me taking a public stand for what was right. He was afraid that I would be in danger for doing so. My response then was: what is the worst thing that can happen. Even if I am killed, God is with me. I have eternal life. If life in the eternal presence of God; in His Kingdom, sooner than I expect is the consequence for standing up for what is right, then I know that there is nothing to fear in doing His will.

We are saved by faith and not by the good that we do. Rather, we strive to do good because we have been saved by grace through faith in our most gracious God and Savior.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Fear Not For God Has A Plan

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matt 1:20-21 KJV)

Joseph hears that his fiancee' is pregnant and not by him! Yet, the angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary for his wife. God has a plan. It is a good plan.

Today, many men will marry a woman who is pregnant for another's child. They are not afraid to raise the child as their own. But, it was not so in the days of Joseph and Mary. Mary could have been stoned for carrying the child. Joseph did the right thing. He listened to the angel of the Lord and took Mary to be his wife and Jesus to be his son.

The faithful need not worry when things get rough. We do not have to be afraid. I know. It is natural to worry when things go awry. But, we don't have to. No matter what happens we can trust that God has a plan; a good plan for all who love him. (Rom 8:28)

May God bless you with the knowledge of His great love for you evidenced by the life and death of our Savior Jesus the Christ. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Enjoy Work!

"Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." (Proverbs 16:3 KJV)

I have always attempted to teach my children and grandchildren to enjoy the work that they do. Work is inevitable. We must work to eat, to have shelter, to have warm clothing; and, if you really must want a lot of nice things, you must really put a lot of effort into earning that "stuff." We spend a huge portion of our lives working so we may as well enjoy it. Making a game of doing house or yard chores and doing it together helps it to me more fun.

As young people begin planning for what kind of life-long career they would like to pursue, they ought to consider what it is that they will enjoy doing. Do you enjoy helping people? How about computers or working with animals? There are so many career choices in the world today, it is impossible to comprehend them all. Whatever it you love to do; whatever talents that God has gifted you with; follow that path.

God has a plan for you. He calls you to serve him according to the gifts He gives you. Whether it is a talent and desire to be a doctor or a hostess; God provides the opportunities to be trained in the way He would have you go. And... don't forget to commit your work to the Lord. Do all things that they might glorify your Father in heaven and you will not only do them well; but, enjoy doing them.

God's Peace - Pr. J

If The Lord Wishes

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 NRSV)

When I was first married, my husband insisted on not making long term plans. At least, if we did, he did not want anyone knowing about them. He didn't want anyone thinking that we failed at doing what we planned to do.

Forty some years later, he likes to plan. I suppose I would like to, as well. The problem is that I really don't know what I want to do and is what I want to do even feasible. We are not getting any younger. I am at retirement age and I'd like to do some traveling and enjoy some time together. But, the reality is that I have been working for 50 years and as much as I think I'd enjoy retirement, I think I would be pretty bored not having something that I am absolutely committed to do every day. Howard has retired twice and now works part-time just for something to do.

So, we have been making plans for what we ought to do beginning this summer. Is it time to do some traveling around this country? Or, should we just stay put? Who can tell! We don't even know what tomorrow will bring, let alone a day six months from now.

As my husband would say, "Whatever happens, happens." All we can really do is love the Lord and one another and live the life that God has given us one day at a time. God has a plan; a good plan.

God's Peace - Pr. J

A Better Plan?

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt 4:4 NIV)

Today is one of those days when we really have to turn to the Lord and hear His promises! We must trust that He has a better plan and that it is a good plan.

My son was to close on a home today. It took a bit to find one that they liked and could afford. However, it does not look like that will happen. The seller has decided that she wants an additional $2500.00 to move out; $530.00 to pay what she would still owe after the closing; and seven additional days after closing to actually move out. That is an additional agreement outside of the original purchase agreement. Unfortunately, she has told so many stories that it is impossible to believe that she will actually move out after the additional days and it would take months to evict leaving my son and his family without a home themselves for four months. In fact, they have already turned in their notice to their present landlord and in about 3 weeks they will not have a home themselves unless they find something they can afford very quickly! The seller has made it clear since foreclosure is imminent on her home that she has nothing to lose if the additional terms are not agreed upon. She will lose her home either way. 

Man cannot live on bread alone; but, we cannot live without it either. But, life throws all kinds of unexpected curved balls at us and the only way we can either dodge or catch them to make the run is to trust in every word that comes from the mouth of God.

So today we are trusting that God has a good plan; an even better plan for my son and his family.

God's Peace - Pr. J

No Other Gods!

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." Ex 20:2-3

The First Commandment as taught to our children from Luther's Small Catechism
"You shall have no other gods.

What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things."

I spent many, many, years as a wife of a U.S. Marine. They have a saying: "God, Country, Corps." That is the proper order. God always comes first. There can be no other gods. There can be no other priorities. When faithfulness to God comes first, faithfulness to our other obligations just falls into place, with the help of God. But, if we cannot be faithful to God, then we will not be faithful to anything or anyone else, either.

As a Marine Corps wife, I spent a lot of time raising two sons alone as my husband was deployed for far more than half of his career. I had no other family near. As bad as that might sound, it was a good thing. Through this time, I learned that there is one I can trust all of the time and that is God. Through this time, I learned that there was one who loved me like no other. God was there when no one else was. I wasn't always thrilled with the way He worked things out; but, I came to know and trust that no matter how He was working them out; they were being worked out for the good.

The best thing that we can do for our loved ones, for our country, for our world, is to fear, love and trust God above all things; to put Him first in our lives; and to follow in the way that He would have us go. His plan is perfect for us. Ours is not.

God's Peace - Pr. J

In God's Time

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV

I can become very impatient. There are times when I feel a sense of urgency. There are days when I think, "OK, Lord, isn't it about time to take all of your children home? Enough is enough!" But, apparently it is not time, yet. He apparently does not want anyone to perish so everyone gets another chance and another and another to turn to Him.

There are times when I consider that my time is really short here on earth and I just don't have enough time left to reach out to all who I would reach out to. But, then I have to remember that although my time may be short here on earth, God's is not. He is with all people at all times. He continues to call all people to Himself.

No matter what is going on around you; no matter how self-serving and chaotic life around you seems to be, remember:  "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."  (Rom 8:28) He has a good plan. We might desire that He hurry up with His plan. But, we're going to have to wait for Him to act in His own good time and His time is not our time.

We don't know His whole plan. But; be assured, He does have a plan and that plan encompasses much more than our personal life spans. After all, He has eternity in His hand.

God is patient with us. He is a loving God. May we all quit taking His patient love for granted and turn to Him for our salvation.

God's Peace - Pr. Judy

A New Day; A New Year Comes

"Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

2017 begins in a couple of days. The days preceding the coming of the new year is typically a time to take stock of the previous year and plan for a new and better year ahead. It can be a good thing to remember where we have been and what we have done. We can give thanks for the good things and resolve not to repeat the bad things. Remembering the past can help us with the future. But, it is not always such a wise thing to cling to the past. Forget it. Forgive yourself and others. It is time to move forward. The Lord has a new life in store for all who may have lost their way this past year.

May God help us to follow in His way in this new year that we might celebrate life in Him.


God's Peace - Pr. J

Do Not Be Afraid To Do His Will

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  Matt 1:20-21 NIV

Joseph was quite concerned about what he should do about Mary. Should he put her away quietly? Should he expose the infidelity that surely must have occurred in order for her to be with child? He was concerned. He was worried. He was fearful. What to do? Joseph did what the angel of the Lord directed him to do. He took Mary home as his wife, believing that what was conceived in her was God's will. He was not afraid to do the will of God.

Are we afraid to do His will? Are we afraid that we might become publically humiliated if we confess the name of Jesus to those who do not profess the same faith? Are we afraid that we might fail? Do not be afraid. God has a plan for the good of all who love Him. He is with us always and He will see that His will is done.

Do not be afraid to do His will. Do not be afraid to share the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, for God is with you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Storms Of Life

"God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’" Job 37:5-6 NIV

When storms break out and they do all of the time we often find ourselves angry or sad. Storms can do a lot of damage to what we perceive to be good. But, God has a better plan and sometimes the storms that are brought into our lives are God's way of cleansing our hearts and minds so that we are able to welcome the gracious gifts that He so desires to give us.

Do not fear the change that storms will bring. God's way is not our way. The great things that He does is beyond our understanding. Have patience and trust that He has good plan for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

God's Peace - Pr. J

God Has A Plan For Every Season

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV

What time is it? What season are we in? Even in the darkest of times, God has a plan and it's a good plan. He will bring His people through it.

God's Peace - Pr. J