Grief is Difficult

Have you grieved over someone? Have you grieved over someone who God had rejected? Did you know that God had rejected them? Did you know they had rejected God? Were you able to move on? Did you hear God encourage you to continue to do the work he had set aside for you?

Grieving is difficult. It is different for each person. It can be more difficult if we are grieving a family member who did not accept Jesus as their Savior. We can blame ourselves. We can feel guilty for not doing more to convince them to accept Jesus as their Savior.

Samuel was probably grieving partially for Saul and partially for himself. He likely felt guilty that he had not done more to convince Saul to change his ways. Yet, there are people, no matter how hard we try, who will never accept Jesus as their Savior. It is disheartening. It is frustrating. I’m sure Samuel felt those feelings as he was grieving for Saul. In fact, he may have been grieving over Saul long before Saul died.

Yet, God urges us to move forward. He has more for us to do. We cannot change the past; we can only seek to change the future. God had a plan for Samuel to anoint the next king for Israel—David, son of Jesse. Samuel had a task set before him. Perhaps God gave Samuel the task to get him to move on. God may do the same thing for us.

Though we may grieve, we also must move on. Moving on does not mean we forget the person we are grieving, but it means we recognize we have additional works to complete. We understand God has more for us in his plan. We continue to look toward the day when we will meet God face-to-face and seek to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I pray we all grieve when we need to. I pray we move on from the grief when God urges us to. I pray each one of us know that God has a plan for us, and we continue to work for him. Grieve when needed. Know when to move on. Know God has a plan for you. Continue to work for God.

1 Samuel 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

Steadfast Love of the Lord

We all have a need to be loved. We often search for love in the wrong places and from the wrong people. There is no single person on this earth who can fully satisfy our need for love. Some may come close, but they cannot fulfill our need fully.

So, what are we to do? Where are we to look? Should we simply give up our search? No, we should look elsewhere. Instead of looking horizontally, we should look vertically. That is not easy to do when you are lonely in this world.

Yet, we are told over and over that God loves us. We are told that he is always with us. We likely understand that intellectually. But do we understand it within our hearts? That is where the rubber meets the road—in our hearts. It is in our hearts that God works the best. It is where we hear him the best.

When we open our hearts to God, he fills them with his love. When we listen for him to speak to our heart, we hear him. Perhaps we should remind ourselves of God’s love and ask him to not forsake us. That is what the psalmist does. He asks that God not forsake his handiwork, meaning us.

Asking God to remember us and to take care of us pleases God. He delights in our willingness to trust he is in control. As we trust him, he fulfills that trust, thereby increasing our confidence in him.

I pray we all know God loves us. I pray we feel his love for us in our hearts. I pray each one of us will ask God to take care of us, putting our trust and confidence in him for all our needs. Know that God loves you. Trust him with all things. Feel his love in your heart. God will love you forever.

Psalm 138:8

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; 

your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. 

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

God’s Family

Who is part of your family? Are there people you consider members who are not physically related to you? Do you have members who have been adopted? Are you part of a mixed family who considers all to be part of the family? Do you consider church members to be part of your family?

Families can be messy. Relationships can be messy. We see a lot of mixed families. We also see families who have adopted members, whether legally adopted or simply considered to be adopted. Families may also include people who are on the fringes—sometimes in and sometimes out.

But who does Jesus consider to be family? The simple answer? Those who do the will of God. That can be good news and bad news. It depends on whether we are doing the will of God or not. Lest we get too carried away, that does not mean always being busy. The will of God does not require us to always being doing something.

The will of God, as Jesus explains in John 6:29, is to believe in Jesus. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t have work for us to do, he does. But to believe in Jesus is to do the work God has for us to do at the time God wants us to do it. That means there will be times for rest and times for work. It means we must listen for the Holy Spirit to lead us.

With that being said, we should also consider those who believe in Jesus to be our family. They are our brothers and sisters. Some of them are our spiritual mothers and fathers. Regardless of how you think of them, think of them as family. Seek to forgive, reconcile, love, and abide with one another. The unity of the family is precious to Jesus.

I pray we all seek to do the will of God. I pray we know we are part of the family of God. I pray each one of us will forgive, reconcile, love and abide with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Do God’s will. Believe in Jesus Christ. You are part of God’s family. Love your brothers and sisters.

Mark 3:33-35 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Stand Together in Love

Are you divided? Are you torn between two or more entities? Have you pledge loyalty to more than one person or belief? Do you feel the struggle being wrought within you? Are there times when it feels as though you will be torn apart? Will you pledge yourself to only one?

We sometimes feel conflict within ourselves. We are torn between two options. One option may feel fully right, while the other is the easier path to take. One may cause some friction with another person, while the other only causes inner turmoil for us.

Being torn between two option is not fun. We struggle with decisions that may cause someone to no longer like us. Yet, if we don’t take the right path, we continue to be chewed up from the inside out. Eventually, we will explode. It may not happen for years. In fact, this very thing has torn many families apart and been the cause of many divorces.

Jesus warned us about this. When we are divided against ourselves, we cannot stand. When we have a war going on within us, we will destroy ourselves. The same is true of families. When there are underlying unresolved issues, they will slowly eat away at the togetherness. We can extend that to our communities, churches, and even our nation.

Jesus warned us that any house or kingdom divided will fall. But how do we stop it? In a word—love. Love will guide us in addressing the issue with loving care. It will give us the wisdom to confront the issue wisely. Walking, talking, and breathing the love of God will provide us with all we need to resolve and rectify the situation. It may not be easy, but it is the only way to make a course correction. Choose to work it out in love.

I pray we all know that we cannot stand divided. I pray we seek to resolve issues with the love of God. I pray each one of us care for one another with love—walking, talking, and breathing the love of God. Know a divided house cannot stand. Know a divided kingdom cannot stand. Seek resolution in God’s love. Show love to one another. Stand together in love.

Mark 3:23-25 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

Shift Your Focus

Where is your home? Have you moved around a lot during your life? Was it due to work transfers or just because you couldn’t find a place you felt at home? Are you happy with your body? Do you have good physical health? Or are you experiencing health problems?

Being satisfied with our bodies, our health, and our homes can be a challenge. We may have several things we would like to change about them. Our dissatisfaction can cause us to miss what is truly important. On the other hand, it can cause us to realize what is truly important.

So, what is truly important? Many of us will say family or having close friends. Even those who chase after the almighty dollar will state family or friends is more important, though their behavior may say something different. We have been conditioned to give that answer, whether we believe it or not.

Unfortunately, it is not the correct answer. What is truly important is that we have an eternal home with God. Though we may not have the best home here on earth nor the greatest of health, we can look forward to spending eternity perfectly God’s creation in God’s perfect creation. The lack of perfection on this earth should cause us to continually focus on the perfection coming. It is the most important thing we can ever be given. It is the greatest gift God can give. Shifting our focus from the downside of this life to the upside of eternal life will bring us joy beyond comprehension.

I pray we all reduce our worry and anxiety about this life. I pray we choose to focus on God’s promise of eternity with him. I pray each one of us will shift our focus and experience the joy God is waiting to give us. Know this life will end. Know there will be trouble in this life. Know that God has a perfect place waiting for you. Shift your focus. Focus on eternity with God.

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Renew Your Spirit

Do you have days that simply wear you out? Do you experience physically or mentally draining days that leave you exhausted? Have you noticed that as you get older you can no longer do what you used to do, or at least not as fast? How is your soul on those days?

We all have those days that just don’t seem to end. They wear us down to the nub. Our nerves are frazzled. Our bodies are tired, needing sleep. Yet, there are days when we are so tired we cannot sleep. Those kinds of days are exhausting, and it can take us a few days to recover.

When we have those tiring days, we may also suffer spiritually. But we don’t have to. The Apostle Paul says that though they were wasting away physically, they were being renewed spiritually. Though we do not know how they were wasting away. Perhaps they were short on food. Maybe they were weary from travelling. He might have simply been referring to the normal degradation of our physical bodies. Regardless, they were being renewed spiritually by God every day.

We, too, can be renewed each day. Our renewal comes through the work of the Holy Spirit. We can request renewal in prayer. As we become more in tune with the Holy Spirit, we are strengthened by him. As we rely on God to provide for our needs, we grow to trust him more, thereby renewing our spirit. We learn to tap into the endless power of God the more we experience him.

I pray we all experience God. I pray we become in tune with the Holy Spirit. I pray each one of us learn to rely more on God, tap into his endless power, and renew our spirit each day. Experience God. Be in tune with the Holy Spirit. Rely on God. Tap into God’s endless power. Renew your spirit each day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

Same Spirit of Faith

Have you thought about what you have in common with others? Do you look like your Mom or Dad? Do you hang out with friends who like the same things? Do you and your siblings share similar tendencies? Have you thought you have more in common with people than you think?

We have a lot in common with one another. We have the same physical needs. We all need food, water, clothing, and shelter. Emotionally, we all need to feel loved. We are all human and generally have the same physical attributes—arms, legs, hands, feet, torso, and head.

For those of us who follow Jesus Christ, we all have the spirit of faith. Our faith is in Him. The Spirit we received came from God (and is God). We may express our faith in different ways, but our faith is the same. Having the Holy Spirit living in us, we should all agree on who our faith is in—Jesus Christ.

Not only should we agree in our faith, but we should also agree that all of us will be raised just as He was raised. Since we all will live together for eternity, we might want to start learning to live together now. Will it make a difference in eternity? Probably not. However, it will please God to see his followers getting along in agreement in the here and now.

How do we learn to get along? We begin with what we have in common. We remember the physical and emotional needs we have. We remember the similarities of our physical bodies. But most of all, we remember we all have the same Holy Spirit living inside us. God has truly given us amazing blessings and we can show our appreciation to God by living in harmony.

I pray we all recognize the things we have in common. I pray we know we have the same Spirit living within us. I pray each one of us will seek to please God by living in harmony. See the commonalities. Know that God has blessed you. Seek to please God. Live in harmony. You have the same spirit of faith.

2 Corinthians 4:13-14 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.

Rejecting God

Have you felt rejected? Who was it that rejected you? Was it a family member? Was it someone you considered to be a good friend? Was it a group of people you were teaching or presenting information to? Does your rejection help you understand how God feels when people reject him?

Rejection is tough. It doesn’t matter if it is family, friends, or a bunch of strangers. When we are rejected, it stings. It can feel as though a stake has been driven into our heart. The pain of being rejected can last for a long time. It can even stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Samuel did not like it when the Israelites came to him and asked him to anoint a king for them. They had not had a king to that point. The judges, rabbi’s, priests, and prophets had provided Israel with guidance and direction. They were representatives of God. They received messages from God periodically and provided them to the people.

Yet, when Samuel had grown old, not having much time left in his life, the people asked for a king. His sons had been disobedient. The people saw other nations who had kings and they wanted to be like those other nations. God tells Samuel it is not him they are rejecting. They are rejecting God.

When we seek to be like everyone else in the world, we are rejecting God, just as the Israelites did. God called Israel and he calls us to be different than the world. It breaks God’s heart when we reject him, just like it breaks our heart when we are rejected. Rather than rejecting God, let’s all choose to accept him and follow his ways.

I pray we all stop conforming to this world. I pray we stop rejecting God. I pray each one of us chooses to accept God and follow his commands for the rest of our lives. Do not reject God. Stop conforming to the world. Choose to accept God. Choose to follow God’s commands.

1 Samuel 8:6b-7 Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”

Life Through Death

For most of us, life and death are opposites. That is the case in natural beings. We either live or we die. Yet, in Christ, we are to die in order to live. What a paradox?! To mere mortal minds, it doesn’t make much sense.

The Apostle Paul tells us that by dying to self and living in the death of Jesus Christ; meaning the grace, mercy, and forgiveness granted us through His death, we live. This is no common nor average life. It is an abundant life, as Jesus promised in John 10:10.

We wonder how this can be so. Because of the overwhelming messages of our culture stating we are to live for today, we cannot comprehend what it means to die to ourselves so that we may truly live. We struggle understanding what it means to live in the death of Christ so that we live as He desires us to live.

It is by giving up our desires and preferences, our yearnings and misunderstandings, that we can truly see what Jesus desires. We can only follow what we can see. Without seeing Him as He truly is, without seeing His teachings for what they truly are, we cannot fully follow Him.

Paul knew what it meant to risk his life to live for Jesus. Rarely are any of us ever put in danger for our belief. Thankfully, we live in a country that allows us to follow our beliefs without fear of death. Yet, we often face persecution in other ways, and that may hinder us from truly living.

I pray we all seek to live in the death of Jesus. I pray we die to ourselves to live the abundant life Jesus promised. I pray each one of us will deepen our faith in Jesus and let it be a light into the world. Die to yourself. Give up your selfish desires. Live the abundant life in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:11 For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.

Serve in Jesus’ Name

Who do you serve? Do you serve yourself, your family, your friends? Do you serve at all? Or do you expect to be served? What is your perception of servants? Do you view them as valuable people? Or do you view them as underlings, a lower class of people?

Our view of servants will depend largely on our view of Jesus. Our culture views servants as lower-class citizens. The first thing that will come to mind our waitresses and waiters. Yet, servants are far more than that. There are servants in our midst that we don’t recognize.

Allow me to list some servant jobs. Take time to think about them. Cashiers, stock persons, doctors, nurses, military, police, fire and rescue, paramedics, bus drivers, taxi drivers, pastors, lay people. There are far more than those listed. But have you thought of these people as servants? Even CEO’s and presidents can be servants. It is all about attitude.

I can remember working in IT and telling those who worked with me and for me that we provided a service. We were not in charge but performing a service for a client. That didn’t mean we did not attempt to educate our client on what was possible and what was not. Yet, we ultimately were required to provide what they asked for to the best of our ability.

We are to be servants of Jesus and others. We serve others as Jesus would serve them. Our primary mission from Jesus is to proclaim Him to others. Think that isn’t a service? What better service to others than to proclaim the only way to eternal life? Being a servant does not mean being a doormat. It means having the best in mind for others and serving them in a way that encourages them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I pray we all view ourselves as servants of Jesus. I pray we proclaim Jesus to others. I pray each one of us will have an attitude of servanthood, serving others in the name of Jesus Christ. Serve Jesus. Have a servant attitude. Serve others. Proclaim Jesus. Serve in Jesus’ name.

2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.