Ephesians 5:20 ...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Paul once said we are to give thanks in all circumstances. But does that mean giving thanks even in hard times? St. Paul would say out loud, "Yes...in Christ Jesus."

Someone once told me, "No matter what comes, we always have a reason to give thanks because Jesus is close at hand forever." That truth has done something to my everyday thinking about hope.

Now I find myself thanking God even in the unexpected: "Thank you, Lord, I made it on time... Thank you, God, that car just missed me... Dear God, thank you for great weather today, for not letting me fall down the stairs, for a good night's sleep.. And, most of all, thank you for Jesus."

No wonder the psalmist can say, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 107:1).
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 15:28 O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.

It's Wednesday. Some call this "hump day" as they struggle to get through the work week so they can relax and enjoy the weekend. I'm wondering if Jesus ever felt that way too. I'm wondering if he ever thought to himself: "Man, I'm glad that's over with!" Or if he ever just wanted to crawl in a hole and forget all those people who kept crying out for his attention and healing touch.

I can't help thinking of that woman who just wanted to get close enough to touch Jesus. But a touch wasn't enough for Jesus. He wanted her to look at his face abd see the love that was there. And he wants us to see that love too. That's why during Lent Jesus guides us to the cross to see that the most perfect healing of all came not just in a touch but in a life - his life, his love, his everything.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 5:2-3 And Jesus opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor...

Those words from Matthew's Gospel signal the opening to the Sermon on the Mount. The first twelve verses of chapter 5 are often referred to as the Beatitudes; which means "supreme blessedness" or "supreme happiness."

Some have taken the word beatitude and tweaked it a bit: they become be-attitudes. I like that. I like that because it helps describe the hope we have in Jesus. His first sermon on that mountain is an invitation to let every word of his, from that mountain moment on, guide us to the cross.

No matter what we may hunger and thirst for at any given moment, no matter what makes the heart ache or causes a person to fall into bed lost and feeling alone, Jesus speaks to all of it from the cross. That's why God's Spirit draws us there to turn all hearts into lives of hope and joy. That's when the Beatitudes become our be-attitudes.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Romans 5:5 ...hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

A young lady was asked why she was willing to stand so long in line to purchase a lottery ticket. Her answer was stunning. Her answer: "I buy these tickets because it gives me hope."

St. Paul points us to a more lasting source of hope. Hope for Paul comes from God's love that "has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us". God doesn't just dribble love into our hearts; he pours it in.

Another thing: This is something God has already done through the Holy Spirit. And as we draw closer to the cross in faith, we give God the chance to fill us up even more as he speaks to us in and through his Word.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Psalm 51:3 I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

It's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. You will see evidence of this as you will see the foreheads of friends and strangers marked in black charcoal with the sign of the cross. Today, we'll gather together for worship. We'll come to pray and hear again how the mark on the forehead means love, mercy, and the forgiveness of God in the cross of His Son, Jesus. 

Perhaps as we come closer to the mark, we struggle inside. We struggle with shame, knowing we did not deserve, nor do we deserve, the mercy of God. And yet, the closer we come to the cross, we give thanks for the fact that we know Jesus is there.

The charcoal mark will be gone in a short time. But God's grace, love and forgiveness will remain. That's because Jesus died for us and rose again.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 4:35 Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

Jesus tells us. He sends us into the harvest field to find lost people - lost people who don't even know they're lost! Studies show that about 85% of people who trust Christ for salvation do so because a friend or relative told them about the grace of God in Jesus.

Mission isn't something extraordinary we do somewhere else. We don't need to go to another country to live for Jesus. Our everyday life is the mission field God has given us. Instead of hemming and hawing, let's pray for an opportunity to tell others about our mighty and merciful Savior, whose cross and empty tomb announce life and forgiveness for the world.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 3:34 For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure.

Someone once said, "Church is a place where a group of dull and respectable people listen to a dull and respectable sermon about how to keep being dull but respectable." This particular day in church, everyone felt dull but respectable. The sermon was dull but respectable. Most of the people looked on the dull side, but very respectable!
 

Just when eighteen people glanced at their watches. Just when that child won the wrestling match with his parents, again. Just when three people nodded off, again. Just then, a fire broke out on the altar, on the baptismal font, and on the pulpit! The ushers got up to put it out - but to no avail. The fire kept spreading. It couldn't be contained. Everyone was going up in flames!

Could it happen? It will happen. That's the promise. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit without measure. On Pentecost, the Spirit came with fire to enliven Christ's followers. Even today, God's holy fire breaks when we receive Holy Communion, live in our baptismal grace, and hear the Gospel of forgiveness. This fire ignites our faith in Christ - our crucified and triumphant Savior.

Gone are the blank stares. Gone are the ho-hum lives. Gone are the lifeless looks and the drifting prayers. Boldness, courage, and spine are unleashed when Jesus gives us the Spirit without measure.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,