Sonshine!

With God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

I have struggled with this verse my entire life. It is the anthem of young dreamers, the “This is not what I signed up for!” thoughts of the adulting and when you’re my age, it is the peace, “Oh, yes! God is good and He was there with His perfect timing, wisdom and power.” Looking back across the years I realize I did nothing but hope, pray……and struggle with the ‘obey’ part of life.

Context is everything when quoting and standing on these words of Jesus. He was approached by a rich young ruler who wanted a checkoff sheet to assure eternal life. Jesus did not give him the answer he was looking for, but rather a powerful truth, “Dispose of all that stands between you and Me and give it to those in need.” Vs. 21 paraphrased quite a bit.

We have a phrase of encouragement in education when a child is ready to give up, “We can do hard things. Keep moving forward, I’m here beside you and you’ll get this!” Growing means pushing upward and onward, persevering is all about determination and focus. This isn’t about winning and being successful. It is about doing the hardest thing ever, living victoriously in Holiness of heart and mind. Jesus says it can be done. He’s leading and teaching and we won’t fail if we follow and learn. 

Love,

Gretchen

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. Jeremiah 17:7

Judah’s sin inevitably led to their downfall. Verse one of chapter 17 says “Judah’s sin is engraved on their hearts with an iron tool and flint point.” This sin goes back several generations. The cost was the loss of the geographical nation of Israel and enslavement by their enemies. BUT!!

God continued to inform, remind, perpetuate and display His faithfulness. If the people of Judah would turn to Him, He would bless them. God’s authority means He is Judge and He alone can condemn. But His purpose is to save us from that peril. He is so very, very, kind and good. Trust Him, and you will find blessed peace and rest.

Gretchen

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Moses had brought the new nation of Israel to the border of their homeland, Canaan. On the way he kept a journal and wrote the Law as God had given. These texts were handed over to the Priests and Levites with instruction to keep them safe and to read and reread them to protect against the corruption of God’s people. 

The land across the Jordan River had many fortified cities, strong armies and people that worshipped false gods through despicable and degrading rituals. God already knew that entering the Promised Land would be frightening and rebellion would occur. His Word would remind and teach the following generations truth. Obedience brought peace and rest and neglect resulted in adversity.

Moses will soon go to rest with his fathers leaving Joshua to lead the people. Moses encouraged them all, be strong and courageous…… Yes, these are words to a specific people on a specific occasion, but God had it enshrined so we would not face tomorrow terrified. Our obedience must not bring about terror, but strength in the confidence that God goes with you and He will never leave or forsake you. It was a big deal for them, it’s a BIG deal for you!

Love,

Gretchen

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5

This song of ascent is part of a collection of 15 Psalms, 120-134, also known as “Pilgrim Songs” or “Songs of Degrees.” 

Jerusalem sat atop a hill. Obviously all worshippers had to ascend to reach the temple complex. Hebrew pilgrims always returned to Jerusalem to celebrate religious festivals and these hymns were sung together as they journeyed. As they neared their beloved city the songs that began with an emphasis on distress and longing for God’s protection and help became songs of hope. As the sojourners were climbing the steps, or degrees of the temple and their voices lifted in Praise.

Psalm 130 is also classified as one of the Penitence Psalms showing deep remorse for sin and a confident hope in God’s Goodness and Mercy. It begins with a personal testimony of God’s rescue from guilt, then step by step the author draws the reader to a place of confident hope. 

Although the writer of the Psalm is unknown, some traditions attribute it to David following his sin with Bathsheba. Disregarding the authorship, I want my readers to remember; when David was a boy He found God in everything and placed his hope in this. Through devastating sin, serious peril, utter joy and deepest grief, David always returned to His place of Hope; a living, communicating, loving God. And this God is unchanging and faithful, just as David knew Him, we can as well.

Love,

Gretchen

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Ephesians 1:7

If you are reading this you probably have a knowledge of salvation and for that I am truly thankful. I was saved at the age of twelve and while I still stand amazed at the miracle of that moment I often struggle with the deep dark parts of my heart and mind that want to take a break from my conscience and tell the world what I really think. Soon my heart breaks for its moment of carnal will and I’m defeated. It’s a vicious cycle, but God as our creator, great redeemer and lover of our souls has this under control.

Two things are working in the act of salvation: Jesus’ blood given freely and God’s grace in boundless supply. At the point of death, sin lost its power over Jesus and at the point of resurrection, sin lost its power over the believer. Now for that unlimited grace. There is no sin God can’t and won’t forgive. His riches cross the expanse of man’s moral and physical poverty. DO NOT live in defeat! Daily accept this gift, tell Satan to take a short hike off a tall cliff, and accept God’s rich grace as your own.

Living in Victory,

Gretchen

P.S. I encourage you to read the entire first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. It will strengthen you.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son born of a woman, born under the law. Galatians 4:4

As the Son of God, Jesus had no boundaries, no restrictions of linear time, no limits of aging flesh and certainly no carnal temptations, but as Son of Man, Jesus took on all of these characteristics. He became fully man. He became just as we are so that we have a hope to become just as He is.

It’s simple, Jesus became human so that we can be Holy. Jesus came to earth to lead the way to Heaven.

In Christ,

Gretchen

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. I Timothy 4:10

Timothy was a pastor to the pastors. His mother was a Jewess, his father a Greek gentile. The early church had no cathedrals or seminaries and were horribly persecuted as they met in homes and strove to live as Jesus modeled. This letter from Paul encouraged Timothy to focus on the essential attributes of Christianity rather than superficial details that become distractions or opportunities to abuse or exploit. 

The early Jewish converts struggled with their lifelong traditions and laws that defined who and whose they were. As gentiles joined the community of believers a vulnerability of cross-purposes and diverse backgrounds invited combative, gross mis-interpretation and error in theological teachings. 

A simple gospel truth was the anecdote; God offers salvation to all those who will believe and trust Him. Verse 11 says, “Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them.”  As Paul wrote to Timothy he was emphasizing the blessing that salvation is universal as well as quite basic: God sent His Son, Jesus, who gave His own life freely as a final sacrifice. When He died and rose again He took the power of death away from evil. We are all offered salvation from darkness and into peace, rest and life eternal.

Love,

Gretchen

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Hope is fuel for our spiritual motors. We have lost everything when all hope is gone and none can be found. Isaiah knows a little about this. He spent his entire life under the dread and menace of an enemy empire, yet, he led Jerusalem spiritually and the city alone survived the Assyrian invasion of both Israel and Judah.

Isaiah’s prophecies read as though they are past events, yet they are still to come. He gets to see God and His Kingdom from a different perspective than we do and his exaltation over the wondrous things in store are our comfort because that hope is already a reality. 

These words of consolation are not meaningless syllables for the dispirited. There have been consequences for disobedience and sin, but still, there is love and God is faithful to His promises. He can be trusted far beyond our present circumstances. Our hope is beyond this world’s faults and fissures. It is in the Holiness, the perfection, of the One True God that taught the eagle to rest on a high current of air unseen by human eye.

Love, 

Gretchen

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things has passed away. Revelations 21:4

This is one of the most precious and hope filled verses from one of the most profound passages in all of scripture, for it describes the social dynamic of The Father’s House, eternal life. All things will be made new beginning when the Father, the Lord God, takes your face in His gentle, kind and loving hands and wipes away your tears. 

The earth and all of its human, carnal sorrows will cease to exist because Jesus invalidated the power of sin when He died and rose from death’s darkness to bring love’s radiant light. God’s presence will be our solace and our destiny won’t be what’s on the stone in the cemetery, but an eternal, unspeakable joy. Mourning won’t be our thought, pain won’t be our experience and crying won’t be heard because God’s Holiness fills the House with many rooms. (John 14:2-4)

This Home we hope for with assurance and peace must press each believer to a proactive lifestyle for those who are hopeless and lost. The most logical place to begin is among the people we share our air with. Each one, touch one and before long the whole world will be reached. 

Love,

Gretchen

But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him and by His wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Today’s scripture is taken from the prophecy of Isaiah 700 years before the Son of God became the Son of Man. If I said nothing else, this fact alone speaks volumes about God’s plan to redeem mankind. However, peace is mentioned and if there is one ideal my heart yearns for, it is peace.

Peace is simply the absence of strife and struggle; laying aside hostility. Every relationship on the face of the earth has some dynamic of peace or lack thereof. In the promise of a redeeming Savior we find the word peace and the acknowledgement that to achieve this, someone had to make a sacrifice. Through Christ’s torture and death we are reconciled to God and that’s the biggie, but we are left with time here on earth in a discordant world. God didn’t just provide a victor over death, He afforded a means for us to live in harmony with each other and reside in a global community with confidence that God is in charge, always has been, always will be.

Have a Terrific Tuesday,

Gretchen