May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Acts 1:13-14 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying.
Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas
son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along
with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Prayer is not a last resort—it is our most powerful weapon.
A newspaper clipping was making the rounds on Facebook that
asked everyone to stop what they were doing and pray for our country for one
minute. If we as believers, in the power of prayer to our heavenly Father,
asked for deliverance, wisdom, and truth—imagine the outcome.
At times, I've flung up a prayer in desperation, not
realizing the powerful tool I had at my fingertips. Think about it, as a fumbling
human, I have the opportunity to speak directly to the Creator of the universe.
I can call on Him any time, and He hears me. That's incredible!
Not only does He hear me, He cares about whatever I'm
asking.
In Acts chapter one, the apostles and followers of Jesus
found themselves at a loss. Their beloved teacher and friend had died. Yes, he
rose from the grave, but his closest cohorts found themselves without their
friend and leader. They needed to move forward and establish the church but
were perplexed about the situation.
They didn't sit around and grumble—they prayed—and
not just a few words aimed toward God, they talked to Him constantly. The folks
who knew and loved Jesus talked to God all the time, to seek guidance and
direction for their lives and for the church.
These days I find I have much to pray about—folks
who are ill, our military, Christians who are suffering at the hands of evil, the
unrest in our country, my family and friends, my writing, and so much more.
God calls me to pray. To seek Him, to talk to Him about the
concerns of my heart. I won't get a better offer.
Pray constantly to the One who listens.
Matthew West sings the song of my heart, right now. Please,
take a listen.
Mark 1:1-3 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of
God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
It's baseball season.
I had the joy of attending a Cincinnati Reds baseball game
with my granddaughter and her boyfriend. We sat in my husband’s section, where
he ushers. Before the game, I was watching the behind-the-scenes action on the
field. One of the field crew smoothed the dirt with a drag matt he pulled
behind his small tractor. After he finished, a crew brought out a water hose
and doused the dirt. I had watched this process before, at other games, but at
this game it reminded me of how many people it takes to get things ready ahead
of time.
The folks in the concession stand, the ticket takers,
security, ushers and more, get the baseball stadium ready for the fans and
players.
Isaiah prophesied about the preparation for the coming
Messiah. John the Baptist got things ready. He preached of one coming who would
reconcile people with God. He prepared the way for Jesus. Without John, the
listeners may not have believed Jesus was the Son of God.
Jesus lived on this earth, died for our sins, and rose again
in victory over the grave. Now we have one more thing to prepare for. His return.
He’ll come on clouds of glory and welcome God’s children home.
How am I preparing for that? Reading the Bible to better
understand the life God wants me to lead. Praying for my loved ones and folks
in need and talking to God about my own salvation. Attempting to live a life
that reflects the love of Jesus on others. Loving God and loving people.
Colossians 1:9-12 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped
praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of
his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so
that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every
way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being
strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you
may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the
Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his
holy people in the kingdom of light.
I eat blueberries every morning.
I’ve spent a week at my daughter’s house to help her after
knee surgery. Hannah and Stephen have three blueberry bushes in their backyard.
In all of my 66 years, I’ve never picked fresh blueberries. The night before
surgery, we went outside in the South Carolina heat and tugged the pretty blueberries
from the bushes and blackberries from an adjacent bush.
I found the colors of the blueberries in their various stages
of growth pleasing as well as the soft shade of green of the leaves. One
morning while I was there, a friend of Hannah’s brought her two small children
to pick some berries. I showed the little boy the difference between the ripe
berries and the small green ones just growing, and the red ones, at the in
between stage. He and his little sister did well differentiating between them.
As we picked, the verses in Colossians came to mind as I
thought about the various stages of development. The little green orbs reminded me to bear
fruit, while the red ones encouraged me to grow in the knowledge and word of
God, and the sweet blue ones gave me hope of being strengthened by God and
filled with joy.
While blueberries offer positive effects like antioxidants and
better heart health, the Holy Spirit dwells with me and gives me endurance and
patience every day, plus the best spiritual heart health, ever.
I’m thankful God created blueberries, and I’m grateful He
sent his Spirit to help me through the everyday challenges of life on earth.
