Abide in Me

Posted on by Betsy

It is said that in life, success comes more from who you know than what you know. I think there is some truth to that. When we are pursuing a new job, a raise, a promotion, finding an appropriate mate, a good outcome at court, a favorable loan rate, a lower price on a new car, etc., the people at the other end of those transactions make all the difference in the final result. If you know them and if they like you, your chances of success might be increased. It’s all about knowing the right people.

Jesus’ famous “I AM” statements reveal who he is, using a series of metaphors and analogies. In today’s passage, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the True Vine of Israel. He makes this statement while they are on their way from the last supper in the Upper Room to the impending arrest, trial, and crucifixion. He is trying to reassure them that even when he dies, their connection will never be severed. They, and we, are the branches to his vine, and it is that connection that gives us strength, hope, and determination. Knowing Jesus makes all the difference in our lives.

John 15 (New Revised Standard Version)

4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

If you read this entire chapter in John, you will see that the word “abide” is used ten times. Jesus surely wants us to understand how to abide in him! And there is a reciprocal blessing here. When we abide in him, he abides in us.

So, how do we abide in Jesus?

Abiding means, first of all, studying the word of God. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (v.7) When we look into the word of God and see the Son of God, we are changed by the Spirit of God into the image of God, by the grace of God, for the glory of God.

That is what abiding is all about. 

This is a good time to stop and consider your daily practice of studying the word. Do you take time in the morning to read Scripture? Do you meditate on his word as you pray? So many times we think God has not heard or answered our prayers when the truth is, we haven’t been abiding in his Word, where the answers can be found. Do you need a better daily practice of abiding in the Word?

Second, abiding also means doing the work of God. Jesus said in v.5, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit.” We know what God is concerned about. He is in the fruit-bearing business. That is His work; that is what He desires for us. And so when we do the work of the Lord through our serving and our giving, we bear the fruit of the father. 

Third, abiding is obeying the will of God. Jesus said in v.10, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” When the branch lives out its life in connection with the vine, it then reproduces the fruit of the vine. Are you obeying God’s will for your life? If the answer is no, I bet the fruit you produce reflects that.

How can you better abide in Christ? He longs to abide in you.

Fruit of the Vine by Kathy Schumacher

What Kind of Love

Posted on by Betsy

The phenomenon that is known as Taylor Swift has taken over the world. Our local movie theater is showing her Eras Tour movie, and the place is packed with people of all ages in Taylor Swift outfits. Folks are disappointed that the special Eras Tour popcorn bucket was in short supply, and they missed getting it, resulting in the theater having to apologize and offer a future bucket as soon as the next shipment comes in. And Is it just me, or are all the young girls suddenly sporting bangs? I like that. I’ve been wearing bangs since before Swift was born.

According to an article in Time magazine published on August 24th, 2023, analysts estimate that the Eras Tour will likely surpass the $1 Billion mark by March of 2024, when Swift will be touring internationally. Beyond the concert sales, fans are spending a lot of money on merchandise.. The Eras Tour is projected to generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending in the United States alone. “If Taylor Swift were an economy, she’d be bigger than 50 countries,” said Dan Fleetwood, President of QuestionPro Research and Insights. This absolutely blows my mind. The scope of her influence is beyond the imagination. Her work and her image are recognized around the world.

Our passage today had me thinking about image and recognition, but in a much more humble way. One of the greatest gifts we receive from God is the gift of adoption. We are called the children of God, but the world does not recognize that:

1 John 3 (Common English Bible)

 See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children, and that is what we are! Because the world didn’t recognize him, it doesn’t recognize us.

Like the Swifties who try to look like their icon, we will be converted into the image of Christ when he appears. We’ll be like him, and we will see him as he is. I think that being able to behold his glory will trigger that moment of complete transformation. We won’t just be dressed up … we actually will take on the image of Christ for ourselves.

2 Dear friends, now we are God’s children, and it hasn’t yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears we will be like him because we’ll see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves even as he is pure.

So, our task as we wait is to purify ourselves. Christ is pure and calls us to be like him. Purity of heart, purity of mind, purity of purpose, and purity of intention are things that we can pursue while we wait. The Prince of Peace of all the eras invites us to be like him.

Show Me the Way by Kathy Schumacher

Say So!

Posted on by Betsy

Our youngest set of grand-twins are in that formative language exploration stage. As can happen with twins, one does all the talking and the other nods silently in approval. The talkative one is stringing two words together now, and loves to say, “Hi Georgia!” to our dog whenever we are on a FaceTime call. The other one grins. Do you suppose their twin-language thing means that when he talks, she thinks she is talking, too? It’s fascinating.

The time will soon arrive when they are talking non-stop, and we may be tempted to feel nostalgic about their non-verbal baby phase. One of my children was so talkative, I once asked her to play the quiet game with me because my ears need a rest. She is now the wonderful mother of three happy and vibrant children who talk non-stop. Payback!

In our psalm today, the writer encouraged Israel to give thanks to the Lord and then he encouraged the redeemed of the Lord to “say so.” This caught me a little off guard when I read it, remembering that the night before, I had prayed nervous prayers for someone to arrive home safely and the minute they pulled in the driveway, I forgot to thank God. Has that ever happened to you?

So, this is a good reminder to not only offer thanks to God for his redemption, but to say so and tell others about what he has done in our lives:

Psalm 107 (New Revised Standard Version)
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    those he redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

Can you recall a time when God redeemed you from trouble? Even in those trying times when you barely escape with your life and you look back and think, “Well, I guess that could have been worse,” it is important to give God the glory and say so. God is in the redemption business and he redeemed the nation of Israel. They wandered, hungry and thirsty, and cried out to the Lord. He heard them and delivered them:

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to an inhabited town;
5 hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress;
7 he led them by a straight way,
    until they reached an inhabited town.

Here is your challenge for today: find someone, somehow, somewhere, and tell them a redemption or deliverance story. Talk to a cashier. Share your story with a parent waiting at school pick-up. Send someone a text or email to tell them your good news.

Find a way to say so!

Reflections of Glory by Kathy Schumacher

You Shall Be Holy

Posted on by Betsy

What are your goals for your life? Do you desire to be wealthy? Faithful in your relationships? Happy? A good parent? A productive worker? Retired? Goals are like turns that show up on your GPS. As you approach an exit or turn, your GPS will show you which lane to be in so that your merge is smooth and effortless. If only turns and lane changes in life were as easy!

If we consider God’s goal for our lives as opposed to our own, we might be surprised to learn what direction he prefers for us. While our goals might be worthy, God wants so much more for us.

He wants us to be holy.

Leviticus 19 (New Revised Standard Version)

2 “Speak to all the congregation of the Israelites and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Does that scare you a little? To be holy seems like an impossible goal. What does it mean to be holy? According to Webster’s dictionary, Holy means “Spiritually perfect or pure; untainted by evil or sin; sinless; saintly.” I can promise you this, God loves us too much to expect that of us. He would not want to set us up for failure! No, that definition relates to Jesus alone. So what else could holy mean?

15 “You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood[a] of your neighbor is at stake: I am the Lord.

This sounds a little more doable. To be just, to treat people equally, to not gossip and spread lies about our neighbors, and to help when someone is in trouble … if that’s holy, we have a chance. Indeed, it fits an alternate definition from Webster: Dedicated to religious use; belonging to or coming from God; consecrated; sacred. It gives us hope to think that we might be useful to God. It speaks to the truth of our belonging to God and our coming from God. Further, we understand the word consecrated to mean “dedicated to God”, and the word sacred to mean “set apart.” Christians are indeed set apart from the rest of the world to do the work of our Lord.

17 “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is the gold standard for holiness. I think if we can learn to do that, we indeed will be holy.

O Holy Night by Michelle Robertson

Keep Me from Stupid Sins

Posted on by Betsy

Sometimes when I read the Psalms I suspect that psalmist lived in the Outer Banks. Of course all the psalmists lived in Israel, but some of the observations and descriptions of the seas, skies, and land fit my home perfectly. We enjoy unobstructed views of water and sky all the way out to the horizon from many vantage points here, and I am often reminded of a friend’s daughter’s observation on her first cruise: “I can see as far as my eyes can look!” Yup, that’s where I live.

In Psalm 19, the writer extols the beauty of the glorious skies, noting the energy and excitement that come with the morning sun of day-break:

Psalm 19 (The Message)
1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
    Professor Night lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren’t heard,
    their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
    unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome
    for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband
    leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
    racing to the tape.

6 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
    from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
    warming hearts to faith.

God’s Word is as steady and sure as God’s creation. The sun rises with consistency just as God’s word is a solid and steady guide for us every day. Scriptures warm the heart and explain the right way to go as clearly as signposts, life-maps, and directions.

But directions only work if you stop and ask for them.

7-9 The revelation of God is whole
    and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
    and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
    showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
    and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
    with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
    down to the nth degree.

Let us pause here and consider that. Everything we need to know for a blessed and grace-filled life is spelled out in the Bible. But like the lost, stubborn fellow who refuses to ask for directions, we truly can wander off the right path very quickly if we allow the world to choose our direction for us. The psalmist assures us that God’s Word is better than any GPS or navigation system we could come up with on our own.

10 God’s Word is better than a diamond,
    better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
    better than red, ripe strawberries.

11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
    and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
    Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!

Here is the hidden treasure of this passage: “Keep me from stupid sins.” I think I have found a new morning prayer!

Keep me from stupid sins,
    from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
    these are what I chew on and pray.

This psalm is a reminder of the importance of being in the Word and in prayer first thing every morning. When we focus our first hour on God’s direction for our day, we have a better chance of not going astray. What do you say? Should we try it right now?

Accept them when I place them
    on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing unto you, Oh God, our Rock and Redeemer. Amen.

When Morning Guilds the Sky by Michelle Robertson

Flattery Will Get You

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever tried to soften a difficult conversation by complimenting the person first? It is a common personnel management tactic to do exactly that. I had a friend who used the Thanksgiving Dinner analogy. Rather than start with the complaint about the burnt, dry stuffing, you should first mention how lovely the table looked, acknowledge how hard the cook worked, remark about how delicious the gravy was, and then drop the bomb about the stuffing. It’s known as “buttering someone up.”

Softening the blow when a difficult topic has to be discussed can be appropriate, but flattering someone just to deflect attention away from your real agenda is not. That is just straight up deception. Such is the case in today’s passage where the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into saying something that would get him in trouble with the government. See how they first try to praise him with their empty, hollow words:

Matthew 22 (The Message)

15-17 That’s when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Of course Jesus would not fall for that. It was the first time this group had ever said anything positive about his ministry and he instantly knew something was up. He didn’t fall for it, and neither should we when our enemy is trying to get us to say something controversial.

18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.

The subject of their inquiry was tithing. In Jewish tradition, one tenth of one’s income was to be presented to the Lord. These men are trying to set up an either/or scenario, but Jesus is not playing.

20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”

21 They said, “Caesar.”

“Then give Caesar what is his and give God what is his.”

Yes, we have to pay taxes. That is a given in life. But if we follow Scripture, we also have to offer God ten percent of what remains, right off the top. The Pharisees weren’t pleased to hear this.

22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.

The Scripture challenges us to consider our own giving. Truly everything we have comes from God. Everything we have belongs to God. Jesus is clear when he says, “Give God what is his.” Do you do that? Do you need to catch up? Jesus was all in for us. Can we be all in for him?

Taxes and tithing aren’t an either/or situation. This is a both/and thing. May we be faithful to the word.

All In by Michelle Robertson

When the Seas Get Rough

Posted on by Betsy

I have a good friend who ferries boats up and down the East coast for a living. An accomplished captain, he navigates all kinds of weather and conditions. This man is a solid Christian, a recovered addict, and a leader of others who struggle with addiction. He has weathered all kinds of storms in his life as well as on the water. But the strength of his faith is ironclad. Through all of his experiences, he has learned to trust God and wholly yield to God’s will. Everyone who knows him is blessed by his example.

My friend is living proof that you can survive the worst storm of your life if you submit your life to Jesus. He sent me this picture last week and commented that some mornings you wake up and suddenly you are in the midst of the storm. But on that day, God hasn’t changed. The only thing that changes is the height and depth of the waves around us, but God is consistent, present, and unchangeable.

I immediately thought of the Scripture that demonstrates God’s power to overcome any storm we face in our lives:

Luke 8 (New International Version)

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

If you are in the midst of high seas and battering winds, remember who commands even the winds and the water. Jesus is in control of every dangerous thing that threatens to drown you. Like my friend, if you submit to his power and do his will, you will sail on to better seas.

Sometimes the storm is of our own making. Submitting to his will may mean getting serious about your addictions, behaviors, or destructive habits. It may mean physically leaving a place or a relationship that has grown toxic. It may mean risking everything to pursue a positive outcome. It may mean letting go of something so that you can fully grasp the life that he promised.

What storm are you in today? When you find Jesus, you will find the calm.

The Storm Subsides at His Voice by Dustin Daniels

Making Up is Hard to Do

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever had a silly disagreement that grew so large, you forgot what the initial argument was even about? The practice of holding a grudge can take on a life of its own. When fractures in a relationship go on for weeks/months/years, the resulting estrangement is often hard to reverse. Tragically, the beginning of the end is sometimes a simple misunderstanding that cannot ever be untangled. Sometimes the disagreement wasn’t even your fault or responsibility. In my denomination, many people are severing friendships over polity issues that have nothing to do with personal relationships. A line has been drawn and through no fault of your own, you suddenly find that your friend has blocked you on Facebook and won’t respond to emails simply because you are on the other side of that line. It happens every day over politics, politicians, vaccines, the climate crisis, the border conundrum … people are falling out over issues that have nothing to do with their relationships. I bet it has happened to you, too.

Paul is very clear about what we are to do in these cases. He challenges us to iron out our differences and make up.

Philippians 4 (The Message)

4 My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.

2 I urge Euodia and Syntyche to iron out their differences and make up. God doesn’t want his children holding grudges.

3 And, oh, yes, Syzygus, since you’re right there to help them work things out, do your best with them. These women worked for the Message hand in hand with Clement and me, and with the other veterans—worked as hard as any of us. Remember, their names are also in the Book of Life.

God doesn’t want his children holding grudges. Does that feel like a punch in the gut? Think for a moment about someone you have walked away from over a small issue. Is it time to make up?

4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

A life focused on God is a sure remedy for those times when we are focused on our anger and resentment. Paul’s sense of urgency about the coming of Christ put things into perspective. When it came to disputes, his perspective was “ain’t nobody got time for that!” And he’s right. Do you really have time to keep nursing your grudge, or is it time to let it go?

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Allowing God to work us into his most excellent harmonies won’t happen until we throw down our boxing gloves and pick up things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, and gracious. Sprinkle in a large measure of forgiveness over past hurts and you are on your way. When we fill our minds with things to praise, God is able to work everything together. Thanks be to God!

Fill Your Mind with Beauty by Michelle Robertson

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Posted on by Betsy

It was very shocking to wake up this weekend to the news that Israel has declared war on Hamas after Hamas’ horrific and unprovoked attacks on its citizens. We are reading accounts of women and children being murdered, raped, and kidnapped to be held as hostages. The attack was one of the broadest invasions on Israel territory in over 50 years. As of this writing, over one thousand people have died in Israel and Gaza with the death toll expected to rise every day. On the first day of the attack the militants infiltrated 22 Israeli towns and army bases. The reason? “So that the enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”

This tiny sliver of land has been in dispute for centuries. Following the holocaust, Israel became a nation in 1948. The West Bank was captured during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967.Hamas seized control in 2007 and was put under an Israeli blockade that restricted the import of goods. There has never been peace in this part of the world.

What do we do in the face of such news? We pray.

Psalm 122 (New King James Version)

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
4 Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”

8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.

Revelation 21 speaks of a New Jerusalem coming down from the heavens. Zechariah prophesied that God will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle on the Day of the Lord, and the Lord himself will go out and fight. The location of the Lord’s arrival will be the Mt. of Olives, the exact place where Jesus ascended into heaven. Jerusalem will be the location of the Second Coming. We are warned to watch and be ready in Matthew 24. Jerusalem has always been important to God’s people from the time King David made it his capital to today.

And so we pray. Pray for peace. Pray for salvation. Pray for deliverance. Pray that you are ready.

Lord, In Your Mercy, Hear our Prayers by Faye Gardner

A Shade From the Heat

Posted on by Betsy

I had the pleasure of having a conversation with a trusted and valued friend where the subject of “plans made and suddenly changed” came up. We acknowledged the need for grieving when that happens, and I found her comments to be both wise and helpful. Even when you are handling the change with patience and grace, it is still a good and necessary thing to recognize that unexpected change can take a toll on your heart. I think when we have come out the other side of these events and are mostly “unscathed,” we want to minimize or dismiss the impact that the loss of something that we had planned and looked forward to can have on us. This is not a healthy response. It is good to acknowledge the disruption, mourn over it, work through the grief of that unexpected change, and then seek closure. It is also good to count the blessings we see even in the midst of the trial.

I want to invite you to think about a situation or time when you felt the extreme heat of disappointment, an unfulfilled dream, a sudden illness, the end of a relationship, or a life-changing loss. To liken those events to being engulfed in extreme heat should give you a sense of what Isaiah was writing about in Isaiah 25. He is writing about the unexpected change that came over Israel when the surrounding nations assaulted them and drove his people out. Isaiah wisely acknowledged this tragedy, and then focuses our attention to the “plans formed of old” and praises God for the deliverance that will eventually come.

Isaiah 25 (New Revised Standard Version)

O Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of foreigners is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.

Note that Isaiah began this writing with words of praise and thanksgiving. The Assyrians had already overtaken the Northern Kingdom and Isaiah’s role as prophet was to warn of the time when the Babylonians would seize Jerusalem. It was a time of great tribulation and a forecast of the Great Tribulation that will come at the end of time. If you are in a tribulation or remembering a time of great trouble, you will find instructions here on how to handle your situation. The first step is to praise. Isaiah said, “I will exalt you,” a reminder that worshipping God in the storm is a choice we make. Will you exalt God in your disappointment?

4 For you have been a refuge to the poor,
    a refuge to the needy in their distress,
    a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
5     the noise of foreigners like heat in a dry place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;
    the song of the ruthless was stilled.

Even on our worst days, God is worthy to be praised. He offers refuge to the needy and provides shelter in bad times. He fights our battles for us and never leaves our side.

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
    of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

Christian readers will feel an immediate pull toward seeing this next section as a description of the Feast of the Lamb that Revelation talks about:

“for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17

7 And he will destroy on this mountain
    the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
    the covering that is spread over all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
    and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.

All of our disappointments will be swallowed up, for the Lord has spoken. In the end, isn’t that the only thing that really matters?

9 It will be said on that day,
    “See, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
    This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Having this conversation with my friend provided a shade from the heat. Who in your life is in a predicament that burns? Can you offer comfort just by listening? God is on our side in all times of distress, and we can offer hope to others by reminding them of that very thing. Reach out to someone today and give them a listening ear. You will be blessed to be a blessing.

Let us be glad and rejoice!

Springs of the Water of Life by Kathy Schumacher