Crazy Busy Month of May

May is that crazy, full, busy, hectic time of year - a time of conflicting emotions. For many, there are graduations, parties, and all that goes with end of the school year. For some it is a time of good-byes to classmates, roommates, teachers. Teachers may look forward to catching their breath after a hectic school year and may be anticipating some down time. Parents may already be grieving the blossoming independence of their children.

Whatever May holds for you,

Whatever emotion you may be feeling with upcoming changes,

Keep this in mind:

Our God never changes.

He is consistently good, and His works are good.

He remains near to the broken-hearted.

He continues to give wisdom when we ask.

His Word is still relevant to inspire and instruct us.

His Spirit still leads and guides.

He never takes a vacation or has a down time.

And wherever we are, He is there.

So, dear one, rest in Him. Trust Him.

You'll be glad you did.

Blessings,

Ruth

Malachi 3:6 "I am the Lord, I change not ..."

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Easter Is So Much More ...

 

Easter is much more than bunnies, chicks, colored eggs, lilies, and baskets filled with chocolate candy and jellybeans. Oh! Don’t get me wrong. I like a good chocolate bunny … and those marshmallow peeps? Yum! But Easter is so much more.

More than a church service, new clothes, and a special meal with family and friends,

More than a holiday.

Easter is a Holy Day!

The day when the Holy Son of God atoned for sin.

Justice was satisfied.

Forgiveness was extended.

Death was conquered and Eternal Life was guaranteed for all who would believe and receive it.

It was then that the Holy God/man took the punishment we deserved so we don't have to.

He suffered – brutal beatings, abusive mocking, spittle, humiliation, false accusations, and hatred until, fastened to a rough wooden cross, He was hung up to die while spectators hurled insults at Him, the Perfect Sinless Son of God.

The weight of our sin was placed upon Him.

The Father turned His back on Him.

The Sun refused to shine.

The Earth shook.

And the Son gave His life up to death.

But ...

Death couldn’t keep Him!

On the third day He left the grave clothes behind in the empty tomb and rose victorious over sin and death itself!

And every year at Easter we celebrate the victory we have because Jesus paid the ultimate, sacrificial price for our sin.

And the cute chicks and bunnies, the colored eggs, the flowers, the chocolates?

They’re all fine and good and fun.

But they are not what Easter is about.

Easter is about HOPE!

Hope that gives each day purpose and meaning.

It puts Joy in our hearts and Eternal Life in our future.

It calls us to look beyond our current circumstances to the One who secured our eternal destiny for us,

The One worthy of celebration and worship – Jesus, God’s true Son.

Easter is more than a once-a-year story. 

It is a never-ending story.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Blessings,
Ruth

My recent book tells the Never-Ending Story along with some daily devotions.

It is available for purchase on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com

Clicking the picture takes you to a link.

Stumbling, but not falling

 

                           The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him;                              though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23

Remember when you were a child and you took a walk with an adult - maybe your mother, father, or a favorite aunt or uncle?  You were always eager to walk faster, to run ahead to see what was around the next corner. Or you wanted to lag behind to watch an ant carrying a burden way bigger than itself. (Hmmm…where was it going and why was it carrying such a big load?) Or you wanted to duck under that barb-wire fence to cut across the farmer’s field. Sometimes you were just tired and didn’t want to keep going. 

Remember how you weren’t really watching your steps? You were too busy seeing what was coming next or looking back to where you had just been. You never saw that bump in the road, that stone on the path, that branch that lay across the trail. And when you stumbled, you would have fallen headlong into the ditch except for the strong hand holding yours, the hand that you had been straining and pulling against the whole time you were walking together. 

Or remember when you wanted to dash across the street, or dilly dally while crossing, but the hand holding yours made you stop at the curb, look both ways, and then walk steadily across? Frustrating to stop and wait, right? 

Oh, we get it now that we’re older and we are the ones with the strong hand. We understand that we were being kept safe by the one holding our hand. That one knew the path better than we did. That one saw what we did not see coming. That there would always be obstacles but there was a way around, over, or through them if we had proper guidance. We just needed to stop trying to pull away, stop trying to resist instruction and enjoy the journey. 

I’m so thankful that God knows the path I take. He established the route. He laid it out. He points the way. And then, He joins me on the journey! What a Lord! When I encounter obstacles, He gets me through. And when I am afraid to travel on … when I fear what might be around the next corner, He holds my hand. My job? To delight in Him, trust and obey, and enjoy the journey wherever He takes me.  What peace there is in knowing that it’s not all up to me to figure out. God already knows the way. He’s been there before. Thank You, Jesus! 

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Blessings,

Ruth

 

Praying for a Miracle

 

A few months ago, Pete and I were on vacation when I learned that a missionary friend who lived near us in Africa had died. News of her death came just a few days after receiving word of another acquaintance passing. I was both sad and introspective as I reflected on this sudden and unexpected news.

Each day is a gift not to be taken for granted. We should not expect to have another, yet we do. 

We have expectations.

Life does not come with guarantees. But what we can know is that God has each of our days accounted for (Psalm 139:16) even though He has not revealed that number to us.

Why has He not?

·        Maybe so we will value each day as though it is our last - because it certainly could be!

·        Perhaps so we will use every opportunity to give voice to our faith – to tell others – since we cannot know if we will ever engage one another in conversation again.

·        Perhaps to encourage us to maintain right relationships with others – to right wrongs and, as much as it depends on us, to live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)

·        Maybe to heighten awareness of our own mortality, so we make certain of our eternal destiny.

·        Maybe so that we don’t leave important things undone, and so that we leave behind a legacy of faithfulness.

·        Maybe to prevent us getting bogged down with what is temporary, while forgetting what is permanent and eternal.

·        Maybe so that we don’t dwell on the wrong things, to the detriment of the right things.

More recently there was another death, this time it was a very close friend of mine, one of a small group of women friends, sisters really, that met together regularly for over twenty years. 

While she was sick we prayed. 

When she went into the hospital we prayed. 

When she was in ICU we prayed. 

We began praying for a miracle. And we weren’t the only ones. Many were praying, beseeching God on her behalf. 

When she passed away, I grieved and wrote this in my journal.

I asked God for a miracle. It seems that He said, “No.”

He did the total opposite of what I asked Him for.

But then again-

Perhaps He did the miracle I wanted - just in the way that He deemed best.

Maybe the miracle is in taking her home to Heaven, rather than leaving her here with us.

Maybe the miracle is in the healing of her cancer before she needed chemo.

Maybe the miracle is that He spared her from future suffering by taking her to glory.

Maybe the miracle is what He’ll do in the hearts of those who love her as He teaches us to trust Him -even when we don’t understand it - or like it.

Maybe the miracle is in the knowing that we are loved SO much by God that He does NOT give us what we think we want -

That He says “No” to our requests when He has something better in mind – even when we cannot see it.

I don’t see it yet.

Help me, God, just to trust you.

It seems I’m still learning.

 

Blessings,

Ruth

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted.”

LOVE ACTS

 

My granddaughter came over to bake cookies with me the other day. What a blessing it was to spend precious time with her. We have only so much time for memory making moments! This was certainly one of them.  I love that she gave of her time on a day off school to hang out with her grandmother!

Valentines’ Day is upon us already and with it comes talk and songs about love.  But what is love really?

Love is NOT just a feeling.

Love is a decision, an act of the will. We can choose to love.

Love is demonstrated through ACTION.

The best illustration of love is found in the Bible in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  

God loved, so He gave.

Romans 5:8 goes even further in describing God’s love. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  That is the ultimate demonstration of love, a willingness to die for (in place of, as a substitute for) someone else.  John writes, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”  1 John 3:16

Wow! If we know Jesus and appreciate the way God loves us, we are called to love others – putting their lives and their needs ahead of our own.  Imagine how loving others like that – his/her life and needs ahead of our own - would revolutionize our marriages, our families, our homes, our communities – Loving like Jesus!

Valentine’s Day is ONE day set aside for expressions of love, but EVERY DAY should be Valentine’s Day for those who believe in Jesus and want to follow Him.

• Love Decides
• Love Acts
• Love Gives and Forgives.

Let’s Love like Jesus!

You are loved,

Ruth

John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”