Sweet Words from Maine

The Heron and the Gull…

Great Blue Heron and Gull on the Taunton River, Sullivan, Maine

Although these two creatures are members of the same taxonomic family, they are quite different. Seemingly respectful of personal boundaries, they are hanging out but with no visible interaction with each other. The heron is intent on fishing for dinner, but the curious gull is paddling around the heron without disturbing it. One wonders if the gull admires or envy’s its odd looking, distant relative?

John Maxwell posed an interesting statement with an equally interesting answer: “What happens when you compare yourself to others? Usually it’s one of two things: either you perceive the other person to be far ahead of you and you feel discouraged, or you perceive yourself to be better than the other person, and you become proud Neither of those is good for you, and neither will help you to grow.”

We do have genetic road maps that influence our personality, physical traits and abilities, intellectual capacity, susceptibility to disease, and longevity. Genes make us different and limited individuals with merits and weaknesses. We are also emotional, relational beings who are influenced by encouragements, opinions, and criticisms from those who may or may not have our best interests in mind. Words are powerful, and we often allow ourselves to be buoyed or victimized and defined by the judgment of others. We may be like the character in All Creatures Great and Small who said he had spent half of his life trying to please others and the other half worrying about whether he had! We are born with realities, but we assume a “reality” of self worth from our interactions and experiences.

Even though cultures and societies or individuals may ascribe value to certain abilities or attributes, God does not. Although many elect not to believe in God, we should remember that we all make inferences from evidences and may arrive at different conclusions about origins and the existence of God. Assuming from the evidences that God exists, there is a reality which is larger than us and which has nothing to do with human opinions and assessments.

As Creator, “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:9) He views humanity without bias for appearance, capabilities, origins, social status, race, gender or morality! Judeo-Christian belief holds that God is not only Creator and evident in creation but that He is also present with us. He not only exists and upholds the universe with physical laws but also with spiritual laws! If we disobey the law of gravity by attempting to fly off a cliff without assistive devices we will meet disaster. If we fail to recognize who we are meant to be as spiritual beings, we risk the ultimate disaster of missing God’s redemptive blessings.

Scripture directs us to the reality of who we are as creatures endowed by our Creator with the ability to shine with His character. However, our fallen, willful natures make choices that tarnish that image leaving our unrighteous, imperfect souls alienated from God and our bodies dying. Only God could overcome those obstacles and change that reality by forgiveness and redemption and restoration. That is why Christ in his incarnation and perfection paid the ultimate price for our sins, to cover us in his righteousness, to defeat death, and to give promise of eternal life by rising in a glorious resurrection.

If we see our fallen world through the eyes of God, we will find a lover’s heart, a savior’s enduring and merciful loyalty, and a hero’s sacrifice for us. God’s love is so immense it encompasses all people, even His enemies. Christ died “once for all.” He desires our ultimate good and that all would know Him and to enjoy His blessings. Although God’s grace is evident in every good thing we enjoy in life whether or not we recognize it as such, He desires to rescue us from ourselves and our fears and has done everything possible to save us. It becomes our choice to believe or not.

Lavishly loved and valued, we can rest confidently in the fact that God loves us just the way we are. We cannot make Him love us more than He does. We don’t need to be threatened or discouraged or defeated by destructive opinions or misguided judgments. It is not necessary nor good to seek self justification from the misfortune and defeats of others or to be jealous of superior performances and successes of others.

We can be free and satisfied to be who we are created to be whether a heron or a gull!

Why should I Rejoice and be Glad in this Day?

One day the Psalmist awoke feeling good! With gratitude in his heart and a song on his lips, he lifted his voice in praise: ^“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) That may not have been the attitude of the lobsterman who owned this boat!

In all honesty, that wasn’t how the Psalmist had been feeling either. When taken in its context, his praise and joy arose from the realization that God was providentially working in his life through a long stretch of troublesome, dangerous experiences and difficult days. “All nations surrounded me; …They surrounded me on every side…They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns…” His rejoicing was a conscious decision to praise instead of whining or being angry about what he had gone through.

We have our battles. They may not be physical confrontations, but we know what it is to be threatened or overwhelmed and at the mercy of situations that may or may not be our fault but have escalated beyond our control. We have awakened with dread and misgivings-deflated and depressed by failures, tough circumstances, afflictions, hard and unwelcomed work stress, disappointments, betrayals, family turmoil, disrupted relationships, and losses that are irreparable. We have known desperation! And there was no rejoicing!

However, the Psalmist could rejoice because he believed in God’s immutable character. He focused on his relationship with God rather than his emotions or his circumstances. Three times he declared that God’s “steadfast love endures forever”.He also said, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” “The LORD is on my side as my helper.” That knowledge and confidence strengthened him to push through his trial.

Whatever the reasons for his predicaments, including the possibility of God’s discipline, our songster knew he had not been forsaken. He was safe in God’s gracious, merciful protective love. That is a major Scriptural theme for those who choose God. The New Testament letter to the Romans beautifully lays this out for believers: “…nothing can ever separate (you) from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate (you) from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate (you) from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

The Psalmist also knew that no human had the ability or the persistence to carry him through his ordeal. God was his only hope. “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”Drawing on the power of God’s name in the midst of conflict and fear, he cried to God for help to do what he could not do for himself. “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.” “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD…I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.”

Our Psalmist has taken us into the heart of the Gospel as he asks for God’s righteousness and salvation. Just as God saved him, Christ answers our need to be righteous and to be free from the shame and condemnation of sin and from the fear of death. His righteousness and atonement for mankind are foundational for redemption. He is our righteousness,. (1 Corinthians 1:30) And He is heaven’s gate. He is “ the door. If anyone enters by (by him), he will be saved….” (John 10:9)

These truths are captured in a lovely contemporary “Psalm”: “In Christ alone my hope is found/ He is my light, my strength, my song/This cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm/What heights of love, what depths of peace/When fears are stilled, when strivings cease/My comforter, my all in all/ Here in the love of Christ I stand“ (lyrics by Stuart Townsend)

“Rejoice and be glad” because we can rely upon the consistent character and good purposes of God. If God is for us, who can stand against His redemptive and resurrection powers?

“Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms.” Psalm 68:19 “

Dawn’s Renewal….

As earth and our personal coordinates slowly turn toward the rising, warming sun, each dawn’s light brings a sense of change and hope- a new day, a new year, or a new era. Visions, understandings, and directions change as different ideas, realizations, and expanded possibilities develop. Yet, there is something reassuringly constant, something “primal” underlying the breath taking wonder and soul touching beauty of a new day’s dawn.

In the early 1970’s, Cat Stevens popularized an old hymn whose lyrics captured the arrival of every dawn with a sense of the lingering freshness, purity, and glory of creation’s first morning:

“Morning has broken like the first morning/ Blackbird has spoken like the first bird/ Praise for the singing/ Praise for the morning/ Praise for them springing fresh from the word”

There it is! The faithful, sovereign hand and voice of God is seen and heard anew in every early morning light! “Praise for the morning” is given to the One who gives us each day, the One who speaks and creates miraculous and beautiful things. His word is “like a lamp shining in a dark place”. He is the One who “stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit.” ( Zachariah 12:1) He continually speaks into our lives because He created and cares about our souls even to the point of taking our sinful natures and redeeming them through the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross.

All of us have experienced long “dark nights of the soul”, those journys through the darkness of despair, doubt, hurt, grief, and disappointment when relief seems so far away. The Psalmist experienced those emotions. He was distressed by earthly entanglements, diversions, and intrusions but found comfort in an enduring trust in God’s ultimate mercy and care. He learned that “weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” and intimated that those dark moments serve a great purpose– that of an awareness for the need for courageous faith and for an appreciation of God’s presence, strength, and comfort. From God’s loving faithfulness, we discover the joy of relationship with Him. “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever! (Psalm 30)

Had Cat Stevens recorded all the lyrics of Morning has Broken, we would have heard more about great hope in the sovereignty of God who established those “first” things so we could continually discover the fresh beginnings and good promises of each day.

“Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven/Like the first dew fall on the first grass/Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden/Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight/Mine is the morning/Born of the one Light Eden saw play/Praise with elation, praise every morning/God’s recreation of the new day “( Eleanor Farieon, 1931)

God is the God of re-creation. Not only is He in the business of renewing days but also of imparting human spirits with new life through His grace and our belief. “In Christ He was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s sins against them.” If anyone is in Christ, the old is gone, the new has come.” (2Corinthians 5:19,17) Belief revives our spirits just as the dawn renews a day.

What a gracious, merciful God, who gives us this gem of a promise: “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Beneath Change…

A recent poll of Americans found them to be exhausted and fearful and confused about the future. Sometimes it seems that “time” is filled with a jumbled, disconnected series of stories without a cohesive meaning.

“Time” does change things, or things change with time. Seasons pass. Years pile up. Successes and happy times come and go. Changes may be filled with joy or despair, readily apparent and dramatic, or barely perceptible and overlooked. But “time” holds both personal and cosmic trajectories.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox captured the uncertainties of “change” in her poem by that name: “ Is it so very strange/ That hearts, like all things underneath God’s skies/Should sometimes feel the influence of change?/The birds, the flowers, the foliage of the trees/The stars which seem so fixed, and so sublime/Vast continents, and the eternal seas/ All these do change, with ever-changing time.

The face our mirror shows us year on year/ Is not the same; our dearest aim, or need,/Our lightest thought, or feeling, hope, or fear/ All, all the law of alternation heed./How can we ask the human heart to stay/Content with fancies of Youth’s earliest hours?/The year outgrows the violets of May/Although, maybe, there are no fairer flowers.” (portions of the poem, “Change”, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

Our safety, health, economic stability, national security, affections, and commitments are fragile, not guaranteed, and waver if unattended. However, in the background of human existence, God’s commitment has remained purposeful and unfaltering because His nature is immutable. Nothing about God’s nature changes. His holiness, His sovereign power, His unwavering redemptive love, and His principles for living well are constants. His Word lives and endures and does not mutate with the follies and philosophies of culture. It is firmly established. (Psalm 119:89) (Isaiah 40:8) (Matthew 5:17-19) ( Matthew 7:24-27) (1 Peter 1:25)

Even when tested by Israel, God loved them and told them “…I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6) Those profound and reassuring words echo throughout history as a message for all of mankind, a message which He proved through the extreme price paid for the world’s redemption through the sacrificial death of Christ for our sins. And Jesus Christ’s purposes do not change. He is “ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”(Hebrew 13:6)

In 1882, George Matheson, a Scottish parish minister, expressed this same thought differently but beautifully: “O Love that will not let me go/I rest my weary soul in thee/I give thee back the life I owe, /that in thine ocean depths its flow/ may richer, fuller be.“

Over 400 years ago Isaac Watts wrote “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, a beautiful, majestic hymn which we sing in our churches today : “Before the hills in order stood/or earth received its frame/from everlasting you are God, to endless years the same.// O God, our help in ages past/ our hope for years to come/ still be our guard while troubles last/ and our eternal home.

That is tracking into time’s highest trajectory for all creation….Underneath and beyond personal dreams and successes, beyond altruism and common good, God wants our weary souls to know Him and enjoy Him forever. He has done everything possible to make that possible as He redeems His creation.

Christmas Light

A Light in the Storm, Prospect Harbor, Maine

Christmas is a season of lights. Flickering candles brighten darkened windows and warm mantels. Artificial lights decorate trees and yards and parks with colorful displays. Brilliantly lit stars are everywhere. The world seems warmer, kinder, and brighter as goodwill, generosity, and cheerful expressions of love reflect the spirit of Christ’s advent, that wondrous moment when “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world^”

In that amazing, inexplicable miracle, God’s transcendent love was poured out on floundering, weary humanity. “The light of the world” lay swaddled in a manger in the dark recessess of a Bethlehem stable. Jesus “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:9-14) The long awaited Messiah had been born. Now there was more than a glimmer of hope for a discouraged, suffering world.

The good news first came in a frightening burst of light as an angel delivered a startling message “of great joy for all people” to some tired Shepherds as they watched over their sheep in the dark fields of Bethlehem. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ” And suddenly their was a heavenly host singing and praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Although at its deepest level Jesus’ advent reveals humanity’s desperate need for a merciful, grace filled redemptive way forward to reconciliation with God, he has never received full acceptance as the Savior of the world. Centuries of evil forces and moral rebellion, of angry and jealous men, of distracting and detracting religions, of sufferings and injustices, and of doubt filled minds and disbelieving hearts have threatened to devalue, discredit, blur, obscure and obliterate him. Yet regardless of how unpopular he may be or how drawn away from him we become, his light constantly shines even through the worst circumstances or the most aggressive unbelief. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5) Perhaps the first written Christmas carol expresses that. “Jesus Light of All Nations” was supposedly penned after Constantine recognized Christianity and halted its persecution.

Christmas carols may be simple but soul touching in and of themselves. Others are majestic and particularly beautiful when their back stories are known. Not long after the loss of his beloved wife, H.W.Longfellow spent several weeks looking for his son who had been wounded and was septic from an infection sustained in the Civil War. On Christmas day 1864, from a grieving , anxious heart and in troubling circumstances, he penned hope through his anguish:

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

In a time of personal tragedy and huge national division, the Person of Christmas held the answer of peace on earth and God’s good will for humanity. There is no other legitimate answer. Just as God gave physical laws governing physical light and life, men’s souls are governed by spiritual laws which give spiritual light and life.

The Gospel continues to enlighten and change lives. It “is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2Corinthians 4:6) The cost of our salvation, the marvelous grace of God, and the glory and determination and enduring, patient love of God will be forever visible not only in the tender face of a baby but in Christ’s bloodied face distorted in agony for us on the cross.

Christmas is the beginning of a beautiful but epically sad and tragic human journey. However, Jesus could never have been spent his life with more meaningful and selfless purpose—that of being God’s love. God’s love entered time to walk life’ journey with us. Jesus’ life remains crucial to humanity’s outcome. His light takes us from darkness to eternal hope.

He can deservedly and truthfully claim: “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12 ) That includes the promise that even though one will experience physical death one will have eternal life if one chooses to live and believe in him.

What better reason could there be for a Merry Christmas?

Joy All the Time?

Sunset, Sorrento, Maine,

We all experience brief times when words cannot do justice to what we internally experience. A breathtaking mountain summit vista, the monotonous crashing of surf, a whip-o-will’s twilight call, a warm fire shared with a friend or book, a beautiful symphony, the weird laughter of loons echoing through a still, dark night, or an awesome sunset may evoke a surprising, unexplained, physical sensation springing from a deep inner sense of “beyondness.”

In those moments we become aware that life is sacred, that our comos is ordered and filled with meaning. Our spirits touch something beyond ourselves, something grander and more magnificent, something beyond awe, something longed for and meaningful but beyond explanation-a taste of joy.

In our search for “beyondness”, we may find ourselves stuck in a desperate, dysfunctional, misguided pursuit of a happiness which eludes us. We struggle for wealth or power, prestige, and status thinking that they will fulfill us. As we search, we may even break moral codes or find ourselves facing addictions or the depressing disappointment of meaningless achievements.

Although impossible to define and difficult to describe, joy is deeper, stronger, and more persistent than happiness, which is fragile, brief and situational. Joy isn’t lessened by adversity because it rests in meaning and purpose not circumstances. In Scripture it is best defined by a relationship with God, Nehemiah reminded a suffering Jewish nation that “The Joy of the lord is your strength.” (Ne 8:10)

Jesus lived and taught that. Despite what it cost him, Christ joyfully endured the cross because he loved us and lived within the will and plan of His heavenly Father. (Hebrews 12:2). He came to repair human brokenness, to reconcile mankind to God, and to restore our joy. He showed us that joy is found in loving relationships: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 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. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:9-12

The Apostle Paul’s life exemplified that joy which is very evident in his letter written to the Philippians from his prison cell. He found God’s grace sufficient and cause for continuous gratitude. The present day Persecuted Church demonstrates that as well as it fully embraces a joyful faith despite mistreatment, ostracization, and even torture.

The fullness of joy, the subtle, persistent background against which life can be lived with hope, is not the result of cause and effect but is sourced in love. Jesus, whose birth was announced with the fact that he would bring joy to all people, is evidence that God loves us and gives us peace, contentment, wonder, assurance, gratitude, and a place within His kingdom.

You make known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence. (Psalm 16:11)

Optimistic?All the Time?

Undaunted by fog and inclement weather, the captain of this sailing vessel has confidently hoisted his sails; his ship is underway despite minimal visibility and the hidden danger of unseen harbor islands, shoals, and lobster boats. Undoubtedly, the captain’s knowledge, skill, and experiences contribute to his optimism.

In today’s world, division, negativity, and depression frequently diminish our sense of optimism. However, Scripture has this great word— “hope.” It is a concept which echos throughout Biblical historical events as far back as man’s fall in Genesis. It is based on the character of God and conveys the idea that we can have a confident expectation for a good outcome.

Some champions of faith lived pressured but undaunted by circumstances. Joshua echoed Moses’ confidence as Israel faced hostilities in the land promised them: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) (Deuteronomy 31) Jeremiah proclaimed God’s goodness when God’s children faced trouble: ” For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Nahum assured them that “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” (Nahum 1:7) And Hebrews 11 contains a compilation of both important and ordinary men and women who lived extraordinarily courageous, powerful lives of faith. There are patriarchs, judges, kings, prophets, notables and nonentities whose faith was costly but confident. They held to the promises of God even when logic failed and they faced difficulties, doubts, fear, distain, mockery and martyrdom.

Although fully aware of his own fate, Jesus encouraged and comforted the broken hearted and championed the oppressed. In spite of tragic suffering, he joyfully fulfilled God’s singular, burdensome, trial ridden course for him. Even while nailed and dying on a criminal’s cross and paying the agonizing, horrendous price for humanity’s sins, he not only promised Paradise to the criminal who was dying beside him and who had professed confidence in him but he also declared that the requirements for humanity’s redemption had been satisfied. It was finished. There would be no condemnation for those who would believe. Could there be a greater confidence than that? He had accomplished what he had promised Nicodemus:“ God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Could there be a greater optimistic outlook for dying humanity than that? Eternal “hope”!

Abuse, poverty, lack of opportunity, suffering, grief, opposition, and impossibilities pull us inward. However, hope draws us away from ourselves and our problems and connects us with God. The Psalmist captured that concept: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.” (Psalm 42:5)

Hope is a supreme confidence in God’s character, in His love for us, in His redemption, and in His presence with us. No matter how dire the situation , no matter how far astray the wandering, no matter how evil the heart, God is present when we hurt, loves the troubled soul, willingly redeems the repentant heart, and transforms the mind.

Despite questions and uncertainties, we can hoist our sails with praise every morning and confidently cling to the “riggin’s” – to God’s principles, promises, and loving providence. “We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.” (Ps 33:20-22)

Whose Footprints?

This is the time of year in Maine when one is more likely to see footprints in the snow rather than in the sand. However, any footprint is a reminder of Henry W. Longfellow’s words: “ We can make our lives sublime/ And, departing, leave behind us/Footprints on the sands of time.” (from A Psalm of Life)

Men and women of determined mind have impacted culture for good or for evil ever since Adam and Eve. Although we may have outgrown our childhood superheroes, we continue to be inspired by the strong character, generous hearts, and courageous living of those who work for personal and common good. We value determination, endurance, and conviction especially when they involve sacrifice or an effort to rally others to achieve good and even great things.

However, history has also proven that our loyalties and affections may be naively captivated by evil scoundrels, by antiheroes of the worse kind, who can deceive and manipulate us into the most depraved depths of inhumanity and who leave terrible, indelible marks on psyches and societies. Careful discernment about what we believe or whom we esteem and choose to follow is crucial to personal and national wellbeing. We are always in danger of being misled by cultural delusions that accompany prestige, power, success or celebrity. And we can easily center our world views around the many respected voices of humanistic and religious ideologies.

Of all the distinctive, influential, and crucial historical voices the most pivotal is that of Jesus Christ, a poor, humble, itinerant Jewish Rabbi whose teachings and powers were initially ignored or denied or disparaged by the religious elite. Few recommended or promoted him during his life time; those who did were maligned or persecuted. He received no accolades, no royal recognition, no Nobel Peace prizes; Incredibly his miracles, including raising the dead, were dismissed. So, what validates his importance?

Jesus’ name and teachings continue to turn political, religious and spiritual worlds upside down. But more importantly, after several thousand years, Jesus’ words still impact individuals. The Apostle John told his readers “… whoever keeps (Christ’s) word, in him truly the love of God is perfected…and (you) ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:5-6) The Apostle Peter took that idea to a very practical and uncomfortable level: “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.” (1Peter 2:21-25)

Walking through the Gospels with Jesus is transformative as we listen to his thoughts on organized religion and as he addresses large crowds, teaches small groups, and mentors individuals. We become an audience to discussions with skeptics and seekers and to interviews with humble sinners and arrogant religious intellectuals. We witness healing of bodies and the changed souls of men and women at all levels of society. Peter knew the spiritual healing Christ gives and testified that “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1Peter 2:24)

So, why is Jesus still important?

An old hymn, Footsteps of Jesus, gives us a clue: “Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling, /’Come, follow Me!’/ And we see where Thy footprints falling/ lead us to Thee.” (M. Slade 1871) Christ leads us out of our personal muck onto solid ground. He takes the hopeless, the helpless, and the faithless on an unending journey to love, forgiveness, redemption, and hope, and to the promise of a glorious day of life forever.

Thankful in All Things? Really?

Fog Bank and Breaking Sun, Sullivan, Maine

Sometimes it is difficult to be thankful. Life isn’t always easy. Sometimes we become battered, beaten down, and immobilized. Sometimes the way ahead becomes too heavy, dark, and obscured by uncertainties, difficulties. impossibilities, disappointments, fear, or grief. Sometimes we are enshrouded and overwhelmed with despair. Yet, God promises hope and strength in our despair and weakened states. He does not minimize but understands our angst and has so much compassion that He gave His son to redeem us and our circumstances.

When we turn our pain filled faces, furrowed brows, fear filled thoughts, and empty hearts away from our troubles and seek the light of His face, the reality of His love shines through the murkiness. Scripture conveys the idea that God is invested in us, is constantly aware of us, cares about us, and can be found in our circumstance. It is crucial that we remember Him and His mighty redemptive acts on our behalf.

Thankfulness is a running Biblical theme. Joshua gave Israel that hope when he told them: ^“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Christ gave that same assurance and comfort to his disciples: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”( Matthew 28:20) When speaking at Athens, the Apostle Paul proclaimed that God “is actually not far from each one of us, for In him we live and move and have our being..” (Acts 17:27-28 (ESV) The Psalmist reminds us that “This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it.” King David exhorted his people to^“Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.. (1 Chronicles 16:11-12) And the Apostle Paul urges us to “ give thanks in all circumstances.”

Gratitude is hardly the first thought we have when facing difficulties or injustices. The Apostle Peter addresses that idea with the early Christians as they suffered persecution. He encouraged them to be watchful, to stand firm in the faith, and to not become ensnared by anxiety but to cast their anxieties on God because He cared for them: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:7-11)

As our Sovereign, God is for us. He gives us good things. Through Christ He experienced all the temptations and trials known to man. He remembers that we are but fragile souls wrapped in bits of dust and promises to help us deal with our complexities, anxieties, and confusion. Turning toward Him brings us to the light and warmth of our Creator’s grace and love. Even in dark times, we can trust His character as He shepherds us above the valley mists to still waters and green pastures while we sing the Psalmist’s song: “Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good.” His mercies are new everyday. They bring assurance, strength, comfort, peace and joy even in the midst of tumult.