Pearl Harbor…A reminder of Sacrifice that Requires Gratitude

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Today is the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941.  It began 80 years ago at 7:55 am.  If you have visited the Memorial over the sunken Arizona where the sailors are still entombed, you are sobered by their sacrifice.  War is a terrible thing yet through it men rise to honor and sacrifice for their fellow men.   Over 2,400 were killed and 1,000 wounded that day.  The most causalities occurred on the USS Arizona as it was hit 4 times by Japanese bombers.  A piece of trivia- 37 confirmed pairs or trios of brothers were assigned to the Arizona and this battle cost 62 of these 77 men their lives and 23 sets of brothers died.  I can’t imagine the grief those families suffered all in one day.   President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it as “a date that will live in infamy.”  Just like September 11, 2001 will live on in our minds so should December 7th.

05 Duty, Honor, Sacrifice

Say a prayer of gratitude today for the sacrifices of the men who died this day so long ago and for the men and women who continue to sacrifice their lives, time, talents and family time for our freedom.

Seeking to honor their sacrifice and service.

Linda

Advent…Elizabeth Thankful for God’s Kindness, What about You?

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How do you react to unexpected news or changes in your life? In today’s portion of the Advent journey, we see Elizabeth’s response to her unexpected pregnancy? She was advanced in age and had long since given up hope of having a child. God miraculously provided and we see her humble, thankful response in Luke 1:23-25. “When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

Just as many women today do not announce their pregnancy until the first trimester is completed, Elizabeth went into seclusion giving herself time to adjust to this new life within her. Her joy is evident in her words and she gives praise and credit to the Lord. The sigma of not having children was more than just being deprived of the joy of being a parent as people also thought the woman was not favored by God. Elizabeth’s joy at realizing her dream of having a child and being favored by God to have a son with a specific purpose was overwhelming. She chose to thank God for His attribute of kindness. She recognized God’s kindness in sending her a child and also his promised Messiah to come. As believers in Jesus, we see this as stated in Titus 3:4-7 “But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” Elizbeth saw God’s love and mercy towards her, His generosity and grace. Her whole being was thankful. We too see this same kindness towards us in Jesus. God’s provision of salvation and hope is overwhelming and filled with His grace.

What about you? What makes you joyous and thankful to your very soul? Is it your relationship with God? Is it God’s expressions of love, joy and grace towards you? Mediate on your attitude and ask God to create in you a spirit of whole thankfulness so you may enjoy this season of great joy!

Linda

Light the Faith Candle on This Second Sunday of Advent

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The second Sunday of Advent is when the candle of faith which is often called the Bethlehem candle is lit. It proclaims the blessing to come because of God’s great love for us, by sending Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. This week’s readings we will focus on Elizabeth’s reaction to learning she will have a child in her old age, the angel’s appearance to Mary, Mary’s response to the angel’s message, the birth of John to Elizabeth and Zechariah, and their reactions to his birth besides the fact that dad could now talk! Prepare your hearts and minds to reach into scripture and discover new meaning for yourself as you read the scripture with faith. Faith pleases God and through our faith in Jesus He blesses us with His love and peace. He also gives us understand and insights into His Word- so be prepared to be blessed this week.

On this second Sunday of Advent, let your heart and mind dwell on the words of Psalm 121. Let them fill you with joy and anticipation that God has all things under control.

I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

Blessings as you enjoy the season!

Linda

Advent…Unbelief or Belief, Your choice

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Scripture tells us that Zachariah was a godly man, followed the law and was blameless. He was a man of faith and lived his life devoted to serving God. What happened next surprised me, but when I think of my own faithlessness and doubts it shouldn’t. Zechariah let doubt and unbelief take hold of his thoughts and mind and here is the result. Luke 1:18-22 from The Message translation.

18 Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.” 19-20 But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”

21-22 Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn’t speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people.

Zachariah heard the message from Gabriel about the son that would be born to he and Elizabeth, and he did not believe God capable of making that happen. He let the fact that he and Elizabeth were old be greater in his mind than the resources and power of God. Gabriel saw and heard his unbelief. Unbelief is sin and sin has consequences before Almighty God. Gabriel did not strike him dead but touched him in a way that Zachariah would know beyond a doubt that God was in control and He is not to be doubted. Later in our story Mary questions Gabriel, but her questions do not come from unbelief or doubt in God’s ability to make it happen like Zachariah. God is okay with questions but not with unbelief. So, Zachariah’s ‘punishment’ would be his inability to speak, since the words of doubt came out of his mouth, until the baby was born. My guess is that immediately Zachariah knew his error in judgement and went from doubt to faith in a heartbeat. Now he had to live with the consequences of his unbelief until the birth of his son.

The crowds were waiting outside the temple for the priest to come out from offering prayers and they immediately knew something had happened to Zachariah. His gesturing showed he could not speak but probably there was a look on his face that revealed his wonder at the encounter with an angelic being as they concluded he had seen a vision from heaven. What outward signs are evident in your countenance that you have been with God after a time of prayer? Does your prayer time give you peace and hope? Do you allow this peace to be expressed towards others?

This real life story of godly Zachariah speaks to my heart as I see my own doubts and fears lived out by him. I am reminded of the scene from Mark 9:23-24 where Jesus helps a mute, demon possessed child brought by his father after the disciples had failed to cure him. He came seeking Jesus’ help and wondered if He could cure him. “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

I am so with the father of this child as I too pray for Jesus to help my unbelief. Prayer changes things and helps us to solidify our faith as God speaks to our hearts and minds and reassures us of who He is. When you find yourself overcome with doubt, be like this father, pray for Jesus to help you overcome your unbelief. He will answer as you seek to know and trust in Him.

Linda

Advent…. No Fear!

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Today’s scripture from Luke 1:11-17 includes one of the No Fear statements given by God. In writing Fearless Living, I saw that each of these No Fear opportunities in scripture packed a powerful message from God. He intends for us to live fearlessly keeping our focus upon Him.

While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Zechariah was going about his priestly duties in the temple just as we go about our daily tasks. But God, intervened into his life with a message of hope and deliverance. God wanted Zechariah to be encouraged not fearful. He wanted him to know that good news was arriving and that He had heard their prayers for a child. It affirmed to Zechariah that God hears our prayers, knows the desires of our heart and had good things planned for his life which included a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) God’s message to him was one of amazing hope for both he and Elizabeth and the nation of Israel. Their child would help turn hearts back to God. What greater blessing for a parent than to see their child living for God and fulfilling the purpose to which God has called them.

Where is God giving you hope? Where is God speaking to you, nudging you through the Holy Spirit as we begin this Advent season? Do you have someone He wants you to connect or reconnect with or is He nudging you to an act of kindness on their behalf? God wants us to live fearlessly by walking in trust and obedience to His call. Will you seek to listen as God desires to intervene in your life?

Linda

Advent…actions of godly people

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The Advent story has many parts and today we begin with Zachariah and Elizabeth. Their story is found in Luke 1:5-11 and will continue tomorrow.

“ During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old. It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering.” 

To me there are several key words in this passage that tell us a lot about Zachariah and Elizabeth. They were both descendants of Aaron and therefore in the priestly line. Zachariah worked in the temple when it was his time to serve, and he did as he was assigned. They were godly people who lived lives that were pleasing to God and kept His commandments. They were advanced in years and childless. In those days being childless you were looked down upon and it was considered shameful. Because scripture points out they were upstanding and blameless before God we know this was not due to sin on their part. God was getting ready to do a miraculous work in their lives at a time when conceiving a child would have been thought impossible and could only be attributed to God if it happened.

If your family, friends and neighbors were to scrutinize your life- work, actions, words- would they consider you godly? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers that they were to be the light of the world. Matthew 5:14-15 ““You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” Are you letting your light shine for Jesus? Do others see Jesus in your kindness, love and compassion?

As you consider Zachariah and Elizabeth, think how they must have seemed to those around them to be consider blameless and upright. Ask Jesus to empower you through His Holy Spirit to shine His light to those around you today.

Linda

Advent 2021 Begins… my word is Joy!

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I love the season of Advent as it means renewal, hope, a blessed message from God, His love, redemption and Jesus our Savior all rolled into the story of the season. Personally, December 1 brings memories of my daughter’s arrival from Korea at the age of 3 months. We had been planning and waiting for her arrival but did not know exactly when it would happen. We got a call the night before that she was arriving the morning of December 1 at LAX. We hurriedly booked flights and made our way to Los Angeles. It was a scary but gloriously exciting time for our family and a day I will never forget. Seeing and holding her for the first time, bringing her home to Oakland and having friends and family members there to greet us was amazing. That day and that experience was indelibly imprinted in my memory and on my heart.

The story of Advent, Jesus’ miraculous coming to earth as a babe, is another story that always evokes memories for each of us as we encounter the living Christ in our lives. We are reminded of His humility and sacrifice in coming for us, leaving the grandeur and power of heaven for our sake. It is a sacrifice that imprints itself into the heart of every believer and helps us relive and rejoice each Advent season. Jesus is the reason for this season of the year and what joy He brings to our lives.

I pray that as we journey through this Christmas story of Jesus’ birth and as we experience the many people both earthly and heavenly: that we will be impacted by His coming in a new and fresh way, that we will focus in on the emotions and feeling this story evokes and that each story part will lead us into a deeper understanding of God. May we see God’s hand in each person and circumstance. May it lead us to realize that God is with us and in our lives just as He was that first Christmas.

I’m looking for the joy of the season. This year my verse was Habakkuk 3:18 “yet I will rejoice in the Lord;  I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” and Nehemiah 8:10b “for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Be strong, be filled and Be joyful this season! Jesus is reason enough for JOY!

Linda

The Blackest Friday = Profit for you and me!

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I was thinking this morning about the designation ‘Black Friday’.  It seems that since the 1950’s the day after Thanksgiving has been called ‘Black Friday’.  It began as a term to describe the crowds,  like the street was black with pedestrians.  It then became a day  to retailers signifying when they began to turn a profit and moved from the ‘red’ into the ‘black’ as the volume of their sales increased.   In the Bible the blackest Friday would be the day of the crucifixion. It was the day when the skies turned black and darkness covered the land.  “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.  Luke 23:44-46   The blackness of that Friday is a picture of the sin that Jesus bore on the cross for you and me.  His death on that darkest day brought the greatest profit for us.  John 12:46 puts it in perspective for us as to why that blackest of Friday’s had to happen.  “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

risen

Even on that blackest of Fridays, the people were rushing around preparing for their Sabbath.  Since they could do no work on the Sabbath, they hurried to get Jesus down from the cross,  buried and settled in a borrowed tomb.  Mark 15:42-47 describes these events done in haste.  After the Sabbath was over, several women came back to the tomb to anoint Jesus with spices as his burial had been done in such a hurry they felt they had not been able to treat his body properly on that Friday.  “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.”  Mark 16:1  Their walk to the grave site was done in sadness but their return was joyous as the learned of Jesus’ resurrection and defeat of sin and death.  An angel spoke to them when they got there, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”  What joyous news they had to share!

colossians 1 ;21

That blackest Friday brought death to Jesus and  burial brought the greatest profit to you and me.  Colossians 1:21-22 explains where we were on the black Friday and where we are now because of it.  “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,”    That was the the biggest gain or profit for mankind ever in history.  Christ reconciled us to God so that we can be in communion with Him and have our sin’s forgiven.   We are free to live a life in Christ that is pleasing to God and that is free from the penalty of death brought on by sin.  That Black Friday was the best one in history for you and me.

As you venture out today to do some shopping, think about that blackest of Friday’s and how much you gained through Christ.  Praise Him as you do.

Linda

P.S. I have posted this piece several times on Black Friday. It is a message I need to remind myself of especially before the Christmas Season. It helps to keep my focus on Christ and not on the world. Hope it helps you too.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Heart

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As I conclude this year’s Thanksgiving month of thanks, I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! May the day be filled with thanks to the God who provides all we have and need. I chose as today’s verses Colossians 3:15-17. Let the Word of God bring to mind the many things you have to be thankful for and to create in you a growing attitude of gratitude towards Almighty God.

15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“

Have a blessed day thanking your heavenly Father, thanking Jesus, and thanking His indwelling Holy Spirit. Let your praises of Thanks be a sweet aroma towards Him.

Linda

Faithful God is There for me!

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This final day before Thanksgiving, let us consider Psalm 91:9-16. The reason God protects us spiritually is because He loves us and we recognize Him. We claim Him and He claims us. Since we are not perfect we can cling to 2 Timothy 2:13 “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” It is in God’s character to be faithful always. Let these words of promise sink in to your soul and give you more reasons to be thankful today.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

I have underlined our part in this- faith in Almighty God, holding fast to His love and calling or asking Him for help. The rest thankfully is all God’s part: being a refuge, protecting me with His angels, allowing nothing or no one to take our salvation away (John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”), rescuing me from trouble, long life and salvation (John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”.) These are things only Almighty God can provide for you and me. Let them be added to your thanksgiving list today!

Linda