Tag: focus

Thank Goodness, God Preserves!

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After Zechariah’s imposed silence for his unbelief, he bursts out in ‘song’, so to speak, when John is named. He recalls how God has provided for and preserved His people in generations past just as He promised. His prophecy is recorded in Luke 1:67-80 but we will take just the first portion today.

Luke 1:67-75 “And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Zechariah extols God for His keeping of his promises to David, being their redeemer, sending prophets, saving them from their enemies, showing mercy to their forefathers, keeping the covenant He made with Abraham, providing times and places where they could serve Him without fear and always being holy and righteous. Looking at this list in Zechariah’s prophecy, I am reminded how God is our Preserver. He preserved the children of Israel and He will preserve us too. When we trust in Christ, God will continue to do the good work He started in us. Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God preserves our lives for His purpose, and will see us through life and preserves our salvation. I love John 10:28“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Once we belong to Him, He does not let go!

As we look back in history with Zechariah, we see God preserved the nation of Israel to be a beacon of His light to the world. Jesus called himself in John 8:12 ” “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” God will always preserve His light. Zechariah knew that the light of God that was coming would be powerful and would not be overcome.

Do you see God as the preserver of your faith and hope? When I think of a preserver, a life preserver comes to mind. David had a lot of times when he called upon God to preserve him- in battle, in his fight for the throne, in his personal relationships. Psalm 97:10“O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm116:6 “The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.” Psalm 31:23 “Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.” David knew that God was his lifeline and keeping his focus upon Him was essential to life. Jesus is our lifeline and our hope for the future. I love the focus in Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Stick with the preserver, He will see you through.

Linda

I’ve got my Word, Now it is your turn! 2025

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Have you ever thought of having a Word for the year?  I started doing this in 2019.  I was asked to choose a word for the year and then a Bible verse or verses to support me in that focus.  I prayed and asked God to give me a word to focus upon for 2019. He gave me the word Trust.  Right then I was going through some things that required that I Trust in Him more than ever and not the world, things or people around me.  The verses I chose were Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord;  trust in him and he will do this” and Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good,  a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

In 2020, God gave me the word Hope. I did not know a pandemic was coming but God did and it was the perfect word. In 2021 I found myself bogged down by the pandemic, life’s complexities with schooling my grandkids, working on Zoom and continued isolation. I felt I lacked something and the word God gave me was Joy. In 2022, God impressed upon me that I needed to seek Him and focus on Faith. In 2023, my word was Obedience. That word was wonderful and I saw spiritual growth in so many ways. In 2024, my word was Commit. As I recently reflected, God showed His faithfulness in different aspects of my life as I committed to serve Him.

So what about 2025? Actually, the word God has impressed upon me is Thankfulness. Unlike last year when I prayed for several weeks about the word, it came to me quickly and I feel assured this is the word God intends for 2025. In the next few days, I will pray about 8-10 words related to thankfulness that will help to hone and sharpen my thankfulness focus.

Pray about your 1 Word. Ask God to give you direction and focus that can carry and motivate you throughout the year. If you have it, send me a response, I’d love to see it. I’ll blog more about the related words in a few days.

Linda

(After I got started with this, I discovered there is actually a book called One Word that will change your life. It is written by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page. It is a short book that explains how they arrived at this discovery and how God has used it in their lives both personally and corporately. I got mine on Amazon.)

Advent Day 10, No Worries in Jesus

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On the Second Sunday of Advent we lit the Bethlehem or Peace Candle. Reflecting on peace today we can gain insight and encouragement from Philippians 4:6-8.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

In the stories surrounding Jesus’ birth I see 2 major characters that followed the advice of the Apostle Paul. Zachariah and Mary are good examples to us of peace in crisis. Zachariah was a priest and while on duty in the temple an angel appeared to him and told him his wife of many years would have a child. Zachariah questioned the angel in disbelief and was chastised for his faithlessness by being told he would not speak again until the child was born. He spoke after John was born and proclaimed prophecy about his child and the Messiah to come.

Luke 1:76-79 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Zachariah learned a valuable lesson that focusing on our doubts and fears is not what God desires for us. God does not want us stuck in unbelief but focusing on what He has for our future and walking in faith each day with Jesus.

Likewise, Mary focused on the possibilities of God when confronted by an angel and was told she would bear a child even though she was a virgin. She wondered how this could be but did not question the ability of God to perform this miracle. Luke 1:35-38  “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[e] will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” Shortly after this, Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. There Mary eloquently proclaims for all time the blessing she is receiving from the Lord.

Luke 1:46-49 “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name. Mary’s focus was not on all the problems and worries this pregnancy would bring but on the blessings of the Lord. She was at peace with God’s plan and trusted in Him.

What can you see in your life situation that is cause for worry and fear that you could turn into peace if you trusted in Jesus? Paul tells us that the peace that Jesus gives surpasses all explanation and will guard and protect us as we walk with Him. Just like Zachariah and Mary, we need to keep our minds focused on the good things, on Jesus, on His grace and mercy on the possibilities with God and He will bring us peace.

May you find the Peace of Jesus today.

Linda