Joy in the Journey

  "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “ I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, even the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:39-40 A few years ago my mother was visiting from New York and we went shopping. Our first stop was a shoe store. We'd been there just a few minutes when Mom touched my arm. “Trish, is this a Christian song?” She asked me. I stopped just idly humming along and actually listened. “Yes it is.” Mom seemed baffled by that but didn't stop to comment as the shoes were too distracting. Next stop a department store. While the shoe store is regional, as in they don't have them in New York, the department store is national, Mom is very familiar with that store. Once again she stopped. “Trish! This is the same song that was on in the shoe store! It's a Christian song. You said it is.” Not sure why this needed to be mentioned again, I nodded. Yes, it was the same song. She then went...

  Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands: he will not see prosperity when it comes. But blessed is the man who trust in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. Jeremiah 17:5b-6a, 7-8a Jeremiah 17 has so much to say! In referring to the man who is like a tree planted by the water the Lord goes on to say that “it does not fear” and that “it has no worries.” Doesn't that sound wonderful? Why does that tree live with such confidence? The answer is in the verses above, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.” The part of the verse that first caught my eye many years ago, was this, “He will not see prosperity when it comes.” It doesn't say it won't come. It says the man who trusts in his own flesh, his way, will not see prosperity. You know a “ma...

  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities: the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (emphasis mine) In responding to a note from a friend I was reminded of my childhood. Once I got to an age where I could make decisions and plans of my own, I seemed to have my parents' trust. I would provide information about my plans and for the most part, they okayed them. Then my sister did something that really upset them and the hammer came down. Bear in mind, the sin, if you will, was hers. She did it all by herself. I wasn't with her nor did I have any knowledge of what she was doing. To add insult to injury, when our parents confronted her she lied and that is the day that trust went out the window to be replaced by inquisition. Her lies led to my being cross-examined. At that point my behavior, my choices and integrity no longer mattered. One horse had gotten out of the barn...

  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 Recently a friend of mine went through a ridiculously humiliating experience. I won't recount the actual event here because I love her and the details aren't all that important. Suffice to say, she was headed for a once in a lifetime experience when something went glaringly wrong. Humiliated and at a loss for a solution of her own, she approached someone she hoped could help. At that moment in time her thought was to salvage what she could of the event. The person she asked for help saw it differently. My friend was trying very hard to fly below the radar, be as inconspicuous as possible. Her helper was having none of that shrinking violet routine. Instead she took the matter a little higher up the chain. My friend went from the very back of the room, so to speak, to the front row. She went from being mortified to being elated i...

  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 Has anyone ever said this to you? “I'm so sorry, I can't be there but I will be there in spirit.” It is spoken to be supportive, to show a desire to share the experience but it's impossible for anyone who isn't Jesus Christ. I cannot be in one place while my spirit is in another. Having been invited to an event, I may keep the invitee in my thoughts. I can pray for her, for the success of her venture. I cannot however, “be their in spirit” because I cannot separate my spirit from my body. Jesus can and did and does. Deuteronomy 31:6b says, “for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you.” John 14:16 says, “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with your forever--- the Spirit of truth.” Matthew 28:20b says, “And sur...