From whence cometh my help…..


Psalm 121

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel(OR ME) shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

What a message of hope for us today!

I can never gaze at the mountains without thinking of this verse, for some reason I would have put the word “mountain” in place of hills, but God knew best. Maybe in the Hebrew or Aramaic language it meant something more like mountain. This particular mountain is in my favorite place, Yosemite National Park. I climbed to the top many years ago with my Dad, cousins, and some family friends. I will never forget it. At a particular point you have to grab steel cables pounded into the granite. My cousin tied herself with rope onto her crazy husband, which we thought was a huge risk! She made it to the top in red slickery keds! I will never forget that day…

Homesick

Home. We are all striving for it. We look forward to the weekend so we can go home. Maybe we’re still saving up to buy that first home. Those of us in the twilight of our lives sometimes find themselves wanting to go back in time to that “other” place called home that we had long ago when times were simpler. For some, home represents somewhere they never want to return. For others, home is recalled with such fondness that they find themselves returning there again and again to a place in the past; drawing comfort from old memories, happier times. One thing we all seem to have in common is that each of us has a definitive answer for what home should be. With a little variation I bet we would all come up with just about the same thing: The place where love is, the place of refuge, safety, peace; where we are loved unconditionally and find the strength to handle all the stresses and pressures of life “on the outside.”

I believe we are all a bit homesick, all at different stages of longing. There is a central truth hidden deep within us placed there by God Himself. Within our souls there is a feeling that something is missing. Things in our present home (earth) are not right. There is a sense of displacement that no amount of money can buy. Trying to recapture what was lost so long ago, we build and buy and plan but there is no escaping that we are homesick for heaven.

BUT there is good news; because of what Jesus did, the gates are once again thrown wide open…..Open to that home we lost so long ago. And all we have to do is accept the invitation! In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ” John 3:3 And further, He confirms that Heaven is a very real place. “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” John 14:2 He also said when He was on earth that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The apostle Paul had his focus on eternity. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) He kept his eyes on the prize. As an athlete training for a marathon, he knew that every little thing we do here on earth makes a difference for all eternity. Every thought, word, deed and action has an effect that reaches all the way to the throne of heaven. Knowing that radically changes how we live; it colors our very perspective,and it brings the kingdom of heaven down to earth, just as Jesus said! HE came to give us not only life, but abundant life here and now and eternal life in heaven! Now that is good news….

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Rev. 21

Bring on the monsoons!

Here in Arizona, we have what we call “monsoons.” People in other countries laugh at us for giving them that name; they are unlike the hurricane causing, flood producing, storms in the tropics that destroy whole villages, but for us here in the oppressive heat of the desert, the summer rain is something we desperately need. We welcome the flashing lightning and the rain that spills onto the parched ground. We all breathe a sigh of relief that at least we can skip a day of watering.

Sometimes it seems like our life is like phase after phase of waiting. Waiting for one phase in life to be over and another to begin. Waiting for a wayward child to come back, waiting for the weekend, waiting for a new job, waiting to get well. Maybe you are caring for an elderly parent and it is taking it’s toll, maybe you thought you were done raising children and now you find yourself raising a grandchild. But take heart and take hope! As believers we can take comfort even in the times of waiting. For God is right in the middle of the waiting. He is a God of here and now, and He is here for you. Jesus said, “Now is the accepted time of salvation.” I am so glad that God is a God of action!

Psalm 46:1 (KJV) ” God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble “.

God is here, right in the middle of your circumstance. He never slumbers nor sleeps!

New every morning….

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:22-24

Ongoing prayer for Kate……(see info under right side bar, under “Websites” Kate’s Story….

Let Freedom Ring!


Andy is a news correspondent who served in the Army National Guard, here are his thoughts….I thought it was appropriate as we celebrate our Independence Day today.

How I Found Patriotism, by Andy Ryan

What it took for me to find patriotism was a war thousands of miles from home — Iraq.
What I found in Iraq were people cherishing the things I had taken for granted: a farmer rejoicing that his village was liberated and he could now drive his produce to market; the little boys and girls giggling during school recess yet eager and anxious to return to the classroom to absorb knowledge; and medical personnel thankful for the opportunity to set up a clinic so they could care for the ill and less fortunate.

Just about every Iraqi I spoke with asked me about America and what it was like. When I told them about magnificent things in the U.S., they always turned the conversation. They were fascinated and awestruck by the mere ability to freely travel and enjoy such places. In the Diyala province, I met a teenage soccer phenomenon who entertained us with his skills every time we visited his home. During a few discussions, I learned that his teammates had been gathered up and executed. All he wanted was an opportunity to freely play the game he loved without the treat of death lingering nearby. Needless to say, I returned home a changed person.
As a political science major, I always loved what our forefathers created; but as a citizen, I never fully appreciated the freedoms that I am allowed from living in this country. The things I experienced in Iraq helped me become a patriot — someone who loves and cherishes their country not only because of what it stands for, but for what it allows me and others to do.

It has been a year since my return from Iraq, but I still look afar to remember what I have at home and why I love this country. Amazing things have happened in other regions of the world this past month: Iranians protested what they found to be unjust and Iraqis rejoiced at the idea of being able to stand up, defend and call their country a sovereign nation. These are principles that were once unfathomable to our colonial ancestors over 230 years ago; and today, living without these principles is unfathomable to many U.S. citizens.
So on July 4th, I am going to stop by a park and watch people walking, talking and freely enjoying the beauty around them. And although I cannot sing, I will be humming an appropriate song,

Prayer for Kate….

Please pray for little Kate McRae, as well as her family today. She is a 5 yr old girl who will be going into surgery for a brain tumor at 9:00 this morning. I have included the website in the side bar at right under “websites” where you can see her story.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers for Kate and her courageous family.

“…pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

Hope in exile….

Jeremiah 31:1-6

Jeremiah 31
1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people.”

2 This is what the LORD says:
“The people who survive the sword
will find favor in the desert;
I will come to give rest to Israel.”

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, [a] saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

4 I will build you up again
and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.
Again you will take up your tambourines
and go out to dance with the joyful.

5 Again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.

6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God.’ ”

When I read Jeremiah 30-33 the compassion of God seemed to leap from the page this morning as I was reading in my “prayer closet” I selected just a portion above….when I think of how many times Israel turned their backs on God and yet, He reached out to them with hope and healing, longing for their restoration.

What are you exiled from today? A child, a church, God, a marriage, a friendship? It seems in life there are many forms of exile we face, but God seeks to restore us; always there is hope. Cling to His word, there is promise there.

I close with this verse, again from Jeremiah, 33:3….”Call to Me, and I will answer you, and i will tell you great and mighty things,which you do not know.”

"A Better Resurrection"

I HAVE no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numb’d too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimm’d with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.

My life is like a faded leaf,
My harvest dwindled to a husk:
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall–the sap of Spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.

My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perish’d thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

“I have prayed for you….”

Is there anything we can’t go through when we realize that Jesus is interceding for us even now?

Art by Ron DiCianni, you can see his work at:
http://www.tapestry productions.com