VICTORY OVER DEATH

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 ESV)

So many things in this world are private or restricted. You can be turned away because you don’t have a ticket, a membership, a reservation, an important friend, a recognizable name, the proper clothing, or a couple of C-notes to bribe the doorman. Not long ago, I showed up at a prestigious country club for a round of golf and was told that because I was wearing denim shorts, I’d have to come back some other time.

But when it comes to our Lord’s victory over death, there are no goons standing at the door to keep people out -- only Jesus to welcome us in. Hebrews 7:25 (NLT) says, “Therefore [Jesus] is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”  

--  Adapted from “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus” by Mark Atteberry

#6290

COMFORT AND COMPASSION

Editor’s Note: Today, January 21, is the anniversary of the birth of our son, Dustin (1982-1998). Today’s author, Nancy Guthrie, offered many of the lessons she learned from the loss of two of her children in her first book, “Holding On to Hope: A Pathway of Suffering to the Heart of God” which was published in 2002. Since then, Nancy has continued to write books that reflect her compassion for hurting people and her passion for applying God's Word to real life.

COMFORT AND COMPASSION

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV)

Ours is not a culture that is comfortable with sadness.  Sadness is awkward.  It is unsettling.  It ebbs and flows and takes its own shape.  It beckons to be shared.  It comes out in tears, and we don't quite know what to do with those.

So many people are afraid to bring up my loss.  They don't want to upset me.  But my tears are the only way I have to release the deep sorrow I feel.  I tell people, "Don't worry about crying in front of me, and don't be afraid that you will make me cry!  Your tears tell me you care, and my tears tell you that you've touched me in a place that is meaningful to me -- and I will never forget your willingness to share my grief." 

-- Nancy Guthrie in “Holding On to Hope”

#6289

A CHARACTER OF KINDNESS

“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:39-42 NIV)

Many of us find that there is much more to life than getting and keeping. True fulfillment comes with the responsibilities we assume: to care for our families, and to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves. This is more than a familiar saying; it is the foundation of a meaningful life.

A person shows his or her character in kindness and charity. And what is true in our lives is also true in the life of our nation. You can fairly judge the character of society by how it treats the weak, the vulnerable, the most easily forgotten. Our own country, at its best, strives to be compassionate, and this isn't easy. Compassion is not merely a vague feeling of empathy, it is a demanding virtue. It involves action and effort, and deep conviction - a conviction as old as Scripture and present at the founding of our country. We believe that everyone has a place and a purpose in this world, that every life matters, that no insignificant person was ever born.

 -- President George W. Bush, in the 2004 Commencement Address at Concordia University Wisconsin

JUSTIFIED BY WHAT?

In “Words We Live By” Brian Burrell tells of an armed robber named Dennis Lee Curtis who was arrested in 1992 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Curtis apparently had scruples about his thievery. In his wallet the police found a sheet of paper on which was written the following code:

“I will not kill anyone unless I have to. I will take cash and food stamps-- no checks. I will rob only at night. I will not wear a mask. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line. I will rob only seven months out of the year. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.”

This thief had a sense of morality, but it was flawed. When he stood before the court, he was not judged by the standards he had set for himself but by the higher law of the state.

Likewise, when we stand before God, we will not be judged by the code of morality we have written for ourselves, nor even by what the culture justifies, but by God's perfect law. 

Paul writes, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:23-24 NLT)

Justification is what happens when Christians abandon all those vain attempts to justify themselves before God -- to be seen as "just" in God's eyes through religious and moral practices. It's a time when God's "justifying grace" is experienced and accepted, a time of pardon and forgiveness, of new peace and joy and love. Indeed, we're justified by God's grace through faith. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™, compiled from a variety of sources

#6287

HOLDING ON TO HOPE

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 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.’  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”  (Lamentations 3:21-26 NIV)

Holding on to hope is the challenge of all grief and loss experiences. Finding courage or energy to go on day after day requires hope of healing, hope for future. Holding on to hope is not always easy. Some days it requires all of our energy just to maintain our own lives. On other days, we at least want to believe that "for everything there is a purpose," as we try to find the purpose in our own experience. That requires finding ways to make meaning even out of situations that may seem so meaningless. Those are the days we really struggle to find belief in the unseen.

Many people say those days of struggle are when they lean most heavily on their faith, in order to find the inspiration and comfort they need to be able to go on. After all, Scriptures says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

There are many days, walking through that maze of healing, that require belief in God, hope, and future without seeing any proof of them. Time in prayer, reading His Word, and fellowship with believers can all help in the struggle of holding on.

Holding on to hope requires active participation. It is not a passive process. It requires holding on to faith in the future, at a time when we can barely survive the present. It means clinging to the belief that God is good and will help us when all we can see seems to say that is not true. 

-- From “A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance: Help for the Losses in Life”