He Strengthens Me

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
-- Philippians 4:13

Sometimes life just gets us down. Many of us go through periods when the troubles and woes of the world weigh so heavily upon our shoulders that we wonder how much more we can stand, not knowing where we might find that little extra courage to face another day, that little boost to get over the next hump. During those stretches, that can go for weeks, months, or even years without a true break, it is all we can do just to climb out of bed every morning. In the past during such lows, I always took some small measure of relief from the words of the Psalmist:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills --
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
-- Psalm 121:1-2

This passage always comforted me, for it does not say that I go to the Lord for help. No, it says that my help comes from the Lord. My gracious Savior comes to me in my time of need and helps me. I only have to go to Him in prayer, then He comes to my aid. How moving is this thought, that the Creator of all would come to me, one of His many children, a sinner, a small sheep lost and confused? My help comes from the Lord. This became my mantra, an oft repeated phrase, when times got roughest.

Until recently, when my dearest friend presented me with a most wonderful gift - a lovingly used New Testament Bible. This pocket Bible had been presented to her earthly father many years ago, shortly before he departed this life to go be with his heavenly Father. This was a man who I happen to share a good bit in common with, including love of our Father and a deep compelling drive to learn more about Him and our own purposes in life. My friend could give me no better gift than this precious piece of her father, one which he carefully annotated with notes, thoughts, and the highlighting of meaningful verses. His favorite is the subject of this particular missive -- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I now cherish this small Bible and this verse, which I have also adopted as my own.

So now, during the darkest of days when the world crushes me with each turn, I can take comfort in knowing that my Lord and Savior not only comes to me and brings me help, He also strengthens me when I have no strength left. Through Him, I can survive. Through Him, I can rise from my bed and face another day. Through Him, I can do all things, for He gives me strength.

When I think I can go no further I look to heaven, for my help comes from the Lord who strengthens me.

Learn, Share, Teach

Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
-- 2 Timothy 2:7

As we close out 2006, many of us make resolutions for the coming year, usually to improve some aspect of our physical appearance, our general conduct, or our behavior. Our good brother and Pastor John has given my fellow congregants a challenge: to attend Sunday School as well as the regular worship service as many Sundays as we possibly can. This correspondent has accepted his challenge and hopes all of you, my kind readers, will join me if you don't already attend as many worship and learning services as possible, including any held weekday evenings, such as Bible studies and prayer and inspiration sessions.

Our longing to be reunited with God often compels us to want to learn more and more, as much as humanly possible, about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Father. The Bible is the best source of knowledge and history, but we can also gain helpful insights from our fellow sojourners in this life. You may be surprised at how much someone you share a pew with each Sunday morning knows about certain events during those times Christ walked among us, or the interesting angle and background they can provide. We can all gain more information, and we all have something we can impart for others.

The old saying, "You learn something new every day!", still holds true. How many times have you heard someone say, or said yourself, "I never knew that" or "I didn't realize that" or "I never looked at it quite that way"? We've heard those words, or similar phrases, a number of times the last few weeks in my Sunday School class, and we aren't exactly spring chickens any more. No matter the subject, there is always someone more knowledgeable than ourselves, there is always someone with a slightly different viewpoint, there is always someone with an experience we have not had. We learn from each of these, and by sharing, we help others learn.

So join us Sundays and Wednesdays and any other day some opportunity presents itself to gain a better understanding of our Savior and thus build a more fulfilling relationship with God. Come to learn, come to share, and come to teach.

Rejoice and Pray

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
-- I Thessalonians 5:16-18

As I write this, we recently celebrated the birth of Jesus. But first we observed the annual Advent season, where we anxiously awaited that wonderful day when our Savior came down to earth to walk among us. Some of us may look at the weeks leading up to Christmas as a mere formality, another season of observance on the Christian calendar, simply a prelude to what is to come. We know how the story goes: how the angel appeared to Mary, and later to Joseph; how they traveled to Bethlehem for the census; how they could find no room at the inn and were forced to seek shelter in a lowly stable; how the heavenly Babe was born, wrapped in cloths, and laid in a cattle manger; how the shepherds and then the wise men visited and paid homage; how the angels sang. We know the story, and celebrate the joyous day each year.

One of the meanings of the word Advent (with a capital "A") is "the coming of Christ into the world", and that is why we observe the season of Advent. But there is another chapter of the story, and we know it as well although we have not yet celebrated it. For there will be one more Advent, one more time when Jesus Christ will come to earth and walk among us. The first Advent heralded the Messiah, come to offer mankind a path to salvation. This time He will come as our King. He will reward His faithful and punish evil. This second coming, this second Advent, is the one we look forward to with all that is within us. For it will usher in the thousand year reign of Christ the King, a millennium of true and lasting peace on earth. We long to see the face of Jesus; we feel we know Him from the witnesses of the Gospels. We truly anxiously await the second Advent.

Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, offers us instruction on what to do while we wait. In other writings, he admonished us, all of us, to be steadfast in our faith, and to grow our faith. He tells us to become even closer to Christ, to seek out the company of other believers and draw strength and support from them, to encourage others to know and believe in the one true God and his risen Son. Here he provides insight into a few activities we can participate in to gain a closer relationship with Jesus. While we await His coming, we should rejoice in Christ our Savior. We should pray to Him and His Father with every breath we take. We should give thanks to God for everything that He gives to us, for our Salvation, for His Son, for everything. Paul tells us this is what Jesus want us to do. And how would Paul know? Because Paul knew Jesus personally, he spent three years with Him, following Him, listening to Him, learning from Him. And Paul blessed us by recording everything he knew about Jesus, so that we can know Him as well. Through God's great grace through His servant Paul, we know the rest of the story, and we know what we must do while we wait to see the face of our Christ.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in all things give thanks. For Christ is coming to earth again. Amen.