Blog Archives

A Thrill of Hope

11/30/2022

Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders

Advent is here! The season is celebrated over the four weeks leading up to Christmas. While the celebration primarily honors the coming of the Christ Child, it also reminds us to remain watchful for the return of Jesus. Advent allows us space to reflect, fast, pray, and prepare our hearts as we wait. Traditionally, celebrants light a candle each week to symbolize hope, faith, joy, and peace as they progress toward the nativity.

We wait in joyful expectation for the birth of Jesus feeling a thrill of hope. If we are honest, though, we are constantly reminded that we live in a weary world. A world weary of man’s inhumanity to man, weary of overwhelming circumstances that seem to have an endless cycle, weary of sickness and death. Yet, if we pause during this season, and fix our eyes on God, we can be hopeful and we can yet rejoice. The apostle Paul tells us:

“So let's come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let's keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water. We must hold tightly to the hope we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us” (Hebrews 10:22, 23, CEV).

The King James Version puts the last few words this way:
“…he is faithful that promised.”

God is faithful, and it is this faithfulness that gives us hope not just for today, but for tomorrow as well. Yet we must do our part. We must draw near to God with pure hearts. We must trust God. We must hold tightly to hope and then rest in God’s faithfulness.

Since Advent also points us to the Second Coming of Christ, the Bible warns us to be watchful. Jesus himself tells us:

“ No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows….So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:36; 42, CEV).

These words give us hope because Jesus has never gone back on his promises, and we know that what he says will definitely come to pass. So we cannot “sleep” on those things that the Lord requires of us: to share the gospel with the world and to give him glory while we do so.

Take time to bask in the hope that is ours as people who walk in the light of God’s Word. Let’s keep our hearts focused on the real reason why Jesus came to us. It was to redeem us and to give us the glorious hope of eternity in heaven with him.

PRAYER: God of all hope, we rejoice that you thought enough of us to come from your glory to rescue us from sin. Give those who do not yet know you a glimpse of the joy that awaits them when they put their trust in you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
©Medytations 2022

0 Comments

Thank You, God!

11/22/2022

0 Comments

Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders

While we celebrate Thanksgiving this week in the US, each of you, wherever you live or work, can join in and praise God for his goodness and faithfulness. To be sure, every day ought to be a day of thanksgiving. Looking back, we have experienced a pandemic, global climate change, economic hardships, divisive politics, and recurring spates of violence.

Yet, we are assured that our God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4). In fact, we know that our God is trustworthy and dependable, loving us through our storms, and guiding us to safe havens.

Take time out to thank God for his grace and mercy; his provision and protection; his Word, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thank God, too, for those who he has put in your lives to help you on life’s journey. For preachers, and teachers, and encouragers. Thank God for family and friends, and for strangers who were there for you (seemingly by accident) when you needed confirmation of God’s presence.

And yes, as you gather with family and friends, or you sit alone with memories, remember Jesus. Thanksgiving ushers in the Advent season when we remember, and wait for, with great expectation, the birth of Jesus, God’s precious gift to us. Truly, we have much to be thankful for. Thanks be to God!

PRAYER: Hear our prayer, O Lord. Our lips tell you thanks, but our hearts bubble over in gratitude for how you love us with abundant care. Thank you, God! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
©Medytations 2022

0 Comments

Giving Thanks Because God Is...

11/16/2022

0 Comments

Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders

The longer we live, the more we realize that nothing is constant. Not love, friendship, or marriage. Not cherished beliefs nor tightly-held traditions. In the ebb and flow of life things change, although quite often they do so in unexpected ways. Yet, we can be assured that there is one constant. One foundational truth. God is.

As human beings, we are always rushing to fill silence. To bring voice to spaces that need no words. And so, we attempt to fill in the blanks.

God is good… God is love… God is faithful…God is merciful…

Those are all attributes of God, but God is more than that. As the Creator and sustainer of all life—this life and the life to come—our infinite God is everything we could ever hope for and more.

We are taught in the Scriptures about Jesus, God’s Son, who is called The Word. We are told:
“The Word became
a human being
    and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
    of the Father.
From him the complete gifts
of undeserved grace and truth
    have come down to us.”
                                 (John 1:15, CEV)

How very rich we are, having been given “undeserved grace and truth”!

The apostle Paul explains the importance of these gifts.
“His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy” (Colossians 1:11, CEV).

And Paul indicates what our response should be:
“I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, who forgives our sins and sets us free” (vv.12-14).

Oh that we would be grateful to God for Jesus who is “superior to all creation” (v.15) and who is “the head of his body, which is the church” (v.18).

In this season of Thanksgiving, let’s pause in the light of who God is. After all, God has given us all we need to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3). Let’s be thankful that God is trustworthy and dependable. “He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing” (James 1:17, CEV). God is.

PRAYER: God, we can rejoice that you exist. And that we know you. You are bigger than our thoughts, our accomplishments, our dreams. Remind us, when we forget, that all we have comes from you, and the generosity of your Son, Christ Jesus. Give us hearts made tender by your love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
                                                                               ©Medytations 2022

0 Comments

A Time of Thanksgiving

11/16/2022

0 Comments

Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders

Gratitude. Quite often we skip over it because we believe that others instinctively know that we are grateful for their efforts when they reach out to us. Our complacency in this regard may even stem from how we treat the blessings that God so graciously and generously gives us.

Watch out! Greed is often present when gratitude is absent. We want more…and more…and more. We often think we are successful in our own strength. Don’t be surprised, then, if narcissism lurks around the corner when we refuse to identify, and thank, God as the giver of the gifts we receive. The Scriptures tell us plainly:

“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing” (James 1:17, CEV).

It is God who makes us successful. Every gift from God is wrapped in grace. We don’t deserve his blessings. We can never earn them, but because he loves us so much, he loads us with them daily.

David, the psalmist, makes music to God ears as he proclaims:
“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good;
    his love is eternal!”
Repeat these words in praise to the Lord,
    all you whom he has saved.
                                          (Psalm 107:1, 2, NIV)

Will you repeat those words? Have you been saved? If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then you are saved — because Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

Our salvation does not grant us immunity from the troubles of the world, but we are guaranteed that our Savior will be with us every step of the way. The apostle Paul encourages us with this reminder:

“…never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18, CEV).

Our circumstances do not limit our ability to be thankful. While we may weep over those things that trouble us, we can still look at ALL the things that God has done in our lives and offer a prayer of thanksgiving. Furthermore, we are told that this is what God wants us to do.

Take some time to reach out in gratitude to those who have blessed your life. Try to remember the simple things at first. Think how these acts of kindness, words of affirmation or even discipline, have moved your life in the right direction. Then thank God for his glorious presence in your life and the lives of those around you.

PRAYER: God, there is none like you. Your big, giving heart made such a difference in my life. Thank you for giving me Jesus as my Savior. Thank you for giving me Jesus as my Lord who tenderly leads me. Remind me to be grateful at all times, for all things, great and small. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
                                                                             ©Medytations 2022

0 Comments

Light, Comfort and Hope

11/16/2022

0 Comments

Wednesday’s Word
by Dorette Saunders

It becomes increasingly difficult to live in a world where what we once considered stable, have changed almost beyond recognition. Yet, as Christians, the Bible has forewarned us so that we are never taken completely by surprise.

We are reminded that we are in this world, but not of this world because we are kingdom citizens. In fact, we are told “…you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light….” (1 Peter 2:9, CEV).

And it is because we have this “marvelous light” that we know that only God is unshakeable, unchangeable, and constant. So in a world where climate change has shifted the ecological balance, and people’s hearts have grown callous causing them to commit heinous deeds against God and each other, we realize that we are privileged to declare:

God is our mighty fortress,
always ready to help
    in times of trouble.
                             (Psalm 46:1, CEV)

Don’t think we are not in trouble. Jesus told us plainly that we should expect it, but he cautions us to maintain a cheerful attitude: “But cheer up! I have defeated the world” (John 16:33, CEV).

In today’s world, trouble is everywhere. Everything that God has called abominations is being practiced. Many, in order to blend in with the culture, have thrown away godly filters and have adopted a laissez-faire attitude…”it is what it is.”

Such an attitude causes us to veer away from the truth of the gospel. And, even when we follow our own paths, we are still miserable. That is why the psalmist tells us:

The Lord's instruction is right;
    it makes our hearts glad.
His commands shine brightly,
    and they give us light.
                             (Psalm 19:8, CEV)

Be encouraged that God is faithful and that he calls us to be faithful as well. Yes, it is disturbing that our society is crumbling, and the things and people we once held in esteem have failed us. But God is our rock, our tower of strength. It is he that guides us, and it is he that offers us godly comfort and hope. Remember:

“God our Father loves us. He treats us with undeserved grace and has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope” (2 Thessalonians 2:16, CEV).

PRAYER: Thank you Lord for being a light in our lives. You, Lord, are our Rock. We count it all joy to be able to count on you in moments when we our world seems chaotic. Give us peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
                                     ©Medytations 2022

0 Comments

<<Previous

A Thrill of Hope

Thank You, God!

Giving Thanks Because God Is...

A Time of Thanksgiving

Light, Comfort and Hope

Author

Archives

Categories