The Peace of Jesus (a devotional) ...

From Oasis of Hope... 

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." - John 12:27

John, the gospel writer, recorded for us the farewell speech Jesus gave to His disciples.  That speech holds a very special tone, every word seems weighty.  First and foremost, Jesus wanted His friends not to be overcome with fear.

Why was there no cause to be fearful even if Jesus was leaving them?  Up to that point, they had been with Jesus daily and the thought of Him leaving shocked and troubled them.  Jesus told them He was giving them a gift.  They would get the very best He had to give: His own peace.  He would send them the Holy Spirit, the Helper and Advocate, who would also bring peace.

"My peace I give to you," Jesus said.  It didn't, and still doesn't, come from anywhere or anyone else.  Is passes understanding and is beyond any previous experience.  And what were the first words Jesus uttered when He appeared to the disciples after His death and resurrection?  "Peace to you."

The apostle Paul linked prayer and peace with each other.  He advised us to leave every concern in prayer to God (Philippians 4:6-7).  We are to bring every single thing that causes helplessness - every fear, every worry - to Him.  Then the Holy Spirit can bring peace and will guard our hearts.  His peace will be ours as we practice this.

Where do you need peace today?  Look for verses in Scripture concerning the subject of your need.  Take those concerns to God, then allow Him to speak peace into your heart through His word.

- Anu Ahonen 

I thought of Psalm 121 ...

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.

He will not allow your foot to be moved; 

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel 

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Do you have a favourite Psalm or Bible verse that gives you peace?

A short hiatus...

 Hello friends!

I'm back after a bit of a break, due to necessity.  My daughter has been quite unwell for the last 6 weeks and most of my time has been taken up with hospital visits and accompanying her for various test and scans.  The short of it is that the doctors think it was an adverse reaction to the medication in an injection she was given. It's been a long process eliminating other causes, but praise God she is starting to improve.  So, I hope to be able to get back to more regular posting.

With all the sitting and waiting while she attended medical appointments, I have been able to get quite a few of my knitted squares for the fistula hospital blanket done.  I learnt to always take my knitting and something to read with me when I went with her as it could end up a long wait.

It's nice to get back to a more regular routine and be able to enjoy the autumn colours in the garden.

Back soon ...Lord willing.

xx

My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up. - Psalm 5:3

From Oasis of Hope (a devotional)...

 Thorn in the Flesh

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 ESV

We don't know the exact thorn Paul endured, but we know it was painful.  It harassed him, nagged him, bothered him.  The original word describes something more like a tent stake, not a tiny rose thorn.

So many people think thorns of illness and pain could never be part of the life of a believer.  According to Scripture, that's a lie.  We know it was given to Paul.  He begged God to remove this thorn, repeatedly.

It's not surprising because Paul was actively sharing the gospel, in a life of active ministry.  His suffering must have made the work even more challenging.

Our chronic, lingering illnesses not only bring physical suffering but emotional and spiritual ones.  Like Paul, we beg God for healing ... and sometimes He says no.  But perhaps, the Lord has a better plan for us, as He did for Paul.

In Paul's case, God's purpose was to keep him from pride, to help Paul experience His constantly sufficient grace to humbly keep going, and to show God's power through Paul's weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

God's answer for us also might be His sufficient grace.  Our thorns may be here to stay, but he encourages us with this verse:

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13 ESV).  Maybe our illness is a "thorn" to help us place our hope completely on the day we will see Jesus, by His grace.

Let's pray for healing, but also trust His grace so we might be able to sing, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound" ("Amazing Grace," Newton, J., 1779).

Do you have a song of trust you could sing today?

- Lauri Hogle

Evening Meditations (a poem)...

'Tis evening - and the weary day

Its curtain draws at last;

Each moment with its trying toil

Is laid to rest, and past.

The good we sought, each seed we sowed,

Has filled its place today;

And with our God, we've trod again

A step of Heaven's way.

He has been faithful, ever true

To comfort, care and guide.

His mercy flowed in bounteous streams,

No drop of grace denied.

So soon tomorrow's sun shall rise

With bright and cheerful ray,

And with its dawn His faithfulness

Again shall balm our day.

by Emily Witmer

Poor But Clean (book excerpt)...

I meet Susan and Peter Hoover on a number of occasions when they were living at Rocky Cape (they now live in Paraguay) and I was living at Stanley (a 15-minute drive away).  They established a Hutterite community there, and it was always a blessing to call in and see them.  On one visit, they gave me this book (Poor but Clean) written by Susan's mother, about her life. Here is an excerpt from the near end of the book...

"... This year, 2012, I am back in Australia, enjoying our lovely Christmas season in the heart of summer.  For several months, with the help of my daughter and son-in-law, I have finally finished writing the story of my life.  And now, at the end of it, I must tell you why.

I do not want my story written because I think it is particularly interesting or important.  To the contrary, what I want you, my children, my grandchildren, and my rapidly growing number of great-grand-children to know, is that nothing in this life is nearly as interesting or important as we often think.

Only one thing is important.  That is to fear (respect) God so we may walk in the Truth, loving and serving him.

I spent my childhood and youth in the Durango Mennonite Colony.  From my parents and schoolteachers, from my grandparents and older relatives that came from Russia to Canada, I first learned about my Father in Heaven.  I learned to fear him and that it matters, forever, whether we take him seriously or not.  Later I learned much more about him, and about our Saviour, Jesus Christ, from the Kleingemeinde, the Wissler and the conservative Mennonites.

Not all of what I heard was quite on track, and not everything I lived through among these, my brothers and sisters on earth, was perfect.  That is because all of us are human, with earthly human problems, just like every church, every community, including God's people in Bible Times, have always had.  But by now, drawing close to the end of my life, with nothing but Jesus and eternity before me, I can see more clearly what matters and what does not.

It no longer matters so much to me what people call themselves, or what they do not, because the only name that saves us is the name of Jesus Christ.  I like the language my parents taught me and that I learned in school (German) but I now understand that the only language that matters is the language of the Kingdom of God, spoken by those that love and serve him around the world.

I have always worn dresses, as befits godly women, and covered my head as the New Testament teaches, but the issue, as I see it, is not in one exact form over another.  It is the issue of modesty, of humility, of true godliness and separation from the world that really matters.  And in the end, I no longer feel it matters so much whether we belong to this group or that, for in every group there can be only two kinds of people.

On one hand we have the proud and the self-confident, boasting of what they have and who they are.  Some boast in their wealth and business.  Others boast of their education, their religion, or their "wonderful experiences with God."  Still others take pride in what they think is sound doctrine and practice.  But the proud always forget God, live for themselves, and bring nothing but unhappiness, strife and confusion, wherever they go.

On the other hand, in every place I have lived from my earliest childhood to now, I have come to know humble people, fearing God, putting others first in the Spirit of Jesus, while reaping for themselves and others immeasurable never-ending joy.

From this I have seen what matters the most - that we walk in the Truth and fear God.  Then we may be simple yet glad.  Living ordinary lives yet fully content.  And like my mother always said, we may be poor but we can be clean..." 

I love a rainy day ...

...and we are certainly having our fair share of those at the moment.  A good opportunity to do a catch-up post...

I've made a start on the baby quilt for my new grandson.  I think Marnie gave me the quilt top years ago, so I'm happy to have an opportunity to use it :)  I bought some tartan flannelette, and was just going to quilt the two layers together, but then decided to use some thin polar fleece in the middle to make is a bit more padded... 

Pinned the three layers together...

And I have started hand quilting it (although you can't really see the quilt stitches in the photo)...

I haven't done any hand quilting for years.  It makes a nice change from the knitting and crocheting :)

I finished the fourth book in this series and really enjoyed them...

Now I'm reading this...

We are off daylight-saving time now, so our evenings are darker earlier.  When I finish my dinner and dishes, I've been continuing to work on my Fistula blanket squares, while watching episodes of the Waltons before bed.

Have you watched this series? 

I only have Season 1, but am enjoying it again :)

Still on track with my 'one chapter a day from the New Testament' Bible reading.  Today it's Acts Chapter 13.

This past week I listened to an interesting audio (although there is also an option to watch on YouTube) from Anabaptist Perspectives. It goes for just under an hour. 

So, take a break, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, and have a listen. 

 

Here's the link.

Enjoy

xx

Wisdom (devotional)

From Oasis of Hope... 

Wisdom

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." - James 3:17 NASB

Have you ever pondered the Old Testament patriarch Abraham's journey from Ur of the Chaldeans to the land of Caanan?  God had called him to start toward the unknown land of promise.  There must have been many problems associated with moving the whole company and all the animals.  It was not at all clear how they would reach their destination.

The New Testament tells us that Abraham did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8).  He had to learn to trust God's guidance without knowing or seeing beforehand.  It is this that makes him an example of faith.  How could Abraham know how to solve the problems they faced so that in the end they would reach the right place?

When Abraham and his nephew Lot's herds had grown large, they had to separate.  Without this parting, there would not be enough pastureland for all their animals.  How could the situation be resolved?

Abraham allowed his nephew Lot to choose the land he wanted, and Lot chose the verdant, well-watered Jordan plain.  Abraham simply went in the opposite direction.  Only later did God confirm his decision as correct.

What could we learn from all this?  First, God see's the Christian's daily walk and is interested in his everyday life.  Second, He knows circumstances can be complex and they may demand a new kind of orientation.  He can use every detail in life to guide His children.

If we have come to a turning point in life and cannot see the road ahead, we need wisdom from above to move forward in faith and trust.  Where do you need wisdom today?  Ask God for His perspective, and trust Him to lead in the way He knows is best.

-Anu Ahonen

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6