Delightsome Land

It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.  — Lamentations 3:26 Reflection If we are honest, we all hate to wait. In fact, most often we say something like, “I can’t believe this is taking so long; it’s costing me time I don’t have!” That’s because most of us consider waiting to be wasting. But it’s not so with our God. God works while we wait.  Even when you can’t see what He is doing, God is always orchestrating the events of Heaven and earth to accomplish His purposes for your life. Trust in His unfailing love — love that moved Him to send a Savior from heaven to restore and rescue you. God’s plans for your life will not be thwarted. Wait patiently, knowing that  waiting is never wasted when you are waiting on God. Meditation Come Thou Long Expected Jesus Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear D...

Many people have been killed for their faith through the ages. Interestingly, the word we use today to talk about someone who is killed for their beliefs, martyr, is the basic Greek word used in the New Testament which is translated “witness.” Therefore, when Jesus said, “ye shall be witnesses unto me” in Acts 1:8 it had great significance to them. This does not mean that every follower of Christ will be killed for their faith, but because the witness of the early church followers lead to their martyrdom, we use the word today to mean someone who dies for their faith. Here are 10 famous Christian martyrs or groups of martyrs. Most of them are people from ancient past, but I also wanted to include a couple of recent martyrs to help remind us that people are still sacrificing their lives for the cause of Christ today. Famous Christian Martyrs Christians through the centuries have been tenacious in holding to their beliefs Stephen Acts chapters 6 and 7 give us the account of ...

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things . — 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV I don’t know where you are in your church walk and your church story. Maybe you recently started following Jesus and the church is still totally your jam. I’m so glad for you, but here’s some truth. Just like any relationship, you and the church will have rocky times. Just like any relationship, at some point the flawed humans who lead your church will disappoint you, and you will need to put 1 Corinthians 13 love into action. You know why church is hard? Because of humans. So. Many. Humans. My local church recently went through something hard, and to be honest, my feelings were all over the place. I didn’t want to stay. I once asked my friend ...

Armed with the Mind of Christ Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. —  1 Peter 4:1-2 Most Christ followers readily embrace the reality of Christ’s suffering. We may even find comfort in the fact that He suffered for us. However, the idea that we should be willing to suffer, or even rejoice in the midst of suffering, is a proposition too difficult for most people to accept. Yet that is the message of the gospel. Christ endured the wrath of God and suffered on the cross of Calvary in our place that we might endure the suffering of this world and stand in victory for His glory. Easier said than done? Yes. That is why we must “arm” ourselves with the mind of Christ. The ability to journey the road of suffering while giving God glory can only be accomplished as we...

When asked, “Where is Heaven?” Billy Graham wisely replied, “Heaven is where Jesus Christ is, and I’m going to Him soon.” The greatest promise ever given to the human race came from the lips of our Redeemer when Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me…I go to prepare a place for you…I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1–3). Just after his ninety–fifth birthday, Mr. Graham proclaimed with resolve, “When I die, tell others that I’ve gone to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—that’s where I am.” The following is an excerpt from Billy Graham’s final book,  Where I Am.   * * * Most people accept that Heaven is real, according to a Fox News poll (1). Many — religious and nonreligious — believe they will go there because God is a God of love. Many of these same people, however, reject that Hell is real. Yet they reserve Hell as a very real place for people who have perpetrated...

But  the fruit of the Spirit is  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness, - Galatians 5:22 It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary,  I’m free to choose. And so I choose. I choose love.  No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves. I choose joy.  I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the t...

If Christ lives in us, controlling our personalities, we will leave glorious marks on the lives we touch. Not because of our lovely characters, but because of His. — Eugenia Price One Sunday I preached a sermon from Matthew’s gospel, titled “According to Your Faith.” Jesus had been raising the dead and healing the sick — all in a day’s work for the King and Savior! At one point, two blind men joined the crowd following Him. In itself, that’s an interesting concept. They couldn’t see what was going on, but their heightened sense of hearing picked up every vibe in the crowd. They’d heard the stories of the miracles this man had performed, and undoubtedly they had talked between themselves about the possibility that He might come to their city. I can imagine them saying, “If He comes here, He can restore our sight!” They stumbled along with the crowd, but they weren’t content to just be part of the background noise. They yelled, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” Other people might h...