The Lord is My Comfort

Over this past month, I have been feeling a bit lost. My friend's baby died of cancer after a long and painful eight month battle with the disease. I spent months and months down on my knees praying for healing, praying for strength for myself, her family and that dear sweet little baby and I prayed for the Great Physician to answer our prayers.
To say I was stunned when she passed is an understatement. I was floored.
I was certain that God would heal her. I thought that she would be His miracle and was so disappointed when He decided to take her.
But, many moments of reflection later, and many more prayers said, have put a new peace in my heart. Tuesday is still God's miracle, just in a way I never expected. She brought me closer to God than I have ever been and brought faith into the lives of so many people she never even met. She had more purpose in her short life than many adults ever achieve and was a gift to all who knew her.
This week while on vacation with my family, it became so apparent to me just how much I have changed these past eight months. I notice the simple things in life so much clearer and take notice to everything He has created around me and I find comfort.
Comfort in everything.....
The Lord is my comfort and He is everywhere.

I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2

In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.
Psalm 62:7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14.27

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:3-12

Feeling Down? A Heart of Thanks Is a Heart of Hope

I find especially in the winter, I begin to feel blah, down in the dumps, like I am in a rut. Who else can stop these feelings but yourself. However, you need to have faith. Many people will just say, "snap out of it" or " you just need a change" How many people will tell you to pray on it?
Why art you cast down,O my soul?...Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.
Psalm 42:5
It doesn't matter how bad life becomes, we must remember we always have blessing for which we can thank God. Today I want you to think of all the things you are thankful for. In this really bad economy, things sure are looking down. The recent plane crash in Buffalo. Many people have lost loved ones. There are times to mourn, however God wants us to rejoice in what we have. The more we fill our hearts with the sunshine of thanks, the less room there is for the gloom of despair.
It is difficult at times, I know. However the most thankful thing we have to look forward to as Christians is knowing that we are going to Heaven, in spite of our sins.
God shows us in many many ways His love. In the form of our family , our friends, our fellow believers. Keep your spiritual eyes and ears open and you will find the gift of His word to guide you.
Give thanks and you will find yourself lifed up in hope.

Faith ~~Focus~~ Finish

I have been spending some time thinking about these three important words ~faith....focus....finish.
We read in Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved by faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God..."

Faith:We begin our journey with Jesus by Faith. Believing that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for our sins.....accepting Him as our Savior. Our faith is our solid foundation, and we build our entire lives built upon this solid rock of faith, a gift from our Lord. One of my favorite hymns starts out...
"Our faith is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' love and righteousness....."

We nurture that faith in many ways, such as through worshipping, studying God's word, and serving others. We also "exercise "our faith so it grows stronger by believing, trusting, and keeping our focus on God and His plan for our lives no matter what comes our way.

Psalm 121 says, "I lift my eyes up to the hills ~ where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.........."

Focus: Faith gives us the strength to keep our focus on our Lord. With every trial we encounter in our life we have a choice to dwell on the problem or dwell on God. Many things get in the way of our focus, such as fear, selfishness, busyness, etc. The list is endless...but the answer is clear. Our help comes from the Lord!

In 2 Timothy 4: 7 we read, " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Finish: The day will come when our journey here on earth is over. We will reach the finish line and step over into eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith~ Focus ~ Finish~Our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior gives us the strength to be able to focus on His plans for our life and rely on His help to persevere to the finish of our journey.

In His Peace
Renee