Many of you most likely have a Ph.D. in hard times.  I have certainly had my experiences.  All of us have had our share, some more than others.  Maybe you are wiser than me, but my tendency is to try to get through those hard times to resume my “normal.”  But this is faulty thinking. In these verses, troubles and suffering seem to be a given.

• Jesus said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
• Peter said in 1 Peter 5:10: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
• Luke wrote in Acts 14:21-22 of Paul and Barnabas that “They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they (Paul and Barnabas) said.”
• Paul said in Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake…”
• Job said in Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

God established a Paradise for his creation. However, Adam and Eve blew it. You and I blew it.  All humans have believed the lie of Satan rather than the truth of God (Genesis 3; Romans 1); and therefore we all, and indeed, the earth itself, will suffer for it until God calls his people home or until Jesus returns to take his followers with him to the new Paradise.

What this leads me to believe is that our “normal” is to suffer. We will struggle for a living. We will endure sickness and disability, and we will be persecuted. My perspective should be to expect suffering as my earthly “normal” and to be so thankful when times are good. In fact, in that regard, I mostly feel extraordinarily blessed. Certainly more than so many who reside in third world countries or in places where there are repressive governments.

In the book of John beginning in Chapter 13, Jesus and his disciples gather for the Last Supper. After supper, Jesus begins to talk in earnest to his disciples to let them know what is about to happen. He imparts much insight and wisdom during this last discourse. He continues in chapters 14-16, concluding with the amazing prayer in Chapter 17. Afterwards they go to the Garden of Gethsemane and the events of Jesus’ last days occur during which he endures unspeakable torment and suffering.  In the last verse of chapter 16, right before the prayer, He says this: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus wants us to know that even though we suffer in this world, we can have peace in Him, and we can take comfort in the fact that He has overcome the world.  He will fulfill the promise God made in Genesis 3:14-15 after Adam and Eve committed their sin and were banished from Paradise.  Through Jesus, we can have peace in this world and enjoy Paradise in the next.  We will have hard times, but we don’t have to let them defeat us.

Isaiah calls Jesus the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6.  Jesus himself promises us in John 14:27 “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.”

This Chaplain’s Corner is the fourth in a series on Gratitude, and I have somewhat tongue- in-cheek referred to them as Gratitude 101 – Random Acts of Kindness, Gratitude 201 – Common Grace, Gratitude 301 – Saving Grace, and Gratitude 401 – Suffering. In fact, this Chaplain’s Corner on suffering could well be the Master’s or Ph.D. level course because it’s so difficult to be grateful in the face of suffering. But that is precisely what God calls us to. He knows that when we are grateful in the face of suffering, we are acknowledging His sovereignty and actively putting all our faith and trust in Him.

Here is one of my favorite songs by Getty Music, and it comforts me when I am struggling for any reason:  He Will Hold Me Fast.

I pray that you will experience the blessings and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Judy

This Chaplain’s Corner is a continuation of last week’s theme on grace. Last week I focused on common grace. This week’s focus is on saving grace.

God created the universe and all that is in it. Only God could do such a great work. Everything that we as humans do to create, invent, or build first starts with God-given abilities and materials. Before the universe existed, God is. He is the Great I Am.

When God created the universe, he created mankind. He set aside the Garden of Eden (Paradise) for Adam and Eve and allowed them free rein, except for one thing—they were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Have you ever thought about the fact that this tree was evidence that evil was already present? God had also already created the angels, and Lucifer/Satan had already fallen and was now in open conflict with God.) God gave mankind the choice to obey Him or fall into the hands of Satan. Obedience to God would lead to eternal life (the Tree of Life was also in the Garden of Eden). Disobedience would lead to death (banishment from the Garden and access to the Tree of Life).

The following then transpired:

• Genesis 3:3-4 – Satan tempted Eve/Adam (it’s always Satan who tempts, never God).
• Genesis 3:6 – Eve, then Adam, fell for Satan’s lies (Satan is the great deceiver) and disobeyed God. This is what we call “The Fall.”
• Genesis 3:15 – God cursed the serpent and promised that one day Satan would be crushed by the son of Man (Jesus).
• Genesis 3:23-24– God banished man from Paradise. However, we see through the Scriptures that even though man was banished from Paradise, and even though the earth became more and more corrupted (Genesis 6:11), God remained a presence in their lives. He continued, and continues, to provide common grace as we read last week.
• All the Scriptures from Genesis 3:16 until the appearance of Jesus in the New Testament tell of God’s relationship with man after the Fall. God, through Moses, created a system of religion by which man could access Him. He gave the law and the ability to daily offer sacrifices to atone for sins. God’s promise to man continued to be to obey and have eternal life, or to disobey and die. This is known as the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:15-18). It is conditional upon obedience, and therefore a works-based religion.

Then, with the appearance of Jesus in the New Testament, God fulfilled his promise in Genesis 3:15. Some of the Old Testament prophets also referred to the promise of a New Covenant (example Jeremiah 31:31, 33). God sent his beloved Son, Jesus, to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus Christ has paid the price. He has done the deed. He has been obedient to his Father and offered himself as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all our sins so that by believing, we can receive the promise of eternal life. The old religion of works is over. There is nothing we can do on our own. We just have to accept this incredible gift of saving grace (Hebrews 9).

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

I am so thankful that God didn’t give up on us. I am so thankful that he has continued to love on his Creation. I am so thankful that he sent his Son, who was obedient to death on the cross, for me and you. I am so incredibly grateful that my salvation is not conditional upon anything I do; because hard as I try, I can never be good enough. I am thankful for saving grace.

A few weeks ago, my oldest granddaughter (age 12) told me that she had accepted Christ into her life. I told her that nothing in her life would ever make me happier—not the day of her birth, the day of her graduation, the day of her wedding or first child that would make me happier than the knowledge that she has accepted Christ. A couple of weeks ago, our fellow NRM staffer Michelle Brinson shared that her son Jadon had accepted Christ into his life. She rejoiced, and we share in that rejoicing. I pray that you have received this gift. If you are not sure, please let me know. I will come and pray with you and we can talk about it. I want you to possess this gift of saving grace. I can’t think of anything greater to be thankful for.

Blessings,

Judy

“He (God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45b)

Have you ever forgotten to turn off the coffee pot before leaving the house, or maybe left the lights on accidentally? Have you gotten distracted and missed the birthday of someone important? A couple of Monday’s ago I missed a doctor appointment. It was in my calendar, but I failed to look at my calendar and didn’t realize I had missed the appointment until several hours later. I felt so bad because I needed to go the doctor and now I was going to have to wait until the next opening. My husband will tell you I am the worst at turning off the lights. Well, he’s not so good at remembering birthdays, just saying.

That brings me to my second Chaplain’s Corner on Thanksgiving. Last week I expressed my gratitude for all the random acts of kindness expressed by you. This week I want to reflect on God’s intentional expression of common grace to all his creation. I am so thankful that God is not depending on me (or you) to ensure that the sun comes up in the morning or sets in the evening. Thank goodness he isn’t relying on my capricious nature to direct the rainfall.

What is common grace, and how does it differ from saving grace? You know, God didn’t have to create mankind; it was his choice to create us to experience relationship with Him. And when Adam and Eve disobeyed him after all he had done for them, he didn’t have to preserve them or any of their descendants. He could have wiped out any or all of creation right then and started over. Who would have blamed him?

When I disobey (I know you are surprised to hear that about me), he has every right to take me out, or at the very least to isolate and punish me by withholding his providence and the benefits of his creation. To be sure, there are consequences to sin that we must bear, but one thing we don’t have to worry about is whether he will withhold the providence of nature. We can be sure that the sun will rise every morning and set every evening on schedule for all–believers and nonbelievers alike. We can be sure that when he sends rain, it rains on everyone in its path regardless of their relationship with him. This is common grace.

Why does God provide common grace? He explains in a passage known as general revelation that he wants us to have no excuse to realize that it is an all-powerful and eternal divinity, our Creator, who provides for all out of his love for his creation. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”  (Romans 1:20)

In other words, God provides common grace because He wants all mankind to know him and to realize his authority and power over sin and the grave. This does not mean that God will preserve us eternally unconditionally. We must receive the blessing of eternal life by believing in God’s gift of Jesus his son as the sacrifice for our sin to receive saving grace.  To clarify, the condition is not anything that we do, it is about what Christ has done for us and our willingness to receive that gift.  ^“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). This is saving grace.

I am thankful for God’s unfailing, consistent expression of common grace to me, to you, and to all mankind. And let’s remember to express our gratitude for this expression of his love by worshipping him as David did in Psalm 19:1-6.

A psalm of David

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
⁵ It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Source and additional reading: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/providence-and-common-grace/

Blessings,

Judy

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

I keep a small, red, heart-shaped box on my desk to remind me to be grateful.

I received this red box this past Valentine’s Day from a man who had graduated from the program, joined our staff, relapsed, disappeared, and then reappeared in Guest Services Pathways. It really touched my heart. I’m pretty sure I was not the only recipient of one of these boxes of candy, but I still felt special.

This small, red, heart-shaped box contained four pieces of chocolate. I was able to stretch this bounty over two days (you should know that I consider chocolate to be a major food group and an essential part of my diet). As I enjoyed eating the chocolate, I kept thinking, “I should go downstairs and find him and thank him.” But a week went by, or maybe two, and then one day I saw him in the parking lot. He said, “Did you get the box of chocolates that I gave you?” I said I did, thanked him and hugged him, and he expressed how delighted he was to be able to give this gift.

I was so humbled, and frankly embarrassed, at my tardiness in expressing my gratitude for a gift that I knew had meant so much to the giver. I knew that he didn’t have much, if any disposable income, and whatever he had spent on this gift meant that he had to go without something himself. Being able to give this gift was a giant step in the right direction for him, and my failure to acknowledge without prompting was more than rude, it was a failure to acknowledge him for his heartfelt expression of generosity, his way of giving of himself.

I am truly so thankful for all the random, and not so random, acts of kindness that I receive on a daily basis from you, from our guests, and from our program participants. It is really a bountiful display of friendship and love, and it means so much to me. I pray that I never take it for granted what these gifts mean to me and to the givers, and I pray that I will be much more faithful to express my gratitude on a timelier basis.

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now ….” (Philippians 1:3-5, NIV)

Blessings,

Judy