New Every Morning

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ “ –Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)’

The morning sun is bright on trees and lawn crackling with frost.

I shiver as I walk to the road to get the paper from the box.

Grateful for a warm house, I settle with a second cup of coffee.

I read the news of the day; some good, some bad, some sensational.

In the daily paper are items about which I pray:

Leaders, local, national and world;

Conditions of hunger and economic duress, job loss and home closures;

Police reports and those arrested, an accident, the obituaries that reveal grieving survivors.

I remember the verse that stood out to me this morning:

“His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.”

A three-point devotional is contained in these verses.

I should remember it, take it with me into each new day:

I.  God’s mercies fail not!

            How can I even name them?

            So numerous, they defy listing.

            His mercies and compassions abound because He is

            Abba, Father, Sustainer, Keeper, Shade on my right hand, Provider, Sovereign.

            Praise be to God.

II.  His mercies are new every morning!

            New every morning;  look around, name them, thank Him.

            I make a call to one I know who is enduring grief.

            We pray together.

            I remind her of God’s unfailing mercies.

            (I remind myself of the same.)

III.  Great is His faithfulness.

            In storm and shadow, darkness and light, God is faithful.

            God I will depend more on You and less on myself.

            I will lift grateful heart to you, morning, noon, evening, night.

            You hear my prayers and answer.  Thank you.

            You walk with me and show me the way.

            You are my portion; therefore, I will hope in You.

            Thank you for meeting me in the early morning.

            Be with me through the day and night. Amen. 

                                                -Ethelene Dyer Jones  01.26.2014

The Blessing of Peace

“May the Lord  give strength to His people!  May the Lord bless His people with peace!” –Psalm 29:11 (ESV). “May God give peace to you, my Christian brothers, and love, with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” –Ephesians 6:23 (TLB).

Two prayers, very similar in nature, both asking God to grant the blessing of peace to His people, are quoted here from Psalm 29:11 and Ephesians 6:23.  We pray, quoting the disciples’ prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We surely know that the will of the Father is for us to dwell together in peace and harmony, even as the heavenly realm enjoys the blessings of complete peace.

Most of 2014 stretches before us like the pages of an unwritten book

But in our country and in the world, turmoil exists.

Peace seems to evade us; we worry, fret, mistrust each other, go more deeply into multiple troubles.

Yet within the heart of every child of God it is possible to have peace, joy, gratitude, hope and vitality.

These are gifts  promised from the Almighty God who orders the Universe and visits believing hearts.

The psalmist prayed that God would give strength to His people, bless His people with peace.

Paul the apostle prayed that peace might come to Christians,  and likewise, love and faith.

Peace is not a result of outward circumstances.

Although we are buffeted about by them, we can still know peace.

How is this so?

Peace is a gift of God, as is His love.

We love because He first loved us.

We have peace because He is the author of peace.

He assists us to write “Peace” on the unwritten pages of our lives.

We know not what 2014 holds, and it is good that we do not have the clairvoyance to see ahead.

If we knew in advance, we might be so troubled, so worried that we would fail to seek God’s strength.

Like the Psalmist and Paul the Apostle, we need to pray for peace.

To grant us inward peace is God’s will for us.

One truth I can know with surety:  If I walk with God, He will walk with me.

If I know His blessing of peace in my heart, His peace will permeate my life.

In the pathway I walk with Him, there is always, every day and night, peace, joy, gratitude, hope, vitality.

Jesus promised:  “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 14:27).  Praise be to God for the blessings of peace!   -Ethelene Dyer Jones  01.19.2014

Considering a “Life Verse”

“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My word.” –Isaiah 66:2b (NLT).

Have you ever considered choosing a “life” verse, some specific Bible verse that will be a guide for you in the way you live and your attitude about life?  I had a letter recently from a missionary now serving on a foreign field.  I was privileged to be a teacher and mentor for this young lady when she was growing up.  In our youth group, she heard me teach about the value of choosing a life verse and seeking to live by the precepts we learned from it.  Some in that youth group chose Philippians 4:6; others Philippians 4:8; and still others chose Proverbs 3:5-6.  Their lives were strengthened by selecting a Bible verse that would help them set goals for conduct and living an upright life of anticipation.  Their chosen life verse showed they were expecting God to guide them.

Some change their “life verse” from time to time or select one to guide during a given year.  This same dedicated young missionary lady wrote me that she has chosen Isaiah 66:2b to be her life verse for 2014.  She is seeking to live humbly and contritely, and to tremble at the Word of God as Isaiah 66:2b teaches.  The speaker in the verse is God Himself.  He promises to bless those who live humbly (meekly, submissively) and contritely (penitently) and those who tremble at (stand in awe of, reverence, hold in highest esteem) the Word of God. 

In context, Isaiah 66:2b is from the last chapter of Isaiah.  The people are in exile, but Isaiah has predicted that the nation will soon be restored to their homeland of Israel.  They looked forward to return and rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem.  God made a very pertinent statement.  “Heaven is my home and earth is my footstool.”  Then He asked a question:  “Could you ever build a temple as good as that?  My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine.  I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 66:1). Having reminded the people of His sovereignty and might, He then instructed the people how they might please Him and seek His favor:  “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My word.”  We learn in context and from this focal “life verse” that ceremonies of worship can never take the place of an humble and contrite heart.  Do we tremble when we hear His Word read or when we read it for ourselves?  Only we can answer how we respect and honor God’s Word contained in our Bible.

Like my friend on a far away mission field, could we consider choosing a life verse to guide us during 2014?  And whether it is Isaiah 66:2b, as hers is, or another, may we seek humility in our daily walk and way, and may we hold in reverence the value and sacredness of God’s written word.  –Ethelene Dyer Jones  01.12.2013.

Adoption

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba!  Father!’  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs  of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”  -Romans 8:14-17 ( ESV).

Adoption is the legal process by which a person (or persons) takes on parental responsibilities for another person’s child.  In the Old Testament we see examples of Mordecai taking his uncle’s daughter, Esther (see Esther 2:15) and Moses taken by the Egyptian princess when found in a basket on the water where his mother had hidden him to keep him from being killed.  We read in the Near Eastern Code of Hammurabi, an ancient set of laws, that provision was made for adoption.  In the New Testament, Paul wrote of the process by which a person becomes a Christian as being adopted by God.  In Galatians 4:3-7, in Ephesians 1:3-6, and again in Romans 8:14-17,  we read how adoption is applied when persons have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ.  Adoption takes place when the Spirit of the Lord woos an individual and he is chosen by Christ to be a child of God.  This adoption means the redeemed person has all the rights and responsibilities of a child.

Recently a fine two-year old named Chance was adopted by my grandson Nathan and his wife Kayla.  Prior to the adoption, they had been foster parents to the child for more than half his life.  When all factors came together in the right manner, they were able to proceed with adoption and Chance became Chance Jonathan Jones. They have already a daughter born to them, seven-year old Brenna Elizabeth.  Now both the children have all the rights of having Nathan and Kayla as parents—the one born to them and the one adopted. 

In spiritual adoption the Holy Spirit in the believer assures that the person who turns to the Lord is fully accepted as a child into God’s family.  In our adoption into the family of God, we are heirs of a heavenly home and a future with the Lord.  William and Gloria Gaither wrote a gospel song entitled “The Family of God.”  The words express the joy of our position as God’s adopted children:

“I’m so glad I’m a part of the fam’ly of God—

I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!

Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod;

For I’m part of the fam’ly, the fam’ly of God.”

Prayer:  Thank you, God, that your grace provides a way we can cry, “Abba!  Father!’  We are joint heirs with Jesus of abundant life on this earth and eternal life in heaven.  And that is all because You adopted us as your children.  Amen.  –Ethelene Dyer Jones  01.05.2014.