Today’s Readings: 1 Chronicles 3-4, Hebrews 9, Amos 3, Psalms 146-147
“I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.”
Psalm 146: 2-4
It’s been quite a week to live here on this earth in our little country called The United States. At least I’m sure our country is small to our Heavenly Father who is looking down on us, shaking his head as we struggle to be united. My heart has been heavy with the responsibility of writing today. Mostly, because I want to deliver an uplifting message to everyone and maybe because I need one myself. We’ve spent this week, this month, this year focused on the plans that one person has for our country. But we forgot. We forgot that there isn’t a person on this earth that can have dominion over everything.
“…when his breath departs, he returns to earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
When we put all of our hope and our trust and our faith in a human being, there will be hardship. No matter who it is. No one can carry our lives in their hand, keep us safe, and protect our souls like our Father. It has been a hard lesson, but we are learning. Our country is swept up in fear, hostility and in some places violence. The division is deep, and it hurts. There is one that can heal us. One that shows us each day that our plans are just for now, while we are here. What endures is God’s love, generation after generation.
At another time in my life when I was afraid and alone, a friend took the time to write encouraging scriptures for me on some little yellow note cards. Those cards saved me. Literally, those cards brought the Bible into my life for the very first time. Despite growing up Catholic I had never opened a Bible. The first time I read about God’s promises, they were written on yellow index cards. This opportunity to write for Bible Journal has matured my faith more than I could have imagined, I am reading many of His sacred words for the first time. Now, I hold those passages close to my heart. I speak them out loud, read them in a quiet moment or simply think them while driving from place to place. That small act of taking an hour to write scripture onto note cards had such an impact on my life. As I prayed about what to write for you today, God told me to bring it back to the simplicity of his word. He reminded me that we can’t fix things here on earth. We are a broken world with broken people. He is the only “fixer.” I realized that the uplifting message I have to share with you today is just Jesus. He is our salvation.
Lord, we know that you are in control of everything. We know that you lead us each and every day. Help us to see your way Father.
A few of the yellow cards:
“May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us and eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
“Faith is being sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see…By faith, I understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3
“God did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of calm and well balanced mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
“Now unto Him who is able to do more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to him be the glory forever and ever, Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach me, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures I might have hope.” Romans 15:4