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Welcome! Welcome is such a common word that we probably don’t give it much thought. We use it without really thinking about it. I looked up the definition and it says it is a word that can be used to express kindness, gratitude, or appreciation. It also means someone or something that is wanted or invited.

Welcome comes from an Old English word “wilcuma,” which means “one whose coming is pleasing.”

As I sat in church last Sunday, that is what I felt, welcomed. The moment I stepped through the front door, Pastor Paco greeted me with a smile and a hug. As I walked through the lobby, there were more smiles and more hugs.

This is a young and lively church. I am older and my tempo is definitely a lot less lively, but still, this family of God was glad to see me. To be welcomed is a marvelous experience.

Ever wonder what life was like for the prodigal son (Luke 15) after his father welcomed him home? I wonder if he opened his heart and his life to other prodigals. Oh, I know it was a parable, a story told to illustrate a point, but what if he had been a real person. How would his father’s “welcome” have changed his life?

Let’s admit, we are all prodigals. We were all welcomed home by the Father … and as Jesus said, “there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” [Luke 15:7]

Hopefully, we are all now welcomed by the family of God … and welcoming to those other prodigals who come along beside us.

Someone reminded me recently how much I love grace! And how it has always been my deepest desire to live and speak grace into the lives of others.

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” [Ephesians 1:5-7 NLT]

God poured out His grace upon us and made us His sons and daughters through the sacrifice of His son. He forgave our sins, setting us free from all guilt and shame.

But Grace is not just what came to us initially, it is a constant source of strength. Paul wrote: “But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me.” [1Corinthians 15:10 HCSB]

There is nothing in me that can do anything for God apart from His effective grace that works within me. I brought nothing into this relationship except my rebellion and sin. I was impoverished with nothing to offer except an empty vessel for Him to fill and work through. Then His grace flooded my soul. And continues to flood my soul.

That old song, “A Sinner Saved by Grace,” defines my life. Now I can boldly proclaim that because of His grace, “I am what I am” – a Child of God! A Daughter of the King of Glory.

Luke 22:43-44: “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

I cannot even imagine the intensity and mental pressure arising from my LORD’s struggle in Gethsemane. How tremendous was the weight of the sin and punishment in that cup of wrath that was set before Him that He sweated drops of blood? The agony of Christ simply poured out onto the ground. Jesus could not even have continued in His prayer if an angel from heaven had not been sent by His Father to strengthen Him.

As I read those two verses I am touched deep in my soul. Words cannot even describe how I feel. When I consider that my Savior, God’s Son, endured all this for me, I can barely breathe.

How often have my thoughts of the cross been simply routine. The story has become so familiar that I sometimes glibly recount it. It ceases to make me pause, gasp, and fall to my knees.

I know I am saved. I know I have been adopted into the Father’s house, a child of God. I know all my sins are forgiven. I know God has promised me good things. I know heaven is mine. I know … I know.  But do I really KNOW what all this cost my LORD?

Father forgive me for taking Your Son’s sacrifice lightly. Forgive me for my complacency and disrespect. Help me to better know the cost of my salvation. Amen.

“’Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.’” [Mark 14:36]

I am awestruck by the honesty of this prayer. Jesus knew what was ahead of Him. Like any man, the trials and torture and crucifixion would have been a fearful experience, but the part that seems to have troubled Him the most was that “cup” of God’s wrath. He would have to drain that “cup” to its bitter dregs, taking upon Himself the sins of the world in their most horrendous punishment … and in the process experiencing a separation from His Father. How that all transpired cannot even be understood by us, it is a mystery that we may never be able to unravel.

Knowing all this, Jesus was honest with His Father. “Father, You can do anything and everything, is there is any other way that salvation can be accomplished apart from my drinking this cup of degradation and wrath?”

The writer of Hebrews tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” [12:2]

“…who for the joy set before him endured the cross.”  That joy was the open door of salvation He would accomplish for us. But understand, there was no joy that night in Gethsemane. This was an hour of darkness and agony. It was a time of honest intercession … “take this cup from me.”

Let’s be authentic in our approach to God and in our pleas. God is not impressed by our pretense that we have it all together, but He will respond to us in our honesty and in our desperation.

I am finishing up the month of February focusing on our spiritual hearts. There are five risk factors contained in the Scriptures that we need to heed. Yesterday it was a warning against hardening our hearts before the LORD (often a failure to remember all that God has done for us.)

Today, it’s guarding against developing a complaining, grumbling, and murmuring spirit. Multiple times in the scriptures we are warned about this.  “Do everything without grumbling ….” [Philippians 2:14, also Exodus 16:3, John 6:43]

Complaining can take the form of fault-finding, murmuring, griping, and grumbling. It can also take the form of taking offense and entitlement. Complaining is a major occupation of our culture. As a society we are much more focused on fault-finding than virtue-finding. We love to complain.

I remember an incident from a few years ago. Our family visited a popular restaurant on a very busy holiday. Our waitress was a delight. She stayed attentive to our needs, updated us on timing of meal delivery, and never seemed “rushed” when it was apparent there was every reason to be.  I was so impressed I praised her by name to the restaurant company in an email.

A few weeks later I got a letter and a special “manager’s gift card” in the mail for $50. When we redeemed it at another meal, a manager quickly came to our table and asked if our “service was better than last time.”

After some confusion and explanation, the manager said the company gave those special manager’s gift cards to the people who complained about their service or meal. He was shocked that someone actually sent in a praise report.

That is a sad commentary on our society. It is even more sad (and risky to our spiritual hearts) when we allow that attitude to invade our spiritual walk.

I wonder who picks out the verse-of-the-day that is sent to my email? I often see patterns–Scriptures that speak of the Incarnation during the Christmas season or Redemption during the Easter Season. But sometimes I can’t find any reason why that verse ended up applied to that day.

Maybe the person who picks out the verse-of-the-day really needed to hear that Scripture and just decided the rest of us should too.

What greeted me this morning was James 1:2-3: “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” [HCSB]

The NKJV commands us to “count it all joy,” while, the NLT provides another way of looking at James’ command. “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

No matter how I look at these verses, I doubt very much if I have ever (initially) faced any trial or trouble as an opportunity for great joy. I usually attribute opportunities for great joy to other types of experiences.

Usually, I find the “great joy” when the trial is behind me. I can see how my God was faithful, how my faith grew, how much stronger my endurance. But James is unmistakable. We are not to wait until the end of the trial to count it all joy, we are to count it all joy at the beginning.

Anticipating eagerly how God will prove Himself faithful to us amid the various trials and troubles is the avenue for experiencing the great joy at the beginning.

I have been trying to be quiet before the LORD more in 2024. When I look back on 2023 it appears noisy and busy to me. I would label it a year of struggle. Not necessarily always struggling with bad situations, but a busy kind of struggle that has robbed my soul and spirit of quiet times before the LORD.

As I read Psalm 46 this morning, I came across that all familiar and often-quoted verse 10: “Be still and know that I am God.” 

Would it surprise you to learn that “still” does not mean to be quiet and not talk? The word is raphah, and it means “to cast down, let fall, to let hang down (especially the hands).”

It is used in the sense of not making any effort or putting forth any exertion.  It carries the idea of ceasing all struggle and leaving everything in God’s Hands.

When you read Psalm 46 notice how God is portrayed. He is our refuge, strength, ever-present help. He is the LORD Almighty, our fortress. He works among us; bringing desolations, causing wars to cease, and defeating enemies.

It doesn’t matter if the very mountains fall into the sea or quake mightily … our God is mightier than anything and as verse 11 points out … He is “with us.”

It is only in knowing our God after that fashion that we can cease all struggles, be still, and leave everything in God’s Hands.

My yearly Bible reading plan is arranged so that I read two chapters in the OT, one psalm or proverb, and 1 chapter in the NT. That takes me through the Bible in a year, reading Psalms and Proverbs twice, and the Gospels twice.

My NT chapter this morning was Matthew 8. This is a glorious chapter recording events early in the ministry of Jesus.

Matthew begins with three healings. First the man with leprosy, then the Centurion’s servant (more on this event tomorrow), and finally with Peter’s mother-in-law (which generated people bringing many others to Jesus’ doorstep).

There is a section on the cost of following Jesus. Then suddenly Jesus and the disciples are in a boat in a terrible storm calling out to Jesus to save them. He calms the winds and the sea with simply His word.

Finally, to end the chapter, Matthew reports Jesus delivering two demon-possessed men in the region of the Gadarenes.

Do you see what Matthew did in this chapter. He shows us a marvelous picture of our LORD’s authority. As we read through these events, we see that Jesus has all authority over sickness and death. He has all authority over the natural world. And He has all authority over the spirit world.

He heals by His Word and Touch. He calms nature by His word. He dispatches demons by His Word. PTL.