A flight attendant noticed an elderly lady having a difficult time buckling her seat belt. Recognizing her anxiety and obvious fear, the flight attendant went to the captain and explained what she had seen. Graciously, he accompanied the attendant to the lady, and he asked, “May I help you, Ma’am?”
“Oh, yes,” she replied. “This is my first flight. I must admit that I am rather frightened. Tell me, Sir, will you bring me back down safely?”
As he fastened her seat belt, he smiled politely and said, “Yes, Ma’am. I’ve flown hundreds of thousands of miles and never left anyone up there.”
In the closing verse of Matthew, Jesus made one final, eternal promise to His disciples: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Have no doubt about Me!
What a precious and powerful promise: “I am with you always.” But what does it mean? Would his memories be with us? Would his teachings be with us? Would His imprint on history be with us? Of course. But that is only the beginning.
“I am with you” leaves no doubt that after Jesus ascended into heaven, He would be with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit, available and active in our lives, is Jesus’ presence within us and working through us. Jesus was with His disciples then, and today the Holy Spirit is with us now, always will be, and will never leave us. Ever.
Jesus said, “I am going away, but I will come back to you again!” And He did – through the Holy Spirit. And because of God’s power through Christ, He continues to be with us today.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for the assurance of Your presence in our lives. We are comforted to know that whatever comes into our life, You are there to protect us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture For Today: Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20
Showing posts with label loneliness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loneliness. Show all posts
Never Left Alone
A flight attendant noticed an elderly lady having a difficult time buckling her seat belt. Recognizing her anxiety and obvious fear, the flight attendant went to the captain and explained what she had seen. Graciously, he accompanied the attendant to the lady, and he asked, “May I help you, Ma’am?”
“Oh, yes,” she replied. “This is my first flight. I must admit that I am rather frightened. Tell me, Sir, will you bring me back down safely?”
As he fastened her seat belt, he smiled politely and said, “Yes, Ma’am. I’ve flown hundreds of thousands of miles and never left anyone up there.”
In the closing verse of Matthew, Jesus made one final, eternal promise to His disciples: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Have no doubt about Me!
What a precious and powerful promise: “I am with you always.” But what does it mean? Would his memories be with us? Would his teachings be with us? Would His imprint on history be with us? Of course. But that is only the beginning.
“I am with you” leaves no doubt that after Jesus ascended into heaven, He would be with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit, available and active in our lives, is Jesus’ presence within us and working through us. Jesus was with His disciples then, and today the Holy Spirit is with us now, always will be, and will never leave us. Ever.
Jesus said, “I am going away, but I will come back to you again!” And He did – through the Holy Spirit. And because of God’s power through Christ, He continues to be with us today.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for the assurance of Your presence in our lives. We are comforted to know that whatever comes into our life, You are there to protect us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture For Today: Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20
“Oh, yes,” she replied. “This is my first flight. I must admit that I am rather frightened. Tell me, Sir, will you bring me back down safely?”
As he fastened her seat belt, he smiled politely and said, “Yes, Ma’am. I’ve flown hundreds of thousands of miles and never left anyone up there.”
In the closing verse of Matthew, Jesus made one final, eternal promise to His disciples: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Have no doubt about Me!
What a precious and powerful promise: “I am with you always.” But what does it mean? Would his memories be with us? Would his teachings be with us? Would His imprint on history be with us? Of course. But that is only the beginning.
“I am with you” leaves no doubt that after Jesus ascended into heaven, He would be with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit, available and active in our lives, is Jesus’ presence within us and working through us. Jesus was with His disciples then, and today the Holy Spirit is with us now, always will be, and will never leave us. Ever.
Jesus said, “I am going away, but I will come back to you again!” And He did – through the Holy Spirit. And because of God’s power through Christ, He continues to be with us today.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for the assurance of Your presence in our lives. We are comforted to know that whatever comes into our life, You are there to protect us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture For Today: Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20
Why Now, God?
Feelings of being abandoned and forsaken are, perhaps, among the most painful feelings of life. In desperation we cry for someone or anyone to come to our rescue. Tragedy strikes, hopes are dashed, one whom we deeply loved and have spent our lives with is suddenly taken from us. And there we are: alone. Our cries go unheard – and it seems as though the heavens above have turned to brass and the clouds have become marble. So, we cry out in fear and frustration for our God. But He does not answer. He’s not available.
Jesus knew those feelings. As life was ebbing from His body He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” David and Jesus felt abandoned, indeed were abandoned, by those who were their closest friends. They had invested time in training them, being open and honest with them, shared the ups and downs of life with them and came to believe and trust in them. And, then in their darkest moments felt the pain of desertion and the fear of being alone.
But they would not give up on God! The lamp of faith may have been dimmed by God’s silence but it had not been extinguished by life’s tragedies. Both confessed that He is still “My God!”
God never promised that if we believed in Him our lives would be free from the fear of isolation or loneliness. He did, however, promise to be with us in our darkest moments. He did not promise to take us around the dark valleys of life, but through them.
Prayer: We accept Your promises, Lord, and pray that in our moments of despair we will not lose faith in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture for Today: Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
Being Alone Is A Choice
We all enter this world alone and we all depart this world alone. But we do not need to go through life alone.
A visitor walked through the Garden and then came into the office. After sitting quietly for a moment he began to weep loudly, his body trembling. “You know,” he said, “I am so alone and so misunderstood. I wish I belonged to somebody, anybody. I hate life with all of its bitterness and loneliness but I am afraid to die.”
Continuing on he said, “I have wealth and property, success and influence. But I would rather feel accepted by someone, anyone in exchange for all of my possessions.”
Unfortunately, he was not aware of our Father. The Psalmist said, “O, Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord.”
Many lead lonely lives because of a fear of being known - or as some might say, “being found out.” This comes from a fear of not being acceptable to others for who we are or what we might have done in the past. “If you know me,” so it seems, “you probably won’t like me.”
Perhaps that may be true of people, but not God! He has searched us, knows everything about us, and in spite of it all loves us so much that “He gave His only begotten Son to die on our behalf so we can be saved.” And if we accept His salvation, He’ll never leave us nor forsake us.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, that You offer us a love we do not deserve and Your salvation that we cannot earn. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture for Today: Psalm 139:1, 2a-4b You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you, Lord, know it completely.
Room Full Of Lonely
ROOM FULL OF LONELY
It seemed as though the night would never end. Little Luke tossed and turned trying to get comfortable and fall asleep. Finally he gave up and came wandering out of his bedroom with his favorite blanket and teddy bear.
His father heard his footsteps and went upstairs. Picking him up he asked, “What’s the matter? Why can’t you sleep?”
“It’s my room,” he replied.
“Your room? What’s wrong with your room?” asked his Dad.
“It’s full of lonely,” said Luke.
It is a well-known fact that loneliness is one of the biggest problems in society today. Though we are surrounded by family and friends, loneliness grips the hearts and minds of countless millions. Medications and endless activities do not seem to fill the vacuum.
God has promised in His Word that “He will never leave us nor forsake us.” If that’s true, then, why do so many feel lonely?
Could it be that we have left God and He wants us to return? Has He created those feelings of loneliness to get us to seek Him? Have we become so involved with so many “things” that we have crowded Him out of our days? Must He use the darkness of a lonely night to get our attention to return to Him?
Prayer: We ask You, Father, to do whatever it takes, to draw us so close to You that we will feel Your presence and power wherever we are, night or day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture for Today: Hebrews 13:6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Wanted: Friends
A husband and wife were driving down a street with manicured lawns, lovely flowers and beautiful trees. In the front yard of one quaint cottage was a sign reading, “ANTIQUES.” They stopped the car, got out, walked to the door and knocked. Immediately they were greeted by two elderly ladies.
“Come in,” was the gracious invitation. “Let us give you a cup of afternoon tea and a cookie.”
After enjoying the delicious snack the husband asked, “May we see the antiques now?”
“You’re looking at us,” said one of the ladies with a twinkle in her eye. “We’re very lonely and we’ve found that this is a lovely way to make new friends.”
Everywhere we look, we find people who are lonely. They fill crowded streets, social events – even in our churches. Many can be with others and still feel alone.
In Genesis we find God saying that “It is not good for man to be alone.” We were created to live in relationships. So, we all need friends who will be near when we need to be comforted, listen to us when we need to talk about a problem and even wipe away a tear when it runs down our cheek. In good times and bad, we all need a friend to share our dreams and help carry our burdens. People need people. Let’s ask God to bring a lonely person or two into our lives - today.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, humble our hearts to seek the least, the lonely and the lost and share Your love, grace and hope. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Scripture for Today: Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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