Feb
12
White As Snow
By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18
Yesterday we had a snowstorm in Texas- that is a once in the lifetime rarity. Over 10 inches. This morning I woke up to a gorgeous site. Those of you who live in the snowy north, pardon my gushing! The tree limbs were coated in fluffy white, outlined so vividly. It enhanced their graceful beauty more than the Spring leaves ever will. The ground was blanketed in pristine white, covering all the things under it, including the dead brown grass and the dandelion weeds that had decided to pop up in droves after a good few weeks of rain.
Yeah- I was humming that children’s hymn - “What can make me white as snow.” Now I get it Lord. Now I see how you can cover my flaws with the beauty of Your grace, blanket my life with your mercy and make what was once dead, and what has been weeding up in my world, pristine and gleaming.
Thank you, Lord for the majesty of your creation and for your mercy, new every morning. Cover me with your grace, hide my sin from sight as you deal with it and make it all new in Your wonderous wisdom. And, yes, thanks for this rare and wonderful snow day to point out to my heart how awesome and encompassing Your love is.
God's blanketed mercy
Jan
27
Afflicting Attitudes
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
Psalm 119: 50 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.
What a wonderful attitude, right? In the midst of whatever we go through in life, whether it is physical illness, the worry over a loved one’s plight, or mental distress, we can take comfort that we believe in a God who keeps His promises. What promises? Well, to review just a few from the Bible -
He promised through Noah and the rainbow that He’d never destroy the earth in flood- God promises to keep His promises.
He promised Abraham to make him a father of nations even though Sarah was barren. God promises miracles.
God made a covenant with Moses ( a promise) that He would lead them to the Promised Land and that He would provide food and water along the way and their clothes would not wear out – God’s promises provide for not only our needs but leads us to greater things.
He made a promise to David that his descendents would continue forever. Jesus was one, and through Him, we are all adopted children of the King and have eternal life. God’s promises ring true for His children.
God promised through Christ’s death on the cross that our sins would be forgiven and through Christ we would never again be separated from Him. He also promised His Holy Spirit would come to dwell in us to guide, protect, teach and encourage us.
All of those promises are recorded for your benefit and mine. Learn them, mark them in your heart and teach them to your children. God is a promise maker, and more than that, a promise keeper. David knew that. He had learned through his walk with God that whatever happened, whether by his own sinful nature or by enemies crowding at his door, God would not leave Him. And through his affliction, he’d learn a little more about the wonderful Lord he served. That made it all worthwhile.
vs. 71 – It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
adapted from
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Jan
26
How Am I to Know?
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
Genesis 15 :7-8 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
Perhaps the stories in the Bible are so meaningful because these were real people. They had great faith, but they also had doubts, fears and limited understanding of God and His power in their lives. Just like me at times. Perhaps just like you. God had just told Abram his descendants would out- number the stars in the night sky. It was God’s promise. He reminded him that He had brought him and his family and all of his possessions safely into this new land. That He, God, was the reason Abram left it all behind. And Abraham asks, “How am I to know?”
“How can he not know?”, we want to cry. Yet, God in his patience didn’t chastise Abram. No fire and brimstone hailed down. God instead gave him a task. He told him to prepare a sacrifice to Him. Is that an answer? Yes. It was I think the way to satisfy what two things were behind Abram’s question. First, “What can I do?” and second, “Can you?”
It is human nature to want to “do” something. It is hard for us to not be involved in helping God bring forth the blessings He wants us to receive. We don’t like to sit around and wait for God’s timing, even though deep down we know that is the best. So God says, “If you need to do something, then do something to honor me.”
The second question seems like one we should never, ever ask. You can almost hear the air sucking and the breath holding sounds of the angels when Abram questions God’s ability. But don’t we do that as well? The answer is in the question. “How am I to know?”, Abram asks. God’s response is simple. “Because - I Am.” Yah-weh. I Am – the Creator of the Universe, the past, the now and the future. I Am omnipotent, omni-present and almighty. I Am the Beginning and the End, and everything in the middle. I Am- the One who loves you more than anything else. I Am the one who can give you eternal life.
Enough said?
Jan
15
Lend a Hand
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
Psalm 16:8-9 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
I watched a young mother in our women’s group with her toddler. The child was determined to walk across the meeting hall. Tenacious wobbly steps, with one arm up-reached and fingers flexing, just to make sure Mommy’s hand was there to grab hold, just in case. The mother intently watched, matching her child’s pace, always within reach to lend a hand. In another month or so, I can see that mother trying to run to keep up with the giggling toddler as the child grows more confident and sturdy in her strides. That is only the beginning of all the little letting go episodes to come. Letting go to be what she is created to be, yet always there to lend a hand. That’s what parenting is all about, isn’t it?
Can’t you see God our Father that way? He is always beside us, just within reach. As we mature, we may think we do not need Him to help us walk this path. But the wisdom that comes with age is that with each step, we do. Children will try to find independence, and so do we. We struggle to make our own way in the world, only to realize our Father’s way is best. Then, when we do, we tenaciously reach out a wobbly hand, fingers flexed. What wondrous relief to feel the warm, solid strength grasp our hand and draw us near.
Even if we occasionally fall on our rears, He is there waiting for us to ask for help back up. Ready to lend a hand – the same hand that created the world in which we live, and everything else. The same hand that has nail scars on it and was stretched out on a cross to take on our sins.
Jan
12
Hidden Strength
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
Psalm 10:1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Have you ever asked that? I must admit I have. There are times I can feel God so close it is as if He is breathing on the apple of my cheek. I can almost sense His strong all encompassing arms wrapping around me in love and protection. It is easy then to offer tearful praises. But, then there are the other times . . .
I remember a bumper sticker when I was in college that said something to the effect that if God was not in your life, think about who moved. God is a constant- I am not. My human emotions and thoughts can send my mind down paths that are not sanctified by Him. I can become so caught up in the whirr of the angst that I am not tuned into His voice. The white noise of my own worries drowns Him out.
Perhaps He is silent so I will stop and listen. Often times, a good parent waits until the child has stopped ranting and starts again to calm down enough to hear the response. The more I turn to Him and not let everything else swirl me into an abyss of worry and negativity, the more I feel His presence, His influence and His mercy.
Perhaps, it is not so much He who is hiding in times of trouble, but my worries that are cloaking His grace.
David wrote this Psalm, but he also wrote that God is our refuge and strength, our help in times of trouble. (46:1). Perhaps, like me, he was beginning to grasp the Truth.
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