Jul

14

Cyclical Mercy

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy.  Romans 11:30-31

None of us like others to see our blemishes. When I spot one on my face, I try all sorts of concealers and powders to minimize it. Yet, it seems the more I try, the more it looks like I ’m trying to cover it up. Disobedience (a.k.a. sin)  can be that way.  But if we expose the sin to God’s healing power, not only does it heal our soul, but others can see the healing happening in our lives as well.  They can see, wow- God does work. Maybe He’ll work for me.

When I  expose my blemishes, as embarrassing as they may be, they heal faster. When I expose my sins and ask for forgiveness, it doesn’t just affect my relationship with God, it affects my relationship with others and their relationship with Him as well. Doing so lets me see others in a different light – as people who need God in their lives as much as I do. People for whom I should be on my knees, not turning my back on them.  Forgiveness is cyclical. It heals and restores all aspects of our lives and relationships – our walk with God, our feelings about ourselves, and our attitude towards others. 

When you find a remedy to fight blemishes, peopl want to know. We all get them.  For disobedience’s marks on our lives, the only way that blemish will clear is if you quit trying to cover it up and expose it to the Light and Healing Power of God.  Then you will have the confidence to face the world, and the world will see God’s mercy in your life and be drawn to it.

Jul

9

Going Before

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

One of the things I have always struggled with is walking into a crowd of people I do not know.  Be it a workshop,  a concert, or a popular restaurant, I don’t want to walk in by myself. I prefer to have someone else with me.  One time, after we had just moved to a new city and had scoped out a new church, one of the women’s leaders approached me to come on their annual retreat. I knew it would be a good way to get to know people, and not having any friends yet, I said yes.  I got the directions and paid my money. 

The night before, the clenching in my stomach began.  I fought panic as I drove the hour to the camp where it was being held.  Three times I almost turned back.  But a granule of hope kept my car in the right direction. These were Christian women. I would be accepted. I would make friends. I did. The weekend was wonderful.  We all grew in Christ and bonded with each other.  I had a great time laughing, crying and eating way too much.

God had prepared the way.  He was in the midst of the whole weekend.  Just as He was for Joshua and the Israelites entering into a strange land. But it was a journey where God’s footprints already lay.  He knew ahead of time the dangers, the heartaches, the joys and the challenges that lay ahead on this path for His children. In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses reminds Joshua that as long as they follow where God leads, He won’t forsake them. He will be there in the midst. 

 Down my life journey I can have that confidence as well.  So can you. As Paul said, if God is for us, who can stand against us? He knows the path because He created it.  How wonderful to have Him walking right by our side in times of peace, and in times of possible danger,  have Him move ahead and scope it out.  If you are entering into an unknown – be it a new job, motherhood, empty nesting, marriage, divorce or life after losing a parent or a spouse, don’t despair. You are not alone.  If you don’t feel God beside you, have confidence it is because He is going before you.  Don’t be dismayed. He has not left you.

Jul

6

In His lap

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


in Psalm 5, David pleads with God to “lead me in thy righteousness.”  What is the righteousness of God? And why does David have to be led into it?

Righteousness in the Bible is always being just, no matter what. God does not possess any prejudice, partiality or preference when dealing with His children.  He loves us each equally and judges us by the same law, His law of unconditional love and justice. To God, there are no grey areas.  If there were, there would be wiggle room for judgement.  Like human attorneys, He would be citing exceptions to the rules and trying to justify the if’s and but’s. But He doesn’t. What is law for you is law for me.

Why does David ask to be led into God’s righteousness?  Because we humans don’t know how to be just, do we? Our viewpoints are tainted by emotions, experiences, teachings and dsiappointments. We “interpret” the laws and see the world the through skewed lens of self. We need God to guide us, to be the God He has promised to be – totally unbiased, fair and just. The God who forgives our sins and shortcomings through the sacrifice of His own Son on the cross because He know we all have fallen short. If God was not a totally just God, His mercy would be meaningless and His grace diluted. 

David was asking God to judge him fairly, to seek out his heart.  To come to His aid, even if he had done wrong. That is a pretty bold statement. But David had faith. David was hardly perfect. He knew he had sinned big time, but He never stopped loving God and wanting to do His will.

How about you? Are you that bold to come before God and say “judge me fairly”? If you believe that Jesus died so you could be forgiven and that nothing can separate you from God’s love, not even your own negativity, then yes, you can be so bold.  How awesome that we can kneel before the Creator of the Universe and have Him look our way, with tenderness in His eyes. That we can say, “I’m sorry, Dad. I really, really am,” and be beckoned to crawl up in His lap to receive His love and protection.  How wonderful His lap is big enough for all who want to come. All we have to do is say we are sorry, that we need His mercy and believe that through Christ it is made available to us. Meet ya there.

Jul

1

Weaned and Quieted

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


Psalm 131

1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.

At only three verses this is the shortest of the Psalms, but it sure packs a wallop ( as we’d say here in Texas.)  It describes a person who has such deep faith and hope in the Lord that he is content in all circumstances. He compares himself to a weaned child ( a two-three year old back then) who doesn’t scream to be fed and has to be constantly attended to, but is content to walk, run and play in the shadow of their parent, fully confident that their parent is right there to protect and guide them, to provide for them and love them.

Paul, in his  first letter to the Corinthians, said their faith was still so immature, they were still needing milk like babes (3:2). In contrast, he wrote to the Philippians church that he’d learned to be content in all circumstances.  The Psalmist here is saying the same thing.  He doesn’t have lofty, pie in the sky, I can do it myself dreams. He trusts in God for everything – his daily bread, his strength, his abilities to handle whatever comes along, his protection. He has calmed his soul. 

Does that mean we should not have goals? Of course not. It does mean that if God made us a zebra, we should not dream of being a butterfly  then blame Him or ourselves if we can’t flittter about in the breeze.  We should strive to be content to be what we are designed to be knowing He has given each of us a unique purpose. It may be a mother and mentor to our kid’s friends who do not have a strong faith background.  It may be to teach, to write, to paint, to sing. It may be to touch the hearts of millions, or just a few.  But we trust that God knows best. 

Heavenly Lord,  calm my soul and still my heart today, resting in the knowledge that You are with me to protect, guide and provide for me. Let me be mature enough to walk along side of you down this path called life, using the talents You have given me and waiting for Your timing to provide exactly what I need to do Your Will.  Re-instill in me a child-like faith of hope and trust in You,  being content no matter what comes my way.  Let me be able to digest Your Word and fully take it in, chew on it and  have it nourish my life.  Through Your Son, My Saviour, I pray. Amen.

Jun

30

Evil Lies Close – But God is Closer

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.  Romans 7:21

Oh, how true! I gear myself up to start eating right and lose weight. I am all gung-ho, have prayed for strength and endurance. I know I must take better care of this temple called my body.  By midday, I am craving a chocolate bar, or worse, chocolate ice cream - even if I haven’t had it in weeks.   I tell myself tomorrow I will start exercising, then wake up with a killer backache, or stumble and jam my toe, or my allergies are aflame.  I promise I will spend a half hour every morning reading my Bible and praying over the Word, and the phone rings, the cat throws up, or the dishwasher floods. Really? Anything else want to happen?  Do you ever feel this way?

Some people say such happenings fall under Murphy’s Law – “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”  I think Paul hits the nail on the head.  He says,  “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (v.15)

He takes responsibility for his actions, though he blames it on evil, which beckons to man’s innate sinful nature.  The good news is that through the grace of God we can rise above sin and evil’s whisperings in our ear. Obstacles should be a sign that we are actually on the right path. 

With Christ who gives us the strength we need, we can roll them out of the way,  find a way around them, or crawl over them.  His mercies are new every morning, so can be our determination. Chocolate ice cream watch out,  temptations get out of the way!  Let the phone ring – I have voice mail. Distractions vanish – God is at my side!

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