Jul

30

Until I went

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God.  Psalm 73:16-17

I sat in the pews as if struck by lightening. All the people around me faded into a blur. The rest of the sermon sounded like background noise. One sentence spoken from the pulpit was all it took. A question I had, a deeply seated doubt, had been answered before I had found the time to really get down on my knees and ask it. From the lips of a man of God came the voice of God.  My angst melted into humbleness. God had reached down into my soul and touched me – again. 

And to think I had contemplated staying home that day because I was having one of those chronic pain days. Yet experience told me to go. How many times has Satan stepped on my back - yet I got up, got going and later found out why. Each time, God had an answer for me-in the hug of a friend, in the words of a hymn, in the midst of prayer, or from the pulpit. And each time, it humbled me to know He actually hears, cares and responds.

Our God is a creative God. He loves to act and interact through us imperfect humans. Sure, He can speak to us at anytime, but He calls us to come together for a purpose. United we are stronger. The Christian walk is going against the flow. We need to push forward arm in arm and with His help, help each other so we can in turn help others.  That is the purpose of coming into His sanctuary. 

Until I went, the deepest confines of my heart were still unrevealed. Until I went, I was not able to plainly hear His response. Until I went, I was not yet awed by His grace filling me with His presence and showing me how He can use others and myself to help Him touch lives.

This Sunday, get up and get to His sanctuary. Answers, comfort and strength await you. Who knows, something you do or say may be what the person in the next pew needs, or they may be just what you need. Go, and watch God in action.

Jul

21

Words to Live By

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


 Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life    Psalm 119:49-50

While helping a friend pack moving boxes, I noticed in a drawer all of these cards – birthday, anniversary, get well. Some were crayon scribbled, some professionally printed, some with poems, some with humor.  She smiled and said she never throws away a card. When she gets down in the dumps, she pulls them out and remembers how much she means to friends and family and how much they mean to her. She recalls the good and the bad, and that through all the tears and smiles she was not alone.

Years ago, I began writing Bible passage references in the back of the study Bible my mother gave me one Christmas.  I had four columns – God’s Grace, Overcoming Temptations and Trials, Living a Holy Life, and God Loves Me.  When I found a passage that fit one of those categories, I’d list it.   God’s Grace – Mt 6:25-33, 1Peter 5:6-7, Philippians 2:10-11. Overcoming Trials – Philippians 4:13, 1 Peter 5:10, James 4:7-8. Holy Life – 1Peter 3:1-4, James 5:13-16, Colossians 3:16. God Loves Me – John 3:16-17, Hebrews 2:5-7, Ephesians 3:18, 2Thessalonians 2:16-17.  The list goes on. I also wrote down sayings that I heard in Bible studies, sermons, and on retreats.  Like GRACE is God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.  Put God FIRST – in Finances, Interests, Relationships, Schedules and Troubles.  If God doesn’t feel close perhaps it is because He wants me to be draw closer to Him.

I must confess I had forgotten all those in the back of that Bible, until packing up all of my friend’s cards reminded me that whenever I need to feel loved, or encouraged, I can go to my own “drawer” and pull out His Words – like special delivery cards to me. All of those passages that  have brought me through in the past.  Just as we look through a sea of greeting cards on the shelves in the store to pick just the right one for a friend or family member, so we can turn to Scripture and let God help us to find just the passage we need.  Realizing that, I made up my own card for my friend- with the passages that had meant so much to me and hopefully would to her as she moved and started over in a new town.  Just as I have had to do many times.  Writing them all down for her, brought renewed comfort and joy to me. 

 Some people journal, some blog, some write poems or music, some paint.  Whatever is your passion, start your own “drawer” of God’s words to live by. And, visit it often.

Feb

18

The Lord on High

By Jan Ross | Comments Off


The Lord on high…He is an immovable anchor cast in the storm. The Lord does more wondrous things than the noise of many waters. They cannot disturb His rest or rule. They cannot defeat His designs and purposes.

God is mighty to preserve His people from being ruined by these many waters and His people’s spirits from being terrified by the noise of them. He can, when He pleases, command peace in our lives. The unlimited sovereignty and unrelenting power of the awesome God we serve encourages His people, even in the midst of the most difficult storms of life.

Who is mightier than the waves of any trial in our lives? The Lord on High!

Who can calm the raging storms in our lives? The Lord on High!

Whose love knows no end? The Lord on High!

Who is mightier than the mighty waves of the sea? The Lord on High!

Who is the soon coming King? The Lord on High!

The Psalmist summed it up perfectly … “The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” (Psalm 93:4)

Hallelujah to the Lord on High!

Lord, You ARE mightier than the waves of any trial in my life for You ARE the Lord on High. There is none like You in all the earth or in the heavens above the earth. You are the immovable anchor in the midst of my storms. Help me remember when the waves billow out their deafening sound in my soul that You will be there to calm the sea for Your voice is mightier than the noise of many waters. Thank You for such an awesome assurance, amen.

© Jan Ross
All Rights Reserved

Jan

22

A Cry From Haiti?

By Julie B Cosgrove | 2 Comments


Psalm 31: 2  Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!

It is hard to watch the overwhelming devastation, need and destruction that plagues the people of Haiti.  It is easy to feel helpless, impotent, and overwhelmed. what can I possibly do to make any difference? It would seem like a drop in a bucket, one with a huge hole in the bottom.

Having lived through Katrina, I know that feeling. Anyone who has survived any natural disaster, be it a hurricane, earthquake, tornado or flood knows that feeling.  It is like applying a band-aid to a gaping, gushing wound. There is so much to do, too much for it to be humanly possible.   That’s the key.

What can you do? Give financially what you can.  But Pray- fervently.  Pray for God to provide hands that can reach out when you cannot. Pray for miracles. Pray for ways that His goodness can shine through the darkness.  Pray for the rescue workers to have the stamina to keep on going, and to see that they are making a difference.  Our Lord turned a meager lunch into a banquet for thousands, healed the lame and the blind, raised the dead.  He still does. What’s more, He comforts the mourners,  heals the injured in spirit and body,  give hope to the hopeless. Missionaries confess over and over that miracles are not passe. They do occur when the Divine breaks through the barriers of human suffering.

It will take months and years to help restore some sense of normalcy to Haiti. Keep the people, the missionaries, the rescue workers, the soldiers and the victims in prayer. Long after the media has stopped reporting and has moved the world’s attention to the next fresh newsworthy thing, we Christians can continue the vigil.  Through prayer, we can bring Christ’s comfort to a hurting world.

Dec

31

Steadfast in the Midst

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


Psalm 46:9     We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.

This Psalm starts out with the familiar verse – God is our refuge and our strength and very present help in trouble . (vs.1)   Later on, it includes another familiar verse – Be still and know that I am God. (vs.10)  The Psalmist tells us not to fear even if the mountains be moved into the sea.

You, if you have dedicated your life to Christ and have received the Holy Spirit, are now a temple in which God dwells. He will never leave you. In His steadfast love, He remains, always with you in good times and in the bad.   It is up to us to acknowledge His presence in our lives and to turn to him for strength and comfort.  He is always just a breath away, there in the midst of your life, your soul and your body whether you realize it or not.

Pretty daunting thought, isn’t it? Yet as warm and comforting as a fluffy towel straight out of the dryer wrapped around you.  A missionary once told me to lay my hand very close to my cheek and feel the warmth. That was how near God was always to me.  The next time you pray, try that and feel His presence. You have to be still, but You will feel Him there in the midst of you- your life, your troubles and your joy – steadfast, and loving you as His child now and forever more.

Next Page →