Loving Genuinly

 I cannot believe this is the last day of 2022...I don't know about you, but the year just disappeared in front of my eyes.  If it weren't for the photos in my phone, I would not be able to recall all the memories of this year's experiences.  Scary... 

But anyway, today, I do remember the word I chose a year ago to be my focus for 2022: Help.  This word came to me as a two-fold action: to help and to ask for help.  Looking back, I can see the few instances on which I might have succeeded, all by the grace of God...and the many times I failed, all by my own negligence and corrupted will.  

But enough of regrets.  God is Good and Faithful regardless of how unworthy we are.  Everything good in us is from Him, and for that I am genuinely grateful. (James 1: 17) It's time to close the 2022 chapter and see what 2023 brings.  As I think of the idea on which I would like to focus on this new year, the word "genuine" keeps ringing in my ears and mind.  

Genuine is an adjective that expresses how something is truly what is said to be. Some similar words are authentic, real, true...it's a pretty good word, isn't it? But, then...why do I find it so challenging?  Why is it so hard to be genuine?

I don't know.  Maybe it is because when we are genuine, we put ourselves out there, nakedly.  And when we do that, we become very vulnerable.  People can really hurt us.  It's best not to show our true selves.  It's best to keep people guessing.  There's so much evil running loose in our society, that we often prefer to keep ourselves inside our shells purely to survive.  There is one antidote to our fear of being "real."  The antidote is love.  

When we act empowered by Love, we can conquer all.  And Love is God, because God is the only true, real, "genuine" Love.  

I know I will most likely fail more than I succeed in 2023 while trying to be genuine in my actions of love towards others, but I'm encouraged by the Hope that abounds in me by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in me (Romans 15: 13)...the Emmanuel, God with us. So, I'm going with "genuine" as my concept to focus on 2023.  I want to "be" genuine in all I do.  Most of all, I want to be genuine in the way I love others.  I want to love genuinely as I'm perfectly and genuinely loved by My Lord.

May Our Almighty Lord, the God of All Love, and of all Hope strengthen us this new year and always, so we can walk by the hand of Jesus, in genuine communion with Him and His beloved.  In Christ's precious name.  Amen!

Happy New Years!

The Hope Of His Presence

As we come to the end of another year and stand on the eve of a new one, it’s hard to avoid feeling a bit melancholic. Even for those caught in the rush of the season, rare moments of quietness, bring contemplation of the past year and how it met, exceeded, or fell short of our dreams. The regrets, pain, hurt, sorrow, and stress of the year mix with the joy and the blessings are the ingredients for the all-too-common, holiday blues. This is then an excellent time to intentionally infuse ourselves with the perfect aroma of hope. As life unfolds in expected and unexpected ways, hope is what keeps us from completely losing it. As Dylan’s surprisingly mature expression of the day goes: “without hope, we might as well be dead already.”

We would like to share with you, in the midst of whatever circumstances you find yourself, the hope of the season. Our Hope, the hope we hang on to, is the promise of God’s presence among us…the promise of the Emmanuel, God with Us, whose power, and glory are made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12: 9).

May love, joy, and the spirit of Christmas fill your heart and your home with true Hope today and always.

A Moment to Rest

 It is certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  One has only to walk around Walmart to see the Christmas-stress stamped all over the faces of the not-so-jolly shoppers.  Mothers of young children run around exhausted, thinking there's no way they can accomplish all that is expected of them in this season.  Working fellows resign to the assumption of disappointed hopes since they can't figure out the time or find the money to meet the heavy expectations that are placed on their shoulders. Sad thoughts about loneliness and emptiness plague the minds of older folks. The grieving walk around numb...not knowing what to make of the overwhelming emotional flow they are experiencing. Worries about the future make us all tremble in fear...how is it ever possible to call this "the most wonderful time of the year?"

..."the kids jingle belling" is fun and endearing, but also could be heartbreaking because it might remind us of what we once had and don't have anymore or of what we longed for and never got to enjoyed...making it impossible to "be of good cheer."

For those who don't have any "holiday meetings and greetings or friends calling" this is certainly not the "hap-happiest season of all..."

Hosting jolly parties, the caroling and the sharing of stories of long, long ago...the mistletoeing and preparing for all the loved ones to be near not only takes a huge amount of work, but it might be futile since no-one might be gathering and rather than glowing, the hearts end up broken...

I am not Scrooge or the Grinch...I LOVE Christmas and the whole season...it's just that with every string of tinsel my thoughts go out to those for whom this time of the year is not so wonderful and I'd like to bring the hope that can light everyone's candle regardless of the circumstances: Jesus...the reason for the season...

The antidote to the gloom of the Holidays is to rest in His Presence.  My devotional reading today really moved me, so praying that it does the same for you, I'd like to copy it here:

"Rest in Me, My child, forgetting about the worries of the world.  Focus on Me - Immanuel - and let My living Presence envelop you in Peace.  Tune in to My eternal security, for I am the same yesterday, today and forever. If you live on the surface of life by focusing on every-changing phenomena, you will find yourself echoing the words of Solomon:  "Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!"

Living in collaboration with Me is the way to instill meaning into your days.  Begin each day alone with Me so that you can experience the reality of My Presence.  As you spend time with Me, the way before you opens up step by step.  Arise from the stillness of our communion, and gradually begin your journey through the day.  Hold My hand in deliberate dependence on Me, and I will smooth out the path before you." (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

The remedy is always Jesus...

He is the Only one who can truly make this the hap-happiest season especially as we spend time alone with Him and meditate on the mysteries surrounding His first coming and the promises of His second advent...when every tear will be wiped away by His loving hand and all will be made new by His Might.

May this be, indeed, the most wonderful time of the year because of our renewed awareness of His Presence and our resolve to intentionally focusing on His Face.  In the Precious Name of Jesus, the Glory of Today! Amen!