A Shot of Adrenaline

Greetings,

I was talking with a buddy over the weekend who is facing some struggles at work.  “I wake up dreading another day of drama,” she lamented.  “I wish I didn’t need this job.” I get it, and you probably do too. We all face challenges, but it’s not practical to disengage from life, retreat to a room, cover our head with a lavender-scented pillow, snuggle under a blanket, or sit around waiting for heaven.  So how do we cope?         

The Bible provides the best answer:

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, Who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls" (Hebrews 12:23 THE MESSAGE Version)!

We keep our eyes on Him by studying how He lived, and the most important aspect of His life was prayer.  He prayed when He was alone, when He was with others, before He ate, before healing others, at His own baptism, in the morning, before walking on the water, and at the Lord’s supper.  He prayed over the little children, in the Garden before the betrayal, and He once pulled an all-nighter before choosing the 12 disciples.  While being nailed to the cross He prayed, while suffering on the cross He prayed, and in His dying breath He prayed, “Father, into Your hands I entrust my spirit.”  

In fact, He is still praying – right now – for you and for me.  “Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us” (Romans 8:34).

In other words, it’s always a good time to pray – to have a little conversation with our Lord.  This is one surefire way to “shoot adrenaline into our souls!” 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we are excited to pray today.  By following Christ’s example, we are strengthening our faith, and getting a shot of adrenaline!  Help us plow through so we can win the race.  Never let us lose sight of where we are headed, which is with You. In Jesus' name,  AMEN~

Do Not Lose Sight!

"Jesus never lost sight of where He was headed  -  that exhilarating finish in and with God  -  He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through.  That will shoot adrenaline into your souls" (The Message Version)!

Dear Child of God,

What are you putting up with right now? 

Is your child off track?  Is your boss mean?  Is your bank account running on empty? Is your spouse inconsiderate? Are you having difficulty getting your joy back?  Are you lonely? Does this political season have you fatigued and worried?  Are you struggling with your health? 

Whatever your struggle is, there is a way to navigate through the unrelenting, tough seasons of life: Do not lose sight of where you are headed!

Christ was able to face the unthinkable by focusing on the "exhilarating finish," which put Him right next to God. 

That is our ultimate and glorious destiny as well! 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help us to never lose sight of where we are headed. We look beyond our current problems, and focus on our final and glorious destination right alongside You.  Thank You that when our faith takes a hit, we can redirect our attention like Jesus did and receive a much-needed boost for our souls!  In Christ's name, AMEN!  

An Adrenaline Shot!

As humans we face struggles, and they can be small or big.  The point is they are real, and they cause upheaval in our lives.  It is not very practical to disengage from life, retreat to a room, cover our head with a lavender-scented pillow, snuggle under a blanket, and wait until the glory either.  So how we to cope?         

The Bible provides an excellent answer:

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed  -  that exhilarating finish in and with God  -  He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"  Hebrews 12:23

We keep our eyes on Him by studying how He lived, and the most important aspect of His life was prayer.  He prayed when He was alone, when He was with others, before He ate, before healing others, at His own baptism, in the morning, before walking on the water, and at the Lord’s supper.  He prayed over the little children, in the Garden before the betrayal, and once pulled an all -nighter before choosing the 12 disciples.  While being nailed onto the cross He prayed, while suffering on the cross He prayed, and in His dying breath He prayed, “Father, into Your hands I entrust my spirit.”  In fact, He is still praying – right now – for you and for me.  Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

In other words, it’s always a good time to pray – to have a little conversation with our Lord.  This is one surefire way to “shoot adrenaline into our souls!” 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are excited to pray today.  By following Christ’s example, we are strengthening our faith.  We could all use a shot of adrenaline!  Help us plow through.  In His blessed and risen name we pray, AMEN~

Adrenaline Part Two~

Greetings~

Hebrews 12: 2-3 “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

 

For the past few days Christ has been front and center on many of our minds as we just celebrated Palm Sunday, and Good Friday and Easter are almost here.  And this is exactly what these verses are talking about.  We should start off our days and sign off at night plugged in to Him.  Ultimately, this will shoot adrenaline into our souls.  I looked up the definition of adrenaline to see what we can expect.

 

“Adrenaline helps the body meet physical and emotional stress.  It also typically gives a noticeable increase in strength and performance, causes heightened awareness, and allows the body to react quickly to danger.  During this surge, the body’s ability to feel pain also decreases.” (Thank you wisegeek.com).

When we keep our focus on Christ, we receive supernatural help to meet stress, we receive strength to live life, we experience heightened awareness to make wise decisions, and can react quickly to all the danger around us.  And as an added bonus, our pain decreases.  And in case you are wondering, you can stand right in the middle of any disconnect that someone you love is having with God and bridge that gap through prayer so your loved one can receive shots of adrenaline as well. In John 17 Christ prayed for God to show us His truth.  We can pray for that as well because the truth will inspire our loved ones to seek Him.  

 

Everyone alive already knows theses realities: Stress is unavoidable, we are powerless in so many situations, and pain is all too real.  The greater truth is that by keeping our eyes on Christ, all of us will receive the boost we need to make it through. 

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, We take a moment to enjoy Your presence.  Breathe Your goodness and joy into our souls.  We are focused on You right now and receive the adrenaline boost we need to live our lives.  We pray for those we love so that You will show them how much they need You – how much You want to bless them and help them.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~   

Adrenaline for Our Souls~

Happy Tuesday, dear and beautiful children of God~

 

I woke up this morning to the reminder that today is the one-year anniversary of the Boston bombing.  Somedays the bad news and suffering seem relentless.  And honestly, we do not have to turn on the national news to be reminded of all the junk in life; we’ve all gone through something or are currently in the midst of something.  Our struggles can be small or they can be big.  The point is they are real, and they cause upheaval in our lives.  How are we to cope?  It is not very practical to disengage from life, retreat to a room, cover our head with a lavender-scented pillow, snuggle under a blanket, and wait until the glory.    

 

Hebrews 12:2-3 “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”

 

Part one: “Keep your eyes on Jesus!” 

 

We keep our eyes on Him by studying how He lived, and the most important thing He did was pray.

 

He prayed when He was alone, when He was with others, before He ate, before healing others, at His own baptism, in the morning, before walking on the water, and at the Lord’s supper.  He prayed over the little children, in the Garden before the betrayal, and once pulled an all nighter before choosing the 12 disciples.  While being nailed onto the cross He prayed, while suffering on the cross He prayed, and in His dying breath He prayed, “Father, into Your hands I entrust my spirit.”  In fact, He is still praying – right now – for you and for me.  Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

 

In other words, it’s always a good time to pray – to have a little conversation with our Lord.  This is one of many aspects that “will shoot adrenaline into our souls!” 

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are excited to pray today.  By following Christ’s example, we are strengthening our faith.  We could all use a shot of adrenaline!  Help us plow through.  In His blessed and risen name we pray, AMEN~