COMPLETE

Psalm 16:11 "You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Greetings,

One game I occasionally play with my little nephews is, "Guess which hand it's in!" And yes, I have been known to switch the M&M's or other treat I am holding into the hand they choose so they can win.  They always squeal with delight, and I get a kick out of it.

But after reading this verse, where every single word is brimming with blessings, I have to chuckle at how small, insignificant, and temporary are the gifts I hold in my hand compared to what the Lord is holding for us.

Any joy, happiness, bliss, or satisfaction we find in this life is TEMPORARY.  When we are finally living with Him, however, our joy will be COMPLETE  -  complete happiness, bliss, and satisfaction.  The hope of our souls basking in the enjoyment of an eternal God finally fulfilled.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You reveal and show us the path of life.  We ask that You reveal yourself to our children and those we love so they make wise choices and live with the hope we all have of complete satisfaction with You in heaven.  Remind us of this truth when life gets hard.  In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Anchor Our Souls~

Ahoy,

This past Saturday my father-in-law, whom we affectionately call Chini [CHEE-KNEE], took us out on his boat, which is appropriately named, El Chini.  We headed out of Homestead Bayfront Park, and before we knew it we arrived at a little beach area. The water was crystal clear and our cooler was nice and full of cold  water, fresh fruit, and sandwiches.  My beach bag had all the necessities as well: volleyball, sunscreen, towel, and lip balm.  Only thing left to do was anchor the boat and swim!

My hubby jumped in the water, extended the anchor as far as it would go, and plunged it in the water.

Everything was fine until the boat started to drift.  Turns out the anchor was in a marshy area; there was nothing solid enough for it to hold onto.  A couple times the boat veered dangerously close to another boat and then turned the other way and almost chopped my head off. 

After some trial and error, the boat was finally secure in more solid ground, and it got me thinking about this passage:

Hebrews 6:18-19 "We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline - a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls - taking us to the very presence of God."

We must anchor our souls in the promised, solid hope that no matter what, one day we will be with Christ and enjoy indescribable blessings.  Everything else is fleeting, marshy, and temporary.  Putting our faith in anyone or in anything else leads to instability and drifting. 

We anchor ourselves when we focus on Him; we anchor ourselves when we pray.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We anchor, attach, bind, bolt, connect, embed, hitch, moor, solder, unite, and weld our souls to You - our blessed hope for this life and for the better life to come. Help us to focus on You and Your greatness so we never drift away.  In Christ's name, AMEN~

It's Only Temporary~

Years ago a soda pop company was giving away prizes found on the bottle caps.  Jorge and I were thrilled to learn that we had won a remote control caddy.  We followed all the instructions and waited eagerly for our prize.  Jorge had visions of playing golf with an automated club carrier, and I was all excited just to have won something. A couple of weeks later the box arrived, and we knew right away there was a mistake.  How can you fit a caddy big enough to hold a bag of clubs into a box that was 10” X 10”?

Because the remote control caddy they sent was a black plastic organizer to keep the TV remote nearby.  Talk about a “DUH” moment.  Nevertheless, we were sad.

Experiencing disappointment is a fact of life.  Not one of us will go through life 100% satisfied 100% of the time.  But in this current day and age of so much bad news, I have great news: The day is coming when we will never be disappointed again!

I can barely imagine what that would be like.  No more headaches, hassles, or stress!  No more sadness, frustration, or fear! No more bitter pills to swallow, worry, or tension!  Everyone getting along perfectly, and everyone and everything at peace having fun with Jesus…      

Romans 10:11 "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (New American Standard Bible)

This verse actually appears in all caps in the NASB version of the Bible, and it’s because God wants to get our attention.  He wants us to embrace this beautiful promise when we’ve had a rough day.  He wants us to thank Him that heaven’s joy awaits.  He wants us to be completely and totally uplifted by the assurance that one day soon it will get better and that it will last for ever.

Next time we experience disappointment, let us take a moment to remind ourselves that disappointment – no matter how harsh – is only temporary.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for this verse.  Life is beautiful, but it has its difficult seasons.  We needed to be reminded that one day only the good shall remain!  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~