Abiding in Suffering

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 NKJV

Some translations substitute the word remain for abide. Yes abide does =remain and yet remain is far too weak. Remain = being left behind, as in , “I finished reading and left the book behind on the table.” Remaining is a position, but abiding is a choice. We have a thousand directions to flee from our circumstances, but we choose to remain by Jesus’ side. Now that is abiding! That is life and peace! As the words of the hymn say, “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.” I pray that you will choose to abide with Jesus in whatever your circumstance today, because He choose to be left behind and remain helplessly mailed and forsaken in His suffering for you and me. We can trust Him always to abide. Let us abide in Him! I was deeply blessed by Joni’s testimony this morning. I pray that it may lift you as well and encourage you to choose the Savior. Abide in Him and He will abide in you!

Mother’s Day at Nursing Homes

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 
John 19:26-27 ESV

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I like to recall how that even while Jesus was on the cross, He saw to it that His mother was personally cared for by His most trusted disciple, John. You see, many people don’t bother with visiting even their own mothers much less those of other people. Sad to say, over 600,000 women will pass Mother’s Day with no one to bring a flower, write a card or even sit down for a cup of coffee and cake.

Sometimes the reason behind these awful statistics is simple selfishness, but I believe that more often it happens because of the misconceptions people have of long-term care. It is no secret that I love my special friends, whom I visit every Thursday morning. Every week, I learn something new from our group of 15 – 20 who gather to sing. First, is that many of these folks can understand and respond just like anyone else. I tell stories and they listen. I tell a joke and they laugh. I ask for a favorite song and someone thinks of one. Part of the reason that they sit around looking vacantly into space is that no one expects they can do anything else. In this week’s video I posted a song where you can hear one of our dear one’s requesting it. Though their memories aren’t like they once were, this isn’t at all unusual. How they will be remembered this year lies in our power to change. Because the battle is difficult, does not mean it is not worth fighting. Because the responses are small doesn’t make them worthless. Because we have forgotten in the past doesn’t mean we must forget forever. The Mothers of Jesus live in places we may have never looked before. Why not look for one at a nursing home this year?

Being a Friend of Jesus

When Joseph Scriven wrote the words of his now famous hymn, they were actually a poem he sent to comfort his mother who was very sick and missing him terribly back in Ireland. Several years previously, Scriven had lost the love of his life just week’s before they were to be married and in his time of grief he dedicated his life to God and there found great joy and peace. Hearing word of his mother’s ill health he sent these words of the hope he had found. Today they are still sung on job sites by brick layers and in corn fields by farmers. People lying in hospital rooms as well as standing in the largest cathedrals have been encouraged to know that no matter how important others think we are or how much money we have in the bank, there is nothing we could ever have that compare to the riches and power of a life lived as one of the friends of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer
Joseph Scriven 1855

Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God – Teresa of Avila

Growing Older With Jesus — praise2worshipdotnet

I am grateful to my friend Robert Keller for his guest post today. Recently as he was recovering from a medical incident he spent three weeks in a long term care setting. That experience put him in the same kind of situation I see every week as I visit in facilities around our community. It […]

via Growing Older With Jesus — praise2worshipdotnet