Author: Stephanie Wolfe

I am sure that I am not the only one in disbelief that tomorrow is Thanksgiving?!?!!

How did it get here so fast? If I am honest, I have been a little stressed about the day and how it will play out. We are traveling to our son’s home and will not arrive till the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning. I will not have the luxury of making sure everything is bought and ready to go. I find myself getting caught up in all the “what-ifs” of the day. But when I read Psalm 95, part of our reading for today, it reminded me of what the day holds – THANKFULNESS and JOY!!

When I read Psalm 95 in The Passion Translation it put a little pep in my step. We are called to worship and sing for joy to the Lord.

Come on everyone! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord! Let’s shout our loudest praises to our God who saved us! Everyone come meet his face with a thankful heart. Don’t hold back your praises; make him great by your shouts of joy! For the Lord is the greatest of all, King-God over all other gods!
Psalm 95:1-3

“Don’t hold back your praises.” What would it look like if you did not hold back your praises tomorrow on the day of Thanks? I think of Mary Poppins and the song, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Can you even read that word without starting to sing it in your head? When I looked up the meaning of this word, it actually means extraordinarily good or wonderful.

I think of my worship to God and question my joy. Worship is not about me. Worship is about God. What would it look like if I got on my knees and worshipped Him with a thankful heart? Would it have anything to do with how the food turned out on Turkey Day? Probably not. When I put the focus on God and what He has done for me, my focus changes. I can celebrate and be thankful for the life I have and all that He has given me. He sent His Son to the cross to die for me. He died for me and all my sins so that I could have eternal life. If that is not SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOCIOUS, I do not know what is.

So lets focus on the One to whom we give our thanks tomorrow. Thank You God for loving us enough to send your Son to the cross so that we may live eternally with You. May our joy overflow as we remember all we have to be thankful for. And may we smile when we think of this song and remember to sing for JOY to the Lord.

Todays reading:  Ezra 5-6, Psalm 95, 3 John

Todays reading: Daniel 4-6 and John 18

When was the last time you had a day when everything went wrong? You missed your alarm, you didn’t have time to make your morning coffee, your car was on E, you got the call from the school nurse that your child is sick, and you had no plans for dinner. Those are the days when everything just seems to pile up and you just want to crawl back in bed and be done. Then there are days when these days that go wrong don’t even compare to the moments when we get that unimaginable diagnoses from our Dr, we get a call about a loved one passing, or we lose our job. We do not know what tomorrow holds.

In our reading today, John 18, we read about happenings that seem unimaginable. Jesus is betrayed by one of His closest friends. He is then arrested and bound by soldiers and officers. And, then He is interrogated and treated like a criminal. It seemed that everything had gone wrong.

The crazy thing is, nothing was out of control or surprising to Jesus. Everything was happening exactly according to plan. Jesus gave himself over to the officials knowing all that would happen to him.

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
John 18:4

Then when He was being interrogated He said to Pilate,

For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.
John 18:37

Jesus knew all that would happen to him. He could submit to these situations only because He knew and trusted in God’s perfect plan. He trusted the Father’s plans despite the circumstances that surrounded him. What a demonstration for us to look to God and trust His faithfulness even when our days and circumstances are out of our control.

God has a perfect plan that we cannot see this side of Heaven.

A few weeks ago my family gathered to celebrate my father. It was his 80th birthday, so that called for a party. We ate, sang happy birthday, opened gifts and then blessed him with special memories we had each experienced with him. The room was filled to the brim with laughter and love! The memories brought a closeness and a joy to each one in the room. Our reading today is about blessing.

Psalm 134
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord! May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!

We know how to bless others (celebrate them), but how do we bless God? Celebrate God! We can celebrate him alone or we can celebrate Him with others. We remember and thank Him for all that He has done in our lives. We bring Him gifts. We bring Him the gift of ourselves.

It is easy to celebrate God during the good times. But we bless Him even in our darkest hours, when life seems the hardest. We praise Him when life seems unfair.

Every day is an opportunity to lift up our hands in thanks to God for what He has done for us. May we all give thanks and adoration where ever we go. May we bless Him in the good times and the bad, for He is worthy.

When you were born, God gave you a unique and specialized DNA designed just for you. You were given a brain that can think, learn and interpret data. You were given a heart that can feel a whole range of emotions from anger and fear to joy and contentment. From the day you arrived in this world you have grown in size and stature while your brain has matured and acquired knowledge for life.

Today in our reading of 2 Peter 1 we learn that when you become a believer, God does something incredible in your life.

Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness.
2 Peter 1:3

Did you know that if you believe in God and have been born again, you are equipped to live for Him? The verse above tells us everything we could ever need for life and godliness has already been deposited in us.
Just like when you were born you physically grow and mature, when you are spiritually born again, you are given a new mind and a new heart. God gives you everything at that moment that you will need to grow spiritually. He equips you to be able to live a godly life. But, just having that ability inside of you is not enough. It is up to you to grow and develop your spiritual life.

How do we grow spiritually?

As a result of this, he has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises we can experience partnership with the divine nature, by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are of the world.
1 Peter 1:4

We grow spiritually when we read, study and apply the promises in God’s Word, the Bible. The Bible is the food we need that enables us to grow spiritually. We have to make an effort and discipline ourselves to grow.

So devote yourselves to lavishly supplementing your faith with goodness, add understanding, and to understanding add the strength of self-control, and to self-control add patient endurance, and to patient endurance add godliness, and to godliness add mercy toward your brothers and sisters, and to mercy toward others add unending love. Since these virtues are already planted deep within, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately.
2 Peter 1:5-8

We grow spiritually when we put all the above disciplines in practice. When put these into practice we will know Jesus more intimately. Knowing Jesus more intimately changes the way we live our lives. People will look at us and wonder what the difference is. The difference is that we have an intimate relationship with Jesus and seek Him daily.

Jeremiah, the prophet, had a difficult life. His family and friends were ready to rise up against him. They threatened to rise up against him if he continued telling about God.

I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.”
Jeremiah 20:10

But, there was something burning inside of Jeremiah, he simply could not keep quiet. He is what true ministry looks like. We are called, just as Jeremiah to speak the word of God when given the opportunity. We should not keep quiet, but speak boldly, just as Jeremiah did. Jeremiah knew that the Lord was with him.

But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. The will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. There dishonor will never be forgotten.
Jeremiah 20:11

Jeremiah’s faith let him see the nearness of God. He was in despair because he lost his friends, but his faith kept his heart on God. Above all else, he knew that God was with Him.

What an example Jeremiah is for us. When we feel fear, we need only to remember that the Lord stands beside us like a great warrior.

Lately my sister and I have been sending lots of Instagram reels back and forth. The theme lately has been old worship songs. Many of these songs are songs that I know and love, but it amazes me how much songs have changed over the years.

I learned from a speaker many years ago about the power worship music can bring to your home. Since that time, I continually have worship music playing in our home. I may not be actively listening, but I might hear one phrase that lifts my spirits and changes the course of my day. I can even reflect over the past 54 years of my life and remember worship songs that made an impact during all the different seasons.

In today’s reading, we are instructed to sing a new song.

 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song.                                   Sing his praises in the assemble of the faithful.
Psalms 149:1

The word “new” does not necessarily mean that the song has never existed before. It is more of our heart and attitude that makes a song new. Every day is a new day. God’s mercy is new every morning so each day we are refreshed and renewed. God loves and forgives us each and every day. This gives us the reason we can sing a new song to Him each and every morning.

I can attest that you do not want to hear me singing my songs to Jesus. But I know that He loves to hear our praise when it comes from our heart. When we sing we touch a part of God’s heart that only music can.

What new song is in your heart today? Sing it to Jesus.

Do you ever remember playing a game called Mercy? All I recall is that you were really trying to hurt the other person by grabbing their hand and pushing/squeezing them as hard as you could. When you couldn’t handle the pain and were ready to give up you yelled “mercy.” When you said “mercy” the other person had to stop and the game was over. The other person had mercy on you and stopped the pain because you asked.

Today in Psalm 123 we read that God has mercy on us.

I lift my eyes to you, O God enthroned in heaven.
We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, Just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.
We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud and the contempt of the arrogant.
Psalm 123

The first thing this chapter in the Pslams tells us to do is to lift our eyes to God in heaven. This means that we take our eyes off of ourselves and look to God. To put our trust in Him and know that He will give us mercy in our time of need. This is an opportunity for us to tell God who He is, to thank Him for all that He has given us.

God is the one enthroned in Heaven. He is the one who is above all and in control. He has absolute power. We can look to others to help us through a tough situation, but people are human and have their faults. God sits on the throne and is the only one who has mercy on us when we look to Him.

When we keep our eyes looking to God in heaven we allow Him to guide us through all of life’s challenges. We can look expectantly and ask for favor from the Lord our God and He will respond with mercy in His time and in His will.

Today is the last day of our “summer.” My middle daughter begins her second year of teaching and my oldest and youngest fly back to their homes in Las Vegas after a week at home. I am savoring these last few hours in their presence. I will send them off with prayers and good wishes, knowing that God willing, I will seen them again at Thanksgiving.

These last 5 days with my adult children have been irreplaceable. I had the days planned out so we would be able to relax and make memories. Of course it did not all go as I planned, but being together as a family of 5 for a few days was lovely. Tomorrow morning I will give them the last hug, the last look, and probably one more piece of encouragement as they walk into the airport. I want them to walk away knowing that the last few days were memorable and that they are loved more than they know.

Today, in Matthew 28 we read about The Great Commission. This is Jesus’ last earthly message to his disciples. He wants them to remember this message…

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

He tells them to GO and MAKE DISCIPLES! The disciple’s had been with Jesus for the past 3 years. They had been learning from him and doing as He did. For those 3 years they did not have to do ministry alone or without his oversight. For the first time they were being commissioned to go the nations and tell the Good News by themselves.

This might have made the disciples fearful, to go alone, but Jesus gives them His assurance at the end of this chapter. He is quick to assure them that He will ALWAYS be with them, even to the end of time.

They would not be alone as they shared the Good News with others. Jesus would be with them through their doubts and fears. This would be their first time to go and share the Gospel without Him, but they did not have to do this alone.

We have this same confidence, we are not alone. Jesus assures us that He is always with us. He is with us in our highest highs and our lowest lows. He is with us in our doubts and fears. Jesus is always with us, helping us, guiding us and pouring into us.

God’s promise to always be with us is a powerful truth that we can hold on to. No matter what we are facing, we can trust that God is with us and giving us strength. As we step into this new season and life changes before us, (saying goodbye to children for me) let us remember that God is always with us as we share His love with all those we encounter.

 

When my children were little they trusted everything I told them. They ate the food I put in front of them, trusting that it was what their bodies needed to grow big and strong. They trusted that I would take care of them during a storm or when they were scared. When they didn’t know what the next day would look like, they trusted that I would take care of all the details.

It is amazing to me that a child enters this world totally reliant on his/her parents. Even without being taught, children learn to trust their parents. Nobody had to teach their child to trust them.

This is the exact kind of childlike faith that it takes to get into the kingdom of God. Unlike our children that are born to us, we are not born with that kind of faith. This is why Jesus addresses this issue in Matthew 18.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-3

It still surprises me when I read this verse and realize that Jesus wants my trust to be that of a little child. He doesn’t care about how much I “try” or learn…he just wants my trust. It is such a good reminder for me in times of trouble and struggle that I need to trust (like a child) that God will provide.

Jesus wants nothing more than for us to trust Him fully. Knowing that He will always take care of us no matter what.

Hosea 7-10 and Matthew 18

As I sat behind a mother and her baby at Church this past Sunday morning, I couldn’t help but smile at the way the baby cooed in his mother’s arms. The way he would look up at his Mama and just look so content. It took me back 20+ years when my kids were that little. How quickly time passes, but that feeling of caring for my babies feels like it was yesterday. I long to still provide that calm and quiet for my children. This is the same calm and quiet that God desires for our soul.

Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me. Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my heart is quiet within me. Israel, trust in the Lord now and forever!
Psalm 131

Our hope resides in the ability to turn to God with childlike trust. So many times we believe that we can do things on our own. We tackle projects and issues with people without prayer or even considering what God might have planned. But the Psalmist notes here that we can only be content and at peace when we trust in God.

We have a choice to make when we feel we are anxious or out of control. The world is loud and the problems we face are many, we can focus on that or we can remind ourselves about the truth from this Psalm, God is in control and He is in charge. He is in command of our destiny.

God wants a relationship with us. In order for that to happen, it takes us putting down our phone, turning the tv off, sitting quietly and being content in God’s presence. Only when we spend ample time with Him will we experience His peace and contentment.