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Yet there is Hope

Cross

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.””~ John 11:25-27 (ESV)

There are days when your heart is heavy; you don’t seem to find a grateful heart or thought. Your husband is less then nice to you; your child(ren) live their lives as they please; your friend’s job is eliminated; your friends abandon you; you have to spend money that you had set aside for a specific purpose…Plainly said: your are exhausted from life’s blows.

Over the last several weeks I have found myself crying more often then in previous years. I had feelings of anger and hurt; I don’t understand the whys. Is there really a purpose in all of this? Does God hear my prayers and pleas? I have to trust God that there is a purpose.

Tomorrow we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection; my favorite holiday. Why? No matter what life throws at me, no matter how hard the evil one tries to discourage me, I have hope. A hope of a brighter tomorrow; a hope that God will answer my prayers in His time; a hope for life everlasting in the presence of God. God is faithful to see us through until the end.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” ~ Hebrews 10:19-23 (ESV – emphasis mine)

My prayer is that tomorrow we will celebrate His resurrection with a renewed hope.

Have a blessed Easter Sunday,

Photo & Content Copyright © Iris Nelson

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The Journey Continues

“Change is not only a part of life; change is a necessary part of God’s strategy. To use us to change the world , he alters our assignments”. ~ Max Lucado (Fearless)

Walking the desertLast week I shared with you on how God has been breaking down denominational walls in my life. I believe that God, over the past 6 months, has been opening my eyes to others faith. I am not saying that I agree with the statement “many roads lead to heaven” (Jesus was pretty clear about it in John 14:6). I believe that we first need to listen, have compassion, before God allows us to share the Good News.

Sometimes, we as Christians, condemn people before we understand their way of life. We assume a lot when we meet someone from the Middle East, or from India. The other day I watched an independent film about a woman from Syria moving to the US living the American dream. It was assumed (by her neighbors) that she was a Muslim. Come to find out she was not. Her statement: “We were a minority there, and we are a minority here”.

Sometimes we fall into the same trap as the religious leaders of Jesus’ days. We cross the street so we do not have to come in contact with people of other cultures or even faiths. Jesus was not like that at all. He recruited a tax collector (Matthew 10:1-3); He spoke to the woman at the well (John 4:1-45). He reached out to the ones hurting, no matter what their background was. Shouldn’t we do the same?

You may have noticed a new little button in my sidebar. As you know, photography is my passion and when I saw the website “Visual Peacemakers” I had to link up. I truly believe that visual peacemaking can be used to reach out. The website is for me a personal reminder to not cross the street when I see someone from a different culture, but to listen. And next time when I attend a cultural festival here in the valley I will see others not only through my lens, but through Jesus’ eyes.

Lord of Heaven and Earth. Thank You for the journey You have put me on, helping me to understand what it means to be follower of Christ. Lord, I pray that You will continue to guide me, to reach out, to have compassion for all people. Show me Your way and stop me when again I want to do things my own way. I am trusting in Your mercy. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen

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A Journey

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” ~ Romans 15:5-7 (ESV)

Cross in CourtyardSince moving to the United States in 1991, God has put me on a journey. Although growing up in the ‘church’, I have not understood grace the way I understand it today. As I had shared last Thursday, God’s grace is confrontational to most people. Do I understand the full scope of grace yet? Not at all, but I have opened up the gift and received HIS grace.

I do not remember the year when I had the first encounter with women from other denominations, but I do remember it was at a Beth Moore conference here in Phoenix. One of my friends from church invited me. I didn’t know what to expect, but after the conference I took Beth’s online study “Believing God“. It believe that this was a turning point for me.

Since then God has been working with me on breaking down walls. Not only between other Christians, but also my thought process of other faiths. In 2006, God started to assemble a group of women from across the States and the Bahamas to form Laced with Grace. You have no idea how much this ministry has meant to me (again, breaking down walls). The group consists of 20 women; from different denominations, and different walks of life. Amazing what you can learn from each individual if you are willing to listen.

I think (personal opinion) that we too often get stuck with traditions in our churches that we do not see that Christ died for all. Christ was not Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Assembly of God, or _________ (insert your denomination); He is our Savior.

Over the past 6 months I have prayed for God to show me how to reach out to people ‘outside’ the Christian faith. His answer came through a quote I read in Joanne Weaver’s book “Having a Mary Heart…“:

“If Christians lived according to their faith, there would be no more Hindus left in India” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

When I read the quote for the first time, my heart sank and I said “ouch”. But after thinking about what was said, I have to agree. Goodness, there is a branch within my own denomination what will not pray with ‘my’ branch, because we disagree on something (sorry don’t remember what it is; struck it from my memory because I think it is silly). What does this have to do with Gandhi’s quote you might wonder. Everything. Because if we cannot live in harmony with each other (Christians), how can we be affective with our witness about Christ and His sacrifice?

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope that you will join me next week when I share more about my current journey.