God’s Restoring Us

“Then we will not turn away from you; revive us

and we will call on you name. Restore us O God

Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”

Psalm 80:18-19 (NIV)]



How many times do we hear of someone who asks Jesus to take care of our needs and then makes a huge commitment to do something that her or she thinks He wants done? Most of the time, the person soon forgets the situation and the promise.



The scripture above tells us all we have to do is stay with Him. The psalmist pleads with the Lord to restore the people to the place where His face will shine upon them. When God grants this plea from us, we become His anew.



We face many trials in our lives. But when we stay close to God and ask His protection, we come out stronger people. The trials of which I speak can take the guise of unemployment, large debt, illness of a family member, or our own health issues.



God didn’t promise us an easy life just because we follow Him. He promised to be there with us as we go through the rough parts.

Lent, Why Do We Observe it?

Every spring we go through a time of preparation for celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. What would we tell someone who asked us what lent was all about?

The custom of observing Lent stems from a desire to draw closer to the Lord. For forty week days we deny ourselves something that we like in order to understand what Jesus endured in the desert before He started His ministry.

It was explained to me that the Sundays in the Lenten season are “little Easters”, in that we can end our self denial and celebrate, as we would on Resurrection Day.

Certain Protestant groups and the Roman Catholic Church observe this special event of the Christian year. A thought that came out of our Ash Wednesday service is that we are not only to abstain from an action but we are also to fill the void left with something positive.

Another facet of the Lenten observance is some groups ask those in their flock to think about something they may want to change about themselves. I had become soured about an issue in my life; I chose to give it to the Lord. During this Lenten season I have begun to see myself as how I think God sees me. It has been an eye-opening experience for me.

Just As He Said

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know you

are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen,

just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’”

Matt 28:5-6 (NIV)



Two women approached the garden tomb where they saw the men lay the Master. Their mission was to complete the burial procedure. They believed it to be disrespectful not to finish the work.


Matthew records a violent earthquake followed by an angel who moves the rock away from the tomb’s door. This must have caused the women fear. The angel’s first words are, “Do not be afraid.”
With the next words, “He is not here.” The women could have panicked. Their first thought could have been of someone stealing the Master’s body. But how?

The angel knows why they came to the tomb. He continues, “. . . he has risen, just as he said.” He invites them to see the place where the men had laid Jesus’ body.

Jesus Christ had shared with his disciples what would happen to Him in the future. The angel reminded the two women of this.

We have recorded information about Him telling them He wouldn’t be with them much longer. The disciples didn’t (didn’t want to?) understand.

In today’s world we know some people learn from being told about an event and its consequence. We also know others have to experience that circumstance or its outcome before they might learn a lesson. The disciples seem to belong to the group that has to suffer through the ordeal.

The key words I see in this passage remind me of Jesus’ genuineness: “. . . Just as He said.” I praise Him for that.

Being a People of Prayer

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions

with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always

keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

In a recent blog post, I mentioned I prayed for a friend whenever her name came to mind. One of my followers left a beautiful comment, something about how this was a wonderful way to pray for people.

I emailed her, thanking her for the kind words. The next day, I had an appointment with our pastor to try to confirm where we were in the process of getting the preliminary work done for the Easter Drama. At the end of our meeting, we prayed-he, for the drama and the cast and the crew. When he finished, I prayed for his wife, who had lost her mother two days before, and daughter and his wife’s father and sisters, When we finished he told me I had prayed as someone who had been through the grief process, as well as one who spent time in prayer. I have never been so complimented in my life.

I related the story of praying for a friend who had an issue major, so that she couldn’t talk about it, in her family. I then told him about the comment I received. I further shared something that happened to me while we were recently on a trip to see our son.

We drove six hundred miles across Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, and into Kansas. The terrain across Illinois and Missouri is rather flat. The interstate goes by very few towns, causing the trip to seem long and hard. When we did go by a small town, I’d see a church. I felt led to pray for God to draw that congregation closer to Him and for the Holy Spirit to give that pastor or those pastors the words the people need to hear.



Why do we pray?

1. To converse with God

2. To seek His guidance

3. To discover His Will for our lives

4. To be in His Will

5. To obey His leading



God Revives the Lowly Another Thought

“For this is what the high and lofty One says

he who lives forever, whose name is holy:

‘I live in a high and holy place,

But also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

And to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)



We are blessed. God, who lives above also reaches down to bring us out of our feelings of depression. When we have heart-breaking news take our emotions and make us feel low, He goes out of His way to comfort us and bring us out of despair.

God does this for us when we are the receivers of bad news and if we have sinned against Him. He works with us in order to help us see that He loves us, no matter our circumstance.

A friend has shared with me she has experienced something she can’t speak of to anyone. Her husband says he is right there with her. I pray for her anytime the Holy Spirit places her name on my heart.

Like my friend, we may have something we face that we can only deal with through God’s help. We learn a lot about Him when we petition and listen.

Let us all remember that God has promised to restore our hearts because He loves us.

God Revives the Lowly

“For this is what the high and lofty One says- he who lives forever,

whose name is holy; ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him

who is contrite and lowly on spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and

to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)



As children, we had times when we got injured. When I was learning how to roller skate I took several falls where I cried. When I learned to ride a bicycle, I had a couple of accidents that seemed major to me.

There was this large tree, located about half a block from our house. At its base a projection grew out away from the main trunk. I remember thinking it was fun to get as close to that tree as I could when I rode past it. One day, I got too close. My front wheel went onto the root like projection. My bike fell onto the sidewalk and I landed on my left side. My elbow hurt. I don’t remember how I got home but I do remember my mother tenderly looking at my arm, trying to decide if it was broken, which it wasn’t.

God, as our heavenly parent, tends our hurts and helps us recover from them. When we fall away and realize we need to get back on track, He brings us back to where He can work with us and gives us strength to face what lay ahead for us.

Being In Awe of God

“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” John 20:28


I marvel at God’s presence and His activity in my life. When I sense His presence, I find myself more relaxed in my response to the circumstances I face. It is during these times of feeling God in my life that I learn to trust Him.

As I go through life I need to take the time and look for God in my life. I see him in the everyday things. In the fall of the year I see Him in the beauty of the fall foliage on the trees. In the winter, after the right kind of snowfall, I can hear God in the laughter of children as they sled down the hills of the city park. In the spring and summer, I can feel God’s presence in the quiet of the lake.

As I read the writings of Christian writers, I can envision God beside each of them as they put the thoughts He gives them on paper. As I listen to hymns and songs of praise and worship, I learn of God’s presence, His goodness and His mercy.

The longer I walk with him, the more I am in awe of Him.