by Bev Hess

 

We worship a big God. He is sovereign and powerful. We are in His hands, and nothing happens to us by chance. That’s good news. But in grief, if that is all we remember about God, it might actually make the pain worse, rather than better. It might leave us thinking, like Mary and Martha, “Lord, you could have stopped this, and you purposely didn’t. Why?” (John 11:23, 32) God’s sovereignty might leave us more angry than comforted. So we need to remember some other things, too.

 

Jesus Defeated Death God hates death even more than we do. That’s part of the reason Jesus came. The wonderful news for us is that when Jesus broke death’s power by dying and rising from the dead, He did it not only for Himself but also for all who are united to Him (Hebrews 2:14-15). That means that those who die in Christ are more alive than ever and are experiencing life, joy and glory beyond anything we can imagine, right now, in God’s very presence. It may seem that the Lord did not “heal” or “protect” them, but in fact He has healed and protected them in a much fuller, deeper, more permanent way.

 

We Grieve with Hope 1 Thessalonians 4:15 says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Notice that the text does not say that we shouldn’t grieve, just that we should grieve differently than those who have no hope. Even in the context of hope, we still grieve, and that is appropriate. Jesus Himself wept at His friend’s tomb. The Bible does not dismiss or minimize grief, and we shouldn’t underestimate its impact. But we grieve differently than those without hope.

 

Let’s say I don’t know Jesus, and I believe there is no further existence after death. Then the dead really are lost to me. Every single thing that made them who they are is gone forever. That grief is a black hole.

 

But for those who die in Christ—and for those who grieve in Christ—the picture is very different. The sorrow of missing loved ones is still incredibly painful, but the separation is only temporary. We will see them again. That is an entirely different picture.

 

God Is with Us In the midst of grief, it is critical for us to remember that the God who is sovereign and mighty is also Immanuel—God with us. When our grief is debilitating and it feels impossible to function, God does not sit aloof in heaven. He does not leave us to figure out how to handle grief on our own or how to cast about for resources to get through it. He walks every step of the journey with us.

 

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Jesus came and lived as a human in this broken world. He gets it. He knows the tormenting thirst and weakness of life’s final hours. As our High Priest who fully understands our heartaches, He intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25), as does His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:34). He calls us friends (John 15:15) and promises that He will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 15:15), that His Spirit will dwell in us (John 14), and that He will give us peace (14:27, 16:33) and even joy (15:11, 16:22). What we need most in the midst of grief is God Himself. He will meet us, give us Himself, fill the void left by our loved ones, warm our hearts, lift our burdens, and draw us into the sweet balm of fellowship with His Spirit. And as our Father tenderly swaddles us in His love, our love for Him will grow, our faith and trust will deepen, and even amid the heartache of grief we will praise Him with deep and true joy.

 

This is something the Lord does by His Spirit, through His Word, prayer, and the fellowship and love of His people. Those means of grace are not “tasks” for our to-do list—more burdens placed on our grief-weary shoulders. They are His love for us. If in your grief you struggle to pray or read the Bible, ask someone to pray for you and read the Bible to you.

 

Grief is really, really hard. It hurts like crazy. But the Lord has broken death’s power, and therefore His children who have died are with Him. And He is with us. And before you know it, we will be together with Him and with them. That removes death’s sting—it really does. Even in the rending ache of grief, with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can hang onto Jesus and grieve with the hope that His death and resurrection bought for us.

by Melissa Myers

 

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

 

A few months ago, an email was sent out by a corporate employee at my company. The email was mistakenly sent to everyone; being a global organization, that meant tens of thousands of contacts. The email asked for a response if you wished not to be included in the ensuing correspondence. Immediately there was a rapid fire of return emails using the “reply all” option. You could hear the constant pings of incoming email alerts throughout the office. Our work was interrupted, our mailboxes jammed, and many necessary applications began to fail.

 

I found it quite interesting to see how differently people reacted to the situation. I have the “quick view” option on my email so I saw replies without opening anything. Many misunderstood the obvious error and asked to be removed from the list. Some replied angrily in all caps asking people to stop using the “reply all” option, while they themselves obviously used it. Others were politely attempting to inform others of what was happening. Some took an instructional approach, adding screen shots to redirect. There were many that found humor in it, writing things like “oh the humanity” and “please, think of the children”. Some blamed our administrators, voicing threatening complaints, and some shared their wisdom with technical work-arounds.

 

The split-second “send” required a few hours to correct because of a lack of unity and insight as to how to respond. Had we all taken a moment and simply not replied, there would have been no issue. The company and all of its independent franchises lost time and revenue across the world.

 

It brought to mind the Church as the Body of Christ and how uniquely each member processes information and responds to crises. What a challenge to find unity and a focused resolve! Satan is quick to send costly messages that generate confusion and disharmony. However, God “replied to all” before any issues evolved and equipped us with the focused direction we need. He has already addressed any crisis we may endure as a body and as individuals. We are not called to judge or demean the diverse interpretations and methods of others. He instead instructs us to obediently “reply” only to Him using our gifts in our own unique ways. In doing so, our contributions will build up the Church and reap spiritual maturity.

 

Father God, let your Holy Spirit move in me to use what you have given to me individually and to seek only to encourage others as they do the same.

by Joe Becker

 

These days, in the early course of our retirement, Vicki and I are instantly made available to the propriety of our grandchildren. No more am I preoccupied with all the time and thought once required of the workplace. We are now blessed to a much better call, and a much greater joy.

 

Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. (Proverbs 17:6)

 

Recently, while en route to babysit grandchildren,we drove east into the dawn and marveled while watching a splendid sunrise. There it occurred to me that for so long I had turned west in the mornings to the paper mill, only to rush to a time clock and all manner of noise, far too often missing morning devotions. Later that morning I would be led to the context of Isaiah 59:19. How sweet to be given rest from all that, and to revel in the promise of God: to endure for as long as the sun shall rise.

 

As I considered these things with thanksgiving, there came the familiar sound of Vicki’s cell phone. In a most profound and glorious way, mixed with all wonder, there stepped into our morning an additional blessing. The photograph with text sent to us was from a very dear and faithful friend. It was, of all things, the colorful image of the very same sunrise we were all watching!

 

The message attached to the photo read:

 

“Who can deny this majesty so glorious? Be filled, friends, with His Love today.” ~Bonnie

 

With her benediction of sorts, this all served to affirm me in our like faith and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. May we be renewed each morning with mercy and love.

 

Psalm 136

by Terry and Bev Hess

 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

 

The dictionary describes the word “soul” as the spiritual part of a person as distinct from the physical, and regarded as the source of thought, feelings and actions. Since the church is the people, this definition is the people of the church building.

 

January 7, 2019, we lost our precious grandson, Benjamin. For almost 25 years he had no control over his body, but that day he was set free to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Knowing that Benjamin is whole, and being who he was intended to be, makes his death bearable.

 

Our church family responded with love, prayers, cards and food. Their love for us also made getting through the process of funeral arrangements, the viewing and the memorial service more bearable. Some in this church family are going through trials of their own, but still took time to grieve with us.

 

As a family, we would like to thank the many people who were involved. It is times like these that show the true heart and soul of a church family.

 

We thank God for each one of you.

by Greg Gross

Hi, my name is Greg. In the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, I say my name is Greg and I am an alcoholic. But that does not define who I am—I am a child of God.

 

I made the choice to put alcohol and drugs in my body, starting when I was 14 in the early 70’s. After getting out of high school by the skin of my teeth, I worked for my Dad and my Grandpa at Lauer & Gross in West York.

 

In that dark life of drinking and drugging, my body was breaking down. I thought if I could find a female, I would change. I found “the one” on a job in Dover. My love went to her instead of alcohol and drugs. It didn’t take long to marry her and have a kid on the way.

After my dad passed away, I started to drink again and we sold the store in West York. I got another job at Pfaltzgraff in Dover and I started drugs again. At the new job, I was the main operator in the kiln area and a coworker gave me a pill to help keep me going. After one accident, I was moved into a loader/unloader position. This was a second shift job and it was the party shift. I had a second accident and I had to go for a drug and alcohol test.

 

That is when I found the rooms of AA. That was January 3, 1994. I am now 25 years clean and sober. My wife and I had our ups and downs, but we always stayed together. On July 31, 2018, at 5:10 in the morning, she passed away from cancer. I lived in the hospital with her until the end. She was my first and only love.

 

I could not have gotten through my addiction and the loss of Leisa without Jesus. And He is still getting me through it. After coming to CABC in 2014, I found a strong love for Jesus. When I was baptized by Pastor Todd, he gave me a verse:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your path straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

Because I am a child of God, I know that I am forgiven and my sins are gone and I am white as snow. Anyone that comes to Jesus can be the same.There is hope!

 

by Janet Coddington

As I was pondering what to write about for this year’s devotional, I felt the Lord telling me to share some of the times I felt Him speaking to me through different ways.

 

One time is very vivid in my mind. Pastor and I were being interviewed for a new pastorate; it was a whole morning of questions and a break in the afternoon and then dinner with the congregation that evening and ending with Bob preaching the following morning. Well, after the questions in the morning, we were given the afternoon on our own. We went to a nearby McDondald’s and sat down with our lunch. After praying for the food, we started discussing the morning’s events and all the concerns we had. The big question was, there was no parsonage…which meant we would either have to buy a home or rent. Could we afford this??? As we were talking, a little wren flew down beside our window and from SOMEWHERE a piece of bread fell beside the bird, which he quickly ate!! I BELIEVE IT WAS GOD; yep, a “God Wink”, telling us everything would work out.

 

What happened after that? God was saving us a home just three houses away from the church! And that is not all. The lady who was selling the home had had it on the market for a long time and she really wanted to sell. She went to a meeting that night and was asked if she had any prayer requests. She remarked that she wanted to sell her house. Well, you can imagine her surprise when she got home and heard our realtor telling her of our offer. I truly believe God had that all planned.

 

Another time is so vivid in my mind. I had been struggling with depression and anxiety for days. One Sunday while heading to church, on the Hanover Brands marquee, there was this sign:

 

Some One Knows Some One Cares Some One Whispered Your Name in Prayer

 

What do you think? A God Wink?? These are only two of the many, many times I believe God has sent me winks. What about you? Watch for your “God Winks” every day.

 

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry. (Psalm 34:15)

 

Dear Heavenly Father, please help us each day to see the many “God Winks” you give us. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.