The Hope Chest

Do you remember “hope chests?”  In our family they were an important part of preparing for marriage. 

When I was young, little girls were often told that they needed to grow up and marry a good man, have children, and live happily ever after – and we know now that it doesn’t always work that way.  Especially the “happily ever after” part.  

I’m grateful to God that, with His help, ours did work.

But let’s talk a little bit about hope chests.  Mine was a blond cedar chest.  It was where I put everything I was sure I would need to have a wonderful “ever after.” 

It contained an eight-place setting of china, the silverware that my folks gave me as a gift, crystal goblets that I bought, one at a time to add to the beauty of my future table. 

I worked to fill that hope chest with things that I believed would add beauty to my marriage – to my home.  For instance, there were pillowcases with crocheted edges that my grandma helped me with.  There were kitchen towels embroidered with the days of the week and some with flowers or cute little gardeners in bright colors (as if I would use each towel on the specified day.)

That hope chest was full of things I wanted to bring into my marriage as well as my hopes and dreams.

Well this young lady did grow up, marry a good man, have children, and lived happily ever after – well happily most of the time.

Marriage to a “good man” is not the guarantee of happiness in every part of a person’s life.  But there is one person who is a guarantee of hope and a beautiful future.

That’s our Savior.  He is the only one who is able to promise a life of “happily ever after.”  He is the only one who did fulfill that promise. 

Jesus, the eternal Son of God, is (as the Bible puts it) the Bridegroom.  He is the one who paid with His life for the Church – the Bride of Christ.  That’s us!  All Christians – we make up the Church.  Of course, we’re not talking buildings or denominations – we’re talking about those people have accepted Jesus as their Savior.  We’re the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Just like my hope chest, there is a place for us to put those things that will, and do, make our lives with Christ beautiful.  That place is our heart.  In our hearts we store memories of the times God has walked with us, helped us, and held us.  In our hearts we store the words of God written in the Bible.  Words that God has made sure we could read and learn. 

In our hearts.  In our hearts - we store the knowledge of God that was written there from the beginning of time.  The Bible tells us that God puts into our hearts, His Joy, His love, His spirit, His light and His peace.  So, I’d like to talk about those things.

• He fills our hearts with joy – you’ll find that in Acts 14:17.
• He poured out His love into our hearts -  Romans 5:5
• He sent His Spirit to dwell in us – 1 Cor 3:16
• He made His light shine in our hearts - 2 Corinthians 4:6
• He gave us His peace to rule our hearts. - Colossians 3:15

So, God’s Joy, His love, His spirit, His light and His peace are placed in the hope chests of our hearts.  Unlike the things in my hope chest, these are meant to be used and shared, not put away, waiting for a special day.

If we read the scriptures we find that, when Christ comes again, He is coming to collect His bride – the church (Christians.)  And it would sure be a good idea if we were to prepare for His coming with what will last.  It would be a good idea to hold and to share and use those beautiful things that God has given us – and if we do, they will be beautiful still when He comes again.

I wrote this little poem as I was figuring out what to say today.  I hope it will mean something to you.

I open the chest and gently place there

another fair treasure with infinite care.

I touch each small piece, each work of my hands

and treasure each moment, each part of the plan.

Earthly treasures, earthly riches,

gathered, stored and placed inside,

will they last into the future,

or die with hopes unsatisfied?

Heavenly treasures, Heavenly riches,

Never earned by earthly right.

His Joy, His peace, will last forever

with His Spirit, love and light.

They’ll last forever set apart,

In the hope chest of my heart.

My Cup Overflowing

God fills the cups of our lives – we’ve all had different lives, haven’t we, just like cups – they have different purposes, different styles, and they are different sizes.  (You might notice that mine is broken but then I suppose we all are in a way.)

There are a lot of references to cups in the Bible.  Some of them refer to cups of sorrow, or wrath.  But many of them refer to cups of blessing.  I’d like to talk about those cups.

There’s a song that Ron and I love – it speaks of a cup that is overflowing with God’s blessing.  One of the lines is “I'm drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed.”

What is in your cup, if you're a follower of God?  In the fourth chapter of John, we find this reference to something overflowing – the water of life.  Jesus promised living water, and He said that this living water would flow - welling up to eternal life.  He said that if we ask Him, and if we drink from the water He gives us, we’ll never be thirsty again.  

The things that this world holds are not satisfying.  But things don’t last, do they?  In this world, there are never enough things to fill the cups in our lives – but there’s always enough of God.  He doesn’t hold back His love, His presence, or His promises. 

 John 15:9 (NIV)  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

If we love God and keep close to Him, we will have joy – overflowing.  Our prayers, in Jesus’ name, will yield more joy than our lives, our cups, can hold. 

God will give us love overflowing.  The earth is filled with God’s love.

Psalm 119:64 (NIV) The earth is filled with your love, Lord, teach me your decrees.

God gave the children of Israel joy and laughter.  They were on filled with it.

Psalm 126:2  (NIV) Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

And God has done great things for us.  He will give us joy as well, to the point where our cups overflow. 

I expect there are days when you wonder where that joy is – it’s no different with any Christian.  There are days when we don’t feel happy on the surface, but we can have happiness or joy deep within our hearts.  We can have satisfaction, knowing that God is in control of whatever is making us unhappy.  So I guess I’d have to say we can be happy and unhappy at the same time.  He fills our hearts, He fills our cups with joy – we just need to decide to drink of that joy.   

1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NIV) -  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Wonder

Wonder – I wonder – I feel wonder. 

God created wonders – the Grand Canyon, the universe, a tiny flower.

I’m sure you remember the days when, as a child, you felt wonder at things.  We would lie down in the grass and look up at the sky - see the clouds floating by, or the birds soaring high.  And we would be amazed that the birds didn’t fly into each other as they flew in formation.

As the clouds swirled around and changed shapes we tried to pick out a picture or two – was that a dragon, a dog, a castle.  Our eyes were full of the wonder of it all.

That was wonder and that was childhood.  We’re not there anymore, but we still wonder, and we still – if we think about it, feel wonder.  Let’s look at the Bible.  I imagine that Methuselah continued to feel wonder in his world at age 969.

Genesis 5:25 – 27 - When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.  After the became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years more and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

He had a child at over 187 years old – that must have been a cause for wonder.

God designed us to question, and to feel awe and amazement, and if we’re created in His image (which we are), then He must feel wonder too. 

That’s an amazing thought.  Do you think that when God looks at His universe, He feels amazed at what He created?  Here are a few beautiful verses that talk about God’s wonders – the totally amazing awe inspiring created things and miracles.

Psalm 40:5 – David wrote in His prayer

Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

And in Psalm 65:8 David is praising God by saying

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.

And there are people in the Bible who wondered, who questioned.   

Luke 24:12  Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away. He wondered to himself what had happened. 

Jesus rose from the dead and Peter wondered how it happened!  And then when He saw the risen Jesus, he must have been full of amazement and wonder.

How about Moses?

Genesis 3 tells us that Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law.  He came to Horeb, the mountain of God and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that, though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up, so Moses decided to go have a look at it.

God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”  Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Moses was curious, then afraid.  Can you picture yourself confronted with a burning bush?  That was amazing, but the truly amazing thing was that God spoke to him. 

And that’s something that we can still feel wonder about – He speaks to us in His word.  He tells us the way we should live.  But He also shows us Himself – His character, His love, His forgiveness when He speaks to us in the Bible. 

God showed His children wonders – miracles, signs, burning bushes, the dead rising, the lame, blind and sick healed, and He still shows His children wonders.  If we will stop to look around us – even in nature He shows himself. 

Spring is the season of wonders.  We see the world coming to life again after its cold winter rest – that speaks volumes about the creator of that life.    

Romans 1:20 (NIV) tells us

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, . . .

Do you ever think about that?  Do you understand the power of God that shows up in the mighty, the solid, the enormous things we see?  Or His creativeness, that we see all the time, around us.

Or do you understand the love of God that shows up so clearly in the beautiful, the peaceful, the tender things in this world?  I believe He gave us all these wonders, so that we might know Him better.  I believe He wants us to know Him better because He loves us and wants us to recognize His wonders.  He wants to show us – because He loves us.

God's Clock

Did you know that God is the master clock maker?  His clock is so different than ours.  His clock is named “eternity.” 

The marks on our clocks measure seconds, minutes and hours. 

But God’s clock is different.  It shows these things – Always on time, no limit to time, always the perfect time.  So, no matter where the hands land on God’s clock, it’s good – it’s the correct time.

God made time for us.  When He made the world, He made time. 

An interesting thing is that the Jewish people marked their days beginning with the evening. 

Remember in Genesis 1:3 (KJV) we read,

“And the evening and the morning were the first day.” 

I like that thought.  If we were to think or our days like that, we would be preparing for the day ahead with rest and prayer.  We would be looking forward, not back. 

But how can we hope to understand a God who is beyond time.  God’s clock is always right.  Sometimes ours run down, the batteries give out, they are slow or fast.  Sometimes ours is messed with – going from one time zone to another, or going from daylight savings time to standard time.

But God is not tied to our clock. 

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV)

“But do not ignore this one fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand and years and a thousand years as one day.“

Remember Esther?   Her story is about time.  My abbreviated version goes like this.

Esther was a Jewish orphan girl, being looked after by her uncle until she became the queen of Persia.

The King deposed his wife for disobeying him and Esther was brought to him – along with a lot of other beautiful women.  He chose her.

The story goes on to tell of a plot by Haaman (the bad guy.)  He planned to have the Jewish people destroyed.  The perfect person to talk to the king about this was Esther.  But she was afraid to go to the king and hopefully save her people until she  listened to her uncle's famous words.  

 “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” 

Esther 4:13-14 (NIV)

Esther was there at the time God had appointed.  It was His time, not hers, not the king’s, not the uncle’s.  God wanted to protect His chosen people and He appointed the time.

Psalm 31:15 (KJV)   I trust in thee.  I say thou art my God, my times are in thy hand.  

Reflections

As the new year starts, I’ve spent many a minute reflecting on what all happened last year and how fast it all went – have you?

Reflecting, meditating, thinking about – I think some of us do a lot of that, especially as we age. 

2 Timothy 2:7(NIV) Paul says to Timothy, “Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give your insight into all this.” 

If I reflect – look at what the Bible is saying, I believe that God will speak to me through it, as He did for Timothy. 

Meditating is a part of reflecting - part of the dictionary definition of reflecting is “Consideration and evaluation of some subject matter.” That’s basically meditating.  Really thinking about something, picking it apart, analyzing it and having it become a part of you.  

In Joshua 1:8 (NIV) we read  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. 

Joshua was saying that the people must consider, reflect, meditate on Moses’ teachings – not just to know them, but so that they would be able to do what was instructed by God.

I read something recently that said, “Our brains keep on learning, even when we’re not aware of it.” So maybe there’s hope for us after all.

You may relate to Psalm 119:148 (NIV) where David says,

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

Now that’s interesting.  I know my eyes sometimes stay open, but am I meditating on God’s promises?  I should be.  Do you ever think about a scripture when you can’t go to sleep?  It’s calming, but mostly it’s calming to know that God is awake with you.

I love reading quotes by little kids – I read this letter to God the other day.  Christopher wrote

Dear God, who’s in charge when you are off duty? 

It’s cute, only because we know God is never off duty.  In the late watches of the night, when we’re tired and hurting and can’t go to sleep, when we wake in the morning, on weekdays, on weekends – God is never off duty.  So, we can talk to Him and meditate on the answers in His book. 

I loved this letter to God from Elliott. 

Dear God, I think about You sometimes even when I'm not praying. (Elliott)

Friends aren’t friends only when they make an appointment to visit, they are friends always.  God is our best friend - let’s think about Him – let’s reflect on Him - even when we don’t have our eyes closed, and our hands folded to pray – even when we’re not talking to Him.

To reflect on God is to think about Him, to meditate on Him, and to make Him a part of our every moment because He’s right there – every moment.

Happy New Year

It’s the new year – I hope you all had a nice Christmas, we did for sure.  But this morning I woke up thinking that ..

Even though our world has tried very hard to take Christ out of this season, I expect that not one of us could escape without thinking just even a little bit about the Christ Child, the one who came to earth and was born in a lowly manger.

When I think of the manger, probably a dirty place, probably cold and unpleasant, I’m amazed.

I’m amazed that, as we look at Christmas cards, at the pictures we Christians paint of that tiny baby lying there, they seem so beautiful.  The pictures in our head are the same – when we see Jesus in that stable, He makes it come alive.  He makes it into something more than it was.

And in the same way Christians look at the cross of Jesus as something that has worth, not as something the world sees, but as the means for God to show His mighty love for us.  When we look at the man on the cross He makes it into something more than it was.

God does that for us as well.  When He is in our lives, He makes us more than we ever were.  I pray that will be true for each one of us this year, that we’ll let Him make us more.

Love, Diane