Read: Lamentations 3:21-26 “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23 (NIV)

I have a son who, when younger, did not like to wear anything new. I don’t know why whether it was the scratchiness of the material or the label, or that they were unfamiliar, but he liked his old faithfuls. It got to the point where I would keep some newer yet older clothes that he could wear when we went out and to church. It is interesting that this didn’t apply to underwear or school clothes. It took a couple of years, but he grew out of this quirkiness and is now a fan of new clothes! There is comfort in the familiar. My husband says when we have hamburgers or spaghetti, “This is comfort food.”

I understand that this is the food he grew up with, and it brings memories. I value the above Bible verse, that God’s love is not the same every day. Each day He shows His love to us in a different way, but it is comfortable and brings peace. There is nothing unfamiliar about God’s great love and His feelings towards us, so each day we can put them on, it is a faithfulness that does not change. Each day I can wake up in the hope and with the promise that God has said that my day is a new one, but nothing unfamiliar will change with His love.

This devotional theme challenges me, like all the ones before. How can I come up with new stories, new illustrations to share the hope I have in a loving God who sent His Son to live a human life, and then on a painful journey to the cross and a tortuous death. This was all for you and me. Jesus didn’t stay dead – God had Jesus beat death and rise from the dead so that we can have hope and a future with our Heavenly Father. Jesus paid the cost for all our sins.

This might sound familiar and it brings comfort, but chew over this comfort food, read a new Bible verse and remember God’s goodness. Each day is a new day to love God and each other.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your familiar yet new love and grace which you give me every day. Help me to appreciate your forgiveness and all you did for me on the cross. Amen.

Don’t Quit! 2nd Sunday during Lent

Read: Jeremiah 29:11-14a “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous composer-pianist, was scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. In the audience that evening was a mother with her fidgety nine-year-old son. The mother was hopeful that her son would be encouraged to practice the piano if he could just hear the immortal Paderewski at the piano. As she turned to talk with friends, her son slipped away from her side, drawn to the ebony concert grand Steinway piano. He placed his small, trembling f ingers in the right location and began to play “Chopsticks.”

Hundreds of frowning faces pointed in his direction. Irritated and embarrassed, they began to shout: “Where’s his mother?” “Somebody stop him!” Backstage, the master overheard the sounds out front and quickly put together in his mind what was happening. Without one word of announcement, he stooped over behind the boy, reached around both sides, and began to improvise a countermelody to harmonize with and enhance “Chopsticks.” As the two of them played together, Paderewski kept whispering in the boy’s ear: “Keep going. Don’t quit.

Keep on playing… don’t stop… don’t quit.” God knows the future, and his plans for us are good and full of hope. This does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering, or hardship… God never promised us that; in fact, there will be many trials and temptations in our lives. But He wants us to prosper and have a peace that Jesus gives us through His death on the cross. Sometimes we do things we shouldn’t, like the little boy, but God makes good out of any circumstance we may find ourselves in. God is the kind of leader that will never leave us. He will always be with us.

He will carry us when we cannot walk. When we are down, it will be Him, that will reach down with his loving hand and pick us up, dust off our clothes, put a Band Aid on our scrape, kiss it better then send us back to try again. This Lenten season remember that there is a God who loves and cares for you and your future. Start playing. Keep playing. Don’t stop, don’t quit.

Prayer: My Father God, you reach out to me, encouraging me to keep going, even when things are hard. Thank you for your plans and promises for my life. I live in hope of my future. Amen.

Read: Jeremiah 17:7-8 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV)

In 1989, Tania (a friend from school) and myself decided to go and visit another one of our friends, Julie. Julie had taken up a job as a nursing sister in the far north of Queensland amongst the community of Wujal Wujal. The thing is, both Tania and I worked in Adelaide. So, we packed up my car, a Toyota Corona MK ll, and began our trek. It was during the January school holidays, and it was hot.

Back then, no mobile phones so we just trusted that this car would get us there and hoped to be able to spend a couple weeks with our friend. We did have a few mishaps needing to stay in one town for a couple nights to have the engine repaired, but we finally arrived in Cairns. Julie met us at the Lutheran church where we left my car and packed into her 4WD. Wujal Wujal is a remote Aboriginal community, and we needed to go through rivers and across extremely rugged roads. What an experience! Living amongst this community was incredible, and they had to rely and trust on getting supplies across the Bloomfield River. This river was tidal, so during the wet season it became very dangerous. To get us across, Julie knew the tide times and got us safely across at low tide.

What is the difference between hope and trust? Hope is the feeling of desiring and expecting a particular thing to happen. Trust, on the other hand, is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. In the Bible, sometimes we may think that hope and trust are interchangeable, and in some cases it does work. But, in our lives, we put our trust (firm belief, reliability) in a loving God who sent His only Son to earth for our salvation.

Our hope (expectation) lies in the promises that we are given by Jesus – He has many rooms in His Father’s house, and He has prepared a place for us. (John 14:2) We put our trust in God for the hope of a future with Him!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I confidently place my trust in the fact that you died for me. My hope lies in your resurrection and that you also will take me to be with you where you are. Amen.