♪A Note of Thanks ♪
“This is the day the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
Rejoice! Be Glad!!
Even though we face difficulties and storms in life, God will be with us and never forsake us. He promised and I believe Him. Yesterday afternoon as I drove home from work it was cloudy and windy. I drove down Montevallo Road through Mountain Brook to Irondale meandering my way to Roebuck. As I was driving down the rural part of Ruffner Road, I began to notice them… blackberries blooming all along-side the road on the other side of the ditch. Then I thought, “Oh my, it’s Blackberry Winter,” our last cold snap, and then before you know it we’ll be pickin’ blackberries around the end of June and the 4th of July for a mouth-watering delicious cobbler.
See, even though the weather was changing and a bit unsettling, there on the side of the road were beautiful white blossoms just covering the blackberry bushes, soon to start producing fruit.
When we look around us, we have so much to be thankful for. Yes, we all have our own set of problems whether health, financial, work or family, but through it all we can make it. It’s called perseverance. Even when life has dealt us a blow and seemingly we don’t think we can go on, God will make a way.
Last week was a very busy week, work-wise, and yet one to rejoice in. I celebrated the 14th anniversary of my 39th birthday…woo hoo!! Praise God for granting us another day of life to share His joy with those around us who are hurting. Praise God for friends, loved ones and church family to encourage us and lift us up. Join me in sharing His joy with a friend who needs a special touch. You may be that person today that God is calling to be light in a dark world.
He Has Made Me Glad
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart.
I will enter His courts with praise.
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
Chorus
He has made me glad, He has made me glad.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
He has made me glad, He has made me glad.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
Adopted from Psalm 100
Thanks be to God for His Gift to us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord! Amen.
Thank you for your loving kindness…
Your friend,
Mark David Jackson
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Your Spiritual Garden
♪A Note of Thanks ♪
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
It’s that time of year again when we clean up the garden, rake leaves, trim and cut grass, prune bushes, dig in the dirt, plant seeds, fertilize, put out pine straw and mulch, water and watch everything begin to grow. We clean off the undergrowth, trim off the dead limbs and either put them in a mulching area, bag them or pile them up to be carried away to the trash heap. What an amazing transformation begins to happen…leaves coming out, seemingly overnight, hosta, day lilies, iris are up; daffodils, forsythia and tulips are past while the azaleas are in full bloom. Seedlings are popping up and there’s new life and growth all around us.
The long winter is past and new life has begun. We have yearned for this time, new life, sunshine, renewal and springtime. This didn’t all come about magically. It was a process. We had to work at it. We had a plan. We made lists of things to do: plants and seeds to buy along with potting soil, mulch and pine straw.
So, that being said, the question arises, how is it with our spiritual gardens? Are we taking an inventory of what needs to be done? Do we need pruning here, cleaning out the overgrown parts there so that new growth and new life can sprout forth? Do we need fertilizing with God’s word coupled with prayer, meditation and a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to rejuvenate our spiritual garden? Do we need a good spring rain of God’s love to pour over us and wash away the pollen of sin and status quo of our lives? Do we need a fresh touch of God’s grace, peace, mercy and hope?
How is it with you? How are you faring lately? You know that life as well as the church can be very fragile. We need the support of our families and God’s family. We need to love, be loved and nurture relationships. We need to care for others and ourselves so that when the call comes we can respond.
Will you join me today and in the days ahead and resolve within yourself to redouble your efforts to offer yourself anew to God right now, this day, at this very moment? Will you take that step and offer God’s love and radical Grace to help those hurting and in pain around you? There are people all around us that need a touch of God. You can be that person He needs today. Why not take time and ask Him to renew your strength so that you can touch those around you with His love?
Hymn of Promise
In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise; butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn for every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
-Natalie Sleeth
Bless our spiritual gardens today, dear Lord and help us to bloom forth in ways we haven’t imagined before. Grant us your Grace, Peace and Hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
What a joy, serving along-side you. I remain, your friend… Mark David Jackson
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
It’s that time of year again when we clean up the garden, rake leaves, trim and cut grass, prune bushes, dig in the dirt, plant seeds, fertilize, put out pine straw and mulch, water and watch everything begin to grow. We clean off the undergrowth, trim off the dead limbs and either put them in a mulching area, bag them or pile them up to be carried away to the trash heap. What an amazing transformation begins to happen…leaves coming out, seemingly overnight, hosta, day lilies, iris are up; daffodils, forsythia and tulips are past while the azaleas are in full bloom. Seedlings are popping up and there’s new life and growth all around us.
The long winter is past and new life has begun. We have yearned for this time, new life, sunshine, renewal and springtime. This didn’t all come about magically. It was a process. We had to work at it. We had a plan. We made lists of things to do: plants and seeds to buy along with potting soil, mulch and pine straw.
So, that being said, the question arises, how is it with our spiritual gardens? Are we taking an inventory of what needs to be done? Do we need pruning here, cleaning out the overgrown parts there so that new growth and new life can sprout forth? Do we need fertilizing with God’s word coupled with prayer, meditation and a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to rejuvenate our spiritual garden? Do we need a good spring rain of God’s love to pour over us and wash away the pollen of sin and status quo of our lives? Do we need a fresh touch of God’s grace, peace, mercy and hope?
How is it with you? How are you faring lately? You know that life as well as the church can be very fragile. We need the support of our families and God’s family. We need to love, be loved and nurture relationships. We need to care for others and ourselves so that when the call comes we can respond.
Will you join me today and in the days ahead and resolve within yourself to redouble your efforts to offer yourself anew to God right now, this day, at this very moment? Will you take that step and offer God’s love and radical Grace to help those hurting and in pain around you? There are people all around us that need a touch of God. You can be that person He needs today. Why not take time and ask Him to renew your strength so that you can touch those around you with His love?
Hymn of Promise
In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise; butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn for every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
-Natalie Sleeth
Bless our spiritual gardens today, dear Lord and help us to bloom forth in ways we haven’t imagined before. Grant us your Grace, Peace and Hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
What a joy, serving along-side you. I remain, your friend… Mark David Jackson
Friday, April 9, 2010
Resting In God
♪A Note of Thanks ♪
“Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it…There remains, then a rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.” Hebrews 4:1; 9-11a
In these busiest of times, when life seems as if it cannot become more intense, sometimes we need to be reminded to relax and reflect on the spirituality of the ordinary. I am reminded of the World War II Jewish writer Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, who in describing his concentration camp experiences, speaks of the “intensification of life” that came over the prisoners in the Camp, so that sunsets, remembered lines of verse and scripture, and even the most ordinary actions of the past (riding a bus, answering the telephone, turning on the lights) became filled with beauty and longing. An important conclusion for Frankl was: “If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life – an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain, the one that the German SS were unable to destroy. Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner, helped him adapt, and thereby improved his chances of survival.”
Every day, we have opportunities for meditation, contemplation and rest. Every day, we experience life afresh and can always learn something new from even the smallest aspect of God’s creation as well as from those we come in contact with. Won’t you join me in taking time out of your busy life to take a brisk walk, meander in the garden, turn the radio off in the car and take time to thank God for His provisions as well as meditate recalling precious scripture to your mind to refresh and rest in your spirit, allowing God to speak to you? Listen, listen, listen, to His Still Small Voice…and find rest in your soul.
The Haven of Rest
My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, “Make Me your choice”;
And I entered the “Haven of Rest”!
Refrain:
I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,
In Jesus I’m safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the “Haven of Rest.”
Oh, come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
And say, “My Beloved is mine.”
-Henry L. Gilmour, 1890
In the quest to know God, may we do ordinary things extraordinarily well.
(from St. Francis de Sales)
Holy One, help me to relax and rest in You. In Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name. Amen.
What a joy to serve along-side you on life’s journey! I remain….your friend,
Mark David Jackson
“Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it…There remains, then a rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.” Hebrews 4:1; 9-11a
In these busiest of times, when life seems as if it cannot become more intense, sometimes we need to be reminded to relax and reflect on the spirituality of the ordinary. I am reminded of the World War II Jewish writer Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, who in describing his concentration camp experiences, speaks of the “intensification of life” that came over the prisoners in the Camp, so that sunsets, remembered lines of verse and scripture, and even the most ordinary actions of the past (riding a bus, answering the telephone, turning on the lights) became filled with beauty and longing. An important conclusion for Frankl was: “If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life – an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain, the one that the German SS were unable to destroy. Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner, helped him adapt, and thereby improved his chances of survival.”
Every day, we have opportunities for meditation, contemplation and rest. Every day, we experience life afresh and can always learn something new from even the smallest aspect of God’s creation as well as from those we come in contact with. Won’t you join me in taking time out of your busy life to take a brisk walk, meander in the garden, turn the radio off in the car and take time to thank God for His provisions as well as meditate recalling precious scripture to your mind to refresh and rest in your spirit, allowing God to speak to you? Listen, listen, listen, to His Still Small Voice…and find rest in your soul.
The Haven of Rest
My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, “Make Me your choice”;
And I entered the “Haven of Rest”!
Refrain:
I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,
In Jesus I’m safe evermore.
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the beloved so blest,
On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the “Haven of Rest.”
Oh, come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the “Haven of Rest,”
And say, “My Beloved is mine.”
-Henry L. Gilmour, 1890
In the quest to know God, may we do ordinary things extraordinarily well.
(from St. Francis de Sales)
Holy One, help me to relax and rest in You. In Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name. Amen.
What a joy to serve along-side you on life’s journey! I remain….your friend,
Mark David Jackson
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