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If you are feeling weary in this season, you are not alone. I see you. If you listened to Pastor Frank’s sermon last week you may remember he talked about what to do when you are done fighting the fight, when you are weary. A practical step to take is to refresh yourself with the truth of God’s word. This week I wanted to give you seven verses to refresh your soul.

1. Psalm 73:26

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

2. Proverbs 18:10

“The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.”

3. Isaiah 40:29-31

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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.”

4. 1 Peter 5:7

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

5. Psalm 23:1-4

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

6. Zephaniah 3:17

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

7. Romans 8:38-39

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Click here to listen to Pastor Frank's Sermon from last Sunday, “A Land to Call Their Own” from Joshua 13-19.

Friends, we cannot wait until life is uncomplicated or less stressful to decide to choose joy. Life will always have complications and struggles. God has not promised life will be easy or that it will always make sense to us. God has promised that in His presence we will find joy. 

Here are 10 ways you can experience and choose joy TODAY regardless of your circumstances:

1. Choose to open your Bible. Reading the Bible nourishes your spirit and draws you closer to God. When have you ever opened your Bible and later thought, “I regret doing that, what a waste of time”?
2. Choose to take a walk in the woods. In Japan, scientists have taken hundreds of individuals on “forest walks” and measured a variety of bioindicators related to stress before and after. They’ve found that walks reduce cortisol levels, diminish sympathetic nerve activity, and decrease both blood pressure and heart rate. I do not think this is an accident but rather a gift from God!
3. Choose to pray. Pray about your lack of joy and ask God to help you to choose joy today! Pray for those who have hurt you, for those who annoy you, and for those who you love dearly! Praying reminds us who is in control and helps us take steps towards not only trusting God but also towards loving one another better.
4. Choose to give a family member or friend a hug. This is our modern version of the “holy kiss”. (Romans 16:16, 1 Thess. 5:26).
5. Choose to say thank you. A simple text to a friend or thank you note popped in the mail will not only brighten the recipient’s day but will also help you to focus on being thankful for those God has put into your life.
6. Choose to let go of other people’s expectations. I have recently gotten into the habit of reminding myself daily that today it is my job to please God, no one else.
7. Choose to immerse yourself in God’s word and take a break from social media. Multiple studies have shown links between social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and loneliness. We often find ourselves entrapped in a cycle of comparison and feelings of inadequacy.
8. Choose gratitude. Choose to thank God for even the mundane things in your life.
9. Choose to live life in the present. We often find ourselves living for the next big thing; the next vacation, the next big purchase, the next exciting news and because our focus is on the future, we forget to be fully present in our lives right now! Choose to let this go and live in the current moment!
10. Choose Grace. We often forget to have grace for ourselves. No one is perfect except for Jesus, show yourself grace when you make a mistake.

Do you like to wait?

I didn’t think so…Did you know that statistics show the average person spends anywhere from 3-6 years of their life waiting? Six months of that is waiting on traffic lights! Just re-reading that sentence makes me feel tense! Patience is a fruit of the spirit, but none of us actually enjoys waiting. The problem many of us have isn’t the actual act of waiting but what happens in our hearts while we wait.

For me and many like me (you know, imperfect humans), waiting causes a downward spiral of frustration, impatience, selfishness, and anger. If this can happen to us while simply waiting in line at the grocery store or driving behind an impossibly slow car--- what is happening in our hearts when God makes us wait?

If you are anything like me, my heart has its ups and downs in seasons of waiting. One week I will be filled with patience and great expectation for what God is doing in my life, but the very next week I will begin to allow frustration and bitterness to take root and not unlike my toddler son, I will throw a fit.

Yet God, the Creator of the Universe, knows what it’s like to wait and He exhibits great patience with me, his restless daughter. Waiting, when done well becomes a time of great transformation.

Lamentations 3:25 states, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” 

Now I have a confession to make, as I write this I am in a season of waiting. As I woke this morning and uttered another frustrated prayer asking God for clear direction, it was almost audible in my heart as God gently rebuked me. “Jess, have you been waiting well in this season?” So here I am writing not from a place of expertise but a place of humble exploration. I hope as we are all so often found waiting that you will join me on the journey to learn to wait well.

A prayer while waiting:

Dear Heavenly Father,

You promise that those who wait on you will renew their strength. Please fulfill this in my life and empower me to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31). Lord help me not to fear or be dismayed as I wait. Help me to trust you to strengthen me, and hold me in your righteous right hand on my most difficult days. (Isaiah 41:10) My hope is in your Word, Father, and I eagerly anticipate your work in my life. (Psalm 130:5-6). Lord, you are good to those who wait and to the soul who seeks you. (Lamentations 3:25) I see your goodness in my life in the ways you have provided so abundantly for my physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Today I commit to look to you Lord and wait for the God of my salvation because I know you hear me. (Micah 7:7) Thank you Lord for hearing me when I pray and for the transforming work you are doing through my waiting. Amen.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” Deuteronomy 4:9 (NIV).

Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi once said that winning wasn’t the main thing; it was the only thing. For those of us who name Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, His death, burial, resurrection, and return isn’t just the main thing; its the only thing. We cannot forget that fact.
Another fact we cannot forget is that God told us that we have a responsibility to teach our children and grandchildren in Deuteronomy 4:9. Pastor Doug Fannon pointed out that “The fact is, we are but one generation away from being a completely pagan nation. Each generation is responsible for reaching the next.” (Being a Bold Witness by Doug Fannon 11/11/2019, at www.sermoncentral.com)

We live in a culture that buries and distorts the only thing until it’s not even recognizable as the main thing. We have bunny rabbits, Easter baskets, colored eggs, chocolate, new clothes, spring fashions, and lots of other good things to occupy our attention. But without the only thing, we have nothing.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate and commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it’s up to us to make sure our children and grandchildren know that this is not just the main thing, it’s the only thing. Without it, nothing else matters.

My parents were very devout Catholics. They made a big deal out of the week before Easter. We waived palm branches and drew pictures of Jesus on a donkey on Palm Sunday; we commemorated the Last Supper by reenacting communion on Holy Thursday. I had this little statue of Jesus in my bedroom watching over me every night as I slept. I remember that on Good Friday, my mom would have me solemnly put Jesus in a shoebox and pack him away in a closet. She would tell me that Jesus died and was buried so that I would have my sins forgiven. Then, with great fanfare, we would liberate him from the shoebox and return him to his rightful place watching over me on Easter Sunday. Putting Jesus in a shoebox seems like a silly thing now, but after 60 years, I still remember that it was me and my sins that caused Jesus to die, and that it was God’s power and Jesus’s love for me that wouldn’t let him stay that way.

You don’t have to be an expert in anything; you just have to be faithful and willing to follow orders from headquarters (Deut 4:9).

God did not call you to be perfect; he called you to be faithful. He will be there to help you, as you teach your children well.

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then, those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people to be most pitied.'  1 Corinthians 15:12-19

If Christ is not raised, then nothing else matters. There is no other religion in history that makes the claim that its founder rose from the dead. This fact makes the resurrection the absolute centerpiece of Christianity. Without that fact, we are living a lie based on a hoax, and nothing we have ever done or said in the name of Christ matters. The question is either Christ was crucified and raised from the dead or he wasn't. The answer to that question has overwhelming consequences and implications for all of mankind. It is in fact, the most important question each one of us can answer and without believing in the resurrection, there is no hope. 

Because Christ rose from the dead, as he promised, we can be assured that what he said was true and who he claimed to be was true. We can rest assured that our sins are forgiven and that he still lives today and that because he was raised from the dead, we can rest assured that we will also be raised. 

The Romans performed innumerable crucifixions before, during and after the life of Christ, most of those long forgotten after they occurred. However, the crucifixion of Christ is vastly different than all the other crucifixions that took place, because of the resurrection. Immediately following Christ's arrest, the apostles deserted Christ and after his crucifixion believed it was over. Yet nearly all of these men died in the name of Christ and for their belief in the resurrection. 

Peter, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Simon and James were all crucified. Thomas killed by a spear, Matthew a sword and Thaddeus killed by arrows. All in the name of Christ and their belief that he had raised from the dead. The explosion of Christianity around the world since that time is primarily due to the first eyewitnesses which consisted not only of the apostles, but hundreds of others who saw him after he was crucified. They suffered because they saw and believed. 

The question for us today is do we believe as the apostles did that Christ died and was raised from the dead thus paying the price for our sins and the promise of eternal life? Without an answer to that question and without our acknowledgement of repentance and our promise of surrender to him, all other things are meaningless. We can be leaders in our church or teach Sunday school, but if we do not believe then it is meaningless. We can perform good deeds, save lives, help the needy and feed the homeless but without the resurrection and our belief that it happened, we have no hope. The reality is, it all comes down to the cross. Our lives may get sidetracked with many distractions that cause us to lose our focus and forget where our priority should be. It is because of the resurrection that Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has authority over our lives, over death, over all living things. It is because of the resurrection that we now as believers have a mission to make disciples of Christ based on the authority he has over our lives. It is not an option nor is the resurrection just another tradition to be celebrated.

For it was on this day, that Christ died for the sins of all mankind. Allowing new lives to experience the resurrection power of Christ. We are no longer chained to the sins of mankind that began with the fall of Adam. Because of the resurrection, Christ lives with us today through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of the resurrection, the church has a witness to the world. Because of the resurrection, we have the promise of eternal life. And because of the authority of Christ, he has promised to be with us always through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that allows us to live freely from the chains of sin, sharing our faith and to totally surrender every aspect of our lives to him. It is because of the resurrection, that all things will be made new. The answer for all of mankind rests solely on what happened on Resurrection day and our response to that event. For if Christ is not raised, then nothing else matters. May we all live our lives each day with this simple fact in mind. It all rests on the Cross and His resurrection. 

"The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that 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. Then go quickly and tell the disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you." - Matthew 28:5-7