Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory: 
While I was sitting in church one day, I came upon this scripture in Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” This scripture led me to dip deeper into the meanings behind some of the words in the scripture. So I went on a personal journey with this scripture that I wanted to share. I want to dissect this scripture more so I can apply it in my life more.

The Author and Finisher of My Faith

Jesus being the Author of our Faith made me think of Jesus having authority from His Father to be our Redeemer,
He also had the authority to perform what He did on the earth and from His duty He didn’t shrink either.
Jesus being the author can also mean He is the Captain or Chief Leader,
And because Jesus is the leader, we can always count on Him to lead us on a good path and be our Prime Keeper.

Jesus as the Finisher of our Faith made me think that He completes our faith and without Him we could never be complete,
This made me think that without Jesus and His Atoning sacrifice we would always be incomplete.
I definitely can’t imagine my life without knowing about Jesus and that knowledge makes my faith more concrete,
My life would be utterly wasted and empty without Jesus and things could never taste sweet.

This scripture also says that “for the joy that was set before Jesus, He endured the cross”,
I thought it was interesting that the words Joy and Cross are together and the meaning can to us come across.
Jesus endured the cross because of His love for us, for without Him our lives would be dross,
And Jesus knew what He had to endure but He did it and the pain of His suffering He didn’t want to toss.

I’m sure that enduring the cross was very hard and painful,
Our lives aren’t easy sometimes but because of Jesus we can be more hopeful.
Hopeful that He endured our trials and we don’t need to do it alone, for this should make us more grateful,
Because of Jesus we should want to repent and for our sins we should feel shameful.

But because Jesus suffered, we should let that shame bring us to our knees,
Jesus endured everything we could ever endure and we just need to say “please”.
Please Jesus help us to become better so that we can be with you again and have more ease,
Because of Jesus I can always have hope like when on my face I can feel a warm spring breeze.

The Takeaway: When we have a hard day when we feel like we can’t make it anymore, we can count on Jesus, our Savior, to be with us to help us keep going. He knows how we are feeling at any moment and He can help us heal and feel better.

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
I have seen on social media lately posts saying, “Life is hard…” and then giving some examples of why life is hard. Yes, life is hard and I think we all know that. I would like to explore ways that we can cope when life is hard. I also read a scripture in Mark in the Bible that I think would apply. It says, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick;” Reading this scripture made me think that no one is really whole without Jesus as their physician and without His influence in their life. 

The Master Physician of My Soul

Life is hard and I think this is something we can all agree,
Some days it is hard to keep going because of all our emotional debris.
We all have days when we wonder if we can keep going and we just want to flee,
Those are the days when we need the help of our loving Brother Jesus the most so that we can feel free.

Think of a time when you have been really sick,
You go in to see a doctor because you feel like you were hit by a brick.
He gives you medication, you start taking it and you feel better quick,
You feel so much better, body and spirit and your new found health you want to stick.

Jesus can help us feel better as the Master Physician,
He knows how we are feeling always because of His unique position.
He had to experience everything we did and all the opposition,
Suffering for us like He did was never an imposition.

Since He suffered everything we suffer in this life,
Only He can help us heal from all of the world’s strife.
Even when we feel like our heart is being cut with a knife,
All we have to do is turn to Him and He will be there to help us through this life.

Not one of us human beings could ever by ourselves be whole,
We are all imperfect and we struggle every day in our unique role.
By ourselves we could never reach our ultimate goal,
But with Jesus we can be healed and feel whole in our soul.

The Takeaway: Life is hard for everyone, no one is immune to hardships. If we turn to Jesus as our Master Physician, He can help us heal and feel better body and spirit. Then with Him by our side, our lives won’t seem so hard.

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
On one of my favorite podcasts I listened to recently, the hosts were talking about the Sistine Chapel. It was originally built in the 1400’s and Michelangelo painted the ceiling in the 1500’s. They have restored it many times throughout the centuries. The last restoration started in 1980 and was finished in 1994. They repaired cracks in the ceiling and walls and scraped off the grime of centuries. They said you could not believe the difference it made, especially on the beautiful artwork on the ceiling. Then the hosts said that only Jesus can scrape off our grime or our mistakes and sins so that we are more beautiful. Then we can see ourselves in a much better light.

Scraped Clean by Grace

We all make a mistake once in a while,
Sometimes we have the grime of our mistakes so caked on that it can feel vile.
We try to be good but sometimes we let the adversary us beguile,
We feel like we are so flawed that we might not be worthwhile.

When we feel like this we need to remember something important,
Jesus will always be there when we need reinforcement.
To Him we will never be unimportant,
He will always be there for us even when our faith might seem dormant.

Just like when they restored the Sistine Chapel to be more beautiful,
Jesus can help restore each of us so we are more suitable.
He has restored people for generations and that is just His usual,
With Him helping us, the stumbling blocks of our sins can be more movable.

When we feel like our load is too heavy to bear,
We just need to remember that Jesus has shoulders to spare.
He can lift us when we feel like our life isn’t fair,
Even when we feel like we are in need of soul repair.

Jesus suffered in the Garden so that we don’t have to suffer,
When we feel all alone He will be there as our buffer.
He will hold onto us because He is our Beloved Brother,
And He will scrape off our grime so we don’t feel like we are a total blunder.

The Takeaway: Just like when we restore old buildings, Jesus can help restore us. He can scrape our grime so that we can feel more beautiful inside. He will help repair our cracks and cleanse our souls. We can hold onto this knowledge that we are never alone because He will never leave us.

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
In Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus was with his disciples. He asked them, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” Some said He was one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked them, “But whom say ye that I am?” Without hesitation, His disciple, Simon Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” He knew because he had walked with Jesus, he had heard him teach and seen His amazing miracles. What if Jesus asked us that question, “But whom say ye that I am?” What would your answer be? What is your relationship with Jesus like?

The Jesus I Know

I have read about Jesus in the scriptures,
I love to look at His kind face and eyes in the many pictures.
Jesus isn’t just in a picture though,
To me, He is still a living and breathing being, of this I know.

As I read about Him,
My innermost thoughts and depressing feelings start to dim.
It’s incredible and sometimes unimaginable to me
That Jesus actually performed all that He did because for myself I didn’t see.

However, I don’t have to see to believe,
When I think about Him all my doubts seem to leave.
I feel good about all that I feel,
So Jesus as my Savior and Redeemer must be real.

Yes, Jesus actually did come to the earth,
He came to show us our amazing worth.
Because of His suffering on the cross and in the Garden,
We don’t have to suffer and when we sin we can ask His pardon.

It would have been amazing to be there
When Jesus was on the earth and His message I still want to share.
But Jesus is always with me,
And for me in my life that is the key.

The Takeaway:  We should all ask ourselves, “Who is Jesus to me?” He should be really important to each of us. Because of Him, we always have hope. We can feel His presence in our lives helping to guide us in our journey.