Walks with Alpha

Saturday, April 6, 2018

by Maggie

June 2013

I like to go for walks with my smoothskins. Sometimes I have one of them and sometimes two. 

Since Oma has been here, she and I have taken several trips down the lane together. She likes to go to the end and just stand there for awhile. Sometimes I think she’s talking to Somebody. Sometimes I think she’s listening. I’m not sure. But she seems to like it. 

What is really entertaining is when my Buddy and the Muffin and I all go together with my Alpha. You should see her. The three of us are all tethered to her but somehow she doesn’t get tangled up. She switches a tether from one paw to the other in such a way that we all stay unencumbered. It’s pretty impressive. 

What’s funny, too, is what happens from the beginning of our trips to the end. We all start out clumped together going roughly the same pace — except for the Muffin and she is running up and back and to and fro just like a typical child.  But by the time we get back it’s a different story. The Muffin is trotting on ahead of us, ready to get wherever we’re going. I’m hanging with my Alpha, eager to stay by her side. And my Buddy is plodding along about 4 paces behind us with his tongue hanging out! Poor thing!

But no matter who goes with us, I just love strolling with my Alpha. She talks to me the whole time, telling me all kinds of things. I know she thinks I can understand her, and for the most part I feel like I do. Usually, though, I just go along with whatever she says. 

I love to hear her voice as she talks with me on these walks. It is soothing. Peaceful. Comforting. And she makes me feel very important. 

I Have A Place In His Home

Friday, April 6, 2018

Here’s another cool promise for you from our Lord. Whenever we breathe our last breath, He will take us to His glorious home. 

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  John‬ ‭14:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here is my very loose paraphrase of what Jesus said in this passage. 

“I’m going to prepare a place for you in heaven. 

“We have plenty of room for you. 

“When the timing is absolutely perfect, I will come and get you so that we can be together there. 

“You can be sure that this is true because I have said it.”

Bill tells a sweet story about my Mother back when she was being admitted to Hospice care. The intake nurse was obtaining all sorts of information from her and she was pussy-footing around having to discuss the inevitable death looming on the horizon. Mother touched her arm warmly and said, “It’s okay. I’m a believer and I’m not afraid to talk about dying.” The Hospice nurse, pleased to know that said, “I know you’re looking forward to those streets of gold!” To which Mother replied, “Honestly, I couldn’t give two hoots about any streets of gold. I just want to see my Jesus!”

There are various accounts in the Bible of descriptions of what heaven looks like. Honestly, I don’t think words will be sufficient to do it justice. The jewels, the fine metals, the artwork, the landscaping, the architecture — it will be beyond anything we can possibly imagine. 

But our sights will be set on the Lord. We will praise Him forever there in an environment of eternal peace. It will be beyond words. 

Thank you, Lord, for the home you have planned for us. We know it will be perfect because you will be there and Satan will not. We look forward to it with a tremendous sense of anticipation. Thank you for your promise. 

 

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God Loves You

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Does God love us? All of us? Does He care about us? Does He even know we exist? How could He possibly have time for us? 

What do you believe about the Bible? I believe that it is the perfect word of God. So I turn there for answers to questions like these. 

First of all, God created us all just the way He wanted us to be. 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
‭Psalm‬ ‭139:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Then He saw the great chasm between us and Him that was caused by our sin. He loved us so much that He sacrificed His Son on our behalf in order to bridge the gap. 

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. 
John‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Not only do I believe these passages, I can tell you from my relationship with Him that He loves us all very much. He wants to have a close friendship with each person on the earth. I’m sure of it. 

When I was nine years old, God spoke to me to let me know that He loved me. He has guided my path from that day to this and has been involved in every aspect of my life. He has never been too busy or too distracted. 

My children used to sing a song with these words: “God is big enough to rule the universe and small enough to live in my heart.” I believe it. 

Lord, I’m so glad you love me! May I return your love back to you and pass it along to every one that I meet! 

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God’s Promises

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Have you done a Google search recently to look for God’s promises in the Bible? There are a whole bunch of them. Can you name some?

• I will never leave you. 
• I will be with you always. 
• When you’re tempted, I’ll provide you a way out. 
• I’m preparing a place for you. 
• I’ll come back to get you. 
• I have big plans for your hope and prosperity in the future. 
• I will give you wisdom. 
• I love you and I always will. 

They are all important in their own way. But I am especially glad to know that wherever I go, He is there. How do I know that? Because He has made His home in my heart and can’t be separated from me. 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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.
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭23:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

...and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own....
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If we have opened the door of our hearts to allow the Lord to come inside, then He has promised in the Scripture that he will never leave us. God goes with us everywhere we go. We are never alone. We have the God of the universe living in our very core. How cool is that?!

God Keeps His Promises

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

In our ALIVE Bible Study on Sunday morning we talked about how trustworthy God is. We looked at some Old Testament prophecies and how Jesus fulfilled them. As a result we concluded that we can trust God to do all the things He has promised us in His word. 

Interestingly it seems that we get caught up in the issues of the day and we forget about all the things God has promised for us who believe in Him. 

So I thought I would take a few days to talk about various ways that God keeps His promises. 

Today I want to look at something very practical and very ancient. (I like that. Don’t you? Very ancient!)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭9:8-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God saw the destruction on the earth caused by the flood and He promised never to do that again. We see the reminder of His promise today in the form of a rainbow. We have peace in knowing that no matter what, we will never be wiped out by flood again. 

So the next time you see a glorious rainbow arching across the sky, remember the covenant God made with us. And remember it’s just one promise of a gazillion that we can bank on. 

LORD, thank you that according to Scripture the rainbow symbolizes an everlasting promise between you and the Earth. It is, in fact, an indication of the vast love you have for us. Thrill us with it so that we may never forget. 

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4/1/2018 - Weekly Memory Verse

April 2, 2018

Focus this week on 

ASSURANCE

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:38-39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a long passage. But it will be worth it to memorize the whole thing.

Sometimes things get kind of rough. We need to have this scripture in our hearts to remind us of the victory and security we have in the Lord. 

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Easter Sunday

Resurrection Sunday

Sunday, April 1, 2018

“Do not be afraid,” the angel said to the women.
Matthew 28:5

“Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to them.

Matthew 28:10

These words sound familiar. About thirty-four years before an angel had said almost the same thing to Mary. “Fear not.” And just thirty-three short years before a host of angels had said the same words to frightened shepherds on a hillside, adding “for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Now a single angel again discourages their fear, and finally Jesus himself admonishes them not to be afraid.

Isn’t it interesting that the God who has made us, has given to us so generously, has promised always to be with us has to continually tell us that we don’t need to be afraid! He daily shows us that he holds us in his care. Yet when he begins to get really close, when our hearts beat a little faster, when tears begin to well up in our eyes at the magnificence of praise from the choir, we shut down our emotions because we are afraid.

What if he really does begin to speak to me and I begin to hear? What if he wants me to do something that is dangerous? What if he wants me to let him actually guide my thoughts, my actions, my life? What if he wants to have access to all my worldly goods? What if . . . ?  Am I ready to go there? Or even bigger, am I ready to let him go there?

Paul tells us in Colossians that all of God dwelt in Jesus, and then he adds, “and the mystery is this: Christ in you is the hope of glory.” (Colossians 2) What if he really is alive and lives in all those around us on Sunday? How will that impact how we treat them? What if he is alive and is outside our church doors calling us to go to the hungry, the lost, the needy, the dying? What if he is alive and wants us out there reaching out to the dying world that he loves?

Inside the church doors on Easter Sunday we will sing joyfully, “Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes,” and “Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia!” Those are joyful words in a safe environment. But as we walk out the doors into a world that does not know the good news that we celebrate, do we tremble at the thought of telling others? Jesus is alive, really alive! Can we say that with confidence? Does he have to come and challenge us, “Fear not?”

Later in the quoted Matthew 28, Jesus tells the women to go and tell his brothers. Isn’t that what he would say to us today? The good news of Jesus Christ is that he has overcome death and the grave. Jesus is saying to us, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell!”

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for a living Savior! Thank you that we need not fear, for he has overcome fear and death and the grave. Thank you for your promise to be with us eternally. Thank you for Easter, with all its hope and promise! Thank you for life. Amen.

Holy Week Devotional
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, March 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

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