My Divine Notes

April 14, 2013 (Biblegateway.com App) 2 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Many of us have been praying for Pastor Rick Warren and his family over the loss of his precious son, Matthew. Pastor Rick shared this tweet a few days ago, “After 4 days, finally got to see my son’s body. He wasn't in it anymore. “Absent from the body is to be home with the Lord.” It struck a tender cord in my heart.  My own mother left her earthly body in December and those very words are what jolted me back to reality.  I stayed alone with Mom’s body for a few hours before the funeral home’s employees arrived. It seemed fitting since I had been by her side during a very long illness. She knew and I knew she would leave this world, but nothing prepares one for the jolt of seeing a loved one’s lifeless body. That includes those of us who are fully equipped by the Lord to minister to the...

When it hurts to care – Psalm 31:7 Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. One of God’s gifts to me is the ability to care about and pray for those who are ill. But right now, my mother is at the end of her life, and another key person in my life recently received bad health news. I also follow the Facebook journey of a courageous 12-year old girl, Jessie Rees ,  who suffered from two inoperable brain tumors. She passed away a few days ago. I am sad. But it’s interesting that in my sadness, I’ve come to appreciate how God works my faith steps. Before I decided that God’s purpose for me was greater than my own purpose, I had a hard time being close to people because it hurt that they might die or leave me. God opened my understanding (and healed me) so that I could come to terms with that and step into the gifts of compassion he planned for me. I started to feel that familiar hu...

November 5, 2011 Psalm 71:5 “For you are my hope, O Lord God.” Definition (from Dictionary.com) Hope (noun) - the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best Hope (verb used with object) - to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. - to believe, desire, or trust Life is hard without hope – without God’s hope.   Many confuse God’s hope with setting goals, planning and self-driven ideals. What they find is that they can line up goals and achieve them, but still have that empty, hopeless spot in their heart. There’s also reality. Life is hard for many people around the world today. Many suffer debilitating illnesses (both physical and mental), lack of jobs, tight finances, family and relational stresses, just name it, etc. Before I allowed God to help me live life as it was meant to be lived on earth, I allowed my circumstances to make me feel hopeless. My thoughts, actions and emotions controlled the realities of ...