A Month of Gratitude: The One Who Always Keeps His Promises

In Sunday School this past Sunday, we went around the room and introduced ourselves by saying our name and some characteristic that mattered to us or makes a difference in how we live. For some, it was truth. For me, it was "keeping my word", or keeping a promise. I know I'm not perfect at it, but it matters to me.

Afterward, I realized that's one of the things that matters to me about God, too. He keeps His promises. It's been my habit to write about the things for which I'm grateful during the month of November. Today, I'm starting a month of gratitude by giving thanks for the promise-keeping, the faithfulness, of God.

This morning, I opened the book of Matthew, where I'm currently studying. Matthew, a Jewish man, wrote about Jesus as the promised Messiah. Over and over, he presented a part of Jesus' life as fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. I've highlighted those promises in my Bible.

When I opened Matthew 2, I saw five highlighted promises. Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, taken to Egypt as a child to escape the infanticide of Herod, and grew up in Nazareth. There was weeping in Ramah when Herod killed the baby boys.

As I looked at those pages and the red highlights of promises made and kept, I was reminded of the faithfulness of our God. 

When God makes a promise, He keeps it.

It's that simple. It may take hundreds of years, but He does what He says He will do.

Psalm 105:8 tells us, "He remembers His covenant forever, the promises made for a thousand generations."

We may forget, but God never does.

That's a good thing, because I've staked my life on the promises of God. Here's just a few:

- God has a plan for my life, and it's for my welfare, not for calamity. Jeremiah 29:11


- Even when I'm weak, even though I'm weak, He will give me all the strength I need. Isaiah 40:29-31

- He will provide for my needs. Every single time. Philippians 4:19

- Nothing can separate me from the love of God. Romans 8:37-39

No matter what we face today, we can be sure that our God knows and cares. He will be our strong tower of support and defense. He is with us.

We may have serious concerns about what the future holds, but God already knows. He's already there. He already has a plan. He already has a way through. 

What He has said, He will do. What He has promised, He will fulfill.

Take courage today and hold to the One who is faithful and true. Our God can, and will, carry us through.

"Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." Psalm 23:4 KJV
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Be sure to like and share to help extend my reach!
(I've added links to a couple of prior blog posts about the promises of God. I think they'll be worth the read.)

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: When Good Comes from Evil

To support this ministry: Leanna Hollis  Account #4841#hope #faithful

Becoming a Person of High Esteem

Fasting is not my favorite.

I'm not sure it was Daniel's favorite, either, but he certainly did a lot of it. Daniel 10 records the events that happened toward the end of one season of sacrificial prayer. 

For three weeks he'd fasted tasty food, meat, wine, and ointment. In a way, he'd fasted pleasure... the things that tasted good and felt good.

At the end of the time, Daniel was by the Tigris River and had a vision of a heavenly visitor. (He may have been Jesus Himself.) His appearance was so astounding that Daniel fell on his face on the ground in a "deep sleep." 

The most wonderful thing happened next. The heavenly visitor reached out His hand, touched Daniel, and set him up on his hands and knees. He spoke words that must have thrilled Daniel to his core.

"O, man of high esteem, do not be afraid..." Daniel 10:19 nasb

Daniel was a man of high position and esteem on earth, but that wasn't what the visitor meant. Daniel was also a man of high esteem in the heavenly realm.

After a few moments of talking, the heavenly visitor strengthened Daniel with a second touch, and repeated the phrase. "O man of high esteem..." In Scripture, two is the number of confirmation. In a way, when the phrase was repeated, the visitor was saying, "You are a man of high esteem, and I really mean it."

There's a footnote in my Bible that indicates the word used literally means "desirability or preciousness". Consider the Lord's words to Daniel for a moment.

"Oh, Daniel you are so precious to me. I really mean this, Daniel. You are very precious to me." 

Daniel was so precious to him that he came down from heaven to speak with him.

This morning, I'm in awe of these powerful words, for I realize that we, too, are of great value to our Lord. 

When Jesus came to earth to dwell with us and speak with us, He came because He loved us so much. 

We had a sin debt we could never pay, and He cared enough about it to pay it Himself. This payment did not involve reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few bills. He willingly submitted to torture and death to pay our debt with His flesh and His blood. 

We are loved. 

Despite our sin, the wickedness of our hearts, and the evil we hide inside, God loves us. Every single one of us. No matter how many mistakes we've made. No matter how many times we've failed. He still loves us.

What I want, though, is more than God's love. I want to hear the words Daniel heard. I want to live my life in such a way that, one day, He will say to me, "O, Leanna, you are so very precious to me." 

Don't you want to hear those words, too?

Maybe, if we lived like Daniel lived, if we sacrificed like Daniel sacrificed, if we obeyed with the faithful heart with which Daniel obeyed, we could.

Today, let's commit ourselves anew to faithfulness and obedience. To sacrifice and prayer. To loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength. To loving our neighbor as ourselves.

When we live as Jesus commanded, we, too, can be people of high esteem to God. We, too, can hear those beautiful words, "Well, done, good and faithful servant. You are precious to me. Welcome home."
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#faithful #Christian
In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Debt We Cannot Pay
Here's the link to the prayer guide: The Prayer List


Here's the link to my Global Outreach page (where you can support this ministry as God leads): Leanna Hollis MD

The God Who Never Fails

A surprising thing happened to me yesterday. I found out that what I thought I had "known" for years wasn't quite correct. 

I memorized Joshua 1:5 years ago. It's one of those verses that's a great comfort in hard times. "I will never leave you nor forsake you," is what I memorized. Yesterday, I realized that verse actually says, "I will never fail you nor forsake you."

It's only one word different, but that one word makes a world of difference.

"Never fail" indicates God will not abandon me half-way through my journey. When He leads me to a path, He won't fail to accomplish whatever He planned in that direction. That truth is a great comfort to me, especially when, like now with my fiction writing, I'm on a path that heads toward an unclear destination. 

God will help me successfully complete the task He's given me. 

Success and failure from God's perspective look entirely different from success and failure from the world's perspective, of course. When God says He will never fail me, He is not saying I will always have material success. 

God will never stop until His goals in my life are accomplished. He won't let go. He won't give up. He won't fail. 

No matter what we face, we do not go through it alone. We do not go through it without hope. Not only does our Lord go with us, He completes our journey and insures we reach His destination before we're done.

The Apostle Paul understood this principle when he wrote to the church at Philippi. 

"And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Phil 1:6 esv

We serve a God who finishes what He starts, succeeds in every effort, and never leaves us alone. Take courage from this truth: 

God has a plan for you and for me. It's a good plan. It will be accomplished. No doubt about it.

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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links: Out with the Old, Freedom and Grace, Walking with God or Hiding with the World, and The Same Jesus. 

#Godneverfails #success #finishline #Jesus #disciple #Christian #faithful

The Same Jesus

She was reporting her word count to the writing group to which I also belong. Schuyler McConkey wrote wise words that I've thought about several times since I saw them.

"New year, new hope, same Jesus to walk with us every step of the way."

It's a truth worth remembering as we begin this new year. Circumstances may change, but Christ remains the same. 

He is faithful. (Deuteronomy 7:3)

He is righteous. (Exodus 9:27)

He is just. (Zechariah 9:9)

He always keeps His promises. (Proverbs 30:5)          

When He said, "I will never fail you nor forsake you," He meant it. (Joshua 1:5)

He knows our needs and He will provide them. (Matthew 6:33)

He hears our prayers and answers them. (John 14:13-14)

This year, no matter what we face, the same Jesus who was present when the world was formed will walk with us through it all. He will not leave us. He will not fail us.

Take comfort in that truth and put your faith and trust in Him. The Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. 

The words spoken to Joshua after the death of Moses are words we'd do well to remember as we begin this new year.

"Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you;

I will not fail you or forsake you.

Be strong and courageous..."

Joshua 1:5,6 nasb

Our job is to know His words and obey them. Our Lord can handle all the rest.

Take heart. King Jesus is still on His throne.

"New year, new hope, same Jesus to walk with us every step of the way."

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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links: Out with the Old, Freedom and Grace, and Walking with God or Hiding with the World. 

#Jesus #disciple #Christian #faithful

Engine Misfire, part 2: How to recognize a misfire

Yesterday, I wrote about my recent "service engine soon" light and the misfire that caused it. If you missed that blog post, you can read it here.

As promised, today we're considering how to recognize a misfire. To my predominantly left-brained mind, it sounds a bit mysterious, but it's not. An engine misfire, in very simple terms, is a loss of power and can occur for a variety of reasons. For an automobile, a misfire can cause vibrations at idle, poor acceleration, stalling out, and difficulty starting the engine. 

For the disciple of Jesus, a spiritual misfire is much the same. 

If the spark and fuel required to provide power for disciples are prayer and Bible study, a lack of either will cause adverse effects in our lives. 

How do we recognize a misfire before it becomes a complete loss of power? 

Restlessness, lack of peace, difficulty persevering in tasks God has commanded, isolation and withdrawal from our Christian community can be early signs of a misfire. 

Left to continue, the situation will deteriorate, and the works of the flesh will become evident in our lives, and all too quickly. 

In case we've forgotten, Galatians 5:19 tells us that the works of the flesh are: "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these." When these things are in our lives, we have a problem that needs to be addressed.

The easiest way to recognize a misfire, though, is an accounting of time spent in prayer and Bible study. Are we opening our Bible or not? Are we spending quiet time in prayer and meditation on Scripture or not?

If we feel far from God, it's not His fault. 

If we feel far from God, the solution is simple. 

Confess our sin and ask for forgiveness. Open our Bibles and read until God's Still Small Voice speaks in our hearts. Pray until we know God has heard and answered.

Proper functioning as a disciple of Christ requires time with the One we say we follow. 

As we look toward 2016, let's live boldly as disciples of Christ, embracing the adventure of faith on a daily basis. Let's open our Bibles and bend our knees before the One who gave everything for us.
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My heart is filled with gratitude for your faithfulness in reading Lines from Leanna this past twelve months. Readership has more than tripled this year. Hearts have been encouraged. Lives have been changed. I appreciate you more than you can imagine.

To celebrate this great year, I'm hosting a special New Year's Eve e-celebration. Count down the New Year with Lines from Leanna. I'll be posting a countdown of the most-read posts of 2015 every hour beginning at 6 pm and going until midnight, so be sure to read along. Bookmark the link and check back throughout the evening.

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. (There's a link to give it as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: Overcoming,  Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  The Belated Christmas Letter, Living Lean, The Sleep Goal, The Service Engine Soon Light, and The Engine Misfire.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#enginemisfire #misfire #prayerandBiblestudy #faithful #disciple #JesusChrist

Photo courtesy of free images.com

Engine Misfire

The service engine soon light had been on for five days. It didn't look like it was going off on its on, so I drove to my mechanic's shop yesterday. On the way, I stopped by town hall. When I started the engine again, the "service engine soon" light had gone off. I considered calling it an answered prayer (which it was) and going home, but opted to have it checked. Just in case. 

"One cylinder had a misfire," John told me after a quick check of the car's computer. "It looks like just one cylinder. Has it been misfiring?" 

"Oh, no. It's been running fine." I didn't think it had misfired. Silently, I wondered how I'd recognize a misfire if it happened. 

"Well, it's not misfiring now. If it happens again, come back and we'll take a closer look."

I was delighted with the plan, but still uncertain about the cause of the misfire. As you might expect, I turned to Google. I am no mechanic, but it appears that misfires happen as a result of two possible problems. Ignition problems or fuel problems. 

There are a host of subproblems in both of these categories but, in broad terms, both a spark and fuel are required for an engine to run smoothly. 

If anything happens to prevent a solid spark or adequate fuel flow, the engine will misfire.

Nothing could be more true for the life of a disciple. We, too, need a solid spark and adequate fuel to maintain the faithful, disciplined life to which we are called. 

That spark comes from time spent with our Lord through prayer. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit that brought tongues of fire to the disciples in Jerusalem and it is that same Holy Spirit that delivers the Holy Spark to fuel our lives as disciples today. 

Without spending time in His presence, the Holy Spark will be sadly diminished in our lives.

The fuel for faithful living comes from The Book. Nothing can substitute for the Word of God, the Bible. If we are only going to read one book, it should be the Bible. As a writer of books, I say this with conviction. Only God's Book is sufficient to provide power for our souls.

Without spending time in God's Word, Divine Power and Wisdom will be greatly diminished in our lives.

We will consider how to recognize a misfire tomorrow (in lives and in cars), but, for today, let's consider the consistency of power in our spiritual life. Do we have an abundant supply of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? 

If we lack power, perhaps we have a spiritual misfire as a result of inadequate time spent in prayer and Bible study. 

The solution is simple, and can be fixed in a matter of minutes. 

Open the Bible. Bow the head. Bend the knee.

Bible study and prayer. Neither are optional. Both are essential.

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. (There's a link to give it as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter, Finding Christmas: Overcoming,  Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  The Belated Christmas Letter, Living Lean, The Sleep Goal, and The Service Engine Soon Light.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#enginemisfire #misfire #prayerandBiblestudy #faithful #disciple #JesusChrist

Keeping My Word

Sam and I have had quite a week of it. Unbearably hard. Unutterably sweet. That's Sam in the picture above. I don't have a picture of Jamie. No one does. She doesn't allow pictures of herself. Sam just says, "Well, Jamie is Jamie. All the time."

If you're joining us today for the first time in this "series" (the series I wish I weren't writing), you need to know that Sam and Jamie have lived on my farm for most of the last sixty years. Jamie is Sam's wife, and they are both in the mid-eighties. Jamie collapsed at their home, a tiny cottage at the entrance to my farm, more than a week ago. She was hospitalized until yesterday, when she was moved to Sanctuary Hospice House. 

It's been hard.

I've blogged about the journey this week and will add links at the bottom for the previous posts, if you want to get caught up. (They open in a separate window.)

Today, I want to tell you how I got to this place in the Wiley's story.

I bought the farm in 1989. The woman who owned the farm before me had the property on the market for two years. She had turned down all buyers because she didn't think they were the "right" ones. By the time my real estate agent and I pulled into her driveway, she had given up, and was working out the details with a buyer.

When I stepped out of the car, I wasn't particularly impressed by the two-story concrete block house, but we walked around to the back, alongside a pasture where cows grazed contentedly, toward a small manmade lake in the back. 

I started to cry. It was the exact picture that had been in my head since I was a child. 

I was home. At last.

Shirley looked at the real estate agent, who turned out to be her agent, too, and said, "I'm about to sell to the wrong person." In a series of events that could have only been the hand of God, I bought this lovely little farm with the unusual concrete house. 

The thing that mattered most to Shirley was that Sam, the man who had worked for her and her husband since 1960 (29 years), have "a place". She asked that I keep Sam on at his same salary and give him a place to live for the rest of his life. I agreed to do it.

I gave my word.

I was young. I didn't know about the perils and challenges of growing older. I didn't know about the financial responsibility that agreement would bring. I didn't know what giving my word would mean to me, what it would cost me. I didn't know the joy that becoming a woman of my word would bring.

Sam always says, "All you really have is your word. If your word ain't worth nothing, you ain't either." 

Years ago, I determined to keep my promise to Sam, and I have, but it's been hard. 

There were times when I couldn't see how I would stretch my money to take care of my needs and Sam's. When he was no longer able to do the farm work, it would have been easier to hire someone else and let Sam and Jamie go to a nursing home or government housing. I learned to do the work myself, as best I could, and kept my promise to that fine man and his wife. God has provided for all of us.

People have said, "You can't keep doing this." My response has been, "I gave my word." 

I didn't understand what giving my word meant at the time, but I've learned over the years. This past week, one of her doctors asked me about why I've been by their side when I'm not related to them. "I gave my word in 1989 to provide for them, and I'm sticking to it." His response made me cry. "That's just like it was in the old days. People never do that anymore." Don't get me wrong here. He didn't recommend breaking your word. He was just astonished to see it in action.

I haven't done anything special at all. I'm not a saint. I'm not perfect at keeping my word. I haven't always liked this promise of mine. Fulfilling my word has been hard, and I don't pretend it hasn't been. I've wept a river of tears over the years about the price I've paid to provide for people who once were strangers. In the process, though, the strangers have become family and I've learned about love, and responsibility, and faithfulness. 

Being a man or woman of our word is rare in this "me" society of entitlement in which we live, but it is still the right thing to do. It will still change your life. It brings more blessings than you can imagine. 

It is worth it. 

I've simply done what I would want someone to do for me. 

You see, I serve a God who has been faithful. Who will always be faithful to me. When He said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," He meant it, and He still does. He's a God of His word and, if I am to be like Him, I'm to be a woman of my word, too. Even when it costs me more than I want to pay. Even when it's hard. Even when it's rare.

Jamie's doctor surprised me. "God will bless you for this," he assured me. I smiled and told him what I finally learned along the way. "He already has." 

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Here's the links to the other stories in this series: The eternal destination, The Vigil, and A Little Help from My Friends. 

#faithful #keptmypromise #goldenrule #dountoothers

Before we call, He answers

"And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, 'Woman, you are freed from your sickness.' And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, 'There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day." Luke 13: 10-14 NASB

We began a new series this week. It began with Jesus Sees Us As We Are and yesterday's topic was Freed by Obedience (in case you want to get caught up, you can follow the links) 

To catch up a bit, a woman had been plagued by a spirit-caused disease that caused her to be bent double. As a result, her head was looking down toward the ground all the time. Jesus was teaching at the synagogue in a town outside Jerusalem. When He saw her, He called her over to Him and she went, despite the fact that He required her to walk to Him in front of everyone in the room.

As you may or may not know, I had a long night last night at the hospital with my dear neighbors, Sam and Jamie. Jamie is terribly sick and we need your prayers. After only a few hours sleep, my brain is not quite as sharp as usual, so I turned to my dear Matthew Henry commentary for help. He had the most beautiful words I've seen in his exegesis of this passage.

"Before she called, he answered." (MH)

That's exactly how this story unfolded. What's so amazing is that it's how our own stories unfold, as well. Before we call, our Lord answers us because He sees us. He knows us. He knows our needs and the conditions under which we labor.

Before I called, He answered me. Just yesterday, I saw the evidence of this. I was dressed for errands and had been working at my computer all day. Mid-afternoon, I wanted to do some yard work and intended to don my grubbiest jeans and head to the manure pile to shovel manure for a new raised bed. I had such hesitance that I delayed.

Wouldn't I have been a sight, trying to get Jamie out of the floor, my own jeans covered with dirt and dried manure? Could I have gone to the hospital like that? Of course not. Before I called, He answered and gave me the hesitance that kept me in clean clothes when clean clothes were needed.

We had a long wait in the emergency room, but before we called out asking for God to send us a good and caring physician, the ER staff schedule had been completed and an excellent, caring physician had already been scheduled. Caring and competent ambulance crews had already been scheduled. Everything we needed was already in place. Every person we needed was already scheduled. 

His answer was so complete that I had stopped by the gas station to fill my car's tank with gas, just in case, yesterday morning. Everything was already in place for a long and difficult afternoon-evening-night. 

It always is, if we are willing to look at our lives, to notice the circumstances God orchestrates for us. 

For today, take a look at the circumstances and events of your week. Where have you seen evidence that He answered before you called? Be sure to give thanks. 

He is faithful, even when we're not looking.

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Almighty God, who sees and knows and loves, thank you for your divine provision of everything we need, even before we need it. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#hegivesmeallIneed, disciple, Jesus, Bible study, faithful #divine provision