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Posted on February 3, 2021 by beverlyeash

Today was a windy, cold day in southwest Florida. Waves pounded the shorelines, sand blew across the beach filling my shoes, cold penetrated my clothes while the wind wreaked havoc with my hair. Too loud for conversation, I walked in silence as I scoured the beach for treasures.

Even with all the wind and resulting conditions, the beach was a peaceful place today. I was awed by the magnitude of the ocean, the strength of the wind as it stirred up the water and sand. I watched the birds swoop and dive, provided for by a loving Creator. I marveled at the designs created in the wind blown sand. I basked in the peacefulness of the morning, knowing that the wind and waves still know His name. My soul was restored!

23Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. 27The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

Matthew 8:23-27

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Posted on February 2, 2021 by beverlyeash

I am grateful today for family. I had meaningful interactions with all three of my children, I reunited with my youngest sister and tomorrow my mom will join us in Florida.

Family has many meanings. Sometimes it is the people we share biological beginnings with, other times it is the people who share our lives at pivotal moments, and still other times it is the people who stick around for the ordinary, mundane moments.

Whoever is in your sphere right now, spend a few moments giving thanks for their presence. If you find yourself short on familial connections, ask your Father to send someone with skin on. Provision is only one request away.

19Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. 20Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see you.”21Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

Like 8:19-21

10Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Galatians 6:10

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Posted on February 1, 2021 by beverlyeash

As I sat down to write this post, the phrase “the sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning” ran through my mind. Being sure it is a song, I googled the phrase and sure enough, it is!

I read the lyrics and quickly realized the song put into words what God has been laying on my heart. Gratitude, yes; but more than that. Blessing the Lord from my soul every day; practicing an attitude of worship no matter where I am or what I am doing.

I invite you on this first day of the new month to join me. The song says there are 10,000 reasons to bless the Lord — I’m going to watch for 28!

How about you? Could your daily gratitude meter benefit from some purposeful attention? What is on your horizon that feels overwhelming, uncertain, too much, or just plain boring? Join me as I experiment with finding twenty-eight of the 10,000 reasons to bless the Lord.

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Posted on January 29, 2021 by beverlyeash

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Hebrews 11:1

There is an undeniable link between faith and hope. Faith is the confidence in our expectation. Without faith, there is no hope. Without hope…well, we are not truly alive.

I do not speak this week about hope in the natural world. Those things we long after, that can be attained through effort and determination. Promotions, notoriety, wealth…

I speak about HOPE. Confident expectation that in this life, I will not be alone. It is knowing I am forgiven, redeemed and adopted by God with full rights of a natural born child. I am a co-heir with Jesus!

I know I will live eternally and inherit all the riches of heaven right alongside Jesus and everyone else who believes in Him.

That is my HOPE!

Do you have hope? The confident expectation that tomorrow is okay because you know who holds it? The knowledge that your future is provided for, paid for in full? This song explains it so well. I invite you to respond to God’s invite today!

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Posted on January 28, 2021 by beverlyeash

4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Galatians 4:4-7

14The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Ephesians 1:14

In this in-between time, God has showered his grace and mercy on humanity. Opportunity to be forgiven, redeemed and set free exists for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord. And when we call on the name of the Lord, God sets a seal in our hearts, a guarantee that our inheritance is sealed for us in heaven. That deposit is the Holy Spirit.

God’s presence, manifest in the Holy Spirit, walks with me every day. He protects, guides and teaches me. The Holy Spirit is love, peace, joy, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is his presence that allows me to know comfort when life takes a hard turn, to experience contentment and abundance when finances are tight. He enables me to forgive when offended, humble myself when offensive and offer a helping hand to my enemy. He is the goodness of my life, the concrete expression of my confident expectation of heaven.

I proclaim that the kingdom of God is already here while I wait for the kingdom of God to be fully realized in the future.

Do you know heaven here on earth? Are you walking in the power of hope — hope because you are forgiven, redeemed and restored in relationship with your Creator — while you wait for the ultimate hope of eternity?

I pray that “your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given you!” (Ephesians 1:18)

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Posted on January 27, 2021 by beverlyeash

My first dream, the hope of my heart from a very young age was to one day be a wife and mother. I planned for it, I imagined it, I wanted it. Did I confidently expect it? Perhaps. Until one day in the sixth grade, a classmate told me she didn’t know who would ever want to marry me. That planted doubt in my young heart.

When I imagined marriage, I hoped for companionship, mutual respect, children, a home, family. Growing old together was a part of it, but I rarely thought about that. I was interested in the years between “I DO” and separation by death.

Dave and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary in August. Soon after we were married we started discussing life insurance. As one agent put it, “if Dave made the unfortunate mistake of not waking up the next morning,” we wanted to ensure I and any children would be taken care of without me needing to go back to work. I suppose you could say, at that point, there was something to look forward to after death.

Imagine with me for a moment if the hope of marriage was the financial benefit of collecting on a life insurance policy. If anyone told me that was their hope for marriage, I would tell them they were crazy. There are too many days between “I DO” and that collection. It would be a miserable existence.

I wonder at times if that is the mindset of Jesus followers. We look forward to, hope for heaven but don’t expect the days between “YES” and eternity to be changed by our decision to follow Jesus. Relationship goes by the wayside as Jesus becomes an insurance policy for later.

Hope: looking forward with confident expectation includes every day, every moment, all the inbetween time. It is my expectation, my confident hope, that eternity is taken care of that gives me the grace to love others.

4For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

Colossians 1:4-5

Isn’t that spectacular? When my heart is settled, knowing I am deeply loved, adopted and guaranteed an inheritance, I can love people with abandon. I can share what I have because there is plenty.

And that’s a really comforting reality for this Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day!

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Posted on January 26, 2021 by beverlyeash

Hope: looking forward with confident expectation.

As I scour the scriptures to build a theology of hope, I find that hope is always linked to Jesus’ death on the cross. It is his death that secures my future. I am guaranteed eternity with him in heaven and I look forward to it with confident expectation.

12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:12-13

The assurance of heaven is one of the most concerning aspects of any religious belief. As far as I know, no other belief system offers life after death as a free gift from God. Only in Jesus do I find the outrageous offer of eternal life simply because I believe Jesus died and rose from the dead. There is no work to be done, no penance to perform, no levels of goodness to scale, no rituals to perfect — it is the confident hope I have because I am a child of God.

I imagine we all look to retirement at some point in life. It might be when I get close to that magic number and I wonder, “will I have enough to retire?” Or perhaps I started saving at an early age so I would be assured I could retire and enjoy the fruits of my labors into my last years. But what if someone offered to provide for my retirement in its entirety, I only had to accept the gift. Any concern for my future would be taken care of completely. How would that change how I live day to day? Would I still work to save for retirement, just in case? Would I check in every so often to be sure the plan was still in place? Would I look for other ways to secure my future, in case the gift didn’t come through?

It seems to me that is how I look at the hope of eternity — as if it isn’t really going to happen. I sure wish it would but who actually knows. What if I disappoint the giver? What if he removes the offer from the table? What if I am not good enough?

We forget that the gift of eternity isn’t based on behavior and it surely wasn’t offered because we were good enough. In Romans 5, Paul reminds the reader that while we were still sinners, Christ died. He did it way before we were even concerned about being good enough. (Romans 5:8)

It is imperative we understand that our eternity is signed, sealed and will be delivered at the proper time. We don’t need to concern ourselves with it. When we are united with Christ, our future is taken care of forever. So, I pray this prayer for you today…

18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Ephesians 1:18

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Posted on January 25, 2021 by beverlyeash

HOPE. What does that word mean to you? If you were to put your level of hope right now on a continuum, where would you fall if ONE is without hope and TEN is overflowing with hope?

Scripture is not silent about hope. In fact, it seems I have every reason to live with overflowing, abundant, life changing hope as a byproduct of my faith in Jesus. If that is so, why do some days feel hopeless? Why do I use the words, “this is so hopeless!” Perhaps it is because I don’t understand hope.

According to the dictionary, hope is a feeling of expectation or desire for something to happen; wanting something to happen or be the case. Essentially, in the natural realm, hope is wishing for something to be and the strength of the wish (hope) is directly related to the strength of the person’s desire.

Biblical hope is quite different. Biblically, hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and the foundation of its strength is God’s faithfulness. It has nothing to do with me or what I want, but is completely tied to God and what he wants for me.

Do you catch the difference? The first depends on me; the second depends on God. One is chance, the other is certainty.

I invite you to read the following scripture slowly and identify the source and foundation of our HOPE. I see two ways we live with hope. Can you identify them?

3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

1 Peter 1:3-5

We live with GREAT EXPECTATION (hope) because Jesus is raised from the dead. That is the foudation of my hope, the faithfulness of God. Two ways my hope is certain is 1) a priceless inheritance in eternity and 2) God’s protecting presence every day until I realize eternity. So, it is later but also today.

Do you have hope that does not depend on you? Do you know the hope of a priceless inheritance in eternity? Do you know the protection of Jesus over your every day life until you reach eternity?

Stay with me this week as I unwrap the gift of hope guaranteed to those who believe.

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Posted on January 22, 2021 by beverlyeash

This week I have been meditating on Psalm 90. Moses, the psalmist, writes about the brevity of life, comparing it to grasses of the field – here today, gone tomorrow. If we are lucky, we will have 70-80 years here on this earth, he says. When I was 20, that sounded like a long time. Today it seems rather short.

The question I have pondered this week is this: what will I do with the days I am given and what does my daily life have to teach me?

My first moments every day are fairly consistent. Curled on my side, my mind begins to awaken. I notice the dog scratching or chewing his paws and I hope he doesn’t get up just yet. I try to lay very still to discourage him from jumping off the bed. With my eyes closed, I attempt to ascertain if Dave is awake. Soon my mind turns to the day. What does it hold? What will I undertake?

I would be lying if I said I feel joy in those early moments of awake. I really just want to go back to sleep. Why can’t I leap out of bed with a song on my tongue and a bounce in my step?

As I read Psalm 90 again today, I was challenged that perhaps I need to change my focus in those first minutes of consciousness. Rather than attempting to stir up joy and delight at the new day, what if my focus was different. Take a look at what I discovered today.

14Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

Psalm 90:14

I asked myself – what if I focused on God’s unfailing love for me, if I allowed it to wash over me in those first moments, allowing it to quell the early morning doldrums? Would I more naturally know joy? Not because my day is filled with fantastic endeavors, but because I took time to swim in his ocean of love.

Another way I was challenged is to begin my day with a prayer similar to the request Moses’ wrote to close his psalm.

17And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

Psalm 90:17

As I bask in the ocean of God’s unfailing love for me, let my attention be turned to his eyes, to his look of approval. I wish I could say I don’t care at all what you think or if I have your approval; that I live only to hear God’s “well done!” But it wouldn’t be true. I’m moving that way, he keeps turning my face so I am looking at him. It’s a process.

What about you? Is your self-talk first thing in the morning life giving? Do you struggle needing a new mental routine? Perhaps joining me in refocusing on God’s unfailing love and then a prayer for his approval and touch of success might be just what you need too.

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Posted on January 21, 2021 by beverlyeash

Wednesday I was at the beach. Two experiences stand out to me that I want to share. First, conversation travels quite well at the beach. No wonder Jesus preached from a boat on the water. Everyone could hear! Anyway, back to the conversation I overheard.

A group of seasoned adults were sharing their thoughts about the inauguration that occurred earlier in the day. The attitudes expressed were not especially uplifting. It made me think about my responsibility to the new governing administration. Three scriptures came to mind.

“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. 21He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.”

Daniel 2:20-21

7And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.

Jeremiah 29:7

{Solomon prayed…} 9Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong.

1 Kings 3:9

If I take these passages at face value, I trust that God is in control. My responsibility is to pray for my leaders and my country which will be to my benefit. Borrowing Solomon’s request when he became king of Israel, I pray for the leaders to have understanding hearts to govern well and know the difference between right and wrong.

This seems not only beneficial to me, but uplifting to others. It’s less comfortable to bad mouth someone for whom you are sincerely praying. I am still surprised and bothered by how easily I willingly put someone down, forgetting he/she is made in the image of God . . . which brings me to my second observation.

At one point in the day, I retrieved some pretzels from my bag intending to enjoy an afternoon snack. It was on my second pretzel that I was attacked from above by a gull nearly landing on my head in an effort to snag the pretzel. In moments, I was surround by squawking birds, eager to share my snack. My friend and I burst into laughter while I quickly concealed the pretzels in my hands and bent my head down to avert a crisis. This wasn’t the first time gulls stole our food but there was a young man behind us who was astounded at the gall of the birds.

Immediately upon seeing what he thought to be my sure demise, he leapt from his chair and came to my rescue. He had a few choice words for the birds and shooed them away, concerned that I was all right. It was such a kind, compassionate act. He didn’t ask what I believed or who I voted for; he didn’t make judgments of any kind. He just responded with compassion to my perceived plight.

I told my friend, “I want to be more like that — quick to respond with compassion and kindness.” I want to see souls, not adversaries; future friends, not enemies.

How are you doing these days? Is kindness your first response? Do you wonder how to support our leaders? Are you finding joy in the simple things of life?

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