Paula Wiseman

Faith and life meet in a story

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It Is Well With My Soul

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Wednesday worship Title graphic for It is Well with My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Tho’ Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin– oh, the bliss of this glorious tho’t:
My sin not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so,” it is well with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford, 1873
Read Psalm 42:1-11

(Perhaps you know the story behind the hymn. Spafford, his wife and his four daughters were to travel to Europe. Business concerns delayed Spafford and he sent his family ahead. In the North Atlantic the ship collided with another and sank in twelve minutes. His wife was rescued. His daughters were not. Spafford wrote the hymn on the voyage to be reunited with his wife, This was in 1873. Two years earlier in 1871, he had lost nearly everything in the Chicago fire. In 1880, he and his wife lost their son. Spafford’s faith was not theoretical. It was a fierce faith with an unwavering eternal perspective. May we all cling to the truth that “it is well with my soul.” If it is not well, Jesus stands ready and willing to save.)

Resolution: Honor God with Your Attitude

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Honor God with Your Attitude title graphic

It’s a new year. Perhaps you make resolutions. Here’s something to consider — A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Proverbs 14:30
Resolve to honor God with your attitude

Your attitude.
Your responses.
The things you think.
The things you feel.

How do we honor God with them?
Consider the following questions.

Does the way we think honor God?
Are we peaceful, positive, trusting?
Do we see our situations as an opportunity for God to work?
Are we confident knowing He is in control?

Do we apply ourselves to becoming more like Christ?
Or do we just react?
Do we seize the opportunity to grow through adversity?
Or complain about our lot?

Do we believe an easy life should be a perk of obedience?
Are we offended when things are hard?

Are we easily stressed?
Do we look at others and wish for their lives?
Do we measure ourselves against others
And find we come up short?

Do we long to be somewhere else, doing something else?
Do we feel a sense of accomplishment or frustration?
Do we sleep well and wake up recharged?

Are our prayers full of complaints, worries and demands?
Or are we more focused on praise and thanksgiving?

Have we absorbed the attitude of the culture we live in or the media we consume?
Do we surround ourselves with those who raise our spirits or those who weigh them down?
Do others see the love of Jesus in us and through us?

Resolve to “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

It seems like once or twice a year I have to fight with my servers and solve a series of website hiccups. Thanks to Covid, tech support has been impacted, so the solutions were a little slower coming this year. After lots of Googling and support tickets, I think we have figured out a workaround so that the posts actually post and get delivered to you. Fingers crossed! 🙂

Resolution: Honor God with Your Time

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It’s a new year. Perhaps you make resolutions. Here’s another you may want to add about how you spend your time — Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

Your time.
Your schedule.
The things you do.
The things you enjoy.

How do we honor God with them?
Consider the following questions.

Does the way we spend our time honor God?
Are we active, serving, studious?
Do we treat each day as a stewardship from God?
As though He has entrusted the hours to us?

Do we apply ourselves to learning more about Him?
Or do we just get by?
Do we seize the opportunity to serve others
Or pursue our own interests?

Do our hobbies help us serve God
Or distract us from Him?

Are we focused on leisure?
Do we fill our schedules with more and more?
How much time do we spend running here and there
Compared to enjoying the presence of God?

Are we exhausted or stressed?
Do we feel a sense of accomplishment or frustration?
Are we frugal or extravagant?

Are we committed to growing as believers?
Are we looking for opportunities?
Do we spend time with those who can help us grow?

Is carrying out His commission a priority?
Do we include it when we set our goals?
Do we make realizing our call a priority?

Resolve to “work the works of him who sent [you] while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. (John 9:4)

New Beginnings with Nehemiah:

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If you are familiar with the Old Testament story of Nehemiah, you know he was called on my God to oversee the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem. It was a daunting task, no doubt, but in Nehemiah’s example we see how to navigate our own new beginnings. In this post we’ll look at how the seed for that new beginning gets planted and begins to germinate.

In Nehemiah 1:4, he reacts to the news that the city lay defenseless with its wall in ruins. He says. “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” In this short verse there are at least three things we can imitate or learn from.

He saw the tremendous need. This is the seed. Yes, he wept and he mourned, but it shows the depth of his connection to his homeland, a land that as far as we know, he had not physically visited before.

Often, the next move God has for us begins with a need we see, one that stirs our hearts and our passions. God plants the seed.

He took some time. He didn’t run with the first idea that popped in his head. He let his emotions run their course. He didn’t rush. He didn’t impose a deadline. He let things percolate and left room for God to speak.

God has a timetable and we need to work to adjust ourselves to His schedule. Remember, seeds don’t sprout overnight.

He fasted and prayed. I know we hear it so often that it becomes a cliché, but truly, we should not take on any new endeavors without seeking God first. Based on what happens later in the chapter, we can deduce that Nehemiah was weighing out what he, personally, could do. Perhaps he was confirming the call God was giving him. He may have even been struggling against it, but from what we see of him throughout the book, I don’t think that was the case.

We can’t force a seed to sprout, but God can. If He has planted it in you, He will make it grow.

Resolution: Honor God With Your Possessions

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It’s a new year. Perhaps you make resolutions. Here’s one you may want to add — Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; Proverbs 3:9

Your possessions.
Your wealth.
The things you have.
The things you earn.

How do we honor God with them?
Consider the following questions.

Does our work honor God?
Are we diligent, honest, and dependable?
Do we work as though God were our supervisor?
As though He would give us our evaluation?

Does our work ethic set us apart?
Or do we just get by?
Is our job an opportunity to serve others
Or further our interests?

Do our possessions help us serve God
Or distract us from Him?

Are we focused on acquisition?
Do we need more and more space to hold it?
How much time do we spend caring for things
Compared to caring for others?

Are we generous or tight?
Do we save or does money run through our fingers?
Are we frugal or extravagant?

Where do we do business?
Where do we invest?
Whom and what do we support?

Is our faith and security in our retirement?
Is our confidence in the economy?
Do we worry about our debt?

Resolve not to set your “hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.” 1 Timothy 6:17

O Come All Ye Faithful

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O Come All Ye Faithful title graphic

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant;
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels!

Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye bright hosts of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest![Chorus]

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!

Chorus:
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

John Francis Wade, c. 1743, translated by Frederick Oakley, 1841
Read Psalm 95:1-7

(“O Come All Ye Faithful” reminds us that worship is central to Christmas. Joy is there. Peace is real. But worship is our response. May your Christmas be full of wonder and worship!)

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