Author: Barbara Kain Parker

A Promised Land

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , ,

Biblically, the Promised Land is that which was first promised to Abram in Genesis 12:1-7. Today, it has also come to mean a happy place or condition that someone wants to reach; it’s a place where dreams or hopes can come true.

My friend, Persis Tiner, recently shared some wonderful insights into the concept of a promised land; and I’m grateful for her pemission to post them here:

Have you ever stopped to consider the Israelites journey through The Wilderness? Wow! They did a lot of camping on their way to their Promised Land – forty years of camping, in fact! How long do you think it will take you to get to your Promised Land? Do you ever think of your life’s journey in terms of camping; of being a full-time camper? Do you even suppose you can reach your own Promised Land in forty years?

How many nights do you think the Israelites spent in one spot? Did God move them every night, every week, or every month? Any way you put it, they could not put their pegs too far into the ground; consider of all the work. Our lives are also like that if you think about it. This life, and everything in it, is temporary; this is not our home; it is what we are journeying through to get to our real, eternal home. We could call this existence our ‘camping world’, or perhaps our ‘tent world’, and everything in this world of ours is constantly changing. Every circumstance, every experience, every stage of life – they’re all like tents and camping. We dwell in one place or circumstance for a season, and then move on to another. Our childhood was a tent season, and then we moved on to adolescence; good times, bad times, success and failures, problems, joys and sorrows, adulthood and old age; all can be likened to camping out before moving on.

As Christians, our Promised Land is a place called Heaven; a place where temporary is changed into eternal. Every problem will be solved, every temptation resolved, and joy everlasting will be ours. Therefore, don’t let the temporary things of life, the scenery of life, determine how you see things or how you feel and respond to them. Tread lightly, don’t put your tent pegs down too deep. Keep your eyes and your mind set on where you are going, looking ahead your permanent home. Live every day as a camper, and don’t get caught up in your circumstances. Tread lightly and focus on the Promised Land; focus on Home.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down
(that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this,
and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
(2Cor. 4:16-5:5 NLT)

My Prayer

Barbara Kain Parker Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , ,

Going through old journals, I came across a morning prayer from December 2009, which is shared below. Following each phrase or paragraph are scriptures that illustrate the biblical truths that God had planted in my heart.

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119:15-16

In the stillness; You are here.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10


In the midst of turmoil; You are here.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1


In joy, in grief, in pleasure, in pain; You are here.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:11 NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.
When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same
comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

In gladness or sadness; You are here.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! Psalm 30:11-12


Here or there, near or far; You are here.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:7-12


It matters not if I feel Your presence; it matters not whether I hear Your voice and all around me is silence; You are still here, closer than my next breath, indwelling my body and watching over me.

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4

Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthias 3:16

All that concerns me matters to You. You know my every thought, You know my every emotion; so now in the quiet morning stillness just before dawn, I turn to You and wait for You. As I wait for the sun to rise up in the sky, I wait for You to rise up in my spirit and make Yourself known.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
ou hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high;
I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:4-6

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.Micah 7:7

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6

I have much for which to give thanks; I have much for which to be sorrowful; I have many questions and few answers. But this I know, You are still here and You are always faithful to me.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thesalonians 5:16-18

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 1 Thesalonians 5:24

Please, my Father, my Lord and my God, deal with that which concerns me, and keep me safe in the center of Your rest in the meantime. Draw me into the center of Yourself; turn my eyes upon Jesus; wash me anew in the life-giving blood, and pour Your water of lifeover me.

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Psalm 138:8

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true,
in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me,
as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
John 7:37-38

Life Interupted

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Inspirational, Standing In Faith , , , ,

A couple of weeks ago I received an email thanking me for teachings about hope in difficult situations. To be honest, I couldn’t remember what I’d written until I looked at my website and realized (with a shock!) that my last post, Hope When All Seems Hopeless, was two years ago (though hope has also been a theme in previous posts). Has it really been that long? Yes; and as a result, I’ve had to update all of my pages!

Life has a way of interupting, whether those hiccoughs in our agendas are wonderful, tragic, or anything in between. The blips in my own life have traveled that spectrum; but in the midst of it all, God is as He has always been – faithful.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthias 1:9 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape,
that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

It’s an often-observed fact that when times are tough, people cry out to God and draw nearer to Him. It happened in the early church when persecution of Christians was the reason the gospel initially spread throughout the known world, flourishing under the Roman Empire:

But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.
Acts 13:50

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
1 Timothy 1:1-2 ESV

Turnng to God in tough times remains relevant today, and there are many reports of how Christianity is booming underground in Muslim nations. Meanwhile, here in the USA, Christians are making a big difference by standing up in courts of law to overthrow unjust laws that discriminate against them, with some victories reaching as high as the Spureme Court.

Certainly, most of us are familiar with the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The implication is that in the midst of situations when life becomes very difficult or unpleasant, people with strength and determination will take action and find a way to keep on keeping on. Sadly, when oneself is the source of that strength, we often fail; and anxiety, depression and hopelessness result. But, when God is our source, even in difficult situations we can still be at peace.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT

I learned of God’s sufficiency during 2006, while battling breast cancer; it was a struggle that I’ve written about extensively in I’m Still Standing. When your life is interupted, He wants to proove Himself to you too:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her;
she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46 ESV

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-5

Hope When All Seems Hopeless

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational , , , , , ,

I am usually known for a steadfast faith, which proclaims that God is sufficient through every circumstance. I try to live it; I write about it; I teach about it; but I also recognize that it’s only possible because it is a spiritual gift that God gave me very distinctly. Driving on the freeway one day in 2003, struggling to worship instead of cry; His voice spoke more clearly than probably any other time in my life saying, “I have given you the gift of faith, for without it you would not have survived.” Believe me when I say that any faith I have is from Him!

The Bible is full of faith stories, not the least of which is the summary account of the Old Testament saints in Hebrews 11, often referred to as the Hebrews Hall of Fame. Like them time and again, our faith is challenged; yet we are encouraged through God’s Word, where we are instructed:

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.[1]

I must admit, over the past couple of days it has been awfully hard to keep standing! After a year chock-full of hardships (just like everyone else in the world!), I’d had about all I could take. As if shutdowns and masks, health issues, political unrest, and rampant injustice and unrighteousness weren’t enough, two nights of practically no sleep just about did me in. Like so many others these days, I felt trapped in the sludge of hopelessness and despair. The peace I’ve felt lately, regardless of the fact that everything around me seems negative, was suddenly gone. I didn’t like it—not one bit! Where was God now? The only cry in my heart yesterday was that of the psalmist:

Why are you cast down O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?[2]

It’s a verse that’s repeated three times in Psalm 42 and 43; but wait—there’s more, because as soon as the question is asked, the psalmist continues:

Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.

I agreed in my heart, but my soul still wasn’t feeling it. My spirit knew without a doubt that I could rest in all of God’s promises, but holding onto hope remained a struggle when all I wanted to do was escape the physical reality of everyday life. Yes, I would hold onto my faith, but there were still the questions that countless other believers have asked down through the centuries:

Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.[3]

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?[4]

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?[5]

Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?[6]

Thanks be to God that He didn’t leave me hanging there very long, even though those two days seemed interminable. This morning, after a night of blessed sleep, I awoke and everything seemed different. Why? While journaling, I had the thought to do a Logos search of the word, ‘hope’, and was astounded that the very first scripture that popped up was Psalm 33:17:

The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 

That got my attention!!! We cannot hope in any person, place or thing aside from God. Even when the plans of man are inspired by God and led by the Spirit, He must always be our ultimate source of hope, for a God-given strategy can easily fail when derailed by a bit of self-will, pride or sin of any. Psalm 33 continues:

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. 

As evil swirls across our land and around the world, what better scripture could there be for the present physical reality? Has there ever been a time closer in history to the second coming of the Lord, that day for which we all hope? No, by if only because with each day that passes His return draws nearer; but however long He tarries, it appears more and more imminent as we encounter all of the things of which Jesus warned in Matthew 24. Fear of such end times threats as well as every other obstacle the enemy can throw at us threatens our peace on a daily basis.

Another thing I often write and speak about is the importance of waiting on the Lord, as we are advised to do time and again throughout the scriptures. All too often though, waiting and patiently trusting Him flies in the face of our desire for quick action; His mysterious ways that frequently seem so slow can challenge our faith. But: 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [7]

Continuing my research with Logos:

Hope is the expectation of the future attainment of a desired object or outcome. It is often associated with trust, whether in God or others.

In Hebrew, hope is expressed most commonly with the verbs קָוָה (qāwâ, “to wait”) and יָחַל (yāḥal, “to wait”) and nouns related to these. The verb qāwâ conveys a sense of waiting with expectation.[8]

Get that? I suppose I knew that hope involves waiting, but had never put them together in such close proximity. Essentially, hope requires waiting! A hope that has been fulfilled no longer requires waiting for it to happen. Hope is made evident in the waiting—the two go hand-in-hand.

About this time in my research, I was beginning to ponder 1 Corinthians 13:13:

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Then I read this (bolded text mine):

Hope, it would seem, is a psychological necessity, if man is to envisage the future at all. Even if there are no rational grounds for it, man still continues to hope. Very naturally such hope, even when it appears to be justified, is transient and illusory; and it is remarkable how often it is qualified by poets and other writers by such epithets as ‘faint’, ‘trembling’, ‘feeble’, ‘desperate’, ‘phantom’. The Bible sometimes uses hope in the conventional sense. The ploughman, for example, should plough in hope (1 Cor. 9:10), for it is the hope of reward that sweetens labour. But for the most part the hope with which the Bible is concerned is something very different; and in comparison with it, other hope is scarcely recognized as hope. The majority of secular thinkers in the ancient world did not regard hope as a virtue, but merely as a temporary illusion; and Paul was giving an accurate description of pagans when he said they had no hope (Eph. 2:12; cf. 1 Thes. 4:13), the fundamental reason for this being that they were ‘without God’.

Where there is a belief in the living God, who acts and intervenes in human life and who can be trusted to implement his promises, hope in the specifically biblical sense becomes possible. Such hope is not a matter of temperament, nor is it conditioned by prevailing circumstances or any human possibilities. It does not depend upon what a man possesses, upon what he may be able to do for himself, nor upon what any other human being may do for him… Biblical hope is inseparable therefore from faith in God. Because of what God has done in the past, particularly in preparing for the coming of Christ, and because of what God has done and is now doing through Christ, the Christian dares to expect future blessings at present invisible (2 Cor. 1:10)… [therefore] it is not surprising that hope should so often be mentioned as a concomitant of faith…What is perhaps more remarkable is the frequent association of hope with love as well as with faith. This threefold combination of faith, hope and love is found in 1 Thes. 1:3; 5:8; Gal. 5:5–6; 1 Cor. 13:13; Heb. 6:10–12; 1 Pet. 1:21–22. By its connection with love, Christian hope is freed from all selfishness… Faith, hope and love are thus inseparable. Hope cannot exist apart from faith, and love cannot be exercised without hope. These three are the things that abide (1 Cor. 13:13) and together they comprise the Christian way of life.[9]

Looking back anew at my why-are-you-cast-down-O-my-soul complaint from yesterday in Psalm 42-43, and the first verse out of the box today in Psalm 33, the Lord tied it all together in Psalm 42:8:

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

It is His steadfast love that makes it possible for us to enter into faith, hope and love:, and my soul in alignment with my heart now sings the truth:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;  his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” [10]

[1] Ephesians 6:13

[2] Psalm 42:5,11; 43:5

[3] Job 10:18-19

[4] Psalm 10:1

[5] Psalm 13:1-2

[6] Lamentations 5:20

[7] 2 Peter 3:9

[8] Fenlason, A. C. (2014). Hope. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[9] Tasker, R. V. G. (1996). Hope. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., pp. 479–480). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

[10] Lamentations 3:21-24

I’m Still Standing

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Book Release, Inspirational, Personal Testimony , , , , , , , ,

Recently, The Lord impressed me that I needed to re-do the book I published in 2008 after my battle with breast cancer. The revised and updated edition of I’m Still Standing is now completed and is available on Amazon. From the back cover:

ISS CoverThe revised and updated edition of I’m Still Standing includes both the original compilation of essays about the author’s battle with breast cancer in 2006, and an addendum to each that is sub-titled 2020 Hindsight. The intervening years, including the challenges of Covid-19, are discussed. As a RN and former hospice nurse, she fully understands the potentially serious outcomes of diseases such as cancer and Covid-19 that may range from complete recovery to a slow-and-painful death. This is a testimony of God’s sufficiency throughout that terrible year of suffering in 2006, as well as during the intervening years. It illustrates how faith truly does overcome fear, delivering peace in the worst of times. Prayerfully, her experiences will encourage others, and bolster their faith in the God who is able to do far more than we even ask.

God Bless America

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational, Standing In Faith , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_1914Just fifty years ago, John Wayne hosted a variety show celebrating America. The contributors were among the most prominent voices of Hollywood, a panoply of stars who loved this nation, joining together to sing God Bless America. Today, most of those patriots are gone, their names and their fame lost to the newer generations. Unfortunately, they have now been replaced by a Godless community of celebrity voices that, for the most part, hate and bring shame to our country. 

Go back another fifty-two years to 1918, toward the end of World War I when Irving Berlin initially wrote God Bless America; he was one of the greatest songwriters the USA has even known. Like so many others who became citizens of this great nation, he was an immigrant who entered via Ellis Island in New York Harbor. He was only five years old when his family fled the extreme poverty, discrimination and brutal pograms of Imperial Russia. Clearly, he understood the value of freedom! But like so many others of both his and the succeeding generation, his is a name that is unknown to many younger people today.

What will history have to say fifty or a hundred years from now about our current crop of the rich and famous? Probably not much; they will become a pretty-much-forgotten footnote in history. We would all be wise to remember the absolute truth of the words of King Solomon:  

For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 2:16 NLT)

God Bless America should be more than a song that is commonly sung at the opening of sporting events; it should be a prayer expressed from the heart of every American. That said, I still have to wonder if it will be one of the aspects of major league sports that will be eliminated when those games resume because it is considered too dangerous for the emotional health of the nation; it is just too divisive for it speaks of God. As the ‘powers that be’ determine what ‘truth’ we can or cannot engage in, we would do well to remember that the ultimate authority is God. Political correctness means nothing to Him, and the only Truth that really counts is His:

Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2)

If there was ever a time for our nation to heed the words of the Lord, this certainly seems to be it!

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT)

Peace Is A Person

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational , , , , ,

FEAR NOT PICI often forget what I’ve written in days gone by, especially on this blog that has been sort of off my radar for some time since I’ve been busy writing elsewhere. So, when I posted Paul Knight’s recording, Afraid? just a few moments ago, I was surprised to see my own post, Shelter In Place, from March 5, 2020!

God has not been taken by surprise by the Coronavirus threat the world faces today, and He is still our refuge, as is clear in Psalm 91. He not only knew the days of our lives that were appointed for us, but also is aware of every word before we speak it. In this time we can take great comfort in His truth as expressed in Psalm 139:1-18:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you;the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Yesterday I wrote the preface for a new book, a portion of which I will share here:

By the time this book is published, the pandemic will be history; but as Jesus foretold, the latter days, or end times, will be rife with terrible and frightening events. Even so, His promise remains certain:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

Contrary to the media, Christianity is not against science. Rather, the media hates Christianity and denies God’s righteousness; it denies the reality of His truth regarding the spiritual world, which the Bible identifies as the heavenly places. Oh, fictional supernatural thrillers and super heroes are fine, but in the physical realm our supernatural God is unwelcome by many. 

During this stressful time, not-so-helpful suggested coping mechanisms I’ve read include:

    • Embrace the resiliency of life; after all, regardless of what happens, human life will go on and years from now this will be just a distant memory
    • Take a deep breath, hold it for ten seconds and release it slowly to alleviate some of your fears
    • Burdensome to-do and not-to-do lists of things that will lessen anxiety

Regardless of the advice, unless biblically based, it all seems to come down to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words, “Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” Not true! Peace is not a place; it’s not a state of mind that one achieves; peace is a person, and His name is Jesus Christ:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called WonderfulCounselor, Mighty Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

May the Prince of Peace meet you at the place of Your greatest need. Rest assured that He is able to bring you through the storm. As Jesus so often taught, fear not! 

 

The New Commandment

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , ,

Most Christians are oh-so-familiar with Jesus’ familiar words about the first227062-20140710 and second greatest commandments, a teaching that occurred during His final week in Jerusalem, just days before the crucifixion:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 ESV)

It is a beloved passage, one that many of us have taken very seriously. But how often have we considered Jesus’ new commandment, which was given a few days later on the eve of His crucifixion as He met in the upper room with the disciples?

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)

As I read this passage a couple of weeks ago, late on the Thursday night before Good Friday, I was struck by how many times I’ve seen or heard it—probably hundreds over the years—but have not really pondered very deeply its significance. This new commandment far exceeds what He had spoken about previously! This commandment is to love as He loves, but how often do I/we fall terribly short of that goal? His perfect love is the mark for which we must aim and the Love Chapter, as it is often called, provides a good ‘recipe’ for love.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV)

Did you get that? God’s model of love is patient and kind, never jealous or boastful or proud or rude, doesn’t keep track of the offenses of others, is not happy about the wrongs of others and is very happy when truth prevails. But that’s not all; love never gives up or loses faith in others, it is always hopeful and endures hardships, and it also lasts forever. I believe that this example is only reflective of where Jesus’ love for us begins, because He was also willing to suffer and die for our sins. Anticipating his death the following day, he went on to say:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 ESV)

The thing is though, Jesus wasn’t just another everyday hero; you know, the kind we see on the news when a brave soldier saves others at the cost of his/her own life; or, as just happened this week, when a heroic lady at the Jewish synagogue shooting in Poway, CA threw herself into the line of fire, saving the life of her Rabbi and dying as a result. Yes, our everyday heroes do lay down their lives for their friends and that is a great love indeed, but Jesus took it a big step farther. When he willingly went to the cross, he took upon himself the punishment that was due to each of us for our sins; He died not to save our physical lives so we could thrive for a few more years on earth, but to make eternal life with God possible. Eternal life—that means unending life, living happily-ever-after forever and ever and ever—and that’s a whole lot more that anyone’s natural lifespan by a very long shot!

Considering Jesus’ new commandment to love as He had loved, I have to think that the love we think we have for others often leaves much to be desired. As we endeavor to become conformed to His image, we would do well to remember the last phrase of 1 Corinthians 13, …but the greatest of these is love. After all, this is how the world will recognize us as His disciples.

Shelter In Place

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational

IMG_0947Recently, we re-visited some of my favorite childhood places in northern California. Wandering through Patrick’s Point State Park and marveling at the astounding beauty of the wild and magnificent north coast, I happened upon a cave set into a rock, which  immediately reminded me of Moses’ experience with the Lord:

And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. (Exodus 33:21-22)

Over the years, how many might have found shelter from the cold rains and mighty Pacific winds in this cleft in a rock? Only God knows, but probably many animals have founds homes there, and perhaps even men. It seems an ideal spot to shelter in place from a storm. But not all storms in life are related to the weather; rather, they are more likely to be the physical, emotional or spiritual assaults against our lives that happen almost daily.

King David understood that his hope was in the Lord, and wrote time and again of his faith; even in times when he was in fear of his life, he held fast to the One who was his Rock. David’s psalms never cease to touch my heart and the Lord always meets me in the midst of them, just as He did this morning when He inspired this post. 

Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! (Psalm 61:1-4)

Under the shelter of God’s wings! Can you imagine that? I did; I thought of how cold this winter has been (yes, even in southernCalifornia!), and how cozy and comfortable my bed feels, especially with the covers pulled up to my ears and I am cocooned in warmth and safety, even as the rain pounds on our roof or the wind howls outside. That’s the way  imagine it must feel sheltered in the downey softness of God’s love, covered by His wings. But it gets even better, because in the very next psalm:

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God. (Psalm 62:5-7)

God is not only my refuge, my rock and my shelter from the storms, but I shall not be shaken. Wow! It just doesn’t get any better than that!