Isaiah 61

Found this beautiful quilt designed by Mary Lou Andretti, when I searched for a picture for Isaiah 61. You can find the address to the artist under the picture.
http://andrettiart.com/artist_statement.html

To be able to read the text: click on the picture

"The art of consolation" part 2

In my profession, the main goal is to heal what is broken, to mend what hurts and to bring order to what is a mess; if comfort is needed, of course, I want to be able to give comfort. Therefore, the professor’s statement that it is impossible to comfort was kind of discouraging.

However, when she came to the part where she had interviewed those old Christians who said they “lived in comfort all the time” it said “YES!” in my heart, as a confirmation that they were right. She didn’t continue to say what kind of comfort that was, but I know that the basic comfort in their lives and mine is that we have peace with God despite all circumstances. And it’s not because of our doing but His.

In Psalm 103, there are some major things pointing towards what it is like “living in comfort”. I was created to have relationship with God but SIN separated me from God; and his main goal has been to repair that “crack” between Him and me. He has transformed himself into this world through Jesus and has given himself as a ransom for my life through Jesus so that I can have peace and abundant life in God.

When I accept his offer of redemption through Jesus I can with Psalm 103 praise His Holy name and see what he has done for me with eyes as it says; “opened to his benefits” . . .

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… He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases;

He redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion;

He satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love.

He does not treat me as my sins deserve or repay me according to my iniquities
for as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is his love for me who fear him
as far as the east is from the west so far has he removed my transgressions from me.

As a father has compassion on his children so the Lord has compassion on me who fear him.

… from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with me who fear Him …

The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and his Kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey His word.

Praise the Lord all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord all his works everywhere in his dominion, Praise the Lord my soul.

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When focus is switched from myself to God; when I look to him in stead of my own ability; I think in all circumstances I can say praise be to the Lord; even with an aching heart.

Becoming a Christian isn’t a free ticket to a life without trials and tribulations; on the contrary I have experienced that many Christians face trials also abundantly. When I think of Apostle Paul and what his life was all about I can hardly imagine a life more afflicted with trials and crises than his and yet he could say:

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither heights nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8:37-39.

Those last words could sum up what living in comfort is all about -- that nothing can separate me from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus -- because of God’s forgetfulness . . .

"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins" Isa. 43:2).

Sincerely Yours,
Ida

Sometimes it's better ...

... to take a break, when everything works against you ...

Sincerely yours
Ida

“The art of consolation”

Dear Friend,
A month ago, I attended a lecture called “The Art of Consolation”. A professor from a Swedish university was the lecturer and she started with a statement saying that it is impossible for us to comfort another person; but, we can help a person find his/her own comfort. She had interviewed old people and asked if they could give an example of when they had found consolation. Some told about when they had suffered loss and been through crises and had gotten comfort in various ways and many of them described the comfort as a feeling of “coming home”.

This professor had also done research among patients suffering from dementia and she said; “the best thing you can do to your children is to give them love and security so when they get old and are affected by dementia they can “go home to mom”. The reason is that home is the place where they usually return to in their minds when they lose contact with reality -- separated from this world because of dementia.

In this research about comfort they had also interviewed people who had been devoted Christians their whole lives. When asked if they could give an example of a situation when they had experienced consolation, not one of them could tell about such a moment because they said they “lived in comfort” all the time. Some could tell about situations when they had felt “out of comfort” but overall through life they had experienced what they described as living in comfort.

Looking through a Concordance, I found some verses from the Bible about comfort.

Jesus promise in Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who morn for they will be comforted”.

Apostle Paul says in the Acts and in the letter of Romans that the Holy Spirit and the Scripture gives comfort and hope.

Especially in the first chapter in second letter to the Corinthians, Paul says
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patience, endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”..."

... to be continued