Image Credit:  Riccardo Mion - Public Domain Image via Freely Photos

The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon.

This sermon was preached the day after we unexpectedly lost one of our associate pastors.  Our pastor titled the sermon "When There Are No Words."

When There Are No Words

You are invited to watch and listen to the entire sermon here.

When There Are No Words - January 13, 2019 (Message Only) from Christ Place Church on Vimeo.

The scripture passage is Luke 4:16-38. 

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”  And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;  and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”  And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.  And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.

When we have no words of our own, we have the words of Jesus.  

When there are no explanations, we have God's promises.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

 

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,

"For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:28-29

This item is available here.

 Nothing can separate us from God's love. 

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. - C.S. Lewis

  Trauma has a way of softening our hearts.  Pain helps us listen more.

 Jesus is anointed.  Jesus came for the poor (the morally and spiritually poor)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. - Luke 4:18

 Jesus came for the brokenhearted.  Only Jesus can heal a broken heart.   

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18

 Anytime we choose to love, we choose to suffer.

No one can avoid a broken heart.  Only Jesus can heal it.

Jesus came for the captive and the bound - the spiritually imprisoned - those in bondage to addiction and sin.

Jesus came for the blind.  He came for the spiritually blind.

Jesus opened peoples eye to see their need.

Jesus came for the oppressed and the overwhelmed.

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. - Luke 4:20

All eyes need to be fixed on Jesus.

Jesus spoke with gracious words.  We need to do the same.

And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”  - Luke 4:22

When there are not words, we can always say:

"I need you, Jesus."

"I turn to you, Jesus"
 

Encouraging Your Deployed Family Member Using Waterproof Journals

Image Credit:  Abundant-Family-Living

Several months ago, I began a series I called "Living Through Deployment." I didn't realize that it would be so long before I continued this series.  Thankfully, we were able to spend some time with our military men and women through the Thanksgiving and Christmas season before they left us for this long stretch of time.  We are grateful for that time.  Now - more about living through deployment.

God wants you to do more that just survive a deployment.  He wants you to do more than just live through it.  He wants you to thrive through it. 

You were chosen for this.  

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

 If you love God . . . if you are called according to His purpose (if you are a saved believer, then you are) . . . then He intends this season for your good.

You are God's gift to your spouse.  If your spouse is deployed, then deployment is God's plan for you at this time.  God's intentions for you are for your good and for the good of your deployed spouse.

If you are a military parent, your child is God's gift to you.  If your "child" is deployed, then deployment is God's plan for you and your family at this time.  His intentions for your family is for your good.

Whether you are a spouse or a parent - or any relationship to a deployed military member - this is a good time for you to learn more about the Lord and grow closer to Him through this season of separation and waiting.

As I typed that last sentence, the song "Worship While I'm Waiting" by John Waller came to mind.  If you have a few minutes, you might like to listen to the song with features scenes from the Fireproof movie here.

In my first post, I told you about 20 encouraging scripture cards that I had printed out and had planned to send them with my son.  That is still a great idea, but shortly after that post, I leaned about a better way to send those verses.  

My husband sent two important things with our son.  My husband, who was once in the Marine Corps, gave him a camouflaged New Testament Bible.  Instead of sending the individual cards, I chose to buy one of these waterproof field notebooks.  The brand I purchased is called "Rite in the Rain."  I didn't know these awesome books existed until another military wife from my son's company told me about them.  You can write in them in both dry and wet weather but the ink won't smudge off.  I'm told that the ink won't smudge even if the book is dropped into water such as a lake or in the mud.  They sell the pens too but I was told that you can write in them with any ink pen and the ink still won't smudge.

Waterproof Journals and Waterproof Ink

There are several versions to choose from.  I chose this journal version.

This item is available here.

I was told to use any ink pen, but I bought this one just to be on the safe side.

This item is available here.

I ordered one book and one pen.  Inside the first pages of the book, I wrote an encouraging message for my son.  Then, in the pages that followed, I wrote out a series of Scripture verses that I thought might help him through various circumstances during his long deployment away from home, the ones I previously wrote about.  I wrote the verse and then a short paragraph about the verse in my handwriting.  Recently, I was given the gift of a bracelet with words written in my grandmother's handwriting and it is now one of  my prize possessions.  With technology being so convenient now, handwriting is becoming sort of a lost art.  Anyway, I wanted this to be something written in my own handwriting, something that might mean a lot to my son, and maybe something he will always keep.  I took up the first 40 pages of the book.  The rest of the book was for him to write his own thoughts or notes while he is away.  Years from now, his own son or daughter might take comfort in a book written for his or her daddy during his time in deployment history that includes both his or her daddy's and grandmother's handwriting.  This might not be for you but I'm a little sentimental like that.  :)

I wasn't exactly sure which verses to include so I prayed for God's guidance.  Then, I just started writing.  If you thing this is something you would like to do for your deployed military family member or friend, you can buy the Write in the Rain book and pen above (if you want the pen.).  If your loved one is already deployed, you can still ship it to him or her.

It is a good idea to pray for God's guidance concerning which verses to include, but if you would like suggestions, you can access the ones I used in my previous post here.

Another idea is for you to print out for yourself all the verses you send with your loved one.  Both of you can meditate and memorize the same verses during this deployment season.


If you have something special that you sent with your loved one during a deployment or something you did for him or her, I'd love to hear about it.  Feel free to tell us about it in the comments below. 
Read other posts about living through deployment here.

Babies Come from Airports by Erin Dealey

Babies Come From Airports

Here's a little bit about the book titled Babies Come from Airports by Erin Dealey.

Babies Come from Airports by Erin Dealey is a book about adoption.  It is written from the point of view of a little boy who is home with his dad and older brother.  His mommy has gone to pick up their newly adopted baby sister.  The story begins when the older brother tells his younger brother that babies come from airports.  He knows this because he remembers when his mommy brought his little brother home from the airport.  Dad tells him not to listen to his brother.  He explains that babies come from labor and that he should wait and ask his mother about that.  The story goes on as the little boy tells us about some of the things they do while they wait on their mother to come home.  Finally, they head to the airport to pick up Mom.  They meet Security.  He’s the man that let Mommy through the first time.  Eventually, they meet up with Mommy and their newly adopted baby sister.  It’s “Gotcha Day!”  Eventually they determine that the important thing to remember is that babies come from love.

This is one of my favorite newer books from Usborne Books and More.  Adoption is a special and personal topic in my family.  I remember when my aunt and uncle went to the airport to pick up my new little cousin.  We have loved her for almost 30 years now and we have loved our role as her “forever family.”

Babies Come from Airports makes a perfect gift book for a family who has adopted or plans to adopt a child.  The fact that it playfully introduces an aspect of adoption – bringing children from other countries via airports – makes it perfect for ANY child.  This is a great book for instilling in children the value of adoption in society today.  So many children are waiting for “forever families.”  Babies Come from Airports is a perfect tool for explaining adoption to children.

Click here to get your copy of Babies Come from Airports by Erin Dealey.