HSBC Coffeebreak

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10: 24-25

When my first husband, Cliff, died in 1983, I was so discouraged and sad. After taking care of him and having been away from the church for approximately two years, I returned to church and was shocked to see that the thriving church I had last worshipped in was all but dead. I visited the church one Sunday and decided to go back once more, since the head pastor had been away and I wanted to at least hear him preach before I gave up on the church.

I was driving to church for the second time reluctantly and complaining to God that nobody would care whether I was there or not. Lo and behold, I heard a still small voice say to me, “Are you going to worship them or Me?” Needless to say, I was so taken aback that I drove to church a changed person. I was happy and ready to get in there and work!

To the best of my ability, I have tried to be in church with a proper attitude or worship. I am so thankful that my Lord loved me enough to correct me in such a personal way. I no longer am concerned if anybody notices whether I am there, for I am there to worship my God – not to be noticed by others.

Written by
Estella Schmidt

HSBC Coffeebreak

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Matthew 5:3-5 NIV

It had been a demanding week and the longing for a reprieve over the weekend seemed to be in vain. It was Sunday evening and we still had a few church responsibilities to take care of before we could focus on preparing for the work week. Trying to make the trip into the church our “reprieve,” we decided to ride our motorcycle to town.

The half hour drive was pleasant and it was relaxing to sit behind my husband on the bike knowing this was something he enjoys. Just a few blocks from our destination, while stopped at an intersection, we were hit from behind by a pickup. The minutes that followed the accident were emotionally charged with a mixture of fear, pain, and a sense of powerlessness and confusion, along with thanksgiving and praise that we and the bike weren't hurt worse than we had been.

I was taken to the hospital by ambulance to check for neck injuries and felt blessed to know that there were no broken bones or fractures. I was told that I was just fine and was free to go. As I walked towards the motorcycle (yes, it was still drivable), I was flooded with mixed emotions again. Fear and the need to conquer fear waged war inside of me, and I understood the old saying about getting right back on the horse that just bucked you off. I chose to fight the fear and decided that I would get back on to go home. The pain from the whiplash made it difficult to put my helmet on, but we managed.

As time passed, the pain from the whiplash subsided and the emotions of that moment lost most of their grip on my heart. Several months later I noticed that I still had a great deal of pain in my neck and that I had started doing full body turns rather than turning my neck. I went to my doctor and learned that even though there were no broken bones, I had a severe sprain and the tissues and ligaments in my neck had been torn and they would take at least a year to heal. In the meantime, I needed to have physical therapy and learn ways to stretch and exercise my neck so that it would heal properly.

As I underwent therapy, I kept thinking that so much of life is like this. So often I think that choosing to press on is the choice that will please God. After all, aren’t we are told in Philippians 3:13-14 “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” While pressing on is good, I learned that I needed to give adequate time and attention to my body before I pressed on or I would be hindered with an unnecessary “limp” for the rest of my life. As that truth sunk in, I began to see other areas in my life where I had chosen to press on before I had properly healed and that I had been running the race of life with some very unnecessary limps.

Stopping my world to deal with unhealed wounds of the heart has been difficult and humiliating, but just like going to the physical therapist and having to stretch my neck in spite of the pain, healing comes and life is better.

Lord, I thank you for being my Great Physician and for being able to heal every wound of mine. Amen

Written by
Liz Anderson

HSBC Coffeebreak Devotional

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:13-14

As I was out in my little garden of sweet peas today doing a much needed weeding job, I got to thinking about those pesky weeds. You know, I plant those sweet peas every year and pamper them constantly hoping that they will come up. Weeds are not like that. Not only do they come up uninvited, but they don't seem to need any special treatment to thrive. If I let them, they would quickly outgrow my beautiful little flowers.

The more I ponder this, the more I think how much it reminds me of my own spiritual journey. The weeds are my flesh. Encompassed in this flesh are my sin nature and my past hurts and insecurities. As I am weeding, the weeds always seem to trick me and break off at the base leaving a root there that will all too quickly come back bigger and stronger the next time I try to kill it. Many times I think I have dealt with an issue, only to find out the root is much deeper and harder to get to. I find that as a Christian, I sometimes don't even want to admit to myself what the root is because "Christians" don't feel that way or struggle with this.

The good news is that God knows more about us than we do and He still calls us His beloved! I love that word, beloved! He is the gardener of our hearts. And it gets better - He wants to free us from all the weeds that have taken a good hold of us. Do you have hidden anger or bitterness? God can do a healing work in your life, as He did in mine, and tear that stuff out by the roots so that it will never come back to choke out your beautiful colors again. Hallelujah! He is an AWESOME God!

I will close with a little story I read in Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. A grandfather says to his grandson, "Grandson, there are two wolves living in my heart and they are at war with each other. One is vicious and cruel, the other is wise and kind."

"Grandfather," said the alarmed boy, "which one will win?"

"The one I feed," said the grandfather.

Written by
Joanne Kauzlarich

HSBC Coffeebreak Big News!

Ladies & Coffeebreak Readers!

Good day to you! Instead of receiving a devotional this week, we'd like to
share the BIG NEWS!

Coffeebreak is expanding! We are excited to begin the process of a new look & format for those already receiving Coffeebreak email devotionals! The new format will make the distribution of the devotionals easier and also bring great perks your way!

We need your help in making the transition smoothly! The week of August
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Upon opening this email, click on the link provided. If that is not possible, copy the link into your browser and hit enter. Either way, you should immediately receive a confirmation window that reads "Email subscription confirmed."

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HSBC Coffeebreak