My mom is a wise lady. It’s amazing how much she’s learned over the years; she didn’t know anything when I was twelve.
We’ve been praying at our house for God to provide since I was downsized out of the company I’d been working for, designing and installing media systems in churches. It’s been almost a year of looking, praying, looking some more and praying some more. Interviews have been few and far between. God has gone out of His way to provide “creatively”, shall we say, and our faith has grown stronger while we waited on Him.
Then suddenly, almost out of nowhere an opportunity appeared and discussions ramped up quickly. I found myself asking “Lord, is this what You’ve had in mind all along?”
It would be easy to get my hopes up pre-maturely. I can build a whole city on a good idea. If you know me, you know that’s true. It’s a liability visionaries deal with.
Conversely, it would be just as easy to “Eeyore my way” out of things, talk myself down and back into defeat.
I’m determined to watch my Savior very carefully through all of this. Mom used to be able to tell me what I could or couldn’t do from across the room with just a glance or a raised eyebrow. She could guide me with her eye as long as I was paying attention and caught what she was telling me. I need God to do that right now. I’m an adult, but I’m His child, so I’m praying “Guide me with Your eye, Lord. I’m seeking Your face.”
Mom sent these words of encouragement over a few days ago and they’re rich with wisdom so I’m going to copy them here.
“When he was crossing the Irish Channel one dark starless night, F. B. Meyer stood on the deck beside the captain and asked him, “How do you know Holyhead Harbor on so dark a night as this?
He said, “You see those three lights? Those three must line up behind each other as one, and when we see them so united we know the exact position of the harbor’s mouth.”
When we want to know God’s will, three things must always concur: the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances.” [ Source - look for "Will of God"]
…I am praying that those three lights will all line up into one for both you and Brenda …
Aren’t those great thoughts?
- The Word of God
- The inward impulse (what our gut tells us)
- Circumstance (the details)
When they all line up, it’s time to move decisively. With confidence.
Carefully, precisely, wisely, but with confidence. God did this.
For the believer in Jesus Christ, the promise of His imminent return encourages us to right living. We’ve been studying Heaven the last few weeks in our life group, (I’m loving team-teaching with Brenda!) and the question came to mind as we prepared for this week:
All this study of things future could get heady and intellectual if we’re not careful … what influence could future glory have on my outlook today?
We looked at the physical descriptions of the New Heavens, New Earth, New Jerusalem today and then we “brought it home”. What does all this future-information mean for us today? Now?
Here’s where we landed:
Studying the future glory affects my Theology (my study of God), my understanding of Him.
God’s plan for the ages will be completed despite the Enemy’s attempts through the ages to thwart that plan.
On a personal level, my sin -my failure- will cost me (pain, heartache, time, fruits, rewards)
But God forgives. Heals. Restores through the Blood of His Son.
Proper response to sin (confession, humility, repentance) will bring a person back into useful service. God will see to it.
God is not surprised by today’s news in our country – in our world. It’s not even “news” to Him.
He knows what He’s doing – and when.
Which means I Can Trust Him
- job
- marriage
- kids
- aging parents
- health
- finances
Heaven, eternity together with God, will be SO rich. So sweet.
It will definitely be worth today’s pain and hardship.
I will worship Him unencumbered one day.
Forever!
There will be no pain, sorrow, no testing then,
But there is now. They test and strengthen, try and prove me.
I can’t afford to waste today’s sorrows.
We’re going to talk more about those last two in our two remaining sessions, but I was encouraged today as I heard our people pray with depth and sincerity for others in the class going through some of those trials and sorrows right now.
I can’t imagine trying to live without God in my life, can you??
My sister Jonell quoted Mark Twain in a recent e-mail:
I can live two months on a good compliment.
.
There’s remarkable power in genuine praise, isn’t there? When someone we respect compliments us with real sincerity, we can run a long time on that affirmation. It breathes energy into us, motivating us to keep doing excellent work, put out the effort, go the second mile.
I’ve been on the receiving end of sincere compliments of that sort and I’ll admit, they can turn lackluster days into pretty good ones!
Note to self: Praise people in front of others, yes, but go one further. Compliment them face to face. It might make the difference in somebody’s month… er-ummm couple months!
There’s one compliment I especially want to hear, however. I’ll only need to hear it once. It’s the same compliment Jesus cited in his story about the servant with five talents who doubled them, and the guy with two talents who doubled his.
I consider myself pretty much a two-talent kind of guy. So I want to hear those same words from my Savior at the end of my life and the beginning of eternity:
Well done, good and faithful servant.
Enter into the joy of your Lord.
Pictures of pine trees taken June of 2008 on Jonell’s back property in Michigan
Look at the picture of the pine trees above and picture it as a group of people in your church. Pretend they are standing at the back of the sanctuary talking about anything from the travel their job will require this week, to the way their son is improving in
math at school, to a new recipe they tried on the grill last week, to the really
meaningful Scripture passage they are reading and how it is helping them in their
spiritual walk with God.
From a distance you are not able to see the spiritual growth in their life, just as you
are not able to see the new growth on the pine trees above.
Now pretend you walk up and include yourself in their conversation. It is only when
you get up close and enjoy their conversation that you hear of their daily walk with
God and how they are growing. I like to compare our spiritual growth with the new
growth on these pine branches. By walking closer, it is obvious that the new growth
is pushing off the protective cover and peeking out.
.
So, once the protective shell is gone, and you feel confident to talk about your spiritual
life and the way God is working on your behalf, do others see the new growth? I sometimes wish that we could see how much others are growing and maturing in their
daily walk with God the same way we see the new growth on a pine tree in the early summer. We may not really “see” others growth, but we will see God working in their
lives when their actions are God honoring, their words are kind in the midst of a difficult situation, when they show love for others in need, when they have patience for a child, when they turn to God for their strength, and so many other ways.
Whenever I go for a walk on our back property in the early summer and see this new growth, I simply ask God to keep helping me to grow to be more like Him too!
12- 7 -1941 - Pearl Harbor Invasion – World War II followed.
10- 24-29 -1929 – The “black” days preceding the USA’s Great Depression.
There are other dark days we need to remember as well. They have significance in our country’s development. Though dark, they are defining moments.
Some who were close will remember details and feelings will return.
The closer it is to you, the more you will remember and feel. That’s true of all dark days.
I have some days I consider dark days; defining moments in my own history.
The day I opened my 7th grade report card and saw a big fat F staring up at me in Advanced Math. I turned a corner that day.
The day after Thanksgiving 1979. An auto accident 600 miles from home, and an air-ambulance ride for my wife so they could care for her multiple injures close to home.
November 6, 1986. The day I heard “The project you’ve moved your family to Arizona to take on has not been approved, and will not be funded.”
A February 9th and a July 8th – days I heard “It’s cancer. And it’s inoperable. We’re sorry.” My father and father-in-law are now in glory.
A Friday night in 2004. My world self-imploded and I had to decide: Do I quit? or do I call on God’s grace and mercy to rebuild?
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008. “We can’t afford to keep you. I’m sorry, but — you’re done.” Life changing words.
Today we remember a dark day – literally – with global and timeless significance.
The very people Jesus came to save turned on him.
One of his closest sold his loyalty to others.
Another denied knowing or even meeting him.
He shouldered the sins of the world —past, present and future— and died for us.
Even God the Father had to turn away.
From noon until three o’clock that afternoon it was pitch black.
For our Savior, three days and nights in the darkness of a sealed tomb followed.
God’s redemptive plan mandated this dark day. Jesus asked at Gethsemane that he not have to go through with it but ended his prayer “Yet I want your will — not mine.” (Matt. 26.39)
Jesus had taught his disciples the principle: in order to bear fruit you must die. We die to live. It’s true of wheat, it’s true of us. (John 12.24)
Today we remember with a measure of solemnity our Savior’s death on the cross of Calvary. He died so He – and we – could live. So we could have life – abundantly. (John 10.10)
Today is a dark day we should remember. We must. It’s part of God’s plan to make things right again, to mend the torn relationship between Creator and created.
Worship Him today – reflecting and remembering.
Worship Him Sunday – alive and victorious.
I remember visiting a large church in the inner city of Chicago to trouble-shoot their newly installed media-system. I’d been instructed to get there as quickly as possible, so I did. When I walked in, however, I found that a funeral was about to begin, and the projection system was in use. Rather than excuse myself and re-schedule, I stayed in the control booth so I could observe. Maybe the system would do again what they’d described on the phone. I hoped not, because it would be distracting during the service. But if it did, I wanted to be there to see it happen.
One of the speakers at that funeral, an 85-yr old preacher, didn’t waste any time starting in.
“Some of you maybe have said this week that Brother (I’ll call him) Thomas’ number came up this week.” “That God called his number and he had to go.”
The congregation responded to his delivery and soon the call and response was in full swing, the organist helping things along. We who attend white congregations have no idea how energizing this is — sometimes I wonder if we’d get it right, even if we tried. I remember smiling when I heard him say in poetic rhythm, the spirited Hammond organ backing him up:
“Brothers and sisters, God didn’t call no number this week.
Thomas don’t HAVE a number.
Thomas has a NAME!
God didn’t call out a number,
and Thomas look down at some ticket in his hand
and say “Well look-it there. That’s me.”
No, Sir,
He called Thomas by NAME!
And Thomas answered
“Here am I, Lord”
“Come on UP here, Thomas” God said.
Thomas always obeys the Lord, we know that.
So Thomas went.
We’ll miss him, we ALL will.
But WHO
in his RIGHT mind
would want Thomas to come back
… From HEAVEN?!
I’d gone to a part of the city where there’s a wrought iron fence around the facility to keep things safe through the night. A watchman is on duty around the clock. It’s a church that reaches out to its community, and tries to make a difference. I went there to find what was wrong with their technology and fix it if I could. Instead was reminded by an energetic old preacher:
God knows my name.
I may have to verify the last four digits of my social security number when I’m calling customer service, I may have to use a lot of numbers filling out applications and forms, but God knows my name. He knows when it’s best to call me Philip – even use my middle name. And he knows when to whisper “Phil – rest a minute. It’s OK.”
Do you feel like a number sometimes? I do.
You’re not a number. Not with God.
You have a name – and God knows it. When you pray, He knows who you are and He invites you in close if you’re His child, and listens.
He knows your name. Don’t lose heart when it feels like you’re resume number 87 in a stack of 125. God knows your name, what you need, when and where.
Keep telling Him what you need. He’s listening. He knows your name when you call.
Would that I could let you see these lines in beautiful calligraphy. The beauty of pen and ink slowing our eyes so these rich, rich words by Stuart Townend could soak in like a gentle summer rain:
How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure
That he should give his only son, to make a wretch his treasure
How great the pain of searing loss, the Father turned his face away
As wounds which mar the chosen one, bring many sons to glory
—
Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished
—
I will not boast in anything: no gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ; his death and resurrection
Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart: his wounds have paid my ransom
For the story behind this hymn, in Stuart’s own words, continue [ here ].
I’ve been playing on the piano here at our house an old song written by Gordon Jensen, “Tears Are A Language God Understands”.
I have in my home a daily calendar called “The Grace of Encouragement” by Charles Swindoll. I’ve used this calendar for over 10 years now, and love the quotes and the verses it presents day after day for me to think about.
Today’s quote: “I wonder how many tear bottles in heaven bear your initials. You’ll never have many until you let go and let a little tenderness run loose.”
Today’s verse: “Record my lament, list my tears on your scroll, are they not in your record?” Psalm 56:8 (NIV)
There were times when my feelings were hurt as a child and I cried; there were other times when an adult friend was hurting and I cried as I hugged them and let them cry. The time I cried the hardest and the longest was when it finally hit me that it was my Dad we were talking about, my Dad who had the inoperable brain tumor, and my Dad who only had 3-4 months left to live. I went to my husband’s outstretched arms and he held me and just let me cry. We cried as a family the night my Dad stepped inside the pearly gates. My brother read Psalm 23 and there was not a dry eye in the room.
No matter what you are going through today, God understands, and He understands your tears. When you’ve cried for a while, wipe the tears away and say to yourself, “Although what I’m going through right now is very painful, I know I still serve a God who makes no mistakes!” And believe it!
And remember Lamentations 3:22-24 (NIV)
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Posted by Phil 
Posted by Phil 
Posted by Phil 
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