He Comes Through

He Comes Through

“Praise the Lord, I tell myself,

With my whole heart,

I will praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, I tell myself,

And never forget the good things

He does for me”

(Psalm 103 v 1 & 2)

            Every day the Lord gives us blessings. In our “busyness” it is easy to forget the role He plays in our lives. Early in the week when with a very good friend, we were talking about the things that we prayed for. They were guidance, support, internal peace and several others. It was obvious that neither of us prayed for favors or help. We realized that through prayer, good things would happen. 

Below is a story that reinforces my thoughts.

           

            On Friday, in our men’s breakfast and bible study, we opened with a discussion about what to do with our mission money. We tend to distribute it when we get to a certain amount and it was time. There were several proposals, one being a charity that builds and services housing for the poor in Minneapolis. It was a winner this week.

            So what is the big deal? A dear friend and breakfast partner is a supporter of this organization. Earlier in the week he realized that our group had not contributed lately. So, he asked their new secretary to draft a letter reminding us of their need. The secretary did not get it done so there was no reminder or request!  

Do you believe in coincidence? …or faith?

Yes, there is a presence in our daily lives.

Thought for Today: Today will be just like many others. Our calendars are full, we will have unreasonable demands on our time and we will need to focus to make it all happen. With that in mind, let us take a few minutes and think about the Lord’s role and in our lives. Let’s let Him in to our day also!

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, today we pray to see the results of your participation in our lives and the ability to accept what we do not understand. We trust that good things will happen.

Amen

Win-Win

 Win-Win

"...what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor."
(Psalm 8:4,5)

           In America there seems to be a win lose philosophy running rampant throughout our society. There is a lot of hero worship devoted to overpaid athletes. We seem to have adopted the attitude "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing". Well, that may be our world, but it is not God's world.

        The Psalmist above clearly demonstrates that we were created a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory. There is plenty of God's love for each of us. There are worldwide resources that when shared in God's way will do for all. We live in a great world with great people and somehow we taint it with our own un-Godly behaviors.

        As a young athlete in the 40's, I remember the expression "It's not whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game that counts". Somehow that has stuck with me throughout my life. It is an expression of a win-win philosophy. I think that is what God had in mind.

Thought for Today: Today let us focus on creating win-win situations in our lives. Observe our surroundings and lighten them up a bit. Slow for the other drivers, merge rather than block. Open a door and allow a few people through. Sit forward in church and leave some room in the back for late comers. Let's show everyone that we all can win.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, we live in a confusing world. Hate seems to dominate love; Racism rears its ugly head in surprising places; religious wars and terror are creating a fearful world. There do not seem to be any safe havens where your love dominates. Today we pray that we may contribute to world peace; to a place where love dominates over negative un-Godly forces!

Marriage

Marriage 50^th

" A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value."

(Proverbs 31:10,11 )

Tomorrow, July 28, 2018, June and I will celebrate our 50^th wedding anniversary. We were married on her 30^th birthday. She has been a blessing to me and I often refer to her as being the light at the end of my tunnel. She helped escort me from my dark period of the 60’s into something better- that seems to be still growing. Fifty years is a long time and it was not all romance and happy times. There was alcohol treatment, recovery, career moves and stress, the challenges of raising four children and just living with Bob who does not always make sense!

           I often discuss the many wonderful benefits of a good marriage: the great mutual support, the care when illness arrives, the mutual celebrations of the many events that occur. Yes, marriage is truly a great institution when things are well and blessed by God.

Thought for Today: Today let’s keep it simple and enjoy our significant other and those others around us.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, today we give thanks for the people that you have placed close to us in our lives. We pray that as this week progresses, we can share our love with friends, family and others who we meet. 

Amen

Marriage Again

Many times it has been stated that marriage is the world’s toughest job. Let me quote from The Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason.

            “Marriage, even under the best of circumstances, is a crises; one of the major crises

of life. It is a dangerous thing not to be aware of this. Whether it turns out to be a healthy,

challenging and constructive crises or a disastrous nightmare depends largely upon how willing

the partners are to be changed, how malleable they are."

            "Crises" seems a bit extreme to me, but certainly marriage is a great opportunity for the

fulfillment of life and it certainly is not without its "opportunities" for either success or failure. A marriage blessed by God, one in which the partners have allowed God's love to grow in their

relationship is one of the world’s greatest experiences.

June and I have been blessed.

Stand Up and Be Counted

Standing         

“Standing on the promise of Christ my King,

Through eternal ages let his praises ring;

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.”

(Promises verse 1)

(written by R. Kelso Carter 1849-1926)

            This is one of June’s favorite Hymns that covers a lot of issues in our lives. What do we stand for? What is the promise? They are simple questions that I will over simplify today.

            First, we stand for ethical Christian behavior that will benefit ourselves and everyone around us. We stand for living by following the Ten Commandments. Examples of being good are needed in our world and we are designated to show our stuff!

            Second, the promise is Grace; given to us by Christ when he died on the cross. We want to think there are more promises than that. When we need more money, more self-control, more time; more …etc! Somehow we feel deserving. We want what we want when we want it! We already have what we need; Grace!

We need to show off, stand for our faith!

Thought for Today: Today let us stand out in the crowd; stand for our Christian beliefs.

 Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and father, we find it easy to sit and watch. Today we pray for the opportunity and courage to stand up and be counted in your name.

Amen

A Still Place

"Be still and know that I am God"

 (Psalm 46:10)

            The world is a busy place and today’s message is not for June and I any more, but it applied for all the years we were raising our children, running three businesses, active in our church etc. I believe it is one of the reasons we made it through it all and the reason we are not overbooked seniors.

            Many Americans are overbooked; families are tied up every day with career and children’s activities; empty nesters seem to have filled the time with commitments; often retirees do not know how they ever had time to work! That leads to a lot of stress, tension and often family failures. That’s correct; the family that plays too much together just may not have enough quality time to survive. They do not have time to call for help.

            In his book Bread for the Table, Henry Nouwen says it this way, “These are words to take with us in our busy lives. We may think about stillness in contrast to our noisy world. But perhaps we can go further and keep an inner stillness even while we carry on … It is important to keep a still place in the "marketplace". This still place is where God can dwell and speak to us. …with that stillness God can be our gentle guide in everything we think and do.”

Thought for Today: We are experiencing a different world than we grew up with. Terror attacks, financial issues and even the weather seem to add complexity to our already overbooked lives. This week let us recognize the need for peace in our personal lives. Let’s make room for that stillness and peace that we can find through our faith.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, the world around us is confusing, sometimes cruel and always difficult to understand. Please allow us time to step aside from our busyness and dwell upon "your will" rather than "our wants and needs". Let us find the peace or stillness to allow "thy will to be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Belief

Belief

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

(Mark 11 vs. 24)

            When we pray we generate a certain amount of doubt in our minds. Often we are testing God to do something we cannot believe in. As we get older some of us pray to be younger or to be able to do the things we did 20 years ago. Those prayers largely go unanswered. Our pastor talks about praying for the terminally ill. He prays that they will find peace with the Lord. He also prays for the family and their future.

            Recently on our prayer chain we prayed that a person would receive a liver transplant. That is a catch 22 because someone has to die for that to happen. What a conundrum. We were not praying for a death, we were praying that if someone died that they could make the ultimate gift, the gift of life. That is still something to consider!

            It seems that Mark is correct though when he says “believe that you have received it …” A strong belief seems to improve the success rate through prayer.

Thought for Today: For today let us keep it simple and enjoy the day!

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father today we pray a simple prayer. Today is the day that you made for us and today we thank you for that and the opportunity to enjoy it.