Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Day is near


"The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."  Romans 13

The day is near.  

It's been dark for a long time!  The darkness of night has become our norm, but there is a glimmer of light on the horizon, a bit of light we have not seen before.  The day is near!  The sun will soon rise and change everything.  It's coming.  It's as sure as the turning of the earth and the approach of the new day.  

The day Paul is talking about is the day of the Lord, the appearing of the Son.  The light of life eternally present.  It's near and it's time for us to wake up!  Time to get dressed for the day.  Time to put on Christ Jesus and stop sinning.  The groom is at the door, the wedding is about to begin.

Are you ready?


Thursday, June 14, 2018

The day ahead

Today I face a difficult task.  One I wish I could avoid.  My mind and heart recoil at the thoughts of what awaits me.  I dread it!

Today I will speak at the memorial service for a young lady I knew well who took her own life.  Days like this I wish I could just run away and hide from the world and all we do to ourselves and each other.  This is such a cruel place to live.

But in the midst of it all there is the love of God sprinkled here and there that makes all the difference.  Without God's work in this world we would already know what hell is like for we would be living in it. But in the midst of all the grief and sorrow God whispers.

So today I face a family I love, to grieve with them over a bad choice by a sweet young lady.  As one friend told me in tears years ago, "I HATE sin!"  Today I agree with my friend for I see what it can do in our lives once more.

My prayer today is that those attending will hear whispers of the love of God in the midst of a world where chaos rules.


Monday, June 11, 2018

Hopeless


It's early Monday morning.  I woke hours before dawn and knew it was time to get up...to read, to listen, to be quiet before the day and week began. I needed this time. I am facing a very difficult week.  There are events I must be part of this week that I dread, but cannot avoid.  This week I will speak at the funeral of a young lady I knew well who took her own life.  Her family is heartbroken and the weight of their grief and mine is overwhelming.  What do you say at times like this? How do you comfort?  I don't know that comfort is possible, but trust is.  Trust in God when we have lost all hope, when our hearts break and we have no words...in moments like that all we can do is trust in a loving God.  But the skeptic would reply, "If he's so loving why didn't he stop her suicide?"  And I sigh.  How do you talk to someone who has no heart?  You can't.  So this week we will grieve.  I will offer no answers, but will try to turn the grieving families eyes to a loving God who cries with them.  I'm sure this young lady felt quite hopeless as she made the choice to end her life.  I know we all feel hopeless at times.  It's part of our frailty, but in that moment of hopelessness God invites us to look to him, the only hope we have.  And so, like David, I will reply,


Ps 43:5, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”


Monday, June 04, 2018

A handful of quietness


"Better is a handful of quietness 
than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind."  
Eccl. 4:6

A handful of quietness.  As I read that this morning it made m pause to visualize what that would look like.  The images of the contrast are pretty clear.  To have a little quietness is better than a bunch of stuff to do that accomplishes nothing.

A handful of quietness.

I'm not sure what to do with that exactly, but I will be thinking about it and looking for ways to get my handful of quietness.

I have no brilliant thoughts for this verse...just a thoughtful pause.  

Lord, help me to find just one handful of quietness rather than two hands full of busy.  It seems to be a better choice.