Thank You for a wonderful day, yesterday, Father. You blessed us in our worship. You were with us as we remembered the life of a man who sought to serve You with his all. I realize that you never leave our side but it is a beautiful gift to be alert enough to be aware of your presence and to feel Your touch and to respond to Your direction. All praise to Your Holy Name. Amen.

1 Peter 3:18 (<<click here)

In the late 80’s I was on staff at a church in Marietta, Ohio. We were only there for a year but we made some dear, lifelong friends in the process. Even after we left, for quite some time we would meet halfway (unusually in Zanesville) to share a meal and catch up.

For whatever reason the weather never seemed to cooperate when we would meet – I remember a tornado in the area one time – but one trip back home sticks in my mind.  It was a white-knuckle on the steering wheel trek through a full blown snow storm. It was bad! It was snowing and blowing so badly that it took us forever to get home.

I’m sure Karen threw up a lot of prayers that day and if Massey was with us at all, he would have been very small, but it was my responsibility to get my loved ones safely home.

The journey of life is a treacherous one. And, thankfully, I am not the one behind the wheel. I am incapable of doing so. Only one Person can “bring [us] safely home” and that is You, Lord. Sin was sweeping us away into an eternity of separation from You. But You – You alone“suffered for our sins once for all time…[You] died for sins to bring [us] safely home.”

Thank You, Lord, for Your sacrifice. Thank You for taking on the responsibility of getting us home safely. There is no way we can do it on our own. Praise You for Your wonderful work of salvation, Blessed Redeemer! Amen!

Jan 16th, Mon, 5:43 am