You Don’t Know Which Way the Wind Blows
It’s quite blustery this morning, Father, and it reminds me of an (at this point in time), an old contemporary Christian classic by a group of siblings who called themselves The 2nd Chapter of Acts. It was released in 1974 and is entitled You Don’t Know Which Way the Wind Blows.
And as my thoughts have flowed this way, of course, I have had to stop and listen to the song, again (I just listened to my playlist of them a couple of days ago!) And after doing so, it stopped me in my tracks – how applicable to today! And the reason why? It is based on Scripture.
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:25-34 NLT
And one more passage,
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
Really does any more need to be said? Here is the song, and the lyrics, too, for your convenience.
Feel a feeling
Say a saying
But you’ll still be lonely
If you think life is only for this moment
Do a doing
Mourn a mourning
Still won’t get you off your sorrow
So go ahead and cry, but you can’t pry a look at tomorrow
Refrain
You don’t know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
You don’t know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
Run a running
Hide a hiding
Whenever you hear the truth
And when you ask for the proof, you won’t listen. Listen.
Praise a praising
Build a building
Trying to get peace in your life
And you don’t even know wrong from right
Where is your wisdom?
Refrain
Die a dying
Resurrecting
By believing and receiving
Forgiveness from Jesus who took the sin from sinning
You don’t know which way the wind blows
So how can you plan tomorrow
Jesus knows which way the wind blows
So give Him your tomorrow
Believe Him and receive
Refrain
Feb 24th, 2019, Sun, 7:28 am
Less Liking, More Loving
Father, I have already been up for several hours. I had my bus route early, worked some more on my church project and thought it best to set that aside and spend some one-on-one time with You. You’ve been by my side all morning but I need to put all distractions aside. Speak, for I am listening.
Mark 3:31-35 (<<click to read the passage)
This is one of those passages that can make some people squirm. It can make you feel a little uncomfortable. But we must understand, yes, Jesus was fully God and fully man, but he was without sin. Where we run into trouble here is when we project our sinful mindsets into Jesus’ reaction to being told his family had come to see him. We may see flippancy or a lack of love for His own mother even! But when we really think things through, we realize that Jesus’ motives for saying what He said was pure.
Where we tend to make His comments sound exclusive, in reality, what He is being inclusive! His family was important to Him but so is everybody else! He loves us all!
If anything, what Jesus said should make us take a closer look at our own mindsets and how we interact with others – especially loved ones.
How many friends do you have? How much time do you spend with them? In today’s tech culture that can be answered a couple of ways. If we are talking Facebook, I have 507, my wife has a few less – 352, and my son as several more – 789. A cousin’s daughter has 2,333! A friend’s dog has 157 friends!
We speak of them as “friends” and many of them are, but some are barely acquaintances. How many of them really know us? How many of them do we really know?
It’s pretty easy to “like” someone or something from our cellphone or laptop but does that response really impact us? Do those interactions draw us closer? Do they deepen our relationships? Probably not a whole lot.
Lord Jesus, as Your body please help us to do less “liking” and more loving! Very little risk is taken when we peck at a screen or a keyboard but love? Love can be risky. Love can get messy. Our world is a cold, cold place of our own making, may we heat it up as we let our light shine! May we draw others into Your warm embrace! Amen.
Feb 21st, 2019, Thurs, 11:00 am
Crossed the Line?
Wow, Father, thank You for the thumb in my back! And I am totally sincere when I say that! I’ve had a major project for church that needed to get done and it is almost complete with the help of another snow day to do it. Thank You for helping me to focus.
Mark 3:28-30 (<<click to read the passage)
These verses have caused some to fear, thinking that they may have crossed the line, that in some way they may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. If we are guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, it is deemed as “a sin which is unforgivable”.
In reality, very few would fall into this category. First of all, what exactly is blasphemy? In doing a little online research I found the following, from billygraham.org, to be very helpful,
“To commit this sin one must consciously, persistently, deliberately, and maliciously reject the testimony of the Spirit to the deity and saving power of the Lord Jesus.” If a person keeps doing that until death, there is no hope of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven.
If we don’t believe in Christ and the salvation He offers then that is the sin for which we will be held accountable. Romans 6:23 states,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As long as we have breath, there is the opportunity to accept this free gift – only our utter refusal to do so will bring us condemnation.
In the context of this passage, Jesus is clearly addressing the mindsets of the “teachers of religious law”. My study Bible* puts it this way,
The religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy, but ironically they were the guilty ones when they looked Jesus in the face and accused him of being possessed by satan.
Lord Jesus, help us, as believers, to not get sidetracked. You understand our faltering steps. You understand us better than we understand ourselves. You love us. You encourage us to keep on keeping on. Your desire is for us to victorious! May we always be about leaning on You, depending on You. Help us to consistently put the entirety of our faith in You. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 20th, 2019, Wed, 7:40 pm
Pall of Gloom – GONE!
A picture of last winter’s tarp-covered woodpile.
Thank You for being by my side this morning, Father. Nothing really too much out of the ordinary but Your sweet, assuring presence gives me peace and confidence like no other. All praise to You!
Mark 3:22-30 (<<click to read the passage)
As I read the open words of this passage, the word picture that came to mind was that the teachers of religious law “cast a pall over” all that Jesus was doing.
Vocabulary.com states, “A pall was originally a coffin’s cloak. Now pall usually means that an event or situation is — literally or figuratively — covered in gloom…”
Jesus has been about His Father’s business – so much so, as we read in verse 20, that “…he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat”! And in the midst of it all these “teachers” cast a pall of gloom and doubt over His work. Bleh….
In our home, our primary source of heat during these cold months is a wood burning stove. We keep our wood at the end of our driveway and it is covered by a big heavy-duty tarp. Across the road from our lot is a large open field, and believe you me, when the wind blows, we get wind!
If I just laid the tarp over the wood it would be gone in no time. Where the wind tends to hit it most directly, I have metal posts driven into the ground and bungee cords stretched taut over the width of it. I also have several chunks of wood laying on the ends. On the side facing the drive, I have a large unused riding mower deck – it is very heavy and keeps that end secured. Then on the end where I get wood out, I have three very large chunks of wood holding the tarp down.
Well, when these “teachers” cast their pall of gloom over what Jesus was doing, the mighty wind of the Spirit, flowing through Jesus, just blew that old thing right off and that pall was gone in no time!
He set them straight in short order! They accused Him of casting out demons by the prince of demons – satan. (In my book, he doesn’t even deserve real capital “s”!) “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” vs.20 NIV
And finishes them off with this proclamation, “Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.” v.27NLT
Lord Jesus, fill me with Your Spirit so as to blow away any palls the devil might cast my way! Amen!!!
Feb 19th, 2019, Tues, 9:49 am
Patience
It may have been a day off from work but it was a full one, Father! Thank You for watching over us on the highway as we both had doctor’s visits. Thank You for quality and quantity time with Karen – we are so blessed!
Mark 3:20-21 (<<click to read the passage)
It is easy to feel misunderstood. When we diligently strive to follow God in every aspect of our lives those around us, especially those closest to us, may not truly comprehend what is going on. If Jesus – literally the Son of God – was misunderstood by His family, will it be any different for us?
As my study Bible communicates, being the human beings that we are – and this I’m sure will shock some people – we are not perfect! Follow Jesus is not an instantaneous event! We grow and mature. We stumble and fall. We have to learn how to act in regards to some things and we also have to unlearn how to react to some things. It just takes time.
We must have patience with ourselves as we endeavor to “love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart, all [our] soul, all [our] mind, and all [our] strength.” But of course, this means that we must have just as much or more patience with others as we struggle to “Love [our] neighbor as [ourselves].” Mark 12:30-31
Let me close with a quote from my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation,
“[Family members] see you at your worst when your guard is down. Remember that Christ’s family rejected and ridiculed him. Jesus knows what you face by trying to be a witness for him in your own family. Stay true to your faith. Don’t respond negatively to the attacks that may come. Over time, your love for your family will have a positive effect.”
Lord Jesus, help us to forgive ourselves and forgive others, too. Grace is not just between us and You. We are called to extend grace to others, as well. Amen.
Feb. 18th, 2019, Mon, 8:53 pm