The Long and Winding Road
(I’m taking a few days off and decided to repost some of the more well-received “More Than Useless” posts.)
Father, the day is before us. I know not what all it will entail…but You do. As it is just beginning to unfold, I place myself in Your hands. I would ask that You be in my thoughts, work through me to accomplish Your will as I interact with fellow associates and with customers, as well. May all I do be flavored with You. Amen.
1 John 2:12-14 (<<click here)
I wouldn’t necessarily classify myself as a big fan of The Beatles but I’ve listened to many of their songs and for whatever reason, one of them keeps coming to mind this morning – “The Long and Winding Road.”
I don’t know exactly where the heart and mind of Paul McCartney were when he wrote the song but, for me at least, it speaks of life, as it surely is a long and winding road.
Lord, as John is writing here in chapter 2, he seems to be speaking of the winding road of our lives and how You impact them. Our lives are forever changed because of Your forgiveness. The circumstances of our lives lead us here and there, meandering all about but for those who faithfully follow You no matter where our journey takes us the road leads to Your door.
You, Lord, are the constant of our lives. You provide the stability that life always seems to be missing. We make choices, saying and doing things that take us all kinds of directions but You are the guiding hand that keeps us grounded and continues to steer us in the right direction. We are your children because You have forgiven us and as we mature in our relationship with You, we can clearly see that regardless of the path our lives take, it always brings us back to You. May that always be so. Amen.
April 11th, Tues, 6:34 am
This Too Shall Pass
Oh, my goodness, Father, today did not start off well! I slept poorly, woke up about 20 minutes late and after getting around, saw that today’s blog post didn’t post correctly. It took about 10 minutes to correct and by then my opportunity for a bowl of cereal or a zip through a McDonald’s drive-through was out of the question – or I’d be late for work. THEN before I even open the door to leave I can hear it raining! Too hot for a coat and I would forget it at work for sure, so I hustled to the truck, struggled to find the hole for the key (my fob is acting up!) and finally got myself, damp to say the least, into my truck!
So…was my day shot? No. Was my mood dampened for the rest of the day? Not in the least. My clothes were dry before I stepped out of the truck. The “rumbly in my tumbly” (as Pooh would say) disappeared after a nice lunch with my wife.
But before all of that, as I was on my way to work, I thought of You, Jesus. How I feel and who I am is far more dependent upon our relationship than the incidentals of any given day. Days will come and days will go. Some will be full of joy. Some will be full of woe. But as one of my favorite Christian comedian’s, Mark Lowry, says, “This too shall pass.”
Take a moment. Turn up the volume or pop in those earbuds and listen to a little of Mark’s laughter and his music, too. (This video is from his early years and is a little grainy but the message is clear.) Enjoy!
June 27th, 2018, Wed, 7:46 pm
Listen Please
Today is full of possibilities, Father. You see them all. I see what may come to be. I place myself fully in Your hands. Lead me in the way You would have me go this day. Amen.
Matthew 17:22-23 (<<click the green)
In recent years someone near and dear to me has gotten into the habit of, when I am trying to share something with them, of jumping in with questions or statements assuming that they know where I am going with what I am saying. I now have gotten into the habit of raising my hand when they start to interject, signifying that they need to let me finish. We both smile, then I continue.
When Jesus, for the second time, states what the future holds for Him, the disciples are “deeply grieved and distressed.” In my mind’s eye, I can see Jesus lift His hand as if to say, “Boys, don’t just stop at my mention of death – hear the rest of what I have to say. I “will be raised [from death to life] on the third day.”
Life holds many distractions but it’s important that we stay focused so as not to miss out on what is of greatest significance.
Sometimes we must read between the lines what is being said – especially from other people in our lives. They may be raising their hands to be heard but are not necessarily being clear about it. They may be hurting or in need and are asking for help without coming right out and saying it.
Sometimes we simply need to hear all that is being said before we jump to conclusions and tangent out to who knows where.
Lord Jesus, in our interactions with others and with You, may we learn to listen with Your heart. May we love You so much that our love for You and from You, will literally spill out on those around us. Then we can be Your ambassadors to those who so desperately need You. Amen.
June 26th, 2018, Tues, 6:46 am
Move the Immovable
As I sit to write tonight, Father, I am reminded of the frailty of life – in a heartbeat, things can change. But through it all, You and You alone, Father, are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are solid, consistent, secure. All praise, honor, and glory are Yours. Amen.
Matthew 17:19-20 (<<click the green)
As I prepared to write the last post, I came across another story in relation to “moving mountains.” My first intent was to conclude that post with this story but it ended up being a little longer than I had anticipated, so…here is the other story.
My search led me to blog post entitled, The Minister Who Moved a Mountain (<<click to read the post in its entirety).
I’m sure it would be of no surprise to any of us for me to say that we – men, women, children of all ages –we can all be stubborn. We can be set in our ways. And we really, really don’t like other people telling us we are wrong and pushing us to change of all things! Talk about a mountain that can be nigh impossible to move!
In the early 1900s, when he was about 20 years old, Bob Childress stumbled upon a revival at local Methodist church. Draw in by the music he heard of his need for a Savior and gave his life over to Christ. Through much struggle and perseverance, this penniless young man with only an 8th-grade education succeeded in graduating from Union Theological Seminary of Richmond, Virginia at the top of his class with God intervening on his behalf on many occasions.
He could’ve taken a church in a prosperous community in North Carolina but felt led to return the mountains of his youth. He may have found himself in midst of stubborn, hot-tempered mountain men but he was of the same stock and dished it out as quick as they – only his responses were flavored with the transformative truth and love of Christ.
He had not taken up an easy task but because he was a living example of the hands and feet of Christ – chopping wood for widows, giving of what little he had to help the needy and begging for leniency from judges for moonshiners in jail. He lived his relationship with Christ before their very eyes. And slowly, ever so slowly he drew them to Christ.
Many threw rocks at his churches and even threatened his very life but he was stubborn as they. And before his life was over he had touched many a life – many, many lives were changed as Childress introduced them to only One who could make a difference in their lives.
Maybe he didn’t move a mountain of dirt and stone but he moved many who would have been defined as hard and unmovable. And we are called to do the same. Love – tough love sometimes – is what it takes to reach the world that so desperately needs to know the Savior. And as Childress alone – God is always by our side.
June 25th, 2018, Mon, 8:57 pm
Move Mountains (Literally!)
I must begin by giving You praise this morning, Father, for Your touch on my mother. You hand has truly been upon her. She has a time of healing to go but she knows that You are with her all the way. Praise Your Holy Name for Your watchcare over my family and friends. Amen!
Matthew 17:19-20 (<<click the green)
Not enough can be said about faith; for that is where our true power as followers of Christ is. Not faith in ourselves or our strengths or our gifts or our abilities but faith in Christ alone. Christ, and Christ alone, is the source of our strength, our gifts, and our abilities. And He does not hold back! He freely, generously gives! But the key…is faith.
Thinking on this passage, a story came to mind of a church whose faith literally moved a mountain. They had built their church on a mountainside and after it was complete were told by powers that be that they couldn’t use the building because they only had half as much parking as they needed. Without literally “moving the mountain” they had no other options.
The pastor called a prayer meeting to appeal to God to meet their needs – move the mountain, pave and paint the lot before the scheduled dedication service the following Sunday. The very next day a knock was heard at his door and a gentleman representing a construction company presented his case to the pastor. They were building a new shopping mall and needed fill dirt. They would pay for the dirt and pave all the exposed area free of charge.
The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned and there were far more members with “mountain moving faith” on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week!
Now here is where we are challenged. In my search to find the story, the lead link was to a familiar website that I myself have looked at to verify the validity of stories passed around the internet. They referred to this story as “someone’s attempt to render the aphorism [i.e. a pithy observation that contains a general truth] that ‘faith can move mountains’ as a literal anecdote.” They also stated that it was “a charming story about the power of faith.” I make no apologies for these words – aphorism, general truth, and charming –sounding condescending to me.
Here’s some more of what was written:
“We might look at the other side of the coin, however, and consider the maxim that tells us “God helps those who help themselves.” The characters in this little tale construct a new church without heeding the local building codes, then when they’re informed that — because of their own mistakes — they won’t be able to use it as built, they do nothing affirmative to rectify the situation. They don’t attempt to raise any money, to do any work themselves, or even to consider possible alternative remedies (such as building a parking structure). They want their new church and they want it now, so they simply get together and ask God to solve all their problems for them, giving Him a ten-day deadline to boot… Maybe faith really can move mountains, but should we expect the Almighty to do for us what we’re perfectly capable of doing for ourselves?”
First of all, the phrase “God helps those who help themselves.” cannot be found in the Bible so right off we cannot compare the words Jesus himself spoke with words that are not divinely inspired.
Obviously, the person writing these words knows nothing of having faith not in ourselves but in Christ alone. Now I fully realize that the story of the church on the mountain is probably not true but I also heartily hold that just because it isn’t doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be!
June 23, 2018, Sat, 6:46 am