Assurance, Come What May
It is early enough that it is still dark outside, Father, but I am glad that we are here together. I need You today, to hear Your voice, to feel Your touch, to have the calm assurance that You are with me all the way. Amen.
Last night was one of those nights! I’m sure I dream more regularly than I recall but last night’s is still fresh in my mind. My dreams are always wacky and this one was no different.
As many of my dreams do, this dream involved church. I was not preaching but was leading the music. First of all, the speaker wasn’t there but there were other people on the platform and I had no idea who they were. There was a mess on the platform that for some reason I had contributed to but there was no time for questions on any front – the service was beginning. I walked to the pulpit for the first hymn and could I find it in the hymnal? Nope! It was #40 and no matter how many pages I flipped through I couldn’t get out of the sixties! I thought the PowerPoint would help if the words would just pop up but instead, a cartoon of babies in the nursery began singing – and playing instruments! – and it wasn’t even the hymn we were to be singing!
Oh, the nightmares of pastors! We’ve all had days like that and it is much more frustrating in reality! We can’t just wake up and it’s over.
As my opening prayer alluded to, we need You, Lord. No matter what the day may hold, when we keep our hearts and minds on You, we can tackle anything. The calming assurance of Your presence can calm the wildest sea. We can’t anticipate everything that we will come across throughout our day, but we can know that whatever comes, You will always be by our side. Thank You, Lord, for Your active presence in my life. Thank You for being our assurance come what may. We would be lost without You.
Sept 5th, Tues, 6:25 am
Hymns!
Father, I am grateful for having You with us today as we and family had a little outing. Thank You for good fellowship and Your protection and blessings to and from. Amen.
I make no apologies that I am a hymn guy. There is a lot of beautiful music out there, enhancing a plethora of worship services. Different things speak to different folk but hymns speak most clearly to me.
Growing up we sang hymns – and I am not a stick in the mud, they are just so full of solid theology and give voice to things that I think and feel in a form of testimony that I can think of no better way to communicate.
My father pastored several churches while I was growing up, lots of good people in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio. One of my favorites was in Parsons, WV, I graduated from high school there. A favorite part of that church for me was the choir – and oh, could they sing! I don’t think many of them read music but the harmonies that rang from the choir loft were heavenly! I think a lot of it was the fact that they weren’t just singing words and notes. They were singing from the depths of their hearts. I truly believe each person was singing their song!
At this point in my life, I can’t remember who sang what song. It could have been the choir, or the congregation or Mom and Dad singing a duet but one of my many favorite hymns is My Wonderful Lord by Haldor Lillenas. Here is a very nice rendition as sung by the Collingsworth Family.
I have found a deep peace
that I never had known
And a joy this world could not afford
Since I yielded control of my body and soul
To my wonderful, wonderful Lord.
My wonderful Lord, my wonderful Lord
By angels and seraphs in Heaven adored
I bow at Thy shrine
My Savior divine
My wonderful, wonderful Lord
All the talents I have I have laid at Thy Feet
Thy approval shall be my reward.
Be my store great or small
I surrender it all
To my wonderful, wonderful Lord.
Thou art fairer to me than the fairest of earth
Thou omnipotent, life-giving Word
O Thou Ancient of Days,
Thou art worthy all praise,
My wonderful, wonderful Lord.
My wonderful Lord, my wonderful Lord
By angels and seraphs in Heaven adored!
I bow at Thy shrine
my Savior divine
My wonderful, wonderful Lord.
Sept 4th, Mon, 8:45 pm
Lest I Forget
Thank You for a beautiful day with Karen yesterday, Father. Our day spent in Amish Country was filled with peace and love. Your presence and touch were felt throughout the day. I am truly blessed! I look forward to sharing this day with You as well.
Lord, how soon we forget…Houston has been reeling under the effect of Hurricane Harvey but it’s hard to believe that Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans almost 12 years ago to the day! Has New Orleans fully recovered? Mostly but not entirely. I read that only about 40% of the population of the lower 9th ward has returned – it was an oppressively poor area and people could not afford to do so. But would most of us have even thought about that if Harvey had not have come barreling in? …probably not.
Do we remember those amongst us who have lost loved ones and have had to deal with life altering changes? Have we forgotten those who have been victorious over overwhelming health issues but are still dealing with the aftermath of their battle? How about those who were vibrant members of our churches and things happened, all kinds of things could have happened, and they are nowhere to be found…do we care?
Lord, how soon we forget…
In thinking of forgetting an old hymn, Lead Me to Calvary, comes to mind. Its refrain reads,
Lest I forget Gethsemane;
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.
We tend to move on with our lives. If it does not directly impact our daily comings and goings it falls away in our rearview mirror and is soon forgotten. But, Lord, we must not forget these things. And most importantly it is surely to our detriment to forget You. We go through the motions of worship and churchmanship but do we focus so much on the “things” of life that we forget You and all You have done for us?
Without You, we have no meaning… Without You, we have no future… Without You, we are lost… Lord, help us to remember. Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest I forget Thine agony; Lest I forget Thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary. Amen.
Sept 1st, Fri, 6:57 am
Blackjacket!
Father, this day can go many different directions. I pray that Your hand will be upon us regardless of the direction it takes. Use us for Your glory even in the midst of the mundane. Amen.
OK…I am not a fan of stinging insects. (I’m sure those who are are few and far between!) Anyway, this past week I have been working to clean up around where we stack our wood. Now I haven’t been stung (thankfully!) and I haven’t even seen a nest but as I was working I saw, what I would classify as, a hornet! I guess technically they are a part of the yellowjacket wasp family – it is commonly known as the bald-faced hornet but one of its names is the Blackjacket. Regardless, I jumped back and scrutinized my surroundings. I saw none but the one on the wood but from then on I kept my eyes peeled for any others. I sure didn’t want to give them any reason to sting me!
Lord, why don’t we respond to sin that way? You would think that once we are “stung” by sin, we would want to avoid it. But no, we go back again and again regardless of the pain and misery that is inflicted. It would be different if it only stung us once, but like the Blackjacket, sin can sting over and over again.
I also read that they can squirt venom from the stinger into the eyes of nest intruders. The venom causes immediate watering of the eyes and temporary blindness. Doesn’t sin do the same? Its venom blinds us – it may be temporary but eventually we sin so repeatedly that our blindness no longer fades.
Lord, I may have been the fool but I am so grateful that, no matter how many stings and squirts I’ve taken, that Your grace overrides them all.
Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
T’was blind but now I see
Aug 31st, Thurs, 7:13 am
Building Materials
I have come this morning to bask in Your presence, to soak up the warmth of Your love, to be filled to the cusp of my being with Your wisdom and to begin the process of being a channel to the world by which You can disperse these great blessings to the world. Please help me to treasure our time together more and more.
Ephesians 2:19-22 (<<click the green )
God’s family is compared to as “God’s house”. We are part of something far greater than ourselves or even our local church. We are part of a structure begun long ago by God himself. Our foundation is the apostles and the prophets and Christ is the cornerstone. We are not some hodgepodge of odds and ends thrown together with the hope of it all “miraculously” making sense, but (as the NLT puts it), “We are carefully joined together in [Christ]” – no happenstance, no luck, no pipe dreams but CAREFULLY assembled for a specific purpose. As the notes on this passage alluded to, this is so the world can see who God really is (LOVE!) and that harmony can be achieved – through Christ!
Oh, Great Master Builder, help me to fit into Your master plan. Help me to be used for Your purpose. Enable me to bring to You other useful “material” – others – who will allow themselves to be used by You to be a “building” that all the world can see and be drawn to for Your glory!
April 24th, Fri, 6:38 am
Today’s picture is of a home being constructed by a group of men from the Cypress Bible Church in Cypress, Texas for two families in Juarez, Mexico. My brother-in-law Chuck is on the far right and my son, Massey, is behind the camera. ?