Who is in Charge Here?

My thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways My ways,

saith the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8.9

During my career years, I must say that there were times when I wondered who was in charge at my place of employment.  Often, there may be problems in an office when someone who is  the boss, chairman, director, or whatever the title, is not present for some reason.  Many times, employees will take advantage of authority being absent and the work day isn't as productive as it should be.  It's easy for chaos to reign where there is no structure, boundaries or some capable person in charge of things. 

The same comparison can be made when viewing some American homes.  Children must have order, rules and boundaries. Respect for authority is taught in the home by example, spoken word and consequences that are meted out when authority is not obeyed.  I have taught in Christian schools at both elementary and secondary levels.  I could tell you after just a short amount of time what the authority or lack thereof existed in a student's home.   If there are healthy authority figures missing, that affects children wherever they go and affects their total person.  What many Christian parents don't consider is that a child's view of God and His authority is often based on a child's view of parental authority and respect for parents that has or hasn't been learned in the home.

Today on this earth walk billions of people.  Of course, these people are scattered out over various continental expanses so we aren't all on top of one another.  Even under the best of circumstances, people who are living in their own geographical areas are still divided from others by miles, language or culture.  At best, even when narrowed down as we are in our own places, we need order and someone in charge so as to provide organization and hopefully, appropriate behavior.  People have often turned to kings, emperors or presidents all of which have failed miserably.  We are already aware that on this planet, no matter where we are,  many problems exist...wars, famine, weather crisis, rebellions, economic collapses, health issues of many types, unemployment, crumbling of families, and with all of this comes fear on every side.  We want to cry out, "Who on earth is in charge?"

It was one evening last December when a niece of mine and I had an interesting conversation.  We were both at the time at my sister's home.  My niece told me of her recent visit to a special area of Scripture and her encounter with the subject of the sovereignty of God.  As burdened as she was with her mother being ill, she had gone in the Scriptures to the book of Job and found there some helpful insight.  As burdened as I felt, I must admit that the book of Job just wasn't a Bible book that was inviting to me at the time.  However, she had come to the latter part of the book of Job (32-41) where after Job's "friends" had spent hours vebally beating up on him, another friend of Job's by the name of Elihu spoke up pointing Job to God.  It was at this point that God also spoke up.  Through my niece, I was encouraged to go to those chapters.  I sat up that night in bed reading them, two times if I recall.  I will always be grateful to my niece for sharing her thinking with me and because of her insight, I was blessed, and yes comforted in my reading.

Thus, in the last several months, I have been visiting and revisiting that doctrine of our faith, that being the sovereignty of God.  Those last three words strike us as being so far above our heads, we can't grasp any of it.  I certainly would not be able to scratch the surface on the subject of God's sovereignty...volumes have been written on the subject.   From a feeble human standpoint, there is some of it we can understand if we care to.  If any pastor were to announce that this coming Sunday, he would preach on "The Sovereignty of God," I wonder how many people would even care to show up.

If you want to know Who is in charge of everything and Who always knows what He is doing down to the most finite atom, read Job chapters 32-41.  One can't help but read those chapters and be warmed by the fact that God is alive, well and definitely in charge of everything and does it all in love.  It's a series of verses that assures us that even though things may be "catty-wampus" in our lives for the moment, God never loses sight of the plan He has for each of us.  How thoughtless it is as well as unloving and disrespectful to ignore God in the workings of our lives.  When it comes to His funcitoning in our every circumstance, we almost become athiestic Christians.  We wander around in a state of hopelessness and despair wondering about the what's and why's of our circumstances, even forgetting our sovereign God.  Make a list of every possible attribute of God you can find or think of... each and all of them would come under the umbrella of God's sovereignty.

I must admit  that there have been many times in my life when I just could not grasp the why's of  things going on in my life.  Many times I've had to say through tears, "I don't understand this" and I know He wasn't offended although I know He desired my trust just as I, a human parent always desired the trust of my own children.  God knolws our frame, that we are mere dust.  Yes, He desires our unquestioning trust, but a huge responsibility rests upon each of us to so know and love God, that we would never question His working in all that affects us..

God isn't just God.  He IS sovereign.  That is the word that makes all the difference.  Throughout history, there were times when kings were referred to as "sovereigns."  Many times referring to them as kings would  be omitted because that word "sovereign"  said so much more.  When something or someone is sovereign, it means that there is nothing, no one or no thing higher in authority or power in that persons realm.  It is thought that such a person knows all and controls all.  He has the power to make anything happen.   Such an earthly authority may be referred to as "sovereign" but in reality, there is no sovereignty above or beyond our God.  As we look at world events, we should remember that fact.

Any of our meditation on the sovereignty and power of God should strike in us a deep feeling of awe and the deepest of respect.  It should also for some evoke a feeling of fear.  If we are in right relationship with God, we will stand in awe of His capabilities blended with the very deep love God has for us and we for Him.  Nothing is ever out of His control.  In God's vocabulary, we will never find the expression, "oops."  He never wrings His hands over a situation.  He never says, "Well, I missed that one."  You would never hear Him say, "I wish I had thought of that."

When I think of God's sovereignty and providence, I often go to Psalm 139.  There we see our God in action, working on our behalf, knowing every intimate thing about us...not a dozing, inactive, unknowing God.  Some things about Him in Psalm 139, I've listed below, but read the psalm for yourself and bask in the wonderful knowledge of our God who is in charge and is always functioning on our behalf:

V 1....He knows me and He searches out everything about me that no one else can do.

V 2....He knows every move I make and every thought I think.

V 3....He knows my every way and path.

V 4....He knows every word I speak  (Don't like this one)

V 5....He is all around me all the time and has His hand on my life.

V 8....No matter where I go, God is there.

V 10..I am being led by Him at all times.

V 12..Everything is as light to Him, no darkness...He continually sees all things going on.

V 13-16...God was knowing and involved in my pre-natal beginnings.  Even then, He knew all about me, as well as all about my future days.

V 17  God thinks about me...His thoughts about me cannot be counted.  WOW!!!

V 23-24...God knows my spiritual condition at all times.  He knows my thoughts and sees any wickedness that is in me.  Despite that, He continues to forgive and lead me in the way everlasting.

I have come to know that there is absolutely nothing that can touch my life unless it is first filtered through the fingers of God.  Nothing could touch the life of Job except with God's permission and even Satan was limited by God in what he could do to Job.  Nothing is out of control in our lives and we can feel the utmost in security with God even though there will be things that come into our lives we don't understand.

Now I must ask us...can we put our full confidence and trust in God who is all things to us?  Psalm 139 doesn't begin to touch on His sovereignty and greatness.  We live in a day when many pastors have greatly watered down who God is to the point that Christians think little if anything of His greatness.  For me personally, one of the greatest definitions of God in His sovereignty was His own explanation of Himself when He sent Moses to Pharoah.  He told Moses when he went to talk to Pharoah to say that  I AM sent him.  How can anyone top that...I AM that I AM...and that great I AM has stepped down to have a relationship with you and me.  You and I can have as much of God as we want.  There are no words to express how special and  blessed we are!!!

Prayer:

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty:  for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as Head above all.  (I Chronicles 29:11)

Amen and Amen!

CAN I REALLY RELATE?

Blessed be God, even the Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father

of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,

that we may be able to comfort them

which are in any trouble, by the

comfort wherewith we ourselves are

comforted of God.

II Corinthians 1:3,4

The day for our college student spiritual retreat had finally arrived.  Every detail had been worked through and things had come together as they were meant to.  We had reserved a very large, old lodge out in the country where the landscape was very bleak and cold. Wouldn't you know it, a huge snow storm hit the area about the time students began to arrive.  We soon found that the lodge wasn't really constructed with a very good heating system and the hot water heater was also grossly inadequate to take care of the cooking and grooming needs of 150 college students.  Despite some inconveniences, we had all safely arrived and were ready for the Lord to do a work in our hearts.  I had been on the planning committee, had even written the music for the theme song of the retreat and was pianist for the retreat as well.  We had prayed as a committee toward this time and things were looking good.  The committee arrived early to make preparations of meeting rooms, kitchen, etc. and we continued being busy through the arrival of participating students.

Then something happened in me that was almost frightening.  I was surrounded by exciting people...students, a few college faculty members, speaker, workshop leaders and lodge personnel, but I found myself feeling about as down as I had felt in a very long time.  Oh, I understood the let downs when a project is completed, but it was a down that was borderline depressing.  I sat alone at a table pretending to look over some music when Stan, a friend who was chairman of our committee sat down by me and asked me what was wrong.  I gave him the usual lie we tell people that nothing was wrong but he read right through me.  I finally told him that an unhealthy case of the blues had hit me that I couldn't explain.  Stan was one who seemed to always have all of the answers but wasn't haughty with it..  He proceded to give me his observations and steps I should take to pull out of the dulldrums.  He closed with the usual, "I know just how you feel."  No he didn't.  He may have gone through something similar, but to know just how I felt...WRONG!!

We've all heard that phrase that Stan shared with me no matter the test, problem or experience we were going through.  Someone always has to say something to try to make us feel better and they often do more damage than good.  I'm afraid  I've been on the giving end of that too many times.  People face different problems that many times involves loneliness or loss, for instance:

*  My neighbor Lester lost his wife of 62 years to cancer this last September.  He's lonely.

*  My friend Karen just sent her son and daughter off to college.  Life is difficult right now.

*  I just moved away from people I love dearly and I miss them.

*  I have two nieces whose mother passed away in January...loss and adjustment.

*  A friend I have, recently got news from a surgeon she didn't want to hear.

*  My sister told me about a couple who had their small dog stolen from their back yard.

*  A young missionary couple went on the foreign field for the first time away from all that's familiar.

*  A young mother just gave birth to her first baby but her husband is overseas in Afghanistan.

*  A business man has been gone for a week to a distant state.  He misses his family.

Our list could go on and on of things people go through that may be small things to us but, it isn't to the person experiencing the problem.  We live in a world where it is sometimes hard for people to relate to others who are going through major and perhaps traumatic events.

Here's what concerns me about us.  We can look at the above list and try to say words of comfort and encouragement to folks we have some things in common with.  I haven't lost a spouse but I have sent kids off to college.  I've never had to give birth to a baby with my husband not present, but I have been on extended mission trips away from friends and family.  Whether we can relate to any of those instances listed or others, there are some words we must be careful in speaking..."I know how you feel...Been there, done that" and whatever other quicky and clever things we can think to say when we mean well.

Can I relate to Karen (on my above list) who just saw her two children off to college?  I can relate as I recall driving a daughter across country to a university.  I sobbed all the way home and most of every day for a month.  Do I know  exactly how Karen feels in her quandry of emotions?  No...because  those feelings are unique to her and where she is in her life right now.  We are all uniquely different and even though we've had similar experiences, we will never really know exactly how the other person feels.  In communicating with Karen she said that rather than people asking, "How are you doing?"...or..."Are you okay?"...she would rather someone had just come up and given her a hug.  In this process of adjusting to a new situation, Karen has learned some things to do and some things not to do when she tries to help people who are going through a similar experience as she has been.  She is more knowing now as to how to minister to someone who may have to go through something similar to what she has gone through.  She, like many of us, has been taking courses in the "School of Ministry" and hasn't realized it.  I can somewhat relate to what Karen is going through with seeing children off to college because I have gone through that experience.  I know the sting loneliness and loss will smart for awhile for Karen, but the Lord in His faithfulness will see her through.  I think I know some of where she will be a year from now, but I won't tell her that now.  She will know.   She will come across a teary mom next August that will be taking her high school graduate to college for the first time.  Inside Karen will smile a  knowing smile because she will know a little about comforting that mom.

So what do you and I do, if anything?  For one, we can drop the cliches, the cute little things of comfort that everyone says because they can't think of anything else to say.  I have said to some:  "I've been through something similar to your situation and know you must be hurting."  To one lady I knew well, I said, "You go ahead and cry and I'll pray."  There are some things people have to walk and live through...things that are just a part of living, but that are hard none the less.  People need to know they can trust us with their feelings.  There are very few people who ask me how I'm doing with whom I can trust a statement of need.  There are many times I would like to say, "This has been a really hard day."  I know there are friends in my life who after I make that statement never ask for details but who, I know, will pray for me.  Those people are rare jewels in my life.

No matter the areas of life that are so difficult for us, they equip us for ministry.  I have been convinced for years that our various experiences give us a "license to comfort."  Paul explained this as clearly as anyone can.  God had comforted him in all of his trials and through that comfort, Paul learned how to comfort others with the same comfort he had received from the Lord.  We must never waste a single thing that enters into our lives.  We are to be busy about ministering in the lives of others.  God will give us wisdom as we function during these times of ministry.  What a privilege is ours to comfort others with the comfort that we ourselves have received from the comfort of God. 

Try something...sometime, sit down and list those places you have been in your life that gives you a special license to comfort.  Some of these might be:  death of a loved one, breast cancer, divorce, errant child, parent of special needs child, caregiver of elderly parent, unfaithful spouse, fired from job, and the list could go on and on.  It will be amazing how the Lord will bring folks across our paths for whom we can be an encouragement.

Dear Father,

Things have happened in my life that have made me wonder why You allowed them.  You knew who would cross my path later who might be walking a path I have already walked.  Help me to be sensitive to Your wisdom as well as to the needs of others around me.  Thank You for the way you comforted Pau,l for then he could extend that comfort to others.  May it be true also of me.  Thank You so much for all the ways You have comforted me and seen me through some very difficult days.   Thank you, my Father.....Amen

KNOWING HIM

That I may know Him,

and the power of His resurrection

and the fellowship of His sufferings,

being made conformable to His death.

Philippians 3:10

Many of us could write books on the spiritual facts we have accumulated through the years.  By spiritual facts, I am suggesting that for years, many of us have been in church, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, Bible studies, seminars and conferences of all types that have contributed to our having brains full of spiritual information.  We still might be able to win any Bible drill challenge if our arthritic fingers could turn pages fast enough.  Preachers and teachers of the Bible are folks who to some extent are at risk in this accumulation of Bible facts.  We teachers study week after week using our Bibles, concordances, dictionaries and commentaries.  We may even look up several words in the Greek and Hebrew languages.  We might show people our well-marked Bibles.  With all the input that's been available to us, something would be wrong if we didn't pick up even the most basic of Scriptural information along the way.

I know people who can give you by memory many of the Hebrew names for God such as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, etc. and they know what each one means.  I'll be the first one in line to pat them on the back.  I too have learned some names for God or synonyms for Him such as Redeemer, Protector, Lord, Savior, Almighty, etc.  What I am thinking is that if you and I were to put our heads together and blend what we have learned about God, we could write quite a book, but so what?  We should know by now that having all the facts about someone doesn't mean that we really know them intimately.

So...sitting in my special by-the-stream-under-the-trees-spot, and busily reading my Bible.  I revisited a verse that I have taught in the past to some of you who read this as well as to others who have never heard me teach.  You have already read the verse that is the basis for the theme of this article that you see under the title of this article.

The apostle Paul's sole/soul desire was to know Jesus Christ with everything that was in him.  His list in that verse doesn't consist of facts.  He knew if he was to know Jesus, it was going to be an experiential thing.  Some facts and information were of course helpful to Paul, but along with those facts, Paul knew that if he was really to know Jesus, it would be in three experiences of his life.  The same is going to be true of us if the same thing is truly our hearts desire to  know Jesus intimately.

We first have to make a decision just as Paul did as to how much we want to know Jesus.  Paul communicated in words his strong desire to know Jesus.  By the way, it's a very powerful thing when we verbalize spiritual desire.  With my desire must come my desire to get past all of the knowledge and facts and almost start at a beginning in this process.  This is going to happen through our drawing close to Him through prayer and the Word of God.  It will take time, energy and a whole lot of "want to."

Paul mentioned three experiences in that verse he knew would be required if he were to know Jesus.  Paul in our key verse uses the word "and" NOT "or" so it is through all three experiences we will come to know Jesus well.  These experiences are:

The power of His resurrection.

When you and I are at our weakest point despite what situation we face, I wish we could come to grips with the fact that the same Holy Spirit who resurrected Jesus from the dead is the same Holy Spirit who resides in you and me here and now.  That fact is true only if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.  At that moment, the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us.  So we have Holy Spirit power to live this Chre.   When we don't make use of that power we become prime candidates for living lives of defeat...which thrills Satan to no end.  We must pray for power and then make use of it when He gives it.  What frustration it is to try to live this Christian life of ours in our own strength.  It just can't be done, plus it's such a waste of energy in the attempt.  The Holy Spirit wants to empower us in every situation of our lives.  He wants to strengthen and love us through the hardest of times.  He can see us through anything life presents to us.  He wants to be instrumental in our spiritual growth as well.

The fellowship of His sufferings.

This is a tough one.  Not one of us goes looking for a  time of suffering.  Some say that misery loves company and I think at times, that's true.  Several years ago I fell and broke my right wrist.  I got over it but it was tough going for awhile.  I have a friend Priscilla, who broke her left wrist.  I didn't know this had happened until she showed up at church in a much prettier cast than I had been given.  Because both of us had very similar fractures, we both went through very similar therapy requirements after both of our casts were removed.  On Wednesday nights at the church supper, we would sit and talk about our experiences.  We could sit and almost shut others out as we talked about our broken wrists.  Although we loved our friends who were around us, those dear friends couldn't relate.  We had both been through something that no one else at that supper table understood.  In a sense, we could fellowship because of our common suffering.

A lady in my church came to me in March of this year.  I knew her name, but nothing

more.  She wanted to let me know that she knew my sister had passed away in

January.  She went on to tell me that she was also the oldest of three girls in her family

just as I was.  The sister just under her had suddenly passed away a couple of years

prior to my sister.  She too had felt close to her sister.  She wanted me to know that she KNEW  what I was going through.  Every now and then, she would hand me a Bible verse on a card, or send an encouraging greeting card to cheer me.  We didn't personally know each other well, but there was a fellowship between us that was quite unique.  Ours was a fellowship of suffering.

When you and I are persecuted for righteousness sake, we can relate with Jesus as He

went through the same things.  When Jesus was betrayed, we can remember that Jesus was as well.  When He suffered unimaginable physical suffering, we  know Jesus understands when we do as well.  He suffered mental anguish...so do we.  We can understand and know Jesus better when we view our own sufferings through those of Him.  There's nothing of our suffering Jesus doesn't understand and we should make every effort to understand His as well...thus we fellowship in His sufferings.

 Being made conformable to His death.

Have we died lately?  Paul said "...I die daily."  Every morning and probably during the

course of his day, Paul died to self.  This is one of the hardest deaths to die.  I will always contend and won't even debate with anyone that Jesus died in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It wasn't the physical death He would experience in a matter of hours, but it was in that garden He died to His own desires.  Remember that He was a human bein g.  A part of being a human being is the drive to survive.  That night though, Jesus prayed to His Father, "Not my will, but Thine be done."  Jesus died to all self desire in that moment.

I have heard people talk about how much they would do for Jesus.  Some claim if they

became millionaires, they would give sizeable offerings to the church.  For now though,

they rarely drop even a few dollar bills in the offering plate.  Others claim they would die

on the spot for Jesus if called on to do so.  Peter gave Jesus a similar promise just prior

to Jesus going to the cross.  Jesus had to sadly tell Peter that he was about to deny Him three times before the morning crow of a rooster.  We may think or even speak in a big way as did Peter, but what about the simple things we can do...turn a TV dial away from an inappropriate program, refusing to take part in questionable social events,  or living a life of separation from the things of the world.  And please don't ask the average American Christian to attend church on a Sunday evening.  Isn't that asking a little much?  Bottom line is that Jesus gave all for  us...can we do less for Him?

Do we REALLY know Him in an intimate relationship?  If not, why not, and what will it take to get us even to the point of wanting that relationship.  I'm tired of all the facts even though they come in handy every now and then.  I don't want all of that to cloud my view of the reality of Him in my life.  I want to know Him...really KNOW him!

Let me add a PS to all of this.  If we even come close to those three disciplines Paul gave in that verse, we will be surprised at the doors of opportunity that will open to us to minister in the lives of others.  As we come to know Jesus in power, suffering and being dead to self, others will be drawn to us and perhaps be changed themselves in wanting to know Jesus in depth for themselves.

Dear Jesus...

Forgive me for the times I give you the backseat in my life.  I really do want to know you in every way possible.  I know alot about you but I want to know you as I never have in my life.  Help me to let go of my own desires and to walk in close fellowship with you consistently.  Forgive me, dear Jesus for the times I refuse to put you first and not letting go of my own desires.

I love you, dear Lord.

Amen.

LITTLE THINGS

Charge them that are rich in this world,

that they be not highminded,

nor trust in uncertain riches,

but in the living God, who

giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

I Timothy 6:17

For several years, Corrie ten Boom has been a heroine of mine.  I did a cursory reading of the book "The Hiding Place" several years ago and was intersted enough to watch the movie that was made for TV, adapted from the book.  I was shocked that this movie was even aired on one of the major television networks because of the strong Christian content in it.  I have in recent days been revisiting that book, doing a more in depth reading of it.  The book deals with the treacherous times during the Nazi takeover of Europe, the persecution of the Jews and of those who made every effort to protect them.  Such was the case with the ten Boom family who hid Jews in their home during those perilous days.

Eventually, the ten Boom family was arrested and for a time, placed in prison before being taken to an extermination camp.  Mr. ten Boom only lived a couple of weeks as he was already 100 years old at the time of being arrested and was in failing health.  Corrie and her sister Betsie were put in prison.  Corrie was in solitary confinement most of the time as she was considered the ring leader of a part of the underground movement in her town.

Corrie had not had time to grab the small suitcase she had prepared with items she thought she might need if arrested and had only the clothes she wore when taken.  The ten Boom family was not rich but their clock and watch business had done well.  Corrie had never had to go wanting for the basic necessities of life.  Now she had poor surroundings, very bad food and hours in solitary confinement with none of the music, books and fellowship she had known in her home.  Corrie was reduced to nothingness except for the fact that she had Jesus.  Despite the worst of circumstances, she had her Savior and she knew He would see to her every need. 

One of the main things Corrie desired with all her heart was a Bible and she saw no hope of ever getting one.  Under the Nazi's, it was very hard to get a Bible, especially the Old Testament.  They wanted no teaching or learning about the Jewish people done at all.

One day when taken to see a doctor,  (Corrie had been very ill even at the time of her arrest), she met a sympathetic nurse.  The nurse had to be very careful in talking to Corrie, but asked Corrie about any need she might have.  Remember now that Corrie was down to nothing and think of all the things she could have asked for, but she told the nurse she really wanted a Bible.  At the end of the day of processing Corrie medically, as she was about to leave, the nurse handed her a small package, too small to be a Bible.  It slipped easily into her coat pocket.  Corrie determined to be grateful for whatever was in the package.  Upon returning to her cell, she opened the package and found two bars of soap and a package of safety pins both of which were treasures in prison.  Tucked under the soap, however, were four very small booklets...Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  It wasn't the whole Bible but Corrie rejoiced in having those portions of God's Word.  (At a later time, she would receive a small Bible in a care package from a relative that she kept in a small bag with a long string worn around her neck.)

As I have thought of Corrie, I have been giving thought about some little things in my own life that I rarely consider on a day by day basis.  I think of how much I take for granted and yes, think about my expectations when it comes to the things of life.  Brian and I live in a nice duplex right now anticipating the building of our new house.  Corrie lived in a cold, drafty barracks.  I slept in a nice bed last night while Corrie in prison had a mattress filled with spoiled and rottten grass or hay to sleep on.  I can go get a drink of water whenever I want.  The water Corrie was forced to drink, you and I wouldn't wash clothes in.  I have food in a refrigerator while most of the time Corrie ate hard black bread, watery turnip soup with a potato thrown in it.  I have needles in a sewing kid, safety pins in a drawer, soap in a soap dish and hand lotion enough to bathe in if I wanted to and she had none of these.  I've thought about the times I've moaned over a hangnail.  If I pop a button on a dress, I'm aggravated, but I have needle and thread to fix it.  Do I appreciate color in my life.  It's all around me but Corrie had mostly varying shades of gray in her life.

Do I have an appreciation of life itself or do I take every breath for granted.  While in solitary, Corrie had little human contact, so her good friend in her cell was a little ant that came up through a crack in the floor for any crumb she might have to leave for it.  You and I can phone a friend, mingle with people at church or even stand in a check out line in a grocery store with people ahead of and behind us.  Those two sisters would have given anything to attend a church service.  Many Christians today debate on Sunday morning if they are even going to go to church (and don't ever ask them to show up on Sunday night).  Look around at the little things in your life that would be huge losses if you didn't have them, or might be luxuries in the lives of others right now who live in great need.

By Him therefore let us offer the

sacrifice of praise to God continually,

that is, the fruit of our lips,

giving thanks to His name.

Hebrews 13:15

Most of all, in reviewing my blessings, a really big thing in my life is that I have my own copy of the Bible.  In fact, I have several Bibles on my bookshelf that I have used regularly through the years or have for reference purposes.  I can read it whenever and anyplace I want, and can enjoy the study of it privately in my home or with freedom in my church.  I've never had to hide it for fear of being arrested or my Bible being destroyed by ungodly authorities.  May God have mercy should I go a single day, deliberately not reading it unless I am too ill to do so.  Let's always remember that through the years there have been people who have given their lives that this Bible we own might be preservbed for us to read and enjoy.

O how love I thy law!

It is my meditation all the day.

Psalm 119:97

In the whole process, Corrie lost her sister who died in a poor excuse for a hospital.  Corrie was on a list for extermination mostly because of her age, but through a secretarial "error" was put on a different list to be released from captivity.  She lost her sister, father and other members of her family, but she rejoiced in that she had Jesus.  She spent the rest of her life writing and traveling the world telling others about Jesus and His love for each person..

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am so thankful for all Your goodness in my life, but I know I tend to look at the petty things of life.  I am so remiss in regularly taking inventory of all the blessings You have given me and ask Your forgiveness for being so ungrateful.  Thank you for Your Word and may I never take for granted having my own copy of it.  Help me to take notice of little things all around me that I know I owuld miss if they weren't there.  Grant me an attitude of gratitude.  Thank You for Your constant love and forgiveness.  I love You and am grateful You are my Father who takes such good care of me.    Amen.

IN DADDY'S SHADOW

We live in a world of shadows.  Shadows are things we don't pay much attention to unless we are looking for a place with shade, which is another type of shadow.  A shadow is a reflected image so it's not the real thing being reflected.  When the sun beats down on the leaves of trees, we may see a clear outline of a leaf reflected on the ground below, but we know the shadow isn't a real leaf.  Either way, we are grateful for those shadows when we need protection from the burning hot sun.

Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my favorite chapters in Scripture is Psalm 91 and has been for years.  When I write letters or notes to people, I usually write "Ps. 91" down in one corner of the paper.  This Psalm holds a wealth of blessing, security and encouragement.  It helps me tremendously in knowing God better.

The first verse of Psalm 91 says:

                             He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
                             shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Dwelling doesn't mean I'm just dropping in or temporarily residing in the secret place of the most High.  It means that I'm living there.  That's my place because I am His child.  The extra benefit of that is that I'm also in the shadow of the Almighty.  Wow...what a place to be...  cuddled up to Him, in secret with Him and abiding in His shadow...who could ask for more.   However, it is my choice day by day how close I stay to Him because He never moves.

I received a bicycle for Christmas when I was 9 years old.  It was a used one that Daddy  repainted bright red.  I knew it was used but I didn't care.  It was mine.  I couldn't ride it for about three months because of all the snow that year, but when the time came, I hit the road.

The street in front of my house was covered with gravel which didn't make for the best bike riding.  However, the street in the next block down was concrete.  On one particular day, my Mother gave me permission to go there and ride my bike.  It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and I knew my Daddy would be home by 5:00 for supper.  That gave me a half hour to ride a long oval path on that street all I wanted.  I was cautioned to either watch for Daddy's arrival home or to listen for one of my parents to call me to supper.

On that first day of riding on that nice concrete street, there on MY concrete block showed up two big boys on their bikes.  They were REALLY big.  I think they may have been 12 or 13 years old.  I'll just call them Mutt and Jeff.  Mutt rode to one end of the block and Jeff rode to the other end of the block.  They started riding their bikes back and forth there at their corners.  When I got near to the end of the block nearest my house, Mutt told me that he couldn't let me pass.  I rode down to the other end of the block where Jeff told me the same thing.  These were not the days when children worried about someone hurting them or anything like that, but I became nervous about what Mutt and Jeff had said and what they were doing.

When I rode back up to the end of the block near my home, Mutt told me that I had broken the law by riding my bike on their block.  I didn't know I had broken any law, but back then we were very sensitive about breaking laws or rules and doing the right thing.  Riding to the other end of the block again, Jeff told me that he had called the chief of police to come and arrest me because I was a law breaker.  With that, there was a panic that began to set in.  Jeff told me that I would be put in jail probably for a long time.  Today, you could tell elementary age children these things and they would laugh at you, but I lived in a more innocent time.

In this whole process, my Daddy had come home from work, but I hadn't seen him go around the corner and up into our driveway.  Time had gone by quickly with this particular bike ride and I had lost track of time.  The sun was beginning to go down in the west although it was still quite light outside.  The sun's beginning to set should have been a signal for me that supper time was near.  What was I to do?  I couldn't get out of that block because Mutt and Jeff wouldn't let me go.  To make things worse, they had called the police who would show up any minute to arrest me and put me in jail for years.  I couldn't run off from the police and have them coming to my house to find me.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice, "Glendarae, it's time for supper...let's go."  It was my Daddy.  I hadn't noticed that he had walked about halfway down the block to get me.  I saw that Mutt and Jeff ceased their vigils immediately at their ends of the block.  I was so relieved to see my Daddy.  I began to ride toward home.  Daddy told me to stop and get up on the sidewalk with him, which I gladly did.  He then said for me to just ride my bike slowly in front of him, that I was happy to do..  I didn't know if Daddy had seen my predicament or not.  He didn't say anything to Mutt and Jeff and he never mentioned the incident to me again.  I also didn't know what to do about the police looking for me but with Daddy there, I knew he could take care of everything.

There is one big thing in this incident that I noticed even as young as I was.  As we moved slowly together toward home, the sun in the west was shining at the back of my Daddy.  I looked on the sidewalk and saw that I was riding my bike in my Daddy's shadow that was falling in front of him on the sidewalk.  For that short distance I made a game of just steering right where I could stay in his shadow.  That shadow wasn't really my Daddy, but I knew from that shadow that my Daddy was right behind me.  In my Daddy's shadow, I knew everything was okay.

When are you and I going to learn to live so close to the Almighty that we are always right in the bulls eye of His shadow.  In His shadow, we are close to our Father.  All of the Mutts and Jeffs of life can come and go, but in our Father's shadow, we are safe and secure from any threats this world may pose.


Dear Father...
I know  I am always happiest when I am snuggled up to You in the secret place of Your presence.  I have no desire to dwell or abide anywhere other than under Your feathers.  It's under Your wings I can trust and be free of fear.  You are just too wonderful for words.  Thank You for protecting me from the Mutt's and Jeff's of life and for providing Your precious shadow in my life.  I thank you and I love You, Father.     Amen


A STUDY SUGGESTION...

1.  Read through Psalm 91.  If you have a Bible you don't mind marking in, circle all of the words that are either names of God or descriptive words for Him.

2.  In verses 14-16, God is speaking.  Underline the "I will's" that are His promises to you and claim them as your own.

3.  Make note of verse 11.  I come back to this one often.  I need a whole band of angels on duty all the time to keep me safe.  This verse is a sweet promise to me of my Father's care.  It's a promise for you as well.