THY WORD

All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for 
reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness
That the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished
unto all good works.
II Timothy 3:16,17

Before me is a 54 year old Bible, red leather, very worn.  It is the Bible Brian gave me the Christmas prior to our February wedding.  I also gave him one at the same time.  Thus, we began each with a book we both loved very much.  Our plan was to stake our marriage and lives in this precious book.  Mine is so marked up with tiny sermon notes, I don't know if I can even make them out or not.  My intent to is just use this particular Bible for a time.

Yesterday at Brian's homegoing celebration, the Bible was spoken of with regard to Brian's life.  He loved being a part of Bible drilling in his teen years with Youth for Christ.  Through the years, God's Word has remained important in his life as is shown by a consistent life lived.

Big deal, some might think, but God's Word is a big deal when looking at a life well lived having been such an influence on others.  The Word of changes us and then sustains us through every event in our lives.  In the front of this Bible, I copied a poem.  I don't know where it came from or who wrote it but it's good:

Thou truest friend man can every know
Thy consistency I have tried
When all were false, I found thee true
My counsellor and guide.
The mines of earth no treasure gives
That can this volume buy
In teaching one the way to live
It taught me how to die.

That was true for Brian and continues to be for me as well.  Today, the book itself is a precious treasure that came from the man I loved then and even now.  His godly influence in my life will always be a part of me.

Thank You Father for Your goodness in our lives.  You are good all the time and we tend to be very ungrateful.  You are a wonderful Father and may be recognize that through every event and season of our lives.  Thank You for Jesus in whose name we pray...Amen

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Wilderness Ways

...I am the way, the truth, and the

life:  no man cometh to the

Father but by me.

John 14:6

There are times we feel we are walking around in circles, in our own personal wilderness wanderings.  Life is just like that at times.  Several weeks ago, the Lord led me to a wonderful little book entitles WE WOULD SEE JESUS by Roy and Revel Hession.  It's a book very basic in this Christian walk of ours.  One of the chapters in the book is lengthier than the others.  That chapter deals with the above verse with concentration on the above verse.  They especially talk of one word in that verse....WAY.  It has been a wonderful new view of Jesus as our Way for that's exactly Who and What He is despite any of our circumstances.

Men are known for many wonderful things but a little thread that runs through most of them is that on a trip, they can be as lost as can be and won't stop to ask directions as to how to get on the right way.  We women have our ways to of being lost and refusing to ask for direction and insight.

Remember with me the following:

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,

All I have to do is follow.  (Repeat)

Strength for today, is mine all the way,

And all that I need to is follow.

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,

All I have to do is follow.

We sang that at one time in our churches and youth meetings.  It's an old chorus but with very up-to-date truth.  God has promised to never leave or forsake us.  All through the Bible we see God's capable guidance in the lives of every day people.  Some of those people found themselves wandering in a wilderness.  Most of the time, God was simply trying to get the attention of His people.  He would much rather lead us in our obedience than because of our sinful state.

Road maps I guess are about passe with all the gimmicks new cars have that can tell us where we are or where we need to go.   How foolish if we are given directions and don't pay attention to them. Our road map is the Word of God.  Through the Holy Spirit, we can be led especially through Scripture in the right direction.  When I think of what a wilderness is, I picture a desert place.  A wilderness can be considered being in a dense forest, swampland or anyplace where we are forced to be alone feeling there is no hope of rescue or salvation.

Let me remind US, that we have a God who doesn't want us wandering and feeling alone and lost.  He wants to be recognized, following His way.  His way is the only sure one but we have to be willing to trust and follow Him.  No matter our circumstances, I'm learning in my own present time that I want to see Jesus in my life like never before.  Join me as we take our Father's hand and allow His leading us out of our various wilderness wanderings.

Thank You Father for Your constant loving care along with Your  promise to never leave or forsake me. I don't know what I could do without Your leadership...may I follow...In Jesus' precious name...Amen 

 

 

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Take therefore no thought for
the morrow: for the morrow
shall take thought for the
things of itself....
Matthew 6:34a

I've always been a big reader. There have been books published through the years that have been very appropriate for where I was in life at the time. There were books for teens looking toward college. Lots of books came out regarding marriage, planning weddings and honeymoon trips. There were text books in school that prepared me for whatever my calling happened to be. Many books came out regarding the rearing of children and how to be successful parents. It goes on and on, HOWEVER, books regarding the aging process are very rare.

Looking at my earlier life, there were major decisions I made that steered me where I felt the Lord would want me to go. Most of my decisions have been necessary because they were looking to a future on down the road. However, now in my 80's, there really are fewer decisions for me to make regarding my future. It would seem that most of my life's decisions have been made...so what now?

As human beings, to a fault we have found ourselves looking back on past negative events. As miserable as such thinking is, despite the fact there is nothing we can do about the past, we still ponder those days. There is NOTHING we can go back and change. All we can do is learn from mistakes made.

We tend now to think about all of our tomorrows, days over which we have no control. We may have to make certain plans for our , but our future days are in God's hands and not in our own.

To a fault, we have looked back and forward without giving the best of our efforts to our todays. Our todays at times may seem to be filled with boredom, little activity at times. In fact, we may feel that God is finished with us and we will exist until He calls us home. I recently made a foldie for our Sunday school class that I believe is important for today. I even kept one of them for myself which I usually don't do. It says, “AS LONG AS THERE IS A PULSE, GOD HAS A PURPOSE.”

Our todays are the most important days we have. God will open doors of influence for us if we are willing and open to God's leading. The most important time we have to give for God's use is the “right now” of our lives. Take a minute... check your pulse.

Father, please make Your will clear and plain in our lives. May we stay open to serving You even though it may be different than we've been used to. Keep us reminded of your leading and presence in our every day walk. Thank You for our our today's. In Jesus name...Amen 

TAKE MY HAND

 

Thou wilt show me the path of life:
at Thy right hand there are pleasures
for evermore.
Psalm 6:11

Sometimes when I'm going through a hard time, my mind goes back 50 years to a telephone conversation I had with a dear man. At the time, I was the secretary to our church music pastor. He was writing a book regarding the stories by familiar hymns. As I recall, it was one of the first of it's kind.

My boss asked me to call a man by the name of Thomas Dorsey who resided in the Chicago area. Back then, you could call most anyone, anywhere at anytime with little if any red tape. Mr. Dorsey had written a then very popular hymn and I was asked to get the story. Fortunately, he answered the phone right away and I told him the reason for my call. He had a deep, melodic voice. I already knew he was a very gracious black man.

He relayed to me how he had gone to a distant city to help lead the music in a revival. He had left his wife who was expecting their first baby any day. She encouraged her husband to go ahead that they would be fine. Things weren't fine. Before he could get back home, his wife and baby both died in the birth process. After the funeral, he said he was more at a loss than he could explain or deal with.

Within days, he sat down at the piano, picking out a new tune with one finger. He said the melody just flowed and the words came flooding is mind and heart:

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on...help me stand.
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

The rest is history. His is a song of comfort and encouragement heard around the world. While in the deepest pit he thought he could ever be in, God took his hand, lifted him from those depths to be used in the lives of millions who needed his song.

Despite our despair or troubled times, we too can reach out, pleading for that gentle hand of our Savior to lift us and comfort us in the hardest of times. His hand is always extended to us no matter our pain. From all of that can come a beauty from ashes that cannot be explained.

Thank You Father, for Your strong hand in our lives. May we learn to hang on tightly, trusting the fact that You do all things well. In Jesus precious name....Amen