I CAN

Philippians 4:13

ll of us have at one time or another spoken the two words above. Perhaps we've been asked what, when or how we can accommodate another person's cry for help or who perhaps just needed a favor done. Please stick with me on this.

I CAN...

Most of us would consider ourselves to be pretty capable and even self sufficient. At my age, I know there are a lot of things I am able to do for family, friends or myself. Such abilities have come through education or through the hard knocks of life itself. We're never totally self reliant but we like to think we are.

DO ALL THINGS...

The danger of putting literal stock in the first two parts of a verse is that we really can't do all things. I appreciate someone's desire to do all things for folks they can do, but there are limits how far each of us can go. For instance, although I have very capable and knowledgeable acquaintances, I can't think of a one I would want do perform brain surgery on me. I know I'm not bound for mars nor will I ever be asked to be president of an Ivy League university. However, I CAN DO with efficientcy what God has called me and equipt me to do. By the way, we can do much more than we think.

THROUGH CHRIST...

Now we get to some nitty-gritty in that there really is nothing we can do of any sufficiency without the strengthening of Christ in our lives. There's so much more I desire to know about Jesus. I know I haven't even scratched the surface of even the basic knowledge that is available to me about Him. Our faith would increase in abundance if we knew Him beyond the usual Sunday school stories we heard as children. Have we progressed beyond those days in really knowing more about Jesus?

WHO STRENGTHENETH ME...

Any other strengthening we seek on our own, will only be fleeting. We'll never know on this earth the strength and power available to us through Jesus Christ, not just forvarious tasks but also in the serious ups and downs of life. In these days of my life, I've come to know more and more when any strength I have is not of my own making but can only be from God himself. I have no strength in myself to keep me going. THUS...

I can do all things, through Christ

which strengtheneth me.

I praise You, my Father for not just past days but for every moment I am the benefit of Your strength. I know I can count on Your continued love because You are love. Thank You for all You are in my life even in this moment. Thank You Jesus for all You have sacrificed for me. In Your name I pray...Amen

WALK ON

He hath shown thee, O man,

what is good; and what doth the

Lord require of thee, but to do

justly, and to love mercy, and to

walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:8

While sitting in my chair and just moments ago, my eyes dropped to my right hand where I see Brian's wedding ring on one of my fingers. I have worn it since the night he went to Heaven. I was just recalling, while during our wedding ceremony, I tried to put the ring on his finger, but it wouldn't go on because his finger had swollen. He didn't struggle with it for public sake, but just held his thumb to the back of it to hold it on until we got down the aisle.

We didn't leave the altar as some might. We had a male soloist sing the song, “You'll never walk alone.” He sang that as we stood facing each other holding our hands together. I'll never forget how Brian looked in those moments. We left to slowly walk down the aisle as the soloist got to the words “Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart and you'll never walk alone.” For some naive reason, I thought our walk would last much longer than it did.

We all have our own private walk in this life. We may be surrounded by spouses, children, friends and even perhaps some enemies but we're still walking. Our walks might be filled with joy, happiness, and anticipations of future bliss. Perhaps we have found in this walk of ours that there are stones in our path, tree roots and small gullies any of which could cause broken legs or even broken hearts. There are those who add joy, love and maybe some humor as we walk, but the opposite can be true as well. That's just life.

Considering this walk of ours, Scripture is pretty clear as we read the above verse regarding God's expectations as we walk this walk of ours. He has shown us and made clear in His Word all he considers to be good. He especially tells us to be people who are just and who love mercy. In our day, both can be a challenge, but not for Him as He walks with us. The big thing is at the end of the verse, where we are expected to walk humbly with our God. That means that you and I are to relinquish the top shelves of our lives to our Father who is the only one worthy to be there, whether in our lives as individuals or in the lives of others the world over.

You and I are to walk on...with hope in our hearts...knowing we will never walk alone. Our loving Father walks in step beside us and also finds ways to even walk ahead of us while beside us. Don't ask me how He does it...I just know from experience that it's how He is. So let's keep walking... with hope in our hearts, a hope that only our Father can give to us.

Thank You Father for human memories that warm our hearts. We also are reminded of the sweet memories we have of You walking us through our days. May we please You by putting others first, serving and loving as we've learned through Jesus' example...in Whose precious name we pray...Amen

 

SWEET SMELLERS

Now thanks be to God who always

leads us in triumph in Christ, and

through us diffuses the fragrance

of His knowledge in every place,

For we are to God the fragrance

of Christ among those who are being

saved and among those who are

perishing.

II Corinthians 2:14:15

My daughter and I were talking the other day about perfumes and how there seems to be a kabosh on wearing such, especially in church...classes, choirs, Bible study groups, etc. It used to not be that way. Ladies loved smelling good although some at times went a little overboard with the splashing-on process.

Scripture tells us that as we triumph in Christ, we take on a special fragrance that can only come from Him. This isn't a fragrance we can purchase at some perfume counter but one only that comes from a deep relationship with Him. That fragrance comes in the form of His knowledge and has influence on those being saved and even on those who are not.

Mrs. Clifton was our babysitter when I was working on a church staff. She cared for both of our girls five days a week. On Wednesday evening, she would bring them to church with her and would check them into the nursery. She had bathed the girls and dressed them up cute as could be. In the nursery, there was one noticeable thing and that was how the girls smelled. They smelled of Tabu perfume. She too had bathed and a routine of dressing adding touches of Tabu on the neck and wrists. My girls smelled of Tabu for at least a day and how could that have happened? My girls smelled of Mrs. Clifton because she had held them, cuddled them and had drawn them close to herself all the time from the perfume she was wearing.

I must hasten to add here, though, that we must avoid becoming a “stinkin' Christian.” I've known some who may backslide or just tend to take on the things of the world and not of Christ. Our goal should be to exude that sweet fragrance of Christ at all times. Those saved around us will be blessed and the unsaved just may be drawn to Christ, the sweetest aroma of all time.

Dear Father, thank You for holding us in the hollow of Your hand and for the privilege of being as close to You as possible. What a privilege...being Your child...Through Jesus, our Lord. Amen 

GOD IS ALREADY THERE

And the LORD, he it is that doth

go before thee; he will be with thee,

he will not fail thee, neither forsake

thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8

Let me say on the onset, that I'm well aware that Moses was the recipient of the promises in this verse to be passed along to God's people. I grow a little weary of folks complaining about how others take Old Testament statements out of context. Let me say this, there is nothing wrong with referring to the above verse simply because it deals with God's character. What we see in that verse is who God is from eternity through the present on into eternity. I love any verse that speaks of God's character that is applicable to any place, any time.

Sooooo...I wonder in our lives, how many times, God knowing our every minute of life, has gone ahead of us to prepare things for when we arrived at the planned destination.We are usually surprised to find that God has already been there knowing everything about everything.

About four months before Brian's Home going, we were at the Billy Graham Cove for a seminar. At the end, when folks were busying themselves to leave, a woman approached me and put in my lap, a beautiful quilt. Brian had gone around the corner to get me something to drink for our trip so wasn't right there yet. The lady explained that she sews quilts as a ministry often making one a day. This one was almost the size of a twin bed with no overhang. . She dearly loved how God led her to one she should give a quilt to. I sat stunned with the lovely quilt in my lap. She didn't want to give me her address, as thanks from God would be enough.

Little did she know, nor I, that in about four months, I would wrap myself up in that quilt any number of times to just feel the love of it. Brian was a hugger and I missed those hugs. I hadn't made much use of that quilt until those days of Brian's Home going and even now to feel hugs of love that quilt gives is so comforting. That lady probably wasn't a teacher or leader of note, but now, these months later, the Lord knew from that moment she put that quilt in my lap that I would need and appreciate it.

My personalized car license plate hadn't arrived in time for the expiration of my present one. I was so concerned but went to purchase another one at the county court house. The lady who was waiting on me, went to get me a plate to do until my other one arrived. She came back with a strange look on her face. My personalized plate had arrived just a half hour of my arrival. How could such a thing happen? It would seem I had a Divine appointment with a license plate. I would still have gotten the plate but it was God who knew the time and place that both were all His doing. I left that building in awe, knowing God had already been there ahead of me. He often does these things in all our lives and we may chalk such times up to coincidence. With God, there is no such thing.

Dear Father...You overwhelm me with Your love and care for me and in the lives of my friends as well. May we be quick to see Your working in our today's as well as our tomorrows. I praise You and give You all the glory in it all. In Jesus' precious name...Amen