Right On Time!

Psa 40:1 "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry."

As a young boy, my dad taught me to be prompt. If I am late I can guarantee you that something completely unexpected has happened to prevent me from being on time. I would rather be an hour early than to be one minute late. Now, not everyone is like that I know. Some people make a point of being "fashionably late". I never understood that term. Late is late and that is never a good thing. To me, it is as if the one dragging in late is saying "I am more important than you, so you can wait on me". That thought may never enter his mind, but it sure seems that way to me. Some people don't want to be late, but they don't want to arrive early either. They set their departure time to come rushing in just at the last second. You are wondering if they are ever going to be there. I know, you saying "it's getting late, get to the point". Okay, here it is. God, is always right on time. Not one second late, not one second early. We can't be that way, because we do not have control of the situations, but God does. He knows exactly when the best time is for Him to show Himself faithful. When we have specific needs that are based upon a deadline, we worry and fret, wondering if we will be able to meet our targeted time frame. We want that need met early, so we can relax a bit. God wants us to trust Him to the end and not try to work out the details by ourselves. Waiting on God is resting time. That is why the prophet Isaiah could say "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength". Isa 40:31 So, when you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, just take it easy. Help is on the way and will be there right on time.

I Am So Blessed

Job 42:12 "So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning...".

I was telling our Church a while back about how very blessed I have been in this life. I was born into a family that soon became a Christian home and I was raised in Church, along with my brother and sister. We weren't sent to Church, we were taken to Church. I was raised in a small farming town without all of the pressures of the big city and large school systems. I have always loved sports and God allowed me to be able to participate from my childhood even until now, and share that love with my children. God brought a wonderful, beautiful, intelligent and very talented woman into my life and privileged me with the opportunity to make her my wife. Later, God permitted me to be a part of His ministry in the pastorate for almost 30 years and that wonderful wife has truly been an asset beyond compare. Now, before you think that I am bragging, let me assure you I am not. To me, this is one of the greatest explanations of "Grace" that I could ever begin to express. I know just how unworthy I am to receive such bounty! Then, I think of Heaven and I realize that with all that God has given here on this sin tainted earth, it does not even begin to compare to what lies ahead. Paul wrote in Eph 2:8 "For by Grace are you saved...". We must accept that gracious gift of Salvation by faith, but we understand that it is unmerited on our part. I don't know what your life has been like, but I can tell you this without reservation, if you are on your way to Heaven at the close of this life, you too are so blessed. Take a moment and thank God for that. It is the season for Thanksgiving.

Hello, Is Anybody Home In There?

I Cor 10:1 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant...".

Sometimes we just don't get it! Let me illustrate. As the story goes, an old farmer and his wife had been married for over 30 years, but things just weren't going well so she convinced him to go with her to counseling. Immediately upon beginning the session, the counselor asked the old farmer when was the last time he told his wife that he loved her or showed her any affection? Quickly, he replied "I told her I loved her the day we got married. If I change my mind, I let her know". The counselor said "I think I know how to solve this problem very simply". With that he got up, walked over to the farmer's wife and planted a big ol' kiss on her. He turned to the farmer and said, 'now she needs that 7 days a week". The old farmer thought for a minute and said "I can get her here on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but she'll have to get her own way the rest of the time". As we chuckle at how silly that would be if it were to actually happen, the reality is far too often it does happen. We understand exactly what the counselor was trying to say and laugh because of how the old farmer took it. But, don't we find ourselves occasionally acting the same way when God speaks so clearly to us through His Word and His messenger? God doesn't want us to miss what He is saying, so He makes it very plain. We usually take it wrong, because we don't want to take it as He would have us to. Just as the old farmer didn't want to kiss his wife everyday, we don't want to do as God bids us. I can just see God seated there on His throne saying "hello, is anybody home in there"?

It's Just Tuesday.

Psa 8:4 "What is man that Thou are mindful of him? And the son of man that Thou visitest him?"

Today is just Tuesday. You know, one of the overlooked days of the week. We refer to Mondays, usually in a negative way, and we say that Weds. is "hump day" since we are now on the down hill side of the week And of course, there is good old Friday, which is the unofficial start of the weekend. But what about Tuesday? Well, its just Tuesday. That is really all we can say. Or is it? Sometimes we use that little word "just" to de-emphasize something that really shouldn't be. For instance, a woman who stays home to take care of her children often is referred to as "just a housewife". Now, that mother and wife knows that to be just a housewife is a very taxing and extremely important job. As a matter of fact, in today's world view, to be only a housewife and mother, without working a full time job is a very rare occupation. It should be honored rather than de-emphasized. There are other areas, too, where man has taken away the, so called importance, of a lesser glorified job or one that isn't in the spotlight. The one factor of these jobs is that they are usually of great importance in the grand scheme of things. For instance, the CEO gets the praise while the janitor or maintenance personnel are often forgotten, until something needs cleaning or is broken. My point is this, there are no "justs" with God. We are His Creation and He made us as we are. If you are His Child through His saving Grace, then you are a Child of the King - and that carries a great deal of prestige, regardless of what you do in His Kingdom. No, its not just Tues. , it is TUESDAY!

Some Questions Just Don't Need To Be Asked

Heb 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is..."

"It's Sunday, what shall we do today?" This is a question that bothered me for a long time. I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home and from the time that my parents received Christ as their Lord and Savior, that was never a point of consideration. We got up on Sunday and got ready for Church just like my dad got up on Monday and got ready for work, or we got up and got ready for school. Once I became a Pastor, the inconsistency of people became more and more evident. What bothered me was that people would actually discuss whether they would go or not. They often would then decide, not today, maybe next week. Now, here is what bothers me today. People don't discuss it - they just don't come. Before, it was at least a consideration, but now the thought of Church is the furthest thing from their minds.

So, why is it so important to go to Church faithfully? For a lost person, it is important, because that is where you can hear the Gospel and get saved. For the Christian it is important for a number of reasons. Church is where you can come out of the world and worldly people and have fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Church is the place where you can come and praise God for all He has done for you during the past week. Church is the place where you can learn more about God, which will increase your faith in Him. It is also the place where you can obey God in the giving of your tithes and offerings so He can bless you in return. By the way, to choose not to go to Church is to disobey God and keeps you from being blessed. Okay, lets try this again - It's Sunday, what shall we do?