Power and Wisdom

God gives power to those He will. And He gives it to the lowliest of men. Pray for the leader who thinks he's in power by his own doing--by his own merit. God is able and willing to humble the proud.

God gives wisdom to those He will. And the wise to whom He gives wisdom are the ones who realize how little they know. Pray for the leader who trusts in his own wisdom or in the wisdom of other men who are just as arrogant as he is. God is able and willing to humble the proud.

Statesmen are those who embrace their calling to humble servanthood. Everyone else is just a politician. Men without a shred of real character.

His Delight

As you know, one of God's good gifts to me in my "old age" is The Acres. The beauty that I see every day reminds me of His continual work to make all things beautiful--that day will come soon. On my walks--though I almost always take them alone (on rare occasions a friend, or sometimes a student friend from my past has joined me. They are always welcome.)--I am never alone. One of my constant prayers is that He always immerses me in a sense of His presence. And He does.
One of the truths He has been reminding me of lately is that, as any Father, He delights in His children. I am sure that when my Gardening Angels have planted a surprise on The Acres for me to "stumble" onto that He and they are just watching as delighted as I am when I "find" it. He gives us so many things to enjoy that we take for granted. I hope I never miss a moment of joy that He has planted along my path--at The Acres or anywhere else. Many times He and I have laughed in joy together at a new unexpected beauty in a flower or in the heart--and face--of one of my students. Yes, He delights in us. And I hope you know it's "us." You, too, are His delight--one of His children that brings Him great joy. He sees you--knows you--as His beautiful child.

Divine Appointments

Had a lovely afternoon having lunch with "old" friends. They are not old in the least, but it has been awhile since I have seen them. Jeff and Pam Stone--some of you may know them. Gorgeous people. I taught all their children--and they survived. "Old" friends are good for the soul. I used to teach a weekly Bible study in their home. Great memories. I also had a couple of "it's a small world" encounters. Eating at the same place where we were meeting were the Coughlins. They have graciously allowed me to lovingly torture their beautiful daughter Kennedi for two years now--with the hope of two more! Lovingly torturing students is a marvelous calling. I highly recommend it. And our waitress I had just met last summer--one brief moment--at Sam Bechtel's graduation party. (Yes, we were eating in Delaware.) She wants to teach, and some of her friends have been telling her not to do it! I, of course, told her to ignore the pagans and teach. Though James warns of extra accountability for teachers, if you can somehow by God's grace "convince" one young person that the only life that makes a difference is the life of following Jesus no matter what then teaching is worth any "risk." I'm assuming, perhaps presumptuously, that the Lord wanted me to encourage her one more time to pursue her heart for the classroom. So, naturally, I encouraged her half a dozen times--at least. Perhaps thirty years from now I'll run into her again somewhere, and she can tell me what a blessing her life of teaching has been to her. =) Yep, the Lord gave me a lovely afternoon. Old friends with whom I have been blessed to share a friendship rooted in our mutual love for Christ, a family with a daughter that I love who has a heart for Jesus. And one of those divine appointments that God is always surprising you with since we're not very good at filling in our own "appointment" books. This old hermit had a gorgeous day interacting with people. You just never know. =)

Fear Not

I believe there is a direct correlation between the depth of a man or woman's--or even a nation's--fear and the depth of their faith in God. Oh, not the depth of their faith in any god, but in THE God. THE God looked at the world and all its hatred, injustice, oppression, violence, self-reliance, covetous materialism, deep self-centeredness, constant fear and anxiety over a tomorrow over which they had no control and a yesterday whose choices with their consequences were rapidly gaining on them, and decided--not what I would have decided: to blow the place up and start all over--no, decided that such a world needed love and forgiveness and a hope as sure as He Himself. Surely, to look at the history of this world and think that humanity must solve its problems, rid the world of its oppression and injustice, bring about peace and selflessness is delusional--it should scare an honest man to death. The history of the world is that things are going from bad to worse.
But Christ on Calvary lovingly offers a man, living in such a world--hope. He or she need not be afraid. And the sure hope He offers is for today, for right now, as well as for the eternal future. Right now I can love in a hate filled world. Right now I can serve others and not live a life of self-centered indulgence. Right now I can refuse to pursue the lust for stuff. Right now I can raise my voice and use my body and my stuff to fight oppression and injustice. Right now I can set aside my fears of yesterday. "Surely," He promises, "My goodness and mercy will pursue you all the days of your life." Surely, I can rest in the truth that man can do nothing to me that I need fear. Surely, I can rejoice in the truth that all my tomorrows are part of His plan for good and that nothing can happen or be done to me that will separate me from His eternal love.
He who refuses to believe that the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of infinite love and infinite goodness is in control of the history of this world--moment by moment, he who refuses to believe in the God who willingly died to give man a sure hope can only tremble in fear. The triumphant march of evil cannot be stopped by self-centered, evil humanity. Not once in the history of the world has man come close to defeating evil men, their evil choices, and the evil consequences.
But, He who puts His faith in the One who defeated sin, Who destroyed any chance of evil's final victory, Who empowers us through His Spirit to defeat evil each day, Who even put to death death itself, need never fear. Christ IS the victory that overcomes the world--today, tomorrow, and forever. Faith in THE God allows a man or woman to live a fearless life committed to resisting evil and confident in love's inevitable final victory over all evil.

"Fear not. In this troubled world I will fill you with My peace."

"Fear not. I have prepared a place for you so that where I am, there you can be also--for all eternity."

"Fear not. I will never leave you or forsake you--today, tomorrow, and during that eternal day when we will once again walk--fearlessly--in the Garden of My love.

Two Gifts

Sorrow and loss are two of God's most precious gifts to us.

Sorrow that we might know the world and feel empathy with a sinful world deep in sorrow. Without sorrow, I could not love in the darkest tests of faith--when those I love and those I am called to love--my neighbors--are in deepest need of a caring heart and a helping hand. The world says that sorrow is proof that God is not good; maybe even that He doesn't exist. And that is why men and women struggle to love sacrificially when and where it is most needed. And for as long as it's needed. Only men and women acquainted with grief are qualified to be comforters in a world desperately in need of comforting with a comfort resting in hope.

Loss is the road to a deepening knowledge of Him. "I count all things loss that I might know Him"--that I might be conformed to His likeness, that I might gain an intimacy with my Savior unencumbered by the things that steal away my love and my reliance on His love.. And to know Him is to love Him is no cliche. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Celebrated with praise be the name of the Lord." Let us adore Him who draws us to His side as the One we need in a world where the temporary is adored--with an "adoration" that fills a man and women with emptiness.

Sorrow--that we might so love the world.

Loss--that we might more deeply know and love Him who is all we need.

Sorrow. Loss. Resplendent gifts from the Father--the Giver of Good Gifts--and only good gifts.

Reflections from July 2017

Reflections:

Regardless of the consequences--imagined or inescapably real--there is only one option.  Obedience.
__________

He keeps His promises.  Always.
__________

You cannot change the world.

But by acts of kindness, gracious words, and a sense of peace, you can touch lives each day with His presence and His glory.

And so . . . change the world.
__________

Men judge the success of a ministry by what they can see.  God looks at a man or woman's heart.  Faithfulness is His measure.  May Jesus find us faithful.
__________

Moment by moment He stands before the Father as your Advocate--your Defender.  And His defense of you is His righteousness.
__________

Do you understand that as His temple everything that you do today is meant to be an act of worship?  Your day is sacred.
__________

Contentment:  "It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me."
__________

You cannot live a victorious Christian life without full surrender.  Daily.  "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give."

Ask Seek Knock

Prayer is asking, seeking, knocking. Asking in humility, acknowledging that only He can meet each need--that we are in total dependence on His goodness as our Father.
Seeking, committed to the pursuit of His Kingdom and His righteousness as the priority in your life--through His answer to your prayers you desire the furtherance of His Kingdom not yours.
Knocking--a fervent, persistence to know Him more deeply through the fellowship of prayer--a deep desire to count all things but loss in order to more fully and deeply understand His character and His will.

Ask--receive

Seek--find

Knock--an open door.