He Always Delivers...

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Gen. 21:1


Genesis 21:1-7 relates the story of Sarah becoming pregnant and having a son who was named Isaac.

Two phrases about the faithfulness of God seem to jump out and grab your heart in the introductory statement relating God’s promise to Sarah.


…as he had said…what he had promised….

I cannot remember one time in scripture where something God had promised didn’t come true just as he had said (unless there was a covenantal condition that wasn't met).

Trusting the promises of God, doesn’t mean that you are constantly taking a blind leap into the primordial sea of uncertainty. Faith has its foundations built into the soul by the Spirit of God so that hope is grounded in something steadfast and sure. Yet, I have doubts and fears sometimes – what about you? This, however, can never be attributed to any lack of God’s faithfulness. God knows my frame though – my limitations in seeing behind the curtain are natural and rather normal, don’t you think?

Your uncertainties, like Sarah’s, when first told that she would have a son, do not preclude …as he had said…what he had promised… My weakness ... Your weakness doesn’t scare God. When everyone forsook Christ, as prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 53), this didn’t keep God’s redemptive purpose from transpiring - just as he had said and exactly as he had promised.

Surrounded by God’s tenacious love, you can be comforted in that He incorporates your struggle ultimately to bring laughter/joy into your world. You can laugh in sheer delight reflecting on your struggle in the face of God’s promises. How funny you and I are at times. We take ourselves so seriously. We wring our hands saying, “O, if I was just more holy then what God has said and what he has promised would have a better shot at making it. Yes, we see it now. We get it. It’s ok. We learn and grow, and look to the future with hope and expectation.

“…God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” Genesis 21:6 


Have a thankful Thursday!!

Let It Go!

Some of you know about the abbreviation I use to help me avoid the pits of ruining today's peace: L.I.G.  
When I make a mistake, I strive to correct it and then LET IT GO so I can move on to the next thing.  If some grumpy soul interrupts my glorious day, I roll my eyes, brainstorm an illusion about why he/she was so rude (just got fired, lost the car keys, received bad news) and then I LET IT GO.

Sometimes I forget, and end up needlessly infecting my life with undo amounts of junk.  A little bit of "nervous anticipation" about possible negative outcomes is part of life; we just need to be intentional about how much we WORRY and how much we ENJOY TODAY. 


Pray ... then LIG!!!

Words to Stand On

"Your words have stood men on their feet; you have helped the tottering to stand." (Job 4:4)


Tell me if that is not one of the finest attributes one person could ever pay another!  What power words have...

When Eric Plumb entered the fourth grade, he missed the first two weeks due to a case of the mumps. As a result, he never caught on to the math they were studying that year. The teacher was a crabby, negative, cruel woman who was retiring at the end of that school term, the worst possible representative of her profession. She pounced on Eric and held him up to ridicule at every opportunity. When he missed an answer in arithmetic, which was often, she would say, "Eric is dumb. Eric Plumb is dumb. Eric Plumb is plumb dumb." The students laughed at her put-down, no doubt glad someone else was her target for a while. To no one's surprise, Eric grew to hate school.

Not until the tenth grade did something happen to change Eric's perception of school. It was an English literature class, just after lunch when students and teachers alike had trouble concentrating. During a discussion of Shakespeare, the teacher was stunned to see Eric raise his hand for an observation, something he had never done before. When he finished, she said, "Why Eric - how perceptive." For the rest of the day, Eric basked in the glow of those words. "Perceptive. She thinks I'm perceptive."

Eric says, "I'm not going to tell you I became class valedictorian as a result of her comment, and I still hate math. But that one word from my English teacher turned around my self-confidence and helped me believe that maybe I wasn't the total loser I had come to believe. I became a different student for the rest of my schooling."

Cut down by one teacher; stood up by another. The incredible power of words. No wonder Scripture describes the Word of God as a two-edged sword.   In a sense, all words are double-edged with power to cut and power to heal.

A couple of years ago, Frank Pollard retired from a lengthy pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Mississippi. This man is so accomplished a speaker that Time magazine once named him one of America's top preachers. Most people are shocked, however, to learn of his humble beginnings. Frank tells it on himself.

When Frank was a child in Olney, Texas, a man named Claude Olney sought him out for his Sunday School class of ten year old boys. He introduced Frank to Jesus, the greatest thing one person can do for another. Then, when Frank was in college and God called him to preach, practically no one believed in him. His classmates wondered how someone too shy to speak to them could ever stand in a church and address crowds.

When Frank gave his first sermon, instead of coming up to shake his hand, people headed for the doors. Only one man in town, Mr. Beverly King - the richest man in the little community -walked up and bragged on him and told him, "I know you will make it." In college, Frank worked as a janitor of the Baptist Student Center and when no one else was around, would preach to the empty seats. He grew discouraged and frequently thought of quitting. And he would have, except for one thing. Every week, Frank Pollard received a postcard from Mr. King back in Olney saying, "I love you, Frank. I believe in you. You can do it."

Frank Pollard confesses, "I am in the ministry today because of that man."  A man whose words stood him on his feet.

Standing people on their feet with words is a most Christlike thing.

Jesus said to a paralytic, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And he did. He said to a fallen woman, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." To a thief dying on the cross, Jesus said, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise."

Bill Glass was an All-American at Baylor and an All-Pro defensive end for the Cleveland Browns football team. These days, he spends a lot of time in prisons telling men how to be truly free by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. I first heard him over thirty years ago tell of a great lesson he learned early in his football playing.

"When I started playing football in school," Bill said, "I thought when you got knocked down was a good time to get some rest. Then I realized you get stepped on and fallen upon, so I started getting up. Then, I began to notice that in college and pro ball, most of the tackles are made by people who were either knocked down and got back up or knocked off balance and kept on going." Bill paused and said, "Now, there's a parallel in life. The devil knocks you down through temptation or hurtful words from someone or your own foolishness or a hundred other things. But it's not enough for him to knock you down, he's got to keep you down. And the way he does that is by working on your guilt."

"'Some Christian you are,' the devil tells you. 'What if the people down at the church could see you now. They'd be ashamed of you.' And he keeps you down. But then, someone comes to you and says, 'Hey, friend, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9) Get back up and get into the game!' You hear that and believe, you confess it and reaffirm your faith in the Lord Jesus, and you get back into the game."

As long as you are flat of your back, wiped out by your own sin or the cruel words or harsh treatment of another, lying there in your misery and self-reproach, the devil doesn't have to worry about you. You'll do the Lord no good and the enemy no harm. But the moment you start believing the Lord and stand up and re-enter the game, a cheer goes up from the grandstand. (See Hebrews 12:1) A champion is back and ready for the next play.

I have not always spoken healing words that stand people on their feet.  For many years, I took delight in cutting people down to get a laugh. Eric Plumb's cruel teacher had nothing on me. 

Someone needs to hear words of love and affirmation from you today. Don't assume they already know that you love them. Tell them.

When Fred Rogers was a little boy, his parents would take him into the country for brief visits with his Grandfather McFeeley. Sometime during the visit, the wonderful old man would take the child aside and say, "Freddie, never forget that I like you just the way you are. Don't ever change. God made you this way, and you are something special."

Mr. Rogers lived the rest of his life telling children all over the world how special they were. Standing them on their feet.

Have a great week, and make a habit of using your words to "stand them on their feet!"

Think about it...

I asked God for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy;

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;

I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for; but, everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Admiral Chester Nimitz

Independence

It's Official! 2011 is now half over (or is it half full?).  In fact it's only 176 sleeps, 10 hours, 12 minutes & 25 seconds until Christmas!  WooHoo!  Can you believe it?!!

The 4th of July is a time for great celebration, but we sometimes lose sight of its true meaning. The following gives us all a better understanding of the sacrifices made by those who helped create this great country we enjoy today.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.  Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. 
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and be thankful to these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid!!


Have a safe and Happy Independence Day.  Just remember - Freedom is not free!  Somebody paid the price for you!