Good
Monday morning to one and all and welcome to another week of tiptoeing through the maize of life which is a privilege here on this
24th day of January, 2011. I know some days don't feel much like a privilege but as Granny Mac used to always remind us, you almost always can find someone worse off than yourself. I'm not saying we should seek others worse off so that we can feel better about ourselves, it's just good to know that many times we are not dealing with stuff that others haven't dealt with themselves. In other words, we don't have to sing that old 'why is everyone picking on me?' song every day. There's a passage that tells us that most of what we all deal with day in and day out is pretty much common to us all. (See 1st Corinthians Chapter 10) It's called the human experience. Speaking from Romans 15, our pastor said yesterday that within our family of believers there are folks in all types of situations. Some are dealing with illness, family challenges, job stresses, economic issues, while others are on top of their game right now. Still others are more or less in the middle, just rocking along. This is the fabric of life and within our community of faith we are to dole out help as we can and we are to receive help when we are in need. The doling out is much easier than the receiving is what I have found in my experience. He also said for those who are not under the gun at the current time, hang on, it is subject to change in a heartbeat. His message was about how God has designed His family to be equipped to minister to each other as needed. For us to be able and not help is a failure to use the resources God has given. For us to need help but not share that need is a failure to access the resources God has provided. Very powerful and very timely for us all. Is that a call I hear ringing? Could it be God? Maybe I should take it.
I suppose that sermon was of particular importance to me because one of the things I am working on in this new year is in being a better member of my local family made up of the believers who are a part of our assembly. Yes. I am very active in the work and ministry of our local fellowship but there is a difference between working and in exhibiting the level of love, compassion, and caring that God has ordained for His people. The illustration given by the Apostle Paul is very striking. He, by inspiration, gave us the word picture in saying we should be so much in tune with each other that when one hurts within the body, the whole body feels the pain. (1st Corinthians 12) That sounds hard. That's because it is. It actually sounds next to impossible. That's because from a human perspective, it is practically impossible. However, that chapter is where the Apostle shared how that it was God's Spirit that provided enabling within the local body, therefore, we know that with His enabling we can. Knowing that doesn't make it a slam dunk because we still have to do battle each and every day with the enemy. And, I'm not only talking about that 'the devil made me not do it' fellow. How about the number one reason most don't yield to this enabling power, it's that old me, myself, and I that really messes things up. Okay, that's enough of my version of true confessions for one day and if I keep on talking pretty soon I'll be humming that tune again, 'why is everybody picking on me?'.
I am in a count my many blessings mood this morning. Driving through the rain this morning over the hills and through the woods to my workplace, I was thinking about the many blessings God has provided to me. I thought about my immediate family, my mom and dad, my siblings, my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and my great grandchild. I thought about the family within our local fellowship, so many dear people, that have been there for us over the years. I thought about my health, my ability to work and to have a place to work. I thought about the country God arranged for me to be a part of, the freedoms we have, and the opportunities that are ours to pursue. I concentrated on individuals like the good wife God gave to me, the people who handed down their testimony and encouraged me to pick up the baton and make my run for the Lord. Of course I felt compelled to dwell on thanking God Himself for His great love with which He loved me, in that He would send His one and only Son to die for me, even while I was a rebellious and unrepentant sinner. Complaints? I could force myself to come up with a list of those as well but that list would be small indeed compared to the blessings that God has given. I started out the new year praying back to God Psalm 145 through 150 and I continue to start many of my days that way. It helps me folks and I believe it can help anyone who will allow the praise of God to adjust both their attitude and their altitude. Try it. It may be awkward as you work through the wording but the more you pray back to God these inspired praise hymns, it is the more you sense His working in your life, and that as they say back home, will do a body a whole bunch of good!
Amen. ......More later.
I suppose that sermon was of particular importance to me because one of the things I am working on in this new year is in being a better member of my local family made up of the believers who are a part of our assembly. Yes. I am very active in the work and ministry of our local fellowship but there is a difference between working and in exhibiting the level of love, compassion, and caring that God has ordained for His people. The illustration given by the Apostle Paul is very striking. He, by inspiration, gave us the word picture in saying we should be so much in tune with each other that when one hurts within the body, the whole body feels the pain. (1st Corinthians 12) That sounds hard. That's because it is. It actually sounds next to impossible. That's because from a human perspective, it is practically impossible. However, that chapter is where the Apostle shared how that it was God's Spirit that provided enabling within the local body, therefore, we know that with His enabling we can. Knowing that doesn't make it a slam dunk because we still have to do battle each and every day with the enemy. And, I'm not only talking about that 'the devil made me not do it' fellow. How about the number one reason most don't yield to this enabling power, it's that old me, myself, and I that really messes things up. Okay, that's enough of my version of true confessions for one day and if I keep on talking pretty soon I'll be humming that tune again, 'why is everybody picking on me?'.
I am in a count my many blessings mood this morning. Driving through the rain this morning over the hills and through the woods to my workplace, I was thinking about the many blessings God has provided to me. I thought about my immediate family, my mom and dad, my siblings, my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and my great grandchild. I thought about the family within our local fellowship, so many dear people, that have been there for us over the years. I thought about my health, my ability to work and to have a place to work. I thought about the country God arranged for me to be a part of, the freedoms we have, and the opportunities that are ours to pursue. I concentrated on individuals like the good wife God gave to me, the people who handed down their testimony and encouraged me to pick up the baton and make my run for the Lord. Of course I felt compelled to dwell on thanking God Himself for His great love with which He loved me, in that He would send His one and only Son to die for me, even while I was a rebellious and unrepentant sinner. Complaints? I could force myself to come up with a list of those as well but that list would be small indeed compared to the blessings that God has given. I started out the new year praying back to God Psalm 145 through 150 and I continue to start many of my days that way. It helps me folks and I believe it can help anyone who will allow the praise of God to adjust both their attitude and their altitude. Try it. It may be awkward as you work through the wording but the more you pray back to God these inspired praise hymns, it is the more you sense His working in your life, and that as they say back home, will do a body a whole bunch of good! Amen. ......More later.
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