t important events from the past. Last Thursday was my baby sister's birthday. She would have been 56 years old had she lived but she went on to her reward after a struggle with leukemia in 1979. She was a shining light while she was here and will always be in our hearts as we anticipate seeing her again soon. Happy B
irthday Kayla! Yesterday our middle son, Jimmy and his wife Mindi celebrated their wedding anniversary. They have much to be thankful for and some of those blessings surround them every day. Their names are Jimmy Jr., Alesha, Amanda, and Alexander. Happy Anniversary Mindi and Jimmy!I saw a note in my calendar book that reminded me that we will soon be just one year from when we had the transmission go belly up on our Taurus. We were basically stranded with our grandchildren out on an isolated highway
near a huge lake in Louisiana and had to have the car towed to our kinfolk’s house nearby. We arranged to have someone come and bring us home and in looking at all the options available we decided to fetch the car with a rented tow dolly and bring it back to the metro area for repair. My eldest son and I left early one Saturday morning and when we got there it had been raining and the ground where the car wa
s parked was kind of soft. In the process of rocking the car forth and back to get it into the tire receptacles on the dolly I must have strained my breastbone, or at least I thought I did. The technician told us the transmission failure was freaky because it had nothing to do with wear and tear, it was a sudden, total collapse, perhaps some type of original flaw.
We had the car repaired but I continued to experience discomfort in my chest bone structure. I kept thinking it would go away but it didn’t. I struggled with
it for a couple of months and finally decided to go to the doctor to get an x-ray. While at the doctor, he asked how long it had been since I had undergone a complete physical and I reported it had been at least 10 years. He ordered up a full examination and discovered that I was a fully developed Type 2 Diabetic. The x-ray did not show any serious damage to the bone structure in my chest but the e
pisode itself led to the discovery of this disease early and allowed us to respond quickly with an aggressive treatment strategy. Could it be God?
Some will immediately say that I was sure lucky but to tell the truth, I am persuaded that God was involved in the unfolding of the events I have just rehearsed. I was reminded of this the other day when I heard a preacher talking about the life of Joseph as recorded in the Bible. He was emphasizing Joseph’s testimony to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Joseph told his
brothers that they had meant what they did to harm him but God had meant it for good, not only for Joseph, but in the end, for the entire family, including the brothers who had treated him wrongly. Sometimes problems happen but they have a deeper meaning in terms of how God uses them for our good. Could it be God?
I recently talked again to to a young dad in our Church I've mentioned before who is a high profile sales person who has enjo
yed tremendous success over the years. A couple of years ago he attempted to launch his own business and essentially lost his shirt. Since then he has bounced here and there and really hasn’t been able to return to the prosperous good old days. However, he said something that really impressed me. He said the last few years had been really bad financially, in fact, the worst, but from a spiritual standpoint they have been the very best. While it has been tough in making adjustments for him, his wife, and children, they are closer to God now and closer to each other as a result of this challenging time for their family. Could it be God?
I don’t know exactly why but I think often about how the Apostle Paul viewed his life after
coming to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. In the Galatians letter he said this: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.” You would have to admit that Paul’s ‘before’ went all the way back to his very birth but became defined by his ‘after’ which reflected God’s working out His plan for Paul’s lif
e. He had many detours along the way. He had pursued many well-intentioned efforts that fought against the very work he would one day give himself to. That’s exactly how our lives count for time and eternity. It is when we view the good, the bad, the ugly, and the entirety of all experiences through the lens of God’s love, calling, and plan for us! Look for His working in your life today, because He is! Could it be God? Amen. …….More later.
near a huge lake in Louisiana and had to have the car towed to our kinfolk’s house nearby. We arranged to have someone come and bring us home and in looking at all the options available we decided to fetch the car with a rented tow dolly and bring it back to the metro area for repair. My eldest son and I left early one Saturday morning and when we got there it had been raining and the ground where the car wa
s parked was kind of soft. In the process of rocking the car forth and back to get it into the tire receptacles on the dolly I must have strained my breastbone, or at least I thought I did. The technician told us the transmission failure was freaky because it had nothing to do with wear and tear, it was a sudden, total collapse, perhaps some type of original flaw.We had the car repaired but I continued to experience discomfort in my chest bone structure. I kept thinking it would go away but it didn’t. I struggled with
it for a couple of months and finally decided to go to the doctor to get an x-ray. While at the doctor, he asked how long it had been since I had undergone a complete physical and I reported it had been at least 10 years. He ordered up a full examination and discovered that I was a fully developed Type 2 Diabetic. The x-ray did not show any serious damage to the bone structure in my chest but the e
pisode itself led to the discovery of this disease early and allowed us to respond quickly with an aggressive treatment strategy. Could it be God?Some will immediately say that I was sure lucky but to tell the truth, I am persuaded that God was involved in the unfolding of the events I have just rehearsed. I was reminded of this the other day when I heard a preacher talking about the life of Joseph as recorded in the Bible. He was emphasizing Joseph’s testimony to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Joseph told his
brothers that they had meant what they did to harm him but God had meant it for good, not only for Joseph, but in the end, for the entire family, including the brothers who had treated him wrongly. Sometimes problems happen but they have a deeper meaning in terms of how God uses them for our good. Could it be God?I recently talked again to to a young dad in our Church I've mentioned before who is a high profile sales person who has enjo
yed tremendous success over the years. A couple of years ago he attempted to launch his own business and essentially lost his shirt. Since then he has bounced here and there and really hasn’t been able to return to the prosperous good old days. However, he said something that really impressed me. He said the last few years had been really bad financially, in fact, the worst, but from a spiritual standpoint they have been the very best. While it has been tough in making adjustments for him, his wife, and children, they are closer to God now and closer to each other as a result of this challenging time for their family. Could it be God?I don’t know exactly why but I think often about how the Apostle Paul viewed his life after
coming to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. In the Galatians letter he said this: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.” You would have to admit that Paul’s ‘before’ went all the way back to his very birth but became defined by his ‘after’ which reflected God’s working out His plan for Paul’s lif
e. He had many detours along the way. He had pursued many well-intentioned efforts that fought against the very work he would one day give himself to. That’s exactly how our lives count for time and eternity. It is when we view the good, the bad, the ugly, and the entirety of all experiences through the lens of God’s love, calling, and plan for us! Look for His working in your life today, because He is! Could it be God? Amen. …….More later.
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