Exodus 4: 10-12, Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

Good Tuesday morning and welcome to the world where we embrace the day and this particular today is registered as August 2, 2016. If you have been reading along with me of late you know that I discovered a young singer for the Lord that I now follow. His name is Christopher Duffley. He was born drug addicted, blind, and later diagnosed with Autism. God has placed within this 15-year-old young man a gift of moving audiences as he openly sings worship to the Lord God above. He is very busy doing appearances and conferences. His story is amazing. Just like the song, Amazing Grace. As part of their family ministry, he does a weekly podcast where he interviews people in ministry and those committed to serving God and making a difference in the lives of others. The other day he and his mom interviewed the para-professional lady, named Lisa, who helped him so much as a special needs child in elementary school. She learned Braille so that she could teach him. She was first to see him potty trained. She contributed so much of herself to this child. They had a program at the school to honor veterans. Christopher was to sing the national anthem. He was a second grader. They had to keep him outside in the hall because the noise was too much for him. When they brought him in and everyone stood up for the anthem, it was his first public singing of the song we all learned as kids. The para-professional lady began to weep as she told how this little kid had everyone in the room crying, including the veterans, as he belted out the song. They all sensed that even with all his liabilities, God had something very special in mind for this child. Christopher's mom said that Lisa was only one of a countless number of people that gave so much to help their adopted son to grow and develop. Today, he continues to inspire wherever he performs and I am so thankful to God for him, his family, and for all those who contributed to his life. It reminds us that God can use what seems to be unusable to reach people and bring great honor and glory to His Name. With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) Amen.

Many days when I am feeling a little downhearted I pull up some of the worship songs by Christopher Duffley and he always helps to refocus my thoughts. We need to be reminded that regardless of the situation or circumstances, we have so much to rejoice over and to be thankful for. Waking up every day and reading the latest headlines is enough to make anyone see their shadow, crawl back into their bed and cover up their head. However, as we studied together this past Sunday morning, God would have us to have a different response. The Apostle Paul wrote an inspired letter to a local called out assembly of folks, (typically referred to as Church today), meeting in Thessalonica, Greece. Some of these folks were Jewish and because of their expressed faith in Jesus, they had been ostracized by their Jewish families and the community in general. Others had been pagan in worshipping false gods. Having found Christ, they now found themselves at odds with their former associates. They woke up each day to some serious concerns and persecutions. What was God's message to them through His Apostle?  "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (First letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verses 16-18) My take: Knowing God through His Son Jesus transcends all that we face in this life, and we have Him as our help each step of the way as we complete our sojourn here. Amen.

I'm certainly not sermonizing here because as I see it, I'm first in line in need of God's provision of grace, mercy, and love, every moment of every day. Never would I want anyone to think that I am looking down from some kind of elevated perch, spewing out religious gobbly gook to them. I may not know others very well, but, I can assure one and all, that I know all too well the fellow who writes this stuff each day. That, me-myself-and-I fellow. Therefore, when I feel a need to share a particular matter of spiritual importance, you can be sure that I most likely have experienced it before I share. It's more than a we-are-all-in-this-together situation. It's the reality that every human being, individually, must deal with as it relates to recognizing, responding to, and accepting God's provision through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. While I've used it many times in my writings, sorry, but, I grew up hearing that old song that says "It's me, it's me, it's me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." I actually heard it playing in my head in the background as I wrote this final paragraph. I'm thankful that He is always there and while I can never be absolutely sure about myself, I know that I know that I know that I can count on Him. Amen. .....More later.