Having a Good Name

Pro 22:1 A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold. If I have my name on it, I insist on it being of good quality. If God puts His name on it, we must insist on not besmirching it. If you're redeemed, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Make up your mind to mortify the deeds of the flesh and live in fear of the Lord. The only way of insuring a good name. Choose it.

On Trusting the Precious

Can you think of a time when your father purposefully hurt you, either physically, or emotionally? I mean these things happen in our humaness, but purposful hurt? Perhaps you're a father or mother, can you fathom being cruel to your children? Would you allow them to take a life path to their hurt or destruction? I am sure top side of the earth that there are some that may have, but this is very far from ordinary. I cannot imagine a parent that would lead their children to a cliff.

I am reminded of tradegies each day. A work associate and friend dropped an email; her teen nephew was struck by a motorist as he was riding his bicycle. One second he was alive, the next he was gone...just like that. A dear friend goes through a life shattering event and another is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. We struggle with financial difficulties due to loss of work or through external factors that eat away our investments. I am reminded at my office of the suicide rate of returning soldiers from the war. Having been a member of that small fraternity I can understand their internal struggles. I can honestly say that my faith in the Lord and His Person has provided a deep well during these barren times. I am sustained, because He sustains me.

Friend, God loves you. You may not be able at this time make any sense of your hurt or you may find yourself with more questions than answers but God knows your pain. I think of the prophet Jeremiah who was called to tell the people of Israel of their pending judgment. Forty years he prophsied and never won a hearing; he was beaten, cast into a miry pit, mocked but he never lost faith in the Lord. Listen to his words in Jeremiah 17:15-17: "Behold, they say unto me, Where [is] the word of the LORD? let it come now. As for me, I have not hastened from [being] a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was [right] before thee. Be not a terror unto me: thou [art] my hope in the day of evil." He waivered not because he knew that the Lord waivers not! If you are a child of God, let me ask you, would your Heavenly Father lead you to the cliff? Would He purposely hurt you or trick you into a place of destruction?

Let me ask you, do you trust Him? Would you stop, wait, listen, meditate on His Word? I love the song "Bow the Knee" by Chris Machen. Consider the words of the chorus,

Bow the knee;
Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.
Bow the knee;
Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.
And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,
In the presence of the King, bow the knee.

Listen to the song presented beautifully by the Stoneybrook Church on this You Tube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ek5LZYYOQ0

Blessings for Hope!

On Who are You Leaning?

As I navigate life I have discovered that there is a world of hurt below the surface of people. Sometimes this comes out in various ways but more often than not it lies below like a nettlestuck in your skin, festering and smarting. You know, if you're saved by God's Grace then youare empowered with the resources by the Spirit of the Living God and His Word (2 Peter 1:3) with all that you need to handle hurt and all of life's problems, but sadly, at times we need others to offer hope and encouragement.

The Psalmist interrogates in 42:11: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquietedwithin me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, [who is] the health of my countenance, and my God. You see this? He declares the solution for a down-cast soul or a tormented spiritis to Hope in God! Elsewhere we are reminded in Psalms 78:7 ...That they might set their hope in God,and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments... We are reminded that praise and trusting God is a calming and healing balm that will calm us and sustain us with full measures of His Grace in our time of need. Why? Because they remind us of His Character, His Promises; His Goodness and HisLove.

Do you think that the God who created the universe, who knows the numbers of the hairs on our head,Who is familiar with all of our trials, tribulations and afflictions can not sustain us throughevery need?

I ask you today; on whom are you leaning? Your own wisdom? Your own philosophy? Something thata friend told you about the world's wisdom, philosophy, or ways? We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

Reflect on this admonition; Hebrews 4:16 says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Fellowship with His Sufferings

We were created fearfully and wonderfully to glorify our Heavenly Father. When I consider the depths of my soul it is unfathomable to have self-awareness and a thirst for the divine. It is the fleeting satisfaction that searches for God, that creates a desire to satisfy the hunger, yet such is unfilled outside of fellowship with the Divine. As C.S. Lewis declared "God whispers to us in our bliss but screams at us in our pain." Yet, we must always try God until he brings us to our knees seeking for reasons in trying circumstances.

Is that you now? Is God screaming at you? Press into Christ. Spend hours in Scripture, search these, for they testify of Him. Only when we drink in the Divine through His precious Word, we are closer to Him. As Paul says, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" Phil 3:10. Only when we are enjoined with him in his sufferings are we made more comformable to him; dying to ourselves. With affection. Sherrell