Second Chances.....

I marvel at how "on time" God is. I marvel at the message our youngest pastor taught today. For the past three weeks Dale has been teaching from the pulpit on "Family Worship". In a nutshell, it is the responsibility of the parents to "train up a child in the way he/she should go". It is not the responsibility of the pastor, the Sunday School teacher, youth leader, school teacher, or coach to perform this task. It is a God given responsibility of the parents. I know I will be a bit over descriptive when I say that I felt like my heart was going to crack wide open as Dale taught the first two weeks. I felt defeated and weary as I analyzed my failures as a parent. My oldest did not have a christian mother until she was 14 years old and I have grieved often over the missed worship time and the missed godly teaching that should have been. BUT....today's message restored my hope! Dale read from Psalm 78:1-8. The verses that spoke to me most were verses 6 through 8, which says, "That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they might arise and tell their children. That they should put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare it's heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God."
THIS I KNOW....I can't change the past but I can cling to God's promises for the future. I can do all things through God who strengthens me to ensure that the generation to come (my future grandchildren) put their confidence in God. I praise God for second chances...the chance to share my "God story" with a precious little one and to set up a legacy as a woman who loves the Lord!

Weary.....

I'm weary.....and I have a feeling the battle has just begun. I'm weary of my surroundings, weary of smiling when I want to cry, weary of watching loved ones hurt needlessly, weary from watching society, namely "Christians", turn a blind eye to their surroundings for the sake of tolerance, weary from the constant battle between diet and exercise in order to be healthy, weary from the quest for youth, weary from watching so many rebellious adult children (rebelling against everything...God, parents, authority), ...... I'm just plain weary. My weariness leaves me two choices (1) Wallow in it OR (2) Pray through it! The verse I'm clinging to is Galatians 6:9 which says, "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary".....
Dear Lord, help me not to grow weary and to seek your face during this time!

Are we there yet?

Many times when I've read my Bible and seen incident after incident where God had to put an end to evil by wiping out the entire area that was involved in grievous sin, I find myself thinking, "Are we there yet"? Only God knows but I would say we are leaps and bounds closer everyday. Here are a few highlights from the news in Nov/Dec 2008:

1) "Employee at Walmart trampled to death as customers rush in for Black Friday sales"...customers were angry that the store had to be closed while the body was removed after they had been waiting in line for hours.

2) Jewish missionary couple killed in India.

3) Shootout in store on Black Friday (California)....Did someone take the last Wi?

4) Jacksonville, Florida....26 police involved shootings since Jan 2008. I can assure you, the police aren't using these kids for target practice....Yet...their family members cry and plead on national television, "Why did they (police) kill my baby?" Never mind that thier "baby" had their gun pulled on the officer. I'll bet the officer has a mom and dad too!

5) Jacksonville, Florida....."Homeless don't buy tickets"....in this article found in "Rants and Raves" column, a person expresses frustration over the Jaguar Cheerleaders serving the homeless in the community food on Thanksgiving. The person states, "they aren't ticket buyers and I am....I think I should be served"

So, once again, are we there yet? Maybe not but certainly getting closer every day!

No News is Good News...BUT...This news was God news!

Jeremiah 26:7-9 says, "the priest, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him and said, 'You must die, why do you prophesy in the Lord's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?' And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord"

Jeremiah did what God told him to do (not what man told him to do). He went to the courtyard and told all the people of Judah that came to worship that if they didn't turn from their wicked ways, their city would be cursed. Hard words to hear if you were among the wicked, huh? Jeremiah was a prophet and mighty man of God. He was given strict orders to deliver this message verbatim or else! This was certainly not the first time that Jeremiah had delivered this message but it would be the last if the people didn't listen. The people of Judah made it their custom to go to the court yard to go to the courtyard BUT they didn't want to hear the truth. Isn't this just like man today? We want to come to church and worship BUT often forbid our pastors to speak truth. I thank God for pastors that speak truth from the pulpit each day and lift them up in prayer that they will continue to do so!