Day: March 23, 2017

March 4 – I’m Blessed, and That’s My Problem!

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The relationship I have with my wife is very special to me. We enjoy working together and love facing the daily challenge of life. Yet, sometimes our focus temporarily shifts to the “things to do” list, instead of relishing in all the blessings we enjoy right now. I have come to realize this is a trait of humanity; more blessing equals more pressing!

To those who see great provision, protection, and success comes the challenge close behind. God warned His people in the days of Moses to remember all the blessings when they came into the land flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 6). He knows in the midst of greatness, the temptation to become disgruntled can be pretty strong.

Jen and I have discovered that when we take a moment to rehearse just a few of the good things we’ve experienced, our attitudes shift to the positive in a hurry. We find ourselves invariably giving thanks to God because we see His fingerprints all over the place.

That is my prayer today for every person on this planet. This is my prayer for America and every free nation in the world. May those who live and legislate in them awaken to the handprints of God and see all the blessings He’s poured out on them. May the sacrifices of those who’ve gone before speak loud and clear. And may we all realize and never forget that without the presence of God we would be nothing.

Lift up your head today. Look up from the task at hand for just a moment. And catch a glimpse of all the blessings surrounding you!

See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.   Exodus 23:20

 Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

March 3 – Musical Chairs

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The business of life swirls on and if you don’t move out of the way, in many cases, you get ran right over.   So, it is true, all of us have “business” to be about and yet, there is a divine purpose connected to an eternal clock ticking in the background of the daily hustle and bustle.   Since the ticking is not loud and obnoxious, it is often drowned out by the sounds of cultural norms and common noises.

But when asked what’s most important, many would unequivocally say the quiet ticking of eternity. So why are we so often consumed by the here and now and thus unaware of the ageless sound of God’s plans unfolding?

I believe it’s because the process is much like musical chairs. Musical chairs is one of those games that draws a crowd wherever played, especially if there are cakes or pies to be won. The game starts with a set amount of chairs, adequate for most of the contestants to get a seat.   And as the music plays, the people meander around the chairs in some sort of rhythm. But inevitably the music will stop and all must scramble to find a seat. And the game continues in this way until all but one contestant is left.

Hearing God’s ticking at the proper time, for me, is kind of like that process. I must move in sync with the motion of the day. But I must set my eyes and ears on the sound of the “music in the background.” When it is time to act, I must not be late or aloof.   True, the Bible speaks of a day when our Savior will come and wrap up what we call “today.”

For every day, in every life, He stops the music and speaks to us His direction. It is our habitual response to those often “quiet” directions that will prepare us for the day the whole world will know this game of musical chairs is finished!   For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; Matthew 24:38

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.