Even in Perilous Times - We Can Have Victory

“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.”  (Rev. 21:4).  “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a placed for you.”  (John 14:2). 

Hey Gang:  Today we leave for Bartlesville, Oklahoma to volunteer at Voice of Martyrs.  Pray for us traveling on the highways and for our aging bodies that we will have the stamina to complete the tasks that God has laid out before us.   

Did you know as you reach the more mature years of your life, all of the hurts, that you experienced in years, past tend to let you know they are still there.   One such injury, suffered nearly fifty years ago, recently resurfaced- so a month of hard labor will require strength and stamina from the Throne Room of Heaven. 

Each month I receive the picture of a beautiful young lady or young lad.  They all have two things in common: they have no hair and they are fighting for their very lives, each have life threatening cancer.  When these pictures arrive, I read these two verses again and again.

Jesus spoke these words at the Last Supper, just hours before He was taken to the cross and crucified.  There is no way our human brain can comprehend the blackness that must have settled over the disciples that day.  Not only was it blackness over the disciples but over every Christian who has come to the understanding that it was my sin and your sin that placed Him on the cross. 

I suspect Satan ordered every demon and minion in his arsenal to the tomb that day with specific orders  that under no circumstances should Jesus be permitted to leave that tomb!  But no power could hold Him. 

I love the old power hymns. One of my very favorites, 'Christ Arose', proclaims: "Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o'er His foes; He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign.  He arose, He a rose, Hallelujah! Christ arose!.  Can you say amen and hallelujah for that? 

Soooo, know this, my young lads and ladies, soon an angel will  descend from the heavenlies with the key to the abyss, a great chain in his hand and he will lay hold of the dragon/Satan and bind him for a thousand years.  Wow, Lord, I pray you will have gigantic bleachers set up so that all of the saints that have ever felt the wrath of the evil one will be there to see his demise. 

I love that verse in Malachi that shares the wonderful truth: "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall" (Mal. 4:2).  

Blessings, 

Gramps

Does God Sometimes Change your Mind?

"Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:29).

Hey Gang:  I believe we would all agree that we had a winter that surpasses all others in intensity.  When we returned home from our sorte into the warm south we found the property was one huge mess, downed trees and others that were waiting for a chain saw to put them out of their misery.  It appeared that raking and pitch forking was going to be my way of life for many weeks to come and, frankly speaking, I was not sure if my eighty year old frame had the energy levels needed to complete the task.

While doing some serious soul searching in what would have to be placed on hold until I get the upper hand on the property, I decided it might be time to take a vacation from sending out the morning messages.  But let me share a neat, what I refer to as a ‘miracle’ that happens when I make such threats without consulting the Editor of the morning messages, God!  I have made such threats before and each time I do, God increases the messages that He plants in my head and the number of hits of the blog.

In my air traffic control days, when I had to resend an instruction that I had given to a pilot, I would tell him to "disregard that last transmission and stand by for new instructions".

I believe most, who are keeping their ‘feet to the fire’ would agree that world is spinning more rapidly.  I am constantly amazed that our nation has chosen to run and not walk from the Godly Foundations on which this mighty nation was built.  And it saddens my heart that a growing percentage of the people of this nation do not have a clue what awaits them just around the corner.

I remind you once again and, might say it is a warning, Hebrews 12:25-29 tells us “…everything that can be shaken is going to be shaken so those things that cannot be shaken will remain.”  I would suggest that those who do not understand what is happening, to this once great nation, not only have their head in the sand but their entire body.

And why is this happening? Jesus gives us the answer to that question in Revelation 2:4 "But this I have against you, that you have left your first love."  And what did Jesus mean?  We find that answer in His description of the Laodicean  Church where He said, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot, I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold or hot, I will spit you out of My mouth". (Rev. 4:15-16).

Soooo, is it too late?  No, I do not think so.  Perhaps for the old duck brigade like yours truly it is, and it shames me to turn a nation that is on a rapid downward decent to my grand's and great grand's.  I feel I have failed them.  But, they, too, must choose whom they will serve.  God made it clear that He stands at the door of every heart and awaits His children to wake up.  His irrevocable promise is clear. "If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chron. 76:14).  NOTICE THE PREREQUISITE "IF".

Blessings,   

Gramps

Do You Believe in the Bondage Breaker?

"For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15). 

Hey Gang:  I did it again!  I promised myself I would never do that again, but zappo, I fell off the wagon.  Did you every say that?  Do you have a tough time breaking old habits?  It is a known fact that New Year's Resolutions last about as long as it takes to write them down.  I wonder if people even make such promised today.  Do You?

You might not believe this but in my earlier years I smoked.  Yes, I really did.  And then I got married and along came a little bambino and I made up my mind (well sort of) not to contaminate my home and family with smoke.  So I quit, and then I fell off the wagon, and then I quit and I fell off the wagon, and so I quit and the beat went on and on.  I learned, too, that each time I failed I did not return to the previous levels of the habit but in each case it was increased.

Smokes were sticking out my ears and nose and under my arm pits - just joking of course- my conscious just felt that way.  And then one day I confessed, "Lord I am a bust, I cannot quit this habit that is taking money from my family (and at that time cigarettes were less than fifty cents a pack), stinking up the car and house and certainly not doing much good for my lungs.

After 189 attempts or so, I finally confessed to Father God I do not have the guts to say no and break the bondage.   Paul tells us the key to breaking bondages is to "Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ richly dwell with you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father" (Col. 3:15-17).

I believe most would agree that Paul was one tough hombre and was an example of what it means to walk by faith.  But notice what he said, prior to telling us that he found himself doing things that he ‘hated’:  "But I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.  For what I am doing I do not understand; for I practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate" (Rom. 7:14-15).

Been there and said that! I have often sensed a little of his frustration when he cried out, "Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?"  (Vs. 24).  But he does not leave us dangling he went on to declare "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus.  For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Rom. 8:1).

Sooo, my friends, Jesus said “If you trust me I will be your bondage breaker!”  Tough?  Yes, but keep in mind Jesus words, "Let your actions and words be yes, yes and no, no for everything else is sin." 

(Matt. 5:37) I could not quit cold turkey without God's help.  Now we have 57 different varieties of little round pills, tons of mind games and a vast number of so called bondage breakers but take it from al old salt, the only thing that works is prayer and fasting and giving to the Bondage Breaker the thing that holds you captive.

Blessings,

Gramps

Building Scar Tissue

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces (scar tissue) endurance" (James 1:2-3).

Hey gang: Wow, what a beautiful day.  The sun is peeking through the trees, there is a cool breeze blowing and birds are rejoicing.  It looks like a wood cutting day.  Isn't it neat and reassuring to know we have a heavenly Father who knows every hair on our head (less for me every day) and every bird that falls from the sky?

I have been having problems with a shoulder that I injured more than fifty years ago in a farming incident.  The doctor said, the MRI tells me you have a slight tear in a muscle but it is not bad enough that we should do anything to fix the problem.  We will just watch it and wait until it gets worse.  Now I ask you, does that sound strange?  I mean, if suddenly I felt a bump in a tire, should I wait until it blows out to take action?

The problem - he is not the one who has to sleep with this problem.  I wanted to have a pit party and do the ‘poor me’ gig. But I have on my wall beside me ten pictures of children in St Jude hospital who are fighting for their very lives against cancer. I pray for daily.  So, I just can't get to upset over a simple muscle tear.

Paul talked about being confronted with slight afflictions in his letter to the Corinthians: “Five times I received 39 lashes, three times I was beaten with rods, once stoned, three times shipwrecked, danger from robbers, dangers from countrymen”, etc. etc, etc.

James tells us we are to rejoice when you encounter trials, it builds scar tissue in your soul that prepares you for the tough days ahead.  He also included this piece of truth "trials make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:4).  I learned a very important, even you might say life changing lesson, when I transitioned from Air Traffic Control in the Air Force to Air Traffic control in the Federal system. 

In the Air Force I handled peak traffic for an hour or so than often had very little until the next scramble of our squadron, which may be a day or two latter.  But, when working in the Air Traffic Control Center in Pittsburgh, where hundreds of aircraft pass through the control zone and I was required to make hundreds of transmissions that literally had life and death significance, was a horse of a different color.   Anyone who does not work up from the basement to full control position without learning the system a step at a time, does not acquire the "scar tissue" needed to survive the constant stress levels that are part of the job.

Soooo, I have decided to take Paul up on his promise "That God can make all things work for good for those who Love Him and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28).  But do not stop there, read on, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son".    Each time my muscle twinges I pray for one or more of those who are on my prayer list who are worse off than I.  Satan hates it when we pray for others, so perhaps he will stop the twinges.  Try it, it tends to make one feel aches and pains less.

Blessings,

Gramps

Soaring Like An Eagle - Awesome!

 “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagle, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”  (Isa. 40:31).  Fabulous!

“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them.  And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezek 11:19).  Awesome!

Hey Gang:  Time to pull up to God's high octane heavenly fluid pump and prepare for the tough days ahead.  As an old country preacher once said, when you come to a therefore, stop and see what it is therefore.

“Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not see are eternal” (2 Cor. 5:16 – 18). Praise!

He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”  And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.  Then He said, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”  He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”  (Rev, 21:5-7).

I just returned from visiting a once very proud person who now lives with a broken spirit and is not willing to humble himself before the Lord and pray diligently that God would take control of his heart and mind.  I believe the seed of redemption were planted in him in his youth but, like the prodigal chose to leave the home of his youth and go his own way.

Jesus continues to whisper in his ear, "Behold I make all things new" even though you are experiencing momentary, light afflictions but you must look beyond the things that are seen and get your eyes on the things that are eternal. 

Soooo,  my young friends, I am always amazed with the wonderful, but often tragic, stories of God's children that live under a cloud of persecution and even the possibility that this may be the last day of their life.  I once asked a Russian Jew, who had made aliyah back to Israel, the land of his heritage, if he did not have concerns about living in the Northern most part of Israel. He knows that every invasion of past years has come though his front yard.  He responded, "No, God has been so good to me over the years, if my time is up, I will go to be with My Lord for all eternity.  No more concerns about martyrdom or war".

How would you answer that question, if you heard Isis was approaching your door?

Blessings,

Gramps 

When Is Enough, ENOUGH!

"And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it.”  (Ex. 22:30)

Hey Gang:  Is there anything that would spur you to action? I mean to take up your cross and get really serious about what is happening around you?  A question was asked to Alverda King, Dr. Martin Luther King's niece, "Was there any particular event or incident that really spurred Dr. King and his followers to action?” Her response, "It seemed like it was more spontaneous than anything specific. They just knew when enough was enough, and they had to act!”

Have you asked yourself that question?  When is enough - enough? I recall a conversation between two pastors who were discussing the affairs of the country. Both agreed we are on a fast track into the dumpster but when it came to the question, is enough, enough and are you ready to become an active 'stander in the gap', both agreed that was not for the religious community to do but rather the responsibility of the government!

I am a veteran.  I love my country and would lay down my life for it.  As a matter of fact when the nineteen miss guided souls flew airplanes into Trade Center, the Pentagon and into the ground in my home state of Pennsylvania, I was ready to volunteer to return to service.  True, at the age of 68 I would not be much good in a combat situation but I certainly could mop floors, answer the phone and do other mundane jobs and release a young folk to take up arms.

Now, how do you feel about the two pastors who said it is not the church’s responsibility to take up arms?  They also said that since so many people in our nation are supportive of abortion, the church should also support abortion rights! I was offended.

I confess I am offended when I go into a church that does not display our national colors from the pulpit and I hear no prayers sent to the heavenlies on the gross sin that is so much a part of our culture today, or hear prayer offered for the brother and sisters of our Lord who are going through persecution and even death.

As I listen to the evening news, which I do less frequently these days because once a month is sufficient for the news is generally the same, I find myself asking the same question? When is enough, enough?  Where is the voice of the church?

Bill Wilson, a Senior Analyst for the weekly Koenig Report wrote the following:           

"A black Muslim man beheaded an unarmed white woman. There can be no doubt about    his ties to Islam and his belief in the 100-plus verses in the Koran that instruct good Muslims to kill infidels, especially Christians and Jews. The occupant of the Oval Office is silent. The attorney general is silent. The news media doesn’t even bother to pose a question during the White House press briefings in the days immediate after this heinous act. Yet, when an unarmed black man attacks a white armed police officer and loses his life, there are riots, investigations, political rhetoric, demands, media coverage and more. Things are out of balance.  Political correctness and race issues make it difficult to have fruitful dialogue.  When is enough, enough?

 A recent news report said over 125 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 55 are unemployed — the largest number in decades. Yet, the President touts, on the White House website, the number of jobs his administration has created. The President continues to say that Islam is a religion of peace and that violent acts do not represent Islam. Yet around the world, those representing Islam commit violent and brutal acts. We have a President who said that it is “unlikely” Ebola would spread to the United States, but it is now confirmed in America. We have a President who says the borders are secure, yet tens of thousands of illegals are streaming across the borders. "When is enough, enough?

We have a President who deceives; a media that ignores; a Congress that neglects; and a citizenry that, in part, is ignorant of the nation’s condition, and, in part, is frustrated beyond belief. The natural affection of one American to another seems gone. The ability to earn a living is diminished. The security of our nation - both at home and abroad- is threatened. It appears that none in authority is willing to address any issue, only investigate! When is enough, enough?

As the Lord said in Ezekiel 22:30: “And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it.” We need to determine ‘when is enough, enough’, before the second part of the verse is realized: “but I found none.”  The question each of us must answer - "Am I willing and am I standing in the Gap?" Isaiah said, "Here am I send me!" 

Soooo, my friends, When is enough, enough?  "When will My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land"  signed God!     (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Blessings,

Gramps

Challenge - Stop, Take a Minute and Smell the Posies! Blog # 600!!!

"I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot.  For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?" (Ecclesiastes 3:22).

 Hey Gang:  There is a saying floating around that says, you can tell who the true successful people are - they are the ones with the most toys.  Did you know we live a superficial world? A world where we measure success by who has the most bangles and beads?  It is a world where many often miss the wonderful hidden pearls that God has so bountifully placed all around us.   As I sit here at the computer, I am blessed to see the sunrise each morning and the light rays as they radiate through the trees. 

This morning there are deer in the back yard and in the front yard; several squirrels are playing in the trees and the birds are availing themselves of the feast that we provide for them each day.  We tend to take such magnificence for granted, in this rapidly moving affluent world, and miss the wonderful joys that God created for us.

Yesterday was one of those especially-trying days.   I wish I could say that I learned how to deal with such days, after running a home for fifty children with adjustment problems for twenty seven years, but such is not the case.  I wonder if God sometimes throws monkey-wrenches into our regimented lives with the express purpose of moving us out of our comfort zones! 

Did you ever notice that brother and sister sand paper can be a catalyst that sends us down a road that is totally different from the one we had planned?

One of the more colorful of God's feathered friend creations just flew by the window.  I wonder if he knows where he is going.  I suspect he does.   We need to learn from our feathered friends that God has provided a whole smorgasbord of blessings for us to enjoy, even in the busy world of trying to climb the corporate ladder. 

It is one of God's other creations - man - who, many times, seems to run to and fro not knowing where he is going.  One might refer to it as ‘the chicken without its head syndrome.’  I personally believe it resembles what is going on in the Beltway today.

Solomon recognized this fact when he wrote, "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?" (Pro. 1:11a).  Man, in his infinite wisdom, "…is ever seeking and failing to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:7). 

Soooo, take a piece of advice from an old man, "If there ain't no tomorrow it won't matter no how, so take a minute and smell the posies.  And, keep in mind, as the Plain People would say, 'There are many times we are climbing the mountain when we ought to quietly resting'. God speaks to us when we are in a quiet listening attitude.  Shhhhh - listen.

Blessings, 

Gramps   

P.S.  A month or so ago when the number of hits dipped on the  Gramps Morning thoughts, I asked the Lord if it was time to put Gramps to bed.  Within the week the numbers not only returned to their previous levels but increased.  But the amazing thing, God has been putting subjects for future blogs in my heart and mind on a continuous basis.  To the point where we feel we need to return to the three a week format.  So effective, following this one, we will return to the Monday, Wednesday and Friday format. 

If you knew the problems I had in my school years reading, writing, sentence structure, etc, you would realize what a miracle God has done in allowing me to write these 600 morning messages.  To God be His glory!

Is This The Toughtest TIme of Your Life? - Continued

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:5-6).

Hey Gang:  Anyone out there know what the ‘Peter Principle’ is?  For those who do not, simply stated it is ‘if it can go wrong it will’.  Did you ever notice that in most cases when you drop something on the floor it has eyes and hunts something to crawl under?

One of the anxiety driven principles that plagues you as you grow into the so called ‘Golden Years’ (Golden for the medical profession) is everything, including your body begins to wear out.  Completing a chore usually consist of seventy percent of the time fixing the equipment and twenty-five percent getting to the production phase.

I recently went through another phase with my D-14 Allis Chalmers tractor.  If you have been a Gramps morning reader, you have read my stories of woe with the beastly machine.  This time it was especially irritating because nothing I did seemed to fix the problem.  I cleaned the lines, I had the carburetor rebuilt, we took the gas tank off and cleaned it and it would run for ten minutes and quit.

One day in utter frustration I cried out, Lord I do not need this continue aggravation and the thought came into my head that my problem was in the sediment bulb of the beast.  So I took off the sediment bulb and, low and behold, the gas feed was feeding slowly on one side and completely blocked on the other.     Ten minutes with the air compression removed the thorn in my side that had plagued me for more than a year and the tractor has run as good as 64 year old tractor can run.

Now I want to share a piece of advice that can make your lives much more satisfying, especially when dealing with the alligators snapping at your heels.  I struggled with the D-14 for a year before I cried out to God "I do not need this aggravation".   I had cried out to God on other occasions when the rubber-was-hitting-the road and He was always faithful and true in responding to those cries but I am a very slow learner and had to exhaust my human limitations before seeking the help of the One who is all wisdom.

 The Word is filled with power verses that give us encouragement during those times when it seems the roof is falling.  I suspect the world situations are only going to worsen as we get closer to the end of the Age of the Gentiles, so I strongly recommend you fill your mental computer hard drives with power verses that God can pull out of you when the rafters begin to creek.

Soooo, when the clouds darken I like to go back to David, for he knew what adversity was.  He wrote,  "The Lord is my strength and my shield: My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him" (Psalm 28:7).  And to John, who probably wrote these words on the Island of Patmos where he was in bondage, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace, In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  

Blessings,

Gramps

Is This the Toughest Time of your Life?

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).

Hey Gang,    It seems that every place I go and every person I meet says the same thing "this has been the toughest year of my life!"   Thinking back of my years of sojourn I do not believe I would place this year at the toughest of all year's list, but it certainly does merit consideration.

There is no question that we are in that time when men's hearts are failing them for fear.  These are surely the days described by Franklin Graham as "the last hours".   It is a time when we need to keep our spiritual armor honed and remain securely tucked under the wings of the Lord.     

I have been plagued with a sleight affliction that the medical profession cannot tell me what it is.  So I tell them what it is - it affects every muscle in my body and when the weather is not in the sunny and warm range, I can point out most of the muscles in my body to anyone who is interested in learning more about anatomy.

Now, on days like today when it is foggy and wet and you can feel the moisture in the air, I tend to get into a pity party mode.  ‘Why me Lord?]  And, in most cases, God sends someone across my path in a wheel chair or an infirmity that restricts them to a rocking chair. And that puts the pity party to bed once again and gets me moving - cutting wood or some other physical activity that most folks my age cannot do.   

When I really get down I tend to turn to a good buddy who set me on the right path.  If you are dealing with some kind of depressive state today I would suggest you heed the words of Job: 

"Behold I cry, Violence!"  But I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice.  He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass; I shout for help, but there is no justice.  He has put darkness on my paths.  He has stripped my honor from me and removed the crown from my head.  He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; And He has uprooted my hope like a tree.  He has also kindled His anger against me and considered me as His enemy" (Job 19:7-11).  

Does it sound like Job was in the dumpster?  One could get that idea but, after reading the whole book of Job I came to the conclusion that everyone around Job was in the dumpster but Job had his head screwed on right. 

Soooo, After giving a dissertation which is titled "everything is against Him" (verses 1 through 22 of chapter nineteen), Job clears away the cobwebs and states very clearly and with power, "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will take His stand on the earth" (Job 19:25-27).  Having a problem today, then know your Redeemer lives and stands ready to come along side and walk with you through the valleys and shadows.

 "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble and He knows those who take refuge in Him"    (Nahum 1:7).  

Blessings,  

Gramps

How Beautiful Is Your Creation!

God’s Power Principle for Today:  “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”  (Isa. 52:7).

Wow, Lord, How magnificent are your ways.  What fabulously beautiful mosaics You paint!

  The world looks so clean and gives an aura of perfection when You cover the earth with Your white tapestries.  It reminds me of the verse that one day soon You will cover the earth with your glory as the waters cover the sea. 

Question?  Do you have some very special memories that you have tucked away in your heart and mind when you felt especially close to God. Ones that you can pull up when the rubber-is-hitting-the-road and the alligators are snapping at your heels. 

I have a bunch of them that are so very special to me.  The day I stood at the foot of the mighty majestic Teton Mountain is etched that a panoramic picture in my mind and has not faded in the thirty years, since that day.  Another is the day I was walking through the Village campus and came to a cluster of trees that was blue with thousands of blue birds that were enroute making their way to their winter homes. Another is the day I happened to come across a butterfly that was working its way out of its cocoon.

All beautiful blessings that Father God arranged just for me at a time when I needed to see His handiwork in action.  These were very special experiences but I have also learned there is never a day goes by when I do not see God's handwork in action, if my mind is tuned into seeking God's miracles.   

 

Frustrated, Habakkuk cries out "How long will I cry out and You will not hear?  God's response,” Look around!   Observe!  Be astonished!  Wonder!  Did the sun not come up this morning?  Are the heavens not in place?  Have I not provided for your daily bread?  Have you cried out recently, ‘O Lord, Our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth.  Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens’" (Psa. 8:1). 

The world is being shaken so that everything that can be shaken will be removed and only those things that cannot be shaken will remain.  But, in the midst of that shaking, as Christians the only things that has changed is "when these things happen, Look up for your redemption draws nearer”.    We get apprehensive when we read of the atrocities but the fact remains "It is not our battle "for the battle is the Lord's" (2 Chron. 20:15).

Soooo, my good fellow warriors, yes, it does look like the sky is falling and I feel so very sad for those who do not know the Lord Jesus as Savior, for the days must look very gloomy. But for those whose name is listed in the Lamb's Book of Life we have Abba Father's assurance that He will never leave us or forsake us.  God’s promise to us: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fires, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you For I am the Lord Your God!" (Isa. 43:2-3a). 

  

Blessings,  

Gramps

When a Catharsis is a Miracle in the Making

"The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him" (Nahum 1:7).

Hey Gang, Do you know there are times when a potential disaster is really a miracle in disguise?    Well, let me share an experience that took place right here in the basement of my house that explains what I mean.   We had been in Chicago for two days and upon returning there were normal chores that had to be done; one of the chores consisted of filling the water jars in the basement.

No big deal!  I had connected a hose to the inlet off the well which allowed me to fill the jugs.  Why do I do that?  So that we have drinking, coffee and cooking water that by passes the water softener.  And why by-pass the water softener? To eliminate the salt from our diet.

I had completed this chore hundreds of times, since moving into this house ten years before, but this time was very, very different!   I turned the valve on and was immediately soaked from head to toe.  Within moments I was kneeling in two inches of water and the three and a half horse power pump in the well was doing a magnificent job of soaking everything within ten feet.  Fortunately, I did not run for help but kept very calm and carefully forced the faucet cover back into the faucet opening and applied all the pressure my body had in it. 

And at the same moment yelled at the top of my lungs “Jean” quick.  A clamp solved the immediate problem.  Jean then asked a question that has become fairly common around our house when a crisis hits the fan, “Shall I call Gary?” 

Now, Gary is a neighbor but he is far more than a neighbor – he is a Godly-servant who continually bails me out.  She called and learned Gary was on his way out of town, but being the servant he is, he turned his truck around and sped home to pick up his tool box, water vacuum and needed items to repair my crisis.  Within the hour Gary had come and the faucet was replaced and the water was cleaned up. 

Now for the miracle! As I mentioned, we had just arrived home from Chicago – if the faucet would have broken while we were gone, we would have arrived home to three foot of water in the basement.  Can you get a mental image of what the Christmas displays in our basement would have looked like under water?  Hey, pass the snorkel!

The point of the story, “God makes all things work to His good – if we are locked into His power supply”. 

Sooooo, take it from a salty eighty-one year old,  the next time it appears that you have a real live catharsis building, ask God how He is going to handle it.  And then calmly respond to His leading.  It works every time.  Keep in mind that His promise to His children is He will never leave you or forsake you.  Is that not awesome?  

Blessings, 

Gramps