Tuesday, April 28,
2015
"Yet
once more I will shake not only shake the earth, but also the heavens.
This expression, "Yet once more", denotes the removing of those
things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which
cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which
cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an
acceptable service with reverence and awe: For our God is a fire"
(Hebrew 12:26-29). Is your God a consuming fire?
Hey
Gang: I came across this 'Quote of the month’ that rang my
bell. "With hurricanes, record snow falls and freezing
temperatures, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms
tearing up the country from one end to the other, and with the threat of bird
flu, Ebola, and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God
out of the Pledge of Allegiance". Now ain't that the
truth?
As I
was seeking a word from the Lord this morning on what He would have me share,
He whispered in my ear, "Lighten Up"; many of your friends and
neighbors, including you, are wound too tight. Now ain't that the
truth?
We
spend far too much of our lives tied in huge knots worrying about things that
we cannot control. As one elderly pastor declared, "There are two
days I do not worry about, yesterday, because it is too late to do anything
about the creeping alligators, and tomorrow, who has not yet shown its colors -
so confine your concerns to today. There are certainly enough things to
get our dander up within any twenty-four hour period.
As
exulted ruler of Eagle Village I never, never, never completed a day as
dictated by my daily planner. With a barn full of highly-wired teen-agers
who were under my care, because they had demonstrated their need for someone to
teach them what boundaries were, I did not have a clue what challenges I
would face, even before the day had a good start.
If I
did not get up early, before the troops were getting out of the rack and
beginning their day, and refill my batteries by spending time alone with the
Lord and filling my batteries with the Word - I soon found that I was
firing from the hip with an under-powered gun.
I
learned, very early in my tenure of working with young people, that God sent
across my path, ones who had hurting chest-cavities just the size of God.
I needed to out-gun the powers of Satan that had a grasp on many of the
kid’s lives. I learned that, if I beat him to the punch by finding that
one positive thing on which I could build a relationship, I could cut him
(Satan) off at the pass, when the alligators began nipping at their heels.
When a
new youngster came into my life, I did not look at the case file to find out
what he or she did wrong. As a matter of fact, I did not break the seal
on the case file until I had found that one thing on which I could build a
relationship. Why? Because I also learned early, that we spend far too much time
dealing with the clinkers in our lives and not enough time smelling the posies
that God provides for us each day.
Soooo,
my young friends, if the rubber-hits-the-road today, which it probably it will,
take a minute or two and do as God told Habakkuk to do, “Look around you and
see what I am doing” (1:2-5). If you are fortunate to have a
clinker-free day, thank Him, the one who made that possible, and share the good
news with someone who is going through deep waters.
Blessings,
Gramps
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