Father, In the Name of Jesus!

 

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living Hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)  “Surely  he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).

Hey gang; The bride-of-my-youth, who is a compulsive and avid reader, slipped yet another pearl- under my nose.   Since retiring from the world of children and families who are often   are at war with each other, I have refrained from reading stories of such children and families but this one was in a Daily Guidepost from several years ago and it caught her attention & mine. 

Why, because we cannot untuck the stories that have impacted our lives from our yesterdays.  They seem to raise their heads periodically, just to let us know the world has not totally forgotten the times when we wonder if the world is completely crazy and we will get swept up in its craziness. (Now 6 years later Oh, My!!!…)  But there are the wonderful pearls of those time when God’s firmness in our soul gave us the strength and stamina to do battle with His adversary until the battle was won.

Last week a Boeing 737 crashed when trying to land in Russia.  Let me tell you as a past Air Traffic Controller there was the constant fear that the bell would sound, and the computers would lock down, when an aircraft you had worked with went down and the investigations begin.  To return to the boards or radar scopes after such tragedy required a very special type of iron in you blood. 

My old-salt instructor said to me, “One of these days you will see airplanes flying around in your head.”  And then added, “But…when you see people in those airplanes, you are finished as a controller.”  He was right, two aircraft that I had worked through my sector an hour before got together over New York with total loss of life.  Today, more than fifty years since that fateful day, when I hear there has been an aircraft accident the anxiety levels in my heart and soul sky-rocket.

So, how does this connect with the story above?  As I read the story of the totally out-of-control six-year old and how it impacted the total life of the family, it was important that the mother had the power of God to give her strength, and not give up.  With each episode of total rebellion, on the part of her child, she placed her faith and dependence in her Heavenly Daddy to take her through yet another valley.

And as I read of her account of the battles that she fought with Satan for the life of this little fire-ball with out-of-control emotions, I asked the question, “Lord, what about all the families out there who are fighting the same battles but do not know you as Lord? And do not have the strength to endure all that the world can hand out?”   

As I read the account written by this mother, I thought of a family that we had the privilege of coming along side When they went through a similar war but with a teen-age daughter.  The daughter had made a decision that she was going to do as she pleased, and the mother had made a decision that she would stand toe-to-toe with her daughter and do what had to be done to show her daughter the depth of her love. 

For each rebellious act there was a consequence until her room had been stripped of everything but a pad on the floor for sleeping.  But, she was blessed to have parents and grandparents and a praying church behind her; and, one day, the light began to penetrate the darkness.  The wondrous part of this story is mother and daughter now mentor and teach classes on how to prevent your child from destroying their lives.

Look at the title of this epistle once again, “Father, in the name of Jesus, I……(Finish it!)  Is there someone in your life who is dealing with a child or family issue that is tearing the guts out of the family?  There is a solution.  Our Lord said, I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).  There is no greater statement in the Bible than “He is risen!” He stands ready to walk through the valley and shadows of death with you. We have visited the empty tomb! The sign says, “HE IS RISEN!!  We too can have resurrection power! Thank you Jesus 

Blessings to you this Easter Season/ Resurrection Sunday! 

Gramps