"Dad, the Lord has good things in storage…”
That’s what my ten year old, Mimi, told me last night.
I didn’t know if Mimi had heard a new phrase at youth group last night that I was unfamiliar with or not, so I asked her the clarifying question. “Mimi, did you mean the Lord has good things in store for us?” She agreed that’s exactly what she said.
I breathed a deep sigh as I nervously opened the letter...
This was a letter that I had been waiting for the last six months with the news about whether or not I had been awarded a grant for my sabbatical next summer. I have been praying and believing the Lord for good things, and for His favor on this request.
My heart stopped as I read the words, “Unfortunately, your proposal was not among those selected for funding this year.”
The sunset sings us a new melody of God’s love every evening.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
We’ve never launched a kid before…
This weekend Linda and I will move our firstborn down to Southern California. She will turn 20 in a few months and has been planning for this day over the past year. While she doesn’t have a job secured yet, she has saved up her money and has a few months before she will have to find another place to live.
For those who haven’t launched a kid – they scoff and say, “It’s no worries; she’s ready; she’ll be fine.” Others grimace and put their hand on our shoulder promising to pray for her in the coming days. Since I haven’t done this before I don’t know how to feel or what this will be like.
As humans we can’t help but ask that burning question when things go dreadfully wrong, when death comes knocking at our door, or diagnosis corners us in a fearful paralysis.
I was working out with a friend last week who felt overwhelmed by several premature deaths in his social circles. He was looking to me, the pastor, and asking the “why” question.
In Matthew 25:40 Jesus says, “…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
This is a verse that comes from a longer parable that is often labeled “the sheep and the goats.” It is a passage that tells the story of a King who represents God, Himself. The King is judging and separating out those who belong to Him (the sheep) and those who seem like they belong but will be removed from His presence (the goats).
Ever hear the following questions…
“Can you give me some advice?”
“I have some things I would like to run by you to get your take…”
“I’m stuck. I’m not sure what to do. Can we talk?”
Last evening a friend and I were standing around the fire pit drinking tea as the evening mist covered the backyard around us. The topic turned to the most important things in life. Three things rose to the surface. We decided that clarity, trust and obedience were of the highest importance.
In the beginning of 1 Samuel, a woman named Hannah gave birth to a baby she named Samuel. Hannah had been barren, so she cried out the Lord for a child. The name Samuel means “asked of God.” Hannah realized that this child was a gift from God and so when he was a boy she gave him to the priests in the Tabernacle (the central place of worship in the land prior to the more permanent Temple). So Samuel grew up in the house of the Lord and became a prophet.
I don’t attend many movies, but I wasn’t going to miss Paul, the Apostle of Christ in some theaters now. Given that we are teaching through the book of Acts and the emphasis is about to shift from Peter (as the central person in the first half of the book), to Paul (who is the central figure in the second half) – the timing could not be any more perfect.