Who deserves God's grace?

If you were given the task to pick who would be the recipient of God's grace who would you select?
Family members?  Close friends?  Influential people?
How about the person holding up a sign at the stop light?  Does that person deserve God's grace?
How about the person who doesn't appreciate all you do for them?  Surely that person shouldn't get the blessing of God's grace.
How about you?  Do you deserve God's grace? 
What!!!!???
Truth be known none of us deserve to receive God's grace.
Think about that the next time you see a beggar or someone else who doesn't "fit the mold."
"Bless those who curse you" says the Bible.
Show God's grace to someone today whether or not they "deserve" it.

God's Natural World: God's Proper Timing

God's Natural World: God's Proper Timing: "Today was a warm, spring like day for the middle of February. I wasn't too busy with work so I decided to drive up to the SC Botanical..."

God's Proper Timing

Today was a warm, spring like day for the middle of February.  I wasn't too busy with work so I decided to drive up to the SC Botanical Gardens in Clemson to see if by some miracle any wildflowers or for that matter any other flower might be blooming yet.  Now from past experience I had a pretty good idea that chances were slim to none that I'd find anything blooming.  I did manage to find one round lobbed hepatica blooming all by its lonesome, but for the mostly there were no blooms or even hints of anything about to bloom just yet.
You see, just because the weather was nice and warm this week, the flowers knew it wasn't yet their time to come out and bloom.  If they bloomed before their time perhaps it would snow again or get icy cold again and then they would die early.  Insects such as ants depend on the seeds of these flowers to provide them with food at the proper time.  Right now the insects are hibernating where its safe and warm and have their winter food all stored up.  If the plants gave their seed too soon then there might be a food shortage later on for the insects!

This reminded me about God's perfect and proper timing for our own lives.  Sometimes we go through seasons that seem dry and fruitless and other times when we seem to flourish.  It may seem that at times God isn't involved in our lives at all or at least very little seems to be happening as soon as we would like.
Its hard to wait on God to act and sometimes we take things into our own hands and try to force God's will too soon.  This can prove to be painful as we may end up suffering the consequences of making a decision that's not right for us or perhaps would have been better made at a later time.  God reminds us of this in Ecclesiates 3:1-8  "There is a time for everything, anda season for very activity under the sun.".....

There have been times in my own life where I longed for something to happen.  Times when I was single and longed to be loved.  Times when I had no clue where I was going or what I should be doing with my life. Times when I searched for successes and found none. Times when I just wanted a friend and none could be found.  Friend, you may think God has forgotten about you, that He is too slow to act or that He just doesn't care about your circumstance.  But be patient and wait upon God to act. He knows you better than you know yourself and knows what you need and when its best to give it to you.  May I suggest that during these times of waiting that you make God your all in all.  Find in Him the contentment He longs to give you.  And when the time is right for relationships, jobs, material possessions, etc. know that He will grant you what you need when you need it and not before.  Ask, Seek, Knock, and most of all WAIT!!!  So easy to say but so difficult to do.  When you do you will find you are flexing your faith muscles and building a stronger relationship with your heavenly Father.

God's Natural World: The Lord is My Shepherd

God's Natural World: The Lord is My Shepherd: "Are you familiar with the 23rd Psalm? It is written by King David of Israel many years ago. Before he was annointed by the proph..."

The Lord is My Shepherd

Are you familiar with the 23rd Psalm?  It is written by King David of Israel many years ago.  Before he was annointed by the prophet Samuel as Israel's second king, he was a shepherd.  I'm sure he spent many days and nights tending his father's sheep for they were many.  David was the youngest of his brothers so that meant he got the most unpleasant  of the family jobs.  Tending sheep would be a very difficult job as the sheep would fall over and had to be righted or they would die. Sometimes the sheep would wander off and get caught in thickets or down in some ravine.  David also had to protect the sheep from animals.  On more than one occasion he used a sling shot to kill off predators such as bears and lions.
In addition to all this, David was responsible for leading the sheep to green pastures and good, clean drinking water.  The 23rd Psalm (song) really takes one though a year in the life of a shepherd.  Though it is only 6 verses long, there is much to be learned from this psalm of David.

Let's start with verse 1:  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."
Wow!  That short verse tells us so much!!!
David here is putting himself in the place of a sheep. The Lord is his personal shepherd. David belongs to all the sheep under God's care.  God is personally responsible for the well being of David (and all His sheep.)
Because the Lord is David's shepherd, He supplies all David's needs.  God is the "all in all" for David.
We who are under God's care don't need to go anywhere else to have our needs met.  He amply supplies ALL our need so that we are not in want for anything. The grass is not greener in any other pasture.  The water is not sweeter in any other stream.  The care we get being under God's care as His "sheep" cannot be any better anywhere else.  Is it any wonder that God didn't want his chosen people to have any other gods before him?  Why should we worship anyone or anything else when God (Jehovah) loving cares for us like a shepherd cares for his sheep?

The rest of Psalm 23 describes in detail just how God provides for us.

vs 2 "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters."
Sheep won't lie down unless they are full an content.  God fills us with good things, green pastures if you will.
Sheep also won't drink from a running stream.  They have to have still waters. Thus God leads us his sheep to "quiet waters."  So we see in verse 2 that God, the good shepherd, knows what we need to satisfy us.  He understands what we his sheep require so that we can be content and satisfied.

vs 3 "He restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
When we are weary, God restores our soul.  He makes all things new.  He re-energizes us so that we can keep on going.  He gives us rest.  He gives us peace.  God leads us in places that will bring Him glory.
But sheep have to be humble and wiling to be led.  What if a sheep goes astray and does not stay on the path the shepherd desires?  That is the sheep that must be disciplined, carried, sometimes its legs must be broken as well.
Isn't it great that God leads us or guides us in paths of righteousness?
In order for God to lead he has to go ahead of us. That means he has already been where we are going.
And where does God lead us?  In righteous paths or right going places.  In the Lord's prayer there is a line that goes "and lead us not into temptation....."  God isn't going to lead us astray.  No!  Instead He leads us in the way He intends for us to go.  Why does he do this?  "for his name's sake."  God has a reputation to uphold!  If God were to ever once mis lead us, his reputation would be runined!  But for God to lead us, we have to be willing to follow.  He didn't leave his sheep to find their own way, to develop their own paths of right living.  We have a guide to help us live rightly before God. 

vs 4 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and staff they comfort me."
The sheep would be guided with the staff of the shepherd.  In this way, though a sheep might be fearful of predators, he would know his protector is nearby and be comforted. The rod and staff of the shepherd could be used to rescue a sheep with its crook or help a sheep up that had fallen over which happened often I'm told. The rod and staff could be used to fight off predators as well.  Sometimes they were used for discipline, but even in discipline, the sheep would be comforted for they knew the shepherd cared for them enough to help them not do wrong.

vs 5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Sheep needed oil applied to their heads to keep flies away from them.  They would not rest or eat if they were constantly bothered by flies and other pests. We have a Shepherd who triumphs over our enemies and shares a meal with us.  This would designate a sealing of a covenant and a bond of friendship.  What a wonderful thing to know we are invited to eat at God's table!! We are considered His friends and He makes covenants with us.

vs 6 "Surely goodness and love (some say mercy) will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."   David concludes with this wonderful thought.  The good things God provides are eternal.  We get to enjoy them not just for a season but for always.  God's goodness never runs out.  He never tires of taking care of us.  His riches are so vast that we will never exhaust them.  Best of all we get to live in the same house as God!!!!  Only the kings sons and daughters could come and go as they pleased.
With God as our Shepherd, we have access to all his wealth.  We are heirs to the throne!
So ask your Father what you need and be amply supplied.  Be comforted, be at peace, be content, be filled, and be in want of nothing!!!

Christmas Memories

What is your favorite Christmas memory?
Perhaps there is a favorite hymn you enjoy at this time of year or something your family does as a Christmas tradition.
When I was a boy there were many things we did at Christmas time.  Mom would make us boys do a little Christmas pagent just for she and Dad.  One of us would do the song "The Little Drummer Boy," another would sing "Silent Night," and still another might have to read the Christmas story out of Luke.
Eventually we all rebelled and got to where we didn't like "performing" for our parents and any guests that might come to our house on Christmas. 
Decorating a Christmas tree is another memory I hold dear.  We would go and cut down a cedar usually.
Sometimes we'd have more than one Christmas tree.  There would be one on our porch, another in the living room, and then sometimes we'd get a little one all decorated for our bedroom.  We'd decorate it with glass ornaments, lights, and tinsel.  I'd end up throwing gobs of tinsel on the tree thinking I was really making it pretty.  NOT!
We also had a little manger scene with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Shepeherds, animals, etc.
I think eventually the mice in the attic ate away at our little cresh and destroyed it for good.
Sometimes our little church would combine with the Methodist church and the children would sing Christmas songs for an evening worship service.
One neat thing the youth would do (I was way too young at the time) was to make baskets of fruit for shut ins and take them to them as they sang carols.
I had to stay home with Mom but that meant I got to see Red Skelton on our black and white Philco TV (rabbit ears.)  He was soooo funny.
One time we went driving to see Christmas lights.  Dad went into a subdivision that had one big circle of homes.  He went round and round that subdivision!  I thought perhaps he couldn't figure how to get out of there, but perhaps he was just being lazy and didn't want to drive us all over creation!
We used to love trying to guess what our presents were under the tree.  I was quite mischievous and would tear the wrapping a little bit to see if I could tell what was under it. He he he.

Well no matter what your Christmas memory, I hope you remember the reason for the season.
God's gift to us of Jesus, our Saviour.  He came to save us FROM sin, FOR a purpose, and OF grace.
When we see Jesus, we see God for Jesus is God with us. He is Emanuel!!
I hope this year you will make new memories and recall old ones.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Treasure in Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us."  NIV

I'm reminded when I read this passage of the story of Aladin's lamp.  An all powerful genie resides in a dusty old oil lamp.  That's kind of what Paul is reminding us of here in Second Corinthians.
Our bodies here on Earth are just like "jars of clay."  They are imperfect, easily broken, earthly vessels that God chooses to use to bring glory to himself.  Up in verse 6 Paul reminds us God said "Let light shine out of darkness."  He made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Imperfect as we are, God resides in us if we have accepted his Holy Spirit. Therein resides all the power in the universe. With that power we can move mountains; call on God Almighty to heal, to change situations, to work in someone's life. 
So remember this the next time you think of yourself as not worth much.  God chooses the imperfect things of this world to bring him Glory and Honor.