Month: August 2017

“My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long,

Where is your God? These things I remember as I pour out my soul:

How I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God,

with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.”

Psalm 42:3-5

I’m feeling a little grouchy. I guess everybody gets into this place sometimes. The writer or writers of Psalm 42 and 43 may have felt a little grouchy, too. At least, it says their soul was downcast. According to the Encarta Dictionary (on my computer) “downcast” means sad and pessimistic. So, yeah, a reason to be grouchy. Yet, the Psalmist mentions many things for which to praise God!

Here’s my personalized version of those thoughts:

These are sad days for me, so I find myself crying sometimes.

I remember happier times and find myself in a pity party.

I used to travel with my beloved and enjoy the company of friends.

Now I’m alone and many friends are far away and busy with their lives.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

God gives comfort and strength as I hope in Him.

He turns my tears to smiles and helps me find usefulness in His service.

I will praise Him, my Savior and my God!

God blesses me with a bounty of vegetables to can and flowers to enjoy.

He has put me in a place to enjoy much of Nature’s beauty.

So as I snap the green beans and prepare the tomatoes for salsa I am thankful.

God keeps me busy as my soul is restored.  I must praise Him, my Savior and my God!

Dear God, help all of us on our grouchy days to remember You are the Rock on which we depend and it is in You we put our trust. Amen

 

 

 

“Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. Why should the nations say, ‘where is their God?’” (Psalm 79:9-10a).

I am saddened and disturbed by the increased demands for rights and protests and counter protests (for whatever reason) taking place in our nation. Some want to remove or destroy our historical monuments and are getting their way, but that doesn’t change our history nor will it solve the real problem.  Others want the right to live an immoral lifestyle to the exclusion of another person’s rights. Our police officers are wounded and killed because of disrespect for law and order. When I think about the things that are dividing our nation I see selfishness and pride.  When one person’s or one group’s “opinion” becomes a “demand” that’s selfishness.  Without God in one’s life self can become god. Many do not recognize that God’s truth is the answer to our personal problems and our nation’s problems.

Truth #1: God is Creator and Sustainer of all.  God created male and female.  God established the first marriage-one man, one woman.

Truth #2: God gave Ten Commands to live by and Jesus summed them into two.  “Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

Truth #3: Jesus died and rose again. The empty cross and the empty grave give us hope. Jesus is alive and desires all people to come to Him. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Truth #4: The Church will triumph. (Matthew 16:15-18 and Revelation 21 and 22.) The Church must stand for truth-not to be divisive but to seek to share the truth with others. The Church must demonstrate the love of Christ through caring for others unselfishly. The Church must not back down when confronted by those who deny God’s truth. John 3:20-21 says, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Truth #5: God’s Word is truth and will stand forever. “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalm 119:160).  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Many are not living by the truth of the Word. Just because one denies the truth does not make the truth less true. God’s Word is truth and it always will be.

Let’s live unselfishly in the light of truth!

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).

I attended a wedding last week.  I had to drive several hours to get there and had almost decided against going.  But I’m glad I did.  The wedding ceremony was Christ-centered, and the wedding attire and decorations simple, but attractive.  The reception was a simple meal and no alcoholic drinks in sight.  It was simply a celebration of two Christ followers joining in marriage.  I was blessed to witness it.

Attending a wedding always causes me to remember my own wedding. (That was 50 years ago this week.) Wayne and I were married for almost 48 years until his death.  I think of those words, “till death do we part” and wonder if the bride and groom think about what that means.    They are looking forward to the start of their life together and most likely not about death.  That is natural.  Neither Wayne nor I were thinking much about that until late in our marriage.  I can remember some rough times early in our marriage when I wondered if we would last.  God, in His loving mercy, and I’m sure many prayers of our parents saw us through the rough times until we both matured and our marriage became strong and solid.

In Ephesians, chapter 5 the Apostle Paul speaks of the marriage relationship as that of Christ and the church.  Christ is the head of the church, which is His body.  The husband is the head of the wife. The church submits to Christ.  The wife submits to her husband and both “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  Christ’s love for the church was so great He gave up His life for her in order to make her holy and to “present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.”

Wouldn’t it be amazing and culture-changing if marriages were showing that kind of relationship between husbands and wives!  We’d see more 50, 60, or 70 year anniversaries. What would it look like if families were showing the love, respect, and submission that Christ desires for His church?  Yes, I know every family isn’t a Christian family, but even if just the Christians took Paul’s teaching more seriously, marriages would be stronger, not perfect but strong. The church would be stronger, too.

There is another wedding coming in the future.  Christ is going to marry the church.  The culmination of human history will be the wedding of the Lamb and His bride, the church.  What a celebration that will be!  John writes in Revelation 19:9, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”  Are you on the invitation list?  If so, we’ll be celebrating forever!

 

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15).

Grandson #3 sat pushing his pancake pieces around on his plate with a bewildered look on his face.  Grandson #2 was eating his pancakes but silently wondering what was wrong.  No one said a word until Becky, their mom, took a bite of hers.  Was it the syrup?  Something didn’t taste right and we were trying to figure out what it was.

Grandson #3 said, “I ate some and it didn’t taste too bad, but there was a bad taste in my mouth afterwards.”

Grandson #2 said, “I thought something wasn’t right, but didn’t want to be rude so I ate them. I figured it wouldn’t hurt me.”

I finally took a bite and looked again at the recipe. The pancakes certainly didn’t taste like they were suppose to taste. They were almost bitter!  I soon discovered my mistake. I’d used baking soda instead of baking powder!  Of course, being the good grandmother that I try to be, I mixed up another batch and started over.  Thankfully, I got them cooked and we were eating them before the power went out for the second time in two days!

I apologized and was forgiven for my mistake. I’ve made that recipe many times before – successfully. This time I did not give the making of the pancakes my careful attention. I’d already made a batch of brownies and had macaroni and cheese cooking in the crock pot.  The Sipes Family reunion was at noon and my time was short and apparently my brain power was as well. I don’t multi-task as well as I used to. And my kitchen was in a mess!

As I thought about what lesson I was learning from all this I remembered that the Bible tells us to be careful how we live.  We get too busy.  We have messes. We make mistakes and sometimes lose our power.  But as God’s people we have a responsibility to live carefully and make the most of our opportunities. Others are watching us. My constant prayer is that my grandchildren will see good examples to follow, whether it’s their parents, grandparents, or other Christians who are involved in their lives.

When we answered the question “what’s wrong with the pancakes?” I went about the business of correcting my mistake. Sometimes I have to ask a similar question about my life. “What’s wrong with my life?”  That, too, may require a correction or an apology.  Thankfully God is willing to forgive me when I get careless and make mistakes.

When Joshua knew it was time for his death he reminded God’s people to “be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law” and to “be very careful to love the Lord your God” (Joshua 23:6, 11).    Good to remember!