Signs Part II

On the way to pickup my son from school, I received some bad news. This came via text from my wife and with everything else that has been going on in our lives it really had the feel of "piling on". So I prayed, I prayed for understanding, I told God that I even though I did not understand it, I knew he has a plan so this was no surprise for him. I did ask him for understanding or even a sign. A few minutes later I pulled into the school and into the pickup line to await our son. While waiting I was focused on something inside my vehicle when the minivan in front of me pulled out of line to leave. I looked up and while I was waiting to move up in line I noticed their license plate BLV IN HM. I have been picking my son up at this school for almost 3 years now and have never seen this van or plate before. Ok God, you still have us in the palm of your hand I'll keep hanging on keep staying in faith thank you for the sign.

Update:
My wife put out an email to all of our friends in Christ asking for their prayers. One of which was our Chief Medical Director who did pray for us but he also had a suggestion which she followed. Within 2 hours God took what had been meant for our harm and used it for our good. God never closes one door without opening another.

The next day it happened again.  On my way to pickup my son from school I again received bad news relating to the business.  So, again I prayed and asked God for help.  The answer did not come as quickly, but it did come.  The next day we received news that we had been waiting several weeks to get that would greatly help us get through this time.  Again, we prayed and God answered, it just doesn't get any better than this!

How will you be remembered?

Now, I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon so please let's not board the freak-out train just yet.

How will we be remembered when we are gone?  This has been bouncing around inside my head for a few weeks now so I thought I would address it here.  I cannot remember the title but there is a song on christian radio that talks about how will we be remembered when we are gone, and I heard it again recently on TV.  The question is essentially, how do you want to be remembered when you are gone?  When I asked myself that question, I really did not have an answer.  I mean, I don't really get to make that decision now do I?  I don't really get to write the answer because I'll be gone.   The people I am around every day will write the answer to this question of who I was, not I.  But, for the sake of argument, I want to be remembered as a kind, caring, giving person who was always there for his family.  By there I mean, having time to spend with them, to help them with what is important to them or bothering them.  Not always wrapped up in what I think is important, not emotionally distant or putting what I want to do first.  Then it occurred to me that my first impression of this was completely wrong.  We do get to write the answer to the question of "Who I was" we all do.  Every day we write this answer with every kind or harsh word to another.   Every we try to see another's point of view or just dismiss them.  Every time that we focus just on ourselves and not others.  Every time we are too busy to spend time with our children or put aside what we want to get done to spend time with them we write this answer.  Most of us go through life without ever realising what now seems like a simple truth.  We write the story of who we are in the memories of those around us, we have the power to make those memories good or bad with every word every action or inaction, it really is up to us.  Jesus has given me a chance to make those memories good and not bad any more, to be the man I was meant to be instead of who I had become.  I know I'm not worthy of his grace but I accept it just the same.  I hope you will too.

Easter

This past Easter, Pastor Bennett really encouraged members to bring someone to church with them.  I brought my mom who was raised Catholic so this was a very different experience for her.  At our house following service, she said something that caught my attention.  She said that she had never heard anyone thanking Jesus for going to the cross.  This seemed to bother her and at the time I took it as her looking to start a fight and just let it go.  The more I thought of what she said, it occurred to me that she was not looking to argue she just doesn't get it.  She is not alone.  I believe that she, and many others, look at the crucifixion of Jesus as a loss instead of the victory that it really is.  They view the crucifixion as something that was done to Jesus, when they should be looking at it as something that Jesus allowed to happen so that our sins would be forgiven.  Without the forgiveness of our sins there is no path to God, for as long as we carry the stain of sin we cannot stand in the presence of God.  Jesus allowed himself to be crucified so that we would be forgiven and would be able to spend eternity in heaven with God.  This is the son of God we are talking about after all, if he did not want to allow it to happen then all he would have had to do would be to say no I will not allow this and the scourging would not have wounded him, the nails would not have pierced his skin.

Format Change

Just a heads up that going forward, I will be posting each new post as it's own even if it is on the same topic as an older post.  Previously, I would just go back and add on to an existing post that was on the same topic but I did not really think that through.  So, from today on if the post is related or on the same topic as an older post I'll reference the older post in the title of the new the new but related post.  Just thought this might help all three or four of my readers.

This is real to me

This is real to me, I can't get that statement out of my head.  Almost a month ago I sat in church I heard what I had been feeling described better than I could have ever put it into words.  Pastor Bennett was going through the different ways that we connect to God and was talking about how he connects and he said I'm up here moving, have my hands raised in praise "This is real to me".  And there it was, what I had been feeling but had been unable to put into words.  All of this was now real to me.  Before I received Christ as my Lord and Savior, going to church was just something that was expected, I didn't really "get" anything out of it.   When we first came to the Church at Polaris  I didn't care for the music, every week I would prefer to have gotten there at the very end of the music, just in time to hear the message but my wife really liked the music so we usually arrived somewhere in the middle.  However, after I received Christ as my Lord and Savior, I could not get enough of, the music,  reading the Bible, being in a small group, going to Church.  During service I sing, raise my hands in praise and sometimes get so choked up with emotion that sometimes I even cry.  It has been just over 7 months since I hit bottom, since I turned to God and asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior and I still look forward to Sunday.  It is said that when you are saved, you become a new creation in Christ, that the old is gone.  Every day I live the proof of that statement, and now, I can also say that this is "real" to me as well.

Words of Faith from Mr. T: Mr. T Interview - Beliefnet.com

No joke Mr T. is a great man of faith and I think this is worth reading.

Mr. T Interview, 'I Pity the Fool,' Christianity, Christian, Jesus - Beliefnet.com

The importance of praying for others

It dawned on me the other day, for the last 6 months there has not been a day that has gone by that I did not pray at least once.  Whether alone, silent, out loud or with the wife and or son, I have prayed every day.  I have seen many of those prayers answered, one of which took place right before my eyes.  But what of the last 42 years?  During those years I was not very close to God and had not accepted Jesus into my heart.  But prayer, outside of church, was just not part of my regular everyday life like is now.  I attended church regularly, by which I mean on Christmas and Easter and sporadically throughout the rest of the year.  So my question became how did I make it this far, without praying regularly.  In my life I have been involved in so many things that I either should not have survived or at least should have come out far worse than I did.  The only answer that would come to mind was that throughout my life I must have had people praying to God on my behalf.  There just is no other explanation, whether it was my wife; my grandmother; my choir & ensemble director, I may never know all the who were praying on my behalf asking God to watch over me.  If it were not for those prayers, my life would have ended many years ago, many years before I was saved.  My point is, if there is someone that you know, someone that you know or suspect has not accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior pray for them, pray for them often.  It doesn't have to be long and complicated, or even specific, what matters is that you take action and pray to God for them.  Your prayer can be as simple as asking God to watch over the person in question what matters is that you pray.  It made a difference in my life and now I pray every day and I thank God for those who cared enough to ask God to protect me when I wasn't concerned enough to do it myself.