OUR ALWAYS FAITHFUL GOD

This is it.  The day has come.  It is a time of both culmination and commencement, the culmination of a year of preparation and confirmation, the commencement of a new life with Melinda Temple as my wife.  Sept 28^th is the wedding day.  Excitement grows with the hour as I look forward to life with my new bride.  The happiness in my soul at the joy of loving this amazing, beautiful lady is boundless.  Yet in the midst of all this, there is even greater joy to know that the God of the universe, the God who promised to never leave me or forsake me, the God whose will I want to know and walk in more than anything else in life, has chosen this path for me.  One thing I have learned over the years is the truth of Proverbs 3:5,6.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.  The words that thrill me in these verses are the words “all” and “shall”.  We are encouraged to trust him with ALL our heart, even when our understanding is darkened, and to trust Him in whatever path we find ourselves on, for He SHALL direct our way.  There is great peace, comfort and excitement in humbling ourselves in trust before our Great God, acknowledging our full dependence on Him.  I don’t deserve this great blessing more than anyone else, yet I am deeply grateful for it.  But I also have learned that no matter what my circumstances, when I submit all to Him He will direct me, making sure my life unfolds according to His will.  That is my greatest joy and confidence.  May that be yours as well.

UNUSUAL BUT IMPACTFUL

The story of Paul and Barnabas in the Philippian jail is an amazing story.  One of the most unusual parts of the story is that at midnight, after they had been beaten and placed in stocks in the inner prison, a place of highest security, they prayed and sang hymns of praise to God.

When we experience life’s tough blows we may pray, but do we sing praise?  Our humanness would lead us to pray that God would protect, bring deliverance, get us out of this mess.   The praise part may be harder to come by.  Yet it is in the unusualness of this praise time that the Bible states, “the prisoners were listening to them.”  What the other prisoners were hearing was not normal to their experience, but it was impactful.  Both the prayer and praise time made them desire to stick around, even after the earthquake offered them the opportunity to escape.  It is in the hard times that our unusual response with prayer and praise can impact others the most.  Let’s not miss those opportunities.  Though we don’t sign up for the trials and tests of life, waving our hand to God and saying, “Pick Me!  Pick Me!”, they do come.  When God entrusts us with them, let’s pull a Paul and Barnabas and rejoice in the impact we can have.

COUNTDOWNS

Some of the most exciting countdowns I remember in my childhood were the final 10 ten seconds of a space launch, the 24 days till Christmas, the last five days of school.  But I have been in an exciting countdown over this past year.  It is a countdown to a wedding day that absolutely thrills my heart.  Over this past year that Melinda and I have gotten to know each other, the geographical distance necessitated countdowns.  She lives in Florida, I live in Ohio.  So it was “42 days till we get to be together again, 33 days till we’ll see each other again”, and on it went, month by month by month.   Well the countdown in its final stage.  As of today, Friday, September 13, 2013, the numbers are 13 and 15.  Thirteen days till Melinda picks me up at the airport in Wilmington, and 15 days till the “I Do’s”.

The anticipation consumes me because Melinda is such an amazing lady, and an incredible gift of God to me and my family.  I am blessed way beyond my worthiness.  So each day as the wedding gets closer I get more and more excited.

Maybe that’s why God uses the wedding metaphor in talking about the day when we the church, His bride, will be united with Jesus, our bridegroom, forever and ever.  The thought of that should elicit the same excitement in us.  It will be the biggest event in our lives.  God will pull out all the stops.  The wedding feast will be amazing.  Can I encourage you to be like me?  Get excited!!

I DO

Three weeks from today I am taking a life changing trip, and all for the better.  A little over three years ago my wife, Mary Ann, died.  And now in the providential working of God I am taking that life changing trip to the altar of matrimony once again.  The excitement increases with each day.  I love the opportunity to love a wife again, to dream of the future joys that living life with the one you love brings.  To have a soulmate that loves God and family with incredible passion and conviction, and who is open to pursue all God has for us.  It’s all so good!!

When we stand at the altar and say “I Do”, it isn’t just a sign and consent kind of deal.  It is the beginning of a journey together that becomes a relationship of deepest intimacy.  There is no other relationship like it on earth.  And it mirrors the relational heart of God.  So it shouldn’t come as any surprise to us that God wants that kind of relationship with us when we stand before him and say “I Do” to his offer of salvation.  It isn’t just a decision of believe and receive, it is a relationship that begins a journey together and moves forward to greater intimacy and fulfillment.  It never ends, it never stops.  It is meant to continue all the days of our lives on earth as well as in heaven.  It is a relationship of inexhaustible sweetness and joy.

As CCC begins a new ministry year, I trust you will keep going deeper in a growing, intimate relationship with the Lord.  It’s precious and we want to do all we can to help.