Use Life's Tragedies

 

When I was a youngster, my dad built our home.  But before he did, we lived in a 40 ft. trailer.  First, dad bought property in the country and moved the trailer onto the site.  When the property was paid for, he built the front part of the house with the trailer connected to the back.  Finally, he moved the trailer finishing the back half of the house.  The back had a full basement under it made of concrete blocks.  The week before my dad poured the basement floor, we had a big rainstorm.  I was so disappointed to see our new basement full of water.  But dad was not disappointed at all.  He said, “The dear Lord sent the rain so that I could level up the floor.  Gerald, go get some wooden stakes, my big hammer, and meet me downstairs.”  I gathered up the materials and we waded into the water.  Dad drove in the grade stakes all around the basement exactly to the top of the water, which was perfectly level throughout the whole basement!  When the water dried up, he poured a perfectly level basement floor.  Hey, do you have what you think are disasters in your life?  God could be using your so-called disasters to teach you valuable lessons.  Hey, don’t look at problems, look for what God is teaching you through your problems.  Joseph had it right in Genesis 50:20.  His brothers had sold him into slavery, but God had used it to put Joseph where he could eventually be in charge of all of the land of Egypt!  Joseph told his brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Hey, God will take care of you … if you let Him.

A Brother

 

My younger brother was a character.  Phillip was impetuous and full of life.  I still have a necktie that belonged to him.  He tied it and the small end of the tie was too long, but instead of retying the tie, he cut the small end off to match the front.  That was Phillip.  Phillip and I slept in twin beds in the back bedroom of our house in Maryland.  One night, on a lark, he got out of bed in the wee hours of the morning, crept over to my bed, slugged me in the shoulder, and jumped back into his bed.  I woke up, disoriented, and saw Phillip sleeping.  I thought that I had had a bad dream, but my shoulder was hurting.  As I was rubbing my eyes trying to think, I heard Phillip snicker under his covers.  I jumped on him, and the fight was on!  Twice in high school, I had to finish fights that he had started.  Afterwards, I let him have it for involving me in his troubles.  Phillip’s life was shortened by a car accident in 1969.  He was sixteen and I was eighteen.  I was close to my brother, but when I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior in 1956, I found a Brother that was even closer.  Earthly relationships are sweet, but Jesus is the best friend that you could ever have.  Oh yes, He is!  Proverbs 18:24 “… there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”  Hey, don’t neglect your best friend, Jesus Christ.

Caleb

 

We can learn much from the life of Caleb.  Along with Joshua, Caleb brought back a good report from the Promised Land.  But the other ten spies spoke of a scary land: a land full of giants and fortified cities.  Yikes!!  The people were ready to stone Moses and flee back to Egypt.  Numbers 13:30 “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”  But the people didn’t follow Caleb’s advice.  So, for the next twenty years, the naysayers wandered through the Wilderness while Caleb watched.  Hey, that wasn’t fair!  He was ready to go into the Promised Land!  Why did he have to wander around with those losers?!  I am sure Caleb quietly nodded his head each time one of those men died in the Wilderness.  But in twenty years, when it came time to choose a new leader, it wasn’t Caleb that was chosen, it was Joshua.  But even then, Caleb wasn’t discouraged.  Caleb was patient.  He wasn’t wrapped up in himself; he was waiting on the Lord and waiting on God’s timing.  And God noticed Caleb and God was proud of Caleb.  God said in Numbers 14:24, “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”  God blessed Caleb and Caleb loved God.  Hey, how about you?  Is God pleased with you?  Do you make God proud?  If not, you can start today.  Just do it.

Doing or Done?

 

A radio preacher recently made a statement that made me think.  He said, “There are only the two religions in the world: Doing and Done.”  An interesting take on world religions.  All religions (except Christianity) are about doing.  None of them can guarantee that their followers have done enough.  They must keep working and doing more.  But Christianity is different.  Jesus Christ has done all of the work on the Cross of Calvary.  And as Jesus died, He proclaimed, “It is finished!”, and truly it was.  Jesus did the work for us, and our part is only to believe.  And I am grateful for what Jesus has done for me!  Hey, how about you?  Are you still working or are you resting in what Jesus has done for you?

The Lord Strong and Mighty

 

Joshua and the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, a great fortified city of the Canaanite confederation.  Jericho stood between Israel and the Promised Land.  They would have to defeat Jericho before they could enter into the land that God had promised to them.  Joshua 5:13, 14 “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship …”  The Lord God Almighty was there, not to help Joshua, but to take over for Joshua.  Hey, God doesn’t want to help you, God wants to take over for you.  If God is your co-pilot, you are in the wrong seat!  Move over and let God be the Pilot and you be the co-pilot.  Trust God and let Him lead in your life.

An Accident?

 

Have you had an accident?  Something that you didn’t plan on happening, but it happened anyway?  Well, that depends on who is doing the talking.  Things may take you by surprise, but God knew that they were coming.  That’s because the Lord is in charge of you.  And God uses good and bad events in your life for your good and His glory.  Does God forget where you are?  Not on your life!  Isaiah said it best in Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands ...”  God gives you this picture of His love for you.  He has your name tattooed right on the palm of His hand, where He sees it every day!  Hey, the dear Lord won’t forget you because He doesn’t want to forget you!  So, rest in the comfort of God’s love today.

Spiritual Grocery Shopping

 

A great memory from six years ago:  My wife called to me from the kitchen saying she needed me to go to the grocery store for her.  I was tired of reading, so I jumped up, grabbed the shopping list, and drove to Wall-Mart.  I parked and walked toward the door, but as I scanned over the items on the list, my heart sank.  My wife had not been specific.  Now this may not seem to be a problem to you, but it was for me.  I knew better.  There are so many ways that a man can mess up if the list isn’t specific.  If it reads, peanut butter, does she mean creamy or crunchy?  Cheap store brand or Peter Pan?  Small, medium, or large?  But I was prepared:  I pulled out my cell phone and called her.  As I quizzed my wife on the first item, she reminded me that the groceries were for Brother So-and-so, a dear friend at church that had been laid up for several weeks, and our church is having an old-fashioned pounding for him tomorrow.  My wife said, “Get whatever you want.”  As I ended the call, a warm feeling spread over me.  Hey, I couldn’t mess up!  Whatever I picked would be right.  This was easy!.  Then, as I reached for the Great Value strawberry jam, I had another wonderful thought.  This was no ordinary shopping trip; this was a spiritual shopping trip!  This wasn’t for me, and really, this wasn’t for Brother So-and-so; this shopping was for the Lord!  So, I put back the Great Value jam and picked out the more expensive Smucker’s Jam and put it into my cart.  I felt good.  As I pulled items off the shelves, I smiled.  I was doing God’s work!  When I got to the check-out, I even hoped that the total would be larger than it was!  Driving home, I remembered the words of Jesus that Paul quoted in Acts 20:35, “… It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  It was then that I realized that those words were true.  Tomorrow my brother in Christ will be blessed, but tonight, I am blessed.  Thank you, Lord.