Praise the Lord for the way
the Lord ushers in a winter wonderland. It was a beautiful day
yesterday. The weather forecasters were forecasting snow
and inclement weather for last night and for today. They had posted
a winter weather warning for the region and the sleet started coming down at
about 6:00 PM. Prior to that time, Alice and I walked briskly and
jubilantly along Main Street and the side streets of our town. The
iconic Tioughnioga River that runs through the town was running deep and
ferocious last evening. Our daughter, who was on a short vacation in
Hawaii, got back safely to Washington, DC late last evening.
She assured me that she brought me some tropical fruits from Hawaii.
On account of the wintry weather this morning the schools are in the are closed
for the day. The students are celebrating a snow day that all can enjoy.
Praise
the Lord for the way He posts many signposts around and before us that inspire
and encourage us along our pilgrimage. I praise the Lord for a
beautiful person, Beverly Cree, and her husband Fred. They were married
for 73 years. Fred died just few days ago at the age of 95. Bev and
Fred shared a wonderful life of love and loyalty. Bev shared with me
that she got married very young, but she had a dream to go to
college. The Lord met the desire of her heart, and she went to
college when she was 43 years old. She received her degree in
teaching as she graduated with her daughter-in-law. She taught in public
school for many years and retired with gratitude and a full
life. Praise the Lord for He is the one who meets the desire of
our hearts. Bev is a great encourager. She affirms others and
brings out the best in others.
I
noticed that some prominent weathermen in the United Kingdom have
designated January 24 as the most blue (or depressing)
day. We can declare that the Lord of the seasons can
make this day beautiful and filled with His blessings. Praise the Lord
for the way our life on earth is full of blessings, joys, and
celebrations though at times it is saddled with barriers, detours,
diversions, bloopers, and bumps. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the
life. By His amazing power He paves our way with favor, grace and
blessings. Our Lord has promised He will be with us always, even to the
end of the age!
One of my favorite
theologians and Scholars is Karl Barth, who was a prolific author,
contemplative thinker, and a great believer. He has written volumes
of books on Christian Theology. On one occasion one of his
students asked how he can sum up all writings. Dr. Barth replied,
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so". That
is the sum and the gist of the Christian Gospel. Karl Barth spoke of
God promising Abraham a bright future and a son as an heir, but Abraham was
nearly 100-years-old and Sarah’s womb was dead. The promise seemed so
impossible that both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God. It was ridiculous,
beyond all experience and reason, but they believed God, and when the son came
they name him Yitsak, Isaac, which means laughter. Barth said, “Faith ...
grips reason by the throat and strangles the beast.”
I believe the Lord
of our journey at times allows some barriers and detours along the
way. By Hs grace He even provides some ladders along the way.
Once the ladder of faith is scaled, we reach a new height. Once we climb,
we get out of the shallows and out of the shadows. Faith becomes more
than just a list of things we believe. We move beyond just spouting slogans
and cliches. New vistas and horizons arise that we did not think were
possible. We see that, with the help of God, we are capable of things of
which we never knew we were capable. We will never know what we could
have achieved, or what we could have become, unless we press on and climb these
obstacles. All of us will face barriers. The question is what will
we do when faced with them. Will we sit down and give up and get mad, or
will we put the ladder of faith against the barrier and begin our climb?
One
of the great examples of someone who has overcome unbelievable barriers is Nick
Vujicic. In 1982, Nick was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare
genetic disorder, which means he has no arms or legs. He does have two
small feet attached to his torso. Growing up, Nick struggled emotionally and
physically to accept his condition. But today, as a follower of Christ,
Nick has what he calls “a ridiculously good life.” He has a motor boat
and loves to fish and swim. He is married to a beautiful young woman.
Nick
writes, “When I’m asked how I can claim a ridiculously good life when I
have no arms or legs, [people] assume I’m suffering from what I lack.
They inspect my body and wonder how I could possibly give my life to God, who
allowed me to be born without limbs. Others have attempted to soothe me
by saying that God has all the answers and then when I’m in heaven I will find
out his intentions. Instead, I choose to live by what the Bible says, which is
that God is the answer today, yesterday, and always.
"When
people read about my life or witness me living it, they are prone to
congratulate me for being victorious over my disabilities. I tell them
that my victory came in surrender. It comes every day when I acknowledge
that I can’t do this on my own, so I say to God, ‘I give it to you!’ Once
I yielded, the Lord took my pain and turned it into something good. He
gave my life meaning when no one and nothing else could provide it. [And]
if God can take someone like me, someone without arms and legs, and use me as
his hands and feet, he can use anybody. It’s not about ability. The
only thing God needs from you is a willing heart.”
I often think of God
leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. It was an exciting time, full
of the promises of God. But it was also a dangerous and difficult time,
full of the threats of Pharaoh, and the tests and trials of faith of what it
meant to follow God. God had announced his love for them and his desire
to free them from their slavery. They always thought that was what they
wanted, but there were barriers to their freedom that they had to climb which
at times it looked impossible. The task masters increased their work
load. There was the Red Sea looming as a great obstacle before them.
There was the Sinai wilderness and the seemingly interminable time spent
wandering there. There was bickering among the people. There was a lack
of food and water. As they faced these things, they decided that
maybe slavery was not so bad after all, and they rebelled and made plans to
head back to Egypt. The Israelites said to Moses, “If only we had died by
the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all
the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this
entire assembly to death’” (Exodus 16:2-3).
They also faced the
challenge of entering the land that God was promising. There were great
blessings and abundance there, but there were also barriers. There were people
who were fierce warriors and giants. Again they rebelled. It was
"a land flowing with milk and honey", but the Bible says, “Then they
despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. They
grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD” (Psalm 106:24-25).
Great blessings and opportunities were before them, but they stayed in their
tents, depressed. This is the same way we often face barriers, as the
exciting possibilities of the future are darkened by the difficulties of the
present. It is often easier to sit and be angry and depressed than it is
to trust. The Lord has a prior claim on us. He gives us grace and even
faith to press on, looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.
The best is yet to be. It is all beautiful and all glorious.
In Him,
Brown
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