HE IS THERE!

Sometimes we wonder does Jesus care?  Doesn't He see my pain?  Where is God?  Why doesn't He do something about my situation?   We've all questioned whether God was there at one time or another.

The Bible is very clear that God is there, He does hear our cry, and He does have compassion for us.  The Word says He sees each sparrow that falls and that He cares for us much more than these tiny little birds.  So you see He is very much concerned with what concerns us.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus will never leave us and that He will go with us to the very end.  What a comfort!  Jesus does care and He is there!  Even though we may not feel like He's there, just know that He is there because His Word says He is and the Word of God is true.  God does not and cannot lie.

Just say this out loud when you feel like God is not there or not listening, or doesn't care.  Say:  "My Father loves me!  He is here because His Word says so.  He hears my cry.  He will work everything out for my good.  Now, get behind me satan!  You are a liar and the father of lies.  My God is with me, right now, and I thank Him for always being with me and never leaving me alone.  I love you Father!  Thank you for loving me!"

When you begin to acknowledge His presence, the devil will have to flee and also the Bible says God inhabits the praises of His people.  So lift up your hands, your head, and your heart.  Begin to praise Him in faith, thanking Him for His holy presence.

A Man's Rightful Place

I remember as a child our evening family devotions with a great sense of pride.  Dad would call all seven of us children (of which I am the oldest) to kneel around the bed where he and my mom slept.  He would read a scripture and then comment on it.  He might ask if we had any questions about it or if we had a prayer need.  The best I can remember not one of us ever said a thing because we were tired and ready to go to sleep.  I laid my head down on the bed one night and had to struggle to keep my eyes open.

Dad told us one time about the night we were all in bed asleep and he heard a swishing sound like satin fabric brushing against satin.  He looked up just as a very tall, huge angel in white passed swiftly by his bed and turned right up the hall toward the bedroom where me and my sisters slept.  He said he jumped out of the bed to go check on us.  He was relieved when he found we were all safe and sleeping soundly.  I still get goosebumps to this day when I tell this story.

Dad and mom took us to church every time the doors were open.  I remember one Sunday night feeling very badly and wanting to stay home.  It took a lot of persuasion, but he finally gave in.  It wasn't that I wanted to miss church, I just didn't feel like going.

I am very thankful that both my parents were Christians and they took us to church.  I'm also thankful we had family devotions.  I remember going to bed many nights and my dad would be sitting at his desk reading his Bible.  

My dad didn't always go to church, however.  When he and my mom married he was not a Christian.  He drank, smoked, and gambled.  He was a sinner and did the things sinners do.  My mom kept praying for him and about 10 years later her prayers were answered.

We were in the third week of revival services in the middle of winter with a woman evangelist.  Imagine that!  Dad had promised mom he would go with her at least one night of the revival, but kept coming up with excuses.  On the last night of the revival she reminded him that he had promised he would go at least one night.  Being a man of his word, he reluctantly got dressed for church.  I remember that night like it was yesterday, although it's been over 50 years ago.  We all filed in and sat down on the back row.  Dad was holding my baby brother.  The invitational song was being sung when a dear brother in our church walked back and asked my dad to go to the altar.  I don't see that happen anymore, but it was pretty common in the church where I grew up.  This man was so humble, a good Christian, and could not talk plain.  He was a stutterer.  This just got to my dad.  The Holy Spirit was drawing him.  He handed my baby brother over to my mother and walked all the way down that long aisle.  He got down on his knees and began to weep.

I watched with emotion and tears in my eyes as my dad knelt at that altar and gave his life to Jesus.  He was never the same and neither was our home the same.   He totally changed from a beer drinking, chimney smoking, debt gambling sinner into a Bible reading, praying loud, worshiper of Almighty God.  He began to live, read, breathe, and preach the Word.  He eventually went to pastor his first church in another state.

My dad took his rightful place in our home that night just like the Bible says.  Many Christian men are not taking their rightful place in the home.  Men are not calling their families together for devotions.  Men you do not have to be a preacher to do this.  The devil is trying to destroy our homes and families and it's because men are absent from the home (through divorce) or they are not taking their rightful place in the home as the priest.  Men are to be the head of the home.  They are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and they are to lead their families in the ways of Christ.

Men, if you really want to be a man, take your place as the head of the home and be the priest God has ordained you to be!  Marriages and families will stay intact when this is done.

He Makes Beautiful Things

Christmas Eve my husband's oldest sister suffered a stroke.  We visited her in the hospital on Saturday before New Year's Eve and we both expressed concern that she was dying unless there was a miracle.  Needless to say, we both left that hospital with heavy hearts and a prayer on our lips.  

Monday morning at about 5:15 a.m. the call came that we all dread.  They were moving her into ICU and all the family was called in.  For you that have lost loved ones, you know the routine.  Family and close friends sit in the waiting room waiting for their time to go in and spend a few minutes, say a prayer, and hope for a miracle.  

On New Year's Day her children were standing around her bed.  One daughter was brushing her hair back, her only son was tightly holding her hand, her other daughter was standing on the opposite of the bed, holding her other hand.  Christian music was playing as her grandchildren, great grandchildren and a host of other family members were gathered around watching.  Although there was extreme sadness, there was also a serene peace.  

As I watched, I thought about how short life really is.  Someone said life is the dash between the year we're born and the year we die that is etched on our tombstones.  The Bible says man's life is like a vapor and also compares it to a flower in the field.  Life starts as a seed, then a sprout, then the leaves appear, then the bloom itself, beautiful and full grown.  Then the flower begins to fade, to eventually wither and die.  That's life.  The Bible also says the place where it once was is remembered no more. 

Standing there I thought about life.  We're here today and gone tomorrow.  It never ceases to amaze me, but it was so wonderful to see the lives that her life had touched.  You could also feel the love in the room.  She truly loved her children and grandchildren.  If you talked with her long, you knew this was a fact.  She went to church every Sunday and   gave to those in need.  I watched the tears in her families eyes.  I saw them bend down and kiss her cheek.  I heard the words softly spoken many times, "Mama, or Granny, I love you."  

As I stood there, I thought this is what life is all about.  It's loving and giving.  It's not about how much wealth or fame you can obtain, it's about loving God and loving others.  

My husband spoke at the funeral.  We did not discuss what he would talk about.  But the day before the funeral, I was thinking, if I were speaking I would talk about the Proverbs 31 woman.  She grew up poor, worked hard all her life, didn't have much education, but she was a woman who loved the Lord.  When my husband started speaking, the first words out of his mouth was, "I want to talk about the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31." I thought how appropriate this was.  Life is not about beauty either.  The Bible says beauty is deceitful and it fades.  "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."  Proverbs 31:30

As she expelled her last breath, I believe that was her soul winging it's way back to the Father, the Creator and Giver of life.  Life can be a beautiful thing and yes, we can be victorious even in death, but only if we know the Lord.  He makes all things beautiful in His time.

(This Blog is dedicated to the life and memory of Lucille Moore who passed away from this earth and entered Heaven on January 1, 2013 forever to be in the presence of the Lord!)