Miracle we survive

 

September 28

 

“It is a miracle that they all survived. It is a miracle any of us survive, “ my daughter said. One of her cousins had triplets born six weeks prematurely. They weighed less than seven pounds together. My daughter had weighed more than seven pounds when she was born. I remember peering through the nursery window while a nurse held her to the glass. My first thought was thank God she is all there. I was looking at a miracle. I knew it. Babies are a gift.

 

"You are of God. little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Hospital Visit

 

September 27

 

Before we enter the hospital Joy goes to an art shop. In her mother's hospital room family sit around the bed talking about medications and pain. Joy parts the curtains, tapes color paper to the walls and ties ribbons on the green plants. Within minutes that sterile room is warmed by sunlight and color and even the bedside conversation brightens.

God loves on us with light. You can’t see  the beautiful colors in the dark.

 

"Then God said, 'let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness." (Genesis 1:3-4)

Important Lessom

 

September 26

 

A young electrician gingerly touched the metal box with a screwdriver. I asked him why he did that since he had shut off the power. “I always check twice,” he said. " I was working on a big unit with my boss and he went to grab the cover and I said, ‘don’t you want to test it first?”

He turned to me and said, “Are you telling me how to do my job? He grabbed the cover with both hands and was electrocuted on the spot.”

 

We all need to learn that lesson.

 

“He who hates correction will die.”(Proverbs 15:10)

Two Words

September 25

 

She told Joy things weren't going well at work, her husband seemed distant, she was short with the kids etc. I two talked in the kitchen while I sat in the living room. When we were leaving   I prayed, " Lord give me the words to say." He did.

 I whispered two words in her ear.  

 

Days later Joy reports her friend,” is full of life again and back loving her family.” She said she took your two words of advise; “Tell God!"

 

“Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.” (Job 4:12)

A neighbor in church

September 23

 

My friend is excited, her neighbor finally attends our church service. She tells me:

 “I ‘m glancing sideways during the service to see how she is reacting.  Her face seems non expressive.. During the message she stares at her feet and I’m confused.” The service ends and I  ask awkwardly,  'Is there anything you liked?”

Her answer surprises me. She smiles saying, “Oh! I saw God’s love before the service even started when your pastor walked in and kissed that boy in the wheelchair by the door.”

 

“Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” (Matthew 18:5)

A way to read the Bible in a year

 

September 22

 

Cliff our men’s Bible teacher passed out an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper divided into 367 little rectangles with four biblical  references hand written in each box.

He was awakened at three and visualized finishing the Bible in a year by reading two chapters from the old testament, a psalm, a proverb and one chapter from the new testament everyday. The class ended for me a few weeks later when I moved to Florida. I have used Cliff’s outline daily for the past fifteen years.

 

"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” (Proverbs 30: 5)

Live Each Moment

 

September 21

 

Paraphrasing Thomas Merton Joy says "Live in the moment and see all that God has provided...it’s awesome." She asks how my day has been. I pause. Typically, another day has gone by and I have missed those precious moments. Keeping a daily journal helps as does reading the Bible, taking a hike or listening to a child. Joy listens to chants or other music she enjoys as part of her quiet moments. I think I'll go for a walk and notice what's around me.How about you?

 

“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
(Psalm 118:24)

Share Your Hope

 

September 18

 

It has been a week since the horrific events of September 11 when America was attacked by terrorists. The country is still trying to pick its sanity out of the ashes.

Our small group shares feelings ranging from depression and fear to outrage.

“What can we be doing as individual Christians?” someone asks. We are quiet.

A woman responds, “We can share why we have hope. I’m calling my neighbors.”

 

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3: 14-15)

Is that you God?

 

September 17   

 

How do I know when a thought or message is from God? When it is not? When can I be sure?

When I ask the Lord for direction how do I know the response is from God and not the great deceiver? These questions remained until I was shown a simple way to test if the Spirit bringing the thought is of God. I have found that this test works quite well.

 

“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God. (1 John 4:2-3)     

Prayers of Faith

 

September 16

 

At seven she awakes, walks to the bathroom and a minute later I hear a crash and a loud thud. I literally have to push her body along the floor with the door to get in to help her. She is shaking Later the doctor says it looks like flu. I pray for healing. She props herself up in bed for a cherry pop and God provides a phone call from our youngest daughter to cheer her. .

More prayer, several bottles of ginger ale and many pops, God heals Joy. I didn't even get a mild version of what she had. Praise the Healer!

 

"The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up." (James 5:15)

Meeting a Porpoise

 

September 15

 

I never met a porpoise I didn’t like.

 

My first personal meeting with a porpoise outside of an aquarium was in waters off Panama. I was out on the bowsprit of a fishing boat and one swam along side and rolled inside our bow wake, looked at me a squealed. I leaned over and said hello. The porpoise squealed back at me. This eye-to-eye "conversation"went on for several minutes. It was a friendly encounter I still cherish. I wonder what the porpoise was thinking?

 

"So God created great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:21)

Parking Ticket

 

 September 14

 

This morning I drive downtown for a meeting. There are two parking spaces on the street near the hotel. I take the one nearest the corner so I can get out quickly.

 Less than an hour later there is a ticket on my window. I parked in a no parking area and the quarters I had put in the meter were for the parking space in front of me.

A friend says, " Don’t fuss over it, or it will you cost more than the amount on the ticket."  That tip is 2,000 years old.

 

"Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:21)

Special Blessing

 

September 13

 

I had completed all my credits at the university except four years proficiency in one foreign language. I had two. I told the visiting professor my situation.By mid summer I wasn't doing well. He advised  a tutor, one of his graduate students. The last week the tutor had me translate the same four pages until I got it right.

The dreaded last day arrived. I opened the final exam and stared in disbelief. The passages to be translated were the same two documents I had worked on for the last week. It was a gift. It was a miracle.

 

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”(Proverbs 10:22)

September 11 Remembered

September 11

 

This is the day eleven years ago that there was a deliberate attack on America. We were shocked.

That evening I join others in church. The first prayer isn’t for the victims or their families (although that would come later) it is for repentance. Is this a wake up call for America to stop worshipping idols? What about all the people killed? Then I read what Jesus said in Luke.

 

“Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem. I tell you, no: but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:4-5)

Remember Your First Love

 

September 10

 

The visiting pastor thought, "I can give a better sermon than this." He listened as the older man listed indicators of a cold heart.

1. No delight to be in God's presence,

2. No desire to be with other believers,

3. Decrease longing for God's word,

4. Less desire to give or serve God

5. Reluctant to tell others about God.

 

The young pastor shared this talk with his own flock asking us to recommit. We did.

 

"You have forgotten your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." (Revelations 2:1-5)

Born Again

 

September 9

 

The real purpose of church camp was to teach young boys about Jesus. I recall one moment. The teacher used a beaker full of a red liquid to represent our sinful self. “This is what happens when we ask Jesus into our lives to forgive our sins.” and he poured something into that beaker. The red disappeared instantly. That was cool to an eleven-year old, yet it would be forty years before I fully understood and accepted what that teacher was illustrating to a bunch of boys that morning.

 

“Truly I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Is you heart Soft or Hard?

 

September 8

 

The preacher came down the aisle holding two cans of putty, one contained putty which, had hardened after exposure to the air and the other was a new can that contained soft pliable putty. "When our hearts are open we are pliable and God can mold us like clay but when our hearts are neglected they become hard.”

I need to give up what I think I am and let God mold me into what He intends me to be.

 

Jeremiah said only with God's help can we be softened.  Jeremiah said God told him, “When you search for Me you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart!” (Jeremiah 29:13)

The only Birthday that counts

September 7

 

This is a very special day for Joy and me.  Pastor Pat baptizes us in our lake. We both emerge from the water shivering but it is not from the coolness of the water. We praise the Lord while we huddle together at the water’s edge draped in towels. We are all trembling with excitement and for good reason. This our Spiritual Birthday.

 

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:16)

"Indeed I baptize you with water unto repentance but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 3:11)

How do you explain this?

September 6

 

He had come to Providence to help my dad repair the front porch but after a day Papa felt he had to go home.He didn't know why he just knew he had to leave. Dad drove ‘Papa’ to the bus station.

The next day the deadly hurricane of 1938 hit the R.I. coast. All the phone lines were down so dad drove to Tiverton to find the bridge to Portsmouth gone. He rented a boat. On Papa’s road all the houses were crushed or gone, except one. Papa had boarded up the windows and he, his blind wife and daughter rode out the vicious storm safely.

What had urged for my grandfather to return home? He didn’t ever try to explain it.

 

“Whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure without fear of evil.”(Proverbs 1:33)
 

The Power of Prayer

 

September 5

 

Never underestimate the power of prayer.

A granddaughter in Connecticut, who has had diabetes since she was two, is rushed to the hospital. She doesn’t respond to treatment and is listed as critical.

I call a niece in Spokane for prayer. I pray and prepare to fly from Florida. The next day my son reports Jessica is doing so well the doctors are talking about letting her go home. My niece calls and before I can tell her the good news she says, “I have been praying most of the night for Jessica to be healed and back home by the weekend.”

 

‘If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

Enter the Kingdom

 

September 3

 

It’s time to leave the church fair. My three-year-old grandson wants to sit in the driver's seat of the fire truck-again.I carry him screaming and kicking to his stroller.

Joy leans over him and says, "Tommy calm down.” He stiffens and shudders a couple of times, wiped the tears from his eyes and softly repeats, "Tommy calm down." He takes Joy's hand and they walk  to our van. Later Joy says "I have never seen a child get in touch with himself like that, the Spirit was with him

“ I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." (Luke 18:17)

Wait on the Lord

 

September 2

 

Joy and I met and later were married in the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Ct.. Since then many of life’s happiest and saddest moments have been connected with this 380-year old church,

 For many years every Sunday service began with the minister quoting Isaiah.

 

“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:31)

When your world stops

September 1

 It has been26 years today but in some ways it seems like yesterday.This is the day I receive the call every parent fears.  It is my former wife and she is hysterical.  Our youngest child, Steven, has died in a house fire. He was 18. The world stops. I’m numb. Tears flow freely.

 For many nights after the funeral, I tried to respond to the cards and notes. One night I threw down my pen dropped to my knees and cried out to God. That was the night my Shepherd took this broken lamb in His arms, coddled me and whispered in my ear, “Here I am.”

 

"You shall call and the Lord will answer; You shall cry and He will say Here I am."  (Isaiah 58:9)