Monthly Archives: July 2017

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Altered Plans

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The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

This week, my family and I are visiting my mother-in-law and other family members in New England.  With seven people the dates and travel plans had to be carefully coordinated around work, new jobs, the school calendar, etc.  The activities are more loosely planned, but planned to some extent prior to arrival.  My older grandson and I drove up first and spent a day at the beach as planned.  That evening, we met my wife at the airport.  The plan for the following day was for the three of us to return to the beach for a day of sun and fun.  We got up early and left for the beach, found a spot, and proceded to the water.  After a short time our grandson got cold and decided that he wanted to climb on the rocks.  My wife went with him while I went back to our blanket and chairs.  A few minutes later my grandson came to me with a somber look and said “Grammy needs you.  She’s hurt.” 

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The Need for Vindication

Moving From Despair to Praise

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“Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!  For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me?  Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”  Psalm 43:1-2

Have you ever felt that you were personally attacked and needed an advocate?  I can think of several times in my life that I have felt very alone in the world and had no defense against the assaults hurled in my direction.  Further, the current social climate of our nation makes it difficult to hold to Christian values and basic biblical principles.   To say that I feel a bit oppressed by this is an understatement.  Then there is my illness.  While I accept it as part of God’s plan for me, it can be tiring and leave me feeling alone and assaulted unnecessarily.  Whether from friends or medical personnel, it is difficult to abide those who doubt the realities of living with a rare disease…especially and invisible one.  Finally, there are times when I feel that I am my worst enemy and that I need an advocate to protect me from myself.

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 “He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.”

Randy Alcorn
http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/30-inspiring-christian-quotes.html
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Choosing Life

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“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.”  Philippians 1:21-22

Days after my nineteenth birthday, I was in a car accident with seven college friends.  As we drove from the choir concert that we had just finished to a friend’s house so that we could sing at his church the following morning, a drunk driver pulled out in front of us causing us to hit head on.  The van we were riding in hit, spun, tipped on its side and slid down the road.  In the process of tipping, my face fell into the cutout that would be used if a window had been installed.  Since there was none, only the outer layer of the van door stood between my face and the road.  As we slid, it was as if God gave me a glimpse into heaven and asked if I would prefer to come home to him or remain in my current life.

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Just…

The Proper Estimation of Man and God

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“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:16

Just.  It’s a very small but significant word.   On the one hand it can be used to defend actions as reasonable, proper, righteous, deserved and lawful.  On the other, it can be used to express a lack of certainty, low expectation, or a lesser degree than desired.  As Christians we often use “just” inappropriately in our discussions with others and in our prayers.  The problem is that we often use the stronger version of the word in relationship to ourselves and the weaker version in reference to God.  When we do this, we think of ourselves “more highly than we ought to think” and underestimate God.

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“I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. Sickness has frequently been of more use to the saints of God than health has.”

Charles Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon
https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-illness/#axzz4loX2VxVz