...correction

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)

On a road trip with a friend, we used his GPS navigation device to guide us as we drove each day. After entering our destination on thescreen, a voice told us which road to follow, as well as when and where to make each turn. When we left the route, whether accidentally or deliberately, the voice would say, “Recalculating.”. Then it would tell us how to get back on the right road.

Timothy describes the Bible as a spiritual navigation system for our journey through life:  "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and fortraining in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:16)

     Teaching tells us which road to travel.

     Reproof tells us when we are off the road.

     Correction tells us how to get back on the road.

     Training in righteousness tells us how to stay on God’s road.

The mistakes and choices that detour us from the Lord are not to be taken lightly. But failure is seldom fatal and few decisions are final. Themoment we veer off on our own, the Holy Spirit is “recalculating” and urging us to return to the Father’s way.

If you have drifted off course, there is no better time than right now to heed God’s voice and return to His road. To stay on course, trust thecompass of God’s Word.

-david mccasland

hands....

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand." (Psalm 73:23)

Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat, I wondered if he was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK.

 

He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking," he said in a clear strong voice.

 

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,"  I explained to him.

 

"Have you ever looked at your hands," he asked. "I mean really looked at your hands?"

 

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.

 

Grandpa smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled, and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.

    ...As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. 

    ...They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. 

    ...They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.

    ...They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.

    ...Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. 

    ...They trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle.

    ...They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. 

    ...They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. 

    ...And to this day, when not much of anything else of me works real well, these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

    ...These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life. 

    ...But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home.

    ...And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandpa's hands and led him home.

When my hands are hurt or sore I think of Grandpa. I know he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.  "For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'” (Isaiah 41:13)

-author unknown

ebenezer

There's a peculiar line in the classic hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing".  It's in the second stanza; and it says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer." Most people are probably not familiar with the single verse from which that line originated. Robert Robinson apparently not only knew of the verse but also understood its meaning and importance, for it was he who wrote those words into his beautiful and timeless hymn.

In 1 Samuel 7:12 we are told that "Samuel took a stone and set it up... and called its name Ebenezer, saying 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'"  That stone was a reminder to the Israelites of God's faithfulness and might.  It was set up so that no matter what situation they were in, they would be able to hark back to their defeat of the Philistines in which God was faithful to deliver them.

What reminders do you have of God's faithfulness in your life?  It may be a picture, a song, a powerful verse that really spoke to your heart during a difficult time.  Whatever it is, keep it at hand so that when you are discouraged you can not only use it to recall how God has blessed and helped you, but you can also look forward to His future faithfulness.

Ebenezer - from two Hebrew words pronounced together: "Even Haazer" - "Stone of Help."

-david jeremiah

....away

When you've trusted God and walked his way

When you've felt his hand lead you day by day

But your steps now take you another way ...

Start over.

When you've made your plans and they've gone awry

When you've tried your best and there's no more try

When you've failed yourself and you don't know why ...

Start over.

When you've told your friends what you plan to do

When you've trusted them and they didn't come through

And you're all alone and it's up to you ...

Start over.

When you've failed your kids and they're grown and gone

When you've done your best but it's turned out wrong

And now your grandchildren come along ...

Start over.

When you've prayed to God so you'll know his will

When you've prayed and prayed and you don't know still ...

When you want to stop cause you've had your fill ...

Start over.

When you think you're finished and want to quit

When you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit

When you've tried and tried to get out of it ...

Start over.

When the year has been long and successes few

When December comes and you're feeling blue

God gives a January just for you ...

Start over.

Starting over means "Victories Won"

Starting over means "A Race Well Run"

Starting over means "God's Will Done"

Don't just sit there ..............

START OVER

-woodrow kroll

prayer

Today,
For what I am that I ought not to be,
Forgive me.
For what I am not that I ought to be,
Forgive me.
Be with my mouth in what it speaks
Be with my hands in what they do
Be with my mind in what it thinks
Be with my heart in what it feels
Work in me
...through me
...for me
...in spite of me
In the precious name of Jesus,
Amen

circled

"You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north." (Deuteronomy 2:3)

Will 2018 be different than 2017?  Will you "press on" in your faith this year and focus on what lies ahead, or will you continue to focus on your past?

Listen to this wonderful challenge from Ruth Graham.  "Either we can be victimized and become victims, or we can be victimized and rise above it. Often it is easier to play the victim than take off our masks and ask for help. We get comfortable with our victim status. It becomes our identity and is hard to give up. The Israelites often played the victim card, and I love what God finally tells them, 'You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north' (Deuteronomy 2:3).   Turn north! It's time to move on! Self-pity, fear, pride, and negativity paralyze us. Taking off our masks takes courage, but if we don't do it, we will remain in our victim status and end up stunted."

What about you?

Do you keep talking and talking and talking about something you just can't get over? 

Are you living in the past because you just can't "let it go"?

Do you keep wallowing in self-pity wondering what "could have been"?

Have you discussed it over and over with different people but you've never taken action?

Have you worried and worried about it but you've never done anything?

Are you still living in misery because it's something you can't forgive or forget? 

Have you circled and circled and circled this issue all your life? 

    The time has come!!!

    You have circled this mountain long enough.  Now turn north!!!

 -david langerfeld

stay

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay close to Jesus.  That's the way I ended an email to a friend who lives in an area experiencing an ice storm...

Stay Warm

That is advice for a winter day. Stay warm. If you can, stay inside, by a fire, and with someone you love. For those who have lost their heat, have no home, have no heat, or must work outside in this weather, I am sorry that circumstances require you to work outside in the cold. For those who are serving others by working outside, I am thankful for your faithfulness in doing what you do. For the rest of us who can, stay warm.

Stay warm on the inside as well. Don't just avoid the cold temperatures, but avoid the cold heart, the cold attitude, and the cold spirit. Staying warm is a choice we will have to make. It is not natural. It will not come easy. It may never be noticed or appreciated. But, choose to stay warm.

Matthew 14:13-14, "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

The world has a tendency to want to squeeze us into its mode of skepticism, negativism, cynicism, and suspicion (Romans 12:1-2). Don't let it happen to you. Stay warm.

Stay Safe

Stay safe if you must get out in the weather. Icy roads are treacherous and dangerous. A common warning when winter storms come is, "If at all possible, stay at home." Sometimes it is better not to stay home from work, and miss the ball game, than risk your life, or the life of someone else by trying to navigate slick roads. When the weather is bad, it is good advice to stay safe.

Stay safe, though, is not always the best thing to do. Sometimes people of faith are asked to take a risk, to do the ill-advised, to step out in faith, or to take the road less traveled. When you do, you may be criticized, you may be ridiculed, and you may be called foolish, childish, or even crazy. Do it. Step out. Don't play it safe. 

Matthew 14:27-29, But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."   "Come," he said.

His friends may have said, "Peter, stay safe here in the boat with us." If he had, he could have never said, "I walked on water!"

Stay Close To Jesus

Stay close to Jesus. This is always good advice. This always the best route to take. This is always the right choice. Warm weather or cold icy conditions: Stay close to Jesus. On your job or in your home: Stay close to Jesus. Working hard or on vacation: Stay close to Jesus. Through the good times and through the bad: Stay close to Jesus. In sickness or in health: Stay close to Jesus. Through times of wealth and times of poverty: Stay close to Jesus.

Matthew 14:29b-31, "Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him."

Wherever you are today, whatever you are doing, whoever you are with: Stay warm, stay safe, and stay close to Jesus.

-tom norvelle

abc

Is your life predictable? Do you do the same thing, day after day? Do you feel as though 2018 will be just as dull and monotonous as 2017? There is a wonderful passage that shows us a practical example of how one man changed his life. 

Mark 10:46-52  

"Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”  Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road."

From this passage, we can discover the ABC’s to help us change our lives…

A - Assume Responsibility For Your Own Life! 

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v.47)

We live in a generation that tries to blame someone else for its problems.

   Teenagers blame their parents,

   Parents blame their children,

   Workers blame their co-workers or their boss.

Things happen that you can’t control – but you can control your response.

Let me repeat that. Things happen that you can’t control – but you can control your response. I hear people say all the time… “He makes me so mad” or “She makes me so mad.” Nobody can make you mad. You’re the only person who can make you mad. People can do things that upset you, things you don’t like, things that hurt you. But you decide how you’re going to respond. Look back at the scripture. See what did Bartimaeus did and did not do.

   1. He didn’t blame someone else. He didn’t think that God or anyone else owed him something.

   2. He DID go to Jesus. He humbled himself and sought help and deliverance.

B – Believe You Can Change! 

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” (v. 51)

He believed he wouldn’t walk away the same.

He believed that he’d be DIFFERENT.

So often people pray…

     “God, if you’ll just change my employer,

              if you’ll just change my husband or my wife

              if you’ll just change my children or my friend,

              if you’ll just change my boss, or co-worker, or relative

God never promises that he will change your situation. God does promise that he will change YOU. He’ll change your attitude… your perspective… your outlook… Then you can change your attitude toward your situation.

C – Clarify What It Is You Really Need

Notice the question in verse 51 – “What do you want me to do for you?”  Specific prayers get specific answers. How often do we pray, “God bless the missionaries overseas.” Jesus already knew what the man needed. Jesus just wanted the man to say it.

How often do we play communication games with each other? A wife will tell me, “He doesn’t meet my needs.” “Well, does he know what you need?” “Sure, he loves me, he ought to know.” ” Maybe he ought to know, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he really knows. You have to tell him what your needs are.”

Another example: “I’m so mad at him.” “Well, does he know why you’re mad at him.” “Of course, he does. He knows what he did!” “How does he know? Did you tell him?” “I don’t have to tell him. He knows.”

We do the same thing with God. We assume that since God knows everything, we don’t have to tell him. But that’s just exactly the opposite of the way God operates. He wants us to tell him what we need. Exactly what we need. Jesus will meet your needs when you tell him what your needs are. But sometimes He doesn’t meet your needs because you never tell Him what you really want and how you really feel.

Notice his cry – “Have mercy on me.” He was beggar. Yet, notice, he didn’t cry out for food, or clothing, or money or housing. He was given sight that day. He was healed that day – because he realized that his most basic need was for mercy and grace. He needed what only Jesus was offering – and because of that, he was healed.

D – Decide to Stop Worrying

1. First, Stop Worrying About What Other People Will Say 

“Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more.” (v. 48) 

What were they telling him?

     Shut up! Nobody wants to hear what you have to say!

     This isn’t the right place.. This isn’t the right time…

     Nobody’s ever done it that way before…

     You can’t do that – just be quiet

We have to quit worrying about what other people think. In this particular situation, everyone else was wrong. Everyone else told him he shouldn’t do it that way. He didn’t care what the protocol was. He didn’t care if all the people agreed that you just don’t approach Jesus that way. He knew he needed help and he wasn’t going to be denied.

Have you prayed for something and God hasn’t answered you yet?

     Keep on calling out to God.

Do you have a need and God hasn’t met it yet?

     Keep on calling out to God.

Are you hurting and don’t have an answer?

     Keep on calling out to God.

Are people telling you to give up?

Are people telling you to quit?

Are people telling you that God doesn’t care?

Are you worried about what other people think or what other people will say?

Are you concerned about how it might look?

Are you worried that other people will think you crazy or you’re a fanatic?

     Stop worrying.

     Don’t quit.

     Don’t give up

     JUST CRY OUT EVEN LOUDER

Two of the greatest attributes a Christian can have are persistence and perseverance. Jesus tells a parable about the neighbor who comes at midnight and is rewarded for his persistence. Someone once said, God doesn’t answer shallow prayers, he answers desperate prayer.

2. Second, Stop Waiting for the Ideal Circumstances

"As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging." (v. 46)

Bartimaeus almost missed his chance. Jesus was on his way out of town. This is the last time Jesus would come to Jericho. If he had missed Jesus this time, he never would have been healed.

We have to quit waiting for just the right time.

We have to quit waiting for the right opportunity to come along. It may not happen.

We have to do something NOW!

E – Exercise Your Faith

“Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.” (v’.50)

Sometimes, we have to do something different. We can’t do the same old thing.

If we’re really going to change,

If we want life to be different,

we have to do something bold and dramatic.

Bartimaeus did something unique and unusual for that day and time. It was not normal for a man to cast aside his garment. It was not theusual protocol for a man to leave his garment. Sometimes we have to do something totally out of the norm. Totally different. Hebrews 12:1 says, let us lay aside every weight, every sin that so easily entangles us.”

Notice those words, lay aside every weight and every sin. We know the sins. But what are the weights? Whatever is keeping you from keeping Jesus first in your life. Whatever is keeping you from running to Jesus. Whatever is holding you back from surrendering your life to the LORDSHIP of Jesus so he can do a miracle in your life.

F – Follow Jesus

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (v. 52)

He was a beggar, he was blind, he had been healed. It would have been so easy to go into town and tell everybody what had happened – to show his friends and relatives, to let the whole town know that he had been healed – but that’s not what the scripture says. It simply says, “He followed Jesus!”

2018 can be totally different from 2017 if you’ll…

A – Assume responsibility for your own life

B – Believe you can change

C – Clarify what it is you really need.

D – Decide to stop worrying

E – Exercise Your Faith

F – Follow Jesus!

-david langerfeld

?waiting

Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator.  Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed.

When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist's counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.

The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in.

Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They muttered among themselves that they hadn't heard any summons yet.  They assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be disqualified.

Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, "Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled."

The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, "Wait a minute, I don't understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That's not fair!"

The employer said, "I'm sorry, but the last several minutes while you've been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: 'If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his."

We are so busy, living in a world that is full of noise and clatter, just like that office. People are distracted and unable to hear the still, small voice of God as He speaks through His creation, through His Scriptures, and through His Holy Spirit, who lives in us. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

So I ask you, as I ask myself, "Are you listening, or are you waiting to be called? Do you hear the Lord when he speaks to you?  Is your spiritual ear atuned to Him or are you blocked from hearing His voice beacuse you're focused on all the other voices in your life?

"The sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27)  

victory

"The Key to Victory in 2018"

Philippians 3:13-14

THE KEY

The key to victory in 2011 is Philippians 3:13-14. Paul was using the illustration of a race to describe his life. He was in the home stretch, but he was still running the race; the race wasn't over. He said, "I have not apprehended it yet." - NOT YET!

Right behind this conjunction is one of Paul's secrets to living: THIS ONE THING I DO!  It's the only time this particular phrase is used in the New Testament. Single-minded concentration on the things of God is essential to running the race of Christianity.  You cannot be dwelling on other things as an athlete and give your best performance. Therefore, Paul says "this one thing I do."

What is "This One Thing I Do"?

"Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." That's the key for victory in the Christian life. That's the key for victory in 2018.

What do we need to forget?

Paul had learned that we have to lock the door on yesterday and throw away the key. Paul discovered that looking back almost always ends up in going back. Let me repeat that... Looking back almost always ends up in going back. In the Old Testament we find the wandering Israelites ready to return to their old ways rather than pressing on. In the New Testament Jesus clearly taught us in Luke 9:62 that "no man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God's Kingdom."

4 THINGS WE NEED TO FORGET:

1. YESTERDAY'S MISTAKES

In his book "ENCOURAGE ME", Chuck Swindoll has a chapter entitled, "The Fine Art of Blowing It". It begins like this, "It happens to every one of us. Teachers as well as students. cops as well as criminals. Bosses as well as secretaries. Parents as well as kids. The diligent as well as the lazy. Not even presidents are immune. Or corporation heads who earn six-figure salaries. The same is true of well-meaning architects and hard-working builders and clear-thinking engineers... not to mention pro ball players, politicians, and preachers. What? making mistakes, that's what. Doing the wrong thing, usually with the best of motives. And it happens with remarkable regularity."

Everyone makes mistakes. Everybody does stupid, foolish things. God's Word says: "forget it" - leave them behind you. There are 3 things we should do about yesterday's mistakes:

1. Learn from them

2. Determine with God's help not to do them again

3. Forget them.

Satan will want to remind you and make you feel guilty for your past mistakes – but God says: "Forget Them. I HAVE"!

2. YESTERDAY'S HURTS

Life is a battlefield. You're a soldier in God's Army. On any battleground, injuries will occur and soldiers are going to get hurt. Sooner or later, someone is going to

... hurt you.

... lie about you

... verbally or physically harm you

... misrepresent you

... chop you up in little pieces

... slander you

It's going to happen--what do you do?

You have two choices:

1. Allow the resentment and hate to build

2. Forgive and Forget

A. Forgive as Christ forgave you

- just as He forgave the Roman soldiers who didn't know what they were doing.

B. Forget those things that are behind you Phil. 3:13

You might say, but David -

... You don't Understand

... You don't understand what's happened to me.

... You don't know how bad I've been hurt.

... I was innocent.

... I didn't do anything wrong, but they hurt me.

... They lied about me.

... They hurt my feelings and they didn't care.

... They criticized me when I didn't do anything wrong.

... They talked about me behind my back.

... They cheated me, they rejected me, they hurt me really bad.

God understands. Jesus was innocent, but they beat him, they tortured him, they mocked him, they crucified him. He didn't deserve it, but they did it anyway. On the cross, He forgave them. On the cross, He provided salvation for even those who beat him, who mocked him, who crucified him. In order to press on in the Christian life, we have to lock the door on yesterday's hurts.

3. YESTERDAY'S POSSIBILITIES

How often do I see people unable to operate in today because they are still living a "what if" life of yesterday. They keep talking about "what could have been"--"if I had only..."

Quite often they blame someone else

... if only my wife hadn't...

... if only my parents (children) hadn't...

... if only my business partner had...

... if only the war hadn't...

They even blame God - "if God would have… or if God wouldn't have…"

We can't live on yesterday's promises or yesterday's dreams. Too many people are dissatisfied with life because they've had an expectation that just hasn't worked out. Paul is saying - forget your past hurts, forget your past mistakes and forget living with what might have been and finally...

4. YESTERDAY'S SINS

Billy Graham once said that 60% of all the patients in mental hospitals could go home if they would accept the fact that they are not guilty or that they have been forgiven.

Many people are carrying a burden of guilt:

... A past mistake

... A moral failure

... A painful cut to a friend

... A physical hurt to someone

... A stupid, hateful remark

... A poor decision

... A sin so horrible that they believe either God will not forgive them or they will not forgive themselves

***There is no sin, no matter how great or small, once it has been confessed and forgiven, that the memory of it should torment us no more. Let me repeat that: When sin, no matter how great or how grievous, has been confessed and forgiven, the memory of it should not torment us any more!

Notice, Paul didn't say, "I've forgotten those things which are behind. Paul said, forgetting those things. Paul had learned the secret. There are some things in our memory that we will never forget.  We have to keep practicing forgetting...

Guilt will eat us alive. Every time the memory comes back, every time a song or a word or a smell or a picture or a person reminds us, we continue to practice forgetting. How long do we practice forgetting?

... until the memory doesn't hurt any more.

... until we allow God to forgive us

... until we allow God to forgive through us

... until the pain is no longer there

... until we can use our past to help us grow in the present

... until we can use our past to help others in the present

God says in Jeremiah 31:34 "I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more."

Psalm 103:12 "I will remove their sin as far as the east is from the west."

I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

It's time to:

Lock the Door on the Past!

Throw Away the Key!

Forget Where You Have Thrown It!

life

After a brief illness, my mother died on January 30, 2012. Not only was she my mother, she was also my best friend. I was in shock. One day she was recovering; the next, she was gone.

For two weeks, I grieved heavily and could not focus on anything else. But life got in the way. My son was to be married on February 18, so there was little time. My husband and I were giving the wedding and I was blessed to have the help of a wedding planner. She had taken on more and more of the wedding tasks during my mother's illness and after her death, but there was still the urgent need for me to shift from deep grief to joyous anticipation.

With only four days remaining before the wedding, I went into my prayer closet. Pouring my heart out to God, I told Him how desperately I needed to feel joy about the wedding. Immediately, His still small voice replied, Life is about the living.

His meaning swept over me.Memories are still to be cherished, but that life was finished. However, my son was getting married (a miracle in itself). He had gotten his life turned around and the future was before him. Life is about the living.

Instantly, I felt the weight of my grief lifting from my heart, slowly replaced by joy as I found myself looking forward to my son's wedding and beyond. Some grief still lingered but it was manageable. No longer burdened with tears of pain, I could now go through the wedding with smiles of joy.

A couple of weeks later, God revealed to me some deeper meaning to His Life is about the living. Not only do we humans grieve the death of loved ones, we also grieve about other dead things.

We grieve about our past sinful lives before we were saved. God has forgiven us, but we won't forgive ourselves. We grieve over a past hurt, whether it occurred thirty years ago or just last month. We don't forgive the one who hurt us. And we grieve about the if onlys of our past. We beat ourselves up about all the what-might-have-beens if only we had done something differently.

One day my husband and I were sitting on our front porch. As we admired the beautiful blooming azaleas, he mentioned we had a dead one. There it sat, all dried up and brown. Then God gave me a wonderful illustration of what He had been revealing to me -- No one waters a dead azalea...or weeds around it...or fertilizes it. Instead, the focus is on living azaleas. They are the ones to be cared for.

So why on earth do we spend time watering the dead things of our past when there are millions of living people who need encouragement and to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?

The Apostle Paul long ago addressed this very thing. "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13b-14)

No one ever saw Paul watering a dead azalea. He knew. "Life is about the living." 

- sue sus