It Starts in the Heart

     For the last several days, a cream colored cat has hung around our office building.  Someone had put  food out for this feline on the sidewalk leading to our door.  Twice we found the food there which we had to move.  No one in the surrounding businesses knew whose cat this was, but she looked scraped up.  Then, today, the cat came to our front door of the office and cried and cried.  The food was no longer next to our building and she was hungry.  Our hearts were broken for this animal that someone had apparently dumped in the woods behind our business.
     We called around to see if we could get help.  Borrowing a cat carrier from a local vet's office, we tried to lure the cat into the carrier.  Lo and behold, the cat was friendly and immediately ran into the carrier confirming our suspicions that she had been someone's pet that had been discarded.  Once the feline was shut up in the carrier, we took her to a local vet that spays feral cats.  He promised to find a home for her after she had healed up.
     Later as some of us in the office were talking about this, we wondered how could anyone just discard a pet and yet, this happens on a regular basis.  It is not only pets who are discarded though.
Think of man's inhumanity to man that we read about every day.
     On the news, I heard about an Australian student who had come to this country to play sports.  Three bored teens decided to go out and shoot someone to have something to do.  When they saw this man out jogging, they shot him dead.  Four lives shattered in one senseless act.
     Then, today on Facebook, I read about a letter sent to a mother of an autistic son complaining that he was a nuisance in the neighborhood because of the sounds he made while outside.  This woman wrote in her letter that the child should be euthanized and his non-retarded body parts should be sold to help others.  How cruel and cold to pass judgment on a soul made in the image of God.
     What can we say in the face of discarded animals, unfettered abortions even into late term, murder for fun to avoid boredom and a thoughtless letter condemning a child with autism and wishing him dead?  The Bible tells us where the problem lies.  It is found in the condition of the human heart.
     According to Jeremiah 17:9, we read:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"  Furthermore, one day we will be judged by a holy God unless we hear His call to our hearts, repent and turn to Him.  Jeremiah 17:10 says, "I the Lord search the heart and test the m
ind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."  This is, indeed, a scary thought for those who have never entered into relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
     Our hearts are bound up in sin from birth.  We are captives to every whim, lust, impulse, and manner of sinful deeds.  There is no good within us.  Romans tells us more about our nature:  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...."  No where in that verse is there any exception given.  The word "all" is inclusive.  Additionally, Paul writes in Romans 3:10b-12:  "None is righteous, no, not one;  no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."  So there we have it.  This is the state of men's hearts without Christ.
     When we wonder why people say and do the things we hear about on the news, we now have a better understanding.  It comes from a darkened heart that cannot hear or see anything which does not benefit the selfish desires born of sin.  This is why it is so important for those of us who have been called to salvation in Christ to share the Good News that sets men and women free.  Unless we speak up, how will they hear?
     If we really care about others and stemming the tide of evil we see in this fallen world, we need to live our faith and tell others about it.  We are the hands and feet of Jesus to others in this world.  Thankfully, someone shared the Gospel with us, now it is our turn to pass it on.  Selah!

All In God's Timing

   

Big Ben in London - reminding us that we
live in God's time

 On Wednesday of this week (August 21st), my husband and I will celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary.  It doesn't seem possible that time could have gone by so quickly.  On the other hand, there were times when certain chores and activities didn't seem to move very fast such as changing stinky diapers.  Then, time seemed to crawl, but God's timetable for our lives is perfect.  We cannot rush life.
     A perfect example of this was given yesterday in our Pastor's sermon on 2 Samuel 5.  Verses 1-5 reads:  "Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, 'Behold, we are your bone and flesh.  In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel.  And the Lord said to you, 'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.'  So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.  At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years."
     What is so amazing about this passage is that David is finally anointed King over all Israel, but it did not happen overnight.  In fact, as our pastor explained, David waited 15 years after he was first anointed king before he actually assumed authority over all Israel.  That is a long time for people in our society who like to move into power at the speed of light.  However, David waited for the Lord's timing.  He had a number of opportunities to kill Saul on several occasions, but he held back because he did not want to disobey God by striking the current anointed king.
     In I Samuel 16, Samuel, the prophet, first anointed David, a shepherd boy, as the next king of Israel.  As we know, King Saul had disobeyed God's instructions many times and taken matters into his own hands by offering a sacrifice among many misdeeds.  Saul could not wait on God.  He could not even wait on Samuel to come and offer a sacrifice.  Therefore, God rejected Saul and instructed Samuel to anoint a new king.  However, David did not immediately take over the throne.  Instead, God's timing had him waiting for 15 years.  During that time, David defeated Goliath, he became a great military leader, and spent many years on the run from Saul who was bent on destroying him out of pure jealousy.  Why on earth would God allow this?  I am certain David asked himself why he had to spend his time on the run.  Why God?  Why am I in this situation?  Haven't we all asked ourselves these questions at different times in our lives?
     As I think of David, I am reminded of Joseph and all that he had to face over many years (Genesis 37-50).  He was sold into slavery by his brothers.  He was falsely accused by Potiphar of attacking his wife and unjustly thrown into prison.  There he interpreted some dreams for two prisoners.  He asked them to mention him to Pharaoh that he might be released from prison but they forgot.  Finally, when Pharaoh had a series of dreams, one of the ex-prisoners remembered Joseph.  Not only did Joseph interpret the dreams by God's timing and purpose but he was also made second to Pharaoh in power.  Did all of this happen overnight?  No, it happened in God's timing.  What was Joseph's attitude?  He said to his brothers in Genesis 45:7-8:  "And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.  So it was not you who sent me here, but God."  Joseph trusted God through all the trials he endured.  He waited for God's timing, and the Lord was not late.
     In David's case, he was anointed three times.  He was anointed to be king by Samuel.  Then, Judah (following the death of Saul) anointed him king at Hebron and finally after the death of Saul's son Ish-bosheth, he was anointed king over Israel uniting the kingdom.  During those fifteen long years of waiting, God taught David how to be a warrior, how to shepherd his people, and how to wait on His timing for all things.  I know it must have seemed like an eternity during those days of running and hiding from Saul, but David remained faithful to God.  This is what He calls us to do as well.
     Both David and Joseph trusted themselves to God and His care.  They believed in the Lord's timing.  This does not mean that they didn't have those moments when they wondered if things would ever get better, but they remained faithful.
     Our forty-two years of marriage didn't happen in a blink of the eye.  We lived them.  We changed smelly diapers, went through various challenges at times with work, homeschooled our children, but through it all, we trusted God to bless our marriage and home.  He has, and we are grateful.
     Whatever challenges you are facing at this time in your life whether at work, in your home or with your health, remember to wait on God's timing and entrust yourself to Him.  I love the verse that appeared on the front of our church bulletin this week:  "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord.  'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11).  God sees you just where you are at this moment.  He has a plan and He will work it out in His own perfect timing.  Don't run ahead of Him.  As the Bible tells us, "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14).  This is what David and Joseph did and we can see that the outcome brought glory to God and lifted both of them to positions of leadership because they remained faithful.  We must do the same!  Selah!

The Only Constant in a World of Change

 

Rock near Newgale in Pembrokeshire
Steadfast and immovable like God.

 There is nothing more certain in this life than change.  For some of us (myself included), it can be very unsettling.
     In the first few years of our marriage, it seemed that all we did was move.  We lived in Columbus, Ohio while my husband was in the College of Optometry.  Following the completion of my husband's degree, we moved back to his hometown to set up his practice.  What a change for us!  We left all of the friends we had grown so close to in Columbus and had to start over again in finding a church home as well as a home for us to live in.
     Then, five years later, my husband felt a desire to move to Florida so he would be able to pursue his hobby of scuba diving as well as escape the icy northern weather.  At this point, I told him that this would be our last move as I was not enjoying the constant packing and unpacking of moving.  In addition, I disliked the personal upheaval of leaving family and friends.
     We moved to Florida in 1979 and have remained in the same community here since that time.  However, we have moved twice since living here from one home to another.  At least we remained in the same town.
     Now I have given you all this as a background to today's scripture.  Look at Psalm 90 and read it in its entirety. This Psalm is attributed to Moses and really points out God's eternal being as versus man's mortality.
     Life, for us, is in a constant state of flux.  We face changes on an almost daily basis.  Most of us want security, but there is only one source for that security...our Lord and our God.  He is constant when we are changeable.  He is faithful while we are often unfaithful.  He is steady while we are unsteady.  The list goes on and on.
     Look at verse 1-2:  "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."
     These words of truth and faith on the part of Moses who saw more change in his lifetime than we will ever see.  From day to day, Moses had to cope with the fickle Children of Israel and their wanderings in the desert.  So what did he do?  He looked to the only constant in life - God.
     I don't know about you, but that speaks volumes to me.  When life is topsy turvy and constantly in a state of change, the one thing we can depend on is our Lord.  Hebrews 13:8 says:  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever."  Likewise, in Malachi 3:6-7, we get a glimpse of who remains the same and who changes:  "For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.  Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them.  'Return to Me, and I will return to you', says the Lord of hosts.  But you said, 'In what way shall we return?'"
     We all know the saying, "If you feel far away from God, who moved?"  Well, Malachi has a good answer.  We are the ones who often change but the Lord remains the same.  He is our hiding place, our stability in times of uncertainty and our place of shelter.
     If we depend on others, they can let us down.  If we put our trust in the stock market, houses, wealth, family or friends, we are open to disappointment at some time.  However, if we put our trust in Him, we have found a refuge that will not change, disappoint, or leave.
     No one, including me, can predict what tomorrow may bring but we who know Jesus Christ know who holds tomorrow in His hands.  Therefore, we can be confident that whether we move to a new town or have new health issues or suffer disappointment, we have an unchangeable God who loves us and will never leave nor forsake us.  Selah!


Picture courtesy of Wiki Commons
http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32299 Andy F]