Missed Miracles

Charles Spurgeon once said, "A Believer must watch for God in the events of life, that one must wait on God with an expectation of His answers.  One could not collect the water if no jars were put outside when it rained."

It's been said that "among the debris that washes up on the beach are bits of sea glass and remnants of grand things...watch for them."

I grew up not far from the Oregon Coast.  After storms we would walk along the beach just between the waves and the wet sand looking for agates.  I used to pick up a lot of rocks, diligently looked them over, and either tossed them back into the water, dropped them back onto the sand, or gently placed them in the bucket I used to carry for such treasures. Sometimes the sea glass was so beautiful, I couldn't tell if it was an agate or just glass, I only knew that if I didn't look for the treasures, they would be over-looked; missed.

I read something similar to that in Mark 6:52. It says, "For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."  The disciples missed a miracle because of their hard hearts.  I found that amazing and couldn't stop thinking about it.  Here are 12 men who forsook family and friends, left their nets on the beaches, and followed Christ, and yet after witnessing so many miracles at the Hand of Jesus, still missed miracles because of hard hearts.

Was it because they had grown used to seeing miracles?

Had it all just been mechanics to them?

Or did they just stop seeing them for what they were?

It made me think of another verse; a verse that actually hindered the work of Christ:  "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."  Matthew 13:58

I find that tragic.  

Psalm 68:19 tells us, 'Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.  Selah."

"These are little daily special touches from God that let us know that He is still there and that He cares.  The every day miracles that reflect God's sovereignty, His Supreme Power and Authority over every detail of our lives."  (Grace Notes: Mornings with Jesus.  Guideposts)

Am I seeing the daily miracles God gives me, or have I stopped looking?

Can I still recognize them for what they are?

Or has my heart grown hard?

So, how do we recognize daily miracles?

    By looking for them and recognizing them for what they are...

        and then, by recognizing Who they are from...

            It's as simple as that!

                But that's just me!

A Nation Disgraced

"And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."  Isaiah 6:3

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

The Opening Ceremonies to the 2024 Olympics put The United States of America to shame.  I was embarrassed and ashamed of our Country.  I was embarrassed for our Athletes representing our Country.  To have the Lord's Supper mocked and blasphemed by men wearing rouge, lipstick and women's apparel should have our entire Nation outraged!

Our Athletes train and work 24/7 for 4 years to go and compete in a World-Wide event, to represent our Nation with honor and dignity, and this is how our Nation and Athletes are represented?

How did this happen?

How did One Nation Under God fall so far?

There is no fear of God.

But such mockery will not last forever.

"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory and blessing.  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  And the four beasts said, Amen."  Revelation 5:11-14a

God will have the last word...

    But that's just me!

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Philippians 2:10-11

Scan For Viruses

I was on my computer this morning when all of a sudden, my Norton Antivirus Program popped up on the screen:  "SCAN FOR VIRUSES."

I was thinking how wonderful technology is to be able to tell me when something is infecting my computer in a negative way, that will hinder its performance.  Wouldn't it be great if we had something like that to pop up to warn us that we are about to sin, or that we are harboring sin?  Wouldn't it be great if something would flash before our eyes that would say, "SCAN FOR SIN!"

Oh, wait.  We do.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Psalm 139:23,24

And it's not 'something,' it's 'Someone.'  We have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God that will send out red flags when we are about to do something that would hinder our performance, that would cause us to sin, that would reflect a poor testimony on our Lord and Saviour.  We have a still, small voice that whispers to us, (1 Kings 19:12b) a voice that says, " This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)

The Indwelling Holy Spirit of God will reprove us, and convict us when we sin.  He will guide us, comfort us and show us things to come.  (John 16:7-15)

I heeded the warning from Norton this morning and scanned my computer and cleaned my files.

Did I heed the warning from the Holy Spirit when He told me my heart had some needed cleaning as well?

Or did I grieve the Holy Spirit of God by disregarding His Voice?

My actions will reflect what path I choose.  If I neglect His warning, I will soon crash and not be useable.

If I choose to read my bible, pray and ask God to reveal the sin in my heart that is hindering my Christian performance, He will forgive me of my sin and cleanse me so that I can go on glorifying my Lord.  (1 John 1:9)

What about you?

Have you scanned for any heart viruses lately?  Or have you crashed in your Christian walk?

Ask God to scan your heart...

    He will...

        But that's just me!

 

The Stranger

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say until him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?  James 2:1-5

My sister wrote to me yesterday from Arizona about something she witnessed in her church Sunday morning. This is what she wrote: 

"We went to church yesterday, and just as the band started the worship music, what appeared to be a homeless man came in and just stood at the front of the sanctuary next to the wall.  Security was close because they just didn't know what he would do.  The music went on fine, then he moved to the front wall on the other side, so one of the security guys went to sit in the front row.  The guy just hunkered down to the floor.  The sermon was about how suffering brings us closer to God.  We may not understand it, but it happens for the good.  Our Associate Pastor, who was preaching today, lost a daughter a little over a year ago, and he had lost another daughter prior to that.  He talked about how he felt like he stepped away from God a little, but he stayed in the Word, and he knows that God carried him and brought him closer to Him. 

At the end, our Associate Pastor had us all close our eyes and bow our heads and he began to pray.  He said that if anyone wanted to pray and accept Jesus, they didn't have to pray out loud, but the man on the floor did. Then the Pastor said another prayer, and the man repeated it aloud, then started crying.  When he first came in, I prayed he would be fine to remain in the service and that God would open his heart.  That is exactly what happened.  After the service, the staff went up and spoke to him.  He may have just wanted to get out of the heat, and who knows if he is homeless or not, but whatever happened was a blessing."

How differently this all would have turned out if this stranger had been asked to leave.  Instead, this assembly of Believers witnessed a miracle in the life of a man from the street who, perhaps, only walked in to escape the heat of the day.

He walked in homeless...

    he walked out with a home in Heaven...

            Isn't God good?

                But that's just me!

Exposed

"For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes."  Jeremiah 16:17

We recently hired a fencing contractor to install a new fence around our backyard.  In order to put the new one in place, the old one had to be removed.  With the help of a family friend and one of my sons, my husband and I were able to remove the pickets and posts in just a couple of days.  Once the old fence was down, we had a week to wait for the new one to be put up.  The first time I walked out to my backyard without the enclosed fence, I felt EXPOSED.

Every car driving by, every person walking their dog, every bicyclist, skater and neighbor could see everything I was doing; weeding, planting, playing with my dog, my husband grilling, or just swinging in my swing.

It felt very strange.

It made me more aware of what others were viewing.

It made me aware of what I was hiding.

It made me conscience of the fact that my heavenly Father sees me, hears me and most importantly, knows my heart.

Whether or not I have erected a fence around it.

What does He see?

Am I pleasing to His sight?

King David asked God to, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Psalm 139:23,24

It's good to be exposed...

      It shows the true character of our hearts...

         and leads to confession and restoration...

            But that's just me!

Common-Denominator

 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Ephesians 4:4-6

Every week the short, tall, fat and slim, the upper-class, middle-class, and lower-class, healthy and those with chronic illnesses, Ceo's, blue-collar, doctor's, lawyer's, nurses, waitresses, teachers, chef's, Retired and Active-Duty Military, mechanics and farmers, the young, the old, married, married with children and single all meet in one place as soon as the doors are opened.

Every Race, Color, Ethnicity.

Meet.

Come together.

In one place.

In Unity.

How can that be in such a divided Society?

It's because we all share One Common Denominator:  Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

You see, there is none better than each other-

There is none more important than someone else-

We are all equal at the foot of the Cross.

Isn't it amazing how we could have nothing in common with the person sitting next to you in the pew;

different hobbies, different ages, different likes and dislikes, and yet they are closer to us than family?

It's because Christ Is the Unity that binds Christians together.

I remember a Sunday School song I used to sing when I was a little girl and is still sung today, it goes something like this:

"Jesus loves the little children,

all the children of the world,

red and yellow, black and white,

they are precious in His sight,

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

I think if we look past the things that make us different...

    and focus on the One Who makes us all the same...

        Unity will change the world.

            But that's just me!

Mondays!

My feet hit the floor early this morning.  I had two errands to run in town before my doctor's appointment.  After meeting my Lord in prayer and in His word, I headed out the door.  First stop, the Eye Clinic to pick up my new glasses.  This was the second time around, so my hopes were not too high.  Another error in the prescription, so after getting a refund, (I do not believe in 'the third time's a charm superstition) I headed to my next destination.  I needed to make a return.  I had the item in my car, but no receipt in my wallet.  This return would be made another day.  So, off to my doctor's appointment.  Again, it was not as I had expected.  But God.  Right?  So, to brighten my spirit for my road trip home, I decided to treat myself to a Danish and coffee at Starbucks.  As I hand my money over to the Barista, she hands me my Danish.  I find a spot for it in my car for 'easy access.'  She then hands me my coffee.  As I pull it inside my car, the lid falls off and liquid splashes on my skirt.  (Thankfully I drink iced coffee)

I hand the drink back to the Barista for a double cup and a secured lid, and a handful of napkins.  As I drive away, I shake my head and say, 'Ooh boy, Mondays!'  And then I had to laugh:  today was Wednesday.

"In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him."

Wise words from King Solomon:  Ecclesiastes 7:14

Not every day will go as planned...

    and not every day will go smoothly...

        but rejoice...

            It's not always on Mondays!

                But that's just me!

The Exception to the Rule

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

John 14:16

My husband and I recently attended a Town Hall Meeting.  We left disappointed; seems like the world is encroaching on our small town.  Once a year, our little town celebrates its existence with food trucks and venders setting up their wares on the Museum Lawn.  The children safely play games and gather the candy that is thrown from the floats of the parade down Main Street.  It's all in good fun, but then there is two days of loud music and dancing in the street until late into the night, and open drinking.  At our meeting, a Board Member began asking our local Sheriff about some of the Rules of Law regarding such activity.  This Board Member was asking for an 'exception to the Rule' for just a couple of days of celebration.  To our surprise, our local Sheriff agreed to some exceptions.  Of course, our City Lawyer was in attendance to make sure our small town does not become 'too law-less' during this weekend, but I will say that my husband and I were quite surprised to such leniency.

God's Word makes no exception to the Rule of Salvation.  There is no short-cut, and there is no other way but Christ.  Salvation comes through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; nothing else and No One else.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) It will not matter if you are well known, wealthy or if you have served on a special Board.

Romans 2:10 tells us, "For there is no respect of persons with God."

Those who seek exception to the rule...

    will one day wish they had followed the rule...

        But that's just me!