Picking Up The Pieces

Luke 22:41-43
41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

The lights are coming back on, trucks are bringing in supplies, and the government is jumping in to bail out the economy. All the lifelines are in place and it is now time to pick up the pieces left. These are perhaps the most dangerous of times that many could face. These are the times when it is easy to lose faith. It is when we are left with nothing, that many might find it hard to look to tomorrow with hope, let alone make it through another hour.

There is something to be said for an abrupt change in lifestyle. For people to be worried about making their next impulse buy, and in an instant be worried if they will be able to afford, or even locate the bare minimum to survive. It is the hard sting of reality that sometimes is too much to bear. The battle line is drawn, and how we respond to these times will decide how we will recover.

If we think back to Moses, Abraham, Joseph, the Apostles, Paul, even Christ, they all had moments when their lives looked pretty bleak. There were times that they asked God to change their path, for they did not want to bear any more. They all had moments that tested their faith. They all chose to rise to the challenge, steeled by their faith in the Lord.

These are the models that we should follow. We all can hang our heads and ask why. We can shake our fists at the sky and blame God for our woes. We can even choose to withdraw into a reclusive state and let ourselves become drawn down by depression, and self pity. We CAN do all of those things, but that does not mean we should.

We are children of the most high God. We should look to the future, and the season of rebuilding that lies ahead. Yes the task ahead may look daunting, but just as Caleb knew the strength of the Lord, we too must place our trust in the foundation of our lives, and that is Jesus Christ.

While the world moves on and uses each day to relive the horror, you will hear many say that someone should have, or they could have, or why didn't the. All of that is of no importance. What matters is that you are alive, you still are drawing a breath, and that is what counts. We were all given the gift of another day. A new day to start again, and that is what we all should do. If your fortune is gone, start looking for a way to build again, if your house is gone, perhaps there are things that you have always wanted that you can now put into your new house. Yes it sounds simple, and I know that there is a lot more to it than just "doing it" but the point is you have to start, and the best place to start is by giving thanks to the Lord that you are still alive, and that you get another chance, there will be many that do not.

Peace,
Brian

The Storms of Life

Matthew 7: 24 - 27

24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."


The headlines have it. This past several weeks of destruction. From the Hurricane wiping out entire towns and neighborhoods, to financial giants falling on Wall Street. It was a time of awaking for many. In today's world so many are searching for a solid foundation. We want to invest our money in a "sure thing", we want to have as much if not more than the fella living next to us, we want the house with a view, and the beach at our doorstep.

This last 2 weeks showed us all that even when those things are achieved, they could be taken away in a matter of hours. The house that we saved and struggled for can be wiped away as if it was never there, the bank account can go from black to red in the blink of an eye.

How we recover from these things all depends on our foundation for our lives, and the only foundation that is worth building on is the foundation of Christ. Psalm 57 verse 1 reads: Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. There is little doubt that we all have storms in our life. Some are nothing more than the brief summer storms that pass quickly, others bring rains that swamp the soul, and submerge the spirit. There is only one place that we can find true refuge, there is only one place that offers the peace, and faith needed to weather that storm, that place is in the shadow of the Lord's wing.

People who have put their faith in the natural world are assured of failure. They will always be found wanting, no matter their success. All that they acquire is dependant on the lives of others, or their own life. We all face death, and life, just like all of the "toys" that they toil so hard to acquire, will be gone before they are ready. The comforts that we acquire in the natural pale in comparison to the comfort of Christ.

A person of faith understands that all things in this life are temporary; the only lasting venture is our partnership with Christ. When we build our life of the foundation of the Lord, we find our life on solid footing. It is an unshakable foundation that can handle all of the stress and all of our life's storms. It will not crack, it will not erode, and it will not fail. The foundation of Christ gives assurance and direction in times of struggle, it will call you home like a beacon in the night when you are lost, and feeling overwhelmed.

The Lord will bless and protect you in and through all of life's storms. He will clear the path and show the way to safety. It is by his grace that we are saved, and it is in his wisdom that we will be sustained. Do not bemoan the loss of things created by man; they are only temporary.


Peace,
Brian Thetford

Cold Prayers

James 5:16


Too often our petitions fit the description of prayer given by Thomas Brooks, who said, 'Cold prayers are as arrows without heads, as swords without edges, as birds without wings; they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to heaven. Cold prayers always freeze before they reach heaven." To become more effective in our praying, we should heed these words of Bishop Hall: 'It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be; nor even the theology of our prayers, how good the doctrine may be,which God cares for. Fervency of spirit is that which availeth much."

James reminds us that Elijah 'prayed earnestly." And what answers he received,the very forces of nature were changed! By contrast, indefinite praying by indifferent people brings little results. Fervent prayer, if it be for God's glory and presented in the name of His Son, will accomplish great things for time and eternity. - PR.V.

From Our Daily Bread

Give Me Meaning!

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Most of us have stood, toe to toe, eyes poping, neck veins bulging, saliva flying, screaming at life. Most of us have grabbed life by the throat, slammed it up against the wall, sunk our thumbs into its jugular, and shrieked, "Give me meaning! give me purpose! Give me peace! Give me happiness! Give me something worth living for! I demand it! I cannot go on without something worth living for!"

And for many of us, life stares back like a zombie, with unblinking eyes, emotionless, silent, unruffled, and untouched by our outburst. Nose to nose with us, it breathes its foul, uncaring breath into our nostrils as its unfocused eyes look past us, unconcerned and even unaware of our presence. It was as though it never heard us.

With rage, fueled by alarm, we wail, "But you promised! You promised me meaning, purpose, and love. You led me to believe that I could succeed, that I could matter, and that someone would care! You lied...you lied...you lied!

Mixed with panic and despair, we slump to the floor, eyes unfocused, head drooped to our chest, wondering where we go from here. We cannot give up. Yet we cannot go on. Meanwhile, life turns back and shuffles away from us, leaving us alone. We think our heart will break, we think our mind will split, we think our soul will shrivel like week-old roses.

As we lie in a heap on the floor of life, thinking we are looking at the end, we actually may be looking at the beginning. What a wonderful and marvelous place this is. What a privilege and opportunity it is to utterly come to the end of one's hope - not only to run out of answers, but to run out of questions. To be beyond fighting, to come to that suspended animation where we are so confused and so weak that we can neither fight nor run.

When you face this critical juncture, when despair seems most certain and hope seems least likely, you are on the verge of triumph. You must seize the day! You must grasp the moment! For you see, when you come to the end of yourself, you find the beginning of God. And there, and nowhere else, you find the answers you seek. You find fulfillment for the longings of your soul.

Like rats in a maze, we shuffle panic-stricken down every blind alley, looking for our way out, choosing every tunnel except the one that leads to God. That is the only tunnel that isn't a dead-end. But often, we will not take that tunnel until be become completely convinced that it is the only one left. Then and then only can our deepest longings be fulfilled.

By Max E. Anders
From: 30 Days to Understanding the Christian Life, pg.6-7