Saturday, October 25, 2008

God Protects His Children

There was a workday at church today. The idea was to spruce up the place for winter, The list seemed quite long. Work went on inside and outside the building. I haven’t been able to assist with this type of project. I was present for another meeting.

The head of Trustees, a lady, showed me this blackened, partially melted electric gadget she called a timer. One of the tasks on the to-do list was to replace it. When she showed it to me she said, “We came close to having a fire.”

All I could say was, “Praise the Lord for his watch care over us.” She agreed with me. I went back into my meeting and shared with the adults present. They also agreed with us of our need to praise God for his protection.

I remember two years ago, getting off work early because I had worked in someone else’s place the night before. I came home happy for the extra time off, My husband told me to call the utility office and get someone out to our house to repair an inlet cable into our home. Whenever the wind blew, the cable rubbed against the edge of the conduit and created a spark. We have aluminum siding. The conduit and electric meter sit on the outside of our bedroom window. Had any spark caught, we might not have known what happened.

God does protect his children even when they don’t realize it. We have to rely on Him to help us through each day. Each day we may have something we can’t see possibly cause us harm. A friend had a wreck in her car yesterday, she’s thankful no one was hurt. An elderly man suffered a stroke this past week. Some of us who know this man and his wife are thankful they have family to help them through this. A gentleman receives two phone calls from friends who were very important to him when he was growing up. God put this gentleman on their hearts. I am thankful for His prompting them to call and inquire how things are going.

The idea of God guiding and protecting His children even when they are unaware was brought out by Ron Mehl in his book “God Works the Night Shift.” In it he tells of all the times God meets our needs and we don’t even realize. I read this book a dozen years ago. I need to dig it out and read it again. Some things never stop being timely.

Monday, October 20, 2008

About Anger


For as the churning of the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.
Proverbs 30:33 (NIV)

We all know people who keep those around them upset. They are quick-tempered, easily riled and not fun to be around.

In her book, Irregular People, Joyce Landorf Heatherley tells us we all have at least one person in our lives who keep things all stirred up. These people aren’t happy with themselves. They are angry and don’t know why. Maybe they have undiagnosed health issues or unresolved or unrecognized emotional problems.

Most of these issues in angry people can cause us to feel helpless when we have to face them. We have to rely on God to lead us. Bible study allows us to “hide [the] word in [our] heart.” [see Psalm 119:10]

Sometimes we become angry when we deal with those who keeps things stirred up. The Apostle Paul told the Ephesians “in your anger, do not sin. [Eph, 4:26] This anger, called Holy Anger or righteous indignation, is acceptable because we become angry about issues Jesus would take issue with.

In today’s world we hear a lot about anger management classes. We, as a society seem to have let go of good judgment and let things be said and done that inflict hurt onto others.

In Jesus’ model prayer he taught his disciples there is a passage that makes me pause. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If we as God’s children put His will first while we are on earth, would we have people stirring up anger and producing strife?


God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...