Computer Problems

I'm still having computer problems. First it was the system board that was "fried." We thought it was fixed, but now the expert is saying the first problem created hard drive issues. So, I'm without a computer again. Prayers appreciated.

Silly as a Sidewalk

For the last five years I have been working on building a flagstone pathway in our back yard.  So far, I have finished about 112 feet of it, and I have about 18 feet left to do.  Part of the delay in getting it finished is our South Texas weather, part of it is my refusal to work outside when it is too hot, too humid, too cold, too windy, too… whatever.  But just a few weeks ago my husband and I decided it was time to sell the house.  We are getting older, it is getting harder and harder for us to keep up with the yard work, and the house it too big for us, so we plan to downsize.  So, that decision put a lot of pressure on me to finish my project.  This spring has brought record rainfall, so it has been almost impossible to work on the sidewalk most days.  A couple of weeks ago, though, we had almost an entire week without rain.  Aside from the heat and humidity, it was just about perfect weather for working on my sidewalk – that is, as long as I could get started very early in the morning before the heat was unbearable.  Did I mention that I am NOT a morning person?  I am usually pretty slow getting started in the mornings, unless I have somewhere I need to go.  I had to get up early when I was working, but now that I am retired, I like to indulge myself by sleeping late on those days when I can.  That particular Friday, a couple of weeks ago, I had an appointment at 11:00 a.m., so I knew that if I was going to work on the sidewalk, I would need to get started no later than 7:30 a.m.  I could work for two hours then get cleaned up in time to make my appointment.  I had my alarm set for 7:30, but that doesn’t mean much, since I don’t have a problem hitting the snooze button when I really don’t want to get up.  That day I didn’t even need the alarm.  I woke up about 6:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I eventually got up, and I was dressed and out in the back yard, working with the flagstone by 7:30.  To my amazement, the breeze was cool, the pieces of rock fit together a lot more easily than usual, and instead of my usual three feet of sidewalk in two hours, I was able to finish about four feet by the time I had to quit.

As I was getting ready for my appointment, I was thanking God for getting me up, giving me a beautiful cool morning, and making my work go smoothly so that I could make more progress than I expected.  I became giddy with the thought that Our Sovereign, Holy God, Creator of the universe, Sustainer of all life, even cares about something as silly as a sidewalk.  I was reminded that we are instructed to look for, notice, and acknowledge His activity in and around us, even in the simplest, most mundane things:

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:6, King James Version).

Well, I don’t know that He cares about the sidewalk, but I KNOW, without a doubt, that He cares about me:

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  . . .  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? (Matthew 6:26, 30, New Living Translation).

Then He reminded me that, if He cares about me and my concern about something as silly as a sidewalk, how much more does He care about more important, more life-changing things?

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand (Mark 6:41-44, New International Version).

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4, King James Version).

Someone criticized me recently for praying for something they thought was silly.  They implied that God should not be bothered by trivial things, but that we should spend our time praying for more important things.  Isn’t it wonderful that God does not have to prioritize and schedule His to-do list like we do?  He is so great that He spoke the universe into creation, and He holds it all together in perfection:

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:3, King James Version).

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17, New International Version).

And at the same time, He knows each one of us so personally that He knew us when we were conceived, and He knows each hair on our head:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed (Psalm 139:13-16, New Living Translation).

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Luke 12:7, New International Version).

Do you trust God with every little silly thing in your life?  If not, why not?  How can you trust Him with the big things if you don’t trust Him with the small ones?  Begin acknowledging Him in even the tiniest things – take a walk, notice the tiniest wildflowers, the softest breeze, the most distant sound of a bird chirping.  Thank Him for those things.  Then notice the smile on a friend’s face or her kind words, and thank God for giving you friends.  When you begin to acknowledge Him in the small things, it will be easier for you to trust Him with the big things.

 

My prayer for you and for myself this week is that we will recognize His work in and around us, even in what we may call the silly things, so that we would learn to trust Him with the big things (See Philippians 4:6):

Dear Jesus,
Don’t (allow me to) worry about anything; instead, (remind me to) pray about everything. (Remind me to) tell God what (I) need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then (I) will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard (my) heart and mind as (I) live in Christ Jesus.

Computer Problems

I'm sorry, but I don't have a blog for today. My computer crashed last week, and I still don't have it back, yet. I'm typing this on my iPad, but it doesn't work very well with the blog format. In the meantime, I hope you are having a wonderful week.  Remember that God is in control, even when things don't go as planned.

Don’t panic. I’m with you.There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you (Isaiah 41:10, The Message).

When The Floods Come

This spring has been one of the wettest in the recorded history of Central Texas, where I live.  We have received over twice our average rainfall this spring, and, as a matter of fact, just Saturday at my house we had in only two hours more than the average rainfall for the entire month of May.  Although we are thankful that our lawns and trees are healthy and green, the lakes are now full, and our underground aquifers are thriving, getting this much rain in such a short period of time has caused devastating flooding.  The rivers are overflowing their banks causing catastrophic losses all over the state of Texas.  I read one news account that said this is the first time that all four of Texas’ largest four cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin) have all experienced flooding at the same time.

About 30 miles from where I live, the little town of Wimberley has been especially hard hit.  Several vacation homes were washed from their foundations by the rushing water of the Blanco River, and many, many more homes were flooded.  One of those homes was occupied by a total of nine people gathered to have a fun time in the tranquil little town of Wimberley on the shores of the river.  I imagine what fun they must have been having, perhaps cooking hamburgers on the grill, laughing, shopping in the quaint shops of the little town, maybe fishing or even swimming in the river earlier that day.  Good friends, good times, making good memories.  But around dark, an alarm went out – a reverse 911 call – warning people in the area that the river was expected to flood.  Tornado warnings were sounded.  The good times were about to end, and the good memories were about to become a nightmare.

The pictures of those people who were gathered for a relaxing weekend have been all over the internet and the news, accompanied with pleas for prayers and for help to find them.  The house had been washed off its footings by the flood, carried down river where it was slammed into a bridge and demolished.  One of the men was found, injured, but alive.  Since then, the bodies of some of the others in this group have been found, but sadly, some are still missing.  Another young man, not in this group, was killed in a town just up the river from Wimberley.  Further south from here, a young girl, coming home from her senior prom, was killed when her car was washed away by flood waters.  Stories like these are being repeated, time and again, all over Texas and Oklahoma.

My heart has been aching all week for these people and their families.  My prayers and the prayers of many, many others have been heard by our Loving Father.  I hope that the friends and families of those who have been killed and those who are still missing have been strengthened by our prayers.

“So,” some might ask, “why is this happening?  These were good people, not criminals.  Three were just little children.  They did not deserve this!”

The answer is, “No, they did not.”

The truth is, we may never know the answer to the “why” question, this side of heaven.  But I do know that these people loved God and trusted Him with their lives.  They even trusted Him if that meant He was ready to take them to be with Him before WE think it was time.  That’s what is meant when we say that God is sovereign.  When we acknowledge that He is sovereign, we acknowledge that His ways are not our ways, and that He has a plan that we may not understand, but that we accept by faith:

 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We acknowledge that we belong to Him because He created us and the world we live in:

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers (Psalm 24:1-2).

We acknowledge that He has the right to do as He will:

Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing (Job 9:12)?’

We also know that we live in a world that has been affected by sin.  When Adam sinned and sin entered the world, it affected, not just Adam, and not just mankind, but sin affected all of creation:

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Romans 8:20-22, New Living Translation).

We who love God and who live according to His word are subject to the same natural forces of this world as anyone.  We don’t live in a “holy bubble,” protected from danger, disease, and death.  Jesus said:

For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45b).

He understands that we are hurting right now.  It’s okay to cry.  God weeps with us in our distress.  When Lazarus, the friend of Jesus died John wrote simply, “Jesus wept.”  Jesus did not weep because Lazarus had died.  Jesus was about to bring him back to life.  But Jesus wept because He felt the hurt of the sisters of Lazarus.  He feels our hurt today, and He feels the hurt of the families and friends of those lost in the floods:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction (2 Corinthians 1:3-4a).

The point of Jesus’ message was that, even though we may suffer the same way that nonbelievers suffer, our reaction to the sun and the rain, or to the good times and the bad times, the happy days and the days of disaster, should be different from the reaction of those who do not know Him.  That’s why Jesus taught us to build our lives upon Him, the Solid Rock:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it (Matthew 5:24-27).”

The family whose home was washed away in Wimberley, Texas last Saturday night built their “spiritual house” on the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ.  Their home may have been washed away, along with everything in it, but their faith in Jesus prepared them for that day.  They will spend eternity with Him.  And their friends and family can be comforted in knowing that they are in His presence right now.  Their bodies may be lost, but their eternal lives are not lost, but are in the presence of Holy Sovereign God, and they are rejoicing with each other, singing praises to Him who rescued them from eternal death through the blood of Jesus Christ.

We cannot wait until the floods come.  We have to be prepared in advance.  We never know when we will face a flood, or a car crash, or a terminal diagnosis from the doctor.  2 Corinthians 2:6 says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”  Tomorrow may be too late. My prayer for you this week is that you know Him and that you have entrusted your life to Him.  If you have not, do it now:

1.  Agree with God that you have sinned: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).”

2.  Understand that when Jesus gave his life on the cross, He did it to pay for your sins, along with the sins of all the world:  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).”

3.  Accept the free gift that Jesus is offering you – the gift of eternal life with Him:  “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).”

4.  Follow Christ.  Yes, His is a free gift, but receiving that gift of eternal life with Him means that we have to turn our backs on our old life.  We have to make Him Lord of our lives, as though we are slaves to Him who purchased us with his own blood.  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15),” and, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).”

If you have agreed with God that you need Him, and if you understand that He is your only hope, and if you have accepted His gift of eternal life, and if you want to follow Him, then pray this prayer with me.  He will send His Holy Spirit to live in you, to guide you and teach you, and to comfort you in a way that only He can:

Dear God, I admit that I have sinned and that I do not deserve to be called righteous.  But I understand that your Son paid the price for my sinfulness when He died on the cross.  Thank you for the gift of eternal life with You that Jesus provided, once and for anyone who will trust Him.  I want to follow You, and I want to leave my old life behind.  Thank you for helping me to live the way you want me to live.  I am trusting you with the rest of my life.  Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer, then you are now my brother or sister in Christ.  He promises us that He will never leave us or forsake us.  But in order to follow Him, and in order to learn more about Him, find a church that teaches the Bible, God’s Word.  Let someone there know that you want to follow Jesus and learn more about Him.  They will connect you with people who will help you and encourage you as you grow in knowledge and faith in Him.  God bless you.

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is from the English Standard Version.