Hospital
If you ever need a good dose of reality, try hanging out at the hospital. Have you ever looked into a family’s eyes & seen the pain? That’s reality. That’s where you find Jesus. He’s right there in the middle of it…
As I walked out of my mother’s room in the ICU tonight, I passed a Hispanic family & they were crying. They were hurting. You could see it. You could feel it. They were speaking Spanish, so I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I could understand what they were feeling. That was clear. I suddenly sensed His presence. He was there. And I realized, all over the world, at this moment, the Holy Spirit is there, in the middle of every situation, every hospital bed, every cancer clinic, every maternity ward, every surgical procedure, every family waiting room…He is there. And He is not a passive observer. He is not some unfeeling, uncaring, indifferent, ethereal ghost. He knows. He cares. He reaches down & pulls us up out of our despair because HE CARES!! When no one else in the world seems to care, He reaches out his arms & says “YES, I CARE” Because He knows what despair is. He knows what pain is. He’s been there. He’s experienced it on a level we can’t even comprehend. Why? Why did He come down from heaven & subject himself to such abuse? Because HE CARES.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV
Last Night at the HOR
Last night was the culmination of a lot of things for me personally, but I’ll save that for another post. For this post, I’d like to focus on the energy & excitement I felt in that room…
I know our faith should not be based on feelings, but what a great feeling!!! When we experience those mountain tops & goose bumps & chills & excitement, I think we should thank God that He gives them to us. It won’t be like that most of the time. We have to learn how to live in the valley, but it sure is nice when God takes us up to the mountain top & gives us a glimpse.
Oak Leaf Church had a prayer service last night at the House of Rock, getting ready for our Redemption offering this Sunday. It was one of those moments for me. It seemed like God was ready to do something special in that place & everyone could sense it. From the very start, I could see expectation in people’s eyes. I could see joy & excitement on faces of those who were there, & those who will come later. The music was almost effortless, & I say that because it didn’t really feel like I was playing. I felt like I was observing. I felt like I was witnessing something new, something being born, something we have been praying for…
I was witnessing the redemption of a building.
Words of Wisdom
“This year give more than you have ever given and watch how you change..what you value, care about, your joy, satisfaction, and experiences with God. I promise you that what truly matters according to God will become more precious to you and your faith and peace and joy will be deeper than ever…regardless of the economy.”
Brad Martin
At the death of a parent
Yesterday Roye shared some beautiful words from a local pastor, who got to know my dad in the last few years of his life. He spoke very highly of my dad & the positive influence he had on his ministry…how they would meet regularly, kneel down & pray with tears for his church. He wanted the church to adapt & do whatever it took to reach the lost. It made me very proud to hear this, almost 9 years after his death. My father gave me a tremendous example to follow. I can only pray that I can be such an example to my daughter & honor his memory with my life.
My wife lost her mother when she was a teenager. She lost her father a few days after our daughter was born. Her daddy was also a shining example of a true man of God. He spent his life helping & serving others, giving his blood, sweat & tears for his church, but he was also his daughter’s best friend, her rock & her inspiration. She found this prayer on an index card stuck in a file, hand-written by a friend at college, so many years ago, but it seems to have found it’s way back into her hands…
“Father, I have so much to be thankful for today. My father lived long enough for me to know him. Strengthen me now for the responsibility that I inherit today. If in your Providence, I am ever entrusted with a high & honorable title of parenthood, may I live that I may be an unfailing source of wisdom, security, & encouragement to my children. Remove the guilt of my grief today. From this loss, I find that I could & should have done more. But I am not perfect. You know this, & my father knew this. I thank you for flooding this moment of my life with divine forgiveness. You are righting every wrong & I thank you. As the fruit of the love of my father & mother, I shall live on. I dedicate & commit myself to live honorably & respectfully so that the remainder of my years brings no disgrace to my family’s name. I rejoice & thank you for Christ’s promise of eternal life. “He who lives & believes in me shall never die. In my father’s house there are many mansions.” I am strengthened now by your Word: “When my father & mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up” I know that sorrow never leaves us where it finds us. I remember it is not what happens to me in life, but how I react to what happens to me that is supremely important. Now God, you will be constantly my heavenly parent. “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning”. Amen
From Positive Prayers for Power Filled Living by Robert Schuller
Even Adam 