Saturday, January 14, 2012

Miserable Mouthing

"Nor let us...complain, as some of them also complained." (1 Cor. 10:8,10)

Have you ever known a miserable mouther? Have you ever been one? You know, the kind that complains about all the troubles that come their way, including the blessings...yes, the blessings! Oh how much we are like the Egyptian-freed Israelites, whom the Lord has given SO much to, and done SO much for...yet prone to still complain when events aren't all that we thought, or all that we wished, or all that we wanted. Oh, Father, forgive our grumbling, complaining lips...when we expect Heaven here on earth, and in so doing, fail to see all the overwhelmingly numerous gifts you have lavished on us!

Has the Lord blessed you with eyes to see the rich hues of murals He has painted in the day and evening skies? Has He offered you a bright, warm spring-like day in the midst of the coldness of winter? Or has He sent you instead, a pristine white snowscape that glistens as a newlywed's diamond? Were there birds singing their merry little tunes outside your window as you awakened? Could you hear their various trills, and did you sleep with a roof over your head? Did your heater gently hum all through the night? Were you greeted this morning by the sound of little feet and your spouse's sweet kiss? Were you met with the exuberance of your dog's happy-wag tail, or the rumbling motor of your cat? Were you able to smell the coffee that was brewing, and savor the homemade bread? Was there warm water for your shower? Were you able to sing your heart out as that blessing cascaded over you? Do you have a job awaiting you on Monday, when so many are without? Do you have a book and blanket to curl up with at the end of a long and arduous day? Are you able to read your Bible, knowing no one is going to come pounding on your door to imprison you for it? If not, was He not with you when you awakened, reassuring you He is there, no matter what the day may bring? That the body can be killed, yet the spirit cannot? (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:4) Has not the Lord blessed us with immeasurble joy and reassurance that this is not our true home...that He has gone on to prepare a magnificient place that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the things which He has prepared for us?! (1 Cor. 2:9) Are you saved by the living God? Oh praise God for that... for "what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us" that we should be called His children!! (1 John 3:1)

He has sent all the seasons, and all the blessings, and He, and He alone, determines what and when they are (oh is that sometimes hard to accept!)...but He says "what is that to you?" (John 21:22-23) He is our GOOD Father...and no matter yours or your neighbors, those near or in lands unknown...His gifts are always far too many to be counted, for each of us. 

Oh Lord, may no miserable mouthing ever come from our mouths...instead, let us always praise Your holy name in all that You do. Yes, indeed, what is anything to us; open our eyes that we might see not what Your hand hasn't, but all that Your hand has provided...for Your very glorious reasons and purposes...out of Your incredibly vast love and care for us! Oh thank you, my God and my King.

Psalm 145
"1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might
,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living
thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he
does.

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever."

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Servant Who Still Speaks

As we enter this new year, I am reminded that we serve a Saviour who is the reason for all seasons...how I pray that this new year find us more and more HIS servants. Where there's any pride in our hearts, may He remind us to be humble...knowing that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Matthew 20:16). How He cherishes the last! May we always remember that anything we have is not of ourselves, but simply gifts from His gracious hand. And may He use us for all those that are last, for HIS glory, and HIS purposes. The world tells us to use our days for ourselves, yet He created us to use them for HIM.

I pray in this new year that where there is loneliness, we readily embrace with warm, caring arms; where there's exhaustion, He give us deeply encouraging words; and where there's poverty, He give us a life-changing concern. The world mocks and looks down at those who are lonely, and downtrodden, and poor. Yet we are not of this world. May we always remember what is truly of value...and hold others' gaze with a twinkle in our eye, a warm smile on our face, and a hand that firmly grasps. May He show us how to give the gift of ourselves, in both word and deed, in reaching out to others...and in so doing, we give of our Lord who was King, yet came as the greatest servant of all.

"I’d like to suggest that we remind ourselves he still comes.
He comes to those as small as Mary’s baby and as poor as a carpenter’s boy.
He comes to those as young as a Nazarene teenager and as forgotten as an unnoticed kid in an obscure village.
He comes to those as busy as the oldest son of a large family, to those as stressed as the leader of restless disciples, to those as tired as one with no pillow for his head.
He comes and gives us the gift of himself.
He still comes. He still speaks."
~excerpted from Christmas Stories, by Max Lucado
"...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:20
In this new year, may our lives "speak" of Him in all we do.