1. Sometimes when I watch the national news on television, or read Internet news reports, I sometimes get the feeling that the media doesn't merely report the news, but in reality makes the news. The hype that is placed upon local and world events can be sometimes overwhelming. Everything is a crisis. And major steps must be taken before tragic consequences ensue. Now, I don't mean to minimize the severity of some of the events going on in our world today. Ebola. The advancement of ISIS. The weakness of the global economy. And the list could go on and on. These are things that we do need to be concerned about. But, we don't have to go into panic mode over them. When I read my Bible, I see that God is sovereign. He is Lord over all. That means all of these things I just mentioned (and the many more that I did not). As the sovereign God (Ephesians 1:19) he has a plan for us and our world. And in some incredibly mysterious way, he is able to weave even evil events into the tapestry of his plan with the end result that his will in the end shall be done ... for our good and his glory(Romans 8:28)!
2. Yesterday I measured over 4 inches of rain in my rain gauge (yeah I know I'm kind of a weird weather geek). Now that is a lot of rain (almost 10% of the average annual rainfall for Lancaster, PA)! When we first moved into our house, that amount of rain in that short of a period of time would have often meant a wet basement. But we have taken steps the past few years which have greatly reduced that threat. As a result, our basement remained dry yesterday, just as it has remained dry for the past couple of years in spite of monsoonal type rainfalls. But there may have been some yesterday who were not as fortunate, and came home from work only to be faced with water in their basement. However I do not believe this was widespread. Why so? Before yesterday's rain, we were facing a significant deficit in our rainfall. Since the ground was so dry, much of the rain soaked into the ground. If the ground had been already saturated, the situation would've probably been far different. All this to say, that sometimes heavy rains are welcome, as was the case yesterday. But there are other times that rainfalls of this magnitude are anything but welcome! It's all a matter of timing. This is true of many things in life. Always remember that God"s timing is perfect (Ecclesiastes 3:11)!
3. It has struck me recently as I have had conversations with a number of people, that how few of us truly listen to what others are saying to us. Being a good listener is a skill that must be learned. And once learned it must be intentionally put into practice. One of the greatest ways you can minister to someone today is just listen to them. In doing so you communicate to them that they are important to you and what they have to say really does matter. And that may just make their day!
Thanks again for stopping by…
PJ
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