1. This past Tuesday I posted a request for continued prayer for me. But this time it was not about the struggles that I have had with my recovery from my biceps tendon surgery. Rather I was asking for prayer that focused on my walk with God (thanks to those of you who have been praying). Now when my post went live on Tuesday morning, little did I know that I had made a small omission that would have caused a HUGE stir if it had not been caught right away. Here's what happened.
We were in the middle of our staff meeting on Tuesday morning when one of my staffers got a text asking him if it was true that I had committed some sort of moral sin that would disqualify me from my pastoral ministry. Puzzled and a bit stunned, he leaned over to me and told me about the text. I knew immediately what must have happened. In the post, I had written (or so I thought) the following line: "I have not fallen into a sin which would disqualify me from continuing in my pastoral ministry." But when I checked my blog, I noticed that what I had written was: "I have fallen into a sin which would disqualify me from continuing in my pastoral ministry." Oops. Forgot one very small but very important word, "not!" I quickly made the correction and we went on with our meeting!
Wow! Amazing the difference one small three-letter word makes in the meaning of a statement! But all of us can take heed to the lesson in this. Our words may be small. But we must measure them well! For one word spoken or written (or not spoken or written!) can make all the difference. And remember, once "said", that word is gone forever! There are no recalls! Consider these words from God's Word about the power of our words: "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body" (Proverbs 16:24). Ask God today to help your words drip with grace!
2. OK ... don't know about you, but I could be done with winter like NOW! Twice in this past week frozen precipitation has fallen from the clouds . . . and winter is officially still over two weeks away! I surely hope that this early start to the season is not a sign of a loooonnnnnnggggg, cold, snowy winter! I admit that my attitude concerning this needs an adjustment. I must learn to be content in all circumstances ... even the ones I don't like. The Apostle Paul learned how to do so (Philippians 4:11), and so must we. I believe the key is to always remember that the God of providence, who has a plan for us and is working that plan, is doing so for our good and God's glory. As we keep this in mind, we can even be content though life is collapsing all around us.
3. My wife told me about an incident that occurred the other day with one of our little grandchildren (who is two). Sharon had told our granddaughter "No!" concerning something. Molly looked at my wife and said, "I upset! Grammy said 'No' to me! I upset!" And then she stormed off to sulk. When my wife told me that story, I chuckled as I pictured in my mind little sweet Molly responding in that way with those words. But ... we often do the very same thing, don't we. God says "No" to us concerning something we would like to do ... and we get upset! And this is so because the sinful nature that we still battle within us has this default setting of "I want what I want ... and no one is going to tell me that I can't have what I want!" May God continue to prune us ... so that increasingly we grow to desire not what we want ... but what HE wants!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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