Forgiveness. Consequences. Mercy.

Forgiveness can come in just a moment,
But sometimes the consequences last.
It's hard to walk into that mercy,
When the present's so tied up with the past.
-- Bob Bennett, Singer, Songwriter

Thank you, Lord, that we can walk in Your new mercy for this day.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Grateful

* For extra encouragement, saturate in Lamentations 3:22-23

Fleeting Shadows

We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.
-- Job 8:9 (GWT)

Only one life 'twill soon be past.
Only what's done for Christ will last.
-- Plaque that hung in my grandparents' home

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Learn to Fly. Release the Reigns.

The words of this Crystal Lewis song titled "Learn to Fly" are pure poetry to the soul.

Sometimes I sit wondering
I wonder what the future brings
I wonder what tomorrow means
I've thoughts of fear, they frighten me
About days ahead that I can't see
I want to know with certainty
So I'm faced with a choice
A fork in the road
I can raise my voice in protest
Or surrender and let go

(Chorus)
And learn to fly
Learn to soar
Above the doubts around my door
Learn to see
Learn to try
Learn to trust
Let go and fly

Life isn't always fair it seems
At times I feel cheated out of my dreams
Where I am isn't where I planned to be
My plans are changed without my consent
To come this way wasn't my intent
The road I face isn't the one I meant to take
So I'm faced with a choice
A fork in the road
I can raise my voice in protest
Or surrender and let go

(Bridge)
I look beyond the boundaries of my expectations
There is so much more to life than what it seems
The past is preparation for the future
I release the reigns I've held and let you lead

Click here: - Crystal Lewis - Learn to Fly

Oh, that I had wings like a dove;
then I would fly away and rest!
-- Psalm 55:6 (NLT)

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Take Time to Remember & To Be Revived

I have learned one thing for sure in my forty-nine years: Unless we take to time to remember where we came from, we won't know where we're going, and we won't know who we are when we get there.

As I remember these words today, I am in a season of soul-sabbatical. Being the son of an Atlantic Coast fisherman, I have purposely planned seasons within my sabbatical season to return to and from my sandy-and-salty roots. Yes, indeed. If you were to take a look at my sabbatical calendar you would notice immediately that the skeleton of my schedule is actually held together by numerous back-and-forth journeys to and from the Atlantic Ocean. I just returned from a three-day season there. The first three days of my sabbatical were spent alongside the East Coast seashore. During this time, I wrote words akin to these in my daily journaling:

I never feel more alive than when I am standing alongside The Graveyard of the Atlantic. It is here that I remember where I came from and seemingly the location from which my Lord has so often sent me back to my present calling having been revived for the future.

I covet your prayers as I have been given this sacred season by my Faithful God and His generous local church -- a time-out-time-frame to be remembering and to be revived. Please pray for me along these three lines:

(1) That I will wholly recover from the past.
(2) That I will wholeheartedly celebrate in the present.
(3) That I will holy envision for the future.

And all In the Name of Jesus, of course.

This passage from Lamentations 3:17-26 (NLT) somehow contains the mystery of what I am trying to communicate when I say: Take time to remember and to be revived:

(17) Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. (18) I cry out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the LORD is lost!" (19) The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. (20) I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. (21) Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: (22) The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. (23) Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day. (24) I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!" (25) The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek him. (26) So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

"Help My Unbelief!"

It was just before midnight. Because of snowy roads, I was driving my 22-year-old son to his night shift at the local radio station in my four-wheel-drive. We had a sacred and soul-searching talk about the Lord as we rode. Just before I dropped him off, and in light of our conversation about faith, my son asked: Dad, why do we tend to struggle trusting God concerning the future when He's always been so faithful in the past?

Mark 9:24 (NKJV) -- Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

This is my prayer and desire for me and my family, Lord:

For Your present and future favor, we ask!
In Your past and present faithfulness, we bask!

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

"The Eight 'We Can'ts' of Ministry"

At Nazarene Bible College, in 1994, a seasoned pastor spoke to the student body at chapel one day and shared what he called "The Eight 'We Can'ts' of Ministry." I wrote these still relevant notes in the flyleaf of my Bible:

"The Eight 'We Can'ts' of Ministry"

1. We can't control everything.
2. We can't change or fix anyone.
3. We can't explain everything.
4. We can't dodge questions and decisions.
5. We can't explain why God loves you and me.
6. We can't worry about who gets the credit.
7. We can't cling to the past.
8. We can't do what needs to be done apart from the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:1 -- Therefore, since through God's mercy we have ministry, we do not lose heart...

Based on 2 Corinthians 4:1, I've added a ninth 'we can't' of ministry:
9. We can't lose heart! (We can, but we must not lose heart!)

IF MY PEOPLE...WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful