CANCELLING PLANS

I do not want to cancel a long planned get away!  

Every two years, Half Century of Progress happens in Rantoul, Illinois.  Old farming equipment arrives, on semi flat beds that cost more than the farms the equipment was used on.  Farmers, old and young,  spend four days examining old tractors and buying another cap, with a John Deere or an International Harvester tractor embroidered on it.  1950’s combines are hauled hundreds of miles to have the chance to shell corn one more time.  Our friends join us in Rantoul and, while the men tractor look,  the women revisit a favorite store and discover new cemeteries.

Our rooms were reserved as soon as the dates were announced.  They bring hundreds of golf carts in  and one of them already had Bill’s name on it.  Yes, this show is much too large to walk.  Plans were in place and we were looking forward to the show, but, even more importantly, the time with friends.  Plans … There is only one problem with plans.  They may have to be cancelled.

My knee is bone on bone and the pain is increasing.  But, the show is only a few weeks away.  Surely, I can wait that long.  Time with friends.  Old tractors.  Surely, I can hang in there a bit longer.  Our friend said she and I could hang out at the hotel while the men went to the show.  Time with friends.  Old tractors.  Surely, I can …. But, the doctor took one look at an updated x-ray, put a tiny amount of pressure on my knee (Thankfully a tiny amount!), and said, “Mary, you need to get this done.  I will be back in the office July 23 and we can schedule your surgery a few days after that.”

And, just like that, my mind went from planning to cancelling to planning.  The second planning?  What do I need for the surgery and recovery? 

What do I need?  Actually, I have exactly what I need:  peace with this decision.  That is saying a lot, because I do not have a good history with surgery and anesthesia.  Making the scriptures personal is where I find my peace.

Lord, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. My heart has plans, but you establish my steps and your purpose prevails. This is the time for my surgery.  

God, you are the God of hope.  Fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in you, so I may overflow with hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.  In prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, I will turn my anxiety over to you.  And, when I make known to you my concerns, your peace, which surpasses all understanding, and my faith in Christ Jesus, will guard my heart and my mind. I will go into surgery with peace and no fear.

This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

SCRIPTURES:  Ecclesiastes 3:1, Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 19:21, Romans 15:13, and Philippians 4:6-7 

 WATCHING PAINT DRY

Bill went for his walk.  I had put a coat of paint on an outside lamp that was way past needing it.  I know the can said to wait hours for the second coat, but come on.  This is a solar powered lamp and a second coat can go on a whole lot sooner than that.  I decided to wait 30 minutes.  I just heard all the painters and crafters do a great big gasp of horror.  I had my iPad so 30 minutes would pass in no time.  There was only one problem.  I had put on vinyl gloves to keep my hands paint free.  The gloves were not paint free and if I took them off, I would never get them back on.  Go get another pair, you suggest.  By the time I did that, it would be time to paint.  The only solution was to sit and wait.  30 minutes is not so long.  I can do this….

Then a gentle breeze passed by and I thanked God.  Quickly, paint drying became a blessing.  I could not use my iPad.  I was by myself.  I was not in front of the computer.  I could not turn on the TV.  What I could do is, for a change, sit with no distractions.  Except for one:  God’s world.

Thank you God for a view of open spaces where I can see the clouds.  Thank you for a tree that gives me shade.  Thank you for the sun that gives me warmth.  Thank you for the rain and the sun that makes crops grow and green grass under our feet. 

Thank you God for mountains, deserts, rivers, and streams.  Thank you for creating a world so vast, breathtaking, and ever changing, while you never change.

Thank you God for the flowers that brighten our lives and feed the bees and birds.  Thank you for the sounds of the world around us … the ocean waves, a gentle rain, the quiet of snow falling, the power of thunder and lightening.

Thank you for making me realize that you have given me so much more than I deserve.  I give you my pains and problems.  You give me white roses.  I give you my concerns and fears.  You give me a gentle breeze.

Thank you,

Amen

 A BIT OF AN ADVANTAGE

9 feet 9 inches —- is TALL.  Can you imagine being that tall?  You would need a special house.  A tall sink so you could bend over and brush your teeth.  An extra, extra long bed.  Tall and wider doors.  Tables and chairs would have to be special ordered.

Can you imagine walking around wearing a coat of bronze weighing 125 pounds, a bronze helmet, and bronze greaves?  Don’t stop there.  You are also going to carry a javelin.  His poor shield bearer went ahead of him.

Goliath was that tall and was thought to be a descendant of the Anakims.  He must have thought a lot of himself because he told the ranks of Israel, “Choose a man and have him come down to me.  If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”  He sounds like a bully who has gotten his way because of his size.  One on one seems like he would have a bit of an advantage.

Enter a young man that had to stand up to his brothers and figured he could stand up to a big guy with an attitude.  I guess no one saw the secret weapon David carried with him.  They saw a sling and a few stones.  They saw a young man putting himself in danger.  What could he do with a staff and a sling?  Were they ever in for a surprise!!

From this point, we all know the story of David and Goliath.  Goliath gets mouthy.  David takes him down with a measly slingshot, cuts off his head, and becomes the local hero.  

BUT what about the secret weapon David had?  Everyone watching saw a stone fly out of a slingshot.  They failed to see the Almighty God being in charge of the situation.  They had quickly forgotten what David said to Goliath:  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands.  ….. the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel …. for the battle is the LORD’s and he will give all of you into our hands.

Goliath thought he had a bit of an advantage, BUT David had a much larger advantage.  AND SO DO WE!  Often we fail to use this advantage.  We fail to use the advantage of having a Lord who will deliver us from our enemies.  

So take your slingshot in hand and face your enemy, BUT turn the battle over to God.  For the battle is the LORD’s and he will give your enemy into your hands.

Taken from I Samuel 17

 ABSOLUTE FEAR

“Oh no, my lord!  Give her the child —- ….

Did I read that right?  Giver her the child?  Is there more that I need to know?  Why would this woman, who is in great anguish, say such a thing?  There has to be a reason she is looking at this baby with such absolute fear.

Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. “Please, my Lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. 

“But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.” 

Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.” “No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king. 

Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king. 

Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!” 

Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my Lord! Give her the child—please do not kill him!” 

But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!” 

Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”

When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.

‭‭

     1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬

Now I understand.  The real mother did not want her son killed.  Solomon was very wise.  “Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”  

But think what the real mother went through.  It must have seemed like an eternity between the time she found a dead baby in her arms and when they stepped before Solomon. Her voice must have trembled with fear as she told Solomon, “But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”  Her hands would have been clasped hard.  It would have seemed like the world disappeared and became silent when the man lifted the sword.  Her eyes must have wanted to close, so she could not see the sword and, at the same time, her eyes never left her son.  Oh how my heart breaks for this mother.  She was feeling absolute fear.

Finally she screamed, “Oh no, my Lord! Give her the child—please do not kill him!”  Various translations word this sentence differently, but I believe she screamed.  There would not have been any calm  “and she said.”  The real mother would have fallen to the floor and lifted her hands, begging.  The real mother would have yelled/screamed at the top of her voice so there would be no chance that Solomon would not hear her.  The real mother would then have bowed her head, lowered her arms, and waited.

And as she waited, she heard Solomon say to give her the child.  And fear turned to absolute joy!

Now, turn in your Bible and read 1 Kings 3:16-28.  Picture the characters.  Watch them walk.  See their body language as they enter and stop before King Solomon.  Hear their voices.  Hear them yelling at each other.  Watch King Solomon listen and react to the women.  Stop and watch a sword being brought into the room.  See those in the room, take a deep breath as they wondered what would happen.  This is not just words on a page.  These were real people.  This was a real King who had to judge two women and the fate of one baby boy.  

Now picture the real mother holding her son close to her breast.  And see the tears of joy fall across a smile that came from the mother’s soul.

DO I?

I was having trouble deciding what to write.  Then a song popped into my head: I Surrender All.  Great song, but it made me think, “Do I?”  And the answer was no.  I am not going into great detail, so this will be short.

THINGS I DO NOT SURRENDER:

• My time - I waste way too much time on Facebook.  I try to justify that with, “I listen to ministers.”
• My pain - And that, I realize, is the biggest thing I am holding onto.

I have a few physical issues and, at times, they cause great pain.  One is my left knee.  The right knee is already fake.  I made the decision to go ahead and get the left one done.  I called the doctor and cannot get in for a pre-surgery until July 7.  And with that, God and I had another talk.  My part went, “I have asked you to take the pain away, and now I can’t even get into the doctor quickly.”

BUT, when the song entered my head, I realized I have done everything except turn it over to God.  I have prayed for Him to take my pain or heal it.  That didn’t happen.  I have prayed for…..  And that is the problem.  I prayed for what I want, but I have not surrendered the pain to him.

I have not prayed that I would see what I can do with physical limitations.  I have not prayed to go through the pain with grace.  I have not prayed that the pain would end in His time.  I have not surrendered the pain.

I have now!  I know I will still hurt.  I know the timing of healing will come when it is right for His plan.  I know I will still hurt, but the pain is in God’s hands, where it belongs.

STORMS

I love storms.  I love how the air changes and the sky begins to get dark.  I love to hear the rain start slowly and then either be a gentle rain or turn into a downpour.  I have never been in a really bad storm or tornado and pray I never am, but I so enjoy a “normal” storm.

When I was a kid, I would sit on our porch and watch the clouds twist and turn.  I could feel the temperature drop.  I could hear the thunder and see the lightening fly across the sky.  There was a corner that never got wet and that is where you would find me.

Then my dad messed it all up.  He enclosed the porch and it was never the same.  Yes, I would sit in the swing — no sense sitting in the corner —  and watch the storm, but I was no longer a part of the changes.  I no longer felt the air get colder.  The roof hid the white clouds being replaced by dark ones, the thunder was muffled, and the lightening flew across the sky unobserved.  Yes, dad messed it all up.  He put walls and a roof between me and the storm.  

Or was dad protecting me from the storm?

My Heavenly Father puts a hedge of protection around me.  Yes, I go through trials, but I do not do it alone and He warns me what to watch out for.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭

When I read this verse, I saw everything that is going on right now. Paul wrote two letters to help Timothy get the Ephesians to return to the true message Paul had given them.  The Ephesians had become greedy.  Alexander, Hymenaeus, and Philetus were leading the church into a corrupted version of the faith.  In 2 Timothy, Paul was telling Timothy how to protect himself and how to use the Holy Scriptures in dealing with those that have fallen away.

Using the words of the Holy Scriptures, Paul “enclosed” Timothy so he would know how to protect himself against the false teachers.  Paul told Timothy how to encourage the Ephesians to turn back to the true teachings of Jesus.

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬ ‭

Dear Heavenly Father, Protect my Soul so I can see through false teachers and stay true to the teachings of Jesus and the Word of God.  Amen

IS IS IMPORTANT

How important is one little word?  VERY!!!!  Take the word “is” for example.

Psalms 46:1 -- God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

 

2 Corinthians 12:9 -- But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

 

Habakkuk 3:19 first part -- The Sovereign Lord is my strength; …..

How important is the word “is”?  These and hundreds of other Bible verses show that a tiny, two-letter word is extremely important.  What strength would you find if Psalms 46:1 said God “might be” our refuge?  Would you rejoice if the Lord told you, “My grace will come close to being sufficient for you and my power will be nearly perfect.”?

“Is” IS important.  What about the “Word of God”?

2 Timothy 3:16 first part – All Scripture is God-breathed …..

 

Psalms 119:89 – Your word, LORD, is eternal;  it stands firm in the heavens.

The meaning of 3:16 in 2 Timothy would change if it read, “All Scripture is pretty close to what God said…”  What if Psalms 119:89 was miscopied and said, “Your word, LORD, is good until the next reprint.”?

One more.  Can we get through life without “hope”?

Romans 15:13 -- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Hebrews 10:23 -- Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 

What if the Bible said, “You have sinned over and over.  There is no hope for you”?  Or if, instead of hope, the Bible said, “May the God of wishes ……”?

When giving an overview or the cliff notes or in your own words, make sure you let those listening or reading know that is what you are doing.  Words have power!  That is why quoting Scripture accurately is so important.  If you cannot quote the Scripture accurately, LOOK IT UP!!  Believe me --- I am not a person who remembers chapter and verse.  I spend a lot of time looking it up!