The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Let them praise the name of the LORD: for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven” (Psalm 148:13).

They couldn’t be any more in love, or so they thought. With very little of this world’s goods, Marty and Karis sat on the dock overlooking the beautiful colors of sunset over Lake Erie. The breeze from the lake was telling them that the night air was coming on. A little chilly gust gave Marty the great excuse (as if he needed one) to take his light jacket off, put it around Karis and hug her. Looking off to the west and seeing the incredible sunset, Marty spontaneously quietly said, “Lord, this morning in my Bible reading, I read that Your name is to be praised. It said that Your glory is above the earth and heaven. Lord, Your glory and Your name must be awesome because from our vantage point tonight, this sunset You are painting is pretty spectacular. I thank You that my wife and I not only appreciate the creation, but we worship the Creator. Thank You, Father, for the beautiful sunset over the beautiful lake with my beautiful wife. May Your name be praised. Amen.”

For today: You don’t need such a romantic setting to praise the Lord. Appreciate the beautiful creation, but worship, adore, and love the Creator.

You’ve used the term “mixed emotions and so have I.”

Those who know me well know that I am an emotional person. I can be moved to tears at times and at other times laugh until I nearly choke. Let me share a verse with you and then a thought or two today. Thanks for stopping by Dr. Mike’s Daily Prescriptions.

“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15).

There are times that I feel like I have opposite emotions flying through me. I am being very honest with you. Shifts from a broken heart to a heart that is full to overflowing with joy have been happening to me lately. The constant missing of my wife Karen who went Home to be with the Lord eight years ago along with the tears about the heartaches others are experiencing that at times just won’t stop are a very large part of my day. But then at almost the same time, I will hear a special song on the internet, or read a verse of Scripture, or hear from a friend, or talk with my family, or think about Heaven and what it will be like, or get to preach somewhere, and the joy floods my soul. You might not experience such dramatic emotional shifts, but as you walk with the Lord Jesus and His fruit is growing in your life (Galatians 5:22-23), you will indeed be able to rejoice with those who are in a joyous season. You’ll care about those who are going through hard times and with these you will weep. It’s rather amazing, isn’t it?

For today: Lord, please help me to walk with You and respond properly to people and their situations.

“The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

I left you yesterday with a family friend handing the phone to estranged Charlene. She had removed herself from the family years before because of her own personal rebellion and terrible choices. On the phone that day was her brother Josh. “Please come home, Sis. Dad isn’t going to be with us very much longer.” We fast forward nearly twenty years. Charlene’s daughter said to her mom, “I’m so glad that you went back to Grandpa and Grandma. But what made you change so much?” Charlene responded thoughtfully, “It was the verses my dad said to me as he held my hand. In the hospital before he died, he whispered 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Soon after he quietly went to Heaven as he smiled at us. I knew right then that was the way I want to go to face the Lord. It was life-changing for me.”

For today: For us to have the same conviction as Paul, we need to have the same lifestyle of trusting and obeying the Lord Jesus. That’s what I want. How about you?

It was a very significant time

“The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Charlene had been estranged from her family for many years. She refused to come to family reunions. She missed family celebrations. She didn’t even come to her grandmother’s memorial service. Then one of her friends came to see her. “Char. I don’t know what happened so long ago, but your dad is dying, and I thought you ought to know.” Suddenly it was like an arrow of burning conviction and profound regret shot through Char’s heart. “I can’t!” she said through her tears. “I’ve been so terrible to them for so long. None of them would want me,” Charlene choked out the words. “That is absolutely not true. You don’t know this, but I have your brother Josh on the phone. He wants to talk with you,” and with that she handed the phone to her friend. I’ll share more about this tomorrow.

For today: Read the verses again. Is this what you want to be able to say someday? Me, too!

I’ve changed the names but think of this with me today in our Daily Prescription.

“He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he” (Proverbs 16:20).

You will remember from yesterday that Department 15a was deteriorating into toxicity because of two warring employees. Both were so talented, gifted, and needed for the project on which they were both working. Finally, the supervisor, Chuck, had an idea. He brought in a humorous video of two preschoolers fighting over the same stuffed animal. The battle started with a tug of war and ended up with them both being on the floor and rolling over top of each other before the preschool workers could get to them.

Both employees were called in to Chuck’s office. Both bristled when looking at the other. Chuck spoke quietly and told them that he highly valued both of them. He then played the video. The room was silent. He played it again. Rusty broke a smile. Hank finally laughed out loud. It was Rusty who spoke first, “I got it, boss. I need to act like a grown-up rather than a preschooler.” Hank still was a little cantankerous, but it was the start of a long process of improvement. Chuck handled the matter wisely. What are you facing right now?

For today: Need wisdom? Ask for it (James 1:5). Handle your matters wisely.