The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

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

The seller of fine china would have at least three things that could take place in her shop that would cause her blood pressure to fly off the charts. The first would be an earthquake. The second would be careless parents not keeping track of their children who were acting wildly. The third would be a bull on the loose! You’ve heard the phrase, “A bull in a china shop.” This has to do with a person who is a walking, talking, living and breathing disaster waiting to happen because of the way that person lives and speaks.

The writer of Proverbs offers the opposite of that bull in the china shop. Those who handle situations wisely and conduct themselves as those who trust the Lord will be a blessing indeed.

For today: Ask the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5). Handle situations wisely. Don’t be a bull in a china shop today. That’s just how I want to live today. How about you?

“In the LORD put I my trust; how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?  For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; His countenance does behold the upright” (Psalm 11:1, 7).

I’ll change the names today. Perhaps your experience is very close to theirs.

Do you ever just wish you could escape it all? Bill, Margie, and Lois surely did. Bill’s father and mother had gone Home to be with the Lord rather suddenly. Now he had been tasked with trying to figure out his parents’ estate and their terrible lack of planning. He just wanted to be done with this and somehow to be transported to the mountains, alone!

Then there was Margie. She was handling a very heavy caseload as a child protection officer. That morning her phone didn’t stop ringing with calls from several frantic foster care parents. Hanging up from her last call, she had thoughts of just wanting to escape to the ocean for quietness.

Now we come to Lois. She and her department were under great pressure to get the project in on time and under budget. After facing another round of unreasonable demands from several local ordinance officers, she just sighed and under her breath whispered, “Lord, I surely would love it if You just picked me up and carried me away to any place that people can’t find me!” Have you ever felt that way?

King David did! David also knew that the Lord is righteous and He has us tenderly in His blessed sight” (Psalm 11:7).

For today: Aren’t you glad that you can turn to Him and trust Him? I surely am.

Yesterday I wrote to you of the worthiness of our awesome God. After I wrote this, I discovered a Daily Prescription written long ago. I thought it was fitting to share it again at this point.

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

What an awesome sight is presented in our text for today. The Church of the Lord Jesus has been raptured and is now celebrating the greatness of the Lord Jesus Who has been found worthy to open the Book. This Book is the title deed to the earth by which He shall rule as the King of kings and the Lord of lords! We shall sing that grand song of redemption. Did you notice what Heaven is going to look like? It will be made up of those redeemed by His precious blood from every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation!

Years ago when I was the pastor at the First Baptist Church of Marilla, New York, God opened the door for us to have a daily radio broadcast on a secular country and western radio station. This broadcast came during part of the primetime evening commute for people in Western New York. The theme song I selected for our daily radio program was the music for the little chorus, “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world!” I wanted our broadcast to reach multiple ethnicities of the dear people in Western New York. Why? Because that’s what Heaven is going to look like, and I want to be part of that kind of evangelism. How about you?

For today: Are you redeemed? Do you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior? If so, then someday we together will sing the grand song of praise of redemption before our awesome Lord.

Have you ever read the book of Job?

Most of us wonder if we would have ever reacted to the massive rounds of losses in the way that Job did. Think of what the Bible says.

“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22).

I cannot begin to imagine the heartbreaking emotions that Job and his wife experienced that horrible, horrible day. News came that his entire business was wiped out. As if it couldn’t get any worse than this, the last messenger arrived and informed Job that every one of their children had been killed. Collapsing under the unimaginable weight of grief, Job did an amazing thing. While grieving and falling upon the ground, Job worshipped (Job 1:20). He said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

He was brokenhearted. His grief was profound. And yet his focus took him to the Lord. It was as if Job ran to the Lord instead of running away. He worshipped.

I don’t know your situation today. However, I can tell you from personal experience that our awesome Lord is worthy of worship on the hard days as well as the good days. Embrace your emotions and even carefully express them. But don’t forget to worship. It will make a big difference!

Think of this today: The Lord is still worthy of your worship even when the events of your life are difficult. I want to continue to be challenged and blessed by the life of Job. How about you?

It is interesting to see how people react to situations. Sometimes people that are near and dear to us cause us to be very concerned. We so much want to confront their behavior. We are fearful that we will say the wrong thing or be misunderstood.

This is nothing new. Think of what the Apostle Paul said to the churches in Galatia.

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).

The apostle Paul wrote to the churches in the region of Galatia, communicating with them concerning the importance of restoring a sinning believer. Recently I read the words of a service man graduating from basic training. He stated, “I will never leave an airman behind!” Every branch of our military is trained to fight to protect our homeland and citizens, and servicemen vow never to leave a wounded fellow soldier behind.

There is a tremendous lesson for believers in such a vow. What do we do when someone that we love and know in our local church sins and shows no repentance? In our verse for today Paul presents the strategy for reaching that person. Spiritual believers in the spirit of meekness must seek to reach that brother or sister and restore such a one. The reason for a meek and quiet spirit in approaching this sinning believer is the very real possibility that we likewise could be tempted in the future. Great care must be exercised in this matter. However, wouldn’t it be something if spiritual believers, those truly grounded in the Word, really sought to restore those overtaken in a fault?

For today: We must be careful how we are living and how we are treating even those who are overtaken in a fault!