The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the creatures and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:11-12).

Soon after the church arrives in Heaven, the Lord Jesus is going to receive the Title Deed to the earth from His Father. It will be a grand celebration when all of the residents of Heaven fall before the Lord Jesus and worship Him. It was a wonderful prayer meeting that night at the First Baptist Church. Young Pastor Kenward stood before the faithful flock and said, “Folks, I want to share something with you that is upon my heart. I have been paying particular attention in the last few weeks, and it appears to me that we have a growing lack of worship in our beloved church. From the platform I can see people who whisper through most of the service. I am seeing a growing amount of giggling and laughing as well as note-passing throughout a good deal of the message. Folks, there is a glorious worship service coming when we face-to-face will worship our awesome God. But today we have the same privilege of worshipping Him by faith. I want us to ask the Lord to help us to focus much more on why we come on Sunday mornings.” A hush fell on that group as the chairman of the deacons stood and said, “I thank the Lord that we have a pastor who loves us enough to tell us the truth. I, for one, want to be among those who truly focus on worship.” One after another stood and confessed their lackadaisical attitudes and disrespectful actions. Believe me, the worship services were never the same after that. It was not that young Pastor Kenward became a better preacher overnight. It was that the congregation became better worshippers collectively.

For today: Ask the Lord to prepare your heart for corporate worship on the weekend and personal worship today!

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Keith had been a paramedic for many years, but he never had had a patient like Hannah. The ambulance squad secured her in the ambulance, and Keith hopped in beside her. “I’m going to start an IV, Hannah, and we’ll be on our way,” he said reassuringly. Within moments the ambulance with its siren screaming raced to the hospital, weaving in and out of traffic as safely as possible. Hannah prayed aloud, “Lord, I would rather be in my little apartment today. But I know You have a plan for me. I cast my care upon You because You care for me. Please bless my new friend, Keith, and may he know how special You are to me and how special You want to be to him.” Though Keith was busy following the directions from the emergency room doctor via radio, he heard that prayer, and he never got over this elderly patient who obviously loved the Lord and cared about him despite her medical emergency. How about you? How will this wonderful verse play out in your life today? Hopefully not like it did with Hannah!

For today: Whatever you face, if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, please remember how much He cares for you.

“But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18).

The great missionary Paul the Apostle received a very special gift from the Ephesian believers. It truly blessed his life in that it not only provided for his immediate needs; it also demonstrated that he was not alone in his ministry. He had people who loved him and cared about him. He likened their love gift as a sweet-smelling fragrance to our awesome God. An older missionary couple who had served the Lord all of their lives had a great financial need. They were committed to talking only with the Lord about this need. They knew that while there was nothing wrong with reporting needs and asking people to pray and even give, this was a personal need, and they just simply laid out their needs before the Lord. In a wonderful way the Lord laid that great need upon the heart of a well-to-do businessman. When that gift arrived, it was truly a sweet fragrance to God as well as the missionary. How about you? Are you living in a way that your life and actions produce a sweet fragrance to God?

For today: I want my life to be pleasing to the Lord and a blessing to others. How about you?

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:5-6).

Pastor Kenward stood looking at the bridal couple as a friend of the groom meaningfully and beautifully provided the special music. It was a beautiful wedding. There before the pastor stood the beautiful bride and the very nervous groom. Pastor Kenward thought to himself, “What an amazing privilege this is, Lord. I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that your intention for marriage is one husband, one wife, for one lifetime. How sad it is to me that our Supreme Court has acted as if they were the Supreme Being. No mere human being can ever persuade me that your intention for marriage could be anything else.” Suddenly the pastor was aware that the special music was completed and it was now time for him to pronounce the couple husband and wife. What a great lesson for us. Our Supreme Court is certainly not perfect, and they do not always rule in a perfect way. Those of us who love the Lord and believe the Bible certainly believe that God’s standard for marriage is one man, one woman, for one lifetime.

For today: I want to honor the Lord and obey His Word regardless of how much it may cost me to believe this. How about you?

“Thus shall you say unto them, that gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His discretion” (Jeremiah 10:11-12).

Julianna and Robert were on a cross-country flight on business for their company. After reviewing the last minute details of their presentation, they closed their books and settled in for the remainder of the flight. Robert said to his coworker, “We were talking a couple of weeks ago about your view of creation and my view of evolution. It would seem to me that it doesn’t really matter how we got here, we all just need to get along because what we have now is all we’re going to get.” Julianna took another sip of her orange juice and said, “That’s the whole key. Truly it does matter how we got here. It makes an eternity of difference. Evolution and so-called ‘science’ are your gods. You believe that you are here by chance and that someday when you die, it will all be over. I believe that the Bible is God’s holy Word. I believe with all my heart that God is my awesome Creator and my eternal Lord. Science proves that He stretched out the heavens just as the Bible says He did. Someday I will be with Him forever. Those that reject His offer of salvation will be apart from Him forever, Bob, in a place the Bible calls the Lake of Fire. It really does matter, Bob, and when you are ready, I would love to show you from the Bible how you can become a Christian.” It was quite a conversation that they had at 37,000 feet. How about you? Do you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior?

For today: I am glad that the Lord is not only my Creator, He is my Savior as well. How about you? Do you know Him?