The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and He gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God” (Psalm 77:1-3).

Jackie’s little brother, Noah, was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Noah was the joy of the entire family. He came later in life for his mommy and daddy. In fact, to be honest, most of the family had given up on any more children coming into the St. Clair family. Then little Noah came. No little boy was ever loved any more than that boy Noah. Now the doctor’s report struck hard. Surgery would be needed, but not until he underwent further testing. Jackie was up most of the night crying out to the Lord for “my little brother Noah boy!” Around 2:30 in the morning, she sobbed as she prayed, “Lord, he is my beloved little brother. Please Lord, please watch over him.” Two hours later it was time to get up and get to the heliport. In two hours she would start reporting on the traffic from the Morning Watch 8 helicopter. As they walked to the helicopter, Pete took Jackie’s arm. “I am sorry about your little brother. I’ll be praying that he does well in his surgery. But I want you to watch what God wants you to see. When we lift off, I am going to bank hard right. Look out your window. I’ll talk with you after the first segment of your report.” Within ten minutes, air traffic controllers cleared them for takeoff. Pulling the helicopter into a hard right turn, the most brilliant sunrise hit Jackie in the face. After the first segment, Pete radioed back, “Jackie, the same God Who created that spectacular sunrise is the same Lord Who is taking care of your little brother.” What a grand reminder! For you, it may not be 2,000 feet in the air, but you can trust the same Lord. Cry out to Him. In your trouble, remember God. How will this play out for you?

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).

Lucy was an old grump. She didn’t like the nursing home, the nurses, the staff, or the lunch room crew. She didn’t like her room. She didn’t like her roommate. She didn’t like her bed. She didn’t like her family who helped her to make the decision to get extra care that they could not provide. She didn’t like anything or anyone. One day the group from First Baptist Church came to Lucy’s nursing home. The aide didn’t even ask Lucy if she wanted to come down to the service. The aide simply pushed Lucy in her wheelchair down to the meeting room. “This will be good for you. I’ll be back to pick you up when it’s over. You be nice to the people,” the aide said to Lucy. Lucy didn’t want to be there. But then there was a little girl named Alicia. Lucy couldn’t get her eyes off Alicia’s pigtails. Blonde pigtails! With great enthusiasm little Alicia was helping to pass out the chorus books. Just as she got to grumpy Lucy, Alicia tripped on the chair. Almost like it was in slow motion, the little girl with flying pigtails landed in Lucy’s lap. “Hi! My name is Alicia. Who are you?” the little girl asked. Lucy tried to be grumpy, but she couldn’t be. Alicia had broken through and made her laugh. That little girl and the church group came back twice a month. Lucy would look for little Alicia who made her laugh. It started to bring a change in the grumpy Lucy’s life. “It’s been like good medicine,” the nurse’s aide said to the supervisor. “I think the Bible says that somewhere,” the supervisor responded. How about you? You’re not growing old and grumpy, are you?

For today: How will the Lord bring a good medicine to you today? It may be quite unexpected, so be watching!

“O LORD, thou are my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, for Thou has done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth” (Isaiah 25:1).

Robert stood on the scenic sidewalk at Lakeview Park in Lorain, Ohio, overlooking beautiful Lake Erie. Taking a few more steps, he spotted empty park benches all along the sidewalk and the walking area below. Not one person was in the park that evening. Taking his place alone, he looked to the west and watched the sun slowly setting, splashing miles of brilliant and dancing hues of yellow on the water. Robert was overwhelmed with the decision he faced. Earlier in the week, he had said to his friend at work, “I’ve got to get some alone time with God.” Unexpectedly, the Lord gave him a place and time to be alone that evening. Typically Lakeview Park would be very crowded. That night as the sun was setting, Robert’s mind was flooded with the many times over his lifetime that God’s faithfulness and truth had sustained him. As a teen it had helped him to overcome times of being ridiculed. As a young man, it had sustained him in times of severe temptation. As an older man, he knew the quiet strength that came from believing the Word and not resting in his own emotions. What a great time of celebrating God’s faithfulness and thanking Him for the truth of the Word. How about you? You don’t need a setting sun on Lake Erie. Right where you are, how has the faithfulness and truth of God sustained you?

For today: What would we ever do without the Lord?

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Seventeen-year-old Toby watched as his grandfather put the finishing touches on the baby’s cradle he made. It would soon go into grandfather’s store named “Casey’s Woodshop.” He advertised it as “From My Woodshop to Your Home!” Grandfather was well-known as being a master woodworker. Casey would take pieces of wood that certainly did not look very attractive or appealing, and through his work it would eventually end up as beautifully crafted masterpieces in his store. “Toby,” Grandfather said, “You’ve made some choices that I know you regret. You can’t relive the past, but now you need to be like the wood in my hands. If I can make something beautiful out of some of these pieces, think of what the Lord can do with you!” What a great object lesson for Toby that day. What a great object lesson for all of us today!

For today: I am grateful that the Lord is still working in my life. Is He working in yours?

“But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24).

The invitation hymn was quietly being sung. The pastor stood and talked quietly with a sobbing young man who had responded to the invitation to receive Christ as his Savior. The congregation continued singing the next verse as the young man said to the pastor, “Mister, you don’t know how bad I am. I decided to stop at the first church I came to. This was it. I don’t think that the Lord could ever forgive me. I have broken the law, and I have been wicked.” Pastor Kenward put one hand on the man’s shoulder and with the other one he continued shaking his hand. The young man wouldn’t let go. Pastor Kenward didn’t mind. He spoke with conviction as he said, “Young man, I don’t know you. But whatever you have done, the Lord Jesus said that He has all the power and authority needed to forgive the sin of anyone who trusts Him for salvation. That includes you.” It was a great day for that young man. It was a great day for that congregation as well. What a super reminder that the Lord has the authority to forgive sins!

For today: Aren’t you glad that the Lord Jesus forgives!