The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. Fear not: for I am with thee (Isaiah 43:1, 5).

It was the day Samuel had looked forward to and yet dreaded. On Thursday he would take his driver’s test to operate a passenger bus. He diligently studied the procedure expected of him. He practiced driving every chance he got. Sammy, as his friends called him, was a good bus driver, but still he was really nervous about the test. Although he did not know the exact route the inspector would select for him, he knew the general area. The city streets were narrow. The intersections were congested. The sixty-six passenger bus required a lot of room to make the turns. Am I going to pass this test? he wondered. “Honey, don’t be afraid. I know the Lord is going to be with you and help you,” his dear wife Anna reassured him. Just before he put the left directional light on to merge into the driving lane, Sammy remembered, “Don’t be afraid. I have redeemed you and now I am with you.” It was just like the Lord was sitting behind him. What a blessing.

For today: How does this promise of redeeming you, being with you, and calling you by name affect you today?

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:3-4).

Trusting the Lord in the good times is easy. Maybe I ought to say easier! But genuine trust is best experienced and demonstrated in the difficult times. As a former pastor, I have stood by the hospital bedside of hundreds and hundreds of believers and encouraged them to trust that the Lord would see them through. Then I had the situation of having the roles reversed. In seven years I underwent five very major back surgeries. Especially before one of the more difficult surgeries, I had several moments of being alone. Lying on the surgical gurney, I personally discovered once again that “perfect peace” comes from having my “mind stayed on Him.” The wonderful truth of keeping your mind focused on the Lord, His greatness and faithfulness, as well as His abiding love and goodness, does not have to be reserved for the big, major times. It works in those times, but it also works in the everyday living as a believer.

For today: Do you know the Lord as your Savior? Then you can trust Him and enjoy His precious peace.

“Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction” (Proverbs 10:14).

They didn’t quite know what to do with Shirley when she started attending their church. She was loud, foul, distasteful, and to be honest, really embarrassing at times. Several of the ladies came to the pastor. Mary humbly asked him, “What are we going to do with Shirley? Our ladies’ Bible study was all ready for prayer when Shirley blurted out, ‘You can pray for that no good husband of mine. I ought to have divorced him years ago. Sleeps around town and doesn’t do me well.’” Abigail added, “We were so embarrassed, Pastor. She was all ready to tell everyone about their private lives before Candice got her stopped.” The pastor quietly commiserated with them and then took them to Proverbs chapter ten. He read about the fact that a person’s mouth and words are symptomatic of the heart’s condition. It was a precious Bible study with the pastor that day. Together they made a covenant to pray for Shirley’s change of heart that would happen only by personally trusting Christ as Savior. How about you? Can you see the difference between the words of the wise and the foolish? It’s all a matter of the heart.

For today: Guard my words, Lord, by working first in my heart.

“You that fear the Lord, praise Him” (Psalm 22:23).

I am not an original language expert, but I love the study of the individual words in God’s Word. They are rich and powerful. The first precious word in our verse is our English word “fear.” This is the Hebrew word yare which gives the idea of “being terrified, gripped by awe, and overwhelmed with reverence.” The second word is halal which means to “shine forth, make mention of the worthiness of the Lord.” The more we really get to know the Lord, the greater will be our sense of fearing Him. He is our Father. He is the joy of our lives. He is the delight of our souls. We will fear Him with a reverence that is pure and holy. The outflow of this will be a song on our lips and lives that reflect His worthiness. Wow! This will keep me busy and blessed today. How about you?

For today: He is holy. He is awesome. He is God.

“For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness” (Psalm 11:7).

Karen was the only believer who worked in the wing of the accounting division of her company. Her cubicle was in the midst of eight other workers. She appreciated the fact that she was employed with benefits. Her company had very good standards of respect and accountability. But her coworkers were all ungodly and reflected the ways of the world. At lunch their jokes made Karen uncomfortable. She was embarrassed when the other employees talked about their weekend activities. She had been laughed at because of her teetotaler ways. Karen didn’t go to the movies, clubs, or bars. She maintained her Godly quiet testimony, and at work she didn’t fit in. Then the day came when her supervisor said, “Karen, tomorrow morning Sharilynn will be joining our staff. She will be located in the cubicle next to you. Thanks for showing her around.” The next morning when the ladies met, it only took a couple of minutes before they both discovered that each other loved the Lord. What a great blessing to have someone next to her that loved the same things she loved! As the righteous Lord loves righteousness, the same will play out in our personal lives. How does this affect you?

For today: May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing to my righteous Lord.