The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Amanda was absolutely amazing. She was one of the oldest residents of the Centerville Nursing Home. The effects of her rheumatoid arthritis left her in a great deal of pain every day. She didn’t have many people that would come and visit her. Her roommate was grumpy. She hadn’t been able to walk on her own for several years. Yet in spite of all these things, Amanda really had the joy of the Lord. She couldn’t remember most of the words of the song, but she loved to recite some of the phrases of “This Old House” as she would quote 2 Corinthians 4:16 about the “outward man perishing, yet the inward man is renewed.” One day, sitting in her wheelchair in the hallway near the nurse’s station, Amanda was watching people come and go. A little girl named Rachel walked by and stopped at Amanda’s wheelchair. “Hi! How are you today?” Rachel asked. Amanda replied, “Well Honey, on the outside I’m getting worse and worse. But because I know the Lord Jesus on the inside, in my heart, I’m getting better and better!” The nurse looked at the housekeeper and said, “That’s our amazing Amanda!” How about you, friend? While you may not want to admit it, all of us on the outside are getting worse and worse. But for those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, on the inside we’re getting stronger and stronger as we learn about Him.

For today: Someday God is going to change “This Old House!” What a day that will be!

span style=”color: #000000; font-size: medium;”>“But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you” (Mark 16:7).

“Pastor, can we come to your office immediately?” Bennie asked as he choked out the words. “We have tried to get through this on our own. I have forgiven Claire, but she just can’t seem to forgive herself. We’ll explain when we get there, if you have time,” Bennie said with desperation in his voice. The pastor wisely cleared his schedule and saw them as soon as they could arrive at his office. The dear pastor tried not to look shocked as the story unfolded before him. Claire had been involved in an adulterous affair for several months. Under heavy conviction she broke off the affair, confessed it to her husband and pled for forgiveness. Then he continued, “Though I was brokenhearted, Pastor, I knew that my actions at home contributed to the problem. I did forgive her. I mean I really did forgive her. But she won’t forgive herself.” Claire never looked up. She simply sat and sobbed. Nothing that the pastor said that day seemed to help. It was several months later as Claire was reading from Mark 16 that it hit her. Peter had horribly failed the Lord and did not keep his promise to Him. She remembered how Peter had promised that he would never be offended because of Christ and that he was ready to die for the Lord. But a very short time later Peter denied the Lord. Now in the reading she understood that the Lord Jesus rose from the grave and had a special message to be delivered to His disciples, and especially to Peter. The Lord Jesus had forgiven Peter. Suddenly she saw herself as if she were Peter. He was forgiven. So was she! Now she understood the power of forgiveness. As the Lord forgave Peter, she discovered the Lord’s grace to forgive herself. How about you, friend?

For today: I am so glad for the Lord’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness. How about you?

“Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide” (Psalm 26:1).

King David makes an interesting statement. Surrounded by his enemies, David cries out to the Lord. He needs the Lord’s help and deliverance. He honestly states to the Lord that as far as he knows, he is walking in integrity and doing what the Lord desires. He trusts in the Lord and knows that he will not slide. The Hebrew word for slide is ma’ ad. It is used only six times in the Bible as “slip, slide, or shake.” Here we see David’s confidence that he is on sure footing because of his trust in the Lord and his walk with him. What a great reminder for us today! It really does matter how we live in this world before the unsaved community. What a great thing it would be for each of us to be able to talk about our trust in the Lord, our sure footing, and how the Lord is helping us to be walking in integrity. It always is right to do the right thing and live the right way.

For today: Be sure to be a good witness for the Lord today by your words and life.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

Franklin awoke in the coronary care unit of the hospital much to his own amazement. He really did not remember the events of his life over the last forty-three hours. His nurse was at his bedside as he began to open his eyes. A sudden, massive heart attack had struck him right in the middle of a class that he was teaching. He remembered not feeling well and suddenly a little pain in his chest occurred. But that’s all he could remember. The nurse explained to him what had happened and that he had had open heart surgery. The well-meaning nurse said to him, “I’m so sorry you had such bad luck to have had a heart attack. But you had great luck in so much as Dr. Pieroni was on call.” Although very weak Franklin was able to say to her, “Thanks so much for taking good care of me. But I want you to know that I don’t live by luck. I live by the Lord. It will be exciting to see what He has planned because very honestly His goodness and mercy has gone with me all of my life. Even today!” His nurse was pretty amazed. While our plans may suddenly change, we need to be watching for the Lord’s goodness and mercy. It follows the believer for a lifetime.

For today: Today I am going to rejoice in the goodness of God and His precious mercy. How about you?

“And Manoah said unto his wife, we shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would He at this time have told us such things as these” (Judges 13:22-23).

Our verse takes us back to the time of the Judges. This period of time was approximately 1380 to 1050 BC. What a day that must have been for this couple. Manoah and his wife could not have children. Earlier in the chapter, the writer of the book of Judges explains that she was barren. I personally know of people today who greatly want children and for whatever reason or purpose, the Lord has not allowed them to conceive. I will be honest that sometimes this is a mystery to me. Couples that I believe would be wonderful parents do not seem to be able to conceive. On the other hand, people who are very poor in parenting seem to be able to conceive readily! Let’s get back to Manoah and his wife. Suddenly the Angel of the Lord appears and announces that they would have a son. Manoah completely misunderstands and declares, “We shall surely die because we have seen God.” Manoah’s wife wisely reminds her husband of the Lord’s purpose. What a great lesson for married couples today. Encourage each other by reminding your spouse of the purpose and blessing of our great God.

For today: God has a plan and purpose for your life. Be encouraged!