The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken” (Proverbs 3:26).

Janice was part of the church family who listened attentively to her pastor preaching from the book of Proverbs chapter 3. The pastor said, “You may be surprised when you find out that the word ‘confidence’ has to do with the large loin of the oxen. As the ox pulls the plow, he pushes with his large rear legs and with huge muscles demonstrates his power. That’s why the writer of Proverbs speaks about the Lord being our Confidence or the Source of our power.” Janice underlined that verse in her Bible and wrote out the pastor’s explanation. Later that Sunday afternoon she opened her electronic Bible to that verse. She loved the word ‘confidence’ and noted that it is the Hebrew word “kecel” meaning “large loin, source of great power.” How timely that teaching was to Janice! The next day she was to give a major presentation to the board of directors of the company in which she was employed. Just before entering the boardroom, she once again whispered to the Lord, “Thank you for being my Confidence, my Source of power. Oh, how I need You just now!” With that she walked into the boardroom and greeted the board of directors before beginning her presentation.

For today: You need the Lord’s power as well. How many times today will you discover that “the Lord is your confidence!”?

“And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said under her, “Weep not” (Luke 7:13).

Before us is the very dramatic account of the raising of the widow’s son in Nain. Dr. Luke presents this for us in Luke 7:11-16. Upon entering the city of Nain, the Lord Jesus finds a funeral procession heading out of town. His timing is perfect, and His plan will not fail. He miraculously raises the dead son to life again. Needless to say, everyone was amazed at this mighty miracle. But what I would like to focus on today is the marvelous compassion that the Lord Jesus has for the people. This word “compassion” gives the idea of His “heart being moved, or the outflow of His emotions being touched by her deep need.” Charlie was on his way to the diner for a bite of lunch. It was a cold blustery day as he walked from the parking lot to the door of the diner. His eyes spotted the disheveled man shuffling along carrying a plastic bag filled with his only belongings. At that moment he felt great compassion on that poor man. Calling out to him, Charlie asked, “Say friend, I’m going to have some lunch. Would you do me the honor of joining me for a little bite of lunch today?” The homeless man looked around behind himself to see who this kind stranger was talking to. He was amazed to be invited to lunch by a complete stranger. Earlier that day Charlie had read about the compassion of the Lord and had asked Him for an opportunity to demonstrate similar compassion today.

For today: While you will need to exercise great discernment because of safety issues, ask the Lord for an opportunity for you to demonstrate your compassion.

“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 53:1).

Nearly two weeks before Christmas I was listening to a discussion on a cable news network. It featured an atheist, someone who claimed to be a Christian, and the host of the discussion. Of course the atheist wanted to remove all of the Nativity sets from public properties. The question was posed to him, “So what do you want Americans to do at Christmas? What would satisfy you?” To my amazement the atheist answered and said, “Well, we want no mention of God, but Christmas is for us as well.” Both the host and the Christian nearly fell from their chairs. Imagine the atheist wanting no mention of God but thinking Christmas is still for them as well! I sadly looked at that young man and said in my heart, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” Someday he will stand before God and deeply regret his words.

For today: I may not be the smartest person in the world, but I know that not only does God EXIST, but I KNOW Him and LOVE Him. He’s my Lord.

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7).

Paul is writing to the church at Philippi and makes an interesting statement about counting things loss. To really understand this verse, you must go back and read much of the chapter to understand the context. Paul lays out to the church at Philippi all the things that used to matter to him. He speaks about all the things that were really special and those things that he actually was proud of. However, now that he has become a Christian, now that he has placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, those things that once were important to him now he understands they are just not important anymore. That’s what happened to Sally! Sally thought that she was really happy. Some of the things that Sally thought she enjoyed doing on the weekend with some of her friends, after she asked Jesus to be her Savior, she just no longer enjoyed them anymore. It wasn’t that someone told her she couldn’t go to those places. It’s just that now that Sally knew Jesus, she gladly counted those former things but loss for Him.

For today: Isn’t the Lord Jesus wonderful? Aren’t you glad that you can follow Him with absolute devotion?

“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained” (1 Timothy 4:6).

The older professor stood before the class of very young looking ministerial students. Seated before him was a classroom of men who were training for the pastoral ministry. Though this Bible institute had a wonderful enrollment of men and women, in this particular class only those who were training to be a pastor would be taking this course. The professor had concluded the material he wanted to cover that day and just sensed that he ought to open the class for closing questions. As soon as he said, “Well class, we finished a little early today. I suppose I could dismiss you, or I could take a few questions if you had any.” Immediately a hand went up, and the question was asked,” How do we come up with brand new topics about the Bible when we get to preach? It seems hard to me to try and figure out how to say something new. I got to preach the last two weeks at my home church, and I so much wanted to say something brand new. But I couldn’t think of anything! How do I do this?” The old wise professor smiled and encouraged the class to be sure to study hard and prepare well every single week. But when it comes right down to it, we are going to be teaching the same blessed Book that every generation of preachers has shared. We too must be applying it in practical ways. The old prof reminded the class that Paul encouraged Timothy to put the brethren in remembrance of these things. While we don’t preach the exact same message every single Sunday, in another sense, we really do!

For today: Be glad that the Lord loves to remind us. Rejoice if you have a pastor who faithfully reminds you.