The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy name, O Thou Most High” (Psalm 9:2).

Today is Monday. I trust that yesterday you had a great family reunion at your local church as believers gathered to sing praise to our great God. I wonder how many believers really do look forward to the worship services? I wonder how many believers pray for their pastor and Sunday school teachers as they prepare for their ministry? I wonder how many believers pray for the choir directors, the musicians, and those who serve in various offices and ministries? Do we ever pray for those who work in the nursery or those who greet? Do we pray for our ushers and those who serve in various offices? It just seems to me that if we are really rejoicing in and praising our great God, we will also be mindful of those who are serving. Don’t forget to pray for those who those who attended and were seated near you. Let’s ask the Lord to give us great joy as we praise Him today as well as when we worship Him with our fellow believers next Sunday. If you are anything like me, you have plenty for which to praise the Lord. He has blessed us in tremendous ways.

For today: Let’s praise the Lord for opportunities to worship. Let’s ask Him to bless those who serve as well.

“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him” (1 Samuel 18:14).

What an amazing statement. “David behaved himself wisely in all his ways.” As a very young man David behaved in a kingly manner. Unfortunately King Saul was acting very unwisely. In fact, some of his actions were outright sinful. But young David, keeper of the sheep who would one day be the King of all Israel, behaved wisely. Ken and his young son Carly were having a discussion about a course of actions and behavior. Ken and his wife had received a telephone call from the principal of the junior high school earlier that day. Apparently an act of bullying was taking place in the hall, and Carly stepped into the situation and brought it to a halt. The bully backed down when Carly said, “And don’t you think that this will ever take place again.” Immediately a nearby teacher stepped beside Carly and took control of the situation as well as the bully. Ken shared with his son how proud he was of the way he had acted wisely that day. “Sometimes it is easy to turn our head and pretend we don’t see what is happening,” Ken said to his son. “But I am proud of you and thank the Lord that you acted wisely in that situation. Your principal and teacher are very proud of how you stood up for the other student. You acted wisely,” Ken continued. I wonder what situation will occur today that we will have the opportunity to intentionally, deliberately act wisely?

For today: By God’s grace and help may we walk wisely today!

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

This verse contains abundant principles for victorious living as a Christian. It speaks of our allegiance (sanctify the Lord God in our hearts). It speaks of our alertness (be ready always). It speaks of our answer (to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you). It speaks of our attitude (with meekness and fear). Never are we to be arrogant in our walk with the Lord. We walk in a gentle, gracious and respectful way as we seize opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. Probably sometime today someone will make a statement to you that will open the door for you to give an answer. It may be the telemarketer. It may be the person at the post office. It may be the mechanic. It may be one of a dozen people that you will encounter today. Ask the Lord to help you to be ready with an answer!

For today: Do not let the opportunities slip past you. Be ready to give an answer. Be sure to do it with gentleness and respect.

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

When I was the pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Binghamton, New York, a tremendous invitation came to me. I had the great opportunity to travel to the Republic of Mali with one of our church supported missionaries, John Jackson. I experienced overwhelming blessings as I ministered to the missionaries of Mali as well as worshipped with the dear believers in the Mali churches. For an entire week I preached in Timbuktu. I will never forget those incredible days. One of the highlights of my trip to Mali came at the conclusion of my time there. John and I, along with several other missionaries, were invited to the Embassy at Bamako to meet with the United States Ambassador. It was a tremendous privilege to meet the Ambassador and his gracious wife. As we left the quarters that day with a Marine escort, I thought of the great responsibility and privilege to serve as an ambassador of the United States of America. But far greater is the responsibility and privilege of being an ambassador for our Lord Jesus Christ. We represent the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! What an awesome privilege.

For today: If you know Him as Savior, you are His Ambassador. Represent Him in a worthy manner today.

“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

I was thinking back over some of our family experiences. In one of the churches I served, the salary was not too great. I was an associate pastor, and the church had many expenses. They cared for me and our family as they were able. We scrimped and saved until the time came that we had enough money to purchase a swing set for our little boy. All of the family was excited as we came home from the store with a swing set in the box. As I recall, it was the last of the sale of this particular swing set. As we started to assemble the swing set, to our amazement there was a major part missing. Really? The last of the boxes, the last of the sale, and the prized possession of the swing set was missing a part! It reminds me that the Lord Jesus has paid a tremendous price to redeem me and forgive me of my sins. I am no longer my own. My whole purpose now is to glorify God as I trust Him to work in and through me. I don’t want to be like the disappointing swing set.

For today: Think of the price He paid and the glorious purpose we have! By the way, the store very graciously upgraded the swing set, and joy returned to our home!