The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son: hear Him” (Mark 9:7).

This passage details the account of the miraculous transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ before His three disciples. In a tremendous way the Lord Jesus pulled back the veil that covered the glory he possessed before His incarnation. The Bible tells us that His clothes became shining and His face became as bright as the sun that shines in its fullness. Obviously the disciples were quite overwhelmed. What a vivid reminder for us of the amazing grace of our Lord demonstrated by His voluntary veiling of this glory that He possessed from eternity past! He humbled Himself and became a man. Voluntarily He restricted the free use of His eternal attributes as well as He veiled His glory. On only rare occasions do we see the powerful manifestation of the awesomeness of His eternal glory. However! The day is coming when the Lord Jesus is going to reveal His glory to us. More about this tomorrow. Why not invite a friend to check out Dr. Mike’s Daily Prescriptions to read about this wonderful grace?

For today: The Father loves His Son. So do we!

“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.