The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).

I love that precious phrase “His dear Son.” It is impossible to adequately describe the tremendous love that our Heavenly Father has for our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus. How can mere mortals describe the awesome love and the glorious relationship that exists from eternity past? You and I as believers in the Lord Jesus have the great privilege of being translated into His glorious kingdom. Do you remember the little chorus that states, “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The Angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore!” What a privilege you and I have, to be part of the kingdom belonging to the Son whom the Father calls “dear.” While this truth does not automatically give us an easy day, it does help us to keep things in perspective.

For today: Remember this great truth. If you are a Christian, you are part of a very dear kingdom!

“To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25).

What a strange day in which we live! I have always thought it odd to see the amount of praises heaped upon the athletes of our day. Please don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy watching sports. I have never been an athlete. While I appreciate the hard work and effort they put into their sport, the amount of praise and adoration that some of these athletes receive is hard for me to understand. On the other hand, I know that our great God is unparalleled in everything. There is no one that can be compared to Him. Tim and Marie stood at the table at which the owner and operator of the flea market said, “This beautiful piece of jewelry is one of a kind. You will never find another piece like it anywhere in the entire world!” That was quite a statement indeed coming from the man that had a small basket full of the identical pieces of jewelry under the counter! How thankful I am that our great God is incomparable in every way.

For today: Let’s thank the Lord for who He is and what He does!

“I will set no wicked thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3).

Several of the guys were talking about a website that Doug found on his dad’s computer. Travis was embarrassed to hear them talk about the pornography. He wanted so much to speak up but was afraid and let the opportunity slip away. Several days later he sat at the computer and the temptation hit him like a ton of bricks. That website the guys were talking about, well it popped into his mind, and though he fought a half-hearted effort, soon he was keyboarding that address into his server. Sure enough, just as Doug said, there it was. Travis had never been exposed to such pictures, and though he knew it was wrong, it captured him and held his attention. Then it happened. He didn’t hear his mom coming up behind him, and she saw the screen. He was humiliated, and Mom was devastated. That night, Travis and his parents sat down and talked through what Mom had discovered. Dad explained the importance of Psalm 101:3 and the effects of pornography. “We need to be intentional about our personal walk with the Lord and the choices we make,” Dad said. “Travis, I am sorry that I didn’t have an internet filter on our computer. We do now, and though you won’t be using it for a while, when you do return to it, I want to be able to trust you.” It was a lesson Travis learned for life.

For today: How about you? Is your internet strongly filtered, and do you love the Lord?

“O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people” (Psalm 105:1).

Today is leftover turkey sandwiches, family gatherings, and promises to diet when we think of how much we ate yesterday. I hope it will still be a day of giving thanks to the Lord and even making known His deeds among the people. Jeff was stuck at the airport. He just couldn’t understand why the Lord would allow such a thing to happen to him. He had been looking forward to family time back east, and now his connection had been canceled due to the weather. Hundreds of travelers were stranded, and no one was going anywhere while the snowstorm bore down on them. Seated next to him was a man named Luke from the northwest parts of our country. Striking up a conversation, Luke and Jeff soon discovered that they shared lots of things in common except the most important thing. It was obvious that Luke didn’t know the Lord. Over the next few hours, Jeff had a great time sharing great spiritual truth with Luke. Following his sharing of the gospel, Jeff noted that Luke was tearful. Within a couple of minutes, sure enough, Luke trusted the Lord as his Savior. Sixteen hours later, the men said good-bye as their individual flights were getting out. “Jeff, thanks so much for sharing with me the awesome things the Lord has done. Now I can honestly say that I am glad our flights were canceled,” Luke noted. “Me too,” Jeff replied, tucking Luke’s address and phone number into his pocket. “Me too.”

For today: Don’t be surprised when God redirects your path. He has someone else waiting to hear of the wonderful things He is doing. He is going to use you to tell them!

“Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 100:2, 4).

Today, like many Americans, some of my family will gather with Karen and me to celebrate Thanksgiving. After our meal, I will bring out the Bible, and I plan on reading Psalm 100 to my family. Then I will talk with my family about the reason why we enter His presence with singing and thanksgiving. Everyone who wants to will be able to share something for which they are thankful, besides the pies that will be coming next! It is interesting to hear the child-like praises of our grandchildren and the thoughtful praises of our children. Karen and I have much for which to be thankful this year. Much!

For today: Whatever your circumstances may seem to be, don’t forget to give thanks to the Lord. That is the appropriate way to come into His presence.