The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“And His name shall be called Wonderful…” (Isaiah 9:6).

The Hebrew word for “wonderful” has to do with marvelous, extraordinary, and hard to put into human words.” Everything about our Lord can be summed up in the one word, “Wonderful.” He is wonderful in His love, holiness, sovereignty, mercy, grace, and beauty. He is wonderful in all that He says and all that He does. Forever we believers will worship the Lord and rejoice in the amazing truth that He is wonderful. Late one evening Herman was going to be in for the surprise of his lifetime. He was a hard worker, and he and wife Marlene were now approaching the day of retirement. While he was at work, the Model T Ford was delivered and pushed back into the barn beyond the garage. After supper, Herman took down his Bible from the shelf, and he and his wife read the Scripture in Isaiah 9. They worshipped the Lord and celebrated His goodness. As Marlene closed her prayer she said, “And Lord, not only are You Wonderful, but in a human sense my dear Herman has been wonderful to me. I hope his retirement gift will be wonderful to him.” After a fair amount of teasing and pleading, Marlene took his hand and walked back to the barn. Opening the door she congratulated her husband on his approaching retirement. There it was! Something he had always wanted. Henry was stunned. Staring at the shiny black Model T Ford, all he could say was, “Wonderful!” Late into the night he was still talking about how wonderful his gift was. “But not nearly as wonderful as the Lord,” Marlene concluded.

For today: Look around at the many things you possess. Enjoy them. Just remember that only the Lord is truly “Wonderful!”

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man of availeth much” (James 5:16).

Maggie loved the Lord. Every afternoon she would pull out her prayer journal and spend time praying for missionaries, church families, her own family, and many people whose names she collected over the years to bring them before the Lord. One of the names on her prayer list was that of her neighbor, Martha. Maggie and Martha lived next to each other for almost twenty years. There was seldom a day gone by but what Maggie brought Martha before the Lord. One day as Maggie was praying, she said to the Lord, “Father, I don’t know what else to ask. I have asked for opportunities to share the gospel with Martha. I have sent cards to her, shared with her, witnessed to her to the point where I was fearful she may not talk with me again, and yet she still has not asked Jesus to be her Savior. What is it going to take, Lord, to get through to that dear neighbor of mine?” Just then the phone rang. It startled Maggie to hear Martha’s voice. “Maggie, I’ve been thinking. I don’t know where I’m going to go after I die. May I come over and talk with you?” Needless to say, Maggie was thrilled that she hadn’t given up praying for her dear neighbor. What are you praying about, and for whom are you praying? Don’t give up!

For today: Keep praying!

“But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

“Hank, your son not only looks like you, but he even has your mannerisms,” Hank’s dad told him. “I love to watch that grandson of mine. He is an absolute joy and a delight to this old man,” Henry Senior shared with his son. What a pleasant conversation the two men had that afternoon sitting on the patio enjoying a glass of cold iced tea! “Dad, I just can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you and mom have moved down here to be with us. I know it was a difficult decision for you and mom, but we really love having you. Almost every night Sammy thanks the Lord Jesus for his grandpa and grandma who moved to Florida to be with us. Often, Dad, I silently pray right along with him and thank the Lord for you and mom. You are not the first one to mention that Sammy looks like me and even acts like me. It’s a reminder to me, Dad that I not only have learned well from you but I also need to be more like my Heavenly Father. As my boy looks like me and acts like me, I need to be acting more like my Heavenly Father!” That’s just exactly what Peter meant by encouraging us to be holy as God is holy. That does not mean that we will become divine; it does mean that we can learn from Him and obey Him.

For today: I want to be more like my Heavenly Father in the way I live. How about you?

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Recently they visited our home. I am talking about several of my grandchildren. What fun I had with my young grandson and granddaughter! Eager to help me feed the birds in our backyard, they pulled on their boots and headed out the door with me. A few inches of snow freshly blanketed our backyard. After taking turns putting the birdseed into the feeder, I said to them, “Let’s play a game. Follow me!” I then took very small steps, and they had to follow my footsteps. I then started taking slightly larger steps, and they still had to manage keeping up with me. Then my steps became farther apart, and it became more challenging and more fun for them to try and step in Grandpa’s footprints. We twisted back and forth across the yard and did silly circles around the tree, much to their delight. While it certainly was not a game to the apostle Paul, he determined to live in such a way that without boasting, bragging, or being arrogant, he encouraged the Corinthian believers to follow his example. When we come to think of it, the way we live in this world should provide godly footprints for others to be following!

For today: Be careful how you live. Others will follow your example!

“Unto Thee, oh Lord, do I lift up my soul. Oh my God, I trust in Thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on Thee be ashamed” (Psalm 25:1-3).

Kathy had really been making it a matter of prayer. Two of the ladies at work with whom she had been eating lunch were growing bolder in their vulgarities. The inappropriateness of their jokes grew stronger as time wore on. On previous occasions Kathy shared with them that she did not find that kind of sense of humor to be appropriate in the workplace nor anywhere else as far as that goes. She was becoming the brunt of their jokes, and things were even beginning to grow hostile. In her prayers she pled with the Lord to give her a real open door. She asked the Lord to really help her to be a great witness and not to have to take the situation to management. Then the day came. One of the other coworkers experienced a distressing phone call from home. Her mother had been taken to the emergency room. Over the next several days Kathy had the opportunity to really minister to this coworker and share with her in this emergency. It was amazing. What a change took place because Kathy was not ashamed of the Lord, nor was she embarrassed to be one of His servants! The entire atmosphere in the lunch room changed because of Kathy’s willingness to wait on the Lord, to trust in Him, and not be ashamed. Certainly going to management may be the only way to resolve some of our problems. On the other hand there are dozens of opportunities for us to be gracious and yet bold for the Lord.

For today: Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be gracious and yet to take a good stand for Him. We must never be ashamed of the gospel.