Interrupted Plans

     Have you ever had great plans for something special and suddenly, without any advance warning, circumstances change and the plans are changed.  We have all been through that at times; it may have been family issues, job status, financial situations or it might have been a life-long goal.  We know the disappointments that accompany this change, especially if the friends and relatives know of the plan.  It’s difficult to explain to them how things changed so quickly.  Now look at Mary and Joseph and think of the situation they were in when the angel appeared to them.

Mary and Joseph had great wedding plans.  They were going through the traditions and customs of the times and all of a sudden something changed the plan entirely—God entered into the plans.  Can you, for just a moment put yourself into Mary’s position?  Here she was most likely about fourteen years old and was still a virgin and now something special happened to her. The angel appeared to her and said, “Don't be afraid, Mary,…for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”[1] Imagine the turmoil within her life trying to decide when and how to tell her parents and especially Joseph about the encounter with the angels and that the conception would be by the Holy Spirit.

      Now put yourself into Joseph’s position and try to understand this.  After all, he was going to take as much ridicule as Mary.  I’m sure his parents and friends did not and would not even believe his explanation.  While Joseph thought about it, he first of all thought about how to get out of the engagement. “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”[2]

      What a difference it made when Mary and Joseph were willing to follow God’s plan for their lives rather than following the traditions and customs of the time.  Was it easy? No! Did it make any sense to them? No! Did they ever question the plan? Yes! Because they followed the plan, the whole world is now benefiting because of JESUS. 

      Christmas is a great time for each of us to ask, “Have I allowed God to enter into my life-plans and lead me in the direction that is best for me and those around?  Most of us have plans for what we want to accomplish in life, but is God in the plans?  What a difference it makes when we listen to the voice of the Lord and hear Him say, “For I know the plans I have for you,…They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”[3]

      This Christmas, let’s again, invite Him to lead us into the plan that He has for us.  He may want to take us to a new direction to which we’ve never gone. One thing for sure, He will never take us to a place that is not best for us! We may think that we know best but the scripture tells us, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”[4]

      If your personal plans have been shattered, listen to the voice of God and find what He has in store for you. He will direct—if we are willing to follow.

    “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” KJV

Merry Christmas!

    

---

[1] Luke 1:30-32 New Living Translation

[2] Matt 1:20-21 KJV

[3] Jer 29:11-12 TLB

[4] Prov 21:30 NIV

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is quickly approaching and along with it, the great times of food, laughter, more food and then an anticipation of the busy schedules ahead.  Just the thought of the busy schedule often overrides the enjoyment and brings additional stress in one’s life.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  We can choose to remember and give thanks for the blessings of life just as easily as we tend to focus on the problems or challenges. 

Each of us has so much for which to be thankful; however, we often take for granted many of these things.  If one would take the time to write the negatives in one’s life on a sheet of paper and then start to write the positives or blessings on another, it is safe to say that the blessings would outnumber the negatives by a huge percentage.  If we are not careful, we will allow the clouds of negativity or problems dominate our thought process and therefore, we are not even aware of the “sunshine” that is all around us? There’s an old proverb that, “Every cloud has a silver lining.”  This is often quoted as a means of comforting one that is having difficulty.  It is another way of emphasizing that there is something positive that can be found in every situation, no matter how dark or the magnitude of a particular problem.

For many years, in our family, as we sat around the table on Thanksgiving, with the mouthwatering food before us, each would take turns to say one thing for which he/she was thankful.  Now I’m sure that one really wanted to say by the time it got around to his/her turn, “I’m thankful that I’m the last so we can eat before the food is cold,” but they didn’t.

Expressing thanks is something that requires discipline and consistency.  If one expresses thankfulness either to one’s spouse, children, other members of family, friends or to God on a sporadic basis, there will be a tendency take for granted the things others are doing for us. One will be surprised how the giving thanks or praise will overshadow the problems and will help  to rise above the dark clouds.

So this Thanksgiving, let’s try to concentrate on the positives or blessings and remember that, “every problem has a solution; every frustration offers an opportunity; every trial has an ending; every negative attracts a positive; and every ungrateful thought offers an avenue to praise and give thanks.”

Cole Porter wrote, “If you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep and you'll fall asleep, counting your blessings.” Take time to Give Thanks.  The more we say it, the easier it becomes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

    “Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse  Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”[1]

---

[1] Phil 4:8-9 The Message Bible

Live in Freedom

The reminders of freedom will be ringing loud throughout the day and balance of the week as we celebrate the birth of our nation. It’s difficult to believe that Independence Day is here again. I’ve often heard that the older one gets, the faster time will fly. This, as all of know is a special time of celebrating a very special birthday and a time to celebrate our freedom and independence.

Birthdays are special times of being thankful for achieving another milestone in one’s life.  I am well aware that as one starts getting older, birthdays start to mean less and less.  For many it is just look at it as being one day older than yesterday. However, birthdays are special times to look back over one’s life and remember the significance of the journey and the successes and sacrifices that helped to mould who we are as an individual or nation.

Therefore, I sometimes wonder, because of her age, are we now starting to lose the significance of who we are as a nation, where we came from and how we obtained the freedom for which we enjoy?  Today, we have an opportunity to take some time out our busy schedule to just pause and remember what this special day is all about.  It’s not just about time off work, hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill and fireworks; it’s celebration of freedom!

During the celebrations let’s not forget our freedom did not come without a price.  True freedom is never really free; someone paid the price.  Perhaps someone close to each of us gave the ultimate sacrifice and we must never forget. Remember them by name and thank God for them. We live in freedom as a nation because many men and women were willing to pay the price so that others could live free.

Political freedom is great and greatly to be honored.  However, we as individuals may live under an umbrella of freedom and still be in captivity.  Captivity comes in different ways to keep us from being all of whom we were meant to be.  One’s captivity may be in attitude, low self-esteem, financial, greed, past wrong-doings, present regrets and future fears or it may be physical challenges. We have the control or change some of these, however, some are beyond our ability or power to change.. The Bible speaks about these types of captivity as "a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions." If we are being held in captivity in any of these areas, this Independence Day would be a great day to declare our freedom and to change the things that are keeping us in captivity.  A good thing to remember is part of a song, “The things beyond myself, I leave to God,” Who knows all things and does all things well.

So, let’s declare this Fourth of July our personal independence day and live in the freedom that only God can give.  Let’s take the words of Jesus literally and apply to our life, “when the son hath set you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Happy Independence Day!

Galatians 5:13-14 “It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows.”

Don't Cross That Line!

“I dare you to step across that line.”  Many of us while in our early childhood days made this very common statement.  If the first dare didn’t work, it was on to “I double dare you.”  Most of us remember many of the lines that were drawn by our parents, school officials and other individuals in authority.  We would refer to these as rules.  It is sad to say but in recent years, these “rules” have been translated into “guidelines” which seem to be interpreted as an option. 

I know that this subject is not very popular in the “no absolute” philosophical world in which we live.  One is constantly encouraged or enticed to walk close to the line, have the option to step across when convenient and still maintain the awareness the line.  Therefore, the line between right and wrong is often so transparent that it is difficult to see the difference. I just heard this statement last week from a well-known Christian artist whom I would rather not identify; he stated with approval, “The older I get the more blurred the line between Sacred and secular becomes!”

There are areas that each of us must hold sacred and therefore, refuse to be enticed to step across the line.  I heard the story of a little boy who got mad at his mother and decided to run away.  He packed a bag and started walking around the block.  A police officer saw him and asked him, “Sonny where are you going?  You’ve walked around this block three times.”  The boy stated, “I’m running away from home.”  The police officer asked, “But why are you just walking round and round the block?” The boy replied, “You don’t understand sir; I’m not allowed to cross the street.”[1]

The safest place to walk is at a distance from the boundary.  Trying to walk as close to the boundary as one can walk without stepping across is a difficult place to be.  When personal boundaries are removed by society, it does not mean that it is an okay behavior.  There is still a line between what is legally right and morally right.  We must maintain personal boundaries regardless of what society tells us.  We must be reminded that it’s never too late to repair or rebuild the boundary lines that have been damaged or broken-down.  It is not “old fashion” to build those boundaries into high fences where it is not easy to cross.

One has the choice to stay within the boundaries or to cross them.  The key to a life pleasing to oneself and to God is to learn to say no, before it is difficult to say no, when enticed to step across the line.   We must not take the “dare” and step across the line because consequences are waiting on the other side!

“It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom.”[2]

---

[1] unknown

[2] Galatians 5 13