Memories of Dad

My dad often said he was tired, and he was because he always seemed to work long hours.  He was always busy.  But my dad was never TOO tired or TOO busy to help a neighbor or to come to the rescue of one of his children.  I remember going with Dad to help him tow a teenage neighbor’s car home where he fixed it.  The way Dad did it required two drivers, his Ford F-150 and sturdy chain.  My job was to ride the breaks all the way home.  Another time, he went to rescue my older brother and tow his car home.  Something bad had happened to the car on an old golf course.  Another memory was when a Christian school administrator called after dark reporting a broken down school bus. It was raining that night but Dad went anyway.

My Dad passed away ten years ago.  As I thanked God today for those memories, I realized that my Heavenly Father is not unlike my earthly Father.  Even though He is busy watching over more than 6 billion people, He always has time to hear my prayers and to speak to my heart.  He never tires.  He is always faithful and is always there for me.

I thank God for my earthly father, Roy Claflin, for the time he spent with me, for the example he lived before me, and for his love.  But I also thank God for my Heavenly Father, who loves me unconditionally, who never leaves me, and who always hears my cry.

In Psalm 68:5, God promised to be a “Father to the fatherless”.  Is He your Father?  The Apostle John said in John 1:12 “But to all who believed Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”  If you believe on Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior, God will be your Father.  What are you waiting for?

pk

Heroes

“The godly people in the land are my true heroes!”  Psalm 16:3 (NLT)

We rightly claim that local law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and military personnel are heroes.  They are heroes, not because of a single act of heroism, but because they show up to work every day.  They are in the struggle day after day willing to face whatever may come.

Life is like that for all of us.  We never know what we will face as we start each new day.  As a believer in Jesus Christ, doing our best to live according to God’s will can be a struggle at times.  The Bible says that Jesus was tempted the same way we are but He never sinned.  We are not so fortunate; we sometimes fail to do the right thing.  But we don’t quit; we don’t give up; and that makes us the hero that the Psalmist describes.

Later in the same Psalm, it says, “I know the Lord is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.”  Knowing that, we can face anything.

So rise and shine and give God the glory. Face the challenges of a new day.  Be a hero!

-pk

PS Stay warm out there.

Hope for a New Year 2016

The Bible says:

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

Rejoice?  Really?  We can “rejoice” when we run into “problems and trials”?  That’s not what I wanted to hear today, how about you?  But it is logical if you look at what the Bible says here.  There is a progression:  As we endure our struggles it builds character in us as well as confidence or hope.  When we accomplish little things, it builds our confidence (or faith) to accomplish bigger things.  When we look at a past and see what we have been through, it gives us HOPE to face an uncertain future knowing that we have “been there, done that”. 

We also have HOPE because of what God has done for us and what He promises to do. We are reminded by this text “how dearly God loves us”.  Wow!  That gives hope.  God loves YOU!  God loves ME!  God loves US!  And He proves it by giving us the Holy Spirit; Jesus said the Holy Spirit would live IN us and be WITH us and would be our comforter.  Finally, the Bible says that God (by the Holy Spirit) will fill our hearts with His love, a love that we can share with others.

As we enter a New Year, we know that there will be problems that we will face.  But we also know that we have been there before and here we are – we survived.  We have HOPE because God loves us and is with us and fills us with His love.

Happy New Year!!