Curve Balls

             

Who would have thought the Cubbies and the Indians would be playing the World Series? I can’t imagine anyone other than a diehard fan of either team predicting before the season started that either team would make the series none the less that both teams would be playing for the championship! What a story it is.

Who would have thought that the nominees of the two major political parties would be the individuals that have emerged? Could any of us have predicted the upside down season of politics we have endured? What we thought was predictable has turned out to be anything but predictable. At this writing there are 10 days until the election, I continue to talk to people who have a clear idea who they will NOT vote for but not any idea who they WILL vote for. In the circles I live, that is the most common comment. People are troubled over this. My Mother was concerned in the early summer about her presidential vote this fall wondering who she might choose. God had other plans as she did not have to choose!

Our building process has been unexpected. Of course we have gone about it in a non-traditional way. What else would Crossroads do? I mean really! It has taken much longer even after we really got started. We are making progress but not as quickly as I think we should. Now we are held up completing more inside work by needing an electrician to “rough in” the wiring. I have been talking to electricians since early spring and each encounter has over a number of weeks or months failed to pan out into work being done. It is frustrating but a curve ball.    

Who of us expect curve balls? If you play in the major leagues you have to expect a curve at every at bat. As a hitter you have to learn to deal with the curve ball or else that is all you will see coming across the plate. Life throws us curve balls all the time. Just about the time things seem to be going in one direction her comes a curve. It frustrates us and confounds our sense of direction. It really is just life. Something always comes along unexpected. Usually it challenges our sense of stability and security. Of course what we thought was so stable and secure was never really guaranteed and so we end up in an unstable land with an unstable foundation or so we think.

Who would think that instability is what is need to drive us towards stability? God thinks like that. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We get confused as to what is stable and what is not. We think jobs, health, political systems, elections and sports casters can be counted on as anchors. They can’t. That is when we look for a real anchor. There Jesus stands waving with a smile on his face saying, “Where have you been,” as he wraps his arm around you walking by your side.

Who would think that the path in the Kingdom of God is filled with curves? I do and so do you!

In HIS Service and Yours.

  BroG

When you stand on faith, what are you believing?

              In the Genesis account of Abraham and his offering of Isaac at the request of God, repeatedly we read Abraham believed God. We repeatedly see that Abraham believed God even when circumstances said otherwise. We also see Abraham and Sarah believe God needed their help with an offspring and Ishmael is born. Whenever we believe we can help God we are in for a big mistake! Abraham believed God. What does that mean? His faith was counted as righteousness.

Abraham believed the promises of God period. What are the promises of God? How many are there? Well, that depends on what you consider a promise. So, the number is constantly moving depending on a subjective opinion. Biblegateway.com lists 5467 promises of God. “The promises of God reveal his particular and eternal purposes to which he is unchangeably committed and upon which believers can totally depend. The promises are, however, conditional upon obedience on the part of believers.”  What we see in Abraham was his obedience. Belief is only real when we take actions that are dependent upon our belief being true even though it may not yet be in existence. We call that faith. The key here is the obedience on the part of the believer. Oh man!

 So if I take a stand on faith, I have to stand up. I have to do something, take action on my belief most of the time when there is no visible reason to do so. I have to believe this promise I am claiming is true even though I have no proof in front of me. Yep, that is about it! So, what did Abraham believe?

Abraham believed Isaac was God’s promise. Hebrews tells us Abraham believed God would bring him back to life. God had brought Abraham and Sara back to life to have a son at 100 and 90. Abraham believed God would do the same for Isaac. But still it does not make sense. Why would God…we ask...and then spend a great amount of time wondering instead of doing thereby delaying the fulfillment of the promise.

Let me ask of the 5467 promises, what do you stand on? What do you count on even when there is no visible or reasonable (in this reality) evidence to believe? In this season of politics, have you asked God about your vote? Would you believe God is in control if He instructed you to vote different than your thoughts? Would God do such a thing? Let’s ask Abraham or Hosea or Paul, Jonah, Gideon, Elijah, Rahab, David, Jeremiah or Lazarus? How do you think they would answer? That would become a question of faith in God and his promises. Where would you stand?

                      

In HIS Service and Yours,

BroG

It has been a week!

It was 1979 when Hurricane David came ashore here. For some that was not so long ago for others it was before their existence, history. Since then other than the threat of Hugo and Floyd all we have had was remnants of storms we call “back door” as most often they come from the panhandle of Florida across Georgia and out to sea by us. Lots of rain and some thunderstorms but that is about it. Not so this time.

The center of the eye passed our barrier island about 30 miles off shore as a Cat2 hurricane. So 50 miles inland here in Effingham we had tropical storm force winds 40-60 mph (straight line constant) with gusts above that. My house is surrounded by pine trees. The wind makes a sound through the needles with normal wind speeds. Saturday morning from 4am-6:30am it sounded like a jet engine was outside my window. I noticed the wind had died down by the sudden quiet later that morning.

Storms come and go but with all of these years with no damage we have come to believe they might never come. Matthew just glanced us. It could have been so much worse. It wasn’t. While they are going on it is all we can think about. Coming from the Midwest, I like tornados better. When the warning goes out it is already too late. All you have time to do is duck and cover. No “hunker down or cone of uncertainty” no, when that siren sounds it’s certain you are late. Even then it only lasts 15 minutes maybe. Then comes clean-up. Hurricanes are a whole other thing. Days to prepare with uncertainty as to track and therefore damage and worry. There I said it, worry with great uncertainty. While the storm is blowing there is nothing to do until the wind stops. So you wait hour-upon-hour, the ugliest word in the language. Nothing to do until it stops. All you can think about doing is making it stop and you can’t. You have to wait. Even before the storm hit, those who had evacuated wanted to know when they could return. Emergency management folks had no answer as they did not know. Both had to wait until the storm passed to begin to answer that question.

Waiting is powerlessness. Our waiting is at the mercy of what we cannot control. Truth is most of life is out of our control. We are powerless to affect events. Sure we can prepare before and then after the storm consider what we need to do differently, but we are unable to change the course of nature or even predict it well. All of that has been and always will be in God’s realm. What it leaves us with is faith and an opportunity to exercise and strengthen our faith that we, “Can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Once again a need to learn and exercise our dependence on God our Maker and Sustainer.

I am sure He can hold us up.

Storms help us remember!      

            

In HIS Service and Yours,

BroG