EAST TO WEST

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

When the enemy comes with shame and blame, tell him to go measure the distance from east to west and get back to you.

Louie Giglio

Psalm 103:8-13 Living Bible (TLB)

He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.

I needed that today.

You?

This has been such a busy 10 days.  I am out of gas.

I am really tired. 

And while we have held conferences and meetings, while we have seen NEW folks get engaged and are seeing DIFFERENCES being made all over the place, the enemy took to whispering to me around 3am today.

Doubt.

Uncertainty.

Anxiety. Again.

But at the PROMPTING last week of a good friend, a trusted and wise friend, instead of languishing in the lie, I opened the WORD.  I sought some truth both from Louis and from the PSALMIST.

And what beautiful truth it is.

I am bathed in mercy today.

I am as far removed from my sin as the east is from the west.

I have a FATHER who instead of piling on is tender and gentle with my frailty.

He is kind.

So why feel this way?

So, while the physical symptoms may persist a little this morning, my SPIRIT is speaking to my mind and my heart and reminding me that I am “just fine”.  Thanks to the space between one nail-scarred hand and another.

I am grabbing one of those hands and together we will make it through today.  

We will.

You will too.

In pain, I'd rather walk with Jesus with all of my questions, than walk by myself with all the answers. - Rick Warren

Have a blessed WEEKEND…

I love you all.

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

INTERRUPTIONS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Wow!

Been a whirlwind 72 hours.

Held an amazing trafficking event in Bellbrook Monday.

Hosted a wonderful all-day event in Toledo Tuesday.

If you are not familiar with where Toledo is, it is in the NORTHWEST part of the state.  And then yesterday took me to the SOUTHEAST part of the state for some preparations and meetings.  So, I have had the wonderful privilege of dissecting the state diagonally the last couple of days and the timing has kept me from the keyboard in the mornings, but today it is good to be back and typing!

And today’s little OFH is inspired by a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Why?

Well during one of the nine events in the last 5 days, my good buddy Amy Willmann reminded me and the audience that she loves to use the phrase “Bonhoeffering” when she describes her time with the LORD and the WOMEN she serves at SAFE HARBOR HOUSE.

So, I thought I would journey over to “Bonhoeffer-Land" and see what he had to say today, and this was it…

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. We can, then, pass them by, preoccupied with our important daily tasks, just as the priest-perhaps reading the Bible-passed by the man who had fallen among robbers. When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised in our lives to show us that God’s way, and not our own, is what counts.

Ever had that happen? 

Nod yes.  

Remember…

We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word. – Proverbs 16:11 (CEV)

And man, oh man has that ever been evident in the last couple of days.

We “planned” to have Mr. Darryl Strawberry fly to Toledo and get a little rest before our session Tuesday.

American Airlines thought differently. 

But Darryl will tell you the time spent with GOD on the drive from Chicago to Toledo, while UNPLANNED, was WELL SPENT.

My dear friend Jerry O’Brien is in the middle of a move of his church facility and has had some “plans” altered, but he is QUICK to remind others and himself that GOD is on the throne and he knows HE has things well in hand.  So, he is EMBRACING the INTERRUPTIONS!

I could give you about 5 more examples of “interruptions” from the past few days, they come with what I do, but instead I want to go back to the BONHOEFFERING for a second. 

Let’s unpack that.

WE MUST ALLOW ourselves to be INTERRUPTED by GOD.

Now on the surface that seems a little arrogant right? 

Who are we to FEEL interrupted by GOD? But it we are honest with ourselves, we do get “occupied” by ourselves and our plans and, if we are honest, we don’t like the interruptions.  At least I don’t.  While I am not a fastidious person, I do like knowing what the expectations are for each day.  And while I am pretty flexible, I can’t say that the I don’t get frustrated by changes to the schedule. 

I do.

But, Bonhoeffer is so right.  If we are SO CONSUMED with US how can we hear or RESPOND to GOD? We must be open.  We must cognizant. We must be tuned.   

If not, we run the risk of being more like the RELIGIOUS that left the injured along the ROAD rather than the GOOD NEIGHBOR who stopped to help! (Luke 10)

None of us want to MISS the visible signs of the CROSS, do we?

I don’t think so.

Therefore…

Take advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others – Galatians 6:10 (TPT)

That is GOD’s way and MUST be ours as well.

So, prepare for some interruptions today. 

They PROMISE to be inspiring and insightful.

The truth is, that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day.”

― C.S. Lewis

Have a blessed day…

I love you all.

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE