God is at Work

God is always at work. When Jesus was on earth, he said “I came to do the work of the Father”. That meant setting his face towards Jerusalem and going to the cross. Even though bad things happen, God is working. Our ways are not His ways. Romans 8 tells us that all things work together for good of those that love him. We cannot understand why bad things happened, but God knows. God is near and we will see and know perfectly one day.

When I was a teenager, I had two cousins of different families, but first cousins, who died two years apart both before they turned 18 and their first cousin who died prior to turning 24 a few years later. All died tragically and all lived within 1 mile of each other when they died. I lived within a mile of these precious families. You can imagine what that did to our small community, but we turned to the Lord. We know all things happen for a reason and return to the Father in praise, honor and glory. And, that is what we did. We turned to the Lord. Recently, a couple in our church lost their granddaughter unexpectedly and with no explanation of why. But, God knows. My heart breaks for people in the loss of a loved one and only the Holy Spirit – the great comforter can fully know or be able to respond completely to all that we are going through. Life is short. We are only here for a limited time. I have to ask myself the question – ‘how am I living my live to leave a legacy?” “How am I leaving a mark on humanity albeit one small act of love through the power of the Holy Spirit. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are the poor in spirit. When we realize our limitedness and frailty, we cry out for a Savior who comforts us by his nearness. John 14 gives us comfort. He has prepared a place for us. This is good news and brings us hope in our sorrow. Jesus message is hope. God is enough. When we cannot make sense of our pain and suffering, God is enough. He is our all-sufficient one. We are loved by God even when we are in the midst of the biggest trial or toughest situation. We are loved by God.

Romans8

Romans 8. I am committing to learn it and I am going join the Romans 8 Movement. It is Katherine Wolf's favorite chapter in the Bible. Katherine is the daughter of Jay Wolf, pastor of First Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL. She recently has had brain damage and is making progress through God's healing hand and the prayers of the saints. I don't think I have ever learned a chapter in the Bible with the exception of Psalm 23. I don't know how long it will take me, but I will try. Katherine has inspired me. Pray for Katherine.

Loving God, Loving People to the Ends of the Earth

"Loving God, loving people to the ends of the earth." That is the mission and vision of our church. How do we do this? As we grow in our knowledge of Him and spend time with Him, He changes us through the Holy Spirit's power. Then, we are able to expand our love for Him (actually He expands our love for Him in our hearts) and that overflows to others - "we love Him because He first loved us".

I am reminded of Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages. They are touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, and quality time. We practiced all 5 of these recently as we went down to Trenholm Court, a local low-income project community. On Saturday, a group of young adults in Montgomery, some from my church and some from other churches, went there together to play basketball, soccer, give out candy, clothes, pray with, encourage, and spend time with the youth there. Just think about the love languages mentioned. If we can practice these, especially with the children in our communities, neighborhoods, streets and in other countries everywhere we go to those who probably wouldn't otherwise receive love, we would show the love of God to others to the ends of the earth.

Alecia, the Pianist

I am so proud of my daughter. She is a fine musician.Her teacher called me last night and indicated that she did the best she’d ever done. She also won a couple of awards for being superior at the Music Federation Competition. She won honorable mention which only the top 75 out of 385 children have a chance to do. I am so proud of you Alecia!

Soccer Champ

My daughter starred in her first soccer game the other night. I am so proud of her. She has never played soccer before and fearlessly defended the goal as goalie in Tuesday night's game. She played for Team Italy and has already made new friends. I think they are going to have a great year. I am so proud of you Alecia!