A Day Late?????

A popular bother and sister singing duet back in the 70's Karen and Richard Carpenter sang a song and some of the lyrics were "rainy days and Mondays always get me down". For the most part I like rainy days and secondly Mondays are no different than any other day of the week they all have their problems so I don't know why Monday gets such a bad rap when things go wrong, but yesterday I can say was one of those Mondays it was even suggested that I go back to bed and this time get up on the right side of the bed and my comment was that won't help. As the day went on I was reminded of who was in control of my life it was not my secular job, the workings of the church, or even my bank account, but it is in the hands of God. Need I say it but the Monday turned out to be pretty good and by the end of the day i was laughing again and not being a grump. Then this morning as I was reading a devotional I get via e-mail it talked about "Give us this day our daily bread" then I realized that I was trying to live off of the daily bread of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and the rest of the week. When God directed Moses to tell the people to gather just enough manna for that day and not any more he had warned them if they gathered more it would go bad so gather just enough for that day. We are to do the same thing and yesterday I tried to gather more than my daily need and I looked to the days to come and said what if this happens and this will happen and so I better gather more today and be ready for the what ifs and the manna went bad then I heard God say Darrell I will provide.
God knew what I needed for yesterday and he knew I needed to work through it and today he confirmed in my mind and heart I did good. Some may say well it would have been a whole lot easier if you would have received that devotional a day earlier maybe so but God knew I had to work through it.
Blessings

A daily need

There is or was a commercial on t.v. and part of the slogan had this phrase it is like a day with out sunshine. One part of my morning routine is to spend time with God in bible reading and reading a chapter from a book and lately it has been a book of sermons from the General Superintendents of the church of the Nazarene and I must say it has been great reading and rich sermons. On Saturdays I start my secular job at 4:30 am and come home about 3:30 pm it is a very long day with the end result being very tired and swollen feet and ankles. My first priority is to get off of my feet and the second it to keep from falling asleep for a long period of time. Do not get me wrong I thank God each day for the job and yet pray that it would soon be over and my time would be spent at the work of the church. As you may imagine I do not start out my day on Saturday with time spent in prayer and bible reading and when I come home there is a battle between what I need physically and what I need spiritually. There have been times that the physical has won out and other times the spiritual wins. When the physical wins I can tell a difference in my physical well being as well as my spiritual well being the physical feels great but the spiritual feels weak and in need so what must I do? The answer is simple spend time with my Lord and let him refresh the physical along with the spiritual. There are many things we can do without each day, but time with God can not be neglected for even one day (we can say it is a day with out sonshine). When we pray give us this day our daily bread may we feast on the rich manna of personal time with God.
Blessings

FeDar Not

I may have mentioned the last several years in the ministry have not ben easy years and at time they have been quite hard and there have been times when I wanted just to run away, but each time that feeling came up God intervened and kept me at the place he has called me to. We have heard the saying bloom where you are planted and till recently I did not see a bloom little less a bud, but God was not done with me.
The other morning as a part of my time with God I read a sermon by General Superintendent James Diehl. Dr Diehl is a General Superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene and one of the most Godly man I have ever met. In this sermon he was saying that the Holy Spirit that God does not want us to be bound by fear and he compared it to a spider that slowly spins a web of fear around us one stran at a time. "God wants to fill us with his power he wants to give us power to live Christlike lives in a sin filled society, power to be holy in an extremely unholy world, power to live victoriously in Christ." (D. Jmaes Diehl Blameless at His Coming pg.80)
With all that has been happening in the lives of my wife an I it has been hard not to let the web of fear begin to be spun, but God has been faithful and we have learned how to be faithful in all we do as well. What a rich time it has been to know that God will and does suppliy my daily need of manna and yes it is as sweet as honey, but I know that at time it will be hard and fearful and yet God will be there telling me "it is I do not be afraid" Sometimes He calms the storm and sometimes He calms his child
Blessings

Good Friends

Over this past weekend my wife and I had friends who came to spend the weekend and what a great time we had as we always do. We ate alot, talked alot and laughted alot we even celebrated my daughter's 25th birthday. In the movie "Clear and Presnt Danger" there is a comment made by the President of the United States he said we are not just friends but we are good friends and that is the way it is with these people we are not just friend we are good friends.
Good friends are able to talk and share and not be judgemental with each other and above all else love. This is the way it is with God we can tell him anything we want and he will not be judge and above all else he will love us. Thank yuou God for old friends

Give us today our daily bread

Several years ago I made a very passive decision that pertained to the church. At the time I thought I was being wise and caring pastor of the church, but in reality it was a huge mistake and an act of disobedience toward God.
Just recently after much prayer and spiritual growth I came to another decision and reversed my decision of several years ago. I instructed the people who needed to know what they must start doing along with that I set into place several points of accountability and I believe that pleased God.
In my first blog I mentioned a book I have been reading titled "Manna" and this book helps us see how we must learn to live on that daily bread which God will provide for that day not for tomarrow but for today not in abundance but just enough. This decision that I made recently also affects my wife and I and what we must do. To know that God will provide for my daily needs is an assurance that keeps me from fretting. As the author of the book Manna tell us to seek after the blessing giver an not the blessing I am again reassured today that God is providing for my daily bread.

In the midst of the storm literally

Tuesday morning I got a phone call from my son-in-law who lives in Independence, Mo. and he asked me if I had talked to my daughter he then informed me that during a storm that came through their area about 1 am Tuesday morning a large tree roots and all was toppled onto my daughter's car. Now a car can be replaced or if it had fallen onto the house it could be repaired the thing that concerned me is that if it had fallen on the house it would have ended up in our grandaughter's bed room which could have been devestating. As I thought about the tree and the storm my mind went to Psalms 121 and how God watches over us both day and night. I am thankful that the tree fell the direction that it did and I wonder what God has in mind for my grandaughter as she grow phyiscally as well as spiritually.

quiet time

This morning my devotional time was being quiet. I spent the morning at a small lake and yes I did have my fishing pole but it was a time away from the office, the phone, and any busy work that I could find. It was a time to wonder at the sunrise the stillness of the water (I picture it in my mind when Jesus stilled the water) and how God provided for even for the fish and their ability to be able to take the bait off of the hook with out themselves being on the end of that hook. Most of all it was a time to listen to God and not giving Him my laundry list of concerns, burdens and needs. I under stand more of Samuel when he was directed by Eli to say speak Lord you servant is listening. We can not neglect our time in God's word and talking to him but sometimes it is good just to be quiet before our Lord.

our daily bread

Just recently I started reading a book by the title of "Manna" iy has reminded me that we will have what we need for that day. As God's word instructs us to ask for our daily bread "give us to day our daily bread" and over the past few weeks God has showed himself again in this matter as he has provided for our daily needs.