Thoughts for Life: A Reason for Everything

Fran Pasch- "I rushed out of the supermarket with a cart piled high with groceries. I only had an hour to get home, unload my packages, and get to the hospital. Dad was in intensive care and the visiting hours were limited to specific times.

When I reached my car, I frantically searched for my keys. What a shock to discover I had locked the doors with my keys still in the ignition. Now what? I somberly glanced around the parking lot. To my amazement, I spotted my neighbor, and she offered to drive me home. (Goggle image, Grocery rush).

I quickly put my perishables in my refrigerator and called my sister-in-law for a ride to the hospital. We breathlessly arrived in time for a short visit with Dad.

After dinner, I asked my son, Jimmy, to take me to get my car. Normally, my husband would have driven me, but he wasn’t at home. On our way, Jimmy casually remarked, “Maybe I’ll stop to see Grandpa, after I drop you off.”

I was shocked, but delighted. Since Jimmy isn’t a visitor, I wondered what triggered his sudden desire to see Dad. Would he change his mind?

The next morning, I was thrilled when Dad said, “Jimmy came last night for a visit.” I could tell Dad was pleased, too.

Three days later, Dad died. At the funeral, Jimmy seemed especially grateful when he said, “Mom, if you had not locked your keys in the car, I would never have gone to see Grandpa.”

At that moment, I realized that it was God who had orchestrated this catastrophe and the blessing of its surprise ending.

A Reason for Everything Fran Pasch

Used by permission. devotions and poetry

Today's Bible verse-

Psalm 23 (NLT) “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all

that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads

me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He

guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.

Even when walk through the darkest valley, I will not be

afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your

staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing

my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the

days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

Today's special link-

Truly Great Treasure
By Debbie McEwen

"In this life you will have to choose
what is your heart's desire. You will
have to choose what is most important
to you. Only one desire can occupy the
top place in your heart. What will you choose?"

Today's quotes-

Nancy Demary- "The Bible says that faith comes to us through hearing/reading the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). We cannot see the future, but we can trust our Heavenly Father to hold us. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you too become His precious child. Can you believe this? He is aware of all that has happened in your life and He wants you to know that He will never harm you. You can free-fall into His arms and He gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us, assuring us of His constant care." (Taken from her blog post, Free Fall).

~ Lee Forbes- from his poem, "Perfect offering"concerning Jesus:

"For no one could purvey in words the pain the Father felt

That evening in the garden when His Son before Him knelt

And cried out in His anguish if there be another way

That He might not go through with that He promised He would pay

But out of love unfathomed by the universe at large

Christ took on Him the burden of which He was given charge

And carried from that moment all the guilt of fallen men

To be severely beaten whipped and crucified for sin

Of which He had no portion but for which He volunteered

Because He could not stand the thought of which all heaven feared

That all of lost humanity would cease to ever be

When God would wipe away all sin for all eternity

So friend though you may not be perfect as some others see

In Christ you can be perfect just as perfect as can be

If all to Him you sacrifice that He might live in you
And show the world His perfect love in everything you do."

List of recent sermons of CFC ministers. CFC Potsdam church has a live service at 10 am Sunday's for shut-ins. If for some reason you can't make it to the church you usually attend, click on the above link, and still get fed!

Can God trust you with a blessing?
(Google image)

Father, as we think about how things have turned out in the past, may we understand that You have often caused things to go differently than we expected, and we weren't aware of it being for our good.

Increase our faith in Your Ability to orchestrate our lives to be a blessing to others, and to accomplish Your will for us, even though we may not see clearly what You've had in mind.

May we be cooperative with Your Holy Spirit's directives, and may our thoughts and words reflect faith in Your presence in our everyday living.

Show us how to trust You more, and to not complain when things don't turn out just as we expected, but to have a heart of gratitude of knowing You're in charge of our lives because You love us.
I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's question-

Is it to our benefit that we serve others?

Remember Jesus washing the disciples feet? Had you wondered why He did it? He was their Lord and soon-to-be Savior, and here He was acting as a lowly hired servant, a task that not even a Hebrew would do, (as it was beneath them to do it).

No doubt the disciples marveled at His humility to do such a menial job for them, for their feet no doubt smelled pretty bad from walking through animal wastes and dirt to get to where they had gathered.

When we find opportunities to serve someone, we'll be playing our part in the Kingdom of God, as we'll be great in His eyes, no matter what our calling is, and He's the One who's watching.

We prove our love for others when we humble ourselves to serve them, with no thought of payback.

Upcoming posts-

#41 The Shepherd's Role
3rd- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#42 The Shepherd Leads Constantly to Spiritual Refreshment
5th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Thoughts & Prayers are Nice, But . . .
7th- Saturday's post by Ron Hutchcraft
#43 The Shepherd Aids Spiritual Restoration
10th-Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel