Update:
After my long stroll through Walmart on Friday afternoon, was tired out
and went to bed early on Friday night. I
ended up getting a little over eight hours of sleep and woke up refreshed. One thing that I’ve notice lately is that
I’ve grown accustomed to sleeping on my back.
All of my life I have slept on my side sort of curled up. I am an active sleeper and I would switch
back and forth several times during most nights (especially fond of my left
side). After my amputation I found that
the leg brace that I have to wear makes it uncomfortably difficult to sleep on
my side. So I have been sleeping on my
back. Some nights I would use a pillow
to prop one side of my back up a little, but my legs stayed flat. It took me well
over a month to start sleeping through the night like that. At first I would wake up every couple of
hours. Then a few nights ago I realized
that I’ve grown accustom to sleeping on my back. So now 77 days post-operation, I’ve grown to
like sleeping on my back. It is my new preferred sleeping position. Weird how
things change!
On Saturday, I spent the morning reading my bible (I’m towards the end
of the Gospel of John and could not put it down) and a number of my
inspirational books (one book really grabbed me as I read a philosophical
discussion on the problem of evil). It
took me much longer than normal to write my Update/Thought for the day. It wasn’t until well after lunch I finally
started on my sermon and other church work.
And then I struggled to get anything down on paper for my message. Eventually I concluded that I wasn’t meant to
preach what I had planned. I changed the
focus of my message and the words began to flow.
So on Sunday, I preached a message that I hadn’t really planned to
preach. It went well and I think it
really fit with the series I had been preaching—it was just a totally new and
different angle than I have preached before.
Our four children who live locally joined us for lunch at home after
everyone got out of church. The boys
filled our wood rack in the basement and Kate helped me put together some of my
“approved” treats—Peanut Butter Bean Cookies.
After the kids went home, Karen and watched some TV together until she fell
asleep on the couch.
This morning (Monday) I have 8:45 a.m. appointment with the eye doctor
and then 10:30 a.m. appointment with my physical therapist. I’ve needed a new eyeglass prescription for
some time but I’ve been waiting for my blood glucose level to stabilize so that
my vision is more consistent. Everything
I’ve gone through has severely affected the vision in my right eye. It has gotten better over time, but it is
still not good. I’m hoping for continued
improvement.
A while back Karen scheduled a speaking engagement for today (Monday),
so she and Kate are off trying to get there through this morning’s snowstorm. I’m praying for their safety on the road
today. My son, David, is off-work so he
volunteered to help me get to my appointments today. I think they are dilating my eyes at the eye
appointment so it wouldn’t be good for me to drive afterwards. With the snow, I really can’t get anywhere on
my own in the wheelchair (think of how hard it is to push a grocery cart in the
snow); so I am grateful for his help.
Thought for the Day:
How big is your God and how important is God to you?
It might help if I ask the question from a different perspective. Do you worship a God worth suffering for and
even dying for?
In the book of Daniel,
the story is told of three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who
risked punishment and even death, rather than to disobey God and worship an
idol. King Nebuchadnezzar had a giant
image of himself built and command all of his subjects to bow before the image
and worship it when music was played.
These three young men were a part of the Jewish exiles living in their
conqueror’s land. We might have thought,
“What will it hurt to go along with it and bow down—it is not like we really
will worship it? We’ll just play nice
and go through the motions to stay out of trouble.” But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to
do anything of the sort. So they were
brought before the king for one last opportunity; if they refused, they would
be cast into a fiery furnace and burned to death. Here is what they had to say:
Daniel 3:17-18 “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the
God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand,
O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O
king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have
set up.”
They acknowledged that God was ABLE to save them; they just weren’t
certain if He WOULD rescue them; but they were going to do the right thing
anyway. It would take a lot of courage
to make that kind of stand. “God is
going to do what God is going to do. We
don’t know what that is. But we do know
that we refuse to bow down and worship your idol. So do what you have to do.”
Why would anybody do that?
Because God is worthy. If we get
in trouble for serving Him and we are punished for doing good; He is worth any
punishment we receive. Even if we lose
our life for Him; He is worthy of the sacrifice that we give. That attitude is what captures my attention
about these three young men. They saw
God as so awesome, so amazing, and completely almighty. He was real to them and He was the most
important thing in their lives.
So what about the God you worship?
Do you worship a God worth dying for?
Do you worship a God worth suffering for? Do you bow to conformity when pushed instead
of holding true to your conscience?
If we aren’t willing to stand up for God, then perhaps we need to work
at our understanding of God; to grow in our knowledge of Him. The smaller your idea of God, the less you
will give of yourself to Him. I would
challenge you to consider that if you aren’t willing to suffer and to die for
God—then you really don’t have a biblically accurate picture of who He truly is
in all His glory. You need to cultivate a
more precise view of the Lord God. One
aspect of developing this clearer vision is to read the bible more. Find out what God has done in the past; learn
of His character qualities; listen to His words and promises. And remember that unlike us, God does not
change; He is faithful and true. He is
consistent and steady.
You might be wondering why I am asking about suffering and dying for
God. God calls us to a live of obedience
which means taking risks upon what He has said.
You won’t take that risk if you see the potential punishment as greater
than the potential reward; you won’t take that risk if you think the
circumstances outweigh God Himself.
Also, having an accurate picture of God helps put all of your current
circumstances into perspective. I will
be much more at peace going through the rough waters if I know that God is
there beside me. The the three young
Hebrews I know that God is more than able to do whatever He wants. I don’t always know what He will choose to do;
but I trust Him. I trust Him with my
very life. So what is there to fear and
be worried about?
The song, “He is Able” came to mind as I thought about this. Here is a link to listen to it if you
desire. "He is Able More Than Able"
I encourage you to discover the Mighty God that we serve. Seek to grow in your knowledge and
relationship with Him and it will give you an entirely different perspective on
your life and the difficulties that you face.
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