Update:
I spent all of Wednesday at the office with Corey working on setting up
my new Windows 8 computer—transferring files, installing programs, getting
copier and fax connected, etc. In between answering dialog boxes we got to talk
and spend time together. I really
enjoyed the company and deeply appreciate his time that he gave.
One of the additional things that we worked on was a difficulty we’ve
discovered with some of the church’s email addresses. Since I haven’t been in the office
consistently, it took some overdue bills and collection notices for us to
realize that one of the addresses hasn’t been functioning. That’s kind of embarrassing! Sometimes the sender would get a notice or have an email returned; but
apparently that wasn’t happening all the time either. Although we don’t know why, after working
with tech support yesterday, it started working perfectly again. That is kind of scary! I’m concerned that the email will be like my
car which never makes that funny sound when it’s at the mechanic’s but starts
acting up when I take it home. I’ll
actually have to pay close attention to what I receive and don’t receive for a
while to comfortably declare that it’s fixed.
As far as my leg is concerned, I’ve had one perfect day after
another. Right now I’ve gone ten days without
going to the prosthetist to have my leg adjusted. Wonderful!
I’ve resumed walking more and redeveloped a confidence in wearing the
prosthesis. I’ve gone back to assuming
that I’ll be able to walk and do whatever I’m doing without worrying about needing
the wheelchair right at my elbow all the time in case I need it suddenly. That is a good feeling!
Despite the rain on Wednesday, I was able to get a six mile bicycle
ride in after dinner. I was glad that it
dried up enough for me to do that; I had resigned myself to the fact that I
would miss the ride because of the rain, so I was pleasantly surprised. After the ride I did my floor exercises,
showered and it was time for bed.
Thought for the Day:
No matter what your profession or your hobby, you want equipment that
you can depend upon. What if you didn’t
trust your car to start every morning when you jumped in it to go to work? What if people told you they had tried to
call you but your phone never rang and didn’t show any missed calls? It is the same with people, we need to be
able to depend that what people said they’d do actually gets done. What if your buddy promised to pick you up at
the airport and he never shows? What if
the trash wasn’t put out at the curb last week and now you have an overflowing
mound of refuse?
It is so important for us to be dependable. Right now I am thinking about those
recovering from illness, injury, or who have limited mobility who rely upon the
help and support of others to get them to the doctor’s office or to church on
Sunday, for instance. I relied upon a
friend to shovel snow off my driveway this past winter. My wife faithfully took me to every doctor’s
appointment that I had until I regained my mobility. I am relying upon my sons to mow my grass this
summer because the mower is just too hard for me to push this year.
In a marriage we rely upon our partner to do what they said that they
would. Pay the bills on time. Pick up the kids after baseball practice or
swimming lessons. At our wedding, we
make certain vows to one another. We
expect our spouse to honor those vows throughout our life together; just like
they expect us to do the same.
As a society we rely upon the promises of others. We are confident that the electric company will
provide power to our home and quickly repairs any interruptions in
service. We know that trash hauler will
be by on Friday morning (or Saturday if it was a holiday on Monday) to remove
our trash. We turn on the faucet and
expect pure, clean water to come pouring out.
We expect (with few exceptions) that our neighbors are law-abiding
citizens and we’ll live in relative peace and safety in our homes.
Yesterday as I was on my bike ride, I got thinking about verses that I
had memorized concerning the fact that God is trustworthy. Here are a few that came to mind (you might
have others that you could add to the list):
Numbers 23:19 “God is
not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill
it?” (ESV)
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For no
matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And
so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (NIV)
2 Peter 1:4 “For by
these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that
by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (NASB)
1 Samuel 15:29 “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie
or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change
his mind.” (NIV)
Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah,
Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power
and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (ESV)
God will fulfill every promise that he has made. He never falters or takes a misstep. We can be confident in what He has said. The only time that we might perceive that He
has failed is when we think He has promised something that He really
hasn’t. God isn’t obligated to fulfill
every expectation or hope that we have; only the promises that He made. So if it seems that God is unreliable—think
again. The problem is a misperception or
misunderstanding on our part. God set
the standard for dependability.
Whatever you face today—remember that God has promised to be with you
every step of the way. What God has
promised—He will do. He is
faithful. He is trustworthy. He is dependable.
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