One Sunday morning at a small southern church, the new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said “Lord, I hate buttermilk.”
The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going. The deacon continued, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was totally perplexed. The deacon continued, “Lord, I ain’t too crazy about flour. But after you mix ‘em all together and bake ‘em in a hot oven, I just love biscuits.”
“Lord help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don’t like, whenever we don’t understand what You are doing, that we need to wait and see what You are making. After you get through mixing and baking, it’ll probably be something even better than biscuits. Amen.”
LET'S PRAY TOGETHER
Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us;
Lord be with those who care for others.
Lift up the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the stranger.
Guide those who lead in the paths of humility, compassion and service.
may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm;
may You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us;
may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors.
Amen
MEDITATION
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2Timothy 1:7 ESV)
" ...a spirit not of fear but of power love and self-control.", What does this look like? We learn what it means by reading and learning about faithful Christians throughout history. The story of the Ten Boom family is especially instructive. Did you know that in the 1970’s Corrie Ten Boom came to FPCS to speak? Perhaps you were there?
WHEN FEARS COME TRUE: THE CORRIE TEN BOOM STORY*
When World War II broke out and the German Blitzkrieg’s “Nazification” of the Dutch people escalated in May 1940, the ten Boom family home in Haarlem, Amsterdam, became a refuge for many. Jews, members of the Dutch underground resistance movement, students, and intellectuals alike were warmly welcomed into the home above the ten Boom watch shop…before long, the safe house was slightly remodeled and a secret room was built into Corrie’s upstairs bedroom to harbor refugees when the Gestapo would illegally and forcibly search homes.
One night, after Corrie had a frightful vision of the family being taken away—far away—against their will, she ran to her older sister’s bedroom.
“Betsie!” I cried, jumping up, pressing my hands to my eyes. “Betsie, I’ve had such an awful dream!”
(in the kitchen) The booming of the bombs was less frequent and farther away as Betsie put on the water…Over coffee, standing at the stove, I told Betsie what I had seen.
“Am I imagining things because I’m frightened? But it wasn’t like that! It was real. Oh Betsie, was it a kind of vision?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “But if God has shown us bad times ahead, it’s enough for me that He knows about them. That’s why He sometimes shows us things, you know—to tell us that this too is in His hands.”**
THOUGH SHE BELIEVED IN WHAT THEY WERE DOING, RISKING THEIR LIVES BY HARBORING THE REFUGEES, CORRIE WAS STILL PLAGUED WITH FEAR.
Fear of the Jews’ whereabouts being revealed, fear of saying the wrong thing should she be interrogated, fear of the large and looming “what ifs,” and the fear of being caught and arrested.
(On) February 28, 1944, the Nazis were tipped off by a Dutch informant to the activities behind the ten Booms’ storefront and raided the home, arresting 35 people, including the (Ten Booms).
We will continue the story tomorrow as we see how God works even in the hardest moments.
**Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place