I have decided to change the format of this page to publish reflections on the Word of God as they impact me in my world. I trust that as I share them from time to time, that it will be helpful to you in your world. I invite your interactions in return. Blessings to all!!!
1 Comment
Well, my family and I have been here in the Pittsburgh area for a little over a year now. I am grateful to God for the activities in which He has allowed my family as parrishioners and me as a teacher to participate including our new church volunteer posts. But it's not enough for my liking. The time of observation is over and the time of organization has begun. C.A.L.M. Inc. has had several successful training opportunities in 2008. However, new protocols are in process to move this ministry forward, and I am praying that God will grant me many more opportunities to fulfil the call He has placed upon my life in 2009. As a security police officer for a suburban school district, I have been able over the last two weeks to provide critical or cumulative incident stress management to individual students and staff members regarding past or present issues. What a privilege of God's grace to have these opportunities and to pray privately off campus for their relationship with God and the best outcomes for their lives. First, it was a great service at Riverside Community Church where my family and I attend. Great worship, great sermon, great fellowship afterwards. This morning, I responded as a fire-fighter/chaplain with my fire department to a fully involved car fire at a gas station and provided pastoral crisis intervention to the occupants who escaped injury. I just finished having the privilege of teaching on the above subject at Riverside Community Church (where my family and I now attend) in Oakmont, PA. I taught on the sub-issues of faith, the crisis of faith, a theodicy, Dr. Richard Dobbins' "shock, storm, search, and sequel" crisis process, and the three aspects of God's providence. All of these are covered in the certificate training courses that I teach as indicated on this website. The substance of my remarks will be posted on Riverside's blog page in the next couple of days at www.riversideconnect.org. Today was a nice day as the majority of my family, Joyce, Julie and Chad, and Mike celebrated my birthday with me (it's really the 10th, but it was more convenient for all today). My daughter, Pamela, who lives in NJ sent her greetings from afar. I miss having her here. And to all who have sent me e-mails and FaceBooks, my sincere thanks for remembering. |
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” – Lamentations 3:22-24 So…I’m sitting and watching Elevation Church’s Praise Party on New Year’s Eve with my family awaiting the midnight arrival of 2017 …well past my bedtime, I might add. Pastor Steven Furtick is speaking and encouraging the listeners about the possibilities for momentum in the New Year that can begin at midnight. And then I got to thinking about the nexus of the old and the new that occurs in a nanosecond at this point in time we call “midnight”. It represents to each of us either the end of the previous day or the beginning of the next depending on our perspective. That chosen perspective can have either of two processes – backward or forward – regret or reset. Regret. We all have certain regrets that are attached to some actions or reactions that we have had the day, or year, before…the “coulda, woulda, shoulda’s”. I know I do. To be overly focused on them can lead to a backwards process: Mourn. To be sure, we are sorry for the things that we have said that were better left unsaid, or done that were better left not done or…you get the drift. That is appropriate…to a point. But we must take care not to become Mired. We need to be careful that we don't become stuck in our regrets that we can’t look or move forward with some degree of positivity. To do so causes us to become Morose. We can become bad-tempered, moody, ill-humored, melancholy, brooding, miserable, depressed, dejected, unhappy, down, grumpy, irritable, crabby, cranky, grouchy…get the picture? Now enter that midnight nanosecond nexus point…The Lord’s great compassions… are new every morning! Yep…that’s right! At that very midnight miracle moment! For us who choose to follow after Jesus as our soul’s Savior and life’s Leader, it’s a clean slate and a new supply of God’s goodness and grace that ushers in a new forward process if we choose to adopt it. Reset. We can now move forward with great anticipation of the things that God can do in our lives if we let Him and follow Him in that forward process: Memorize. King David (who by the way experienced real regret and reset in his life) wrote in speaking to God: I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. The best way for us to do this is to take the Bible and read it, write it, and recite it. Mobilize. We need to gear up physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to live our lives in ways that are pleasing to God. Let us practice faith, maintain a positive attitude, eat properly, get rest, exercise, have supportive relationships, and solve problems. Maximize. The Apostle Paul said it all, Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity. We need to take time to connect with God and others through worship experiences, Bible reading, and prayer to help us reset! Archives
August 2020
Categories |