July 16th People Reflection

Saturday 7/16/2005

1 Corinthians 4-The Lord is my judge. So don’t judge anyone until the Lord returns.

1 Kings 17-Elijah lives by a creek and a raven brings him bread and meat and he drinks from the creek

Amos 1-Amos raised sheep –God spoke to the nations through Amos

Romans 8.12-25-For in hope we were saved.-in hope God has something great in store for us!

Romans 7.14-25-but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin-Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Psalm 18.1-6, 16-19-the LORD is my deliverer-I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies

Back to therapy again yesterday—I asked the therapist – Brad- You think I can lose the boot?- He hesitated on any answer and said maybe it’s too soon—so I do all the exercises—and at the end he says- "Tell you what. On your way home, drop the boot off. Just be careful on uneven ground." – Oh how God spoke through Brad to me—yea – Brad had to stand back and take a look at me- while I went through all those exercises- he even came over while I was on the table and checked the strength in my leg- Brad had to make some judgement on me- was I ready for the next step?-I’m not done with therapy yet- but was I ready to take that boot off?- could I be trusted to know my limits?- could I trust Brad in his judgement?- sometimes I think God watches my actions in this same way- am I ready for the next step? – is God ready to trust me in my next step of ministry?- will I trust God to care for me in that next step- kinda like Elijah- Elijah had to trust God first- to go live by a creek- with nothing- but drink creek water and depend on a raven to fly in with bread and meat to live on- am I willing to trust God to care for me- to give me all I need- and when that runs out – to guide me in the next phase of ministry? – am I ready to take that boot off and move onto the next step? – sometimes I think God develops people in ministry this way- but there is that huge issue of trust- can God trust me? – will I trust God?- well- God trusted a poor guy who raised sheep for a living in Amos to deliver God’s Word to the people- I guess God can trust anyone to do his work in this world- So I gotta listen for God’s voice in many places- some unexpected- and I also gotta be willing to trust God and let him speak through me- it’s in that hope that I depend- in that hope that beyond the "boot" – God has something really special prepared for me- something I can’t even imagine- I must trust God- I have placed all my hope in God’s salvation of my sinful self- my sinful flesh- and thanks be to God—my salvation has been worked out- my sinful flesh has been saved through Jesus Christ- my deliverer- I will call upon Jesus- worthy to be praised – through Jesus I am saved from sin and my enemies—so did God speak yesterday? – you betcha—through Brad and a boot- through the message of continual healing – of continual trust- of continual hope in what God has already done for me in my salvation through Jesus—so – I think I’m ready to shed that boot- I trust God and place all my hope in the next phase of recovery and ministry and mystery that is in store – is the pain over? – nope—but there is hope—there is great hope in store – cause I know God has something really really special in store for me and all his children – I can’t wait!

Prayer- Lord I look forward to that day- when you return- when you make it all right again- when you fulfill your kingdom – when you show all of us that great special – whatever- you have in store for each one of us. Today I give you thanks for trust- I trust you with all my heart- with all my mind- Yea- I know I sin- I know I need your forgiveness- day after day- I ask you to forgive my sin- and I give you thanks that I am not tied down by sin- you have freed me from sin to live in your love and hope and faith – to not worry so much about my sin but to be joyfully active doing the ministry you call me to do in your world- to joyfully serve you in ways I can’t even imagine- in ways that change daily- you make ministry all easy and fun—but there is still that sin in this world- protect me this day from harm and danger and the evil traps set before me- keep me strong in faith- give me the strength to turn from temptation and revel in your awesome beauty and love—for today and everyday – I place all my trust and hope in your alone. -- Amen