The seventeenth verse of 2 Corinthians chapter five reads: "... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" So according to this Scripture we are entirely new creations at the moment we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. God had a plan for our lives before we were even conceived in our mother's womb (Eph 2:10). And at Jeremiah 29:11 He says "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" And after making all these plans for us, He gave us everything we would need to carry them out (2Peter 1:3).
There are many examples in the Bible of God doing just that. But let's look at Samson. Israel was under Philistine rule at the time of Samson's birth and the culture was very permissive and ungodly with "everyone [doing] what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). But God had demanded that Samson be set apart for His purposes ... he was the one that was going to bring about Israel's deliverance from the Philistines (Judges 13:5). In preparation for this work, God had given Samson godly parents and an upbringing unadulterated by a depraved culture, not to mention his incredible physical strength. As Samson matured he was blessed by God and he became Israel's Judge with the authority to execute God's will in the land.
God had been faithful and had provided Samson with everything he needed to carry out His will and purpose but he had one problem ... he had a typical, all-too-human weakness ... lust ... which he chose to indulge and it eventually became his undoing. Sadly, as a result of this human trait, Samson ended up a blinded prisoner and he was no longer in a position to bring about God's plans for him or to bring about the fulfillment of God's will in the matter.
God has equipped each of us with what it takes to resist the tendency to indulge our weaknesses and temptations no matter what they may be. But for that to work we must first want to resist our sinful urges and follow the Lord. Samson had so much potential. He could have accomplished so much good for God but he chose a different path. We too, like Samson, have enormous potential to accomplish great things for God and He has fully prepared us and equipped us to push aside our weaknesses and continue down the path God has planned for us. Samson had a long fall because he indulged his weakness instead of seeking the Lord's help. Will we fulfill the plans God has for us or will we be like Samson?
God has prepared in advance a path for each of us to walk down in order to accomplish all that He longs for us to accomplish. This often means that we have to set aside our own ideas about how we're going to live our lives and step out in faith, which is not an easy thing to do. Our human tendency is to get in control of our lives and to keep that control. Our old nature always wants to be in control. We make all the plans and decisions and God is just kind of brought along on the path with us (if He's brought along at all). Even so, most of us can follow our paths pretty easily unless God's path for us involves money. Funny how money can corrupt the best laid plans. If God's plan for us is to live lives of financial poverty, how many of us will actually embrace His calling and walk faithfully down that path? It's not an easy path to walk because it's not well-marked in places and has many twists and turns and fallen trees lie in our way at times.
When we look around it seems that everyone else has nice, well-laid-out paths to follow where ours is sparse and unsure, full of weeds and overgrowth. Why does our path have to be the only one that is so hard to follow, we ask? Do we rebel or do we keep walking stepping up and over all the obstacles in our way, making all the hard, unsure turns and continuing even when everyone else seems to have it so easy? Jesus says, "come, follow me." Will we go after Him? Will we follow? Walking down the path of poverty may not be easy but for any material objects or things we're "missing out on" God will extend a blessing to us, if we but be faithful and take the next step no matter how unsure it may be.
Our path may be hard to see and impossible to understand. It may even appear to completely give out in places and at every turn, we wonder if the path will even continue around the corner because it's grown sparse and hard to follow. But we pick up first one foot and then the other and trudge on. That is living in faith, my friend. When we live a hand-to-mouth existence we are forced to live totally by faith. Why is our path so difficult to follow? Because God wants to bless us. He may not bless us with material things but He blesses us with spiritual blessings beyond compare. Spiritually we are privileged to see God work in our lives in such an intimate way that we can never doubt Him. But we do. We struggle down our paths year after year, and yet we doubt Him. That's our old nature, Friend. That's our old nature. Let it go. We just need to let it go and continue to trust God. In the face of our fears know that God will provide. If He doesn't? Then His grace will be sufficient. If we have nothing else, nothing else in our entire lives, His grace is and will always be sufficient (2Cor 12:9).
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I sat here this morning and composed the last few paragraphs onto my blog so forgive me if they seem a little different. I was just typing and all of a sudden this need came over me. I don't know what else to call it. I just needed to write those last few paragraphs. They have very little, if anything, to do with Samson who I was using as an illustration. For some reason Samson wasn't important any longer. What was important was that I somehow bring this blog around to rest on us. You and me. So I ask you to forgive me if they seem a bit out of place. It was just important for me to write them for whatever reason.
I am having so much trouble typing this morning. Mario, my black and white, mustachioed, Italian cat seems to want to crawl all over me and my computer. It gets very frustrating. I finally moved him over to the side and gave him a firm swat and so now he's just lying there glaring at me. He may be a bit perturbed for awhile but he'll be back over here at any time to start the process all over again. He's got to where he wants to lie in my lap while I type, which would be fine if he wouldn't knead my legs! I'm not into pain and that hurts! So every time I take him out of my lap and put him down on the floor he just hops right back up on my desk and walks back and forth in front of my monitor, stepping on my hot buttons and other keys. Well, I don't believe it, he's decided to go elsewhere for a while. Yea!!
We had a very light fog when I got up this morning. I woke up at 7:30 and decided to just turn off my alarm and go ahead and get up a little early. I finished the slippers I was working on and they turned out pretty nice and I've started a second pair. This new yarn isn't quite as difficult to work with and that's good. That's very, very good.
We had our deacons' meeting last night and my "card project" has grown. If you recall, last month I was awarded the privilege of sending out get well and sympathy cards to those members in our congregation who are ill or have lost a loved one. But since last month's meeting the Lord had really laid it on my heart to seek out those who might be going through difficult times which usually shows up in their attendance record. So I brought it before the board last night that I would be willing to take each month's attendance records and send out "we miss you" cards to all those members who had missed 4 Sundays in a row. And I was pounced on. Everyone thought that was such a great idea and they were really excited about the project. Ken even said he would put it in the budget so I could buy cards and stamps since I told them I just wouldn't be able to do it financially on my own. So when I got home I wrote out 16 cards and have them ready to mail today. We had more missing than I wrote out cards for but I didn't have addresses for some. Carl had mentioned that when I saw how many there were, maybe I'd change my mind but he said I could be selective. So what I did was go through the list and pull out all those who are actual church members (as opposed to regular visitors) and then from that list I pulled out all those I had addresses for. That brought me down to the 16. I think I will enjoy doing this each month. It's not a lot of work (it took me a little over an hour last night) and I think it will benefit the congregation. Besides everyone likes to receive cards in the mail. I will keep you in the loop with this new project. My biggest problem with sending cards is that I usually want to mail them the day or day after I find out a card needs to be sent and so far that has worked out to mean an extra trip to the Post Office, which I'd rather not have. Gasoline is closing in on $3.40 a gallon and my old Cadillac is not exactly an economy car.
Pepper's rabies shot and license is due today but I can't manage it this month. I'll just have to be late on it and pay the late fee when I can get his shot and take care of the license fee. This month we just don't have it.
I need to really get in and clean house again. AND I NEED TO WASH MY CAR!!! It's been weeks! Ever since Michael brought the bus back from San Francisco and parked it in the driveway! Of course it didn't help that the weather turned colder either. And we're supposed to have rain tomorrow but I'm still going to see if I can get Michael to move the bus and I will wash my car rain or no rain.
Well, I better get things done around here and get to the Post Office with all my cards I made out last night. I hope these cards will let the people know that they are loved and missed here at S.A.C.C.C. I just hate the thought of someone slipping through the cracks and not getting the love and concern they deserve. We are all, each and every one of us, the body of Christ and we have to look after one another. That's the way the New Testament Church was formed. And I see no reason to change it.
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