Give Me a “Sign”…

Dear Lord; Happy Wednesday Father!

I Father, as You know, am a creature of habit.

Every day during the work-week, I leave my house and travel a quiet series of back roads to reach my office.  There’s only a few “blips” of significant traffic at the major intersections, and other than that it’s a generally straightforward ride.

One day last week however, I needed to make a stop before going in to the office so instead of my normal, peaceful morning commute, I was forced to travel the main roads in through the city of Dover.  Now, Dover’s not exactly a sprawling metropolis by any means, but it’s certainly a good bit more hectic than my usual quiet country roads.

As I sat in the stop-and-go traffic, my mind drifted a bit and I found myself noticing how cluttered and complicated the roadways seemed as opposed to my normal route.  With all of the multi-way intersections, turn lanes, and bypasses, it dawned on me that without the plethora of road signs dotting the highway, it would be quite easy to get lost in the chaos…

Hmmm… Kind of like the “Road Signs” You’ve give us in Your Word Father…

No Stopping Any Time : “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

Yield : “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” – Proverbs 3:5-7 (ESV)

One Way : “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” – John 14:6 (ESV)

Water on Road : “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.” – Isaiah 43:2 (ESV)

Quiet Zone : “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!” – Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

Share the Road : “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 (ESV)

Thank You Father, for giving us Your Word to guide us safely along the road of life we travel.  I pray we see and recognize all Your “Signs”, and that at the end of our journey here on Earth, we haven’t made too many wrong turns along the way.  🙂

To close our conversation out today Lord, I want to take a moment to thank You for one of the biggest Blessings in my life.

Twelve years ago today Father, You brought into our lives a very special, and precious little boy named Jonathan.

He’s a remarkable child Lord; filled with a beautiful sense of wonder and imagination, and the light of Christ in his heart.  In this past year, I’ve seen him take amazing strides towards growing into the resilient, caring, compassionate, godly young man I know he’s capable of becoming.  Please continue to keep him in Your embrace Father; guide him, nurture him and bring to him that strength and peace that only Your presence delivers.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

God Isn’t Fooled

“Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?” – Isaiah 29:15-16 (ESV)

As the Prophet Isaiah warned against in this passage, while we may be able to conceal our true intentions and desires from others around us, God isn’t fooled.  Our hearts and minds are well known to the One who formed us, and when we seek to hide ourselves from His view, in fact we only deceive ourselves.

Too Deep for Words

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” – Romans 8:26-27 (ESV)

While all of us to some extent “know how” to pray, it can be difficult to understand exactly what we truly need to pray for.  We may think we know what we want, but in many cases receiving what we ask for would prove disastrous in some unseen way.  Thankfully, the Holy Spirit within us knows our true needs, our hearts and our desires, and can frame our petitions to our Heavenly Father accordingly.

Meditations Monday: Honored and Blessed

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

Well Father, it certainly was a busy weekend that You Blessed us with!  Between household chores that needed to be done, cooking (lots of cooking!), baking and time spent enjoying the fellowship and company of friends, our weekend was jam-packed and quite enjoyable.  Thank You so much for that time together Lord!

And on top of such a happy, hectic weekend Father, yesterday marks the one-year wedding anniversary of two wonderful friends of mine; Dan and Francine.  One year ago Sunday, I was both honored and Blessed to stand with them in Your presence, and pronounce them joined as man and wife.  It was a beautiful event Lord, and Your love was abundantly felt by all those in attendance.

“The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:20-24 (ESV)

From the first days of Adam in the Garden Father, You knew that it wasn’t good for man to be alone.  To bring him that “completeness” and give him a partner to share Your love, You drew from his flesh and breathed life into the one with whom Adam’s life was to be made whole; man and woman joined together in the presence of their Creator.

And so it continues to this day.  🙂

Heavenly Father,

We thank You Lord, for Your faithfulness in bringing together those whom You intend to be joined, and uniting them through Your gift of Holy Matrimony.  For those awaiting Your match for them Father; please grant them the patience, comfort and discernment to take the time necessary to know Your will.  For those that You’ve already brought together in that union, guide them Father; Bless them with the knowledge of Your will for them, the compassion to put their spouses first, and the discipline to cling to one another when difficulties occur.  Help us Lord, to recognize marriage for the Blessing that it is, and to honor You by holding it sacred as You intend.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

P.S. Happy Anniversary Dan and Francine!

The Most Important Christmas Gift

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”” – Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV)

As we look around this Holiday Season, we’re inundated by the world’s attempts to convince us that “more stuff” is what Christmas is all about.  When we take our sights off of the wondrous event this Holy Celebration remembers, we miss out on the most important Christmas Gift the world has ever known.

An Eternal Weight of Glory

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

As another year will soon be behind us, it’s only natural to ponder how our mortal shells have aged.  However for those who are in Christ, instead of focusing on our “outer selves” and their continuing decline, we can find joy in the knowledge that our spirits are in a state of constant renewal.  The things of this world may be fleeting, but when we have a relationship with Jesus we’re able to fix our sights on the eternal.