God's People Gunned Down

The recent events in Charleston, South Carolina had a big impact on me.  A man walked into the Emanuel A.M.E. church and gunned down people who had gathered to study God's Word.  The relatives of those killed have shown great forgiveness to the shooter.  The voices of the community have drowned out those who would have used the tragedy for their own glorification.  Last night they gathered on a bridge and joined hands in unity.  What a gunman intended for evil has been used for good.   The people of the "Holy City" have been drawn together and the world has seen the power of the Lord.

This morning I read a post on the Desiring God blog about how God uses what we might see as evil for good.  It is worth reading.

Christmas Morning

Since I last posted, I have moved to a small farmhouse in the country.  This is Christmas morning.  I woke before sunrise, and took my usual position on the back steps with my first cup of coffee.  I love to sit there in the morning.  As the sun rises, the animals in the area greet the morning.  The roosters crow, the cattle moo, and the donkeys bray.  This morning I was reminded that these were the first sounds that Jesus heard on the morning of His birth.

I pray that you and your family will have a merry Christmas, and may God bless you in the new year.

Moral Inheritance

I have been thinking about the changes in our society, and I don't like it. We are not treating each other with respect. There does not seem to a moral guideline, people are living by their own rules and out to please only themselves. People seem to be out for personal satisfaction, at the expense of others. We are so politically correct, that everyone's viewpoint is correct, there is no right or wrong. When I look at the results of these attitudes, we have constant disagreements, and people's greed has led to enormous consequences for our economy because everyone wants what is best for themselves.

Although the move has been happening for the last fifty years, it seems to be accelerating in the last ten years. This is shocking to me, as our society had a moral standard for centuries reinforced by the culture. This has led me to question why so much has changed in the last ten years. My conclusion is that the generation that was raised during the great depression is dying out, and is no longer in leadership. The baby boomers are now in charge, in politics, business and the church. We have long been known as a selfish generation and we have rebelled against the moral standards of our parents and have not raised our children in the church to give them a moral guideline for life. Is lack of integrity the result or our moral inheritance to our children?

My greatest concern is that the changes are happening in the church. If the church cannot provide leadership, where will the coming generations find hope. In the midst of these thoughts, I saw hope. I was talking with a young man of 20 over the weekend who is called to action, politically, spiritually and morally. He gave me hope for the coming generations. Thank God there have been a few parents of the baby boomer generation who have raised their children well. Their inheritance to their children is far greater than wealth.

Test of Faith

Yesterday was overwhelming. In a matter of hours the well stopped working, Grace's elbow swelled to the size of a tennis ball, and my father had to be admitted to the hospital. It was more than I could handle, not feeling well myself, so I had to put them all in God's hands.

Now, 24 hours later, I sit here in amazement at God's faithfulness. Dad has the best doctor he has ever had at the hospital, and appears to be recovering. Grace's vet saw us right away, and did not charge for the visit. Finally, the well is working again.

Praise God!

Purpose in Life

If we look for the purpose of life in ourselves, we will only find emptiness. Only in faithfulness and obedience to Christ can we find fulfillment. The Bible gives us the all that we need to know to find joy, peace and purpose.

In Titus, the Bible gives clear instruction for older adults:

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Titus 2:2-5 NIV