Is your string securely tied?

IS YOUR STRING SECURELY TIED?

I recently heard a story about a little boy who was sailing his little sail boat in a pond in the park. He had tied a string to the boat so he wouldn't loose it, but it had come untied. The boat began to drift out further into the pond than the boy could reach and of course he became very upset. His father was watching the whole thing and walked up and began throwing large stones to the far side of the boat. The idea of course was that the splash and the ripples would begin to move the boat back towards the shore. Before long the boat was back within the reach of the boy and he was happy once again.

I wonder if sometimes that is how God works in our lives? We begin to drift away from him, fail to talk with him, fail to worship with his children, do we fail to live lives which would honor him. Then something happens to upset the calm waters of our lives, it makes a big splash and cause ripples. Hopefully these things will cause us to begin to drift back towards God. Do you think that God ever uses those bad or difficult things that happen in your life to get your attention and shove you back into his arms?

I think the problem is that sometimes our string becomes untied, we loose our anchor and we drift. We sometimes sing the old hymn, "Will your anchor hold", notice some of the words:

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.

The writer of the book of Hebrews uses this theme to assure us that we can trust in God. God never changes and never goes back on his word and is always there for us. Notice what the writer says: "God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls."(Hebrews 6:17-19, NLT)

Is your string securely tied? Will your anchor hold? Will you recognize that the ripples or storms taking place around you may be God trying to get your attention? If you are "fastened to the Rock," then you can speak the words of Psalms 23 with security and serenity of one whose father is watching over us. You can sing the words of the song knowing even the storms won't cause you to drift?

Fixing Bicycles and Thanksgiving

FIXING BICYCLES AND THANKSGIVING

I recently read a little story about a little girl that touched my heart. It seems that this little girl was late coming home for supper one evening. When she got home her parents were understandably upset. He questioned her about why she had been so late, after all they had worried about her!

The Little girl said, "I stopped to help Marcie, she had a wreck on her bicycle and it was broken." Her father said, "But you don't know anything about fixing bicycles!" To which the little girls replied, "I know, but stopped to help her cry."

Now you may or may not know anything about fixing bicycles, or cars, or washing machines, or refrigerators or much of anything else. But when friends have broken things in their lives and are in despair, we can help them with that! The truth is that you are rarely in the position of being able to fix the brokenness of someone's life, but you can help them cry about it. You can encourage them and help them through the hard times in life!

Paul wrote in Romans 12:15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." (KJV). I kind of like a modern translation of that verse that says, "Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy: share tears when they're down." (MSG)

We are entering into that time of the year when you are more apt to notice the sorrow or rejoicing of those around you. You may take more notice of people (or groups) trying to relieve the difficulties of those who are struggling to make it in or world. People take up collections of money, food and clothing to help those who might be less fortunate than we. They try to help folks who are struggling just to make ends meet. So count your blessings and do what you can, but if you have nothing to help with physically, then share their sorrow or suffering; cry with them!

On the other hand we are also entering into a time of rejoicing! It is a time of thanksgiving when people take time to count their blessings, thank God. I wonder however, if we rejoice in the right things? I read of an old man who was very poor. His cloths were tattered and his shoes had holes in them. Some people who lived near by gathered some clothes and several pairs of shoes and left them on his doorstep one night. The next morning he ran to his friend's house praising God. He said, "Rejoice with me !" "God is so good, someone left clothes and shoes on my doorstep last night and I met some folks this morning who were in need of them."

So, sometimes we cry and sometimes we rejoice with folks, even if we don't necessarily understand why they are crying or rejoicing. Psalm 92:1 Tells us, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD…" (KJV) I may not always understand it, but I believe it anyway! Let's all do it now!

Russ Lawson, Messages From The Heart