Adjusting to the New Normal

Following Dick's close call last week we've made some changes--some are temporary and others, we hope, will last until the Lord takes us home. The temporary ones involve physical restrictions imposed until his health is stabilized . . . like no lifting or straining, and getting plenty of rest. The permanent changes include things that will help him/us stay focused on things that matter in the long run.

We are spending more time in the Bible, reading, meditating, and listening to taped messages of well-known preachers. We are spending less time watching television.


We are spending more time considering God's eternal purposes and his power to bring them to completion. We are spending less time considering possible responses to the evil we see around us.


We are spending more time in prayer, committing ourselves to the One who judges justly. We are spending less time talking with others about the injustices in the world.


Some may consider this a cop out. They may say we are sticking our head in the sand, hoping the danger will go away, hoping danger won't see us because we can't see it. To that we'd have to say, "No, you are wrong. We are painfully aware of the danger out there--danger is crouching at our borders, lapping at our shores. But the tide has turned. Our Ship of State has run aground. Without God's help, we cannot turn this great country around.

Today, with the stakes so high, we are choosing to spend more time with God, humbly admitting that we need him. We need him to judge the evil that surrounds us and to give us strength and encouragement while we wait. We believe this is the most effective way to handle the problems of the world.


Of course, we'll still study the issues and vote. That is our privilege and responsibility as citizens of this once God-fearing country. But God has told us to "occupy until I come." We're taking that to mean we are to busy ourselves with what he deems important--doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.

Questions That Count for Eternity

In Bible study today, we wrestled with an esoteric question: When will we know it all, i.e., when will we be privy to God's wisdom . . . as soon as we are clothed with immortality? Or will God school us in the ages to come?

Since no living soul can answer such questions, it's useless to spend much time discussing them. Far better to simply trust that God will tell us what we need to know when we need to know it . . . and it will all be good.

Perhaps we could better invest our time finding out what pleases the Lord and making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:9-16). Evil? Watch the evening news on television. Read the morning paper. The world's a mess: what's wrong with people anyway?

Steve Green recorded a beautiful song, "People need the Lord." They need to hear the Good News that God loves them . . . that Jesus died for their sins and offers forgiveness, full and free.

Yet how will they hear unless someone tells them? Now this is a question we ought to answer, a question that counts for eternity. It's all part of trimming our wicks and occupying until He comes. Can you think of someone in your sphere of influence who needs the Lord? Who, besides yourself, can you count on to tell them?