Shade Tree Wisdom 6/24/08

A wonderful morning, this, for walking. Quiet, several sprinklers at work, birds enjoying the day and twittering away. No traffic at all. Not a car on the street while I was out. No one to wave to. Nice.

I keep thinking of last Sunday and the growth of the Church. We had the privilege of ordaining Ryan Honeycutt into the holy ministry. I thought of St. Paul. He had his young pastors to teach and mentor, Timothy and Titus. The Pastor who preached for this service was the one who confirmed this young man as a youth. Now he sees him entering the field as one of God’s chosen to “preach the Word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, correct, admonish. . . in righteousness”. And God willing, next Sunday he will be installed as associate Pastor in Ohio in the Church that sent him his call.

And the world, well, maybe a bit of song performed in The King and I sets the stage. The young king sings:
“When I was a boy, world was a better pot,
What was so, was so, what was not, was not.
Now I am a man, world has changed a lot,
Some things nearly so,
Others not.
It’s a puzzlement.

That seems to describe the thinking today. It’s floundering. It’s settled into a morass of despond that leads to despair. The Psalm speaks like this – and I pray every Christian has this sort of mind-set too – “I have chosen the way of faithfulness. I set Your rules before me, I cling to your testimonies, O Lord let me not be put to shame’ Psalm 119.30-31.

He is sure of what he believes. There is no “some things nearly so, others not” in this sort of mind. He knows this Word is “quick, sharper than any two-edged sword, discerning even the thoughts and intents of the heart” Heb. 4,12.

So he is serene in his life, knowing that the Lord is in it, and leading always to the best for us. What blessing. In our younger days, on rare occasions we would stop somewhere for an ice cream cone. I would ask, “What do you want?” And Ruth often said, “Surprise me”. She trusted me, and was never disappointed, she claims.

We believe God sent His Son to die in our place. Our sins have been paid. Now we often don‘t really trust, do we? Yet we know what He says, “My thought are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” Is, 55,8. The Bible is filled with God doing the unexpected, folding back the waters for them to pass safely, forgiving the sinner, healing the blind man, pointing to the Father, caring for His children.

The Psalm also said, “My times are in your hands”. 31,15. We walk by His leading, and we walk surely, for God delights in us. That world needs to hear this sure Word too, and that is why God, through His Church, keeps on preparing and sending your men into the harvest field.

So we may not know what tomorrow will bring, but we know Who will be there to bless us.
GPD 6/24/08