Pastor’s Corner

So, Which do you think is the strongest insect in the world? Is it a Leafcutter ant; Horned dung beetle; Mosquito; or the Japanese giant hornet? Make a guess, I must admit I was totally fooled by these ones.

On the lighter side. What do you get when you cross a parrot with a centipede? Yep you guessed it; A walkie talkie! That's better than a talkie walkie, right?

Wednesday 9/6

Eccl. 4:6 "And yet, Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind."

Prov. 16:8 affirms this thought, "Better to have little, with godliness (quietness), than to be rich and shrouded with dishonesty (chasing the wind). "

Solomon here is recommending calmness, moderation than upheaval & plenty. For sure, When we put our trust in the Lord & faithfully walk in His path, the benefit is a restful confidence, rather than a restless uncertainty.

As we look about our land we see this very restlessness on every hand. That is the way life is when our total trust & confidence is not placed on our Heavenly Father, but rather in our own ways. When you have time look up this phrase "Trust in the Lord" for you will find this phrase spoken of more than 50 times & in a closely translated terms another 30 times.

Now this doesn't mean idle living, with no effort, but rather all efforts being expended are in harmony with Him. We should rather "be weary in well doing" as Gal. 6:9 says & then goes on to say, "for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not"

It is so easy to comfort ourselves when we are a whirlwind of activity, but yet not taking the time to trust in God, as the verse speaks, "both hands ... chasing the wind." Rather our search, or efforts must be directed by Him, our every effort guided by our Heavenly Father.

Turmoil is the consequence when we labor outside of His will. Oh my dear one, take time to daily stop, and rest in His ways. Then when uncertainty grabs your attention, stop & redirect your path to Him. For He will give hope when things seem hopeless, rest when your life is in turmoil, confidence when you are filled with fear, certanty when uncertainty is all around.

I will never forget my friend & mentor and his words of comfort, (Rick Brooks), his words of confidence were these, Ben, what's the worst that can happen? Now, lets stop for just a second & give these fears to God. Then we would pray, & the rush of His grace into our lives would bring rest & trust in Him.

One day when I was attending a pastors conference 150 miles away from home, with my car 50 miles away in a mall parking lot, my name came over the announcement board to check in with the information desk. Upon arriving there I was given number to call, and those words spoken to me were, your daughter has been burned & is not expected to live please come back home as soon as you can.

I was paralyzed with those words, I couldn't think, the sound of several thousand pastors were silenced to me, I just stood there in the middle of this hubbub, I had shut down, I was filled with fear & anguish. Then out of no where I heard the voice of my friend who I had not spoken to for over a year, said "Some people will do anything to get their name on the board."

At that moment he could sense the utter decimation that was surrounding me. He said Oh Ben, lets stop & pray for His grace in this. He didn't yet know the message of that phone call but he knew it was desperately bad news. After we prayed he guided me towards the phone bank. I was still struck with total fear & overwhelmed. I was without words, I couldn't even make sense, so he called the number I had called, the church office & the secretary told him that fateful message.

I don't know what he said, only that he called the airlines & made a reservation to fly back to Fresno asap. He took me to his car, spoke words of comfort, walked me into the airport desk, bought the ticket for that flight an then walked me to the airline gate. We sat down & then he wept & prayed with me, held my hand assured me and said those words, "What is the best thing that can happen."

I don't believe I have ever been so numb in my whole life, but the grace of God came overflowing on me as I sat in that plane. His words were "I will be with you". I remembered His words to me that early morning on the way to meeting & the bus to the pastors conference. Ex. 4:15 ... I will be with you ... and I will teach you what you shall do." At that time I had no idea what that totally meant.

As I arrived in Fresno the pastor of our church picked me up and we rushed to the hospital. As I walked into the burn waiting room there was Becky my beautiful wife, and a number of other people who at the moment were just a blur, but she was there (Becky) we clung to each other, cried out to God, pleaded for His healing & care for our baby girl.

Over the next torturous five week of codes, horrible desperate days, bad news, we began to know what it was to in the middle of the night lay on the floor, cry until you had no tears left, and pour out our weakness to the Father.Then to feel His grace for that time flow into our heart. Becky lost 15lbs in less than two weeks and was overwhelmed with sorrow.

One day while I went back home to pick up some things we needed. I was crying out to God for I feared I was losing not just my daughter but also the love of my life. That day our Father come to her in tenderness & comfort and His grace enveloped her in a way that neither she nor I can totally describe.

It was the miraculous hands of our Father speaking to us both in totally different places & He said "I will be with you & I will teach you what to do." I will bring healing no matter what the doctors do and you will see my hand of healing.

So Go With God my dear one for He will carry you through those seemingly impassable times (no that wasn't a wrong spelling. It was meant to be "impassible" for the enemy wants us to feel overwhelmed with these times of trouble. But dear one rest in Him, for He will walk you through whatever sorrow you face, whether it is today, tomorrow, or any other day in the future.

Trust in Him, for He will never fail.

If you have time listen to this You tube Andrew bird- When the world's on fire - Live from Americanafest