Don't Get Too Comfy

All of us like to be comfortable and there are not too many folks I have met that love to suffer or be uncomfortable. Those who like to suffer are not quite right. People like to be comfy at home, school, work and every place else. People who go to church want to be comfortable as well. The church we visit on our trips to Charlotte North Carolina has a great pastor. He told the folks that if they came to the church to be comfortable they came to the wrong church. He said he wasn't there to make them comfortable but to make them feel conviction. God never promised that as believers we would feel comfy but we would endure hardships and trials. So I always wonder why people are so concerned about their comfort. Jesus sure wasn't.

I am reminded that when Jesus came to this world that he did not come to be served but to serve. He was always doing things for other people and never worried about what he was getting from them. He never lived in a comfortable home or stay in the Ritz Carlton or Holiday Inn when he traveled. He lived a simple life without the comforts the religious leaders enjoyed. He never complained or griped to his heavenly Father because he was uncomfortable. His focus was on doing the work that God had ordained for him to do. He walked everywhere he went and never had the luxury of a carriage or a horse to get from place to place. We often complain when the AC doesn't work in church or if the heat is too high. We don't want to be asked to do anything that might take us out of our comfort zone. The problem is God wants us out of that comfort zone and for us to allow him to use us to fulfill his plans for our lives. Ask a missionary that goes to some foreign nation to live and minister to some newly discovered tribe. They learn to depend on God for everything they need. Heidie and I were asked to go minister to innner city children. Talk about getting out of a comfort zone! We grew to love the kids even with all their problems. If we didn't step out of our comfort zone, we would have missed out on so many blessings because we didn't speak in the lives of these kids. One day we will see the fruits for our willingness to get uncomfortable and see lives we touched.

We here in the United States are blessed with many comforts that most people in the world don't enjoy. We need to be thankful for what we enjoy but we need to remember we are blessed to be able to bless others! It's time to get out of our comfort zones and let God challenge us and our faith. Let's change our world!

More Than Groundhog Day

Today is February 2nd and most folks think about it being Groundhog Day 2011. They wonder whether or not the groundhog will see his shadow or not and if there will be 6 more weeks of winter or an early spring.(For those who are not thinking clearly, the first day of spring is in 6 weeks so who cares what the groundhog sees!) But for me, this day has much more meaning than what some critter does. This is my father's birthday but that isn't even that important to me. I really didn't know him since he left us when I was two. The important thing about this day for me is that on this day in 1969 my mother was healed of MS at a faith healing service in Enola Assembly of God in Enola Pennsylvania. She went to church in a wheelchair but walked home. That was turning point for us as a family. In October of that year, my brother and I came to live with her and my sister permanently. So each year on Groundhog Day I am reminded of God's grace, mercy and healing power and how he blessed our family.

Today I am reminded of how God intervened into my life and the life of my mother. I guess I am aware of how much God loves people and is still in the business of healing. He just doesn't heal people physically but he also heals them emotionally, relationally and fiancially. He is and has been and will be in the healing profession because he never changes. When he sent his only Son to die on the cross for our sins, he also provided for our healing. He tells us that by "His stripes we are healed". God cares about every aspect of our lives and is more than able to meet every need. He has no limitations except those we place on him or that would contradict his nature. There are those who think that he doesn't exist, doesn't care about people or can't do anything about our situations no matter what they are. Folks fail to go to the one who can give them what they need. Doctors practice mecidine while God has it down to perfection. Some question God's healing power because sometimes the people we pray for die from their illnesses or injuries anyway. When my mother passed away from cancer, we prayed she would be healed but God did heal her. He didn't heal her in the way we wanted. She left this earthly existence and is now enjoying real life without sickness, pain or any hurts. If God would have healed her cancer here, she would still have had things to face and endure until she did die. So God gave her the ultimate healing. One day we will all experience that same healing if we know Christ and are ready when we depart this life.

Let me encourage you to let your faith be in the One who does not fail but is Faithful in name and character. He still sits on the throne waits for us to come to him with our hearts and our needs. I pray that one day you will have a day like this in your life to remind you of God's faithfulness!