Two Funerals. . .

Yesterday there were two funerals.

One was witnessed by much of the world. The famous, the rich, the infamous and all in between came to the funeral to say their last goodbye. The streets were lined with people wishing they, too, could be a part of the services inside. Crowds gathered in front of almost every television in every public venue to watch the publicized farewell of the well-known entertainer.

He spent his life dancing and singing. He also spent his life causing people to question his goodness. Some absolutely believe he was a good man. Some absolutely believe he was not.

But there was another funeral yesterday. Family and friends attended the funeral of a gracious, caring Southern lady. While there were some there that might have a degree of what is called famous, by the standards of the other funeral, there were no famous personages there. The casket was not covered in gold. Well known singers did not perform tearfully at the service.

Adele spent her life caring for others. She spent her young adult years caring for her daughter with Down's Syndrome. She volunteered what spare hours she had with several charities and her church. She spent later years caring for an ailing husband with a heart condition. She helped teach family members the Lebanese dishes of their heritage. She lived her life in view of what she could do for others. There is no one who knew her that questions her goodness. "She was always gracious." "She was always a lady." "She was such a sweet woman." These are comments I overheard from others as I walked among those mourning her passing.

Two funerals, two very different individuals. One who so richly deserves the praise of the world that she didn't receive yesterday. One who may deserve the censure from the world he didn't receive yesterday, it is not for me to know that. But there is One who does know, and His judgement is right and true. And I know Adele will stand before Him and receive the praise from those lips from whom it will matter the most and hear these words,

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant" Mat 25:21

"Everyday's a good day. . ."

At the convalescent center where we do chapel services each Sunday, there is a sweet lady who invariably will say at some point in the service, "Everyday is a good day. . .", then pauses before she finishes her sentence, ". . .when you know the Lord."

This dear lady has been in a wheelchair for as long as we have known her. She doesn't always remember our names. On some Sundays she doesn't seem to remember that she has been in that chapel before, because she will mention with a voice of surprise, "Isn't this a beautiful chapel!" But she knows this, if you know the Lord, He will be faithful in your life and "everyday is good."

My glance happened to fall upon this verse the other day,

"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. " 2 Timothy 4:17

Here Paul is discussing how Alexander the coppersmith had done him "much evil". It is clear from the context of the chapter that this situation had been very hurtful to Paul and possibly to his reputation. At first no one stood with him. "Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me..."

Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego (or as they were known by their mommas, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were treated badly by someone else. They had stood up to a king and were being thrown in a furnace for their faith in the Lord. But the furnace didn't burn them, it didn't singe their hair or cast on them the smell of smoke. And they weren't there alone. Notwithstanding... "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. " Daniel 3:25

Are you in a furnace today? Are you in a place were someone is doing you "much evil"? Do you feel alone? The heat of the fire is not there to harm you, but rather to refine you as gold, as the old hymn speaks:

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"

Never fear that you are going to the place of refinement alone. Never believe for a moment that you face the trials without the One who is called the "Man of Sorrows".

He is that One in the fire with Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He is the One standing by Paul and strengthening him, and He is standing by you.

He is in you and you in Him if you have believed in Him as Savior and Lord, and never again will you be alone. Never again will you face a trial without His strength, His power and His quickening.

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather
glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me. "
2Corinthians 12:9

(Dedicated to Mrs. McCaskey, who never fails to make me smile.)

Looking For and Hasting Unto. . .

The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) sets standards for healthcare organizations and issues accreditation to organizations that meet those standards. JCAHO periodically conducts surveys at each institution to verify that the organization complies with the standards and continuously makes efforts to improve the quality of care and level of services it provides.

Our hospital is waiting for such a survey. No one knows when the surveyors will come. It can happen at anytime and we have been trained to be prepared at any given moment. Each employee is expected to know the standards and perform by them in their daily activities on a routine basis. Still, there is a certain amount of apprehension involved when a survey is due and still pending. Every day you wonder, "Will they come today?" "Are we ready?" When the surveyors come, you hope and pray that all is in order and that the recommendations for improvement are few, or even better, are none.

A JCAHO survey is one of the biggest events a hospital faces. Yet, for all of us, a bigger event waits in the future. Like the JCAHO survey, we have no idea when it will happen, and it behooves us to be ready, to be prepared and to be "looking for and hasting unto..."

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;

Image by SiamEye via Flickr

in the which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,
the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons
ought ye to be
in all holy conversation and godliness,
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
wherein the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to His promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that ye look for such things,
be diligent that ye may be
found of Him in peace,
without spot, and blameless."
2Pe 3:9-14

Gods Leading. . .

How do we know for certain God's leading in our lives? How can we be sure God is leading us along one path or another?

I am not asking that simply to ask the question. There is something in my life that I feel like I would like to do, but I am not certain it is the Lord's will for my life. It will take time and energy to do and to do well. I will be accountable to many people to do this to my very best ability if I take this responsibility upon myself. I do not want to tread down a path that is not the Lord's leading.

I asked my husband. He thinks the endeavor itself is a wonderful idea. Is he certain the Lord is leading ME to do it? No. Is he certain the Lord is leading me NOT to do it? No.

So, how do we know the Lord's leading in our lives. First of all, we realize that every impression, every idea, may not be the prompting of the Lord. As Scrooge answered when asked why he doubted his senses in seeing Jacob Marley's ghost, "Because," said Scrooge, "a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!" Impressions must not be taken as fact on their sakes alone.

Next, we should compare any thought, any impression, any idea with the Word of God. How does it stand up to Scripture? Is there any part of it that clearly contradicts the Scriptures? If so, we can be sure that it cannot be the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would not lead us to do something clearly opposite from the teaching of the Scriptures.

We can also ask our Christian friends, our pastor, those we respect in the Lord. The Bible says in Proverbs, "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14) What do the majority of these respected Christians think?

We should also spend a considerable time in prayer over the matter, asking the Lord to enlighten any area of darkness in our understanding of the matter. We should make sure our hearts are open to correction in the matter and that we are listening to the still small voice and not the loud, screaming shouting.

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD:
and he delighteth in His way."
Psalm 37:23