Getting Set Free From Myself

“The wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him” (Eccl. 8:5-6).

Right now, my trouble lies heavy on me. And in the midst of my trouble, I pray for a wise heart. I want to know the proper time and the just way in this. I have despaired at times. But I have been comforted by remembering that God knows what is happening, he has allowed what is happening, and he can enable me to serve and please him in the midst of it. And, although I have missed this point up till now, he has allowed this trouble to lie heavy on me for my sake, so that he can take me deeper, draw me closer, make me stronger, open my eyes wider. How can I doubt his gentle, faithful care for me? And so I want to allow this trial to drive me to him, to lean more heavily on him, to learn to let him live in and through me.

And that is when I realize how much of my life is lived in my own thinking and power. I get along pretty well without him. But pretty well (according to my own or the worlds evaluation) falls far, far below God’s mighty power and eternally outpouring of joy and fullness.

“Thank you, Lord. Yes, I thank you, Lord, for this trial. Thank you for freeing me from myself and my small thinking and my mediocre living. Thank you for pushing out of my limited self by giving me more than I can handle. What a freedom!”

The Arrest of Polycarp

Here is an amazing account of what happened when Polycarp was arrested before his martyrdom. This is from Eusebius' Church History.

"Soon the pursuers arrived and arrested two of the servants there, one of whom, under torture, showed them to Polycarp's quarters. It was night, and they found him lying in an upper bedroom. He could have moved to another house, but he had refused, saying, 'God's will be done.' When he heard that they had come, he went down and talked with them in such a cheerful, serene manner that they were astounded in view of his old age and confident air and wondered why there was such anxiety to arrest an old man of such character. He ordered that a table be set for them and invited them to dine with gusto, asking only for a single hour to pray undistrubed. This granted, he stood up and prayed, filled with the grace of the Lord, to the astonishment of those present, many of whom grew distressed that so dignified and godlike a man was going to his death."

How God Uses Resources in Our Lives

I just upload a message from Sunday, July 11 from 1 Kings. You can subscribe, download, or listen from the audio player in the right sidebar. Following the story of how God provided for Elijah, we observe several principles of how God uses resources in our lives:

1. God uses resources in our lives to provide for our needs (vv. 1-6).

2. God uses resources in our lives to direct us (vv. 7-9).

3. God uses resources in our lives to increase fellowship with others (vv. 10-16).

4. God uses resources in our lives to demonstrate his power (vv. 14-16).

Garden Update

Our garden has done very well this year . . . and so have the weeds. Fortunately, our vegetables have paid little attention to the weeds and just kept right on growing and producing. Here is a basket of our harvest a couple of weeks ago.

Our tomato plants did way better this year than last. Maybe we put some more love into them . . .

Here is a shot of our little country girl, Kathryn.

“Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the present determines how those same people will view the past.”~ George Orwell, 1984 (1949)