Every Detail His Design The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need. Psalm 23:1 ESV Drifts of snow on lonely hills Pot-holed city streets Blossoming of lilacs Each keep their chosen beat To the melody that God composed Through slow and racing days Each calling our attention To His almighty ways Yes - everything we need is ours But not all things we would Every detail his design Of all things for our good Every detail His Design by Peter Caligiuri copyright 2021 all rights reserved
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 ESV
When I was a young boy I hated moving. It wasn’t so much the packing of my little suitcase or the new address or bed that bothered me. What I struggled with was being the new kid (again) with not fitting in, not knowing where my seat would be in class and wondering if I could make friends. It felt like my life was just one big problem that no one knew the answer for. Now that I am an old guy I still have problems but I have found that I can bring them to God. But today, while I am busy asking in faith for God to help me with my problems and give me blessings; it occurs to me how little I have paused to use my faith to ask for others. What kinds of mountains do the people around me face? I really admire one guy from our men’s group who, always asks His waiter or waitress “How can I pray for you today?” Maybe you and I don’t do that very often because we have been afraid of what people might say, or maybe we have just been too busy with our own problems.
As Christmas nears why not ask for God to help us see into someone else’s world? After all God saw us. He came and to Bethlehem became a part of our world. He willingly chose to be the new kid on the block, to not fit in, to be rejected and to die in order for our mountain of sin to be moved. What mountains are our friends and neighbors facing? Why not give them a Christmas gift of faith and come and be a part of moving their mountains today?
And he dreamed and behold there was a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12 ESV
If you or a loved one have been living in long term care throughout this pandemic it might seem like a long climb up some impossible mountains from in front of you today to get back to normal. Today let’s look at someone in the Bible who also had a long way to climb. Jacob had lied to his father, tricked his bother into giving up his inheritance and was in the process of running for his life. The first night of his journey Jacob found himself out in the wilderness, without even a tent for shelter. He was so tired that he lay down with his head on a rock and fell fast asleep. That night God sent Jacob an intriguing dream. In spite of being totally undeserving of mercy God chose to show Himself to Jacob standing at the top of a staircase or a ladder to Heaven. I always thought this was a pretty neat story but never got the part about what it had to do with me.
Did you know that the Bible is just like Jacob’s ladder? It is an amazing book! First it reaches from Heaven all the way to earth. It is the only thing we can hold in our hands and know that it came from God. Second, just like the ladder in Jacob’s dream, God is standing at the top of it telling us of His loving plan for our lives. Like Jacob, even when it seems as if we are left alone God comes and reminds us that He is with us. Last of all our ladder is filled with angels. Some are climbing up carrying our prayers to God and others are coming down with God’s answers when we are in trouble. Most of all we have the Bible; which is God’s message that we can trust Him with our lives. It reminds us that there is nowhere we can go that His grace towards us through Jesus Christ cannot reach and that H e will help us to climb impossible mountains- even in long term care!
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