God Never Forgets You Not for a Moment!

I attended the All school Reunion for Blevins and it was their 100 year anniversary. The oldest alumnus present was James Thurman, 91 years old. Old friends and new alike were there. It was a great time and between all the laughter and reminiscing, it was a rousing success.

There were classmates and teachers there. There was even a lady who lives in my town and visits my office regularly. We were surprised to find each other at the same reunion. Both of us graduated from Blevins. We all wore name tags and it was a good thing! There were old neighbors who had gotten older, just like me. When we get older, it’s hard to realize who a person is, because time changes a lot of things. I didn’t recognize a couple of people, but when they spoke and we talked about it, I remembered them well.  I talked with one of my school teachers and he didn’t realize at first who I was either. All of the figuring out who people were and who spouses belonged to was lots of fun.

Already planning for next year’s reunion, the committee is looking at different places to have the event and different ways to cater it. We all agree that a little cooler air conditioning would be nice, but it was fun to have it in the elementary cafeteria where the students drew artwork and had it posted everywhere!  I am hoping that more of the “kids” my age will attend next year so that we can visit and reacquaint ourselves with one another. It’s been a long time for many of us between visits.

While recognizing folks doesn’t always come easy, there is One who never forgets who we are.  The Lord Himself knew us before the foundation of the world.  He knew us as infants, He knew us as youth and He still knows us – even though some of us have hair that is turning white and faces that are changing with age.  He can’t lose us in a crowd even if it’s a while between visits. His greatest desire is to keep sweet fellowship with us through His Son Jesus Christ.

Oh beloved, why not stop for a moment and have a little reunion with the Lord this morning? Run to His Word and see how much He loves you, how greatly He values you and how incessantly He desires to fellowship with you? In His eyes you are beautiful, you are perfect and you are just the way He remembers you. For He looks at you through eyes of eternal, unchanging, immutable love.  What a blessing to know that you don’t have to worry about a thing when spending time with the Lord. He accepts you just the way you are, He always knows you and He delights in your fellowship every chance He gets. Look into your yearbook, His Word, and see. All of His promises for every aspect of your life are there for you to receive. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s why a reunion with Him is so incredibly wonderful!

Psalm 139:1-3 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.   You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.

1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Isaiah 49:15 Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Looking for Sweet Fellowship? Break Open the Word with Friends!

We spent the entire week-end fellowshipping with old friends, new friends and family.  It was a very hectic week-end but a very blessed one.  A new friend from another country blessed us with his like-minded presence. Our pastor and his wife joined us and our guest for a meal and more fellowship, praise and worship and camaraderie.  Church was awesome and we topped it all off with a family birthday party for one of our grandsons. 

Yesterday, as we were wrapping up the week-end, words from the Apostle’s Creed came to mind. “The fellowship of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting”.  Truly this is the essence of the Christian life.  We partake of these blessings of God and we dispense them as well.  To enjoy our walk with the Lord should be a given. Fellowship with like-minded believers, sharing the Word, speaking the Word into others’ lives and worshipping together is such a wondrous thing. To walk in forgiveness gives us new life. To look forward to heaven where our earthly bodies will be resurrected to everlasting life is our hope for the future.   Truly the Christian life contains everything we need for our spiritual and physical life.

Oh beloved, I want to encourage you this morning! Seek out like-minded believers and fellowship with them. There is no sweeter fellowship than to break open the Bread of Life together.  Watch out for those who want to speak discouragement, dissention or put you in your place. Your place is at God’s banquet table!  Always remember, that repentance is an act of the heart and it brings closer fellowship to God!  Even when things are hard or you don’t hear anything positive in your life you can hold on to the fact that this life is not our home! All who have turned from their own way and accepted Christ will be resurrected to walk in heaven with our Lord forever!  You are loved, you are provided for and you have Good News to share with others!  And that’s truly all that really matters.

1 John 1:7  But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Romans 4:7 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.

Acts 26:18  to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in Me.

1 Peter 1:3 NAS Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

So Great a Cloud of Witnesses!

This morning as I was having my quiet time, God reminded me of some wonderful things He is doing in the lives of His beloved believers.

He gave us the wonderful Book of Remembrance, the Bible, which is full of witnesses to all of us. There's King David - his life reminds us His call is without repentance, namely who God puts a call on God puts a call on. He is also a reminder of the importance of repentance and of moving on with God. If you are one who is struggling with an issue or a problem right now, give it to Him, forsake it if it's in your power to do so and GO ON WITH GOD! He's standing in front of you, just ahead, waving you towards Him! I'm reminded of how much we hiked with our kids when they were little. A trip to Albert Pike with bologna sandwiches and cheap drinks was so fun! But, with little kids, they would stop and pick up a stone, or move a stick or see a butterly and try to run and catch it. We were often stopping, turning around and waving "Come on, this way, move it!" God is doing that with us! He's waving us on - quit looking at the sin or the problem you've put behind you - it's in the deepest ocean anyway. You can't really see it anymore, so move on with Him.

He has also given us home churches. Full of people who have walked with God for years. They know He is faithful and if you spend time with them, before long they are sharing just how faithful God has been. Talk to your oldest deacon and his wife. They will probably have a well of knowledge of God's work in the lives of His people.

He has given us friends. This is probably, at least for me, one of the most important relationships we can have. Proverbs 12:26 says "The righteous should choose his friends carefully for the way of the wicked leads them astray" In I Corinthians there's a verse that says "bad company corrupts good morals". (I quoted this one to my kids a lot when they were teenagers!) This doesn't mean we can never be around people who aren't Christians, obviously, but our closest, most influential relationships should be with people who know and love the Lord, or there will be consequences. We should choose to be around the highest quality people we can, the ones whose hearts are aimed toward God.

Danny and I have something extra special in our lives, through the ministry of Christian Motorcyclists Association. John Ogden and Becky are wonderful leaders who love God and love others. The board of directors are full of integrity and love. The folks who work "behind the scenes" are there by God's divine grace and direction. Then there are the regional evangelists, the state coordinators and so on. Wow, talk about a great cloud of witnesses! Everywhere we go in ministry for Him through CMA, we are blessed because others have gone before us and prepared the way. "one plants another waters but the Lord gives the increase".

So, you beloved ones, as you seek God, as you go through trials or temptations or snares, remember, you have a cloud of witnesses as well. Talk with God, seek His Word, fellowship with the strongest believers you can find. And, come on, let's get on down the road with Jesus!