Worth repeating...

A fun praise song "screams" out, "Tell the world that... tell the world that... tell the world that JESUS LIVES!


So should we all be standing on the street corners shouting that reality that JESUS LIVES and that HE DIED AND ROSE AGAIN FOR ALL!  Some would say, "why not?" - maybe that's what we should all say... and do, for that matter.


Regardless, our responsibility is to tell the good news.  I love the verses in Deuteronomy 6 - "These commandments that give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up...."  sounds to me like a constant "telling"...


And then, Jesus in his final words to his disciples, told them, "go and make disciples, baptize them, and teach them MY commands..."


So what shall we tell??  Maybe, for me, it has become the sharing of stories and circumstances in my life that I can so clearly see God's hand, and God's leadership, and God's sovereignty.  Many of you know that our family has been praying for 10 years now, that Frank's back would be healed, and to this date, that prayer has been answered with, "Not now"... I'm not sure if that means not until Heaven or just not now.  I have to decide in the midst of that prayer NOT being answered in the way that I desire, what do I do with that?  I, we, still walk each day by faith believing that God IS sovereign - by the way, sovereign simply means "supreme in power or authority".  HE is supreme, and we believe HE has all the authority.


We really didn't have a place to live.  The house we were renting had sold; we had depleted our equity from the sale of our home, we were down to 7 days left to move.  So, D and A (sweet family members) offered that we move into their basement for "whatever time we needed".  Not the answer we were thinking... but an answer to our immediate need.


The day before we were to move, amidst all the boxes, a call from a friend came.... about a house that was fully furnished... for sale... needed occupants to keep an eye on things... might we be interested?  How do you graciously explain that, for the time being, there really was no money for rent.  The answer was quick - no problem, didn't really need rent, just occupants. 


Seriously???  Mollie was 15 at the time, and like any normal teenage girl, her concern about our planned living arrangement was that the basement didn't have a bathroom.  HOW would she get ready in the morning for school?


We all loaded in the car to go take a look at this offered house, keep in mind we didn't know the owners, and they didn't know us.. just heard about our situation...  I can't even describe to you how gorgeous this home was - and as we made our way upstairs to see the bedrooms, I began to weep - each of the 4 bedrooms had a lovely bathroom attached... :)


When we returned to the car, we talked about that wonderful verse in Ephesians 3: 20, "now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to HIs power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory..."  I tried to remind Mollie and all of us, that God cares about every detail of our lives.  He could have provided a house with 1 bathroom or a basement room with a bathroom upstairs, but in that time.. .that moment, HE provided immeasurably more...


I have shared that story often, mainly because the timing and graciousness of God was so tender for us in a time when we were so overwhelmed with circumstances.  Just to finish, we were honored to live in that home for a sweet 10 weeks... rent-free.   God is sovereign.


I recently saw a quote that has resonated in my mind, "God always answers our prayers the way we would ask if we knew what He knows."  I certainly would never presume to know what God knows, but I do believe that as we know and trust Him more fully, our desires and our prayers will be affected and even tendered toward His heart. 


So... tell the world... your story... it is worth repeating...