Thursday, April 24, 2008

 

Extraordinary Mothers’ Day For Local Woman

I was staring at a miracle. Through the plastic window of the incubator I admired Jeremiah as he slept. Weighing in at two pounds, three ounces, and measuring fourteen inches long, he was the smallest human being I had ever laid eyes on. He could have rested comfortably in the palm of my hand. As my wife and I stood with his mother, we expressed our amazement. We all knew that Jeremiah was alive only because of a series of genuine miracles and the hard work of many diligent people in the medical profession. God and mankind, working together, saved the life of an eternal soul.
Several weeks earlier Jeremiah’s identical twin had died in his mother’s womb. Because the twins shared one umbilical cord, and since his brain, heart and lungs had been in great duress, the doctors had warned his parents that he would most likely die within a few days of his sibling. The situation was serious. The only reasonable thing to do was to pray for a miracle. His parents and their friends and acquaintances asked God to intervene. As a result, over the next few months, God did a series of medical miracles for which He was now receiving all the glory. After only 25 weeks in the womb, Jeremiah had dropped into position and slipped bravely out into a dangerous world.
With much diligent parenting and many more prayers, Jeremiah, his parents, and his three sisters have pushed through to a life of normalcy. Jeremiah passed a major milestone a couple of weeks ago - he was taken off the last of his medications. Soon he will be ready to leave his home and venture out into the real world. All of this, just in time for Mothers’ Day.
Many families will be celebrating Mother’s day on May 11th, but few will have such a story to tell as Jeremiah’s parents. He will attend church for the first time in his life this Mothers’ Day, and his mother and father will be publicly sharing the details of their extraordinary journey. They will be celebrating the many challenging events they encountered and the obvious divine interventions they witnessed. It will be a time when many friends and family will once again stand in awe at the God who makes all births possible. It will be a time when they will pause to consider the power of a praying mother and father. Many prayers of thanksgiving will be offered up to the God who still does the impossible.
Perhaps you and your family are facing circumstances that are beyond your control. Maybe you need a miracle. God is still in the miracle business. Prayer still works. Jeremiah is living proof.

 

The Apple of His Eye

Nestled between Boston and Springfield, on the Southern border of Massachusetts, is the quaint, New England town of Southbridge. Because for many years American Optical (once the largest company of its kind) based its operations out of Southbridge, the town earned the nickname: “The Eye of the Commonweath.” American Optical has since taken its business elsewhere, but Southbridge has continued to make history in the area of optics – fiber optics. There are several fiber optic companies in town. Some have dubbed Southbridge the birthplace of fiber optics. But the nickname, “eye of the common wealth,” still stands.

Southbridge’s nickname reminds me of another -- God’s nickname for His people. Several times in Scripture those who believed in God as “the one and only God” were referred to as “The Apple of His Eye.” One psalmist prayed, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,” (Psalms 17:8) This endearing term made reference to the most important and most carefully guarded portion of the eye – the pupil.

God watches over his own as carefully as a person guards his very eyesight. Like a mother hen or a she-bear protects her young, God protects those who put their trust in Him. The Living Bible says it like this: "The Lord of Glory has sent me against the nations that oppressed you, for he who harms you sticks his finger in Jehovah's eye! I will smash them with my fist and their slaves will be their rulers! Then you will know it was the Lord Almighty who sent me.” (Zechariah 2:8-9) Throughout history God’s careful watch over His own was demonstrated:

That is just a sampling of the many historically-proven Bible stories which illustrate His protective care.

Secular history, as well as other portions of Scripture, help us understand that even though God protects his own, He does not completely shield them from hurt and pain. Rather, ultimately, God keeps score. Sometimes He evens the score in “time”; other scores will be settled in “eternity.” The beauty of this truth is that those of us who trust Him can relax. Vengeance belongs to God, (Romans 12:19) so His children are free to let go of the offenses that people and life bring our way. People may mistreat us, but God will not fail us.

It is impossible to fathom just how much He loves His own! The Good News is that if you can truly believe in Jesus Christ and follow His plan for living, you will free Him to guard you like you were his very own eyesight. No one could be safer than the apple of His eye.

If you are wondering how God’s protection plays out in real life, there’s a great historical account of that in the Bible. The book of Acts tells the story of the disciples and other first-century Christians who put their trust in Christ. Their faith led them to repentance, baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. They encountered life’s challenges knowing that God was on their side. Great miracles took place on their behalf. They became known as Christians.

We live in troubled times. The world economy is uncertain, world governments and world religions are volatile. How comforting it is to have the Creator of the universe watching over you in times like these. I am wondering if there might be some folks who live in the “eye of the commonwealth” who would be interested in trusting God more completely so they can be “the apple of His eye.”


Monday, April 14, 2008

 

Abstain? Preposterous!

I genuinely appreciate the many dedicated professionals who speak reasonable caution into my life. Please allow me to thank a few of the professions which, because of their real-world experience, encourage me to abstain from things that would be harmful. Forgive me as I also mention a few tongue-in-cheek observations and then pose a few questions to some who are giving bad advice.

Let me start with you, Dr. Dentist. Thank you for reminding me to brush, floss and chew sugar free gum. I must note, however, that if I chose the lazy way you could just fill my cavities or pull my teeth. You could fix it, couldn't you?

Thank you, Dr. Psychiatrist, for recommending that I avoid caffeine, read good books, and find time to relax in order to calm my nerves. Although, I could just keep doing my own thing and you could give me a barbiturate instead. You could fix my nerves, couldn't you?

Thank you, Dr. Physician, for encouraging me to try salt-less popcorn, say “no” to smoking, and jog a little every day; you tell me to abstain so I can avoid cancer or a heart attack. But, doctor, even if I ignored your advice, you could cut out the cancer or fix my heart. You could probably fix me, couldn't you?

Thank you, Dr. Environmentalist, for insisting that I ban the Freon, burn cleaner fuels, and stop acid rain so as to preserve the health and beauty of our earth. But, honestly, couldn’t we blow it all off for now and worry about fixing it all later? It would be painful, but we could fix it later, couldn't we?

So many specialists seem to be telling me it is a noble thing to curb my appetite and to abstain. They say it is noble to show restraint and self-control so I can be healthy and save the planet. They wisely counsel: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." They so often recommend self-control and abstinence.

Ironically I am hearing very different advice concerning two of America's most destructive behaviors – sex outside of marriage, and alcohol abuse. This brings me to you, Dr. Social Engineer. In the name of courage and individualism you stand up and tell me that responsibility and abstinence are unrealistic, dirty words when it comes to these huge issues? Here’s the logic:

Did I hear you right Dr Social Engineer? Are you counseling our kids to be promiscuous (being sure to use “protection” of course) pretending that “safe sex” will protect them against deadly viruses and soul-sickness? Are you looking the other way when major alcohol companies lure our youth to their product and then expecting that powerful drug to not have a negative impact on their lives? Are you thinking that, when they are ravaged by disease and emotional distress, someone may be ingenious enough to come up with a “cure” so we can put the abstinence crowd to silence once and for all? Should we really be making more noise about the ozone, red meat and junk food than we make about promiscuity and alcohol abuse? Dear Dr. Politically Correct Social Engineer, you may think it courageous to take a stand and tell us that responsible decisions and abstinence are too much to ask, but can we really fix it later?


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