Green and nice…..grace that is greater!

Today’s blog is a shared one and I will turn it over to Naida to finish later

This is Tuesday, Feb. 20,2007, AND IT IS 6 A.M.

I am sitting in a kitchen in Grenada in what is a very nice apartment . I am sharing it with seven other people including my wife . We are on a short term missions trip helping to provide some hope to grade four students here. The schools are open to us to bring the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to them and it is a thrill indeed to be able to do so. This is the second year in a row that Judy and I have been able to do this; we were in St.Vincent last year.

We have been traveling from school to school and as we do so we have been enjoying the beauty of this island nation. We have also realized that it is a relatively safe place to be.

The beautiful lush vegetation that is so prevalent all over the island is a constant reminder to me of the grace of God and how it covers our sins. And as I look all around at the flora and fauna (how’s that for an ecologically challenged individual?), I am made to realize the greatness and the reality of God. If I were not a believer in a personal God who loves me and cares for me, I would accept Him now as my own personal Savior. I see His handiwork. Truly our God is an awesome God. All this greenery is supported and fed by rich soil and right at this moment, torrential rains…showers of blessing. The old saying (into each life a little rain must fall) is certainly applicable. These verdant valleys and hillsides that are so plentiful here reminds me that it’s in the valley that the greater growth is seen; it’s in the valleys where the larger fruit is found; it’s in the valleys where the sweetest tasting fruit is found. It is difficult sometimes to see the fruit because it is covered by the greenery but it is there just the same and it is protected.

This gives several avenues of thought, one being that we have many valley experiences in life but these trials will make us grow stronger and we will become sweeter if we allow it to happen. For example, there is someone whom you may see as a complainer and you may think that he or she is not as spiritual as you are and that they need to be changed. Perhaps it’s your own attitude that needs change. Maybe, just maybe it is someone the Lord has put in your path for you to love like Jesus wants you to love them. You don’t like that person? So instead of heaping coals of fire upon their head, you throw cold water in their face instead. A missed opportunity to grow.

Or perhaps you are holding men’s persons in respect and God is no respecter of person’s…I’m not talking about giving honour where it is due or being respectful to those who deserve our respect. The Bible is not referring to that but rather it is referring to the way we hold someone who is not as talented or successful or perhaps not as materially blessed as someone else and that may be the fault of the one you have contempt for or it may not be their fault, but you are guilty of respecting one above the other. James 2:1-4 says “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory with partiality. For if there come into your assembly a man with gold rings in fine apparel and there should come in a poor man with filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “ You sit here in a good place”, and say to the poor man, you stand there, or Sit here at my footstool”. “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” Another chance to grow but you blew it? Not only would you have grown but you would have produced fruit abundant. I am using these illustrations because I have been guilty of these very sins. I have had these thoughts and I have judged men's persons and I have been guilty of evil thoughts. And I have been made aware here in Granada of just how wrong that this is as I have met a couple of taxi driver's and a lady who ministered to our needs and realized that although the color of their skin is different than mine' they are just like everyone else and they have shown me what real love is. I have met some real gentle people in Granada who have taught me some valuable lessons about grace. Another thing about these green valleys that I have noticed is how much greener they become after one of these tropical rain showers. These showers of blessing causes our faces to shine and others will be able to see Jesus shining on our countenance.

I have said that the foliage here on Grenada reminds me of God’s grace . There are some things growing in these valleys that are not so pleasant but yet you do not see them for the foliage. They are covered by the foliage. What a tremendous example of His unmerited favor. Grace that is greater than all my ugly sin.

I said that this blog would be a shared blog as I am going to turn it over to Naida to finish. Note the beautiful scenery; photography by Naida.

Due Diligence

Due diligence as I understand it is a legal term used in many areas and in industry it has to do with a manager’s or supervisor’s, foreman’s responsibility to the people who work for them as it pertains to their safety. It takes in to account their liability as far as the safety of their working environment is concerned. It makes them accountable. It makes them liable.
As Christians we have also certain responsibilities to God and man. When God delivered the children of Israel by the hand of Moses, He said “if you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you”. Due diligence…..doing what is right in God’s sight. This is God’s Word that I have quoted from Exodus, it is found in chapter 15 verse 26. In the previous verse we are told that, “He made a statute and an ordinance for them”.
He made this a statute and an ordinance for them. As I mulled these words over in my own mind and meditated upon the potential of what they meant, I thought, My God why have we as Christians not been living here? In this truth I mean? What is keeping us from applying this medicine to our heart problems? To our lifestyles? Why have I not been giving due diligence to the Words of God?
I have not been paying attention; not like I should be. Oh, how many times God has bailed me out when I have made a mess of things. Yes I have messed up and then called on Him for help, when I should have been giving due diligence and I wouldn’t have found myself in that predicament. He has bailed me out many times. He has saved my hide many times; He has saved my bacon as the modern vernacular might say. And I might have avoided many of these pitfalls if I had been giving due diligence.
When the job overwhelmed me and I did not have the answer, I would call on Him and He would help me. He made me look good; it wasn’t my capabilities. I was a maintenance electrician for many years and sometimes a problem would crop up that required an immediate answer and He was there to help me in an every day practical way. I think that part of that reason was the scripture found in Proverbs 3:5,6 which says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths”. We have many paths that we follow down sometimes and if we do what the Bible says here in Exodus and again in Proverbs; it has been my experience that when we obey His Word that He will truly direct our paths. Due diligence; we need to give due diligence and it really is a safety issue. If we are diligent, then He guarantees our safety.
How does one become diligent or disciplined, for you must be disciplined if you are going to be diligent in a thing? Paul has given us the answer in II Corinthians 7:9,10 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of this world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner; What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourself to be clear in this matter”. Godly sorrow produces repentance; step number 1. Repentance leads to salvation. Step 2. And also after salvation godly sorrow still applies in our living. It produces due diligence in us. I have repented for my own carelessness in my walk with God,; for my letting down in giving the due diligence that I should have been doing in regards to my spiritual life, for the times I have tried to do it in my own strength and for the sins that so easily beset. I am determined to lay aside every weight and the sins that do easily beset me and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith….Heb. 12:1,2. That is due diligence in its purest form. After all is said and done “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Heb 11:6
Due diligence is extremely important in today’s workplace because the person in charge is liable if their employee gets hurt. In God’s economy it is of eternal value and consequence.
Due diligence in the workplace makes me responsible for my working partner’s well-being; it makes me accountable. The apostle Paul said, “I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and unwise. So, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome also. I too am a debtor and I am ready to do what the Lord requires of me. Maybe I can’t preach like Paul, but I can pray for the lost, I can live a life that they can see Jesus through (that is really the best thing I can do) and it requires an anointing of His Holy Spirit within and upon me to do that. My own efforts are not much, but all I’m required is to be willing. Are we ready like the apostle was? This week coming
some of us are going to the Caribbean island of Grenada to hand out a Bible course of lessons for the grade four children in the schools because we are debtors to them. It is our responsibility, we are accountable and we are liable. You ask how are you responsible for some kids in the Caribbean? Who made you accountable? How are you liable? When Moses was sent by God to deliver Israel from the cruelty of Egypt, he asked this question. Whom shall I tell them has sent me? What is His name? God said ….tell them “I AM has sent you. I AM THAT I AM is My name.
We are accountable to the great I AM. He has sent us so that makes it our responsibility. What greater authority is there? How am I liable? God spoke to Ezekiel that great prophet of God and you can read it in Ezekiel ch. 3 verse 18, “When I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” Liability? Am I not liable? There is no one like Jehovah! I give Him due diligence today. Many cannot go but give Him due diligence today and pray for those who are going…you are part of the mission if you pray. Remember that “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. Due diligence; give Him due diligence.

The GoldenYears...so called.
He just seems to sit there, staring into space.
Emptiness, lonliness written on his face.
He's eighty three now, tired, a broken, lonely man
And I remember when that picture wasn't in the plan.
He was young and strong, determined; had life in full control
Knew where he was going and deep within his soul
There was a fire burning; yes a yearning deep inside
To be the best at anything, whatever thing he tried
I used to think; Wow! what a man. He really runs the show
But running isn't there anymore...even his speech is slow
The Golden years are seldom kind, though some may think it's true
Too many old folks laid aside like an old worn out shoe
But it pays to show real kindness as you walk along life's way
For most of us end up like hm, we've seen a better day
And as I face the future, sometimes I contemplate
What will be my portion; what will be my fate?
Will I be tired and lonely too? Will every day be blue?
Will I lose my driver's licence, my independence too?
If fate is what I depend upon who knows what it will bring?
But I decided long ago to put my trust in Him
He carries me when I'm too weak to walk; I have trouble too
In the end He's still my Friend and He will take me through
There's an empty place in each of us that lies within the soul
That only Jesus can complete and make us every whit whole
If you're looking for a better day, then that day will start
When you let Jesus Christ come in and fill your empty heart
He'll give you joy and peace inside, a love that you can't hide
Instead of empty lonliness His Presence will abide
Don't let the golden years depress they're just a stepping stone
To that eternal place of rest, that Heaven I call.....Home RC