He Is Able!

Have you ever seen the ocean waves as they came crashing to the shore? Have you ever listened to the sound of the power of those waves?

Many summers ago my son, Marc, and I spent a late night walking along the Oregon beach just listening to the awesome power of God in the waves. And it seemed as we listened our own minds became more focused to what was really important in life. We had one of the most meaningful discussions we had ever had that night. You see there's something about the power of God as you listen to Him, it seems to clear away the excess baggage of life that we carry around. The awesome power of God in the tides, brought three words to my mind: HE IS ABLE!

Those same three words are the focus of a letter that the apostle Paul wrote. In 2 timothy he says this: "Although I am suffering, I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day!"
"I am convinced!" Are you absolutely convinced of this truth that Paul is convinced about?
Paul says, "I know God so well. I've trusted Him through the years. I've such an appreciation of Him, that I know without any doubt that He is able."
If I could have only three words out of the Bible, if that's all I was permitted, they would be the words: He is able!." That's all you need. You see it's present, it's continuous. It doesn't say he was able, or He will be able, or He might be able, or He could be able. HE IS ABLE!
He's not incapacitated by time. He hasn't lost His touch. He's just the same today. Whatever you are facing those three words can be plugged into your circumstances! HE IS ABLE!
This past week I spent Thanksgiving with my daughter, Tonya, and her family. What a wonderful time with a wonderful family. Perfect proof that God is able. God is able to work around my mistakes to allow my daughter to be a warm, God loving women, who builds in her children that same love for Him.

In a world that is changing, constantly changing, I'm glad I can hang onto the Rock of Jesus Christ for HE IS ABLE! And He is able in your life too!

God's Uncompromising Forgiveness

My daughter has told me many times that I should have a blog.
OK, I guess it it time.
I'm one of those guys who wanted to be the perfect dad, the perfect husband, the perfect Christian and though I tried with all of my heart I failed miserably at all three.
I am so thankful for God's Amazing power to forgive and forget and I want to honor Him with the life that He is slowly putting back together.
When we enter into His presence we, like Isaiah , find that we are unclean and unworthy for anything from God and we dwell with people who are unclean and unworthy. Here is a modern parable that God has vgiven me.
A certain man bought a house and in the back yard was a tree. It was wintertime and there was nothing special about the tree, just an ordinary tree.
Then Spring came and lovely pink buds appeared on the tree. The man thought to himself, "Great, I have a blossoming flower tree in my back yard and I will watch it all summer long." But A heavy wind came and blew all the blossoms all over the place. The man thought, "What a terrible tree!"
But that's not the end of the story of the tree.
The spring winds blew the blossoms away and summer passed, and one day the owner of that house looked out the back door and noticed large growths on that tree, about the size of a large nut. They were green. He said, "What is this?" and he went out, took one off the tree and took a bite of it, and said,"Yuck! What a horrible and bitter flavor!" He threw it away and said to himself, I'm going to have to cut down that tree it's good for nothing.
But that's not the end of the story of the tree.
Now as you have probably guessed the tree took little notice of the man, but the tree did notice the graciousness and abundant provision of God, the Father. That tree continued determinedly to draw water from the ground and to gain sympathy and warmth from the sun.
In the late fall, that tree produced crisp, red, delicious apples.
In Mark's Gospel 14:52 a young man fled away from the soldiers as they come to take Jesus. The verse says he fled away without his clothes. He was so afraid.
Later in Acts 13 The young man fails again as he can't stand the rigors of the mission journey and he gives up. The apostle Paul has a hard time forgiving John Mark for that failure.
But like the apple tree, in 2 Timothy 4 Paul commends this same man, no longer young for being one of his best friends and one he wants with him at his death.
Some of us see Christians with their early pink blossoms of happiness and think they should stay that way forever. Or we see nut sized green apples of bitterness in their lives and we're sure they will never bear the fruit of Joy. Could it be that we forget some of the best fruit is still to come?
-Tucker