Give Us This Day

Yesterday at Journey Christian Church it was Compassion Sunday. The speaker, Peter Habyakimana, was a child recipient of Compassion's ministry help. He now speaks to churches across the globe stirring peoples' hearts to help the poor children of the world.

Peter told us his story and over and over he emphasized that, growing up, he was never sure of his tomorrow. He lived in fear of dying and asking himself the question, "Do I have a tomorrow?" In my experience That question rarely comes to our privileged minds. We simply assume that we have many more tomorrows in which to do what we want to do, or to do what God has called us to do. Do I have a tomorrow? I don't know, but I have hope.

Hope is something Peter said most poverty stricken people need the most. Compassion gave him hope. Of course, we know that Jesus offers us a hope beyond this world. In fact that hope is secured through Jesus Christ, if only we say, "Yes." If our hope for a future life is secured then maybe we should not concern ourselves with that as much as receiving from Gods' hand our daily bread.

What does today hold for me? Whatever may come I know God is good. He not only gives me hope for the future but He supplies me with grace for today. Oh, yes, God is good all the time! It is Gods' nature! Thank you Peter for making this real to me again!

Good God, Thank You for giving me hope and grace. You are enough and all we really need. I forget so quickly when things do not go as I have planned. Forgive me, Father God, and remind me when I forget. I do not know if I have a tomorrow. You do. Today I ask You Lord, to give me my daily bread!

Did He Marry a Jerkette?

I love to talk about love, marriage and the family. Sunday morning services promise to give me much to talk about in the next few weeks. Journey Christian Church is doing a series on marriage. Yesterday's title was "How Not to Marry a Jerk (or Jerkette)."

Like most everyone in the church yesterday, I set my mind to find out if I had married a jerk. I KNOW I didn't, but there are times when my Sweetheart of a husband has fallen into that category. Looking back, I must admit I was ready to put him there again if the occasion arose. It wasn't long after I began taking notes however, that I began to hear a small whisper asking me if I might have been the Jerkette when we got married. OH no! I couldn't have heard that right, could I?

I must admit that I brought baggage into our marriage, and I tried my best to hide it away in a back closet. It wasn't long before my entire wardrobe was revealed. I had a lot of old clothes that should have long ago found a new place. I hope you understand that I am not really talking about clothes here. I am talking about my past experiences, beliefs, quirks and habits. The question is did all that baggage make me into a Jerkette?

I don't have a definitive definition for Jerk/Jerkette so I don't think I can say yes or no to my question. One thing I do know is that in order to make the best use of this marriage sermon series I must keep my mind open to MY part of the marriage, not his! I heard Creflo Dollar once say that, it is not the way his wife loves him that he needs to worry about. It is the way he loves her. I agree. If I am to love unconditionally, I must love the best I possibly can, no matter what his love looks like.

God of Love, You brought Patrick and I together in marriage. We rely on You to lead us through the rough days and rejoice with us in our triumphs. You are love. It is only in Your presence that we can know a love greater than ourselves, and live a love for each other that is honest and lasts. Thank You for sharing Your love, teaching us to live in love, and changing our selfish ideas so that we can love. You are what we need in our marriage. We invite You to be the center of our lives.