Are you aware of how God works around you? This never ceases to amaze me. If you looked at my schedule earlier this week you would have seen an appointment throughout the day, every day, and lasting into the evening each day of this week. I was feeling a bit tired just looking at all that needed to happen. Now don't feel bad for me... after all, I did it to my self. But as the week has moved on my appointments have either canceled or shifted to another week to make just the right amount of time to accomplish the more pressing issues at hand.
This evening I preached a funeral for a family (loosely associated with the Crossroads Church). Their loved one passed away at the beginning of this week. Although I did not know the deceased directly I believe God had laid a message on my heart to share with the grieving family and friends. I chose to preach this funeral because this is a part of my role that God has called me to... to help provide spiritual and emotional care to the people God places around me. I will remain obedient to God's calling for He has never ceased to care for me and my family. I discovered this truth again tonight... Let me explain. I've never asked for payment or a donation of any kind for preaching a funeral. If a family chooses to give a gift I leave that totally to their discretion. Tonight was no different. After the funeral a family member presented me with an envelope. Once I returned home I opened the envelop to discover a generous gift. As I began to figure our family's budget for the month I realized that the gift was the amount needed to cover some unusually high expenses we incurred over the month. God is good all the time... and all the time God is good!
My reading has taken me to 1 Kings chapters 8 & 9. King Solomon gave God praise for all the wonderful things that had come about in his life and for allowing him to complete the temple in Jerusalem. God's response is basically this, (Mike's version) "The moment this temple to me becomes a shrine to you the blessings will stop."
O God, thank you for your wonderful gifts. My desire is to remain obedient to your calling upon my life for no other reason than you are worthy. I pray for your comfort to be about the family I ministered to this evening. I pray that a seed of faith may have been planted or watered within their hearts to draw them closer to your Son, Jesus Christ. -Amen.

What a wonderful day of confirmation and reassurance! Today was a time of peace (for the most part). I received several communications from individuals concerning a wide arrange of issues, and each of them was in the positive... If only more days were like this one! I'm certain that each of us could benefit from a few more days like this.
A prayer that I have (and seek the prayers of others) is for the plans we will submit tomorrow to the Marion Township Hall (for preliminary review) will be accepted. The issue has to do with access to our church property next door where we plan to build a couple of ball fields. Please keep the situation in prayer. I'll let you know how things turn out when I hear.
My reading today took me to 2 Samuel, chapter 7. This passage of Scripture tells of King David's response to God's promises to him. One promise is that his son will be the one to build God's temple for worship. David's response is to give God praise. It is very interesting, however, to continue reading through the next chapters (8,9,10) and learn of David's victories. A lot of wonderful things were happening for David... but then there's chapter 11 which tells of David's fall through his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and murder of her husband.
Confidence in the Lord is good... we must be careful that our confidence doesn't become a source of sinful pride. Funny how quickly we can loose sight of God's glory and become focused on our own.