We are called to be Children of the blessing, not a curse

J
John 16:33New American Standard Bible (NASB)
33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.

I was reminded through a simple stroll with my bride of 26 years of how important my faith  has become. Up ahead in what use to be a bank was a open doorway with sign beckoning us to come and have our palms read.  As we walked by I saw one young woman looking intently at her palm as the palm reader told what she thought she needed to hear. As I glanced at this momentary encounter I could not help thinking of the numbers of people in this world with no faith or a weakened down faith mixed with new age  and every thing good philosophies falling for the snake oil of this palm reader.

I remember graduating from Hopkins Lindbergh class of 1974 into a uncertain world of gas shortages, a cold war that was beginning to thaw, and the office of Presidency that came under scrutiny with the resignation of Richard Nixon and watching those around me collapsing under the heaviness of life's uncertainty with a economic repression.  

That spring I had just accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord and little did I realize it at the time the little seed of that commitment was growing into assurance.

My commitment to Jesus Christ taught me to put one foot in front of the other and worship God regardless of how I was feeling.  Feelings, I have learned, are fleeting and temporal. My faith, on the other hand, was based on the facts found in the bible and in the archaeological research.

This week in the news we observed another tragedy in the news when a 19 year old South Carolina man got up at the conclusion of a bible study and killed 9 people point blank saying he had to do it. What he didn't know at the time was the reaction he would find when he faced the judge and the families of those loved ones stood up one by one and told the 19 year old young man that while they miss their love one they forgave him.

To outside observers with no faith this reaction is incomprehensible, but to those who accepted Jesus Christ it is perfectly understandable and something we are called to do. 

With each painful tragedy we have a choice to make. Do I run to my liquor cabinet and pour a scotch and water to cope with the tragedies of life, or do I go to my knee and ask God to help me make sense of it? He wants to be your guide in this life and teach you to be a blessing to everyone you encounter. The things you learn in your new found faith will give you the strength to walk by those open doorways when the beckoning palm reader calls you.

All you have to do to begin this new journey is to pray this prayer.  

Dear Jesus, I am distraught over the tragedies I have been reading in the news and watching on television. I know I cannot cope without you. I know I am a sinner and  have fallen short of your perfection. I know that Jesus Christ was your perfect sacrifice when he died on the cross of Calgary, was buried for 3 days before his resurrection and appeared to thousands before his ascension. I ask you to come into my life and help me by being my guide and giving me the assurance that no matter what happens in this life that I find my permanent home in heaven.  Thank you Lord for your assurance of salvation and giving me the ability to cope with all future uncertainties.