Observations on November 4

As I continue to prepare, pray, and ponder for the message I will preach tonight at the First Baptist Church of Troy, Ks (as part of a week of "special meetings"), I also ponder a wide range of things as my emotions and attention is stretched:

1) Today is my daughter's 14th birthday. Such a blessing. We adopted her at birth (her birthmom was a 14-year-old girl we met at a camp). How I pray for her to stay close to Jesus, to pursue purity, and to walk with Him all her life.

2) Jane's Dad is in ICU in a Florida hospital. He had lung surgery a couple weeks ago, and Sunday developed blood clots; thus far the doctors have not been able to get rid of the clots.

3) We are supposed to load up the truck on November 12th and actually move!

4) Oh, yeah, there is an election today!

As you can imagine, me being in Kansas and Jane and the two younger children being in NY, and her Dad in Florida, and the "scheduled" events make this a very difficult time. I believe the lives of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of unborn babies will be saved or lost as a direct result of this election.

But "our God reigns." We are to "cast all our cares on Him" because "He cares for us."

We are to "trust in the Lord with all our heart, not lean on our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will make our path straight."

And, yes, we are to "Rejoice in the Lord always", and in a rare form of repetition, Paul says "and (in case you didn't get it the first time) again I say rejoice!"

Be happy? Nope. Rejoice.

Easy? Nope.

But following Christ is NOT "easy." Sorrow, tribulation, and trials are not obliterated when one comes to salvation...in fact they are increased.

But through it all I am to "rejoice."

And I can, because

1) I know Jesus loves my daughter so much more than I ever can

2) Jane's Dad (also named "Jack") knows Christ, and, like all of us, his "times are in God's hands).

3) God knows how the move will take place.

4) Again, "our God reigns." Perhaps America gets what she deserves; perhaps what is foreseen (by us) is not what He has planned; and even Obama's heart and mind is not beyond the reach of the Lord of the universe.