To God Alone be the Glory

To God alone be the Glory
Today Dawn and I were able to grab a few short minutes of conversation between Doctors, labs, Good Friday Services and running children around that is worth sharing. Ever since she was diagnosed with cancer the Lord has made certain things very clear to us, some ahead of time, and some as we go along. While not everything is clear, there are a number of things that could not be clearer if they were pasted on the side of the empire state building! One such point is that He has not left nor forsaken us, that He is in the midst of this trial with our family and friends. When you continually see and experience the unmistakable influence and care of God in your life especially in the midst of somewhat bizarre circumstances you cannot help but grow deeper and more committed in your love and adoration for Him. Once you have experienced such grace you would never desire to dilute His due praise by ever allowing yourself to be lifted up to a place of praise and adoration. Today I had the privilege and honor of sharing at the LCC Good Friday Service and this point was truly driven home for me. You see today was all about the sacrifice that Christ made for us, today was His day, while He is the one we should be focusing on every day, but especially today. As I approached my time of sharing I found myself truly concerned at how quickly this forum, my time on stage could be used to draw attention away from the Lord and to us and our situation. How easy it would have been to somehow salt the feast of His word by throwing in comments about our family, not much mind you, just a little would have been enough. You see with very little encouragement the focus could have been diverted ever so subtly to the suffering of my family. An extra tear, a longing sigh, an extended break between passages, or a just a change in tone of speech, all of these things and so much more could be tools that we use inadvertently to intentionally to draw attention to ourselves. The fearful part is not only how easy it would be to do so, but in addition how often we see it happening in these times. I can honestly say that in the past I too have been guilty of such goings on, and yet today as we find ourselves so desperately clinging to the hem of His garment I would never want anything to take away from His power, to dilute His glory, or to cheapen His name. You see the God we need today; the God who brings us hope is and must be a God who would share His glory with no other, a God unequaled in the entire universe. For if this God in whom I have placed my trust is not the Elohim who rules and reigns in the heavens, if He is not the great I Am then we have no hope! For those who would practice such things, for those who would seek to elevate themselves while sharing of the majesty of this God I would suggest you stay away, avoid them and their words, for our God will not be mocked! (By the way let me say I am not speaking of Pastor Bryan he would never do so he is a man of great integrity, or anyone else in particular). Dawn and I do not want to share the glory or the attention with God, it is His alone, and He alone deserves it. We desire to serve Him with a pure heart and mind, we desire to see His name lifted up unto all men, for He can not only carry their load, He can also heal their hearts and give them new life, we can only crumble under the weight of it. For those who seek to be lifted up, exalted, held in high esteem, I have two things to say: one that the shallow praise of fickle men is all the reward you will ever receive, and number two: you truly cannot handle the weight of it, you too will crumble under strain. He alone is worthy, may we acknowledge this and be satisfied with it, no joyous for it! For it is then that we can truly learn to love the Lord our God with all our heart, our soul, and our mind! Today Dawn’s report from the Doctor was rather good; well let me put it this way, no bad news! She was able to have some (about 1-3/4 Ga) of fluid drained from her tummy and she truly was blessed by that, wow what a diet! Nick, Katie, and the girls will be down tomorrow and we are truly happy to have them visit for a few days! God is so faithful to us and we are so blessed and grateful to Him, may each of you give Him all the praise He deserves and allow Him to be Lord of your life!
Gene