I spent a good portion of the evening last night keeping track of the powerful storms* that were making their way through my former home state of Oklahoma.
My older
daughter, who only lives a few buildings over from my apartment, and I had been
texting back and forth with her two younger siblings that live in Oklahoma
throughout the afternoon as the bigger storm began its journey into the areas
of the state in which they live. My
younger son lives near Oklahoma City while my younger daughter lives a couple
of hours northeast of him near Tulsa where my older daughter and I also used
to live.
The storm
passed through my son’s area pretty smoothly, but seemed to build in volume and
velocity as it moved northeast. By
around 7:30 my younger daughter reported that the sirens in their area were
just sounding… right as she was cooking some homemade chili… So of
course, my immediate word of wisdom and encouragement was,
“God save the chili!”
I have always
found that a little bit of humor helps to dispel thoughts of anxiety and stress…
but I am also well aware… that if my wife taught
our kids anything… it was to boldly, confidently
and peacefully stand on the Word of God for His faithful
protection of their family and property.
Well, the exceptionally
strong wind, damaging hail and various manifestations and occasional touchdowns
(ie; tornados) of circulation sent its havoc across the greater Tulsa
area but… PRAISE THE LORD!... it passed south of where my
daughter lives and literally came within a block of where I used to live near
southeast Tulsa.
I will admit
that watching the local Tulsa news station app on my smart TV brought back a
lot of memories of Fiver and I hunkering down in the center of the house when
tornado threats came near our neighborhood while living back there. But I had to laugh and text my older daughter
after the immediate threats had passed by… and tell her that I had a image of
my dog Fiver sitting on a couch somewhere in heaven, watching the reporting of
the Oklahoma storm through some kind of intergalactic internet, as he lay warm,
calm and quiet next to my wife… with a clearly defined smirk on
his face knowing that he’ll NEVER again, have to go through
the anxiety that overtook him whenever the storms came by our earthly abode!
Another thought
that I had last night was of how I am captivated and maybe even mesmerized
a bit, by the sheer magnitude of the power and force that can be displayed by a
severe thunderstorm as it generates excessive winds, hail and tornados that can
leave behind a swath of destruction and mayhem all along its path.
Conversely, I
guess I could kind of say the same thing about the positive way in
which I am drawn to, captivated and definitely mesmerized
by the name of Jesus and the power of His Word that leaves a wide swath of love,
life, joy, peace, grace and wisdom in the hearts and
lives of those of us, who make the daily decision to enfold their lives into
Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us
that,
“Now, if anyone is enfolded
into Christ, he (or she) has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old
order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.” (TPT)
WOW!
If you’re anything like me… that particular verse of the truth of God’s
Word should thrill you from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet! But you know what? I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the
thrill of God’s Word working in my life and have finally come… through my
own thick-headed thinking… to the realization that not everyone thinks on
or about the Word of God in the same way that I do.
Like “DAH”
Right? I’ve discovered that I tend to
share a lot of the Word with people and suggest certain verses of scripture for
them to read…especially here in my blog posts… and expect them to understand
it just like I do. But many times, I’ve
seen some folks who will look at the recommended verses and not really gain the
conceptualization of the points being made.
I remember my early years in my Christian walk as I excitedly sat down
to read in my Bible only to turn away disappointed and thinking hummm… that’s
all Greek to me (and I was reading an English translation)!
So, my
point? The scripture above tells us that
as Christians, we HAVE become an entirely NEW
person and that the old ways of sin that we may or may not have lived and seen
as common place to us… the old habits, thoughts. words, tempers etc… are
GONE! VANISHED! And BEHOLD! ALL things have become
new! Like WOW, RIGHT? But is it really possible? Well… according to this verse IT IS?
But how
do I do this, one might ask? How do I start living the NEW
life? Well… First of all, it takes an
ever-increasing knowledge of the Word! So…
you want me to read my Bible more? Yes… BUT…
you need teaching to go along with the personal reading of it! So that’s another area that I am going to venture
out into with this blog. Along with the
weekly posts, I am going to start suggesting some study aids in the forms of
Bible Study series, Christian teaching books, videos and other helpful aids
that you can study your Bible with when you are
alone or with family and friends!
It looks like
I’m getting a little too windy here… so I’d better wrap this up! But I am excited to hear about each of you
growing in your excitement with the tangible changes you will begin to
experience as you learn more and more of God’s will (ie; His Word) in your lives! And just to wet your whistle (as my mom
would say…) a couple of my favorite Bible Study series are the “LifeChange
Bible Study Series”** from the Navigators and the Warren W.
Wiersbe “B” Series of Bible Study books.***
As I look out
the window right now, I can see and hear that our Tennessee series of
thunderstorms have moved into the area… and although there is a forecast of
strong winds and heavy downpours… the chance for tornados is minimal with this
storm! PTL! Have a great rest of your weekend and when
the storms of life come to your neighborhood, REMEMBER…
God Save the Chili!
- (ie; chill
and trust in the Lord!)
**
https://www.navigators.org/resource/life-change-series/
***
https://wiersbe.com/books/series/be-series
