Thumbs Up!

A second example is my mentor, Pat. He died, and I preached his funeral. I am grateful for his death. Now that sounds strange, but he was my Paul, my example. And he stayed with the stuff. He trusted when trusting was all there was left. I’m grateful he is in heaven, and that makes this life less attractive. I know that his speech isn’t slurred from the strokes any more. I know his heart beats strong, instead of the 15% he had those last few years. I’m grateful – he is part of the firstfruits. I’m going in the later harvest.

A third example is my checkbook I’ve spent most of my life financially challenged. And yet I feel like a rich man – the son of a King who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. That’s firstfruits – I haven’t got much in the hand, but it’s in my heart by the truckload!

Freedom, faith, firstfruits – what are you going to do with that? Do you trust that God’s not mad at you? Will you live that way? How much?

Nancy Spiegelberg expressed what needs to be said here:

Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to You

With my empty cup uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment.

If only I had known you better I’d have come running with a bucket. (4)

God’s not mad – Thumbs-up! Bring your bucket!

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Footnotes:

1 - J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol 4, (Pasadena, Cal, Thru the Bible Radio, 1983), 695

2 - Diana Turro, Florida. Today’s Christian Woman, Small Talk.

3 - HE GIVETH MORE GRACE, Composer: H. Mitchell, Arr T. Fetke (Lillenas Publishers), 1983

4 - Erwin Lutzer, Failure; The Back Door to Success, 117