THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

IT HAS BEEN THERE ALL THE TIME

Exodus 4:1-2
1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

When God called Moses, Moses could see all the reasons he was unqualified for the task. God asked him a simple question: “What is that in thine hand?” Moses answered, “A rod.” It was something he already carried every day. God showed him that even an ordinary thing could serve His purpose when placed in His hands.

I wonder how often we overlook what God has already placed within reach. We pray for encouragement, and someone calls to check on us. We ask for a way to serve, while a person close to us needs a listening ear.
We ask for help, but find it difficult to accept it when someone offers it.

FRONT PORCH FRIDAY: DOES THE SMALL THING MATTER?

Scripture: Galatians 6:9
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Today, I want to begin with a letter that may sound familiar to some of you:

“Dear Eddie, I’ve been trying to do what God has placed in front of me. I check on my mother, pray for my family, and try to encourage people when I can. But lately I’ve wondered whether any of it makes a difference. Nothing seems to change. How do you keep going when the things you do feel so small?”

I think many of us have asked that question, even if we’ve never said it aloud.

We tend to notice the moments that are easy to see: an answered prayer, a changed life, a door God opens, someone says Thank you or shows their appreciation.
But much of our faithfulness happens when no one is watching. It’s like making another phone call, offering another prayer, or sitting beside someone who needs to know they are not alone.

THE LETTER WE ARE STILL READING

Colossians 4:16
16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

Paul wrote to the believers in Colossae, but he knew the letter would not remain with them alone. He asked that it be read in another church as well. Words written for one group of people would strengthen others who needed to hear them.

That makes me think about the value of writing down what God has taught us along the way.

I don’t mean that our journals are Scripture. I mean that our lives hold stories worth remembering: prayers we prayed when we didn’t know what to do, verses that carried us through a difficult year, moments when God provided, and lessons we learned only after looking back and seeing God’s Hand leading us.
If we never record those things, some of the details will fade with time.

DIVINE APPOINTMENTS

Acts 3:1-6
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Peter and John were on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer.
They had a destination, a purpose, an agenda and somewhere they intended to be.
At the gate called Beautiful, a man who could not walk was asking for help.
He had been carried there day after day. To most people who passed through that gate, he may have become part of the familiar scene. You barely even noticed he was there.

But Peter and John stopped.

THE QUIET WORK GOD IS DOING IN YOU

Scripture: Mark 4:26–27

“So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.”

When a seed is first planted, the ground looks much the same as it did before. Day after day, you may pass by and see no sign that anything is happening. Yet beneath the surface, that seed is beginning to grow.

Jesus used this picture to describe the kingdom of God. The man planted the seed, then went about the rhythm of sleeping and rising. Growth came, though he could not see how it happened.

There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” — John 6:9

Andrew had found a boy willing to share what he had. Five barley loaves and two small fish were something, but when Andrew looked at the crowd, they seemed hardly worth mentioning. He asked the question most of us would have asked: “What are they among so many?”

Most of us know what it’s like to look at a need and then look at what we have to offer. We see someone hurting, but we cannot find the right words.
We sense God leading us toward something, but we do not feel ready or
We have a little time, a little strength, or one small idea, and we wonder how any of it could make a difference.

It is easy to call something “not enough” when we measure it against the size of the need.

BUTTERFLIES AND BLUEBIRDS

Scripture: Psalm 104:24
“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”

My grandchildren have a way of slowing me down. We can be outside with no particular plan, and suddenly a butterfly becomes the most important thing in the world. They follow it through the yard, watching where it lands and hoping for a chance to catch it. When they get close enough to gently touch a little bluebird, they are filled with wonder. For a few moments, nothing else seems to matter.

I spent a good part of my life looking for God’s direction in big decisions and important moments. But my grandchildren keep teaching me that God is also present in the ordinary things I might walk right past.

They do not need a spectacular view to be amazed. A butterfly will do. A little bluebird that Marshall was able to touch was more than enough for the moment.
Their view of life invites me to stop, look closely, and r

GOD IS NOT RUSHING YOU,

Proverbs 16:9:
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”

Have you ever felt as though you are always falling behind? Perhaps you thought you would have reached a certain goal by now, settled a difficult question, or become further along in your walk with God. You look at the calendar, then at your life, and wonder why things are taking so long.

Sometimes the pressure comes from a timeline that God never gave you.

We may have decided when an answer should come or how quickly a change should happen. Then, when life does not follow that schedule, we begin to rush. We push for decisions before we have peace about them. We measure our progress against someone else’s. We become so concerned with reaching the next place that we struggle to be faithful where we are.

YOU CAN LOVE PEOPLE WITHOUT CARRYING THEM

Galatians 6:2-5

2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Weight - load)

3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

5 For every man shall bear his own burden. (Task - Service)

At first, these verses may appear to contradict each other. One tells us to bear one another’s burdens, while the other says every person must bear their own burden. But together, they reveal an important balance in how we are called to love others.

THE PRAYER YOU NEVER SPOKE

Romans 8:26

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Most of the time when we pray, we know exactly what we want to say to God.
The words come easily, our thoughts are clear, and we can express what is in our hearts and on our minds.
But there are other times when the burden or heartache is too deep, the pain is too personal, or the situation is too confusing to put into words.

We sit down to pray, but nothing comes.

Perhaps all we can do is sit in silence. Maybe the tears begin to fall before we are ever able to form a sentence.
Sometimes we are just carrying feelings we can’t explain and questions we do not know how to ask. Have you ever had those types of moments?