Phoomf! It's Here

The day has arrived in all its glory! Yes, I have reached the tender age of 5-oy, uh, fifzy, um, it's hard to say now that it's here. Half a century of living on this earth and there is still so much to learn about God and His ways. Fifty years apparently is not quite enough to know God as well as I want to. Of course, you can point to the many years that I didn't actively search to know God. I am rather behind in terms of actual study in the Bible, but there is much experience in which I can look back and see God's hand of providence keeping me even in those years when my mind looked in other directions. Many a person has turned to seek Jesus later in life to find our Lord already present in his life.

We tend to think that as long as the sheep pretends he is a wolf, then the shepherd leaves him alone. However, God cannot be unfaithful simply because we refuse to look for Him. If God says, "sheep", we is sheeps no matter what our worldly mind may think. When the day comes that we look down with honesty and see the fluffy wool, though it be stained by the sin from our time in the world, and hear the sheepish sound of our cries, we finally acknowledge our sheephood, and lo and behold, the Shepherd was there all the time. The Good Shepherd welcomes us to His flock, and it does not matter how old we are or how long we have been wandering lost in the world.

What do I know from fifty years of sheeping around in this world? (Hmm, careful there!) Today is still just today. I cannot bring tomorrow or worry it into any better shape. I cannot erase the past or shame it into a better memory in those times when I did things that caused me humiliation. What God has set down in His words of prophecy is what will happen in the due time. Jesus will return for us, but now is the time to plant seeds and attend to the harvest. People need me, and I need my brothers and sisters in Christ. Fear the deceitfulness of worldly riches, but remember that even in poverty we are rich in Christ Jesus. It is easy to say "Take me now, Lord. I am ready to go home!" when times of tribulation come, but much better to say, "I stand ready to live for my Lord Jesus, no matter what comes this day!"

God bless you on this auspicious day! Bucky