We talked in our Tuesday class about the 9 BeAttitudes in Matthew chapter 5 being in 3 groups of 3's. Here they are in "Patti's words"...
FIRST GROUP:
1. Pour me out...empty me of me...Jesus emptied himself! Philippians 2:5-8
2. Cry over my sin and the sins of others...Jesus wept! John 11:35
3. Allow God to fill me up and control me...Jesus was led by GOD! Matthew 4:1; John 6:38-40; Romans 8:14
SECOND GROUP:
4. Crave spiritual nourishment...Jesus is the Living Water and the Bread of Life! John 6:32-38
5. Forgive and care for others...Jesus forgave and had mercy! Mark 5:19; Luke 23:34
6. Keep all my focus and intentions pure...Jesus is pure! I John 3:3
THIRD GROUP:
7. Work for peace - between people/GOD then people/people peace will happen...Jesus did! John 14:27
8. Expect trials, hardships, and persecution...Godly lives are persecuted! 2 Timothy 3:12
9. Expect that people will lie about you, insult you, and persecute you falsely...Jesus is the truth and the satan is a liar! John 8:42-48
Being a christian does not guarantee a life full of health and wealth.
Being a christian does not mean a life void of suffering.
Jesus led a pretty tough life, yet He asks us to follow Him.
Matthew 5 says that we are the light of the world when we "live the Be Attitudes!"
Jesus lived the Be Attitudes and He is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
Life is hard, but God is good all the time!
Pictured here are all of the grandchildren of Valentine and Viola (Granny) Carron of Crystal City, Missouri on the day of "Granny's" funeral in August 2003. She lived to be 95 - over thirty years longer than Grandpa. Each of their 3 children had three children. I'm the oldest grandchild and the one in red who stands out the most. The two women next to me and the one with the pearls are all "Carron" sisters. Then, my brother, Steve is in the middle in the back with my sister Pam at his left. The three at the right are children of our Aunt Shirley: Amy, Mark, and David.
Here is Aunt Shirley Watkins with her 3 kids (Amy, Mark, and David) at her mom's funeral. I talked to Aunt Shirley on the phone last night. She's been hurting for quite awhile: physically and emotionally. God has put her whole extended family on my heart. Before I tell you "why", I need to share a side story...
On Tuesday, my new friend, Nicole, shared with me how hard it had been to imagine her young son being "taken by God" through all his times of being in and out of children's hospitals, being fed through a trach, not having all the answers...
Steve and I shared with Nicole the Bible story from Genesis of Abraham and Sarah who didn't have a son until they were 100 and 90 years old. This was the same son that God had told Abraham about when he was 75. God had told Abraham that Isaac would be born and his descendants would be many. Then, Abraham waited another 25 years for God's promise to become true! But God's timing and circumstances don't often make sense to us mortals. Some time later when Isaac was a young man, God asked Abraham to sacrifice him on an altar on Mount Moriah (close to the same place where God allowed His only son to be crucified!) Please read this very short story to "get the picture":
Genesis 22:3-14
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
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4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
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6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
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"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
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"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
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8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
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9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
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11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
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"Here I am," he replied.
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12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
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13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
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14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
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We finished off the story by telling Nicole that the Israelites had come from Abraham, Jesus had come from Abraham, and that Abraham was called "the father of the faithful." One day, many years later, GOD chose to actually slay His Son as a sacrifice for all of mankind.
As I looked across the table at Nicole, her eyes were filled with tears. She said, "Thank you for giving me this story. I won't forget it."
I have story after story of my Granny Carron and my Aunt Shirley. They have both been "light to my world". Yet, there has been alot about life that has been hard for them and their families. Recently, for Shirley, not counting her own multiple medical challenges:
She buried her husband John on 11-14-02.
She buried her mother Viola on 8-26-03.
She buried her son David in May of last year.
Today would have been David's 42nd birthday. He left behind a christian wife, Hope, and 3 amazing children. He left behind his mom, brother, sister, extended family. He left behind his wonderful church family - the East Grand church of Christ, Springfield, Missouri. David suffered terribly, off and on, for several years with liver cancer. He had been very healthy and "buff", earning the runner-up title to Mr. Missouri years before. Not long before he died, David wrote our Jessica a letter that she had been "light" to him because of how she had endured her suffering. David and Hope have certainly been "light" to us!
In the Bible's story of Job, there is a man named Job who experienced terrible suffering himself and to his family. At one point he says in Job 13:15 "Though He (GOD) slay me, yet will I trust in Him..."
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That was David's "theme" verse! The first time he shared that with my husband, Steve, was enough for Steve to come home and type the verse up and hang it in his office.
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My understanding of that verse loops me back to the BeAttitudes.
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Abraham and Job understood that verse.
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Jesus understood that verse.
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Grandpa Carron, Granny Carron, and Uncle John understood that verse.
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David understood that verse.
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Last night after I talked to Aunt Shirley, I then called Hope to give encouragement and to see if she could send me an email picture of their family of 5 to share with you. No answer. There was no answer at Mark's and I couldn't find Amy's number.
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Tomorrow, I would like to share with you another part of the Watkins family story.
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Until then...be blessed by clicking on the link below as you listen to another David sing a song called No Night There! It is introduced by Joni Eareckson Tada who was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident years ago. She paints and writes with her teeth. She inspires many by how she lives.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDQijZ0OpaU&feature=related
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Today is a tender day...
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a day that brings a rush of memories...
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a day that brings a rush of tears...a day to TRUST GOD!
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