THE REAL DEAL!

Sunday’s Monday

              The real deal is now! Living the exact moment we’ve been given. Memories are good, but dwelling on the past isn’t living. I hear people talking about destiny, visions, and luck, man-made words invented to cover those things we can’t control. None of the prior factually has anything to do with life on planet Earth. The real deal is what one does today (at this very moment) that will determine life’s direction and completion. The decisions one makes, the deeds one sows, and one’s attitude will be the determining factor, plus it will be multiplied and returned in like manner. This all came to mind as I closed the door on the cruelest year I’ve ever lived through. The best half of me (my wife) went home to be with Jesus in January; I was crushed! While still suffering my loss, I had to be rushed to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism and was confined for a week. Then, in June, my plague continued as I was rushed to Catawba Valley Medical and diagnosed to die from 3 different infections. It is January, and I’m still recovering from that experience. Thank God, I’m still here. To say 2024 was an emotional nightmare would be a vast understatement of what I’ve gone through, and yet people are going through much worse. But by the grace of God, no matter how bad things get, we get to choose how we deal with it, which often dictates the final results.

     The key word in my last statement is grace, the Grace of God. I have often taken God’s grace for granted, not appreciating how comfortable it keeps me as I move forward. Sure, there will be suffering and complex choices that have to be made, but I expect God’s grace will see me through. Hebrews 4:16 (NLT), So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. While I’m in confession mode, I’ll admit if you didn’t catch it, I expect God’s grace; ergo, I don’t always pray for or even notice when it happens, and I’m not always grateful for His grace because I fail to recognize it. Still, I am openly thankful for everything He does for me. I thank Him for the 30+ years I adored Pat and our 26 years of wedlock. I’m not mad at Him because she died. I couldn’t miss her if He hadn’t brought us together. I thank Him for the fact that I’m still here today to be busy with His business. I didn’t see it as grace, but that is precisely what it is. 1 Peter 5:10 (NLT), In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. As good as this sounds, I must be reminded that every house on a strong foundation still requires constant attention, or it will deteriorate and fall. The same holds for me. If I fail to stay in a close relationship with God through prayer, study, and action, my weaknesses will overcome me, and I will fall prey to the enemy.

     Heavenly Father, may we each live the real deal you gave us in Ephesians 2:8 (NLT), God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Lord, your unconditional love for us has brought forth a gift to be matched by no other known on this planet. I believe that many like me don’t completely understand your grace and are clumsy at best toward applying it to others, so please help us apply “what we know,” “as best we can,” “to all we meet.” Dad, I thank you for allowing me to see Twenty Twenty-Five, and I pray this is my year to bring great pleasure to you. Please remind me of John 1:16 (NLT), From his Thank abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. Thank you, Father. Amen

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!

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