Baby Girl On the Way.......(sometime)

As many of you know, Rachel and I are eagerly awaiting the birth of our 3rd child. As we joked with our church family on Sunday, we are not keeping our fingers crossed for a "timely" delivery. Rachel
was 8 days overdue with our 1st son and induced at 7 days over with our 2nd son. This baby is a girl so we were both hoping that maybe this child would be different. Maybe this one would be early.....well, maybe on time??? Well, tomorrow (July 8) is Rachel's due date and there does not seem to be much glimmer of hope.

One thing I notice, however, with both Rachel and I is this: everyday we are living with anticipation. Every day our minds are geared to the realization that there is not much time left (even though it doesn't feel that way--especially to my wife!). Everyday we are wondering when our new baby girl will make her presence known!

When I think of this, my attention is often turned to the anticipation of our Lord and Savior's return. Jesus will indeed one day return (Acts 1:11; Jn. 14:3) even though no one knows the exact time (Mark 13:32). But am I living in light of this promised and glorious event? Are my waking moments spent in anticipatory living of my Lord's soon return (Rev. 3:11)? Am I getting so bogged down in the details and routines of life that I am actually denying the reality of His coming through my thoughts and actions?

I mentioned earlier that everyday we are living with the anticipation of our little girl's birth. But if I am to be completely honest, while this is true, there are many moments when ministry, life, decision making, etc. distract me from the imminency of her coming. She is much more on Rachel's mind as she carries her every minute of everyday! Yet this does not negate the fact that our baby will come at an appointed time. So....will I be ready? Is my bag packed? Is the car seat in place? Am I mentally geared to raise another infant? I hope so!

How about you? Are you ready for Christ's return? Are you living in light of that victorious moment? Will you be caught unaware with your "bag unpacked" and the "carseat" left in the garage?

That day is coming! As John states, "Amen. Come Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20)

Product Or Process?

I just couldn't resist sharing this photo that I saw on Facebook the other day! It really made me laugh because it hit so close to home. How many of us have not felt this way before! Let me play out the

common scenario with you:

The Lord impresses upon your heart through the revelation of His Word a spiritual truth or need in your life. Your heart is tender because you want to follow in the ways of Christ. You sincerely ask the Lord to give you the needed quality in your life to better follow Him and reflect His glory. However, you soon become discouraged when you find yourself repeatedly failing in the very area that you gave over to the Lord and asked for His help with. 

Sound familiar? I know it does for me. What do we do during these discouraging times? Too often, though not with the exact words, we reflect the attitude of the picture above. However, we fail to realize that God is doing the very work that we are asking Him to do by allowing us to face those very difficulties. You see, you cannot have the product without the process. God uses this process to grow us, strengthen us, and make us more dependent on Him.

So, in the midst of your failures, remember that God is working in you through those very failures. You do not need to depend upon yourself. Instead, realize that your weakness is further showing you your need for the perfection of another. You need Someone who has already perfectly obeyed where you are failing. You need Someone who has faced the very temptations that you are succumbing to but went through them without giving in. You need Someone who both understands you and has keeps you secure--no matter what. That Someone is Jesus. In our union with Christ, His obedience has been transferred to our account and made to be our obedience. His perfection is likewise our perfection. That is more than enough to keep us going and striving to follow in His footsteps!