Lord Over All

On the Back Porch Again

The scene is much different today. It's been a steady rain for hours now. While I sit on the porch under the protective cover of the roof I get a great view of what's happening right in front of me. 

The patio surface becomes slicker with each raindrop. The blooms in the planter fall over just a little bit more with each passing hour of rainfall. Blooms on the fragile rose bushes fall over and kiss the ground. With a strong breeze the trees that surround my yard drop more water from their leaves to the ground. You ‘hear’ the wind as a result of that water dropping from the trees. 

There’s a different quietness today. I hear the drops on the rooftop. I can hear the water flowing down the gutter and downspout. Cars that go by in the distant have a different sound today. The tires spread the standing water and there's a swoosh as they go by. 

I remember years ago a friend by the name of Frank Schell accompanied me and several other dads and their children on an “Indian Guides” campout. We had to adjust our plans a little bit as we had a similar rainfall that only lasted a few minutes. But Frank called the rainfall 'liquid sunshine.' He stressed how the water just helped us in the long run enjoy the sunshine that much more. He always said to look forward to when the sun was out because so much will just come to life.

Isn’t God’s creation just fantastic? All these things work so well together in His Master plan. He is Lord over all.

“Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.” Gen 1:31 (NLT)

Let’s praise Him today!

Creator God, we praise you today.

“You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.” Neh 9:6 (NLT)

"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Persistence in Prayer

In August 2010, the attention of the world was focused on a mine shaft near Copiapó, Chile. Thirty-three miners huddled in the dark, trapped 2,300 feet underground. They had no idea if help would ever arrive. After seventeen days of waiting, they heard drilling. Rescuers produced a small hole in the mine shaft ceiling, and that hole was followed by three more, establishing a delivery path for water, food, and medicine. The miners depended on those conduits to the surface above ground, where rescuers had the provisions they would need to survive. On day sixty-nine, rescuers pulled the last miner to safety.

Like the drill holes for those miners, prayer connects us to the Giving God.

Prayer is the key to our relationship with the Lord. Its a conversation with our Savior and we know the power of prayer, yet, do we stumble, get lazy or maybe even ignore this? If you are like me, you want to strengthen your prayer life.

In Luke 11:2-4 Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. He instructed them to begin by praising God, then we can make our requests. He then focused on forgiveness. We must understand that God has forgiven our sins and we are to do the same for those who have wronged us.

Jesus then used an example to show how persistence is important. 

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 (NLT)

We can’t jump to the conclusion that we can ask for just any ‘want’. In Matthew 7:9-11 Jesus tells the disciples that God knows the things we need, He doesn’t just give what we ask for. I know God as a loving Father and I believe we will learn to ask for what is good for us. Since God is the creator of kindness, you know that He can be kind also.

Finally, Paul reminds us in a popular verse in his letter to the Philippians (4:6) “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.”

Enhance your prayer life beginning today. 

Keep a prayer journal of what you pray about and record when you see or know the Lord has answered your prayer. You can use a spiral notebook, a bound journal or find some ‘app’ to use. 

My other suggestion is to pray for others by name. Our God wants a personal relationship with us and with our friends and family. Doesn’t it make sense to ‘be personal’ and pray for people by name?

Keep on asking!

His faithful love endures forever.

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Be Still

My Office This Afternoon 

Composed on the afternoon of May 16.

As I sit on the screen porch this afternoon to do some thinking, reading and studying I've noticed several things. It's a very quiet time of the day and it's very warm this afternoon. I hear the birds; however, it's not feeding time so it must be 'water cooler chatter' they have going on among themselves.

Occasionally a breeze kicks up and the trees that surround our yard seem to be waving at me saying "oh, we love the sunshine." Some of these very trees are providing important shade for a row of roses during this hot afternoon.

I look out at the patio and I see one corner where the sun is shining brightly down on the big planter. The many flowers and plants are just soaking up the rays and adding brilliance to their color.

Our God is such an awesome God!!!

"Be still in the presence of the LORD,

and wait patiently for him to act." Psalm 37:7a (NLT)

It was in this stillness that I prayed to God and asked Him to point me in His Word to what He wanted me to see today. It's my desire to find some thoughts and ideas for development into devotions or presentations. He answered my prayer! I came across a wonderful devotion and in the notes were items for further study. I followed His lead and was truly blessed!!! He led me to two wonderful topics to develop into messages.

Do you have a place where you can pray, soak in the sights and sounds around you, and listen for the voice of God? In the busyness of the day, amazing things can happen when we take a few minutes, retreat from the hustle and bustle and fellowship with our God.

An Evening Encounter
Updated after dark the same day

I couldn't help myself. It has cooled down and is such a nice evening I returned to the back porch with a book and some music to listen to through my headphones. Once again, in the stillness and quietness that surrounded me, I was able to find yet another topic that really spoke to me. That is the third one today! I'm constantly amazed at the Lord's timing. All Praise to Him, the Lord of Lords!

His faithful love endures forever.

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

A Journey - From Selfishness to Selflessness

I think of my walk with Christ as a journey, from being selfish to becoming more and more selfless. I’m not saying I’ve reached a point of being totally selfless by any means. 

For me the YMCA Ragger Program helped frame this journey during my walk with Christ. When we begin our walk with our Savior, I dare say we are a bit selfish. We even serve God if we see something in it for us. Along the journey however, we find that we just need to humble ourselves before God. This is a huge step along our walk. Totally yielding to God’s authority and His will, and being willing to follow Him are truly selfless acts. 

James 4:6 (NLT) God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

I learned a great deal through challenges presented to me through the Raggers program. One such lesson is repeated over and over in the program: I would be giving and forget the gift. It’s not about expecting something in return. I serve God as an act of love and obedience, not as an act of “networking”. Sure, we are surrounded by people who ‘volunteer’ for many good causes and give their hard earned dollars to charitable causes. But how many of those would still give if there wasn’t something in it for them? What if gifts were no longer tax deductible? What if no one cared about your service in your community when reviewing your resume?

Jesus said in John 14:21 (NLT) that His followers will show their love by obeying Him. It’s about commitment and conduct.

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.

The Ragger Program taught me a wonderful lesson that I firmly believe: service to one’s fellowmen, in the spirit of Jesus Christ, is man’s highest calling. 

Yield to God’s will and pray for Him to reveal to you how you can be the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ through selfless acts.

Let us be truly selfless and love God and joyfully serve Him.


"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

30 For 30

Ok YMCA friends and family... many of us are bond together through love of the Lord. I invite you to join me. I'm hoping to have 30 people who will commit to pray for 'their' YMCA (could be a Y from your past, present and/or future ) for 30 days. I'll post each day the topic of focus. A start date is to be determined. 

Please comment below if you will join me. If you send your email to me at the conclusion of the 30 days I'll send you a calendar of all the topics. I decided not to offer the calendar ahead of time because as I begin to pray through the topics I want to be listening for God's voice. In other words, some topics I have outlined at the current time, could change!

#30for30days #YPRAYERWARRIOR 

"I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me." John 17:21 (NLT)

"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time...

Chaplain Gray

Connected

Introduction

I read a short document one day early in my career. It's title was "A Long Answer to Prayer". The writer briefly recounted the history of George Williams and the founding of the YMCA in London England in June of 1844. I kept that document and often referred to it when talking about the wonderful history of this organization. In the document, the writer stated that when Williams arrived in London and began his work at Hitchcock and Rogers, he had prayed to God to use him to win men's heart to Christ. He focused on how Williams and others were first meeting to study the Bible and pray to the heavenly Father. 

I felt connected to George somehow. My feeling now, looking back after 36 years with the YMCA, that the Lord specifically drew me to the Christian heritage of the YMCA at that time. 

I feel that there is nothing more important in our daily life than George's habit of studying the Bible and praying! There is no way that Williams knew what God had in store for the YMCA, but it didn't take long for the movement to spread. Williams was able to see the organization flourish and grow globally in his remaining years. 

Next Phase

So, this next phase of my life will include reaching out to others to love, serve and care. It's my hope that I can continue to serve the YMCA, as well as meeting needs of others who serve their communities.


"His faithful love endures forever."

Until next time....
Chaplain Gray