Dear friends,
What do you think of when you hear the words “Groundhog Day?” Do you think of the animal seeing his shadow and winter being over soon? Or is it not seeing his shadow and winter being over soon? For some reason, I’ve always had trouble remembering how this was supposed to work. If you were to ask my wife about her thoughts regarding “Groundhog Day,” she might answer that she was not impressed by the movie of the same name. As believers, we can thank God that we do not live according to superstitious beliefs, but rather by the Word of God.
This week I have been enjoying the profound counsel of Dr. V. Raymond Edman, former president of Wheaton College, who wrote an excellent book entitled “The Disciplines of Life” in 1948. One chapter that particularly interested me is “The Discipline of Detail.” Having studied Accountancy and spent many years correcting Bible correspondence course lessons, I admit that I pay close attention to detail (sometimes to the chagrin of others).
Dr. Edman writes: “Life, like a sentence, should have its subject, expressed or implied. To have self as the subject of one’s life sentence is to have narrow horizons, shallow objectives, unsatisfactory achievements; in brief, a life that is wasted … in this existence, not to speak of eternity. The life with Christ as its grand subject is the life with wide horizons, worthy aims and entirely satisfactory accomplishment. The measure in which we lose our life for Jesus’ sake is the measure of life’s breadth, height, depth, motivation and meaning.”
Earlier this week, we received the following email from Randy Moyer, whose wife, Sandy, underwent back surgery a couple of weeks ago:
“Sandy received word from the doctor here at the rehabilitation center that the incision in her back is not closing properly. 2/3 of the incision is ok but one third is not closing right. She will be heading back to the clinic where the operation took place to see a surgeon that works with the two neuro-surgeons that performed her surgery. Please pray with us that God will the surgeon wisdom and that a simple solution be found to close the incision permanently so we can continue moving ahead. It feels like we are taking one step forward and two steps back in the last few days.”
By His grace,
Steve