Scripture

Even though the fig tree has no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.

~Habakkuk 3:17-18, NLT

Quote

 When we focus on Christ, we rejoice. When we focus on ourselves or the circumstances, we worry, fret and forget Who is in charge.

~Ya’akov

We could focus on the drought today. My garden is a dust bowl. We could focus on the corruption in Montgomery and Washington or a thousand other things that seem to be going in the wrong direction. One of our grand children spotted a cake in the Walmart bakery–it was a gay pride cake. We all need to boycott Wally World but I know it is hard because it is the only place you can get the things you need. I went back to June of 2011 and found this story. May it help us to be grateful and focus on Jesus instead of all these lesser things.

Anna is a missionary working in East Asia. She recently attended a meeting where eighty different villages participated. They came by bus or on foot and many had to travel for hours to attend the retreat. They came to hear God’s word taught. Anna had never seen anything like it! First she was impressed with their hunger for God’s word. Then she heard their testimonies. Over half had been put in prison, beaten or fined for attending bible studies like this one. Yet Anna saw in them an excitement, a joy that she had never seen in American Christians. How could they have so much less and yet have so much more? I think the key is their focus. We focus on circumstances and things. Their focus is on the word of God and Jesus. We worry and fret: they REJOICE IN THE LORD OF THEIR SALVATION.

Extra

Very busy week. VBS attendance continues to be great. I don’t have yesterday’s count but I don’t think we are losing anyone. Joyce’s surgery went well and that found a ruptured disc which may have been causing a lot of the pain. I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog, although it is a reprint of sorts.