The Longer the Frost Lasts

Dear Lord; Happy Monday Father!

As is my usual practice Father, I’d like to start our chat this morning by thanking You for the weekend.  While I spent the bulk of it at home caring for a sick child and trying to catch up on housework, any time I get to spend with my family is a Blessing and I do appreciate it.  Please continue to provide Aidan with Your Healing so that he may feel even better today, and help all of us shake off the “drowsies” that always follow the shift into daylight savings time.

As You know Father, I’ve had a troubled heart as of late.  I faithfully try to lay my burdens in Your Capable Hands, but as the broken and limited being I am, I’m certainly not always successful.  Seeking inspiration this morning, You placed this in my path :

“Cast your burden on the Lord—and He will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22

“Cast all your cares upon Him—because He cares about you!” 1 Peter 5:7

– Charles Spurgeon

What a wonderful and energetic sermon to pray on Father!  Reading this, I realized that in many cases I tend to let problems and stresses build up inside me before talking with You about them.  By the time they truly beset my spirit, I’ve let them grow into a much deeper hold on me than if I had just worked them through with You when they first presented.

Such a simple lesson that I’ve ministered to others more than once, and yet somehow I’ve allowed myself to fall into this trap.

Heavenly Father, thank You for placing this message in front of me today… I absolutely needed it.  As I’ve said many times, I’m a work in progress and awed by Your Faithfulness in leading me along Your Path.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

The Rainbow Connection

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!

As You’re undoubtedly aware Father, it’s a dreary, rainy day here in Delaware.  It’s just one of those mornings where I wake up, look outside, and seriously contemplate finding some excuse to crawl back under the covers.  Alas, today that wasn’t an option so out into the weather I went.

Driving into the office following teacher conferences at the boys’ school (which went very well… thank You!), I started contemplating the lingering clouds and falling rain a little bit more.  Like all of Your Gifts to us, the rain has a purpose; it supports and nourishes life, and cleanses the landscape it traverses.  While we may not always feel joyous when the weather shifts, it is one of Your Blessings to us all the same.

And then comes the rainbow…

“And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.  Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”” – Genesis 9:12-16 (NIV)

I LOVE this Lord: a rainbow is the reminder of Your covenant with us.  What an amazing signature You have Father!  Noah must have had such a smile on his face seeing that first rainbow.  🙂

Today Father, You also placed on my heart the idea to start “Thankful Thursday” here on phatherphil.org.  The concept I had was that on each Thursday’s message to You, I’d close by listing some of the things I’ve been especially thankful for this week.  Just for curiosity’s sake, I did a quick Google search on the phrase and found that it was already something that was being done and coordinated on another site.  The site is a blog called “Grace Alone…”, and I’m pleased to link to her site today.

This week has been a hectic roller-coaster-ride Lord, but it’s funny that during those crazy days I find myself even more thankful for Your Blessings.  As this is the first “Thankful Thursday” entry for me, I’ll start with the most obvious and significant miracle in my life:

I’m extremely thankful for the unending support of my wonderful wife Shannon.  As You know Father, things have been difficult business-wise over the last several months.  Through every up-and-down, she’s always been there for me with words of comfort and encouragement.  Her love is an amazing gift Lord, and I feel truly Blessed having her as my wife.

There are so many other Blessings You grant me each day Lord, but we’ll start there.  🙂

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the cleansing rain and the vibrant reminder of Your Covenant that will soon follow.  I pray we can all see through the apparent gloom and witness Your Shining Majesty in each of our lives today.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Being Used

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!

On my way to a client’s office this morning, I was listening to the local contemporary Christian radio station and they were airing a piece about an outreach program they’d conducted a couple weeks ago.  During the clip they played, one of the participants was discussing how wonderful it was that You used that event to reach out to those who were in need.

That got me thinking Father… The idea of “being used” usually has such a negative connotation in the context of our earthly relationships, and yet as Christians we yearn for You to use us.

If we examine Your Word, we find that even Your enemies are used to accomplish Your Works.  For example, in the story of Exodus You not only used Moses to bring the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, but You also used Pharaoh as well :

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.  You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”” – Exodus 7:1-5 (NIV)

By manipulating Pharaoh and hardening his heart, You used him to make Your Might known to the Egyptians.  Even those that stand against you in doubt and defiance may be used for Your Purpose.

For those who follow You however Father, there is no greater joy than being used for Your Divine Works; to be Your emissary, Your instrument and Your servant.

Use me Lord.  Lead me.  Let me be Your Hands.  Let me shine Your Light for all to see.  This is my prayer, today and every day.

Amen.

~Phather Phil

A Geek’s Look at Salvation

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!

Over the last couple weeks Father, it seems that I’ve been performing more and more data recovery services at my office.  It’s actually work that I enjoy; taking a damaged hard drive where the contents have been rendered inaccessible and extracting the client’s seemingly lost bits of information contained therein.  It’s a puzzle sometimes, and each drive has it’s own nuances that requires specific “massaging” to get to the data.

For the client, it’s a time of trial to be sure.  Critical business data, family photos, tax returns or years of childhood videos may hang in the balance.  People tend to underestimate the importance and value of the information they entrust to their computers these days, and when it’s not there all of a sudden it can be quite a shock.  In the end, It’s a wonderfully satisfying feeling for me to hand them back something precious that they thought was lost to them forever.

Hold on… That’s what You do for us!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4-5

We bring our lost and broken selves to Your Feet Lord, and through Your Son Jesus Christ we are “recovered” and made whole again.  You return to us the most precious part of ourselves, and delight in doing so.

I never thought of you as a fellow geek Father… I like it.  🙂

Heavenly Father, thank You for “recovering me” from my sin and brokenness.  Please continue to fill my spirit with new and beautiful “data”, and assist me in promoting Your Wondrous Service to others.  Amen.

~Phather Phil

Kindness is Contagious

Dear Lord; Good morning Father!

In recent months Father, my children have become much more observant of the people around them and the things they say and do.  This of course has led to LOTS of questions about behaviors and mannerisms, and why people act in certain ways.  Following a car ride we took over the weekend, I started thinking much more in-depth about what they’re asking and the responses I’ve been giving them.

“Why do people throw trash on the ground?” asked Aidan as he looked out the car window Saturday afternoon.  “Because sometimes, people can be lazy and selfish I’m afraid.” I responded.  A little further down the road, I put my turn signal on to move over into a different lane.  When I did so, instead of making space to let me in the driver of the car next to me closed the gap between themselves and the car in front of them, effectively preventing the lane-change.  Sensing my annoyance, one of the boys piped up “Why’d they do that?”.  “Because sometimes people only think about themselves.” I replied.

As I look back on that ride, I’m a little disappointed by the answers I gave to the boys.  These were prime openings for much deeper discussions about how our actions or inactions can affect others, and how with little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness we can make a real difference in the lives of those around us.  Little things like holding onto your napkin from lunch until you find a trash can, or moving aside when you see someone with their turn signal on cost us very little effort,  and yet can be the difference between a smile and “the last straw” of someone’s day.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

In the same respect Lord, I am also convicted by my own words as well.  In a rush to get to work in the morning, how many times have I cut someone off without thinking about it?  How many times have I not stopped to help someone in need when I truly could have?  How often have I focused on situations in my own life instead of trying to reach out to others going through difficult times?  I do try to be a good person and show kindness and comfort to others, but if I’m brutally honest with myself I know I can do more.

Heavenly Father, please help guide me to be a source of compassion, support and understanding to those around me.  Lead me to reach out in the spirit of Your Love, and to show that Light to others.  Kindness is contagious Lord; Please aid me in starting an epidemic.  Amen.

~Phather Phil