"Remember"

 "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." (John 15:20 KJV)

  "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trails will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT)

 There are some things which we tend to forget, while it should be obvious, it sort of disappears when we take it personal, forgetting that it is pretty much expected. Seriously, this is real, and it cannot be a thing we tend to forget: If they persecuted Christ, who did nothing wrong, but share the Father's love; then who are we to expect that nothing should be happening to us? 

 Maybe I should rephrase that, because it seems to be a little weak and unambiguous! How about the fact that we suffer more, the more we become like Jesus? The more we sacrifice and move away from the things of this world, the more we are finding ourselves in the fire. Which, believe it or not, is a good thing! 

 We might not think of it as so; and surely, those around us will not see it as so; but the fire of trials is what purifies and cleanses us from the filth of this world. We don't even realize how much of the world's filth has been stuck on us, until we get into the fire, seeing things from God's point of view. But that is the direction we need to be looking from, which is where we become, once we remember His words! 

 As many of you know, as I have shared, Marianne and I are coming up to the 20th anniversary of her surgery, which was August the 12th, 2003. We were married on July 31st, 1982; so technically, we will have been married longer during the worse, then we were during the better! Not that this is the worse, because I am more dedicated to loving her now, then ever! 

 These days, the days drawing closer to our anniversary, they cause me to share more about what is happening, than the most other times of the year. It is really hard to describe it, but there are quite a few people I talk to that are not very kind towards me, as if I have done something wrong. Sometimes, I feel like that myself, as I think about what I would have wanted if it was me. 

 I made a vow, telling God that I would care for her as long as she is here; now it is God's choice, not mine, as to when she is to be taken! Until that happens, I will remain faithful and patient; looking for that glorious day when we both stand before the Lord...

"But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for his return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT)