Didn't I Tell You. . .? 

     Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?"  John 11:40  

     Jesus said this to Martha just before raising Lazarus from the dead. He reminded her of his promises. I'm reminded too.

     In my early years as a Christian, I had been going through a "dry spell." You know - those times when no matter how much you pray, it seems like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, and He's no where around. But since I was a relatively new Christian, I didn't know that was "normal" sometimes. I thought God had given up on me because I kept failing and falling in my walk with Him. I had been praying and praying and praying for what seemed like weeks, but could not sense His presence. I laid down to take a nap one Sunday afternoon and fell asleep praying, asking Him where He was and why had He left me? What did I do wrong that I had not confessed already?

     I didn't know I had fallen asleep, but I dreamed Jesus stepped into my view and sat down at the foot of my bed. Silly me! The only thing I said was, "You are here." Very calm and matter-of-fact like. Really??? That's all I could come up with??!! 

     You know what He said to me?  "Didn't I tell you I would be?" That was it.

     I looked away for a second and He was gone, but I never forgot that dream. 

     So when I read this passage today, it reminded me of my dream again.  Didn't I tell you. . .?  So many times over the years, as doubts and questions have come up, that dream has given me a reason to remember what I've learned by reading His words in scripture.

Didn't I tell you. . . I love you?  (John 15:9)

Didn't I tell you. . . I am your Savior and paid the penalty for your sins? (John 3:16-18) 

Didn't I tell you. . . I will never leave you? (Heb. 13:5)

Didn't I tell you. . . I am with you always? (Mt. 28:20)

Didn't I tell you. . . anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying? (John 11:25)

Didn't I tell you. . . no one can snatch you out of my hand? (John 10:29)

Didn't I tell you. . . I will come again? (John 14:3)

Didn't I tell you. . .? 

     The Bible is full of God's promises. Why do we forget so easily? Why can't we just take His word for it?

     Am I the only one who needs reminding?  What is it that He keeps telling you?  Feel free to comment below.

Lord, help me not to forget. Help me to remember the truth of Your word. . . always.

One Mess Leads to Another. 

     Have you ever noticed that? Messes multiply.

     We have dairy goats that we milk twice a day,  and this morning my two granddaughters were helping me. As I was finishing milking the biggest producer, I was distracted by teaching the girls how to milk and didn't guard the bucket properly.  The goat managed to knock over the bucket and spilled about 3 cups of milk. Of course,  it went all over me, my granddaughter, the milking stand, the bench, and the floor. A great big mess! But I held my tongue and didn't say anything. There wasn't much I could say.  We just cleaned it all up and moved on to the next goat.

     While we were outside, my grandson was inside and decided to fix himself a bowl of cereal. You see, I keep the milk in zip lock bags in the fridge because the bags take up less room, and it's easy to pour from.  When he put the milk back in the fridge, he neglected to seal the bag properly. Of course, he didn't realize that. 

   When all my goat chores were finished, about an hour or  so later, I went to fix myself a bowl of cereal, and guess what I found. . . yep, more spilled milk - in the fridge! 

     At first it seemed that only a little leaked out of the bag and it would be limited to the top shelf. So I told my grandson what he had done and grabbed a couple paper towels to soak it up. Well, as I started moving things,  I realized it was more than just a little, and it had spilled over the edge to the shelf below. I grumbled a little to my grandson about the mess, and emptied the second shelf to clean it too. As I was taking things off the second shelf,  I saw more milk running down the back into the fruit drawer. As I pulled that drawer out to clean it, more milk ran into the deli drawer below the fruit drawer! Argh! Grrrrh! Boogers!!!

   Now I was really aggravated,  so rather than snap at my grandkids,  I just told them to turn the TV off and go outside to play, as I snatched the deli drawer out to clean it as well. Pulling the drawer out, I  saw more milk on the bottom of the fridge.  By this time, I've emptied the entire fridge of all its contents and cleaned it all!

     Looking on the bright side of things, however, the fridge was pretty dirty and needed cleaning anyway. This just forced me to do it now when I didn't really have time.  But as I was cleaning, it occurred to me that life is a lot like all this spilled milk today. When we allow ourselves to be distracted from God, or make choices that lead us in the wrong direction, it makes a big mess of things.  It's called sin. And it starts out small, but seeps into areas we don't expect it to. One mess leads to another mess. Soon it can overflow into every aspect of our lives. 

     When I tried to put the deli drawer back in the fridge, I couldn't get it back in. It just wasn't right. It wouldn't go in all the way. I tried everything, but to no avail. I called my son and asked him to come and fix it. He did. After he got it back in, he showed me it had to be put on the tracks a certain way. It would only go in one way and it had to be the right way. 

     That's the same with our lives as well. When we make a mess of things, we need to call the Son to fix it. It will only work One Way, and that's the Right Way. The best part, however, is that Jesus does the clean up as well. He doesn't leave that part to us. We can't do it ourselves. We need His help to make us clean and to make us right. 

     What kind of mess are you dealing with? Call the Son. He'll take care of it. He'll take care of you. 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.  I Peter 5:7  NLT 

Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6  NIV

© 2016 by Deedy Tripp.  All rights reserved.

                                       www.deedytripp.com