Tribute to Anna Gates on our 30th Anniversary

By Leary Gates
Leary & Anna - 30 years ago

Leary & Anna – 30 years ago

Today marks thirty years since the day my best friend also became my wife. It’s hard to imagine all the things we’ve learned together, the laughs we’ve shared, and the fights I’ve lost. How minuscule the love that propelled me to marry her seems thirty years later. I was a different man then; just barely a man. She was a different woman too.

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Published on July 26, 2010 | Posted in Tributes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Thought for the Day – Genesis 22:3 on Trust

By Leary Gates
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.”- Genesis 22:3

Early risers have always impressed me, I guess because I’ve never been much of one. It’s good progress if I get going by 7 a.m. So when I read that Abraham rose early to set out on a task, I pay attention. What was so important that he needed to get started so early in the morning? The answer is found a verse earlier in Genesis 22:2: “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and…sacrifice him.’” Huh? I don’t know about you, but that’s not the kind of thing that’s going to get me jumping out of bed in the morning. In fact, it’s likely to keep me in it, with my head tucked under my pillow! I’d be hoping that if I just wait long enough I’d get a different message from God. But Abraham rose early, perhaps even before dawn, loaded the donkey with wood and set out with his son and two of his servants.

What would motivate this kind of enthusiastic obedience? Was Abraham just trained to jump when God said ‘jump’? Perhaps. But it may also go deeper than that. Hebrews 11:19 gives us a little insight, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the death.” Knowing that God had given him a promise — that his descendants would be innumerable — he believed God would do a miracle. Perhaps like a child the night before Christmas, Abraham fell asleep the night anxious to rise the next morning to see what God had in store. Could it be that a miracle is store for you too? Maybe God is waiting to see if you’re just as anxious to see it as He is to reveal it.

Your thoughts? Have you stopped trusting God for the seemingly impossible things in your life?

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Published on July 25, 2010 | Posted in Thought for the Day | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Thought for the Day – Psalm 62:8 on Refuge

By Leary Gates
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”- Psalm 62:8

One of the things that first fascinated Anna and me about Minnesota when we moved here from Colorado were the thunderstorms. Growing up in rarified mountain air, neither of us witnessed electrical light shows of the magnitude made possible in a more humid climate. We loved to turn off all the lights, sit by the window sill, and stare in awe as the night sky flashed, crackled and popped. Outside was a tempest of driving rain, wind, and mega-charged bolts of lightning. Inside was warmth, fellowship and shelter. We were safe in our refuge.

When a severe weather alert warns of a life-threatening storm, you are advised to take refuge in an appropriate shelter. Naturally, when you enter a shelter, you do so completely and close the door behind you. You don’t hang out the window or dart in and out. To do so would not be taking the storm seriously. And so it is with God. He is our refuge. When our hearts are pummeled by a storm, we can enter His place of refuge completely. We can trust Him to take us in. We can pour out our hearts to Him. He designed us to find our best shelter in Him – at all times, not just during life’s storms.

Your thoughts? How can you enter more fully into God’s place of refuge today?

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Published on July 11, 2010 | Posted in Thought for the Day | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Thought for the Day – Galatians 5:1 on Freedom

By Leary Gates
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”- Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Independence Day! All across our country Americans gather today for a traditional time of celebration marked with parades, barbecues, family outings, sporting events, and, of course, fireworks. More than two centuries have now passed since we declared independence from the British Empire. That’s enough time that over a quarter of Americans don’t know that fact, according to a recent poll. They are either unsure or didn’t know a war was fought to gain our freedom from British rule.

Similarly, a war was fought to gain our freedom as well, as the apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:1. That reminder was originally issued to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia. A conflict had arisen because some, called Judaizers, sought to impose adherence to the Jewish laws and lifestyles at the time as a condition of salvation as a Christian. Those ignorant of the freedom they gained when they accepted Christ’s completed work on the cross found themselves swayed by the Judaizers to become circumcised. Ouch! That hurt, in more ways the one. They gave up the freedom of grace to live under the tyranny of law. Paul was adamant that to do so was an act of self-sabatoge (Gal 5:1-4). It would be as if those of us that didn’t know we separated from British rule started sending taxes to the UK. As much as we might like that country, it’s the wrong allegiance — and a waste of freedom.

As you celebrate your freedom as an American today, give a thought as well to the freedom in grace you gained through Christ. Then put that freedom into action as the apostle Paul suggests: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” (Gal 5:13)

Your thoughts? In what ways can you serve up some love in your celebrations today?

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Published on July 4, 2010 | Posted in Thought for the Day | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Thought for the Day – Ephesians 3:12 on Confidence

By Leary Gates
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”- Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)

As a business consultant for over 15 years now, I’ve learned that successful consultants possess two important attributes. The first, not surprisingly, is competence. Firms hire you because you have an expertise that can benefit them in some way. Without it, you can’t even get in the door. No expertise, no access. The second attribute, though, is probably more important. Confidence. Confidence is the willingness to move into the unknown believing in a positive outcome. And here’s where many would-be successful consultants fail. They have competence, but, in the face of a business challenge they’ve not seen before, they lack confidence they can perform the work. And it shows in their presentation to the prospective client. They got the access, but they didn’t get the account.

When I read this verse in Ephesians, it occurred to me that God is giving us both. By faith, borne of His amazing grace, we have freedom to approach the Holy One just as we are. His love overcomes our incompetence to gain access to heaven on our own. What’s more, He invites to approach Him with confidence. Confidence not in our competencies, but in His character. We have a loving Father that desires to open the storehouses of His account to us. (Phil 4:19) As the Apostle John wrote, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Your thoughts? How’s your confidence level today?

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Published on June 27, 2010 | Posted in Thought for the Day | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment