Blog

Hush, Listen, Hear

2012-05-09T13:10:30Z

"If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given you besides." (Mark 4:23-24 NASB)

A number of years ago, I'd been feeling increasingly N.Q.R. "Not quite right" is actually a huge understatement regarding my condition. Things came to a head one morning when I was so ill that I had to break my word regarding a commitment I'd made. I yielded to my family's insistence that I see a doctor.
I was somewhat prepared for the doctor's "bad news" facial expressions while he took my blood pressure and pulse, and looked at the results of the ECG. Nothing, however, prepared me for his question, "Did you drive here?" That told me I was very much at risk in my present condition. I was given prescription medication to relieve immediate symptoms, and sent to "pathology", "radiology", and "dietology",in fact, a whole team of people,for tests and consultations, and a further appointment was made to see the doctor again for the results and diagnosis.

In all the years of my covenant relationship and times of fellowship with my Lord Jesus, I don't think I'd eve r listened as attentively as I listened to that doctor that day. The diagnosis: "diabetes disease". The way he explained things and instructed me in a workable strategy, more medications, and treatments, was as if we'd be working in partnership to bring about the stabilizing necessary for me to live somewhere near a reasonable quality life.
Result: I am well and happy today. Thank You, Lord, for Your ever-loving grace.
But here is the best part. The wonderful truth is that I am so much more attentive at listening to my Lord these days, and to others. Yet, I wouldn't have gone as far downhill, healthwise, if I had listened more to Him back then, rather than me doing most of the chatting.

Jesus, speaking to His disciples, said, "If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given you besides." (Mark 4:23-24 NASB) God always gives more when we fully value what we have already. "More shall be given you besides": more desire to hear, more wisdom and understanding, more faith in the truths we hear, more blessings from what we hear, more delight in what we hear, and so on. Life is much more positive for us, and for those we relate to, when we take the time to listen to the Lord for His guidance, answers to prayer, and promises in His given Scriptures. And He does have the most appropriate sense of humour.

Prayer: We praise Your holy name, Lord, for the honour it is to listen as You speak to us. Thank You for the love, the wisdom, the teachings, the holiness, the forgiveness, the encouragement, the righteousness, the peace, and the joy. Indeed, thank You that we can hear You and know Your divine personality and attributes. Thank You. Thank You. In Jesus' beautiful name, we pray. Amen and Amen.

By Rosemary: WestBury Victoria Australia

Passionate Waiting

2012-05-02T13:10:19Z

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9, NIV

I have asked other people what they are doing. They respond, "Oh, I'm waiting on God." Waiting on God before we act is the right thing to do. However, there are two ways that people choose to wait on God.

Passionate Waiting:
Passionate waiting is when one waits expectantly for God's answer. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV). One needs to actively seek God's direction. God will open the doors to you that He wants you to go through. In the meantime, continue being a Christian in your everyday life.

Passive Waiting:
This type of waiting is when a person does nothing to pursue God's direction in their life. They misinterpret it as waiting for God to do all the work. God has a partnership with you. Yes, God is the head. However, God cannot do anything t hrough you if you do nothing. This is laziness. "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make you hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy; but to imitate those who through faith, and patience inherit what has been promised." (Hebrews 6: 10-12, NIV). Waiting does not mean just sitting around doing nothing. One has to do something to pursue God's will.

One needs to actively seek God and His will. You will not get any closer to the will of God if you do nothing. When you are active in pursuing God's will, He will open the doors He wants you to go through. God is not a loner. God cannot get anything done on this earth unless He has actively seeking servants.

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to be a passionate waiter as I actively seek Your direction and wait upon You to open the doors You desire for me to go through. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

By Jodi, Arizona

The Bumps Don't Hurt Anymore

2012-04-25T19:21:27Z

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

“I’m okay, Honey,” I said to my seven-year old son, Jason as I pressed a piece of ice on my forehead.

“Are you crying?” He asked.

I brushed a tear off my cheek and nodded as my heart ached. How could I tell my three little boys that their mommy’s vision was diminishing. They would never understand about incurable retinal diseases or the fact I inherited it from their grandfather.
For the moment the tiny field vision I still had left ushered me from task to task as their mommy.
Pressing ice to my forehead to dull the pain, I sat on the couch in our family room. And while they all romped in the backyard, I made the decision. My limited eyesight wouldn’t interfere in my role as their mom. On the contrary, I’d use each episode to teach them about life.

“You have a bump on your forehead,” Jason said when he came inside. I had removed the ice and the spot still throbbed.

“I do,” I said matter-of-factly. “There’s a lump, but I didn’t fall down. I’m really okay. In life we all have bumps in the road. We’ll run into things we never expected to be there. I run into things because I can’t see too well.” I pulled him closer. “As you grow up, you’ll probably have obstacles too. And when you do, guess what? God is already watching over you. Sometimes He allows a bump, but if you trust in Him, He’ll never let you fall.”

Each time I faced a challenge, I laced lessons for each of them. My three-year old brought a book for me to read to him—attempt to read with little vision. I sat him on my lap and opened it to the first page.

“Mommy it’s upside down,” he said as he turned the book in my hands.

“That was the wrong way, wasn’t it?” I turned his chubby cheek toward me. “Can you tell me other things that you know are wrong?”

“When I hit Jeff?” he said.

“Uh huh.”

Months swept by, and the dreaded day came. I woke up, tried to fix my eyes on an object. But I saw nothing. I turned to the right, to the left, I squinted but I saw no shadows, colors, shapes. I was totally blind.
Weeks of adjustments, tears, anguish and re-assigning tasks to my husband marked the entrance into my new world of darkness
But another day came, a glorious day. the day came when I woke up and heard their giggles, their voices and silly antics that opened the eyes of my heart. They reminded me I still could hear, walk, love, and the passion to care for them was intact.
I had so much, and what I lacked could be compensated by other senses.
Trusting in my sense of feeling and taste, I learned to cook, clean, do laundry and even play with them.

One night, as I walked in my 4 year-old’s room, I made my way to the bed. And with my finger tips I felt for the pillow. And as I always did, I bent over to give him a kiss. But this time I didn’t feel his soft cheek. When I investigated with my hands, he had gone in head first under the covers and I had kissed his wiggly feet on the pillow.

I laughed. And slipping out from the covers, he gave a mischievous giggle.

And it was that sense of humor and the positive outlook that took us through tough episodes and adjustments.

God gave our family a way to face my blindness. He gave my sons a new view of life. And He gave me a unique opportunity to learn a new side of motherhood--a mom’s weakness, physical or emotional, can be the very strength to teach them crucial lessons: the value of perseverance, the importance of courage, and the need for increased faith.

Now grown and with their own lives, they display compassion, maturity and a bright outlook on life.

Although without eyesight, God graced me with insight to teach my sons that, through Jesus, the weakness that makes us doubt, will be the strength that make us soar.
As God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Janet (FL)

Go To the Lord

2012-04-18T13:12:02Z

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and work." 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17, NIV

The Lord is so many things to us as Christians. He is our Savior who saved us from eternal darkness. he is also our helper. He wants us to come to Him in times of need.

Go the the Lord for:

FORGIVENESS
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not persih but have eternal life." (John 3: 16, NIV). This is the ultimate forgivenss. God gave His Son, who had no sin, to die for the sin of man. When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior as a sinner, God wipes the slate clean of all our past sin. We are free from eternal darkness.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9, NIV). Although we are free from our past sins, God will convict us of our sins in the present. When we are convicted of a sin, we must repent to be made right with God once again. God will forgive us of our sins to be set free once again.

LOVE
"neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 8: 39, NIV) God is love. He wants fellowship with us, probably more than our desire. When we feel trampled upon by the conditional love of this world, we can be assured that we can go to God for His unconditional love. He loves us with no strings attached.

WISDOM
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1: 5, NIV). God directs our path to the narrow way of living the Christian life. (Proverbs 3: 6) When we need to make any decision, we should go to God for His wisdom and direction. Jesus Christ was God made flesh. In the Word of God, He sets the exmple to follow for wisdom in our daily lives.

STRENGTH
"God is our refuge and s trength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalms 46: 1, NIV) In the hustle and bustle of today's society, it is so easy to get worn out. God gives strength to us to carry on when we are weary and tired. He is there for us always. God does not want us to give up, but to perservere. We can perservere through obtaining strength from the Lord.

COURAGE
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and couragious. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1: 9, NIV) Joshua had a tall order to fill, take over the position of Moses to cross over to the Promised Land. We all have things in life that seem undoable. We may feel fear. The Lord never says that we would not feel fear, but His command is to be courageous and not succumb to fear. Fear can hold you in bondage. God desires us to be free with His courage and strength to overcome anything we are fearful about.

HOPE
" And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5: 5, NIV) As Christians, we draw our hope from God through Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, we were not abandoned with any hope for the future. God sent the Holy Spirit to offer us help and encouragement to direct our paths everday of our lives.

God is the Great Provider. He provides for all of our needs. All we need to do is go to God for His provision. We can go to the Lord for love, hope, forgivenss, courage, wisdom and strength.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for providing for me and giving me love, hope, forgiveness, courage, wisdom, and strength.

By Jodi, Arizona

God’s Perfect Perspective

2012-04-11T13:09:44Z

Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
When times are good, be happy;
But when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 (NIV)

A beloved man from my church died this weekend. He left behind a wife and five children. The whole church is reeling. It left many of us wondering - why would God take this good man away from his family? The inevitable conclusion is that we just aren't privy to that information. But, we still question why.

It has been said that our lives are a beautiful tapestry. But while on earth, we can only see the back, an unrecognizable mess of strings. Our perspective is so very limited that many things in life just don’t make sense. But when we get to heaven, we will be able to see the beauty on the front of the tapestry. And maybe then we will understand the things in life that seem so unfair, that seem to have no good purpose, that cause suffering.

God has a perspective that we cannot possibly fathom. He sees the past, present and even the future with perfect clarity. He is never perplexed. He is never surprised. He never makes a mistake. He never thinks , "oh no, what am I going to do now?"

So we can have faith even in the hard, yucky times. God is working beautiful things in and through our lives. And someday we will be done with the pain, sorrow and tears. Maybe then we will see things a bit more from God's perspective. We may understand why we endured pain in this life, but in the bliss of heaven, it may not seem at all important anymore.

Heavenly Father, I praise you for your perfect perspective. I pray that I can be faithful as I face life’s challenges, trusting that you are weaving a beautiful tapestry with my life. Amen.

By Kathy, Texas USA

Autographed by Dad

2012-04-04T13:08:57Z

Job 2: 6 (NLT)

'All right, do to him as you please, the Lord said to Satan, but spare his life'

During the first week of the new school year, a middle school student brought home a stack of forms requesting the authorized signature of a parent.
Among the group of documents were the school’s agreements, policies, regulations, classroom rules, the student’s accessibility to diverse programs and the use of school equipment.

Before the father signed his autograph along the dotted line, he read each form carefully. Having made his decision he gave conditional consent only to the request he felt would greatly benefit his son, and denied all access to the remaining.

In Job’s situation, Satan did not ask permission to attack Job, instead, God offered him as a candidate. Undoubtedly, it was Satan’s ultimate desire to demolish Job, but God gave him firm restrictions.

Likewise, nothing bypasses God without his permission. When we belong to the household of God, He signs the permission slips to all tests and trials. There are times whe n troubles strike us on every angle, but those are the seasons, when Satan has inquired to attack us or God himself initiates us so that he may elevate us to a higher level of blessings, character or faith. Each time Satan asks to bother us, God responds to his request in the following manner “limited access or access denied”, but God will never authorize anything, which attempts to destroy us.

Lord, when I am under attack, help me to remember my test, trials and troubles are consented for the purpose of my triumphs.

By Dawn, (Texas)

Passionate Waiting

2012-03-28T13:03:38Z

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9, NIV

I have asked other people what they are doing. They respond, "Oh, I'm waiting on God." Waiting on God before we act is the right thing to do. However, there are two ways that people choose to wait on God.

Passionate Waiting:
Passionate waiting is when one waits expectantly for God's answer. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV). One needs to actively seek God's direction. God will open the doors to you that He wants you to go through. In the meantime, continue being a Christian in your everyday life.

Passive Waiting:
This type of waiting is when a person does nothing to pursue God's direction in their life. They misinterpret it as waiting for God to do all the work. God has a partnership with you. Yes, God is the head. However, God cannot do anything through you if you do nothing. This is laziness. "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make you hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy; but to imitate those who through faith, and patience inherit what has been promised." (Hebrews 6: 10-12, NIV). Waiting does not mean just sitting around doing nothing. One has to do something to pursue God's will.

One needs to actively seek God and His will. You will not get any closer to the will of God if you do nothing. When you are active in pursuing God's will, He will open the doors He wants you to go through. God is not a loner. God cannot get anything done on this earth unless He has actively seeking servants.

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to be a passionate waiter as I actively seek Your direction and wait upon You to open the doors You desire for me to go through. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jodi (AZ)

Giants Or Grasshoppers

2012-03-21T13:24:30Z

Giants Or Grasshoppers? Numbers 13:33b - And we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. (NKJV)

As our reconciled family was moving on in the knowledge and love of our Lord, we found ourselves failing to maintain Godly peace in our home, which resulted in devastating, ugly, harmful, warring disharmony. Mercifully, God's all-powerful revelation truth did come to us through His Word, our prayers, and basic pastoral teachings about our adversary -- the devil -- and his permanent mission "to steal, kill, and destroy" God's purposes for His people.
We learned to use, through Jesus' name, our God-given power and authority over the works of the evil one. Also, from today's Scripture, we were reminded of the importance of belief in our Lord's power and ours in Him.

In this battle, we prayed daily in agreement and in Jesus' name. We repented of any misconduct, and we rendered the devil's works powerless in us and our home. We won! God's peace began to reign once again in our family. All praise to Jesus! Thereafter, we never, ever saw ourselves as powerless grasshoppers in any future devilish attacks. The other good news is that those lessons have continued to work as a permanent teaching tool through our family's subsequent four generations: "Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. (Joel 1:3 NKJV)

The Israelites were not so blessed. Some spies reported the news of the Promised Land to Moses this way: "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." (Numbers 13: 31b,33 NKJV) Caleb and Joshua reported differently to Moses: "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:30b NKJV) Disobediently, that Israelite generation refused to obey God to defeat the occupying enemy, so they didn't possess the Promised Land, and they wandered the wilderness for the next forty years!

The same situation arises today for God's people. God's kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy is the New Testament equivalent of the "Promised Land". We ever have the opportunity to believe, to obey God's Word, and to possess and live in His "Promised Land". But our battle is not merely to defeat the attempts of our enemy; it is to live for Jesus in the fullness of His promises, and importantly, to fulfill His eternal purposes here on earth.
Beloved, let us not live below our Christ's blood-bought privileges, settling for spiritual impotence in the wilderness of Satan's half-truths. Instead, when we live in Jesus, we are always huge in the sight of our adversary. We can choose to live as victorious, rejoicing, Christian giants, experiencing God's kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy, permanently. Psalm 60:12 - Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies. (NKJV)

Prayer: Yes, Lord, strategically, in all our battles, victory comes through Your sovereign authority and our skilful use of the weapons You have supplied for us in Your Word, to oust our enemy from all that You have ordained that we should possess. In Your all-powerful name, we win! Amen and Amen!

Rosemary (Australia)

Anchor Of Hope

2012-03-14T18:25:04Z

Psalm 91:2 (NIV) I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Hebrews 6:19 (NIV) We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

I watch as storm clouds billow in across the harbor. Fishermen and sailors secure their boats against the coming threat. Anchors of heavy metal hold the moorings in place and the crafts are made fast with cable line. Seagulls shriek their danger call over the roaring waves.

The harbor is a haven even in the midst of storms. It offers shelter and refuge to those who come within. The chains are strong and the anchors hold. Although they are buffeted by wind and waves the boats are safely moored with an anchor that will hold them until the storm has passed by.

In life we will face trials and difficult circumstances. There will be those times when our life is rocked like the boats in a storm. It is in these stormy seasons that we come to Him and find that He is a safe harbor. We begin to see the hope that Christ has given to us; that we will be with Him in heaven when this life is over. It is this hope that holds us firm no matter what happens in our life. We know that He is with us now and that we will be with Him when our life is finished.

Dear Lord, I come and find refuge in Your words today. I know that You are with me in all seasons of life. Amen.

Maria (Canada)

Tell Him The Truth

2012-03-08T12:06:12Z

"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" John 8: 31-32

As I was looking through the Bible the other day, I was amazed by the number of times that Jesus said, "I tell you the truth....". Jesus wanted to make sure the people He was addressing knew where His answers came from, the truth of God. God guides us by the truth.

God desires that in return from us. Through Jesus Christ, tell God the truth when you pray to him. Be honest about what is going on in your life. Also, when you go through hard times, speak the truth of the Word of God out of your mouth, instead of speaking of your worry and fears. In being honest in your relationship with God and speaking the Word of God, your life will be fulfilling as God guides you everyday by His truth.

Dear Heavely Father, thank You for sending the truth of Your Word. Help me to always be truthful with You in my daily prayer life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Jody (AZ)