Friday, August 27, 2010

Let Us Reach Out

. . . and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,

and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost

part of the earth. Acts 1:8 KJV



I walked into her hospital room. After she wiped the tears from her eyes, she told me the bad news. I listened and felt at a loss for words.

Her daughter was due there at any time. A close friend of hers had taken the girl to get enrolled in school. I called the other woman so this mother could communicate her desire to have her teenager dropped off at the hospital soon.

The fear my friend feels is real to her. Like her, we become afraid of what we don’t know. In my reading several years ago, I discovered that fear is the antithesis of faith. In other words, fear and faith are opposites.

As we grow in our faith, we grow closer to the Lord. We gain strength and learn to face the harsh, uncertain times of our lives. We learn to look to God for our answers and apply what He tells us to our lives.

I want to see this woman grow in the Lord and gain confidence in who she is in Him. She has so much to give to her family and her friends. I have to hope those who know her can see these things in her.

Lord, please equip us who walk with You to reach out to those who struggle with seemingly insurmountable problems. Guide them through us to the place they need to be. I ask these things be done out of Your grace and love. In the name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN





Wednesday, August 25, 2010

His Presence





Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,

and to present you faultless before the presence of

his glory with exceeding joy, (Jud 1:24)







We all go through times of great anxiety. What amazes us through these difficult days is God’s presence and His guidance.


As we grow in our faith, we have times when we feel His presence. What we experience is a result of prayers going up to God through Jesus Christ.

What are we to do when we feel His presence? We can relax and trust Him for the outcome. We can listen for His prodding through the Holy Spirit. We can follow Him as He guides us to His Word and study scripture passages that He leads us to. Or we can even sit and bask in the glory of the event and commune with Him.

When we are under a lot of stress and anxiety we need to remember that His job is to take care of the issue that causes the problem. Our part in the process is to give the particulars over to Him, to trust Him and wait for His resolution.

The outcomes don’t always happen quickly. God is in control and He works on His own timetable, not ours. We learn to wait for Him to answer, during this time we also discover what it means to abide in Christ.

Monday, August 23, 2010

God’s Word





As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return to it without watering the earth

And making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower

And bread for the eater so my word that goes out

From my mouth will not return to me empty, but will accomplish the purpose for which I sent  it. Isaiah 55:10-11


** I had to 'unplug' from blogging last week. Husband was back in the hospital. Life DOES sometime get in our way.** QS.


The phone call saddened me. A family asked for prayer for one of their daughters, a recent high school graduate.

Sadness filled me. Her need was for God to guide her and her family through her upcoming surgery-one often thought of for people beyond her age.

A while later, I found this scripture passage and learned a great lesson. Whatever God says, sends, or does, He has a purpose in mind. Sometimes, we, as His children, don’t know the ‘why’ of these circumstances at the time we go through the ordeal. As His children, we have to learn to accept these things.

Due to our humanity, we question, rebel, or, at times, throw a fit. But God tells us His Word will not go out or return in vain but will accomplish what He wants to see done the goal for why He allowed it into our lives.

God allowed a post-surgery complication into our lives that is still in the process of resolution. Even the surgeon couldn’t tell what caused the problem.

What we do know is several people heard of and experienced God last week. We won’t know until we get into Heaven why all this took place.

We praise God for being with us.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...