Prayers Requested

https://trans4mind.com

            I realize I have not been forthcoming about something with you. I didn’t mean to keep a secret from all of you. I recently made reference to a book I have been writing and one of my readers commented that she didn’t know about it. Please forgive me for being so quiet about it.

        Today, I will interview myself about this new venture. That way you all will know how to pray for me.

Quiet Spirit: Tell us about your new book.

Cecelia Lester: “Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy” is a collection of 60 devotions that encompass six basic areas of concern Christians have. These concerns can occur in the hearts of long-time believers as well as those new to the faith.

Q.S.: Who did you write this book for?

C.L.: I wrote this book for men and women who have questions about where they are in their walk with God. People who are newly retired or recent empty-nesters.

Q.S.: What is your overall theme?

C.L.: My overall theme is to get close to God, talk to him. Observe our world and, again, talk to Him about what we as individuals do.

Q.S.: What does the title “Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy” mean?

C.L.: When we have times that seem to get the best of us, we have to look for the hope, even if it’s a tiny sliver. When we cling to that hope, we eventually find God places joy in our hearts.

Q.S.: How did you go about putting together this book?

C.L.: At the beginning of 2015, I felt I wasn’t quite doing what God wanted me to do. Days seemed to slip away from me. I started journaling. I wrote for six months on the themes of Time Management, Strength, Humility, Compassion and Mercy, Faith, and Peace. God, in His mysterious ways. saw to it that I had to practice humility, faith, and peace when I had an accident and suffered a severe injury to my right ankle. I was on bed rest in a rehab center for eight weeks. I was in that facility for three months.

Q.S.:  Tell us about the Illustrations at the beginning of each section.

C.L.: I needed something to show the different sections of the book. I tried taking some photos but they I didn’t have enough skill to do them attractively. I wanted each one to be distinctive. When I found them, I liked them. I believe each of the illustrations conveys a message about the theme of each devotion in its section.

Q.S.: What do you think people mean if they call your book non-typical?

C.L.: At the end of each devotional passage, I included up to three questions that relate to the message in that reading. Also, I placed lines for the reader to record his or her answer. These questions are to make a person think about what the message said and apply it to his or her life if that is possible.

Q.S.: What is the value of a book like “Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy?”

C.L.: It is easily read. It is small enough to fit in a purse or a small tote bag. The messages are short and to the point. This book can be easily incorporated into a person’s daily devotions, along with his or her Bible reading.

Q.S.: Do you have a release date for this book?

C.L.: Yet this summer. It will be in print and Kindle formats. I will have more information when it is released

Q.S.: Thank you for sharing with us. We look forward to the release of “Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy”

God Answers S.O.S. Prayers

https://claireelizabethweb.wordpress.com

“Ask and it will be given to you;

seek, and you will find, and

knock and it will be opened to you”

Matthew 7:7 (ESV)

            After we come to the LORD we learn we can pray and ask Him for anything. We soon discover that He can answer in one of three ways, “Yes, No, or Not right now.”

            Sometimes, we make requests that, to us, are urgent. Those times we can’t find our keys require us to pray, “Lord Jesus, please help me find my keys.” I had a friend who is now in heaven who said that she got her quickest response from God when she prayed this prayer.

            Just the other evening, I received an e-mail from the lady who us designing the book cover for my upcoming book. She requested I send her a photograph of myself if I wanted my picture on the back of the book jacket.

            The first one I sent her was too small. I enlarged it. She then asked if I could scan the original into my computer and send that one to her.

     The problem was. I didn’t know where that original picture was. Part of this stems from my being a packrat. I believe the difference between a packrat and a saver is that a saver is organized.

            I looked around and said a mental prayer, “Lord Jesus, help me find that picture.” I reached over onto a shelf to some pages I had placed between these locker shelves I purchased to give me more space and pulled out a stack of papers I had clipped together to find that picture right on top of them.

            I especially recommend this remedy when you go shopping, come out of the store, and can’t find your car.

   

Spiritual Rewards:Peace

http://ekklesiamuskogee.org

           

            “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)

             

            John the Revelator paints a wonderful word picture here of what heaven will be like.

What do we see from this vision?

·         God will live with us. He will assure us that He is there with us. The thought of having peace for all eternity gives me a lot to desire. When I see the news on television or read the daily newspaper, I have to remember that this world is not where we live, we are sojourners here.

·         God will comfort us. When we have anxieties in this world we wonder if things could get any worse. When God comes to reign on the new earth, trials, vexations, or problems will not exist. Those things we go through in this world do not make up the final outcome of our lives. There will be none of the trials that bring us down, even momentarily.

There are a lot of hurting people in our state. A supermarket has all but gone out of business here. The company has already closed several stores and has 44 others for sale. Two other companies have an interest in 26 of those. One of the ones that closed is where we used to do most of our shopping. One of the men who worked there started with the company over 50 years ago. He had never worked anywhere else. This store closure has affected the employees and those who shopped there. These people need your prayers. I pray they find peace about this. 

Expectations

http://themazeofourlives.blogspot.com

            In my earlier years, I used to get all excited about upcoming events. Then, I would experience great let downs. These down times led me to be noticeably depressed. My dad noticed it one time as I waited for my boyfriend from college to arrive at our house one summer. He told my mother about how I acted.

            It was not until a few decades later that I realized I did these things to myself. I cannot expect other people to do as I want because I am not them. I am only responsible to God for myself. My mother used to tell me, “The only one you can take care of is yourself.”

            I have heard it said with a Christian slant. “We are not supposed to confess the sins of others.” We are only responsible for our own sins until we confess them to Jesus. Then we learn to lay all our cares at His feet. 

This is a Five Minute Friday piece. The prompt was: Expect.

Spiritual Rewards: God’s Presence

http://www.preceptaustin.org

Isaiah’s Realization

Isaiah's Realization

“And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Isaiah 6:4-5 (ESV)

            The scene Isaiah describes here has been described as ‘tokens of terror.’ ^(1.) He was confronted with who God is and the state of his heart. He realized He was a sinner. Have we had times when we faced God and, like Isaiah, realized how wretched our lives are?

            I once was in conversation with a relative. My dad was in the hospital after having emergency open heart surgery. She said something about my dad needing prayer but then she said something that has stayed with me. “God doesn’t hear the prayers of a sinner.”

I didn’t pick up on what she said. She KNEW she was a sinner. I am sorry to say she left this earth about a month later. I missed the opportunity to lead this woman to Christ. I had to ask God to forgive me for that. However, I still carry that thought.

           

            As we enter the sanctuaries of our churches, we enter into God’s presence. In today’s world, I am sorry to say, some of us don’t act any different than if we were going into a living room or a game room.

                       

When are we going to learn about being in God’s presence?

_____________

1.         Matthew Henry, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids MI ©1961, page 836

Live in the Moment

https://www.skinnerinc.com

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

             A friend preached a sermon about how we are to live in the moment. She gave me a lot to think about. I sometimes relive the past and dream about the future. However, I learned that God holds the future.

            Another friend and I were talking about those who want to know the future of their lives. She told me she didn’t want to know what lay ahead for her because she would be afraid. She is a Christian and knows God has all things in His hands.

            My second friend made a wise decision because she has had an extended illness that keeps her housebound. Her usual trips out of the home she shares with her husband and daughter are when the ambulance takes her to the hospital three times a week for treatment. These treatments have caused more issues that affect her health.

            Because of my one friend’s sermon and my other friend’s experience, I have chosen not to worry about the future and live each day as best I can. My suggestion to anyone bothered about the past or concerned about the future to learn to live in the present.

             This is a Five Minute Friday entry. The prompt was FUTURE.

Spiritual Rewards: God’s Presence

http://www.crosscards.com

Isaiah Sees the Lord

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. And the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3 (ESV)

            Isaiah was thought to be a scribe in the royal palace at Jerusalem. ⁽¹⁾

  God had other plans for him. The passage at the beginning of Isaiah 6 tells us of his calling by God to work for Him and His kingdom. Let’s look at the first part of his encounter with God.

“In the year that King Uzziah died,” Uzziah tells us a date of his encounter with God.  King Uzziah died circa 740 B.C. He was thought to be a good king but people turned their backs on God. (See 2 Chronicles 26:18-21)^(2.)

“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up.” Isaiah saw God Almighty seated in His proper place, above the earth and all the things that make it up.

“. . . the train of his robe filled the temple.” This had to be a wondrous sight. As a preschooler, my son kept asking, “What does crowded mean?” Someone helped me give him an answer. We told him that something was crowded when something big was put in a small space. I don’t believe that the temple was crowded when Isaiah saw God. I envision the folds of God’s robe wrapping around the items of worship as they came to rest around Isaiah.

“Above him stood the seraphim.” Seraphim have been described as ‘an order of celestial beings.’ They seem to have borne a general resemblance to the human figure, for they are represented as having face, voice, hands and feet. ^(3.)  

   

“Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew.” I find it interesting that Isaiah described the seraphim in this way. I’m sure seeing them fly impressed Isaiah and anyone who would witness their actions.

“One called to another and said. . .” We don’t know how many of these celestial creatures Isaiah saw. The Unger’s Bible dictionary tells me that the seraphim (the word is plural) were aligned on both sides of the throne of God. In this setting, each side called out to the other, waited for a response from the other group and then called out again.      (The musical term for this type of worship is antiphonal.) ^(4.)

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.” I can almost hear the seraphim worshipping the Lord in this way. To me, seeing and hearing them and seeing God as Isaiah witnessed it would be the dream of every child of God.

 

___________  

1.      Life Application Bible, Tyndale House Publishers Inc, Wheaton IL. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, ©1991 MI page 1179

2.      Op Cit page 1178

3.      The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Moody Press Chicago, IL © 1988 Page 1160

4.      Op Cit Page 1160