“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:12 Stuff happens when we pray! If we could draw back the spiritual veil, our jaws would drop to see God commissioning His angels to action for us! “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14 Satan, mad at being kicked off the angelic prayer loop, resorts to age-old schemes. Threatened by our faith-expressions, he tries to distract us from …
In My Distress
[box] “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” Jonah 2:2[/box] Jesus Whispers: Your troubles are safe in My ears. I don’t always answer the way you expect, but I answer. When people hurt you, don’t carry the burden of judge and jury. That’s my job. I’m the only who sees the heart. Pray for your enemies, leave room for my discipline, and allow my grace to flow through you. Freely you have received; freely give. When you’re …
Relax When People Are Dying?
“The perseverance of the saints consists in ever new beginnings.” ~ Alexander Whyte Staring like a morning zombie at the last bucket-sized mound of Minnesota snow in our backyard, I collapse on our family swing and enjoy the budding trees and chorusing birds. Ah, yes… Finally the semblance of spring! Why can’t every day be a bird-chirping, sit-in-the sun kind of day? Who invented stress anyway? How’d you do it, Lord? How did you bear the weight of the world, the sentence of shame and death, a teacher’s worst time-line (three years to turn your disciples into world-changers), without taking …
Overly Eager for Heaven?
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3 “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” 2 Peter 3:11-12 Sounds clear enough to me: We’re supposed to be “heavenly-minded,” living …
De-stressing
If anyone had reason to worry or panic it was holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom; but she held her peace because she needed it to face her impossible challenges. So do we. Life is hard, time is short, people need us. We need peace. Worry’s tough to kick because it clings under the pretense that it’s actually doing something (other than leaching our strength.) People spend big bucks on stress management, but Jesus gives us the keys: Be eternity-minded. Adjust your perception to match Mine. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… My yoke is easy, and My …
Trust I Must
My Mac time capsule/wireless router overheated to an early death, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to post this. I don’t know if I’ll get the device working again. Lord, help. All my written words transfer through our wireless connection! I feel disconnected from the source. I laugh at how computer-dependent I sound. God is my only Source, and nothing can out-power our connection, not even mechanics. I sigh because I still don’t know when I’ll be able to “send” this message; but I choose to rejoice because I know Sovereign God says, “My timing is perfect. Trust …
Pregnant with Empathy
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Isaiah 53:3 Hundreds of years B.C., the prophet Isaiah predicted Christ’s gruesome suffering. Unlike Christ, we humans rarely choose pain. We flee from it. Mothers accept pain to produce children, but have you ever noticed pain doesn’t stop then? Physical pain turns emotional when our beloved children make poor and costly decisions according to their “free will.” Jesus was pregnant with this type of pain as He gazed over the city, crying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to …
Faith Lift
Every step toward Christ kills a doubt. Theodore Cuyler
Honest Rest
“When filled with holy truth the mind rest.” Charles Spurgeon I don’t know about you, but my mind doesn’t automatically fill with holy truth.