Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Faith’ Category

Little Tail – Big Tale

Posted in Behemoth, Devotional, Faith, Gap Theory, Guidance, Religion on January 16, 2012| 1 Comment »

I sometimes miss those days when my three-year old son would open his dinosaur books and eagerly tell me all about the Rhamphorhynchus and Pachycephalosaurus –and yes, he could pronounce them flawlessly. In fact, he knew more about dinosaurs than most adults. What really blessed my heart, though, was his rather intense defense of Scripture. “There are dinosaurs in the Bible!” he would tell anyone who would listen, then begin a dissertation on creation. That’s my boy!

Dinosaurs in the Bible?  Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. There are lots of Scriptures that talk about such things as dragons, flying fiery serpents, and of course, the behemoth and leviathan (the term dinosaur wasn’t coined till 1841).

In the book of Job, God tells Job to “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee.” No surprise here, we were already told in the first chapter of Genesis (verses 25 & 26) that God created man and “cattle” on the same day. The word cattle is translated from the Hebrew word b’haymah (behemoth). However, the word cattle as used here, denotes any large beast. Cows are only one  type of “beast” that fall into this category.

In Job’s account, however, God is speaking of a very specific behemoth. He said that this behemoth: eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God.

Wow, what a very vivid picture of a sauropod – that’s the genus of giant dinosaur that has legs like bars of iron and tails like cedar trees. Even so, most Bible reference notes say that behemoth was either an elephant or (most likely) a hippopotamus. I find this explanation to be entertaining to say the least, so I’ve included a photo of a hippo’s tail in order for you to share in my mirth.

 

Yep, that looks like a cedar tree — NOT!

 

How about this sauropod’s tail?  Is it just me, or does this look a little more believable?


What I do not find amusing, however, is the big tale that has turned this little, wimpy hippo tail into that of behemoth’s.  This man-made doctrine is called the “gap theory” or “gap creationism” and it is a whopper of a tale. In a very simplified nutshell, the gap theory claims that there is a gap in the narrative between the first two verses of Genesis.  In between those verses, some claim, is an undisclosed narrative of a previous creation –the one that held dinosaurs, ice ages and all the other things that would “require” an earth that is far older than the one we know.

Apparently, that “first” earth had its own problems and became as extinct as the dinosaurs that supposedly roamed it.  Therefore, as the gap theory claims, God destroyed this first earth so that it became without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And you know the rest of the story because it is recorded in Scripture.

Well, that would make for a very convenient explanation for some of those often misunderstood Scriptures. But there are several problems with the gap theory, including the following Scripture:

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea (Revelation 21:1).    Oops, the first earth here is clearly speaking of the one you and I are living in now; so much for a pre-existing, dinosaur filled earth.

Now back to the hippo tail.  If only mankind would take God at His word, we would have no problem believing Him when he informs us that He created man and dinosaur on the same day and that they lived together on the same planet –this planet.  We would then read the fortieth chapter of Job and correctly understand that it was speaking of a big ole sauropod. I must admit, however, that a correct understanding of Job’s behemoth would mean  less laughter at the zoo near the hippo enclosure  when folks like me looked at its “tail like a cedar tree.”  But that’s a small price to pay for debunking such an outrageous tale as the gap theory; don’t you think?

Read Full Post »

Sump Times

Posted in Contentment, Devotional, Emotional Healing, Encouragement, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Inspirational, Solitude, Spiritual Strength on January 5, 2012| 2 Comments »

Just past a golden cornfield in the middle of nowhere, lies a very quiet, obscure refuge. Though I haven’t been anywhere near the place for decades, it did serve me well during my dreadful teenage years. Life was very bleak back then, almost more than I could bear, so I was very thankful to have my own private “sump” to escape to.

The sump was really a drain-off ditch for the fields during the rainy season. Few people even realized it was there because it was carefully hidden behind a wind-breaking wall of trees. For most of the year, the interior of the sump looked like a dry creek bed strewn with a few fallen trees – those were my chairs, or airplane seats, or whatever else my imagination needed them to be at various times. I spent many hours alone in the sump contemplating the complexities of life or simply crying; it was very soothing. Had I known God back then, I would have spent many hours praying in the sump, but it would be many years before I would come to know Him. Still, looking back, I am certain that He was there with me in that place of refuge even though I was unaware.

Jesus, our Messiah, also understood the need for quiet refuge, especially to pray:

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone (Matthew 14:23).

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed (Luke 5:16).

There are several other Scriptures which indicate that it was Jesus’ habit to go off alone for quiet times of prayer, too many too include here. It seems to me that if the Son of God, Himself, understood the necessity of going off alone to pray, then we, in our human frailty, should do so all the more.

Dear reader, we live in a hustle and bustle world that pulls at us from every direction. It is so easy to become overwhelmed! May I encourage you to purpose in your heart to find more time to go off alone to contemplate life’s complexities, or even to cry if need be. I promise, however, you won’t be truly alone. The Lord, Jesus, will be with you even if you do not know Him yet. He longs to spend time with you and He will meet you there.

I also recommend that you go off occasionally and have some “me-time”  for no reason at all, at least sump-times. After all, there is nothing like a bit of quiet solitude to soothe and refresh one’s soul in a frenzied, hectic world.

Read Full Post »

“Mister, Do You Smoke?”

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, Inspirational on December 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Out of the mouths of babes! Several years ago, when my youngest daughter was about three years old, she brightened the life of a stranger in the most unexpected way. She was sitting in the front of a grocery cart, dangling her legs to relieve the boredom of the long wait in line, when she suddenly chirped a friendly “Hi” to someone behind me.

As I turned to greet the person to whom she had spoken, I couldn’t help but notice his grubby clothing, and his tattoos and piercings –which were not all that common back then. Though I knew nothing of his life, he did perfectly fit the stereotypical image of a really tough biker thug. My daughter must have thought he looked like a bad boy as well, because she asked him a rather odd question –you never know what a child is going to say.

“Mister, do you smoke?”

With apparent amusement, the man answered, “No ma’am, I don’t.”

I thought it very sweet of him to call her ma’am. He certainly was a far more gentle man than his outward appearance suggested. As a parent, I felt the need to lovingly advise my daughter that it was not polite to pry. But she didn’t give me the chance. Without skipping a beat, my golden-haired child replied, “Good! I’m glad you don’t. You prob’ly won’t go to hell if you smoke, but if you do smoke, that might mean your heart isn’t right with Jesus.”

I was flabbergasted. Yes, we taught our children that smoking was bad, but who would have thought that a three-year-old would then preach the evils of smoking to a stranger in a grocery store? I felt the need to apologize on behalf of my daughter. But again, she didn’t give me the chance.

“Mister, can I sing you a song?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am, you sure can!” he responded with a very genuine smile. He wasn’t offended at all. Obviously, he was touched by the innocence of a child’s heart.

Then, loudly enough for half the store to hear, my daughter sang these words:

“Jesus loves the little children; all the children of the world…”

All eyes were now fixed on my precious child; especially his. As I looked into the face of this burly, hard-looking man, I was surprised to see tears run down his cheek. This time he spoke to me.

“If I live to be a hundred,” he said, “I will never forget this little girl.” And he probably never did.

This time of year, much of the world’s thoughts are on another little child; the baby Jesus. Though he wasn’t really born in December, Christmas carols like “O Holy Night” and “Away in a Manger” remind us that Jesus IS the Savior of all mankind.

Truly, Jesus is the Son of God and He came to this earth, born of a virgin, to dwell in human form. But that baby grew to be a man, then offered His own life as atonement for sin. Why? As my daughter so aptly sang, “Jesus loves the little children of the world!”

No matter our ages, we are all God’s children and He loves us! “Red, brown, yellow, black and white; we are precious in His sight….”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life
(John 3:16).

Read Full Post »

The Proper Ingredients

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision, Guidance, Inspirational, Obedience, Preparedness, Purity, Religion, Servanthood, Spiritual Hunger, Spiritual Strength, Zeal on November 29, 2011| 4 Comments »

Okay I admit it; a few days ago, I almost mixed dried mustard into my pumpkin pie filling instead of ginger.  It’s a good thing I keep a pair of reading glasses in the kitchen and have the good sense to use them.  Otherwise, our dessert would have tasted awful.  At least I can blame my aging eyes for this near-blunder. 

Speaking of nasty-tasting desserts, I will also confess to you that I still hold first place in the “worst cake ever made” category for novice bakers.  Granted, I was quite young when I made that horrible thing, but that error was one of ignorance rather than limited vision. Allow me to explain:

Because this was the first cake I had ever baked from scratch, I was careful to follow the recipe to the letter.   From its beautiful, golden-brown appearance, the cake looked perfect when it came out of the oven. It tasted awful, though.  Words cannot adequately describe how nasty this cake tasted, or how confused I was by the outcome.  What had I done wrong?

Determined that I would not accept such a failure, I decided to toss the cake and start over.  Again, I assembled all the ingredients and followed the recipe meticulously. The flour was carefully sifted, the butter properly softened, the vanilla carefully measured and every ingredient added in order.  Surely, I reasoned, this cake would be better.

Definitely not!

The second cake was every bit as disgusting as the first; I was practically in tears.  With great disappointment, I informed my parents that we were not having cake that night because I was the worst baker on the planet and both cakes were in the trash, where they belonged.

“What did you put in the batter?” they asked.

I explained that I had followed the cookbook recipe and used only the ingredients listed.  I wasn’t sure why my parents started laughing, but they led me into the kitchen and, pulling a bottle from the cabinet, asked if that was the vanilla I used.

“Yes,” I answered, somewhat confused.

More laughs.  “That’s not vanilla,” they explained. “You used liquid smoke in the cake.”  (Unbeknownst to me, we had run out of vanilla.)

To be fair, the label had come off the bottle some time before.  But even if it hadn’t, I didn’t have a clue what liquid smoke was. Apparently, it’s a dark, liquid seasoning that is used to add a smoky flavor to foods. Trust me; you do not want to eat cake which tastes like it just came out of the smokehouse!

I was thinking about this recently after I listened to a young pastor present some rather “contemporary” suggestions for bringing the unsaved into his church. For the most part, his ideas were pretty good. And if the preacher’s vision to reach the lost had been more firmly grounded in Scripture, the outcome would have been very sweet and desirable.   However (without elaborating on the details), I noted that a few of his suggested “ingredients” for successful evangelism were, in reality, a violation of God’s Word. His vision was admirable, but he simply did not have proper understanding in regards to the propriety of his ideas.

We must remember, when putting together any kind of church outreach, that the proper “ingredients” are absolutely vital!

Although our hearts may be sincere and our motives pure, we must always be careful not to unintentionally substitute the sweet “vanilla” of God’s instruction for the (liquid) “smoke” of “cultural relevance.”  True, our well-meaning efforts might produce something that looks really good, but if we have made substitutions in God’s “recipe” for Christian conduct, (even unknowingly), the results will most likely be distasteful to the Lord.

Of course, we do need to earnestly minister to the unsaved, but it is only the LORD who can effectively bring them into the fold.  He Himself said: No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him (John 6:44).   Programs are nice, and preaching is important, but our primary focus should be to fulfill our divine calling to be a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that  [we] may declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light (I Peter 2:9).

Dear reader, let us   firmly resolve to once again raise the church to the standards of holiness she once walked in, that God may be pleased to dwell in His sanctuary as He did in days of old.  Upon doing so, we will most assuredly have the right ingredients to properly minister to those whom the LORD will send.

And that, my friend, is sweet and desirable to the LORD!

 “Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes.”                   ~George Soros

Read Full Post »

Nunya!

Posted in Condemnation, Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Emotional Healing, Encouragement, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Inspirational, Miracles, Spiritual Hunger, Testimony on November 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Let’s be honest; too many personal questions can sometimes be annoying. My friend, Barbara, often answers them with one simple word –nunya. (Yep, that really is in the (urban) dictionary –I looked it up).

She and I are good friends, so she has never responded to any of my questions like that. In fact, the first time I heard her use that term; it caught me off guard because I had never heard it before. She explained, “When I feel that someone is asking me a question which is out of line, I lightheartedly reply, “Nunya” for short. She further clarified, “By that, I mean ‘It’s nunya business.”

That’s probably not a word I would ever use much, because my life is pretty much an open book. Having said that, let me tell you that yesterday was one of those days that I just wanted to put life on hold and spend the whole day communing with my Heavenly Father; so I did. Yes, I prayed for the needs of others, but mostly I just worshipped  the Lord, spending precious time in His presence off-and-on throughout the day. I can say with certainty that He was right there, surrounding me with His awesome presence, every single time I called upon His name. For that I am truly thankful.

One of the things that gripped me most yesterday was the gratitude  I felt  knowing that our Heavenly Father is ALWAYS available for us. It doesn’t matter if we just want to ‘sit on His lap’ and enjoy His presence, or if we have a dire need; He is always as close as the mention of His name.

Perhaps you, dear reader, have never really known that kind of relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to encourage you that you can simply talk to Him as though He was standing right there beside you, and He will answer! I promise you, when you cry out, “Lord, where are you? I need you!” He will never reply “Nunya!” Instead, He will gently speak to your heart and say, “Here I am, my child!”

Even so, it is sometimes difficult to feel His presence. In His Word, Jesus assures us that He is always present, even though our own emotions hinder us from accepting that. During those times, it often feels that the Lord God is so far away that we must diligently search for Him. Even then, He promised: Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

In this Scripture, the Lord God was speaking to the nation of Israel. They had turned their backs on Him, so He punished them by allowing them to be taken into captivity  in a foreign land. Yet, He was still in their midst all along, just waiting for them to call upon Him, so that they might be restored.

I thought about this over the weekend as I listened to a very sweet man share his testimony of how he first encountered Jesus Christ. This man had been told about Jesus, but he was reluctant to accept Him into his life because of his self-imposed belief that Jesus was surely angry at all the bad things he had done in his life, and was still doing (at that time).

Then one day, as this man sat in a bar, drunk, the Lord Jesus literally appeared to him in a vision. As the man recalled the face of Jesus, his own  face lit up with joy. “Jesus was not angry with me!” he said with a rapturous expression. “He was smiling! He loved me and I knew it.” “He was smiling at me,” he repeated.

What the man said next might be hard to believe for some of you, but it’s the truth. In that vision, Jesus told this man to stop drinking and never do it again. With that, the vision stopped and the man was completely sober– instantly! The friend seated next to him, also drunk, noticed this immediate change and asked what just happened. “I  saw Jesus!” he answered. Of course, his friend scoffed –-  until the very same thing happened to him, that is.

 I have no idea what  became of the second man, but the first man obeyed Jesus  and stopped drinking right then. And he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. This man now lives his life knowing with full certainty that his Heavenly Father is always with him, lovingly helping him through every day of his life.

Please understand; the Lord Jesus loves all of humanity and longs to be a vital part of every person’s life. When we know our relationship with God is not right, it is only natural to feel a sense of alienation. Never forget, however, that The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18 NIV). He longs to restore those whose relationship with Him is broken; and in His great, lovingkindness, He will be quick to answer those who call upon His name.

Finally, let me warn you that the adversary of humanity does not want you to be in communion with God. What of that? My advice to you is simply this: boldly tell that old devil –NUNYA!

Postscript: Thank you G.C. for sharing such a touching and remarkable testimony with us. May God continue to bless you and amaze you in ways you never dreamed possible!!!

Read Full Post »

When A Pastor Tends to Roses

Posted in Beauty, Contentment, Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Emotional Healing, Encouragement, Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Goodness, God's Provision, Guidance, Inspirational, Love, Poetry, Spiritual Strength, Victory, Zeal on September 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

In memory of my dear friend, Shiela.

And, in tribute to all the faithful, loving pastors who really care about the hurting.

WHEN A PASTOR TENDS TO ROSES

In the midst of frailty
Where the brier often grows,
God chose to lovingly restore
A beautiful, broken rose.

For her there was no sunshine;
She had known only rain.
Life’s storms had oft uprooted her,
And drenched her life with pain.

Thus, the rose was wilted;
Her natural luster had faded.
She thought her life to be a waste,
And her strength had been abated.

When she could no longer stand,
This rose crashed to the ground
Beneath the weight of her battles,
Which did so greatly abound.

She sought to find the answers
That would end her hellish war,
And give to her the kind of peace
We all are searching for.

At long last, she knelt and prayed,
Lest depression take its toll;
Until the soothing voice of God
Spoke life into her soul.

“Sheila, My child, I love you,”
He compassionately said.
“Your sufferings will come to an end;
There are brighter days ahead!”

“When you accepted me as Lord,
I forgave you of all your sin.
Now, I will fill you with inner peace,
And destroy the turmoil within.”

God spoke again to Sheila’s heart,
“I will send you a gentle pastor.
He will love you through each battle
And help your heart heal faster.”

He knew that Shiela needed support
In order for her to grow;
Until she reached the realms of glory
Where briers and weeds can’t go.

True to His Word, God sent a pastor
To embrace this broken rose,
And lead her back to the fertile garden
Where beauty and wisdom grows.

After only one brief chat with him,
Sheila knew she wasn’t alone
In her efforts to finally rid her life
Of all the weeds that had grown.

The pastor helped nourish her spirit,
And he lifted her always in prayer.
Sheila saw Jesus through him so oft,
She stopped yielding to hopeless despair.

Then, through her pastor’s guidance,
Which he offered with patience and grace;
Sheila understood God’s love and favor
Towards all those who seek His face.

She learned to believe God’s promises,
Of which she became quite zealous.
She clung to the life-giving words of God
Like the rose which clings to its trellis.

Though it took some time and trust,
Sheila was freed from all strife.
Her eyes then shone brightly with joy,
And peaceful contentment with life.

Unquestionably, Sheila had been restored,
And a lifetime of brokenness mended;
With the help of her faithful pastor,
Who loved her as God had intended.

No longer living in constant rain,
Shiela’s life reflected the Son
Until her radiant, inward beauty
Could be denied by none.

This rose had grown more beautiful
In the Master Gardner’s hand.
He then used her to touch others’ lives
In the many ways He planned.

Folks saw what God did for Shiela;
More than words can tell.
Thus, they were greatly encouraged
And turned to Him as well.

But alas, the beautiful rose has left.
She discarded her early vase.
In Heaven’s eternal garden,
She has gone to take her place.

Yet, Sheila will never be forgotten.
For the fragrance of God’s love,
Which flowed so freely through her,
Will linger with us, till we join her above.

To her faithful pastor,
And to all of her family and friends,
Sheila left a testimony of God’s healing
And of His love –a love which never ends!

Read Full Post »

“Beadie Baby”

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Guidance, Inspirational, Preparedness on August 29, 2011| 1 Comment »

Boaz chewed a bead off one of his toys and Ruth spent the next few weeks trying to hatch it; silly cockatiels. I jokingly told my daughter, who collects Beanie Babies®, that I would soon have a “beadie baby” to show off. Although I made light of the situation, it was rather sad seeing the disillusioned bird coddle a wooden bead day after day, but she only moped without it, so I let her indulge. I had placed a nesting box in the cage in hopes that she would lay a real egg, but she wouldn’t even go inside. Instead, she just nested happily at the bottom of the cage, waiting for her “egg” to hatch.

One day, as I watched Ruth eagerly mother her “egg,” The Lord spoke to my heart and reminded me that my husband and I had tried to hatch quite a few wooden eggs of our own over the years. Some we called dreams, others we called goals. And like the wooden bead, there wasn’t any life in them; we just thought there was –hoped there was.

In frustration, we would pray and ask God, why he wasn’t helping our efforts to be more successful. He would then gently reprimand us, that in those particular areas, we were tending to our business not His. Ouch!

Don’t get me wrong, goals and dreams are good, even necessary. However, we will have a great deal more success “hatching” them if they were inspired by the Lord in the first place. James 4:3 explains that sometimes “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Again, ouch! Though I hate to admit it, my husband and I have been guilty of this more times than we care to admit in times past. If only we could make thus and such happen, we would reason, life would be so much better for our family. I’m sure the Lord tried to warn us that there was no life in those “wooden eggs,” but we were too busy coddling them and trying to make them hatch to stop and listen.

Thankfully, we have since learned, albeit the hard way, to stop and seek God’s direction before we invest any time, energy or money in our desired pursuits. Life is just too short to waste precious time on futile endeavors. Now, we are careful to seek God’s will and direction in even the smallest of matters.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him (I John 5:14,15).

But how do we know what His will is, so that we do not ask amiss? First, and foremost, we must know God’s heart. We can do this through prayer and the reading of His word. Do our desires line-up with God’s Word, or do they in any way oppose it? Second, do our desires focus on ourselves, or upon God? Who will benefit most from the fulfillment of those desires, us or Him? And third, will the attainment of our desires help to accomplish God’s plan for our lives?

Yes, dear reader, God does have a plan for your life –an incredible plan. You may not even understand fully what that is just yet. Perhaps you feel like a mama bird trying to hatch an egg, sitting and waiting for God’s plan for your life to spring forth. If that’s you, I would like to encourage you to just keep “feathering your nest” with God’s Word in preparation for that which He is about to do. And when the time is right, you will be amazed at what happens.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD (Psalm 37:23).

Rays of Light now in print. Click here to order book.

Read Full Post »

Get Off My Back!

Posted in Anger, Contentment, Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Guidance, Inspirational, Long-suffering on August 16, 2011| 1 Comment »

The coin was old, and it was gold; of that I am sure. I imagined that the notorious bandit, Jesse James, dropped it when he was headed to the caverns to stash some loot. After all, I was swimming just a stone’s throw from Meramec Caverns, famed hideout of the James-Younger Gang. True, they hadn’t been near the cavern for umpteen years, but it wouldn’t have been the first time someone found a relic from the gangs’ racketeering days in those parts.

The summer had been a scorcher and the water levels were extremely low. Everyone was concerned that some of the streams in the area would dry up altogether. That’s pretty much how I felt about my life at the time. And my prospects of ever escaping that life, it seemed, were drying-up just as quickly as those Missouri waters.

After graduating high school, I was able to leave that place – a place I had grown to hate– but all too soon, fate brought me back. If only I had known God, and understood how perfectly He orchestrates our lives, I might have been more content. But I didn’t know God back then; I only knew sorrow.

Swimming in the cool river brought a bit of diversionary relief, but I was still rather cranky. To make matters worse, my younger sister kept jumping on my back even though I had told her a dozen times to knock it off. I wasn’t even nice the last time I said it. “Get off my back!” I barked at her angrily.

In order to take my mind off things, I swam to a deep spot and dove under the water to search the rocky bottom for a nice keepsake. The water in that part of the river is normally too deep and fast-moving to swim in, but that summer, the conditions were more favorable. I figured that I might get lucky and find an arrowhead or an unusual piece for my rock collection. In my wildest dreams I would never have thought that I would find a gold coin from long ago, but I did.

With great anticipation, I brought the coin to the surface and slowly opened my hand to examine it. To my great dismay, however, I didn’t even get a chance to read the date on the coin, which was unquestionably quite old, because my sister had ignored my scolding and pounced on my back like a leopard on its prey. I don’t even know where she came from, but I know where the coin went –it flipped out of my hand and sank back into the river. Finding it in the first place was incredibly miraculous; finding it a second time was impossible! We all searched for more than an hour, but it was a hopeless cause and it was starting to get dark anyway, so we left the coin in its watery grave and headed home.

I was very angry at my sister; and that for quite a while. The more I thought about it, the more I had determined that the coin was my ticket out of that place. The realization that my golden opportunity had been knocked right out of my hands caused my heart to sink as well. I don’t know how much I would have gotten for the coin, but I figured it would surely be enough to start a new life. But again, fate was keeping me there -or was it God? I didn’t know Him then, but He certainly knew me. While I had my own ideas of how I wanted life to be, God had a different plan for my life all along.

Scripture says: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 NKJV).

To be honest, I still don’t like the fact that my sister jumped on my back that day, but I’m glad that God stopped me from pursuing my own desires. Had I gotten my way, my life would have gone in a completely different direction than it did, and there is no telling where I may have ended up. God loved me enough to keep me where I needed to be at the time. When He was ready to move me forward, according to His plan, He did. And I have no regrets, because my precious Lord has given me a life more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. I still don’t have much gold, but I do have something much better –genuine peace and happiness.

Dear reader, is there someone you want desperately to “get off your back;” a boss or family member perhaps? Is there a circumstance in your life that has caused your heart to sink and given you a feeling of hopelessness? I want to encourage you that God, in His great love and mercy, knows just where you are and what you are going through. If you are frustrated because you are stuck in a place you don’t want to be, whether physically, financially, emotionally or spiritually; be patient. The events in your life are not decided by some cosmic flip of the coin, but rather, God is working all things out for your good, according to His divine plan.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Finally, please remember that the riches of this world may come and go, but God’s love is forever. Once you take hold of it, no one can ever knock it out of your hands. Even when this life’s difficulties ‘pounce’ on you, as they sometimes will, God is still in control;  and He is working to ensure that you have a rich life despite the way things appear to be.

Read Full Post »

A Shocking Experience

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Goodness, God's Provision, Inspirational, Miracles, Spiritual Strength, Testimony on August 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

Some time ago, I promised to share more of my own personal encounters with the miraculous. This one is truly shocking –literally.

Four-thirty in the morning was just too early for me to wake up and get dressed, except for shoes, then drive my step-father to the commuter lot, but I had no choice. I needed the car that day and that was the only way I could get it. Along the way, flashes of lightning tore through the early morning sky to announce a coming storm. Although my plan had been to drive back home, dive into bed and pick up my dream where I left off, my step-father decreed something more important.

“You need to go home and wake up your mom and your brother, and ask them to help you take down the antennae before the storm hits.”

I only half obeyed. Suffice it to say that I was sure I could do the task myself. Besides, waking anyone else up that early was never a good idea, trust me. By the time I stood ready to dismount the antennae, it had already started to drizzle; there was about one-quarter inch of water standing on the deck. The cool water felt good on my bare feet, but I knew that going back to sleep was out of the question because the slow, but steady raindrops had already slapped me more awake than I wanted to be. That’s okay, I thought, because I love a nice storm and I’ll be awake to enjoy this one. Little did I know that I was about to experience a miracle; one that I would never forget.

The antennae was taller than I was, and just a bit heavy, but I could have capably managed a quick dismount had it not been for the sudden gust of wind that thrust the top-heavy apparatus right onto the power lines. My body went instantly rigid as the electricity flowed right through my body. My mind screamed, “Get it off!” but my body could not physically respond. Aside from the violent muscular jerking, I was paralyzed, unable to let go.

Have you have ever seen one of those cartoons where something disastrous happens in super slow motion? That’s what the whole trauma seemed like. The ball of energy, which started at the power line, worked its ways through both me and the antennae and entered the coax cable. Connected to the other end of the cable was my step-father’s prized Ham radio. The energy ball wrapped itself around the cable and headed straight for it.

The radio was the size of a large microwave and I just knew that it would blow-up. It did!

Everything probably happened rather quickly, but it sure didn’t seem like it. To this day, I remember having enough time to mentally cry out, “He’s gonna kill me! He’s gonna to kill me!”

I didn’t think I had been able to make any audible sound, but at some point I screamed loud enough to wake my family and bring the neighbors running. It was a bit late; the radio had already blown and I was glued to the deck, still unable to move. Oddly, though, once my mother opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside, the antennae came off the power line. I am still quite certain that it lifted itself, without any effort from me.

Once inside the house, I did receive a scolding. “You could’ve been killed!” she shrieked. The whole incident was so surreal that I hadn’t yet thought about the fact that I should have been electrocuted (I later learned that my disaster knocked out the town’s electricity for four city blocks). My only fear up to that point was the repercussions that I would face from an angry, temperamental step-father who treasured his radio equipment.

I was so overcome with worry that I stayed home that day and fretted. The clock, like the energy ball, seemed to creep towards its intended target in slow motion; it was one of the longest days of my life.

At the appointed time, I retrieved my step-father from the lot and explained what had happened. “You were right, I should have listened to you and woke up mom and brother, but…” My body went rigid again as I tensed, waiting for the verbal slaughter.

Instead, to my utter surprise, he cried. That was the second shock I received that day. When I was growing up, breaking a dish was practically a capital offense, but for this grave blunder no punishment was given. He only had compassion and understanding.

Dear reader, I want you to understand that at the time all of this happened, I did not know God. Yet, He still chose to look upon me with compassion and spared my life. It would be many years more before I would accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and thank Him for that merciful act, but He always looked-out for me anyway.

I hope you are blessed by this true testimony of God’s miraculous intervention. If you are in relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, I praise God. But if you are not, I want to you to know that He loves you no matter what, and He is looking out for you whether you realize it or not.

Perhaps it doesn’t seem that way to you. If not, it might be because you are trying to do everything in your own strength; thinking you can get through without help. But that doesn’t generally work. Without God, the winds of adversity will surely blow your way and wreak havoc until something finally blows-up.

My prayer for you today, dear reader, is for you to know that God is with you through every storm. He is merciful and compassionate, and He is a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1) because He cares for you very much.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:25,26).

Read Full Post »

Pasture Muffins

Posted in Brokenness, Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Emotional Healing, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, Inspirational, Thorns, Victory on July 25, 2011| 3 Comments »

Let’s talk poop for a moment. Don’t worry; I won’t bother you with some boring scientific thesis on excrement —that would stink. However, l want to remind you that God has a way of growing roses out of manure.

This might seem an incredibly odd topic, but I honestly believe with all my heart that God has created our world in such a way that we may learn important lessons from everything in nature. From the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, to the fiery eruptions of a volcano, we can see God’s intelligent design.

So it is with pasture muffins. An average man can walk through a pasture and see nothing but piles and piles of poo, whereas an insightful man might see acres of nutrient-rich plant food. It’s more than just a matter of pessimism versus optimism, though. It is a matter of understanding that God designed all things perfectly and He doesn’t consider anything to be waste. Thus, we may view the difficult circumstances of our lives to be as dung, but God looks upon them as nutrient-rich food for our spiritual growth.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Furthermore, Scripture says God raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill (Psalms 113:7). If you keep reading, you’ll find He doesn’t stop there. After he raises us up, he makes ‘roses’ grow right out of the dunghills so that we can see his love, mercy and compassion in the midst of every trial and circumstance.

Naturally, when we see a rose, we tend to think only of God’s beautiful creation. It would be beneficial, however, to  remember that roses sometimes have thorns.  These serve as a reminder that we must not take His grace for granted.  If you handle a rose carelessly, it will prick you. Likewise, God has a way of “pricking” us if we become indifferent to His working in our lives.

The apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh.” He explained, “lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance… there was given to me a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). He goes on to explain that his “thorn in the flesh” was a “messenger of Satan” sent to buffet him. The word buffet means to contend against or battle. The Lord God, in His infinite wisdom, allowed this person to constantly buffet Paul in order to keep him humble, and never take his position for granted.

Sometimes our thorns serve to remind us that, in this world, our lives will always be a bittersweet mixture of beauty and pain. The apostle Peter said: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy (I Peter 4:12,13).

As to Christ’s suffering, that brings me to another point; Even He experienced the stench of the dunghill.  That is to say, He was unjustly crucified at the place where all the “refuse” of society were taken to be executed —what a fitting place to defeat death.

Our Messiah willingly surrendered His life on Mount Calvary so that he could offer himself as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins and reconcile us to God. But when that battle was finished, He rose from the grave, having conquered sin and death.   Truly, when our Lord, Jesus Christ, said “It is finished!”  that awful dunghill lost its power.

So you see, even if this life is littered with pasture muffins along the way, it doesn’t matter.  If we have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, He has already lifted us out of the dunghill.  And someday soon, we will go to live with Him eternally. There, our pastures, having already been fertilized by these earthly trials, will be full of roses without thorns. Nothing could ever be more beautiful than that.

Hallelujah.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »