Our Lord is Always There

Jun29

When your day is dark and dreary,

You see no light, anywhere.

Beyond the clouds the sun is shining,

For it always shines somewhere.

Just because you cannot see it,

Doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

 

Beyond the clouds our God is working,

Giving strength that we may bear

The griefs and sorrows that beset us,

Giving grace through all our care.

Just because you cannot see Him

Doesn’t mean He isn’t there.

 

When your life is filled with heartache,

Each day brings a load of care

And no one else can lift your burden,

Christ will all your sorrow share.

He will work together with us,

Helping all our load to bear.

 

Take your troubles all to Jesus.

He’s as near as whispered prayer.

Just because you cannot see him,

Doesn’t mean he isn’t there.

Hasten to his place of safety.

He is waiting for you there.

 

By G. Cowan

 

“Christians only care about babies until they are born.”

Jun28

Just a short thought about the conversation following the overturn of Roe vs. Wade:

It seems to me that there are voices on every platform at the moment descrying the sincerity of Christians who are rejoicing about this Supreme Court ruling. “How hypocritical for Christians to want abortion to be criminalized, while they are not able or willing to take care of the unwanted babies after birth.” The way the argument is phrased is generally this: “Christians only care about the babies until they are born.”

Just three points:

  1. Of course, Christians care about all innocent children. (…and all people for that matter. People are made in the image of God. That’s why we are pro-life.) God did not mince words when he talked about the responsibility of His people to care for the fatherless (Exodus 22:22-24; James 1:27).
  2. But the simple fact is, making the case that I should be able to kill my unwanted children if someone else is not going to take care of them is tantamount to saying I should be licensed to kill ANY family member who becomes an inconvenience to me at any stage of life, unless someone else is able to come in and take his/her care off my plate. It’s an incredulous idea.
  3. Truth remains. The legalization of the taking of innocent human life has spiraled our nation downward into a society that places a diminished value on life. This devaluation of human life affects all aspects of our morality. 63 million babies on the American conscience has defiled that national conscience in ways that will be very difficult to ever put right.

    Cindy Colley

It’s never too late to make sure that all is right with our soul.

Jun27

I recently found a note I had written about mother. She lived with us ten years before her death, and during that time I tried to keep records of things she said. This note pulled at my heart strings once again.

Mother woke me at 12:55 a.m. on that date. She hugged me close and asked, “Will you be all right without me?”

I told her, “I will be fine. Douglas will take care of me. If you want to go on and be with your mother and daddy and brothers and sisters and all the saved ones in glory, it will be okay, and I will come.”

“You will come?” she asked.

“Yes, I will come,” I answered.

She said, “I wish I had gone to church.”

“You did go to church every time you could,” I reminded her.

She and daddy were always early to church … much too early some would declare.

Mother didn’t drive so after Daddy’s death Herschel and Patsy were faithful to take her with them until she had her stroke and moved with us. We took over from there.

You see the things that I gain from this late night conversation are:

  1. She wanted to know if I would be all right if she passed on to the other side.
  2. She wanted to know if she went first that I would come, that I would follow her.
  3. She remembered, and wondered if she had gone to church as she should.

I imagine when it comes our time to depart this life that we too will remember. We will look back over our life and remember what we did, what we left undone, and what we should have done and perhaps what should have been a priority in our life.

It’s never too late to make sure that all is right with our soul.

Jesus stands at the door and knocks. May we let him in by obeying his teachings so that in the stillness of the night we can rest with confidence that all is well with our soul.

Glenda Williams

“GO STAND, AND SPEAK”

Jun24

Do you ever wonder why people are so disinterested in religion? Especially if you have been brought up in the church, it is hard to understand those who don’t attend regularly.

In reading through the first part of the book of Acts, we can see how rapidly the church grew. It started with 3,000 on Pentecost (Acts 2:41), and the Lord added to the number daily. The church grew quickly; and keep in mind, it was only Jews who were obeying the Gospel. It had not yet been preached to the Gentiles.

The apostles were busy preaching and teaching, and they were overwhelmed with requests for healing. They became so popular that the high priest and the Sadducees were filled with jealousy, attacked them, and put them in prison. During the night, an angel of the Lord opened their prison doors and let them out. Then they were given this charge. “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life” (Acts 5:20).

So, here are the apostles, thrown in prison for preaching the Gospel; and the angel of the Lord commands them to go stand in the temple and preach. What do you think they did? Of course, at daybreak they went straight to the temple to preach.

When the high priest came back the next day, he and the council called for the prisoners to be brought to them. When the officers arrived at the cell where the apostles were being kept, they found them missing. Someone told them that the men they had put in prison were in the temple teaching the people. What brave men they were. They defied the high priest and the Sanhedrin, and preached the Gospel.

The captain of officers was sent to bring them to the council, but he was careful not to take them by force. He was afraid of the people. The Gospel was so powerful that the people wanted to hear what the apostles had to say. They could give eyewitness accounts of having seen Jesus after He was raised from the dead. They could testify to the miracle of receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and they could perform miracles and speak in languages unknown to them as proof of their being qualified to deliver the Gospel message.

A man named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, a Pharisee, and a man honored by all of the people offered the council some advice. He told them not to worry about the teaching of these twelve men. He explained that they had been presented with a similar situation twice before. Men were able to draw large crowds of people to their way of thinking. He said that if this teaching was just the ideas of men, it would not last. But, he said, if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them.

So, the council decided to beat them and demand that they teach no more in the name of Jesus. Then, they let them go. What do you suppose they did? They went back to the temple, and even went house to house, and preached that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Now back to our original thought. How can people not be interested in the church, the Bible, even the destination of their souls? They are like these Pharisees and Sadducees. They are more interested in their positions, their jobs, their families, their activities, their hobbies, and many other worldly endeavors. Many can’t take time to attend worship, study the Bible, or share the Gospel with a lost world. When the world is falling to the modern version of idolatry, we are living our lives as though we are going to live forever.

Though we say all the time that things are different for us, we need to realize that things are still the same as they have always been. There is nothing new today. Man still ignores the message of the Word of God. Man still ignores the commands laid out for us to follow. Unfortunately, we are a lot like the Jews. They tried to worship God and idols. That is exactly what man does today. We want to consider ourselves Christians, yet we put ball games, vacations, and many other modern-day idols before worship and serving the Lord. May we wake up before we experience the same end as the Jews.

Sandra Oliver

 

Christ over Color

Jun22

But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (Galatians 2:6,7).

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? (Galatians 2:11-15).

This passage speaks for itself. I cannot think of a New Testament mandate taught more clearly through an example than this one. I cannot think of one that finds application to our  culture more aptly than this one. The apostle Paul withstood Peter, rebuking him for his hypocrisy in refusing to eat with the Gentiles when it was unpopular among the Jews for their people to have fellowship with non-Jewish people. The Holy Spirit saw fit for us to have the particulars of this incident. He graciously gave us this sample of what should happen if there’s respect of persons today with regard to race.

From this text, we know that it is right and good for leaders in the church to promptly and firmly correct brethren who show favoritism based on externals. How vain and pompous was Peter in switching off the fellowship with Gentiles when the Jews approached! How sinful it is today if and when brethren—mere men or women— exalt themselves above or think that they are, in any way, superior to those with a different pigmentation, language or background. May they find space for repentance and may God grant them mercy.

Cindy Colley

Let us all pray that our days are filled with more than just living and existing until we are called home.

Jun21

Nothing much

The clump of daylilies I removed from Lauren’s future fire pit area didn’t look any different from any other. The former owner of Lauren’s house was a daylily hybridizer, but not a well-known one. Maybe he thought he would leave “Sugared Grapes” there when he sold the home because they weren’t anything all that special. 

 

I love them! The color, the pattern on them, the frilly edges, the colors fading into one another, the green throat, the grassy foliage … I intend to divide them and put them everywhere in the yard!

The new property owner certainly didn’t want them. Some of the daylilies and roses were already singed from the fires her husband made from the branches of the espaliered fruit trees. (Ouch!) To me, they are a new treasure.

Life as an aging Christian can feel like “nothing much.” Some days, surviving is the goal. Trying to keep up with household tasks is a challenge. It’s a far cry from forty years ago, immersed in stateside mission work.

My prayer this morning was to be of service in the Kingdom of Christ. I was putting freshly washed dishes away and thinking of the mundane tasks for the day. Is this all I’m supposed to be doing? What about the mission works that I thought I’d be able to do when the kids were grown? I haven’t had a speaking engagement for decades. I’m often barely able to take care of myself and my husband, let alone do all the good works that kept me busy in my younger years. My plant sales income isn’t what it was last year. Yes, I felt kind of useless.

I looked at my watch, I had a customer coming … maybe. She had apologized many times over the last few months that she wasn’t able to get out and pick up the daylilies she had asked me to save for her. She was caring for her father in his final years.

I had sent her a message a few weeks ago asking how her Dad was doing, and asking if she still wanted the daylilies. That’s when she told me he had passed away just days after the last time she had to miss our appointment. In my opinion, that meant she needed me not only to save these flowers for her, but that they would be gifted to her.

She ended up staying almost two hours, pouring out her heart in tears as I held her hand-hugged her. She went home with plants to memorialize her Dad.

It was not a grand gesture, it’s nothing that will make a big difference in our family income, but it was very much appreciated by a lady grieving for someone so close to her that she doesn’t know what to do with herself, a woman whose family didn’t understand why she would keep her Dad home when it required so much time.

Maybe my gift and my time won’t amount to much. Maybe the next person who uses my shoulder to cry on will be touched or changed by the love of Christ through me. Maybe not.  But I do know that people have told me in later years that my “being there” for them had been pivotal in a tough time in their lives. We have no idea how much good we can do by taking time for a child of God – or potential child of God – in need.

The fact is that we never know when those opportunities for service will arise. Our service to God is not ended when we can no longer count on our health to be able to teach classes or help a family move into a new house.

The answer to my morning prayer came within minutes, but it isn’t always that way. Let us all pray that our days are filled with more than just living and existing until we are called home.

 by Christine (Tina) Berglund

“T’was 24 days into the month of May.

Jun20

When 19 beautiful children stormed through paradise’s gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy; they didn’t know what to say.

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.  “This is Paradise”, declared a small boy.

“We’re spending the rest of eternity at GOD’S House.”

When what to their wondering eyes did appear, but Jesus, their Savior.

The children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

Then He opened His arms and He called them one at a time by name.

And in the moment was joy, that only Heaven can bring.

Those children all flew into the arms of their  King of Kings.

And as they lingered in the warmth of His great BIG embrace, one small girl turned and looked at Jesus face to face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had.

He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of Mom and Dad.”

Then He looked down on Earth, at the world far below.

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow and woe.

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand, “Let My power and presence re-enter this land?  May this country be delivered from the hand of fools, I’m taking back my nation.  I’m taking back my schools!”

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.

“Come now My children let me show you around.”

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran; all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight, “In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

2 Cor 12:2-4 – I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up even to the third heaven.  3 And I know such a man (whether in the body, or apart from the body, I know not; God knoweth), 4 how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Debora Robbins

May 19, 2022

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MY TREASURED POSSESSION

Jun17

I’ve known for over a year that something must be done. The question has been, “When am I going to do it?” Week after week I have convinced myself that it could wait another few weeks or even a month, but the time has come. My Bible must be rebound or part of the New Testament is going to fall out.

I finally made the phone call to the bindery, made an appointment, and took my beloved Bible in to be repaired and rebound. “How long”, I asked, “will it take?” His reply, “About two weeks”. I sighed with relief that it wasn’t going to be a month or more.

I truly cherish this Bible. Twenty years ago this December, our house burned. We lost almost everything, including a Bible that I had carried for at least 20 years or maybe longer. The pages were stuck together and charred. There was no hope of saving it.

With so much to replace and so much loss from which to recover, I waited several months before looking for a new Bible. When I did, this one almost chose me. From the moment I saw it, I knew this was what I wanted.

Over the years, this Bible has become so familiar. When I can’t seem to find a particular passage, I can see on which side of the page it will be found. The notes in the margin lead me through studies on a variety of subjects, and the outlines of sermons I have heard fill the extra pages in the front and back.

This Bible is indeed my treasured possession. But as I chose another Bible to carry to Bible class, I realized that it is God’s holy word that is the true treasured possession. The cover, the notes, the sermon outlines are all just extras. They are just the product of the real thing.

There should be no greater possession for anyone than the Word of God. Bound in many different colors, textures, and sizes, it is the message from God, the Father, that directs our steps through the pages of this precious book.

The message that I have read from my Bible of 20 years is the same as the message I read in the one that burned in the fire. It is the same as what I can read in the one I have chosen to use on a temporary basis. It is the same as all those that sit on shelves all over the world. It may be written in a different language, but it is still the words written by forty men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

My true treasured possession is not that Bible that has been delivered to the bindery for a new cover. It is the blessed words of faith that inform us, direct us, encourage and bless us every time we read and study it.

Sandra Oliver

This entry was posted on June 17, 2022. 1 Comment

Bound with Him!

Jun16
I am crucified with Christ. My undying love to my husband has bound me to take, right along with him, whatever persecution, sorrow, work, or burdens that he faces (and rejoice in all the better, richer and healthier). I am bound. The unbreakable chains of love that my heart has forged with the beautiful children God has given me are ties to them forever–to do anything possible to alleviate suffering on their parts and to always work to enable them to work for God. I have joyfully laid down on that cross. I am just nailed to the cross of dying, if I ever needed to or could, for the well-being of my grandchildren. I am bound by that love. I am bound to love my son-in-law and daughter-in-law. I could not help loving them if I wanted to. I’m on that cross. The love that I have for sisters in the Lord is so inescapable. I am just tied to them in ways that are beyond my comprehension, even. I’m tied to them, (and the brothers, too). I love the lost. I am bound as a debtor to try and help people get to heaven. Nail me to the cross! I am crucified with Christ as I try, like Paul, to let Him live in me, in all the earthly relationships that bind.
But binding love is rewarding in an immeasurable way. It is the bind–the commitment–that gives us the Matthew 25 victory. It’s in the relationships that bind us together here that we serve Him. There are lots of ways that we are crucified with Him. There’s baptism that symbolizes his death and burial. There’s the submission to the Father in all areas of our lives that lets us echo with the Lord “Not my will but thine be done.” There are ropes and nails to the cross as we offer forgiveness as nearly like the forgiveness he offered from Calvary (and executed at Pentecost) as we can, in our human frames. I am bound. I am bound to the cross because my sins are nailed there. I am bound– crucified with Christ!
But just as surely as I am bound, I also have risen with him to walk in newness of life. I WILL rise with Him to an eternity of praise and glory.
So thankful for crucifixion with Christ. I do it so imperfectly, but HIS crucifixion supplies every gaping need!
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by my faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).