Being Led by the Spirit According to Garmin

By Lane R Johnson

I have a companion that travels in my truck with me wherever I go. It’s a small navigational unit called Garmin. This companion is not very chatty, but I have grown to trust it implicitly. I call it Gwendolyn. 

In the beginning it was difficult to trust Gwendolyn. I was used to making all the decisions and seeing the end from the beginning. The concept of heading off in faith lead by someone I couldn’t control was very difficult.

I remember an appointment I had in Virginia. I left Richmond in plenty of time. Everything went as usual until 45 minutes into the trip. Then I noticed that the roads were becoming increasingly rural. I ignored my uneasiness as long as I could until I found myself trapped in traffic on a two lane road. Cars in front, cars behind, nothing moving and all indications were that we were headed straight into the James River. I was trapped and I was very uncomfortable. I had no backup plan. I hadn’t brought a map and I was hopelessly lost. Not only that, but my appointment was critical and I had no idea how I was going to keep it. I fumed in my truck and finally, out of frustration, I railed at Gwendolyn. “I trusted you! I put myself in YOUR hands and look where it brought me!” Gwendolyn didn’t answer. No matter how much I fumed she remained silent. I decided to attempt to figure out how I could extricate MYSELF from this mess. Obviously, Gwendolyn had proven untrustworthy. 

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When A Door Closes. . .

By Keisha Bass

 “When one door closes, another one opens.” It may be a popular saying, but oh, how true it is. Personally, I think it is something to live your life by. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We need to believe that God has a plan for our lives and that it is good. Believe it or not, our Father does know best.

 So when that door on your relationship closes, or a job that you’ve had for a long time has ended, just look at it as God’s way of getting you prepared for the next door to open. He’s given you all you need to move forward in life. We just have to believe we have it and put it to use. Now, all of this, of ‘course, is easier said than done. But remember He is always with you, especially in the tough times.

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Birthing Nations

By Rachael Sales

As the mother of eight children, six of which I naturally birthed, I am always interested in hearing the testimonies of the birthing room experience. As an avid supporter and participant of supernatural childbirthing, it never ceases to amaze me how God births life in and through the very creation that He birthed and that He paid the price on Calvary for it to be painless. There is nothing more beautiful (after experiencing new birth in Christ) than watching a child take its first breath on this side of it all. For this reason, I count it a privilege and a joy to gather the stories of wives and mothers, and provide a platform for them to be heard. Amidst the piles of laundry, the late night feedings and the little bumps and bruises, their voices cry out declaring that God is both able and willing to keep. Consider the following snippet of the labor room experience from wife and mother Ashleigh Phillips:

It’s Showtime

During the birth of our first baby, Morgan, we found out that she was faced the wrong way, and so she wasn’t coming down the canal. She was face up when she should have been face down. We tried every birthing position imaginable to get her to turn over – squatting, hanging on the birthing bar, you name it, but she never turned around. I had gotten to the point that I didn’t care what anybody thought. People were walking in and out of the room, and I just didn’t care. At that point I knew God was there and it was me and Him walking this thing through. It’s amazing when those types of thing happen causing you to become so vulnerable. I believe that we should always be like that – at the point of not caring what anybody thinks.

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Transform Your Workouts Into Worship!

By Laurette Willis

Have you ever said this: “I don’t have TIME to exercise”? Some of us have said that more than once! In reality, it’s not about having time to exercise because we all have the same 24 hours each day; we need to MAKE time to exercise if we want to be healthy.

Think of some of the things you already make time to do each day. Some of these things have been part of your daily routine since childhood and have become second nature, such as brushing your teeth, washing your face, or fixing yourself something to eat. There are other things you do on a regular basis which have become habit, yet require a bit more preparation, such as going to church, remembering to acknowledge friends’ birthdays, and shopping for groceries.

Making fitness a part of your regular routine can become a habit—especially if you combine it with something you are already doing, such as prayer, reading the Bible, or worshiping the Lord.

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Do I Pass The Test?

By Warren Mueller

Thirty years ago I prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. Soon afterwards, I heard a nagging voice in my head tell me “It isn’t that easy to get to heaven” and “You are fooling yourself if you think God can readily and easily forgive you for all the wrongs you have done.” I have also seen those who struggle with this question and go forward many times in church to accept Christ or try to prove by their good works that there has been a genuine change. So how can a person know for sure that a spiritual birth has occurred, that sins have been forgiven, and that they are a new creation indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 that we are to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test?” From this we see that each person must examine themselves about whether they have been transformed into a child of God by faith in Jesus. Nobody can do this for you or assure you that it has happened within you. Only you can answer this question. What are the questions we should be asking to evaluate this important change? I recently taught a Sunday School class on this subject and we compiled a list of questions to do this self examination. These questions are not listed in any order of importance.

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