God’s Ways

By Anne Johnson –

 

I ran to find the ringing phone and breathlessly answered. “Hey sweetie,” my mom said. “Is Matt home?” It was an odd question. My husband Matt and my mother get along well, but in the ten years we had been married, she had never called to talk to him.

“Yeah, why?” I asked.

“I want to talk to both of you,” she said.

We continued our conversation as I searched around the house for Matt. When I couldn’t find him inside, I headed to the garden. “Here he is,” I declared, “playing in the dirt.”

Matt looked up from the row he was weeding. “What’s up?”

“My mom wants to talk to both of us.”

I put the phone on speaker, “Okay Mom, we’re both here.”

I heard my mom clear her throat before she started. “I just received news from the doctor. He found a cancerous lump in my breast. I need to have surgery and radiation soon.”

My eyes teared. I felt Matt’s arms encircle me. Leaning against him I found the strength to ask my mom the myriad of questions that rolled like a tumbleweed through my mind. We talked for a while.

That night Matt and I discussed my mom’s condition. The next morning I called and invited her to come and do her radiation and recuperating at my house. Apparently, she had thoroughly talked the situation over with my dad and older sister. They had discussed many options, and reasoned that mom should go to Seattle and stay with my older sister, Maria.

I attempted to persuade my mom to change her mind, “Maria’s not a nurse,” I said.

“No, but you have two small children,” Mom replied.

“Maria has two kids,” I countered.

“They aren’t toddlers.”

“But…” I tried to protest.

“Sweetie, are you really worried about where I’ll be, or about the fact that I have cancer?” Mom asked.

I felt like a cyclone had sucked all the air out of my lungs. My chest hurt, and no words could escape. I bawled.

“Annie,” Mom said softly, “God’s ways are different than ours. I don’t like that I have cancer either, but we must have faith and trust God.”

“I know.”

“Listen, I really think that being in Seattle is the right thing. Everything is going to be okay,” Mom stated.

Her confidence and faith strengthened me. After I hung up, I grabbed my Bible and found the scripture in Isaiah 55:8 that my mom had referenced. I prayed that God would grant me His peace and assurance, and that through this His perfect way would be revealed. Seven years later, when Maria lost her husband to bladder cancer, my niece and nephew turned to my mom for support. If she hadn’t spent those three months with my sister, the deep connection between grandma and grandchildren wouldn’t have happened.

God didn’t cause these events, but through them His good and perfect will shone through. In the middle of the battle it is hard to see the path ahead, but knowing God’s ways are best, I find strength to face life’s challenges.

Changing Seasons

By Gillis Killam –

 

We had a long winter this year in Canada. Spring was slow in coming. It seems that summer will never come! People complained on the internet, TV, in the stores, at home and on the streets.  Climatologists tell us our climate is changing and we should expect troubled times ahead.

But God has said that as long as the earth remains, these seasons will happen regardless of what the environmentalists tell us.  Genesis 8:22 states that the seasons will continue to come in their order.

We all like the summer season because it’s a time of pleasure, holidays, travel and experiencing the great scenery that God created. There are spiritual seasons in our lives as well, and we all go through fall, winter, spring and summer where we experience changes that challenge our lives.

No matter how we complain about the weather, it does nothing to change it. We have to cope with it no matter what the season. So it is with spiritual seasons that bring us tough and bitter experiences: cold as well as warm times. When we face storms in our lives we need to prepare ourselves to stand firm. In arid times when there are dry spiritual seasons in our lives, we must draw upon the resources of the spring of life in Christ. In times of tragedy or the loss of a loved one we need to take comfort from the God of all comfort.

The word of God is for all seasons. Paul told Timothy to “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2 NIV). No matter what season we may be going through, God’s word will give wisdom, encouragement, comfort and direction. Paul told his disciple Timothy that the Bible is the source from which we can draw what we need (2 Timothy 3:16).

Jesus told His disciples that the times and seasons, whether future or present are in His hands (Acts 1:7).

The Apostle Peter said we are to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope that is within us (1Peter 3:15).  God said he would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

In a world filled with hopelessness we need to sow seeds of hope in the lives of others; no matter what season we may be experiencing.

Prayer: O God, help me draw upon your strength and comfort not matter what season I face in the future. AMEN

 

Living Abundantly

By Judy Davis –

 

“John 10:10 changed my life—it showed me the truth about the devil, and about Jesus….Jesus tells you to believe Him, and that the reason He came is to give LIFE to you…and to give it to you MORE ABUNDANTLY.”   Oral Roberts Commentary

Are we living a happy and abundant life?  Are we truly convinced God loves us?  He loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die so we may live forever. With His guidance and precious Holy Spirit living within our heart, let’s live a life pleasing to Him. And when we fall and we will, He is there to help us and forgive us.

The greatest example of living a full life is to know how our Lord lived. He always stopped to talk with others no matter where they were in their spiritual life. Living a full life requires being selfless. Thinking of others and putting them first takes time and patience. We should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead us to those who are in need.

Are we secure in who we are?  Do we like ourselves?  Spend time taking care of you. Our lives are important to God and who we are depends a lot on how secure we are in what we accomplish with our lives.

We should have a good attitude and this requires discipline. Choose each day to be filled with God’s love, peace, joy, and our attitude will show that we have spent time with Him.

Examine our hearts. Those subtle sins we commit such as anger, criticism, gossip, complaining and murmuring must be dealt with. Before giving our tithe we should pray and ask God to forgive us of any sin and guard our heart. This pleases God when we humbly come before Him asking for His grace and mercy daily to overcome those areas that are not right.

“There is just one thing people need in order to live a happy, abundant life:  to be convinced that God loves them.”  David Gregory

PRAYER:  Thank You, Father, for the abundant life You have given to those who have made Jesus Christ Lord and Savior.

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 KJV).

 

Worship While You Wait

By Cindy Martin –

 

Despite our culture’s drive to do more things faster, we still seem to spend more time waiting than we’d like.  We wait for red lights to turn green, slow grocery checkout lines to move along and our turn in the tech. support phone queue. If I’m honest, I’m quite impatient, and just writing about these scenarios arouses feelings of frustration within me.

While all these petty annoyances act as hurdles in my personal race through life, perhaps the hardest thing to wait for is God to answer my prayers. Beyond the usual angst that comes with waiting for most things, I sometimes wrestle with feelings of guilt or insecurity as I think, “I shouldn’t feel so anxious while I’m waiting, I should trust and not worry, but how do I do that? Should I be doing more? Have I done too much?”  Nagging questions, what ifs and second guessing can create a toxic cocktail in my mental blender that seemingly whirs and spins without end!

A question that I have often asked is, “What does trusting God look like with skin on it? What am I actually doing while I’m trusting and waiting and waiting and……?” Some dear friends of mine introduced me to the concept of worshipping while you wait. It is based on an account in scripture where those carrying the Ark of the Covenant would take a couple of steps and then stop to worship “the Lord God”, take a few more steps and again stop to worship “the Lord Most High.”

At first it didn’t seem all that transformational, but as I’ve chosen to worship God for His character and ability to meet me in my time of need, in addition to declaring my dependency on His all knowing and all loving ways, I have been transformed in my spirit and my perspective.  I no longer feel the need to beg God to hear my prayers or offer Him suggestions on how to answer them! Rather, worshipping while I wait for His answer allows me to bring my requests to Him and then frees me to trust His plan for myself and those I love.

Far from trite or cliche, worshipping while I wait has deepened my walk with God and let me experience what it means to live with my heart at rest. Yay, God!

Scripture: “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy” (Psalm 116:1 NLT).

Prayer:  “Lord Jesus, You are so worthy of our praise. Grant us grace to worship You as we wait for Your answers to our prayers. I am so grateful for the freedom worshipping You brings to our hearts and minds.”

 

Loneliness

By Gillis Killam –

 

I recently read that Yvette Vickers, Playboy playmate and B-movie star, was found in her house dead. She had died about a year before anyone found her. Her body was mummified near a heater that was running. Her computer was still on.

Although she had a wide audience of “friends,” no one was there when she died. This was a sad lonely person who apparently died alone.

According to recent studies we are more connected than any other generation, and yet we are even more isolated from each other. Some experts tell us that it is not isolation, but loneliness that is increasing the suicide problem of our times.

Stories are surfacing now about people with a wide array of followers on the internet who call themselves “real friends”, but find that wealth and public notoriety do not equal happiness. More and more people who have many followers on Facebook, Twitter, and other communication programs are said to be the loneliest people around.

Think of the accessibility we have to each other through our computers on the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Email, and Skype, where we can be in contact with people almost instantly; and yet we are in the midst of one of the loneliest generations that has ever lived.

In spite of the new technology, we long to have meaningful relationships with each other, but somehow it is not happening. We need each other. God said of Adam before Eve was created, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). We can be in a group, or a crowd of people, and still feel alone.

When God wanted talk to us he didn’t just send us an Email, a Tweet, or a Facebook message; He came to us in the person of Christ to live where we live, walk where we walk, and sit where we sit.  Jesus comes to us even today as the Son of God seeks us. He knocks on the door of our hearts and asks to come in and live in us (Revelation 3:20). All we have to do is open the door of our lives and invite Him to come in. The basic need we all have is for a relationship with our Creator God.

Prayer: Oh God, thank you for your abiding presence!

« Previous Page — Next Page »