Loving Grip

By Elaine James –

My husband knew that I was disappointed. He also knew that I really needed that walk on the beach. He began to find playful ways to keep from letting go of my hand. Thankfully, I started to enjoy the game and even found myself laughing. I am thankful my husband did not let my frustration bother him. He was determined to somehow help me to enjoy myself despite the obstacles. It was hard for me not to let my negative emotions get the best of me at first, but his special attention caught my eye.

Often, I find myself trying to hold on to God’s hand and stay on His path. Challenging circumstances in life vie for my attention leaving me frustrated and feeling like giving up – just like that walk on the beach began. Fortunately, like my husband, God doesn’t loosen His grip.
The Bible says, “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9 NKJV). At times we are tempted to call things that turn around for good a coincidence. But this verse helps us to recognize it is not a coincidence. It’s God’s goodness which gives us reason to celebrate with hearts of gratitude.

Maybe you can relate. You feel at times like giving up. Just like my husband caught my attention and helped me to enjoy a walk hand-in-hand, God’s loving grip can catch our attention as He walks with us filling our hearts with joy.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your loving grip that keeps hold of me as I continue to walk and talk with You and find satisfaction in life to carry on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Looking in the Rear-View Mirror

By Charlotte Riegel –

Have you noticed the rear-view mirror in vehicles is much smaller than the windshield? It has a purpose but is not as important to our movement as the very much larger window we look through while driving forward.

A good driver will frequently do a quick check in the rear-view mirror to note if anything is approaching from behind that needs attention. However, focusing on what is behind is very detrimental to the safety of the vehicle being driven and its passengers; unless one is backing up, in which case focusing on what is behind is definitely necessary. Elementary information to anyone who has a legitimate driver’s license.

And what about our lives as we move forward? Focusing on what is past may cause us to crash into what lies ahead. Yes, we need to look back to the years behind for quick reference points and sometimes to regain our bearings for where we are going. However, just like driving a vehicle, it is dangerous to focus on what has already past in our lives.

Yes, there are exceptions. Sometimes we’ve taken a wrong turn and it’s necessary to ‘go back’. In these instances we make a U-turn and are once again looking forward to go back in order to make a life correction. Unless the correction is a very short distance back we will not be using the rear-view mirror to go back. Maybe we have forgotten something at the last stop and need to return to pick it up. This is not an exhaustive list but I trust you will understand the message. Focusing on the rear-view mirror will not help you successfully move forward in life.

“I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above” (Philippians 3:12-14 GNT).

“If you want to drive ahead, look through the windscreen and drive, not through the rear-view mirror!” rajuda

Old Shoes, New Shoes

By Peter Lundell –

My old running shoes needed help. The laces had broken several times, and the knots tying them together kept getting caught in the eyelets. I found some laces at a dollar store, came home, and put them in. Hmmm… Half the length they needed to be. But they’d do.

Not optimal, not what I could have, but a stopgap for what could be worse. I only use the shoes for walking in the park or when I dress grubby.

I have a good pair of running shoes I use when I jog. But these old shoes with new mismatched laces were my partial effort at shoe renewal.

Then it struck me: people do the same things with their lives that I did with my shoes.

The Bible says, “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV). And we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2 NIV). So we have this offer and expectation of newness and transforming renewal.

In terms of shoes, that means whole new, or renewed, shoes. But I see so many people who hold on to their old shoes and put on new laces; sometimes mismatched.

They keep old problematic attitudes and behaviors, old self-oriented identities and interests, and they go to church. It’s like putting on a new pair of mismatched laces to convince themselves and others that they’re doing the Jesus thing now. The truth is that a renewed life would cost them more than a few modifications.

Then I thought of how many times I myself have been that way.

I don’t mean to be unkind. I just want to encourage all of us to pay the price of letting go of our old lives to genuinely receive the new. It is so worth it.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24 NIV).

“Lord, forgive me for the times when I played around with modifications on my life rather than giving myself over to a whole new life in Christ. Lead me each day so that I would live the life of being transformed by the renewing of my mind. . . .”

A Lesson from Mandela

By Peter Lundell –

Presidents, prime ministers and royalty from around the world came to pay tribute at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, held in a soccer stadium.

People carried banners that bore a close-up of his face. On the left, his birth year (1918). On the right, instead of the date of his death was the word “eternity.” In people’s minds he didn’t entirely die in 2013. He passed into eternity.

I’m not talking about theology of salvation here. I’m talking about how a person can live such a life on this earth as to be regarded to not die as much as to pass into eternity and still live on as a beacon of inspiration.

The irony is that the man spent twenty-seven years in prison. During the prime of his life. Breaking limestone boulders into gravel. By hand.

Many of us go around with full schedules trying to do everything we can to make the most of life. Busy. We’re so busy.

And this world-renowned inspirational leader was off on a prison island doing hard labor.

He was there because he was the primary leader of resistance to Apartheid. Yes, he was busy fighting the government before he went to prison, but his impact had little to do with how much

he got done each day or week or month or year. His value lay in who he was. And what he did about it, by suffering in prison for so long and by forgiving his captors and forging peace after he was released.

What would happen if each of us focused our lives twice as much on something valuable and reduced our busyness by half as much?

I’m thinking about my life. What would happen in yours? Of course the world around you would resist such a change. But if you did so, what would happen?

Prayer: Lord, You have given me one life. Work in me to focus it well, to do what I was most created to do—and not get sidetracked or seduced by busy stuff.

“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4 NIV).

Prayer Promptings

By Carin LeRoy –

Last week my husband was driving home from work during a rainstorm when our SUV tires started slipping on the wet road. Several times going speeds of 40-50 mph, the tires stopped gripping the road and the car started hydroplaning. My husband took the car in the next day to have the more worn tires in the front rotated to the back. New tires weren’t needed yet, so a rotation seemed to be all that was necessary to fix the problem. While the car was on the lift the mechanic said, “Look at these tires. The treads are separating; you definitely need new tires.” One hour and $700 later we sported news tires along with an unexpected expense.

Earlier that week we had driven 800 miles on those same tires in the rain. Yet the car did not hydroplane at higher speeds on the interstate. Later, while telling my daughter the story, she said, “I had this sense all day while you were driving that I needed to pray, and I didn’t relax until I knew you were home.”

Many times in life I have seen God’s hand of protection. Had we hydroplaned on the highway going 70 mph, disastrous results could have followed. The Lord prompting my daughter to pray all day could be what saved us from a terrible accident. James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness” (James 5:16 NET).

Years ago while serving on the mission field, an older godly lady wrote a letter telling us she had prayed all night for us. God would not let her sleep, and her burden for us was heavy. She had a sense that it involved snakes. Weeks later when we received her letter, we couldn’t pinpoint the timing exactly, but we lived in an area with deadly and poisonous death adders. During our years there we had several dangerous encounters with them, yet God always protected us. Her prayers may have made the difference.

Do you ever feel prompted to pray? Does it become a nagging feeling in your heart and a burden in the day or night? Then pray. Even if it makes no sense, God must be desiring your prayers. Don’t ignore His voice. Whatever God has placed on your heart, pray until that burden subsides. God loves to involve us in His plans and purposes, and prayer is one of the important ways He engages us. Perhaps my daughter’s prayers saved us from a tragic accident. We won’t know this side of heaven, yet I believe we will be surprised to know all the ways God has used prayers to thwart evil, and to protect and help us. Let’s be diligent to heed the promptings of God when He asks us to pray.

PRAYER: Lord, teach me to pray. Give me the desire to pray more and to obey the promptings You place on my heart. Give me the diligence and understanding to heed Your voice in prayer when You speak.

QUOTE: “Prayer is God’s settled and singular condition to move ahead His Son’s kingdom. Therefore, the believer who is the most highly skilled in prayer will do the most for God. Men are to pray—to pray for the advance of God’s cause. The one who can wield the power of prayer is the strong one, the holy one, in Christ’s kingdom. He is one of God’s heroes, God’s saints, God’s servants, God’s agents. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you,” (Matthew 7:7 NET). The strongest one in Christ’s kingdom is he who can knock the best, and the secret of success in Christ’s kingdom is the ability to pray,” E.M. Bounds in Prayer.

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