Little Jason

By Carin LeRoy –

Years ago when teaching Kindergarten, I had the cutest little boy in my class. Jason was a lovable little guy and would walk into class and say, “Mrs. LeRoy, I love you!” His smile was contagious, but he had a big problem. He couldn’t sit still. His constant wiggles and lack of attention provided many distractions for the other children in the class. Some days I needed to send him out to sit in the office so the other students could concentrate. As he would walk down the hall to sit in the office, he would turn to me and say, “But Mrs. LeRoy, I’ll be good! I’ll be good!” As hard as he tried he couldn’t sit still. He wanted to learn, but his mind wouldn’t let him.

That reminds me of our lives as believers. God commands us to live holy lives, but we stumble along trying to meet God’s standard of godly living and many times fall short. Even the apostle Paul said, “For what I do is not the good I want to do” (Romans 7: 19 NIV). He saw the sinful nature at war with our desire to please and follow God. It is a struggle we all have to face. We are much like little Jason as we continually try hard, but often fail to get it right.

I’ve often wondered where the years have taken Jason in life. By now he would be a matured adult, and those wiggles would have disappeared. In a similar way, as we mature in Christ and become sensitive to His guidance, we learn to keep those sinful desires under control.

Charles Stanley says, “Every believer is indwelt by God’s Spirit, but the extent of His rule is determined by the Christian’s freedom to comply.” It’s our choice whether we will let God have control or give in to those desires. Let’s choose to live a life that is dependent upon the power of God.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that I have Your Spirit to guide me and prompt me as I walk through life. Thank You that I can depend on Your power to live an obedient life. Help me to learn to be sensitive to Your leading each day.

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8: 5, 6 NIV).

The Hope of Heaven

By Carin LeRoy –

Yesterday while driving home from running a few errands, I noticed the bad condition of the road. As I drove over potholes and patched sections, I saw its ugliness. Unsightly orange cones lined one section where road repair happened. Litter cluttered the side. My thoughts turned to what heaven’s road will look like. They sure won’t look like the scene I saw.

When scripture speaks of the New Jerusalem it says, “The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass, (Revelation 21:21 NIV). While we pave our streets with black tarmac, heaven has streets of pure gold. Earlier in the chapter, it speaks of the foundation of the city walls. There are twelve layers, each with a different precious stone – jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, carnelion, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst. The twelve gates in the city are each made with a single pearl. That’s hard for me to imagine, but how beautiful that must look!

As we go through life in a fallen world with sin, sickness and pain, heaven is our hope. Not only because of its beauty, but because it is where we will spend eternity with Christ and where life’s struggles will end. I’m sure when we get to Heaven, the joys we experience will far outweigh the burdens of earthly life.

So when life gets you down, remember that Heaven awaits!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that I have the hope of Heaven. Someday, when life’s struggles are over, thank You that I will get to enjoy the great wonders of Heaven and an eternal life with You.

QUOTE: “If you’re a Christian suffering with great pains and losses, Jesus says, “Be of good cheer,” (John 16:33 NIV). The new house is nearly ready for you. Moving day is coming. The dark winter is about to be magically transformed into spring. One day soon you will be home–for the first time. Until then, I encourage you to meditate on the Bible’s truths about Heaven. May your imagination soar and your heart rejoice,” Randy Alcorn, from Heaven.

Giving Comfort in the God Zone

By Hally Franz –

Peer pressure is not just for kids. My own sister has inflicted considerable pressure upon me regarding texting. She is frustrated that I don’t yet have that capability with my cell phone. I am very content to keep it that way.

My husband and I recently purchased laptops for our son and me. My home computer is nearly seven years old, and we needed an upgrade. Ivan immediately came home and began using his laptop, excited to be liberated from the community computer. However, I have yet to open mine. The fear of some complicated log-on, download or set-up process has me stalled.

I am fairly proficient with a few computer programs, but I resist technology. I don’t join lots of sites and rarely make on-line purchases. And, are you ready for this? We still have “free” TV in our home.

Technology is not my area of expertise. It is not in my comfort zone. While it is hard to function in our society without using and sometimes even embracing technology, some people find it easy to avoid having a relationship with God. In a culture where many deem a smartphone a greater necessity than an hour in worship, we need to make it as easy as possible for others to connect and commune with believers and our Heavenly Father.

Do we take time to invite the un-churched into our church homes, encouraging rather than pressuring them to learn more about Jesus and His saving grace? When visitors enter our buildings, are we willing to patiently teach them about Christian concepts that may be totally foreign to them? Or, do we express frustration when they resist moving from their comfort zone into unknown territory?

The truth is that my computer competency will not enhance my prayer life nor study of His word. No high-tech communication devices or e-readers are needed. While it may be wise for me to expand my technology knowledge for success here on earth, it is absolutely essential for me to broaden my theology knowledge to ensure eternity in heaven.

Let’s help our brothers and sisters do the same.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to be easily approachable and welcoming to our church visitors. May they find it joyful, rather than stressful, to begin their own journeys of faith.

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,” (2 Timothy 2:24-25 NKJV).

Lullaby For All of Us

By Cynthia Ruchti —

She’s mellowed considerably in twelve years, but when our first grandchild was a toddler, she’d slap her little pink hands over her ears and in a voice that sounded like foot-stomping say, “Don’t sing!”

The first few times it was funny. Because she was born into a musical family, we thought her faux-tantrum must have been toddler humor. But it wasn’t. She meant it. For reasons we’ll never understand, something about our singing—no wisecracks, please—grated on her young nerves.

It was a trick slipping the “Happy Birthday” song past her at family celebrations.

One song remained firmly entrenched in my repertoire, though. With my children and now my grandchildren, I’m allowed the honor of being the first to sing into those downy soft ears, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” It’s a lullaby that soothes an hours-old troubled heart or the aged heart hours away from eternity.

How much time have I spent singing that lullaby since my daughter was born, then my sons, then my granddaughters and grandsons? How many repetitions of the greatest truth, the most potent comfort, the sweetest sentence ever uttered?

Jesus loves me.

Even now, I can’t look at those three words without a sense of awe-struck wonder. Imagine! Jesus loves me.

I can spread my arms wide and dance across a mountain meadow—“The Sound of Music” style—or I can whisper-sing it to a colicky child and know it is the truest of statements and the most life-changing.

The lullaby tradition with new babies is intentional. My heart longs for that singular thought to be imprinted early on each child’s brain. Whether they remember it or not, and no matter what life brings or the choices they make, they will all be told that the first song they heard in their life’s journey was the most significant.

Jesus loves me.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Take comfort today as Jesus sings that song into your heart’s “ear,” a lullaby that never grows old.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35 NIV)

Oooo, Ahhhh

By Cheri Cowell –

I love fireworks! One Fourth of July I had the privilege of viewing them from the bow of a boat anchored in the river. With each burst of color the water surrounding me reflected the beauty that filled the sky. As I watched the dazzling show above and around me I became as a little child, filled with awe and emotion. I beamed from ear to ear, and spontaneously commented with each boom on the majesty displayed in the sky.

On the return home after the fireworks I thought about how glorious it will be when Christ comes again to take His throne. It will be more glorious than any fireworks show can ever be, and my heart will soar more than it ever could while viewing anything man-made. For such a time as this we were created: to fall in adoration at the spectacle of our Lord taking His rightful place as the sovereign power ruling over all the earth. Won’t that be a magnificent day?

Some scholars believe Daniel’s visions prophesy the fall of the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Still others label this as a second coming prophesy. Either way, the clear message is that God (the Ancient of Days) sits on the throne, overseeing a judgment (court) with books that detail the sins of those who oppose Him. At His will, He will destroy these men and women with their own boastfulness. Then the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) will take His place as ruler over all. All the people, of every tribe and nation, will worship our Lord forever! Won’t that be a magnificent day?

PRAYER: Dear God, penetrate me deeply today with the vision and reality of Your great return. Help me prepare for Your second and final coming. To You be the glory, forever and ever.

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14 NIV).

« Previous Page — Next Page »