Spring Forward

By Candace McQuain –

In my opinion, springtime is by far the loveliest of seasons. It ushers out the cold and harshness of winter and welcomes the long, carefree days of summer. When spring arrives, it brings with it fresh, new life. Flowers burst into perfect full bloom, as if thanking their Maker with all of the colors of the rainbow. Trees dance in the gentle spring breeze, displaying their splendid new growth with stunning shades of green and red.

So what do we humans do in the spring? Well, many of us clean and organize areas of our homes. Baseball fans prepare with eager anticipation for the first pitch. And many of us just sit back whenever our crazy schedules allow to enjoy the mild weather and beautiful sights around us.

But should we be doing more? Don’t we have as much to offer and eagerly show off as God’s botanical creations do?

After a long pity party involving an insane amount of chocolate and Lifetime movies, I learned that the answer is most certainly yes. My woe-is-me, somebody-give-me-a-break-right-now attitude had consumed me, but a tugging at my heart was undeniable.

During a commercial in the middle of one of my chick flicks, I saw a post on Facebook. Nope, it wasn’t about a new recipe or someone “checking-in” somewhere, just a simple, relevant Bible verse.

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV).

With tears and mascara streaming down my face, desperate for God to fill the huge void that had overcome me, I called out and asked Him to tell me about those great and mighty things.

Within the next few hours, through a divine set of circumstances and encouraging words from friends completely unaware of my state of mind, God showed me something very powerful.

He did not create me to sit around and wait to fit into someone else’s opportunity. He gave me unique abilities that only I possess, that only I can use, that only I can devote to glorify Him.

I’m no different than the flowers that bloom or the trees that flourish, each one, offering a distinct importance to the world around them.

We have all been blessed with gifts from God. Those valuable, one of kind gifts were not put there to lie dormant or to use only at our convenience. They were put there to bring us new life, to set us apart as His.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8 NIV).

Powerful Words, Powerful Message

By Janet Morris Grimes –

My heart beat faster with each step. I pulled the door open, bracing myself for our first meeting.

I heard his unfamiliar voice before I saw him. Different than I expected, but I wasn’t sure exactly how. He rested in a chair, seated in an office that held his name on the door. Impressive.

I leaned inside as he rose from the fabric-covered chair.

“Hi. I’m Janet.”

He smiled. “You look just like your picture.”

“Is that good or bad?” I asked. Without waiting for an answer, nor giving him the option, I hugged him. I’d waited for this moment for a long time.

He was a bit shorter than I expected, but maybe that came from seeing him through my little-girl imagination, rather than through the eyes of an the adult I had become. His words were strong and calculated, expected from a lifelong preacher. Thick, silver hair topped his tanned face. His smile was jovial, inviting me to share in his happiness.

We stepped in unison up the steps to the auditorium and down the center aisle. He placed his Bible on the lectern for his upcoming lesson. I waited in anticipation on the pew, about four rows back. This man, once my father’s best friend, spoke on the book of Hebrews.

I half-listened, wondering what it would be like if my own father were standing there, using his own version of the authoritative preacher-voice.

They’d been buddies in high school before the relationship grew into a true brotherhood while roommates at David Lipscomb College. They tackled the world of the unknown together, each of them pretending to have more answers than the other. They kept each other from studying, sharing the blame for their poor grades. They found the girls of their dreams, and then married them.

A friendship that should have lasted forever. I guess in a way, it did.

My father was killed tragically in a car accident when I was just a baby, so I had no memories of him. This led me, as an adult, to contact his best friend, Rod, with one simple request.

“Please tell me about my father?”

He shared as many memories as he could with me, describing a funny, brilliant-when-he-wanted-to-be kind of guy. A practical joker. Stubborn, but in a good way. The kind of person that thankfully matched my fairy-tale version of him.

Rod provided hand-written letters Daddy had sent while Rod served as a missionary in Africa. He shared photos, expanding on the stories that surrounded them with a faraway look in his eyes. Did he travel back to those hallways and locker rooms at Salem High School? I so wanted to travel there with him; to peer around the corner and see for myself.

Our first face-to-face meeting came to an end much too soon. But as he was leaving, he offered these words:

“Janet, your father would be so proud of you.”

And the little girl in me melted. In some ways, I think that is all I ever wanted to hear. I needed to hear my father’s voice, but Rod’s served as a great substitute.

I left there wondering how many more people need to hear that message; but not so much about their own fathers. But from God.

Don’t we all wonder what He would think of us? As we strive to make Him proud, wouldn’t it be great to hear those same words, in His voice?

If that isn’t possible, shouldn’t we serve as the role of the best friend, and tell our kids and those around us as much as we can about God. About how He moves and how He loves?

I went directly home and said to my daughter, “Your Father, in Heaven, is so very proud of you.”

I suspect that is something she has waited her entire life to hear.

Signs of the End Times? Chaotic Weather

By Dianne E. Butts –

It’s April and the beginning of spring. In many places, spring is the time for violent weather. We’ve certainly seen a lot in the United States in recent years.

According to Wikipedia, “the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded, and popularly known as the 2011 Super Outbreak, occurred from April 25 to 28, 2011.” Destructive tornados hit Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Wikipedia article continues, “In total, 353 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in 21 states from Texas to New York and even isolated tornadoes in Canada. Widespread and destructive tornadoes occurred on each day of the outbreak, with April 27 being among the most prolific and destructive tornado days in United States history with a record 208 tornadoes touching down that day. Four of the tornadoes were destructive enough to be rated EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which is the highest ranking possible; typically these tornadoes are only recorded about once each year or less.”

A total of 346 people were killed as a result of those tornadoes.

Less than a month later, on Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2011, Joplin, Missouri, was struck by an EF5 multiple-vortex tornado. “It was part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak sequence and reached a maximum width of in excess of 1 mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city,” an article on Wikipedia says. The number of deaths directly linked to the tornado: 160.

In Luke 21:25-26 Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”

Do you think this Bible verse could refer to increased intensity in chaotic weather patterns on earth?

Jesus mentioned, “the roaring and tossing of the sea.” We talked last month about earthquakes and tsunamis. I’m sure you remember the tsunami that occurred after the earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011. The tsunami was partly to blame, along with the earthquake, for the damage and resulting nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant where eventually three of six reactors went into meltdown.

Do you think God is shaking up the nations and the heavenly bodies right now? God always sends warnings before He sends judgments. But people don’t always listen. Do you believe God is shaking up the human race with earthquakes, tsunamis, and chaotic weather to get the attention of people? Or do you simply think “global warming” is to blame?

Love’s Ultimate Day

By Alan Mowbray –

In the month of February, the focus always swings to love. Sure, it’s not the only month of the year where love rules, but still, you get my point. Valentine’s Day, wedding anniversaries, the “day we first met” anniversaries, our “two weeks of dating” anniversaries, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day and a plethora of other “days” all remind us to show some love to those who are most important to us.

But to me, Good Friday is the ultimate day of love.

1 John 4:16-17 (NKJV) introduces us to what and Who Love is–“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God Is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.”

Next, John 3:16 (NKJV) quickly explains just how much God loves us. “For God so loved this world, that he gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

We, who were sinners. We the world. Loved by Him, yet dead to Him. The world had rejected Him. The world hated Him. Adulterers. Murderers. Cheaters. Liars. Gossipers. Blasphemers. And still, He loved us enough—selflessly—to give His own Son to die. He sent Jesus to live as a man, not just to do cool miracles and say really deep things—but to die. And to die the most horrible death that man could conceive.

It was the only way God could circumvent the destruction and judgment that was waiting for all of us—thanks to man’s fall in the garden. Circumvented, that is, if we chose to accept and acknowledge what Jesus did for us.

So that’s what makes Good Friday the ultimate day of love in my book. Jesus did this because of love. If I had been the only soul that ever lived, He would have died for me in order to give me the chance to accept that gift.

When I take the time to just remember that one thing—the sacrifice my Savior made for me that day—I am broken. After being unjustly accused, He was beaten beyond recognition. He was whipped until his skin was in tatters. He was stripped and hung from a crude killing machine—the cross. Lastly, all the sin of the world—not just past sin, but all sin that would ever be perpetrated—was placed upon Him.

Think about it. If my sins were/are heavy enough to condemn me to death, what can be the weight of billions upon billions of people amount to? Agony is too small of a word to describe it.

Yet Love carried it all! Love knew that this must be done. Love came down to earth and became man. Love suffered through childhood, puberty, adulthood, injustice, numerous opportunities to quit, temptation upon temptation, and—

Love stayed true to His mission of love.

Salvation.

1 John 4:10 (NKJV) “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Take a moment to just toss around in your head the enormity of a sinless human life of 33 years, culminating with dying for your sins—done as a gift—just because you are worthy of His love.

All of this was a gift to you. Personally.

If you’ve never accepted that gift, why not now?

You can let me or any writer on this site know just by commenting and we’ll respond.

Let today be Love’s Ultimate Day for you!

If I Have Not Love

By Kathi Woodall –

I hugged an endearing little orphan girl tightly and told her, “Good-bye, Benji. I love you.”

She startled and looked up at me, saying with her adorable accent, “Aww, I do not want you to go.”

I spent a week of the early part of January serving at the Haiti Home of Hope orphanage in Pignon, Haiti. I will confess that I do not usually work in children’s ministries. I am more comfortable teaching a class full of women. However, I would have to be lacking a heartbeat if the orphans of Haiti did not pull at my heartstrings. Benji became a favorite for many on my team. Her quick wit, warm smile, and inquisitive nature made her a delight to all who met her.

Mission teams serve at the orphanage on a regular basis and I am sure many people come in and out of Benji’s life, as well as the lives of the other 36 children who call the orphanage home. I am sure many team members have given gifts, played games, and offered snuggles to each of the children. I would think some team members have even expressed love for different children they have built a relationship with during their brief stay. However, Benji’s startled reaction made me wonder if anyone, other than the couple who runs the orphanage, has ever told her that she was loved. Love is not a common emotion in the poverty-stricken country where women offer to marry a man who can provide the best standard of living—a standard often defined as a man who is able to provide enough to keep them alive.

Millions of dollars in aid and support have poured into Haiti in the two years since a catastrophic earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. As my flight descended into the capitol city of Port-au-Prince, I looked out over the city still scarred by the horrific damage. Thoughts that had been floating around in my brain for weeks came together into a single clear message. Humanitarian aid and relief does little if we do not also offer spiritual hope and love. The hope of another meal is welcomed, but the hope of eternity in heaven makes a true impact. The love of generous people who give their lives to run an orphanage is a blessing, but the love of a Savior who gave His life to redeem ours makes a lasting change.

“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 NIV).

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