FOCUS ON THE LORD, NOT ON THE STORM

It was a really hard day. My mom had reached what appeared to be the end of her two-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease without much physical distress, but suddenly she began to have spasms in her throat that would stop her breathing instantly. Her husband and children gathered around her bed and attempted to calm her as we watched her turn darker colours of blue. Repeatedly, I bowed my head and asked God to help, then opened my eyes confidently, and yet nothing changed.

After several hours, a breakthrough came, her symptoms abated, and she rested comfortably once again. For that I was grateful, but there was a nagging question in the forefront of my mind:"Lord, why didn't you stop her suffering right away? You have never failed me.....what happened today?"

I spent another night at Mom's bedside, reassuring, medicating, and making sure she was comfortable. I talked to my Heavenly Father. I felt so weary and sick inside. I could feel my foundation being tested and wondered if it would hold. The next morning the Lord spoke quietly to me and reminded me of an account in the Bible. It was the one of Peter walking on the water with his eyes fixed on the Lord. He was in the midst of the storm doing things that he never imagined he could do, and then it happened. Peter saw the storm and realized that he was in the midst of a very bad situation, with very real waves churning under his feet. He began to sink because he took his eyes off the Lord and became caught up in the storm.

A burden lifted from my heart and was replaced by renewed, simple trust as I turned the eyes of my soul toward my Lord. And then, with redeemed emotion, I recalled what had occurred during Mom's episode just prior to her calming.

At a loss of what to do for my mom, Dad had asked me to call our pastor. He and others from the church came and we gathered around Mom's bed. One woman had come to sing some hymns. I told her that she would need to come back later. She brushed by me to my mother's bedside, opened her worn hymnal, and began to sing. Others joined in, but I couldn't even choke out a note. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus/look full in His wonderful face./And the things of earth will grow strangely dim/in the light of His glory and grace."

I looked at my mom and was amazed. There she lay, peaceful and serene, breathing normally. She could not open her eyes or move a muscle in her body because of the disease, yet her spirit had laid hold of the Master's hand.

The praise continued for a long time and we were refreshed. How faithful He is to test our foundation and to give us what we need. From:A cup of comfort

Planting Trees

Genesis 21:33-34 "Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and he worshiped the LORD, the Eternal God, at that place. And Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time."

Surely planting a tamarisk or any other tree is a curious thing for a landless wanderer to do.
For owners of property of any size, planting trees is an investment that adds value and character. Let's suppose that Abraham planted his tamarisk as a courtesy to the friendly neighbours who granted him passage and valuable grazing and water rights for his flocks and herbs.
Such an action on Abraham's part returned something to his neighbours. This gesture and others like it account for the courtesy he received later at Hebron when he needed a burial plot.
Pioneers throughout our nation planted trees by investing themselves in service and generosity. They often began by founding or supporting schools and libraries. Their legacy continues to enrich our nation by nurturing new leaders.
Abraham planted a tree. So, what are we planting for the benefit of our neighbours?

Honour God by acknowledging blessings received and passing them on to others.
By Richard S Barnett

God's Word will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."

Twenty-five years ago our home was one of three in our county that was flooded. The water was chest-deep in the backyard when my husband waded through to turn off the gas. I could visualize what this might look like on the evening news.

After the water receded, we began the long, slow process of cleaning our home and determining what had been ruined. Compared to that of the other two homes in the county, our loss was small. A few items, such as the stuffed dog my brother gave me before he died, were irreplaceable and their loss brought sadness.

One discovery, in the midst of all of the mess, surprised us. There on the floor lay a perfectly dry Bible. It was a little thing, but the symbolism was great. God was with us even in the flood.
By Linda Roberts

God sent it, therefore, it must be good for me

Faith is not conjuring up, through an act of your will, a sense of certainty that something is going to happen. No, it is recognizing God's promise as an actual fact, believing it is true, rejoicing in the knowledge of that truth, and then, simply resting because God said it.

Faith turns a promise into a prophecy. A promise is contingent upon our cooperation, but when we exercise genuine faith in it, it becomes a prophecy. Then we can move ahead with certainty that it will come to pass, because "God .... does not lie." (Titus 1:2) from Days of Heaven upon Earth

WALKING IN DARKNESS & NO LIGHT?

"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God" (Isaiah 50:10). In the spiritual sense, walking in darkness usually means walking in sin (Proverbs 4:19). However, according to the context of Isaiah 50:10, those who walk in darkness and have no light are those who fear the LORD and obey His voice! God's children were going through a period of darkness and suffered afflictions, trials, chastisement and testings.

When we are in our great trial, affliction, or testing. e.g. serious illness, family breakdown, bankruptcy, job losses, accidents or disasters, bereavement, oppressive opposition from the adversaries, etc, and it seems that we have no light, no strength, no hope, no directions, etc., we are encouraged to "trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon" our God, who is our Light and Salvation (Psalm 27:1)

In all situations, we are encouraged to trust in the name of the LORD. Do we know His name? The name LORD (all letters in capital), in Hebrew, is the Tetragrammaton YHWH. The LORD or Jehovah is the covenant name of the covenant God to His covenant people. God appeared to Moses and said, "I AM THAT I AM" (EXODUS 3:14). Isaiah 42:8 says "I am the LORD:that is my name."
Reflection:I can trust in my almighty LORD even in my days of darkness. Extracted from READ PRAY GROW (april - june 2010) issue.

Becoming Humble

Hi dear friends, at present I am reading a book entitled "THE GIFT OF PROPHECY" by Jack Deere. In this book, he touches on the topic of humility which I would like to share with you on some insights.

Humility is almost always acquired in the desert. Moses, David, John the Baptist and Jesus all had significant training in the desert. The desert is necessary because no human being has the character to bear perpetual success. Jesus had the character, but His Father did not except Him from the rule. We need failure, pain and dryness to break the power of our pride. In this life, there is no cure for our pride. We are offered a daily reprieve based on the quality of our daily walk with Jesus. The desert represents that time in our lives when we seem unproductive and God seems far away. And if that weren't enough, a major test or temptation is thrown at us in the desert. The pain of the desert is where we learn that apart from Christ we can do nothing.

A second thing that helps us to grow in humility is being with humble people. It is a law of human nature that we will become like our friends (Proverbs 13:20). All of us need one to three people of the same sex who are so close to us that they know all our secrets. Why? Because if you can't talk about it, it owns you. When I share a dark secret with a close friend, 50% of the power of that darkness over me is immediately broken. James said that if we want to be healed, it is necessary to confess our sins to one another. You can only do this consistently with the closest of friends, people who would never use your secrets to betray you.

Truly deep friendships are formed without ulterior motives. Best friends are best friends for one reason: They enjoy each other. And this brings us back to our ultimate purpose in life, to love God and one another (Matthew 22:37-40)

KNOW THE TRUTH

"Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.: Psalm 55:22

"God helps those who help themselves" is an oft-heard "biblical" phrase you will have trouble finding in Scripture because it isn't there. It's just a common saying.

What does the Bible say? "Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you."
The myth that God helps those who help themselves drives us to try to do God's job. We pray, pray for change. Change in anything. Changes in our lives, our career, our children, our spouse, those nasty neighbours down the street. The list goes on and on. But nothing changes since we're the ones applying all the "fixed."

As long as we are trying to do God's job, He won't. God will stand back and wait until we stop trying to do what we've asked Him to do. Yielding to God brings marvelous results!

God will sustain you when you lean on Him. By Nancy F. Revie