Write it Down

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22 (NIV)

One morning, my daughter found me laying unconscious on the floor. She called an ambulance, and they took me to the hospital. After many tests and a night’s stay, the doctors still could not figure out what had caused me to pass out or why I was having dizzy spells. When I came home I was miserable. Crying, I called another daughter. I told her I did not know what was wrong. After praying for me she said, “Read the Word.”

When I hung up the phone, I pulled out my study Bible to look up scriptures on healing. As I started reading, a voice from within told me to write them down—slowly, and in my neatest handwriting. That is exactly what I did, and it was not long before I was excited, feeling renewed and refreshed.

His Word heals. Pills may be good for some things; however, when it comes to spiritual temptation I go to His Word and start writing. Scriptures on love, salvation, blessings, forgiveness, hope and faith are written in my booklet, and most importantly, on the tablet of my heart.

Now whenever studying, I write scriptures down and let the Word heal me in other areas: spirit, soul and body.

Father, thank You for giving me the Word to cleanse me and help me heal in times of trouble.

© 2010 Marcella Panowicz

The Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14 (NIV)

I have a small chihuahua who needs to be carried whenever he has to go outside. He fell down the steps when we first moved into our house two years ago. Now he fears them. But, hesitating at each one, he will climb up four steps as if measuring the distance. When I take him outside, I pick him up and carry him, and set him gently in the grass. He is very still in my arms, putting complete trust in me.

Recently, as I took him down the steps, a picture of Jesus came into my mind. He carried a lamb while its mother followed, looking up at Him. It was a display of Jesus' tender compassion for the young lamb. Jesus is still the Good Shepherd looking after His sheep. Because we are members of His flock, He looks after us, carrying us over rough spots in our lives. When I grow weary of everyday problems, all I have to do is look up and pray to Him, trusting that He will carry my cares for me, making them lighter to bear. I live each day knowing that I have a good relationship with Jesus. When I say my prayers before going to sleep, I have confidence that Jesus remains the stabilizer of my day and all of my tomorrows.

Father, thank You for carrying us when the road of daily life gets too rough. Guard and guide us so that our actions might be pleasing to You. Amen

(c) 2010
E. Bonnie Ryan

Love One Another

“My Command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12 (NIV)

Norman left for World War II and came home in a casket. Three small children and a wife, Anna, had to live without him. After the war was over, she received a letter of condolence in the mail from Norman's army friend, Stephen. With many tears, Anna answered that letter by expressing how she had lost the love of her life and life would never be the same again.

Fifty years later and after Anna’s death, one of her sons, named after Norman, received an envelope in the mail. It contained the letter his mom had written. Love and comfort oozed from it as he read the words of love about the father he had lost. Norman had a better understanding of his mother’s loss and a renewed love for her.

About ten years after receiving the letter, Norman attended a reunion of his father's army unit in Portland, Maine. There he met Stephen’s widow. She told him that her husband had carried the letter in his wallet for fifty years and that she only found it after he died. Immediate friendship kindled between Norman and Stephen’s widow. Her care for that letter and the love of another overrode time and loss. The love, expressed in words of Anna’s letter and love expressed through thoughtfulness of Stephen’s widow, filled Norman’s heart. God’s love is unending.

Dear Lord, Your love flows when we love others through our words and actions. Amen

© Mary Burkey 2010

Adoption and Inheritance

But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, this is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. (Luke 20:14) KJV

So many true crime stories on television display greed as a motive for murder. It is an age-old vice driven by envy, jealousy, and even hate. In past centuries, kings were assassinated by their own children. Still today, spouses kill their partners to inherit money; others kill in insurance schemes. On the streets, lives often end for much less.

Human nature is to take; divine nature, to give. In that vein, God took the first step and offered up His only heir, Jesus, so that sinners could become adopted sons and partake of Christ’s inheritance. Not just any inheritance—but one incorruptible and undefiled, which does not fade away and is kept in Heaven for us (I Peter 1:4).

We had no way to earn the gift of His grace. When I read Luke 20:14 recently, I was struck by the irony. They wanted to kill the heir so the inheritance could be theirs, but Jesus died so that it could be. Yet no man took His life—He willingly laid it down to make us all heirs together with Him. No wonder Paul said, “I pray...that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19a NIV).

Thank You, Lord for the precious gifts You have given us. Help us to live to the fullest, reveling in the knowledge of how much we have been—and always will be—loved.

© 2010 Katherine A. Fuller

Babylon?

God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. (Phillipians 4:7 CEV)

Babylon, mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, brings to mind thoughts of corruption and evil. Prophets use the name Babylon as a symbol of a spirit of false worship and a corrupt political and economic system. Some claim that the godless religious systems of Babylon are the main source of today’s pagan worship. A study of the etymology of the name Babel reveals that in the Hebrew language it means “confused.”

We live in a time when weapons of mass destruction remind us of toxic mushroom clouds hanging over our heads. An age of innocence in sexual behavior seems to be lost in open nudity and acceptance of what the Bible terms sexual sin. Bernie Madoff types steal money without a whisper of a conscience.

Confusion seems to reign. Are we living in Babylon revisited? Will Jesus soon come triumphantly to conquer Babylon in all its configurations?

I do not know the answer to these questions. I do know some things that the Bible tells us.

Christians are to be aware of signs and times. Jesus said, "But if He comes suddenly, don't let Him find you asleep. I tell everyone just what I have told you. Be alert!" (Mark 13:36 CEV) The apostle Paul suffered much, yet gave us this advice, "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and request to God.” (Philippians 4:6 CEV)

Dear Lord, whatever the times, help us to remember to come before you in praise and supplication. Give us peace in our spirits in spite of the confusion that swirls around us in this world.
© Christy Struben 2010