WAITING

The psalmist wrote, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation." Psalm 62:1 (KJV)

"I wait upon the Lord, but that does not mean He's slow;
it's just that gives me time to let my spirit grow." E. B. Ryan                                                                  

I wrote those lines from one of my poems, the rest of the words which I have long forgotten. But, those lines stuck in my head, perhaps because I've done a lot of waiting for one thing or another in my life.

One of the Army's motto's is "Hurry up and wait." The soldiers wait in chow lines, wait in doctor's offices, wait in convoy lines, and so on. Their spouses wait for their soldiers to come home when their deployment is done, wait for the next move to another assignment, wait for their babies to be born, wait for their five year old to go to school, wait, wait, wait, and wait some more.

Life is full of waiting. But, there comes a time when waiting is not enough. One must move out and step up to the "forever plate." When God is ready and waiting for YOU and is beckoning you to step forward and accept His Son, Jesus as your personal Savior. Don't wait. Reach out and accept His gift of love. You don't have to wait. He is there at your hearts door, knocking to be let in. He is your "forever plate," the One your heart has been longing for. He is the means of your salvation. He loves you unconditionally. No waiting in line.

Thank You, Father, for not making us wait, for loving us without conditions, and beckoning us to accept Your gift of salvation right now. Amen                                                                                        

© 2016 Evelyn B. Ryan

SUICIDE MISSION

For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflow to the many! Romans 5:12-21(NIV)

Bill was struggling. As the group of jail inmates I was teaching considered the goal of “Victory” in our study, I told them in Christ they were all victors and should embrace that attitude. Bill said he felt more like a victim. He knew the story that God sent his Son on a suicide mission to earth to save us from sin, but he was having real trouble in comprehending how that worked. I praised Bill for his diligent searching and encouraged him to persevere. His searching will lead to success and understanding that will change his life. Living as a victor is much more fun!

Thinking about it, perhaps the hardest part is to believe the God of the universe would send his Son on a suicide mission for me personally.  In Romans, Paul introduces a God of grace. Where sin increases, God’s Grace increases all the more so that grace might reign supreme.

It all fits together. Adam’s sin brought death and separated us from God. But God’s anger at sin was exceed by his love for man. In Leviticus 17:11, God established the principle that blood is required for atonement (forgiveness) of sin. For God to give us the grace of forgiveness required the shedding of perfectly innocent life on earth. His sucide mission, completed on the cross, gave atonement for us.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus, God of grace, for completing your mission for me!

© 2016 Parker Wayland

 

 

OPEN DOOR

Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

The work place was being reorganized and people were laid off. My husband was one of them. We had signed a contract five days earlier with a contractor to have our kitchen renovated.

Oh, No!  We will be in so much debt, with no job, a second mortgage on our house, and next to nothing in savings.

Norm and I asked God to open a door. Nightly, on our knees, we prayed for an open door. My husband dressed in a suit and tie and went to an office every day to network job opportunities. On occasion, he traveled to other cities for interviews. In the meantime, the work on the new kitchen continued.

God heard our prayers. We had moved to the place we were living 16 years earlier, and God opened the door with a job in the city we had left. We said to each other, “Do we say to God, ‘We we have been there and done that.’”

Our daughter would be married that year in the town where we presently lived. How do we juggle buying and selling houses with this in mind? Our house sold in 13 days during a huge snowfall, and the people buying it did not want to move in until a month after the wedding. God is good.

We also got rid of the second mortgage and out of debt.

Dear God, Thank you for showing us that we can ask and you will answer. You bless us when we ask.

©2016 Mary Burkey

HOLY MUZZLE

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Luke 6:45 (NAS)

The Bible speaks often about damage caused by careless words. In James 3:8, the tongue is described as a restless evil, full of deadly poison that no one can tame. The verse granted me no consolation as once again I combed over a thoughtless statement I had blurted out. Time and time again it seems I would find myself regretting something I said and wishing to retract it.
 
Continually I prayed for the Lord’s guidance in bridling my tongue. I confessed my transgressions and asked forgiveness from the Lord and others on many occasions.

While praying about this one day, it occurred to me that Paul might have left out an important piece of the armor of God described in the book of Ephesians 6:11. Certainly he should have included a Holy muzzle since it was well known we humans were helpless to control our tongues. I couldn’t believe this great Saint’s oversight. I began to add that piece to the armor during my prayer time.

It was not the supernatural cure I had hoped for. I still struggled with controlling my words.

Finally, while reading my Bible I came across the wisdom behind Paul’s exclusion of a muzzle. The uncontrolled tongue is not a mouth issue. It’s a heart problem. Our words come from the overflow of what is in our hearts. We must start there, in order to deal effectively with our dilemma.

Father, guard my heart with Your breastplate of righteousness so I don’t sin with my mouth. Amen.

©2016 Bonnie Mae Evans

MY STRENGTH COMES FROM THE LORD

Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. (NASB) Psalm 28:6, 7a-b

During my hospitalization and rehabilitation from major surgery, I sensed God’s presence. My daily prayer was for courage and strength to persevere through the pain of recovery and physical therapy. There were times when my body hurt, and I cried out to the Lord to give me the courage to keep on going. My goals were to come out on the other side pain-free and to be able to walk again.
My independence was temporarily gone because my leg was not strong enough for me to go out alone, and I was unable to drive. My dependence was on the Lord, family and friends for my needs.

Many verses throughout the scriptures speak of God’s strength:  “Be strong and let your heart take courage.” (Psalm 27:14b); “The Lord is my strength and my song.” (Moses in Exodus 15:2a); “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13). If David, Moses and Paul praised God for the strength He gave them, I can, too.

When Paul implored the Lord three times to take away his thorn in the flesh, the Lord responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” When I am weak, the power of Christ will dwell in me (2 Corinthians 12:7-9; my paraphrase of Paul’s comments).

When we go through physical difficulties, the Lord assures us of His love by bringing us comfort and strength.

Thank You, Lord, for being with me during this challenging time and for giving me the courage and strength to persevere.

© 2016 Diane E. Hussey