stay

When Cecil B. DeMille began working on the original "Ben Hur" movie, he talked to Charlton Heston - the star of the movie - about the all-important chariot race at the end. He decided that Heston should actually learn to drive the chariot himself, rather than just using a stunt double. Heston agreed to take chariot-driving lessons to make the movie as authentic as possible.

Learning to drive a chariot with horses four abreast, however, was no small matter. After extensive work and days of practice, Heston returned to the movie set and reported to DeMille.

"I think I can drive the chariot all right, Cecil," said Heston, "but I'm not sure I can actually win the race."

Smiling slightly, DeMille said, "Heston, you just stay in the race, and I'll make sure you win."

Those are the words of God to everyone going through a time of struggle in their lives...  "My child, you just stay in the race, and I'll make sure you win."  Look for God's hand. If you cannot see it in the event itself, look for it in the aftermath when you are putting your life back together. I promise you, God's hand will be there.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which theLord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 

alphabet

Regardless of your experience with your earthly father, you have a Heavenly Father who loves you more than you can imagine. It is exciting to get to know the One who fathered us before we were born (Ps 139:13-16). With an open Bible, meditate on your awesome perfect heavenly Father. This is the revelation of His heart. Let the One who is Holy Love re-parent you in His love, so that you see all that He does in your life through the filter of His love (1 John 4:16). Your Father wants you to know Him, love Him, and enjoy Him!

A

My Father is my Abba, Papa.   I am His beloved child. (Rom 8:15, Gal 4:4-7, John 1:12, James 1:18)

B

My Father blesses me with every heavenly gift. (Eph 1:3)

C

My Father gathers me in His arms and carries me all my life. (Isa 40:11, 46:3-4; Deu 1:31).

My Father chose me from the foundation of the world. (Eph 1:4-6)

D

My Father disciplines me with love and justice. (Heb 12:6-11, Deu 32:4, John 5:30)

E

My Father exults over me with joy. (Zeph 3:17)

F

My Father is father of the fatherless. (Ps 68:5)

G

My Father has given me an inheritance, I'm a fellow heir with His Son. (Rom 8:16-17, Gal 3:29, Eph 1:11-14, Col 1:12-14)

H

My Father helps me. (Isa 44:2)

My Father is my hiding place. (Ps 32:7)

My Father honors me and cherishes me. (Isa 43:4)

I

My Father instructs me. (Ps 32:8)

J

My Father is the Judge of all the earth. (Gen 18:25)

K

My Father knows all my needs. (Mat 6:8)

L

My Father loves me with the same love with which He loves His Son. (John 17:23, Eph 2:4-5).

My Father lavishes me with His grace. (Eph 1:7-8)

M

My Father meets all of my needs according to His riches in Christ. (Ps 23, 36:8; Phil 4:19, Pro 3:9-10)

N

My Father will not abandon me. He will never, no never, leave me or forsake me. (Heb 13:5, Deu 4:31, 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5)

No one can pluck me out of my Father's hand. (John 10:27-29)

O

My Father is omnipotent, all-powerful. (Rev 19:6)

P

I am precious in My Father's sight. (Isa 43:4)

My Father was pleased to make me His own. (1 Sam 12:22)

Q

My Father quiets me with his love. (Zeph 3:17

R

He redeems my life from all my past. (Isa 63:16)

My Father rejoices over me with singing. (Zeph 3:17)

S

My Father is absolutely steadfast. He never changes. (Mal 3:6, James 1:17)

T

When I am afraid, I can trust my Father. (Ps 56:3-4, 11)

My Father is absolutely trustworthy. (Ps 9:10, 30:20-22; Isa 12:2, Jer 17:5-8, Mat 12:17-21

U

My Father’s understanding is infinite (Ps 147:5)

V

My Father will vindicate me. (Deu 32:36, Ps 7:8)

W

My Father only wants the highest good for me. (Rom 2:4, 2 Thes 1:11)

My Father is always with me. (Mat 18:20, 1 Chron 28:20)

X

My Father is excellent. (Ps 8:1)

Y

My Fathers name is Yah--the LORD. (Psalm 68:4)

Z

The zeal of My Father will accomplish His purposes. (Isa 9:7)

My Abba is a GRACIOUS AND LOVING Father!

Exo 22:27, Ps 103:11-14, Isa 9:6, 1 Cor 6:16-18.

-sylvia gunter

wind

My nephew's 10 year old son came for a visit one hot, July weekend. I was enticing him to stay inside by joining him in a Nintendo game. After being mercilessly defeated by a more experienced player, I suggested that we relax awhile. I collapsed into my favorite recliner to let my neck muscles relax and my ego recover from such a beating. He had slipped out of the room and I was catching a few relished moments of peace and quiet.

"Look, Alice," he said enthusiastically as he ran over to the chair where I was recovering.

"I found a kite. Could we go outside and fly it?" Glancing out a nearby window, I noticed there was not a breeze stirring. "I'm sorry, Tripper," I said, sad to see his disappointed eyes, but thankful for the respite from more activity. "The wind is not blowing today. The kite won't fly." Thedetermined 10 year old replied. "I think it's windy enough. I can get it to fly," he answered, as he hurried out the back door.

I peeked through the slats in the Venetian blinds to watch determination in action. Up and down the yard he ran, pulling the kite attached to a small length of string. The plastic kite, proudly displaying a picture of Batman, remained about shoulder level. He ran back and forth, as hard as his ten year old legs would carry him, looking back hopefully at the kite trailing behind.

After about ten minutes of unsuccessful determination, he came back in. I asked, "How did it go?" "Fine," he said, not wanting to admit defeat. "I got it to fly some."

As he walked past me to return the kite to the closet shelf, I heard him say under his breath, "I guess I'll have to wait for the wind." At that moment I heard another Voice speak to my heart. "Alice, sometimes you are just like that. You want to do it your way instead of waiting for "TheWind."'

And the voice was right. How easy it is to use our own efforts to accomplish what we want to do. We wait for God's Spirit, and His power, and His direction only after we have done all we can on our on and have exhausted our own strength.  We must learn how to rely on Him in the first place!

-Author Unknown

redwood

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Giant Sequoia trees, also known as redwoods, are the biggest living things on Earth. Heights of 300 feet and diameters of 30 feet are not uncommon. They can range in age from 2,000 to 3,000 years—some of which were living when Jesus walked the shores of Galilee. 

The largest specimen, the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park, is 275 feet tall (84 meters), has a diameter of 36.4 feet (11.1 meters) at thebase, and has been estimated to weigh 2500 metric tons. The Pacific coast redwoods in southern Oregon and northern California range in height from 100 to 367 feet (30 to 112 meters) - a size approached only by the eucalyptus of Australia.

What is fascinating about these majestic redwood trees that reach their leafy arms heavenward is that they stand for hundreds of years surviving raging fires, violent storms, and fierce winds. I have also read that they have a comparatively shallow root system which makes their survival even more amazing. So how do they survive? They survive because they live in groves with their root systems entangled with numerous other trees. In other words they support each other. They couldn't survive alone.

Neither can we. We need each other. We were never meant to go it alone. We need the support of one another to make it. One of the major purposes of the Christian church is for the very purpose of encouraging and supporting one another. If you don't belong to such a church, I urge you to do all you can to find one this Sunday.  You need to be both an encourager and to be encouraged by being in fellowship of other Christians. 

-dick innes

again

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:44)

While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them.

Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!".  They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other that he may come today."

Jesus Christ's first coming to earth is an indisputable fact of history. His death, burial, and resurrection are also facts of history, as all were verified by many reliable witnesses. At his ascension back into heaven two angels appeared to Jesus' disciples and followers saying, "Men of Galilee … why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)

Jesus also had promised that he would come again. In speaking about heaven he said, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3)

And God's Word also assures us that Jesus is coming back again to take all his true followers to be with him forever in heaven.

fractured

My wife, Karen, received a family heirloom, a beautiful diamond ring. She took it to the jeweler so he could look at it with the "magic eye" that jewelers have. As he looked at it under magnification, he let out a curious "hmmm." He told Karen that the diamond had a fracture in the middle of it, invisible to the naked eye. Which caused Karen to ask how there could be a fracture in the middle. Why didn't it go all the way across thediamond? Mr. Jeweler gave a very interesting explanation. He basically said that while some diamonds are developing, some underground disturbance - maybe a quake or a tremor - causes the diamond to crack. But apparently some diamonds continue to develop anyway. Like theone we had. It was fractured, but it didn't stop growing!

Actually, that isn't just true of diamonds. There are people like that. Maybe you. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Corinthians 6:9-10. It's an account of a lot of life-trauma and a man who was fractured, but... well, just listen. He says, "We were dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." Paul here is modeling being a believer who may get beaten up but who refuses to get beaten down; who takes a lot of hits, but refuses to be knocked out. Like our diamond, you may be fractured, but you don't have to stop growing.

Tragically though, a lot of people do. Their growth stops with the trauma. And there's no denying the damage done when you get hit by a major life-trauma. A divorce, or losing your job, or losing someone you love, losing your health, a major injury, some depressing setback, it could be a breakup, abuse, dealing with pain from your past. Things like these are major blows, and the hurt is deep, it's real, and it's long-lasting. There is a very real fracture. The question is: Will you stop growing now?

The same Apostle Paul who experienced a bombardment of life-traumas is the one who said in Romans 8:37, "In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." You don't get to choose whether or not the trauma hits you, but you do choose whether or not it's going to be what you focus on the rest of your life and whether it determines your identify, your attitude. So many people never get back up. They just sort of sleepwalk from the fracture-point on, and they quit developing spiritually, interpersonally, mentally, emotionally.

But, because of God's Holy Spirit living in you, there is no life-trauma that is insurmountable, that has to define the rest of your life. But it takes a sanctified stubbornness on your part that says, "The fracture is there, yes, but my life is not over. Even if I don't feel like it right now, I am going to aggressively pursue God's plans for my future. I'm going to dig into things that will enlarge the difference I can make in the years I have left."

Like Paul, you commit yourself to that realistic, but buoyant approach to life that is "dying, yet we live on; beaten, yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." (2 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Through the eye of a jeweler, we have seen a diamond that didn't let a fracture keep it from becoming more and more beautiful. By God's awesome grace, you be a diamond that may be fractured, but you will not stop growing!

-ron hutchcraft

...will

During the late 50's and early 60's, a man by the name of Bobby Richardson played second base for the NY Yankees. Bobby Richardson was nominated as MVP of the American League nine times. He played in seven All-star Games. He won five Gold Glove Awards. And he was the only man in baseball history to ever win the World Series MVP Award while playing for the losing team.

 

In the later years of Bobby Richardson's career, he coached the baseball team at Liberty University. The reason such a great player was willing to coach at a Christian university was because Bobby Richardson was himself a committed follower of Jesus Christ.

 

During a speech at a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson was called upon to pray and here is his prayer:  

"Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen."

 

May that be your prayer today.  "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.  Amen."  

 

hiding

"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." (psalm 27:5)

In her bestseller book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of the tense times in Holland during the German invasion. One night when there was bombing and shelling happening all around the house where she and her sister lived, Corrie couldn't sleep. Hearing her sister in the kitchen, she decided to go down and join her.

Long into the night after all the bombing ceased and all was silent, Corrie returned to her bed only to find that her pillow—right where her head lay—had been pierced with a sizable piece of sharp metal shrapnel from an exploding bomb! Going downstairs to the kitchen saved her life!

She rushed to tell her sister saying, "Betsie, if I hadn't heard you in the kitchen...".   To this her saintly sister interrupted, "Don't say it, Corrie. There are no "ifs" in God's world. The center of his will is our safety."

Later through terrible trying times in a Nazi prison, Miss Ten Boom was to learn over and over this marvelous truth: "God's will is our hiding place."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I don't ask that you deliver me from the storms of life, but please help me to find deliverance in them. Hide me in the hollow of your hand, and in the shelter of your tabernacle, and set me high upon a rock. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen.   

"For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock."  (Psalm 27:5)

flute

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."  (Hebrews 12:11)

As the story goes, a little piece of wood once bitterly complained because its owner kept whittling away at it, gouging it and making holes in it. But the one who was cutting it paid no attention to the stick's protests. He was making a flute out of that piece of ebony, and he was too wise to stop when the wood complained so bitterly.

The man said, "Little piece of wood, without these rifts and holes, and all this cutting, you'd be just a stick forever - a useless piece of ebony. What I am doing now may seem as if I am destroying you, but instead it will change you into a beautiful flute. Your sweet music will charm the souls of many and comfort sorrowing hearts. All my cutting on you is the making of you, for this is the only way you be a blessing in the world."

The meaning of this little parable is clear: That flute, whose music will blend so sweetly in the orchestra, was made a flute only by the knife and file that filled it with rifts and holes - which seemed to be its very destruction. But the purpose of the master was that it might become a melodious instrument to the praise of God.

The Lord is shaping us. Let's be patient and allow His chastening to do its work in our lives so we will able to praise Him..

-m.r.dehaan

promises

After relating the anguish of lingering consequences in Psalm 137:1–3, the writer does a little self-analysis. His perspective shifts from looking outward to searching within. He asks a reasonable question in verse 4: "How can we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?"

The question touches on two issues. First, the Jews understood their occupation of Canaan as a necessary part of God's covenant with Abraham. How could they legitimately sing about the faithfulness of God if their covenant no longer existed? But they failed to understand that their exile was temporary; seventy years, as predicted. God had said all along that their hold on the land depended upon their obedience (Deuteronomy 28). So, to answer their question, "Keep My laws, and I'll restore your land to you."

The second issue has to do with sincerity. Genuine singing is spontaneous; it cannot be forced. Nor will it joyfully burst forth from a rebellious heart or a guilty conscience. The captive Jews couldn't sing for joy naturally; they needed supernatural help. The same is true of all people. We are totally unable to experience joy as long as we're enslaved to sin. But when freed by the power of Christ . . . 

Paul and Silas were chained in the Philippian jail, but the Christian melodies and songs rang out nonetheless. Physically, they were captives; spiritually, however, they were free. Consequently, they could sincerely sing with joy despite their dismal surroundings (Acts 16:25–26).

Psalm 137 continues with a refusal to give up hope. While their chastisement was severe, the composer would not stop trusting that God would fulfill His promises. With the zeal of a Jewish patriot, the psalmist declares his devotion to his Lord and to the capital city of his homeland, the land unconditionally promised to Abraham's Hebrew descendants.

How can we sing the LORD's song 

In a foreign land? 

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

May my right hand forget her skill. 

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth 

If I do not remember you, 

If I do not exalt Jerusalem

Above my chief joy. (137:4–6)

Notice that the pronouns change from "we" and "our" to "I" and "my." He says that he will never, ever forget the blessings and benefits of being a citizen of Judah. He says that his song would be forever silenced—he would not skillfully play ("my right hand") or spontaneously sing ("my tongue")—should he forget the marvelous benefits of home. While the composer speaks for himself, let us not forget that he wrote this hymn to be sung by the faithful of Judah. As they joined their voices, each person pledged to remember God's promise regardless of the circumstances.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, nothing can break your bond with God (John 10:28–29; Romans 8:28–39; 2 Timothy 1:12). The lingering consequences of wrongdoing can, however, cause you to feel like God has abandoned you. The people of Judah refused to accept this falsehood and encouraged themselves with the promises of God. They focused on His unfailing goodness despite their faltering devotion.

-charles r swindoll

leadership

Solomon's songs of the strong family, Psalms 127 and 128, contain an emphasis on leadership. Having considered the value of children (127:3–5), he examines the role of leadership in the home.

Leading the Home

How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,

Who walks in His ways.

When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,

You will be happy and it will be well with you.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

Within your house,

Your children like olive plants

Around your table. (128:1–3)

In Psalm 127, the arrows are in our hands, needing direction. As the songwriter continues his thoughts regarding the family in Psalm 128, he says that "everyone who fears the LORD" will be blessed or happy. The context is the family—specifically, the children God gives. As the progression continues from 127:3–5 to 128:1–2, we see how each arrow is to be carefully directed: 1) in the fear of the Lord, and 2) walking in His ways. You will notice, happiness will continue to be the surrounding atmosphere ("how blessed").

Parents who train their children according to biblical principles have the hope of ultimate happiness. As a matter of fact, 128:2 says your investment will allow you to "eat of the fruit of your hands" and "it will be well with you." The picture is, again, the hands (as it was in 127:4). Parents' hands enjoy the product of their labor as they "pick the fruit" of the domestic garden they have cultivated. As submission is caught, obedience taught, and understanding sought, the dividends come rolling in!

Verse 3 is such a pleasant picture. The father looks around the supper table. He sees his wife ("a fruitful vine") and children ("olive plants"). I notice that the children are not called "branches" but plants. This seems to emphasize that each offspring is independent, unique, one who will reproduce his own kind in later years. And the difference is also seen in that the mother is pictured as a vine, but the children as olive plants. This is a good and necessary distinction.

We as parents are unwise to assume that our children are put together exactly like we are. The father, for example, who is athletic has a strong tendency to want that same quality to emerge in his son, even to the point of forcing it. The same is true of a mother who is artistic. She persistently urges that talent in her daughter, but frequently that isn't the daughter's interest. Why? To answer with the songwriter's symbols: we are vines, but our children are olive plants. However, regardless of a child's talent (or lack of it), athletic ability (or lack of it), the training we give him or her must be that of spiritual instruction ("fear of the Lord"). A child must be directed toward faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and given an enormous amount of training in the principles of Scripture.

deliverance

"He delivered us...

He will deliver us...

He will continue to deliver us..." (2 Corinthians 1:10)

I quit!

I've tried my best to live

as God expects me to,

as my family expects me to...

I want to do the best, but I always fail.

I give up!

There's no use trying!

I just fail...

I?

"Rely not on yourselves, but on God...

He delivered us,

He will deliver us,

He will continue to deliver us..."

Again and again and again,

like food,

like sleep

so God will give us strength every day.

In the message "Look Back From Eternity" we saw how one day, when we stand with our Heavenly Father, we will see the awesome purpose in the path we have traveled. If we continue to trust and follow His leading, we will see how each twist and turn in His path was designed to navigate us through the jungle and keep us moving toward a closer relationship: "As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless" (Psalm 18:30). His way is perfect and without flaw; but, by God's sovereign will, we are given the freedom to choose whether to follow.

Many times we see what appears to be a shorter route, and we leave His path. These perceived shortcuts are filled with weeds that entangle us and slow our walk with Christ to a pathetic crawl; "But the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22). All our time spent away from God's path clearly hinders our relationship and diminishes our ability to produce anything of lasting value for the Lord.

Psalm 1:1-3

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither."

To remain on God's path and continue to bear good and lasting fruit, we must be wise regarding the counsel we seek. Many people willingly give advice on following a "successful" path and yet ridicule any path directed by God. This counsel must be avoided since the very definition of success is in error! A truly successful path IS the path directed by God!!

Staying free of the weeds requires an active pursuit of God; "on His Law he meditates day and night." If we do not consume ourselves with the ways of God, we will, by default, become consumed by the ways of the world. Jesus made a similar statement to His disciples: "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit" (John 15:5). Remaining in the vine is a process of clinging to Christ and loving Him with ALL our heart. Our life then becomes defined and consumed by the life of the vine.

As we allow God's Word to flow through our life - as we become planted by the stream of His water - we develop deep roots. These roots become a solid anchor which will not be pulled up during the storm nor dragged along by the swift currents of temptation.

God's path is perfect and His burden is light; but remaining on His path and staying free of weeds requires commitment, perseverance, discipline...and a strong reminder that there are NO shortcuts!

-steve troxel

? miss

WHAT WENT WRONG?

In the early years of my Christian walk as a youth,

1. Fridays night were met for vigils in the Church

2. Youth convention was purely for prayers, fasting, Bible study, and edifying activities

3. As a single when you are going to visit an opposite sex you don't dare go alone

4. When your Pastor scolds you, you bow your head in tears for being a source concern to him

5. We don't purchase any clothe we can't wear to church

6. During youth programmes we engage in activities like draw your sword, Bible quizzes

7. Every Saturday was for Evangelism 

8. We were mobile Bibles as we could quote tens of scriptures by heart

8. We don't dare leave our houses for church without a Bible

9. We arrive church hours before service to prepare the church

10. Virginity was dignity to us and not lack of opportunity

11. It wasn't difficult to identify us from unbelievers even as classroom students because you see God's glory on us

12. We were not ashamed to publicly declare our Christian faith

13. We go out for morning cry as early as 5:00AM daily

14. We always preached in every bus we took 

15. There was this deep hunger in us to attend programmes in church

16. Even without an official ordination we were called Pastors and Evangelists

17. We usually go to pray for the sick in hospitals for healing

18. We dared to pray for the dead to come back to life

19. Having a daily devotional was important to us

20. We challenged ourselves to spend more time in the things of the kingdom

21. We looked forward to our yearly camp meeting for an encounter with God

22. During worship sessions we received accurate words of knowledge from the Lord

23. We were used as models to correct unbelievers

24. We were a source of Joy and honour to our parents and church

25. Our conscience were very active and alive to admit when our ways were not right with God...

26, We used to pay attention to the spirit of Prophecy and share with people books 

WHAT WENT WRONG,  WHERE DID WE MISS IT?

Where are the youth of my generation! Can there still be revival again?

I hear the Lord say to me:

Revelation  2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.