Do you have connections?

Do you have connections? 5 Jan 2013

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Recently, we've been dealing with every internet problem you could imagine — from router problems to problematic servers, to war-related electric and internet cable issues. Being that our livelihood, much of our ministry, our email and our telephone are all dependent upon the internet, we've been a bit disconnected from the world (no pun intended). We're not sure how long this will go on. Please pray for this situation to be resolved and forgive us for not being able to answer your emails and send our devotions regularly.

And speaking of being disconnected, one missionary tells of his experience about being assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering this problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

When a new missionary came to take over his station, he proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started. As he was talking, the young missionary picked up the hood only to find that the only trouble was a loose cable. He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and the engine roared to life.
For two years, needless trouble had become routine — but the power was there all along.

Hmmm. How many of us have a loose connection today? I know I do. I think we need to check under our hoods and examine what's loose. Whatever our problems are today, the power is there for us to utilize. It's only a loose connection keeping us from putting that power to work! We need to be hungering and thirsting for that bond, that union, that connection with the Lord! There is so much work to be done!

Time to pull out the big bait!

Time to pull out the big bait!   4 Jan 2013

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

I love fishing but sadly, I haven't been able to do it in quite some time. Yeah, I know, one would think there'd be some good fishing spots here. However from what I understand, they're not really available to the public. So sad. Nevertheless, fishing gives me a chance to get a break from the world and just relax and meditate – and on a good day, maybe catch a fish or two.

I recently saw a fishing-related cartoon that really moved me. Pictured, were two Eskimos fishing through holes in the ice. One of them had his line in a hole the size you'd expect to see. But the guy sitting next to him had his line in an enormous hole, in the shape of a whale!

This guy was hungry! He didn't want some dinky little fish! He was fishing for whales! In the same way, if we want to do greater things for the Lord, we must have a greater hunger and a greater vision!!

Are you hungry for the bigger and better things of the Lord today? Let's enlarge our vision for Him! Let's pull out the big bait! Let's expect even bigger catches! Let's allow the Lord to get us ready! The harvest is plentiful — there's so much work to be done!

Have you been praying?

Have you been praying? 3 Dec 2013

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Two men were talking about religion. The first challenged the other, "Ok, then if you are so religious, let's hear you quote the Lord's Prayer. I'll bet you ten bucks you can't do it." The second thought for a moment and then responded, "Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." The other reluctantly pulled out his wallet and said "Gee, I didn't think you could really do it."

Prayer needs to be a big part of our lives. We need to recognize that our spirit needs prayer like our body needs food! Many a time, we have heard it said "But I don't really know how to pray." While there is no one "right way" to pray, a good guideline for prayer comes straight from "The Lord's Prayer." Let's piece it apart, shall we??

Our Father which are in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. (First and foremost, we need to address our Lord and Savior with honor and worship. We can sing to Him, praise Him, give Him the glory He deserves).

Thy Kingdom come.
(His Kingdom come — may our loved ones who don't yet know Him come into His Kingdom, who ever they may be. May the lost around the world and especially in Israel come into His Kingdom too).

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
(We ask His will to be done in our lives, in our friends and families lives, and in all the earth).

Give us this day our daily bread.
(Lord please provide what we need to make it through just today, whatever that may be).

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
(Of course, we ask the Lord to forgive us of our sin and we relinquish the sins of those against us, whatever they may be).

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(Lord, help us to steer away from all the temptations that entice us — and grant us deliverance from those things, whatever they may be).

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, Forever. Amen.
(And lastly, we proclaim our faith in the Most High, Most Powerful, All Encompassing King of Kings. And say Amen, "so be it!" in Hebrew).

Let's make a habit of spending time in prayer each day. Our spirit is longing for the transformation a life of prayer will bring!

Perfect Practice makes perfect

Perfect Practice makes perfect!   2 Jan 2013

Psalms 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"
The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week."
A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."
The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week."

A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat — only the nine of us."
This is a funny story but how many of us know how to be truly thankful in the face of trial? Many powerhouses of the faith who preceded us realized the importance of mastering thankfulness. How much more should we who have so much more than they!
We have an opportunity this Thanksgiving week, to practice being thankful! If we’re struggling today, let’s practice paising God in thankfulness for all the good things He's done! He deserves all of our praise regardless of our circumstance!

Haven't you forgotten something?

Haven't you forgotten something? 1 Jan 2013

Psalms 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

A farmer was showing his visiting citydwelling friend around his farm. "Watch this!" he said. He gave a whistle and his little dog came running from the house, herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that's some dog — what's her name?" The forgetful farmer thought for a minute and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That's it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"

Funny how we forget things, isn't it? But I'm not so sure God finds it all that funny! When we read about the children of Israel and their journeys through the wilderness for forty years, we see how God provided wonderful miracles for them, feeding them daily with manna, guiding them by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, parting the Red Sea!

How is it, then, that they became so very hard hearted toward Him? Over time, I think those miracles just became commonplace and they began to take them for granted!

But then again when I look back on my life, I can't really blame them. It happens to the best of us! God has done miracles in our lives and I'm sure he's done many in each of yours as well! But we still get anxious when things aren't going quite the way we hoped, don't we?
Recall a miracle of God in your life. Remember the joy you felt? We need to relive that joy today! The miracle of God's new birth in us and the many other miracles God has done are not ones to be quickly forgotten. We need to relive them daily!

We never want to become cold toward God! Let's spend some time remembering the miracles He has done in our lives and strive to trust Him for the trials we face today!

Against All Odds

Against All Odds     31 Dec 2012

"And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord." —2 Chronicles 20:3-4

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, faced a dilemma. His enemies greatly outnumbered him. To make matters worse, his enemies had joined forces with Israel's other enemies and were coming to destroy him.

One day, someone came to King Jehoshaphat and warned him that a gigantic army was headed his way, bent on his destruction. It was hopeless. There was no way that he could meet this army with what he had. He was going to be destroyed.

What did Jehoshaphat do? The Bible says that he "set himself to seek the Lord." He prayed, "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" (2 Chronicles 20:12).

The Lord told Jehoshaphat, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. . . . Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you" (2 Chronicles 20:15–17).

Jehoshaphat and his army went out to meet their enemies, but they put the worship team out front. The Bible says that when they began to sing and praise the Lord, the enemy started fighting among themselves and destroyed each other.

Maybe you are facing what seems like an impossible situation right now. You may not be able to see a way out. But God can. Call on Him. Then stand still and see what He will do.

God has something special in store for you

God has something special in store for you! 29 Dec 2012

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

When we were in the womb we had eyes, but there was little to focus on. Our eyes had rods and cones to distinguish shapes and colors, yet there were no shades or colors to see. We were in total darkness. But we had eyes that were meant to see light. Our eyes were the evidence that beyond the womb was a whole other world, still yet to be seen.

As we dwell in this world, our hearts cannot be satisfied by the things they see here. Deep inside, we know there is more… and we long for it. This life is Heaven's womb.

No matter what this world gives us, it can never satisfy what the eyes of our hearts long to see. It is here that we are being formed, and prepared to enter the realm of the Heavenly. Don't be discouraged that this this life can't give us all we want. It is a reminder of our inheritance yet to come.
Let's give our desires to the Lord once again. He wants to prepare us to rule with Him!