She passed away on May 12th, 2008 – But she won’t be forgotten
This story was forwarded to me by a friend, and I think what this lady did is well worth remembering, and even passing along to others to read. I believe also that this story stands as a warning for all of us, because I believe history is about to repeat itself, if we are not careful!
I dare say that most of you, reading this, probably have never even heard of this lady. She is one of those largely uncelebrated and unheard of heroes; however, her story is absolutely amazing!
I would also like to say that this should serve as a very ominous reminder for us, and even a warning, in these days and times that we are living in today.
Jesus warned us that there was coming a time that would be the worst time in the history of the world, and that includes Nazi Germany!
For anyone with eyes to see, our present government today is going in exactly the same direction as did pre-Nazi Germany; and if we fail to learn from the lessons of history, then we will most assuredly be destined to repeat it.
Please read on and learn about this amazing woman… who is truly an amazing hero!
There is no comment that I can think of that is APPROPRIATE…
Except to say what an amazing woman!
—–Original Message—–
Meet Irena Sendler… The world hasn’t just become wicked, it’ s always been wicked.
The prize doesn’t always go to the most deserving…
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena.
During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.
She had an ‘ulterior motive’.
She KNEW what the Nazi’s plans were for the Jews (being German).
Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids).
She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.
The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids’/infants’ noises.
During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.
She was caught, and the Nazi’s broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely.
Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.
After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family.
Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Note: Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected.
Al Gore won — for a slide show on Global Warming.
63 years later
In MEMORIAM – 63 YEARS LATER
Please read this little cartoon carefully, it’s powerful.
Then read the comments at the end.
I’m doing my small part by forwarding this message.
I hope you’ll consider doing the same.
It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended.
This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated!
Now, more than ever, with Iraq, Iran, and others, claiming theHOLOCAUST to be ‘a myth’.
It’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.
This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!
Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.
Please send this e-mail to people you know and ask them to continue thememorial chain.
Please don’t just delete it.
It will only take you a minute to pass this along.
I really like this article (see below), because I think it is very true.
When I first read it, what came to mind were several different things, not the least of which is I see this pattern all throughout scripture; and I see it also in the people of today, that God uses.
I think they are ALL risk takers, people who aren’t afraid of living there life on the edge.
Look at King David, the man of which the Bible says he was a man after God’s heart; look at him, at even such a young age, how he wasn’t the least bit afraid of facing a vicious lion, or knurly bear. He risked his life and slayed both, all in order to protect his flock of sheep.
God was later able to use those qualities for His service.
I can think of a few people today, who are exactly that way.
If they were in the world they would be called adrenaline junkies; and are for the most part, all very capable and intelligent people, who are always pushing the envelope, no matter what they do. Don’t you know that is exactly what God is looking for.
2 Chronicles 16:9
9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…”
These stories are found all throughout the Bible; starting with Father Abraham. His story starts when God is asking him to take a huge risk; when he asked him to leave the safety and comfort of his home and family; and take Sarah along with his household, and go to a land they knew not!
To make matters worse, God wouldn’t even give him a travel itinerary, but merely instructed him to keep walking, and that He would tell him when he got there! How well would we have done under those circumstances, if God had given us that assignment?
As a general rule today, and this is very common in our times, where people won’t even leave a job, until they already can be assured and have a guarantee that something has already been lined up ahead of time… and we call that just having common sense… but God looks for more!
If God says to do so, then we can step out into a void, and know that He will be there ahead of us, to support us, and make a way, when in the natural it looks impossible!
Another thing that comes to mind is this word “Meek” which was the word that Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mound, when He said: “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5)
We are very mistaken if we think this word means milk toasty and weak; quite the contrary!
It is taken from a word, in Greek, which also mean to tame wild horses. In other words, it implies high spirited energy that is under control, and has been channeled and directed.
Such are these people… who are God’s risk takers!
The point is, we too can have that label, if we would but be willing to launch our faith out beyond the safe harbors of our life; out into the deeper waters of faith.
As created being, who are made in the image and likeness of God, certainly we have not been made for safe harbors; no more than a battle frigate is made to remain close to shore.
It looks impressive to see it there, sure, and we can all admire its construction and beauty; but that is certainly NOT why it was created… and neither were we. Selah
Shalom,
Skip Barland
—–Original Message—–
From: Pentecostal Evangel [mailto:tpedevotionals@ag.org]
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:03 AM
To: Skip Barland
Subject: Daily Boost – June 1, 2010
Welcome to the
DAILY BOOST
Taking Risks June 1, 2010 By Danny Cheney
Are you willing to take risks for God?
Many people will take plenty of risks in their lives for seemingly unimportant reasons, but are afraid to do something big for God.
Why are we so afraid of doing something big?
Because if it doesn’t work, we feel like we fail big!
God, however, is looking for risk takers, people who are not afraid of failure.
A couple of years ago we had a Speed the Light fundraiser that was a big risk taker for us. Skydiving!
At 10,000 feet (nearly 2 miles) in the air, we were to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and parachute to the ground.
Just before the sky diving trip they made us all sign waivers that they were not responsible in the event of death.
In the video they showed us, it stated over and over that you could die from this.
What would make us go through with this adventure? It is exhilarating to
take a risk; and sure I was nervous, but this was for God. To raise money for His kingdom.
The moment came. The door of the plane opened. There was no turning back now. It was jump or jump.
Guess what I did? I JUMPED!
Free-falling at 120 mph for more than a minute was the most incredible experience of my life. I made it out alive. We landed safely, and I was ready to go again.
When you take risks for God, it might be scary, but it is the most exciting part of the Christian life.
Many Christians never discover the joy in risk taking; and they never go to the next level in their spiritual journey either, because they are always afraid of the unknown.
In obedience to God’s leading, Abraham went to a land he had never seen.
Noah built an ark on dry ground at God’s command, trusting God’s promise of a flood.
Moses went to deliver the Children of Israel even though he was a stuttering coward.
Each of these servants of God, and many others in Scripture, were willing to take a risk.
People might think you are nuts for doing something “crazy” for God, but obedience to God is vitally more important and immeasurably more rewarding.
Individual believers and even entire congregations can become spiritually stagnant when the safe and status quo are cherished realities.
We must break out of our comfort zones and do something “risky” for God.
“We’ve never done it that way before;” “we like it the way it is.” “I don’t think it will work;” or “we better not try.”
Do these excuses sound familiar?
We can stay the way we are. But if we do, we will never grow past where we are.
We will never go forward unless we are willing to take risks.
So let’s dare to be different and let’s dare to make a difference.
Danny and Sonya Cheney pastor Rogers First Assembly in Rogers, Ark.
What happened on 9/11 was just a shot across our bow, and we’ve already forgotten it.
There is another shaking and reckoning a coming…
not to destroy us, but to bring us to repentance!
This email (below) was forwarded to me today by a retired Marine Major.
There are also two YouTube segments that contain some pretty upsetting information about what is currently happening in the Gulf of Mexico, regarding the oil spill.
Once again, why isn’t this being reported over the major news networks?
What we don’t know, here in American, and what is not being reported, and told to us, is literally killing us… and it is killing our nation too!
What is happening here in our nation today, and in our government, is absolutely criminal, and there’s just no other way to describe it; but yet again, as I have said so many times before, what else did we (as Christians) expect would happen?
What is it that we expected would happen, once the Church had abdicated their position, those many years ago, as gatekeepers of our nation’s spiritual health and welfare; and we left that job to the ungodly, including both atheists and agnostics, who then took over our public education systems, across our nation, who took God our of our public schools, and taught our children to hate our country; and these same people today also make up the bulk of the leadership we find at all levels of our government.
Even nature hates a vacuum, and once we abdicated, Satan was right there to fill the void!
Well duhhh… what else did we think would happen?
It is any wonder that with many of these people, most of them anyway, who hold positions of power in Washington, that their first priority is their own personal greed and lust for more power and wealth?
Hey, most of us would be right there with them, if it weren’t for us having an encounter with the Living God, and our being born-again!
The Bible says clearly that it is the love of money that is the root of all evil; and Jesus also warned us that you cannot serve both God and Mammon (which is the name of a demon spirit, by the way); for He said you would cleave to one, and you will hate the other.
Folks, look around you… isn’t that exactly what’s going on?
As this person points out in her letter, it is the Believers in Jesus Christ, who are called the “haters of mankind,” and the reason we are called that is because we are trying to warn people about what is coming; and of their need to get right with God.
The same thing that happened with the Jews, and you can put this in the bank, that somewhere down the road the same thing will also happen to the Believers in Jesus Christ, and we will suffer the same fate as our brothers the Jews have for so long… and I am sure also that they will be right there beside us, in this coming persecution as well, as the world still hates them too.
Hey, but wasn’t all of this prophesied long ago, by our Lord, that it would be this way; and isn’t all of this a sure sign that we are living in the last days?
Isn’t it obvious that these are the last days, with the frequency of such diabolical evil, that’s not just in our government, but it can be seen all around the world, and in the earth in general, with all these earth shattering events that we see happening every day, all around us?
Isn’t this a sure sign that we are truly living in the Last Days… that time which Jesus called the “Time of Sorrows?”
I believe it is; but also I believe this too… we haven’t seen anything yet… because it’s just beginning!
One thing is for sure, whereas the church in the West is definitely in the minority, number wise, as it relates to the total Christian population around the world… with the bulk of our brothers and sisters today being in Communist China.
Nevertheless, with the numbers that would be added to those already huge numbers in China, from those other Third World countries around the world, we here in the West are definitely in the minority!
This is how far we have fallen, from where we once were, because it was mostly from the Western nations that the missionaries came, predominately from both Great Britain and the United States.
It was because of us that the Gospel message was sent to all those Third World countries; but the tables have so turned now, to where God has been sending back people from these places to be missionaries to us.
This message of a coming adjustment and correction from God is something that I am hearing today from many different places; and I also believe that it is very close at hand.
Now mind you, what is about to happen won’t be for our destruction, although their will unavoidably be great suffering and great loss of life, that will accompany these events; but nevertheless, it will be for our correction… to get our attention, and hopefully to cause many to repent, and return in faith to God.
These events that we are about to experience in the earth, and here in the United States, will also NOT be the Great Tribulation, that is also coming as well; but that will be the wrath of God being poured out upon the earth, and it is my considered opinion, along with most others, that Christians will no longer be here, when that happens.
With that said however, nevertheless, I believe what we are about to experience in the earth, and here in the United States in particular, that it will be the most severe this world has seen thus far; but nevertheless it will fall far short of the severity of those events we can read about in the Book of Revelation, that will happen during the Great Tribulations period… which will happen in that last half of that seven year period, that is predicted, which the Bible says will usurer in the return of our Lord to earth.
I believe that what is about to befall this earth will include all the things Jesus predicted would happen, but in much greater severity and intensity than we have seen thus far.
Jesus said there would be many wars and rumors of more wars, and for us not to be troubled when we see these things happen; for these things must first happen, before He returns to earth.
He also said that nation would rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and that there would be many famines, and pestilences (diseases), and many earthquakes in various places (and some unusual places); but that all of this is but the beginning of sorrows!
We are here folks, and I believe that we are about to experience some very severe shaking, in earthquakes and other natural disasters; but also I believe we will see something that will devastate our oceans, and maybe what we see happening in the gulf is the beginning of that, or maybe just a foreshadow of it; but also I believe we are going to experience an attack on our shores again, from an outside enemy.
Although 9/11 was an attack, most Americans, and also this current Administration have long since shoved that event behind them, and at least this current administration has a totally different agenda now, that together with their true Puppet Masters, of those who pull their strings, if they are allowed to succeed, it will lead us, along with the rest of the world into this “New World Order,” the same one that was once predicted (in 1991) by former President George H.W. Bush, were he said that it was inevitable, that this would happen.
One way or another, God is going to build His church, and it will not be a weak kneed church either; but a church that will be charging the gates of Hell, of Satan and all his demons… not cowering in fear, looking for a back door of escape.
We have a ways to go for that to happen here in the United States; although that is most definitely the state of the church in much of the rest of the world, in these Third World countries, where they have been persecuted for years… and they are light years ahead of us in both maturity and commitment.
Has anybody heard the term “Unequally Yoked?” Will that is exactly the case of the church today, under the thumb of this growing anti-God and anti-Christian establishment.
I believe the majority of our citizens are just uninformed, others are naive and are just buying what they are being told; but I think pretty much everybody is virtually unaware of the severity of what is transpiring here, and the wicked plans that these people have not only for us, but for the entire world.
The Bible talks about it all, however, and tells us the details.
Wake up America… that’s all I can say! Wake up and pray.
Shalom,
Skip Barland
From: Ed Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 10:19 AM To: Skip Barland Subject: FW: How outrageous!! I am speechless!!
—-Original Message—-
Dear Family and Friends,
Please take the time to read and watch Part 1 and Part 2. This will tell you what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico.
This is so outrageous and the grieving of it makes me literally heart sick. As I see this Administration and Congress sit back and allow or even orchestrated this utter mega disaster, and then sit back and do nothing except exacerbate it and make it a worse, as the oil and dispersant kills and destroys from the fish, and plants to man………I am speechless!
Surely our Lord is drawing this age to a close. We see Him no longer intervening in the affairs of those who are destroying our nation and people and very life ecosystem of our country. The pay day for all the wickedness that this nation has done, and which the people even multiply daily is beginning to happen. As the New World Order dismantles our very world, it is time to realize that the only house that will stand through all this utter destruction roaring down on us like a freight train, is the house built of the Rock of Christ Jesus and His Salvation.
Time is so, so, so short. Little do we realize the horrors that lay ahead of us in this world as the final plans have been laid for the New World Order’s Antichrist to arise to rule the world for the time set by God and set by Him alone according to the Word of God.
Soon countless billions will die quickly, and be swept into eternity with 99% totally unready to meet their Maker, and therefore will be condemned to a horrible hell of all eternity. And our pulpits are totally silent concerning this. As the darkness encloses us, it is life as usual in the churches, and not a word of warning issues from the mouth of the preachers. They are as ignorant as the ones who sit in their pews!
And we are treated as ones who have no love if we dare to warn and warn the people of the truth. If we give the truth to our family, friends, fellow Christians, and they react negatively to the Word we give, we are considered as unloving nuts.
So, most sit with their families, friends and co-workers totally silent not willing to take the persecution that is sure to follow when they give the Truth. And in most Churches not even one forth of the whole Gospel is preached.
That is why the Christians sit in the pews dead, and unresponsive, going forth to live lives as the foolish virgins in the Bible. And when the sound of the Trumpet comes, they will not even hear and will be left behind when the remnant are caught up to meet the Lord in the air…….and the few real Watchmen on the Wall are finally gone to never cry the hated warnings again to such ones who close their ears to the dire warnings.
If only the cold preachers and dead Christians could spend 60 seconds in the utter horrors of a literal hell, I wonder what their warnings would be when they came back? What would they say then, and what Gospel would they preach?!
Your Watchman watching faithfully in the Spirit on the Wall and sounding the warnings loud and clear.
Joyce
P.S.
Below is some info on You Tube about the Gulf Disaster that you need to look at.
Jesus promised ALL who pass through this door shall experience Tribulation!
John 10:7-10
Jesus the Good Shepherd
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 16:33
33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Below is another excellent devotion, written by David Wilkerson (see below) on the subject of “Encouragement.”
Whether we realize it or not, if you are a born-again Christian, which is a person who no longer lives his or her life to serve SELF, but who lives to serve the Lord, then you have signed on for a training program, to prepare you for eternity and also for your service and ministry in this life; and that training program will last for as long as you live in this world.
The level of majority that we obtain upon our graduation to Glory, will be where we begin there, in eternity; but make no mistake, these trials and tribulations that you are now experiencing are all a part of your destiny, and God’s specific plan for your life.
Whether you are where you are today because of bad decisions, and/or mistakes you have made; or because God is chastening you; or because it’s something you need to go through and experience before God can graduate you to the next level, it makes no difference… regardless of what your situation is and how you got here, every detail of our life has already been scrutinize and authorize by our Father in Heaven.
If you don’t understand this, and if you have relegated your God to live in a box where you can’t even imagine that what I just told you is reality, then your God is way too small… and I can tell you from personal experience, God will not live in anyone’s box!
On the contrary, if we wish to serve Him, and what an awesome privilege that is; then we must get on board with His program; so begin today by prayerfully reading and meditating upon His Word; and live each day with an increased awareness and sensitivity to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Come with us, won’t you, if you haven’t already signed up… and join us in the adventure of a lifetime! 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
Shalom,
Skip Barland
—–Original Message—–
From: DAVID WILKERSON TODAY [mailto:no-reply@lists.worldchallenge.org]
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2010 12:01 AM
To: devotions-en@lists.worldchallenge.org
Subject: WHERE DO YOU TURN FOR ENCOURAGEMENT?
WHERE DO YOU TURN FOR ENCOURAGEMENT?
by David Wilkerson | May 31, 2010
Where can you find Christians wholly devoted to the Lord who have an easy, trouble-free life? Show me a Spirit-led, God-filled, anointed servant of the Lord, and I’ll show you one who is chased, chastened, often baffled, and familiar to deep waters and fiery furnaces.
Those who seek to avoid difficulties seldom get the revelation of God’s fullness. They attempt to use faith to exempt themselves from crisis, not realizing they are robbing themselves of the greatest opportunity to find out what is really in them. Then one day when trouble can no longer be avoided, they cave in, having no proven source of inner strength.
Paul wrote, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).
These days the Lord needs Christians who are not tossed about by every wind and wave of doctrine; who are not being made merchandise of; who have discernment and are not being deceived; who need no special teacher with some new revelation; who do not need a human shepherd to guide their every step; who do not have to depend on someone else for their happiness or spiritual strength—but who have been tested and tried and have proven that the very life of God is in them, providing grace and mercy to help in every need. Christ has been revealed not only to them, but in them. They are drawing on the strength of their inner man, according to the riches of His glory.
We can learn valuable lessons from King David’s experience at Ziklag. “David encouraged himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6). It is imperative that we learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord because of the troubled times just ahead.
Brothers, sisters in Christ, I beseech you in the name of the Lord, to open your eyes to the mighty power of God at work in you, and to appropriate the fullness and completeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what fiery furnace we may be cast into, our supreme Lord will walk us through it.
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There are so many today, among our leadership in Washington DC, and also among our citizens, who have long since forgotten the cost of our liberty, that so many today are taking for granted; and it is sad but nevertheless true, that if we fail to guard it, we are most likely going to lose it.
Memorial Day is a day for us to remember the cost so many have paid, in their life’s blood, in order to insure and guarantee what so many today are taking for granted.
(To quote from a famous line taken from a popular 60’s TV program)
2 Timothy 3:1-9
Perilous Times and Perilous Men
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
Matthew 16:6~“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’”
1 Timothy 4:1 ~ Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.
Jesus clearly said that it is the Holy Spirit who is the “great teacher,” which He said He would send to us, to lead us into all truth, and that He will bring to our remembrance everything that Jesus spoke about while He taught on earth.
In my view there are many compromises in the church world today.
I’d like to direct your attention to 2 Timothy 3:5, where we are told that Christians in the last days will have a form of godliness, meaning in other words, that they will be very religious, but that they would deny the POWER thereof!
Anytime the Bible talks about “POWER,” as it relates to the Power of God, it is talking about the Holy Spirit; and this is what Jesus told His disciples about that: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with POWER from on high.” (Luke 24:49)
I think if there is any one reason why the church of today, at least in the Western world has been so anemic, especially when you consider what we hear about happening in some of the third world countries today, where miracles are happening, the dead are being raised, and everything just like we read in the Bible, is happening today; but most importantly people are coming to the Lord in huge numbers, and in some places (like in Africa) it is not uncommon to have a million people receive the Lord at one service.
Why is it that the 1st Century church was able to turn the world of their day upside down; and why is it that these things are happening also in our day, in other places, but not so much here in the West?
In Mark 16:17-18 we read: “and these signs will follow those who believe in my name they will cast out demons they will speak in other tongues and… will heal the sick.”
Earlier, in Mark 16:14, in a narrative where Jesus is again speaking to His disciples, He rebukes them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they refused to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen from the dead.
Folks, this same myopic skepticism and unbelief is still prevalent in the church today, especially in our highly industrialized, intellectual culture that is found here in the West. It is here that also many churches are denying the POWER!
The Bible speaks of the church of the first century, and tells us how the disciples went out and preached the Gospel message and signs and wonders followed their preaching, as evidence to the unbelievers of their day to pay attention that this message is from the living God. Do we not still need that same evidence in our day?
Of course we do; and the reason is, people are just the same today, as many were then… skeptical as ever; and it was because of the supernatural manifestations of the Spirit, in miracle signs and wonders that made the difference!
Today the church, for the most part in the West, has attempted to preach a “Seeker Friendly,” more intellectualized Gospel, and in the absence of the supernatural, and signs and wonders, in many cases they have been reduced to marketing the message of the Gospel using Madison Avenue techniques, that are common in the secular world.
The only problem has been, and this is true in some of the cults, when it comes to the church competing with some of these organizations, using these worldly techniques, we often find that the cults even do a better job at marketing and making their message more relevant to the needs of the people they are preaching to.
This was never what God intended for the Church; and for the church of today to reject the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit, is to cause it to be virtually powerless to do the world that God has called us to do.
I don’t care who you are, you aren’t going to go over into these unreached pockets of people around the world and win them by impressing them with your intellect.
Missionaries have done this for years, and they did a good work in that they laid the groundwork and foundations for later generations; but it wasn’t until the POWER of God showed up that people really started getting saved in large numbers, and that was because of the signs and wonders that were all very obviously being displayed
These manifestations are God’s visible and irrefutable endorsement that the message that is being preached is real, that it is from Him… and that the people who are hearing it had better pay attention!
Unless the church of today has that same power backing them up, in ministry, they may be very sincere and also saved; but nevertheless, when it comes to reaching the masses, they are ineffective!
For the church to attempt to do anything without the POWER of the Holy Spirit to back them up; and without the supernatural Gifts of the Spirit in operation, it is like trying to send our troops to the front lines, to fight a war, without any weapons; or like a carpenter trying to do his work with no tools.
In each of these two examples, without the weapons and tools, all you can do is talk; and Satan and his demons are not in any way threatened, impressed, and nor are they intimidated by OUR words… but the Bible says they tremble at the mention of the name of Jesus!
What the church has drifted away from, in their effort to make the Gospel message more appealing, and have subsequently taken out talking about the Blood and sin; and then they have also said that the Gifts of the Spirit, and miracles are not for today, all of this is the reason why so many of the Western Mainline denominations and churches are so empty today, and are dwindling today in their numbers.
My suggestion to anyone today, who is out there trying to make a difference, and is attempting to do God’s work, is do it exactly the way Jesus taught and exemplified in His earthly ministry.
This is especially needful and important, especially in these days and times, with all that we are facing; and what we know (from the Bible) will soon be coming upon the world, it is imparative that we ALL be endued with this POWER from on High, and walk in it; that we not be like the five foolish virgins, mentioned in the New Testament, who had their vessels empty of oil… a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Selah
Below is an excellent devotion for many of us today.
Whatever you are facing, God’s battle plan is always intended to put the Sword in your hand, in order that you may do battle!
Don’t wait for God to come and do it for you.
For us to gain the victory, in whatever we are facing, we must first recognize that Christ has already won our victory over ALL our battles at Calvary’s Cross… and when Jesus said it was finished, He meant just that!
However that doesn’t mean you won’t have a battle to fight and that Satan will just roll over for you and play dead… not at all!
In fact quite the opposite will happen, as the enemy, as many of you I am sure already know, will pull out all stops, and literally fight you tooth and nail, toothless as he is, but nevertheless a very good bluffer; who will give you every reason why, in the natural, through your circumstances and your feelings, why you are going to lose, or your sickness will get worse, or you won’t be able to pay your bills, or you name it… but it’s all a lie!
The challenge for us is which report are we going to believe and except as truth? Our life experience teaches us one thing, and that is to trust what we’ve always trusted, and have been taught to trust all of our life, and that is our own perception, and our understanding of the way we perceive our circumstances to be, without the benefit of what God has to say!
God’s way for us to deal with these battles is to first consult the Operations Manual, the Bible, for direction and wisdom, and get your council from God first!.
Having done that, we then begin to meditate on whatever promises we find in God’s Word that speaks to our situation; and then having found those promises, we then begin to pray and supplicate, and do what the old timers call “Pray Through; at which point when we know that we know that our prayers are heard, and that we have our answer, then we begin to thank God, in advance of any sight/sense evidence that anything has changed, and we remain there until the answer comes.
Now in this process, the enemy, your natural man, your flesh, your mind, your aunts, your uncles, and most all your friends and family, will all say you are nuts, and that this is impossible; and therein is the rub, or the test if you will, which God has ordained for us… in order to build up our faith muscles and teach us how to win victory over the enemy of our soul, in whatever battles we fight!
The enemy will use every possible method to discourage your faith and your optimism; and he will do this all in order to try and get you to quit; but that is the time to hang tight, and don’t you dare give up… and don’t let yourself get melancholy and discouraged either!
So here again is the battle plan: go to the Word first; find a promise there that matches your situation or need; then use that Word, even as Jesus did in the wilderness, as you Sword, in order to battle the enemy; and most importantly keep your armor on; which armor starts with our helmet of salvation; our breastplate of righteousness and our belt of truth; then having our feet shod in the gospel of peace, we go into battle with our shield of faith held up, out in front of us!
You must maintain this position until your answer comes; and most importantly, don’t forget the thanksgiving and praising part of the battle; as was exemplified for us in the Bible, as it was always the tribe of Judah (meaning praise), who would lead Israel into the battle; and they did so while literally playing their instruments and singing their praises unto God, right out in front no less, in the battlefield. Selah.
So let us go and do likewise! 🙂
Shalom,
Skip Barland
From: CFAITH Online [mailto:newsletters@lists.cfaith.com] Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 3:00 AM To: theskipper@cox.net Subject: CFAITH Daily Devotion
“But thou, O man of God…fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:11-12).
When you’re up against the wall, don’t start begging God to break through it for you. That’s not the way He works. He’ll give you the plan. He’ll give you the power. And He’ll guarantee the victory. But your hand, not His own, is the instrument He’s going to use to get the job done.
You’re going to have to stretch forth your hand by speaking and acting on the Word, even when circumstances are against you.
God gave me a striking revelation of that over 30 years ago through a vision He gave me in Beaumont, Texas. I was preparing to minister in a service there, spending some time in prayer, when suddenly I saw myself standing in the pulpit of the church. Looking up, I saw a dragon – a horrible, ugly thing – poke his head through the front door of the church.
As he came into the church, his body expanded like a balloon, filling the whole room. He was snorting fire and smoke. When, in the vision, he turned it on me, he almost burned my clothes!
As I fell back onto the floor, I saw Jesus standing nearby with a sword in His hand. Why doesn’t He do something about this? I thought. Can’t He see I’m hurting?
But He didn’t move. He just stood by with a frown on His face. I could tell He was really put out with me.
The Bible says God was not pleased with those who were overthrown in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:5). And He wasn’t pleased with me either as I lay there on my back in defeat.
Then Jesus held out the sword to me and pointed at the dragon. The look on His face said, Get up!
I reached up to catch hold of the sword and an instant before I touched it, Jesus turned it loose.
The sword stayed in midair of its own accord. I grabbed it and began to pull myself up. Not only did it hold firm, but it began to lift me!
I stood and touched the dragon’s chin with my sword and it split him from one end to the other. It laid him open right before my eyes. In amazement, I looked down at the sword. Why haven’t I used this before? I thought.
Don’t wait for God to slay the dragon in your life. You have the sword of the spirit, the all-powerful Word of the Living God, at your fingertips. Pick it up and use it today!
Scripture Reading: Joshua 11:5-23
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Life is all about learning to deal with the impossible!
Nothing is impossible with God, and for the Christian, that is where it all begins; with our learning to deal with seemingly impossible situations and circumstances through our faith, our obedience, and our submission to the Holy Spirit, and also to God’s Word!
The Bible tells us that NOTHING is impossible with God; and today’s lesson starts off by telling a story about a bit of history, that was once perceived to be an impossible situation (see below); that later turned out not to be impossible at all.
In life, it would seem, that we are often faced with situations and problems that seem well beyond our control, or ability to manage, or even put up with; and so consequently, during these times we are asked in scripture to trust in God.
Our problem always seems to be that our “believer mechanism” always seems to malfunction; which happens to be that part of us that God has given to each one of us, as a measure of faith, that is in fact, at least in part, how we are created in God’s image and likeness.
Perhaps it is because we have been infected with something called sin, that has skewed our spiritual understanding and perception of true reality, as it exists; and it has also unfortunately (as we know from scripture) severed our connection with our Creator.
Problem is, without that connection intact, we are ALL hopelessly loss and totally unsuited for this life; and owed to our separation from our Source of Life, we all are like fish out of the water, floundering on the beach of life, trying to survive.
So then what is the Solution?
Well for that we have but to consult the Manufacture’s “Owner’s Manual” for life (which is called the Bible) for instructions.
The problem is most people, mostly with guys (I’m sad to say, being one myself), but also women too, we normally don’t like reading instructions; and so therefore we end up at an awful disadvantage, and also we have inadvertently handicapped ourselves more than we know, by trying to figure life out all by ourselves, through trial and error… and mostly error, I might add!
Oh, what needless pain and suffering could be avoided, if only we would first decide to read and apply the owner’s Manual, for instructions in how to navigate through life.
So here we are today, facing another 24 hour opportunity to learn, and for most, unfortunately, it will be wasted; for others it will be a continuation of yesterday’s problems and difficulties; and for still others they can look forward to a brand new set of challenges… but regardless, suffice it to say, we all are dealing with something.
What most don’t understand is that all of life’s problems, in our trials and tribulations, including all those problems we think are so impossible, ALL of it is a setup, folks; a setup that has been designed and choreographed specifically for each one of us, before we were even born, and as the Bible tells us, even before God laid the foundation for the world.
Our lives, whether we realize it or not, were all preplanned; and we all were created and came equipped with a pre-established destiny and purpose, that is specific to who we are; howbeit, the Instruction Manual plainly tells us that it requires our cooperation and faith to implement it… and it will not be implemented without that happening.
That is where we come in, because God has designed our lives, as was illustrated in the life of Jesus, to be an extension of His own, and for us to operate in total unison and sync with God the Holy Spirit; and to the extent we fail to do this, is what the Bible calls sin… and so hence we have a Savior.
So today’s exercise, for all of us, is to cease viewing life solely through the eyes of the world and our limited skewed understanding of it; and begin to push out the outer limits of our preconceived and self-imposed limitations; and begin to see things through the inspiration and revelation of the Spirit, who lives inside of us, that is based not upon our understanding, or lack of same; but rather it is founded upon what God has promised us in His Word.
We need to understand this one point, that the only way any of us will fail to win this race, called life, is if we quit; for the prize that awaits us will not be given for crossing the finish line first, as we are accustom to; but rather it is given for having persevered and having not quit; and having remained in faith.
So that is our assignment today, should we each choose to accept it; to face today’s challenges with new insight and vision, and boldly go where we possible were afraid to go before.
Let us cast our lives completely and totally into hands of the Man from Galilee; who stilled the waters, with but a word; who raised the dead; fed the multitude; and walked on water; who also is our example to follow, in all things having to do with life. Selah
Shalom,
Skip Barland
From: RBC Ministries [mailto:donotreply@rbc.org] Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 9:08 PM To: theskipper@cox.net Subject: Our Daily Bread — May 29, 2010
May 29, 2010
Never Say “Never”
Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. —Acts 9:20
While a friend and I walked along the path of the former Berlin Wall, he told me, “This is one of those ‘never say never’ places in my life.” He explained that during the years when the Wall divided the city, he had made a dozen trips through Checkpoint Charlie to encourage members of the church living under continuing surveillance and opposition in East Germany. More than once, he had been detained, questioned, and harassed by the border guards.
In 1988, he took his teenage children to West Berlin and told them, “Take a good look at this wall, because someday when you bring your children here, this wall will still be standing.” A year later it was gone.
When Saul of Tarsus began to attack the followers of Jesus, no one could have imagined that he would ever become a disciple of Christ. “Never. Not a chance.” Yet Acts 9:1-9 records the story of Saul’s blinding encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Within a few days of that life-changing event, Saul was preaching in the synagogues of Damascus that Jesus was the Son of God, to the astonishment of all who heard him (vv.20-21).
When it comes to God’s work in the most difficult people we know, we should never say “never.” —David McCasland
God’s power cannot be confined
To what you think is possible;
So when it comes to changing lives—
Imagine the impossible. —Sper
‘I absolutely know that in anybody’s eyes I was a traitor,” says Mosab Hassan Yousef. “To my family, to my nation, to my God. I crossed all the red lines in my society. I didn’t leave one that I didn’t cross.”
Now 32, Mosab is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founder and leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Throughout the last decade, from the second Intifada to the current stalemate, he worked alongside his father in the West Bank. During that time the younger Mr. Yousef also secretly embraced Christianity. And as he reveals in his book “Son of Hamas,” out this week, he became one of the top spies for Israel’s internal security arm, the Shin Bet.
The news of this double conversion has sent ripples through the Middle East. One of Mr. Yousef’s handlers at the Shin Bet confirmed his account to the Israeli daily Haaretz…(more)
Here this young man renounces his former life and faith, and becomes radically saved, and what does our government do?
Yeah you read it right… they are wanting to deport him (see WND article below). Now I ask you, how dumb and narrow sighted is that!
Here we go shooting ourselves in the foot again, as we take the one voice of reason, from one who is now on our side; and instead of embracing him as a friend, we deport him to what would be certain death… while at the same time, terrorists are coming across our southern border by the hundreds (click on link for story).
Either this is just plain stupid, or it is on purpose, by what I believe is an administration that is at the very least pro-Islam, and by a president whom I believe is himself a Muslim.
But of course to be a loyal American, and/or veteran, who also happens to believe in our U.S. Constitution, according to current Homeland Security guidelines, makes us the terrorist threat; and again, I want to point out surely for our government to turn this man over into the hands of his former country, after his celebrated conversion to Christ, would mean certain death for him.
Please let us pray for Mosab Yousef, for his protection; and while we are at it, let’s also pray for our government, that God would deliver us from this current malaise, or secret agenda (whichever it is) of this present administration.
I have to say this, as much as I detest what is happening to our country, especially under this administration, the truth is in a democracy, where the people vote for the government they have, it is we who are responsible if we don’t like what’s happening!
The main problem in America, in my view, is not as much with our government, as it is with “We the People,” and in particular among the Christians of our country, who over the years, over several generations, have taken a backseat in politics, and have abdicated their responsibility, and this is what we have as a result.
My question is, what else did we expect would happen in this vacuum; and what else did we think would happen when unbelievers and people who do not honor God, nor respect His Word, who have never had an encounter with God, are running our government?
Please Lord, my prayer is for a Spiritual Awakening among America’s people, that we begin to value and appreciate the liberty and freedom that so many today have long since taken for granted; and I pray also for this present administration, this president, that God would either change his heart, and save him; or get rid of him, and people like him, before they can hurt our country any more… that’s my prayer.
Shalom,
Skip Barland
From: WorldNetDaily [mailto:alerts@news.worldnetdaily.com] Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 4:57 AM To: theskipper@cox.net Subject: U.S. trying to deport ‘Son of Hamas’
HOMELAND INSECURITYWorldNetDaily Exclusive
U.S. trying to deport born-again ‘Son of Hamas’ as terrorist
Feds see ‘terrorist’ in Christian convert who spied for Israel
Posted: May 27, 2010
10:35 pm Eastern
By Art Moore
WorldNetDaily
Mosab Hassan Yousef
The Department of Homeland Security is trying to deport the son of a Hamas founder who told of his conversion to Christianity and decade of spying for Israel in a New York Times best-seller.
Yousef said the DHS informed him Feb. 23, 2009, he was barred from asylum in the U.S. because there were reasonable grounds for believing he was “a danger to the security of the United States” and “engaged in terrorist activity.”
An incredulous Yousef said the U.S. government’s belief he is a terrorist is based on a complete misinterpretation of passages of his book in which he describes his work as a counterterrorism agent for the Israeli internal intelligence service Shin Bet.
Yousef said he’s not so much worried about himself as he is “outraged” about “a security system that is so primitive and naive that it endangers the lives of countless Americans.”
“If Homeland Security cannot tell the difference between a terrorist and a man who spent his life fighting terrorism, how can they protect their own people?” he asked in his blog post.
Yousef said whatever Judge Bartolomei decides will be appealed, “and this insane merry-go-round can go on like that for decades.”
Yousef’s asylum case – A 088 271 051 – was filed Aug. 22, 2007, about seven months after he arrived in the U.S. from Israel.
The office of DHS Senior Attorney Kerri Calcador, who is handling the case, referred WND’s request for comment to Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack, who said the agency is barred by policy from commenting, or even confirming or denying the existence of any case.
WND tried to reach Yousef for further comment, but he was not available.
(Story continues below)
As WND reported, Yousef worked alongside his father, Sheik Hassan Yousef, in the West Bank city of al-Ghaniya near Ramallah while secretly embracing Christian faith and serving as one of the top spies for Israel’s internal security arm, Shin Bet. Yousef was recruited by Shin Bet in 1996 at the age of 18 while at an Israeli detention facility.
Mosab Hassan Yousef in 2008 interview with Al-Hayat TV (Middle East Media Research Institute)
His chief Shin Bet handler, “Captain Loai,” has confirmed his account and praised him in media interviews for disrupting dozens of suicide bombings and assassination attempts by Hamas, saving hundreds of lives.
‘Material support’
Yousef said he recently received a document from DHS in which attorney Calcador pointed to passages in his book as evidence of terrorist activity.
Calcador cites a passage in which she says “a member of Shin Bet shows the respondent a list of suspects implicated in a March 2001 suicide bombing and asks the respondent whether he knows the individuals. The respondent indicates that he does know five of the people on the list and states that he previously drove them to safe houses.”
In the DHS document, Calcador concludes, “At a bare minimum, evidence of the respondent’s transport of Hamas members to safe houses … indicates that the respondent provided material support to a [Tier I] terrorist organization.”
Yousef’s response: “Is she kidding? Either Homeland Security’s chief attorney has zero reading comprehension, or else she intentionally took the passage out of context. And I am not sure which is worse.”
Yousef explained his job as a Shin Bet agent required him to be involved with his father’s activities.
“So when he asked me to go with him to pick up these guys when they were released from the Palestinian Authority prison, I went,” he said.
He insisted that no one at the time – not his father or even Israel – knew the five men were involved in suicide bombings.
He further argued he was the one who later provided Israel the evidence that connected the men to the terrorist bombing at the Hebrew University cafeteria in July 2002.
“And Homeland Security would do well to remember that there were five American citizens among the dead,” Yousef said of the attack. “Apparently the agency needs also to be reminded that I was the one who located the terrorists and led to their arrest or death.”
For that, he said, Homeland Security “today tells me ‘thank you’ by trying to deport me!”
He explained it was “part of his job” to pose as a terrorist and participate in “terrorist meetings” with Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, his father and other Hamas leaders.
“I passed on to the Shin Bet all the information I gathered during those meetings and saved the lives of many people – including many Americans,” he said.
‘Exposing the weaknesses’
Yousef said his intent for writing the blog post was to alert Americans to the danger they face.
“I believe that God is using this situation to expose the weaknesses of Homeland Security and to put pressure on it to make changes that can save lives and preserve freedom,” he said.
He recalled that when he arrived in America Jan. 2, 2007, he “walked into the airport like anyone else on a tourist visa.”
When he went to the Homeland Security office seven months later, he said, he knocked on the door and told them, “Hey, guys, I am the son of Sheik Hassan Yousef, my father is involved in a terrorist organization, and I would like political asylum in your country.”
He said the officials were shocked.
“I wanted them to see that they have huge gaps in their security and their understanding of terrorism and make changes before it’s too late,” Yousef explained.
Yousef said that when DHS demanded evidence of his claims, he presented a draft of his book “Son of Hamas.”
“Surely this would make everything perfectly clear,” he thought. “They would discover that I was an intelligence agent, not a terrorist. That I tracked down terrorists and put them in prison. That I was an asset, not a threat.”
But Homeland Security, according to Yousef, doesn’t “get it.”
He said the FBI, in contrast, “has a much better understanding of terrorism and recognizes me as a valuable asset.”
“They told Homeland Security that I am not a threat and advised them to drop the case. But Homeland Security shut its eyes and stopped up its ears and told the FBI, ‘You have nothing to do with this. It is our job,'” Yousef said.
The agency’s performance, he asserted, “should worry the American people.”
“If Homeland Security cannot understand a simple story like mine, how can they be trusted with bigger issues?” he asked. “They seem to know only how to blindly follow rules and procedures. But to work intelligence, you have to be very creative. You have to accept exceptions. You need to be able to think beyond facts and circumstances.
“Homeland Security has absolutely no idea of the dangers that lie ahead,” he said.
‘Imagine suicide bombers in America’
He warned the U.S. is not prepared as al-Qaida adapts its strategy to lessons learned from terrorist groups like Hamas.
“For nearly 30 years, I watched from the inside as Hamas dug its claws deeper and deeper into Israel. They started awkwardly, clumsily, but they got good at it. And al-Qaida is becoming more like Hamas,” he said.
The strategy of Hamas, Yousef explained, has always been to destroy Israel through a “slow bleeding war.”
“They don’t have nuclear bombs, so they send a suicide bomber here, another one there. And over the years, they severely damaged the economy and gave Israel a bad reputation all over the world,” Yousef said.
While al-Qaida began with massive attacks like 9/11, Osama bin Laden “understands how effective the Hamas strategy will be on American soil,” he said.
The U.S. has experienced nothing like Israel has endured, said Yousef, and the country is not ready.
“Try to imagine attacks by suicide bombers and car bombers, attacks on schools, in shopping malls, in the gridlock of rush-hour traffic, week after week, month after month, year after year, here and there, in big cities and rural towns,” he said.
“No one feels safe anywhere. There seems to be no reason behind the attacks, no pattern. Everyone is a target.”
Having been raised on the inside of this kind of environment, from both sides, he said he is only asking Homeland Security “to be humble and listen, so they can learn.”
“Exposing terrorist secrets and warning the world in my first book cost me everything,” he said. “I am a traitor to my people, disowned by my family, a man without a country. And now the country I came to for sanctuary is turning its back.”
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
I dare say that many of you have heard this song before, as it is a classic; but how many of you have ever heard the story behind it; and the circumstances that caused it to be written?
Horatio Spafford was born on October 20th, 1828 in North Troy, New York. He was a successful lawyer in Chicago, and was a personal friend with the famous Evangelist Dwight L. Moody.
You’ve heard the saying when it rains it pours, well listen to what happened to this man.
First of all, it was sometime prior to 1871, and the Spafford family loss their only son due to illness.
Then there was this huge fire in Chicago, perhaps you’ve heard of it, it was called the “Chicago Fire.”
Horatio and Dwight L. Moody were close friends; and being also a very committed Christian, he had wanted to surprise his friend, as Moody was overseas in Europe ministering; and so he had purchased considerable properties along the lake front, that was to be used for the Moody ministry.
Well the Chicago fire literally devastated the entire city, and it completely wiped him out.
It was now two years after the fire, and the Spafford family had planned a vacation to Europe, to help ease the pain after the loss of his son, and also his property.
However on the day they were to depart, Spafford had a last minute business meeting, and had to stay behind in Chicago. It had something to do with the city sorting out the loss of property due to the fire; and finding out who owed what.
Anyway, not wanting to disappoint his family, he sent his wife and four daughters on ahead, and the plan was that he was going to join them later, after he had completed his business.
So he saw them off, and loaded his family on the S.S. Ville du Harvre, and was expecting to join them in just a few days; but on November 22nd, the S.S. Ville du Harvre was struck by another ship, an English vessel, called the Lockearn, and the ship with his wife and daughters on it sank in just a few minutes.
After the survivors were finally landed in Cardiff, Wales, Spafford’s wife cabled her husband with the news, “All was loss, and I alone am saved.”
Shortly afterwards, Spafford boarded another vessel to join his wife; and on the way, as they were passing by the spot where the ship had sunk, where his four daughters had drowned, he happened to have a pen in his hand and he penned the words to this song, It is Well with My Soul.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is noteworthy that though heartbroken over the loss of his son; then there was the fire and loss of property; and now all four of his daughters are gone, due to this tragic accident, even after suffering all this loss, Spafford was still able to find solace and comfort in the knowledge that truly God was in control; and though surely he and his wife grieved bitterly over their loss, they nevertheless placed their faith and trust in God, that He would somehow, as He promises for all of us, work this too out for their good.
So truly they could say, as we also can say, when life happens to us, and we suffer loss… that God is still on His throne, and we also can say, with Horatio Spafford that it is “Well with my soul.” Selah
Shalom,
Skip Barland
From: RBC Ministries [mailto:donotreply@rbc.org] Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 9:16 PM To: theskipper@cox.net Subject: Our Daily Bread — May 28, 2010
May 28, 2010
Our Times— His Hands
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READ: Psalm 31:1-16
“You are my God.” My times are in Your hand. —Psalm 31:14-15
In a message to the 2002 graduates of Cedarville University, Dr. Paul Dixon encouraged them with these words: “Your times are in God’s hands.” Our family listened and thought it was appropriate for the graduates, which included our daughter Julie.
We had no idea that in 5 days our 17-year-old Melissa would graduate to heaven through a car accident—and we would be left to recall with new meaning that thought from Psalm 31:15.
Over the years, we have become painfully aware that in God’s mysterious ways, He has planned for some Christians a life that is short.
I think of one young Christian girl, the kind with a smile for everyone, who had a sore finger—and a week later was dead from a raging infection.
Or the young believer who was killed while playing softball when a ball hit her in the neck.
Or the teen boy who loved Jesus and fishing—and died when a car hit him as he rode his bike home from the fishing hole.
Melissa, Heather, Maggie, and Thomas. In their short lives, they created a legacy of faith in Jesus and love for others. They were ready when His time for them had come.
“I trust in You,” the psalmist said, recognizing that his life was in God’s hands alone (vv.14-15). Are you trusting God for whatever comes next on your calendar? —Dave Branon
Sovereign Ruler of the skies,
Ever gracious, ever wise,
All my times are in Your hand,
All events at Your command. —Ryland
Our times are in God’s hands; our souls are in His keeping.
This message was sent from RBC Ministries to theskipper@cox.net. It was sent from: RBC Ministries, 3000 Kraft Ave, Grand Rapids, MI 49512. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.
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