"Two Ways to 'Roll' "

What a blessing it truly is to have a woodstove in our basement! All throughout the cool/cold months of the year, we use the stove and our house stays toasty warm. This year, in addition to burning wood, we have also used logs made of newspaper to help with the heating. Gladly, each week we collect newspapers from our family and friends. The device we use to make the logs is a simple machine with a hand crank. It is a two "man" operation, and Bill and I enjoy doing this project together. (I feed the paper into the machine and Bill uses the crank to roll the paper into logs.)

One morning recently, I was considering what we would be doing on that particular day. There were several things going on in our lives, (some a bit stressful), but I knew that one activity we wanted to do was to roll some paper logs. At that very moment, the following verse came to mind:

"Commit your way to the Lord,..." Psalm 37:5a

I have known this verse for a long time and do often think of it, but today it seemed I was being lead to take a closer look at that portion of the verse, something I had never done before. I found it quite interesting that it means to "roll" your way to the Lord. The Amplified version reads this way, "Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him],..."

I believe that not only was God encouraging me to commit my whole day to Him, but He also revealed to me the meaning of the word, "commit" in that verse,--"roll." And so, I "roll" my way (my cares) to the Lord and I "roll" newspaper logs. One leads to inner peace and the other leads to physical warmth. (Both from the Lord.)

Thank you, Father, for this delightful revelation and message from You! Thank you for showing Yourself to me in this way and bringing encouragement to my life through Your Word! Amen.

My Mother's Day Prayer

Father God,
Thank you for my children. They are truly wonderful gifts from You! Thank you for Your help throughout the years to raise them. I have been far from a perfect mom and have made many mistakes, but I thank you for your forgiveness and for Your hand upon my children throughout the years. You answered my prayers for their salvation, for a Christ-following spouse, and that they would walk with You and be Your servants. Thank you for providing them with jobs and homes, and for the blessings of children of their own. Thank you for all of the ways you help them and favor them every day. Continue the work You have begun according to Your will not because I deserve to have my prayers answered, but because of Your incredible love, abundantly rich in grace and mercy. All praise, honor and glory be Yours, O Lord, now and forevermore.
Amen.

Invitation to THE WEDDING!

Countless people watched yesterday as William and Kate became husband and wife. It was truly a most beautiful wedding, one we will always remember! And how wonderful it was, for those of us who were not invited, to be able to see this blessed event via our TV or computer. (Praise be to God that possibly billions viewed this "church service," where the name of Jesus Christ was lifted high, and the sacredness of holy matrimony between a man and a woman was proclaimed!)

Although comparatively few were chosen to receive an invitation to William and Kate's wedding, there is a wedding all are invited to! In Rev. 22:17 we read, "The Spirit and the Bride (the church, the true Christians) say, 'Come!' "

"This is a wonderful invitation extended to every generation up to the coming of Christ. Those who recognize their need and realize that Christ is the provider of salvation are exhorted to come while there is yet time before the judgement falls and it is too late. Scripture makes it clear, the gift of eternal life is free. It has been paid for by the death of Christ on the Cross and is extended to all who are willing to receive it in simple faith."
(The Bible Knowledge Commentary, page 989)

What a glorious Marriage that will be, unlike any others! An angel said to the Apostle John in Rev. 21:9, "Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." The church is His Bride and Christ is the Bridegroom. This wedding will truly be more wonderful than anything we can ever imagine!

All are invited, but do not delay! Respond to Jesus today!

Cutting Strings

I love the creative ways God uses to speak to us and how He leads. This morning I was thinking about a few things I need to surrender to Him; things that were weighing me down and stealing my joy and peace. As I was praying, the picture I had in my mind was a car going down the road with tin cans attached by strings to the back bumper, (as newlyweds do). Those tin cans are noisy as they bounce around and hit the pavement! The strings and cans, of course, cannot hold a car back, but anything "attached" to us as believers, can keep us looking back at all of the constant commotion and noise, and keep us from being totally free to have a forward focus.

A few hours after my prayer, I "happened upon" the following quote by Elmer Laydon posted on Facebook, "God has wonderful plans for us--new heights He wants us to reach. But like kites, we are sometimes held back from soaring as high as we might by our strings of uncertainty. Trust in God, cut those strings, and ride His winds to where He wants to take you."

With God's help, let us cut the strings in our lives in order to detach from anything that would hinder our singleness of mind in Christ. May we move forward and soar upward and have the abundant life Christ died for us to have!

Concerning Prayer,...

If you're like me, sometimes you become weary in praying for the same thing over and over. At times, I think I sound like an old "broken record" when I pray, (this is definitely NOT God's view!), and admittedly, sometimes I even wonder whether God is listening! (The truth is, yes, HE IS!!)

Perhaps you and I been praying about a financial issue for a while, or a lingering health concern, or an unresolved family issue. Maybe we've been praying for a loved one to come to know Christ, or maybe we're asking God for His wisdom in a certain situation. Perhaps we have been going to the Lord for help and strength to overcome a sin in our life. It could even possibly be that we are praying about "all of the above"!

Well, whatever ongoing prayers you and I may have, let us not become tired and weary in going to God often with them! We must press on! Friends, we know that He hears every prayer we breathe or utter and we know He is faithful and answers our prayers! May we always be looking to Him for His answers! They will come in His perfect time, according to His perfect will. 1Thess. 5:17 (AMP), tells us, "Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly],..."

This morning I was encouraged concerning my prayer life when I read this wonderful quote from Richard Sibbes, (1577-1635), "When we shoot an arrow, we look to the fall of it; when we send a ship to sea, we look for the return of it; and when we sow a seed, we look for a harvest; and so when we sow our prayers into God's bosom, shall we not look for an answer?"

Amen!

Read it Again!

When my children were little they loved hearing the same story over and over. (Even to this day, many years later, I am still able to recite portions of some of their favorite books.) With great enthusiasm, and often imagining themselves in the story, they would plead, "Read it again, Mommy! Read it again!" And so, to their delight, I would read the book again. Even though they knew well the story from start to finish, my children were excited every time they heard their favorite stories.

I feel the same way about the Easter story. Even though I have heard it and have read it myself many times, I am excited knowing I will hear the resurrection story again tomorrow. I am looking forward to hearing the part about the stone having been rolled away and about the tomb being empty. I will imagine myself being there, and in my mind, I will go and look into the tomb. And just as the angel said to Mary of Magdala and the other Mary, I will imagine him saying to me,

"Do not be alarmed or frightened, for I know you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, as He said He would do. Come, see the place where He lay."
Matt. 28:5-6

I will see the grave clothes lying where Jesus had been and will be amazed all over again!

The story will continue,...

"So they [the 2 Marys] left the tomb hastilty with fear and great joy,..."

I will leave the tomb in a hurry, feeling some fear, perhaps, but mostly great joy! (After all, I do know the story!)

"And as they went, behold, Jesus met them and said, Hail (greetings)! And they went to Him,...and worshiped Him." Matt.28:8-9

Engaged in the story, I will be utterly surprised to see Jesus! He will greet me and I will fall at His feet and worship Him!! I will praise and thank Him for coming to earth and for dying on the Cross for my sins. I will glorify Him for rising from the dead by His resurrection power and for ascending into heaven and sitting now at the Father's right hand! I will thank Him for sending the Holy Spirit who abides in me, and for the promise that I will be with Him, my Savior and my Lord, for all eternity!

Yes, I will be as a child on Easter morn, (His child forever I am!), excited to hear again the glorious Resurrection story! Truly the greatest story of all! Christ Jesus lives! The Living Word! Tell me the story again, Jesus! Tell me again!

Once For All

Bill and I have been reading through the Bible and this week we "just happened" to be in Hebrews. How wonderful it has been to read about both the Old and the New Covenants in this Book throughout this Holy Week!

Truly, Christ's sacrifice of His own blood is immeasurably greater than the animal offerings of the Levitical arrangements. Christ paid the perfect price for the ransom of human redemption and it needs never to be paid again. The Levite priests could never sit down on the job because their sacrificial services were never completed. But Christ sits at the right hand of God because His sacrifice was offered once for all. It is finished.

Today, Good Friday, we remember the Cross and all Christ's sacrifice means to us!