JFW Page

We welcome ALL the stories of your Inspirational Lives!

The Power of an Attitude of Gratitude

By Robin G. Tramble

Dec 10, 2008 - We often find ourselves regretting where we are in life. This sends us on a spiraling journey downward as we begin complaining and nourishing fear which is the enemy of faith. One key area in living a prosperous life is having an attitude of gratitude.

Let's take a look further into the definition of gratitude. Gratitude-State of being grateful. Grateful-Thankful or appreciative.

Having an attitude of gratitude will provide the following benefits, not necessarily in the order written.

Provides clear vision. Allows free course for Father God to reward you.

Stops the cancer of murmuring and complaining in it's tracks.

Ignites the fire for an atmosphere of praise. An attitude of gratitude will render an altitude of Good success.

You can take time to think of a few more.

The word tells us in I Thess 5:18 to give thanks in everything.

Give thanks for your temple. God's gift to us is life what we do with it is our gift to Him. This is not speaking of being thankful that you had an accident, being thankful that you lost your job, being thankful that your children don't have clothes or food to eat. No! It is speaking of an attitude of thankfulness, gratitude and thereby praise.

Let's put it this way, it may seem that you've lost more than you imagined that you would at this time, however, an attitude of gratitude would be thankful that you didn't lose it all.

Thanks in the greek means; eucharisteo (Yoo-khar-is-the'-o) to be grateful, (act) to express gratitude (towards).

Live long and prosper with an attitude of gratitude.

Your attitude determines your altitude.

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ for you. -- I Thessalonians 5:18

Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. --Galatians 6:9

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

How can you use the above information to benefit your life before you hit the pillow tonight?

Select one of the areas and make it your focus for the week.

Make a note of your progress at the end of the week.

About the Author: Learn more about Robin G. Tramble and an attitude of gratitude, success in life and grab your free eBook by visiting www.robintramble.com/Teleseminarschedule.html for additional empowering resources. Robin Tramble has a passion for mentoring/empowering, training/coaching, supporting and connecting women for God success in life. She is also publisher and editor or Time2prosper -Connect at: www.time2prosper.homestead.com

Source: Narrow is the Path

Abstinence in America? – Yes says author Vivian Elebiyo

By Rev. Michael Bresciani

Nov 19, 2008 - Author and talk show host Vivian Elebiyo is like the Oprah Winfrey of an alternate universe. She offers guidance and hope especially to young women. Brought up in a wholly different society, her powerful faith in God and a penchant for common sense make for one of the most irresistible voices of the decade. Who is this marvelous gift to America?

Vivian is the author of “My Virginity is Ruining My Sex Life” published by Triumph Publishing, but don’t let the title fool you. She offers more than unsupported advice on abstinence. Both her book and her radio shows offer powerful answers to women to choose a chaste life and actually save themselves for marriage.

The mention of withholding until marriage can invoke laughter from most in this generation but if better acquainted with the statistical, medical and emotional result of promiscuity Elebiyo says most young women would see it is no laughing matter.

The general consensus is do what your going to do but seek prevention from pregnancy or disease, Elebiyo says don’t do what everyone is doing and seek practical reasons and learn some not so obvious benefits attached to abstinence. The first of which is the inescapable truth that a woman’s virginity is not the purchase price of love, not even in marriage; much less outside of it.

Who is Vivian Elebiyo? A recent press release says “Vivian Elebiyo was born in 1979 in West Africa. Ms. Elebiyo’s specialties include abstinence, humor, spirituality, goal setting, topics pertaining to self-packaging, women's struggles, self-help on relationships, and finances. She is a Certified Abstinence Educator for the State of Florida. Ms. Elebiyo is also a member of the Christian Women Speakers Association and the Tallahassee Writers Association. Elebiyo holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Theology at the Center for Biblical Studies. She currently resides in Houston, Texas where she writes about sex, dating, and the teenage experience.”

In an interview with the American Prophet website Vivian explained how she advises women of all ages on her radio show which is called “Sex and the Single.” She also hosts an online show called DUI or “Dating under the Influence.” Her call-in shows are filled with practical advice on how to change the way a women decides who to date.

Her show calls on young women to redefine both themselves and what they think of sex. By integrating the two it is surprising how many women discover that these two things are not dependent on each other in the ways commonly accepted. A woman can be all that she wants without sex. That is something known by the greatest women of all time but is now lost awhile in the steamy social climate of the day.

Other subjects covered in her book and her shows are, ditching your sex life, how to build lasting relationships, how women can set boundaries and stick to them and last but not least how to save yourself for marriage. Not every one will agree with Vivian but even her detractors are forced to admit she is a women of great conviction endowed with a good helping of bravery. She is the kind of soft spoken hero that Americans used to look to and fortunately many still do.

Vivian’s “Dating under the Influence” on Blog Talk Radio is interlaced with great music and plenty of callers and it provides women with a platform and a place to air their feelings and problems in a way some teens and troubled women can never do with their parents or their husbands. This seems to be what makes it so attractive and gets them talking about things that they can’t bring up in other settings.

Vivian says that we are all getting a “mixed message.” She explains that “we have the media, friends and all the other influences around us especially among teens where they are told that there are certain things they can do that are having sex without actually having sex. This creates a conflict in women who end up thinking they can cross the line in many ways but without having sex. It leaves them asking themselves if they are truly still a virgin.” Her answers are geared toward dumping all the peripherals so women won’t even have to raise the question.

Her advice sounds like the practical way to explain the meaning conveyed in Mt. 5:28 “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” It isn’t what you end up doing that is wrong but even the intention or the need to skirt around the edges of it are also wrong.

Elebiyo says “that basically when women get touchy feely and playful with their dates they are breaking themselves up and giving themselves away in pieces.” When the moment has passed Vivian says the fragmentation of a woman’s personality becomes blaring and obvious. The result is diminishing self esteem, depression or something far worse.

She hardly needs to prove to anyone that the promiscuity of the day is wrecking lives because many of her callers are willing to explain the mess they have made of their own lives. While the world waits for psychology and other science to weigh in on the long range effects of unbridled prurient interests in young women, Vivian’s callers are weighing in with powerful examples of the failures of the modern view of love and sexuality.

Her shows are charged with inspiration, concern and encouragement for teens and young women yet she holds nothing back. She seems like a courageous women standing in the gap and trying to pull back some who have not yet been totally swallowed up by the licentious spirit of the day. She is a heroine indeed but more than that she is a voice for women who still believe in the God given dignity of womanhood.

Her theology is derived from the Bible. Skirting the perimeter on sexual issues may seem perfectly innocuous but the innuendo and overtone that is so easily accepted is in itself part of the problem. To keep both the mind and the body in check starts with the mind. Christ said it like this…”But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Mt. 5:28 If lusting is the same as doing then it is easier to understand why Jesus said “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Mt. 5:20

About the Author and Vivian Elebiyo - Vivian’s website is at www.vivianspeaks.com Rev Michael Bresciani is an author and columnist for several online sites and magazines. His articles are now read throughout the world. For more articles, news, movie reviews and more visit www.americanprophet.org

Source: Narrow is the Path

God’s Recycle Bin

By Joanne Lowe

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezekiel 36: 26, 27, King James Version

Nov 12, 2008 - One of the definitions in Websters Dictionary that I found for the word “recycle”is “to adapt to a new use. That is exactly what our precious Saviour does with our hearts. He removes our old hearts that are full of sin, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, judgment, unforgiveness, criticism, hatred and sarcasm and He gives us new hearts. Our Saviour applies His precious atoning and redeeming blood to our cold hearts and He gives us hearts of unconditional love for others.

I had so much hatred, unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness in my heart for the ones who had hurt me and especially for the two people who had raped me. I didn’t trust anybody and didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone. I had been told by some of my teachers in grade school, in high school and even in college that I was stupid and would never be able to contribute anything to society. As a result of hearing so many people tell me that I was stupid and no good, I didn’t think I had a right to live and didn’t want to live. I tried to take my life several times.

On August 14, 1980, a day that changed my life forever, the day that I gave my heart to Jesus, my precious Saviour came to me as I lay underneath a bed in a mental hospital afraid of everyone and everything. He came to me when I couldn’t go to Him. He put His arms of compassion and unconditional love around me and lifted me up from under that bed.

He said something to me that I had never heard in all my life from anybody and I am sixty five years old. My loving Saviour whispered softly and tenderly in my ear “I love you, Joanne. I will never let anyone hurt you again. It is safe for you to come out from under this bed because I will protect you and I will never leave you, not even for one minute.” My precious Saviour has kept His word and has been faithful to me because He has not left me, not even for a minute. What a friend! What a Saviour, this Jesus of Nazareth!

Squire Parsons has written one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my life; "He Came To Me". I was in church the first time I heard this song and my pastor and everyone started shouting Amen. Some of the words in this beautiful song are “He came to me, O, He came to me. When I could not come to where He was, He came to me. That’s why He died on Calvary; When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.”

I get all choked up with love and gratitude for what He did for me on the cross. I know that He did it for you, but He did it for me! Tears roll down my cheeks when I think of my precious Saviour loving me enough to come to me when I couldn’t go to Him. Have you allowed God to recycle your sinful heart and replace it with a new heart, a heart that is filled with love and forgiveness for others? If not, ask Him to forgive you and allow Him to remove everything that hurts Him and brings shame to Him.

About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at www.fromtheheartofjesus.blogspot.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her at joannelowe8@cox.net.

Life from Unity

Prophetess Markita Smith

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on Aarons beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. Psalm 133

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away [Gentiles] and peace to those who were near [Jews]. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with Gods people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.—Ephesians 2:14-22

Every charge or command in the New Testament can be found in the Old Testament when our search is led by the Holy Spirit. Unity within the Body of Believers is no different, particularly between Jews and Gentiles. The prophets speak of it (see Isaiah 14:1-2), the Psalms speak of it (see above), and it is a recurring theme in Israels history as in the relationship between Ruth and Naomi (see the book of Ruth). When taken together, the two Scriptures above make quite the case for unity within the Body of the Messiah especially among believing Jews [Messianic Jews] and Gentiles [Christians]. Though the letter to the Ephesians is more specific, they both speak of dwelling together, the Holy Spirit and a high priest.

Psalm 133 above clearly speaks to people who consider themselves brothers and live together. The text from Ephesians chapter 2 above makes it clear that Jewish and Gentile believers are brothers: the Messiah destroyed the barrier between us, we are all members of Gods household (His children) and we not only live together in one dwelling but together we are the dwelling in which God lives. We become this dwelling when drawn near by the Messiahs sacrifice and filled with the Holy Spirit. Psalm 133 also speaks to this theme as it mentions the precious “anointing” oil poured on the head and running down the beard of the original high priest. Yeshua (Jesus) is the head of the Body (see Eph. 5:23), and He is the hight priest (see Heb. 4:14-5:10). The oil represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We learn, then, that Yeshua (Jesus) is blessed by our unity and allows the blessing of the anointing to flow from Him (the head) down to us (the body).

There is still more symbolism and spiritually revealed meaning to Psalm 133 in the analogy of Mount Hermon and Mount Zion. Mount Hermon is the tallest mountain actually a cluster of mountains in Palestine, whose peaks are currently not under Israeli control. During the days of Yeshua, it was located in the region of Caesarea Philippi, outside of Judea. He was at the foot of Mount Hermon when He revealed His divinity to His Jewish disciples and proclaimed that He would build the "church" (Greek: "ecclesia" meaning the assembly of the called out ones) on this revelation (see Mat. 16:13-20). Mount Hermon is also the possible location of the Transfiguration (see Mat. 17:1-7). Hence, Mount Hermon specifically represents the birth of the Body of the Messiah the union of Jew and Gentile in Yeshua. Mount Zion, on the other hand, is a mountain near Jerusalem that was taken by King David when he captured the city from the Jebusites (see 2 Sam.5:6-10). Hence, this mountain represents Gods ancient relationship and covenant with Israel (see Ps. 48), Gods dwelling place (see Is. 8:18) and the promise that the Messiah will come to Zion to redeem the children of Israel and all those who believe (see Is. 24:23-25:8). Through this analogy in Psalm 133, we are urged to come together in the Body, both Jews and Gentiles, to refresh Israel that they may cry, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, which will prompt the Messiahs return (Mat. 23:37-39). Thus our unity provokes Jews to jealousy as we operate without a dividing wall and demonstrate Gods love, through Messiahs sacrifice. It is in this place, Gods dwelling among the unity of believers, that He bestows blessings, even life eternal. We must then make it our goal to unite as Jewish and Gentile believers to worship and serve the LORD. Then all Israel will be saved (see Rom. 11:25-32) and the world will be blessed with Emmanuel (God with us).

For more from Prophetess Markita Smith and The Truth In The Spirit ministry see our website at www.truthinspirit.org/services.html

Be Obedient

By Joanne Lowe

“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15: 22, King James Version

Last year, God woke me up out of a sound sleep at three in the morning and told me to check my email. Thank God that I was obedient to do so because someone had sent me an email who was planning to commit suicide. This person told me in the email “I don’t want to live. It hurts too much. I am going to kill myself tonight and I just wanted to say goodbye to you because you have been so kind to me.”

I prayed and then emailed the person back and shared this with the person. “I am so glad that you emailed me because many years ago I was at the place that you are right now. I had no desire to live because it was too painful. I tried to take my life seven times but God always rescued me in time. Please call your pastor or someone you trust and share with them what you told me.” Thank God that the person did call the pastor and received help and did not commit suicide.

For those of you who have been on my mailing list for a long time, you know that I spent over forty years off and on locked up in mental hospitals because I was highly suicidal and in a severe devastating depression. On the day that I was determined to kill myself, I had crawled underneath my bed in the mental hospital because I was afraid of everyone and everything.

On that day which I thought was the darkest day of my life, the Saviour of the world came to me when I couldn’t go to Him. He lifted me up from under that bed and sat me on His lap. He whispered softy and tenderly in my ear “I love you, Joanne. I won’t let anybody hurt you again.” What a Saviour! What a friend, this Jesus of Nazareth! There is no one like Jesus. No one loves us like Jesus and our Heavenly Father love us. What a privilege to be loved by the Saviour of the world.

Are you being obedient to do what God lays on your heart to do? Jesus has told all of us who claim to be Christians that we are to tell everyone we meet about His unconditional love for them. One day every one of us will stand before a Holy God and He will ask us “Why didn’t you spread the unconditional love of My Son to people?” May God have mercy on us if we fail to spread the unconditional love of Jesus!

I don’t know what is going on in your life today. I don’t know what heartaches you have. I don’t know what burdens you are carrying but I do know the one who can take them away and give you peace, happiness and joy and His name is Jesus! Run into the waiting arms of Jesus and allow Him to rock you tenderly in His arms and comfort and encourage you. He is waiting for you with His arms outstretched and a heart full of unconditional love and compassion. Don’t wait any longer! Run as fast as you can into the loving arms of our precious Saviour.

About the Author: To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her website at http://www.heavenwardbound.com or to be included on her daily inspirational email list you can contact her at joannelowe8@cox.net.

What Do You Do when You Are Offended?

By Ann Stewart

How do you respond when you're offended? Why is it that one word, a look or even a perceived snub can suddenly change your happy mood into an overwhelming feeling of hurtful indignation? More often than not offence starts with the notion that you were wrongfully hurt and, therefore, have the right to feel resentment towards the perpetrator.

Offence is always directed at yourself. It's all about your feelings. Thoughts racing through your head may go something like this: "how dare he/she do that to me," "what did I do to deserve this?" and "I will never trust him/her again!"

Let's have a look at what the Bible has to say about offence. In Luke 4: 16-30 we see that when Jesus ministered the first time in his hometown, the people there "were filled with wrath" to the point of wanting to kill him. Why? Because he had grown up among them and their pride did not want to believe him when he said that He was the subject of the scriptures he was reading! Instead of allowing the Word to open their spiritual ears, their erroneous judgments based on feelings of offence kept them from receiving salvation, healing and joy. While the crowd was pushing Jesus towards the cliff to his death, he "passing through the midst of them went away."

If you read through this account in Luke you will notice that Jesus told the crowd that the scripture he was reading was being fulfilled in their ears! Most chose not to believe it and murmured among themselves.

Jesus gave you a great example of dealing with offence. He squashed it right in the bud by telling them that no prophet was ever accepted in his own country and that he was not unique. In other words, he acknowledged being aware of their evil thoughts directed at him and, like the prophets, he came only for a few. He then slipped right through the midst of an angry crowd.

Let his actions be your example. He did not go about telling his disciples and others about his hurt. Angry words expressed by a hurtful person to any number of people have the power to evoke similar attitudes in the listeners. As you keep repeating your hurtful incident to others and constantly thinking about it with bitterness, you will cause it to become a festering wound that will hold you bound. Your anguish will rob you of your joy and well-being, and affect all those around you as well.

"Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Let no corrupt communication come out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Eph. 5: 26-32)

You are the one in control of your feelings. Do not give into the devil's evil whisperings in your ear. His scheme is to harp on your feelings. Just as Jesus did, respond to the person as soon as possible. If the issue is not resolved, then forgive and walk away. Slip through the barrage of angry words and/or feelings and let your joy return. Don't allow anyone to steal your joy!

No amount of anger and retaliation can right a wrong. "Bless them which persecute you: bless and curse not. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." ( Rom. 12: 14-21)

About the Author: Ann Stewart, author of With Wings as Eagles, aims to encourage and inspire you to become the person God has purposed you to be. With Wings as Eagles. You're welcome to subscribe to her free weekly inspirational newsletter here: Life Altering Words.

Source: Christian Article Bank

The Alarm Just Rang

By Joanne Lowe

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22: 12, King James Version

Sept 11, 2008 - Has your alarm clock ever rang and instead of getting out of bed right away you reached over and shut it off? Jesus sounded the alarm for His return to take us home with Him when He said “And, behold, I come quickly”. I think many times that we just shut off His alarm and don’t realize the urgency of spreading the unconditional love of Jesus to everyone we see.

The alarm clock by our beds won’t go off when our precious Saviour returns for us. There won’t be anybody like Paul Revere spreading the alarm. We won’t have time to get our hearts right before God. We won’t have time to ask our loved ones to forgive us for the cruel words we said to them. Most important, we won’t have time to tell Jesus we’re sorry for the way we hurt Him by watching television day after day, hour after hour instead of serving Him.

How would we feel if Jesus were to return today and He saw us watching television instead of spreading His unconditional love to people? I think we would be unable to look Him in the eye and we would have to hang our heads in shame because television was more important to us than He was. I believe that we would see a sad look on His face and tears of hurt in His eyes because we loved television more than we loved Him.

Are you watching television hour after hour or are you spreading the good news of a risen Saviour? How much do you love Jesus? Do you love Him enough to shut off the television set and use that time to tell people that Jesus loves them and that He loves them unconditionally? Remember, the level of our service to Jesus depends on our level of love for Him. We can say that we love Him but the way we prove our love for Him is by what we do for Him. Again, do you love Jesus and if so how much do you love Him? How much are you willing to do for Him and how much are you willing to give up for Him?

There are so many people who are hurting and who desperately need to know that somebody cares if they live or die. Just this weekend, I received several emails from people who are hurting and brokenhearted and who need to be reassured that Jesus does indeed love them. They need someone to hug them and prove to them that Jesus loves them and that He loves them unconditionally. When is the last time you hugged someone for Jesus?

We don’t have much time before our Saviour comes back for us. Our precious Saviour is going to return quickly just as He said He would. O that we would catch the urgency of the moment! Are you ready to meet Him? Have you asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins and invited Him into your heart to be your personal Saviour? If not, you will spend all eternity in hell. However, the most tragic thing about spending eternity in hell is that you will spend an eternity without Jesus. Please don’t let that happen to you. Give your heart and life to Jesus right now before it is too late.

He Will See You Through

By Mariane Holbrook

Sept 4, 2008 - In 1981, Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book, “When Bad Things Happen To Good People” was breaking sales records all across America. So popular was the book that it became the subject of many college courses, focus and study groups, and eventually it passed over 4 million copies in sales.

For inquiring minds, an equally intriguing book could be written titled, “When Good Things Happen To Bad People.”

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, my parents had every reason to ask the second question. They struggled to feed six children and Mother’s health was so poor that she spent much of the time in bed, too ill from pernicious anemia to care for her family. The final blow came when Daddy lost his job on the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

I was a newborn baby with a mother almost too weak to nurse me. My oldest sister said the strongest memory she had of me as an infant was of my crying hour after hour from hunger pains because there was so little milk.

If ever a couple had occasion to question God, it was my parents at this time of their lives. They had established Christ as the head of our home, were faithful tithers, yet were not spared the vagaries and cruelties of the Depression that caused thousands to jump from multi-storied building to their early deaths all across America.

Unable to pay his house payments, facing foreclosure and lacking only $500 to pay off the mortgage, Daddy approached his older brother, Irvin, about a loan. Uncle Irvin held a position of prominence at IBM and had been impacted little, if any, by the Depression.

“Indeed not!” Uncle Irvin raged. “If you hadn’t been giving money to the church all these years you wouldn’t be in the financial straits you are now. Without his aid, Mother and Daddy lost their home and we moved into a rental property.

Hearing that story later as a young girl, I asked Mother why she and Daddy weren’t bitter toward Uncle Irvin or worse, mad at God. When Uncle Irvin visited our home, he was always warmly greeted and showered with love. My parents harbored no malice.

Mother had memorized a four-line poem that, along with her unwavering faith and close walk with God, enabled her to look past their present circumstances to a time when God would relieve their economic stresses and give them financial stability:

“When I see the wicked prosper in their sinning
And the righteous dealt with many a cruel fate,
I remember this is only the beginning
And I whisper to my spirit, “Only wait.”

Though they never owned a home, never drove a car, my parents used their meager income to help six of their seven children through college. One became a banker. Another a teacher. Two became Christian missionaries to Africa and the Philippines, one became a pastor’s wife, and two rose to the highest rungs of their corporate ladders in business and finance.

My parents set a standard of Christian conduct for themselves that their children strove hard to emulate. We never heard them question God. We witnessed them reading their Bibles and praying regularly. We never saw any evidence of envy or jealousy on their part. They stayed the course and never wavered in their faith. Not even once.

Sadly, during their forty years of marriage before cancer claimed the life of my father, they were never blessed financially. They struggled but they made it. And accepting state or government assistance would have been unthinkable to them. They had purposely laid up their treasures in heaven where neither thieves nor moths could corrupt, and they lived simple but godly lives.

One day as a young adult, I sat on the front porch with my father watching my two young sons playing on the lawn. Reaching over to hug me, Daddy said softly, “I am the richest man in the world.

All our children are grown, are happy and doing well. We are blessed.”

But not as blessed as their children were in having them for parents.

About the Author: Mariane Holbrook is a retired teacher, an author of two books, a musician and artist. She lives with her husband on coastal North Carolina. She maintains a personal website Mariane Holbrook and she welcomes your letters at Mariane777@bellsouth.net.

Article Source: Christian Article Bank

How Is It Possible?

By Joanne Lowe

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6: 30 – 33, King James Version

July 30. 2008 - Yesterday as I thought about going to Heaven, I wondered how I could be any happier than I am right now. Yet every day my happiness increases as I think about Jesus, the Saviour of the world, loving me. Do you understand what I am telling you? Jesus loves me and He loves you as much as He loves me. How is it possible for me to be any happier than I am right this minute? I feel like my heart is going to explode like a fireworks display with happiness, excitement and joy. Think about it, the Saviour of the world loves us unconditionally.

We may not drive the latest car. We may not live in a big home or have as much food to eat as we would like but if we have a car to get around and have a roof over our heads to protect us from the weather and have enough food to eat so that we won’t go hungry, we are blessed. Instead of thinking about what we don’t have, let’s thank God for what He has done for us. We need to thank Him every day for the food that we eat, the clothes and shoes that we wear, the homes that we live in, for our beds and for our families and friends.

Again I say, how is it possible to be any happier than I am right now? However, I know that I will be happier when I get to Heaven because Jesus has lovingly prepared a mansion for me in Heaven and decorated it with His special touch. Has He prepared a mansion for you in Heaven? If you haven’t humbled yourself, admitted that you are a sinner and asked Jesus to forgive you and come into your heart to be your personal Saviour, then you will spend eternity in hell without Jesus.

How tragic that would be if you miss out on spending eternity in Heaven with Jesus because you were too proud to humble yourself and admit that you are a sinner. Don’t let that happen to you. Invite the Christ of Calvary into your heart right now before it is too late. One day it will be too late for you to say yes to Jesus. I urge you; I plead with you to open the door of your heart to Jesus and let Him come in.

For some of you, He has been knocking on the door of your heart for years. Are you going to continue hurting Him by rejecting Him? He paid an agonizing price for your salvation. He allowed them to crucify Him for you and He shed His precious blood for you on the cruel cross of Calvary so that you can be forgiven and live with Him in Heaven. Please don’t keep rejecting Him. Don’t keep hurting Him by leaving Him standing at the door to your heart.

We read in the Bible “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3: 20). When we leave our homes, we open the door with the doorknob inside. When we come home, we open the door with the doorknob outside. There is only one doorknob in your heart and it is on the inside. Jesus doesn’t have a doorknob to open and even if He did, He will not force Himself on you. He wants you to come to Him willingly. Will you open the door to Jesus today?

Wise Women in Pursuit of Integrity!

By Linda Fitzgerald

July 22, 2008 - On a Sunday recently, I began a conversation on our blog around ‘integrity’. What Webster defines the word to mean; adding my own interpretation to the dictionary definition.

As my Heavenly Papa would have it, Willy has a piece that you’ll find tomorrow via our weekly newsletter and one of the sentences is on ‘integrity’. Basically, she identifies integrity with ‘honesty’. “I am honest because I have integrity”. Or more aptly put, "I have integrity because I am honest!"

What if my honesty is around anger or frustration or hurt, fear, doubt, grief? What then? How do I express what is happening in my inner world; being true to my own integrity, in a way that permits another’s integrity to remain intact?

I’m here to say, “it ain’t easy!”

I’ve gone here today because - you guessed it - I’ve been dealing with all of the above what we call ‘negative’ feelings that consistently bubble to the surface as emotions, that for the most part must stay below the surface! To allow ‘emoting’ would surely injure relationships and create more havoc than I’m willing to deal with.

As a committed Christian woman, to permit the boiling inner world to surface for others to experience is not the way to go. Even though to do so would be maintaining my ‘integrity’.

A point I often make with women is that before we came to a level of belief or faith - we first became ‘human’! And humans have feelings and emotions. They are neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’ - it’s what we do with them that allow us to place an adjective upon them!

Life is going to throw us its curves and usually they come because there’s something to be learned while we’re cruisin’ through the curve. The key for me is to learn how to ‘cruise’ while keeping my integrity intact (remaining true to me and honest with myself) and that of the other(s).

Here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way as relates to dealing with the not so pleasant ‘curves’ in life: (1) don’t offer advice to another unless you are specifically asked to do so. If you hear what you think might be a veiled request for such; ask the question, “are you asking for my advice?” If the answer is “yes”, then you have permission to give input! (2) always try to use the ’sandwich’ approach! A dear late colleague of mine taught me this years ago. I’m still not adept at it, but when I’m coming from my head instead of a wounded ‘gut’, I have gotten fairly proficient. It works thusly; when there is something ‘tough’ that needs to be communicated in order to remain true to one’s integrity - start the conversation with a positive (i.e., “I really appreciate when you . . . .”). Then add the ‘meat’ of the sandwich which is the heart of the problem. Try to speak it in “I” statements rather than “you” statements. And finally, end the conversation with another positive! Something I’ve done, when my head is clear, is end with words similar to “our relationship is too important to me to have hurt and pain that over time will damage it and us!”

The above suggestions allow me to maintain my integrity by owning what is going on in my inner world and permits the other (or others) to maintain theirs. Oftentimes, others don’t realize that their words or deeds have caused pain.

Ah there is so much to this subject and as most of you know by now, I could write on and on! But enough for today so that I save the rest for the rest of the week.

I do want to add that one of the distinctions I’ve noticed between women in the 1st half of the journey and those who’ve entered the 2nd half, is an awareness that integrity is a must! Things that might have slipped by either unnoticed or without import attached, can no longer be ‘business as usual’ because personal and professional integrity are suddenly more important than the sale, or the new business opportunity or whatever the case may be.

There is a dignity that is at the heart of personal integrity and our personal integrity must be the ground on which we lay our professional integrity. In actuality, it is not even apropos to divide what simply IS if we have achieved integrity at all! Who we are; what we are; where we are is one and the same - no matter what.

And it matters not how we describe it if we are to remain true to our integrity. It does matter how we deal with it! That is, after all, what the dignity of integrity is all about!

Pursue it with all you have! Make it happen when it's meant to be! And shrink not from what the Lord brings that will form it in you. And don't be afraid to name it before Him Who knows it all and understands!

About the Author: Linda S. Fitzgerald, M.S.Ed, has a passion for enriching, empowering and encouraging women to achieve their God-given destiny. A professional therapist by background and destiny-design coach, she is chief architect for the web’s newest online COMMUNITY for all women whether over 40 or not! Please visit http://www.awomensplace.org/blog for great information on topics of interest to women transitioning through life’s most exciting season. Checkout http://www.awomensplace.org to join dynamic women of excellence as we journey through the 2nd half of life together!

Source: Christian Article Bank

How Much Faith Do You Have?

By Joanne Lowe

“And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” Luke 17: 6, King James Version

July 7, 2008 - There are some areas in my life where my faith is weak. I have prayed many times and asked God to please take away all of the extra pounds that I have. If I didn’t doubt that He would take them away and really trusted Him, the extra pounds would instantly be gone. However, I don’t believe they will be gone so they won’t be gone. Jesus tells us that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed what seems impossible to us would become possible. May God forgive us for doubting Him.

Sometimes we are in the middle of very difficult situations and it seems there is no way out and our faith grows weak. We become discouraged and we are tempted to give up and stop serving Jesus. I have received several criticizing and judgmental emails in the last two months and as a result of those emails, I was discouraged. Then God in His loving compassion used a pastor friend of mine to encourage me. The pastor reminded me that when satan hurls his vicious fiery and poisonous darts at me that I need to keep on the firing line and keep serving Jesus no matter what.

We read in the Bible “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small” (Proverbs 24: 10). It is only as we stay in the presence of Jesus that we are able to withstand satan. It is not our power that stops satan; it is Jesus working through us that defeats satan time after time. Our precious Saviour won the war against satan on the cross when He shed His precious blood and died for you and for me. However, we will still have battles and satan will still attack us.

It is extremely important that we stay in the presence of Jesus. If we don’t stay in the presence of Jesus, we will give satan an opening to attack us and discourage us and we will become vulnerable to his attacks. It would make satan very happy if he could discourage us so much that we would stop serving Jesus. Let’s determine that we will keep serving Jesus no matter how many trials and heartaches come our way.

How is your faith today? Do you trust God in every area of your life? May God help us to stop doubting Him and to trust Him with every area of our lives. Father, I ask that You would please forgive us for doubting You. Thank You for fighting our battles for us and for always giving us the victory over satan through the precious blood of Jesus. May we, Your children, live our lives in such a way that we would make You happy and bring joy to Your heart. Amen.

The Freedom to Say No

By Raquel Soto

June 24, 2008 - I was over at an aunt’s house over the weekend visiting. During the course of our many, many conversations with a few ladies in the family (you know how we women can get!), we started to talk about nutrition and health. We all wanted to get healthier, so we decided to form a "healthier you" club of our own. The one issue over and over again that came up was that the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak! They just couldn't say no to those Oreos!

When I was thinking about it over the weekend, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to serve my family on a daily basis in prayer. We've all been there. Whether it's saying no to that Oreo or that one sin you've been calling your "issue" or "habit" that just seems to have a hold on you, I have Good News for you today: Today is the day you will be set free! God's Word is so awesome. The way this builds up in Scripture caused a paradigm shift for me:

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Luke 22:41 KJV

From the first verse on our foundational text, it shows us not to just go ahead and do something without involving God in it. Ask for help. He is more than willing to help and He always tells us yes when we ask in line with His Word. (2 Cr. 1v20)

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:42 KJV

Here, Jesus is taking back for us something we lost in the Garden of Eden. As you know, Adam and Eve turned over their dominion and authority to the enemy. Eve was deceived, but Adam willfully turned it over. In his actions he was saying, "Not Your Will God, but mine be done." Here, in another Garden, the 2nd Adam took His place and reversed what the first Adam did: although his flesh wanted to talk God out of it (wouldn't you?), he submitted to the will of God. By doing this first act of obedience, his next act sets us free.

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22: 43, 44 KJV

First, I want you to notice something. After Jesus submitted His will to the Father, He received strength. Are you tired? Do you need strength? Submit to the will of the Father. Has He asked you to do something you think is impossible? Ask for help and submit. You will receive the strength you need to see it through.

Second: We have to look at this Scripture remembering that Jesus is the perfect Lamb. He took our place so that we can be heirs of salvation. That took a blood sacrifice. Here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lamb's blood is poured out. Jesus went through such stress that blood and water seeped through His pores. It is scientifically proven that someone can be under so much stress that the capillaries underneath the skin can break making some blood seep through. As He fought in prayer to receive strength to do the Father's will, His perfect blood came out and hit the ground. And that Blood still speaks to the Father today.

What is our foundational text telling us? The Blood of Jesus covers us in so many ways. Just like the Blood at Calvary was placed on the Mercy Seat to redeem us from the enemy’s clutches, so the Blood of the Lamb at the Garden of Gethsemane redeems us from the pressure to say yes to the enemy and no to God. We can now say no: no to that Oreo; no to that television; no that sin (uh, no, eating an Oreo is not a sin but you will be sick if you eat a whole pack at once!). We have the freedom by the Blood of the Lamb to be free in our soul to follow God.

So why don’t we?

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

Did you know that blood speaks? We just can’t hear it. Think of it this way: when the blood of Abel cried out, it was God Who heard it. How? When you blow a dog whistle, the pitch is too high for humans to hear, so you might blow it and think it’s not working. But then, there comes a dog. The dog can hear the frequency. When blood cries out, God is tuned in to the “people frequency” and can hear it. God is tuned in to us. He can hear the Blood of Jesus.

The truth doesn’t set you free. It’s knowing the truth that does. So now that you know that the Blood of the Lamb has redeemed your will, receive that truth, believe it, and protect it. Thank God daily that you are free to say: “Not my will, but Yours be done…” Praise God for the Blood of Jesus! Just like you received the revelation that by His blood you were redeemed to be an heir of salvation, so the Blood also redeemed you from the stress and pressure that will try to overcome you. The help you need is already there. Take it.

So when that pressure arises to try to make you kneel to what you know God doesn’t want you to do, you can call on the name of Jesus remembering He has already set you free by His Blood. Your freedom has been purchased! You can now say “NO!” in Jesus name and tell that thing to back off.

“NO!” to that Oreo that calls your name.

“NO!” to that outfit you aren’t paying cash for.

“NO!” to that gossipy spirit that wants to speak through your lips.

Just say no. You are now free to do so. You can do this. Greater is He that is IN you than he that is in the world...

About the Author - Raquel Soto is the founder of Lydia's Legacy Ministries, an outreach dedicated to help women (and men) live their life more abundantly, to the full, to it overflows. For more information, logon to http://www.acts1614.org.

Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

Friends in Pain: How to help your hurting loved one

By: Jennifer Brost

June 17, 2008 - “Where’s your husband?” the nurse asked.

“At school,” I struggled to respond.

“What school?” the nurse knew he needed to get to the hospital ASAP.

In what was a miracle, I named the seminary and recited the phone number. My husband made it to the hospital and waited through the emergency surgery that would save my life but not our son’s.

The medical “shock” from nearly bleeding to death was remedied by 16 blood-transfusions and a corrective surgery, but the shock to my spiritual life was made worse by the attempts of others to transfuse their ideas into my deadened faith.

“You need to learn to accept God’s will,” “God has a good reason for allowing this to happen,” and incredibly, “One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy, and you aren’t displaying much of it!” These comments were the price I paid for expressing my grief and anger.

When someone is hurting, we would all like to know what to say. Here are my thoughts on how to help heal and not injure:

1) When in doubt, keep quiet. Silence is often all that is needed when sitting with one who is grieving. The bereaved might desire to tell the blow-by-blow account of the loss or injury. If this is the case, asking questions for clarity is helpful: “Where were you when you got the news?” “How old was he?” “Does his father know yet?” Others may wish to simply cry in silence, but few hurting people want comments about your personal life or theology.

2) Correct with extreme caution. While we stood around my mother’s body, my father asked the Pastor if he thought we could still communicate with her. The vagueness of the Pastor’s answer led my father to believe that my mother could still be accessed. This resulted in many failed relationships and business transactions because, according to my dad, my mother had told him to jump into these doomed attempts. The theology of the hurting will come out as they talk through their pain. However, when our three-year-old mispronounces a word, I don’t say, “That’s not right! Here’s how you say it…” Instead, I simply state the word correctly. I wish the Pastor would have replied, “It is difficult to say good-bye, but reality is that your wife is not here anymore.”

3) Gently nudge the hurting away from guilt and shame. When the focus of the wounded becomes, “I should have…” “He could have…” or “Why did God allow this?” find a way to gently nudge him or her back to the hard road of grief. The assignment of blame is, after all, a futile attempt to feel better and change our focus.

With the Spirit’s leading and a hearty dose of sensitivity, there isn’t a reason why anyone should have to mourn alone.

About the Author: Jennifer Brost is a Pastor’s Wife, mother of 2 boys, author of “How I Suffered From My Theology,” (www.deliverancepublishers.com) and President of The Job Foundation (www.thejobfoundation.org). Jennifer has been featured on radio and television shows throughout the country. She lives in Iowa and travels to speak on topics like, "If God is so good, then why...? and "How to Heal and Not Wound: Learn to avoid statements that harm fragile spirits."

Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

Emotional Surgery

By Joanne Lowe

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 61: 1 – 3, King James Version

June 2, 2008 - A friend of mine had to have both of her knees replaced because she was in extreme pain when she walked. Her husband told me that she could barely walk across the room. After she had her knees replaced, she was in a lot of pain while she was recovering from surgery. As I was thinking about her yesterday morning, the thought came to me that just as we need surgery when we are hurting physically, so we have to have emotional surgery when our hearts can’t take any more pain.

My friend’s doctor did the surgery, but her doctor or any other doctor couldn’t operate on a person’s heart that is broken and filled with despair and repair it. Sometimes our hearts are so broken and so crippled with the lack of self esteem, and have become so full of depression, discouragement, fears, loneliness, confusion and doubts from years of emotional pain that we are literally unable to get out of bed. Only the great Physician, our precious Saviour, can repair a heart that is shattered into little pieces and lifeless.

When Jesus in His great compassion and mercy, lovingly and tenderly removed the years of emotional pain from my heart, it felt as if someone had removed a heavy boulder from off of my heart. However, just as my friend had pain while she was recovering from her surgery, I also had pain when Jesus started working on my heart. I had to let go of all of the bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness and hatred that I had in my heart for the ones who had hurt me.

It wasn’t easy for me to do that and in my own strength I could never have done it but the more I fell in love with Jesus, the easier it was for me to forgive the people that had said so many cruel things to me over the years. One day God took me out to His woodshed and spoke to my heart. If you have ever been in His woodshed then you know that it is painful. He said to me “Don’t ask Me to forgive you if you aren’t willing to forgive the ones who have hurt you. It is true that you have been hurt a lot but you have also hurt your family and your friends. Don’t dwell on your past. Live for today. I can’t forgive you if you won’t forgive the ones who have hurt you.”

I think sometimes we bring a lot of pain on ourselves that we wouldn’t have if we would only learn to forgive from our hearts. I read someplace, I don’t remember where, “When you don’t forgive people, you aren’t hurting them because they could care less. You are only hurting yourself”. The most important thing that we need to understand is that when we don’t forgive people, we bring disgrace on the precious name of Jesus and hurt Him.

We read in the Bible “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25: 40). Are you hurting Jesus because you won’t forgive the people who have hurt you?

Learning To Develop A Prayer Life

By Hanna Henderson

May 20, 2008 -How should one pray? What should be said to God? Answers to these questions, as well as many other guidelines to developing an effective prayer life are found in the Bible. The study of prayer can become quite in-depth when considering the various types of prayer, the diversity of situations in which the Christian may find himself, and the specific requests of which the prayer itself is composed. Below are six of the most basic biblically based suggestions that even the new believer can immediately put into practice.

1. Although Christians should pray together, each individual believer should regularly spend time alone with God.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret... (King James Bible, Mat. 6.6).

The effort that the apostle Peter made to be alone with God is evident in the scripture of Acts 10.9, where he is seen going up to the rooftop to pray. Even Jesus, when he was on earth, made time to be alone to pray to the Father. He distanced himself even away from the people closest to him, the twelve apostles, in order to be alone with his heavenly Father.

And it came to pass in those days, that he (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6.12).

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder (at a distance) (Mat. 26.36).

2. The prayer that Jesus told his followers to make must not be neglected because it's one of his commandments regarding prayer, and when prayed with full understanding and in sincerity, effects change in the believer's spirit. In Matthew 6.9-13, Jesus said, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

A slightly different version of this prayer is found in Luke 11.2-4. It doesn't matter which one is prayed. This is a prayer that sadly, most believers don't understand. Nevertheless, nothing should be a hindrance to praying in this manner. There's much confusion particularly over two parts of the "Our Father" prayer. They include the request to God to not lead into temptation and the imperative for his name to be hallowed. The Christian article "Why Pray? 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'"? at the website of Heavenly Manna thoroughly explains what it means for God's name to be hallowed and why its important to the believer. This prayer may be prayed at the beginning or end of any prayer session whether alone or in the congregation.

3. The believer must persevere in prayer. The apostle Paul wrote, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5.17). Jesus said, "...Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18.1). Some prayers are answered in a short period of time; however, this is not always the case. Years may pass before the answer to some prayer requests are seen, even if they're the will of God. Nevertheless, the believer doesn't faint (give up) in his prayers to the one in which he trusts. This guideline applies specifically to those prayer requests that the believer is fully assured to be the will of God. Awareness of the general will of God is acquired through knowledge and understanding of the scriptures which reveal what God desires, demands, dislikes, condemns and, rejects. However, knowledge of his will regarding one's personal life requires not only knowledge of scripture, but also the maintenance of a close walk with God, and diligent seeking. Such a study is beyond the scope of this article.

4. The prayer of the giving of thanks must be made to God.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5.18). Tribulation comes in many forms and may last an uncomfortably long time during which the Christian finds little for which to be grateful. It's the passage of time in the midst of trouble that usually gives rise to perplexity, doubt, anger, and in turn, begins to eat away at the believer's faith, strength, and appreciation for God's provision which may be far from what the believer wants or expects from God. Again, it's beyond the scope of this article to deal with reasons, not including the pure trial of one's faith, for which the Christian may linger in distress.

5. Jesus is the great Counselor (Isaiah 9.6). Those who want to be helped must turn to him and accept his counsel. King David understood this and withheld nothing from God. It may seem illogical to tell the Lord anything since he knows all things. However, when the servant turns to God for help, obviously he's not informing the Lord of his situation, but rather acknowledging that he wants and needs the Lord's intervention. King David understood this and withheld nothing from God who never failed to hear, answer, and rescue him. David prayed, "O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee. Let my prayer come before thee. Incline thine ear (listen) unto my cry; for my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh (close) unto the grave" (Psalm 88.1-3).

6. Special attention should be paid to this last guideline. If one really wants to draw close the Lord, he will let God point out to him the things in his life that hinder his prayers and in turn, his walk with Jesus. God's love doesn't cancel his command to all to obey his word. Sometimes sins are committed in ignorance, nevertheless, they cause spiritual harm. Whatever the sin, weights, or misunderstandings may be, God will surely attend to his servant's need to be made aware of them so he may repent. This prayer can be very simple, but most effective when prayed in sincerity and humility. The believer simply asks the Lord to reveal anything in his life with he (God) is not pleased. Such prayer requests are fully Bible-based.

Search me, O God, and know (examine) my heart, try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (of life) (Psalm 139.23-24).

There are many other things, people, situations and world wide problems for which the Christian is commanded to pray. However, these guidelines can certainly serve to encourage people to engage in a committed and biblically based prayer life.

About the Author: Hannah Henderson is one of the writers for Heavenly Manna Web Ministry. The paranormal, mysteries of the Bible, and successful Christian living in a turbulent world are just a few of the topics dealt with by the ministry. © 2007-2008 Heavenly Manna and Hannah Henderson.

Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

Too Many To Count

By Joanne Lowe

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3: 23, 24, King James Version

May 13, 2008 - I am reading a book which started out to be very inspiring. However, I have just closed the book and will not read any more of it because it describes something that is contrary to the Word of God. I will not tell you who wrote the book because I believe that the author did not mean to deceive us. The author simply doesn’t know the heart of Jesus. This the statement that made me stop reading the book “Follow Jesus if you must, but the suffering is great and the rewards are few.” When I read this statement, I understood it to mean that the author is trying to discourage us from following Jesus because of the great suffering and few rewards.

I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that we are not to do things to please men so that they will reward us. We should do them for the Lord and we should do them from our hearts because we love Him. Any suffering that you and I might have to endure because we serve Jesus is nothing compared to the suffering that our precious Saviour endured for us on the cruel cross of Calvary. Since I surrendered to the mission field, I have already had so many rewards every day that there are too many to count.

The author that wrote this book does not realize that every time we do something kind for someone or say something kind to someone we put a smile on the face of our precious Saviour and joy in His heart. Three of the greatest rewards Jesus gives us every day are peace, joy and unconditional love. Even when I have tears in my eyes because of criticizing words, crises and difficult situations, I still have joy and peace in my heart because I know that Jesus loves me unconditionally and I know that I am making Him happy by following Him and serving Him. We should not be serving Jesus just because He will reward us; we should serve Him because we love Him and want to make Him happy.

Our dear Heavenly Father has already rewarded us and this should be enough to keep our hearts filled with joy and happiness. It should make us determine in our hearts to follow and serve Jesus no matter what anyone says or no matter how many obstacles are placed in our paths. This is the great and loving inheritance that our Heavenly Father has given us from His heart of compassion and mercy.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1: 3 – 5).

Is this inheritance from God enough to keep you following Jesus and serving Him, or are you selfish and want to have a lot of material things that you can’t take with you? You can’t take them with you when you die and they do not make Jesus happy. What makes Jesus happy is the condition of your heart. What condition is your heart in today?

Is your heart filled with an eagerness to follow and serve Jesus or is it filled with reluctance to follow and serve Him because things might get uncomfortable for you? Are you willing step out of your comfort zone and follow and serve the one who gave His life for you? If you aren’t willing to leave your comfort zone, may God have mercy on you. The level of your service to Jesus depends on your level of love for Him. How much do you love Jesus?

Time To Tell The Story

by Yvette Nietzen

May 6, 2008 - Exodus 10:1 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 “and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”(NKJ)

As a child I was told that my grandfather was a preacher. Sadly I heard very few stories about him. My father would tell me that he emigrated from Mexico to California, where he and my grandmother set up several Spanish speaking churches and ministered to the community in several cities.

Another story my father would tell me is how he brought people into the church to hear his message. He posted a sign on the sidewalk that would say “Free Beer after Service.” When the service was over, he gave everyone there root beer!

I would have loved to hear what my grandfathers sermons were like, but those stories were never told. I feel that I missed out on what kind of preacher he was like behind the pulpit.

Here God is telling Moses to tell the story of the signs God has done among them, so that they may know that He is the Lord.

We should pass down our stories of God’s goodness in our lives to our children and grandchildren, and by our stories they will know that He is the Lord of our lives.

We all have a story to tell, a story about Jesus and how our lives have changed by having Him in our heart.

About the Author: Yvette Nietzen has lived in Colorado, California and different provinces of Costa Rica. Yvette and her geologist husband of 26 years currently live in Costa Rica where she runs a tour operating business part time from her home. She is an ordained minister and is taking writing lessons with the American Christian Writers Course. When she is not busy planning travel packages, she is busy with her husband and son, ministering, playing the piano, blogging, tending to her three dogs, writing and reading.

For more information, please visit; www.yvettenietzen.com

Get Off The Fence

By Joanne Lowe

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3: 15, 16, King James Version

April 29, 2008 - Someone made this comment to me the other day “It is either too cold or too hot.” It reminded me of our Scripture for this devotion. There are so many people who are straddling the fence when it comes to deciding to serve Jesus and to make the right decisions. Jesus says that He wants us to be either cold or hot and not lukewarm.

I believe if we will listen with our hearts we will hear Him say to us “Get off the fence. Make up your mind if you are going to live for Me or if you are going to live for Satan. If you are going to live for Me, then you need to do what I tell you to do, not what you want to do.”

The story of the ruler is a perfect illustration “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich” (Luke 18: 22, 23).

Jesus died for us so that we may have our sins forgiven and cleansed by His precious blood which He shed for us on the cruel cross of Calvary. He has done so much for us and He asks so little of us in return. Yet many times we are not willing to do what He asks us to do.

It may be that He asks us to do something that will take us out of our comfort zone and we are not willing to leave our comfort zone. We need to remember that Jesus left His comfort zone in Heaven with His Father to come to earth to be beaten, abused, mutilated, spat upon, cursed, mocked, rejected, and crucified on a cross of horror and torture. When He speaks to our hearts and tells us to do something for Him, we should do it immediately and stop straddling the fence of indecision.

We read in the Bible “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him” (Matthew 4: 18 – 22).

Jesus is still calling us today to be fishers of men. Why is it that we will get up very early in the morning to go fishing and stay in the boat all day patiently waiting for a fish to take the bait but we won’t answer the call of Jesus to be fishers of men? I believe it all comes down to how much we love Him. It is so true that our level of service to Jesus depends on our level of love for Him.

If we love Him enough, we will shut off the television, or better still not even turn it on, and send emails and make telephone calls to people who are hurting. Again, how much do you love Him and how much are you willing to do for Him? Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone and follow Him and become a fisher of men on a full time basis and not just when it is convenient to you?

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Enjoying the Ride?

by Ann Stewart

April 22, 2008 - Are you enjoying your daily ride? In our rush-rush world, you tend to get caught up in the time game. Maybe you allot the minimum time between appointments, then get caught in a traffic jam, and proceed to worry the rest of the way about the consequences of arriving late. You feel your temper rising until it bursts out at the first motorist who dares to cut you off and, before you know it, the rest of your day is in shambles. Been there, haven't you? Come on, 'fess up – at least once in your life, right? I can't be the only one that has happened to.

Yesterday was one of those days. I had included a whole five extra minutes in my neatly calculated appointment schedule. Backing out of the driveway, I hastily asked the Lord to direct me to the route that would have the least amount of traffic. Off I went, confident that I had "heard" right. Although my signal lights were indicating a right turn, I felt the wheel pulling to the left. "Hey, what am I doing," I thought, pressing my foot on the pedal, "I never go this way; this is not the fastest, most direct way!" Yet, I felt a strong impression to turn left. The route I followed winded through tree-lined streets with friendly homes and nicely manicured, flowered yards. Suddenly I was no longer in a rush.

Meandering along the slow curves, I suddenly heard very clearly: "How are you enjoying the ride?" Then again: "Are you enjoying the route I chose for you?" "Yes, Lord, Amen" I acknowledged, and promptly burst out in a song of praise. I realized I was raptly taking in the scenery, appreciating the flowers which added so much to my enjoyment, and felt totally at peace. This route took me to the same expressway I had felt led to use. Yet, despite the slower speed limit, there were fewer stop signs than my usual road, making it just as time-efficient! Most importantly, it heightened in me the importance of loving the moment. It was a valuable lesson I don't intend to ever forget.

The route itself is merely a means to an end. You have a divine purpose. The object is not to get to your destiny as quickly as possible. You must make a conscious effort to direct your focus to the beauty, potential, and opportunity in every single step of the journey.

Your road through life may have many curves, seem too dull and slow, or have many roadblocks and stop signs. If you listen closely to the Lord's direction, you may find Him turning your "wheel" in a direction you're not accustomed to. Allow Him to lead you in all things and show you the marvels along the path He has prepared for you. He wants you to be malleable like putty in His hand so that you can be shaped into His purpose. "Humble yourselves in the sight of God, and he shall lift you up." (Jas. 4:10)

Make it your priority to: "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord; and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." (Prov. 3:5-8)

You have heard no doubt the expression: "Stop and smell the roses?" That's how the Lord wants us to live as much as possible. Take time to appreciate all the seemingly insignificant things along the way. He not only has created you to enjoy life, but has made all the provisions for it on the cross. As His child, He wants the very best for you." Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:24)

In closing, as I was reconsidering the title, it just came to me that indeed your life's journey is a ride! It is not a race; nor is it an arduous walk or uphill climb! "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut.33:27) "He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Ps. 91:11-12) Enjoy the ride!

About the Author: Author of With Wings As Eagles, a testimony of living a life of abundance and miracles. Her e-zine teaches how you can do the same: http://www.lifealteringwords.com.

Did They Hug Him?

By Joanne Lowe

“They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.” Isaiah 41: 6, 7, King James Version

April 15, 2008 - I watched a memorial service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. yesterday on television. As I was listening to all the kind words that was said about him and about his life, the thought came to me “I wonder if anyone hugged him and thanked him. If so, did they just thank him once or twice and then the rest of the time take him and the mission he was doing for granted”?

It is wonderful that so many people honored him. However, he couldn’t hear all of the kind things that were said about him. I’m reminded of a sermon I heard once. The pastor said “My uncle had called me and said that he wasn’t feeling well. I told him that I would go see him but I allowed things to interfere with my plans. My uncle went home to be with Jesus before I had the opportunity to tell him how much I loved him and how much I appreciated all he had done for me.”

It is so important that we tell people that we love and appreciate them while they are still living and can hear our kind words. We won’t be able to tell them when they die. We won’t be able to hug them when they die. I learned this lesson the hard way many years ago. My pastor had challenged every one of us to tell anyone who had ever had a positive influence on us how much we appreciated them and loved them.

I called several people that I knew and said thank you. However, I kept putting this one call off because, like that pastor, I allowed things to get in the way. They were things that had no eternal value. When I finally got around to calling her, she had been my pastor’s wife when I lived in Texas, her son answered the telephone. I said “Hi Steve, how are you? May I please speak to your mother?” In a husky voice that I could tell was filled with tears, Steve replied “My mother passed away two weeks ago of cancer.” How my heart broke! After I had told him how sorry I was and had comforted him the best that I could, I asked God to forgive me for being so selfish. Not only was I selfish, I was also disobedient to God because I didn’t immediately call my friend.

I wonder how many people hugged Jesus and encouraged Him when He was here on earth. I don’t think that He got many hugs, if He got any. I’m sure that His mother hugged Him but I think that many times our precious Saviour felt all alone. I believe that if people would have hugged Him and encouraged Him and thanked Him for what He was doing for them that when He was hanging on the cross for our sins, the pain would have been easier to bear.

Yes, He suffered physically but He also suffered emotionally. I believe with all of my heart that our precious Saviour died of a broken heart. We read in the Bible “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16: 24). Jesus has suffered enough for us. It is time that we purpose in our hearts that we will do anything and everything that He asks us to do even if it is inconvenient for us. It may mean that we will have to get out of our comfort zones but Jesus left His comfort zone to come to earth to die for us.

How can we not do anything and everything we can to make Him happy when He has done so much for us? If making Jesus happy is not your top priority, you need to search your heart and ask yourself if you really do love Him. Making Jesus happy should come before your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, your job and everything else. Remember, the level of our service to Jesus depends on our level of love for Him. How much do you love Him and how much are you willing to give up for Him?

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Why Should You Live a Life of Purpose?

by Angela Lougee

April 8, 2008 - Ask yourself, “Am I just going through the motions from day to day? Have I settled for a meaningless existence without realizing it?” If so, this is not what God desires for you. We are not on earth merely to occupy space, live a mundane life, and go to heaven when we die. There’s much more to God’s plan than that, and our job is to discover what it is.

Do you realize that, at some point, every one of us will transition into eternity where all of our works will be tested by fire? It's true. God expects us to live a life centered on pleasing Him and building His Kingdom. Are you on task? If not, I want to jolt you out of your comfort zone and focus you on what's truly important.

Time is out for aimlessly wandering through life. You are responsible for your destiny. Have you accepted your high calling? Ask yourself, "Do I want my living to be in vain? Do I want to arrive in heaven bankrupt?" This is what the Bible says will happen to everyone who settles for a meaningless existence. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) Your life will be empty and hollow if you go through it without discovering and accomplishing the purpose for which you where created... and there's just no escaping that fact.

Remember, a life absent of purpose is a life devoid of meaning, and a life devoid of meaning is really no life at all. Today, I want to challenge you to aim to live with purpose. Just as the word of the Lord came to the Prophet Jeremiah, it is for you as well: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you…” (Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV)

If you’re tired of wasting precious time and are ready to finally embrace your ultimate life’s mission, this article is written especially for you. The specific assignment you are destined to fulfill cannot be completed by anyone else on earth—no matter how gifted, talented, intelligent, or motivated they may be. It has your name on it…and no one else’s.

God predetermined the distinct purpose for which He created you and me long before we were even conceived in our mother’s womb. Everyday, we must seek to live life in accordance with our divine calling. (Ephesians 4:1)

Before any of us can effectively launch out on our mission, there are some important steps that must be taken. Below I'm sharing 5 powerful principles that are guaranteed to get you moving along the right path.

1. Get in Proper Alignment
Let me ask you a question: Are you in a position of closeness, commitment, and consistent fellowship with God? If not, you’re out of alignment. He desires to reveal the mysteries of His will, but you must walk closely with Him before you can receive revelation. So draw near to God and follow hard after Him with genuine faith, conviction, and passion. You will then begin witnessing the unfolding of His plan.

2. Understand your Assignment
As outlined in my book, Why Enter Heaven Unannounced?, there are four parts to every assignment God gives you: What is to be done, how it should be done, where it should be done, and when it should be done.

Sometimes, God will reveal the how, where, when, and what simultaneously; there are other times, however, when He unfolds His plan in stages. The key is to accept whichever method He chooses and submit to His leading. Most importantly, until you have a clear understanding of all of the “pieces of the puzzle,” just be still and consult the Lord.

3. Honor God’s Timing
This piggybacks on what I mentioned above. Knowing that God has a set time for the manifestation of His will is not good enough. You must honor and accept His timetable. If you are guilty of being overzealous, impetuous, and impatient, waiting will prove to be very difficult for you.

Remember how Abram and Sarai faltered while waiting for the promised child? They devised their own strategy and ended up creating Ishmael, “A son of the flesh.” (Genesis 16; Galatians 4:21-31) Because of their hastiness, they caused undue hardship and conflict in their home. Even after all the commotion, when it was said and done, they still had to wait on the Lord. Then, in His perfect timing Sarah finally gave birth to Isaac, the child of promise. (Genesis 21)

4. Let God Order Your Steps
Do you find yourself making plans without seeking God first? Do you fail to ask Him for guidance in all matters of your life? Don’t make this mistake; each of our steps should be ordered by the Lord. (Psalm 37:23)

As you may be aware, a soldier in the armed forces never acts as a free agent. He or she must always wait to receive instruction from the superior officer in charge. Similarly, you must wait to receive your marching orders from God, your Commander-In-Chief, before you make a move.Only He knows specifically what your divine assignment is, and how you must go about the business of accomplishing it. “Trust in the Lord withall your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5 NKJV).

5. Don’t Forget Your Roadmap
Would you start out on a journey to an unfamiliar place without a roadmap? Why then, do we seek our purpose without first seeking guidance and direction from the Word of God? As you aim to live with purpose, search the scriptures. All that is essential to the successful completion of your mission is found in the 66 books of the Bible; His Word is the lamp that lights your path. (Psalm 119:105)

If you will only follow His leading you’ll be well on your way to living the life of joy, abundance, and fulfillment Christ desires you for you to live.Then you can be confident that you will not be among those escaping through the flames into heaven or "entering heaven unannounced,"but among the multitudes who made their calling and election sure, to whom awaits a rich welcome into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! (2 Peter1:10-11)

About the Author: Angela Lougee is a life coach, Bible teacher, and author of Why Enter Heaven Unannounced? a powerful guide for helping you fulfill your divinepurpose. As founder of Rhema Life Solutions, an international training and coaching ministry, she is helping to enrich lives, and impacting theworld for the Kingdom of God. For more information about Angela Lougee visit her online at www.rhemalifesolutions.com

What Is Sin?

By Joanne Lowe

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4: 17, King James Version

April 2, 2008 - I received an email from someone who asked me “What is sin?” We read in our Scripture verse for today, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” So often we point a criticizing finger at other people when we should be pointing that finger at ourselves. We are the ones who put labels on sins. We say that one sin is worse than another sin. God does not put labels on sin. To Him, sin is sin. Jesus died for the person who hurts someone deliberately as well as for the person who kills someone.

We know that we should not say and do things deliberately that we know will make our spouses, our families, our loved ones and friends upset, yet we do and say them anyway. Since we know that we shouldn’t do them, when we do them, we are sinning. We should not start an argument, yet often we do it when we can’t get our own way.

I know of two couples who actually got so angry over who had control of the remote for the television that one of the spouses slept on the couch for several days. How sad, dear people, that we would value our television set and the remote control over our spouses. How we must break the heart of our precious Saviour.

The majority of the television programs that the stations are broadcasting now are not programs that people who claim to be born again through the precious atoning blood of Jesus should be watching. It is very rare to find a program that does not have either sexual scenes, violence, cursing, or downright filth.

We wonder why our children grow up to be disrespectful to us and to their teachers and to authority. It is because of the things that have been burned into their minds and hearts through the television. Instead of our children having the love of Jesus in their hearts, they have hatred and disrespect for their parents and for authority. It is no wonder at all that our teenagers give in to peer pressure. They see people taking drugs and drinking alcohol on television so they have the mistaken impression that it is okay to do drugs and drink alcohol.

May God forgive us for allowing our children to watch things that not only hurt them, but bring disgrace to our Saviour. One day, we as parents, will stand before a Holy God and give an account of why we allowed our children to spend most of their time in front of the television set. May God have mercy on us.

Jesus has told us that we are to spread His unconditional love to everyone we meet and when we don’t do it, we are sinning. We are to be an encouragement to one another and pray for one another and when we don’t do these things, according to our Scripture verse, we are sinning because we know to do them.

I challenge all of us, including me, to pray more, encourage more and love more. Not only will we be obedient to Jesus, we will make Him happy. Making Jesus happy should be the top priority in every Christian’s life. If it isn’t, then we need to do a heart checkup and see if we really do love Jesus.

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

A Gift from Daddy God

by Cheryl Rogers

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

March 26, 2008 - When I was growing up, I wanted to be a singer. But I let a stranger, who had never even heard my voice, discourage me.

I was 11 and a man who was showing my family an apartment in suburban Chicago asked my sister and I what we wanted to be when we grew up. I said a singer and she said a teacher.

Well, you know which answer seemed the most practical. She got the encouragement. I felt discouraged.

When it came time to pick a career, singing had long been off my list in favor of journalism. Strongly influenced as a young reader by Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew mysteries stories, I had decided to be a writer -- with a practical twist.

So I pursued a career in journalism, working as a reporter for a few newspapers before I settled down at home to raise a family.

But then something unexpected happened.

I became sick, really sick -- too sick to work or think of having a second child. In the midst of it all I found God and he healed me and gave me the second child I never thought I could have. He began teaching me about himself, that he is my spiritual father and that he is love.

In the midst of all this, he gave me a chance to sing in church. I never had as a child, but as an adult I enjoyed singing in a couple of church choirs. I was a little surprised they would have me, but have me they did and I enjoyed it.

Then, I couldn't believe it myself but God began giving me melodies while I was reading Scripture. The first song came on Dec. 18, 2001, in the aftermath of the tragic World Trade Center attacks. The date had personal significance, it was the second anniversary of my earthly father's death -- and he had always encouraged my sister and I to write songs.

I never had been able to write anything but the lyrics and I never thought I would or could write melodies. So I was a bit surprised when the notes came drifting into my mind. I wouldn't ignore it though, so I wrote out the songs the best I could.

The songs came slowly at first. I didn't know what to do with them so they literally sat on a shelf about two years.

The only one to sing them was me.

I had been out of the church choirs for awhile and wasn't even doing much singing myself when I decided to do Karoake on our family's cruise ship vacation in 2003. I had never done it before and decided it would be fun.

My husband took a video of the performance, and it was a bit humiliating. I didn't have the music beforehand to practice, and it showed. But I noticed something which surprised me. I was comfortable on stage -- despite the mistakes.

So when my church announced it was having a talent show, I decided it was time to take out my cruise ship gown and take another go at it. This time I felt God was calling me to sing one of my own songs, "I Will Give Thanks to You," and declare my healing in faith from a goiter. This time I didn't have the music, either, because I didn't know how to arrange music. But God provided by way of the church's music minister, Kent Smith, a composer himself. I discovered he ran a recording studio at the church two blocks from my house.

Well, the rest is history.

I took him a bunch of my songs and we put together a CD. I call it Victory! because God "giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

Things have changed in the music industry these days. It is so much easier than it used to be to put together a CD. You can sidestep all the giants and just ... do it yourself! At least, with a little help from a friendly recording studio.

So, guest what?

Now I'm a real singer, even if I had to write and record the songs myself.

What a wonderful gift from daddy.

About the Author: Cheryl Rogers is a writer and singer/songwriter specializing in Scripture songs and Scripture-based columns, stories, and artwork. Free resources are posted at SongsfromtheWord.com

A Fruitless Life

By Joanne Lowe

“He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?” Luke 13: 6, 7, King James Version

March 25, 2008 - I was talking with someone on the telephone yesterday and this person made this statement “I feel like my life is useless and I don’t have anything to live for. There is no reason to get out of bed in the morning.” I told the person “You are correct; your life is useless because you are not producing fruit for Jesus. You will always feel miserable and depressed unless you start serving Jesus.”

This person claims to be a Christian yet this person is not serving Jesus. If we aren’t serving Jesus, then our lives are fruitless and unproductive and we need to ask ourselves if we really do love Jesus. We are just taking up space on this earth if we are not serving our precious Saviour. If Jesus were to return today, this person that I was talking to on the telephone would have no fruit for Him.

I used to feel the same way this person feels. I felt like I didn’t have any reason to live or a reason to get out of bed. I had slept on park benches and on concrete floors for months and I really believed that nobody loved me or cared if I lived or died. I had been told all of my life that I was no good and didn’t have a right to live so I began to believe it.

However on the day when I was in the deepest depression that I had ever been in, my precious Saviour came to me and told me that He loved me. It was a day when I had given up all hope of ever finding someone who cared if I lived or died. I had crawled underneath a bed in a mental institution afraid of everyone and everything and wanted to die. The day had started out to be the worse day of my life but it ended up being the greatest and most joyous and happiest day of my life.

My beautiful and tender Saviour put His tender loving arms of compassion and understanding around me and lifted me up and sat me on His lap of unconditional love and I have never been the same. My loving and precious Saviour came to me when I couldn’t go to Him. Is it any wonder that I love Jesus so much and will say as long as I have breath “There is no one like Jesus!”

A very dear and beloved pastor friend of mine who was also my pastor when I lived in Texas said one time in a sermon that he was preaching on serving Jesus “If you want to fly higher than a kite, start bragging on Jesus.” When Pastor Byron made that statement, I honestly thought the man was crazy. However, I began telling everyone I met about Jesus. I told them all of the things He had done for me and I told them how much He loved them.

Many years ago, while waiting for a bus at the bus stop in Texas, there was a man who was waiting for the same bus. It had only been a couple of months previous to that day that I had carried on a conversation with anyone or looked anyone in the eyes so I was very nervous about talking to this man.

I asked God to help me and I told the man “Sir, do you know that Jesus loves you so much that He died for you?” The man didn’t reply so I withdrew once more into the safety of my shell that I had erected in my heart to keep from getting hurt. About five minutes later, the man replied with tears running down his face “Do you think that He could possibly love me?” I told him that if Jesus could love me, He can love anyone.

I don’t know what happened to that man. I don’t know if he ever accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour or not, but this one thing I do know, wherever this man is, Jesus is able to speak to this man’s heart and reassure this man that He does indeed love him. I didn’t give this man the plan of salvation that day at the bus stop because I was just beginning to hold a conversation with people so I just told him what was in my heart.

We read in the Bible “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5: 22). The first fruit the Bible mentions is love. I believe the reason why it mentions love first is because without love, everything we do or say is meaningless and stinks in the nostrils of Jesus.

We also read in the Bible “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22: 37 – 40).

I think that sometimes we forget that loving one another is not an option; it is a commandment. We can preach, teach, counsel, sing, write and do other things for Jesus but if we are not doing them because we love Jesus and want to make Him happy, then we are doing them for the wrong reason and we need to get our priorities in order.

If we do not love people, then everything we do for them is meaningless. We can give all of our money to charities and do all the good deeds in the world but if we don’t love Jesus and others and prove it by what we do, we are fruitless and have nothing to give to our precious Saviour.

If Jesus were to look into your heart right now, would He find the fruits of the Spirit, or would He find the fruits of satan? There is no middle ground. We are either serving Jesus or we are serving satan. Who are you serving and whose fruit is in your heart? If you are serving satan and have his fruits in your heart, then you are hurting Jesus and breaking His heart.

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

How Many Miles

By Joanne Lowe

“And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.” John 19: 14 – 19, King James Version.

March 18, 2008 - As I was walking down the hallway in my home this morning, I wondered how many miles Jesus walked for us when He was here on earth. Nothing that He did was for Himself; it was all for us. I’m sure that when Jesus walked that long and lonely road to Calvary to be tortured and crucified and to die for us, that to Him, the miles were endless.

For those of us who have arthritis, sometimes even walking to the next room can be a long way and hurt a lot. However, there is nobody who has ever walked as many miles and hurt as much as our precious Saviour. Not only was Jesus beaten physically, He was also abused and tortured emotionally.

No one has ever loved us like Jesus loves us and He proved how much He loves us when He allowed them to crucify Him on that cross of horror and agony. When everyone turned away from Him and He was left totally alone to die on the cross for us, I believe that His heart was broken.

His own Father couldn’t look on Him because He had taken our sins on His body. God is a Holy God and He can’t look on sin. How that must have broken the heart of our dear Heavenly Father to have to turn away from His Son. I’m sure that what He really wanted to do is take His Son down from the cross and kiss away the pain and the hurt. What matchless and unconditional love and compassion from the heart of our loving Heavenly Father and our precious Saviour.

We are about to celebrate Easter, and thank God for Easter. Thank God that our precious Saviour arose just as He said that He would. However, without the crucifixion of Jesus and the shedding of His blood there would be no Easter. Our salvation is free to us. There is absolutely nothing that we could ever do to earn our salvation. Many people give a lot of money to charities and do a lot of good deeds but they have never invited the Christ of Calvary into their hearts to be their personal Saviour. They are lost in their sins and on the way to hell for all eternity.

There is only one way to Heaven and it is through the precious cleansing, atoning and redeeming blood of our Saviour which He shed for us on the cross of Calvary. Have you humbled yourself, admitted that you are a sinner and invited Jesus into your heart to be your personal Saviour? Your family can’t do it for you as much as they want to do so. Your pastor can’t do it for you because it is a decision that only you can make. You must have a personal relationship with Jesus. If you haven’t said “yes” to Jesus, I urge you; I plead with you to say “yes” right now before it is too late!

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Every Morning

By Joanne Lowe

“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28: 5, 6, King James Version

March 11, 2008 - Our hearts are filled with joy and happiness as Easter Sunday nears. We remember and celebrate the joyous day that our victorious precious Saviour arose. Easter Sunday is a day of celebration, of great joy and of happiness. Many times churches have a special musical program on Easter Sunday. Jesus said that He would rise and He kept His word. It is always safe to trust Jesus. What He says; He will do! How sad it is that many times we don’t allow Him to rise in our hearts.

When we wake up every morning it doesn’t matter how many heartaches we have or how many burdens we are carrying, our hearts should be singing and we should be filled with joy and happiness when we think about the Saviour of the world loving us unconditionally. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I just have to shout with joy as I say aloud “Thank You, Jesus, for loving me”.

Just as we have a musical program of celebration and joy on Easter, so our hearts should be filled with joy and songs of love to Jesus when we wake up every morning. It does not matter how many trials and crises will come our way during the day, just to know that Jesus loves us should keep us singing and laughing.

When I go to bed at night, I laugh out loud as I realize that once again Jesus was faithful to hold my hand and walk with me through the day and defeat every poisonous and fiery dart of criticism and sarcasm that satan hurled at me. Every day of my life, Jesus holds my hand and brings me through every heartache and every temptation and trial victoriously. When I wake up, I am eager to get up and see what wonderful things Jesus is going to do that day. He never fails me; He always does something exciting and wonderful.

When you wake up every morning, do you allow Jesus to rise in your heart and take your hand and bring you through every situation and every crisis victoriously? Is your heart filled with joy and gratitude for His unconditional love? Have you placed your trust in Him as you realize that He will never leave you and that He will be faithful to protect you from satan and from the world?

If you have never allowed Jesus to rise in your heart and gone to bed laughing and woke up in the morning laughing no matter how many crises, heartaches and trials you have, then you have never felt the compassionate heart of Jesus. You may be saved but You have never felt His tender touch as He gently kissed you awake and whispered softly in your ear, “I love you and I will help you get through the day. You don’t have to do it alone. Just put your hand in My hand and together we will face the day”.

You have a choice to make every morning when you wake up. You can choose to dwell on your problems and heartaches and start your day already defeated or you can choose to put your hand in the hand of Jesus and sing with joy and laugh aloud because you are loved unconditionally by the Saviour of the world. What is your choice? Do you choose to walk through the day with Jesus victoriously or do you choose to allow satan to defeat you?

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

God’s Laundry Basket

By Joanne Lowe

“Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.” John 13: 3 – 10, King James Version

March 4, 2008 - As I looked at the dirty clothes in my laundry basket yesterday that I needed to wash, the thought came to me that this is exactly what God did for us. He washed all of our filth and our sins from us through the atoning cleansing blood of His beloved Son. I can wash my clothes in the washing machine and they will come out clean but I could never have washed the filth and the sins from my life and got them clean no matter how many times I washed.

It was only by humbling myself, admitting that I was a sinner and asking Jesus to forgive me and come into my heart to be my personal Saviour that I am clean today. Thank God for His mercy, unconditional love, forgiveness and grace that He bestowed on us the day He sent His Son into the world on His mission. Thank You, Jesus for dying for us so that we might be made clean through the blood you shed for us on Calvary.

One day as God looked down on the earth and saw all of the violence and all of the sin (Psalm 53: 2, 3); He knew that we needed help. His heart was moved with compassion for us as sheep having no shepherd. Out of His heart of unconditional love, amazing grace and mercy for us, He sent His only beloved Son into the world and gave Him the commission to take all of our filth and sins on Him and to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Indeed, Jesus paid the price that we could never pay.

Have you been washed in the blood of Jesus? If not, you are still dirty and you stink in the nostrils of Jesus. If you have never given your heart and life to Jesus and asked Him to forgive you for your sins and come into your heart to be your personal Saviour, I urge you, I plead with you to do it right now, right this minute, before it is too late. One day, it will be too late for you to say yes to Jesus. Don’t put it off. This is the most important decision that you will ever make. Give your heart and life to Jesus now!

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

A Blanket Of Love And Warmth

By Joanne Lowe

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” Psalm 91: 1 – 4, King James Version

Posted February 19, 2008 - We had another cold day yesterday in Pensacola where I live. As I was walking to the mailbox yesterday afternoon wearing three shirts and a coat and trying to stay warm, I still felt the cold air. The thought came to me that no matter how cold it is outside or even if the heat was to go out in my home, God covers my heart with His blanket of love and warmth and no cold air reaches my heart.

Not only does He keep my heart warm with His compassion, His understanding, His forgiveness, and His unconditional love, He puts a blanket of protection over me from the weather and from my enemies. It doesn’t matter how cold it is outside or how many arrows of criticism and sarcasm are hurled at us by satan, our dear Heavenly Father covers us with His feathers of warmth and protection.

I received an email yesterday from someone who asked me if I was married and if I had my husband’s permission to write these devotions. In the first place, I do not give out personal information to a man on the advice of one of my dear pastor friends. In the second place, if God tells me to do something, I will do it. I did not reply to that email. I deleted it and blocked the sender of the email.

I recognized that email for what it was. It was another sneaky and vicious attack from satan. It was just another attempt to try and discourage me from serving Jesus. However, Jesus is my shield and my buckler and my protector. Once again satan lost the battle as he always will lose the battles. Jesus has already defeated satan on the cross when He died for us.

The war has already been won through the precious cleansing and atoning blood of Jesus but as long as we are in this world we will have battles with satan. We need to stay on guard all the time because when we least expect it, satan will attack us any way that he can and he will sometimes use the people who are the closest to us to discourage us.

If today your heart is cold and lonely, allow our dear Heavenly Father to cover you with His feathers of unconditional love and warmth. His heart is full of compassion for you and He longs to take away all of your heartaches. Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your concern for us and for Your blanket of love and warmth. Amen.

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Have You Planted A Garden Of Love

By Joanne Lowe

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3: 6, 7, King James Version

Posted February 12, 2008 - If we were to work as hard at planting a garden of love as we do planting flowers and vegetables gardens, I believe that we would have a lot more peace and harmony in our homes, in our relationships and in the world. We are to plant the seeds of the unconditional love of Jesus into every person’s heart that we meet. How do we do that? We do it by hugging people, by doing kind things for them, and by saying kind and encouraging words to them. It is so important that we become encouragers to one another.

We also need to remember that it is God that works in a person’s heart to change it. We don’t have the power to change anybody. Also, it is Jesus who saves us, not a person. I have been to several websites and read this statement “I saved twenty people this Sunday.” I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that when we claim to have saved someone, we are in danger of invoking the wrath of God on us. Our enemy, satan, was kicked out of Heaven because he wanted to become like God.

All of us who are telling the good news of a risen Saviour and sharing the unconditional love of Jesus with people are equal. No one is more important than someone else. One person may plant the seed about Jesus and another person may water what has already been planted in a person’s heart but it is God who gives the increase.

I heard someone make this statement several years ago “He’s not very important. All he does is clean the church”. If we were to say that one job is more important than another, the person who cleans the church would be more important than the one who preaches, the one who teaches, the one who sings and the one who plays an instrument. It would be very distracting to a pastor to get up and preach and all the pastor saw was dirty pews, dirty floors and dirty windows. It is the same with the bathrooms. The person who cleans the bathrooms gets rid of germs that can make us sick. Thank God for the people who clean churches!

Have you planted a garden of love in someone’s life? Have you planted the seed of the unconditional love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus in someone’s heart? There are so many people who are hurting and who desperately need to be told that they are loved. The heartbreaking thing is that a lot of these people are members of our own families. They need to know that someone really does care about them and if they live or die. They need to be told about the unconditional love of Jesus. Will you plant the seed of Jesus and His unconditional love in someone’s heart and then get out of the way and allow God to give the increase?

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Why I Married My Husband

By Saralee Perel, Provided by MikeysFunnies.com

Posted February 11, 2008 - It seems as if God made a plan: The only creatures that will share their lives with my husband, Bob, will be very needy ones. This includes 4 cats, 2 dogs, 1 pet duck, 1 mouse and Grandpa.

Grandpa, our plain old catfish, is a perfect example of why I've been married to Bob for 30 years. We had a blight in our 29 gallon aquarium a decade ago. All the fish died except Grandpa. Bob cried, as he took his brood outside and buried them.

So 20-year-old Grandpa, who's 1 inch long, has the whole tank to himself. He needs high maintenance. His water needs constant changing and daily testing for impurities and lots of other care.

Since I, too, have needed high maintenance for several years. I've wanted to lighten Bob's load. "Sweets," I said, "I can find a good home for Grandpa."

"He already has a home."

Grant, our 19 year old pet duck, needs a lot of help. In winter, Bob keeps her warm with a heat lamp inside her coop. When the electricity goes out, the lamp won't work, so Grant spends her day in our bathtub. She's very arthritic. Everyday, Bob grinds calcium and aspirin into her food, and stays outside to make sure she eats it.

"Sweets, I can find a good home for Grant."

"She already has a home."

This season, mice come in our house for warmth. With a Hav-A-Hart mouse trap that captures them alive, Bob gets a mouse a day. Each morning I hear, "Time to take the mouse out back." I haven't suggested that it's probably the same mouse, who's unquestionably getting an enormous kick out of all this. I bet that after Bob frees him, that mouse does a quick spin and comes right back in, laughing.

Our old cat Josie, had a prognosis of 2 years, maximum, to live with treatment. On frigid winter days, Bob made the 2 hour drives to a specialist vet at Tufts, a large animal hospital in Massachusetts. This past November, she's outlived all expectations and is happily jumping around like a kitten – now over 3 years since her dire prognosis.

When Bob took her to our superb local vet, he was so joyous upon seeing her – with all her fur grown back and her nutty personality so fully re-blossomed, that he rushed out of the exam room with Josie in his arms, needing to show her off to everyone. Even the vet at Tufts was shocked, "That cat's still alive?"

I believe Josie's wellbeing is not just from treatment, but equally from Bob's love.

And then...there's me.

Five years ago, I became disabled, leaving Bob as my full-time caregiver and keeper of the house.

Each morning, when he wakes me, he is smiling throughout the routine. After putting slippers on my cold feet, he makes the room cheerful – opens the blinds, sticks a cat in my arms, calls one of the dogs to jump on the bed, puts coffee on my computer table – helps me (and whichever cat) into my chair – oh, and of course I get long loving sloppy kisses – from the dog, and then from Bob.

So – all of Bob's needy creatures, great and small, live in heaven on earth. But in reality, Bob thinks he's the one who has it better. No matter the time or place; how busy he is; how far from home he may be, he feels blessed to come rescue one of us – even if my, "Please come home," call for rescue is just to have him hold a very frightened trembling hand . . . or a paw.

I think God made a good plan.

And Jesus Wept

By Joanne Lowe

“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” John 11: 32 – 36, King James Version

Posted February 5, 2008 - We had an unusual cold spell here recently and the newspaper had many articles telling about the homeless sleeping outside in the bitter cold temperatures. When I read those articles, I got tears in my eyes and I cried. I had wanted to open my home to some of those people when the weather report said it was going to be freezing but I don’t have an extra bedroom.

I believe that as Jesus looked down on those precious people without a home or a bed and saw them sleeping in the streets in the cold that He wept. He can certainly relate to them because He also didn’t have a home or bed when He was born. I have read articles stating that Jesus doesn’t weep any more because He is in Heaven.

I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that just because He is in Heaven does not mean that He has stopped caring about us and being concerned for us. The Bible tells us several times that Jesus was moved with compassion. He is still a compassionate and caring Saviour. He weeps when we cry and He laughs with us. He is the dearest and most precious friend that we could ever have. His heart is tender and He really does love us.

He not only is a loving and compassionate Saviour; He is an understanding Saviour. He understands that we will hurt Him and fail Him because we are human. He doesn’t condemn us when we hurt Him and fail Him. He whispers softly in our ears as His loving arms go around us “I love you and I forgive you and I will never hold it against you again.” Oh that you and I would have the compassion and unconditional love in our hearts that our precious Saviour has in His heart.

I believe another thing that made Jesus very sad and even angry was that the same time the newspapers and television were reporting about the homeless people sleeping in the cold, they were also reporting that thousands of dollars were being spent to build big buildings. When will we ever grasp in our hearts that Jesus is not impressed with our money and with material things? The only thing that touches our dear Heavenly Father and our precious Saviour is the condition of our hearts.

As He sees the fighting and the abuse that goes on in our homes and families, I believe that our precious Saviour weeps and His heart is broken. It is time that you and I start making Jesus happy instead of making Him sad. If ever someone deserves to be happy, it is Jesus! He does so much for us, yet He asks so little of us. One of the things He has told us to do is to love one another unconditionally as He loves us. All too often, we fail Him in this area of our lives.

Are you making Jesus weep or are you making Him laugh? When He looks in your heart and sees what is in it, does His heart rejoice or does it make Him sad? Have you allowed unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness and criticism to enter your heart? If so, ask Him to forgive you and help you to once again love people unconditionally as He has commanded us to do. Again, is Jesus weeping or laughing because of what is in your heart?

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

No Retirement Plan

By Joanne Lowe

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Romans 11: 29, King James Version

Posted January 28, 2008 - Have you ever heard someone say “I’m retired so there’s no rush to get things done”? Oh dear friends, when we have committed our lives to serving Jesus there is no retirement plan and not only is there a rush to win souls to Jesus, there is an urgency to win souls to Jesus. The time is short. Our precious Saviour is coming back any minute and many of us have family members, loved ones and friends who have never said “yes” to Jesus and asked Him to save them. Again, there is an urgency to lead our family, our loved ones, our friends and a world that is lost and dying to Jesus!

We must be about the Master’s business while there is still time. Sometimes we act like He isn’t coming back for a long time, perhaps for many years. We have listened to the lies of satan and instead of reaching out to people on the telephone, and sending them emails and snail mail to tell them about Jesus, we have spent our days watching television and pursuing our own pleasures. We have allowed satan to deceive us into thinking that we have a lot of time to tell others about the compassionate and unconditional love of Jesus.

We have neglected to tell our families, our loved ones and friends and a world that is lost and dying without Jesus about His saving grace which He purchased for us through His precious atoning and redeeming blood that He shed for us on the cross of Calvary. We have allowed satan to lull us into a false sense of security. Jesus said in Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

We are in a race between good and evil and I think that sometimes we allow satan to get us off the race track for Jesus. Some of us have families and friends that are traveling many miles to be with us next week to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. It may be the last time that we see some of them as Jesus may return before next Christmas and if they haven’t made a heart commitment to Jesus, they will be left behind when He takes us home to be with Him.

The greatest gift you can give your family and friends can’t be bought in a store. It is not for sale in any store. It is a free gift of compassion, grace, mercy, tenderness and forgiveness and it only comes from accepting Jesus as personal Saviour. Telling them about Jesus and extending to them the unconditional love of Jesus is the greatest gift that you can give to your family, to your loved ones and to your friends.

Will you give them unconditional love on Christmas by the way you treat them and the things you say to them or will you allow disagreements and arguments to ruin Jesus’ birthday party? Most important of all, will you take the time to read the beautiful and heart touching story of the birth of the Christ Child to everyone who is in your home on Christmas Day? Reading the story of His birth should come before opening Christmas presents. If it doesn’t, we need to search our hearts and check out our level of love for Jesus.

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

A Yoke Of Love

By Joanne Lowe

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28 – 30, King James Version

Posted January 23, 2008 - The first thing that I realized when I was writing this devotional is that Jesus does not put us in His yoke like we put oxen in a yoke. He wants us to make the choice to willingly serve Him. I have seen movies and pictures of oxen that were in a yoke pulling something. There were always at least two oxen in the yoke. The same should be true in our service to Jesus. We should be working together as a team for our yoke of love who is Jesus.

Yet, all too often, we try to serve Him alone. Think what would happen if all the people in every church were to go on visitation together. I believe people who aren’t saved would see such a joy, happiness and excitement that Jesus gives to people who have surrendered their hearts and lives to Him that they would want to have the same joy, happiness and excitement in their own lives. I think that we would see hearts and lives changed through the atoning, cleansing blood of Jesus and through His power. We must never forget that we can’t save anybody. We lead them to Jesus, but He is the one who saves them.

It is time that churches start working together as a team in the yoke of Jesus, our yoke of love, instead of saying “You don’t go to my church so I can’t associate with you”. Someone made that statement to me several years ago. I had been a member of the church but had moved to a different city and had moved my membership to a church in my city.

I think Jesus is saying to us that not only should we be working together as a team to serve Him; but that we should also be an encouragement to one another. We need Jesus and we need each other. Jesus is our great encourager but He hasn’t been here for over two thousand years. He has left us to encourage one another. There are times when all of us need to be encouraged.

Joyce Landorf, a speaker and author, said on one of her teaching tapes “We should be balcony people to one another.” We need to lean over the balcony when we see someone who is discouraged and say “You can do it. I believe in you.” Joyce said that we should be balcony people especially to our pastors. There have been several times in the last two years since God gave me the ministries of encouraging pastors and writing devotions that I have needed someone to lean over the balcony and say “You can do it.”

Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you.” Have you allowed Jesus to put His yoke of love on you? Are you serving Him with all of your heart and with all of your time and talents or are you just giving Him what is left over at the end of the day? If you haven’t surrendered all of your time and all of your talents to Jesus, then you need to search your heart and be certain that you have allowed Him to put His yoke of love on you. Have you surrendered your entire life to Him or have you only given Him a portion of your life?

The Most Important Decision

By Joanne Lowe

“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3: 13, 14, King James Version

Posted January 15, 2008 - I receive a lot of emails from people asking me how they can know what to do in situations. To all of these people, I have replied “Do you have peace in your heart about it?” The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” If we will stay in the presence of Jesus, we will know what He wants us to do.

We also read in 1 Corinthians 14: 33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” If I don’t have peace in my heart about something, then I don’t do it because it is so easy to get out of God’s perfect will for our lives. Sometimes, I get ahead of God. He speaks to my heart about the ministries that He has entrusted to me and tells me that He is expanding the ministries. I think that I need to make the changes immediately and there are times He has to tell me “Wait on Me”.

I have read stories and heard testimonies from couples who have been married for a long time who have said that they know what their spouses are thinking and how they would respond in a situation. When we spend a lot of time with people, we know their hearts and we know how they think and how they will respond to a situation. The same is true when we spend a lot of time with Jesus.

I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that the most important decision that you will ever make in your life is choosing between following Jesus or following satan. There is no in between. We read in Joshua 24: 14, 15 “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Even today there are people who are serving other gods. Instead of following the mandate that we have been given to spread the good news of a risen Saviour and His cleansing, atoning and redeeming blood which He shed for us on the cruel cross of Calvary, we sometime spend hours watching television. There is nothing wrong with watching television if it is something that you would watch if Jesus was sitting next to you.

If you would be embarrassed and ashamed to have Him see what you are watching, don’t watch it! Also, if we spend more time watching television than we do telling others who are lost and without Jesus about the unconditional love of Jesus, then we have allowed the television to become our god.

Deciding to give your heart and life to Jesus is far more important than deciding what you are going to wear, what kind of car or house you are going to buy, where you are going to work, and it is also more important than deciding what person you are going to marry. All of these things will come to an end, but a relationship with Jesus will last for all eternity.

Have you made the decision to ask Jesus into your heart to be your personal Saviour? If you have humbled yourself, admitted that you are a sinner and asked Jesus to forgive you and come into your heart to be your personal Saviour, I rejoice with you. Praise and thank God for His mercy, grace and unconditional love for you in sending His only beloved Son to die for your sins.

Have you made the decision to follow Him no matter how many obstacles you encounter, no matter how many heartaches and sorrows that you have to endure and no matter how many poisonous arrows of criticism and sarcasm that satan hurls at you? Remember the level of our service to Jesus depends on our level of love for Him. What it comes down to is “How much do we love Jesus”. Every one of us must decide if serving Jesus is more important than watching movies and sports on television hour after hour.

Even while we are watching television, there are people who are lonely, hurting, in deep despair and agony, and thinking seriously about committing suicide. Have you decided to commit your entire life and all that you have to the One who gave His all for you? How much do you love Jesus?

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Listen With Your Heart

By Joanne Lowe

“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.” Psalm 66: 16 – 20, King James Version

Posted January 8, 2008 - When we talk to Jesus He listens to us with His heart. Should we do less when our families, our loved ones, our friends and the world talks to us? So often when people are talking to us our minds are on other things and we don’t really hear what they are saying. When people talk to us we not only need to hear them with our ears, we also need to listen to them with our hearts just as Jesus does for us.

Many years ago as I lay underneath that bed in a mental hospital afraid of everyone due to all the abuse that I had suffered, I cried out to God in desperation for His help. He not only heard my cry, He listened to me with His heart of compassion. He lovingly and tenderly put His arms of mercy, grace, understanding, gentleness and forgiveness around me. He felt my pain and He understood my fears.

With tender loving kindness He rescued me and He lifted me up from underneath that bed. I was powerless to come out from under that bed on my own because I was so frightened of being hurt again. Only Jesus could have given me the courage to come out from under that bed. When I came out from under that bed, I sat on the floor facing the wall in the large bathroom that all the ladies used for two weeks. At least, I had come out from under that bed.

It has taken Jesus many years of understanding and patience to reassure me that I can trust Him. He told me that He would protect me and never let anyone beat me again. He understood the fear I had of being hurt again because He was beaten when He was here on earth. He knows how it feels to have people say harsh and critical things about you and to you. We have no greater friend than our precious Saviour. He is a friend beyond compare.

There are so many people around us who are hurting and they are under the bed in their emotions and this includes our spouses, our children, our siblings and our parents. They don’t want anyone to know how much they are hurting so they put on their masks when they get up in the morning and pretend that they are happy. We can’t be happy when we are in the middle of a heartbreaking situation. We always have the joy of Jesus in our hearts if we have confessed our sins and invited Him into our hearts but there will be times when we are unhappy.

Jesus always had joy in His heart when He was here on earth. He knew that He was making His Father happy because He was being obedient to Him. However, I doubt that He was happy when people cursed Him, ridiculed Him, and rejected Him. The tragic thing about this is that He still is being cursed, ridiculed and rejected. How the heart of our precious Saviour must hurt when people say things that are not nice about Him.

Are you listening to your family, to your friends and to a world that is hurting with your heart? More important, are you listening to Jesus with your heart? When He talks to you, do you stop what you are doing and listen or do you continue with what you are doing? If you want Jesus to listen with His heart to you when you talk to Him, then you should give Him the respect of stopping whatever you are doing and listen to Him with your heart when He talks to you. May God forgive us for not giving Jesus the respect and courtesy that He so richly deserves!

To read more from Joanne Lowe, please visit her at http://joannelowe.blogspot.com/.

Thank you so much for visiting TidewaterCrossSection.com!

Home | Write for TCS! | Shop Our NEW Store!| Advertise with TCS! | Business Connections | Church & Ministry Directory | Local Events

Just For Women 2008 - a page dedicated to the women in the body of Christ!!

Place your ad with us!

We welcome ALL the stories of your Inspirational Lives!