The Bible Says …

       My family prayed – always!  When I was born, they were already a praying bunch so I grew up where we prayed about everything. 

            One of my personal early memories was being very ill as a preschooler.  I had a terrible pain in my side.  Dad and Mom kept praying but friends and neighbors put so much pressure on them that they finally took me to a doctor.  The doctor examined me and told my parents that I had an acute inflamed appendix that needed immediate surgery for removal.  There was a huge red line up my side and it was on the verge of bursting.  The doctor didn’t have surgery capability where she was working so called a neighboring town.  They got everything set up for emergency surgery.

            They had to stop every few minutes so I could throw up green bile (nothing else in my stomach).  Every time we stopped, dad prayed for my healing.  By the time we got to the hospital in the neighboring town, I had been healed.  No sickness.  No red stripe up my side.  No acute appendicitis.  I still have my appendix to this day.  The doctors at the hospital recognized this was God because they knew the other doctor so well and knew the healing to be real.

            One day when I was in high school, my parents had gotten stuck in a small town when dad had had a car accident that put my little sister in the hospital.   Dad got work where he could, pastured a small church and couldn’t make enough money between them to provide the needs of the home.  One day Mother said, “Dad, I simply don’t know what to make for supper.  I can’t make supper out of flour and water.”

            Dad called all of us together into the dining room.  He put his huge bible on the table, opened to Philippians Chapter four where you read:  “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”   He had my little brother Ted, put his tiny hand on the verse.  Next my sister, Dorothy, put her tiny hand over his.  Next was my hand and then my big brother, John’s hand went over mine.  Next Mother’s hand covered ours and finally Dad’s huge hand covered all of ours.  He began to pray, claiming this verse that God would supply our needs.

            He wasn’t able to finish praying when the doorbell rang.  Mother answered the door to find the neighbor was there with a huge casserole meal.  She apologized for not being over sooner to welcome us into the neighborhood.  She said that she didn’t know what had gotten into her to make so much for supper but decided that maybe, if we hadn’t eaten, that we could add this to our supper?  Mother graciously thanked her and told her we hadn’t eaten yet and that this would be wonderful.  We had a delicious meal that night for which we were all thankful.  I never felt poor because we weren’t poor.  We never went hungry.  God always supplied our needs. 

            I think the most exciting answer to prayer, however, was when I personally had to go to the Lord in prayer when I was apart from my parents.  I had gone my freshman year of high school to Alberta Canada to Prairie Bible Institute, High School Division.  While there, my shoes kept being more and more worn.  I didn’t want to bother my parents because I knew they didn’t have a lot of money to spare.  So, I just kept hoping my shoes would hang together.

            Well, one day the sole came off almost the entire length of the shoe.  I had to work that night in the dining room at 4:00 and this was right after lunch.  I went to my room and began to pray.  I claimed the verse quoted above and asked God to please give me a pair of shoes by 4:00 p.m.  I couldn’t borrow a pair because my feet were bigger than anyone elses.

            I was studying when someone suddenly knocked on my door.  When I answered, much to my astonishment, a shy teacher’s wife was at the door.  She asked if she could come in and, of course, I invited her in.  She shyly and hesitantly began to tell me her story with an occasional stutter.  She said she had bought herself a pair of shoes the other day and took them home.  The next day she looked at them and, to her astonishment, she had purchased a pair of shoes that were two sizes too big!  She said, “No problem.  I’ll just take them back and get them in my size.” 

            She said that the only problem was that God told her to give them to me.  This is where she stammered, “I don’t know if you even need a pair of shoes or what size you wear.  Uh, Marvine, do you need a pair of shoes?”

            I told her with great delight of my predicament and my prayer.  She handed me the shoes; I tried them on and they were a perfect fit.  I had them by 3:30 and was able to make it to work by 4:00.  Wow!  Now that was an incredible answer to prayer for a ninth grader!  

            People tell me that they don’t know what to say when they try to pray.  If we can talk to our folks or our friends or our family, we can talk to God.  He always understands and He knows what we mean if we get our tongue all tangled up.  He reads our thoughts and hearts. 

            Robert Murray McCheyne once said:  “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies.  Yet distance makes no difference.  He is praying for me.” 

WHAT AN ADVENTURE!

 

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”  James 4:10

 

The Bad Example

Author Unknown

 

He whipped his boy for lying,

And his cheeks were flaming red,

And of course there’s no denying

There was truth in what he said –

That a liar’s always hated.

But the little fellow knew

That his father often stated

Many things that were untrue.

 

He caught the youngster cheating

And he sent him up to bed,

And it’s useless now repeating

All the bitter things he said;

He talked of honor loudly,

As a lesson to be learned,

And forgot he’d boasted proudly

Of the cunning tricks he’d turned.

 

He heard the youngster swearing

And he punished him again -0-

He’d have no boy as daring

As to utter words profane.

Yet the youngster could have told him

Poor misguided little elf,

That it seemed unfair to scold him

When he often cursed, himself.

 

All in vain is splendid preaching,

And the noble things we say,

All our talk is wasted teaching

If we do not lead the way.

We can never, by reviewing

All the sermons on the shelves,

Keep the younger hands from doing

What we often do ourselves.

-Poems for Sunshine and Shadow (Good News Broadcasting Assoc. Vol.1, c1962) p.39

 

            Have you ever wondered why a little boy becomes a bully and then grow up to be a mean, horrible adult?  Or why a sweet little girl will grow up to be a cruel, unhappy woman?  When you look at your baby for the first time, what do you see?  You see pure innocence – precious new life! 

            Sometimes when I see a mean looking adult, God helps me see the wounded child behind the face shown to me.  I wonder whatever happened to him or her.  We all have had pain and betrayal in our lives to one extent or another.  We have sinned.  We have made poor choices.  We have wounded others and, thereby, wounded ourselves.

            The beauty of our God is that He looks beyond the ugliness of our life to see the pain inside.  Then He holds His arms out wide, ready to receive us, to heal and restore our crippled life!  He is ready to pour out His love upon our wounded life!

            Have you ever considered the above verse?  “Humble yourself before God and He will lift you up?”  What actually does that mean?  To me it means coming to the end of my ability to ‘fix’ things.  Then we go to Jesus with our failures and pain and we lay our problems at His feet, and He ‘lifts us up,’ gives us joy and peace such as we’ve never before experienced.  As long as we think we can ‘fix’ things, He will allow us to try.  When we get to the end of ourselves, then He can work (if we let Him).

I LOOK NOT BACK

By Annie Johnson Flint

I look not back; God knows the fruitless efforts,

The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets

I leave them all with Him who blots the record,

And graciously forgives, and then forgets.

 

I look not forward; God sees all the future,

The road that short or long, will lead me home.

And He will face with me its every trial,

And bear for me the burdens that may come.

 

I look not round me; then would fears assail me,

So wild the tumult of earth’s restless seas,

So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,

So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.

 

I look not inward; that would make me wretched;

For I have naught on which to stay my trust.

Nothing I see save failures and shortcomings,

And weak endeavors, crumbling into dust.

 

But I look up – into the face of Jesus,

For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;

And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,

And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.

           

“There is no fear in love. On the contrary, love that has achieved its goal gets rid of fear, because fear has to do with punishment; the person who keeps fearing has not been brought to maturity in regard to love.”  (1Jn 4:18) CJB 

 

            Part of humbling ourselves before God and being lifted up out of the depths of hurting fear is to receive God’s love.  If we are consumed by fear, we have not yet experienced God’s liberating love filling our lives and setting us free.

            Billy Graham said,

“God loves you.  You’re rebellious, you cheat, you commit immorality; you’re selfish, you sin, but God loves you with an intensity beyond anything that I could describe to you.  He loves you, and He loves you so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ to die on that cross; and the thing that kept Christ on that cross was love, not the nail.”

-God’s Treasury of Virtues, (Honor Books, OK, c.1995) p.28

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

                “A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible – Psalm 23.   She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.   Little Rick was excited about the task – but he just couldn’t remember the Psalm.   After much practice, he could barely
get past the first line.    
                “On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous.  When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.’”

-email

            When we know Jesus is our Shepherd, that’s all we need.  Let’s humble ourselves before Almighty God and let Him lift us up, cast out fear and give us joy!

“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  Psalms 30:5 KJV

            This wonderful story was sent to me in 2002.  Sometimes God has a beautiful method of bringing laughter and joy to us through the most difficult of trials.  Perhaps this is because our God loves us SO much and is the author of true joy.

MOM’S LAST LAUGH…

-author unknown

 

            “Consumed by my loss, I didn’t notice the hardness of the pew where I sat. I was at the funeral of my dearest friend – my mother.  She finally had lost her long battle with cancer.  The hurt was so intense; I found it hard to breathe at times.  Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held a box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak; comforted me at my father’s death, encouraged me in college, and prayed for me my entire life.

            “When Mother’s illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently married his childhood sweetheart, so it fell on me, the 27-year-old middle child without entanglements, to take care of her.  I counted it an honor.

 “’What now, Lord?’ I asked sitting in church. My life stretched out before me as an empty abyss. My brother sat stoically with his face toward the cross while clutching his wife’s hand.  My sister sat slumped against her husband’s shoulder, his arms around her as she cradled their child.  All so deeply grieving, no one noticed I sat alone.       

            “My place had been with our mother, preparing her meals, helping her walk, taking her to the doctor, seeing to her medication, reading the Bible together.  Now she was with the Lord.  My work was finished, and I was alone.  I heard a door open and slam shut at the back of the church.  Quick footsteps hurried along the carpeted floor.  An exasperated young man looked around briefly and then sat next to me.  He folded his hands and placed them on his lap.  His eyes were brimming with tears.  He began to sniffle. ‘I’m late,’ he explained, though no explanation was necessary. 

            “After several eulogies, he leaned over and commented, ‘Why do they keep calling Mary by the name of Margaret?’

 “0h, because that was her name, Margaret. Never Mary. No one called her ‘Mary,’ I whispered. I wondered why this person couldn’t have sat on the other side of the church.  

            “He interrupted my grieving with his tears and fidgeting.  Who was this stranger anyway?  “No, that isn’t correct,” he insisted, as several people glanced over at us whispering, “Her name is Mary, Mary Peters.”

            “That isn’t who this is,” I replied.

“Isn’t this the Lutheran church?”

            “No, the Lutheran church is across the street.”

            “Oh.”

            “I believe you’re at the wrong funeral, Sir.”

            “The solemnness of the occasion mixed with the realization of the man’s mistake bubbled up inside me and came out as laughter.  I cupped my hands over my face, hoping it would be interpreted as sobs. The creaking pew gave me away.  Sharp looks from other mourners only made the situation seem more hilarious.  I peeked at the bewildered, misguided man seated beside me.  He was laughing, too, as he glanced around, deciding it was too late for an uneventful exit.  I imagined Mother laughing.  At the final “Amen,” we darted out a door and into the parking lot.

            “I do believe we’ll be the talk of the town,” he smiled. He said his name was Rick and since he had missed his aunt’s funeral, asked me out for a cup of coffee. That afternoon began a lifelong journey for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral, but was in the right place.

            “A year after our meeting, we were married at a country church where he was the assistant pastor. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time.

            “In my time of sorrow, God gave me laughter.  In place of loneliness, God gave me love.  This past June we celebrated our twenty-second wedding anniversary.  Whenever anyone asks us how we met, Rick tells them, “Her mother and my Aunt Mary introduced us, and it’s truly a match made in heaven.”

-end quote

            Sometimes our sorrow and grief can grip us so hard that we cannot believe that we will ever feel joy again.  But God promises to be with us through our hardship and heal us of our pain.  Then He promises to give us joy no matter how impossible it might seem during the trial.

            Our Lord experienced unbelievable sorrow!  Isaiah said He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  The bible says that there is no trial or hardship that He cannot understand.  We have a God who truly enters into our feelings and helps us through them if we will let Him!  I think the most incredible thing is the joy He brings us as we place our hand in His and allow Him to lead us through our trials.

            I may have told you how that one time as a young mother I was overcome with sorrow and weeping as I did dishes. I apologized to the Lord for my tears because I couldn’t help them but I told Him I was choosing to praise Him.  I praised Him with tears running down my cheeks and sorrow in my heart.  About five minutes later I discovered that I was singing praise songs with joy in my heart.  The circumstances hadn’t changes but the burden was lifted.  God is awesome and His joy is ours if we will accept it!

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that

 we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”  Psalm 90:14

“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  Psalms 30:5 KJV

            This wonderful story was sent to me in 2002.  Sometimes God has a beautiful method of bringing laughter and joy to us through the most difficult of trials.  Perhaps this is because our God loves us SO much and is the author of true joy.

MOM’S LAST LAUGH…

-author unknown

 

            “Consumed by my loss, I didn’t notice the hardness of the pew where I sat. I was at the funeral of my dearest friend – my mother.  She finally had lost her long battle with cancer.  The hurt was so intense; I found it hard to breathe at times.  Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held a box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak; comforted me at my father’s death, encouraged me in college, and prayed for me my entire life.

            “When Mother’s illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently married his childhood sweetheart, so it fell on me, the 27-year-old middle child without entanglements, to take care of her.  I counted it an honor.

 “’What now, Lord?’ I asked sitting in church. My life stretched out before me as an empty abyss. My brother sat stoically with his face toward the cross while clutching his wife’s hand.  My sister sat slumped against her husband’s shoulder, his arms around her as she cradled their child.  All so deeply grieving, no one noticed I sat alone.       

            “My place had been with our mother, preparing her meals, helping her walk, taking her to the doctor, seeing to her medication, reading the Bible together.  Now she was with the Lord.  My work was finished, and I was alone.  I heard a door open and slam shut at the back of the church.  Quick footsteps hurried along the carpeted floor.  An exasperated young man looked around briefly and then sat next to me.  He folded his hands and placed them on his lap.  His eyes were brimming with tears.  He began to sniffle. ‘I’m late,’ he explained, though no explanation was necessary. 

            “After several eulogies, he leaned over and commented, ‘Why do they keep calling Mary by the name of Margaret?’

 “0h, because that was her name, Margaret. Never Mary. No one called her ‘Mary,’ I whispered. I wondered why this person couldn’t have sat on the other side of the church.  

            “He interrupted my grieving with his tears and fidgeting.  Who was this stranger anyway?  “No, that isn’t correct,” he insisted, as several people glanced over at us whispering, “Her name is Mary, Mary Peters.”

            “That isn’t who this is,” I replied.

“Isn’t this the Lutheran church?”

            “No, the Lutheran church is across the street.”

            “Oh.”

            “I believe you’re at the wrong funeral, Sir.”

            “The solemnness of the occasion mixed with the realization of the man’s mistake bubbled up inside me and came out as laughter.  I cupped my hands over my face, hoping it would be interpreted as sobs. The creaking pew gave me away.  Sharp looks from other mourners only made the situation seem more hilarious.  I peeked at the bewildered, misguided man seated beside me.  He was laughing, too, as he glanced around, deciding it was too late for an uneventful exit.  I imagined Mother laughing.  At the final “Amen,” we darted out a door and into the parking lot.

            “I do believe we’ll be the talk of the town,” he smiled. He said his name was Rick and since he had missed his aunt’s funeral, asked me out for a cup of coffee. That afternoon began a lifelong journey for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral, but was in the right place.

            “A year after our meeting, we were married at a country church where he was the assistant pastor. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time.

            “In my time of sorrow, God gave me laughter.  In place of loneliness, God gave me love.  This past June we celebrated our twenty-second wedding anniversary.  Whenever anyone asks us how we met, Rick tells them, “Her mother and my Aunt Mary introduced us, and it’s truly a match made in heaven.”

-end quote

            Sometimes our sorrow and grief can grip us so hard that we cannot believe that we will ever feel joy again.  But God promises to be with us through our hardship and heal us of our pain.  Then He promises to give us joy no matter how impossible it might seem during the trial.

            Our Lord experienced unbelievable sorrow!  Isaiah said He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  The bible says that there is no trial or hardship that He cannot understand.  We have a God who truly enters into our feelings and helps us through them if we will let Him!  I think the most incredible thing is the joy He brings us as we place our hand in His and allow Him to lead us through our trials.

            I may have told you how that one time as a young mother I was overcome with sorrow and weeping as I did dishes. I apologized to the Lord for my tears because I couldn’t help them but I told Him I was choosing to praise Him.  I praised Him with tears running down my cheeks and sorrow in my heart.  About five minutes later I discovered that I was singing praise songs with joy in my heart.  The circumstances hadn’t changes but the burden was lifted.  God is awesome and His joy is ours if we will accept it!

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that

 we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”  Psalm 90:14

            Since Charlie Grier was such a favorite of so many people, I thought it would be appropriate to have one of his articles.  Here are some precious thoughts for all of us this special holiday! 

 

VALENTINE’S DAY CAN BE WHOLESOME AND MEANINGFUL

By Charlie Grier

 

            Valentine’s Day is said to have been instituted in memory of two separate men with the name Valentine. They lived in two different countries and were not related, or even acquainted. Both were martyred by the Romans because of their Christian faith, and both men were remembered by the love that characterized their lives. 

            When the final history books are written, my friends, will you and I be remembered for our words and deeds of love?  Will people demonstrate love in memory of US?

 

Our Family Heirloom

            One of our family’s choicest heirlooms is the picture of little children, dressed as children were dressed a century ago, hanging May Baskets on their neighbor’s door. That quaint old picture was painted by my Uncle, shortly before I was born. It has been loved by all members of our family and is now in California in the hands of my grandson Mark Manley, who is a professional Artist. 

True Love Comes From God

            I have not been privileged to attend a recent Valentine Party, such as we were accustomed to when, I went to school, so I asked Marvine how she remembered the day when she was growing up. She told me they always had a fun party in school, where they all exchanged Valentines and had an enjoyable time.

She also remembered that I tried to find the most sentimental Card I could find for Dora, but she failed to mention the Cards Dora bought for me!  They were meaningful and personal (I still have them tucked away where I can find them— one of my most valuable treasures). I hunt them up from time to time, because they bring back precious memories. Neither of us could afford expensive gifts, but those Cards expressed more to me, than any gift possibly could.   

 

          True Love Will Ever Be Remembered

 

            “Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: ‘TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.’

            “They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who got slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved his life.

            “After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: ‘TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.’

            “The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, ‘after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on a stone, why?’

            “The other friend replied: ‘When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.’”  End quote

            Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your benefits in stone. They say:

It takes a minute to find a special friend,

An hour to appreciate him,

A day to love him,

And an entire lifetime to forget him.

 

“Be My Valentine”

            To say those word means “I love you, and I want you to love me too,” may not need to be romantic words.  They can be exchanged between friends of all ages.  They can be the start of a romance or the fruitful result of a long wedded life.

            One of the Love-songs of my boyhood days contains this stanza:      

School days! School days!

Good old Golden Rule days!

Reading, and writing, and ‘rithmatic,

Taught by the tune of a hickory stick.

You were my queen in calico.

I was your bashful, barefoot beau.

You wrote on my slate:

“I love you Joe!”

When we were a couple of kids!

 

            Some teen-age infatuation is short-lived, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. Lasting love has to be genuine.  Marital love should grow with the years.  Dora and I were married 54 years and our love for each other was greater at the end of that time than it was on our Wedding Day. I couldn’t begin to appreciate Dora the day I married her. I loved her but I did not know what a jewel God had given me!  For instance, I did not marry her for her beauty. She wore old fashioned clothes and used no cosmetics. After she “Fixed herself up,” I considered her the most beautiful girl in the world. Before we were married she sang gospel songs on the street, and I admired her courage. Later she got a big accordion, and then people drove miles to hear her sing. She never wanted to preach, but when I experienced a massive heart attack, Dora took over and during those three months did a better than I could have done.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

            I especially hope every little boy and girl has a happy Valentine’s Day.  I would further suggest that every married man and woman surprise your mate with a Valentine and tell them how much you love them.  Love expressed and demonstrated does wonders!

-by Charlie Grier Western Itasca Review, February 10, 2005.

 

            I have been more blessed than most people in that I have grown up in a family of great faith.  My father, Charlie Grier, set a beautiful example my entire of life in simply believing that God is certainly able to do what He promises.  In spite of this, there are many times that my faith has wavered.  I knew what the bible said but had trouble believing always that a miracle would occur when all circumstances screamed ‘impossible!’  This year I have been challenged to simply ‘believe God.’  I was impressed with the following article from The Bible Friend.

HE CAN

“He…hangeth the earth upon nothing.” Job 26:7

            “In looking to God for deliverance of any kind, we are prone to try to discover what material He has on hand to work on in coming to our relief.  If we are praying for financial help, we are apt to look over the community to see if we can think of any one whom the Lord might influence to lend us some money.  If there are no apparent probabilities in that direction, we find it difficult to believe for hard cash.

            “If it is employment we need in order to insure the continuance of our bread and butter, we make diligent inquiries in the industrial centers, and if we find that the shops, stores and factories are more than full handed, it is pretty hard work to be hopeful that we are going to get work.

            “If we are ill and our physician is at a loss to know what next to try in order to alleviate us, it is not at all easy to convince ourselves that we are going speedily to recover.

            “It is so human to look and crave for something in sight that will help the Lord out.  In time of need, if we can only find a little something for God to begin on, we seem so much better satisfied.  To need a sum of money and not be able to think of a friend a man or a monied institution from which it might be obtained, gives a dark background to the scene.

            “To need work, and to find that throngs of others as needy as yourself are also idle, makes the human outlook very dark.  To be in bed day after day, feeling no better, but rather worse, doctor’s bill increasing, business suffering and patience giving out, make a situation in which relief does not seem very probable.  The trouble is, there does not appear to be a single human prospect to begin on.  The outlook is all liabilities with no resources to help out.

            “Now, to God’s child, what is the real situation?  Is there nothing but liabilities?  Much every way.  Are there no resources?  Yea, thousands, millions, billions, trillions!  Where are they?  Above you, below you, around you.  Earth and air are full of wealth untold.  You can’t see it, eh?  You don’t need to see it.  Keep your eye on him.

            “Just think a moment.  It is not at all necessary for you to see any help in sight, nor is it really necessary for God to have any relief on hand.  He does not need anything to begin on.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  What did He make them out of?  Nothing, absolutely nothing.  When the earth was made what did He hang it on?  Nothing.  Pretty satisfactory earth to be made of nothing, eh?  Remember, not a scrap of anything was used to make it.  “He…hangeth the earth upon nothing.”

            “It hangs all right, doesn’t it?  Very well, then.  A God who can make an earth, a sun, a moon and stars out of nothing, can supply all your needs, whether He has anything to work with or not.  Wonderful, isn’t it?

            “Trust Him and He will see you though.”

-Gospel Tract Society, Inc.  The Bible Friend, Jan-Feb 2010, p.1

 

            When we feel circumstances crowding us, we need to look at people like Fanny Crosby.  What a beautiful lady!  This little blind girl wrote the following poem at 8 years of age!

BLIND BUT HAPPY

By Fanny Crosby

 

O what a happy soul I am!

Although I cannot see.

I am resolved that in this world

Contented I will be.

 

How many blessings I enjoy

That other people don’t!

To weep and sigh because I’m blind

I cannot, and I won’t.

 

Ibid p.4

            How do we go from doubts to joy?   Stella Adams suggests a beautiful method in the following poem.

 

THE ART OF PRAISE

By Stella Adams

 

Too often we are weary

With all our trials and strife

But, praising our dear Savior

Will bless and gladden our life.

 

Like sunshine drives out darkness

So praise can scatter doubt

Just keep on praising Jesus

Rejoice, sing out and shout.

 

Praise is the cure of grumbling

God dwells in the courts of praise

Praise is the tune of angels

Let it brighten all your days.

 

Yes, praise will bring you blessings

Will make your heart revive

Will lift your heavy burden

And cause your soul to thrive.

 

A praising man is easy

To live with every day

Then, let us practice praising

To drive the clouds away.

 

This world is fully of sorrow

And happy men are few

So learn the art of praising

In everything you do.

 

When your days are trying

And when your spirit is glum

Just keep on praising Jesus

And Satan will succumb.

 

The devil can’t stand praises

He hates a thankful heart

Praise will bring deliverance

Let’s master this great art.

Ibid p. 4

                My sister, Dee, and I used to have so much fun playing when we were children.  We grew up loving Jesus.  We each had to come to a point of personally talking to Him and accepting His forgiveness but I cannot remember a time that I didn’t love Him!  Our parents told us how that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  They told us that God loved us and adopted us into His family.  They shared Phil. 4:19:

“My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

We were excited!  If our God was King, that made us princesses!  How fun is that!  It became our favorite game for most of our childhood. 

            Another thing my parents did was lead us to pray for the poor.  Can you actually be poor if you pray for the poor?  I don’t think so.  We didn’t have a lot of money but that didn’t seem to matter.  Our home (though sometimes very humble) was warm and clean.  We always had food to eat.  There was abundant love to share.  Mother was a seamstress and kept us clothed attractively.  We didn’t have to be embarrassed.  Sometimes they were ‘hand-me-downs, ‘ but by the time mother was through, you’d never know it!

            I knew that my Father in Heaven was the one with all the money and that He’d give us what we needed whenever the need arrived.  I had a beautiful and secure childhood as a result.  I have wondered at times how different life would be for all of us as adults, if we could wrap our minds around the abundance that God gives us rather than the things we think we need and be truly grateful. 

            If we feel poor, we are poor.  I love the beautiful story I read a couple of years ago about a child’s faith.  It seems that the single, poverty stricken mother would gather her two children around her at night.  She would put her one blanket over the three of them and they would huddle next to the chimney to get what little heat they could from the combined chimney and body heat.  One night her daughter said to her mother after their evening prayers while huddled together for the night, “Mommy, I feel so sorry for those poor children who do not have a blanket and warm place to huddle!”  They prayed together for the poor.  Was she poor?  I think not!  She merely didn’t have much money.

            God gives a lot of beautiful promises for those who care for the poor.  I love the way the Complete Jewish Bible gives Psalms 41:1-2:

“How blessed are those who care for the poor!  When calamity comes, ADONAI will save them.  ADONAI will preserve them, keep them alive, and make them happy in the land.  You will not hand them over to the whims of their enemies.”

 

            Being rich involves much more than mere money.  Someone once said:  “No matter how great our need, the divine resources are never exhausted.”  What is our need?  Our God will supply.  Were you deserted by your parents?  “Even though my father and mother have left me, ADONAI will care for me.”  Ps. 27:10. 

MEDICINE CHEST

For the BLUES …………………………………………………………..Read Ps. 27.

For an EMPTY PURSE………………………………………………….Read Ps. 37.

If DISCOURAGED about work……………………………………..Read Ps. 128

If people seem UNKIND to you,………………………………….Read John 15.

If you are losing CONFIDENCE…………………………………….Read 1 Cor. 13

If you cannot have YOUR OWN WAY…………………………..Read James 3.

If you are all OUT OF SORTS…………………………………………Read Heb. 12.

For a TRAVELING COMPANION…………………………………….Read Ps. 121.

 

UNCLE BEN’S QUOTEBOOK (Harvest House Publishers c1976)  p.62

 

            If we want to have a life filled with abundance, we need to find the Abundant Life in Christ.  It is actually exciting to discover all the beautiful promises God gives us in the Bible.   Perhaps the following poem by Lois Anne Williams expresses best the riches of God!

I sat and gazed in silence

At the azure sky overhead.

In the glory of that moment,

A simple prayer was said.

I thanked God for all the grandeur,

For His beauty everywhere,

I praised the Great Creator

As I sat in silent prayer.

I found an inspiration

And a peace within my soul,

I took the time to worship

And I felt myself made whole.

-ibid p.245

           

A Child of the King

By Har­ri­et Bu­ell 1877 (Music by John Sumner 1877)

 

My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold.

My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is pleading our pardon on high,
That we may be His when He comes by and by.

I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.

A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They’re building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still may I sing:
All glory to God, I’m a child of the King.

Refrain

I’m a child of the King,
A child of the King:
With Jesus my Savior,
I’m a child of the King.

            I realize I had a rich beautiful childhood filled with love and one that not everyone has experienced.  I also have had a wonderful marriage with the love of a find husband, along with loving children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild.  Not everyone is this blessed and I know it.  However, if you are a child of the King, you are rich and, no matter what your past, you have a glorious future.  You are truly rich!

 

 

“You make me know the path of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in your right hand eternal delight.”  Psalms 16:11

 

            I think most of us like to have ‘fun!’  We may decide whether to do this or that according to which would be more fun.  My father wrote a short story about ‘fun’ that is quite startling.

IT’S A LOT OF FUN!

By Charlie Grier

 

Janie was 15 and she was excited. Her parents had just moved into a house on the right side of town. Now for the first time in her life she could hold her head high, and perhaps, even become one of the popular kids in school.

It was exciting! She could have a lot of friends soon, and maybe even participate in sleep-over parties.

The first day in school went just great. She made new friends and even got a date! She thought. “I want to be popular and I’m going to be now, because I just got a date with the star of the team!”

She did have some problems to deal with.  Her parents had said she was too young to date so she had to figure something out.  She decided to tell them that she was visiting a girl friend.  They wouldn’t know the difference.  She had not been in the habit of lying to her parents, but this was different.  That date was important to her and they just wouldn’t understand.

Well the pizza was good and the party was great but before the evening was over Henry was half drunk and was starting to show it.  Then to her surprise and horror everybody was smoking dope and Henry had already had had two joints when he made his first pass at her.  This was not what Jeanie wanted at all, and she fought him off with all the strength she had.  By now she had thought it through.

Her first date was not what she expected at all.  Henry’s kisses were now meaningless and even repulsive.  He wasn’t interested in her — only in her body!  She detested him!  And she no longer wished to be popular.  She wanted to be back with her family, going to church, reading her Bible and living for God.

“Take me home!” she demanded. “I want to go home!”

Henry was filled with rage!  He cranked the motor and stepped on the gas.  She begged and pleaded with him to slow down, but angrily, he drove faster and faster!  They were taking the curves on two wheels.  Then there was a big flash! “Please God, we’re going to crash, help us!”  It was too late.

Jeanie didn’t remember the force of the impact.  Everything suddenly went black.  She felt someone remove her from the twisted rubble.  She was placed in an ambulance.  She learned there were two cars involved.  Then she passed out.

She again awoke in the hospital.  They gently informed her that Henry was dead.  “Those in the other car?” she inquired, fearfully.

“They are dead, also,” she was informed.

Again Jeanie prayed, “Father forgive me.  It was all my fault.  I’m sorry I lied to Mom. I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I only wanted to have fun. Please forgive me. I’ll never do it again. I want to live for you.”

But Jeanie didn’t recover from the accident.  She is living for God alright, but she is now living in Heaven with her beloved parents — those in the other car were her own Mom and Dad!

Young people, I wrote this story especially for you.  Jeanie and Henry are fictitious characters, but the story I told has happened over and over again, in slightly different ways.  It will probably be repeated in scores of other lives within the next twenty-four hours.  My heart goes out to the youth of our day, because I was young once myself.  I wish I could do something to help you.

It’s good to have fun.  We all need it.  But not all fun turns out to be funny.  Before you take a rash step of any kind, think it through, and pray about it.  It may not be what you want, after all.  The only thing that saved me from a life of ruin and despair is the Lord Jesus Christ. Make Him King of your lives.

-End quote

 

MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE

By William R. Featherstone

 

My Jesus I love Thee,

I know Thou art mine,

For Thee all the follies

Of sin I resign;

My gracious Redeemer,

My Savior art Thou;

If ever I loved Thee,

My Jesus, ’tis now.

 

 

JOY NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY

By Dwight L. Moody

 

            In the second century, they brought a martyr before a king, and the king wanted him to recant and give up Christ, but the man spurned the thought.  The king said:  “If you don’t do it, I will banish you.”  The man smiled and answered:  “You can’t banish me from Christ.  He says He will never leave me nor forsake me.”  The king got angry, and said:  “Well, I will confiscate your property and take it all from you.”  And the man replied:  “My treasurers are laid up on high; you cannot get them.”  The king became still more angry, and said:  “I will kill you.”  “Why,” the man answered, “I have been dead forty years; I have been dead with Christ; dead to the world.  My life is hid with Christ in God, and you cannot touch it.”  And so we can rejoice, because we are resurrection ground, having risen with Christ.  Let persecution and opposition come.  “Your joy no man taketh from you.”

-God’s Treasury of Virtues (Honor Books, Inc. OK c1995) p. 73

 

 

“FAITH IS believing what God says simply because it is God who says it.” unknown

            I was given a book this year, “Praying God’s Word” by Beth Moore.  The Lord touched me with the second chapter “Overcoming Unbelief.”  Beth writes:

            “God seems to work in themes in my life.  You know what I mean.  Every sermon, morning devotional, and Christian radio program all ‘coincidentally’ speak to me about the same subject for an uncomfortable length of time.  I’ll even get a card in the mail from a Christian friend I haven’t seen in ten years and—you guessed it—she’ll share a good word on the exact ‘theme.’

            “Soon after my fortieth birthday, everywhere I turned I heard a message on ‘belief.’  I’m humiliated to admit that I became somewhat annoyed not to be hearing more on the subjects I really needed.  After all, I already was a believer, and if believers don’t believe, what on earth do they do?

            “Several weeks passed, and I still didn’t get it.  Finally one morning even Oswald Chambers had the audacity to bring up the subject in that day’s entry on My Utmost for His Highest.  I looked up and exclaimed, ‘What is this all about?’  I sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart, ‘Beth, I want you to believe Me.’ I was appalled.  ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘Of course I believe in you.  I’ve believed in You all my life.’  I felt He responded very clearly.  Adamantly.  ‘I didn’t ask you to believe in Me.  I asked you to believe Me.’

            “I sat very puzzled for several moments until I was certain that the Holy Spirit had faithfully shed light on my pitifully small faith.  I sensed Him saying, “My child, you believe Me for so little.  Don’t be so safe in the things you pray.  Who are you trying to keep from looking foolish?  Me or you?’

            “I don’t mind telling you that my life changed dramatically after God interrupted my comfortable pace with the ‘theme’ of belief.  Some of it has been excruciating, and some of it has been the most fun I’ve had in my entire Christian life.  I have a feeling this is one theme I probably will run into again and again in the course of my journey.  Why?  Because without faith it is impossible to please Him.  In other words, you and I will be challenged to believe Him from one season to the next, all of our days.  And if we have even half a heart for God, He’s likely to shake our perimeters and stir up a little excitement.”

-Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word (B&H Publishers TN c2003) p.34-35

           

            My birthday was January 2^nd and we were at our son’s home with family to celebrate.  I asked if I could read a part of this book and read the above portion.  I told them how this passage had been stirring my heart to believe God more.  I, too, have believed in God all my life but there is a difference somehow.  It is one thing to believe ‘in’ God and a totally different thing to simply ‘believe God!”  I was challenged to ‘believe’ that what God said He would do, He would do.  I liked God’s statement to Beth: ‘Who are you trying to keep from looking foolish?  Me or you?’

            I opened up my first gift.  It was a purse with great big words, ‘BELIEVE’ on the outside!  Then I received a number of other inspirational & loving cards and gifts including another Beth Moore book on King David.  I think God is challenging me to ‘believe’ Him more and He is challenging you also, my dear readers.

            Let’s take a moment a look at a few things God asks us to believe.  Put your name here.

1.      He is my shield and protector (Ps 3:3; 5:12; 18:2)

2.      He answers my prayers (Ps 3:4; Ps 5:3; 6:9)

3.      He helps me sleep (Ps 3:5; 4:8)

4.      He created me for His pleasure  (Rev. 4:11)

5.      God is a tower of strength in times of trouble (Psalms 9:9)

6.      God gives me food  (Ps. 22:26; 23:1)

7.      God forgives my sins (1 John 1:9)

8.      God created everything and nothing is too hard for Him  (Jeremiah 32:17)

9.      He loves me! (John 3:16)

10.  He delights in me!  

a.      “How great is ADONAI, who delights in the peace of his servant!” (Ps 35:27) 

b.      “for ADONAI takes delight in his people,” (Ps 149:4; Isa 62:4)

c.       “…those sincere in their ways are his delight.”  (Prov. 11:20)

d.      “…those who deal faithfully are his delight.”  (Prov. 12:22

11.  God will help us delight in Him!  (Isa. 58:14)

 

                Have you ever declared out loud, “God delights in me”?  Try it for it is true!  You say, “But I have done wrong!”  He exclaims:  “Come to Me and I will forgive you and make you clean.  Then we can have delightful times together.”

God Knoweth Best

-Unknown

Precious thought, my Father knoweth,

In His love I rest;

For whate’er my Father doeth

Must be always best.

Well I know the heart that planneth,

Nought but good for me;

Joy and sorrow interwoven;

Love in all I see.

 

Precious thought, my Father knoweth,

Careth for His child;

Bids me nestle closer to Him

When the storm beats wild.

Tho’ my earthly hopes are shattered,

And the tear drops fall,

Yet He is Himself my solace,

Yea, my Friend, my all.

 

Oh, to trust Him then more fully,

Just to simply move

In the conscious, calm enjoyment

Of the Father’s love;

Knowing that life’s chequered pathway

Leadeth to His rest,

Satisfied the way He taketh

Must be always best.

-The World’s Best-loved Poems (Harper & Row 1927) p.382-383

 

 

            One thing I love about Minnesotans is our toughness!  We’re rather an unusual breed but I love it!  No one lets a little cold weather slow us down – we just put on more clothes and off we go!  There is a resilience and strength that I see around me that blesses me.  I have had people tell me when they visited that they enjoyed the way we take care of one another up here in the Northland. 

            God has commanded us to be strong and courageous.  He also tells us to love one another and be an encouragement to each other.  I like what Joan Clayton from New Mexico wrote on this subject in a recent article.

BUILD EACH OTHER UP

            “Bible Thought:  ‘Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man’ (Colossians 4:6 KJV).

            “Criticism causes fear, aggression, and defensiveness!  We rarely apply criticism to ourselves.  Even so called “constructive criticism” leaves a lot of doubt in our minds!  Wouldn’t it be too wonderful if we were all like Barnabas?  We can be.

            “The father of the Prodigal son did not meet him with berating and criticism…only forgiveness!  Stephen did not defend himself, nor hold any malice.  On the cross, Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them.’  What if Jesus had said:  ‘When you get everything perfect, then I will love you?’

            “Praise and encouragement enable people to meet their goals.  People that we sometimes criticize are what we might be under their circumstances.  Let us refuse to criticize.  Let us hold our tongues.  We can do so much more with praise and encouragement.  Praisers, not criticizers, bring men to Jesus!

            “I have heard all of my life that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’  That statement is absolutely false.  Words destroy much worse than bruises.  Withhold criticism.  Instead, give praise and encouragement.  Build each other up!

            “Hymn:  ‘Love One Another.’  Dear precious Lord, help us to put a watch over our mouths.  May we only say things that build up and encourage.  In Jesus’ beautiful name.  Amen.”

-Joan Clayton, Portales, NM (The Bible Friend Dec. 2009) p.3

 

A FATHER’S KINDNESS

 

            “Busy in his study a minister was preparing his sermon for the coming Sunday.  He reached to the shelf at his side for a book, and then remembered that he had left it downstairs.  His little daughter was playing in the bedroom, and he called her.  She came, running, eager and delighted at the thought that Papa needed her.  He explained carefully where she could find the book, and she went gladly, returning in a moment with a book which he saw at a glance was the wrong one.  But he hardly looked at the book as he took it and laid it on the table.  He looked only at the eager face of his little daughter, wreathed in smiles.  Gathering her close to his heart, he kissed her and said, ‘Thank you, darling.’  And when she had gone back happy and contented to her play he went quietly for the book he needed.  I think I should like to listen to the sermons that man would preach.”

-God’s Treasury of Virtues (Honor Books, c.2995) p. 209

 

            Many of us are not experiencing the love and caring of this godly man listed above.  In fact, even though many put on a brave face, there is a lot of people in pain among us.  I wonder what life would be like if we all tried to say a word of encouragement to someone rather than a critical one.  An unkind word could have crushed the beautiful child in the story above but loving kindness from her father blessed her instead.

            The holidays are over and everyone is counting their shekels to see if there’s enough left to make it through the bleak cold winter months.  Even though the faces of our fellow men and women may be brave, is fear and pain griping their hearts?  Let’s determine to spend some time deliberately trying to encourage one person each day.               

DROP A PEBBLE IN THE WATER

By James W. foley

 

Drop a pebble in the water:

Just a splash, and it is gone,

But there’s half-a-hundred ripples

Circling on and on and on,

Spreading, spreading from the center,

Flowing on out to the sea.

And there is no way of telling

Where the end is going to be.

 

Drop a pebble in the water:

In a minute you forget,

But there’s little waves a-flowing,

And there’s ripples circling yet,

And those little waves a-flowing

To a great big wave have grown;

You’ve disturbed a mighty river

Just by dropping in a stone.

 

Drop an unkind word, or careless:

In a minute it is gone;

But there’s half-a-hundred ripples

Circling on and on and on.

They keep spreading, spreading, spreading

From the center as they go

And there is no way to stop them,

Once you’ve started them to flow.

 

Drop an unkind word, or careless:

In a minute you forget:

But there’s little waves a-flowing,

And there’s ripples circling yet.

And perhaps in some sad heart

A mighty wave of tears you’ve stirred,

And disturbed a life was happy

Ere you dropped that unkind word.

 

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:

Just a flash and it is gone;

But there’s half-a-hundred ripples

Circling on and on and on,

Bearing hope and joy and comfort

On each splashing, dashing wave

Till you wouldn’t believe the volume

Of the one kind word you gave.

 

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:

In a minute you forget;

But there’s gladness still a-swelling,

And there’s joy circling yet,

And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort

Whose sweet music can be heard

Over miles and miles of water

Just by dropping one kind word.

-The Bible Friend, July 2009, p.4