Change

                                                                                                        Story of the day:  Change

   Change can sometimes be scary.  “Change defines our world.  Each day, a dazzling array of changes confronts us.  Governments fall, children grow and mature, friends move away, storms uproot trees, new buildings replace old ones, colors fade, summer turns into fall, and technological advances render modern appliances obsolete.  All these changes tend to undermine our feelings of security–we wonder what will last, what is solid, and who will be there.

   Then we turn to God’s Word, which proclaims the reassuring fact that our God does not change.  In truth, He is the same as He has always been–loving, forgiving, merciful, and just.  And, unlike the sources of many of our disappointments, God is reliable–He keeps His promises.  We can be sure that what He says, He will do.  We can know that He will be with us and for us in the future, forever, in fact, just as He is today.

   Feeling unsure or insecure as you face the continuous onslaught of change?  Plant your feet and your faith on a solid foundation–your unchanging Lord.”  (Livingstone)

Quote of the day:  Dale Galloway

“Karl Barth, famed theologian, was once asked, “What is the greatest thought you ever had?”  His answer:  “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Bible verse of the day:  Hebrews 13:8

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You that in the midst of change, I can count on Your character and Your promises to get me through the change.  You have proven Your faithfulness throughout time and because of Your faithfulness, I can rest assured that through any change, I will be okay.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

 

 

Entertaining Angels

                                                                                                       

Story of the day:  Entertaining Angels

I have told the following story before and I thought that it would be appropriate to share it with Quote of the day.  Some of you may have heard it before, but to some of you, it may be new.

At the age of 16, my brother had to have an emergency appendectomy.  This emergency surgery led to him having other serious health issues, which in turn caused him to have to be on medication or this illness could have killed him.  The drugs were very strong and ranked high up there with chemotherapy.  He lost his hair and a lot of weight.

Needless to say, it was a very scary and heart wrenching time in our life.  As a family, me and Jeff, having 2 children at the time, decided along side my mom, dad, and brother that it would be best to move in all together.  We helped in every way possible and more importantly just loved him and prayed him through his situation.  We took turns giving him shots, reading Scripture, and just praying for him.

He became very ill and weak because of all the medications that he was taking, which in turn discouraged him in many ways that only one can imagine.  Well, throughout this trial in his life,  he still managed to live as normal a life as possible and always managed to hold his head high.

One day, he decided to go to the mall.  He was hanging out and decided to sit on a bench that was so appropriately placed next to the mall entrance.  As he was sitting on this bench, a little boy around 12 years of age approached my brother, and began to speak to him.  They talked about life, they talked about school, and they talked about God.

What was unusual about this situation is that my brother had never met this little boy, but became intrigued by the conversation that was taking place.  The little boy then said these few statements that shook my brother to his core and grew his faith in God even more than it already it had.  The little boy said, “I know that you are sick.  Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay!  God’s going to take care of you and you will get better!”  The reason these statements are so different from what they were previously talking about, is because that little boy knew nothing about my brother being sick.  My brother never even mentioned what he was going through as far as his illness.

It started getting late and the little boy left out of the doors that were right next to the bench that my brother was sitting on.  Still amazed that the little boy knew of my brother’s illness, my brother decided to follow this little boy because he wanted to thank him again for talking with him and to find out his name.  As he followed the little boy outside the doors of the mall, the ray’s from the sun’s bright light caught his eye, causing my brother to no longer see the little boy.  Now, I’m not saying that the little boy didn’t get into a car at this point and drive away.  What I am saying is that this little boy came along and spoke to my brother at a time that he needed it the most, and for that moment, in the right place, my brother entertained an angel and didn’t even know it.

God can use anyone to be our angel.  They are sent to let us know that God is so real and that He is there to take care of us.  To let you know about my brother, he is completely healed and because of his faith and trust in God, he is now a living testimony for our Heavenly Father, in more ways than just one.

Quote of the day:  George Elliot

“The golden moment in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.”

Bible verse of the day:  Hebrews 13:2

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Throughout Scripture there have been so many accounts of Your angels and the work that they do here in this world.  Father, I don’t know how, and my tiny mind couldn’t even possibly come to understand why sometimes, but I do know that my faith and trust in You is so great, that I believe it when you say “when I entertain strangers,  I may just have entertained an angel.”  I love You Lord and I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

Are you clinging?

                                                                                                                            Story of the day:  Are you clinging?

   My father loves to build.  He adds on to his home, installs air conditioning units, runs electricity,  whatever the task, he can read about it and do it.  I would have to call him a jack of all trades.  Sometimes these extra curricular activities brings on height challenges.  They’re more challenging for me, than my father, because I am afraid of heights.  

   “Have you ever had to paint a second or third story of a house?  You get about halfway up that double or triple extension ladder and it begins to bend and bounce with your every movement.  Then you start wondering about the ladder and its footing and where you will end up when it crashes to the earth so far below you.  So, in fear and terror, you stop where you are and cling to the ladder, looking neither up nor down.

   Eventually you realize that you must paint the house and that you can’t reach it from where you are.  So, mustering up all your courage and recalling that you have never seen such a ladder fall over, you conquer the next rung and inch your way to the next, then the next.  Finally you reach the top of the ladder and cling to it for your life.  Now that you’ve arrived, you ask yourself how you can take one hand off the ladder to use the paintbrush and not plummet to the earth below.  But you do.  You begin.  After a bit of scraping, the wood soaks up the paint.  You whistle and admire the fine job you are doing.  Soon the terror is forgotten.

   You’ve learned an important lesson of life from this.”  Just like my father, new tasks can be challenging and “no matter what high responsibility you take on, it’s scary, very scary, but only until you start working.”

Quote of the day:  Author unknown

“He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.”

Bible verse of the day:  Mark 9:23

“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Sometimes things in life can be scary, especially when it’s new and something I have never done before.  Father, the responsibilities that are placed before me, may I step out by faith and overcome any fear that is hindering my task.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen  

 

He is our Lighthouse

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Story of the day:  He is our Lighthouse

    We watched a movie last night that made reference to a lighthouse.  The person in the movie was explaining to the children what the lighthouses were used for and how they had saved many lives of people that were stuck at sea.  This past Sunday our pastor had also referenced the dark and how we feel so uncomfortable in the dark, because we can’t see.  When people can’t see, there is always a sense of urgency to find some source of light.  Our pastor had also said, “Do you remember as children when you would hear noises in the dark, but couldn’t see anything.”  You would search for some sort of light that would comfort you.  Sometimes you just wanted your parents to come, turn the light on, and check just to make sure that the one thing that you thought you had heard wasn’t in the closet or under the bed. The darkness can be scary because we can’t see what’s in front of us, but once the light is on and you can see, the things that were once scary in the dark, aren’t so scary in the light.

    Last night when we saw this movie, this one particular line touched me the most.  The character asked the children,  “Why do we have lighthouses?  Well, because they help when it’s dark out.  They help us from crashing into the rocks, because when you’re out there and you’re being tossed back and forth by those big dark waves and you think you’ll never feel land again and you feel like you are being split into a thousand pieces and sink down deep, it’s the light that keeps us on course.”  How powerful this line was to me and as I began to truly think about this and God began to tie things together from Sunday at church to Monday night when we watched this movie, He began to show me that without the light, we can become lost or scared.  We want to cry out because we can’t see what’s in front of us.  And as overwhelming as the darkness may be, it makes us appreciate the light even more.  

    Know this, just as our pastor said, “It won’t be dark for long.”  If you find yourself at your lowest times, or your “darkest hour”, it will be God’s Light that will show you the way.  And as much as we can pray to never have rough times, we are not guaranteed that we won’t have them.  But, just as quickly as those “big dark waves” come, Jesus will be there, standing in as our Lighthouse, and He will keep us from “crashing into the rocks”,  “being tossed back and forth by those big dark waves”, and when we can’t feel the land beneath our feet, He will “keep us on course.”

Quote of the day:  Christy Povolish

“Have you become afraid of the dark?  Keep your eyes focused on Jesus, for He is the Lighthouse that will bring forth the light and peace that you need.”

Bible verse of the day:  Psalm 27:1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

As scary as the dark may be, You have said that You are my light and my salvation, and as such, I should not be afraid, because Your light, will keep me from “crashing into the rocks” and will “keep me on course,” if I keep my eye on You.  I thank You that during the dark, You are always there, shining for me to see.  Thank You for the gift of light.  God, I pray for those individuals out there that are “being tossed back and forth by those big dark waves.”  God I pray that they open their eyes long enough to see the Lighthouse that You have placed before them.  I pray for them to find peace in these times by following the Light and to know that even though this experience may be a lot to take, and the dark is uncomfortable, that “the sun will eventually come up” and their dark hour can come to an end, if they just trust and have faith in You.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen