The Measure Of The Family

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. (Luke 2:16)

When someone rises to a high position in world leadership and influence, the first information the world wants to know is, "What is the family history"

Upon reading only a few of the volumes of biographies of well~known people, one will quickly sense that indeed the family~the home and the individuals in it~or the lack of family~greatly influence the actions and life~changing decisions of adults and young persons. It makes them who they are, and, in turn, the family molds and shapes future generations.

Name the person or persons who whave shaped our world in art, music, politics or science. Look beyond those persons to the families and homes that molded them. We cannot fully measure the effect of the family, any family.

Like the wake of a ship that leaves an unending ripple in an enormous sea, a family's influence can extend far beyond our sight or knowledge.

How can you and I measure the influence upon us of the families that lived before our time? Our ancestors? Or even those who are not in our direct line, but whose lives affected those who were?

Give Time To Quietness

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? (Psalm 27:1)

The fight to which we have been called is not an easy fight. We are touching the very center of the devil's power and kingdom, and he hates us intensely and fights hard against us. We have no chance at all of winning in this fight unless we are disciplined soldiers, utterly out-and-out and uncompromising, and men and women of prayer.

So first, give much time to quietness. For the most part we have to get our help directly from our God. We are here to help, not to be helped, and we must each learn to walk with God alone and feed on His Word so as to be nourished. Don't only read and pray, listen. And don't evade the slightest whisper of guidance that comes. May God make you very sensitive, and very obedient.

Fill up the crevices of time with the things that matter most. This will cost something, but it is worth it. "Seek ye My face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek" (Psalm 27:8).

All this will be, if you walk with Him as with a visible Companion, from dawn through all the hours till you go to sleep at night. And your nights will be holy too, for He is watching over your sleep as your mother watched over it when you were a tiny child.

Why I say I Am A Christian

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not shouting, "I'm clean livin'" I'm whispering, "I was lost," now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say..."I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far to visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say..."I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou. I'm just a simple sinner who received God's grace somehow.

Rainbow Gardening

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up...(Proverbs 12:25)

RAINBOW SEEDS~A miniature plastic bag with a teaspoon of colored sprinkles.

PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS:

WHEN TO PLANT: Any season, but rainbows grow best just after a storm.

WHERE TO PLANT: In the light of the Son, preferably near a pot of gold.

HOW TO PLANT: Assume a kneeling position close to the earth. Dig a hole deep enough to hold the cause of your dark clouds. Place the cause and the seedss in the soil, cover with earth, then rise and stomp down with bothe feet. Walk away in faith.

HARVEST: When needed most.

I got to thinking about how a rainbow is a perfect picture of God's grace. It's a kind of refuge for our mind when storms threaten to rip us apart and flood our dwelling. In the rainbow we see God's promise that He will never again devastate life on earth.

Don't ponder over the "what-ifs" or "whys," neither question your abilities. Simply wait on Him and watch your garden grow.

When the mighty winds blow, and they will, God will miraculously place them at your back. When the floods begin to rage, and they will, He may tell you to keep paddling in faith, believing, while He calms the seas.

We don't have to worry about making a way. If it's His will, He works all things out in His own perfect timing.

He calls us through, around, over, and under. No foe can stop us, no poverty can starve us, no evil can diminish His call, for He has a glorious plan!

You can be a rainbow gardener by opening your heart even if your in pain yourself. Let someone know that although you don't have it altogether, you find comfort and help in the Lord.

Thank You Father

We should always be quick to lift up the Lord when we are tempted to worry or fear over the negative situations that come our way. The Lord is to be magnified above all things and our confidence in Him should be reflected by the actions we take in facing the negative reports that are presently before us. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:16; Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The Lord wishes to meet our needs, but we must call upon Him and let God know of our needs while also giving thanks and praise for promising never to leave us nor forsake us. Be encouraged to have a thankful attitude to the Lord. Give thanks for everything that God has given to you. Do not wait to call upon Him only when you are in need, but rather when all is going well become one who gives praise and thanks for the good in your life. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I hope this inspires and challenges your heart to be quick to give God thanks. It is easy to murmur and complain when things go wrong, but if we change our attitude and call upon the Lord with our praises, our problems will soon seem minuscule.

Dear God:

I want to thank You for what you have already done.

I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards, I am
thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better, I am
thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop
talking about me, I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears, I am thanking
you right now.

I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves, I am going to
thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is
quiet, I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job,
I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that
has caused me pain or grief, I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are
removed. I am thanking you right now.

I am thanking you because I am alive.

I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties.

I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles.

I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more
and do better.

I'm thanking you because Father, you haven't given up on me.

Author Unknown

Jeremiah 32:17-18: Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the
earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too
hard for Thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest
the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:
the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is His name.

2 Chronicles 16:9: For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the
whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward Him...

Romans 8:31-32: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Matthew 21:21-22: Jesus says,...Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith,
and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but
also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast
into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in
prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Feedings In The Philippines

Jesus says; Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?...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 knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself...(Matthew 6:25-34)

Material wealth gives a dangerous, false sense of security. The birds and lilies do not fret and worry, yet they have God's wealth in ways that man cannot duplicate. All of nature depends on God, and God never fails. Only mortal man depends on money, and money always fails.

God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies. He will feed and cloth us. He has great blessings for us if only we will yield to Him and live for the riches that last forever.
What a testimony it is to the world when we dare to practice "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto us."

Yes, it is right to plan for the future and even save for the future (1 Tim. 5:8). But it is a sin to worry about the future and permit tomorrow to rob us of todays blessings.

He knows that we need certain things in order to live. In fact, He has given us "richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17)

Jesus says that worry is sin. We may dignify worry by calling it by some other name; concern, burden, a cross to bear~but the results are the same.

Materialism will enslave the heart, the mind and the will. We become shackled by the material things of life.
Most of these people don't have the material things we have, let alone enough food to eat. They truly trust and depend on God to provide their daily needs.

It is such a blessing to be used by our Heavenly Father to help and encourage those less fortunate than us no matter where we live or where we go.

Those we served at the feedings have victory over worry...they have faith, trusting God to meet their needs, knowing their Heavenly Father cares for His children and, putting His will first in their lives daily so that He will be glorified.

No matter our circumstances, we should always have the assurance that God has not left our side and that dwelling in Him we receive our strength. The goodness of the Lord reaches from everlasting to everlasting and when we find ourselves discouraged or disheartened, all we need to do is return again to the Lord to be refreshed and renewed by His Spirit. The Scripture says the Joy of the Lord is your strength.

Have faith in God the Father, put Him first, He will meet your needs.

From Death To Life

I am on a missions trip in the Philippines. We arrived safely and are about our Father's business each day, going where He leads us. Witnessing His tender mercies over all His works.

When we were here two years ago, we went to visit a lady in the hospital. She had been in the hospital for three years, yes, three years! with a bad case of Lupus. She was literally dying from the disease.

Upon our return this time, she is home from the hospital and doing feeding programs for needy children, families and her doctors and nurses. She also raises funds to help feed those in need and gets medicines donated for those needing medical attention.

She fixed us breakfast when we got to town. It is such a miracle that she is up walking and ministering for the Lord through her cooking, even though she cannot eat anything but organic rice and drink rice milk, she blesses many others through her cooking.

God has healed her and blessed her with a wonderful ministry and she serves Him with MUCH joy and gladness.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits (Psalm 68:19).