Melodious Thoughts & Blessings

Beware of Idols...

2012-02-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

I remember the first time I ever came face to face with real Idol worship. It was during my first mission trip in High school. We were in Bangkok Thailand and passed by some temples (which were actually everywhere) as we were sightseeing. (See the picture I took above!) I grew up reading Bible stories and hearing about people in ancient times that worshipped idols. And I grew up hearing about the people in foreign lands that bowed down and worshipped idols. But growing up hearing these things and then seeing it in reality with your own eyes is vastly different. The solemn reverence with which the worshipers approached the golden idols was amazing, and the devotion that was evident in their eyes was saddening. Many of them spent hours prostrate on their faces before the idols in worship, and many were probably pleading for forgiveness for past wrongs. I was astounded and heart broken."How can these people worship something made of stone? How can they pour their lives away before a lifeless statue? These people need Jesus!" I cried. No one answered, and my peers tried to console me gently. After all, it was my first glimpse of idol worship…and I was just a child.

Many years have come and gone since that first real life exposure to idol worship…and my heart still cries. But it's not just crying for the people in foreign lands anymore…it's crying for the people of our own land. We, the civilized religious citizens of the Western world live in a land of idol worship. In fact, sometimes, I am shocked to even discover idols in my own home…

Idols in our world come in various shapes and sizes…and they aren't usually images of stone like in old times. Sometimes they are giant, and sometimes they are quite small. Sometimes they even live and move and breath…things alive, yet very far from God.

We were just returning from our trip out West a couple weeks ago when this gigantic structure loomed on the horizon. From a distance it looked like a large space-craft had landed. "What's that?" my little niece asked. Without even stopping to think, I replied… "It's an idol…a very large idol!" (It was actually the Phoenix Football Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals. And that thing was massive!) In fact, it was sooo impressive, I kinda had this mixture of awe and appalling sadness as we drove by. "Why do you say it's an idol?" asked my inquisitive little friend. And so I began to explain to her how an idol is anything that takes our time and focus away from God and the eternal priorities of heaven. She was somber and deep in thought as she listened. And I was somber and deep in thought as I spoke.

Lest we be too hard on those worshipping in the large stadiums of our modern world, what about the idols of our own homes and the idols that we still cling to in our own hearts? Are there things in our lives that we don't think we could live without….things we have unknowingly come to worship?? The T.V. maybe, staying abreast on the latest talk radio or news, following a celebrity, Facebook, gaming, surfing the web (which by the way is one of the biggest sports American's play now days!). Maybe it's a certain style of life, a certain style or brand of clothes, certain food, trying to attain a certain career, a relationship, a status…or maybe we've made "ministry" our idol - since it strokes our ego and puts us on a self-righteous pedestal with others and God. Speaking of self-righteous, I think the biggest unchecked idol is often ourselves. This one is so often overlooked, yet unless God truly has control, we are naturally inclined to please our-SELVES and live for our-SELVES and worship our-SELVES!! It's not about God anymore but about us…and about us trying to get Him to endorse our actions with His stamp of approval! If that doesn't constitute the truest form of "I"-DOL worship - I'm not sure what does!

This past year, after an hour of united prayer at one of the conferences we were covering, someone brought us a expensive watch that had been left in the room. At first we thought someone had forgotten the watch by accident, but then we found a note that had been left with it. It went like this:

"This watch has not been forgotten but is being surrendered. I knew better and I should never have bought it. It has become an idol to me. There have been many layers in my heart between me and God, but now there is one layer less. Praise the Lord. Ezek 36:26"

The one who surrendered the watch back to God did not leave their name - why? Probably because they no longer needed a pat on the back from man. They were looking alone for the approval of God. And isn't that the way it should be for all of us? Too often we live for the approval of men (or those around us) rather than that of God! (I know this has been my own struggle…I get too concerned with what people think and forget to ask what God thinks! I forget that it's for His glory alone that I live.) What a testimony and quiet rebuke that "surrendered watch" has been to me and to countless others.

Since then, we've seen people so impacted in prayer that they've given up expensive cameras, jewelry, music, destructive relationships, their life savings…one young man even gave up his long hair...not because we (or anyone else) told him too, but because God convicted him to let go of his idol. Others (I'm thinking of an attorney friend) have walked away from successful careers that fostered pride to careers that required sacrifice but reached others for eternity. And I could share testimony after testimony...

The official definition of an "idol" is actually: "Something that takes the place of God, Any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion."

In the scripture time and time again we are admonished, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) Inspiration goes on to tells us:

"Whatever we cherish that tends to lessen our love for God or to interfere with the service due Him, of that do we make a god. Idolatry exists in the church-goers today as verily as in the days of Noah. But when His commands are obeyed, the human family will be elevated, ennobled, and exalted. O that you would search the Scriptures with prayerful hearts, and a spirit of surrender to God! O that you would search your hearts as with a lighted candle, and discover and break the finest thread that binds you to worldly habits, which divert the mind from God! Plead with God to show you every practice that draws your thoughts and affections from Him. God has given His holy law to man as His measure of character. By this law you may see and overcome every defect in your character. You may sever yourself from every idol, and link yourself to the throne of God by the golden chain of grace and truth." Maranatha, p. 48

It's easy to always point the finger at others. (I'm pretty good at it myself!) It's easy to excuse ourselves because of the day and age in which we live…after all, idols are accepted and applauded and celebrated in our culture. And if you've ever spent much time gazing at them, you have to admit they really are quite fascinating. Like Princess Diana, for example. I don't know of her being a follower of Christ, but her life was enchanting to follow….and millions did, as they have countless others. Is it any wonder the rich and famous celebrities of the world (and those striving for that status as represented by the picture above) have become an idol to so many around the world?!

I think it's interesting that another definition of an "idol" is: "A mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom, a figment of the mind; fantasy."

You see, all the idols of the world are only passing semblances of something, but they have no substance in and of themselves. Just like phantom pain is indeed real for an amputee (and yet it's only a figment of the mind), the idols we embrace in our day and culture do give the semblance of real joy…but they are without lasting substance. They are a phantom that brings pleasure, but in light of eternity they are chaff in the wind.

The real One deserving of our worship and adoration is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The One that stretched out the Heavens by His great power and breathed the stars into place. (Jer 32) The One that gave up His life to rescue ours - the ultimate love story. The One whose abiding presence is no phantom, but brings joy everlasting and peace eternal! Once you've experienced what Jesus Christ is, how could you settle for anything less? And once you've experienced what Jesus Christ has to offer, how could you keep it to yourself??

"And this is Life Eternal, that they might know THEE, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." John 17:3

As we stand on the edge of eternity, let us ask God to put the search-light on our heart and life and show us what idols we may be still holding on to, what things we have put in place of Him…for we want nothing to keep back the blessings that He is just waiting to give. We want nothing to keep us from Him!!!

"Beware of procrastination. Do not put off the work of forsaking your sins and seeking purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where thousands upon thousands have erred to their eternal loss. I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger—a danger not sufficiently understood—in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God’s Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is. Sin, howeversmall it may be esteemed, can be indulged in only at the peril of infinite loss. What we do not overcome, will overcome us and work out our destruction." Steps to Christ, p. 32

"Lord, help us not to worship idols. Teach us how to worship YOU and only YOU! Amen…"

As long as You are glorified...

2012-01-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

Isn't it interesting how we have no problem taking the blessings from God - just heap them on! But if there come trials or pain (which is often His work tools to shape our character), we think He's abandoned us or that He's being cruel! And our whole attitude changes… now does that make any sense?? Did God change?

I just read this poem today on a friend's blog (Thx Timothy) and had to repost it. I usually don't post so many poems - as I really like to write and share more original Melodious thoughts. But it seems I've come upon a few powerful poems lately, so I hope they are a blessing! This one is profound…

- Mel

As Long As You Are Glorified
by Mark Altrogge

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I'm filled
Are You King only when I'm carefree
And God only when I'm well
You are good when I'm poor and needy
You are true when I'm parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You're still God in the darkest night

So quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart
Quiet my restless heart in you

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

The result of being truly FILLED with the Holy Spirit...

2012-01-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord

Once it was the feeling, now it is His Word

Once His gifts I wanted, now the Giver own

Once I sought for healing, now for Himself alone

Once was painful trying, now 'tis perfect trust;

Once a half salvation, now the uttermost.

Once 'twas ceaseless holding, now He holds me fast;

Once 'twas constant drifting, now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, now 'tis trustful prayer

Once 'twas anxious caring, now He has the care

Once 'twas what I wanted, now what Jesus says

Once 'twas constant asking, now 'tis ceaseless praise

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be

Once I tried to use Him, now He uses me

Once the power I wanted, now the Mighty One

Once for self I labored, now for Him alone!

ARME returns to Pine Springs Ranch, CA - Jan 2012

2012-01-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a few memories from our powerful weekend together!!

Above Dave and Calvin welcome attendees to the camp with prayer...

Our beautiful lodge and facility

Welcome on opening night and allowing Teri to share her testimony! She attended ARME for the first time in Hawaii last November and returned this camp with 13 of her church members. Amazing!!! If only everyone was such a great recruiter, this would spread like wildfire! ;-)

Starting the meetings off with United Prayer…right from the beginning we could sense the Holy Spirit's blessing. It was so beautiful.

Pastor Myers showing how we can find Christ in ALL the scriptures.

Times of prayer and Bible study… the powerful combo that changes lives!

Sabbath sermon with the Patel brothers - here you can see our packed out meeting room! We probably had over 600 on the weekend.

These guys have an amazing testimony…God is good! Lawrence, one of our powerful testimonies from 2010 (a gang leader turned Evangelist) is partly responsible for helping these two boys desire to learn more about God. Praise God! And NOW they are preaching and sharing their story...

All night prayer meeting… so beautiful to see God's people praying together. Over 200 stayed up all night for this event.

Bible study time during the all night prayer.

Special time of intercession - praying for specific needs that people have!

Smiling friends - Brian and Miae

The Heir Force program - the kids learning about God and having fun!

With my little girl - enjoying the meetings!

Dawn - Kim and I - accidently all dressed alike! I love these girls with all my heart!!!!

The Grey sisters - Heidy and Cindy

More Heir Force fun...

Heir Force sharing time at ARME Family night...

The whole group - Family Picture - January 2012

ARME Staff January 2012 PSR

Every ARME we all wonder how things can get any better. But serving God always gets better. This camp was so powerful, that afterwards our entire team was united in the fact that we need to make ARME a full time ministry. Already we have people all over the world asking us to come and host an event… so pray for us as we consider what God would have us do for the future of ARME.

We must WAIT...

2012-01-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:

Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait! " my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe

we need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut

and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting.... for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,

And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want ~ But, you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint;

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me

When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;

You'd know that I give and I save.... (for a start),

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,

The faith that I give when you walk without sight,

The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked

Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,

What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,

But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

" WAIT "

Becoming a True Man...

2012-01-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

Becoming a true godly man…it's not something I personally aspire to attain…because, after all, I'm not a man, I'm a woman! :-) But…I do admit, it's something that I pray for and long to see attained by my brothers: my biological brothers, as well as my brothers in Christ.

For years I've had a few prayers on my "requests list for God," prayers that have not changed or been written off. Even when I see the answer happening, I still keep praying! Why, because I know that these men I pray for are just a work in progress…and there is never a time when they will have arrived. They need continued prayer, just as I need continued prayer.

Let me share a few of these prayers I've been praying over the years:

Dear God,

May these men grow to fear and honor you above all others! May they seek your approval above the approval of their fellow man.
May they surrender every area of their lives to you - may they look to you alone for their wisdom and their guidance.
Help them to know Your purpose and what You have created them to be. May their lives be a fulfillment of your purposes and your glory and not their own.
Shield their mind from the lies of the enemy. Give them mental strength and confidence, not in themselves, but in the truths of Your Word.
Strengthen them to resist and flee from the temptations of the flesh and of the world. Hedge them in and protect them from the distractions of the enemy.
Help them to be good stewards of the gifts you have given them: of their money, their time, their affections, and their energy. Help them to realize that life is short and only when they seek you first will their lives be filled with your blessings.
Bless the work of their hands. May every thing that they do prosper and bring honor to you and be used towards the salvation of others.
Sustain their health. Give them self discipline, mentally and physically that they may abide by the 8 laws of health, and that they may not waste their time or health on frivolities - video games, television, the cheap and superficial, the lusts of the flesh.
Protect them from the attacks of the enemy, but give them just enough trials to keep their eyes upon you and to refine their character. Don't allow them to be crushed, but bruise them so that they may grow.
Make them men of personal and private integrity - men that will be true to You and to their conscience even when the doors are closed and no one is watching.
Bless them with an untarnished reputation - untarnished by the darkness of the world. However, if they are put on trial for being a Christian, may there be enough evidence to convict them.
Guide in their relationships that they may have wisdom. While seeking to bless and witness to all that cross their paths, help them to only choose their closest companions of men that will point and encourage them to greater heights of surrender, and a closer walk with you.
Make them men that are willing to sacrifice the good things of life that they may have the BEST thing in life: YOU!
May they be men of the Word - willing to not just profess the Word, but spend hours studying it and learning it's truth.
Make them men of prayer - not men that just profess to believe the power of prayer, but men that are willing to spend hours and nights in prayer, agonizing for the lost, agonizing for a closer walk with you!
Make them men of the tenderest velvet - tender towards others, towards those that are in pain, tender towards the things of God, not afraid to cry, and made tender by the passion of the heart of Christ.
Finally, make them men of steel - Soldiers that will stand for You even in the face of death. Men that will speak for You even if their life is at stake, men that will live for You even if it becomes the most unpopular thing in the world to do!

God, I give you my brothers, my Father, the men in my life that I respect, and the man I hope to spend my life with (that I have yet to meet). Make them Your Men, True Men!

I will continue to pray this prayer as long as I live, both for my brothers, my teammates in service, and for whatever godly men that God brings across my path. Why: Because even though I can see God answering my prayers even now…I know that their lives are just a work in progress. As deceptions are increasing, so are the attacks of the enemy. Just this past year, I've been saddened to witness men of the highest character have moral falls. No one is exempt from destruction…no one is safe for a moment without prayer. So I will continue to pray for my men…for God's men!

But I have to say - how proud I am to be big sister to two very incredible men!!!!!!

God is answering my prayers! He's answering the prayers my parents have prayed long before I knew about the power of prayer. He is at work. Yes, I've seen my brothers stumble, I've seen them struggle, and I've witnessed their pain. Yet I've seen them grow stronger through the battles life has given them. I've seen them wrestle all night (yes, all night!!) in prayer. I've seen them spending hours meditating upon God's Word, memorizing scripture and hiding it in their hearts. I've seen them reaching out to others with a love and compassion that is seldom seen from men in this day and age! They aren't perfect, they are still growing, and they have a long ways to go… just like me! But I'm so thankful for these men…godly men, that God has placed in my life. And it is a privilege to lift them up in prayer! (I love you Homer and Daniel!!!!!)

Looking around it's kinda perplexing what has been happening to the godly line of men. But it's no accident. The devil has a plan and he is attacking and trying to strip our men of the godly masculinity that God intended them to posses. It's no accident that they have lost their backbone, their strength, and their determination to stand for truth. It's no accident that instead of being bold defenders of truth, the majority of our Christian men have become lukewarm pew warmers, content to let others do the job! The devil knows what he's up to. But we must not let him succeed… We (both men and woman) can stand against him in this battle. And we stand not alone…

"What shall we then say to these things. If God be for us, WHO can be against us?" Rom 8:31

It's also no accident that we are told exactly what is needed:

"The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though theheavens fall." Education, p. 57

Just because we've been raised in Christian homes… just because we've memorized many Bible verses and can argue our beliefs, just because we've been home schooled all our lives or taught to eat a simple healthful diet… just because we claim to belong to a "Remnant people"… just because that or anything else doesn't really make us true men and woman!

"One’s claim to manhood is determined by the use he makes of the powers that God has given him. The members of the human family are entitled to the name of men and women only as they employ their talents for the good of others. It is when ministering to others that man is most closely allied to God. He who is true to his God-given manhood will not only promote the happiness of his fellow beings in this life, but will aid them to secure the reward of the life to come." RH July 11, 1907, par. 4

To be true men (and woman)…we must not just have Christ, but be changed by Him! Changed to change others!

[Author's endnote: To hear one of the most powerful sermons on what is godly masculinity, please listen to: The Measurement of a Man! It's powerful!

Danger - don't be like the daffodils who are being deceived!

2012-01-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

The little green shoots slowly poke their tiny heads up through the soil and dry leaves. "No no! Go back down. Don't come up now!" my heart silently pleads. "Don't you know that the freezing weather is yet to come?" But they don't listen. Beckoned by the warm gentle rays of sun and the deceptively spring-like warm days, they continue to sprout upward.

A few days later, I happen by again, only to see that more growth has been made, and they are even more vulnerable than before. Again my heart cries, "It's dangerous. Don't you realize what time of year it is right now? You're going to be destroyed! You shouldn't pay attention to the warm weather…it's deceiving you."

But how can the daffodils know? It may be January, in the dead of winter, here in the Ozarks of Arkansas, but our daffodils are springing forth in their full glory, unprotected and unprepared for the hard times ahead. My heart aches, for they've been deceived by the beautiful days we've been having the last few weeks. It does feel like spring, strangely…but I know it's not. And our first bad winter storm could strike any day, leaving us buried under mountains of ice and snow.

As I hurt for the destruction that I know is soon to befall our beautiful flowers, I see the oddly similar spiritual parallel that we face in the times we are living in.

Here we, Christ's follower's, sit approaching the end of time on a train that is going full speed, precariously balanced atop a long bridge whose very support is being cut out from beneath us: National debt, pending economical collapse, talks of Sunday laws, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and many other disasters have already weakened the support. And yet, so many in the church today carry on, oblivious to the destruction that lies ahead or to the weakening support beneath. They're caught up enjoying the train ride, singing their worship songs, passing the offering plate for those in need, chatting with their friends on Facebook and twitter about the pleasant warm weather, and carrying on as if all is perfect peace and safety. Very few can be seen really studying their Bibles and trying to learn about what lies ahead. Very few are seen on their knees spending hours and nights in earnest prayer for the unsaved Christian's and lost around them. Very few are aware of the signs of the times and asking God how they can best be prepared. Very few have extra oil for their lamps that have gone out.

You see, the sun is still shining! It's warm outside, the breeze is fare. Even the flowers are still blooming. There's still food on the grocery store shelves, and there's plenty of Bible's resting on our book shelves too. Some people talk of winter coming (a time of trouble - Daniel 12:1), but they've been talking about that for years. So far, everything seems just fine. Things are carrying on just as they always have - at least for the peaceful years we've been alive.

Oh sure, there are a few million people around the world that are starving, and there are people in many third world countries that are fighting to live. There are disasters here and there, but hasn't that been the case for years as well? The chaos in other parts of the world (or the states) hasn't really hurt us too much. For the majority of us in the prosperous West…things continue on as they are. We continue to plan our occasional mission trips, do our weekly duties at church, pay our tithe, invest and sell, remodel our homes, save up for our new car, dream of our retirement plans, give a cheerful word to those in need, work hard and play hard, and look forward to when we won't have to work anymore. But for the most part, we live in peace. There's no reason for serious alarm, and life continues to be good!

BUT THINGS ARE NOT ALL PEACEFUL AND GOOD!!!!!!

I have this pressing urgency in my heart that we don't have much more time to work for God in freedom, we don't have much more time to prepare…

The deceptions in the Christian world are getting more and more numerous and more and more complex. Satan knows that he has a short time and he's walking about as a lion, seeking whom he may devour. Right and left I have friends walking away from the church and letting go of God because they've been deceived by the warm weather. I have friends that are compromising with sin, and allowing the enemy a foothold in their hearts. I know others, while professing to serve Christ, that have grown complacent and lukewarm…disconnected. They may not have complete peace (and it's obvious), but they aren't agonizing like Jacob did with the angel. They aren't that concerned about their salvation… they think they will be ok. My heart wants to scream… "Wait! Stop! Don't you see? You're being deceived. You can't make it on your own out there. Destruction is coming and you will be destroyed if you walk away from the protection of Christ!! Stop putting all those good activities in front of your time with God. Stop trying to just survive and get by with your devotions. Stop pretending everything is ok with you and God when it's really not. Stop putting on a show! Dig deep ditches!!!! (Like Charissa encouraged us at the recent GYC) If you aren't digging deep (II Kings 3:16), you aren't going to be filled when the rain comes!!!"

But my screams are only audible to God as I cry out to Him in prayer…

My friends, loved ones, and many that I know (even in the church) are off enjoying their time in the sun…their ears seem to have gone deaf to the things of God. They don't realize the nearness of the storm that is approaching...

"Looking down through the ages to the close of time, Peter was inspired to outline conditions that would exist in the world just prior to the second coming of Christ. “There shall come in the last days scoffers,” he wrote, “walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” But “When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

We have been given this warning…yet so many, like the 5 foolish virgins are unprepared. They've allowed the oil to go out. My heart aches… even more than it does for the soon coming loss of our flowers...

However, there is a ray of hope...

"Not all, however, [will] be ensnared by the enemy’s devices. As the end of all things earthly should approach, there [will] be faithful ones able to discern the signs of the times. While a large number of professing believers [will] deny their faith by their works, there [will] be a remnant who [will] endure to the end." Acts of the Apostles, p. 535

Praise the Lord! How I pray to be part of that remnant…

"The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church.... Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will then appear in the shame of their own nakedness." Last Day Events, p. 173 & Prophets and Kings, p. 188

God has given us a time of probabtion…it is NOW!!

"[A] period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God’s promises, as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for His blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God—how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God." Great Controversy, p. 621

The daffodils may not know better…they are just little flowers! But we do…we should. We've been warned! Let's take heed!!

Want FAITH that can MOVE Mountains… Ask God for a NEW SKIN!

2011-12-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you…but I have some mountains I'd like to see God move in my life. Mountains that revolve around spiritual battles, around victories needed for those I love, around financial struggles that need to be overcome, and around territory that needs to be claimed for God's Kingdom.

Maybe we've become luke-warm in our walk with God, maybe we aren't feeling the close connection we once knew…maybe there's a huge Goliath that stands before us. I'm sure we all have a few mountains we could name that we need God to move…

In Matthew 17:20 it says:

"And Jesus said unto them…IF ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and NOTHING shall be impossible unto you."

This verse has always intrigued and inspired me…and awhile back, I studied the significance of the mustard seed and wrote about it. (You can read that HERE! After all, there must be SOME reason God used the "mustard seed" as an illustration. He could have used an "apple seed" or a "tomato seed" or any other small tiny seed. But for some reason, He used the mustard seed.)

However, last time I was studying this verse in Matthew, I was fixated on "if only we can have just a little faith…."

Well...now I've moved on…the next verse is equally challenging and inspiring and gives a secret that I think we all might have missed before…at least I missed it.

"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Matt 17:21

The context of the passage is that Jesus disciples tried to cast a demon out of a man, but they could NOT! So they brought the demon possessed man to Jesus. Jesus simply rebuked the demon and he was gone. The boy was healed. But the disciples were perplexed…after all, they'd been given power to heal and perform miracles and had already been doing so with success. So WHY couldn't they cast out this demon.

Jesus told them… they were unsuccessful because of their unbelief. This belief, this faith, that they were lacking, didn't have to be very big for there to be success…but it had to be at least as big as a grain of mustard seed. And if so, they could move mountains. NOTHING would be impossible to them. But - Jesus reminded them... This kind of faith they would ONLY acquire through prayer AND fasting!! Only then would they have the faith needed to rebuke demons...

So recently I have begun to study the topic of Biblical fasting more in depth.

To be honest, I've fasted off and on over the years…seeking to get God to cooperate with my wishes or desires! (Looking back, while I wanted His blessing, I can see that often my motives were selfish and self-centered. As if I could co-herce God to do anything by my pious activity.) Yet, God has been gracious to me…and despite my short-sightedness, He has worked in a lot of ways, and He has answered a lot of prayers. But… I've still often felt that I was coming up a bit short…something was missing! I think I know what was missing now… I was fasting for MYSELF and not for HIM!

In Isaiah 58: 6, God tells us specifically what we should be fasting for…

To loose the bands of wickedness (There's a lot of wickedness seeking to bind up our lives…we need to be delivered from this…and we need to pray for others to be delivered as well!)
To undue heavy burdens (How many of us carry heavy burdens… burdens that we should be giving to Christ? How many of us know people that are burdened and can't seem to keep walking the Christian walk?)
To let the oppressed go free (How many of us are often oppressed? How many are struggling with oppression in some form… maybe depression, doubt, discouragement, despair, apathy, spiritual indifference, financial slavery and debt…If you aren't oppressed, I'm sure you know people who are! Unfortunately I know quite a few...)
To break every yoke (God tells us, "Don't be unequally yoked!" We should be slave to no one except our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our King! Unfortunately Satan has been quite successful at putting many yokes upon us… yokes that God did not call us to wear!)
To deal thy bread to the hungry (Think about it, if you fasted for a bit - even from your favorite foods, you'd have more money that you could spare to feed the hungry! And believe me, there are a lot of hungry people around the world! But more then physical hunger, we need to be fasting to know how to feed the spiritual hunger in the world….is your neighbor saved, how about your family? Why aren't we fasting and praying that God will help us feed the spiritually starving in our lives????)
To bring the poor that are cast out to thy house (It's not easy to share your space with others, but fasting can bring us into the mind of Christ so that we will WANT to share our space with others…the less fortunate we will want to serve! That's what He came to do…and we need strength to follow His example!)
When thou seest the naked that thou cover him. (Many people are living in shame and apostasy…we aren't to gaze or make fun of their ignorance (like Ham did to his father Noah!), we are to seek to cover them (like Shem and Japheth did), to clothe them with truth. Only a converted person will seek to cloth the naked though…the unconverted only gaze and look! We need converted hearts…we need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only!)
That thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh. (I know that sin in our lives and hearts makes us want to hide. Adam and Eve, after they ate the fruit in the garden of Eden had to hide from their own flesh and from God…they were ashamed! But we shouldn't have to do this! God wants to deliver us from this. I believe fasting will help purify - not only our bodies - but our minds to such a degree that we will not desire to hide from ourselves or others! We will have no need to…There will be NO SHAME!! Our confidence will be in Christ….)

As I've been studying the Bible and reading some powerful books on the topic of Biblical fasting, I've already gleaned a lot of very inspirational thoughts. Here are a few more:

In Romans 12:1 we are instructed to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. We are not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Fasting helps us be sensitive to God's Spirit, enabling us to more closely follow God's plan of "holy living" in our lives. Interestingly, Paul was fasting when God called him and gave the assignment for his life! (Acts 9:7-9) Jehoshaphat called a fast when a great army came against Israel, and God delivered. God promised a REVIVAL in Joel’s time (Joel 2)… but it would only come as a result of fasting, and of turning in repentance back to God! In God's Word it doesn't say, "if you fast," but "when you fast." It's assumed…as God's people…we WILL FAST!
In Spirit of Prophecy we are instructed: "The object of the fast which God calls upon us to keep is not to afflict the body for the sin of the soul, but to aid us in perceiving the grievous character of sin, in humbling the heart before God and receiving His pardoning grace. His command to Israel was, “Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God.” Joel 2:13. It will avail nothing for us to do penance or to flatter ourselves that by our own works we shall merit or purchase an inheritance among the saints. When the question was asked Christ, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” He answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:28, 29. Repentance is turning from self to Christ; and when we receive Christ so that through faith He can live His life in us, good works will be manifest.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 87

God wants to give us an anointing. As II Chron 7:14 says, He wants to heal our land. But if He is going to pour out new wine (a new anointing in our lives), our old wine skins need to be done away with. The Bible tells us that no one puts new wine into old wine skins. (Mark 2:22) Again, I never realized this before, but this illustration of the NEED for new wine skins follows Jesus talking about the need for His disciples to fast after He leaves them…. If we want new wine, new anointing, new life, new closeness, new intimacy with Him, then it’s time to call a fast and shed the old wine skins!

Like I said in the beginning…I have some serious MOUNTAINS in my life that I'd like to see God move…but if this is going to happen, He has shown me that I need a new wine skin so that I can be filled with a new spirit.

"We need to be constantly filling the mind with Christ, and emptying it of selfishness and sin. When Christ came into the world, the leaders of the Jews were so permeated with Phariseeism that they could not receive his teachings. Jesus compared them to the shriveled wine skins which were not fit to receive the new wine from the vintage. He had to find new bottles into which to put thenew wine of his kingdom. This was why he turned away from the Pharisees, and chose the lowly fishermen of Galilee. Jesus was the greatest teacher the world ever knew, and he chose men whom he could educate, and who would take the words from his lips, and send them down along the line to our time. So, by his Spirit and his word, he would educate you for his work. Just as surely as you empty your mind of vanity and frivolity, the vacuum will be supplied with that which God is waiting to give you,—his Holy Spirit. Then out of the good treasure of the heart you will bring forth good things, rich gems of thought, and others will catch the words and will begin to glorify God. Then you will not have the mind centered upon self. You will not be making a show of self; you will not be acting self; but your thoughts and affections will dwell upon Christ, and you will reflect upon others that which has shone upon you from the sun of righteousness." RH March 15, 1892, par. 4

Do you feel this need… to adequately reflect the sun of righteousness?

As we face this New Year … I want to challenge all of us to seek the Lord like never before…not just on our knees… but with our whole hearts…sacrificing whatever holds us captive…whether our appetite, our media diet, our mediocrity, our spiritual laziness, or anything else… That He may remove the old skins and give us new so that His Spirit can be poured out upon us!

Then… we will have the faith to take on mountains….and NOTHING will be impossible!!!! Then our God will be glorified in and thru our lives!!!

The Angel's brought me safely home...

2011-12-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well… it's official!! I've moved back to the Ozarks… the place of my upbringing! Haven't lived in this part of the country since I was 15yrs old, so it's been awhile. But I'm excited to be back near my family for awhile.

I have to share a personal testimony about my trip home:

When I left Portland OR, my car was the most HEAVILY LOADED I think I have ever packed it. (You have to keep in mind that I've lived on the West Coast for almost 5 years now… and haven't had my car back here since 2006!) So Kim and I prayed for the Angels to go with me and bring me back safely and help me NOT have any mechanical problems. My car has been struggling lately…so this was a real prayer of faith!! In fact, I prayed that God would send EXTRA angels…

It was snowing when I went through the Columbia River Gorge getting out of Portland, and there were already several accidents on the road. The next day with the freezing rain and temperatures, it would have been much MUCH more difficult to get through. So I praise God that I was able to leave on the day that I did. (I left two days early as I got called off work that final week!) I got to Oklahoma, no problems after driving for 32 straight hours. Yep - I didn't stop to sleep or anything, but I kept driving until I got to Oklahoma! It was insane, I know, but God blessed. Then I traveled on to my parents ….. no problems…. five hours more. I stopped and started multiple times the entire trip with no problems!!! (In the picture below, you can see how packed in the car I was when I arrived at my folks place! My mom asked me to stop and get groceries before driving up the mountain, but I had NO WHERE to put groceries except in my lap and under my legs. Again not the smartest move probably, but anyway….)

After being at my parent's place for one night, I went to move my car over closer to the house to unload my stuff. Well, my car would barely start, but it did….finally. We moved all my stuff out… got the last stuff out a day or so later!!! And we went to move the car again, but this time, it would NOT MOVE and would NOT start. My dad charged the battery, and it still wouldn't start. He then did a test on the battery and he said it was completely depleted. Like 10% still there. He opened it up and it was all dry!!! He said, "Melody - I have no idea how you have been driving or got home with this battery…. it's no good. And this isn't something that goes bad over night. This battery has been bad for awhile. It's a miracle you got home with it!"

He had to put a new battery in the car to move it… even charging it up wouldn't work. Isn't that amazing… God brought me safely home!!! I told him that the car knows it is home and it can die now! ;-) But in reality I know that God performed a miracle….just as I asked for, and that He sent His angels, EXTRA angels to get me to my parent's place safely!!! ;-)

Now - I've been back here in the Ozark country almost three weeks. I've finally gotten moved into my very own private ARME office, complete with electricity and Internet (I'll post pictures soon), and I'm starting to get caught up on the stack of letters and e-mails and ARME business that I need to attend to. Since I've been back, I've been sick with the worst stomach flu I've had in years, I've barely salvaged my younger brother from dying from Pneumonia (no joke - he got pretty sick!). I watched my older brother bury his beloved dog, a faithful part of our family for over 7 years, that was sick with heart failure. Even my dad cried! (Had to put my own dog to sleep 2 weeks earlier!) I've already gone to a ARME speaking appointment in Tulsa, OK and had a powerful time of prayer with new friends. I've witnessed our first snow for the season. I've talked with loved ones in Africa and Romania, and now am getting ready to leave for GYC where we will be holding another prayer meeting room for 4,000+ attendees coming to Houston's conference. Although my life still feels completely upside down…and I still don't know where everything is that I packed, I sense an order beginning to arise from the chaos. And one thing I know for sure…God is with me. His angels are by my side, protecting me and keeping me safe! Although the icy winds may come, although the storms may blow…He is with me…and I am so very grateful and so very blessed!! And I'm thankful to be back home…home in the Ozark mountains!

ARME Bible Camp Commanders make a landing on the North Shore of Oahu...

2011-11-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

…The Result was Revival and Reformation for the local Soldiers!

“Every man and woman who has enlisted in Christ’s army is a soldier…” Christian Service, p. 35

“How many of you came for a spiritual retreat?” Calvin Kim, ARME’s Vice President of Operations, asked on ARME’s opening night at Camp Mokule’ia. Many raised their hands. “Well you might be at the wrong place then! We are in God’s army and we are at war. We can’t take time for a retreat, but we are here to advance.” Many chuckled as they nodded their heads in agreement. And that’s just what ARME sought to do during the following Nov 2-6 camp that ministered to all age groups.

ARME, which stands for “Adventist Revival Movement for the Endtime,” was founded to give God’s people a renewed passion and love for the Word and for Prayer. Each morning at Camp Mokule’ia, the program began with about 45 minutes of united prayer as people joined together in praising God, humbling their hearts, and pleading for the Holy Spirit. Then, after a powerful devotional on the power of prayer, attendees headed for a scrumptious breakfast in the dining hall. After breakfast, the main Bible study Workshop began, hosted by Pastor Myers, the founder and president of ARME. During this time Myers led the group step by step in basic principles of Bible study, and showed them how to see Christ throughout the stories of scripture. At different points during the morning, they divided up for small group study, and then the attendees came back together to share what they had learned. There was much excitement and enthusiasm, by both the adults and youth, as they began to see the greater depth that is possible in Bible study, and many were competing for the microphone to share what they had learned.

At the same time, ARME’s Heir Force Children’s program was underway, arming the younger soldiers with similar weapons for war – a love for the Word, for prayer, and principles in godly discipleship.

While the adults continued on with Bible Study training in the afternoon, the youth and teens had their own special program. Then everyone joined together for the evening service of inspiration and worship. This was the general pattern followed throughout the four-day camp.

A unique part of ARME Hawaii was the all-encompassing spirit of prayer. Not only did they start the day with prayer, but they had a prayer meeting going all day long. During this prayer meeting, people joined together throughout the 4 days praying for the Bible study trainers which included: Myers, Taj Pacleb & Kaela Thompson (both native evangelist to the islands) as well as for speakers Martin Kim and Doug Batchelor. They also prayed unitedly for the salvation of struggling loved ones, and for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for revival.

Friday night, over 200 people took part in a all-night prayer meeting. Over the night, there was group prayer as well as time for individual prayer. The men and woman also divided several times, and there was time for specific intercession for individuals that were heavily burdened. Around 1am, Myers led a powerful Bible study, and then prayers of worship and praise continued. Many answered prayers were experienced during this time of united prayer; answers that included deliverance from addictions, from bitterness, from estrangement with loved ones, and most importantly, answers that included a renewed passion and love for God and for His Word. While many got no sleep that night, they reported the next day feeling a renewed energy and physical strength – something that was obviously a miracle from God.

One attendee, a backslidden SDA, who came just because one of his friends was a volunteer, told the ARME staff, “I have never experienced something like ARME in my whole life! This camp has renewed my faith in the Adventist church and my love for the Adventist message!”

Another young mother, Teri Salvador, who’d been looking forward to ARME being in Hawaii for months wrote, “It’s a huge commute for us as we’ll be driving from the south side of the Island, but we would swim there if we had to, just to get to be there.” Later, very impacted, she talked to the ARME staff: “How can I volunteer and be part of this ministry? I’ll do anything…”

Conference President Ralph Watts, who attended with his wife on Sabbath, later stated, “ARME is probably the closest thing Hawaii islander’s have seen to a real old-fashion camp meeting for many years! The tent was full on Sabbath, and many have shared with me how much they learned and experienced.” The ARME staff had prepared for about 300 attendees, but by the weekend there were between 500-600 present. Many churches on the island closed their services so that their congregations could attend ARME. The place was packed, and everyone was praising God for His blessing!

One of the highlights of the packed weekend, which contained many powerful messages, was ARME’s authentic mock trial, where the soldiers-in-training had opportunity to practice defending their faith from the Bible. In the Great Controversy, God’s people are told that in the future they will have to stand on the Bible alone, so ARME focused throughout the camp on making this practical and real. The mock trial hit home to many as they realized how unprepared they really were.

Sabbath ended with good old “ARME Family Time,” as they called it; a time for testimonies and sharing. The Heir Force shared what they’d learned during the week, and many people came forward with tears in their eyes, sharing how ARME had changed their lives.

Sunday morning, after more prayer and a powerful consecration service, Pastor Eric Alindogan, from the sponsoring Waianae church, closed the service by asking the Elders to circle the ARME team and pray over them. Then, with gusto, everyone sang, “Jesus is Coming Soon,” ARME’s theme song, one more time. There was hardly a dry eye.

It was time for the ARME soldiers to separate and head for their various posts of duty. However, equipped with new tools for Bible study and empowered by the Holy Spirit through much prayer, everyone said goodbye knowing that they will be together again soon – if not in Hawaii, in the Heavenly General’s paradise above.

The parting command: “Forward soldiers, march forward on your knees!”

[Author's endnotes: And so ended ARME Bible Camp 7! For pictures visit this link: ARME HAWAII PICS. Portions of this "news style article" will be featured in the upcoming Pacific Union Recorder, so if you read this again, don't be surprised! ;-) ARME Bible Camp number 8 is coming up in January 2012, so get registered if you want to come, or visit: www.armebiblecamp.com for more details!]

God's Miracle Dolphins…a fortaste of more miracles to come!

2011-11-16T23:36:00.000-08:00

Our first morning on the island of Oahu Hawaii dawned bright and beautiful… the birds were singing sweetly in the trees, and I could smell the scent of the flowers outside our window. It was truly like waking up in paradise! It was the end of October (just a few weeks ago), and autumn's rainy season had already started to hit our own Portland Oregon. But in Hawaii, where we now were, of course, it was vibrant summer.

Kim and I had gone over a day earlier than our ARME teammates so we could enjoy a little sunshine and quietness to ourselves before the crew arrived and we had to start setting up our ARME Bible Camp. I had no specific agenda items for the day, but had just gotten out of the shower and was dreaming about resting in the sunshine when Kim got off a phone call and excitedly asked me… "So, do you want to go swimming with Dolphins today????" This question wasn't a complete surprise, for we had talked about the possibility at one point long before we arrived in Hawaii. But I, naive of how the ocean world works and petrified of accidentally meeting a shark in the shallow paradise waters, had told Kim previously I wasn't really that interested in going swimming or snorkeling. So she'd not mentioned the idea again, and thus we'd made no reservations. Now the idea surfaced again, as she'd done some last minute calling and discovered a tour that only had 10 people booked and since it was last minute, we would get a BIG discount if we decided to go. I could tell she was very excited, and I didn't want to disappoint her, so I agreed. "Ok…I'll go! But we better not see any sharks!" (Looking back I have to laugh, but you have to understand this Ozark girl has NEVER done more then stick her toes in the Ocean before this trip, so this was really outside my comfort zone!)

So, since we were booking for the Dolphin Excursion tour at the last minute, we had to hurry. It started in about an hour and a half. (So much for a day of laid back relaxation in the sun!) Off we rushed, trying to get to the harbor (which happened to be on the opposite side of the island) where we'd launch out into the deep looking for dolphins.

We got there in time…although we got lost a few times along the way as the signs weren't very good. I wasn't impressed and only wondered what the trip would have in store. Once we got with the team and got on our boat we headed off. The tour guide gave us our snorkels and fins and began to talk to us about dolphins. But he told us, as if trying to prepare us for dissappointment… "The only group of dolphins we know about are headed South right now and we aren't sure if we can catch up with them. But we'll do our best. If we don't see any dolphins though, remember you can come again on another excursion for FREE!" I laughed to myself… "Once is enough…just the fact that I'm out here is a miracle. If we don't see dolphins, maybe that will be good because I wont have to get in the water. And I'm not coming back. I'll have to wait for Heaven before I try again!"

However, my dear friend Kim was not to be discouraged. "Melody…" she whispered. "Let's pray! God knows where those dolphins are, and He created them for us to enjoy! Let's pray that we can find them." And so Kim prayed.

Not long after, out of the blue, we came upon an unexpected pod of dolphins, swimming gracefully along the coast line. The tour guide was ecstatic! "I don't know where these dolphins came from, but this is great! Get your gear on guys. Now is the time to get in!"

Excitedly and nervously I put on my fins and snorkel. "How do you use this thing?" I asked someone. They looked at me in surprise. "You never snorkeled before?" "Nope!" I replied. With some simple instructions, I and my companions jumped into the clear blue waters. The dolphins were right below us, beside us, and all around us. I couldn't believe it…. it was amazing! Back and forth they swam, sometimes so close to us that you could have reached out and touched them if you tried. We must have been in the water with them for 45 minutes or more. The time seemed to go in slow motion as we swam alongside the pod. Our tour guide also happened to be a professional underwater photographer, so he took amazing photos for us. (As seen here!)

In the picture above, you can see Kim and I at the bottom corner. While she gazes in wonder, I'm frantically trying to take pictures with my underwater camera! ;-)

See how CLOSE they were at times to us! I could have reached out and touched them...

I love this picture of one of our comrades. It looks like he's almost going to pet the dolphins!

Here we all are again below… and this time, I think it is Kim that is trying to take the pictures. As you can see… they were sooo beautiful!

Finally when we pulled ourselves from the water… breathless and happy, Kim and I looked at each other with big smiles on our faces. The tour guide was shaking his head. As the boat turned around and headed up the coast to see the turtles, our guide told us, "This is probably the 5th best Dolphin sighting we've ever had. And we do tours every day with people!"

Kim was radiant! "God brought us those Dolphins Mel! They were His gift to us! He made them for us to enjoy!" I could only nod my head in agreement and wonder… God had worked a miracle for us. But why wouldn't He? He tells us in His Word that when we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart.

The joy of the excursion wasn't over, however. Not long and the boat stopped along another beautiful shore line, and we were told to get back in the water to see the turtles. And turtles we did see! Once again I was amazed and awestruck at the beauty and grandeur of the underwater world.

Once again, here is Kim and me (in picture above). While she tries to avoid crashing into Mr. Tortoise, I'm trying to take pictures!

"Truly…HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!!"

And this was only a foretaste of what was to come during our time in Hawaii… not just in the enjoyment of the beauty of God's creation, but in the "fishes of men" that He would bring us at our 7th ARME Bible Camp where many more hearts were revived and many more decisions were made for God's Kingdom…decisions that mean we, along with many more, will get to spend all eternity in paradise!

So stay tuned… the best is yet to come!

England's ARME!!

2011-10-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Need I say any more?? :-)

Press Together, Press Together...

2011-10-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through the book of Acts and reflecting on the life of Paul. His life, his wisdom, the miracles God worked through him, and the way he dealt with the believers is profound on so many levels. It's amazing how God could take a man that once hated and persecuted Christians (even put them to death), and turn him into someone that was so loving and such a powerful soul-winner, and that when threatened with death, was able to remain calm and steadfast for God's truth! Truly Paul's life exemplifies II Cor 5:17

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are past away. Behold all things are become new."

Can you imagine the opportunity to work along side such a man of God? What a privilege! Many disciples must have coveted this position. Yet Barnabas is the one that had this privilege, at least for awhile.

But then something sad happened. Barnabas, his traveling companion, wanted to do something that Paul didn't feel was wise. (You can read about it in Acts 15:36-41.) Barnabus wanted to bring with them John Mark, but John Mark evidently had not been walking in the way or doing the work. Thus, Paul in his wisdom did not think this was best. In fact, judging on his reaction, he must have felt that it would actually be a hindrance to their work. There was such contention between them over this matter that they separated. At first we might think, "Well, maybe Paul was a little too harsh with Barnabas over the matter. Maybe he didn't make the wise choice there to say no, because he lost Barnabas as a traveling companion after that." However, as you read on through the Bible, it's obvious that God continued to walk with Paul and work through him in a mighty way. In fact, after their separation, the experiences, miracles, and testimony of Paul and his traveling companions go on and on. Paul is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible after they separated. Obviously, God was with Him and in a very big way. But what happened to Barnabas? Well, he's mentioned only 5 times in the entire Bible after this separation, and a couple of those times are not even in a positive reference…it sounds like he got caught up in the "dissimulation" (or hypocrisy) of the Jews and was carried away. What a sad way to end his work for God.

As we prepare for Christ's soon coming, I'm reminded of how important it is that we PRESS TOGETHER, and STAY TOGETHER! Working with the ARME Bible Camp ministries team has become one of my greatest joys, and I have come to love my teammates dearly. However, sometimes, as we are in such close quarters, and we work and travel so much together, there can be small misunderstandings or rifts that can develop. By God's grace, we've always worked these things out. So I am so thankful for that, and that although I have faults, and we all have areas of weakness, because of our unity with Christ, we can continue to work through the details of life and ministry together. I pray that we never loose this ability.

My dearest friend Kim, just sent me a reminder of what our attitude should and should NOT be towards our brother's in Christ as we work for Him, and I wanted to share that here, especially as we are preparing for another big camp. This passage of inspiration comes from the book, Testimonies for the Church, Volume 6, page 42.

"The success of the meeting depends on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. For the outpouring of the Spirit every lover of the cause of truth should pray. And as far as lies in our power, we are to remove every hindrance to His working. The Spirit can never be poured out while variance and bitterness toward one another are cherished by the members of the church. Envy, jealousy, evil surmising, and evilspeaking are of Satan, and they effectually bar the way against the Holy Spirit’s working. Nothing else in this world is so dear to God as His church. Nothing is guarded by Him with such jealous care. Nothing so offends God as an act that injures the influence of those who are doing His service. He will call to account all who aid Satan in his work of criticizing and discouraging.

Those who are destitute of sympathy, tenderness, and love cannot do Christ’s work. Before the prophecy can be fulfilled, The weak shall be 'as David,' and the house of David 'as the angel of the Lord' (Zechariah 12:8), the children of God must put away every thought of suspicion in regard to their brethren. Heart must beat in unison with heart. Christian benevolence and brotherly love must be far more abundantly shown. The words are ringing in my ears: 'Draw together, draw together.' The solemn, sacred truth for this time is to unify the people of God. The desire for pre-eminence must die. One subject of emulation must swallow up all others—who will most nearly resemble Christ in character? who will most entirely hide self in Jesus?

“Herein is My Father glorified,” Christ says, “that ye bear much fruit.” John 15:8. If there was ever a place where the believers should bear much fruit, it is at our camp meetings. At these meetings our acts, our words, our spirit, are marked, and our influence is as far-reaching as eternity."

Isn't that powerful?

So my prayer for all of us, whether working in ministry, attending an ARME Bible Camp, or working to support and spread the gospel on any scale, let us not allow misunderstanding or dispute to come up between us. Let us, at all cost to self, press together and seek to be unified in Christ, that we, as Paul, can carry on with many more amazing testimonies of God's glory and God's work in our lives!

Seeing God's hand at the General Conference...

2011-10-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

I still find it hard to believe how God has blessed ARME Bible Camp and the united prayer ministry over this past year. If you read my post from October 1st, you read all that God has been doing since last Annual Council and how He has opened multiple doors. It's amazing. I've just returned from this year's General Conference Annual Council 2011, and all I can say is, "God is good. He is really good! And He is at work in His church."

We had a prayer room again, where we spent many hours a day praying for our leaders and the heavy decisions they were making. We also prayed with any of them that came to visit or had a few minutes to spare. Elder Wilson even came by the prayer room for a few minutes to pray with us. What a treat that was!

Our team this year consisted of Martin and Liana Kim, Erik Kelly, my old roommate from Loma Linda, Susy Solomon (who is really passionate about prayer), and myself. We also had help from a couple volunteers from the GC - Debbie and Lazarus. As usual, the time together praying really bonded us all closely together.

Our theme for this year's Annual Council was REVIVAL and HIS WORD. Very fitting for where we are in ministry with ARME. The first evening for opening meetings, Jerry Page called me to the front and gave me the microphone to share about what God has been doing in our united prayer ministry through this last year. I didn't have long, but was able to give an over-view of the revival and reformation we've been seeing everywhere we've been. I shared a testimony from Adventist University of the Philippines, and then I asked Pastor Ratsara to share what happened last year after Annual Council in his Division. The time was brief, but I felt so blessed as God helped us know just what to say...

After we prayed together at 7pm (in honor of the 777 prayer initiative), we came off stage. Then I was surprised as Elder Page immediately started sharing about our newest "Praying for Rain: Mini Handbook for United Prayer" that we have put together to help spread the word about how to start united prayer groups. This booklet was originally written just for ARME Bible Camp attendees and our prayer room participants, but now has expanded to be a joint effort between us and the GC, as they are promoting the book as well. (They've just ordered over 30,000 from the first printing and gave away over 3,000 during the Annual Council to their delegates and leaders.) So we praise God for how He is helping us get this resource out and spreading the power of united prayer! (At the bottom of this post, I'll tell you how you can get your own copy as well!)

After this Elder Page also talked quite extensively about Operation Global Rain, a grassroots initiative started by our own Pastor Myers that thousands of churches have been part of these last several years. He showed the poster materials they had made to get the word out, as well as a promotional DVD. (You can view the Operation Global Rain promo HERE!) It's exciting to see how this is beginning to really take root within the church as a whole, and how the word is getting out. (If you haven't heard about this 10 days of united prayer - it's happening January 4-14, 2012. You can read more at: www.operationglobalrain.com)

Elder Finley has also written some additional resources to go with Operation Global Rain. You can see these, as well as our mini prayer handbook, "Praying for Rain," at the GC's Revival and Reformation website.

The meetings this time at the Annual Council seemed to be quite heavy and intense. (More so then last time I think. I think they had bigger issues to address this year as the new organization is getting into place.) Yet, we still saw God at work among the leaders, and the overall spirit and unity was amazing.

Each morning we took turns leading united prayer before the meetings began. For this we had anywhere from 20-70 leaders in attendence. God blessed. It was a blessing to hear the leaders praying even in their own languages.

However, in addition to getting to lead united prayer before each meeting, we also got to lead united prayer after the morning devotional. This was when everyone was present!!! Each morning someone important spoke…like Barry Black, Chaplain of the US Senate, Elder Damsteegt from Andrews, Shawn Boonstra, and others. Then Liana, Martin, Erik and I took turns leading each day. Since there were probably 400 present, after we explained how things were going to work and gave a brief thought focused on the power of prayer, we had everyone divide into small groups, and then we facilitated between each theme from the front, as well as led a few appropriate songs. It was amazing. More then once, I thought I heard the angels singing in harmony with us! It was so beautiful. Afterwards, Elder Wilson even publicly thanked us. It almost made me cry. What a privilege to get to pray with God's leaders.

While we didn't have as many leaders come through the prayer room this year, I think largely due to the heaviness of the agenda items and meetings, since our presence was much more public because of the joint prayer time every morning after the devotional, we feel that the impact was greater. So God worked all things out! Many of the leaders thanked us and told us they wanted to see this unity happen in their regions. Some even talked with us about their desire to see ARME come to their conference. Also had good interaction with President of the NAD and his wife Donna. Donna came to our prayer room multiple times and was very supportive of what we were doing. So we will see where God leads. As a bonus, the morning that Martin and Liana led, they also got to share a few pictures of their united prayer travels through Asia and how God was bringing conviction to hearts everywhere they went. It was beautiful!

We saw many answers to prayer during the week, from success and unity in meetings, to health restored to those that were in need. One lady came to the prayer room and was discouraged because her brother had been thrown into prison for his faith. She was a Union President's wife from another country. We all prayed for her and her brother that God would strengthen their faith. The next day she came back with her face glowing. She told us that she had just received word from her brother that he was doing well and had already won three souls to God in prison, just since we had prayed. She was so happy and knew that God had allowed him there for a reason.

Personally, what was one of the most special aspects of this whole event, was having Liana as a roommate. Coming into the week at the GC, I was already struggling with exhaustion. Due to stress the last few weeks and many all-nighters as I was preparing posters and flyers for the event, I had not been feeling on top at all, and sleep had been difficult for me. So my first night at the GC, I slept like 10 hours. I didn't have an appointment until noon that first day, so it was fine, but still. I was literally dragging…..but I had told God I didn't just want to lead united prayer, I also wanted to have strength to pray behind the scenes as well and really see miracles happen. And because of Liana, God answered that prayer.

When she got up early to pray Sabbath morning (about 4am), I woke up too…and my mind was clear as day. So I'm like, "OK God, I'm just gonna stay up and pray!" This was like 1am West Coast time, so this was no small miracle. But this personal miracle didn't just happen that first day…God did it every day during Annual Council. And we even had time to pray together, some of the time, before we got ready for our day. It was such a blessing and helped me feel much more prepared for whatever we would face in the prayer meeting or with the leaders. Praise God for His sustaining strength!

The first miracle we saw was with how well the Friday evening meeting came together. We heard from many that it was the most spiritually uplifting and encouraging opening meeting they've had at the Annual Council in a long time. Even Elder Wilson was sooo excited about it that he even had to call and tell his wife about it on the way home. God really blessed….

Over the course of the meetings, there were many in leadership struggling with their health. But we saw God answer prayers in miraculous ways and sustain strength time and time again. We just praise the Lord.

Below, I'm pictured with the Wilsons. I was really privileged to get to talk with them more this time. What an awesome couple God has placed in leadership at the head of our church.

So…we just praise the Lord for how He led and is continuing to lead, and we see many more open doors before us.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isa 55:8-11

So let us press forward, FORWARD ON OUR KNEES!!!

Click on the book cover below to get your own downloadable copy of this prayer handbook. Or e-mail us at: armebiblecamp@gmail.com and for a donation, we'll send you some hard copies.

Something worth living for and dying for...

2011-10-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

I don't watch spectator sports events, races or anything else along that line. Fast airplanes (unless they are helping me get to my destination) are not what make me smile, neither are race car drivers and their hair raising speeds. But I have to admit, when I saw the news about the two recent tragedies impacting the spectator sports field, I had to have a closer look.

The first tragedy affected pilot Jimmy Leeward and his airplane "Galloping Ghost." He was competing in the Reno Air Show back in September. Evidently his airplane got out of hand and galloped right into the crowd killing 11 and injuring over 70. (A friend of ours was in that crowd! I am so glad that I was not!)

The second tragedy just occurred this past Sunday, when at the Indy 500 car races in Las Vagas, over 15 cars ended up careening out of control, with parts flying in all directions. One well known racer, Dan Wheldon age 33, was killed, leaving behind a wife and two young sons, and thousands of mourning fans. The fact that it was only he that died is amazing when you watch the news videos and see the crash and pile up in slow motion. (His black car is pictured below left, just beginning to take air. He was doing over 220 mph at the time, and flew over several cars before crashing end over end and then hitting the safety fence on the side where his car was already in flames.)

What was to be a glorious day and would have given Wheldon some $2 million in earnings, if he had won, turned into a tragic wreck that shut down the rest of the races and left many of his comrades reconsidering the meaning of life. Yes, sadly, for Wheldon and Leeward, their ultimate love of racing eventually cost them their very lives.

As I sit back and consider these events, I'm reminded of a different race…the race that we are called to run.

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." I Cor 9:24, 25

Yes…we are all running the race for eternal life…but we are going for that incorruptible crown, not the one that will pass away. And our winning wont keep others in the race from winning…in fact, if we are faithful, it will also help others to be faithful as well. What a strange dichotomy from how the worldly racing scene works today…which is based off the principle, "Survival of the fittest and fastest!"

I don't want to cast reproach on the grief of the families represented by the men above. It is so sad, and my heart hurts for those affected. Yet their tragedy causes me to stop and think seriously. Is a gold medal or even a few million dollars really worth dying for…just to have a little fame and glory for a few minutes here on earth?? Evidently these men thought so.

I don't know about you, but if I'm going to go out in a blaze of glory, I hope it will be a blaze that will really count for eternity and bring many others to the cross. Like the blaze that John Huss died for, like the blaze that snuffed out the lives of many Waldensians, and the blaze that put a song on Jerome's lips as he went singing as a martyr to the stake. Can you imagine knowing that you are about to die for the Lord, and yet having such strength and fortitude? Only a true servant of Christ could possess such dignity.

"He [Jerome] was led out to the same spot upon which Huss had yielded up his life. He went singing on his way, his countenance lighted up with joy and peace. His gaze was fixed upon Christ, and to him death had lost its terrors. When the executioner, about to kindle the pile, stepped behind him, the martyr exclaimed: "Come forward boldly; apply the fire before my face. Had I been afraid, I should not be here." His last words, uttered as the flames rose about him, were a prayer, "Lord, Almighty Father," he cried, "have pity upon me, and pardon my sins; for Thou knowest that I have always loved Thy truth." His voice ceased, but his lips continued to move in prayer. When the fire had done its work, the ashes of the martyr, with the earth upon which they rested, were gathered up, and like those of Huss, were thrown into the Rhine." Great Controversy, p. 115.

These men weren't applauded with earthly honor or glory, but I know that God in heaven saw, and the prize He has prepared will be far greater than any earthly prize. And that's the prize I long for. It's the prize that our dear Iranian Pastor in Iran is still contending for. That's the prize that we all should be striving for…even if it costs us our very life.

So as we reflect on the short life we've been given, let's make sure we are spending it for what really matters. If we haven't chosen something worth living for, chances are that we haven't chosen something worth dying for either. The two go hand in hand…so let's make sure we are in the right race!!

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb 12:1, 2

In just one year...

2011-10-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Was just reminiscing and realized that one year ago TODAY, my good friend Kim and I were sitting in a congregation in Grant's Pass Oregon. This is significant because of a conversation that we had that day. But first off, let me share a little background.

We had driven down for some meetings by Pastor Stephen Bohr. It was a beautiful day and the messages were inspiring. However, thinking we were strangers in the church, I was surprised when, during the intermission, someone came up to me excitedly. "Melody! It's so good to see you!" I didn't know the girl and had no clue how she knew me, but I tried to act happy and surprised to see her as well. She then went on to tell me how much she and her family loved their time at ARME Bible Camp, and she wanted to know when we were having our next camp in the Northwest. She went on to share how much united prayer had impacted their lives. It was encouraging and inspiring to hear. After she left, my friend Kim and I talked for a few minutes. "You know…" I told Kim, "Wouldn't it be amazing if we could take the concept of united prayer to the whole world-wide church? If the church could see and experience what we are seeing happen at our camps, what an impact it could make! This would be amazing."

Soon the meetings began again and I ceased my dreaming…but I had no idea how soon my wish would soon come true!

Two days later I received a call from Janet Page, the new Prayer Director at the General Conference World Headquarters for the SDA church. "Melody, we are having Annual Council next week where all the leaders of the SDA church from around the world come together and we really need someone to staff our prayer room. Would your team come? I know this is last minute, but this is urgent!" How could I resist such a plea?

Within 24 hours I found myself on a plane bound for Silver Springs, Maryland…and within days a team had formed, not only to staff a prayer room, but to lead united prayer for the Annual Council meetings each day. Not only that, during church on Sabbath, right before Ted Wilson gave his first presidential address to the Annual Council delegates (the Division Presidents, Union Presidents, and executive committee members that shepherd and guide the 17 million SDA members), Mark Finley interviewed me about what God was doing in united prayer. I was too naive at the time to realize who I was standing before, so it wasn't scary at all. I was just excited to share what God was doing in our lives, and excited to inspire others to be a part.

It was only after I had sat down from sharing my testimony that I remembered the dream I had expressed to Kim only one Sabbath before. I realized that in one week, God had flung wide open the doors for the message of the power of united prayer to go to the whole church. But then I realized it had been "His Dream" all along, not just mine. I was just being inspired by Him. It was almost overwhelming…

Now here I sit reminiscing about it all a year later. Since last year's Annual Council, more doors have opened throughout the world for our united prayer teams to travel and teach united prayer. Doors not only in the North American Division, but in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, in the Southern Asia Division, East Central Africa Division, and in the Euro-Africa Division. (Some of those stories you've already read, as I've blogged about them this past year!) We've seen church presidents impacted and change the way they do business. We've seen Pastor's catch the vision for united prayer, we've seen entire schools experiencing revival and reformation, and we've seen thousands of lives impacted. There are stories more numerous than I can retell in a few brief minutes…and stories that we are still struggling to find time to upload to our united prayer testimonies page…

All I can say is, it is amazing what God can do in one year! At least amazing in our day and age…and yet I realize that this work is so much bigger than me or us, or even a few hundred dedicated individuals. What we've seen and experienced is only a drop in God's bucket. It's hardly a dent in a world full of need….

A few thousand years ago, it only took ten days. One upper room and ten days of prayer, and those disciples were able to go out and reach the entire world…not just with the power of united prayer, but with the power of the entire Gospel. They reached the entire world at that time for Christ. It's mind boggling! Yet I've often wondered, if our entire church, or even a handful, were truly willing to dedicate themselves to the same calling…to prayer….couldn't the whole world be turned upside down again?? Wouldn't the Holy Spirit fall on us as well, so that Jesus could truly come back?

I write this post as I'm preparing to return to the General Conference Annual Council for the second time. We've been invited back, and this time, we're praying that God will take the conviction of the need of united prayer even deeper with our leaders and officials. The work is happening, God's Spirit is being poured out…but we know He longs to do so much more….

So I ask you to pray for me and our team…(Martin, Liana, Erik, Susy) as we spend these next couple weeks at the General Conference praying with the church leaders and praying for the meetings that will continue to shape the course of our church, and the world wide Christian movement preparing for Jesus return. He is coming back soon, but we will not be ready unless we learn to fall on our faces and pray…unless we are covered by His Spirit and clothed in His righteousness. So let us pray!!!

Good or best… life or death!??

2011-09-28T00:13:00.000-07:00

After spending a couple hours this afternoon up on the mountain behind my house, enjoying nature, talking to my mom on the phone about the news that I haven't had a chance to share from the past week, and trying to unwind from the stress of the last few days, I came back to my cozy apartment. "Wow! What a blessing to have such a beautiful place to live!" I thought to myself. "God is good!" I grabbed a bite to eat from my overstuffed refrigerator, then I came and sat down at my computer. My computer has become my constant companion and working partner through many long days and nights, especially these last few weeks. A ministry project that I thought would be done in a day or two has stretched on forever. Hours have turned into days and days and more days. I would think I was almost done and then there would be more. But finally at 3pm this afternoon it was done!!!! DONE!! I was so happy, I wanted to celebrate…so I went walking! It was about time I got outside…I had hardly moved from the computer screen all day.

But with the walk completed, I am back.

Since I will be working at the Hospital tomorrow, I figure that I better get some good sleep tonight. (After all, I was up working till 1am this morning…so I think I deserve a good night's sleep tonight.) Thankfully I have a warm cushy bed all to myself, so I can sleep in ease. Awwww….I'm already dreaming about getting under those warm covers...

However, before I go to bed, I need to reply to a couple e-mails and look up some info a friend posted on Facebook. First I take care of the e-mails, then I open up my Facebook homepage. As I've been so busy, I haven't allowed myself much time to browse or read any updates on Facebook in a loooooong time. It's just one of those activities that can turn into a vacuum, and I've realized it doesn't really accomplish much of anything. But tonight, since I've finished my big project, I figured I can take a few minutes to catch up on the social world - a world that I feel far and distant from.

However, before I know it, I forgot why I came there. The posts of my many Christian friends and even a few friendly strangers, that have befriended me, flash across the screen. The posts speak of happiness, comfort, good food, and great lives…lives that are privileged to be living the "American Dream."

Here are a few I saw on my homepage this evening:

I have the BEST husband in the world! Todd made a GREAT supper for me tonight.

I'm having a blast scanning old photos and making new printed albums out of them. It'll be a long process... more to come.

Had the most AWESOME weekend with my Biology class! Best camping experience I've had in a long time…

Finished 1 great book today, I'm hitting the gym for a break, go back to write school's assignments later... Long Beach marathon in 12 days... C'mon now Yan!! Let's do it!!!!

I havent had any caffeine.......but i sure feel like i did. Got this happy energtic feeling going on. Really like it.

Just ate dinner at Tortilla Joe's and now checkin' out the tienditas!

Watching the piglet races at the kern county fair LOL!

Ok I'm on this (health crunch) life style change-why does ALL the unhealthy foods have to taste the best? lol

My family is on their way home!!! Yeah, can't wait to see them all. We are getting ready. I am soooooooooo excited…..

After the girls are in bed going for a Target shopping run to clear my mind…FREEDOM!!

SUPER excited about actually going to a theater with PURPOSE... first time since Fireproof, I think. A box of kleenex will be accompanying me this time around... ;)

Ultrasound looking good…He's growing fast. We can't wait to meet Him!

Feeling a little nostalgic and melancholy... :(

I have to smile….I'm feeling a little nostalgic and melancholy too. As I read the updates and look at the pictures of my friends and their happy lives. Then my eyes catch some updates of a different nature…

We need to pray for those thousands starving in Somalia as the worst famine in years wrecks havoc on the impoverished nation. Some 750,000 expected to die from the famine in the coming months.

I follow a link and look at photos of hundreds of starving children, their stomachs ballooning out, and their eyes sunken and hollow. Their oversized heads droop above bodies that are barely skeleton and bones. These aren't pictures from the past, but pictures from today…from this month, from this year. "What?" I wonder… "I had no idea?" I don't read the news, I don't watch television, and I rarely even read anything on Facebook. Of course I know there are many starving children all around the world…but I had no idea of the gravity that is hitting the Eastern portion of Africa…RIGHT NOW!!! No food, no water…people and animals are dying by the droves. Guilt over my own comfort floods my mind as I realize that just this morning I threw out an old loaf of bread, some left-overs that I was tired of eating, and a bowl of soup that didn't quite suit my taste buds. What would some of those people in Somalia give for such a delicacy.

Then I read another post, by a classmate of mine from college who, along with her husband, has dedicated her life to the unreached people along the Amazon River of South America. Through a series of providences, God brought them a beautiful boat and mission team and lives have been impacted for eternity along the Amazon. Lives that otherwise would have been left in darkness. Her posts, from just a few hours ago, jolts my senses.

So thankful God spared the life of my husband and 19 other missionaries when one of our mission boats capsized Sat. Night. So sad one person lost their life. May God comfort us all.

I read more, about how they had been visiting a village the day before and been sharing Christ. Then set out again down the river. Late during the night, a storm came up, and tore off the roof of the boat and capsized it. 20 people were trapped inside, but somehow God helped them get out…well, all but one. One young girl, a volunteer missionary, lost her life. This happened, not last week, not last year, but two days ago…( My friend and her husband are pictured below with the boat that was destroyed.)

Then I read yet another post, from a former classmate who now lives in the Philippines and is a woman passionate about prayer.

Iranian Pastor Youcef is scheduled for execution tomorrow. Please pray.

"What? Execution?? Tomorrow?" I follow the link and find myself staring into the warmest and most peaceful face of a young man, probably younger than I, that has refused to recant his faith. He has a wife and children and has been actively serving the Lord. But the religious leaders of the land have determined he must deny Christ or he will die. I quote:

"The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Pastor Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s supreme court had previously ruled that the trial court must determine if Pastor Youcef had been a Muslim before converting to Christianity.

However, the judges, acting as terrorists, who have a hostage, demanded that he recant his faith in Christ before even taking evidence. The judges stated that even though the judgment they have made is against the current Iranian and international laws they have to uphold the previous decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom.

When asked to “repent” by the Judges, Youcef stated, “Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?” The judges replied, “To the religion of your ancestors, Islam.” To which he replied, “I cannot.”

According to the laws of the land, someone will be given three chances to change their mind, but if they refuse after the third time, they will die. Tomorrow (which in actuality is already today now in his time zone) will be his last opportunity. Without a miracle, our dear Christian brother, a pastor and missionary for the Lord, will go to his death...

I turn away from my computer…suddenly I loathe my warm comfortable cushy world. And the world of those which I so recently was amused to read about… Birthdays, marathons, scrapbooks, shopping, special dinners, out to eat…It's just the stuff that normal every day American life is made of. And I can add to the list. This week I hung several beautiful African Giraffe pictures on my wall. (Pictures that reminded me of my own good times in the mission field this past spring.) I bought a box of popsicles that I could eat when I go sit in the hot-tub with my roommate. I ordered yet another Christian hero's book to read. I ate dinner with some of my friends and even spent time talking with important leaders of our world-wide church as we worked on projects together that will affect upcoming meetings at the General Conference. Yes…good things…but still…have I really given my all?? Shouldn't I be doing so much more??

I'm bothered by the discrepancy in our lives…in my own life. We all call ourselves Christians, and yet are we really living as Christ would when there is so much need? While I love Jesus with all my heart and feel that I have sacrificed much to work for Him, somehow after reading those last troubling Facebook posts, I don't think I've really sacrificed that much! I'm just like all the rest of my friends… I may not be rich, but I can choose whether I want healthy food or a special treat. I can choose whether I want to go jogging in the mountains or to a local gym. I can choose whether I want to go to a friend's birthday party or whether I will relax at home. I have 5 different churches within a half hours drive that I can freely worship at with no restraints and no threats of death hanging over my head. I have many inspiring story books of martyrs and staunch Christian heros upon my book shelves, but am I really willing to be one myself? I may not have a great husband (like my first friend posted), but I do have a great life…and lots of photos to prove it, as my most recent Facebook posts will tell. Yes, I do try to help the poor and needy… yet, I get the uncanny feeling that I'm really not doing that much.

I have a full refrigerator and am throwing away left overs, but in many parts of the world right now people are dying because they have no food as the worst famine in years ravages their land. I have a warm comfortable bed, but many sleep in the dirt with not even a roof over their heads. In other parts of the world believers of Christ are being forced to give up their very lives for the gospel…and me… I'm complaining because I've sat behind a computer for hours and days on this big writing project. I'm tired, I've lost some sleep. I need a break……Or…... maybe I need a change of priority???

I don't know about you, but I'm once again convicted that I need to be doing a lot more. I think we all do!! We have become too comfortable! We call ourselves Christians, but instead of occupying our minds with Christ and the work He came to earth to do (and has now assigned to us), we've gotten preoccupied with our studies, our jobs, our diets, our Christian movies, our social world, our google world, our Facebook world. We've even gotten occupied in the busyness of ministry. (Like the telegraph operator in the previous post!) So busy, that we've forgotten how to build fires and how to take a personal interest in the needs of those around us….too busy to take daily personal time with a one-on-one relationship with Christ.

As I read through the Facebook quotes again, after seeing the three that pricked my heart to the core, my eyes were opened. At least 90% of the posts, of my Christian friends, all centered around frivolities. (Now for those of you that may be reading my blog, forgive me! I'm not meaning to nit-pick. My eyes have just been opened, not just to my friends, but to myself as well. It's the sad reality of our lives!) These aren't bad things…but they are all too often frivolous things. But what is most scary is that they are taking the time and attention from our lives that should be devoted to the best thing…to Christ and to the work of launching life rafts, to being a true missionary and witness for Him.

Do we realize that most people miss the best in life because they settle for the good?? They could have had the best grades, but they settled for good. They could have been the best witnesses and won many souls to Christ, but they settled for being good and instead made a few people smile for Christ. They could have dug a little deeper in the Word and had the best food, but instead they settled for the superficial. They settled for the good. They could have waited for God to give them the best marriage partner and experienced a little heaven on earth, but instead they got impatient and settled for the good. They could have given God their best time, but instead they only gave what felt good. And thus, instead of the best, God only gave the good. They could have given all, and received the best…but in the end, they only gave what seemed good.

Someday, settling for the good when God wanted to give us the best is going to cost us…so we have a choice now. What will our priority be? Will we choose God's best…or will we sit back and relax and settle for what seems good?

I know that I'm up on a soapbox preaching…but it's for myself I preach. "Lord help me?! How do I let go of my comforts and surrender more? I feel like sometimes I'm so complacent, so sheltered, so comfortable…and so easily unnerved when my comfort zone is shaken. Please forgive me God…Help me not to settle for the good when you want to give me the best!"

As I look at the world around me, I wonder, when is the church as a whole going to wake up and realize that we aren't on a luxury boat ride down the river anymore. We're on a titanic and it's about to sink. In fact, we can already see the signs of the ice-berg ahead…it's just a matter of time!!!!! We're going down. But we have a choice. We can sit and enjoy the music awhile longer…we can enjoy our festivities and frivolities awhile longer, we can enjoy our Facebook world, our computer world and our google world a little longer…or while we still have time, we can start focusing on striving for the best - eternal priorities…dedicated time to prayer, to Bible study, and to saving souls for the Kingdom.

I don't know about you…but I want to be more active in launching LIFE RAFTS! It's not about just a good life anymore… it's about priorities, and about life and death!!

One young Iranian Pastor, who stands true to his God will loose His life today for his faith, unless God performs a miracle. I don't know him, but my heart breaks. Yet I realize he has chosen the best…and either way events go, God will give him the best. If he lives, a miracle will testify to God's glory. If he dies, the next thing he will know is the face of Jesus.

If our lives changed tomorrow…would we be ready for such a TEST????

"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. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev 3:15-18

"Oh Father, take away the lukewarm complacency from our lives. Deliver us. Open our eyes. Help us to see our true condition. Help us to wake up to our calling as Christians…while there is still time…and while there are still souls to be rescued! Anoint our eyes that we may see!"

It's cold outside…we need to build more fires!

2011-09-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

The story is told of a man that was out scouting the western territories in the late 1800's. It was deep of winter, and unfortunately during his work one day, he got lost in the mountains. So he began walking and walking and walking. Finally, as providence would have it, he stumbled across a railroad line. Well, since he worked for the railroad, he knew exactly where he was and that if he followed the line down the mountain, he would come to a small settlement. So he walked and walked, to avoid freezing, and finally came to the small town. Upon entering the telegraph office, he knew he would find a warm fire. But the fire was out. Dismayed, he knocked on the office window, and the boy behind jerked up the window to see what he wanted. "Um, Sunny…" he said. "Why haven't you kept a fire built out here in the lobby?" The boy irritated by the intrusion replied, "I'm too busy sending telegrams to worry about building fires!" And he slammed the window shut. So the cold man knocked on the window again… "In that case, I'd like to send a telegram!" The boy gave him the paper and a pen and then slammed the window shut again. And so the man wrote, "To the Telegraph Manager at East Central station. Upon receiving this telegram, please fire the telegraph operator at Logan Pass Station* immediately. Signed, J.P. Morgan, President of the Railroad."

One minute later, the office door burst open, and the telegraph operator came out with his arms piled high with wood as he began furiously building a fire. As J.P. Morgan watched, he finally spoke up. "Eh Sunny, did you per chance already send that telegraph that I wrote?" Without skipping a beat, the boy replied, "Can't you see that I'm too busy building fires to send telegrams?"

We chuckle about the story now, but it has a powerful spiritual lesson. We might be enjoying our own little cozy corner, pretending to be busy sending telegrams…writing ministry e-mails, talking on the phone, and studying our Bibles (all good things of course), but if we aren't also out lighting fires and helping make other people warm, our actions (or lack there of) could someday result in our missing out big time…not just on a job, but on eternity.

Matt 7:19-21 goes like this:

"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

It's not our fruits (or the fires we build) that save us…but the fruit is the indication of where our heart is. Yes, we must be taking time in our own little corner to read our Bible, to pray, to make those important phone calls, and to write those important ministry e-mails…but if our lives are also not lived out practically in the world, building fires among the lost and hurting, and doing our faithful utmost to help those around us…we will someday be without a job and without a future…

So in God's strength, let's go build some more fires today! Jesus is coming soon, but most of the world is experiencing the dead of winter! They are freezing to death and they don't even know it. We have been given the wood, we have the matches, and we have the offering Christ gave us in His Life that will bring down the fire from Heaven. So we must be at our task. And remember, it is better to build fires now, then to be in the fire later…

(There's my fire and brimstone speech for today!)

*This is a true story, but the actual station name is not known!

Little Girl calls Wolf...

2011-09-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have to break away from my usual blogging theme of spiritual growth to share an amazing animal story…so amazing that it made me cry. So you better get your kleenex box out! It's a true story, and it's called...

"The Little Girl who Called Wolf"

With all her big brothers and sisters off to school, our ranch became a lonely place for our three-year-old daughter, Becky. She longed for playmates. Cattle and horses were too big to cuddle and farm machinery dangerous for a child so small. We promised to buy her a puppy but in the meantime, "pretend" puppies popped up nearly every day. I had just finished washing the lunch dishes when the screen door slammed and Becky rushed in, cheeks flushed with excitement. "Mama!" she cried. "Come see my new doggy! I gave him water two times already. He's so thirsty!

I sighed. Another of Becky's imaginary dogs. "Please come, Mama." She tugged at my jeans, her brown eyes pleading, "He's crying--- and he can't walk!"

"Can't walk?" Now that was a twist. All her previous make believe dogs could do marvellous things. One balanced a ball on the end of its nose. Another dug a hole that went all the way through the earth and fell out on a star on the other side. Still another danced on a tightrope. Why suddenly a dog that couldn't walk?

"All right, honey," I said. By the time I tried to follow her, Becky had already disappeared into the mesquite. "Where are you?" I called. "Over here by the oak stump. Hurry, Mama!"

I parted the thorny branches and raised my hand against the glare of the Arizona sun. A numbing chill gripped me. There she was, sitting on her heels, toes dug firmly in the sand, and cradled in her lap was the unmistakable head of a wolf! Beyond its head rose massive black shoulders. The rest of the body lay completely hidden inside the hollow stump of a fallen oak.

"Becky," My mouth felt dry. "Don't move." I stepped closer. Pale yellow eyes narrowed. Black lips tightened, exposing double sets of two inch fangs. Suddenly the wolf trembled. Its teeth clacked, and a piteous whine rose from its throat. "It's all right, boy," Becky crooned. "Don't be afraid. That's my mama, and she loves you, too." Then the unbelievable happened. As her tiny hands stroked the great shaggy head, I heard the gentle thump, thump, thumping of the wolf's tail from deep inside the stump. What was wrong with the animal? I wondered. Why couldn't he get up?

I couldn't tell. Nor did I dare to step any closer. I glanced at the empty water bowl. My memory flashed back to the five skunks that last week had torn the burlap from a leaking pipe in a frenzied effort to reach water during the final agonies of rabies. Of course! Rabies! Warning signs had been posted all over the county, and hadn't Becky said, "He's so thirsty?" I had to get Becky away. "Honey." My throat tightened. "Put his head down and come to Mama. We'll go find help."

Reluctantly, Becky got up and kissed the wolf on the nose before she walked slowly into my outstretched arms. Sad yellow eyes followed her.

Then the wolf's head sank to the ground. With Becky safe in my arms, I ran to the barns where Brian, one of our cowhands, was saddling up to check heifers in the north pasture. "Brian! Come quickly. Becky found a wolf in the oak stump near the wash! I think it has rabies!"

"I'll be there in a jiffy," he said as I hurried back to the house, anxious to put Becky down for her nap. I didn't want her to see Brian come out of the bunkhouse. I knew he'd have a gun.

"But I want to give my doggy his water," she cried.

I kissed her and gave her some stuffed animals to play with. "Honey, let Mom and Brian take care of him for now," I said. Moments later, I reached the oak stump. Brian stood looking down at the beast. "It's a Mexican lobo, all right." he said, "and a big one!" The wolf whined. Then we both caught the smell of gangrene. "Whew! It's not rabies," Brian said. "But he's sure hurt real bad. Don't you think it's best I put him out of his misery?"

The word "yes" was on my lips, when Becky emerged from the bushes. "Is Brian going to make him well, Mama?"

She hauled the animal's head onto her lap once more, and buried her face in the coarse, dark fur. This time I wasn't the only one who heard the thumping of the lobo's tail. That afternoon my husband, Bill, and our veterinarian came to see the wolf. Observing the trust the animal had in our child, Doc said to me, "Suppose you let Becky and me tend to this fella together." Minutes later, as child and vet reassured the stricken beast, the hypodermic found its mark. The yellow eyes closed. "He's asleep now," said the vet. "Give me a hand here, Bill." They hauled the massive body out of the stump. The animal must have been over five feet long and well over one hundred pounds.

The hip and leg had been mutilated by bullets. Doc did what he had to in order to clean the wound and then gave the patient a dose of penicillin. Next day he returned and inserted a metal rod to replace the missing bone.

"Well, it looks like you've got yourselves a Mexican lobo," Doc said. "He looks to be about three years old, and even as pups, they don't tame real easy. I'm amazed at the way this big fella took to your little gal. But often there's something that goes on between children and animals that we grownups don't understand."Becky named the wolf Ralph and carried food and water to the stump every day.

Ralph's recovery was not easy. For three months he dragged his injured hindquarters by clawing the earth with his front paws. From the way he lowered his eyelids when we massaged the atrophied limbs, we knew he endured excruciating pain, but not once did he ever try to bite the hands of those who cared for him.

Four months to the day, Ralph finally stood unaided. His huge frame shook as long unused muscles were activated. Bill and I patted and praised him. But it was Becky to whom he turned for a gentle word, a kiss or a smile. He responded to these gestures of love by swinging his busy tail like a pendulum. As his strength grew, Ralph followed Becky all over the ranch. Together they roamed the desert pastures, the golden haired child often stooping low, sharing with the great lame wolf whispered secrets of nature's wonders. When evening came, he returned like a silent shadow to his hollow stump that had surely become his special place.

As time went on, although he lived primarily in the brush, the habits of this timid creature endeared him more and more to all of us. His reaction to people other than our family was yet another story. Strangers terrified him, yet his affection for and protectiveness of Becky brought him out of the desert and fields at the sight of every unknown pickup or car. Occasionally he'd approach, lips taut, exposing a nervous smile full of chattering teeth. More often he'd simply pace and finally skulk off to his tree stump, perhaps to worry alone. Becky's first day of school was sad for Ralph. After the bus left, he refused to return to the yard. Instead, he lay by the side of the road and waited. When Becky returned, he limped and tottered in wild, joyous circles around her.

This welcoming ritual persisted throughout her school years. Although Ralph seemed happy on the ranch, he disappeared into the surrounding deserts and mountains for several weeks during the spring mating season, leaving us to worry about his safety. This was calving season, and fellow ranchers watched for coyotes, cougars, wild dogs and, of course, the lone wolf.

But Ralph was lucky. During Ralph's twelve years on our ranch, his habits remained unchanged. Always keeping his distance, he tolerated other pets and endured the activities of our busy family, but his love for Becky never wavered.

When the spring came when our neighbour told us he'd shot and killed a she wolf and grazed her mate, who had been running with her. Sure enough, Ralph returned home with another bullet wound. Becky, nearly fifteen years old now, sat with Ralph's head resting on her lap. He, too, must have been about fifteen and was grey with age. As Bill removed the bullet, my memory raced back through the years. Once again I saw a chubby three-year-old girl stroking the head of a huge black wolf and heard a small voice murmuring, "It's all right, boy.

Don't be afraid. That's my mama, and she loves you, too."

Although the wound wasn't serious, this time Ralph didn't get well. Precious pounds fell away. The once luxurious fur turned dull and dry, and his trips to the yard in search of Becky's companionship ceased. All day long he rested quietly. But when night fell, old and stiff as he was, he disappeared into the desert and surrounding hills. By dawn his food was gone. The morning came when we found him dead. The yellow eyes were closed. Stretched out in front of the oak stump, he appeared but a shadow of the proud beast he once had been. A lump in my throat choked me as I watched Becky stroke his shaggy neck, tears streaming down her face.

"I'll miss him so," she cried. Then as I covered him with a blanket, we were startled by a strange rustling sound from inside the stump. Becky looked inside. Two tiny yellow eyes peered back and puppy fangs glinted in the semi darkness. Ralph's pup! Had a dying instinct told him his motherless offspring would be safe here, as he had been, with those who loved him? Hot tears spilled on baby fur as Becky gathered the trembling bundle in her arms. "It's all right, little ... Ralphie," she murmured. "Don't be afraid. That's my mom, and she loves you, too!"

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fettling together; and a little child shall lead them." Isa 11:6

Wont Heaven be wonderful??

Just pour out to others as I pour into you...

2011-09-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

The Master was searching for a vessel to use;
On the shelf there were many - which one would He choose?
Take me, cried the gold one, I'm shiny and bright,
I'm of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest
And for someone like You, Master, gold would be the best!

The Master passed on with no word at all;
He looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall;
I'll serve You, dear Master, I'll pour out Your wine
And I'll be at Your table whenever You dine,
My lines are so graceful, my carvings so true,
And my silver will always compliment You.

Unheeding the Master passed on to the brass,
It was widemouthed and shallow, and polished like glass.
Here! Here! cried the vessel, I know I will do,
Place me on Your table for all men to view.

Look at me, called the goblet of crystal so clear,
My transparency shows my contents so dear,
Though fragile am I, I will serve You with pride,
And I'm sure I'll be happy in Your house to abide.

The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
You may use me, dear Master, the wooden bowl said,
But I'd rather You used me for fruit, not for bread!

Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of clay.
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel that the Master might choose,
To cleanse and make whole, to fill and to use.

Ah! This is the vessel I've been hoping to find,
I will mend and use it and make it all Mine.
I need not the vessel with pride of its self;
Nor the one who is narrow to sit on the shelf;
Nor the one who is bigmouthed and shallow and loud;
Nor one who displays his contents so proud;
Not the one who thinks he can do all things just right;
But this plain earthy vessel filled with My power and might.

Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay.
Mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly. There's work you must do,
Just pour out to others as I pour into you.

By Beulah V. Cornwall

Teachers we need to be wary of….

2011-09-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

As I've been thinking about prayer and God's call to more dedicated prayer lives, I've realized there are many teachers (even with good intentions) that may try to get in the way of our forward progress.

Back when I was in high school and studying for a test, I discovered the following powerful verse. “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.” Ps 119:99.

I was so excited, I told my classmates, “See, if we study the Bible we’ll be wiser than our teachers and we’ll have no problem passing our tests because God will show us what to study!” A bit of a childish interpretation, I must admit now, although I claimed this promise in my College years as well, and I think it worked, cause I passed my tests. (So students take note!) But the reason I wanted to bring attention to this verse is because God has given us His testimonies, His Word, to be our meditation, so that we will be wiser than our teachers. Apparently there are some teachers we should be wiser then. And unfortunately, many of them are found in our own homes and in our own churches.

For example: We have the teacher named “Cynical City” who when we become more passionate in prayer and dig deeper in the Word looking for buried treasure will cry, “Who do you think you are kidding? I’ve already gone digging in that spot! There’s nothing special down there!” We have the teacher named “Comfortable Complacency” who feels unnerved and a bit guilty when he sees us seeking for more and so he plead with us, “Don’t you think you’re going a little too extreme? Why don’t you just enjoy what you have and be happy!” We have another teacher called “Fearful Freezer” who, when she sees us making unnerving and radical steps towards God, will cry in warning, “You know, that really doesn’t look too cool. That could hurt your reputation. Are you sure you want to do that?” Finally we have many teachers named, “Worldly Wiseman.” While having a form of godliness, they deny the power and seek after the wisdom of the world. They have plans, they have methods, and they’ve studied the models for Christian growth and success. So when they see us becoming passionate about really going all out for God, they will sidle up to us with some friendly advice. “ You know, if you really want to succeed in this new journey you’re taking, rather than struggling up the rocky slopes where there are a lot of dangers, you should take this path over here. It’s a bit wider and will be much easier to follow. And it will take you to your destination much more quickly.”

The problem is…through God’s testimonies, we know that the wider road leads to destruction and it is the narrow road, that often appears dangerous and rocky, that leads to eternal life. (Matt 7:13,14)

Jesus counsel to His disciples was: "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Matt 16:6. As the Matthew 16 goes on to say, He was not speaking of bread leaven, he was speaking of a neutralizing doctrine that will destroy the ability of us to walk forward in faith and continue to grow.

In I Cor 1:27 we are told, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”

Being a person of passionate prayer and deep Bible Study does not always gain the approval and popularity vote of the church culture in which we live. What gets the vote is busyness, business, and more busyness. If you are doing something, you get points, but if you are praying?? If you are tucked quietly away in your room studying your Bible for hours on end?? Hmmm…..you can just see the concerned looks from your peers. "I think you may be getting a bit fanatical here!!" :-) Just remember, it is God's Word (His Testimonies) that we look to and rely upon for strength and correction…not the culture around us. Only He will make us wiser than our teachers….and teachers we have plenty of. Teachers that will only help us compromise. So seek your strength in Him!

The greatest victories gained thru Prayer

2011-09-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Below I'm going to share a brief excerpt from something I'm writing. For now this is all I'll share, but I thought some of you might be inspired and challenged by the testimonies, as was I. I have a long ways to go before my life exemplifies this kind of devotion…yet being far from the goal doesn't keep me from moving forward! :-)

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:12-14

Greatest Victories gained thru Prayer

Charles Finney was a powerful and noted evangelist in the early 1830’s. Through his ministry over a thousand were converted in New York one year. In Boston, over 50,000 made faith commitments to God in just one week. Some estimate that he was responsible for at least half a million conversions during his lifetime. But where did he get the power? Through prayer…consistent daily persistent prayer. He made prayer a priority.

E.M. Bounds, well known for his inspirational life of prayer and for practicing what he preached made prayer a priority in his life from 4am to 7am for many years. It was stated of Bounds, “As breathing is a physical reality to us, so prayer was a reality to him.” He was the author of numerous books on prayer that have blessed and impacted thousands.

Adoniram Judson, alive during the early 1800’s, spent forty years of his life as a missionary to the Buddhist of Burma. He translated the Bible into Burmese and founded a number of churches throughout Burma. His success he too attributed to prayer…much prayer. His encouragement to others was, “Arrange thy affairs, if possible, so that thou canst leisurely devote two or three hours every day not merely to devotional exercises, but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with God. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work of prayer. Let the hour of the opening dawn find thee at the same work again…Make all practical sacrifices to maintain this time of prayer. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God.”

We might say this is impossible…simply fanatical! Yet Dr. Judson impressed an Empire for Christ and made an imprint in Burma that will be seen only in eternity. Inspiration reminds us over and over again:

“The greatest victories gained for the cause of God are not the result of labored argument, ample facilities, wide influence, or abundance of means; they are gained in the audience chamber with God, when with earnest, agonizing faith men lay hold upon the mighty arm of power.”

Gospel Workers, p. 259

God shook the Heavens for ME!!!

2011-09-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

I was reading in II Samuel 22 yesterday and came across some powerful passages of how God responded when David cried to Him for help!

Join me in reading through a few verses in this passage.

II Samuel 22:7-20

⁷In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

⁸Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

⁹There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

¹¹And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

¹²And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

¹³Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

¹⁴The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.

¹⁵And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.

¹⁶And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

¹⁷He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;

¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

¹⁹They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

²⁰He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

Because HE delighted in me??! Wow, the King of the Universe….He delights so much in us, that when we call unto Him, He literally moves heaven and earth to come to our rescue! Isn't that amazing?? Yeah sure, we can say, "Well, that was for David…many thousands of years ago!" But you know what…our God is the same God yesterday, today and forever. He has not changed, He does not change! What has changed is our belief and trust in Him…we haven't been raised to believe in a big God. We've forgotten…But He is still the same!

One of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers goes like this:

"When we choose deliberately to obey God, then He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all His almighty power."

That's the God we serve…there's nothing to small for Him, there's nothing to large for Him! What an amazing God we serve!

"And even now I think I hear the heaven's rumbling…" :-)

The Cross I bear is just Perfect for me!

2011-08-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm tempted to complain, "God - the cross you gave me is too heavy! Why did you ask me to carry this…I can't go on. I'm tired. Other's lives seem to come together so easy, but mine is always full of challenges and trials. Isn't there an easier way?"

There is a poem called "The Changed Cross." It represents a weary one who thought that her cross was surely heavier than those of others whom she saw about her, and she wished that she might choose another instead of her own. She slept, and in her dream she was led to a place where many crosses lay, crosses of different shapes and sizes. There was a little one most beauteous to behold, set in jewels and gold. "Ah, this I can wear with comfort," she said. So she took up, but her weak form shook beneath it. The jewels and the gold were beautiful, but they were far too heavy for her to carry.

Next she saw a lovely cross with fair flowers entwined around its sculptured form. Surely that was the one for her. She lifted it, but beneath the flowers were piercing thorns which tore her flesh.

At last, as she went on, she came to a plain cross, without jewels, without fancy carvings, with only a few words of love inscribed upon it. This she took up and it proved the best of all, the easiest to be born. And as she looked upon it, bathed in the radiance that fell from heaven, she recognized her own old cross. She had found it again, and it was the best of all and lightest for her.

God knows best what cross we need to bear! We do not know how heavy other people's crosses are. We envy someone who is rich; his is a golden cross set with jewels, but we do not know how heavy his cross is. Here is another whose life seems very lovely. She bears a cross entwined with flowers. But beneath those flowers is some deep pain. If we could try all the other crosses that we think lighter than our own, we would at last find that no one of them is suited for us as well as our very own!

"The fact that we are called upon to endure trial shows that the Lord Jesus sees in us something precious which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. He does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines…" Ministry of Healing, p. 472

"Too many, in planning for a brilliant future, make an utter failure. Let God plan for you. As a little child, trust to the guidance of Him who will “keep the feet of His saints.” 1 Samuel 2:9. God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him." Help in Daily Living, p. 19

Watch THE CROSS WE BEAR YouTube

The Rain is Falling…Get your Umbrellas!

2011-08-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

In some places, more then it should…from what news I'm hearing from the East Coast and Hurricane Irene that is about to make landfall. About 5,000 flights have been cancelled for this weekend and 10's of thousands are expected to be stranded. This is of high interest to me because I was scheduled to fly to Baltimore Maryland on Sunday as I had a meeting at the General Conference Headquarters on Monday. I'm beginning to think though that I might best stay put and not get stranded somewhere between here and there….we will see. Am still praying maybe God will work a miracle and turn that Hurricane back to sea.

This post is not about about physical rain though… I'm talking about the spiritual rain that the Holy Spirit brings. It's even more powerful than anything any old Hurricane might do…

The picture above comes from a new website that our prayer team has recently launched, sharing some of the inspirational testimonies we've been collecting from United Prayer over this last year. (Click on the picture above to visit our new website! And thanks Raluca for helping get this going!) Actually… we are still have many many more testimonies to post. But at least you can start reading, if you are interested, and see what God is doing! It's amazing…

Let me leave you with a very inspirational Sabbath thought:

“The baptism of the Holy Ghost as on the day of Pentecost will lead to a revival of true religion and to the performance of many wonderful works. Heavenly intelligences will come among us, and men will speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit of God. But should the Lord work upon men as He did on and after the day of Pentecost, many who now claim to believe the truth would know so very little of the operation of the Holy Spirit that they would cry, “Beware of fanaticism.” They would say of those who were filled with the Spirit, “These men are full of new wine” Acts 2:13…The great sin of those who profess to be Christians is that they do not open the heart to receive the Holy Spirit. When souls long after Christ, and seek to become one with Him, then those who are content with the form of godliness exclaim, “Be careful, do not go to extremes.” … But while we should be careful not to go into human excitement, we should not be among those who will raise inquiries and cherish doubts in reference to the work of the Spirit of God.” You Shall Receive Power, p. 322

Introducing "Praying for Rain: The United Prayer Mini-Handbook"

2011-08-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Download Mini-Handbook for United Prayer

A year ago, I would have never dreamed where we would be today. I would never have imagined how God would bless. And the blessing has come…simply in answer to prayer…United Prayer!

As my blog posts have reflected, in the last year, our prayer team has traveled all over the world, from North America, to many countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and beyond. We've had over 10,000 that have come through the United Prayer Room alone and many of those have been so inspired, they've gone home to their churches and communities to start their own prayer rooms. One 17 year old girl named Brielle, who experienced United Prayer at GYC, hosted an all-day prayer room at her Camp meeting this summer, and is continuing to follow invitations for prayer rooms almost every weekend of this coming school year. But not just young people are taking part. We've had Division Presidents so excited and on fire, that they've been taking united prayer to all their churches and Unions and seeing it dramatically impact the way they lead and the results of their leadership! The Holy Spirit is being poured out…and we believe THIS IS ONLY THE START! All the glory to God! And of course, we knew He would bless. How can He not, when people are willing to get into His Word, and on their knees in Prayer. It's a recipe for REVIVAL…true revival…not the counterfeit revivals you see all over the place. All I can say is, it's been amazing…a journey of a lifetime, and one that is far from being completed.

Why are we doing this? Because we're passionate about prayer and about inspiring God’s church to Pray…and not just to pray, but to pray TOGETHER.

In light of how God has been blessing, the invitations have been flooding across our in boxes. Although there are many of us that travel with the United Prayer team, we have more requests than we can keep up with. So we've been seeking to train others so they can pick up and carry the work of helping unite God's people in prayer.

This new "Praying for Rain: Mini-Handbook for United Prayer" is one way we are seeking to pass the word along! To down-load just click the link above. Or if you want a printed version, contact me and let me know….as available, I'll do my best to supply! If the demand outgrows the supply, well… I'll just point you back to the link, and you'll have to print your own!

Some Inspirational Stories

In the previous post, I shared pictures of our last ARME from WA. The highlight was the all night prayer room where more than 200 took part praying for the Holy Spirit and interceding for each other with a passion and fervency I've rarely seen before. It was beautiful and convicting for all of us…who, although we stayed up all night, found ourselves amazingly alive and refreshed the next day, despite the lack of sleep.

At the ASI convention, where some of our prayer team traveled to right after ARME, we also had a prayer room. Several inspiring things happened during this event. The first was a pair of young men that came into the prayer room. We had been interceding and praying for these men and their salvation a year ago when we hosted a 10-day prayer room at Andrews University. They had been living in the world, doing drugs, and were living a life very far from Christ. But at ASI, they came into the prayer room, and we saw for ourselves the testimony of what God has done in their lives over this past year in answer to prayer. Incredible!!!! We praise the Lord for this dramatic answered prayer. In fact, I was so inspired by it that I asked them to share during our evening sharing time at ASI, where we share testimonies from the prayer room and we invite people to come. Towards the end of the sharing time, I asked one final question of one of these young men. The question was, "Could you share with the ASI audience some encouraging words for WHY they should come visit the prayer room?" I put the microphone to this young man's mouth and would you believe that the fire alarms went off in the building!!!!!! Here we are LIVE on 3ABN television, and with about 3,500-4,000 people seated in the audience, and the FIRE ALARMS went off right when I asked him to share why people should come together to prayer!!! Now isn't that a direct attack of the enemy or what? At first, I was sooo startled, I didn't know what was happening. But the young man caught his senses, and told everyone WHY it was so important that they come to the prayer room, and that we should not let a fire alarm stop us. Everyone stayed….emphasis on stayed….in their seats until he was done talking, then they began to evacuate the building. It was incredible. (Praise the Lord, they got the problem solved and 3ABN was only off the air for 3 minutes and the program continued!) As a result of those fire alarms going off though, more people came to the prayer room. So we praise God for that!

The second amazing experience for me at ASI revolved around 60+ juniors, ages 10-12. One evening I got to go to the Junior Division and talk with them about the power of prayer…especially UNITED PRAYER. I told them united prayer stories, then I shared very simply how we were going to do this, and I asked 4 child volunteers to help me - one to lead each section after I prayed. The kids were amazing, and once they started praying, I could hardly stop them. It was so beautiful! I wanted to cry!!!! And I can't help but imagine that God was smiling…

The third special experience from ASI was when our Church President, Elder Ted Wilson came into the prayer room. To see this leader, who has a million things on his agenda, and so many things to do, take time to stop and pray with us was such a testimony to his humility and sincere heart. We praise God for such a godly leader for our church….and I know that God has called him for such a time as this!

But the testimonies don't stop! After ASI, several of us traveled to Southern CA for the recent iShare event where we hosted another prayer room. During this event over 120 young people responded to the call to be prayer leaders in their churches and homes across the nation. The speaker had just given a powerful message on God's call to stand in the gap in prayer…and these young people took the call seriously! It was so inspiring. After the call, they came to the prayer room, and we gave them the Handbook for United Prayer and talked with them about how to lead prayer groups and to get things started, then we prayed together. It was powerful and I can't wait to see what God has next in store…truly He is coming soon and He is preparing His people!

In closing, let me share a couple of my favorite quotes, quotes that you can find in this "Mini-Handbook for United Prayer."

“A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. There must be earnest effort to obtain the blessing of the Lord, not because God is not willing to bestow His blessing upon us, but because we are unprepared to receive it. It is our work, by confession, humiliation, repentance, and earnest prayer to fulfill the conditions upon which God has promised to grant us His blessing. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer.” Last Day Events, Chap 13

“If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” II Chron 7:14
“There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out His Spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation.” Messages to Young People, p. 133

“We are encouraged to pray for success, with the divine assurance that our prayers will be answered. The promise of Matthew 18:19-20 is made on the condition that the united prayers of the church are offered, and in answer to these prayers, there may be expected a power greater than that which comes in answer to private prayer. The power given will be proportionate to the unity of the members and their love for God and for one another.”

9th Manuscript Releases, 748, Nos. 664

Why have we called this booklet "PRAYING FOR RAIN"?? Because we as a people are in desperate need of the Holy Spirit. We are told to pray for it, ask for it, and it will surely come! So join us…wherever you are, whoever you are…let's pray for RAIN!!!

“Ask ye of the Lord Rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” Zechariah 10:1

ARME VI Pictures...

2011-08-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures from our 6th ARME Bible Camp - held this past July at Upper Columbia Academy! Over 700 were in attendance and God once again blessed above and beyond measure. The Bible Study was deeper and richer, the prayers were more fervent and more passionate, and the fellowship was sweet! Looking forward to Heaven…

Enjoy the pictures - as they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words!"

I've been on the road for a month now… between ARME UCA, Board Summit Mtgs, ASI Convention in Sacramento where I was the prayer coordinator and we had a prayer room going all day, and iShare Conference in Riverside where Doug and I got to do some workshops on prayer, and he coordinated a prayer room with the iShare team. At iShare over 120 kids signed up to be prayer leaders back in their home churches! Praise God! As of TODAY…. I'm finally home in Oregon again and trying to catch up on all that has gotten behind…. Lots more news to share… but another day…. another time! ;-) God is good!

Just imagine IF we had Faith as a Grain of Mustard Seed!

2011-07-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

During the prayer room at Faith Camp, we started reflecting upon the verse that says:

"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20

If we had faith as a grain of mustard seed....

But what is so special about Mustard seed? Why did Jesus use this as an example of what our faith should be? How big is Mustard seed anyway???

So I started doing some more research...in a few minutes, this is what I found.

The word "Mustard" comes from the Latin word "Mustum ardens" meaning "Burning must."
Mustard is one of the oldest known spices - dating back over 3,000 years old.
It's easy to grow and can produce plants in as little as 60 days
The mustard plant is often considered to be like a weed as it is hardy and will not go away.
It grows best in hot climates and doesn't need watering
The greens of the Mustard plant are edible and the flowers attractive
The mustard seed oil itself can be used for a variety of ailments including relief from tooth aches, muscular aches, as an emetic, helpful for bruises, stings, bites, respiratory troubles, stimulates circulation.
The branches of the mustard tree have been used by tribes people as a tooth brush because of it's natural anti-bacteria and anti-plaque properties.
The mustard tree grows large and outward direction, covering whole acres of land.

Wow...if only we had faith as a grain of mustard seed...A faith like a weed, that will not let go. A faith that will hold on for healing, for hope, for conquering of land for the Kingdom. A faith that does not need watering, but will hold on because GOD SAID and it MUST BE TRUE!!!!!!

Just imagine what God could do if we had FAITH AS A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED???

Not a handful of grains (as pictured below) but only ONE GRAIN! Just one....

Angel's in the Prayer Room...

2011-07-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

I have about 10 blog entries in the back of my head from the last few weeks just waiting to be written, but I've had no free time to sit down and write. But the blessings of serving the Lord and being busy about HIS business is more than worth it all! I love being in the ARME...God's ARME! ;-)

So I am just bursting at the seams and wanted to share a little report from the front-lines of ARME Prayer Force. Shanter and I just returned from having an amazing experience at Faith Camp being held in Washington, leading an all-day prayer room there. I was very excited when Melissa asked us to go and lead a prayer room as I've heard amazing testimonies from Faith Camp and always wanted to attend. But I have to admit once I got there, I felt very "out of my league" with all these godly people from the front lines that are actually LIVING by Faith alone! (I thought I was living by "faith alone" until I heard these guys talk!) Many of them receive no paycheck or guaranteed income AT ALL....they are out just serving God, building schools, feeding orphans, teaching people about God by their lives, and raising their families in simplicity so that they can give the gospel in action to those in need. (Modern day George Muellers) And yet as the testimonies revealed time and time again over the weekend..... As they keep using what God gives them.... God gives them MORE! Bills are always paid, and impossible advances made!! When they come to a crisis and they don't know how something is going to be taken care of financially, they all PRAY until God provides. And again and again He does!!!! And as they are faithful in what He gives them.... time and time again, our God (the One that holds unlimited resources) keeps proving His faithfulness...by giving more!!! (We can learn something from these testimonies!!!) I was inspired and reminded afresh, we serve a BIG God and an AMAZING GOD! And He is able...

Being around Uncle David and Aunt Becky brought back a lot of special memories too...of when I spent time with them serving in the jungles of South America. Although that time as a student missionary seems eons ago now, the memories and the inspiration I received all those years ago still is strong. I continue to be inspired by their bold faith...

So speaking of Faith...here I find myself at Faith Camp, leading a all-day united prayer room.

First off, they asked us to start united prayer every morning at 5:45 am! Did you hear that, 5:45 AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Makes us at ARME look LAZY!) But it was a blessing. God really bound the group together during the hour of United Prayer that we had each day. Then Shanter and I had the prayer room open from 7am until 9pm. During this time, while the prayer room was not packed with dozens of people (like at ARME) there were many people that came through. For me the most amazing thing about this event was the children.... Shanter and I prayed with sooooo many children - children ages 6, 8, 10, 12.....all earnest and pleading for victory in their lives from sin. There's no "trying to be respectable" with kids....they were honest and upfront..."God, I need you to help me stop lying. God I need you to help me be kind. God I need you to help me stop being selfish." They also really prayed for others, the other adults that were in the room, or the speakers who were on stage at that time. It made Shanter and I cry to hear these kids pray!!!!

The coolest thing though, was when a little 6 year old girl named Sisi (pronounced "Sigh-sigh," her parents are missionaries overseas!) asked Shanter and I if we were married. When we said "No," she looked all perplexed, "Well, how are you going to get any kids???" We just shrugged....."maybe we aren't suppose to have kids." Then little Sisi spoke up again. "We need to pray that you get husbands.....godly husbands!" And these little girls all prayed for Shanter and I to get "husbands." They didn't pray this just once, but every time after that, when they came to the prayer room. I was sooo humored.... but then I told God, "Forgive me if I'm acting like Sara in the Bible! You heard those girls pray....you can answer their prayers IF we NEED godly husbands." :-)

But the blessing didn't stop with the kids.... God answered a lot of prayers during Faith Camp, and He also gave us a glimpse of His VERY REAL and VERY NEAR presence once again. We all know that during the United Prayer rooms throughout Asia, Angels have been seen, heard and felt on several occasions this past year. Well, God did it again....right here in the USA! During one of the sessions that Melissa and Shanter were leading (there were 9 in the room), one woman witnessed guardian angels surrounding each person in the circle. She saw 8 angels.... remember there were 9 in the room, so she did not see her own angel. At the end of the prayer, while there were only 9 in the circle, the singing sounded like it was coming from a much larger group and the music and the harmonies were sooo heavenly, many in the group wondered if the angels were singing. Some had no doubt, and we believe they were. Once again, the angels couldn't help but join their voices with ours! (I'm getting goose-bumps just writing this out for the first time!) Isn't God amazing. Shanter said at the end of the prayer it was soooo obvious that God's presence was there that she just wanted to keep on worshipping...and praying.

During our time in the prayer room over Faith Camp, we saw many answers to prayer. One woman who had hearing aids and always struggled to hear, told our team after the prayer time that it was amazing because she heard EVERY prayer that was said. She had no problems hearing at all during the prayer hour. Others had physical healing or answers to prayer. One missionary girl in Thailand we prayed for. Maria and her adopted baby Jabez had been hospitalized with all sorts of wild diagnoses and dim prospects of a speedy recovery. Later that day, after we prayed, we found out from her family (who was at Faith Camp) that she had been released with little Jabez from the hospital. (Click HERE to read her amazing testimony to God's faithfulness!) God had already answered our prayer even before we asked!!! Another woman had what might have been a cancerous growth on her leg that she was wanting removed. The next day after the united prayer, it fell off while she was still at Faith Camp. She came back to share with Shanter and I, rejoicing. One man who had prayed passionately for his family to attend the meetings was also rejoicing the next day when they DID attend. For others the blessing from the prayer room seemed to be just experiencing the peace and joy that we find in prayer, or receiving confirmation from God on what they should do next.

However, for Shanter and I...I think we received the biggest blessing of all!!!!!! Not just in knowing that the angels were near, not just in being prayed for by "little human angels" .... but in seeing our Faith grow...like a little grain of mustard seed. (And we will save that powerful thought for the next post!) Truly, there is power in prayer. And God is just waiting to pour out Heaven's blessings upon us...if we would only ask, if we would only pray.

IMPORTANT NOTE: FOR AN EVEN MORE AMAZING ANGEL STORY that just happened June 25th, 2011, read the comment on this post by my friend Claudia! It's the e-mail she sent me responding to what I shared above.

Brokenness... Tip #3

2011-06-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Broken...That He may make me Whole!
(Tips for Keeping that Heavenly Love Vibrant)

The last couple post, I have started talking about our need for "Continuous Revival," and I've shared some of the powerful tips that God has taught me that help me live victoriously. (To read the first two tips/secrets, go back to my previous post!) As I continue this series, "Tips for Keeping that Heavenly Love Vibrant," I want to share about Tip #3 - It's simply - Brokenness. It's a strange secret, especially to those not spiritually minded. But it's one of the most beautiful secrets of all.

Discover with me the beauty of "brokenness:" Brokenness before my Maker and brokenness before my fellow man. How could brokenness be beautiful, many might ask? Well, with one look at our redeemer, we see the picture: The perfect sinless spotless Son of God lays broken in Gethsemane and broken on Calvary. He's broken for us...He's broken because of me!

"Reproach hath broken my heart." Ps 69:20

"This is my body which is broken for YOU." I Cor 11:24
"But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes, we are healed." Isa 53:5

To receive this "uncomprehendable-to-human-mind-magnificent" gift...we too must be broken: Broken from all self, broken from all self-sufficiency, broken from all attempts to earn our own way to salvation. As we see what He chose to do for us, what we could not do for our self, all pride will be gone...we are nothing apart from Him, and we will be broken.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

a broken and contrite heart!" Ps 51:17

"The Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart and

saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Ps 34:18

"He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds." Ps 147:3

"For thus saith the high and loft One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite heart and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isa 57:15

Author of "Continuous Revival" Norman Grubb shares the following:

"We are not isolated units living in a vertical relationship with an isolated God; we are members of a human family also, with whom we live in horizontal relationships, and our obligations are two-way. We cannot say we are righteous before God through faith in Christ and continue to be unrighteous among men...Let me put it this way. We can liken a man to a house. It has a roof and walls. So also man in his fallen state has a roof on top of his sins, coming between him and God; and he also has walls up, between him and his neighbor. But at salvation, when broken at the cross, not only does the roof come off through faith in Christ, but the walls fall down flat, and man's true condition as a sinner-saved-by-grace is confessed before all men."

"Unfortunately," Norman continues, "the trouble soon begins again after conversion - and here lies the basic hindrance to continued revival. Continued revival is continued brokenness; but brokenness is two-way, and that means that walls must be kept down as well as roof off. But man's most deep-rooted and subtle sin is the subtle sin of pride: self-esteem and self respect. Though hardly realizing it, while we are careful to keep the roof off between ourselves and God through repentance and faith, we soon let those walls of respectability creep up again between ourselves and our brethren. We don't mind our brethren knowing about the success we have in our Christian living. If we win a soul, if we lead a Bible class, if we have a prayer answered, if we get good ideas from Scripture - we don't mind it they hear about these things, because we get a little reflected credit because of them. But where we fail, in those many, many areas of our daily lives - that is a different question! If God has to deal with us over our impatience or temper in the home, over dishonesty in our business, over coldness or some other sin, by no means do we easily bear testimony to our brethren of God's faithful and gracious dealings in such areas of failure. And we're slow to share these victories. Why? Because of pride."

As we see in scripture, Saul's repentance was insincere as he desired his sin be hidden from the people. (I Sam 15:30) However, the proof of David's sincerity before God is seen when he told the whole world of his sin in Psalms 51. Openness before man is genuine proof of sincerity before God, just as righteousness and love before man are genuine proofs of righteousness and love before God.

It's interesting and saddening to see that when Jesus was on trial, even some of the chief rulers believed on him. Check out the following verse; may it not be our story:

"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." John 12:42,43

I have to admit, I think I have all too often fit into the category of those above. I love the esteem and praise of men! Yes, I may be convicted upon a point of truth, or I may be convicted by a failure, but I certainly don't want anyone to know that I failed Him, that He had to chastise me and pick me up yet again.....and so I keep those protective walls around my heart. I battle the trials alone with God, and I celebrate the victories that He gives me in these personal areas alone.

Some may question: Does this "need for brokenness" mean it's ok if we have emotional sin-filled "barfing" sessions? (Ugh...I get a distaste in my mouth just thinking of the concept.) I'm certain that it does not. This is not about "emotional barfing." There is no beauty in sin or in the elaborate details of sin, the beauty is in the Savior. Others may disagree, but as a general rule, I believe we should only share when our sinful behavior has effected the body of Christ, when we are still struggling for victory and need prayer, when we see the need to help encourage another struggling brother that he's not the only one to walk this path and victory is possible, or to glorify our God in the victory we've experienced. But to deny the weakness of our flesh (in the past or present) and pretend that we are righteous (or that we have always lived righteous) when, in fact, we have not or we are not currently, is to live a lie. James 5:16 says, "Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that ye may be healed."

Unfortunately, many stop with confession. They excuse the need to conquer their sin, or have Christ eradicate their sin...and it continues to plague them. Again and again, they share it with their brethren, thinking that their transparency is all that is needed to be right with God. But there is no excuse for sin. As the verse above implies, one of the most important reasons we confess some things publicly is to PRAY for one another that we may be HEALED! Christ has a high standard, we are called to be perfect even as He is perfect. (Matt 5:48) If we are living in a continual cycle of the same repeated sin, it is because sin dwells within us. (Rom 7:20) If we continue to live in the flesh controlled by sin, we will die...there's no "ands, ifs or buts" about it. (Rom 8:13) We must agonize after God until He gives us the victory. (Rom 7:24,25 & I Cor 15:57) And if we fall again, we confess our sin and seek for victory again. Our path must be continually upward, less and less of me and my besetting sin, and more and more victory in Him.

Deep deep sigh...

Oh the pain of appearing weak before the brethren if we confess though... Oh the battle we must wage against the enemy if we are to change. It is so much work. It's so much easier just to say "I'm sorry" and continue living... and continue sinning... and continue confessing... and continue living again.

This past ARME Bible Camp that we hosted in April was a difficult experience for me. Over that week, God showed me where I'd allowed a "breach" in my spiritual armor. It wasn't something that I could correct immediately, so although repentant in my heart, I was really struggling to "stand righteous" before my fellow man with the issue not being resolved. As director of programming and carrying a lot of weight and responsibility during the camp, I just felt more and more tension as the camp progressed. Finally one night things came to a head for me with God. I was to lead "united prayer" for the whole group of attendees the next morning....(we had 500+ in attendance that weekend) and it was a honor and huge responsibility. But I just didn't feel right doing it. I asked myself, "Until I get this worked out with God, until I get things in my heart in order, how can I stand before these people and lead prayer? I can't do it! I can't pretend that I'm worthy of this solemn task."

It was humiliating for me to admit to myself that I wasn't qualified to lead, and that there was a huge battle in my heart. (And obviously, none of us are "qualified" in and of ourselves! Only in Christ.) However, as a leader, it was an extra difficult struggle. I didn't want to appear weak to my teammates or my best friends that were in attendance. But I finally resigned myself, I would not stand up front again until the "struggle at hand" was resolved. (It consisted of making something right with a wronged entity and could not be done instantly.) I went to sleep that night with tears in my eyes and a broken heart.

However, God had other plans in mind for me. The next morning I set out to find another teammate to lead our morning united prayer time. (It was too late to make these arrangements the night before as I'd been out late talking to God about it all). However, that morning God stopped me dead in my tracks. "Melody...you need to lead the united prayer today. Do not get someone to replace you!!! YOU need to lead!! But you are not to lead it as the person you want everyone to see you as, "perfect-with-heart-spotless." You need to share that, though not worthy, you come to pray in need of a Savior...for that's where everyone is at...they need to come now, realizing that although everything may not be in line in their lives, that doesn't keep them from coming and praying. In fact, that's WHY they so desperately need to humble their hearts and accept the Savior's healing hand and cleansing blood.

To give a little background on how our ARME Bible Camps run....the whole theme and focus of each camp is revival: Revival in Bible study, revival in prayer, and revival as God's people in mission. Each camp we see the Holy Spirit poured out, but at each camp it happens in it's own unique way. Often times, the spiritual atmosphere will be high, and things continue as the week goes along. However, there has always been a distinct breaking point for the attendees, when collectively, it seems, everyone breaks into a new thresh-hold of surrender and seeking after God. A point when it seems that the Holy Spirit really begins to be poured out in greater measure. Often times we see this within the first couple days, after a powerful testimony from one of our speakers, after confessions and brokenness in morning prayer. However, sometimes it does not occur until the all-night prayer vigil. However at this camp, although already nearing the weekend, we still had not experienced that spiritual break thru. Our entire team felt the need, but the break-thru had not come yet. Something was missing.

Interestingly enough, the week before the camp, our prayer director, Martin, had written our team the following e-mail. As I trembled over what I felt God was asking me to do, I remembered his e-mail.

April 3, 2011

Dear ARME Teammates,

What I fear most is that the sin of pride in my heart (or in the heart of one of our team members) will hinder the outpouring of God's Spirit upon us at our next ARME Bible Camp at Cohutta.

Andrew Murray in his book Humility writes, "The danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and that especially at the time of our highest experiences.... Paul was in danger without knowing it: what Jesus did for him is written for our admonition, that we may know our danger and know our only safety."

Let's take the time to truly humble ourselves before the Lord. As we humble ourselves, let remember that just as our love for God means absolutely nothing if we have no love for our fellow man (1 John 4:20), the same goes for humility. Andrew Murray writes: "It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God: [but] humility towards men will be the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real."

Hmmm....sounds a lot like what Norman Grubb is talking about in being "broken." At the time I hadn't read Norman Grubb's book, "Continuous Revival," but the principle even then spoke to my heart. With trembling knees and tears streaming down my face, I knew I must go before the group that morning to lead united prayer. Not because I was worthy, but because just like them, I needed my Savior.

So I did. Never one to be nervous on the stage, I literally was shaking...I had hoped not many would attend, after all, it was 6am in the morning. But even though the "united prayer time" was optional, the house was full. I didn't pull any punches. With pounding heart, I told everyone that I had battled with God over whether I was going to lead "united prayer" that morning. I told them I hadn't wanted to do it, and I didn't feel right standing before them when there was an un-resolved "breach" in my heart. But God had impressed me to confess my fault before the brethren and to share from the brokenness of my own heart our utter need of a Savior. So I shared from my heart. I confessed what I was struggling with...not because it affected any of those present, but because I felt God was calling me to humble my hearts before them and share that I too, had need and could not stand (or kneel) apart from Him. Many in the audience had tears in their own eyes as I shared, but I was unaware as I pressed forward by the conviction of my need for cleansing, and that we all needed to come with greater surrender before His throne. "Those who would rather die than perform a wrong act are the only ones will be found faithful." I shared. "We must forget trying to appear righteous before each other, all our righteousness is as filthy rags. We must be righteous before God. We must put pride and self aside and come to our Savior to be clothed in His righteousness. And we must do it TODAY...we never know if tomorrow will be too late!"

As one of my favorite authors quotes...

"It is a lamentable fact that the erring heart is unwilling to be criticized, or to subject itself to humiliation by the confession of sin. Some see their faults, but thinking confession will detract from their dignity, they excuse their wrong, and shield themselves from the discipline that confession would give to the soul...but in passing out of the path of confession, they fail to be faithful examples to the people. They see the errors of others; but how can they have courage to give the advice, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed,” when they have failed to follow this instruction in their own lives? It is not agreeable; because it does not flatter their pride, but reproves and pains? Ministers and people, if saved at all, must be saved day by day, hour by hour. They must hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ, the illumination of the Holy Spirit." {FE 239.2}

"Away with this false dignity. Fall on the Rock and be broken, and Christ will give you the true and heavenly dignity. Let not pride, self-esteem, or self-righteousness keep anyone from confessing his sin, that he may claim the promise. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). Keep nothing back from God, and neglect not the confession of your faults to your brethren. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). Many a sin is left unconfessed to confront the sinner in the day of final account; better far to confront your sins now, to confess them and put them away, while the atoning Sacrifice pleads in your behalf. Do not fail to learn the will of God on this subject. The health of your soul and the salvation of others depends upon the course you pursue in this matter. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him: for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6, 7). The humble and broken heart can appreciate something of the love of God and the cross of Calvary. Ample will be the blessing experienced by him who meets the condition by which he may become a partaker of the favor of God."

"We are to surrender our hearts to God, that He may renew and sanctify us, and fit us for His heavenly court. We are not to wait for some special time, but today we are to give ourselves to Him, refusing to be the servants of sin. Do you imagine you can leave off sin a little at a time? Oh, leave the accursed thing at once! Hate the things that Christ hates, love the things that Christ loves. Has He not by His death and suffering made provision for your cleansing from sin? When we begin to realize that we are sinners, and fall on the Rock to be broken, the everlasting arms are placed about us, and we are brought close to the heart of Jesus. Then we shall be charmed with His loveliness, and disgusted with our own righteousness. We need to come close to the foot of the cross. The more we humble ourselves there, the more exalted will God’s love appear."{1SM 326.2}

Wow...deep breath....

So, with tears in my eyes, but peace in my heart, I called my brothers and sisters forward to pray. And we prayed...we confessed our sins (those that were appropriate to be shared publicly) and we confessed in our hearts, and we re-committed together to make things right before God and with our brethren. What a beautiful time of prayer that was. I felt broken and pained that I'd had to share, and yet a deep peace filled my heart that I had done the right thing.

Right after I sat down, our morning devotional speaker got up. But a fellow teammate called me out of the meeting. "Melody, I have to talk to you right now. What you shared this morning is right where I'm at. I've been holding something in my heart, and yet professing to be surrendered....and God told me today, that was for me. One of the things in my heart was something I was holding against you. I'm so sorry," my sister confessed with tears in her eyes. I was shocked, I'd never seen her cry. But we cried together and hugged and God brought greater unity between us.

The rest of the day strangers kept coming up to me and telling me how my "public confession" had prompted them to make something right with God. One crusty older man with pony-tail going down his back approached me. He looked like a "biker, smoker, druggie" from years gone by. But he grabbed my arm as tears came to his eyes. "Melody! I've pushed God out for many years. I've felt like Christianity was a farce. It all just seemed like a circus or an act. But today as you shared and cried, this old crusty heart of mine began to break up, and for the first time in years God got through to me. Thank you for sharing." [Later this man came forward with the decision to choose Christ and be Baptized, and I wept from the sidelines.] The testimonies continued from this person or that. Some of my teammates told me, "That was the break thru we were waiting for...God's spirit is really being poured out now."And it seemed that their words were true. All of us were really searching our hearts, all of us were going deeper.

In retrospect, all I can say is, I'm ashamed at my own weakness and pride, but humbled and thankful that God broke through and was able to use that "broken experience of mine" to help many others. Pride continues to seek to rear it's ugly head in my heart...it is constantly fighting for supremacy in this area or that, constantly fighting to be acknowledged and coddled. And only when abiding in Christ am I able to be victorious and stomp it out. The battle continues. But I've learned a lot...and Christ is continuing to take me deeper...I'm more willing to be transparent, and more willing to share the daily victories that He gives me. I'm also realizing the significance of this second secret in the area of "Continuous Revival." Brokenness before God and before our fellow man is so key!

One of my favorite books, Steps to Christ, has this powerful quote:

"However trifling this or that wrong act may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. Man’s judgment is partial, imperfect, but God estimates all things as they really are. The drunkard is despised and is told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially offensive to God, for they are contrary to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ; but pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ and the infinite blessings He came to give." Steps to Christ, 30 (1892)

"Lord, please deliver us from our pride and make us broken vessels. Broken that you can make us whole, broken that you alone can fill us, broken that your strength may be made perfect in our weakness."

For those of you desiring to be challenged at a GREATER LEVEL, I encourage you to click on the following link, scroll to the bottom of our prayer page, and download the "BEAUTY of BROKENNESS"

It's something we often share with our camp attendees, and I often share in my prayer travels. And it's impacted many lives, including my own. Until we have a right conception of where we are, we have no right conception of our NEED of Him.

Something else that has really been a powerful tool in helping me draw closer to Him, is going through the CLEANING the INNER SANCTUARY by Leslie Ludy. This is a process and may take days to complete, but it will help you surrender areas of your life to God that you didn't even know you needed to surrender.

One last powerful quote:

"The reason that we carelessly indulge in sin is that we do not see Jesus. We would not lightly regard sin, did we appreciate the fact that sin wounds our Lord .... A right estimate of the character of God would enable us rightly to represent Him to the world. We are dependent upon Christ every moment; He is our source of supply. All our outside forms, prayers, fastings, and alms-giving cannot take the place of the inward work of the Spirit of God on the human heart. When one is fully emptied of self, when every false God is cast out of the soul, the vacuum is filled by the inflowing of the Spirit of Christ. Such a one has the faith that purifies the soul from defilement.... He is a branch of the True Vine, and bears rich clusters of fruit to the glory of God." Sons & Daughters of God, p. 290

So...I have now shared the first THREE Tips to "Keeping that Heavenly Love Vibrant." (To take Secret-Getaways, to Walk Today, and to be Broken Continually!) And with these tips applied, we can't help but experience Victorious Living and Continuous Revival!

"Not unto Him that is able to KEEP YOU FROM FALLING...and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Jude 24

Stay tuned for Tip #4 to come in a future blog post! ;-)

*To learn more about United Prayer and hear testimonies from ARME, please visit this LINK!

Walking TODAY in Him... Tip #2

2011-06-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tips for Keeping that Heavenly Love Vibrant!
All He asks is that we walk with Him TODAY!
"Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path..."

Ps 119:105

I remember when I was a little girl, I always looked forward to what would happen "tomorrow" or "next year:" Tomorrow I can go swimming. Tomorrow I can go to a friend's house. Next week I will be leaving for summer camp. Next week Mom will help me make a dress. Next year I will be a teenager. Next year I will graduate. Maybe next year I'll have a boyfriend...

Yes, I did have many fun "todays"...but it seemed in my younger years especially, I was always living for what would happen "tomorrow."

Unfortunately, I also did a lot of living on the experiences of the past - both bad and good. If something bad had happened, I would often continue to see myself in the light of that "former failure." If I tripped up in the present, I excused myself with the rational that I really couldn't do much about it, because it was something affecting me from the past.

If something good had happened, or if I'd had a certain "high point" in my walk with God, I would often continue to live on that memory. The fact that I was struggling today, or maybe my life wasn't what it should be today, or maybe I wasn't happy today was pushed to the back of my mind...because I had yesterday's high to lean upon, and I had a better future to look forward to.

To look forward to the joys of tomorrow, to being grown-up, to being more mature spiritually (like our parents or godly role models), and to the unexpected love that we hope God has around the corner is not wrong. In fact, much beyond the fleeting moments to come, we are told in scripture to look forward to Christ coming. (John 14:2,3) We are told to reflect on the future He's prepared for us. (I Cor 2:5,9) "For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seethe, why doth he yet hope for it. But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Rom 8:24,25

But as I've entered my adult years, I've realized that the are also dangers in living too much in the past or too much in the future, as we did in childhood. If we are not careful, it can prohibit a work that God needs to do in our lives TODAY. Hear me out...

Many of us, myself included, may at times find ourselves living on the spiritual milestones, moments, or heights of the past. (Maybe it was something God did for us from last year, maybe it was that "secret get-away" we took with Him last month, maybe it was something He showed us in His Word last week, maybe it was something from yesterday!) While it's good to reflect on how He's worked in our lives, and to remember special milestones in our past, we can't substitute them for today's walk. As one author puts it bluntly, "We make too much of past happenings and too little of today's walk." If I stay in the past, I may not be walking victoriously in the present. I may even excuse sin or issues in the moment as I look back on my past thinking to myself, "After all, what I did today is not really me. Look at the experience I had with Him yesterday, or the experience I had with him last year. I know, His grace covers my sins today. Because we know each other from before...I don't have to stress about today!"

I love to read....and recently I started reading a powerful little booklet called Continuous Revival - The secret to Victorious Living by Norman Grubb. (He's also the author of Reese Howell's Intercessor - one of my favorite books on prayer from this past century!) This book on revival caught my attention because after all, my goal is to experience continuous revival! We're all looking for that "secret" right? We all want to be victorious every day. We all want to be alive and walking with Him every day!

Of course, as I read his book, I realized what he is sharing is not new. The secret is none other but living in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. But this book breaks things down and makes "the abiding life" practical in ways that are so simple. It's beautiful and easy to understand. Let me share about one of the most fundamental secrets:

"Today's WALK!"

The emphasis in scripture is not on some spiritual high, or victory from the past or expected victory in the future. It's on the walk...the walk of the present moment. The walk of today...

...walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit
...walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh
...walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called
...walk not as other Gentiles walk
...walk and please God
...walk in [his] statutes, keep [his] commandments and do them
...walk before [him] and be thou perfect
...walk in love, walk as children of light
...walk after the Lord your God
...As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.

When you think about this, it's so obvious! Walking is a step-by-step activity. With a destination in view, to get there you must walk...and keep walking...forward...here and now. The implications are in the present moment, not looking back, not looking ahead, but here and now on the path before us. If I stop and look back, I wont keep moving forward (I might even turn into a pillar of salt like Lots wife), or if I stop and try to look too far ahead, I might stumble at what is at my feet now. After all, why would He tell us, "Thy Word is a lamp to my FEET, and a light to my PATH." It's all about faithfulness in today's moment. It's about not tripping up with what is at our feet.

There's something else that often trips us up when we look at our past rather than focusing on today's moment. I alluded to this before. It is false condemnation from our failures, or excuses for present shortcomings. Even though we've confessed our sins and given them to God, Satan loves to throw our past sins up at us over and over again. He also loves to tell us, what we've been in our past, we will also be in our future. But the past is past, and as long as we've given it to God...it's over. We have no excuse to stay in "victim mentality" year after year. Our sins have gone to the bottom of the sea (Mic 7:19), and as the dear Corrie Ten Boom use to say, "There's a sign posted - NO FISHING ALLOWED!"

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new." II Cor 5:17

So today, we walk in the moment, step by step in obedience to Him, following His guiding, looking to His eyes for discernment and direction. "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye." Ps 32:8 The past is under His blood, the future is in His keeping. We focus on walking today...strong and victorious IN HIM.

"I die daily..." I Cor 15:31

"Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." Heb 3:15

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb 3:13

"Never the less, I must walk today, tomorrow and the day following..."
Luke 13:33

In a powerful little book called, "That I may Know Him" the author writes:

"God will not occupy a divided heart or reign from a divided throne. Every rival that holds the affections and diverts them from the God of love must be dethroned. The Lord demands all that there is of us, and there must be no reserve. Christ has purchased us, we are His heritage, and we are to be honored by being co-laborers with Jesus Christ. Wear the yoke with Christ, and daily walk with God. How shall we do this? By laying hold upon the help which God has provided. The Lord has said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7)

"God has bought us, and He claims a throne in each heart. Our minds and bodies must be subordinated to Him, and the natural habits and appetites must be made subservient to the higher wants of the soul. But we can place no dependence upon ourselves in this work. We cannot with safety follow our own guidance. The Holy Spirit must renew and sanctify us. In God’s service there must be no halfway work."

So dear friends, let's stop living on the revival we experienced last year, the revival we experienced last conference, or the revival we experienced last time we really made "quality time" to spend with Him. Let's have revival today! We may not be able to afford time for a "secret get-away" every day, but let's walk with Him today... He holds our hand. He will not fail us. "For I the Lord God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee, fear not I will help thee." Isa 41:13

"We may have the same help that Christ had. We may have the strength for every emergency; for God will be our front guard and our rearward. He will shut is in on every side." God's Amazing Grace, p. 259

"Choose ye THIS DAY whom ye will serve..." Josh 24:15

"I call heaven and earth to record THIS DAY against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Duet 30:19

I'm sure that in heaven alone will we realize the significance for ourselves and others, of our having lived a consistent daily harmonious godly life here. So let us seek to live TODAY...to glorify our Lord!

[Author's note: By the way, you should do a Bible study just on the topic of "the Walk" - it's powerful!]

"Secret-Getaways" with my Lover... Tip #1

2011-06-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

Tips for Keeping that Heavenly Love Vibrant!

Ok, because of my suspicious roommate, the secret is out, so I have to tell the REST of the story...as Paul Harvey use to say, just to clear the air!

So I have the habit of sneaking away, every so often: Away from the hustle and bustle, away from those I live with (roommates, family etc), and away from distractions that seem to take all too much of my time. Sometimes it will be a quiet secluded corner in peaceful restaurant or coffee shop (even though I don't drink coffee). Sometimes it will be beside a peaceful river or stream. Sometimes it will be up on a mountain trail or scenic lookout. (My favorite is a secluded spot I discovered along the Oregon coast recently - pictured below.)

I have a lot of fun on these "secret getaways" for each time I discover that my Lover has prepared a beautiful feast. And each feast contains "secret delights" and delicacies that I cannot find on my own. In fact, I almost feel guilty to be enjoying such exotic feasts, for I realize that there are many that have not yet discovered this beautiful bounty... the bounty that only gets more delightful and amazing each time we go out.

"He brought me to the banqueting house and His banner over me was LOVE." Song of Sol 2:4

But how can you try to explain such "secret getaways" to your friends....especially to a roommate that has only lived with me a month and is a baby Christian, still trying to just grasp the "ABC's" of the walk. To her my utter consumption and time away with Him doesn't make a lot of sense as she still turns to "good movies" and "Bible study mentors" for her "spiritual high." So to be honest, the last few weeks I haven't really even tried to explain....I've just told her... "I'm going away for some alone time. I'll be back in a few hours."

Recently as I've been dealing with new challenges in ministry and facing changes in my own life and the lives of those I love, I've been taking lots of these "secret getaways." (And honestly, I'm not sure how I would keep going if I didn't have them, for they've helped provide a warmth and sustaining vibrance in my walk with God for a number of years now!) However, the last few weeks, as I've taken even more time away, I guess my new roommate has become more and more suspicious. After a day or even a few hours away, I come back refreshed, alive, and with a special glow on my face, it's no wonder she thinks something "fishy" is going on. So the other day she texted me while I was away. Here was her exact words, "Do you have a secret boyfriend??? If you do, I think that's wonderful. I will pretend that I don't know and I promise I wont tell anyone. But you don't need to sneak around me, Mel!"

You should have heard the laughter that erupted from my heart. (I've never even had a boyfriend for starters, and when I do, I promise it wont be a secret!) But then I turned serious as I realized, "This girl is serious! She can't imagine why I would take so much time alone with God, she actually thinks something else is going on!" Oh my... so I texted her back not to worry...that I was not trying to pull any "wool" over her eyes. It was just me and God. I think she was a little disappointed she didn't learn some new juicy detail about my life. But as I was thinking about it more, I realized..."Well, her suspicions are right, sorta...." While it sounds really weird and I don't like to look at the almighty God and Creator of the Universe as my "boyfriend" - truly He is the Lover that has captured my heart and keeps pulling me away for solitude with Him. And this shouldn't be a secret in my life...He's not ashamed to share His deep love for me...why should I be shy and reserved to share my deep love for Him???

God has led me to some beautiful places lately, during our secret get-aways. I wont share what has happened during our time together or the things He showed me (after all, some things ARE meant to be kept secret), but I'll just say that it's been wonderful. Truly, each "date out" gets better and better and more beautiful. I can't imagine what it will be like to spend eternity together with Him....

"He that dwelleth in the SECRET PLACE of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty." Ps 91:1 (Emphasis added!)

This is too good to be kept for myself though. You know what?? He has some "Secret-Getaways" He'd like to take you too as well...so why don't you take some extra time away and spend with Him. It's one of my favorite "personal secrets" to keeping my Heavenly Love vibrant and experiencing continuous revival in my life. It's also what helps me have "spiritual food" to share with others. And that's one of the reasons that we need to be continuously revived anyway? Right. Not just so we can hoard all these "delicacies" for ourselves, but so we can share with many others that if they only TASTE and SEE, they will discover that He is goooooooooood, very good. (Ps 34:8)

(See blog posts below with SLIDE SHOW of pictures of some of the beautiful plaees He's taken me recently!)

The "Secret Getaway Pictures"

2011-06-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

These "Secret Pictures" go with blog post immediately above...

How to BEAR life on the ledge...

2011-06-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

I tend to think and reflect on deep levels as most of my blogging reflects, but I love to smile and laugh and enjoy the humor in the more superficial joys of every day life as well. And while I dislike e-mail forwards (in fact, most of them I don't even look at), this one I got the other day was too cute to pass by.

Most of you have probably seen these pictures or heard the story before...I guess it happened back in 2007, out near Lake Tahoe California. But the e-mail pictures and story took 4 years to make it to my inbox...and it was sooo amazing I just had to share it.

So one day this bear was crossing a bridge....I guess because it wanted to get to the other side. (smile smile) And some cars came along and it got spooked. And not knowing what was on the other side of the guard rail, it jumped over the edge....but somehow miraculously, it managed to catch the edge under the railing!!!!! How could a 300-400lb animal do this? I have no idea! But it did! Check out the picture below....

Well, the animal rescue guys weren't sure what could be done, so they left the bear alone...however, they came back the next morning and discovered him still there...asleep on the ledge that had almost cost him his life.

So they decided....they had to create a rescue plan. And they did....by putting this net under the bear. Then they shot him with a tranquilizer and pushed him into the net. Then they lowered him to safety!

And when he woke up, he walked out of the net and was free! Wow!! What a miraculous rescue.

As the e-mail goes: "There is a moral to this story; this old bear made a wrong move and found he was hanging by his nails. Somehow he was able to pull himself up onto the ledge where he saw he was in a very bad, impossible situation and what did he do? Yep, he took a nap and sure enough, God took care of the situation while he was asleep. The moral of the story is that when confronted with a bad situation, sometimes the best solution is to take a nap and let God take care of the rest."

Or in our vernacular....we could say.... "Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him." Ps 37:7 and "For the Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Ex 14:14

So....I think I'm going to take a nap right now. God is on the job...and He can figure my life out better than I can...even when I get myself on to impossible ledges.

The Bible that FLEW past security check....

2011-06-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

You read about stories from years back, about Bible's that snuck past security check points, but to be honest, I've never really seen it happen in my own life...

Well, today one of my friends from across the ocean shared how God did just that with a Bible I'd sent her a few weeks back. As the story goes, she was out studying her Bible one day and accidentally went off and left it in the park. As she told me about it on the phone, it didn't seem that she had easy access to another Bible either. Wow...can you imagine?? I have three of them on my shelf....pretty much all collecting dust. (After all, one is all I need at a time!) So to only have one Bible and then lose it, would be a true tragedy indeed...and one I can't imagine happening.

Well I had just gotten the new Remnant Study Bible. (Wow!!! Do I ever love this Bible....I think it will be my Bible for the rest of my life....if I don't wear it out first.) So when Raluca told me she had lost her only Bible that she had with her where she was working in Romania, I knew I had to send her one immediately. So I did. I also gathered a few other powerful books that I wanted her to enjoy. What fun it was to collect those things to send to someone that I knew was soooo hungry for the Word and for Biblical stories of faith and inspiration. Well, as I put things together....since the Bible was so heavy (well, not that heavy, but heavy enough for one package) I decided to mail the books in a separate box. But they were BOTH mailed from the same post-office at the exact same time. We expected it would take a week or so to arrive. However, I was shocked when 5 days later the package with the Bible was in her hands. And she didn't have to open it for the customs security or ANYTHING. They delivered it right to her!!!

It didn't seem that amazing to me though....until she told me more today....and until I found out that TODAY, almost 3 weeks since the Bible arrived...she JUST NOW got the "other package" - The one with all of the books. Well, actually, it's not in her hands yet because they didn't deliver it to her door like they did the Bible....they told her that it was waiting at customs for her to come and get and open for them.

Isn't it AMAZING that the BIBLE package slipped past customs right to her doorstep almost overnight....and the others....well, they took their good old normal time??

Makes me think maybe the Angels were flying it there....because after all...they knew what was inside. Isn't God good??

Because He Lives...

2011-06-04T23:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes God allows us to struggle up steep mountain paths, only to realize when we arrive at what we thought was the top...there is still far to go. Sometimes He leads us down a long road only to realize when we get to the end....it is not the destination we thought it would be. Sometimes God allows us to walk through deep waters...but in the waters we discover He is carrying us...He is carrying us through. I just praise the Lord that there is nothing He allows us to walk through alone.

"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee...fear not for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name, thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest in the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Isa 431,2

Although the road may seem long and we may grow weary in the journey, there is a reason to continue on. This reason is summed up in the lyrics to what has become my "newest favorite song."

The reason we can go on?

"Because He Lives!"

Because He lives,
because He rose in mighty triumph from the grave.
I put my trust in Him and seek
to follow Him in faith.... because He lives!

Because He lives,
I shall find strength to stand against the tempters power.
He is my refuge and defense in every troubled hour...
because He lives, because He lives....

Because He lives,
I can bear whatever burden may be mine.
I am encircled in the arms of love divine,
because He lives....because He lives.

Because He lives,
He will banish every shadow of my pain.
Every sorrow will be swallowed up in Him,
for in His hand is healing for the weary soul.

This I know...this I know....because He lives....

Because He lives,
my heart is filled with peace amid a world of fear and
through the blindness of the night,
in Him I rest secure, because He lives...

Because He lives,
there is no task so great that I cannot endure.
I bear no heartache that His tender mercy cannot cure...
because He lives, because He lives...

Because He lives,
I can bear whatever burden may be mine.
I am encircled in the arms of love divine,
because He lives, because He lives.

Because He lives,
He will banish every shadow of my pain,
every sorrow will be swallowed up in Him,
for in His hand is healing, for the weary soul...
this I know...because He lives....

Because He lives,
I will fear no darkness.

Because He lives,
I will walk in light.

Because He lives,
I will praise His kindness.

Because He lives,
hope shines ever bright.

Because He lives,
I will seek His righteousness.

Because He lives,
I'll follow where He leads.

Because He lives,
I shall conquer even death,
And I shall live, because He lives....

Because He lives,
I will rejoice with Christ and glorify His name,
and with the willing voice of gratitude
proclaim, my Savior lives!

Because He lives,
He will banish every shadow of my pain,
every sorrow will be swallowed up in Him...
for in His hand is healing for the weary soul...

This I know, this I know....BECAUSE HE LIVES!

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And thou after this skin, worms (heartbreak, sorrow, loss) destroy my body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." Job 19:25,26

The song from those in exile...

2011-05-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

With increasing frequency, disaster, tragedy and chaos seems to be occurring all around. It's not so difficult to cope with, when it's far away, in the heart of another country, or across the shoreline of another sea. But when it hits our shoreline, when it hits our hearts...there are lots of questions.

"God, why us? Why me??"

These past few weeks it's gotten a little closer home. My Nana died...a young family up near Kettle Falls WA just lost their 14 yr old daughter in a drowning accident when her canoe capsized in the icy floodwaters....another friend's home was blown away in the devastating Joplin tornadoes that occurred last week (see personal pictures here), thousands of homes are under water because of the mississippi river, not far from where my family lives (they just happen to live in the mountains on high ground), another friend - a young happily married pregnant mother, was just diagnosed with a serious brain tumor (she was just anointed last night)....another friend was just told that he has bone cancer and may not have long to live...my own grandmother has metastatic cancer and is struggling as the lumps and bumps are sprouting up all over her body....a young man that I'm related to has just had the third door closed in his face from one that he cared for and was hoping to court....and the stories go on. I too have been walking through my own "valley." To me at times, it's seemed very deep...yet as I look around, I realize it's not as deep as many others.

There are lots of questions, yet as I've been praying and talking to God about all this, I realize...this is not some strange thing we ALL are walking through. It's called life. And who are we to say, "Why me?" Instead we should be saying, "Why not me?" Why do I still have it so good when there are millions struggling without a bite to eat right now? Why do I still have a roof over my head when there are thousands that have just lost theirs? Why do I still have a job when there are many that have no job to be found. (My roommate is one of those...she's been looking for a job for months with no success!) Times are hard...and they are getting harder. Yes, Jesus does give peace, He does give strength. But despite the pain and hardship...I'm still so blessed.....I could be experiencing so much worse....just like many of my comrades and friends. "Why not me, God? Why not me??"

One thing we know...Jesus is coming soon....and He's allowing the trials to make us stronger to stand for what lies ahead. He's also allowing them, I believe, so that our song can be refined and tuned.

There are songs which can only be learned in the valley. No musician can teach them, no rules of voice can help make them perfectly sung. Their music is in the heart. They are songs of memory, or personal experience. This song from the valleys of our life is also a song of triumph and victory. It is because through our sorrow, we will come out the other side and realize that Christ has made us free - we are victorious in Him!

No angels can sing our song. To do this they must have passed through our exile. Only the children of the cross can sing this song.

So now, when trials comes, we must remember, we are receiving a music lesson from our heavenly Father. We are being educated for the choir invisible. There are parts in that heavenly symphony that none can take but me. In this dark night on earth, He is preparing our song. In the valley, He is tuning our voices. In the clouds of storm, He is deepening the chords. Through the rain, He is sweetening the melody. (And He is sweetening my Melody!)

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

1 Peter 4:12, 13.

"In the full light of day, and in hearing of the music of other voices, the caged bird will not sing the song that his master seeks to teach him. He learns a snatch of this, a trill of that, but never a separate and entire melody. But the master covers the cage, and places it where the bird will listen to the one song he is to sing. In the dark, he tries and tries again to sing that song until it is learned, and he breaks forth in perfect melody. Then the bird is brought forth, and ever after he can sing that song in the light. Thus God deals with His children. He has a song to teach us, and when we have learned it amid the shadows of affliction we can sing it ever afterward." Ministry of Healing, p. 472

I'm jus thankful, that although the notes may be strained, and sometimes off tune, He's preparing me for that Heavenly choir...and one day, I'll have a song...we all will have a song, that no one else can sing but us.

"And no man could learn that song, but the hundred and forty-four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." Rev 14:3

*Some of these thoughts came from Streams in the Desert, May 29th

Will I love Jesus More??

2011-05-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Will we love Jesus more???

This song really touched my heart. And while the music style isn't my favorite, I had to play it for a bit on my blog as it so clearly reflects the cry of my heart right now...Will we love Jesus more...???

More than the ideals of those around us, more than the approval of a friend, more than the accolades we receive in service, more than the styles of clothes our closet contains, more than indulging on unhealthy treats, more then frivolous entertainment, more than worldly wisdom, more than the love of ones we hold dear, more than what our neighbors think, more than staying up on the latest news, more than what's the latest on Facebook, more than another hour of sleep, more than what temporal security brings? Will we love Jesus more? Will we love Him more then comforts and pleasures, more than our own reputation, more than keeping ahead of the rest, more then having or own way?? Is He truly the first, best, and last of everything in our hearts? Are our fondest thoughts of Him?? Or have we allowed “other loves” to take His place…?? I don’t know about you, but my prayer today is that I would love Jesus more…

“Your religious life must rise above the standard of public opinion if it abides the searching investigation of the Judge of all the earth. Should the shadow of death gather about you, you will never regret that you were a lover of God more than a lover of pleasure. You will never regret that you did not participate in worldly dissipation. Your only regret will be that you did not love Jesus more…” 19MR 191.1

As I reflect on this beautiful spring I’ve enjoyed traveling with the United Prayer team through Southern Africa and Bangladesh, it is easy to become self-centered and selfish. Why? Because I love adventure, I love travel, and I love seeing lives changed because "we prayed" - because I reached out. And of course, God uses each of us...and our being willing to step out of our comfort zone and take the journey with God is where it starts. We should take joy in seeing lives changed! But what is the purpose? Is my investment in service to bring others eyes to myself or to Him? What motivates my love?

As I reflect on the fulfillment that I enjoy in ministry, and as I reflect on the enjoyment I've felt with friends, I am reminded again, it is all in vain if it hasn't helped each of us "love Jesus more." He is coming soon. We can't allow our eyes to focus on ourselves, on our own dreams, on our own pleasures. Our secret delights, our idols, our selfish desires to be acknowledged and applauded must be dealt a violent blow. All these things must be put away. We must love Him more...and the motive of our life always be that others love Him more. And so my challenging question today for each of us...will we love Him MORE????

WILL YOU LOVE JESUS MORE?

I feel quite sure if I did my best

I could maybe impress you

With tender words and a harmony

A clever rhyme or (prayer) or two

But if all I've done

in the time we've shared

Is turn your eyes on me

Then I've failed

at what I've been called to do

There's someone else

I want you to see

[CHORUS]

Will you love Jesus more

When we go our different ways

When this moment is a memory

Will you remember His face

Will you look back and realize

You sensed His love

more than you did before

I'd pray for nothing less

Then for you to love Jesus more

I'd like to keep these memories

In frames of gold and silver

And reminisce a year from now

About the smiles we've shared

But above all else

I hope you will come

To know the Father's love

When you see the Lord face to face

You'll hear Him say "well done"

[CHORUS]

Will you love Jesus more

When we go our different ways

When this moment is a memory

Will you remember His face

Will you look back and realize

You sensed His love

more than you did before

I'd pray for nothing less

Then for you to love Jesus more

I'd pray for nothing less then for you to love Jesus more!!!!

*Music to this song by Philips, Craig and Dean

**Pictures taken from highlights of our United Prayer travels in Southern Africa and in Bangladesh.

Trusting God...even when He's Still!

2011-05-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's easy to trust God when life is wonderful...when the air is scented with the perfume of the flowers all around, when the sun is shining, when there is money in the bank, and when everything seems to be going our way. But how can we truly say that we trust God if our trust has not been tested...tested by blindness, tested by questions, tested by uncertainty? When all around turns dark, when we no longer see the flowers but only feel the thorns, when the waves and winds begin to howl? Will we still trust God then?

God's taken me over this road a few times in my life...and He's taking me there once again. Yet, my faith has never been stronger. I cannot see, but I know He leads the way...and I know all things will work together and make sense some day. And I will trust Him...even when He is still.

I just heard a powerful sermon the other day by one of my favorite speakers, Eric Ludy. If you know Eric, you know he speaks boldly and passionately for the Lord. This particular sermon was called "Gritted Teeth." If you haven't heard it, you need to hear it. Powerful encouragement from the Bible to "hold on" and grow even when we don't see God working in our lives. Let me share just a few highlights that really stood out to me from this powerful message.

There are Four Tests that God often brings us through to test our Faith...

1. The Syrophonecian Test: When God appears silent.

Based on Matt 15:22-28 a Syrophonecian woman (it's important because she wasn't a Jew or of the same faith of Jesus and the disciples) came to Jesus begging Him to heal her daughter. His initial response was SILENCE. "He answered her not a word..."

So, as Eric pointed out in his message, "What do we do when God answers us not a word? Do we look somewhere else? Do we give up and go away?? Or do we hold on, realizing that there is NO OTHER WAY...Jesus is the ONLY way?" This woman pressed on, and despite Jesus telling her that He hadn't come to save her, but the lost house of Israel, she pressed on. She would not give up. Was it because Jesus really didn't want to answer her prayer, was it to teach us a lesson that He wants to make things difficult for us? No! Jesus wanted to prove her faith...and she came through, even despite His silence. Her faith was honored. Why don't we persevere...why do we walk away so easily? Why don't we hold on?

The second test.

2. The Lazarus Test: When God appears to have forgotten.

This story occurs in John 11:1-44. Here we see the story of Lazarus. Jesus was notified that Lazarus was sick, and He loved Lazarus. They were friends. He told Martha and Mary not to worry because this sickness would not end in death. But Jesus tarried where he was. He did not go to Lazarus right away and so Lazarus died. You can just imagine the grief and pain in those sister's heart. "Did Jesus forget his promise? Why didn't He come?" When He did come, they wept again. "Jesus, he wouldn't have died if you'd been here....did you forget?" But Jesus hadn't forgotten. He was wanting to test their faith....and so He also tests ours as well. Sometimes He allows our plans, our dreams, our loved ones to die, so that He may prove us and build us....and also so that He can give us something better. Imagine the joy and testimony that this family had when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. The same can be true for us. But will we still keep trusting...even when He is silent, even when He appears to have forgotten?? Even when we've had to spend days, weeks, months waiting...in the tomb?

3. The Walking on Water test: When the powers of the natural realm seem too powerful.

Here we see the famous story of Peter walking on water in Matt 14:28-30. Initially he moved forward in faith, and his faith in Jesus held him. But then he took his eyes off Jesus and he looked at the storms around, at the wind and the waves, and he began to question how this was possible. How often have we done the same? Jesus has taken us down a road of faith. We've seen Him work in the past, we've seen Him work even now. But our eyes are distracted by the storms around. The natural realm seems too powerful to be overcome? Will we trust Him even then? Or will we sink into discouragement and despair. It's too impossible, too difficult, God can't possibly get me out of this now? I've messed up too much, I've gone too far, it's hopeless now. Oh that we would keep our eyes on Jesus, to the only one that has power to still the waves and the sea. Oh that we would trust Him, even in the midst of the storms... He is still there, and He's more powerful....FAR MORE POWERFUL than any storm we may encounter.

4. The Final test is the Cross Test: When God seems to have failed

This is probably the hardest test of all. How do we explain to the world around us a faith in someone that seems to have failed? How do we continue to trust someone that seems to have not come through? Imagine the grief of the disciples at the cross when Jesus allowed Himself to be tortured, condemned and crucified. "You are the Messiah? Aren't' you....... aren't you?" You can almost hear them whisper through questioning tears. "How could you let them do this to you?"

I can imagine a lot of people will be asking themselves this question after this May 21st, 2011 is past...when Harold Camping's predictions of the "End of the World" did not come true. (The picture below I took on my way back from the Oregon coast this week. While it's shocking to even think about, for those who have grown up rooted and grounded in the Word of God, for God plainly tells us of His return in Matt 24:36, "No man knows the day or the hour." At the same time, my heart hurts for those that will not only be disappointed by this false-alarm, but for the many that will walk away from Christ because of this event not coming true. Thank goodness, there is still hope, but it's not in a man or a prediction maker! It's in the Word of God: www.aftermay21.com)

"Did God fail us? Why didn't He come through?" While it is May 21st at the time of this writing, and 6pm has just passed, I did not write this blog post because of this "failed rapture." It's incidental that it's happening just as I write out my thoughts here. I wrote this post because this "Trust Issue" is something God has been challenging me with, and I am sure it's also true for many of you.

The question remains...

"Will we trust God even when He appears silent, when He appears to have forgotten, when it seems impossible that He could work now, and when it appears that He has failed?? Will we still trust Him??????"

I don't understand God's ways... His thoughts are higher, His ways we cannot even begin to comprehend. (Isa 55:8-9) But I'm determined, with "gritted teeth"....I will trust Him! :-)

Be inspired as you read the last blog entry of the late David Wilkerson - where the story "The Cross and the Switch Blade" originated. It's profound and it's powerful. It was written on April 27th, and that's the day that he died.

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WHEN ALL MEANS FAIL

by David Wilkerson | April 27, 2011

To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God and is most acceptable. Jesus said to Thomas, “You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those that do believe and have not seen” (John 20:29).

Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence of an answer to prayer—who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.

Someone has come to the place of hopelessness—the end of hope—the end of all means. A loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. Death seems inevitable. Hope is gone. The miracle prayed for is not happening.

That is when Satan’s hordes come to attack your mind with fear, anger, overwhelming questions: “Where is your God now? You prayed until you had no tears left. You fasted. You stood on promises. You trusted.”

Blasphemous thoughts will be injected into your mind: “Prayer failed. Faith failed. Don’t quit on God—just do not trust him anymore. It doesn’t pay!”

Even questioning God’s existence will be injected into your mind. These have been the devices of Satan for centuries. Some of the godliest men and women who ever lived were under such demonic attacks.

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—His love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

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Yes, there is no other Way....there is NO OTHER HOPE in this World....our only Hope is God.

And we will trust Him...I will trust Him, even when He is silent, even when it feels that He has forgotten, even when the natural realm makes His deliverance seem impossible, and even when it feels like He has failed, I will trust Him. I hope you can say the same.

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perished, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." I Pet 1:7

"Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work." James 1:3

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised." Heb 10:23

"God is not a man that He can lie, neither the some of man that he should repent. Hath he said and shall he not do it. Hath he spoken and shall he not make it good." Num 23:19

"For the eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the whole earth to shew himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." II Chron 16:9

To hear the full sermon that inspired these thoughts - please click on the following link! "Gritted Teeth - We hold on"