Do you get weary of talk about the terrible day in which we live? We complain about everything from politics to pharmaceutical companies, from the price of beef to gasoline and from the weather to how we have been treated. We talk about the president, church goers, the neighbor, and crime, and worry about the... Continue Reading →
“Let It Rather Be Healed.”
We have this little word in the English language, which cannot stand alone, but is one of significate importance. That small three lettered word is “let.” It means to not prevent or forbid—allow. In my own words it means giving permission, to surrender, to allow something to take place. It is to give permission for... Continue Reading →
Incomprehensible God
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalms 103:11-12 KJV Can you imagine that? “As far as the east is from the west!” How far... Continue Reading →
Here, Kitty Kitty
So here is another cat story for you. I could not decide what to call it; it seems like I could have come up with something a bit more appropriate, but in the end the title is the title and not the story. If you remember back to the post about Kits, Cats, Little Girls... Continue Reading →
The Gift of Peace
It was not with pretty ribbons or covered in beautiful wrapping. No wreaths or garlands or beams with holly entwined, no drummer boys, and likely no angry innkeeper. No reindeer and sleighs, or cedar boughs, and no bells to herald his arrival. But there was Joseph and Mary, and a baby in a manger. There... Continue Reading →
God
God This morning as I began my prayer, I thought about what I should pray for and how little time I actually spend talking with my heavenly Father. I know that there are those out there who rise early and spend much time, perhaps even hours in prayer. Comparing myself to them, it feels like... Continue Reading →
Calling on God
I paused this morning on my knees and began to think about talking to God. Here I am on this cold morning in my warm comfortable living room, while outside I see the white frost laying like a blanket across the field. And I thought about addressing God. Then I began to think that I... Continue Reading →
The Descent and Answered Prayer
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24) Perhaps if we prayed with simple faith more like children, we would experience more answered prayer. I have told this story many times since it happened, because of its uniqueness and... Continue Reading →
Perceptions – Understanding
Are you who I think you are, or who you want me to think you are? Am I who you think I am, or am I who I present myself to be? If we met face to face, would we know each other? Would you be able to predict what sort of person I am... Continue Reading →
Kingdom of Peace
It was not God’s original plan for people to fight one another and have war. In the beginning He placed them in the beautiful garden where all was peaceful, and they lived in sweet communion with God. However it was not long until the tempter slipped in and presented the choice which caused man to... Continue Reading →
The Thief on the Cross
There were three crosses, and there were three men. Two were of the baser sort and the other of heavenly origin. The first two were dying for the sins they had committed, while the latter for the sins of others. One carried a grudge, another a troubled conscience, and the last the sins of the... Continue Reading →
Chaos – Security
Today the world is in a fit of chaos. Political struggles for power, threats of war and violence, threats of nuclear warfare, and nations and people within nations fighting for what they feel is rightfully theirs. Through social media and news channels these fears and unrests are brought to our doorsteps, homes, and pockets. Information... Continue Reading →
I Created You
I created you the way you are for my purpose; you are my creation. Please do not be frustrated my child. I did not intend for life to be easy. Rewarding? Yes, it can be, but not easy. I uniquely create all my children just the way I want them, which shows you how much... Continue Reading →
Improvement or Change
Is improvement enough or is a change of heart needed? I can take something old, put on a coat of paint, and make it almost appear new; at least it may look like it from a distance. When you get a close look at it, most likely you will be able to tell it is... Continue Reading →
The Corruption of Power
Power has the ability to corrupt people if they are not humble. The misuse of power is an ugly thing, and can show itself across the spectrum, from the lowest committee to world leaders and politics. There is the potential for it to infiltrate every institution, or agency where people and leadership are involved. There... Continue Reading →
Church Through Change
Our fathers kept the Faith, will we also keep it? Following are a few thoughts which have come to me about God’s Church. I often find myself looking back at history, wondering how we arrived at the place we are. This leads me on rabbit trails of thoughts which may not always have clear outcomes... Continue Reading →
Things I Have Learned in Dark and Hard Times.
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.Isaiah 45:3 KJV None of us enjoy suffering and adversity. We would take a bypass around that part of life if we... Continue Reading →
Why Suffering
"Why suffering? If God is indeed good, why does he allow innocent people and children to suffer? " I have asked this question, and I am sure that you have as well. Loved ones suffer from debilitating disease and sickness; innocent children are born with deformities, while hunger, poverty, disease, and abuse make our hearts... Continue Reading →
God’s Power – Man’s Weakness
I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Psalms 37:35 KJV The past number of my writings have been centered on the emotional side of life. I would like us now to remove the focus from ourselves and our problems and turn it away and upwards to... Continue Reading →
Humility, Faith and Healing
Thoughts on need for humility and faith in emotional healing. While it is true that it takes courage and stamina to heal emotionally; it is also important to humbly let things go. At times we may hold on in dogged perseverance when we would serve ourselves better by letting go. By humbly accepting our weaknesses... Continue Reading →
Victim or Survivor
Are we victims or survivors? There are too many victims and not enough survivors in the day we live. Letting go of the past is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do. Hurtful and painful memories can make lifelong challenges for us. However, we do not need to be victims of the past,... Continue Reading →
The Good News!
Continuation of Friday's post. Breaking News! “The man called Jesus, who was put to death last Friday, has come back to life, according to certain witnesses!” Apparently, it was discovered early Sunday morning, by this man’s close friends. About sunrise, several holy women who were close friends to Him, found the tomb empty. They were... Continue Reading →
Heaven
"Which planet is heaven on?" The question from my nine-year-old caught me a little off guard. I had never thought of heaven as being on a planet. "Heaven is not on a planet," I explained. "We can't see it. Remember the vision grandpa had before he died where he met grandma?" I asked. "It's kinda... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on Peace
Sweet peace, the gift of God's love! P. P. Bilhorn The gift of peace is more than the absence of strife. True peace, is a gift the Father gives to those who have made peace with Him, through repentance of sin, humility, surrender, and sacrifice. In turn He gives peace through the Holy Spirit. A... Continue Reading →
Echoes – God’s Healing Stream
There are times of difficulty, and we do not always know the reason why. Feelings of confusion, wishing things were different, yet not understanding what is happening deep inside. Perhaps we have made mistakes in life, regrets; misfortune has left us wondering where God is in the mix. Satan comes, bringing doubts and fears, voices... Continue Reading →
So, Honor Me
"Honor me before the people." Oh, we'd never say that, it would be audacious and we're too polite. Honor? Who wants to be noticed anyway? The desire for honor has been around since the beginning of time. Man has an inborn desire to be noticed or to be someone or something. The above quote was... Continue Reading →
Intellect & Deception
By in large man lives by his intellect. God gave him the ability to think and reason. He gave man the power of choice, so he is capable of making both wise and unwise choices, to believe in God or not believe in Him. It also means he can become misled and deceived, mistaking untruth... Continue Reading →
Requisite For Answered Prayer
As I was praying the other night, I began to think about all the prayers God has answered for me. I am very thankful. It also is amazing how prayer changes things. Then the thought came to me, “What if we could figure out a formula to get our prayers answered?” I know that’s not... Continue Reading →
Default Settings
Most electronic devices have what they call “default settings.” This is set in the factory and should there be a malfunction in their internal software, you have the option of resetting them, which will in many cases fix most of the problems. Humans do not have a simple reset capability, but they do have default... Continue Reading →
Emotional Scars
The song says, “The scars remain to remind me.”* As a boy it seemed I was prone to all manner of cuts and scrapes. From my pocket knives, to other cuts and gashes that a boy collects growing up on a farm. Today, I see them, now faded with a few years of wear, and... Continue Reading →
The Altar of Unpolluted Stones
In the Old Testament, they built altars to burn sacrifices on to worship God. Today, Christians do not offer literal sacrifices, but we offer the sacrifice of our hearts and lives in a spiritual sense to God. There are parallels from the Old Testament, which we can apply to our hearts today. Many of the... Continue Reading →
Sure Foundation
2 Timothy 2:19 KJV Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psa 11:3 KJV The Bible often uses the example of a... Continue Reading →
The Temptation to Think Negative Thoughts
Is it really just a temptation? This could be a controversial discussion. Sometimes the feelings of negativity roll in like a flood, drowning our courage, blotting out the sun, cutting off our oxygen, or so it seems. Are we ever forced to think negative thoughts or are they just presented to us? Ok, so some... Continue Reading →
Willpower alone is not sufficient to execute spiritual change. The man that says, "Tomorrow will be different," likely will repeat that every day for the rest of his life unless he makes a covenant with God. Effective change will take determination and commitment, and yet that is not enough to free us from ourselves and... Continue Reading →
Covenant
A Drop of Faith, a Bucket of Courage.
How many times like me, have you asked the Lord to give you more faith? We seem to think that faith is the main ingredient of power. With more faith, we tend to think it should be easier to believe, easier to overcome temptations, easier to make big decisions in life, as well as a... Continue Reading →
Let It Go
When you are tempted to get hurt and offended over what someone says, Let it go. When you feel like life has given you more than you can bear, Let it go. When you feel like your children are not accepted of others, Let it go. When you feel like your life does not measure... Continue Reading →
The Small Bottle
Here is another one of my young childhood stories that has made an impression on me. Without a little divine intervention, things could have turned out quite differently for this little boy. “What have you done with this?” my dad demanded. The look of concern was clearly visible on his face. He had been cleaning... Continue Reading →
Boys, Rope, Tractors
As an adult who grew up on a farm, it is not difficult to understand why farming has such a high accident rate. The experience I relate here, proves to me, thirty some years later the providence of God. As boys, my brother and I would build ramps for our bikes and ramp them. It... Continue Reading →
The Flight
Everyone has incidents in life that leave lasting impressions; as we reflect, we know that it was obviously the hand of God who protected us from inevitable harm or death. We do things every day that with just one mishap could mean injury or the end of our life. Every time we drive on the... Continue Reading →
The Gospel
As the sailor turns his ship to the sea, the harbor and coastline slip from view. The gentle swell of the water rises and falls peacefully against the sides of his vessel, as the prow cuts through the waves. His heart and mind are on those he left behind and the lands he will see... Continue Reading →
And so the Writer Writes
And so, I write. Not with beautiful pen and prose, but in frank honesty the truth of the scripture and narrow way. Some may be called to write large volumes expounding on subjects of great value, while others may write whimsical quotes, tidbits of encouragement. Yet I write on to express the inspiration of my... Continue Reading →
The Narrow Way
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13-14 How narrow is... Continue Reading →
At Evening Time, it Shall be Light
We live in unprecedented times, times like never before. Today we live with war, the threat of nuclear war, food shortages and hunger, as well as escalating fuel prices and living expenses. Political unrest fills the news headlines, while crime and immorality have become common. Depression, mental illness, and suicide are common, even in children.... Continue Reading →
Lord I’ve Been Thinking…
You know Lord, I was thinking about you this morning, as well as about us as your human creation. When you created man, what care and thought you put into him. He was to be the crowning touch of your creation. Not only that, but you gave him the part of you, above all other... Continue Reading →
