Carrying On

One of my favorite verses is: In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?  Psalm 118:5-6
What indeed?


As I was reading this verse this morning the part that really struck me was "he answered by setting me free." If I truly trust him, then I am free from fear. Free from loneliness; our Father is kind, faithful, and will give us comfort.  For this an active prayer life is essential.  And most importantly, we're free from sin through the grace of God. In this world we are certain to have trouble and painful circumstances like I'm facing right now. But our circumstances need not dictate our emotions.  Even in the face of incredible loss and tragedy, our Father will carry us through and give us peace that passes understanding.
Truly, we are just passing through this world, and this is our time to grow spiritually.  This world is a place where we prepare for our true life, in eternity.


Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -James 1:2-4
I know that's a tall order.  But consider...if life were without trials, how would we grow and mature?  Like an infant determined to walk, we're bound to bonk our heads many a time.  But when we persevere in our faith, we grow.


One other thing I know: when the Lord closes one door, it's usually because he has a different one he's holding open for me.  I just need to search his word and pray to find his will.  As for this life:


Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap of store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor of spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat? or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.- 
Matthew 6:26-34

If we just keep putting one foot in front of the other, at the end of the road is home!
Wishing you all the blessings our Father has.

The Devil's Playground; Ministry to the Ladies of the Night

On every first and third Friday night I have been going out with a ministry from my church called Magdalene Hope.  We drive up and down the "stroll" and minister to the prostitutes we come across.  Our pastor knows many of them by name and where they hang out, as he started this ministry about three years ago because he felt the Lord was calling on him to help these women.

The first thing we do is put together gift bags.  They contain cards with every number that they can call for help, and we also include a gospel of John, a CD of worship music and other items that will make them feel good about themselves: candy, inexpensive jewelry items, and hygiene items.  After we put the bags together we spend time preparing spiritually.  We read the word and then worship in song followed by prayer. We examine ourselves for any sin and confess it privately and then pray together as a group.   It's essential; we rely on our Father to put the right women in our path and to soften their hearts.  When walking in the devils' playground it's essential to go forth in spiritual strength.

We load up into a van, and so that we don't overwhelm the women, the person in the front passenger seat does the talking.  When we find a young woman working, the front passenger calls to her and asks if she'd like a gift bag.  Most of all we want to get those phone numbers into her hands!  While they are talking, those of us in the back pray silently.

The last night we went out we made a lot of contacts and many allowed pastor to pray for them.  After we leave the woman, we add her name to a list and what she requested prayer for so that we can continue praying for her.  The most common request is for safety and a way out.  We are hoping to have a safe house for them soon.

Please send up some prayers for these women if you feel led to. They are all in desperate circumstances.

A Healing Love

Since I wrote my last post, Shattered, I've given much thought to all the sufferings we experience while here in this world. At the end of the poem I said that healing comes from the unconditional love of our Father. But how do we find and experience that love?

I would suggest that we must first begin to view ourselves as God does. After all, he is the ultimate authority, right? Most of us who have wound up with shattered lives continue to have a distorted view of ourselves because betrayal at the hands of those we love the most changes our whole perception of ourselves. But our Father, who sees our deepest failings, loves us with a perfect love. He created each of us to be unique. He even calls us his children: yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. John 1:12

Our God is compassionate, patient and loving. His love is a healing love that can put the pieces back together.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the past nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

He is our strength to soar.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint. Psalm 40:29-31

He is our rock and refuge.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.-Psalm 9:9-10

He loves, he heals, he comforts, he forgives, he patiently waits for us to turn and open our hearts to him.

He is our joy.
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:17-18

My prayer is that you call on your heavenly Father who loves you beyond measure.
Those who seek, find.

Wishing you many blessings.

A Servant's Heart

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parent sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Jesus made some mud from his saliva and sent the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. After he washed, his sight was restored.-John 9:3

So many times I've had unbelievers ask me why God would create people who suffer with diseases and serious disabilities. I think this text is one of the best answers; so that the work of God might be displayed in their lives as well as our own. Sometimes God uses people like this man in the story to show His healing power, but when we care for the sick, the blind, and the helpless, the power of God also changes us. When I worked as a nurse, I saw that we learned patience, kindness, and perseverance when we cared for others. In doing these things we develop the heart of a servant, and God is able to work through us, displaying His power in both others and ourselves.

Prayer: Father, bring people into my path that I might help, whether they are sick in body or in spirit. Use me to show your love, and create in me a servant's heart. In Jesus' name, amen.