Tuesday, October 28, 2008
It's cold...
There's something wacky going on when it's colder in south GA than in south PA. Currently it's 39 degrees here in Hahira. I'm running the heat. Brrrr....
Friday, October 17, 2008
I feel like the dam is about to burst...
In my spirit, I feel like something big is about to happen. I don't know what yet, but I think it's going to involve me getting over my fears of speaking out and possibly offending someone. There are people dying without hope...I have loved ones without hope. I need to tell them about Jesus, but more than that, I need to show them Jesus.
And I'm going to start singing again. Healing is coming.
From Mark 5:
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
And I'm going to start singing again. Healing is coming.
From Mark 5:
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
A little preaching...
Things have been busy and I haven't been feeling so well, but we're on the upswing. I went to the doctor, I'm getting better, and the house is just about unpacked! We've found a great church, made some new friends, and are generally very-much enjoying Georgia (the bugs I could do without!).
Will's birthday was Sunday; I'm still not believing he's 6 years old. We had a low-key celebration, but it was good. One of the gifts that Max and I bought for him was a Bible (and here's where the preaching comes in).
So Monday I read the story of David and Goliath (I Samuel 17 if you're interested in reading the whole thing). And I've heard the story so many times but I haven't often actually read it. And it's powerful. You've got this giant who has petrified the entire Israeli army...I'm talking they're hiding from him. And then you have this boy come onto the scene and he's the only one willing to stand up to giant warrior. David has such faith and trust in God; he says that God has protected him from lions and bears and he will protect him now. Wow! You've got a giant, a trained warrior, in full battle armor and then this boy with nothing but a slingshot a 5 rocks. And the boy is not afraid!
But it gets better. The giant starts to taunt David and is almost offended that Israel would send a boy to fight him. So David says:
45 "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
If those aren't fighting words I don't know what is. So the giant comes after him and the Bible says that David runs to the battle line to meet him. Looking at the picture from a human perspective, the odds were completely against David. But we so often forgot about the ultimate warrior that was standing beside David. God loves to work through the weakest and most unlikely person because it's not by power, or might, or sword, or smooth-talking that the battle gets won. There's another passage in Exodus 14 that I love (this is as the Israelites are leaving Egypt and are being followed by Pharaoh's army; the people are afraid and starting to complain):
13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
How often do I try to fight the battle on my own and I fail miserably. As David says "the battle is the LORD's". Every person on this planet has battles - whether they be health or financial or marital or whatever. We need to remember that God is our ultimate warrior and He will fight for us. We simply need to be still in Him.
Will's birthday was Sunday; I'm still not believing he's 6 years old. We had a low-key celebration, but it was good. One of the gifts that Max and I bought for him was a Bible (and here's where the preaching comes in).
So Monday I read the story of David and Goliath (I Samuel 17 if you're interested in reading the whole thing). And I've heard the story so many times but I haven't often actually read it. And it's powerful. You've got this giant who has petrified the entire Israeli army...I'm talking they're hiding from him. And then you have this boy come onto the scene and he's the only one willing to stand up to giant warrior. David has such faith and trust in God; he says that God has protected him from lions and bears and he will protect him now. Wow! You've got a giant, a trained warrior, in full battle armor and then this boy with nothing but a slingshot a 5 rocks. And the boy is not afraid!
But it gets better. The giant starts to taunt David and is almost offended that Israel would send a boy to fight him. So David says:
45 "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
If those aren't fighting words I don't know what is. So the giant comes after him and the Bible says that David runs to the battle line to meet him. Looking at the picture from a human perspective, the odds were completely against David. But we so often forgot about the ultimate warrior that was standing beside David. God loves to work through the weakest and most unlikely person because it's not by power, or might, or sword, or smooth-talking that the battle gets won. There's another passage in Exodus 14 that I love (this is as the Israelites are leaving Egypt and are being followed by Pharaoh's army; the people are afraid and starting to complain):
13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
How often do I try to fight the battle on my own and I fail miserably. As David says "the battle is the LORD's". Every person on this planet has battles - whether they be health or financial or marital or whatever. We need to remember that God is our ultimate warrior and He will fight for us. We simply need to be still in Him.
