Strange Words for a New Mom

Strange Words for a New Mom

Visiting people who are in the hospital; it's not necessarily everybody's favorite thing to do. A lot of times it's hard to know what to say to the person; especially if their condition is serious. But there are some visits where it's easy to think of things to say - like when you're visiting a new mom or her new baby. All you have to say is, "Aww, she's beautiful!" or "He's so smart; so alert" or "That's the cutest baby I've ever seen!" See, you're supposed to say these things even if the baby still looks all red and bald and wrinkled. But that first Christmas... well, one of the first people to see Mary's baby didn't follow the usual script.

Following the Jewish custom, Mary and Joseph brought their baby boy to the temple to be circumcised, just eight days after that first Christmas. God had someone waiting for them there - an old man named Simeon who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn't die until he had seen the One he called "the Lord's Christ." He actually held the baby in his arms and praised God for sending Him.

But then came those strange words for a new mom. In Simeon's words is the shadow of great pain for Mary and great hope for you and me. In Luke 2:34-35, our word for today from the Word of God, "Simeon...said to Mary, His mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel...the thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.'" It's not exactly what a new mother wants to hear.

But eight days into His life on earth, Simeon is foreshadowing the end of Jesus' life. The Bible tells us that 33 years later "near the cross stood His mother" (John 19:25). And surely, as Mary saw her boy nailed to a cross and pierced by a soldier's spear, that sword Simeon spoke of must have pierced her soul.

So as we sing our "sleep in heavenly peace" and "joy to the world" carols, let's not miss the shadow looming over the manger. It's the shadow of a cross. But that cross was not some tragic twist of fate. It was the plan of a God who loves us very much. It was His plan to give you and me a chance of going to heaven instead of hell; to enjoy the relationship with God we were made for but we've missed because we're running our own lives.

And if there had been any other way to erase your sin from God's book and to pay for your sin, believe me, God would have done it. All your goodness, all your religion, all your Christianity; it can't pay sin's death penalty. Someone had to die to pay it, and Someone did - the Son of God.

The writer of the classic carol, "What Child is This" expressed it powerfully, "Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you; hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the Babe, the son of Mary."

So you've had your Christmases, you've celebrated Jesus' coming. Have you ever had your Good Friday where you stand at the foot of that cross and say the two words that are the difference between heaven and hell, "For me, Jesus, what You did here was for me. And I'm giving me to You." That is the only way you can receive the gift of eternal life that He died to give you.

If you've never done that, if maybe you've known about Jesus all your life but you've missed this step, let this be your Jesus-day. You'll have a lot more to celebrate than just Jesus' coming to earth. This season you'll celebrate His coming into your life. If that's what you want, tell Him right now, "Jesus, I want to belong to You. I am taking for myself what You died for on the cross." Oh, what a new beginning that will be.

A lot of people have found help at our website, encouragement, and important information about how to begin their relationship with Jesus Christ. So, I want to give you that web address in hopes that you'll check it out at your first chance today. It's real important stuff - www.YoursForLife.net

It wasn't just Mary's heart that was pierced on that awful day on Skull Hill. We can only imagine the anguish in God the Father's heart, watching His Son be broken for you. So God will never forget what you do with His Son.

Ron Hutchcraft

What We Want vs. What We Need

What We Want vs. What We Need

So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him." 1 Samuel 1:20

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas today? Or did you get what you needed?

What we want and what we need do not often go hand in hand. I should know. There are things that I have wanted in my life for a long time now, that apparently the Lord has not seen to be necessities. At least not yet.

I know he knows what is best for me, but it is still hard to wait. And it is difficult not to look longingly at what others have received and wonder why I, too, cannot be the recipient of such things in my life.

This kind of struggle is not new to any of us. And Hannah, who we read about in the first chapter of 1 Samuel, is a great example of how to live when what you want is not yet something God says you need.

For years Hannah had wanted to become a mother. To bear a child. To give her husband, Elkanah, a son-just like his other wife, Peninnah.

Being barren was considered a disgrace for a woman in those times, so Hannah most likely felt ashamed and alone and perhaps like a societal outcast. Instead of turning away, though, Hannah took her sorrow and her request for what she wanted to the Lord.

We don't know for sure how long she waited (perhaps years) -- and we don't know the exact purposes of God's timing in her life -- but we can still learn a great deal from Hannah's example...

a. She was persistent and continually sought the Lord. She did not give up and stop asking the Lord for what she wanted. Like clockwork, Hannah kept bringing her request to God, year after year at the temple in Shiloh (v. 7). No doubt her want continued to drive her to the Father and most likely deepened her relationship with him.

b. She was blessed with a lifeline. I am quick to forget that the beauty in the midst of Hannah's pain is that Elkanah loved her very dearly (if not more than Peninnah). I am sure this buoyed Hannah to make it through the years when she may have wondered if God would ever answer her prayer for a child. God was gracious in giving her a loving husband (v. 5, 8).

c. She did not give in to ridicule or naysayers. Even when Peninnah (who was fruitful and had children) provoked her and taunted her because she was barren, Hannah did not add insult to injury (v. 7). She did not become nasty and retaliate when ridiculed for her condition or her faith.

d. She shared her "want" and was encouraged by others. When the high priest Eli observed Hannah praying in the temple and inquired as to her condition (he thought she was intoxicated because she was praying silently, but her lips were moving-v. 14), she shared with him what she was asking of the Lord. When Eli saw what was really going on, he encouraged her and asked God to answer her request (vv. 12-17).

e. She gave back to God what he had given to her. When God blessed Hannah with a child, she did not cling tightly to him. She kept her promise, let her son go and dedicated him to the Lord (v. 11, vv.21-28). How unbelievable is that? To accept and then release back to God something he has given to you that you have prayed and prayed and prayed for? That is model faith!

Like Hannah, are you waiting on the Lord to give you something you want in your life today? A new job? Reconciliation in your marriage? Blessing in your finances? A cure from illness? To find your soul mate? Victory over an addiction? A baby?

Each of us has something we want in our lives. But is up to God to decide if this is something we really need. May we continue to come to him with joy and thankfulness, as we acknowledge that he knows what is best for us in our lives.

Laura MacCorkle

Decorated From the Inside

Decorated From the Inside

Last Christmas, a friend gave us one of the most unique ornaments I've ever seen. As soon as you see it, you think how

beautifully and exquisitely this glass decoration is painted. But what's amazing is that none of that artwork is on the

outside of the ornament. It's been painted entirely on the inside! For centuries, the Chinese have perfected this "inside

painting." Through a small opening in the ornament, the artist repeatedly inserts a miniature brush to paint the artwork. Of

course, the process is painstaking and time consuming. It takes two days to just paint one ornament, but the result is a

beautiful, one-of-a-kind miniature masterpiece.

It takes quite an artist to make something beautiful from the inside out, and God is the master of that! Every one of us

needs His beautifying touch, because every one of us carries our share of ugly inside us. And it keeps spilling out in our

words, our attitude, how we treat other people, and it causes trouble. It causes hurt.

It's like there's this Grand Canyon between the person I want to be and need to be and the person I really am. The battles

are different for each of us, but we all battle our dark side; things that the people close to me hate, things I hate, things

God hates. The ugliness of self-centeredness, of our destructive anger and the scars we leave with it, the deceit, the

passions, and the addictions that we can't seem to master; all those things I say and do that hurt people I love and often

people who don't deserve it. We want to change. We can't.

And we're frustrated by so many attempts we've made to be the right kind of person, to finally find some inner peace, to

find a purpose that just gives every day some meaning. We look to religion to help us be what we need to be, but there's a

problem. Religion basically tries to redecorate us from the outside and it keeps coming off! Jesus said of some very

religious people in His day, "On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy

and wickedness" (Matthew 23:28). There's some of that in all of us.

But for those of us who are tired of being one thing on the outside and something very different on the inside, for those of

us who want to beat our darkness and become the person we need to be and we want to be, well for us the Bible has

liberating good news. It's found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, and it's our word for today from the Word of God. "If anyone is in

Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" The Bible tells us that Jesus does what no religion

could ever do. Like those Chinese artists, He beautifies us on the inside so we're genuinely changed and we're

permanently changed.

All of the ugly stuff and the dark stuff in our heart is summed up in one Bible word - sin; rebellion against God and His

laws. I've tried to be the god of my own life, and it's not working.

That's why Jesus came. Our only hope of sin's power being beaten was for God Himself to conquer it, which He did when

Jesus paid the debt for our sins on the cross. Then when He conquered death on Easter Morning, He proved there's

nothing He can't conquer.

This makeover miracle in your soul begins from the moment that you are, as that verse said, "in Christ." Not just around

Christ, but really belonging to Him. He did all the dying for all your sin. What's left is for you to put your total trust in Him

as your Savior - your deliverer from your sin.

If you're ready to begin a relationship with Him, right here in this Christmas season, He came into the world this time of

year. Let Him come into your heart. Just tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours." And if you want to be sure you belong to Him, to

have this new beginning, would you go to our website. There's a lot of information there that has helped a lot of people at

that point in time. It's YoursForLife.net.

Just ask anyone whose let Christ in. When you get Jesus, you start becoming a person you never dreamed you could be.

He will make you new on the inside as soon as you open the door.

Ron Hutchcraft

The Same Old Story

The Same Old Story

In the twenty-three years that my wife and I have been doing youth ministry, we have dealt with a lot of teens who have gotten themselves into some dire straits. In fact, I thought there was nothing that could possibly surprise us anymore.

I was wrong.

There is one teenage girl that we know that I had to tell you about. However, before I do, I want you to understand that in our youth ministry, we always strive for confidentiality, to protect both the teen and the teen's family. So it is with great trepidation that I share this with you for I know that some of you will figure out who this girl is. But I am hoping that by the end of these few pages, you will understand why I had to share what I am about to tell you.

But before you rush to judgment, I want you to hang with me here. In fact, more than anything else, I want you to put yourself in this teen's shoes. Try and feel what she must be feeling.

This young girl is 14 years old and she comes to the stark realization that she is pregnant. Not only does she realize that her life is going to drastically change, but to make matters worse, she is afraid to tell her boyfriend. Normally she can go to her boyfriend with any problem. He is a pretty stable, understanding and dependable guy. But this time it's different. You see, the baby is not his.

She lays awake that first night thinking about all the people she has to face that next day.

Her parents.

She has always been worthy of the trust her parents have put in her. In fact other families have remarked to her parents how they wish their daughters were more like her. But now she has to stand before them and explain how she got pregnant. And if that is not bad enough, she is going to have to explain to them that the father of the baby is not the young man that her parents think she should marry.

Her boyfriend.

She loves her boyfriend more than anyone! Well, almost more than anyone. How is she going to face him? Where is she going to get the courage? It would almost be easier if she could tell him that it was just a big mistake and that she is oh, so sorry for it. But she can't lie to him. She will have to look into his trusting eyes and tell him that she willfully chose the path that led to this little life growing inside of her. She knows deep down inside, that if she had to do it all over again, she would make the same decision, and end up in the same precarious situation. "Please God! Please let him understand and not abandon me. I need him so much right now!"

Her friends.

Right or wrong, they have always put her on a pedestal. Always looked to her for answers. Always modeled their life after hers. But she knows instinctively that they will not understand. In fact she knows that she may never be able to explain to them what made her do what she did.

So she lays there in bed, afraid, overwhelmed, and reaching out to God for strength to face what is ahead of her.

The next day she finally gets up the courage to tell her boyfriend. He reacts just as she feared he would react. He is going to leave her.

She becomes distraught and questions God: "Why God? Why? I know that I am in this situation because of a decision I made, but please don't take my boyfriend away from me! I desperately need him now!"

This unnamed teen goes to bed that night more afraid than ever, feeling every bit the young child that she is.

Her name? Normally I wouldn't give that to you. But in this case she asked that her name be known so that others will understand what she has gone through and be encouraged.

Her name is Mary and she lived 2000 years ago.

Have you ever thought of the Christmas story in this way before?

Think about it! You are a 14-year old girl and an angel appears to you and says, "I'm going to place a baby inside of your womb." Most 14-year old girls I know would say, "I'm sorry, but that doesn't fit in with my plans for my life. I have my whole life ahead of me and I can't be held back by a baby! How am I going to go to prom now!?"

How does Mary tell Joseph? Have you ever thought of that? She has to go to her future husband and say, "I'm pregnant and the baby is not yours."

The conversation may have gone something like this:

Mary: "Joe, before you get angry at me I want you to know that I didn't cheat on you."

Joseph: "Come on Mary! You know full well that we have not known each other in the biblical sense, so the baby can't possibly be mine!"

Mary: "Joseph, you have to believe me. I did not have sex with anyone!"

Joseph: "Please Mary, don't do this to me. You know that I love you and care for you. But I can't listen to this."

Mary: "OK, Joseph, I won't lie to you." (She pauses, searching his eyes for the understanding that she knows is not humanly possible.) "The baby is from God."

Joseph: "Mary! Please! This is not like you! In fact, I am beginning to think I don't even know you any more!"

Mary: "You have to believe me Joseph!"

Joseph: (The wheels already turning in his head as to what he needs to do) "Mary, you know that I love you. But I won't stand for this. I have every right to put you away from me publicly, but I don't have the heart to do that to you. I won't marry you now, but I will allow you to find some dignity and not make a big deal out of this. But go you will."

Mary: "Please Joseph! You've got to believe me! Why would I make something like this up!"

Joseph: "Enough! I don't want to hear another word."

And he walks away, leaving Mary distraught and worrying.

You know the story. An angel appears to Joseph and verifies that what Mary says is truth.

Hopefully by now you are not thinking of the story of Jesus' birth as the same old boring story that we read every Christmas season!

Stop your busyness and ponder with me these next few weeks.

Think of God as a fetus, leaving Heaven and all of its splendor and becoming one of the most fragile things on Earth: a human baby. An animal baby is more able to defend and adapt when they are born than a human is.

As a writer, I would never have written the story this way. If I'm going to write the story of God coming to Earth, He's going to be on a white stallion when He rides out of Heaven. Every hoof-beat will leave lightning-like sparks on the streets of gold and peals of thunder in the air. The stars will line up as letters in every language that will blink: "The King of Kings is Coming!" He's going to burst through the ozone layer in a fiery explosion that will rock the foundation of the earth and send humans and animals to a prone position on the ground. Then He's going to circle the entire earth from east to west and the clouds will trail behind Him like a pure white flowing robe. There'll be the deafening sound of heavenly trumpets and the majestic pureness of millions of angels' voices hitting your ears as if they were right next to you.

That's how I'd write it.

God says, "Nope. He's going to live inside of an unwed teenage girl and He's going to be born in a stable." Which is a really nice word for a cave where smelly animals live. There was manure and urine on the floor, and the stench was almost unbearable. Priceless paintings and works of art did not hang on the walls in this nursery. No, if you were to look on these walls you would see cobwebs.

Psalm 33:6 reads, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." The One who breathed galaxies into existence, now depended on an umbilical cord for His oxygen. Amazing!

In your wildest dreams, can you equate the deity of the King of Kings making his entrance into this world through the human process we call birth.

Instead of noticing a crown of purest gold on his head, you notice the cone-shape of his head as he was forced through the birth canal. Instead of wearing the finest robes money can buy, he is wrapped in rags.

Instead of a finely crafted bed made by the most gifted craftsman in the land, he is laid in a feeding trough. Don't give me this "manger" stuff. Manger sounds too romantic. God was put in a feeding trough where cows put their tongues to lick up food. That's where the King of the universe slept.

He who sustains the entire universe is now being sustained through the milk of a teenage girl.

If Mary could have written a book, it would be on the New York Times' Best-Selling List. The title of the book would have been, "I Changed God's Diapers." Have you ever thought of that? Someone had to change the God of the universe's diapers. This gets a little gross, and I'm used to talking to youth, so forgive me, but, human waste was next to Jesus' skin. Is it hard to imagine Jesus in such a mundane and human way? In fact it is almost irreverent. But the God of the universe loved us so much that he was willing to humble Himself and give us the most precious Christmas present ever given: His Son Jesus.

May we never let ourselves say, "The same old Christmas story," ever again. And may we never get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to not stop and ponder about what an amazing God we have.

May this Christmas, and every Christmas from here on out, never lose it's magic or it's meaning.

Michael T. Powers

God Is Not About YOUR Success

God Is Not About YOUR Success

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:24-26).

God is all about your death so that HIS success can be realized through you! This is why the Church is having such little impact - there are too many believers who have not yet died to their old nature so that Christ can live fully through them. When believers come to the end of themselves they will lose their lives to Him and live through the power of the Holy Spirit and begin to see the reality of a living gospel that impacts lives, workplaces, cities and nations.

"Much of modern Christian enterprise is 'Ishmael.' Born not of God, but of an inordinate desire to do God's will in our own way - the one thing our Lord never did," said Oswald Chambers. The psalmist describes what it means to live in our own strength:

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves" (Ps. 127:1-2).

How does one die so that Christ can be our all and all? It usually takes a crisis of significant proportions for most people to relinquish the control of their lives. It means we come to the end of ourselves and our striving to control the events in our lives and we finally come to the place where we can say, "Lord, I surrender. Please take full control of my life."

Have you come to this place with God in your life? Let go and let God make you a success His way.

Os Hillman

Will You Miss it Also?

Will You Miss it Also?

There are 1189 chapters in the Bible, 250 in the New Testament and 89 in the Four Gospels. Of all those chapters in God's Word there are four that detail the Birth of Jesus. There are four chapters of The New Testament that describe this night. They are Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. From these chapters comes an intriguing and very powerful cast of characters. If all seventeen were listed they would be:

Six Saints
Several shepherds
Three sinners
A Prophet
A Host of Angels
A bunch of stuffed Robed Religious big shots
Some mysterious Magi from the East
Gabriel the Archangel
And the Savior of the World.

From this cast, let's draw out a few of them. Through their response to the Birth of Christ we can learn and follow. Don't miss out on the blessings and wonders of the 1st Christmas. You won't if you learn from these.

So which ones were looking for Jesus? Let's just zero in on a few of these folks and try to heed what God is trying to tell us. Okay? Who were they? Well, Matthew lists a cast of 6 (turn to Mt. 1-2).

1. Mary -- pondering, worshiping, trusting and obeying

2. Joseph -- fearful, faithful, obedient, seeking and sacrificing

3. Magi -- willing to follow anywhere to find their king

4. Herod -- more concerned about his crown, his women, his wine, his building projects, his businesses, his security -- than his soul

5. Chief priests and religious leaders -- they used the Scriptures, but didn't obey them. They knew about the prophets, but they did not believe prophecy

6. Jesus

On the first Christmas when God invaded the time space prison of earth, there were many different people who were around. Those who were looking for Him, found Him and that day the greatest in their lives, the other who were not looking for Him, and missed the greatest opportunity in their lives.

How about it? Are you looking for Jesus this Christmas? Or is this Christmas flying by so fast you will miss what God is offering you? Everyone who was looking for Jesus to come enjoyed His arrival. As we examine their lives we can often see ourselves. Who are you like?

John Barnett

Secret Service

Secret Service

Years ago during cold and flu season, three in our household of four were ill. I rarely get colds, but back then I had felt heaviness in my chest for about 48 hours. One child had a bearish cough, and the other was lethargic, signaling yet another ear infection.

Sluggish, it was all I could do to get everyone ready, in the car, and drive to the doctor. While paying our doctor bill, I saw Rox, who worshiped at church with us. I must have had WEARY stamped on my forehead. I told him the doctor's diagnosis: daughter had a ruptured ear drum, son had severe bronchitis, and I had pneumonia. His brows arched in concern.

By the time I bought prescribed meds and drove home, I literally collapsed with exhaustion. Right before my husband arrived from out of town, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and there stood Charlotte Owens, a woman from our church. Rox had told his wife Pamela about our wilting family.

Pamela and a few other women cooked a quick supper for us. To this day, my eyes grow moist when I think of that chain-reaction of care and kind service. For the next few days Dave and family pitched in to help.

On either end of giving awaits a blessing, whether the giver or the receiver.

The spiritual discipline of service is lived out in biblical examples: a cup of cold water; Jesus acknowledging tax collector Zacchaeus; Martha offering hospitality; and King Jesus, kneeling to wash his disciples' feet.

Service is deeply rooted in the discipline of submission, of placing others' needs before our own. If you are a parent you have served. If you have a spouse, you have served. If you are a policeman, a sanitation worker, firefighter, judge, or other public servant, you have served.

It is not difficult to find someone to render a service to, but the challenge is to serve with genuine selflessness, tender care, and joy for the opportunity. Temptations may arise to brag about a service provided, to want recognition, or a pat on the back. Also, the "poor me" attitude can be prevalent when serving. We go ahead and do the act of service, but it's served with a decanter of whine.

The greatest services are those offered with joy, those that never receive recognition. They are "hidden". The servers do not expect applause or desire it. That servant-person can make 100 sandwiches in the middle of the night for firefighters and not seek any thanks or mention their kindness to family or friends. "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness in front of men to be seen by them. But your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:1-4).

Richard Foster in his book, "Celebration of Discipline," lists these areas of service: do daily small things for folk; guard people's reputations; allow others to serve you; extend common courtesies; be hospitable; listen well; and share the word of Life.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1153) said if we are to live the life of one who will lead others "what you need is not a scepter but a hoe". One can offer good leadership and authority and still be a servant. Jesus is the prevalent example of such a person. Our prideful nature may want the big job that comes with fanfare and glory. But it's the daily sacrifices, the little things that add up to humility seeping into our lives in a small stream. Humility is one of the rewards of genuine service to others.

This week, join the "secret service". Do for others and don't mention it to a soul-ever. You might choose to sit quietly and listen to your spouse's critique when your usual response is to offer a verbal defense. Or you could choose to halt gossip and save a reputation from a beating. Or make it your goal to extend common courtesies the entire week, on the phone, in the auto, and in your home.

Our loving Father is watching for the mothers who hold fevered children, for the dads who build character by their example, and for that secret service for a neighbor. He's lining up the rewards, for here and hereafter.

Shared by Dean Masters

Make a Difference

Make a Difference

Hi All,

The below is a forward which you may have received before or you may not have, the story mentioned could be true or it could another fabricated one filled with sentiments, but you cannot write off the contents of the below which is true with regard to the less fortunate who are NO WAY responsible for their state and reminds us of the opportunity given to bring a smile and make a difference on the less fortunate but dear ones.

Do not miss to notice the joy these boys brought to the Father of the dear child and the verse at the end.

Regards,
Alfred John

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"

Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much! The boy looked around for guidance and a few boys nodded approval, why not?

So he took matters into his own hands and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"

Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay!"

Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching were on their feet were screaming, Shay, run home!"

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world."

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

We all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the natural order of things.

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up that opportunity, leaving it and making the world a little colder in the process?

A wise man once said "every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them".

And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' (Matthew 25:40)

[Shared by Dinesh Pandian]

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Private Ceremony

Private Ceremony

1 Samuel 9:27
"Now as they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us". And he went on, "But you stand here awhile that I may announce to you the word of God."

I stopped at this scripture and meditated on God's way of dealing with things. Read carefully and ask God to speak to your heart too. Prophet Samuel asks Saul to leave his servant and come aside alone and when Saul separates himself from the servant and walks to Samuel, when there was no witness, Samuel takes the oil from the flask and anoints him as the king of Israel and kisses him. If you truly desire for a divine intervention with God then you need to “separate” yourself and sever ties and bondage with people and move closer to God for heavenly revelation. Are you listening to me?

Samuel anoints him as king in a private ceremony. So now Saul has been made king, but he has some growing to do yet before the time comes for God's choice to be revealed to the people. Here is one of the most critical moments in the history of Israel, and it all happens in secret. I can imagine Saul with oil running down his face but unable to tell everyone that he was anointed as king of Israel.

God does something secretly for you before He brings it to everybody's notice. May be a promise made to you, a vision, a dream, a prophesy, hold on to it, it would come to pass. Saul discovered in this series of events that nothing happens by accident. There's no such thing as a coincidence where God is involved. Did you get that friend! The search for those donkeys was merely the setting for something much more marvelous happening to Saul. He's God's chosen King. No-one knows about it yet. Isn't it amazing?

Once I read a book of the great man of God Bro. Kenneth Hagin who gives his testimony of being healed from tuberculosis. He tells us something amazing in that book, one day while he was lying in the bed absolutely devastated and weak in the bed with advanced tuberculosis, suddenly his room was magnificently illuminated with bright light and he found Jesus standing in the room in front of him. Jesus stretches out his hand that day and pulls him out of his sick bed, he never again went back to that bed but was healed completely. But Bro. Hagin did not share this beautiful and divine experience and his encounter with God even with his own mother, he kept this memory only to himself for many years. While he was writing his book on "divine healing", God placed it in his heart to mention about the healing that he received in his room in the book. It was only after many years that even people close to him came to know about his encounter with Jesus. Dear friend, sometimes God speaks into our heart or gives us a dream or gives us a promise which we deeply know "it is for us". We need to hold these close to our heart and pray for it and never reveal it unless and until God impresses us to do it.

I remember as a teenager sitting in an evening service in the church and that day was a special day of 'song service' when people came as a family on the stage and sang a song and worshiped the Lord. While the eldest son played the guitar, one particular family sang a song and the lyrics were from the book of Joshua which says, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord". I was sitting alone in the church and it was a painful moment in my life as I was going through poverty and uncertainty in my life. But this song made a deep impression in my heart and I was never able to erase the memory of that family singing that song. I wondered would I be able to say that also one day! At that moment I felt the Holy Spirit speak deep down in my heart that "we would serve the Lord also whole heartedly one day." I had never dared to share this experience with anyone. But after nearly two decades, the Lord did keep His promise and made our family serve the Lord and made me His servant. Glory to Jesus! God does something in secret before He brings it to the open.

Sis. Bala Samson
www.worshipjesusministry.com

[Shared by Shalini Paul]

The Best Gifts

The Best Gifts

Truth is, the best gifts of all are not meant to be kept or even possessed; they are intended to be given a way ... to be passed on from person to person.

Lewis Hyde, author of "The Gift," tells of a Massachusetts' pilgrim who is invited into a Native American lodge and welcomed with a ritual smoking of the peace pipe. After the ritual is completed, the Native Americans give the symbolic pipe to the pilgrim. The pipe is a peace offering and is traditionally circulated among the local tribes, staying in each lodge for a time, but always given away sooner or later. However, our pilgrim didn't know about the tradition. In his world, he now owned a valuable treasure ... his own personal peace pipe.

Months later, in a surprise visit, the leaders of a neighboring tribe shocked the pilgrim with the expectation that the pipe would given to them.

The pilgrim called them "Indian givers"! (Yes, that's where the phrase comes from, according to Hyde.) In his mind, these poor natives just didn't grasp the growing application and appreciating of "private property." In their minds, this poor pilgrim didn't grasp the true meaning of the gift.

Like the pilgrim, we tend to hold on to our gifts too long. I think sometimes we even try to possess them. We try to keep them safe and hold them tight, for fear we might lose them. This focus on self misses the point altogether. As the apostle Paul reminds us, "... the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35 TNIV).

What gifts has God given you that need to be shared?

One thing is for sure: the gifts we receive from God are all meant to be given. They are not ours to keep, they must be shared: they must be kept in circulation to bless others.

Do you have possessions that really need to be on the move, that need to be given to others? What gifts has God given you that need to be shared -- things like grace, forgiveness, second-chances, love, stuff, time, attention, tenderness, patience, and talent?

Isn't it time for some of your closely guarded private possessions to find a new home? You've been given a lot, so doesn't that mean you have a lot to give? Get creative and turn loose of what you "own" and find the greater grace in giving.

Ron Rose

The Only Applause That Matters

The Only Applause That Matters

It was the moment the young man had waited for and had prepared for over many months. It was his premiere appearance as a concert pianist. The audience had heard a lot about his amazing talent, and they packed out this prestigious concert hall to hear him. They weren't disappointed. In fact, his masterful playing brought them to their feet for a thunderous standing ovation at the end of the concert. Backstage, the young man's manager said, "They want an encore, man! Get out there!" The pianist looked strangely dejected, and he said, "No, I'm not going back out there." His manager said, "But they love you, man! Look at them! They're all on their feet!" "Not all," was all the young man could say. "Look in the balcony." The manager peeked around the curtain and he saw one white-haired old man in the balcony who wasn't standing or applauding. "Hey, come on! That's one old man! So what?" The pianist looked down at the floor and he said, "That's not one old man. That's my teacher."

It didn't matter to that concert artist what the crowd thought. Only one opinion mattered. Only one man in that multitude was the one he wanted to please - his teacher. You know, that's how God has wired you and me to live. To please your teacher - your Creator. Sadly, we tend to lose sight of Him in our desire to get the applause of the crowd around us.

Jesus has given us six powerful words to live by in our word for today from the Word of God. These words in John 8:29 are simple, but they'll change your life if you'll make them the core value of your life: "I always do what pleases Him." Jesus lived only for His Father's approval. That's why the greatest moment of His life was at His baptism when the heavens opened and He heard His Father say, "You are My Son... with You I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). It didn't matter whether the crowd was cheering or jeering. Jesus knew He was okay if His Father thought He was okay.

That's an important reminder for us approval junkies, who tend to mold ourselves to please other people. It's like we have this ticket we keep trying to get people to validate for us. "Hey, do you like me? Do you like what I'm doing? What do I have to do to get you to stamp my ticket?" It's called "Please Disease" spending so much of your life trying to please others. But there's never enough applause is there? There's never enough approval. And somewhere in all the pleasing, you lose yourself and you lose the pleasure of the only One who can satisfy your heart - your Lord Jesus who died so you could live for Him! 1 Corinthians 7:23 says, "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." Paul knew he had to choose once and for all who he was going to live for and who he was going to live to please. He said, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).

So who are you living to please: the boss, the pastor, your family, your friends, the church, some guy or girl, the community? They didn't die for you. Their rewards don't hold a candle to His. The early church leader, Stephen, knew that. He had stood up for the truth on the streets of Jerusalem and the crowd was not applauding. They were screaming at him, throwing rocks at him to shut him up once and for all. "But," the Bible says, "Stephen... looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

The Bible tells us that Jesus is usually sitting at His Father's right hand, but not this day. He's standing, honoring his faithful servant Stephen. And Stephen has the courage to keep doing the right thing, even at the cost of his life, because his teacher is standing. His teacher is saying, "Well done."

I hope that's where you're looking for your approval. The only applause that matters is the applause of heaven. Anything is worth doing to get that; nothing is worth losing it.

Ron Hutchcraft

Developing True Christian Character

Developing True Christian Character

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5: 22, 23

Christian character is what makes us reflectors of the Lord's glory. As we let God's Spirit mold and make us into His image, we find that we become more and more like Jesus. "The old saying, "Jesus first, others second, and self last" is more than just a motto, it should be the way of life, to have true joy.

As we seek to be kind one to another and love others with the love of the Lord, we will become patient, long-suffering, gentle, and loving, as the Lord has loved us. He is the Potter and we are as the clay in His hands, when we surrender to His will. Jesus will mold and make us into His image, as we yield to the Spirit of the Lord.

Each day there are souls who seek to see Jesus in the world. Only as we let His light shine through our lives, will we reflect His love and glory. On our own, we have no light, but as we let Jesus be Lord of our lives and live in us, we find we can be reflectors of His glory in a lost and dying world.

May we seek to always let God's will be done in our lives and draw nigh unto Him. Our Lord promises to draw nigh unto us, as we seek His face in spirit and in truth. Just as the goldsmith sees His image in the gold and knows when it is pure, our Lord wants to see His image in us.

Can we look into the mirror of God's Word and let it reveal our hearts? If so, we have all we need to make us more like Jesus each day. His presence is with us and we have His Word and Spirit to guide us.

Do we see Jesus in our reflection? We must let God's Word reveal His will and plan to us today, that our lives might be lived to the fullest and always reflect His glory. We find great peace in loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul. Only in loving God, can we find true peace that passes even our own understanding.

Jo Ann Kelly

Delay is NOT Denial

Delay is NOT Denial

LUKE 18:1 NKJ
Then He spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…

Many people give up too easily in prayer. When they don't see the answer almost immediately, they quit.

God is not pleased with this approach.

You may say, "God knows my need. Why doesn't He just give it to me, instead of playing games?"

Whether you agree with God's ways, or not: God is still in charge and makes the rules -- not you. So, it does you no good to argue or complain. Better to just line up with God instead of fighting against His plan. Besides, in reality God's ways are perfect, it is just that we are often too immature and ignorant to understand all God is doing.

Scripture has many examples of people pressing in and receiving answers to prayer. We should never be quitters when it comes to prayer.

It is God's will to answer your prayers. He is the One who told you to pray. God actually delights in answering your prayers.

(Never forget that God loves you more than you can imagine. God loves you more than He loves Himself, and proved it by dying in your place, so you could go free.)

"Then why are there so many delays?"

There is an enemy, the devil, who hates you and is against you receiving your answer from God.

Second, some prayers involve other people, and God does not force people to do His will, but works with them patiently so they can see and do the right thing willingly. This takes time.

Third, there are things that God is working in you while you are persevering in prayer. God's plan is for you to grow up spiritually. God wants to enlarge your faith and encourage you to develop a closer relationship with Him. If every answer always came immediately, would you really press in and spend time drawing closer to God and studying His Word?

Don't despair in prayer. Keep on praying in faith as long as you are praying according to God's Word. A delay, even a very long one, does not mean that God is saying no to your request.

Momsooky