I Waited Patiently

I Waited Patiently

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3, NIV

David says that after he waited patiently, the Lord turned to him heard his cry. After he waited patiently, the Lord lifted him out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. After he waited patiently, the Lord set his feet on a rock and gave him a firm place to stand. After he waited patiently, the Lord put a new song in his mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. After he waited patiently, he lived in such a way that caused many to see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

I waited patiently for the Lord.

You are faced with a decision about what the Lord wants you to do with your life. The options are exciting and filled with potential. Because your options are all good, you believe that no matter what you choose you are confident that the Lord will bless you. You think about it when you wake up in the morning and you are thinking about it as you drift off to sleep at night. Wait patiently for the Lord.

Your family is struggling with a problem you never imagined you would face. You've investigated every possible solution and are in a quandary as to what you should do. You are the head of the family and the decision will ultimately fall on your shoulders. Wait patiently for the Lord.

As a church leader you want to make sure you shepherd the flock with godly wisdom and spiritual insight. You are constantly reminded of the serious ramifications of decisions that will shape the future of your congregation. God called you to lead. It's time to lead. Wait patiently for the Lord.

You are in your last semester of college and the world is opening up to you. Offers are coming in for lucrative positions with some of the best companies in your field. Opportunities for adventure and travel are abundant. You want to do whatever brings glory to God. Wait patiently for the Lord.

Your son is about to make a decision that could shape the rest of his life. You want to offer him the best advice you can. You remember when you were in his shoes and how you wished for someone to mentor you. You don't want to tell him what he should do, but you do want to share a word from the Lord. Wait patiently for the Lord.

You've worked for thirty years with a company that has rewarded you well and helped you to build a good life. Unexpectedly an offer comes that will totally change your world. You and your wife have talked about it and prayed about it, and she has assured you that she will support you in whatever you decide to do. Wait patiently for the Lord.

You are tired. You are confused. You are wondering what God's plan is for you. Your world feels unstable and you feel vulnerable. You have experienced more change than you ever thought possible. You take every step with caution. Part of you wants to go back to the way things were, but you sense that God has better things in store for you if you will step out on faith. Wait patiently for the Lord.

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.

Tom Norvell

I Saw the Blood - THE VISION

I Saw the Blood - THE VISION

I saw the form of a man. His face was not discernable. I can't tell you the color of His hair or eyes and I can't describe His features. I saw His form and I knew it was Jesus. The crown of thorns on His head was a recognizable part of the form. This identified Him to me and I gasped as I realized I was looking at Him. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

There was a multitude of rowdy people. They were standing everywhere and the noisiness of their voices filled the air. All eyes were fastened on the Man. He was standing there in silence and blood was already flowing freely from His scalp where the thorns were imbedded. He was pulled roughly and fastened to a whipping post, as a soldier stood ready to begin the flogging. I heard the first crack of the whip and then I saw it, blood and flesh tore loose from His back. When I saw the blood, it looked florescent. I could see it showering on the people. With each lash, more flesh and florescent colored blood splattered the crowd. I counted the lashes of the whip. Thirty-nine times it rose and fell on His back. The whip caused deep furrows where the flesh had been ripped away. I wanted to turn away to hide my face. I didn't want to see Him suffer anymore but my eyes remained fastened on Him.

The next moment I saw the cross being placed on His shredded and bleeding back. He was weak and the weight of the cross pushed Him forward. He was stooped over trying to bear the load. I couldn't discern if He was stooped over from the weight of the load or if weakness had Him bowed to the ground. Steadily the florescent stream of blood flowed and fell on the ground from His wounds. He was making footprints in His own blood. The raging crowd walked behind Him, trampling His blood under their feet. The streets were being painted a deep crimson red.

Then I saw Him. He was hanging there. The soldiers had lifted Him high. When they raised the cross. Blood flowed from His hands and His feet and I saw a stream running off the base of the cross at ground level. The ground lapped it up and swallowed it but the florescent stain remained there. He was stained, covered, painted from the top of His head to the soles of His feet with His own blood. As I gazed at Him, He hung His head.

As I looked into the crowd I could see traces and splotches of florescent red. It was on faces of some who had cried out against Him. Feet were stained that had trampled His precious blood in the streets. Innocent babies and children were speckled with His blood and the family and loved ones who huddled near His feet had traces of red on them.

When the vision was over I was weak and completely spent. I sobbed for a long time as I contemplated the agony He went through for me, for you, for whosoever will. I remember seeing the splattered blood on the crowd and realize some of them were saved by the very blood they demanded to see.

Recently I did a study on the Crucifixion of Christ. While realizing the suffering and the great trauma the body of the victim endures, I saw this vision of the Blood of Jesus as He went through the agonizing and degrading process of death by crucifixion. I can tell you this without reservation, my life is forever changed. Whenever I hear the death and resurrection story of Christ, because I SAW THE BLOOD, I will never be the same again. I will never again associate Easter with a white and fluffy, pink nosed rabbit and hidden pastel colored eggs, but my mind will flash to recollections of a perfect LAMB covered in It's own BLOOD, colored dark florescent red.

Sometimes I still sob as I remember the cross, His suffering and what it purchased. Forever, I am changed by the BLOOD.

Donna M. Davis

Insisting on Driving

Insisting on Driving

My wife and I are some of those psychos that I call marathon drivers. Now I know long-haul truckers have to do it for a living. But sometimes we choose to do it, just because we want to get somewhere quickly. Of course, like most men, I like to be the one driving, sometimes for longer than I should. My wife tells me that our lives start to be in danger from the time I start rubbing my right leg while I'm driving. Apparently, that's the first tip-off of fatigue. She will gently offer to drive and I will, of course, refuse. She offers several other times to drive, when I start doing a Jane Fonda workout at the wheel, when I turn on some obnoxious radio station at full volume, when I open the window to let in the 20-below wind chill. Finally, just before we're just about to become a National Safety Council statistic, I grudgingly pull over to the side of the road. We change seats, and I'm out before she can start up the car again.

I have a feeling I am not the only one who hates to give up the wheel, even if it's dangerous to keep driving. A lot of us want that control, not just of our vehicle, but of our lives. And no one's going to get our hands off the wheel of our life - including God.

Now maybe you're a very independent person. You've driven your life all these years, and you're not about to relinquish the wheel now. But all these years, the One who created you has been saying, "Isn't it about time you let Me drive?" And while you may have tried to keep God happy by being religious, you have stubbornly tightened your fingers around the wheel.

The truth is we were never created to drive our own life! The Bible makes that very clear when it says in Colossians 1:16 that "all things were created by Him and for Him." Now it's talking about Jesus Christ. You were created by Jesus. You were created for Jesus. And you've had a hole in your heart all these years because you didn't have Jesus. The One who gave you your life is supposed to be running your life. But it may be that you've insisted on being your own god, because whoever's driving your life is who your god really is.

Which leads us to an important warning from God in our word for today from the Word of God. Proverbs 29:1 says, "A man (and it could just as easily be a woman) who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes (or warnings) will suddenly be destroyed without remedy." Now chances are that you've had many warnings in your life that you shouldn't be driving and that you should move over; you should turn the wheel over to the God who made you.

It may be that someone who really loves you has been encouraging you to come to Christ, but you've been too proud to let that happen. Well, that's expensive pride; maybe fatal pride... eternally fatal pride.

At the moment God decides our life is over, your eternity is totally in His hands. And He will care about only one thing: did you give your life to His Son Jesus, who gave His life to die for your sins on the cross. So many of us who have finally turned the wheel over to Him put it off as long as we could only to say now, "Why did I wait so long?" There's such peace and security when He's driving.

Now Jesus is saying it again today, "Let Me drive." If you keep driving, you will ultimately crash. Please, while there's time, let go of the wheel of your life and turn it over to the One who was meant to drive all along. If you'd like to begin this personal relationship with Jesus, what you need to do is tell Him that right now, "Jesus, I've been running my life. I've put You off. I've postponed You. I've ignored You. I've tried to compensate by being religious and good, but none of that will pay for my sin. It took You dying on the cross, and now, Jesus, I'm grabbing You like a drowning person would grab a lifeguard. You are my only hope. I am Yours beginning today."

There's some great information that will help you be sure that you belong to Him at our website. And I would encourage you to go there as soon as you can today at YoursForLife.net. Would you check it out?

Don't let your stubbornness, your pride, cost you Jesus, because that will cost you heaven. You've driven long enough. Why don't you let Him drive the rest of the way?

Ron Hutchcraft

"Welcome Home"

"Welcome Home"

Some longtime friends dropped by for a visit recently and they told us a moving story of what has happened to their son. Tom is a missionary pilot in Mexico - one of those spiritual heroes, I think, who take the Gospel and God's help to places they could otherwise never go, including a mountain village in Mexico where the pilots have been God's instruments to launch a mighty work for Christ. And then came the crash. With three missionary pilots and several passengers aboard, a defect in their plane's almost new engine caused this terrible crash. Tom was one of those who survived that crash that could have very well killed everyone. The villagers who loved them actually traveled hours to reach them and rescue them. Tom's body was badly shattered, and his recovery has been long - it's been grueling. But recently he was flown back to the area where he ministered. His parents choked up, and honestly so did we, as they told us what happened as he got off the plane. There to greet him was a crowd of cheering Mexican friends. And they were holding a banner that simply said "Welcome home, Captain Tom!"

I'm hoping you and I can get a "welcome home" like that someday in heaven. It all depends on what we live for in the years until we get home.

In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul clearly lays out what matters most to him about the legacy of his life. In 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, he writes these words to the people that he's invested his life in spiritually: "What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy." Paul is looking forward to getting to heaven and seeing a lot of people that he touched for eternity. That is the welcoming party he's living for.

Basically, Paul says there are two things that matter in life: the Savior you serve and the lives you touch. That is your reward for the years you spend on this planet, that's your legacy, that's your joy. Or at least it's supposed to be.

It's possible that your life's priorities have gotten a little inverted by the pressures and the people and the problems that tend to fill up your life. You've been taken over by a truckload of earth-stuff. One friend of mine summed it up pretty well the other day. When someone asked him if he's ever played Trivial Pursuit, he says, "Every day." He's not talking about the game. He's talking about his life.

Just hearing about Pilot Tom's "welcome home" was an important values-clarification reminder. If you've become consumed and sidetracked with a lot of stuff that's non-eternal, maybe it's time to get with Jesus and replace your agenda with His agenda to "seek first His kingdom" (Matthew 6:33).

And if you're a little weary or discouraged in your faithful service for Jesus, I hope you'll be encouraged by the thought of the reward you're building, the legacy you're developing and the lives that have been touched by your sacrifices who will be thanking you forever. The people you've risked to take to heaven with you will be there, humanly speaking, because you cared. The lives that have been touched by the ministries you've given to will, in the Bible's words, be "credited to your account" (Philippians 4:17).

All that really matters is what's going to meet you when you get to heaven. First, your Savior who will welcome you with the words you have lived to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And the people your life in Christ has touched for eternity. Who knows, maybe they'll be holding a banner with your name on it that says, "Welcome home!"

Ron Hutchcraft

From Surviving - To Thriving!

From Surviving - To Thriving!

Increase... and possess the land. Deuteronomy 8:1 NIV

After 400 years of slavery God handed the Israelites the deed to a lush, plentiful land they could finally call home. Up until now everything they owned had been provided for them by their Egyptian captors. But slavery had crushed their will and destroyed their initiative, consequently God had to break them of their reliance on people rather than on Him. (People-dependency can make you vulnerable and stunt your growth.) So when God led the Israelites into the wilderness and the leeks and onions they enjoyed in Egypt were gone, they were forced to develop an appetite for manna - something only God can provide!

Understand this: When God takes away an old source or system and gives you a new one, it doesn't mean the old one was no good. It just means He's chosen a new way of guiding and providing.

When God makes you a promise He always keeps it, but you have to be willing to remove the training wheels of your reliance on people. In the wilderness the Israelites griped and bellyached for the comfort of the familiar, even though it meant going back to an old season that was over. But they couldn't, and you can't either! When God said, "Increase… and possess the land" (Deuteronomy 8:1 NIV), His plan for them went beyond surviving – to thriving. It meant being weaned off the breast milk of people-dependence and on to the meat of God-dependence. Paul writes: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5 NKJV). When God pushes you out of your comfort zone en route to your destiny, expect to go through some unfamiliar, anxiety-producing territory. It's the only way to go from surviving - to thriving.

Bob Gass

IT MAKES HIM HAPPY

IT MAKES HIM HAPPY

"And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?" (Genesis 3: 8, 9 KJV)

I bought a baby parakeet Tuesday afternoon. It is a beautiful blue parakeet. He is two months old. I had planned on naming my new parakeet "Baby" in honor of my first parakeet. However when I was at the pet store, one of the employees was watching me talk to the parakeet and she made the comment "He looks so happy when you are talking to him." So I decided to name my beautiful new baby parakeet "Happy".

I am writing this devotion Wednesday night so I have only had him about thirty hours and he is already getting on my finger when I tell him to perch. He is letting me stroke his belly and he really does seem to be happy. The only time he doesn't seem to be happy is when I am not paying attention to him or talking to Him. I think if he could talk to me, he would say "Where are you and why aren't you talking to me?"

I think if we will listen with our hearts we will hear our Heavenly Father saying to us "Where art thou and why aren't you talking to Me?" I believe that it makes God very sad and hurts Him when we don't talk to Him. He is waiting for us to talk to Him. Sometimes He has to wait all day long before we take a few minutes to talk to Him. How we hurt Him and break His heart?

We sometimes use the excuse "I'm too busy to talk to Him during the day. I have a very hectic schedule." Have you ever noticed that if an emergency comes up, we don't have any problem making time to ask Him to help us? May God forgive us for taking Him for granted. If we are too busy to talk to God, we are too busy and we need to prioritize our schedules and rearrange them to be certain that He comes first before everyone and everything.

It is no wonder at all that we have problems in our work and in our lives when we ignore Him or just squeeze Him in when we have a few extra minutes between meetings and activities. If we will put Him in first in our lives as He should be, we will be a lot more success in our jobs. We will also have more peace and a lot more happiness in our lives.

More important than that, we will make Him happy if we will make time for Him and talk to Him the first thing every morning. Are you making our Heavenly Father happy or are you making Him sad? Are you spending time with Him and talking to Him every morning or are you just giving Him a few minutes between appointments and activities?

Joanne Lowe

Yoga - A satanic trap!

Yoga - A satanic trap!

Please read this testimony below, about yoga. Hearken unto the voice of God this day and beware of such worldly exercises.

"Hi friends,

On Wednesday, I attended a talk by an ex-yoga teacher, Madam PohShon Choy, who sold her yoga centre (earning lots of money giving yoga lessons) and severed all ties with yoga. She urges us to inform our relatives, friends, family members, etc., NOT to get involved with yoga at all.

For those who had taken up yoga lessons (hot yoga, power yoga, pe-la-tei and so on), repent and ask God for forgiveness. Many claimed that they only join to keep fit, only doing the exercise poses and not meditation. Christians think it is ok so long they don't participate in the meditation part. Madam Choy explains that the central of yoga (originated from Hinduism) is the spirit of Kundalini (spirit of snake or cobra).

Yoga poses are actually animal poses (e.g. camel, rabbit etc.). All these look very normal and harmless, stretching and exercising. But the danger is, once a person does such poses, the spirit of Kundalini (the snake is in a coiled position) is stimulated or aroused. As the person goes from basic to intermediate to advance stage of yoga lessons (still not meditation yet), the coiled “snake” will be aroused further. It will rise and rise further.

There are 7 centres in the human body – starting from the navel. The final centre is the part between the eye brows (known to many as the third eye). When the spirit is aroused to the final centre, the third eye will be opened. This is called the full enlightenment. The first thing the person sees is demons. For some, they will become insane seeing such horrifying demons. For others, they are not afraid and will have the power to fore-tell other people’s health, problems, luck, etc. (like a fortune teller). In fact, they manipulate and control other people. The meditation part will come in very subtle.

Madam Choy said she was approached by a couple who found her contact from the yellow pages and told her they wanted to teach her new things about yoga. She was very keen and sat under their teaching. She learnt how to meditate and it must be done in odd hours of the day (past midnight). So she tried. She actually felt a wriggling feeling in her stomach! She also mentioned that her third eye was opened. She could see her own aura (electric fields in all human beings). Her turning point came when God caused her spiritual eyes to open – she witnessed a lady being delivered, wriggling like a snake on the floor. Madam Choy thanked God for being gracious to her; she took 1-2 weeks to be delivered. She knows of a lady who took 3 months to be cleansed!

It is a sad thing that there are even yoga lessons for children. In the States, a Methodist started the Christian yoga. However, there are some believers who still continue, saying that they find no harm after doing yoga for 3 years. Madam Choy says it is our soul that is in danger. The evil one will try all ways to ensnare / trap Christians.

Someone in the class raised a question – if we have the Holy Spirit, how can the spirit of kundalini be aroused? Madam Choy replied, our God is a holy God, so the Holy Spirit will be grieved and will depart. God cannot be mocked. God’s spirit left King Saul when he disobeyed God. To God, rebellion spirit is witchcraft. We are not against yoga teachers, yoga students but we are fighting against powers, principalities in the spiritual realm."

Let’s be on guard, be aware!

[Shared by Benhur Clement Jonathan]