THE PRAYER LINE

Jack Davis

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

Throughout His Word the true and living God invites our call. Whoever truly calls upon Him by faith is included. “Saved,” what a great inclusive word. It implies total deliverance, body, soul, and spirit, including gracious preservation unto glorious presentation. We are told that His eyes are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers (I Peter 3:12). “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isa. 59:1.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” Rom. 10:9-10.

May we call from our own private phone booth, but He would have us announce before men the answer we received from faith’s call.

CALL TO RECEIVE

When we call upon God in Jesus name (Acts 4:10-12) we receive redemption through faith in His sin atoning blood. We are not only given a right standing with God, but are made partakers of regeneration. By new birth we receive a new heart and a new life.

CALL WITH REPRESENTATION

All God’s children have a strong adversary in Satan, who is the accuser of the brethren. He works at it day and night. First John tells us that we also have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. What a friend we have in high places. Since we have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, that was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, and can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, we are challenged to come boldly in His name. Never let us stop calling! Keep at it to realize a full salvation. Heb. 4:11-16 and 7:25.

Jesus spoke clearly about the attitude in which any that call upon Him may come (Lk. 18:9-14. Who do you trust? It is never on the basis of human merit. Self effort will not earn God’s favour. So we successfully call on the basis of divine mercy.

CALL FOR RELIEF

“Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” Psa. 50:15.

He has wonderfully provided that we enjoy renewal in times of trouble, and the refreshing that comes from experiencing divine intervention.

CALL FOR REJOICING

“Thou shalt glorify me.” Oh what a joy to praise Him and glorify His name, giving Him thanks for His wonderful answers to our calls. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord Psa. 92:1. One of the greatest good it does is to keep the channels open, enjoying closer and constant relations in sweet communications. He says, Let me hear thy voice – Song of Sol. 2:14. Let us draw nigh with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

CALL FOR REVELATIONS

“MOREOVER the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” – Jer. 33:1-3.

Thank the Lord, His shut-ins aren’t shut out from the throne of grace. When He allows us to be brought to confining conditions, limiting situations, who can we talk to, which way shall we look but up. What wonderful things He has to show us.

There are times that we have to be crowded into a corner before we will call. We don’t usually think of being shut up in a prison as an ideal position, or condition for receiving deeper and fuller revelations of our Lord and His purposes. How about John on the Isle of Patmos, Joseph in Egypt or Daniel in Babylon. Do you  think that Jonah realized in a deeper sense, during his submarine ride that salvation is of the Lord?

CALL REMEMBERING OTHERS

What a high and noble privilege, for the Lord’s priestly line. Calling on the Lord on behalf of others, lifting them up and bringing them before the Lord. Jesus told Peter, I have prayed for you. Jesus even prayed for those that took part in crucifying Him, saying, “Father forgive them” Lk. 23:34.

 Hear HIM

Gordon Crook, Pastor

Grace Assembly, Wichita, Kansas

“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Matthew 17:1-5

I was impressed with the emphasis God puts on this statement. “Hear ye HIM.” Peter was impressed with what he was seeing, and had a great idea that was intended to exalt Jesus and Moses and Elijah. However, God was more concerned with bringing the focus back to Jesus alone. It was His Son, Jesus that mattered here.

I am reminded that often we get in the same mindset as Peter. “Hey, I have a really great idea to exalt Christianity.” “I have a great idea to improve our culture.” And on and on we can go with our ideas or the ideas of others. I believe that Satan distracts us with so many things and so many philosophies and so many “Christian” ideas. Ways to get people to like us and to come into our church. And God reminds us. “Hear ye HIM.” Are you paying attention to what Jesus is saying? 

Some people will get really upset with Peter. “Why can’t he just shut up and pay attention to Jesus?” He was so privileged to spend time with Jesus in the flesh. I would have been always attentive to Jesus and just hung on His every word. But Peter was just like any one of us. We have the privilege of having Jesus in front of us at any time. I actually have a Bible in my cell phone. And still, sometimes I am distracted by my own ideas or by something the world is putting in front of me, or by something the Christian system is putting in front of me.

I need a reminder that I need to hear Jesus. What is He saying to me? Where is He guiding me with His Word? What does it mean to hear Jesus? In John 1:14 we read this, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the Word. We find Him speaking to us in the Bible as we read and meditate.

In Hebrews 1:1-2, we read, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” We find that God is making it clear that Jesus is the only one that has been approved to speak to us. Even the Old Testament prophets all spoke to us of Jesus. For God, it has always been about Jesus.

So, if Jesus is the one that we are supposed to listen to, why do we sometimes find ourselves listening to the world? Listening to some person who claims to speak for Jesus, but does not speak according to God’s Word? We have an enemy that knows exactly what to say to us to cause us to listen. He tried to do this also with Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus’ answer to him is exactly the example we need. The answer is to speak the Word of God. 

This is just as important when we are hearing some “Christian” speaker that is using enticing words as it is when the world is trying to entice us. It is necessary when our own mind brings forth ideas that do not line up with God’s Word. God’s statement is not, “listen to this great charismatic preacher,” it is “hear ye HIM,” “my beloved Son.”

Many of God’s precious people today are failing to hear Jesus. They are listening to the call of the world, and sometimes they think it is good because it sounds like something that would be good for Christianity or they believe that they will be able to exalt Jesus with it. But it invariably turns out to be just monument to some human idea. Jesus always was clear about what He was teaching was not like this world and would not be accepted by the world. Don’t get caught up in the ideas that are not according to what Jesus tells us. Study God’s Word to know what He is speaking to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants you to know. God is still reminding us today, “Hear ye HIM.”

 God Wants First Place

Anita Clark – Pastor

Grace Chapel, Carbondale, Kansas

The Lord desires to be number one in our lives.  From the very beginning of the Bible we see His desire for this full fellowship with mankind.  Jesus, when tempted of the devil quoted from the Old Testament, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.”

When God was about to deliver Israel from Egypt, He instructed them concerning the first Passover found in Exodus 12:1-13. God begins to tell them in detail what He wanted of them. Notice Vs. 2, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months, it shall be the first month of the year to you.” Later He instructs them of what they are to bring as a sacrifice to Him.  Vs. 5, “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:” No old sheep who was about to die would do. Only the best was acceptable for God. All the Egyptians who did not slay the firstborn lambs, and apply the blood suffered the death of their firstborn son, and the first born of all their cattle also.

 Israel was also to offer to the Lord “the first ripe fruits, ... and the first born sons shalt thou give unto me” (Exodus 22: 29). They had to bring an offering to redeem the first born son.  Chapter 23:19 of Exodus speaks further of the first fruits, “The first of the fruits of the land shalt thou bring into the house of the LORD thy God..” In Exodus 29:38,&39 God tells them concerning the burnt-offering, which was a continual offering, “Now this is that ye shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year...One in the morning and one in the evening.””

And in Exodus 40:2, the LORD spoke to Moses saying,  “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.”  When the preparation of the tabernacle was finished, God ordered it to be set up at this exact time, no doubt emphasizing that His things were to come first in their thoughts and in all of their lives.

When the Lord set forth the various Feasts Israel was to celebrate in their year in Numbers 23:4, He set forth Passover to be the first feast each year in the first month.” Then the others were to follow on their exact times. This was to be perpetual before the Lord.,  

In Numbers 15:20-21 He tells Israel they were to “Offer up a cake of the first of your dough...the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD.”  Why did God emphasize their giving first to Him?  Because He was training them to put Him first in everything they did.

In Isaiah 44:6, it says, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and His redeemer the LORD of Hosts; I am the first, and I am the last and beside Me there is no God.” This was His desire from the creation of the world and of mankind, to have them worship Him and put Him first.  This is foreign from the thoughts of humanity. Throughout the ages God has sought for a people who would put Him first, and love Him supremely.

Let’s look again at Exodus 22:9, God asked for the first born son to be given unto Him, and in answer to that in Luke 2:7, Mary “brought forth her first born son” and in obedience to the Law of God, in Vs. 22 “ they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord. (As it is written in the Law), Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.” Even in His birth all that pertained to the command of the Law by God was fulfilled.  He was truly the first begotten of the Father.

 Mystery of the Bride

Part 3

Vicky Moots

We read in Gen. 2:21 that God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam while He was removing a rib to form Eve.  Does this mean anything to us spiritually? We know that in the natural, in order for a surgery to take place, a patient must be anesthetized, or “put to sleep.”  Adam’s physical body was asleep, and therefore was not aware of the operation that was being performed.  Likewise, the majority of the spiritual body of Christ, the church, is fast asleep today and is unaware of the signs of the end-times and that the marriage of the Lamb is soon to take place.

So, what happened that caused the church to fall asleep? The church began on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out.  About three thousand people were saved on that day, and we read in Acts 2:47 that “…the Lord added to the church daily such as should be [were being] saved.”

The early church was very much awake and full of the Holy Ghost.  But it wasn’t long before we read that they began to murmur among themselves saying that not everyone was being treated equally (Acts 6:1).  Does that sound familiar? Satan was actively sowing disagreement and discontent among the church to try to stop it from growing.

In II Tim. 4:10 Paul speaks sadly regarding one of his previous followers: “…Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…”  He warned Timothy in v.3 concerning the lukewarm, sleepy conditions that would soon invade the church: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”  This condition results when the love of the world is greater than our love for the Lord or for His Word.

Many religious organizations today have fallen asleep to the voice of God and no longer heed it or teach sound doctrine from the Bible.  Instead, they have compromised with the world to please the people.  Jesus Himself also warned of such conditions that would prevail in the end-time: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12).

God does not cause these things to happen, but He allows them to take place in order to fulfill His purposes, just like He allowed the church to fall asleep so that He may prepare a bride for Christ.  He is calling out from among the sleeping body of Christ a group of people whose love has not grown cold.

In I Thess. 5:1-8, Paul admonishes us to be awake and aware of the times and the seasons, because the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, and many will be asleep and not watching.  In v.4 he says, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”  In v.5 He states, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”  He then warns us in v.6 to be awake: “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

Paul is speaking of two different groups of believers in the church: those who are asleep and those who are awake.  This was true at that time and is true today.  Which group do you choose to be in? Even three of Jesus’ closest disciples fell asleep instead of watching while He prayed and agonized in Gethsemane, so we must always be on our guard.

Yes, the church is still alive.  It has a pulse, and it is breathing, but the majority of it is in a spiritual deep sleep.  It is time to wake up and listen to the Word of God.  Paul warns the sleeping believers regarding this in Rom. 13:11: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep…”

Listen closely.  Can you hear the Holy Spirit calling your name? Do you wish to remain a part of the sleeping body of Christ, or do you choose to wake up and be a part of that small rib portion that is being called out and separated out from among them to be fashioned into His bride?

 The Lamb of God

Vicky Moots

The Lamb of God was crucified.

They pierced His hands;

They pierced His side.

For me He suffered, bled and died

To wash me in the crimson tide.

‘Twas love that held Him on the tree.

Oh, such love to die for me

To pay sin’s dreadful penalty.

Now I shall live eternally;

Amazing grace has set me free.

 All Things Working Together

Earlene Davis

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

We love this verse. It is a wonderful comforting promise for the afflicted. May we lay hold of this truth. Yes, we do know this, but we all have to be reminded, again and again that God is causing the things that come our way to work for our good. We  see God’s hand working good for us when we are enjoying His blessings; but often we don’t see God in the troubles and hurts we experience. 

Of course we don’t want to suffer or be hurt in any manner. One of the reasons we fail to see God’s hand in our trials, is because they often come through human instruments. Our focus then is not of faith, because our focus is on somebody’s failure or carelessness or ignorance. We think, why did God allow this to happen to me? We know God is not the author of such things, but He does allow these things, to test our faith. We can’t become an overcomer if we don’t have things to overcome.

I am reminded of that man of the family of Saul that cursed David and threw stones at him and his servants and all the people with him (II Sam. 16). One of David’s men wanted permission from David to take off this man’s head. David said, let him course because the Lord has bidden him to do so. It may be the Lord will look on mine affliction and requite me good for his cursing this day. David and all the people became weary, but they refreshed themselves. We also get weary in our trials, and we need to refresh ourselves in the Lord, seeking His comfort. 

We know God is over everything. He knows what He is doing and it is for our ultimate good. David in his submission trusted God. We also can say, “Thy will be done Lord.” There is a comfort, even sweetness while we are wounded, when we trust God in troubling times. If we only see our trials as inflicted by men, we become bitter. We don’t want to give Satan any credit, but receive everything as from the Lord. I was blessed to learn an important lesson from my Grandmother, for she saw God in Everything. 

I Peter 4:12-19, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings…Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” Everything that comes to God’s children, comes from the Father’s hand; no matter who may have been the apparent agent.

Jesus said in Mt. 10:29-31, Our Father knows when one sparrow falls to the ground…fear not for you are of more value than many sparrows. And in Phil. 4:6 we are admonished not to be anxious about anything, but bring it to God in prayer, accompanied with thanksgiving. How can we do that? I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Also consider Rom. 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves … Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” May we just let the Lord handle the situation. We don’t even have to defend ourselves.

Heb. 13:5, “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Rom. 8:31-39, “…What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? …He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Lord says in Isa. 43:2, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee…” He was with Joseph when he was sold as a slave. He was with Daniel in the lions den. He was with the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. He was with Paul and Silas when they were cast in prison. 

We read in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” He knows our hurts, all things are under His control. Nothing can touch us except He allows it and then He is working it all together for our good. Even when God corrects us for yielding to the flesh. He corrects us because He loves us (Heb. 12:6). 

God knows what is best for us. He allowed the sin of Joseph’s brothers to work good for him. Even the sins of others, God will work for our good.

II Cor. 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

So when the unpleasant comes our way, may we have faith to accept it as from the lord. When we can thank Him for it as His will, then we have overcome and God is glorified. His will is sweet whether in joy or sorrow. We can have rest and joy in our spirit. Our Shepherd leads us to green pastures and refreshing waters.

II Cor. 2:14, “…thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ…”

 STATE and STANDING               

Gary Giddings, Sand Springs, OK

Romans 8:1-2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Praise God for the truth of the teaching of the two natures of the Christian! We were born with the Old Nature that is selfish and stubborn. But when the Holy Spirit convinced us that we needed a Savior, we accepted Jesus Christ into our heart. Now we have the New Nature that loves to serve and worship God. Because of the New Nature, the Life of Christ within us, our STANDING is perfect before God. When the Father looks at us, He sees Jesus. The good news is that our STANDING is also constant because we are “accepted in the Beloved,” that is, in Jesus. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. We are now in God’s FOREVER family.

There is no condemnation for the believer in Christ Jesus because we have been freed from the Law of Sin and Death. We WERE headed to eternal condemnation without Christ, but now that we have accepted Jesus into our heart, we are under a HIGHER LAW, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Do the last 10 words of verse 1 belong in the original text? I don’t know, but I do know that THE NEW NATURE (our true identity) does NOT walk after the flesh, but ONLY after the Spirit.

Romans 8:31-34 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?  Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Jesus who was condemned for us. He died on the Cross and took the judgment that we deserved. When Jesus died for our sins, He died for ALL of our sins, not just part of them. Since that is true, why is Jesus interceding for us? We are not always consistent in our walk before the Lord. We may get discouraged at times because of our faults and failures. Yes, we are still human, but we would like to think that we are better than to fall back into some old sinful ways. Jesus is our advocate and lifts us up before the Father; that is why God still patiently works with us, comforting us and correcting us as needed.

We are leaning to Trust God even when we get bogged down. Sure, we want God to “fix it” and get us going again. But God allows trials to come our way so that we can grow and mature in the faith. Maybe we don’t care about that at first, because it can be slow and painful at times. But little by little, day by day, God is doing a work in us that will last for eternity! Because of Jesus, we have an ongoing RELATIONSHIP with the Father that will never end. Nothing can ever change this relationship because it is the Father’s gift to us through the Son. Because we have Jesus in our heart, our STANDING is perfect before God. That never changes, even when we sin by not doing God’s will for us.

1 John 1:3-4 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” We were created for FELLOWSHIP with God, but He doesn’t force us. He reaches out to us and waits for us because He wants a people that chooses Him and wants to be with Him. Thank God that He works in us, persuading us to respond to His love. We wouldn’t have figured it out on our own!  

Our STANDING or our RELATIONSHIP with God is fixed and cannot change. However, our STATE or our FELLOWSHIP with God can vary from time to time. How much FELLOWSHIP do we have with the Lord? When we open up to the Lord and follow His will for our lives, our STATE rises up to our STANDING. When we go our own way instead of listening to what God tells us, our STATE falls down below our STANDING. In the natural, a son or daughter born to their parents are biological children. Nothing can change that. But how close are the children to the parents, especially after the children move away? So it is in the Family of God. We may sin and be out of fellowship with the Lord, but we are still a child of God. We are always welcome before the Throne of Grace. But if we don’t call on the Lord, our STATE suffers and we will miss a blessing. 

1 John 1:5-7 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Our STATE with the Lord varies, depending on the everyday choices we make. Our STANDING is perfect because it is Christ in us who is perfect. Only as we walk in the light of God’s Word, being obedient, can enjoy His presence. Being disobedient to God, our STATE suffers. When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, ALL our sins were taken away. ALL our sins were in the future when Jesus died on the Cross. Does that mean that we don’t need to confess our sins AFTER being saved? No. We need to confess our sins for our FELLOWSHIP to be restored. 

Psalm 51:12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” David had sinned against the Lord and he had missed the JOY that he had with the Lord. David tried going on as if nothing was wrong, but the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin. David finally admitted his faults and went to the Lord for forgiveness. 

When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He said, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit” (John 13:10). We go to the Lord for our daily cleansing, because our flesh may have picked up things from the world that hinders our fellowship with the Lord. God doesn’t condemn us but He urges us to let Him clean us.

Romans 6:10-13 “For in that he [Jesus] died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Every day we are choosing WHO we serve and worship. We may get distracted by something, but if we continue in that, we will be yielding less and less to God and His will.

1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” What can hinder our fellowship with God? Anything we hold to be more important than our relationship with Him. If we are not actively following Jesus, we will find something that will occupy us. As long as we give permission to whatever hinders our walk with the Lord, it will hinder us.

1 John 5:18-21 “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” The New Man within us CANNOT sin. That is why our STANDING before God is perfect and constant. But notice the warning about idols. Can we, acting in the Old Man, sin? Yes, we can. That is why we have to be on our guard. Jesus is TRUE and that there is nothing false in Him. That is why Jesus is the One we TRUST with all of our heart, and ONLY HIM. Jesus IS our eternal life and we are learning to bring our STATE up to STANDING.

 Just A Thought

Pastor Sharon Townsend

Grace Assembly

Chesterfield, Michigan

Woke up this morning feeling so burdened over things I have no control over. Things within and without. Seeing my own inabilities and situations facing others. Everything seemed to hit me this A.M. 

At the same time, I woke up to a minister talking about Father. I don’t remember what he said, I wasn’t fully awake, but it was good. 

As I lay there, what came to mind was an incident that happened when Abby was about 3. We saw advertised in the paper a free Halloween Party. It was at night and free so we dressed Abby up in a costume and went. It was not in the best of areas, but it was free. 

The place was filled with people dressed in all sorts of costumes – children and adults. When Abigail saw all those strenge people facing her, her eyes got big and her little arms reached out to her father. 

I have told this story before but this morning what stood out to me is that the situation for Abby had NOT changed. She was still in a large strange room with strange sounds and strange people on a dark night. 

WHAT CHANGED WAS HER PERSPECTIVE. SHE COULD NOW VIEW EVERYTHING FROM THE SAFETY OF HER FATHER’S ARMS. She didn’t have to carry the burden of her fears. After all she was in the arms of her father. 

What a weight lifted off my shoulders. We don’t have to carry the situations. The arms of our Father hold us. The arms of my Father holds me.

 The Encouraging Word

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-hand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” Psalm 73:28

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.” I John 4:10

“The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him – who revere and worship Him with awe; and each of them He delivers.” Psalm 34:7 Amp

“The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently worship fully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving kindness.” Psalm 147:11

“Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those rejoice who seek the Lord.” I Chronicles 16:10

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear (revere) Him.” Psalm 103:11

“God is faithful – reliable, trust worthy and (therefore) ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on; by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” I Cor. 1:9 Amp

Martha Wainright