When You Can't Understand, Trust God

'Trust in the Lord.' Proverbs 3:5

 

 

The Bible says,

'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths'

(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).

 

But what if your path leads through pain, pressure and problems?

John the Baptist's did. He didn't deserve imprisonment.

 

After all, he was the forerunner of Christ and the voice of God in the community. Plus, he was Jesus' cousin. So he sent Jesus a message asking,

'Are you really the Messiah, or should we keep looking?'

 

Paraphrased:

'Lord, if I'm in your will, how come I'm in this situation?'

 

 It's a question motivated by unfulfilled expectations.

We think, 'Lord, I've obeyed you, how come things aren't working out for me?'

 

And it feels worse when you've faithfully served Him. Writing about her daughter's death, Meg Woodson says,

 'I'll never forget those shrill, piercing screams; that the God who could have helped, looked down on this young woman who was devoted to Him...and decided to sit on His hands and let her death top the horror charts.'

 

Talk about unmet expectations! Jesus could have saved John, but He didn't.

Instead He sent back word:

 

Jesus told them, "Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.

(Matthew 11:4-5).

 

It probably wasn't the answer John hoped for.

He was looking for solutions to temporal problems while Jesus was busy establishing an eternal kingdom.

 

So next time God doesn't seem to meet your expectations, it's not that He doesn't care; it's that He sees the big picture and He's handling issues you can't even begin to comprehend. So trust Him!

 

 

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

 

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Finding God in Solitary Confinement - Todd Ayer in Prison

By Randy Rudder, The 700 Club

 

 

When Todd Ayer breathes the pine-scented woods of northern Arizona, it's not just clean air he smells; it's the smell of freedom.

After making some tragic choices as a young man, Todd spent 17 years behind bars.

 

"I knew God. I knew His presence. I never did one thing in my life that was wrong; that I didn't know was wrong. But I chose the world. And it took me down a bad path."

 

Todd began drinking and doing drugs by the time he was 12.

Todd had a restless soul and, during his teens, hitchhiked across the country several times.

 

 Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, 1986, when he was just 24, his life changed forever.

Todd shot and killed a man who was abusing a relative.

 

 He then drove straight to the police station and turned himself in.

"I did what I did, and wasn't hiding from anybody. And I was willing to pay the cost for it, but I had no idea of the cost, of just how high it would be."

 

Todd received a 27-year sentence and was sent to a federal prison in South Carolina.

"Prison life is hard, and the violent generally excel. I lost hope. It's a rough environment, and I was told pretty early on that, because of my pride, I probably wouldn't live through it. I had a goal: when my day came, when they took me out, I was going to take a whole bunch of them with me."

 

 

In prison, Todd started buying and selling drugs, and developed a reputation for his ruthlessness.

One time, he nearly killed another inmate in a knife fight, and was put into solitary confinement.

 

"I was what they called SSR, which stands for substantial security risk, which meant that the three times a week I was let out for a shower, I had to be in chains and belly shackles. I didn't think I would ever see the outside world again. I lost all hope. I just kind of felt like, 'Well, this is what I'm destined for.'"

 

Todd always kept a Bible in his cell, but says he seldom read it.

 "I looked at it one day. It was laying there with dust on it about that thick, and I said,

 

'Lord, I know there's peace in the words. And man, I need some peace. I'm just sick in my heart.'

And I said, 'But Lord, that Bible, it's kinda hard to understand. If I had something to help me understand it, I'd try to read it.'

 

Then the very next day, I get a manila envelope in the mail.

In it is a book. Knowing and Experiencing God, and a little caption, How to Understand Your Bible. So I knew that God had heard me."

 

 

That book came from Todd's aunt and uncle, who had been praying for him for years.

For Todd, it was a life-changing moment.

 

"When I got that book, and I knew that God had heard me, and more than that, that He just wasn't through with me, that was it.

I broke down and I bawled for about two days. I just said,

 

'I'm Yours. If You, the Maker of heaven and earth, this wonderful, merciful, kind God, can still love me, after the monster I had become,'

 I said, 'I'm on your team, Bro. I'm yours. Send me where You'll send me and I'll go. Ask me to do whatever it is, I don't care how hard it is, I'll do it.'

 

And God just started teaching me how to minister."

 

Todd continued to pray and study his Bible in his cell. One hot summer day, another inmate borrowed his fan.

"After a little while, he calls me and says, 'Hey man, you want your fan back?' And the Lord kind of spoke to my heart and said 'Give it to him.' I said 'Give it to him? Lord, it's 100-plus degrees in here. Are You crazy?' And He said, 'No, you've been telling him what Jesus would do.

 

 It's time to show him what Jesus would do.' And it just blew him away."

Then an amazing thing happened.

 

 

"It cooled off and I bet you it wasn't but 70 degrees in that cell. So through that little bit of obedience, God started manifesting himself."

Todd began sharing with the other inmates what he had learned from the Bible about Jesus.

 

"Each time I would do something like that, I would grow spiritually and my faith would get stronger, and He'd always give me these beautiful little miracles to say, 'Good job.' One time, I said, 'Lord I'm so tired of looking at all this wire and these fences and this concrete, I just would like to see something pretty.'

 

And it didn't no more get out of my mouth than three morning doves lit in front of my cell.

And those same doves came back every day until I got out. As I started seeking Him and searching for Him, He just started revealing His beauty and His wonder and His majesty. But more than that, He was communing with me. The God of heaven and earth was communing with this old convict down there."

 

 

The drastic change in Todd's character got the attention of the other inmates.

"The old timers, when I got my heart right with the Lord, instead of shunning me, they surrounded me. They were tickled for me, man. They were happy for me. They saw the peace and the joy in my heart and it gave them hope."

 

 

In 2003, Todd was granted an early parole due to good behavior.

Shortly after, he met and married Lori and they started a family.

 

The couple and their daughter Kendra recently moved to Arizona where they manage Camp Grace, a summer camp for young people.

"My God is an awesome God, and He is not limited. He's given is the Holy Spirit. But it's time for you and me and others to step up to the plate and walk in the faith that is ours, and walk in the gifts of the Spirit that is ours."

 

Todd believes his freedom from prison was a miracle, and he still believes in a God that makes miracles happen every day.

 "One of the reasons nobody gets to see the miracles of God is because they don't put their full trust in Him. Learn to trust Him. Put your faith in Him. He'll provide for you, man, and He won't just provide for you, He'll bless your socks off. But you gotta trust Him."

 

www.cbn.com

 

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A Tale of Two Seas

 

 

Sitting in the Geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea.

As you probably recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake, not a sea (and as my Geography teacher pointed out, if you understood that, it would guarantee 4 marks in the term paper!)

Its so high in salt content that the human body can float easily.

 

 

 

 You can almost lie down and read a book! The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% - almost 10 times the normal ocean water.

 

And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals. Nothing lives in the Dead sea.

And hence the name: Dead Sea.

 

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don't seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school Geography lesson.

 

So when I heard about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the tale of the two seas - I was intrigued.

Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea.

 

 Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan. And yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life.

 

 There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too. In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.

Same region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other is dead.

 

How come?

 

 

(Pic distinguishing the two seas)

Here apparently why.

 

 The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and then out - and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean sea level, that it has no outlet.

 

The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams.

 

 It is estimated that over 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty.

 

Too full of minerals. And unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give. Result? No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. It's about giving. 

We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

 

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea.

 

 The love and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous.

 

Make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets.

 

Many outlets. For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your life.

 

Make sure you don't just get, you give too.

Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness.

Make that a habit. To share. To give.

 

And experience life. Experience the magic.

 

 

(Our Lord in the Shores of Galilee)

 

The Great Physician who taught and preached in and around the shores of Galilee made a significant impact that no one can ever make by giving His righteous blood for unrighteous sinners. He never withheld anything; but gave freely.

 

So.. by following the Lord, we can excel in giving; by the way He teaches us to… Lets learn from our Lord…

 

It is more blessed to give than to receive… Acts 20-35

 

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God Knows

Kelly D. Caron

 

 

When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless efforts...

God knows how hard you have tried.

 

When you've cried so long and your heart is in anguish...

God has counted your tears.

 

If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by...

God is waiting with you.

 

When you're lonely and your friends are too busy even for a phone call...

God is by your side.

 

When you think you've tried everything and don't know where to turn...

God has a solution.

 

When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated...

God has the answer.

 

If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope...

God has whispered to you.

 

When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for...

God has blessed you.

 

When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe...

God has smiled upon you.

 

When you have a purpose to fulfil and a dream to follow...

God has opened your eyes and called you by name.

 

Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are facing...

GOD KNOWS.....

 

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Abraham Lincoln's Speech

In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said,

 

 

 

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.

 

But we have forgotten God.

 

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

 

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."

 

 

Have We Forgotten Him too?

Let's Check our hearts with integrity

 

www.SermonCentral.Com

 

Why Did God Create Us?

 

 

 

The short answer to the question "why did God create us?" is "for His pleasure."

 

Revelation 4:11 says,

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

 

Colossians 1:16 reiterates the point:

"All things were created by him and for him."

 

Being created for God's pleasure does not mean humanity was made to entertain God or provide Him with amusement.

God is a creative Being, and it gives Him pleasure to create.

 

God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with.

 

Being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), human beings have the ability to know God and therefore love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and fellowship with Him. God did not create human beings because He needed them.

 

 

As God, He needs nothing. In all eternity past, He felt no loneliness, so He was not looking for a "friend."

He loves us, but this is not the same as needing us. If we had never existed, God would still be God-the unchanging One (Malachi 3:6).

 

The I AM (Exodus 3:14) was never dissatisfied with His own eternal existence.

When He made the universe, He did what pleased Himself, and since God is perfect, His action was perfect.

 

"It was very good" (Genesis 1:31).

 

Also, God did not create "peers" or beings equal to Himself.

Logically, He could not do so. If God were to create another being of equal power, intelligence, and perfection, then He would cease to be the one true God for the simple reason that there would be two gods-and that would be an impossibility.

 

"The LORD is God; besides him there is no other" (Deuteronomy 4:35).

Anything that God creates must of necessity be lesser than He. The thing made can never be greater than, or as great as, the One who made it.

 

Recognizing the complete sovereignty and holiness of God, we are amazed that He would take man and crown him "with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5) and that He would condescend to call us "friends" (John 15:14-15).

 

Why did God create us?

God created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of knowing Him.

 

Www.Gotquestions.Org

 

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Beyond Human Reasoning - True Story

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw  their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.  On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth  with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor  invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"   The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there.

 

They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week.  He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. 

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas  Eve. The Church was almost full.

 

 

 The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door   
and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?  

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.....   

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor  had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid  who says God does work in mysterious ways.

I ask the Lord to bless you as I pray for you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you. His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares we know He will see us through. 

Understand that things happen for a reason.....

 

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