Persevere—You’ll like what comes next

Persevering in the midst of a trial is difficult. Giving up is appealing, but realistically, is surrender an option? If not…

How do we persevere?

First, we admit our humanity and our inability to go it alone.

In the Bible, we see Moses, Job, King David, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul, to name a few, caught between the proverbial rock and hard place—with the hard place usually being death.

Job said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:9-10). We then see his humanity in the next chapter when he sits down and laments his own birth (Job 3). 

Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He prayed twice for God to take the cup of crucifixion from him but ultimately yielded “may your will be done” (Matthew 26:38-42).  

The Apostle Paul “pleaded” three times for his thorn to be removed (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). 

We see each of these men in a state of human despair, yet they didn’t rely on humanity to save them, because, frankly, it wasn’t equal to the task. So what was their secret to persevering?

If you read further into the book of Job, the Gospels, and the letters written by the Apostle Paul, you’ll see that when these men cried out, it was to God.

As Christians, we know our perseverance comes from God. He said His grace is sufficient for all things. He’s not going to allow a trial into our lives that He's unwilling to equip us for. We must "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and delve into the Word and see God's promises and instructions laid out for us through His apostles.

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:17-21 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 

That sounds like a pretty good formula for persevering. If we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, we won’t grow spiritually faint and lose heart. We’ll also be able to throw off that which tries to hinder us—namely Satan.

But what’s the purpose of a trial? Why doesn’t God just fix things? In other words…

Why do we persevere?

…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4 

…because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:3-4 

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7 

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:15-16 

In addition to the spiritual growth we experience, our ultimate reward will be in heaven.

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 

Are you walking through a trial and having trouble persevering? Be encouraged by God’s Word that He keeps His promises, He walks with you through difficult times, and your faith will grow. In turn, you'll often find yourself in a position to encourage someone on the path behind you going through a similar trial.

Best of all, you’ll stand before God one day and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21),  

Do you have a Bible verse that has encouraged you during difficult times?

If you need prayer, please leave a comment or email me confidential requests. I’d love to pray for you.

God bless,

Laura

© Laura Hodges Poole

“Woman Climbing Rock” image courtesy of olovedog at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

“Young Woman Praying” image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

“Faith and Believe” image courtesy of the pathtraveler @FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

The Perfect Love

When I was a little girl, my daddy seemed larger than life. In my eyes, he was perfect. He could do anything, fix anything, and included me in whatever he did, no matter how busy he was. Living on a small farm, I often trudged along behind him, down the garden rows, my little bare toes squishing in the sandy Florida dirt. I helped weed or dropped seedlings into holes he dug. Sometimes I chatted or sang while he worked.

The only thing I didn’t want to participate in? 

Butchering time.

I’d hide in the house, crying for our pets livestock that would go into the freezer and eventually end up on the dinner table. But I was smart enough to realize food raised meant less money had to be spent in the store. Hunger is the best spice, Laura Ingalls Wilder once said. It can also be characterized as a great memory eraser, so I didn’t cry for long. Death is a necessary part of living—a lesson I learned even more intimately as I lost human loved ones over the years. One that modern-day parents try to shield their kids from and then wonder why they have a “why me” mentality when loss occurs.

But I digress.

As I grew older, my dad’s flaws became more apparent to me, and as a teenager, I railed against learning anything from him. Now, at age 50, I’ve come full circle and am hard-pressed to find any man, besides Jesus, who is more perfect than my father.

Among the important things my father taught me is love. Yes, love is taught. Not just modeled or felt, but taught. This meant discipline and rebuke along with affection. My dad is the softest tough man I know. I liken him to a tree surgeon. He pruned and it hurt, but he applied gentle salve to my soul and coaxed my growth with his love.

It wasn’t long before another man, one even more supernatural than my father, appeared in my life. Not surprisingly, a man modeled through my father. And in those tumultuous teenage years, when I felt no one else would listen, Jesus did. He once said the meek shall inherit the earth.

Meek doesn’t mean weakness but rather controlled strength. Jesus loved and hung out with sinners but never condoned their sin. As recorded in the gospels, he often ended an encounter or healing with “go and sin no more.” He understood that the root of most people’s problems is sin. Not a politically correct statement to make anymore but one nonetheless true.

Love is patient and kind, but it also rejects evil and rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:4-6 NIV). This includes rebuking as Jesus and my father did. Love doesn’t mean excusing bad behavior or not setting boundaries with those unhealthy to be around—no matter how much you love them.

I came to realize rather quickly that these two men were the ones I could count on. Dad and I butt heads about some things, and he can be cantankerous at almost 80 years old, but his spiritual compass points squarely at our Savior and always has.

And Jesus? As the old hymn says, He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He’s provided me comfort when I thought there wasn’t any. He’s given me strength and hope when I had none. He’s promised me a future. He forgives my sins. He calms my anxieties.

How?

Not only through my daily spiritual walk but through His words:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 

 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7  

Who walks with you on life’s narrow way? If you’ve not met my friend Jesus, why not pick up the Bible and let Him introduce Himself in the gospels? I assure you, you won’t be disappointed. He’ll love you with a love that “protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:7). 

Do you need prayer today? I’d love to pray for you. Please leave a comment or email me confidential requests.

Today, Saturday, and Sunday (9/4-9/6/15) my devotional, While I'm Waiting, will be FREE for Kindle download on Amazon. This will take you on a journey to experience hope and contentment while waiting on an answer to prayer. Also, my most recent project, Path to Love, a Christian romance, is available for FREE from Amazon. Take a moment to download your copies!

God bless,

Laura

© Laura Hodges Poole

“Bible and the Heavens” image courtesy of Gualberto107/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Are You Turning Stones to Bread?

“The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:3 

In our quest to faithfully serve God, the danger is in becoming too involved in worthy causes that detract from our individual ministry purpose.

Feeding the hungry is a good thing, but has God called you to spend several hours a week in a soup kitchen? Serving the homeless is a noble cause, but has God called you to volunteer at a homeless shelter?

After Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness following his baptism, he was hungry. The first thing Satan tempted Jesus with was food. Turning stones to bread would have not only solved Jesus’ hunger but many others. Surely he was sympathetic to the needy in his community. Yet Jesus refused Satan’s offer.

Jesus didn’t lack empathy for the hungry. Throughout the Gospels, we see examples of Jesus feeding thousands rather than sending them on their way after he preached. But eradicating hunger in the world wasn’t Jesus’ ministry.

Satan will present service opportunities, which are charitable, yet divert from a more important ministry in that moment. If we’re not careful (or prayerful), we’ll jump at every opportunity to serve, even if it diminishes our capacity to fulfill the role God called us to.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” Matthew 13:24b-26 

The flower on the right is a daucus pusillus or, in lay terms, Wild Carrot or Rattlesnake Weed. According to legend, it can be used as a poultice for a rattlesnake bite. Weeds serve as food in the animal kingdom. Like many weeds, this one produces a beautiful flower.

Weeds can be beautiful or even beneficial while at the same time destructive. Left unchecked, they choke out vital crops for man. The same is true when we participate in activities, however worthy, when we’re called to do something else for that season in our life.

The purpose of the enemy sowing weeds is to reduce the Kingdom harvest.

Are you busy turning stones to bread while the enemy sows weeds in your ministry field? Is the Kingdom work you were called to do getting your leftover time and talent?

If you feel overworked, overcommitted, or stressed, ask God for clarity in your ministry. Perhaps you’re right where He wants you for spiritual growth. Perhaps not. He might point you in a different direction.

How may I pray for you today? Please leave a comment or e-mail me confidential requests. My contact info is under the heading above marked “Talk to Me.” While you’re here, would you lift up those who leave prayer requests, as well as those on the prayer list at the top of the blog?

God bless,
Laura ✞

© Laura Hodges Poole 

Stones image courtesy of suphakit73/freedigitalphotos.net. 

Post from archives—originally published May 29, 2012.

Count the Costs

Count the Costs

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?... So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:28, 31, 33 (NKJV)

Jesus is pretty clear in this passage about what it takes to follow Him. He doesn’t sugarcoat the consequences of being His disciple. Since Jesus’ resurrection, Christians have been persecuted and martyred worldwide. In modern America, we’ve erroneously embraced the idea that we’re immune to such persecution. This has changed within the last few years. Christians are a minority, and our beliefs are ridiculed as old fashioned and intolerant. Though expected to show tolerance to groups who hold different belief systems, we’re not shown the same tolerance.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, God’s nature is consistent throughout the Bible and history. He established the definition of marriage between one woman and one man in Genesis 2:24 and reaffirmed in the New Testament in Matthew 19:4-6. God established the definition of murder in Genesis 9:6 and the consequences therein. Yet marriage is being threatened in this country while we wink at the legal murder of 3,000 babies a day.

It doesn’t stop there. Collateral damage exists in the form of defining a viable baby. Do you realize most states have an age of viability for pre-term babies they will extend “extraordinary medical care?” You might be surprised how many weeks this is and which politicians have pushed such bills. 

The legal right to an abortion is not really about protecting women's choice, folks. The women seeking abortions are afforded choice but not the mothers who fight for the life of their pre-term live babies.

These are examples of social issues impacting society, the church, and our future as a nation, as well as slow erosion within the body of Christ supporting basic Biblical principles.

The day after the U.S. Presidential election, as I spent time in prayer, God spoke to my heart about a new blog. He gave me the title, “Count The Costs.” I logged onto Google blogger to register it and the URL was available. The blog’s mission will be to highlight and discuss social issues and current events within the framework of Christianity.

I opened this post with Jesus’ words. As Christians, we must count the costs of how we live, what we model for the world, and the battles we choose to wage. No matter how involved you are (or aren’t), the costs continue to mount for Christians and society.

Please consider stopping by and checking out Count The Costs next Monday, November 26, as we go live. We’ll begin with a two-part series, “The Consequences of Idols in the Church,” by Mike Gonzalez, Senior Pastor of Columbia World Outreach Church in South Carolina. If you are inspired by what you read, please consider becoming a follower or email subscriber. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

A Word of Encouragement will remain the same with weekly prayer posts and occasional writing tips/encouragement intermixed with fun, lighthearted posts like Lessons From Mayberry and Lost? Not Me! Or the time I shared about the death of a childhood friend in The Two Michaels. 

Meanwhile, I’ll return on Wednesday with a Thanksgiving prayer post. If you have any prayer requests you’d like me to share, please email those to me.

God bless,

Laura

© Laura Hodges Poole

Carrying Tomorrow's Burdens

Worrying

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength—carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”―Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie was a wise woman. She pegged worry for what it is—a robber. Unfortunately, most of us open the doors of our minds and hearts to it anyway, and let it carry off our most valuable possession—time.

As a mother, I’m most guilty of worrying about my children. I consider every angle of how to solve a situation, when I should turn the problem over to God. I’m not absolving myself of responsibly to do the best I can within my circumstances. But often I worry about things beyond my human capabilities to fix in the timeframe I want the problem solved.

In doing so, I give myself way more credit than I deserve for control over my life or those I’m worrying about.

God has challenged me on this recently. I must say, I usually fail the test before I dust myself off and request a retake. That’s when He starts dealing with my heart.

Are you a worrier?

This is what Christ had to say about worry.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-27, 33-34

The Bible says Jesus was tempted in all ways. Surely, worry tried to bring him down during his life. His reassuring words show that it mattered greatly to him that we not waste our time in such misery.

So what are some practical solutions to break the worry cycle?
 

     ·         Consciously replace the worry thought with a positive one. This is easier said than done. I know. But when I force my mind to think about what is working right in that moment, it lifts the burden of worry.
 

     ·         The most obvious solution is prayer. Our Father knows the worries before we give words to them. He wants us to leave our burden with Him and trust Him to carry it. Don’t return to pick it up after you’ve left it at the altar.
 

     ·         Call (or e-mail) a friend and share your concerns. Carrying a burden alone often magnifies it. Perhaps vocalizing the worry will diminish its significance in your mind or help you clarify how to solve all or part of the problem. If not, you have a friend praying with you for a solution and offering support.

 

     ·         Memorize Scripture. From my own experience, being able to recount even part of a verse helps instill peace into my troubled thoughts. Psalm 119:11-16 is a good example of how God’s Word instructs us in this process.

I have hidden your word in my heart

    that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, Lord;

    teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount

    all the laws that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes

    as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts

    and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;

    I will not neglect your word.

If you have a prayer need you’d like to share here, please leave it in the comment section or email me confidential requests. I’d love to hear from you.

Take a moment to lift up those on the prayer list above, as well as Sgt. Jesse McCart, an American soldier wounded in Afghanistan and now in rehab. Two people from our prayer list have passed away recently. Please remember their families in your prayers. Praise reports are also listed. Enjoy the video below of "Word of God Speak" by Mercy Me.

 “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.”― Mark Twain

God bless,

Laura

 © Laura Hodges Poole

Facing Death

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't.” Richard Bach, author

We’re often confronted with the reality that life is short for some folks. God’s plans are not ordered by our human thoughts, and so, while early death is a reality, it remains a mystery to humans.

The Psalmist said, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Ps. 139:16. So whether or not you embrace Richard Bach’s philosophy, we have to trust God’s plan for our life. 

No one knows this better than my friend, guest blogger, and cancer survivor Venita McCart. Today, she shares the moment when she confronted the reality of death.

Thoughts We Remember To Forget

By Venita McCart

“He has set eternity in the hearts of men.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

Here’s the thought: I want to live forever. Here’s the other thought: That’s not going to happen. Here’s the other-other thought…

I’m a writer; a thought-keeper. I journal, make lists, scribble on sticky notes, and paper scraps. I shall not forget anything profound. (Or more likely, slightly sensible.) I may need these thoughts for an article, devotion, or best seller. Okay, so I’m an optimist, too.

Do I want all my thoughts? No. When I changed doctors recently the little girl in scrubs said, “Be sure to list your medical history on these forms, especially details about your cancer.” I would rather just forget all the cancer stuff and I never really want to write it down. But I must.

I would rather forget other things too, like death. I once was an expert at forgetting it. Then the diagnosis came and death was in my face, but I ached so to live. My conflict within brought other thoughts I didn’t want: Aren’t you supposed to be a Christian? Shouldn’t you be okay with this? I am a Christian. But I had never been a dying Christian before. I was afraid. 

I called out to God, the best prayer ever: “Help me!”

Then I remembered Jesus spent much time and many tears in a garden praying, facing death he knew was coming. His soul was crushed with grief, like mine. He pleaded for life, like me. He anguished for release, like I did.

In prayer, with eternity in his heart, He found peace about dying…and the keys to peace for me. Jesus Christ went to the dreaded cross to give me the eternal life I crave.

Here’s the thought: I want to live forever. Here’s the other thought: That’s not going to happen. Here’s the other-other thought: Oh, yes it is!

Jesus knows your dilemma. If you are struggling with the fear of death because of cancer, remember the Creator and Saver of your eternity. Ask Him for His thoughts, for they are eternal, and they are for you. If you call, He will answer.

Venita McCart and the group she founded, Faith Force Cancer Support Ministries, has ministered to hundreds of patients since 2005 through group meetings, personal contacts, writing, and speaking. She is currently working on materials to comfort and encourage cancer patients, their loved ones, and to help others create support ministries. She and her husband live in central Illinois. Venita may be reached at venitamccart@yahoo.com.

If you have a prayer need, please share in the comments section or email me with confidential requests. Would you also take a moment to pray for other requests? 

Our prayer list for today includes several battling cancer. Please pray for comfort, healing, and strength. While you’re at it, pray for their families, as well.

·       Courtney, young mother with brain tumor

·       Emily, 12-year-old with bone cancer. Her body has responded well to the initial phase of treatment.  She still has a long road ahead.

·       Sally, who continues a 12-year battle against breast cancer

·       Lori, my cousin’s wife, with metastatic cancer

·       TC’s father-in-law, not doing well

Also:

Please lift up Karen Redding’s husband and children as they are grieving her death.

U.S. soldier Jesse McCart whose information is on a separate page above. Please visit that page for updates including contact info for him and other GIs recovering and rehabbing in the same military hospital in Texas. It would mean a great deal to these servicemen to receive encouragement. Pre-stamped postcards from the post office are a great method to do so on a regular basis.

Jesse McCart and men from his unit

I selected our worship song today as a tribute to our armed forces who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so we may enjoy the freedoms we have. "Finally Home," by MercyMe.

 

 God bless,
Laura

© Laura Hodges Poole

Live Out Loud

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” William Wallace (Scottish commander)

Jesus spent more than three years patiently teaching his disciples in preparation for their individual ministries. After the Last Supper and before his crucifixion, Jesus gave final instructions and then spent his last hours in prayer. 

Although Jesus admonished the disciples and Jewish leaders often about their dense minds and hearts, his delight leaps off the page when, at last, the disciples have their “aha” moment.

“Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” (John 16:30)

“You believe at last!” Jesus answered. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:31-33)

Jesus lived out loud. His time on earth was limited, and he knew this. He didn’t have time to mince words or worry about political correctness. Everything he did served a purpose.

In his final hours, Jesus prayed for the disciples and then prayed for all believers. 

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their [disciples] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20b-23)

Jesus believed in the power of prayer. He believed in making the most of whatever time you’re given on this earth for His Father’s service. 

Are you living out loud for Christ? Does the world see His glory in your actions?

As we go to the Lord in prayer, please share your prayer requests in the comments section or email me confidentially. 

Please pray for healing, comfort, and strength for: 

·       Lori, my cousin’s wife, who has been diagnosed with metastatic cancer and given six months to live.

·       Courtney, young mother with cancerous brain tumor, receiving treatment through Duke. She will have repeat MRI this month to check treatment progress.

·        Emily, a 12-year-old with bone cancer.

·        TC’s father-in-law with cancer.

·        Betty’s father-in-law with Alzheimer’s.

·        Karen with leukemia in hospice care. 

Also:

·       A friend trying to find work and her unemployment benefits have run out. She is down to her last $100. Pray specifically she will find a job this week.

·       Those dealing with difficult family situations, mental illness, depression, health problems, and employment issues.  

Take a moment to enjoy this song from Steven Curtis Chapman, “Live Out Loud.”

God bless,
Laura

© Laura Hodges Poole

Turning Stones To Bread

“The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:3

In our quest to faithfully serve God, the danger is in becoming too involved in worthy causes that detract from our individual ministry purpose.

Feeding the hungry is a good thing, but has God called you to spend several hours a week in a soup kitchen? Serving the homeless is a noble cause, but has God called you to volunteer at a homeless shelter?

After Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness following his baptism, he was hungry. The first thing Satan tempted Jesus with was food. Turning stones to bread would have not only solved Jesus’ hunger but many others. Surely he was sympathetic to the needy in his community. Yet Jesus refused Satan’s offer. 

Jesus didn’t lack empathy for the hungry—It simply wasn’t what God had called him to do at that point in his ministry. Throughout the Gospels, we see examples of Jesus feeding thousands rather than sending them on their way after he preached.

Satan will present service opportunities which are charitable yet divert from a more important ministry in that moment. If we’re not careful (or prayerful), we’ll jump at every opportunity to serve, even if it diminishes our capacity to fulfill the role God called us to. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.”Matthew 13:24b-26.

The flower in the photo above is a daucus pusillus or in lay terms Wild Carrot or Rattlesnake Weed. According to legend, it can be used as a poultice for a rattlesnake bite. Weeds serve as food in the animal kingdom. Like many weeds, this one produces a beautiful flower. 

Weeds can be both destructive and beautiful at the same time. Left unchecked, they choke out vital crops for man. The same is true when we participate in activities, however worthy, when we’re called to do something else for that season in our life. 

The purpose of the enemy sowing weeds is to reduce the Kingdom harvest. 

Are you busy turning stones to bread while the enemy sows weeds in your ministry field? Is the Kingdom work you were called to do getting your leftover time and talent? 

If you feel overworked, overcommitted, or stressed, ask God for clarity in your ministry. Perhaps you’re right where He wants you for spiritual growth. Perhaps not. He might point you in a different direction. 

As we go to the Lord in prayer this week, please remember previous requests including several for employment. Continue to lift up Courtney, Karen, TC’s father-in-law, and Piper’s family battling serious health issues. Remember those who requested prayer for difficult family situations and mental illness including depression. Please pray for one another as we share the Gospel with the unsaved. 

If you have a prayer request, leave it in the comment section below or email me confidential requests. My contact info is under the heading above marked “Talk to Me.”  

Enjoy our song this week,"Revelation Song," by Phillips, Craig, and Dean, as you go to the Lord in prayer.

  God bless,

Laura

(In)consequential Words

As far back as I can remember, Jesus has been a part of my life. When I was mature enough, He became my Savior. I’ve read the whole Bible and studied it extensively during my adult life. Along the way, I discovered an amazing thing. No matter how much I study, there’s still so much to learn.

One of the nuances I’ve found in reading the Bible is probably common to most Christians. If I’m not careful, my eyes skim over words or phrases my brain deems inconsequential. In neurological terms, that’s referred to as chunking, the way we read silently versus reading aloud. It’s helpful in retaining the meaning/context of what is read.

However, I’ve found some gems in those seemingly insignificant words when I slow down and let the Holy Spirit lead me through passages. Writing verses in my prayer journal produces the same result. At times, I discover new meaning in passages I’ve read several times before.

One such place is Job 38:1 (NIV), “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.”

It’s easy to skim over this opening verse to read the exciting wisdom God shares in the following four chapters. Those chapters are some of my favorite in the Bible, so I’ve read them several times.

Then, one day, the meaning behind verse one grabbed my attention. God answers us out of our storms! This is so true. When I go to Him on bended knee, in the midst of the worst trials in my life, He has answered me. He’s never left me hanging. He’s always comforted me.

Another passage is in Lamentations 3, when the writer describes his afflictions, bitterness, and gall. His soul is downcast, he says. You can almost hear him weeping. Then, in 3:21-22 (NIV), he writes, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

The word “yet” seems insignificant. However, look at the before and after picture. “Yet” is the turning point. “Yet” is where all Christians should reside—not in the afflictions and bitterness of life.

My last example is I Kings 8:59-60, taken from one of King Solomon’s prayers. “And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.”

King Solomon prays for most of the eighth chapter. It’s easy to start chunking phrases the further you read. However, one phrase leapt out at me in verse 59:

“…according to each day’s need…”

What a great promise in which to rest our worries!

Doesn’t God always provide according to our daily needs? Jesus admonishes us in Matthew 6 not to worry about tomorrow. Apparently, King Solomon held the same belief. He had experienced God’s grace for the people of Israel to supply their needs.

Are you looking for a promise from God in your life? Take a few minutes each day to earnestly study the Bible and then pray. You’d be amazed at the gems you’ll find when you do.