Hurting? Grieving? Struggling? God gives us the grace to continue on ...

I am currently reading through the book of Matthew. In chapter 14, I just read the account of John the Baptist, who spoke out against Herod and his lifestyle. Herod had John put in prison and ultimately had him beheaded. When Jesus heard about this terrible event, his heart and soul hurt. He tried to withdraw to a desolate place where He could spend time with God. But the crowds found out where Jesus was and followed him there. The Bible says Jesus cared for the people and ministered to their needs - healing and feeding them. Then, when evening came, Jesus sent the disciples back across the lake, and He went up into the mountains to pray. He went to spend time with His Father. All was good, and Jesus could get in a few hours of prayer with God. Then a terrible wind came up, endangering the disciple's lives out on the lake. Again, Jesus put his needs aside and went to rescue the disciples. 

As I read this, I felt badly for Jesus. He was hurting, grieving, and mourning the loss of John the Baptist. There was no time for Him to sit quietly, grieve, mourn, or talk with God. Life was screaming out at Him to minister and serve. 

Isn't that how life is often? We may be hurting from the loss of a loved one, a marriage gone wrong, a catastrophe with one of our children, a struggling business, or just the busyness of life. We may not have much time to sit and meditate and pray.  

The message is to seek 'windows' to meet with God. They may not be long, but those 'windows' will give you the strength to continue.  

Then, God will give you the grace you need to get through. One definition of grace I learned many years ago is the power and ability to carry out God's will. God gives us this power and ability when we look to Him.  

We know Jesus became flesh and was like us. He sought ways and places to spend with His father, God. We, too, must do this. Then, when tragedies and hard times arise, we can use God's grace to get through them. 

Mothers of young children, this is especially true for you. You have many demands on your life, and there is little time for your needs. Let me encourage you to find 'windows' where you can meet with God in prayer and reading His Word. This will fill you up and prepare you to serve. God will give you the grace you need to minister to your children.

Altars to remember.....

I started reading the Bible at the beginning of this year. As I read, I noticed how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob set up altars. These altars served as reminders of times when God had met with man and made an agreement. Gotquestions.org says, "An altar was built to commemorate an encounter with God that had a profound impact upon someone." The altar was intended to serve as a reminder of the encounter with God for the person involved. It was also for the next generations to learn about God and His promises. 

I began asking myself what we do today to remind ourselves and future generations of the great things that God has done for us. We don't usually stack rocks on top of one another, but there are things we can do. We can write down in a notebook the miracles we have seen God do in our lives through the years. Then, from time to time, we can look back through these notes to remind us of God's faithfulness. These notebooks can be copied or adapted in a way that allows them to be passed down to future generations. We can also speak to others about our answered prayers and share the goodness of God. We can put pictures or plaques in our homes. We can wear articles of clothing proclaiming God's goodness. I recently purchased a shirt that said. "All my life, You have been faithful; all my life, You have been oh so good." This was 'an altar' - a way of acknowledging my encounter with God.

Or...you can write a book as Missy has done. We are so very thankful for Austin's miraculous recovery after his accident in November of 2024. The book Missy just wrote and available at Amazon is Missy and Austin's way of making an altar to tell of God's wonderous gift of restored life. A story that needs to be told and retold as a way to honor God, to remember His goodness, and to give Him glory! Thank you, Missy and Austin, for sharing your encounter with God with us!

The book titled Wonder & Be Astounded is available at https://urlgeni.us/amzn/Wonderandbe

FEAR....we must Not let it become our master

This message about fear came to me recently.  I want to share it with you. 

Most of you know that our son-in-law, Austin, was hurt very badly in a machinery accident in November of 2024.  It was a very serious accident.  I prayed, but I did have a lot of fear in my heart.  What if he didn't make it?  His wife and children needed him.  We needed and loved him.  To be honest, I was scared and felt like I was holding my breath.  Yes, I was very scared and found it hard to pray.  I am so very thankful for those who prayed hard for Austin's recovery.  We are so very grateful for Austin's recovery and health now!

I try to pray daily for our grandchildren.  I pray for each one on the day of their birthday.  So if we have two that have birthdays on the 6th of any month I pray for those two.  There are a few days each month that no one has a birthday.  On those days, I pray for the future spouses of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren not yet born.  As I was praying last week, I felt fear come over me again.  I thought, 'This world is a mess.  How can our grandchildren find Godly mates?  How will our great-grandchildren know Christ and how He wants them to live?" Again, fear was trying to stop me from praying.

And then I read in my Bible reading that day about Abraham and the faith he had in offering up Isaac as a sacrifice. He did not fear.  When God told him what to do, he obeyed.  He left right away to go as God told him to. He didn't procrastinate, complain, delay, or disobey.  He went.  And when he was asked by Isaac where the sacrifice was, he said that God would provide.  Abraham had faith in God.  My commentary said that either Abraham thought God would provide another sacrifice or that God would bring Isaac back from the dead if necessary.  

Abraham had not always proved to be faithful.  Twice, he let fear rule in his heart, and he spoke a half-lie/truth about his wife, Sarah, because he was fearful for his life. I think he must have learned from his failure and was now more faithful to God and obedient. 

This reading really spoke to me about faith and fear.  I realized I must have faith in God.  He is big and He is able to do anything and everything.  Fear comes from Satan, not from God.  I must guard my heart from letting fear creep in.  I must set my face toward our awesome and capable God to give Him my prayers and requests.  He does hear, and He is able to answer our prayers.   Keep on praying with strength in your heart and mind.  Be strong like Abraham.  Be known, as Abraham was, as a friend of God - a person who has faith and one who trusts and obeys God.