Orphan or Not

     A few people were asked, "What is one lesson which you have learned from your parents?"  An answer should come easily.  One man found this so.  Orphaned in this teens, he said that his lessons were put to immediate use when his parents died, given many lessons he used in every part of his life.  He is a living legacy of lessons.   Lessons his folks got from Christ.

     Learning from your parents?  Parents are launching pads.  Launching for readiness. You're on your own, getting a real footing in life. It's a timely process that takes courage and prayers. Great parents say, "Be generous in love, food, friendship and caring."  Great lessons!  Sooner or later generosity finds faith's doorway.

     Generosity toughens you because sometimes others bat it away with rejection. A small number will miss your intent but most people will actually get it. Intend to leave someone with an impression of Holy generosity.  Why? Because out of God's generosity we've been given our Savior, Christ.  Christ gives us loving unity with God our heavenly parent. So, be generous with love, food, friendship, and His caring.

                                  Those who are generous are blessed  Proverbs 22:9

Remember Jesus And The Fig Tree

Look at Jesus and the Fig Tree in Matthew 22. When Jesus stands before the fig tree and the tree has no fruit ready for the Savior of the World He curses the fig tree and it dies.

Lest you think that cursing is taking God's name in vain, think again. Holy ones never take God's name in vain and use it to curse. Jesus' curse is this: "May you never bear fruit again." The disciples have their eyes fixed on the withered tree as they ask, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" Their eyes should have been fixed on Jesus.

Jesus responds, "I tell you truly, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to the mountain,'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done." Faith without doubt gets results.

You have to choose your faith type, my friend. There are two types of faith in Christ. Either choose passive faith or choose active faith. Passive faith includes the believer reading the Bible, going to Church, and praying for his/her family-- but this believer does not speak faith or 'do' faith. This is negative living as a Christian and negative living involves a lot of doubting.

Jesus wants you to choose faith without doubt. Jesus shows you how to have active faith. Active faith happens when you use Christ's teachings and put your faith in Christ into action. Faith results can be seen and the results can be measured. Jesus declares active faith DOES bear fruit, it bears results.

Jesus wants your faith active. So,when a friend tells you about someone who is ill and then you respond by joining with them in prayer, believing without doubt, then you are using active faith. There will be an outcome. There will be results. Outcomes and results are fruits. Face the troubles others have in their lives. Use active faith and encourage other believers to adopt active faith. Faith has results.

Now as you practice active faith there may be times when you are unsure what to do in a situation and you do not know how to help someone else. Take your uncertainty to Jesus in prayer and receive His guidance. He will always guide you to respond with active faith. You are to do something Christ- like in love, with kindness, and peace.

First Steps

My grandson is now taking his first steps.  As with all kids, he does not look down in order to avoid the things in his path, he simply plants each foot firmly while looking straight ahead.  He does not stumble unless he steps on a block or a toy and instinctively, as his foot begins to slip, he sits down so that he does not fall down.  Seeing this, I swiftly learn to pull toys out of his way to give a clear path.


The Apostle Paul may have noticed such a child in his life for he a lesson about walking for each believer.


In Corinthians Paul writes:  For we walk by faith not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)  Paul instructs believers to live each day with faith's focus on holy living and trusting Him.  And as you faith-walk, Christ undergirds your thoughts and actions, clearing His way before you.


I see my grandson's face intent as he masters walking. Faith-walking is similar.  Although the slip-ups of disappointment, distraction, and situational drama are in your pathway and temp you to slip-up, you can sit/pause, then get up again.  The lesson learned is that in order to get up you will look to Christ, and He makes you able to arise again and walk by faith not by sight. 

Blessed By Seeing The Way Ahead

(Within the book Sacajaweh by Waldo, the life story of the Shoshone Indian leader, is woven a historic vision).

Grandmother finally speaks about her vision which she has held secret until it is nearly time for her to die. As she tells her Granddaughter Sacajawea, which means Grass Child in Shoshone Native American Indian, this young woman listens and memorizes Grandmother's visionary expression. For, there will be times later that Sacajawea will remember the vision and will take from it hope and understanding.  The vision will confirm that she is on God's intended path for her life.

In truth the vision serves a dual purpose. First, Sacajaweh uses the vision  to reconnect with loving memories of her Grandmother and God's love for her personally. Secondly, Sacajaweh finds confirmation that the events of her life to which she must succomb are not without purpose.  Understanding that her purpose is in her words gives her self-confidence to stand with assurance, endure hardship, and to speak out even when women are barred from speaking or leading with their words.

Sacajaweh's life was on the path of purpose-- intended for God's use to promote God's Peace shared within tribes and nations.  Like Sacajaweh, a vision can help to clarify our action path of life also. Scriptures affirm that: Without a vision the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18)   God may give a vision to you through a Grandmother's spoken imagery, a seasoned believer in your life, or may communicate with you directly through the Holy Spirit.

Actually, an empowering Vision already exists right now.  This Vision operates in the background for all believers in Christ and His path for right living holds within it standing-orders!   Within this Vision the Lord shows you His Truth and commands that you speak words of truth always.  Within His Vision is His directive to offer His Good News, especially News that He Lives (our Resurrected Christ). 

Using your words for Jesus Christ to let your family, community, and your world know that Christ is the only way to God's Vision for all creation is our priority.  And within that Vision is the vision of a special purpose as you succ

omb to life as a servant opportunities and give others words of the Lord's hope, healing, and salvation.

Jesus' Love in Action

A woman, whose Doctor had sent her into the nursing home because of its reputation for great physical therapy, struggled to roll herself to the Chapel.  She'd heard the announcement Sunday afternoon that the Worship service would start at 2 p.m. and she remembered the Chapel was at the other side of the home. The announcer said, "The Chapel message today is 'Jesus Is Our Everything.'"  By the time she'd made it 3/4 of the way to the Chapel she felt like her arms would fall out of their sockets.  She was so tired of rolling herself she just quit.

Seeing her from a long way off, the Spirit filled volunteer quickly found her and slowly continued her roll. He told her that the place they humorously called the Sardine Chapel was just up ahead and warmly encouraged her to fit her wheelchair in the back outside the entryway so she could hear the singing, preaching, and Holy Communion.  She was late.  She'd heard them singing three songs already; O How I Love Jesus, What A Friend We Have In Jesus, and I Need Thee Every Hour.  She hated to be late and she was last too.

Nothing had gone right for her lately.  She couldn't sleep right at the home, couldn't figure out the t.v set controls, couldn't find food that tasted, couldn't find her toothbrush, and couldn't stop the aching in her body- especially her left shoulder.  It hurt like the dickens after the Doctor had set her collar bone for the second time in a month.  Two heart attacks had caused two falls, two breaks, and now she was banned from walking until her legs got strong again.  She'd been to Church every Sunday of her life until now.  She'd missed three Sundays and she felt hungrier than she'd ever been for Church again.

As she rolled up to the small Chapel nineteen were already stuffed inside.  Sardine Chapel it was!  She heard the last of the chorus being sung, 'O bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee.' The minister looked right at her and said, "It takes some of us a long time to get to the Chapel and I have this sticker-ribbon that says 'WINNER' on it and you are the winner today!  This is the first time we've done this, given out a ribbon for getting here last.  You got here and I welcome you to Worship today!  Welcome, we love you already!  I love you."  Someone stuck the red winner sticker on her and they put it  on her broken collar bone side of her shirt.

After more singing (Blessed Assurance), the preaching about Jesus' healing of the man let down through the roof, taking Communion, she felt like she was a little better.  As she was first to leave because she was last to get there, the Minister came over and anointed her for healing, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, receive Jesus' healing," making the sign of the cross on her forehead and then she was off to anoint all the others.

The woman now rolled off to the side of those exiting and sat still and a post.  It now occurred to her that all of her pain had left her.  All of it.  Her eyes began to tear a bit with the relief of it. She thought it was something that Jesus had touched her and loved on her.  It was something that Holiness had revived her.  And after many many thank you's to Jesus she wondered, 'Is that what Jesus meant when He said the last shall be first?'  After everyone had left, winner rolled over to tell her Minister.

The Plumb Line

Christ was a carpenter. His childhood surroundings included the workshop of Joseph. As the oldest Child, it was Jesus' role to learn the trade of Joseph. In that humble workshop there were many tools used by a carpenter. We have tools with similar purposes today. One of these is the plumb line.

The plumb line is a necessary tool for masons as well as carpenters. This weighted line tests the upright direction of a wall or others sloped surfaces. It is even used in garmet construction to indicate if seams hang straight.

When you read the Bible in your private time, the Holy Spirit brings special insight to you to aid you in correcting imbalances that you may have in your life. You think new thoughts, indecisions are guided to choice, and you discover a unique blending of your heart with the heart of Christ. The Scriptures activate God's plumb line for your life. Your heart is lifted vertically to Christ.

I treasure Your Word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

Nancy's toddler was a hitter.  He'd go to play-school for a couple of hours in the morning then come home to receive lunch and a nap.  When Nancy would pick him up at play-school the caretakers would tell her that they had had to put him into time-out twice because he hit another toddler.  They suggested that the mothers get the two toddlers together for an afternoon of play at one of the parent's homes.  An ingenious suggestion.   When the kids got together the hit happened.  One cried.  Then both cried.  The hitter finally understood hurt.

It's a dawn of understanding that comes to all of us, especially on a day like today.  We are in the midst of Lent, the 40 days before Easter not including Sundays.  We've crossed thru Ash Wednesday where we remind ourselves that our lives will not last forever.  We revisit and recognize that each day of Lent reminds us.  Christ experienced dying, like us, but His was on a cruel cross-- a place of humiliation as well as death.  It is a pain-filled ending.  He had given so much-- healing, teaching, loving, and raising from the dead.  Yet, there He was, fully hurting on the cross.


Our lives cannot be lived without pain and sorrow.  Jesus knows our hurt, pain, and sorrow because He has also felt these.  It is from the cross Christ tells us how to deal with hurt.  We are to find the way to forgive.  Through forgiveness there is healing, wholeness and hope.  When we extend forgiveness our faith widens.  Faith, found in the wideness of Christ's arms stretched out on the cross.

Draw Nearer To Jesus

Jesus is filled with Holy Spirit

Draw your heart nearer to Him while you are in humble prayer.  His abundant compassion for you will allow you to recognize the element of heartfelt compassion for others that He's put within you during your time with Him.  Act on that compassionate motivation!

And because you are with Jesus you will recognize temptation to deny Him.  Use the powerful strength of a believer to turn from temptation and testing by total dependance on Jesus.   His strength is your strength. 

After you leave a time of humble prayer with Jesus give Him thanks over and over again.  Thanks for what Jesus has done for you by dying on the cross.  Thanks for saving you from deathly sin.  Thanks that He is already answering prayers.  Thanks that you have love, purpose, and new life.

Continue to center on Jesus as you reference the whole chapter of Luke 3, and make His answers your answers. 

Jesus is filled with Holy Spirit, you are filled with Holy Spirit.

The Experience of Hope

Hope is an integral part of faith in Jesus-- Jesus responds when you expect with hopeful expectation.  Hope is expectation that Jesus gives the victory, is blessing you to be a blessing, and that you trust Him to act.  Read the Scripture below and look for faith's hope in a blind man's day.

'As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.  They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."  He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,  "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied.  Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."  Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.'  Luke 18:35-33

Hope causes us to cry out to Jesus and ask for His help.  When we are in His presence we realize that we're meeting with the most compassionate person alive!

The Experience of F.W. Robertson of Brighton

     Born in 1816 in London, Robertson grows up with father and grandfather in Army careers.  His family are faithful Church participants.  Yet, Robertson's health keeps him out of his father's career and impells him to take up a career with the heavenly Father..  Frederick Robertson is a 19th Century English Biblical preacher who summingly rejects the infallibility of the Bible.  His rejection of Biblical fundamentalism draws on examples from Leviticus 21:16-23 and Judges 8:30, where he points out in these two instances (and others) infuse Scriptural conflict with Jesus' teaching.  Using Jesus as prime template, Robertson seeks to clarify, through writing and preaching, the heavenly Father's Authority through Christ in our lives, inspiration through the Holy Spirit, and Christian fidelity in marriage within Christ's love for His Church.

     Robertson reminds us that our Lord said, "I do not seek to destroy but to fulfill" Matthew 5:7.  And within Jesus' fulfillment is New Life in our surrendering our lives to Jesus and becoming His disciples.  Robertson probed the Scriptures for connecting elements of the New Covenant underlying what Jesus teaches us.  
     Biographer, James Blackwood, poignantly wrote this about F.W. Robertson of Brighton:
          Teaching the Bible was the core of Robertson's entire ministry... He read, marked and inwardly
         digested the Holy Scriptures... No small part of Robertson's power lay aim the source of his
         preaching.  Authority!!  He loved to realize the past, to bring it before his eyes, and to make
         it as distinct and read as if he had lived in it; to know David or Paul as a friend; to identify
         himself with the people of the Bible, thought with thought, sense with sense, until he knew
         the inner windings of the characters.  Robertson's teaching were saturated with the Bible.
Robertson, such a Christian!! Do not our hearts resound with such a person as this Robertson?!? Yet this is within each of our reach also. To know the Authority of the Word, Jesus Christ, as our source of strength, through Scriptural immersion, we may then move with Spirit sensitive awareness impacting everyday experiences and relationships.

     As Leander Keck of Yale Seminary reminds us, the forces which seek to exercise command over us yield to the Authority of Christ, these motivational realities of what we say and do.  To be an authority figure at home, work, and within marriage is to know and live motivated by the Holy Authority of Christ whom we know through Scripture, directly effecting ones experiences.  Our lives and this world are our context through which we make moral choices grounded in our Christian faithfulness. 

     Faithful discipleship was found during Robertson's pulpit term, Riots broke out the major cities nearby.   The Chartists were threatening  England with an overthrow of government.  The English pulpits were especially aware of political and social effects on the working poor.  Robertson helped to establish a workingmen's center in Brighton, identifying more with the workers that with the elite of society.  He taught and cared for those we deem the last, least, and lost. He reminded them Jesus speaks to their conditions.  Consequently, some said,  Robertson was 'logic on fire'!!  Scholarship and Imagination fueled by Christ !!

     F.W. Robertson was a bright candle whose wick was shortened, dying young of a brain tumor at 37.  His wife and family wanted a small funeral at his Church yet Brighton-Town would have none of that--- peoples of all denominations, the Societies, those of the workingmen's center (more than 1500 burly men) marched and wept unashamedly out in the streets at their loss of this man who lead them in faith's Holy Authority.  And on Robertson's tombstone reading:: He awakened the holiest feelings in the poor and in the rich, in the ignorant and in the learned."

     The Anglican Church was the spiritual home of Robertson, but Brighton-Town By The Sea took in the whole of Robertson because He lived and shared the holiness of Jesus...  and all because of his continual immersion of himself in the Scriptures and as result it's outward overflow into the lives of a Town touched by the Lord's Holiness, Grace, and Authority.

The Experience Of George Matheson And Your Experience

Matheson had poor eyesight as a boy and by the time he was ordained and preaching he was legally blind.  Just ten years before his death he wrote, "At one time, with a great thrill of horror, I found myself an absolute atheist."  While the Church that he was pastoring would not accept his resignation due to his self disclosure of loss of faith, they firmly held the strong belief that he would regain his faith in full and continue to lead the Church once again. 

As Matheson struggled with his 'dark night of the soul' the Church elders believed and prayed that Matheson would change, and change he did!  When his faith returned to him it came back through the Holy Spirit's fire-in-the-belly and heart, and Matheson's preaching drew others to Christ as never before.  He became evangelical.  He wrote hymns, gave personal witness, and lived news day with spiritual enthusiasm--  life that Christ had given him was fabulous.!  Abundant life took hold of George Matheson's.

It was then that George knew that loving Christ was ultimate and this gave deeper and fuller meaning to his sermons.  While some preached the substance of orthodox creeds, George preached real life faith in Christ where he often brought personal examples of the Holy Spirit's work-in-the-persons-lives into his sermons. 

Read one of his hymns and allow your heart to sync with Matheson's intent:

1. O Love that wilt not let me go,
   I rest my weary soul in thee;
   I give Thee back the life I owe,
   That in Thine ocean depths its flow
   May richer, fuller be.
2. O Light that foll’west all my way,
   I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
   My heart restores its borrowed ray,
   That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
   May brighter, fairer be.
3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
   I cannot close my heart to thee;
   I trace the rainbow through the rain,
   And feel the promise is not vain,
   That morn shall tearless be.
4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
   I dare not ask to fly from thee;
   I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
   And from the ground there blossoms red
   Life that shall endless be.

The Scotsman, George Matheson, found that his boyhood faith which which grounded in orthodoxy and creeds was frequently enhanced through contact with Evangelical Christianity.  The Evangelicals were Holy Spirit fed and believed that freedom of expression of Christ's activity in their lives was vital to any Christian's spiritual growth.  George's faith was ignited as he yielded his heart's torch of faith to Christ and the Holy Spirit ignited his hear and mind with the real Presence of Christ.

The Wesley Experience

    John Wesley had been a Priest in the Church of England for thirteen years before he had an experience of the heartwarming experience of the Holy Spirit.  His experience happened when he was at a Bible Study and they were reading Martin Luther's Preface To Romans.   From that moment onward he preached and taught with a deepening zealousness to bring others to Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to ignite their hearts.    John’s next choice was to become a missionary to Georgia, USA, yet he failed at that and was sent back home.  On the way to England a tremendous storm threatened to sink his ship and during this tempest he discovered such a fear of death that he sought solace from other passengers on board, specifically the Moravian Christians.
    The Moravians were not fearful but rather had the peace that passeth all understanding, and Wesley wanted it too (Philippians 4:6-8).  Asking about this and taking instruction as to how to trust Christ like these Christians, by the power of the Holy Spirit Wesley’s fears disappeared.  From this secondmost pivital point in his life he found not only how to have complete confidence in Christ, but also how to show and explain it to someone else.
    From that time forward, because John Wesley had experienced the Holy Spirit's personal care, he had a new clarity that come into his life and his preaching. Wesley patterned his preaching after the Apostle Paul's and brought thousands to Christ through preaching and song writing. 

    Like John Wesley, Jesus calls you to come to Him in humility and submission. Receive the Holy Spirit's Presence through Baptism and New Birth.  Find your abundant life in Christ by talking with other Christians about how to have the Wesley-like heartwarming experience of the Holy Spirit.  

The Experience of the Apostle Paul and your Experience

Many read the book of Romans and assume that they know the Apostle Paul; not so!  To know Paul we start at chapter 7 of the Book Of Acts.  There is the disciple Stephen whose forceful young witness for Christ has brought him trouble and persecution.  Because of Stephen's bold assertions that Jesus is the Resurrected Christ the Roman's decide to stone him to death.  And who is standing by watching, holding the coats of those who throw the stones?  Saul, later to be renamed Paul.

Stephen did not die without a speedy trial!  He was first dragged before the high priest and the rigid religious council, before whom Stephen refused to recant his preaching of Christ the Savior who gives New Birth.  Found guilty of blasphemy he continues to preach salvation in Christ as the stoning ends his life and he commits his spirit to the Lord at last breath.  Saul, the bystander, is receiving Stephen's witness in this dramatic event.

The tentmaker, Roman Jew, devout student of rabbinical scholar Gamaliel, Saul is energized by the stoning-crowd's fury to stamp out the motley fools called Christians of The Way who believe in the Nazarene's holiness.  Saul is now on his high horse traveling a dusty road when a tremendous flash of lightening knocks Saul to the ground, injured and blinded.

All of Saul's dogmatic religious learning falls away in the flash as now, Saul's personal experience takes precedence.  Within those moments of abasement, Christ speaks into Saul's heart and mind then Saul becomes Paul the Apostle of Christ Resurrected.  For all the book learning that Saul has had, it is the personal experience of Christ that transforms him and changes us.

Paul uses every bit of his religious learning as the first step forward when speaking and witnessing to countless others for Christ, yet always culminates with an open invitation to abase and receive Christ in a personal way.  New life in Christ overlays the old ways.  Paul simply explains salvation and new holiness (sanctification) understandable, yet continually drives home each person's personal experience of Christ.  Transformation of heart and mind by Christ is experienced; Baptism into New Life bestows the Holy Spirit or the real Presence of Christ within our hearts.

Paul gives us his theology in Romans.  And in 2 Corinthians his Christian autobiography (a fragment) outlines Paul's sufferings for Christ:  5 times Paul received 39 lashes at the hands of his persecutors, 3 times he was beaten with rods, 1 time he was stoned and lived through it, 3 times on missionary journeys he was shipwrecked and by the mercy of God survived.  There was also danger at the hands of hostile foreigners, raging rivers, bands of robbers, thirsts when drink nowhere, hunger, cold exposure, and abandonment on barren mountain trails.

Baseline theology of Apostle Paul which reflects determination and full confidence in Christ is this:  (Paul's words) Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing in our grounded

experiences can separate us!  No one nor any event of suffering or persecution can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Love in Christ rules our lives as Christians.  It rules!

Rocky Road

A favorite ice cream at our home is Rocky Road.  It is delightfully mixed and each spoonful provides a mixture of tastes and combinations.  Rocky Road causes me to think about the hikes that I've been on and my mind always wanders back to the time I was on a Rocky Road in Colorado.  It was on the barren rocky side of the mountain that, even though my energy was near exhausted, I drew on God's strength within to drag my feet to the mountain top.

Most memorable to me is a trip up a Colorado 14 footer, Mt. Elbert.  It was there that I found that the beautiful walk upwards through the forest simply gave way to the toughest part of the climb which was the open barren rocky portion of the top of the mountain.  It was there that I found that we cannot get to the mountain top without going through the rockiest part and the greatest challenges.  Like in life, you and I have to walk the rockiest part to get the mountain view.  The top reveals the big picture about what God is doing in and through our lives.

How do you know you have hit the rocky part?  When you are going through a Rocky part of life you may ask these questions:  Doesn't God know that I am hurting here?  Why doesn't God help me when I feel so all alone and secluded?  Why in the world is this happening to me; is there a reason for this to happen?

God does know that you are hurting, feeling alone, and God has the grand scheme of things just ahead of you.  Even though you want to focus on the 'right now' it will be that later you can see the mountain top view of what God is doing.  Do you have to go up the rocky way in order to see the grand scheme of what God is doing?  Jesus did.  He did that so He can show you how to do it.  And one thing that He said over and over again is, "Do not be afraid, I have overcome this."

 

I Really Hope!

    I hope that you are having the time of your life right now and that it continues on and on.  You are certainly blessed to be living with a heart for Jesus.  Remember with me something that should cause us to be thankful we have Jesus. 
     At the beginning of time, because of disobedience to God, life was different.   Genesis tells us about  the garden where stood the tree of life.  Adam and Eve did not take of that tree because they had been banished from the garden and yet Life has graced you in your Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus is our tree of Life is its entirety  (john 14:6).
Life gives you days that pass by in rapid succession and your decisions at junctures are important.  I hope you’ve figured out how to make your choices--deep prayer and then trust in Jesus.  Cue the singer, “Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road; Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go… I hope you had the time of your life.” 
I hope you are having the time of your life right now.  Grace and peace.
          Via, Veritas, Vita!,  Rev. Walker

Happy

To get happy there is one thing
that you can do. Find great happiness
reading through the first four Gospels
in your New Testament. 

In 89 days, by reading one
chapter a day out of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, you will read
through all four books of the Bible.

You will find personal thought lifters
mood busters, and treasures.
Discover that you're mind clears
of  fogginess and you think better.

Read these and your heart opens
to what is best for you and it will
amend your attitude toward other
people and happy will soon turn
into joy.

Horse For Sale

I'm surrounded by wonderful people who are glorious in so many ways.  For instance, my husband has a way of making me, and others, laugh about any situation and my Uncle used to do that too- and he was my favorite Uncle.  Laughter has healing properties and humor helps us to reawaken to the joy of Christ within us.  Good clean humor sparks lighthearted looks at life's best side.  My family, Mom Dad Brother Sister Daughter Step-kids, all enjoy a good laugh, Praise God!  Here is one of my favorite bits of humor; I pray you laugh loud and long with the blessing of laughter.

A pastor owned a remarkable horse, which would go only if the rider said, "Praise the Lord," and would stop only if he said, "Amen."

The pastor decided to sell the horse, but when he explained the horse's peculiarities to a prospective buyer, the buyer said, "That's ridiculous. I've been raising horses all my life. I'll make him go my way."

So he jumped on the horse and kicked him until he started to run. The horse went faster and faster. Worried, the buyer reined back and yelled, "Whoa!" But the horse wouldn't stop. Suddenly the man saw they were galloping toward the edge of a cliff. Desperately he yelled, "Amen!"

The horse screeched to a halt just in time. Peering down over the edge of the cliff, the man wiped the perspiration from his brow. "Whew," he said. "Praise the Lord!"

(Ha! )

The Holy Spirit has ways of moving us closer to our Lord through both laughter and love.  Clean laughter brings us into a sensibility of living that is unmistakably healthy.  Our inner chemistry is changed by laughter.  And laughing chases away the darkness and brings us into the Light of Christ.  Clean laughter is a priority of faith and I'm surprised that laughing is not included as one of the Ten Commandments that Moses brought down from the mountain top.  Jesus laughed and He also weeped, both because of compassion. Laughter can help to lift someone out of suffering, and yet believers are to be mindful that there are instances where laughter is inappropriate. The apostle Paul gives us one last thought--- Paul wrote this while suffering in prison in Rome:  Laugh with those who laugh, and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).  Laughter and compassion tempered by the Holy Spirit ... that's what Jesus gives to us from heaven's throne.

                                                             From My Father's Desk-- Rev. Walker

6 a.m.

Today as I sit at my Father's desk words about the Light of God come from  Isaiah's words from the 60th Chapter in the Old Testament:
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Light is a prophecy about Jesus who clarifies that  He is the Light of the World, whoever follows  Him will have the Light of Life (John 8:12).    Light is remarkable.  Awakening at 6 a.m. it is dark and taking a seat at my Father's desk I'm positioned so that I can see the sunrise dawn of this new day.  Shadows dispense and light shows details and definition.  Jesus' Light is similar within yours and my life.  A shadow of darkness, say, about what we are to do  today is brightened by Christ's Light clarifying we are to move forward with His help, along His guided path, and trusting.  Trust His

Light.