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He’s Changing Me

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I enjoy going to church. Greeting people from week to week and exchanging hugs and words warms my heart. Singing songs about Jesus and blending with dozens of voices lifts my spirit. Hearing the spoken word gives me reasons to dig deeper in God’s word and find nuggets of truth that could help me through tough times.

Then one day I noticed something. The rich experience in church seemed to stop as I would exit the parking lot. Instead of drawing on the songs, prayers and messages, instead of inviting God into my circumstances, instead of walking with Him throughout my day, I would say a quick prayer, glance at a verse, and off I would go about my day. Then when the weekend rolled around, I drove to church and picked up where I left off.

This began to trouble me. Suddenly quick prayers and nuggets of truth weren’t enough to strengthen me in my walk with God. Why didn’t I extend my rich church experience into my home, into relationships and into my life? Why wasn’t God in the details of my life?

I turned to the Bible and began to understand what a deep relationship with God means. Daniel prayed by his window three times a day even though it meant he would be thrown into a lion’s den. King Hezekiah made his way to the temple and cried out to God about an army of warriors who wanted to destroy him and Jerusalem. Childless Hannah went to the Temple of the Lord and poured her heart out to God. She couldn’t bear living without having a child. And God saw them through their circumstances. He answered their prayers!

This was a “Wow” moment for me. I started to realize that my Christian walk was shallow. I made up my mind I would change. I prostrated myself on the floor and cried out to God. I asked God to forgive me for treating spiritual things so trite. I called out the names of family members and friends, I talked to Him about life’s circumstances, and I asked Him to take out my heart of stone and to give me a living heart; a heart that embraced Him all the time. When I finished praying, I felt that I had poured everything within me into His hands and the trouble stirring within me lifted.

Today, my first waking thought is to talk to God. When I face difficulty, I am quick to invite Him into my life and ask Him to walk with me. And now I eagerly read or listen to the Bible and ask God for wisdom and understanding. My life has changed. No longer is my church experience a weekend gig. Now, I find myself praying, singing and praising Him all the day long.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

I’m Gonna Die

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When I was growing up, my weekends felt boring and ritualistic. Since my dad is a pastor, we went to church, and then my parents spent the better part of the afternoon taking a nap. But that isn’t what I wanted to do after church. I wanted to explore in God’s beautiful world with my friends, not entertain myself while my parents slept. One weekend after the service ended, my best friend, Cody, said, “Want to come hiking with my family this afternoon?”

Yes! Finally I would escape the boredom I knew awaited me if I went home. This was my opportunity to explore and have the adventure I had been waiting for. I happily accepted Cody’s invitation, and we all piled into his family’s sedan and drove into the heart of the El Dorado National Forest.

We headed for our favorite hiking trail. We loved it because the hike ended on the top of a peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range that had a panoramic view of the Sacramento Valley. Its crowning feature was an eight-story waterfall — fueled by a large river — that cascaded over the edge of a cliff and fell onto boulders at the foot of the mountain. It both scared me and drew me in.

Cody’s family had a border collie that they brought along. After we pulled to a stop, he leaped out of the car shivering with energy and excitement. I adored him. I had never owned a dog, despite my obsession with them. As we set off on our hike, I followed behind him, watching him explore and sniff at the base of rocks and tree stumps. As we neared the mountain’s summit, the border collie sensed that we were close to the rushing water that fueled the deafening falls, and he ran circles around us, wagging his tail in excitement. He saw the water first and sprinted toward it without hesitation, and I, caring for nothing but the chance to watch him leap in, ran full speed behind him to the water’s edge.

I changed pace to a light jog as the dog slowed down in search for a place to jump into the water. The banks of the river were made up of huge granite boulders covered in slimy green moss. To avoid slipping I played hop scotch, dodging moss-covered areas as I trotted along the riverbank. Suddenly, I heard yelling behind me. My friends were screaming words of warning to me. I whirled around to hear them better. As I turned, I put my foot directly on one of the slimy patches of wet moss. My feet slid out from under me and I fell back onto the slope of the boulder. As I slid down the steep face of the rock I felt a rush of pain. The rough and uneven surface of the boulder scraped against my back and shoulders, tearing my shirt and cutting into my skin making me bleed. I had only a millisecond to comprehend the perilous situation I was in before I plunged into the frigid current and was swept from safety.

Rushing water enveloped me. There were rocks everywhere jutting out of the river and I smashed helplessly against them as the current tossed me against everything in its way. No matter what I did, I couldn’t avoid the rocks. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t call out for help. The current simply carried me away as if I were merely a piece of driftwood. “There’s nothing I can do to save myself,” I thought.

Every time I bobbed above the waterline, I could see that I was drawing closer and closer to the edge of the falls. Though I only had a few tangible thoughts, all of them were cries of fear and desperation. I was sure that I was going to die. Slamming against rocks, the rushing water and other river debris disoriented me and left bruises all over my body. The helpless struggle to stay above the water to avoid obstacles made me feel more exhausted than I had ever been. As the current swept me close to the edge where a watery abyss and certain death awaited me, I smashed into branches from a tree that had fallen and was submerged in the river. The branches entangled my arms and legs, keeping me from going over the falls. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even pull myself out. All I could do was let the branches hold me safely long enough for my friends to make a human chain to reach me.

Until I get to heaven, I will not know if my guardian angel orchestrated the tree’s location and position. What I do know is this: God had a plan for me, a plan I had not yet discovered. He watches over me everywhere I go and keeps me safe, according to His will.

Jonathan Hager writes from Northern California.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

Christmas Joy

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In 1967, Charles E. Hummel published a small book entitled, Tyranny of the Urgent.1In it, he asked if we’d ever wished for a 30-hour day. “Surely this extra time would relieve the tremendous pressure under which we live. Our lives leave a trail of unfinished tasks. Unanswered letters, unvisited friends, unwritten articles, and unread books haunt quiet moments when we stop to evaluate. We desperately need relief.”

Hummel goes on to answer his own question. “But would a thirty-hour day really solve the problem? Wouldn’t we soon be just as frustrated as we are now with our twenty-four allotment?”

This Christmas season we’re probably all wishing for more time, more money, and more energy. We worry about things that are nearly out of our control and things that we should have had more control over. Do we have enough presents for each of our children/parents/grandchildren/neighbors/co-workers. How can we make it to the Christmas pageant at church, cook all the food for Christmas dinner, and find time to visit grandmother in the nursing home? And there’s that nagging fear about the credit card bills due to drop in January.

When was the last time you stopped and thought about the miracle of Jesus’ birth? When was the last time you looked at a baby and wondered anew at how God could send his son to a dirty barn to be born to a teen-age girl? When was the last time you looked at a star and thought what a fitting global positioning system that was for the magi?

It doesn’t get much simpler than this: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV).

Put down your lists and stop wrapping your presents and share the Christmas story with someone you love. Keep it simple. God did. When the angels appeared to the shepherds on the hills of Galilee, they weren’t given a deep study into the plan of salvation. The angel calmed their fears and told them the good news of a savior who was born nearby, who would bring peace and good will to men. They believed and rushed to see the baby.

I recently heard my son explaining the birth of Jesus to my 4-year-old grandson. The description of the stable was an easy one for Brandon to visualize because they have a chicken coop. Although kept quite clean, no one Brandon knew would want to be born there. He imagined the chickens clucking and wandering with curiosity near that tiny baby and then all the farm boys coming in to visit. The same angels that protect him every night, that surround his bed, were also there singing for the baby.

Where’s your wonder? Have you replaced the feeling of wonder with the tyranny of the urgent? Are you so important and have so many things to do that you don’t have time to refresh your spirit and remember God’s special gift?

“Over the years the greatest continuing struggle in the Christian life is the effort to make adequate time for daily waiting on God, weekly inventory, and monthly planning,” wrote Hummel. “Because this time for receiving marching orders is so important, Satan will do everything he can to squeeze it out. Yet we know from experience that only by this means can we escape the tyranny of the urgent. This is how Jesus succeeded. He did not finish all the urgent tasks in Palestine or all the things He would have liked to do, but He did finish the work which God gave Him to do.”

Dee Litten Whited writes from the U.S. East Coast.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

Getting and Giving

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Dear God: Forgive me for forgetting what Christmas is about. I live in an overly commercialized country where merchants promote Christmas as a shopping bonanza. It’s all about getting new stuff—new clothes, gadgets, flat screen TVs, books and more. Lots more! I’ve grown accustomed to getting whatever I want. My house is full of furniture, electronics, clothes, wall hangings, and dishes. My closets are filled with sheets, blankets and shoes. My library is full of books from all over the world. My refrigerator is filled with food fit for a king. I don’t need anything else, except to know that my life does not consist in what I get and own.

Open my eyes to needs that I can fill; to people I can help. Teach me how to be a cheerful giver. Thank you for giving Heaven’s richest treasure to reclaim me from the grip of selfishness.

In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Rich DuBose writes from Northern California.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

Miraculous Conception

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The idea of a woman getting pregnant without the help of a male partner is not particularly amazing today. In vitro fertilization is commonly practiced. Test tube babies are a product of human ingenuity and modern science. Yet as remarkable as this is, male and female donors are still needed to create human life.

An incredible exception to this is recorded in Scripture, first as a prophetic prediction, then as a historic fulfillment.

Isaiah said to king Ahaz, “Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (which means God is with us)” (Isaiah 7:14, NLT).

We must admit, this sounds pretty bizarre. We could have easily forgiven Joseph (Mary’s fiancé) for not believing her story.

Hundreds of years after king Ahaz made his prediction, a peasant craftsman named Joseph found himself in the exact situation that Ahaz had described. The young virgin he was engaged to marry became pregnant, which could only mean one of two things. Either she had been raped, or she had willingly consented to a sexual encounter with another man. Either way it was not good.

Being a man of integrity, Joseph didn’t want to shame Mary, but what could he do?

“While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.’ This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel, Hebrew for ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:20, NLT).

The idea that God is with us seems far fetched at times. In a world besieged by crime, sexual abuse, moral corruption and greed; where evil people continue to have the upper hand! Where politicians game the system for their own good and lie to cover their tracks—Scripture has the audacity to claim that God is with us? Where? Where was God when little four-year-old Josiah was molested by his step dad? Where was God when hundreds of Syrian children were killed by ISIS guerrillas in Aleppo? Where was God when thousands of struggling families were tricked out of their homes by greedy bankers during America’s 2008 housing crisis?

“Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you” (Psalm 82:8, NLT).

We have a problem with God’s patience and mercy, except when it applies to us.

God’s answer to all of the world’s evil is not annihilation, revenge or brut force, but a humble virgin, miraculously impregnated with God’s seed. It is both bizarre and genius to think that such a quiet introduction of divinity could eventually result in human redemption! Yet God takes the long road to righting the world’s wrongs because he knows that “haste makes waste.”

“You must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:8-9, NLT).

The idea that God could conceal himself in human flesh and show up as one of us reminds us of the strategy that was used by the Greeks in a popular mythological tale.

“The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy and win the war. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war” (Wikipedia).

God became flesh, not to use subterfuge or force, but to openly display the character of his Kingdom.

“The King of glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings. His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him” (Desire of Ages, p. 43).

When we allow the seed of God’s character to impregnate our hearts with grace we can expect a harvest that bears heaven’s signature.

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT).

Rich DuBose writes from Northern California.

The post Miraculous Conception appeared first on Answers for Me.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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