Whatever is Pure Archives
 I Lift My Eyes Christian Books |
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Character Witness: How Our Lives Can Make a Difference in Evangelism |
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Character: Who You Are When No One's Looking, Christian Basics Bible Studies |
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When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances |
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Desperate Dependence: When You Reach the End, God's Best Begins By Max Davis Burned up? Chewed up? Washed up? If so, you're in a great position! You can finally stop living in your own power so you can recognize things that are miraculous, and experience God's ultimate for your life? This book is that position where we can learn to see God as our sole source for spiritual health, emotional health, relational health, financial provision, and career development. This book by Max Davis will encourage you to use your disappointments and failures to move you into a spiritual way of living unlike anything you've ever experienced! The book is written from the author's own experience of having become desperate for God in his life. |
I'll Be Watching You
A recent prayer conference I attended was held in a picturesque retreat center nestled within the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. We dined royally on the word of God and feasted heavily on God's presence as we prayed and interceded for our denomination and for Canada at large. The fellowship around God's table was something that I will treasure for years to come.
The hospitable support staff of the retreat centre outdid themselves, providing us with a loving, caring and nurturing environment, catering to our every need and spoiled us rotten in the process. Comforting home-style meals were served in a bright and sunny dining room that led out to a grassy meadow surrounded by trees and brush. The only thing separating us from the outdoors was a ceiling to floor window that gave an unobstructed view. A breathtaking view for us? Indeed. However, we were not the only group who took advantage of the view provided by the sparkling glass.
Glancing up from my second cup of coffee one morning, I was startled out of my usual sleepy fog by the sight of at least six of seven mule deer that came up within a couple of feet of the window. I had no idea how long they had been there but they were perfectly still, only their eyes serenely moving as they scanned the inhabitants of the room. I didn't sense they were waiting for handouts. In fact, some one tossed some granola out the patio door and while they sniffed it dismissively, no they were definitely there to watch our every move. Some one at my table quipped. "Now we know what it's like to be on the other side of the glass enclosure at the zoo." We all laughed and she continued. "Imagine their conversation... all those humans ever seem to do is eat, eat eat and make those silly noises. They look almost intelligent from this angle, don't you think?" Being two different species,of course, we could never truly communicate to the deer nor they to us.
We had many visitors from our neighbourhood, many of which had never been in a church setting before. A good half of our guests are recent refugees from Sudan and majority of them, especially the stay-at-home mothers struggle with English. They came to church because many of their children attend puppet clubs sponsored by our church that are in the neighbourhood public schools and as such have not yet had the opportunity to attend English as Second Language classes. While in no way would I ever draw a similarity between these beautiful and beloved Sudanese people and the four legged observers at the retreat centre, our lack of a common spoken language did put us all at a slight disadvantage.
My fervent prayer is that while some of our visitors might not have been able to understand our words that we were still able to communicate the love of God as they intently observed us in worship, as we waited in line at the coffee pot during our morning break and as we fellowshiped after the service. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the gospel. And if necessary, use words." I pray that these silent witnesses this morning 'heard' the gospel preached in our actions, our response to God's love and in our interactions with each other and our attempts to reach out to them, if all we could give was a smile. I hope they will return and join with us around the table of fellowship as we do our best to remove any barriers, seemingly invisible or not so they truly commune with each other, heart to heart, spirit to spirit.
© 2006 Katherine Walden
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devotional by Katherine .
A Light Ignited
"Turn out the light,"
Yelled the world around me
But in my soul
A light had been turned on
That could never be turned out;
A light that would burn
Like the strong noonday sun,
Shedding a glow
That would turn
The whole world upside down;
A light ignited
By the Lord Jesus Christ
To burn forever.
© Miriam Jacob
at miriamjacob1@yahoo.com
for permission to use this article
In His Hands
Inside the soul of Final Knowledge
there lay a master plan.
A plot drawn out of life itself,
a simple human span.
A plan of making, shaping, breaking
writ in blood-red fire.
No heart or mind may dare perceive
the Potter's end desire.
Through trial, testing, and temptation
this plan is set in place.
The clay moulds to his perfect form
discarding all disgrace.
The weary soul must strive to become
the vessel of his plans.
The Potter owns the figure's soul,
no finished work is man's.
© Brittany Barreca
at un4gettablegurl22@msn.com
for permission to use this article
It's Not Our Burden To Carry
An old friend of mine that I'll call Tom to protect his privacy has been on my heart as of late. I've no doubt that I'll run into him in the next few weeks as Spring slowly creeps its way into North Central Alberta. Tom loves to walk around our downtown core and is well loved by many of the missions and churches in that area.I first met Tom when he and I attended a weekly small group together that was sponsored by our church. Tom is slightly disabled, with a slight case of Cerebral Palsy and lives with mental disabilities as well as mental illnesses that are controlled by medication. Diminutive with jet black hair and a neat beard, he gives off the aura of child-like innocence and trust as his large brown eyes peer out at the world around them through thick-lensed glasses.
It might be assumed that this precious child of God led quite a sheltered life and was protected by his family. Unfortunately, the opposite is true and at an early age, he was kicked out of his home by his upper middle class family who were ashamed of their 'less than perfect son' who had a few behavioral problems. As a result, Tom ended up on the street and while the Lord protected him from drug addiction unfortunately Tom was abused and mistreated by many of those who he innocently befriended. Raped, mugged and betrayed, his heart remained soft somehow and he accepted Christ as his Savior. God's family encamped around Tom and he soon found himself living with five other young bachelors in a safe neighbourhood. These 'older brothers' watched out for Tom and counseled him wisely and in a very short time, his nightmare years on the street were only a memory.
When I began to lead our small group in our apartment, Tom was always the first to arrive and often arrive a good half hour before the meeting was scheduled. He was left on his own devices as I set out refreshments and prepared for the meeting. I would often find him gazing out my balcony window and I assumed he was enjoying the picturesque view. One week I casually mentioned how nice the river valley looked far below and he looked back at me, startled from his thoughts.
He pointed to the building across the street and matter-of-factly informed me that his parents lived in that building but he hadn't seen his mother in seven or eight years. His eyes brightened as he was swift to make sure that I knew that he saw his father every year on his birthday and sometimes on Christmas Eve.
My heart broke as I felt anger well up inside me. How could parents abandon their son in this fashion? How could they erase him from their lives? How could they live with the horrors that their son endured as a result of him being forced from home at such a tender age? I was ready to march right over to that building and give them a piece of my mind until I caught Tom's expression.
There wasn't a hint of anger, bitterness or resentment in his face or in his tone. His mental disabilities were mild enough that I knew he was well aware of his situation, yet his heart was utterly empty of the emotions that rushed through me. He had made his peace and had truly forgiven his parents and there was nothing but unconditional love in his heart for them and an admission that he was a 'difficult' person at times.
As I watched this young man walk out Christ's example, "Forgive them Father, they do not know what they do.", I was humbled and I let go of the resentment in my heart. If Tom no longer battled, why should I? I learned a priceless lesson that night. The battle belongs to the Lord and He, not I, will bring victory and vengeance if need be, in His time and in His way. I learned to stop being a guard dog over the hearts of my friends and to allow the Lord to be their protector and the lifter of their heads.
If there is someone in your life who has forgiven and moved on but you have not yet forgiven their offender, might I invite you to take a moment right now to confess that unforgiveness to the Lord and to follow their example into peace of mind through a clean heart?
© 2006 Katherine Walden
Contact for permission to reprint or use in any format.
Receive a free weekly
devotional by Katherine .
A Prayer
My Father in heaven, forgive me when I feel all these things please
That is not You who makes me feel like I have this disease
Alone, lost and empty, filled with anger and fears
I know that You love me, You bottle my tears
You fill me with joy and my anger's erased
You record no wrongs and You fill me with grace
It's time to let go, there's no need to look back
Except to remember, Your joy when I lack
You love me when ever I stumble and fall
You bandage my soul when I cry out and call
No one can be perfect we're not built that way
When others, they hurt you be forgiving and pray
When I'm selfish, unkind and deliberately rude
When I try to not care, be defiant and crude
Your Spirit is in me, He teaches me well
He reminds of Your mercy and I no longer dwell
Your mercy's amazing, Your Son died for me
I feel Your pain when unbelievers choose not to see
The forgiveness You give to all who believe
They think it's so hard, they don't want to receive
They ask why I cry, if your heart He's within
Then I tell them His blood washed away all my sin
Some ask can I have all the joy you feel
Yes I assure them, God's love is real
Ask God for forgiveness is a good way to start
Then ask Jesus to save you and come into your heart
Then believe in your heart that your debt has been paid
Because Jesus died on the cross and arose that third day
For a man who had never sinned his life ever
Chose to die, so with Him we could live forever
I was down when I started this prayer to the Lord
But His grace touched my heart and I remembered my sword
So I read in His Word, and pray in a haze
I sing of Your glory and give You all praise
To all those who ask, what has God done for me?
He put His only Son on a cross for the whole world to see
Why would he do this, then I look up above
and remember Jesus said the greatest commandment of all is love
©2006 Marlene
marlenehazel@aol.com
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