Dead, But Alive

"...count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in
Christ Jesus." (Rom. 6:11)

How do we count ourselves dead to sin? Does this
verse make sense in a culture that cannot call
anything sin? Think about it. Even today a dead
man does not have any desire for alcohol, drugs,
sex. He cannot. He is dead. Romans 6 says that,
we were united with Christ in death, then buried 
with Him. We were also united with Him in 
resurrection so that we might walk in newness 
of life.

The battle is in the mind. You see, as a Christian
you are positionally dead to sin, but alive to God.
However, the tempter comes and tells you that
you are powerless to break away from evil habits.
Remember, it is not a question of your own power,
but when you honestly repent of the wrongdoing
and turn to the Lord for divine help to overcome
your besetting sin, He will undertake for you. As
you reckon yourself to indeed be dead to sin, but
alive to God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit
will work in you. He will cause you to triumph
over tendencies toward evil and give you the
power to live victoriously to the glory of God.

Reader, the Christian Life is not a passive life. We
do not win the daily battle lying down. It is first
of all knowing whose we are, what we have,
and then seeking God and His power to live in the
truth of that reality. Go for it!!!!

Incomplete

Yesterday's verse:
"You are complete in Him."

I don't feel complete today. I went back
through my life and counted the losses, the
hurts, then, I looked at the present. By the
time I finished counting, I felt lonely, empty,
unfilled. Is God's word not truth? If I look at
my bodily weaknesses, the things I want but
don't have, the verse rings false. What is my
focus here? It is on people,things, and ME!

A song comes to mind from the past:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow
        strangely dim
In the light of His glory and 
        grace."

Reader, look again at the blog from yesterday.
What do you have that makes you feel complete?
An experience, a position, a calling? What do
you have that makes you feel incomplete? What
do you really believe about yourself? About God?
Wrestle with it!

Complete

I came across a verse today that leaves me a little
breathless. I am unsure just what it means or how
to unpack it. Col 2:10

"and you are complete in Him" NKJV
"and you have been filled in Him." ESV

According to the dictionary, complete means "to 
be filled, having no deficiency; perfect. That which 
is complete cannot be more or less so."

You have been filled, (past tense.) Fullness means:
The state of being filled so as to leave no part 
vacant, the state of abounding or being in great 
plenty. Abundance.

Verse 9 says, "For in Him the whole fullness of 
deity dwells bodily," followed by, "and you have 
been filled in Him..."(ESV)

Jesus is the fullness of deity and I have been filled in
Him. Does this statement contradict the verses above
or contradict the whole of scripture, the Gospel? I
cannot add to it by being good, or trying to please Him,
nor can I subtract from this fullness by messing up.
Where does that leave me?

It means I can no longer call myself broken, or a
sinner. My identity is in Him who has made me
complete--in Him. To think less of myself is not
walking in the truth. If I do not believe this word
then I will live defeated and empty--in the midst
of plenty.

Reader, is this not incomprehensible? Can you
wrap your mind around it? We are not asked to
understand it, but to believe it.

Anticipation

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as 
some understand slowness. He is patient with 
you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone
to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

"...the Christian must never lose sight of the fact that
he belongs to heaven, that he is inseparably linked
with an earth-rejected, heaven-accepted Christ--
that his life is hid with Christ in God--that it is his
holy privilege to be looking out, daily and hourly,
for the coming of his Lord. There is nothing to
hinder the realization of that blissful hope at any
moment. There is but one thing that causes the delay
--God's patience and His unwillingness for any to 
perish, rather, desiring all to come to repentance.
Such precious words for a lost and guilty world.

The salvation is ready to be revealed; and God is
ready to judge. There is nothing now to wait for but
the gathering in of the last elect one, and then--oh,
most blessed thought--out own dear and loving
Savior will come and receive us to Himself to be
with Him where He is, and to go no more out for ever."

Charles Henry Mackintosh (1820-1896) was one of the
early and most prolific Brethren writers and is still
widely read today.

Reader, now and again I dip into the past and come
up with a jewel. Be encouraged, "God is not slow
in keeping his promise..."

A Big Untold Story

The Following was reported by Joel Rosenberg today:

"Since last Yom Kippur, millions of Jews have begun
searching for the Messiah, and for atonement of their sins."

"Sundown today begins Yom Kippur, The Day of
Atonement. It is the highest holy day on the Jewish
calendar, and one of great Biblical, historical and
cultural importance to my people."

"God, through Moses called the Jews to this feast to be held
once a year by fasting, prayer, and the sacrifice of a perfect
animal. It was a day unto the Lord characterized not only by
blood but by humility and confession of sins to a merciful
God. In 70AD, the temple was destroyed by Rome and since
then there has been no provision for the covering of sin for
the Jew."

"We as Christians know that the perfect Lamb was sacrificed
on the cross forty years before the Temple was destroyed.
In 1973 there were fewer than 2,000 people who recognized
Jesus as their Messiah. Today some 300,000 have received
Jesus as their sacrificial Lamb. Not only that but, millions
of Jews are searching for the Messiah and thus reading
Hebrew prophecies, and comparing them with the writings
of the New Testament, and trying to decide whether Jesus
really is the Messiah we have desperately longed for over
so many centuries."

Reader, click on the following video and watch a story that
is going viral in the Jewish Community and then pray that
God will reveal Messiah Jesus to His people, the Jew, as he
takes part in the rituals of this high holy Day.

www.imetmessiah.com

Can You Fly?

"For those who live according to the flesh set their 
minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit set their minds on the things
of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is
death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and
peace. (Romans 8:5,6) 

Since writing the blog yesterday, I have been looking
at various translations to see if I should water down
the words so it will make sense to my readers. What
I found were such differences in translations that they
actually changed the meaning! Please plow through
this as it is so important. In the verses above, the word,
'flesh,' found in the King James, the NAS and the ESV,
was translated differently as 'the mind of sinful man' in
the NIV and 'the Old Sinful Nature,' in the Living Bible.


Back in college I read a little book called, Two of You.
The author explained that we have two natures inside
that war with each other; our old sinful nature, and
God's nature. He used the black dog, white dog analogy
showing that a constant battle is fought between the two.
Does this ring a bell with any of you? I saw it as truth
and lived it out most of my life.

What does scripture say?

Romans 6:6
"Knowing this, OUR OLD NATURE WAS CRUCIFIED 
with Him that our body of sin might be done away with, 
that we should no longer be slaves to sin." NAS
"OUR OLD SELF WAS CRUCIFIED with Him." NIV

Galatians 2:20
I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED with Christ. NIV

Scripture tells us that when Jesus died 2,000 years ago
something in us died with Him. What Died? Your
sinful nature, the old man, the old self died. It did not
rise when Jesus rose from the tomb. Every one of us
has to answer this question because it affects the way
we live our lives; in victory, or constant defeat. Your
belief system about these verses will affect how you
look at yourself and how you think God looks at you.
Does God frown or smile?

So what do we wrestle with each day? "The world,
the flesh, and the devil." The battle is definitely real!

Reader, if you do not know that your old sinful nature
died when Christ died, you will continue to see
yourself as a sinner--and you will walk it out. But, if
you know that God killed your old nature and gave you
a new identity in Christ, placed His righteousness in
you, that He now calls you His Holy One, it will change
you. Instead of "a Sinner saved by grace," you will see
yourself as a "Saint who sometimes sins."

Think of it this way. You were born into the turkey
family and learned to peck at the ground and gobble.
But when you became a Believer, God changed you
and put you into an eagle family. You can now soar,
but if you don't know this, you will never fly.

The Flesh Pool

What is flesh? Good question. Sometimes we find the
word used for the physical body, but scripture also
indicates that flesh is how we get life apart from God.
God never speaks of redeeming the flesh, but that it
must be killed. Where does this flesh come from? It
comes from the patterns we developed in childhood
as a way of protection, as a way to live before we
had a relationship with Christ, on our own against a
scary world.

Romans 8:6-8 gives us a picture of flesh:
"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind
set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind
set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not
subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even 
able to so; AND THOSE WHO ARE IN THE FLESH
CANNOT PLEASE GOD."

So, how do we please God?
Jesus dwelt here in a body that was flesh. He came "in 
the likeness of man, emptied Himself and took the 
form of a bond servant." Jesus surrendered to love 
and was obedient.

I have Yucky Flesh as opposed to Grade A Vanilla Flesh.
My parents were unable to meet my needs for unearned
love so I became a grabber and tried hard to please
those around me. I wanted to be full, not empty. I came
to Jesus because I heard that He loved unconditionally.
Because my flesh has not changed, I can easily plunge
into working to get my needs met. Moment by moment
I have a choice: I can believe that I have to carry the load
and make life happen--flesh, or I can trust that Jesus has
carried my load and loves me regardless of my actions;
that His abundant life is available and sufficient for this
day--Spirit. Obedience flows out of love and trust.

Reader, do you strive to live a good Christian life so that
God will be pleased with you and love you? Flesh or
Spirit? Walking in both is like the man who had his feet
planted firmly in two boats!

The Umbilical Cord

"...all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death. We were buried with
him by baptism into death, in order that, just as 
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, we too might walk in newness of life."
(Rom 6:3,4)

Something happens at salvation that forever connects
us into God. Since we connot handle a direct
connection with the Father, Jesus attaches Himself
to the Father as an umbilical cord. He is the
mediator in heaven who provides a constant flow
of life so that the believer can always be soaked
with His "I." We can be in heaven with Him, while
at the same time, He is on earth with us. We as
believers have entered into the same kiind of
relationship that Jesus had with His Father on earth.
We have an "I" that of its own self can do nothing.
We as believers do much by doing nothing! Each
of us is unique and free but we must use that
freedom to choose to do nothing unless God is
doing it through us. Our only action is to invite the
Lord to come and soak us with life, be our life, in
the present situation. The life then expressed is not
of us, but of Him.

Reader, I get so caught up with looking at what I am
doing for the Lord, that I forget that I am made to live
my life out of His "I." That is the place of continual
rest. 

The New "I"

"But may it never be that I should boast, except in 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the 
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." 
(Gal 6:14

When people saw Jesus they saw God, for He was
attached by a divine umbilical cord to the Father,
whose LIFE flowed through Him. In the body of
Jesus, God defeated sin, the world, and every aspect
of the flesh. How? The 'I' attitude of Jesus was this:
"Of My own self I can do nothing." To the world
He was a defeated man; but to God the Father there
hung the greatest conqueor the world had ever known.

When Jesus died His Life departed and descended
into the grave. Death encountered a new foe, LIFE,
and death ran. Captivity was taken captive, as a
Man tore open the very gates of hell and preached.
All who believed in Jesus left with Him. In short,
hell was plundered. God's connection with His Son,
raised Him bodily from the dead. The Life in Jesus
overcame sin; Satan; the world; all 'I' attitudes. Death,
Captivity and Hell, were also defeated, all by doing
nothing of "HIMSELF!"

Reader, Jesus could not live the Chrisitan Life on His
own abilities. Why do we think we can? You see,
formerly dead in sin, believers are now filled with a
new 'I' that soaks into their whole being and gets into the
cracks, so that all changes. We may look the same but
we are not. His 'I' wraps itself around everything. Our
flesh does not like it. However, it is fighting an 'I' that
has already overcome flesh.

"OF MY OWN SELF I CAN DO NOTHING!" 

The Crucified "I"

I posted, Harold's Story over the weekend. Read it!

'I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives within me and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself
up for me. (Gal 2:20)

The phrase, 'I have been crucified with Christ and no
longer live' has been thrown around, glibly quoted and
become so common a phrase that it is no longer
meaningful to many.

The 'I' wraps itself around and through man.
The 'I' has the attitude of glory, righteousness,
     and strength.
The 'I' wants to be God, worshiped
The 'I' wamts to be be central to the universe.
The 'I' wants to control everything.

The scripture says that the day Christ died, the 'I' died,
for 'it is no longer I who live, and, 'when Christ died
I died--Rom 6.' So did you and you and you.

I believe what I read and know that I now have a new
identity. The old 'I' has died. I now have a choice: I
can live out of my flesh which is alive and well-- the
part of me that thinks I have to work in my own
strength to be a good Christian,  OR, I can live from
the Life of Christ who endwells me. Learning to live
my life from the resurrected life of Jesus is a journey.

Reader, perhaps you have heard this verse and these
words thousands of times, but do you deep down
believe it? If you do not believe it, you will continue
to work hard at being a Christian, and get so tired.

Redemption!

Here is the question:
"Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
  or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?"

Here is the answer:
"For, thus says the Lord.
'Even the captives of the mighty shall be 
  taken,
and the prey of the terrible shall be
  delivered:
For I will contend with him that contends
  with you, and I will save your children.'"
Isaiah 49:24,25)

Harold is an example. His first crime was committed
at the age of eight--a candy bar. He was in his twenties
when he was tried for 11 counts of armed robbery,
and was sentenced to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary
for 103 years. He was a terror to other prisoners.
Harold's praying Mom died. Not long afterwards the
Chaplain introduced Harold to Jesus. Jesus reached
down and snatched this pitiful prisoner out of the
hands of the tyrant who controlled the
"Castle of Despair" and transfered Harold into the
Kingdom of Light and Love. His life changed
radically and he was given a Presidential Pardon.
Thousands of prisoners came to the Lord.
Harold joined Campus Crusade Staff and was able
to touch the captives across the United States with
his story and the power of God.

How do I know this? A best friend married the guy
and we were friends with him until his death five years
ago. His widow is celebrating her 80th birthday today.
Celebrating that even with dementia she is not in the
Castle of Despair. Mary is loving life and a blessing
to all the residents and staff of the Assisted Living
where she resides.

All glory to God!

Dear Heart, don't give up on God and on your loved
one who is captive to a tyrant. "His hand is not
shortened that it cannot save!"

A Little Girl's Dream

Jesus revealed His love to me at age five through a flannel
graph story and you can read the story on my website:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/story.php?id=4

I was attending a Presbyterian Church and heard about the
Rapture. It affected me so deeply that I had dreams of His
coming and of going to meet Him in the air. At age seven
I was sleeping when a full moon came out from the clouds
and fell on my face. I sat up and said, "Jesus, wait for me!"
I think it concerned me that I would be overlooked because
I was so small...

The Thessalonian church had a bunch of questions for Paul.
They expected the Rapture--the catching away-- at any
moment, wondered about those who had died, but were
greatly concerned that they had missed the whole show!
Lots of rumors were floating around. Paul addressed these
issues in 1Thessalonians 4:13:

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers,
about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve
as others do who have no hope. For since we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through 
Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen 
asleep...For the Lord Himself will descend from 
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an 
archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. 
And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are 
alive, who are left, will be caught up together with 
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
we will always be with the Lord. 
Therefore, encourage one another with these words."

Therefore, encourage or comfort one another with the
truth that the dead in Christ would be resurrected with
new bodies and then we would be changed and taken
up to meet them and Jesus in the air. We in the West
may not be looking for the Rapture but our persecuted
brothers and sisters in Iraq certainly are.

Check out 1Corinthians 15:51:
"Behold! I tell you a mystery (a mystery is that which
has been hidden). We shall not all sleep, but we shall 
all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the 
dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
changed."

There is a generation that will experience this, and that
generation is expected to "know that it is near,even at 
the doors."(Matt 24:33) Even though we should not
attempt to set a date, Jesus says:

"Now when these things begin to take place, straighten
up and raise your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near." (Luke 21:28)

Our Lord wants us to be watching for Him, eager for
His return and the gathering together of His church--
"And, so, we will be forever together with the Lord."

Reader, are you ready? The coming of the Lord is
the next big thing on the prophetic calendar. Confess
your sins and ask Him to be your Savior and the
Lord of your life.

Song: We Shall Behold Him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ovSaoWpOM

No One Knows

Back in the late 60's and early 70's all of the Christians
I knew were anticipating the rapture--momentarily.
Stories floated around about hitchhikers who would
say, "Jesus is coming soon," and then disappear from
the car. Books were written, Discussions of the pros
and cons were frequent. Excitement abounded. But,
did He come? NO!

Today all that has changed. Only the very few still
believe in the rapture, most believe in a second
coming, but not until the end of the age or the end of
the tribulation. If you believe that, you won't be
watching for Him. The scripture I hear all the time is:

"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, 
not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but 
the Father only." Strangely enough, it shuts down
discussion. Going on in the Matt 24:36 passage,
Jesus says:

"For as were the days of Noah, so will be the 
coming of the Son of Man. For in those days 
before the flood they were eating and drinking, 
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day 
Noah entered the ark, and were unaware until 
the flood came and swept them all away, so will 
be the coming of the Son of Man." 
Luke adds 17:28:

"Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot--they 
were eating and drinking, buying and selling, 
planting and building, but on the day Lot went 
out from Sodom fire and sulfur rained from 
heaven and destroyed them all, so will it be 
when the Son of Man is revealed."

Finally, check out 2 Peter 3:3:
"...knowing this first of all, that scoffers will 
come in the last days with scoffing, following 
their own sinful desires. They will say, 'Where 
is the promise of his coming? For ever since 
the fathers fell asleep all things continue as 
they were in the beginning of creation...'"

Any of these scriptures can be used both to show
that the rapture is imminent, which means He
can show up at any time, or, that Jesus will not
return until the end of the age. However, as I read
through these scriptures, it sure looks like our
culture today!

Jesus says, "no one knows the day or the hour,"
so shouldn't you, dear reader, be ready?

Tomorrow we will look at a few other passages.

Headlines

I skimmed the headlines this morning before my
coffee and had immediate indigestion. Then I
opened my Bible and read:

"Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told to you from the
        beginning?
Have you not understood from the
        foundation of the earth?

It is he who sits above the circle of the
        earth,
and it's inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
who stretches out the heavens like a 
        curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as
       emptiness.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the
       earth,
when he blows on them and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like 
       stubble"
(Isaiah 40:21-24)

Refreshed and renewed I opened my laptop and
wrote my blog. It's a beautiful day outside. A
good day for washing windows!

Anxiety

There has been so much talk about 2015 and September
in particular, that many are feeling anxious. Anxiety has
to do with "the future which disturbs the mind and keeps
it unsettled and in a painful state of uneasiness." Does
this ring a bell with any of you? The problem is not a
new one for Jesus covers the topic while speaking to a
multitude.  He says in Matt 6:

"Do not be anxious about your life.
Do not be concerned about what you will eat, or will
      drink, or what to wear.
Do not be anxious about how long you will live.

Do not the gentiles seek after these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  For
He clothes the grass which is gone in a single day.
The birds get fed, are you of less value than they?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin, yet, even Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these."

So, how do we deal with these anxious thoughts
that overtake us so easily? Jesus says, "Seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you. Do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for
itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." 

Dear Reader, it all boils down to seeking God first,
living in the now and trusting that we have a heavenly
Papa who loves us and who is more than able to meet
our every need--but not the ones we have when we live
in the future. He cannot meet the needs of the future--
today.

A Celebration!

A few weeks ago we decided to make our 45th
Anniversary the big one--although we might
change our minds in five years! (Glen's parents
reached their 46th and then his dad died.) We
are in a small church where requests are usually
granted. We wanted hymns from our college days
when both of us were part of
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). Not
only were the hymns granted, but we sang up
front bookended by our two singing pastors.
The congregation sang with us for many of them
knew the music. Glen's 91 year old Mom was
the accompanist. Ruth had been the choir director
and pianist for the church most of her adult life.
The offertory was a piece from our wedding
and was sung by two who had never heard the
song! It was beautiful. So sweet of them to do
this.

I ducked out at that point to finish the planned
reception in the Fellowship Hall. Dear friends
were at work putting out delicious dishes they
had made to go with the cake. Even though it
was Labor Day Weekend, we had a full house.
The left overs consisted of four slices of a nut
bread and one slice of cake! Glen's brother,
Jim and his wife, Diane, came down from
Seattle for the long weekend.

I wish all my family and friends from over the
years had been with us on Sunday, but one day
we will be together for the biggest celebration
EVER. It is called, The Marriage Supper of
the Lamb.

NEVER!

One of my favorite verses that I go back to again
and again is: 'I will never leave you nor forsake
you.' (Heb 13:5b)

NEVER: Even though I am discouraged, sick of
myself, tired of failure, the promise is sure.

NEVER: Though the devil whispers to me that
God will not forgive me this time, the promise
stands.

NEVER: When disasters come and faith fails,
He is faithful. I can go back to the truth.

NEVER: As I begin that journey called death,
where no friend can go with me, even then, He
will be with me.

Jake, my dog, and I visited the sick at a Care
Center. A new arrival was having a very hard
time and felt abandoned by family and friends.
She had dementia. As we entered her room
that day she was frantic. She desperately wanted
to find where the verse was that says, 'I will 
never leave you nor forsake you.'

Reader, He has not left you, or stopped loving
you. He forgives when He hears your
confession of failure or sin. This is one verse
that you as a believer, can 'take to the bank!'

Matrix

Matrix is a movie that came out in '99, but which has
much to say about our world today. I got a copy of
the movie and we watched it a couple of days ago. If
you have not seen it recently, I think you would find
it quite interesting. The older version. We hear about
new things in the world of AI almost every day.

The back of the dvd jacket says:

Perception: Our day-in and day-out world is real

Reality: That world is a hoax, an elaborate deception
spun by all-powerful machines of artificial intelligence
that control us.

As I watched the movie I saw many parallels to the
Christian life even though it is not a Christian film
in any sense of the word.

1. We are born into this world as sons of Adam and
therefore we are slaves to Satan from birth.

2 We live our life thinking we are in the real world
and that we have choices. We don't. We aren't free.

3 God calls us to turn away from sin and enter into a
relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus. In
Him is real life, real choices, and freedom.

4 When we receive Him we are transfered from the
Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light.

5 Seeing life and our flesh as it really is involves time,
suffering and surrender.

6 If we do not know who we are as Christians, what
weapons we have and who our enemy is, we will live
defeated lives.

7 '...we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but 
against cosmic powers over this present darkness. 

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not 
waging war according to the flesh, but have 
divine power to destroy strong-holds, 
arguments, and every lofty opinion against 
the knowledge of God.' (Eph 6; 2Cor 10:4)

8 We are one in Christ but not 'the one.' He is the One.

'For Freedom Christ has set us free, do not submit 
again to the yoke of slavery.' (Galatians 5:1)

Reader, Are you  still living in the 'matrix' or have you
entered into the real world of full salvation? Are you
walking in freedom? 'If the Son has set you free, you
are free indeed.' Grab it and don't let go!

More Company

No sooner had Dee left than a couple from Virginia
texted me to say that they would be heading through
our area in about four hours. We were a perfect
stopping place for them. The guest bed had no sheets;
the house was cluttered and had not yet been cleaned;
my exhausted infection fighting body had spent the
day in a horizontal position.

I invited them to spend the night.

When they arrived at 11PM, the house was ready
to greet them, bed made, even fresh flowers in a
vase in the bedroom. Only God! Those of you
who know me, know that it was truly only by the
grace of God that the strength was there. I even
had a spring in my step and a smile on my face.
In the morning I served fresh fruit and vegetables
from the garden that has not produced much this
summer.

His strength for my weakness. Great exchange!

Reader, do you know the God of details who is
waiting for you to cry "help," and fall into His arms?
Our God is amazing!!!