miracles around us?

Miracles are things that I have heard of in reading my Bible and in testimonials of other Christians, but never had occurred to anyone close to me. It was not up until here recently that I finally realized for myself just how much God controls and I got to witness a miracle within my own family!

Many reading this would remember a time when all of my "facebook" status' read something about my 16 year old cousin who went into Cardiac arrest while playing soccer. But not many would know that she was literally dead for at least 3 min. or that she should not even be alive today, and that she should have some kind of damage to the brain but does not. In fact the doctors that worked on her would tell you today that it truly is a miracle that she is alive! One that I am thankful for!
I went shopping with her the other day ( this was the first time that I had seen her since the incident)
and she was exactly the same as she was before. The same smiling beautiful young vibrant person she has always been and I was reminded that it was only by God's grace that she lives today!

After receiving the news about Kayla having her heart attack and the fact that she was unconscious and they were having a hard time getting her heart started again, fear struck my entire family. My sister started crying almost instantly fortunately Caleb ( her boyfriend) was there to take my place in comforting her freeing me to grab the three little ones and huddle together in a tight circle and pray for her, as my parents rush around to get out the door and to the hospital.

I also remember breaking away a little later and falling to my knees in my bedroom, and in the quiet I admitted to God that He was in control and pleaded with Him to spare Kayla. Words cannot express the fear that goes through you when a tragedy hits so close to home as that.
I was so afraid, we all were!

But it always seems that when something bad happens to me that God always points me to a passage that I need, one that gives me direction and comforts me. This time would be no different. I can remember getting up the next day and turning to Psalm 24. I have been studying the Psalms verse by verse trying to learn more about God and writing each new thing I learn about Him down.
So as I opened up my Bible and began reading I finally learned what it was that God was trying to teach me in this difficult time with my cousin.

Psalm 24:1 reads "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

According to this passage God owns ALL people! Saved or unsaved He owns them all and He can do whatever He sees fit with each one.
What happened to Kayla was totally out of my control. In fact it was out of everyone's control but God's. Through this tragedy I was shown that I do not control everything and this in turn caused me to realize just who is in control and caused me to lean more upon Him.

Also at camp I was reminded by a sermon that God can do as He pleases but also that what He does allow to happen to me is for my good. Sometimes in the midst of a storm we are blinded by the rain as to how this storm could possibly be good for us.
I know now when looking back that Kayla's incident was to bring me to a knowledge that I cannot control everything nor do I need to. God truly knows what is best!

" God has the right to crack the vessel when cracking it is the fastest way to share with the world what He has poured into it"- Romans 8:28 This was the statement that was in the sermon that I heard at camp and was such an eye opener for me as to why God did what He did in allowing my cousin to have the heart attack.

Something else that I realized was the fact that miracles happen everyday! Witnessing a miracle so close to home opened my eyes and got me thinking about miracles. And literally a miracle is defined simply as "an act of God" And when I really began to think about it I realized that I was so busy looking for the HUGE miracles ( like my cousins life being spared) that I missed the small ones around me. Like the fact that I wake up everyday, and have food on the table, and have spiritual food to sustain me. I could never accomplish or have anything on my own, thus these are all "acts of God" and they happen everyday!

God's mighty POWER has been displayed through out the Bible in BIG ways like parting the red sea or healing people or even bringing them back to life and in the small such as providing some refreshment to a house full of people celebrating the marriage of two people ( water to wine).
He performs miracles everyday.

Do you see them? Do you thank Him? Everyday we should fall on our knees in awe of the miracle of sending HIS only son to save the Human race. We did nothing to deserve that, we are rotten sinners, nothing worth looking at let alone saving, we deserved to die and live in eternal separation from God and yet He provided the only true salvation through the sacrifice and resurrection of His only Son Jesus Christ. Miracles are happening everyday whether we realize them or not.

Praying for rain with the umbrella up!

It was Wednesday of Jr. boys camp, and I was sitting in chapel as the invitation was being given.
Head bowed I was seeking the Lords face asking Him that He would work in the hearts and lives of all the young boys sitting in the pews.
As I was praying suddenly the name of a little boy in my brothers cabin came to mind "Thomas". His family used to come to my church and had left before he was really of age to accept Christ and I had never heard if he had or not. So I just began to pray that God would work in his heart that night and that if he was unsaved that he would accept Christ.
And right as I finished my praying I lifted my face only to see Thomas pass by me with his counselor. Tears filled my eyes as I began praising God for working in his heart and for giving him the courage to walk the aisle. And I am thankful to God when I say that Thomas accepted Christ that night!!!

But something that really struck me was the fact that I was surprised when I lifted my head and saw Thomas walking back. And that can only mean one thing, I was not expecting God to answer my prayer... or at least not that soon. I was not praying for rain with my umbrella up.
Why when God works am I so surprised? I say that my God is a mighty God and can do mighty things but do I really ... really believe that??

A few weeks later Thomas was back up for family camp along with my family and a lady from my church came along too and she brought her niece who is around 8 or 9. And I knew that Victoria ( the little niece) might not be saved. So I began praying for her salvation.
And you have to understand that when working in the kitchen at camp there is A LOT of time for prayer!
When we stand there cutting melon after melon or opening can after can of fruit it gets very mundane and boring and really it is just a blessing because that gives us time with God to plead with Him on behalf of all the hearts and souls that come in and out of camp each week, and who sit under the preaching and teaching of the word.

So I began praying everyday for Victoria. And it was Thursday of family camp that I came out of the kitchen and sat with my family to eat. Thomas was sitting next to me and he turns to me with a huge grin on his face and says " Bethany ask Victoria what happened?"

Turning my face I look at Victoria who was sitting across from me, and ask
" What happened Tori?"
Being a shy girl she would not answer so Thomas spoke for her and said " Tori got saved" and I wish I had a picture to post on here to show you the pure joy on the face of this young believer at the salvation of another. He was just elated by the fact that Tori had accepted Christ. I too was excited but must admit that I was blown away again by the fact that God had worked in her life.
I was again surprised!! Again it just shows that I was not fully trusting God to work and when He did I was awestruck and had to ask forgiveness for not trusting Him more fully.

I had been praying that God would help me to rely more on Him and that He would increase my faith and this summer He truly has!! In the big ways ( Cousins heart attack) and small ways ( answered prayer of salvation). He has taught me this summer that I need to pray for rain with the umbrella up!!!

He has said that He would answer why do I fail to trust that??

Matthew 7:7
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

John 15:7
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

A note to my parents for their 25th!

It all started along time ago…Adam was alone….everyone had a mate, the bears…the lions…why even the wart-hogs and skunks had a wife for goodness sake! But not Adam. From the passage it appears that Adam really did not take too much thought to it, but God did, and aren’t we thankful!

God designed us in such a way that we need others to support us to help us along,

“And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” Gen. 2:18

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  ¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.” Ecc. 4:9-10
And so God made Adam take a nap…bummer thought that was only for two year olds!! Lol!Anyways, and He made Eve out of Adam’s rib and that was the first marriage! And a billion marriages later, God being the best matchmaker, had  a match in mind…and on a little Bible college campus in Iowa, He brought together two servant’s of His.
What dreams they must have had! What plans! They met and dated, worked at a camp together, and then he popped the big question, the one that most every young lady longs to hear. And on the 14^th of June, they were married at her home church. Little did they know what lay ahead for them!
It has not been a bed of roses, but they have always made the best of it! They struggled, they ran hard, they served, they lead those around them, they have strived for Christ, and persevered!
They have served in three different churches, moved more than five times! And probably the best part, they had seven children!
Now I am not here to claim that my parent’s marriage has been perfect! No one is perfect…so therefore we would all agree that no marriage…no family is perfect, so I am not going to say that "my Parent’s are perfect," or even that they "come as close to perfect as this side of heaven you can be." But I will say that they are perfect for me!!

God is so amazing in that He always knows what is the very best for us, even down to the minor details such as who should be our parents, and because Sherrill and Jeff Duffy are my parents they are therefore the BEST parents for me! None other would do, because those two very special people were the very people God picked to be my parents!

Therefore I can wish for none other!! So I wanted to begin this note by stating that my mother is not perfect, but that she is perfect for me, and neither would I say that my father is perfect, but he is perfect for  me. And I praise God that He chose her for me and me for her!!

You see God had it all planned out before I was born! He knew EXACTLY what it would take to bring me to Himself! He knew that it would take me being raised by a certain Jeff and Sherrill, none other would do! It is so amazing for me to stand back and reflect on all the little details of my life and see the sovereignty of God! He is so amazing, so far above me! I am so insignificant... nothing to note... nothing for the very God of Heaven the very creator to even look on let alone smile on! And yet He stoops down and notices little and awfully sinful me! And He not only notices me but knows me better than I know myself!! I like David am compelled to say

"When I consider your heavens,

       the work of your fingers,

       the moon and the stars,

       which you have set in place,

  what is man that you are mindful of him,

       the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4

Krista was my parents first child, and she was a perfect fit for them ( again God's sovereignty must be noted here:). She was so good, all they had to do when her sinful nature reared its ugly head was to give a stern look (just one) and she would start crying and stop whatever sinful action she was taking.

MY parents were just young pups then (in fact my dad was my age exactly!!! Hard to believe it!).

Anyway they were really young and my dad was still in college when Krista was born. So when I was born I can almost bet that they were expecting me to be just the same way as Krista! But boy were they wrong!! God must have a sense of humor, for He really through them a curve ball in giving them me!

Krista and I are as different as night and day! Where she was good and sweet, I was mischievous and a tyrant! It took a lot of force to get me to do what they easliy got Krista to do! So I can only imagine how hard it must have been for my parents! And yet I always remember them having great patience with me! Oh yes I tested their waters, I tried their wills, but somehow they always managed to keep those waters calm and peaceful, their wills above mine.

Then Joe came, their first and precious son.  A real chip off the old block he was (still is). So much like dad it’s scary sometimes! And What patience they had with him as well. with his countless window breakings, and boyish antics of catching frogs and bugs and the like, and all the trouble we got into together. Those were good times huh Joe?

And to think that they thought they were  to be the parents of only three!

 But as Joseph left toddler age and went into a young child my mom yearned for yet another. I remember when she told us she was pregnant, we were elated! For by this time we were old enough to understand (I was only three when Joe was born, so I really did not remember it).

Her and dad called us into his office at Fellowship Baptist in Des, Moines where he was the associate pastor at the time. And she showed us the test, Krista always having been interested in babies knew exactly what those lines meant, I was confused as was Joe, but after some explanation the room filled with our screams of joy as we jumped up and down. Dad of course in his usual manner looked on with joy.

But that happiness was cut short, as we lost that precious babe. Long about December we had a visit to the doctor and no heart beat could be heard. Little Joshy had gotten the cord wrapped around his kneck and he passed away before we could see his beautiful face. But one thing we know he will never stray from his Lord for he is always at his side in heaven!

For awhile we took time to heal from that. We were all so excited and then had our hopes cut short. But God knew exactly what He was doing and He had perfect reasons as to calling Joshua home, and I would not have it any other way.

Mom got pregnant once again, this time we were excited yes, but there was that unsaid apprehension of if we would lose this one two. But God in His matchless grace granted to us Andrew. The precious miracle boy was a wonderful delight to us all, but especially Joe, for now he had a brother…no more the only boy!

The next two years were honestly some of the craziest years of our lives! Little did we know that when mom and dad said “four no more” that God would throw us a couple curve balls! Funny how we think we have things figured out then God says “Nuh-uh!”

Just fourteen months after little Drew was born, Caleb came into the world! And he was a mama’s boy from the start. Dad held him first and he cried and cried until he was in mama’s arms then all crying ceased, and to this day he is not ashamed to admit that mama still is really the only one who can calm him!

Then shortly after Caleb God surprised us again with the blessing of another little girl! Our precious Breanna was born! She has been full of life right from the start!

Boy were those some crazy years weren’t they mom and dad? Three small children… A new pastorate job and church to get used to…the countless diapers…bottles…tussles…sleepless nights! It truly was crazy! But somehow you corralled all us kids and kept your marriage together! Homeschooling us, cooking for us, providing for us!  How you two kept it together, I do not know!

So here’s to you mom and dad! Thankyou for reflecting Jesus Christ! Thankyou for faithfully rearing our heart towards Him! Thankyou for your faithfulness to each other…to God…to your children…to your church! Thankyou for showing God’s grace in your lives!

Thankyou for being the precious parents of:

Krista Michelle (Tee)

Bethany Renae (Boobopper)

Joseph Aaron   (Pud)

Joshua              (Heavenly child)

Andrew Levi ( Rubber Duck)

Caleb Scott      (Drool Bucket/mama’s boy)

Breanna Kae    (Pooka Butt/ nana)

WE ALL LOVE YOU and congratulate you!!

PS. Almost forgot your last two children Zoe Rose and Jackson, they love you too I suppose! J

Prodigal daughter

Luke 15 is a passage of scripture that never fails to bring tears to my eyes!
Whenever I read it I am reminded of the time when I, like the prodigal left not only my heavenly Father but my earthly parents as well! It was a year ago today that I ended a relationship with a young man. This day therefore forever marks a day of independance for me and a freeing from an idol. And all because God pursues the sinner!
This relationship with the young man had cause me to drift away from my parents, and more importantly from my Heavenly Father. And in a sense I myself changed and became a different person.

A common question frequently asked by my dad during that time would be " where is our Bethy?" Or " you have changed and not for the better."
I esp. hated these questions and statements at the time cause i did not want to admit that i had allowed myself to change! All they cared about was getting me back, and all i wanted was to get away!

My parents like the prodigals sons' Father are here to protect and shelter me,
instead i ran out from under their umbrella, wanting to be free. Instead i was greeted by a cold
rain and no protection from it. And i know in that time i caused them great grief and pain! And to those of you who think that " to have your own way" or to "be free from parents and authority" would be just the best thing to ever happen to you, I can tell you that i have been there and it is def. not worth it to go that road. Yeah like the prodigal it might be fun for a while but eventually the rain comes and there will be no umbrella above your head to protect you! This just goes as a warning, don't go that road! It is a LONG road to get back where you started from and some of the damages caused cannot be changed!

When i finally did come back to my parents odd thing as it sounds they welcomed me, though i did not deserve it, back into their arms! Twice now i have betrayed my parents and done my own thing and ultimately i betrayed my Father in heaven! But ALL have accepted me back with open arms!
I live with the guilt and consequences of this everyday! But my parents happy faces and genuine love to have me back always remind me that in their eyes i am forgiven and the reminder that God has also forgiven me is brought to mind everyday!!

Probably out of all my siblings regrettably i have caused the most pain to my parents and yet here they are still loving me and just happy to have their "Bethy" back!
As i read the parable of the lost son i am reminded of my redemption! And not only from my sins that are noticeable and huge, but also the daily sins. I am a "daily Prodigal" that Daily must be brought back to my Father in heaven.

So as you read the Prodigal son be thankful for your Father in Heaven who is able and does forgive sin! Though we sin against Him terribly He still stretches His arms wide and pours
His mercy daily on us all ( "For His mercies are new every morning")!
And be thankful to the LORD if you like me have had a wonderful example of Our forgiving heavenly Father lived out here on earth through your parents or the people around you! I am so thankful for the work of my Heavenly Father in this Prodigal Daughter of His!

The Parable of the Lost Son
11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.

12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!

18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'

20 So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21" The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.

24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

I looked up the definition of the word "Prodigal" in the noun sense and it means: one who has returned after an absence! WOW! This sounds like not only something that I have done a few times but something that I know I do every time I sin thus everyday of my life!

When He joyfully carried me home!

 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.- Luke 15:4-7
 
Luke 15 is my FAVORITE passage in scripture ( often brings tears to my eyes when I read it), for many reasons but probably because of the wayward child that I am and have been and for the truths that this brings out about the Savior who loves wandering children like me!
I have wandered so much and so far from God at different times in my life, and have even been closed to His working in one area even here
lately and just last night have surrendered that part of my life to Him! Praise be to Jehovah for His work in this prodigal daughter of His!
 
"Father, like a dumb sheep I have strayed from your fold time and again to find "greener pastures" because I thought yours were not good enough (Psalm 23). Only to find that there is nothing out there apart from you! I was lost and alone, hurt and afraid, and marred from stumbling into sin, ( in terrible need of a bath :)  EACH time your found me. Thankyou for not choosing to let me continue to wander, hoping  that someday I would return, thank you for getting up and for coming and searching for me: "Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it" You are the GOOD SHEPERD!!
 
 Thankyou for not grudgingly accepting me back, but thankyou for JOYFULLY placing me on your shoulders to carry me back to the fold to be in fellowship with you "And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home." Word cannot express my gratitude to you!
Thank you for this reminder today it is what I needed!" - Love your prodigal sheep :)
 
I was randomly searching Bible gateway ( great website to use for copying and pasting scripture...handy for emails and status :)
Anyways I was searching for John 15:5, but entered in Luke 15:5 and read about how Jesus JOYFULLY places the sheep on His shoulders
and it just really struck me! I mean I were a shepherd and I had a sheep  wander off, especially at night, and this sheep kept doing that time and again, and was injuring itself and getting itself stuck, yeah maybe the first time I would be happy about finding it, but certainly not the 2nd.....3rd...5th..etc. times!
 
But what a wonderful assurance to know that each time I have strayed and will stray, Jesus will ALWAYS first seek me out, find me and get me out of the mess I get myself into and then will  JOYFULLY place me on His shoulders and draw me back to the fold!!
 
I am so thankful for my  JOYFUL Shepherd, should I not reflect Him today and joyfully help others as well?
This should affect the way I respond to others! Christ is the model that has been set before me to follow! I need to have paitence and mercy for the wandering sheep I come into contact with today and everyday!

Be ye doers of the Word

This note is the "Sequel" as it were to my other note on here entitled " A stone's throw from the Israelites of Moses' day."

I have been reading in Psalm 78 for the past week for my devotions. This is a psalm of Asaph and he reflects on Israel's complaining in the wilderness
and states very clearly in vs. 19 the seriousness of complaining in that
it is speaking against God. But he also states God's reaction to Israel's complaining. In that though they complained He still provided for their needs and not only that but He provided them to the fill, they had the exact amount they needed as seen in verses 22-25:

22. Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23. Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24. Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
25. Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.


I don't know about you but if I were God I would have just taken them out first thing that they started complaining, forget sending them manna! I would have stated the fact that I have lead them up to this point all the way out of Egypt, and that I had parted the red sea and just get angry at them. But I am no different than them! In fact as stated in my last note I am worse than them! For I have it WAY better than they did and yet I complain more than they did and not just for daily needs like food and water! I too like them forget the works that God has done, they forgot that God delivered them from Pharaoh, they forgot all about God's glory and power displayed through the plagues. They forgot His leadership through the wilderness (Ten Commandments, the pillar of fire and the cloud that lead them.)

But I too forget God's works; I too choose to not live in the light that God sent His son to die for me! I choose not to live in the light of about just who I serve! You see every time I complain I not only speak against God, but I also am choosing not to live in the light of all I have been given. It is like as if I am right at the foot of the cross, with Christ dying and suffering there for my sin, and all I do is look at Him and say "I don't care, because I don't have what I want and you dying is not enough, I want MORE."

And as I have been reading through this passage i have been convicted over and over again about my complaining. It has literally been a spiritual spanking for me everyday! And it has been exactly what I have needed, because I never saw complaining as serious, and I never realized how much I complain! I do it all the time 24/7, and it comes WAY too easy for me. I praise the Lord for bringing this to the forefront, because complaining is serious and something that I am steeped knee deep in!

So I have saw that the Lord provided for the Israelites needs by sending them manna ( bread like substance) but He also sent them what they desires. The God I serve not only supplies for the needs of His children but also their wants!! He is so intimately aware of what I go through that He not only knows my needs but He also knows my desires…my wants.
After the Israelites had been eating Manna for awhile they got tired of the "same ole, same ole" so they wanted some meat. So they complained again and so God sent them meat, He sent quail to them Psalm78:27-30a:

27. He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28. And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29. So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30. They were not deprived of their craving,

Though they complained, He not only provided for their needs but also their desires. But the end of verse 30 reveals that complaining does anger Him.
And He did punish them. And if He thought that their complaining was serious and punished them, how much more serious is mine? Because as I stated I have it way better than the Israelites and yet I complain more! Psalm 78:30-31:

30.They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.

He struck them down! And though He may not do this to me, it does not mean that He could not! My life is totally in the hands of an almighty God who at any moment could call me home, should this not affect the things I do and say? Should I not more readily fear Him? Should I not want to please Him? And not just to keep Him "happy, so that I won't get struck down" but rather to be able to know that He can use me here on earth and that I am of use to Him here on earth, for this is the only chance on this earth that I have to serve Him. Should I not be making the most of it?
God's frown was not enough to keep the Israelites from wrong and His smile was not enough to compel them to do right, thus He was left with no choice but to strike them down. Though I have been worse than they in my complaining, may I not continue in it. May God’s frown be enough to keep me from wrong and His smile enough to do right! May I learn from their mistakes and strive for better, for God’s glory!

These verses also show that God does not miss anything; I cannot "hide" my complaining from God for He knows me better than I know myself.
He heard the Israelites; He knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they thought they deserved better than what He had given, but the truth is they did not even deserve what they had been given. And I am no better or any different than they!

And after reading of the seriousness of complaining, and of the Lord showing me that I am worse toward Him than the Israelites were, it has been wonderful in that I am more able to correct my life, because I can see my faults…my shortcomings.
You see for this past week in Psalm 78, it has been like getting up every morning and looking in the mirror (the mirror being God’s word___), and the more I have looked the uglier I began to look (in that I realized and my eyes were opened to the seriousness of my complaining)

He has revealed my matted hair and all of my blemishes that I have just been letting grow and have neglected to take care of. And when looking in the mirror of God’s word and seeing all these problems I was shocked that I had been walking around like that and did not even notice or care or try to change it ( for I was not really trying to change my complaining because I never even realized how much I complained!!)
But today was especially wonderful because God gave me the brush and facial cleanser to clean myself up!!

For Psalm 78: 34- 35 reads:

34. When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.

And at first glance one might think “How in the world did you get an application for complaining from these verses?” (Or maybe you like I saw it at first glance ;)
You see in verse 34 it states the first way that I turn from complaining. First it shows that I have to return. It says that “they returned” (vs. 34b). So I see that I have to acknowledge that by my complaining I have wandered from the Lord, I have disobeyed Him and sinned against Him. And thus I must confess and ask His forgiveness and by confessing I “return” as it were to Him. I must acknowledge that complaining is a sin, and take it for the serious matter that it is.

The second way is also found in verse 34b. You see complaining is Satan’s counterfeit (like all sins are) of a good virtue that God’s REAL DEAL.

And what is the opposite of complaining (the Counterfeit)?? Contentedness, or an attitude of gratitude is (these are God’s REAL DEAL). And how do we have an attitude of gratitude?
By seeking God whole heartedly!! You see when I am seeking “things” or anything besides God and His will then we are complaining because we cannot always get the temporal “things” that we want or think we need.

But when God consumes my life, in that I desire and want only what He desires and wants me to have, then my complaining ceases for He truly fills every gap, every need and even sometimes my desires (that is when they are aligned to His).

And finally the third way to overcome complaining is by remembering that I do not even deserve what I have and by choosing to keep before my eyes and in my mind the fact that God has redeemed me (the greatest need I have.) and also the fact that HE is ALL I will ever need verse 35 “Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer”
I must choose to be satisfied with God and God alone! I must rest in the fact that “There might be days where I have NO ONE ( people) and NOTHING ( material things) at ALL but GOD and that is ALL I will ever NEED.”

I must allow God to be enough for I do not even deserve Him!
I have looked in the Mirror of God’s word, He has revealed my problems, the matted hair, the blemishes, but He has also given me a brush and facial cleanser, may I USE THEM! May I not go away unchanged!

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” James 1:22-24

God can use ANYTHING!

Okay so we all would agree with the title of this post, I mean after all God created everything, so of course He can use it all right? YES! Would be our almost automated sunday school answer, like the recorded "leave a message after the beep."  The typical answer to such a wonderful and powerful question!

But what about when the rubber meets the road? What about in the everyday issues of life...do we really believe this? Better yet, do we live our belief out??

I have found today that I too often then not, say and believe one thing, and then my actions speak to the contrary of that belief or profession.
Take the statement above, "God can use anything", simple yet profound and of course I believe it...or do I???

There I was arriving for yet another weekend with the older couple. You see I have the wonderful privilidge of going and staying at an elderly couple's farm on the weekends sometimes and just taking care of them (making meals...giving pills....ect.).

So as I arrived yesterday with my little sister, I was thinking to myself "you know I love coming here and helping them out, and I really do count it a privilidge, but I am gonna miss going to church tommorrow, I am going to miss being challenged from God, guess there is always next week!"

Today I awoke (later than planned) but just in time enough to get down stairs and get breakfast ready before everyone else was ready for it ;).
 
The morning went fairly normal, I read from God’s Word in Psalm 119:8, and was encouraged by the truth that God will never forsake me, but you see the omnipresence of God is never just an encouragement but it is also a challenge, to live out His omnipresence, (you see already I am diving into the truth that we must live out what we believe.)

Well what would this look like? One might ask, well you see if we truly lived out the presence of God (another way of saying this is “fear of God”) if I truly lived out the truth that God truly sees everything I do, hears everything I say, and knows everything I think, then everything I did, said and thought would be in total alignment with what He truly wants me to say, do and think!

 In other words if I lived out the last half of the verse :that God will not utterly forsake me (although in the verse it is stated as a plea from the writer of the Psalm, but we always let scripture shed light on scripture so we know that this plea is always answered in the affirmative)

So where was I? Oh yes if I truly lived out the truth of the last half of this verse then I would truly live out the first half which states “I will keep your statutes.”

Now that is living FAITH! As I read that this morning I came away challenged from the Word of God, convicted of sin, and with a desire to set things straight!

And this was just at the beginning of the day! So much for thinking that I would not be challenged from God while here on a farm out in the middle of nowhere!

A little while later nana and I had “church”, I read to her from a Bible story book, and the stories that I read all seemed to point to Christ’s return and how we need to prepare for it. Coincidence?? I think not! Because it goes with my devotions earlier this morning…how?

If I was truly living out God’s presence and thus my actions, words and thoughts would be righteous then I think it is safe to say that I would not have to fear Christ’s coming! I would be totally ready to meet my Savior and tell Him and recall with Him what all He was able to do through me!

WOW! Coincidence is just God’s way of remaining anonymous!

And this was just mid-morning!

After lunch I decided that it was probably time that I give the Mrs. Some Bible activity books and a children’s Bible story book that I had found while cleaning our basement at my home.

And you might be thinking…why would I give an elderly lady something like that? Well you see she has Alzheimer’s, but the amazing thing is that this godly Christian lady still reads her Bible and enjoys reading Bible stories and things related to the Bible!

After handing it to her, she kind of shocked me when she said “Shall I read it to you?”

I was elated at this, for it is not often that she asks me to do something, it is usually I that has to iniciate things to do.

Anyways I called nana down, and we sat Indian style on the floor in front of her chair. And she began. She started with Jesus’ birth. This story I have heard countless times (as have you I am sure.)

But the thing about hearing it again and again and growing up with it, is that far too often the totally wonderful and miraculous,  too often becomes, everyday and mundane.

But not for this elderly lady!

She challenged my heart as she read because when she read the part about Jesus coming to earth as a baby she started crying, and it struck me that too often I don't fully grasp the truth and the love of Christ coming to earth! I mean this was the very SON OF GOD,

Leaving all the luxuries of heaven, the worship of the angels, to come to earth and struggle to survive as a poor carpenters son. To face ridicule from humans, to face his brothers day after day who denied His being God.

What it must have been like! To be able to show with the snap of His finger just Who He was, and yet to have to hold back! To ride a donkey instead of a horse. And this is just a small list folks, I could go on and on!

I mean here is an elderly lady who has Alzheimer’s and yet she still remembers the sacrifice fo our lord and Savior and it drives her to tears!...I mean when was the last time I got emotion over that?

Christ was worshipped today folks! Yes He was worshipped in many churches all across the world, but He was also worshipped today by an elderly lady at the end of her life, in a small farm out in no wheres ville, who cried over His sacrifice!

She reminds me of the lady with the two mites, both the Mrs. And that lady had not much to Jesus, but they gave what they could and that is where it really counts! That is where the rubber meets the road! Where faith is truly lived out!!

It was such an example to my sister and I and such a moving time something I wont forget and neither will my sister!  Can't wait to read again with her ;0)

You see God can use ANYTHING! Just when I thought I would miss an opt. to be challenged by Him cuz I was not going to church, He uses my devotions and then He used something that most people would never think twice about Him using.

He used a simple child’s book and an elderly lady with alzheimers to show this girl a thing or two about true worship and living faith!

Here I was thinking “Aw I will listen to her read and it will help distract her from her troubling thoughts (it is scary not being able to remember simple things…like the fact that this IS your house….and that man lying on the couch IS your husband…and that your mother HAS passed on…and not knowing where you are.).

HERE I was thinking I can serve her today, when in reality it was her serving me and being used of God to teach me some more about Himself!

And so you see God CAN USE ANYTHING! And there are no coincidences, just God trying to remain anonymous, but don’t let Him!

“Open our eyes LORD! We want to SEE JESUS!.”

It is never that God is not at work…it is always just that we are not looking for it! If you look for HIM you will surely FIND HIM!

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God.”

“Draw near to God and He WILL draw near to you!

Funny because I was kinda stuck in a rut and I asked God to draw me closer to Him just this past week and already He has used this weekend to draw me close!

GLORY TO HIM!